The Magic of Disneyland

My granddaughter turned two years old so her mommy and I took her to Disneyland for a few hours. As an annual pass holder going for a few hours is worth the visit. Although she's only two, my granddaughter catches every light, every character and is in awe of every ride. She's such an adventurous little girl and it's so much fun to be there with her. There is nothing like Disneyland to bring out the child in anyone. For me, it's even more magical once the sun begins to set and the lights go on in the park. I have yet to see another place that can set a scene like Disneyland.

A Quick Trip to the Northwest

I had the good fortune of taking a quick trip to Oregon and Washington recently. I started in Portland, drove up to Seattle and across to the Washington coastline. I then continued down to Oregon's coast ending back in Portland. While the trip was quick and my time there was short, I did manage to see quite a bit of the countryside in both States.
Portland, Oregon was a nice surprise to me. I managed to arrived, unwittingly, just as their Rose Festival was getting underway so there was quite a bit of added activities going on. I'm not sure why it is not a more popular place to visit because I really did enjoy Portland. If you find time for a nice dinner you must try the Portland City Grill. If you're lucky enough to sit by the window (which I was) you will get a breath taking, almost panoramic view of the river and city. The meal was terrific, the service was great and the view was fantastic. I also stopped at Voodoo Doughnuts, which several people said was a must stop while in Portland. Their creations are interesting and there seems to always be a line. It is a fun place to stop.
If you enjoy San Francisco, you will enjoy Seattle. A friendly warning to those who have never been there before, wear very comfy shoes. Again I lucked out because they were holding the Northwest Folklife Festival at the Seattle Center. That was fun but very crowded. I was told it was crowded because they had unusually warm weather while I was visiting. Seattle has a variety of things to do and see for just about anyone's taste. This is another city worth taking a trip to.
Living in the southern part of California, especially this year, there isn't a lot of lush landscape this time of year (yes, it's already drying out). Both Oregon and Washington provided beautiful sights to see. I found that while Washington has a beautiful coastal area I really loved the beaches and towns along the coast of Oregon. Both states are a nice place to visit, I hope you make it through some time.

"Procrastination" Tales Of Mere Existence

When I saw this I really had to laugh, mostly because I can identify with this video. Come to think of it, this is actually kind of scary since I can identify with it!

DANCE TRAIN STATION BELGIUM do-re-mi The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews

Just what every traveler needs!

Mother's day

I'm lucky enough to have my daughter's living relatively close by. I'm also blessed with being able to spend Mother's Day with them, even though they are both mothers too. This year I was invited to my youngest daughter's home to spend the day scrapbooking and being catered to by her husband.

I have to let you all know that my son-in-law is an excellent cook, more like a chef. He not only prepared a meal that was amazing to the taste buds but was fit for royalty. He also made TWO desserts, and yes, all the dishes he prepared were from scratch.

We were able to work on our projects and we had her two young boys working along side on their scrapbooks. The youngest boy (3 years old) made a special one about him for his mommy, for Mother's Day. It was such a nice day and very relaxing.

Just before dinner we were joined by my son-in-law's parents and brother, and my older daughter and her little girl. It was one of the best Mother's Days I've had. What more could one ask for? I had great company, great food and the love of my family!

Dottie's World

Most of you know by now how much I love blog surfing and a contest. So it won't come as any surprise that I'm posting yet another blog contest here. Not only is this a fun blog spot for all you creative minds but they are giving away some awesome "candy". Please stop by Dottie's World and check them out. Here is the official invitation for this party:

I love to scrapbook, and part of the reason is that I love sitting with my grandchildren and answering questions they have as we go through the pages. One of the things I've discovered is that when I make a "all about" them book, they love having me read it to them often. If there's one thing my family and friends know about me is that I love to search the net for products, and inspire creativity. During one of my searches I found Custome Made for Kids and discovered their products. So if you don't scrapbook, and even if you do, this makes it very simple to create a book about your child or the child in your life. I've made some for the grandchildren and they love reading them over and over with me. Take at look at what they have to create and have fun.

Earth Day

With Earth Day approaching and everyone I know wanting to find more way to go "green" I thought this would be great to share with everyone. Electrolux is giving away a washer/dryer set so a member of our community. Just go to their site, plant a flower and then leave a comment on Mom Central and you're entered to win.

Just in time for Earth day, Electrolux is kicking off its virtual flower garden campaign to drive awareness and raise funds for Global Green USA. Starting today, when you go to electroluxappliances.com and plant a virtual flower for a friend, Electrolux will donate $1 to Global Green USA to support their healthy green schools initiatives across America. Everyone who logs on to the site and plants a virtual flower will be automatically entered for a chance to win a new eco-friendly Kelly Green front-load washer and dryer!

In addition, Mom Central will be giving away one Kelly Green washer and dryer set to a member of our community! To enter, first plant a flower on the Electrolux site. Then return to Mom Central, login or register, and leave a comment below that (1) tells us about the flower you planted on the Electrolux site and (2) shares your own “laundry tips” for saving time and energy by Monday, April 27th. We will then pick one lucky winner in a random drawing from all entries received! *

Since you're at Mom Central, take a look around their site and I'm sure you'll find something you like. This site is filled with all sorts of cool information, and I'm sure plenty of time saving ideas.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Tomorrow is a wonderful day to celebrate with family and I am very blessed to have most of my family close by. It's tradition that we gather to celebrate Easter and give thanks for the blessings we all have and share. May you all have a wonderful Easter and continue to know you are truly blessed throughout the year.

Old Country Creations - Free Blog Candy

While doing a "Blog Hopper Party" I found this cool blog. I wanted to share the Free Blog Candy contest she is offering, and it ends on March 31st. Check it out!

Art, a cool YouTube vidoe

This video makes me smile, I love it in for so many reasons. Please take the time to watch this.

Crochet Shamrock Garland

Crochet Shamrock Garland

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I found this on Skip to my Lou and even thought St. Patrick's Day has past, I wanted to share it. Yes, it's one of my favorite blogs.

Ways to scrap in our low economic environment.

If you know anything about me, you'll know I'm addicted to reading blogs that are someway related to scrapbooking or family life. So it won't come as a surprise that I found yet another nice blog. Dream Big is dedicated to finding ways to help you scrap and save money. Actually, she has a several ideas or links with information on how to do a variety of things on a shoestring. She is also a "teacher" on Big Picture Scrapbooking and she offers some interesting classes. Check her blog out.

I happened upon a neat blog that has some cool coloring books. Check out these creative books that you can purchase and download for your cild or the child in you. These books have some creative ways to have fun and teach your child the alphabet, nursery rhymes, and numbers. Check out "flipflops and applesauce" and see what you find.

I found this neat blog that makes these tea party sets. They are so cute I had to share it with all of you.Dolly's Cupcakes A really cool part about your purchase from this site is that they
support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Please visit this site, they have more to see.

Great find!

Today's post has nothing to do with photography. Many of you know I love to browse through several scrapbooking blogs and sites on a regular basis (or as often as time permits). Well, while I was on {A} Ali Edwards' blog, I found a link to The Purl Bee. This is a wonderful site full of tutorials and project ideas for anyone who enjoys or wants to start sewing, knitting or enjoys crochet. Her quilting ideas a beautiful. Please go visit this site, you may get hooked like I did.

Cool site

As you may have noticed I've been having fun learning how to use my DSLR camera. I have a very good video made for the Canon D40 but I wanted to share a website that explains how to take particular types of photos. Actually, it pretty much will teach you how to get the most out of your DSLR. I highly recommend this site to any beginner. The tutorials are well done and the written explanations are clear. Here is the link http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/DSLR_workshops_tutorials_tips.shtml

After her bath, my sweetie decided to shut her door so she could play with just me in the room. She went from her new "kitchenette" to her activity center. She had lost interest in the activity center until recently when her mother put a playmate in there to play. Funny how when another child shows interest in something all of a sudden it's THE toy to play with....go figure.

Sunday night

Well, I spent most of today just picking up the yard (it was a great day out) and doing odd jobs around here. While it was a tiny bit cool in the shade, it was nice and warm in the sun. I took all my outdoor Christmas ornaments down and this evening when I was driving home after dark I felt a bit sad to see the lights and holiday decor was absent from my neighborhood.
I did manage to take a few more shots today and actually played with "bouncing" light off the walls. That's how the photo of me with the camera was taken without glare in the mirror. I am actually proud of that shot. Yes, baby steps.
I must admit, I still have some of the decor in the house up. I'm going to have company this coming weekend and I decided to keep it up for them. I'm going to have an after Christmas, Christmas party....I have some surprises planned.
Well, it's getting late and I need to finish a few last chores.

My new Canon 40D

One last post for today....

Okay, as many of you know I love to browse some of my favorite blogs and scrapbooking websites. Today I mostly spend time on the Scrapbook Nook forums. I'm telling you, if you are a photographer and a scrapper, you have to join that forum. There are so many talented people there and their work is very good.
Now, one of the good things for me is that they are running a challenge to post pictures each day. These are photos that you take each day and then post. It's making me get to know my camera better and stay busy taking photos. It is also helping look at things around me differently. It's like stopping to smell the roses I guess.
So, here is one last picture to post for today. I hope you enjoy these pictures I've posted.

Just another shot

The previous photo is of my grandson Riley, in awe of all that Santa has left. He was so sweet, and a bit overwhelmed. My daughter and son-in-law did a great job at making Christmas magical for both boys. It's such a treat to be invited to spend Christmas Eve with them and stay for the morning delights. There isn't anything like a child's joy on Christmas morning that makes me feel the blessings of the day.
This is a pic of one of my favorite ornaments. I'm not sure what it is about it but it reminds me of the pure pleasure i get sitting in front of my fireplace with a fire glowing and the lights of my Christmas tree.

Testing my new camera

I spent part of the evening testing the different settings (all auto mode) and taking a few photos. Today I plan on spending the day watching a 90 minute video that is supposed to teach me how to use all the functions, or at least get me moving in the right direction for better photos. I can honestly say I will most likely need all day to go through the 90 minute training.
Here are a few more pics I took of some of my favorite ornaments. It is so fun working with natural light, flash and settings. I've yet to figure out what actually works.
I'm sure I should be doing something else with my day but this is far more fun.

New Year, 2009....wow

I have not been motivated to blog, nor be very creative for some time now. Today I decided to post here and see where I go. It's not a comfortable forum for me so I struggled with this blog but I thought I would start again and try to have fun along the way.
The holidays were actually nicer than I expected given that so many people have fallen on hard times. Living in California I've seen many lose their jobs, homes and in some very sad cases, their family. I've been blessed with not personally experiencing any of those. So my year ended well and it is starting out nicely too. I hope and pray all of you had a great holiday and that 2009 brings you more joy and great days that leave warm and happy memories for years to come.
I now am trying to learn how to use my new camera. I've had a point and shot all my life so this camera is going to be an adventure in learning. It's the Canon EOS 40D and it came with the 28-135mm lens, and a flash attachment. Now to figure out how that all works together.
I love scrapbooking and making new ways to display photos so this camera will be a joy to learn. If any of you have any helpful suggestions, please send them my way. I plan to spend a day watching a video that is meant to teach me how to get the most out of this great tool but I know that users are usually a great source of information.
Well, I will try to post a few of the photos I've taken so let's see if I at least mastered the uploading part.