day 30: in motion

Levitating on our way to Market Side...



Chasing Pigeons at the Park ~ Ron took this one. Nice! 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

It's the last day of the Photo Challenge!  boohoohoo!  This was loads of fun and will be a unique album when it's all printed. 

Here's a link to My 30 Day Photo Challenge Gallery >>>>     http://photobucket.com/cmd_30dayAug

day 29: purchased

Love these!   Keen Raya Persimmon  They're colorful, practical, comfy, cute and on sale.   Ava's been wearing some $13 tar-jay pink ones this year, which are holding up pretty well for knock-offs.  But, even though these are more expensive than the tar-jay variety;  I think I got a pretty good price for them $29 at Nordstrom Rack.  Considering, I sized up for room to grow - it has a secure ankle strap to keep my girl's feet in place - the insole & outer straps are of better more durable material than tar-jay's $13 kinds.  Ava's already breaking them in!

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 28: daily routine

Starting at 7am (sometimes as early as 5 omg am) our home becomes AvaCentral - until she's finally asleep around 8:30 at night.  Plopping down on the couch, feet up enjoying mindless reality TV, instead of  NickJr/Sprouts is awesome.  Compared to yesterday, this is our real "after dark" scene.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 27: after dark

The stars aligned for us to enjoy a rare night out celebrating our friend's birthday.   It felt strange to be going out without our baby girl, after 6pm.  We both had this feeling like we were sneaking out past our bed time.  After an awesome buffet, we continued to have a great time chillin' at Talking Stick Resort.  Our group split, half chillin' by the bar listening to live tunes, while the rest of the crew tried their luck at Pai Gow. 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

I know I haven't been out drinking in a long time, but, is it just me or were these "shots" ginormous? It took me three gulps to get one of these down, seriously.  If I didn't have a 6am group run the next morning, we might have stayed out past midnight.  At least we went home with an extra 150 duckits ~ Cheers!

day 25: sunflare

I love photos that capture the play of light around a subject.  It's surreal and whimsical.  I've done it on accident before, so, I had to do some googling on how to do it on purpose!  I found these tips @
5 Tips for Achieving Artistic Lens Flare  to be useful.  I pulled over on my way home from one of my morning runs, to snap this shot.  I want to play around with this technique more with a cuter subject - my little Ava, next time we're out.  

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 26: something old

Ava's newest discovery is something old:  her daddy's highschool trumpet.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 23: sunset

It's day 26 and although I wasn't able to get any good "Day 25: Sunflare" shots today, I was able to capture the sunset for Day 23.  This was taken while in moving car, using the "Sunset" option on the "Scene" setting on our Nikon d5000.  I had some "camera glitches" (aka I pushed some random button on accident that screwed up my shot) that made me lose a great sunset shot overlooking Discovery Park.  I begged my hubby to turn the car back and drive around and around until I got my sunset shot.  Of course, he said no.  I was bumbed as we drove away and then he shouted out, "Field of Wheat!"  So, I looked to my right.  Beautiful scene right there!  So, I rolled down my window fast as can be and went trigger happy.  Of the 10+ shots, this one came out the best.  I think mainly because of the bird silhouette!  Ok, you have to squint to see the bird, but I think it's still pretty sexy!

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.
 

day 24: a smile

Ok, so I missed day 23...the day flew by and before I new it, the sun had set.  I'm determined though, to get my sunset shot by Day 30.  For now, I'm happy to show off my little sunshine's smile.  Well, one of her smiles.  Let's just say this is smile #5:  the eyes squinted shut, teeth grinding, squeal-ly kind of smile -most often emerges when she discovers something new and fun - like this vintage frame I've been meaning to work into her bedroom somehow.   Maybe it's finally made it's way in, by way of this picture.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 22: trees

hello. seven baby calamansi trees growing indoors on my kitchen shelf.  I followed online tutorials on how to grow lemon trees from seed and applied it to the seeds I saved from calamansi fruit from the asian market and from family.  I hope I can keep them alive and well until maturity.  Family in CA have been keeping their eyes peeled for more mature trees in their local nurseries, but haven't had any luck for the past couple of years.   Furthermore, apparently you can buy them online, but they can't be shipped to citrus states like Texas, CA, FL and AZ.    That's why I've resorted to this lengthy method of obtaining a calamansi tree. It could take 10 years for these babies to mature and a couple more after that, for them to bear fruit.  It's still cheaper than a plane ticket home to the Philippines!

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 21: pretty pattern

Patterns consisting of concentric circles are on the top of my favorite-patterns-of-all-time list.  I've used the pattern in my daughter's birth announcement and also on her baptismal candle.  A couple weeks ago, I convinced my better half that we could make this pretty pattern out of TP tubes and hang it above our bed as wall art.  We both converged on the vision of an all white art piece, which would pop against our chocolate wall.  This is what it looks like so far...unglued...unfinished...

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

One TP roll makes 1 "circle".  One paper towel roll makes 2 & 1/2 "circles".   6 TP rolls + 1 paper towel roll later = about 1 ft. 2 in in length.  Thanks to momC & tintin for their donations!  We just need 7 more batches of rolls like this & we'll have enough to fit above our bed.  So, we're still collecting/accepting unwanted rolls! 

As if I'd stop at one project!  I have to make a colorful version for my daughter's room.  I'm inspired by this art piece "Collective" by Jodi Fuchs.  

I first saw it inside CostPlus World Market over a year ago. She's described the piece as "inspired by the overlapping circles of connection on facebook". I looked her up and found she also sells poster reprints in her etsy shop HomeShanti.  Whenever possible, I prefer buying direct from the artist, plus it makes acquiring this beautiful artwork more of a reality for me! 

Oh, don't miss out on all the pretty patterns posted by the rest of the challengers here:



day 20: what I read

My husband and I love to read to our little one.  She especially loves it when we read words that call for silly sound effects.   These are some of the books in heavy rotation in our house lately.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 19: where I slept

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 18: in my bag

Groceries. Nothing glamorous here. 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 17: on the shelf

On Ava's shelf, I keep her birth announcement & birth photo, along with some thrift store found mementos used to decorate the dessert table at her 1st birthday party (L-R):  Ceramic Mushroom (found in a Yuma thrift store with Lola Amy & dad painted the mushroom stalk white), Wooden "A" Block (that I hand painted with purple craft paint and sealed with glitter modge podge),  Vintage Owl and a white painted baby deer.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.
*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

 

day 16: what I ate

mmmm....enjoyed a bowl of hot oatmeal this morning with my avadarling.

well, most of her bowl ended up on her belly instead of in her belly. 

i'm not complaining, i snuck some flax seeds in there. she was a a happy messy girl.

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011. *overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 15: my shoes

For today's photo challenge, I wanted to pay homage to one of my favorite photographers  Natsumi Hayashi, Tokyo's famous floating girl.  I found a way to do my own style of "levitating" without actually wearing my shoes...I don't think it'll be my last levitation attempt.  It's addictive! 

 

Summertime temps in AZ are pretty solid for a good part of the year. So, it's a rare that these boots get busted out. Must be why I forgot I had a pair in this earlier post.  They enjoyed their walk out in the sun today I'm sure. 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011. *overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 14: flowers

When the seasons change,  I enjoy redecorating my babies' flower box. 

This is the new flower arrangement I'm putting together. 
The colors transition well from summer to fall. 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 13: from a distance

those white specs in the distance... 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

...are my fellow Miracles In Motion team on our first long run.  I started out at a good pace, but my endurance just isn't there yet. Had to walk 2/3 of the way.   I'm glad I had my ipod playlist set up.  Loving "Lunatic" by Andy Grammar. It's so fitting for someone crazy enough to run another 26.2 miles and on top of that - raise $1,500 for Phoenix Childrens Hospital.   But it's all worth it to be able to give back to our local community knowing this will help a child in need.  It was a muggy but beautifully cloudy day.  I couldn't help but think of my two angels in heaven looking up & ahead of me. I know they are looking down at me smiling and cheering, "go mommy go!" I made it back to the start of the trail and so appreciated the bountiful breakfast spread awaiting us all.  Plus, I met some new friends & joined a group of gals to help with fundraising.   woohoo!  

day 12: close up

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.

day 11: something fun

It doesn't take much to amuse my little one. 

credits: *paislee press 2010 calendar stamp, that i modified for 2011.

*overlay edge stax by Kim Liddiard and *hand drawn circle doodle by me.