Doodle Week with the Buddha Board

So, I got a little behind with Doodle Week. The slideshow above shows all my doodles for Wednesday through Sunday. There are no masterpieces here, just simple doodles.

This time I pulled out my Buddha Board to doodle. It's a really cool thing that I bought myself last Christmas. Basically, it's a slate-type board that you paint on using water. As the water dries the image disappears. It's based on the principle of living in the moment.

I'm participating in Doodle Week this week.

For more about Doodle Week and to view other participants, click here.

Softly glowing grass

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This is one of those photos that's so much cooler at original size, especially in the spots where the sunlight is coming through the grass seeds. The grass just has a soft glow about it that makes it look feathery.

I took this photo on Monday. I was sick with a cold and had to get out of the office or I'd fall asleep at my desk. Lunch really helped energize me, so I drove over to the local park, bundled up in my winter gear and snapped a few photos. I didn't think I'd captured anything interesting until I saw this shot.

On an unrelated note: Happy Thanksgiving!. If you're here in the United States celebrating, I hope you're enjoying your food, family and friends. If you're not here in the United States, then it's just another Thursday for you, and I hope you're enjoying it, too.

I'm participating in the Thursday Challenge today with the theme 

"SOFT (Feather, Pillow, Cushion, Chair, Soft Focus, Soft Drink, Fluffy Animals or Toys, Hair...)".
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Wordless Wednesday: Cannon Fodder

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
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Sniff

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My dogs like to use their noses more than any other dogs I've ever had. They're constantly sniffing objects and the air. Where other dogs I had would greet me at home and sniff to see where I'd been, giving me an  accusing look when I smelled like another dog, Loki and Thor seem to relish it, like I've brought home tasty treats. Weird, I know.

Here, Thor is sniffing the grass in our back yard. As a game with them, we'll throw small dog biscuits into the grass so that they can go hunt them down. This is especially fun in the winter when there's snow on the ground. The treat could be buried under 6 inches of fluffy snow, and they'll still find it, enjoying the search the whole time.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter S.
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Doodling poppies in winter

It's Doodle Week again. I took a hiatus during October, but I'm back to participate in November.

What is Doodle Week? Surely, you remember. If not, here's the run down. Laura, Claire and Mo over at Doodle Week headquarters come up with seven themes -- one for each day of the week -- and we out here on the blogosphere try to doodle something to fit the theme.

Here are the themes this month:

Monday - Draw a poppy for Remembrance Day (Veterans Day)

Tuesday - Winter. Time for the season of snow.

Wednesday - Snowflakes. Draw a whole blizzard if you get inspired.

Thursday - Holiday stress. However you feel it, whatever your holiday.

Friday - Turkey Day. Thanksgiving in the United States. Give a turkey a doodle and he'll roast in the oven just like the rest of them.

Saturday - Which of the five senses is your favorite and show us why in a doodle.

Sunday - What sense or ability do you wish you had. Doodle it!

If you'd like to participate, too, just Doodle something and post it on the Internet somewhere (on a blog or on Flickr), then visit DoodleWeek.com and post the link. As easy as that.

So, keeping in mind that a doodle is just a version of a scribble, with no expectation that it's good or anything (or even accurate!), here are my doodles for Monday and Tuesday.

Mine were done on Paint Shop Pro while I was properly trying to concentrate on something else.

Happy Doodling everyone!

Highland Dancers

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Over the summer we went to the annual Scottish Highland Games put on by the St. Andrews Society here in the Chicago area. One of the many activities was the Highland Dance competition.

Here, dancers rub rosin on their slippers before performing.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Creative Photography gone Askew

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Earlier this month I was at a local park when I saw this kid ride by on his bicycle. It was a rainy, cold day, and this boy was riding along the top of the retaining wall next to the lake. It's not nearly a gentle shoreline like it looks in this photo.

I didn't want to be obvious that I was taking his photo, so I kept my camera down near my waist, pointed it in his direction, and took several photos, hopeful that I had him in frame.

This is what turned out. I like the angle, so I didn't rotate the photo. I also like the blurred effect in some areas, which I think are from rainwater on my lens. The only tinkering I did with this photo was to apply an Orton-ish effect through Picnik.com. (If you'd like to see the original, click here.) I think this photo has a general dreamy mood, and I like it. I hope you do, too.

I'm participating in Creative Photography this week.
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Reflections on a photo scavenger hunt

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Every year my husband and I help out at my nephew's birthday party. My sister needs the help because Louis likes to have parties at home, which we've found require more planning and adults to carry off, but are generally a big hit with the kids. Two years ago the theme was everything backward, last year it was video games, and this year it was a scavenger hunt.

To do the scavenger hunt, we broke into three teams, each with a list of items to collect around the neighborhood. We also had a list of photos that we could try to stage to collect points. The photos were worth more if a homeowner was in the photo with all the kids. Examples include: all the kids in a tight place, a car with vanity plates, playing catch, making a human pyramid, mowing a lawn.

The neighbors really got into helping the kids. I really got into staging the photos.

In the top photo, the kids had found a "pumpkin patch" and were posing in it. I accidentally captured my reflection and my husband's reflection in the storm door. Yeah, that's me in the pink striped shirt.

In the other photo, the challenge was to capture our team's reflection. Since my husband was taller, I handed the camera to him to actually take the photo.

We had a lot of fun with the scavenger hunt -- and in case you're wondering, our team won. Competitive much?

(If you want to see more photos from the photo scavenger hunt and party, see the Flickr set here.)

I'm participating in the Photo Hunt today with the theme Reflection.
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An overdue ramble ~ totally random

I'm overdue for a blogging braindump, so here we go:

~Twitter~
It's sad but true, but when I want to know what I've been up to now, one of the first places I consult is my Twitter-stream.

~Invisalign~
The new braces are going well. I'm almost two weeks into it. I start my second tray tonight. I'm still lisping a little bit, but fewer people are noticing, so it's getting better. Why the lisp? The retainer hits me across the back of my front teeth, so when I make an S or T sound, my tongue hits the plastic.

~Blogger Followers~
My photo blog has just exceeded this blog with followers. That blog is a little more focused in topic, so I think that helps. Plus, I've been concentrating my Entrecard drops on that one.

~Obama~
Yay! I haven't officially blogged about it, but I'm THRILLED that Barack Obama won the presidential race. I've been closely following him since I voted for him in the senate primary four years ago.
I guess soon I can retire the "Smush Bush" stress doll I bought back in 2004.

~Anonymous linking~
So, I discovered this site, anonym.to that allows you to create links to websites that won't trace back to your site. Not sure why you'd want that, but it's out there. How did I discover it? Through my Flickr stats.

~Flickr stats~
For the most part my Flickr stats are pretty regular. I get about 50 views of photos a day, give or take, with it sometimes spiking up into the 200s or 300s if I've shared an album with family. Over the summer it suddenly spiked to over 1,000 views on one day only, but I couldn't find any apparent reason. No one photo was getting significantly extra views. Today I looked at my stats and found that the photos of my Invisalign retainers are getting a lot of views -- like 75 in one day -- but it's not from a specific source, just Flickr and this Anonym.to site I mentioned above. It's not like I captured the look of my retainers with incredible photography. Make me wonder why so many people are viewing those photos...


~Blog Blast for Peace~
I meant to participate in Blog Blast for Peace earlier this month. I didn't. But let me just go on record now as saying that peace is good. I highly recommend it. Please, can't we all just get along?

OK, actually, I would have put more effort into the post had I written it. Who can argue against peace?

~NaNoWrite Month~
While I'm on the subject of things I wanted to particpate in but didn't, let me throw in National Novel Writing Month. I should have been doing this. But, rest assured, I am back on the writing bandwagon. It's been slow-going. I mean how long does it take to write a 10-page scene?!?! Apparently a couple hours a page. Gah. But I am trying to get it polished up -- this is no messy first draft -- because it's part of a book proposal that Jules and JC and I are working on together. It *will* be in the mail by the end of the month.


~Doodle Week~
For some reason, I didn't participate in Doodle Month last month, either. Don't know why, since I've been involved since the beginning. But, it's coming up again soon and I intend to redeem myself. Maybe on Thanksgiving Day I can get my nephews to help me doodle? Hmmm....

~Smoosh Your Boobies~
Claire and Olga the Traveling Bra had a fun idea for ending Breast Cancer Awareness Month last month. They held a contest for people to put paint on their breasts and smash them against paper, creating art. Another thing I wish I'd done, but couldn't find paint in the house at the last minute. (OK, could have used latex paint left over from our walls, but, really, I didn't want to go there.)

~WoW Expansion~
So, World of Warcraft came out with its expansion set Wrath of the Lich King. We haven't bought it yet. Holding out for over the Thanksgiving holiday when we have some time off (and I'm not otherwise writing). I know it will be a total time suck once I get into it -- a really, really good total time suck.

~Christmas Shopping~
When we were at my sister-in-law's house on Nov. 1, she had all her Christmas shopping done and wrapped. The gifts were stacked in a corner of the dining room, waiting. Inconceivable to me. But, now, I'm starting to think Christmas. I'm putting together my Amazon wish list, which neatly allows you to add products from other web pages not related to Amazon.com. Neat feature. Plus, I'm putting together my own gift-giving guide, where I shamelessly plug my friends' merchandise and other things that strike my fancy. Look for it soon.

~Weight Watchers~
I went back to Weight Watchers last week. So, because I'm counting points, I'm looking at the nutrition information on food, especially at the restaurants I like to frequent. I had the nutrition info from the website of my favorite lunch spot that I'd printed out two years ago. It showed my favoite flatbread pizza as having 9 points. Doable. For some reason I reprinted it last week only to find that they'd updated the flatbread pizza section. That same pizza is now 15 points! What makes it especially hard is that I'm allowed only 21 points a day, plus the 35 anytime points for the week. Well, as you can guess, that pizza is now right off my menu. Gah!

~My stupid emo baby name~
In the spirit of the newly born Bronx Mowgli, my Simpson-Wentz Baby Name is Harlem Cruella.

What's yours?

Over-exposed sky

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It's been kind of frustrating the past few weeks. Every time I go out to take photos, I find overcast, blah conditions, with most of the good fall color gone and the leaves fallen. I know that should just make me work harder to find interesting photos, and I think I've found a few, but nothing that I'm excited about for Sky Watch Friday today.

I took this photo on Sunday afternoon after meeting up with Aerten for lunch in downtown Naperville. (We talked for a few hours, had some fun conversations. It was nice to put a real-life face with another blogger.)


This photo was a so-close moment. If I'd gotten the exposure right, you would have been able to see the sun glowing behind clouds in the upper left, and then reflected on the water in the lower left. The reflection worked, but not the sky. But that's what some of these photo excursions are about for me -- practice.

We had a few snow flurries that day, but nothing that stuck. As I was shooting photos along the Riverwalk, I had to keep reminding myself to watch where I was stepping. The ducks might have liked the water, but I think I would have found it a little chilly. :)

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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The reading nook

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I have no shortage of hobbies, but yet when the theme for today's Thursday Challenge was announced as Hobbies, I had a hard time coming up with some photos. My quest brought me to my set of photos from my vacation to Breckenridge, Colo., earlier this year.

I thought I could use a photo of us snowboarding, but then realized that the photos of us actually on the snowboards on the mountain aren't mine. A friend took those photos because he was smart enough to pack a small point-and-shoot camera. (Trust me, even if I had better than beginner skills, I wasn't going to risk my nice new DSLR camera on the ski hills. One or both of us would have been hurt.)

I thought I could use a photo of the table setup for us to play World of Warcraft together one evening on the trip. It is kind of amusing to see the three laptops laid out on the dining room table like that, but it just didn't seem like a strong enough photo on its own.

Instead, I opted for this photo of my girlfriend reading a book. I like the way the light is coming in through the window. To me it kind of feels like we're spying on her from a corner of the room, which, trust me, is one of the only ways that she'll let me photograph her.

I'm participating in the Thursday Challenge today with the theme 

"HOBBIES (Gardening, Aquariums, Collections, Games, Woodworking, Photographic Equipment...)".
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A Loki and Thor interlude

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I know, it's a little too early for holiday stuff. I'm sorry. But Loki and Thor want to wish you an early Season's Greetings.

Wordless Wednesday: Croc bait

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
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Rain

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When I was out shooting some photos at a park last week, it was raining. At the edge of a sheltered picnic area, some tables were getting dripped on, creating pretty splashes. I had my camera set to take continuous photos, so I pointed in the direction of the raindrops and took a couple dozen photos -- *click* *click* *click* -- all in succession.

Three of the photos actually captured the splash of the falling droplets. This is my favorite, even though the splash is off to the side. I want to try this again someday and see if I can capture the water with even more clarity.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter R.
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A city of neighborhoods

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I like maps. I confess. I like to look at them, and study them and imagine the world they're depicting. Weird? Some of you may think so.

I'm particularly fond of the Chicago Neighborhoods Map. It takes the idea that even though Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, it's really just a collection of smaller distinct communities, or neighborhoods. The map is made by a company out of Naperville, Big Stick, which has also started to make neighborhood maps for other cities, such as Seattle and Boston.

Last winter while visiting the Chicago History Museum, I ran into this enlarged version of the map. I really like the way this photo turned out, with the woman staring up at the map, and the overhead light giving everything a red glow while creating puddles of shadow around the woman's feet.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Washed up ruins

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My first-ever photo-taking excursion was with my friend Caela while we were living in San Francisco. It was seven years ago already. Caela had spied these ruins of an old public bathroom that had fallen when the cliffside gave way and had since been graffitied.

The site is a place called Land's End. It's at the tip of the San Francisco peninsula overlooking the strait where the San Francisco Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. In the top photo, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. To get down to the beach, we had to follow a long and windy path and step over a lot of obstacles. We'd timed it so we could watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, which was great, except when we found ourselves having to follow the same long and windy path back out in the dark. Obviously, we made it out safely.
 

I'm participating in the Photo Hunt today with the theme Ruin(ed).
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A peek into the life of Simba

It's not easy being a world-famous lion. Once the rush of movie stardom ends, some kid throws you in a garage sale where somebody buys you for a buck and says, "Hey, my dogs would like this."

So, here we find you, Simba, on an October morning, sunning in the grass. Neglected like so many other of Loki and Thor's stuffed toys. You've been dropped, stepped on, rained on and mostly dried out. But you're a lion and you like the outdoors. If only you'd been dropped in that tall grass, right? Better to hunt from.



Then, after several days of laying in the backyard, you get picked up and sent on a dangerous voyage through the washer and dryer, where several weaker toys have met their doom. But you survive this trip and arrive safely to the shelter of the toy bin in the family room, clean and sweet-smelling.



Later in the week, we find you laying around in the dining room, then in the guest bedroom, sadly neglected again. Or perhaps you're just too lazy to walk yourself back to the toy bin today?



What's this? Thor is actually playing with you in the bedroom? Is that comfortable, being held by your face?



Oh wait, now I see why you don't like the toy bin. There a giant snake trying to eat you! Oh no!



Then you disappear for another week. I begin to think that maybe the snake finished you off, but then where do we eventually find you? Outside again! Sunbathing after playing in the rain with the other stuffed toys.



So it's once more through the wash-and-dry cycle, then safely into the toy bin, to be abused enjoyed another day. There's no sign of that snake this time.

By the way, your eyeballs are looking kind of faded. Did you know that? At least you still have eyeballs. You should have seen what happened to the first Simba. It wasn't pretty. Go talk to Mousie, he'll give you an idea.

Note: I don't really have conversations with stuffed toys. Stalk them with my camera for a few weeks? Yes. But have a conversation?No. At least, they haven't started answering my questions yet. When they do, that's when you should start getting worried. :)

November rain

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It has not been the prettiest week weather-wise here in Chicago as we're transitioning into winter. I keep hearing that Guns N'Roses song November Rain going through my head.

So nevermind the darkness
we still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
even cold November rain

The skies were gloomy on Tuesday when I took my camera to a local park during my lunch break. There was a constant drizzle that sometimes turned into outright rain while I was there. I was probably quite the sight, balancing my umbrella while trying to take photos.

There's an airplane pictured low in the sky over the little boathouse roof. It kind of looks like it's sitting on the power lines. Yeah, the park is pretty close to O'Hare Airport. That seems to be a theme with me on Skywatch Fridays, doesn't it?

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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That licking sound

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When we were in Melbourne last year, we visited the Australian Centre for the Moving Image where a Pixar Exhibit was going on. I had my old point-and-shoot camera and wasn't attempting any fancy compositions on my images. However, when I posted some of my photos to Flickr, I discovered that when you have a subject as popular as Pixar and Toy Story, you automatically get a lot of views on the photo. Flickr says this is one of my Top 25 most interesting pics, with "interesting" being determined by some secret formula of theirs. It's an oversized panel from a storyboard that was hanging in the ACMI lobby.

I choose this photo today to represent "Sound", which is the theme of the Thursday Challenge this week. I think it's a visual representation of sound in the most primitave sense -- the sound is written down. You might argue that the "Lick Lick Lick" is an action, but I think it's a sound, too.

I'm participating in the Thursday Challenge today with the theme 

"SOUND (MP3 Players, Record Players, Speakers, CDs, Musical Instruments,
Wind Chimes, Singing, Loud Cars or Machines...)".
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Questionable Judgment

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Back in March I went with two of my girlfriends on a photo excursion. We went for a walk along the Naperville Riverwalk, watching birds play in the DuPage River. At one point we came across this group of kids climbing on the retaining wall. Certainly questionable judgment, especially considering how cold the water was. Can you see the ice along the edges? Fortunately, no one fell in while I was around.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter Q.
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Wordless Wednesday: Truth in Labeling

I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday today.
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Musings on a cold and drizzly Veterans Day

It being Veterans Day, and me not having taken any photos for a while, I decided to grab my camera as I was walking out the door this morning and see if I could get away at lunch and snap some photos. I did.

A nearby park has a Memorial Pavilion that I'd noticed during a work picnic several weeks ago. So, braving the cold weather and the drizzle, I headed over there. Unfortunately, I was having trouble getting inspired by anything inside the pavilion. No one had laid any wreaths or left any flowers. It had a drab, concrete, institutional feel about it, and I don't seem to be able to photograph drab, concrete and institutional very well. I'm working on it.



At the end of my visit, a carload of skateboarders arrived looking to use the shelter of the pavilion. They kept their distance from me and my camera, but I did get this photo. Perhaps, while they were keeping out of the rain, they looked around and thought about the Veterans who had sacrificed their lives. Perhaps. Especially because the pavilion has a plaque recognizing two residents of their own generation who lost their lives in the current wars -- both Iraq and Afghanistan.



I'm sure there must be some sort of Veterans Day observance happening in Des Plaines, where the pavilion is located, but I could find no sign of it at the memorial or by doing a quick Internet search. They had a service there last year. I know, because I could find a YouTube video.

I guess I'm a little bothered that there was nothing at the pavilion to draw attention to the day. On the VFW website, I saw a post lamenting that fewer and fewer people show up for official observances. That might be true, but you don't have to be part of an official ceremony to appreciate the sacrifice of veterans. Maybe if the pavilion had been decorated with a few wreaths or some bunting, then the random people passing through today and throughout the week might have stopped and taken notice.

Just thinking out loud here. That's what a blog is for, right? I suppose I should take my own words to heart, and next year try to remember to bring my own token of observance.

Or maybe it would have been more appropriate for me to be photographing the pavilion on Memorial Day. In the United States, Memorial Day at the end of May is the holiday intended to honor veterans who died in war or as a result of injuries sustained in war, while Veterans Day is intended to honor all veterans, especially those still living.

Any veterans out there reading this? You have my sincere appreciation.

Water on Fallen Leaf

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Is everyone tired of photos of autumn color yet? I hope not, especially because the season of snow photos is next, and that season will last much longer. Appreciate the reds, oranges and yellows while they last.

This photo is part of a series I took during a lunchtime excursion to a nearby forest preserve -- you may remember the photos of the dream catcher, and the airplane passing over some deer several posts ago. This photo has been begging for a little love from me since that day, and today I finally listened.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Seasonal Bounty

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Today's Manic Monday theme is Bounty. I went the direction of abundance in interpreting this theme. Here's a photo I took a few weeks ago while we were having a pumpkin carving party at the office. I thought the table full of pumpkins and candy was a good show of seasonal bounty.

By the way, are Affy Tapples just a Chicago brand of taffy apple, or do you get them in other places around the country or world? Does anyone else remember having Taffy Apple Day in school when your parents would order taffy apples for a fundraiser?

I'm participating in Manic Monday today with the theme of Bounty.
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Feeling adolescent

This photo was taken of me in March 1984, which was 24 years ago. I was a freshman in high school and all of 14 years old. I'd been named student of the month for achievement, and an 8-by-10 of this photo hung in the school hallway, where I passed it regularly for that month.

What struck me about that photo, and why it will always hold a special place in my heart, was the smile. You see, when they took this photo, I'd just had my braces removed. I'm not sure if it was hours or days prior, but it was certainly within the first week.

I'd worn braces for over three years and, trust me, it was a shock to see a photo of myself like this.

Here's a photo that had been taken just six months prior. See what a difference it is? (I'm on the left.)



Problem was, once my braces were off, I was done. I'd been visiting an orthodontist since first grade. I'd had baby teeth pulled, then more teeth pulled, then headgear, then braces. As my mother explained it to me, I had big teeth and a small jaw, so there just wasn't enough room.

Somewhere between 1984 and now, though, my teeth started to shift. (I wish I'd worn that retainer!) The shifting was mostly on the bottom, where you couldn't see it. Then, a few years ago, the bottom started to affect the top, and they started to shift. My teeth didn't look bad, but they bugged me. I missed the confidence that I used to have in my smile. And after all those years of visiting an orthodontist as a kid, shouldn't I have perfect teeth to show for it?

After a friend successfully completed straightening her teeth using Invisalign, which is an invisible retainer system, I decided to check it out. Turns out, my problems weren't just cosmetic. My bite on one side was off now too.

So I talked it over with my husband, and he told me that since I'd been talking about it for years and it was obviously so important to me, I should pursue it.

This morning I had my Invisalign system "installed". I don't think that's what they officially call it, but that's what it felt like to me.

And let me say that sitting in that chair, with the lip spreader torture device on while the technician attached little pieces of cement to my teeth, I experienced what I could only call deja vu. I was in junior high again. I was getting braces!

Albeit, fancy, hi-tech braces, but still braces.

The Invisalign system works by computer modeling where my teeth are now and where the orthodontist wants them to be when the treatment ends. A series of clear plastic retainers (trays) are made to move my teeth gradually. I'll wear each tray for a minimum of 22 hours a day for two weeks each. I have to take them out to eat and drink, but otherwise they stay in. My top teeth will be done after 20 trays, and my bottom teeth will be done after 29 trays. Not only will they straighten my teeth, but widen my arch, too.



Right now, I'm on day No. 1 and getting used to the trays. Everyone assures me that my lisp will go away in a few days, but right now, my "S"s aren't pretty.

My teeth are a little bit sore from the pressure the trays are putting on them, so every few hours I find myself popping the trays out for a little while. But once they're out, I can feel the dots of cement on my teeth, which are there to help anchor the trays. Right now the dots of cement are kind of sharp and feel weird, especially the four on the back of my front teeth that rub against my tongue, so I find myself wanting to put the trays back in. It's a brilliant system, actually, that must have been surreptitiously designed to make me want to keep the trays in.

If all goes well, on Dec. 4, 2009, I'll be popping in my last set of trays and getting ready to finish the whole teeth straightening process. And this time, I WILL wear my retainer.

Balloon watch

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At the joint birthday party for two of my nieces last weekend, the kids followed an annual tradition and released balloons into the sky. If you look closely, you can see three other balloons in the background (along with a few smudges on my polarizing filter. I think they're actually inclusions on the lens. I should invest in better filters.)

FYI, never release Mylar balloons. They can get tangled in power lines and cause problems because they're made of metal.

Does anyone else see a recognizable shape where the sun is breaking through the clouds? It kind of looks like a woman in a dress or an angel to me.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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Pondering in Pink

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My niece Kelly celebrated her fifth birthday over the weekend at a joint party with her little sister Kayla, who turned 1. It amuses me that when I see Kelly and both her sisters, they're always dressed in some shade of pink, and it's not their mother's doing. The girls just love pink. From what I hear, Kelly is now very picky about her clothes and insists on choosing them herself. The sweater she's wearing here, she picked out online.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter P.
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Wordless Wednesday: Opps!

Two of my nieces had a combined birthday party last weekend. Kelly celebrated her fifth birthday, while her little sister Kayla celebrated her first.

At right, Kayla manages to frost her footsies while posing for photos, and below, Kelly drops her piece of cake on the floor. Opps!

(And notice how I maintained journalistic integrity and didn't interfere in either situation? I just kept clicking. LOL)

Link love and blog stats galore

Hey, that's two posts in a row with the word "galore" in the title. I would rewrite this headline, but after compiling all the information for this post, I'm feeling kind of lazy. Plus, I like "galore". It's a good word.

It used to be around the 15th of the month that I'd pass out my link love, but the 15th came and went in October, and there was no love distributed. *hangs face in shame*

So now let's pretend it's the first of the month and say that I'm starting a new tradition.

So, without further ado, let me give a big thank you to my top EntreCard droppers for the past 31 days. You guys make blogging fun by dropping by on a regular basis.

The Junk Drawer
Where the Long Tail Ends
Cromely's World
I Do Things
fragileheart.com | journal
ThinRedLine
Sharp Words
Blogging MoRe
Communique by Ivanhoe
Moments Caught in Flight

And also a big thank you to my top commenters. You guys make blogging fun by keeping the conversation going. Let's see if I can do a better job at the same.

1. fragileheart (52)
2. Monique (32)
3. Claire (28)
4. The Hunter's Wife (20)
5. Laura (19)
6. Daisy (16)
7. Kelly (13)
8. Don M.F.H. (11)
9. Periapex (7)
10. starbursidereus (7)

Blog stuff in stats

Now, just because I found it interesting, I thought I'd throw some blog stats in this post, sort of to shapshot a moment in the life of this blog. Maybe I'll include this information on a quarterly basis.

Age of blog: 3 years and 3 months, approximately
Total posts: 552
Total unique visits (SiteMeter): 13,201
Total page views (SiteMeter): 17,840

Top keywords used to search for my blog, ordered by popularity (Google Analytics):
Haley Hughes
steamy romance novels
Hotaling's whiskey
steamy novels
erotic getaway
free cycler
free online steamy romance novels
something fun
twins in society
bernerfest
I think my romance writing and erotica writing are having an effect on my search stats. Don't you think? I'm pretty sure that people are disappointed when the follow the link to the steamy romance novel and find a World of Warcraft screen shot. And when they're looking for that erotic getaway, they just find a post about my friends and me plotting a novel.

Most viewed posts, ordered by popularity (Google Analytics):
A Steamy Romance Novel
Dear friend with whom I haven't spoken since 1993
Looking for hidden meanings
About me
Wordless Wednesday: San Francisco
Life: 8 Random Things About Me
Doodle Outer Space
Let's talk about Puerto Rican food
Life: I'm a card-carrying member...
Going for a blogging trifecta

Best posts, ordered by score (Postrank.com):
Wordless Wednesday: Trapped
Dear friend with whom I haven't spoken since 1993
Wordless Wednesday: Dancing in the Park
Wordless Wednesday: Father's Day 1980
Doodle Outer Space
Wordless Wednesday: Camera Shy
Sky Watch Friday: Turtle
World of "Wifecraft"

Awards
Two of my favorite bloggers were nice enough to give me awards since the last time I handed out link love.



This one came from Jody at The Hunter's Wife, a humorous blog about life with a spouse who has an obsessive hobby that sometimes results in her having to decorate with animal parts.*
(*The description is mine.)



And this one came from Reggy at fragileheart.com | journal, where Reggy fantasizes about HIM and other things Irish, educates us about why we want to touch our own breasts on a regular basis, and challenges us to guess what she's dressing as for Halloween.*
(*The description is mine too.)

Now comes the hard part -- tagging others. I think the most honest thing I can do is list the blogs that I currently read regularly through my feed reader. These are blogs that regularly appear in my "Show on Blog" widget in the right column.

A little piece of me
Aerten Art
Beeker's Words
Blogging Monique Renae
Cromely's World
Daisy the Curly Cat
Driving to Oahu
fragileheart.com | journal
Life's Context
Sharp Words
That Grrl
The Hunter's Wife
The Junk Drawer | Humor for the Masses
Waterstone Photo: the blog

As I look at this list, which is already too long, even though theoretically because I have two different awards so I get double the number of tags*, I realize that I'm missing some. Which just proves that I follow too many blogs, plus I need to update my RSS subscriptions to get some of the other blogs I love.

*Official guidelines say to pass on the award to seven other blogs.

Fiori di Como

To see this photo in a larger size, click here.

I feel like I'm cheating a bit by featuring this photo, since I've featured it on my other blog for another meme before. But, it's never been shown here before, so I'll get over that fleeting feeling and post it.

Today's Manic Monday theme is "Colorful". Three years ago we traveled with a group of friends to Las Vegas over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The ceiling of the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel features an art installation by Dale Chihuly, a famed artist who works in blown glass. The project is titled Fiori di Como. You can see more photos and read more about it here.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, be sure to pop into the Bellagio Hotel and look up when you're passing through the lobby. It's colorful, and gorgeous. And I can't believe it's been three years already since I took this photo.

I'm participating in Manic Monday today with the theme of Colorful.
Click here for more about Manic Monday and to view other participants.

A blog moment captured and some link love

To see this photo in a larger size, click here.

I'm taking a rare break from posting photos to write about this blog and to recognize those people who make blogging fun.

Since I started this blog on Sept. 16, I've posted 31 times.

I'm not the most aggressive blog marketer, but then again I'm not trying to monetize this blog. It's still very much a fun project for me -- a creative outlet where I can build online relationships.

In the seven weeks this blog has been up, according to SiteMeter I've totaled 1,382 unique visits and 1,846 page views. Google Analytics puts it at 1,559 visits and 2,262 page views. I'm not sure where the discrepancy comes in.

My 10 most popular posts so far are the following:

A clear day
Red-hot glare
King of Autumn
Lazy girl :)
Sky gazing
O is for.. bOkeh visiOns
In the makeup chair
You bore me with your camera
Bungee Jumping
Grape Vine in Autumn

I'm getting some direct traffic, but most of my traffic is still coming from EntreCard and the various memes I participate in. I am also slowly starting to get some search engine traffic, with the majority of those searches for the Lake Ellyn Boathouse.

I said earlier that I was here to build online relationships, so I wanted to take a little space and extend some link love to those people who make blogging fun by participating in my blog.

My top EntreCard droppers over the last 31 days are the following:

WindMill on the Hill
fragileheart.com | journal
Foodie, Travel and Shutter Bug
Isolated Existence
Windmill of my Mind
Photography by KML
Cromely's World
The Beacon
Communique by Ivanhoe
Montana Moods

Thank you to each and every one of you. (Yes, you'll notice that my other blog, The Beacon, made the list. I've been dropping on myself. *blush*)

My top commenters are the following:

1. fragileheart (11)
2. My Bug Life (10)
3. Shinade (6)
4. Daisy (5)
5. Digital Polaroids (4)
6. kml (4)
7. earthlingorgeous (3)
8. Lisa (3)
9. Bear Naked (3)
10. Jay (3)

Thank you for keeping the discussion going. I appreciate every word you leave for me.

And a special thank you to fragileheart, who nominated this blog for Best Photo Blog in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards.

That's it on the blogging business until next month, when I capture a different moment of this blog.