New Header!

I like to change things up here on my blog every so often. I used to change my whole blog layout once a month. I even kept a record of it HERE.

That habit, however, made my blog seem very disorganized and chaotic. So, I switched to my simple purple layout that I have now. I satisfy my creative urge for change by putting new photos in my headers.

2 days ago, I posted a photo of a book heart. I had another photo like it that I edited differently, and I really wanted to show it off. HENCE, I put it in my header.

So, if you are reading this in a reader, please click over and look at my pretty new header! Also, I added a graphic right underneath it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Texture Tuesday - Book Heart

For KK's Texture challenge today, we are supposed to use her Golden texture. Another gorgeous one. When I saw how light and airy this texture was, I knew I wanted a photo that was dark, maybe a bit underexposed. So I picked this photo of a book heart that I had taken a few months ago (back when these photos were grossly popular among photography bloggers).



Here are my layers:

I also added a slight Gaussian Blur to the multiply layer to soften it up.

Menu Plan Monday - 6.27.11

Here is this week's plan:

Monday - Cheesy Ravioli Casserole
Found this recipe in a crockpot cookbook my mom lent me. I am using our brand-new crockpot that my grandma bought us as a bridal shower present. I spent some time yesterday tenderly washing the pot and eagerly reading over the manual. And taking pictures. Seriously. It should NOT have excited me so much.



Tuesday - Sandwiches in the car
This is our 3rd and last time eating dinner in the car while driving an hour away to see the LOTR movies in theatres.

Wednesday - Chicken
Honey teriyaki sauce, and a veggie.

Thursday - Burgers, green, potato salad, pasta salad.
I need a break from corn on the cob. I got small containers of potato salad and pasta salad when I bought cold cuts at the deli. If I made either one from scratch, we'd be drowning in leftovers.

Friday - leftovers
As usual.




If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

I've been sitting here on the couch (with its pretty new slipcover, another gift from the bridal shower), listening to dance and trance music on pandora, taking advantage of my awesome Next buttons, reading blogs, looking at photos, and totally ignoring responsibilities, for a good 2 hours now. And while I could easily do this for several more hours, there are clothes to be folded and dinner to be made[nope, that's done!] and homework to be done for pre-cana (premarital counseling that is required by our church).

Not to mention wedding planning! While the invitations were mailed out 2 weeks ago, I still have to make several phone calls to confirm details. My mom and I went to pick up the favors today, and the placecard holders were already delivered. It's a lot of little things now, like printing actual placecards, designing the programs, scheduling dress fittings, etc. I can't believe it's less than 2 months away!!

Color Splash Sunday - Challenger Pride

<center><a href="http://purple-hippie.blogspot.com/p/color-splash-sunday.html"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/prin367cess/colorsplashsunday.jpg"></a></center>
Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

There will not be any top 3 favorite photos during the summer.

My photo for this week is one of Matt holding a car magnet. We all display our Challenger pride!



Your turn to link up!

Edit Me - 6.24.11

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.

SOOC:


Edited:



My steps:
-crop
-levels
-Nice & Easy action (from Ashley Sisk), tweaked
-added a square texture from Shadowhouse Creations, overlay @100%
-added Gaussian Blur, 1.5 pixels
-sharpen the thingie in the middle
-edge burn
-added artistic filter - paint daubs - and brushed off the middle a bit
-watermark

My little brother is turning 21 soon...

Turning 21, to most people, means they can legally drink, buy scratch-offs, and go gamble at a casino. However, to my family, it's completely different. The last and most precious child is turning 21 in just a few short weeks, and we've been preparing for it for several months now.

One of the steps my parents took is to enroll Matt in the Challenge Division. Since we enrolled him before his birthday and then filled out an age exception form, he can continue to participate for several more years.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Matt's first year on our town's Challenger league:



This has been such amazing opportunity for him. He has made new friends, learned new things, and gained so much independence. I am so glad that he was able to participate this year, and can now stay in the program for several more years, especially because he is aging out of his high school program and will not receive any more services in that aspect.

It's for me to accept that he will not be receiving any more academic support or services, or speech/OT/PT. I am worried that the little academic ability and muscular development he has gained over the past few years, will be lost in just a few short weeks without school to keep him active.

Luckily, my mom heard of a new program in our area that is for people with disabilities and provides services though Medicaid. The program that Matt will participate in is considered "supplemental day habilitation." They do academic workshops, develop their social skills, and also go on "field trips" to practice life skills and independence in society. They go to different malls, restaurants, and shops, the zoo and the aquarium, bowling, and for nature walks. Matt will be able to start over the summer as a transition from his high school program.

Health-wise, Matt is doing fine. Nothing alarming in any of his blood work. Besides this school transition, he is transitioning to a new nephrologist, since his kidney doctor right now is a pediatric nephrologist. (Side note - Blogger thinks nephrologist should be neurologist. I think they need to take an anatomy course.) We are not sure how this will work out in the long run, but we already a doctor lined up, one my mom knows personally. Otherwise, the rest of his doctors will continue to see him.

All of this aside, we continue to thank God each day that Matt is still with us. A 21st birthday is a reason to celebrate, for more than just alcohol or scratch-offs.

The reason is life.



Also... I love making collages using photoscape.

Texture Tuesday - Baseball

For Texture Tuesday this week, KK wants us to use one of her textures on a photo of a person. This is always tough for me. I don't like having textures on a person's face, so it really only works if the background is blurry and abstract.

For this photo of my little brother, I used the Break Free and Fly texture. I specifically left the imprint of SOAR on his leg because doing baseball this year has really helped him to spread his wings. He has made new friends, learned new things, and gained more independence.



Here are my layers:

MPM & i heart faces Challenge - Let's Hear it For the Boys!

This week's theme for the i heart faces challenge is Let's Hear for the Boys. The Shutter Love theme is Father's Day.

The main men in my life are my father, my 2 brothers, and my fiance. I chose a photo of my younger brother and my father because the other 2 don't like to pose for me.

Click on the button to see more entries!

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And now for Menu Planning Monday
on Tuesday.


Sunday - 3 cheese chicken and noodles
Jon and I had his parents over for dinner for Father's Day, so I made this meal in the crockpot. The recipe called for 6 to 10 hours on Low, which made me anxious. I planned for 7 hours, to be done at 5:30, but when I check it at 3:30, it was more than done. I made a note to do 4.5 hours on Low next time I make it.

Monday - Chicken quesadillas
My brother gave me this idea to use leftover grilled chicken and make quesadillas on the GF grill.

Tuesday - Sandwiches in the car

Wednesday - Sloppy joe's
Over rice, with a veggie.

Thursday - Pasta with vodka sauce
We had an off-week from our every other week grocery shopping routine, so I'm out of fresh ingredients.

Friday - leftovers
As usual.




If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

2 months!

2 months until Jonathan and I are married... Finally!

When I met Jon in high school, I never imagined that we would eventually be engaged. We were friends, and I liked him; I wanted to date him. I'm not a believer in "love at first sight," more like an instant connection. So, while marriage was not my ulterior motive when I first met him, I knew I saw him in my future.

I wasn't sure where he would exactly fit in my future because I didn't have a grand scheme. I figured I would go to college, and then get a job. The rest would fall into place.

Now that we are so close to becoming husband and wife, and that part of my future is becoming the present, it seems like everything has fallen into place. I've enjoyed the past few years of going with the flow and taking life one day at a time. I'm ready for the next stage of life; I'm ready to make some tentative plans for the rest of my future.

Color Splash Sunday - Bridal Shower Balloon

<center><a href="http://purple-hippie.blogspot.com/p/color-splash-sunday.html"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/prin367cess/colorsplashsunday.jpg"></a></center>
Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

The number of participants dropped more than half last week! I'm wondering... Was it because I was so late in getting my post up? Or was it because I decided to stop posting a top 3 for a few weeks? I'm hoping it was because I was late.

Hence, I made sure to get today's post ready very early!

My photo for today is another shot of the balloons from my bridal shower.



You can just see the top of my wishing well under the balloon. The roof is detachable, and the whole things comes apart so we can reuse it for my friends' showers in the future.

Your turn to link up!

Edit Me - 6.17.11

Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.

SOOC:


Edited:


My steps:
-straighten
-crop
-clone sky and sand to fill in empty corners
-levels
-blue sky
-PW Boost, tweaked
-Palm Beach
-Orange Julius, tweaked (from my4hens, but not available anymore)
-overlay from Shadowhouse Creations

Texture Tuesday - Rusty Spokes

For this week's Texture Tuesday challenge, Kim Klassen said we could choose any photo, no theme, as long as it has been processed with one of her textures.


So, here is my edited photo:



And my layers:



I have 3 textures from KK - February magic, warm sun, and February magic edges. The Hue/Saturation layer is just a slight desaturation, painted softly off the focal spoke. The quick edge burn layer is an action from Pioneer Woman that has been converted to pse compatibility by Rita from CoffeeShop. I use it constantly. I know how to make my own vignette, but this is just so quick and easy.

Shutter Love - Wind .... And the Flip Flop Swap!

Check out this week's Color Splash Sunday HERE.

Also, my Texture Tuesday post has been moved to tomorrow.
________________________________




_____________________________________


So, do you remember that I mentioned the Flip Flop Swap last month?



My partner was Tiffany over at Starting Over.
She sent me these sweet flip flops:


I love the brass-y feel, and the versatility. I can wear these with jeans or with a nice skirt for work. And they are much more comfortable than you'd think. The soles are cushioned and even have an arch pad. I love my new flip flops! Thank you so much, Tiffany!

MPM & i heart faces Challenge - Bright and Vivid

I'll start with the i heart faces challenge. Here's how they explain this theme:

This could be through the colors that are in your photo, the personality that is shining through or any other way you choose to show off the theme.

No one has a brighter personality than my little brother, Matty. He is always cheerful, and he doesn't like to see anyone upset, so he does whatever he can to make people happy.



I hope this works, even though his face is turned to the side. I just love the big smile!

Click on the button to see more entries!

____________________________________________

And now for Menu Planning Monday.


Today - 7 layer salad
This is already prepared and in the fridge so the dressing can set. My eyes are still twitching from cutting up the green onions.

Tuesday - On the go
Jon and I have plans for the next 3 Tuesdays; the LOTR movies are being shown in theatres again, and we are going to an IMAX theatre an hour away. Thus, dinner for the next 3 Tuesdays will either be sandwiches or fast food (yuck) so we can eat in the car.

Wednesday - Grilled chicken and a veggie
One of my bridal shower presents from last weekend was a new George Foreman grill, with removable plates! The one we have now doesn't have this feature, so cleaning it is a task that we seriously fight over. Now, we can just pop the plates off and clean them in the sink! I'm uber-excited about this. Way more excited than I expected.

Thursday - Burgers and corn on the cob
As I said last week, this is a summer thing. Even though we can't grill outside, just the meal itself screams summer to me.

Friday - leftovers




If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

Color Splash Sunday - Pink Balloons

<center><a href="http://purple-hippie.blogspot.com/p/color-splash-sunday.html"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/prin367cess/colorsplashsunday.jpg"></a></center>
Welcome to Color Splash Sunday!

Color splash photos are those that have been converted to black and white, but one object has been left colored. Sometimes, it's easy to just isolate your colored object and you're done. Other times, more editing is required, such as adjusting color levels/light/shadow/etc.

This is an open themed link-up, so there won't be any specific themes for your photos. Any photo is fine, as long it was taken or setup by you, has selective color, and you haven't posted it before. You can read more about CSS guidelines by clicking here.

First off, I have to apologize for getting this up so late. I usually schedule my CSS posts ahead of time, on either Friday or Saturday. However, with wedding planning and my usual duties around the condo (cooking and cleaning), time got away from me. Again, I was unable to get around to visiting everyone who linked up last week.

Saturday was a very exciting, busy day for me. My maid of honor, bridesmaids, mother, and FMIL all threw me a surprise bridal shower! It was an awesome experience, and I still cannot get over how amazing it was. I hope to post some photos at some point in the future.

Second, I have decided to temporarily abandon listing my top 3 favorite photos. This summer looks to be incredibly busy in all aspects of my life. I'm sure none of you will be devastated, right?!

And my photo for this week:



Some of the balloons from my shower. This photo was taken earlier this morning, after they had lost their buoyancy. You can see some of my presents piled up behind the balloons. We still don't have a dining room table, so we have a big empty space... I mean, we USED to have an empty space. Now it's filled with boxes and presents and pretty bags. And my wishing well, which is just adorable. I promise to post a photo of that, at least!

Okay, your turn to link up!





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