RAW - Windows

The theme for RAW this week is windows. I had that theme in mind when I went to NYC last weekend, and took this photo. No editing here; all I did was rotate, resize, watermark, and save for web.


*I had to add in here that this is NOT my window (although I wish it was!). Jon and I went to the American Museum of Natural History last weekend. They have gorgeous views of the city skyline over Central Park.



RAW is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

RAW is back!

Do you remember... ages and ages ago... I used to post SOOC photos for a challenge called RAW(e)? It had been run by Sami over at Sailor and Company, but then she had to take a break from blogging (and from RAW).

Well, she is back, and so is RAW! (There is no e in the title anymore.)

The theme this week is AMERICA. I don't have any shots from July 4th fireworks or parades, but I went to a baseball game with my dad and my little brother last Friday. I took photos of the team when the national anthem was being sung. This makes me think of America, seeing all of these people (both the athletes and the spectators) taking their hats off to face the flag, put their hands over their hearts, and sing along.



No editing here; all I did was resize, watermark, and save for web.


RAW is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

RAW(e) - one(5)

Don't fall off your chair now, but here is an entry for Sami's challenge, RAW(e). She took a few weeks off (she had a baby, totally acceptable), and then I took a few weeks off (laziness is not acceptable). But we are both back and ready for some RAW(e) photos! (And yea, she's been back doing this challenge for longer than I have... I just finally started linking up again.)

So, this week's theme is one(5). First folder, 5th photo. This photo is from my first November folder in my 2010 folder. All I did was watermark and resize for web.





RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

RAW(e) - Vintage

This is a vintage music globe that my mom saved from... someone.... An aunt, I think.



RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.
_________________________________



I feel like I am always a day late with this! I love answering the questions, but I can never remember to grab the questions during my Sunday post.

1. Do you think mustaches are sexy? Only on Billy Burke.



2. What's the last concert you've been to? Hanson @ Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. I've been to 5 of their concerts, and every single one was a rockin' good time.



3 What was your favorite 80's sitcom? Full House. You got it, dude!



4. Were you named after anyone? My middle name is from my mom's aunt, but my first name is just me.

5. When you buy new clothes, do you wash before wearing? Underwear and bathing suits. But shirts and pants are fine, IMO.

6. If you didn't blog, what would you do with your spare time? Photo editing and dolling. Like I did before I started blogging.

7. What is your favorite department store? Kohl's! Their clearance racks are gold mines.

8. If you were to get Laser Hair Removal..where would you get it? Everywhere! I get bad razor burn (due to eczema), so not shaving would be nice.

RAW(e) - 2(6)

I think Sami likes ((parentheses)).


This week's theme is 2(6), meaning the 6th photo in the 2nd folder. Get it?
2nd folder (6)th photo.

Because I love my archived photos, and because Sami didn't give TOO specific directions on where to find this "2nd folder," I went back to my 2009 folder. The 2nd folder in there is from a trip to NYC in January. I went with Jon to see the play The Little Mermaid, which was AWESOME, btw.



The little rocker kid with the hood and the leather jacket played Flounder. He was so generous with signing autographs and letting people take photos. The little girl was ogling over him, and I kinda think her mom was, too.

The memories from that night -the music, the atmosphere, the gorgeous hotel- make me pretty darn happy. Happy that I can easily embrace my inner child at a Disney play.





RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

RAW(e) - Mirrors

The theme this week for RAW(e) is mirrors. This theme is perfect because I can pair it with Beep Beep Click, the self-portrait meme run by Flat Yeast Bread.






RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.
_______________________________________
Simplicity Photography Blog Hop

White

RAW(e) - Flowers

RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.



What makes me happy?

Seeing these pretty purple flowers peeking through the posts on the deck to say hello to me.



Quick writing and BuNoWriMo update: Epic fail.

I wrote virtually nothing.

Getting engaged is really distracting.

RAW(e) - Summertime

RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.


Shutter Love - Summer Fun


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Simplicity Blog Hop - Corners of My Home



I don't have my own home yet; I am still living at my parents' house.
Tucked away, in a corner of the guest room, is this washbowl that used to be my great-grandma's.




PS - I am guest blogging over at The iheart blog today while Bec is on vacation! Head on over there and check it out.

Award Appreciation

I don't have hundreds of followers or thousands of hits. I have something better. I have a small group of faithful followers who comment regularly and extend their friendship from all over the world. I very much prefer this small group of friends over anything else.

Another nice thing about my group of blogger friends: They are very generous with sharing awards!

Mama Hen over at Mama's Little Chick gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award. This is the 2nd time I've received this award, but it's just as special. I'm passing this on to B* (Beka) over at Confessions of a New Mom.




Neel over at Being Zara & Zidan gave me the Sunshine Award. Again, my 2nd time receiving this particular one, but I am still so grateful. (Especially because it looks different than the one I already have!) I am passing this award on to Christina over at Pooh's Corner.



I was so thoughtfully given the Outstanding Blogger award by 2 bloggers! Marlis over at Mars Pics and Sam over at Raising Rida. I am going to pass this one over to Melissa over at The Zookeeper's Diary and Keely at MannLand5.
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RAW(e) is starting up again! Sami has been too busy to run challenges, what with a baby in her belly, 5 kids to take care of, and family issues. But she finally gave us a new theme! It's animals. I took this picture of a friend's dog a few weeks ago. He has such beautiful brown eyes.




RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED. ___________________________________________________
The Movie Dirty Dozen Blogfest

My first blogfest! It's run by Alex J. Cavanaugh and I am supposed to make up a list of my 12 favorite movies. This could be either really hard, or really easy.

Here they are, in no particular order:

-The Little Mermaid - Yes, the Disney version. It was, and always will be, my favorite princess movie. I understand all the things WRONG with the movie, since I wrote a paper about it for my Fairy Tales course in junior year of college. But I just don't care.

-The Princess Bride - I had a delayed love for this movie. All my friends knew about it and liked it, but I didn't see it until later in my life (teen years). It's such a great story! INCONCEIVABLE.

-Memoirs of a Geisha - The makeup and the costumes are just gorgeous. It's actually a twisted love story, if you've read the book, but I like the way they turned it into a movie.

-Dirty Dancing - I danced for 16 years, so I have a special place in my heart for all dancing movies, regardless of how cheesy or girly they are. This one is the best, by and far; I also love Step Up and Center Stage.

-The Terminal - I love Tom Hanks. More than anyone. I would leave Jon if Tom Hanks came up to me and said he wanted to marry me. This movie is my favorite out of all of his movies because it makes me cry, laugh, and cheer.

-Happy Feet - The cutest little love story I have ever seen. With an important global conservation message thrown in.

-Wall-E - Ditto above. And yes, I love children's movies.

-Harry Potter - All 6 movies so far. Despite the gross inaccuracies, seeing the magic and the friendship really brings the books to life.

-It's A Wonderful Life - My dad raised me to watch this movie at every Christmas. I know all the lines and I anxiously await that moment when I finally get to watch it again. We always watch it while we put the tree up on the day after Thanksgiving. It's a tradition.

-Avatar - This movie has stunning special effects and computer animation. It's just an amazing movie. A love story that isn't too icky sweet, action and fighting without being too bloody or disorienting, and a beautiful setting.

-Karate Kid - I saw the remake with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and WOW! I loved it! I knew Jaden had talent when I saw Pursuit of Happyness, but this really blew me away.

-The 40 Year Old Virgin - I know this movie is ripe with crude language and innuendos, but it's hilarious. It really is. And I love Steve Carell. Ever since Bruce Almighty, I've thought Steve Carell is one of the funniest men alive. (Jim Carrey is THE funniest man alive, IMO.)

RAW(e) - Tattoos

I don't have any. Most of my friends don't have any. I guess we're all just too cheap to pay someone to draw on us.

But my older brother has 2 - his name across his back, and this blue thingie on his right shoulder. I keep telling him he needs to get the mirror image on his left shoulder because he's off balance, but he just hasn't gotten around to it.





RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.

RAW(e) - This Week...

Last week, I graduated.

This week, I proudly carried my tassel everywhere.




RAW(e) is run by Sami.
The only photos allowed are those that are
COMPLETELY UNEDITED.


If you're wondering,
I earned my Master's degree in Education.

RAW(e) - Automotive

RAW(e) is run by Sami. The challenge for this meme is to find/take photos that fit the theme, and DON'T EDIT THEM! The trick is to find something creative or unique, something that will stand out from the crowd.

This week's theme is automotive.

My younger brother has always had an obsession with cars; 'car' was his first word. He is a genius with cars; show him a picture of any car and he can name it - make and model. He's utterly fascinated by cars. So there has always been an abundance of toy cars scattered around our house.



Cute, eh?!

RAW(e) - Running

Sami chose RUNNING as this week's theme. As has already happened several times since I started this blog, I groaned and complained and whined about wanting my old pictures from college and my nanny days.

Well, I finally took a couple hours the other night to search through files and folders and USB keys. And I found them! 3 years full of memories that made me laugh, cry, and smile, all at the same time.

So, for running, I chose this photo of a boy I used to babysit, L. He is the oldest of 4 boys, and currently is about 10 years old, although he was 5 at the time. The photo is completely unedited, and it is NOT good quality, but I captured L having a great time. The memories of these boys, to me, is far more important than whether or not I had the right setting on my camera.



Completely changing the subject now.

My younger brother has an appointment with his neurologist tomorrow afternoon. I can't go. (It's my last day of class.) I feel like I really need to be there, but I don't want my parents to switch the appointment. I want the neurologist to see him as soon as possible. I'm so incredibly nervous about it, but I know I need to trust and believe that he is in good hands, both human and divine.

RAW(e) - Red

This week's theme for RAW(e), run by Sami, is red. I had fun with this one! I gathered all of the red items in my dorm room (I have 15 red items, not including the fire alarm on the wall) and spread them out on the floor for a photoshoot. Oh MAN, was it fun!! I arranged them and rearranged them, changed the lighting, changed it again, took some horrible pictures, and took some great pictures. I even had a stack of books for a play on words (red books that I have read... red, read.... get it?).

The photo below, which is completely unedited, is my favorite from my mini-session, and one of the best.

RAW(e) - Water

This week's theme for RAW(e) is water... Well, it was WAS puddles, so I went outside in the cold to take pictures of puddles. I didn't like any of them, so I made puddles in the sink. It was fun. I also took some water drop photos, which turned out much cooler than I expected.

Then, Sami changed the theme. Water. That creates more photo ops. So I went back outside and took a closer look at the little things with my dad's macro lens.

Funny how water just clings to flower petals.



I really REALLY wish I could crop this photo, but then it wouldn't be fit for a RAW(e) challenge. So it's completely unedited.

RAW(e) - Shoes

Ohmigosh, shoes!

Most women have a shoe fetish... For me, it's sneakers. I own SO MANY pairs of sneakers. Way more than is necessary for a girl who spends 6 out of 7 days a week wearing business casual. FYI, sneakers are NOT included in business casual.

But I just can't resist them.

So, when Sami over at Sailor & Company announced that this week's theme for RAW(e) is SHOES, I got excited. Because sneakers TOTALLY count as shoes.

That's the top pair of a STACK of sneakers in my closet.

This photo is completely unedited and untouched. It hasn't even been cropped. It's SO hard not to open up in pse and play with colors/textures, but that's why it's called a "challenge."

RAW(e) - Around the House... Er, Dorm.

Yes, I live in a dorm. A twenty-something grad student that dislikes partying or loud music, and I live in a college dorm. We've covered this already.

Anyway, this week's theme for RAW(e) is Around the House... So, Around the Dorm, in my case. (And actually, another entry this week is ALSO Around the Dorm. Go check out Sailor & Company if you don't believe me.)



I'm not a mom yet, but I certainly have plenty of kids' books around my dorm room. That's what I spend most of my money on when I go to B&N. I love getting new kids' books, seeing the bright pictures, smelling the fresh paper. I use the books for tutoring and for lesson plans, but there's still something cool about seeing kids' books filling up my book shelves and scattered across my bed. Because I totally don't mind - I love it! It makes me think, oh yea, I'm ready.

RAW(e) - Beauty

I'm no good with numbers. I like math, to an extent... But I never know which equation to use. a-squared + b-squared.... the square root of pi over the diameter?! HUH?!

Verbal equations, on the other hand, now I have those down pat. For example, me + blog + photo editing = distractions galore, as was proven last week.

Also, for the commuters among us,city highways + roadwork + potholes - drivers with common sense = a 2-hour drive doubled in length.

On a more positive note, it's time for a weekly RAW(e) entry.

Snow + sparkle lens + flashlight - editing = beauty.


Join in with Sami over at Sailor & Co.

RAW(e) - Distractions

I'm sitting here, being distracted by several things, while I am looking at my distraction photos. I am currently being distracted by little things like steam rising out of my hotpot, the smell of chocolate powder, and the brand new hairbrush I just bought that I am excited to try out.

My usual distractions range from concrete activities like watching movies, blogging, and listening to music, to severely abstract activities like daydreaming, planning, and hoping. They distract me from school, from work, from Jon, and from myself (even though I like to pretend that they don't).

Yet, at the same time, the things that I am distracted from can BE distractions. School can distract me from work, and vice versa. And Jon, well, he can distract me from breathing.

I just got distracted in the middle of writing this blog to make my hot chocolate. And eat some whipped cream out of the can. And drink half of my hot chocolate.



I chose this photo of the book I am currently reading as my RAW(e) photo of distractions for a few reasons. First, I like how it is focused on the words, "I am grateful." Second, I love to read. Third, books (in the concrete form) are a major distraction for me. Fourth, reading (in the abstract form) is another major distraction for me. It leads to daydreaming and hoping and imagining.

Link to your RAW(e) photo over at Sailor and Co. Just remember, don't edit it AT ALL!