Hope For The Lonely..."Shot" Down

As I was walking out of the Randalls last week my eye cought this sign and for a split second I thought it said, Singles Shots Available Here. And for that split second my world turned sunny with the prospect of being vacinated against eternal (ok, lifelong but it feels like eternity) singleness! If only it were that easy!! HA!

A Little Leisurely Learning

I consider myself a fairly ok amateur photographer.  Nothing spectacular, but I love landscape photography and occasionally I produce something that’s pretty good.  I’m a firm believer in taking loads of pictures in order to get at least one good shot!

Anyway, for years I’ve wanted to be better; I’ve wanted to know what all those buttons and settings mean and how they would help me to take better pictures.  Today I took that step and went out on the internet to see if HCC had any classes and found this company, Leisure Learning Unlimited, Inc.  I’ve never heard of them, but the price seemed pretty reasonable so I decided to give them a try and signed up.  I’m pretty excited!!

I’ve always loved film photography, but for many years I’ve just done the point and shoot digital thing because of the ease of it.  Two years ago I bought a Canon EOS ELAN 7 with a standard 28-90mm lens and a 75-300mm telephoto lens from a co-worker and since then have used it a little with pretty good results, but it has so many different settings I was pretty much lost if I wasn’t outside with good lighting.

Anyway, beginning Jan 18 I’ll be on my way to mastering my camera and taking gorgeous landscape photography!!  And yes, I’ve already checked and they do have a Landscape Photography class.  :)

I’m wondering if I should also bring my Canon S5 IS with me to the class.  That’s the current digital camera I use.

Mini Vacation in L.A.

This past Wednesday Wendell took Brandon out to CalTech in Pasadena, CA to get settled in to his dorm.  I flew out that evening and Wendell and I went sight seeing Thursday and Friday while Brandon attended his orientation classes.

 

Griffith Observatory – you have to go here if you’re ever in the Hollywood/L.A. area.

 

Wendell sitting next to Einstein at the observatory.

Cool display of the planets at the observatory.

Random 50’s cafe off of Santa Monica Blvd where Wendell and I ate one night.

 

Los Angeles Temple.  Wendell and I did a session there on Thursday.

 

Afterwards we drove to Santa Monica and up the Pacific Coast Highway.  We got there just as the sun set.

Cool bridge off of Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, CA.

Stupid traffic in L.A.  This was taken as we were trying desperately to get to the airport Saturday.  Took us two hours to get from Pasadena to LAX (approx 20 miles).  Thankfully we had allowed ourselves a lot of time to get there or we would have been in trouble.  Our flight was at 4:45, so we had reserved the car until 2pm so we could be at the airport the requisite 2 hours early.  We left around 12:45 to give ourselves what we thought was plenty of time.   When Wendell picked me up from the airport Wednesday night it only took 35 minutes and that was with what I would consider normal rush hour traffic in Houston (except that it was 9pm!!).  Anyway, we got there about an hour before the flight.  Just enough time to sit down, de-stress and then board the plane.  The flight wasn’t full so we got the row to ourselves!

Labor Day Weekend – a little late

My dad called me the week before Labor Day and invited me to come down to Galveston.  My Aunt Sharlet, who I haven’t seen since I was 6, was in town and had rented a beach house on Jamaica Beach and wanted to see me.  So, Wendell and I packed a few things and headed out after church.

We had a good time.  I wasn’t sure what to expect since it had been 30 years since I saw her and my dad and I don’t  really talk on a regular basis, but it all turned out well.

 

My Aunt Sharlet and her husband Wesley.

 

Random pictures taken from the beach house deck.  The one on the right is of a little sand crab.  You can’t see him here since he’s so well camouflaged, but if you click on the pic you’ll see him just below and a little to the left of his hole.  The pic on the left is the sunrise Monday morning.

Sunday night after the beach cleared out myself, Wendell and my dad went down to the beach to go swimming.  Dad and I were talking about our time in the Navy and found out both of us, when out to sea, had seen waves that glowed.  We were trying to explain it to Wendell when all of a sudden he was like, “hey, what is that!  I see something glowing in the water.”  I thought for sure he was just seeing things, but after a few seconds you could see it everywhere when you moved your hands through the water.  It was pretty cool that one moment we’re talking about it and the next we’re surrounded by it!  Sorry, no picture.  I tried to find one in Google images, but no luck.  I imagine it would take a special camera and a lot of luck to get a pic of it.

Side Effects

I got hives a few weeks ago and the doctor prescribed a steroid (prednisone) to get rid of it. If I never take another dose of that stuff again, it will be too soon. The list below may not sound like much, but have them ALL at the same time and you too will live the nightmare!!

Difficulty Sleeping - check
Feeling of Whirling Motion - check
Increased Appetite - check
Increased Sweating - check
Indigestion - check
Mood Changes - CHECK
Nervousness - check
Elevated Blood Pressure - check
Muscle Soreness - check
Body Shakes - check
Racing/Confused Thoughts - check

Good news though, my hives are gone!! Bad news is that the battery of allergy testing they did on 4 viles of my blood came up with absolutely nothing that I'm allergic to. Go figure! Doc says it was probably just something transient I came in contact with. How do my boobs and stomach transiently come into contact with something??? :D

No new cloths/garments
No new laundry detergent
No new fabric softener
No new foods
No new medications

For My Friend Shelly

She believes I've been on hiatus long enough and should at least leave a line or two about how I am. So, here goes.

Life is wonderful.

Wendell and I are still dating.

Things are progressing.

Well, there you go! Until next month! :)

Why I Haven’t Been Blogging

I’m turning into the person I told myself I’d never become!  I probably know more of these people than most of you by virtue of the fact that I’ve been single for so long.  I’ve become the person that ignores her friends because she’s dating (and or is getting married).  I always swore that when I dated and got married I wouldn’t throw over my friends for a guy no matter how much I liked him.  Yeah, well, I’ve changed my mind, but just to be clear, I’m not throwing you over forever; I’ll be back.  It may be months down the road, but I will be back.  Please be patient and know that I still love you!!

As a side note: My reference to and use of the word “marriage” was not meant to imply an impending engagement.  Rest assured, most of you will get a phone call letting you know when that happens before you read it here! :)

As a side side note: Please do not be offended if you do read it here before getting a phone call.  I’m older now and the brain ain’t what it used to be!