3 posts tagged “18-135mm”
The news talks about the jobless rates in my state, the highest it has been in a very long time. It makes me think of all the people I know out of a job. How many jobs are laying across corporate chopping blocks. It frightens me. They say this is only the beginning. I wonder how far it will go, will I have to find work again? Would I even be able to find a job?
When I went to the local food bank they were so delighted I wanted to volunteer. Each day there are a few more families filling out the paperwork to be accepted into the food program. The demand is higher than it has been in a long time. That is what Lois told me when showing me where I would work. Two days a month, and on call because I live so close. The vast majority of the employees, volunteers, are retired folks. I will be considered young blood. That is always nice to feel when you are 35 almost 36. I also gave a check, not much because we are worried about Mr. L losing his job and have been squirreling away a few dollars here and there trying to build a savings account we have never had before. They say you should have three months salary in savings, at the rate I am at now, that will be accomplished in a year and a half. I just heard that food banks in my area are suffering. Two had to close down in Tacoma last week. Others have bare shelves and empty crates in giant freezers where turkeys are usually overflowing for Thanksgiving dinners. It makes me so sad. We are all tightening our belts.
I am already started in my daily chores, my dishes are running, and I have a load of clothes that need to get thrown in the dryer. I need to get started in the soap making process. I am running very close to deadline. It takes three weeks to cure. I need to start today to give myself a little time in the end to wrap and plan. I am also planning on giving boxes of home made cookies to each of my family members along with a bundle of soap. I like a homemade Christmas. Plus, all these gifts should make my home smell SO yummy. ;-) I am probably going to wrap some bars of soap in saran wrap and place them in the big box of free soap at the food bank. Everyone deserves some indulgence sometimes, and a thick rich homemade bar of soap may be a mood lifter for a stranger, my soap is really that good.
I am off to conquer more chores and make soap after lunch today.
Find your local food bank.
Keep a jar for donations in the office at work.
Buy a couple extra boxes of cereal when they are on sale,
find coupons for baby formula and animal food
Collect spare change from everyone you know
even the most humble of donations helps.
Most of all, be truly grateful for what you have.
So Vox won't let me delete a couple of accidental downloads here. There are more photos here than I wanted, sorry.
daily compliment:
Lavender, you have a big heart
Thanks me.
Some more of the lovely couple, there was a false labor yesterday, we thought Lily was going to be here today. She still one more week and a day or two. So funny, I was looking through the photos and two shots of the same angle of the belly look very different, I think Lily was working her angles from the inside! Ha!
So I had lofty ideas about laundry day yesterday. I did no laundry. not one towel, not one load, not one hanged item. so maybe today will be different. I hope so, I need to find some motivation, like an actor "what is my motivation?" I look around for some director to say what needs to be done and only finds sleeping kittens and myself. I must find a way to motivate myself. When I was a kid, I remember my mom telling me to clean my room. I would go in and get on the floor to take all the stuff out from under my bed, lay my head on the pale pink carpet and go to sleep. I would be so overwhelmed I would just put myself to sleep. I do the same now. I create lists of step by step plans, set timers for 15 minutes, and nothing gets done. I don't know why I feel this brick wall between me and a clean house. A wall between me and an exercise routine.
sigh... I whine about this too much.
Here are 13 things that will stand between me and laundry:
1. nap
2. sudoku
3. watching re-runs on TV
4. vox
5. editing photos
6. getting dressed
7. writing a list of things I need to do
8. grocery list and menu created
9. making a cup of hot cocoa and sipping it slowly
10. flickr
11. making feathers on a stick move for Luna
12. kitchen cleaning
13. pay bills
daily compliment:
Lavender, you have a big heart
Thanks me.
Some more of the lovely couple, there was a false labor yesterday, we thought Lily was going to be here today. She still one more week and a day or two. So funny, I was looking through the photos and two shots of the same angle of the belly look very different, I think Lily was working her angles from the inside! Ha!
So I had lofty ideas about laundry day yesterday. I did no laundry. not one towel, not one load, not one hanged item. so maybe today will be different. I hope so, I need to find some motivation, like an actor "what is my motivation?" I look around for some director to say what needs to be done and only finds sleeping kittens and myself. I must find a way to motivate myself. When I was a kid, I remember my mom telling me to clean my room. I would go in and get on the floor to take all the stuff out from under my bed, lay my head on the pale pink carpet and go to sleep. I would be so overwhelmed I would just put myself to sleep. I do the same now. I create lists of step by step plans, set timers for 15 minutes, and nothing gets done. I don't know why I feel this brick wall between me and a clean house. A wall between me and an exercise routine.
sigh... I whine about this too much.
Here are 13 things that will stand between me and laundry:
6. getting dressed
8. grocery list and menu created
9. making a cup of hot cocoa and sipping it slowly
12. kitchen cleaning
Yes, I accidentally went to the fair again yesterday. These are not photos from yesterday though, these are from Friday after the cattle drive. I walked around the fairgrounds with Ruby, seeing the crowded fairgrounds with a different eye. I was looking for photos, I was looking for things I could frame in my viewfinder. Since the group of people who went into the fair with me at 10am was a mostly elderly and child heavy crowd, I went to the "big kid" area. I knew it would be a ghost town, and it was. I took pictures of the carnival games, of empty rides, and took my time just looking at things instead of rushing through people to get somewhere.
Yesterday was a different ballgame. I was originally going to meet Heartshapedsky and her adorable family for lunch and see them off to the fair while I stopped by the yoga studio to sign up Mr. Lavender and I up for the intro series. Then I said, drive me to my Dad's lot and we will see about getting you some free parking. I thought I would chat with my Dad and Sister a while then go on a photo walk with yoga agenda. Dad pulled out a free ticket and I went to the fair again. I looked, well, not very cute as I was cleaning my house earlier and had not even brushed my hair, just smooshed the mop under a bandana and went to lunch. Since Heartshapedsky's camera is on the fritz I became the family photographer for the day. It was fun, seeing Heart's son ride on the same rides we did when we were his age. I snapped several hundred photos that I still need to download off my camera. I had a great time with them. Such an adorable family they are! (thanks Guys!) I came home with a Caramel Apple for Mr. Lavender, and a couple scones, sunburned face and arms, tired legs.
Here are my loves and loathes for this tuesdays things.
Loathes-
* the farmer tan I have going on, seriously, defined line mid arm where my t-shirt sleeves stop.
* my abs still hurt so bad from yoga last Saturday! I still have a hard time pulling myself off the couch, bed, or chair.
* stupid hip pain, I need to seek medical attention for that. I thought it was going away, but it tricked me.
* Mr. L and I were awoke last night to our bedroom flashing lights and sirens from emergancy response vehicles. 2:30am. they were parked all across our street, blocking the road, using police tape, and carting someone away in the ambulance. One of my neighbors, I could not tell who. We watched and listened from our dining room window, but got no info. I just hope they are okay, there are a lot of children who live along this street, eeek.
Loves-
* children laughing
* Heart's son finding the buzzer button on the rides and being utterly delighted by the hideous noise.
* Sunny weather! Yay! It had been SO nice! I guess I complained to the right people because we are having a little belated summer weather. I was going to get a little bitter.
* fair scones, they are so dang good
*so many plans with so many people, Lucy tomorrow, Homebody next week (yes, to the fair)
* yoga studio less than a mile away from my home
* coffee, which I am most likely going to have to make more of to keep me going today
* the smell of cotton candy
* the sound of the roller coaster floating in my bedroom window at night
* My Daddy, he is so sweet!
* going to a wedding where they will be playing the song from Juno after they are anounced husband and wife, it is going to be an incredible wedding. One with fine music, My dad borrowed some of my CD's for this event! (Dad is a DJ if I have not mentioned this before)
* Mr. Lavender being touched that I thought of him and brought him home a caramel apple (I always think of him) he then ate the apple and got caramel on his shirt which is now soaking in some Shout to be washed.
* new sandals I got at Ross for $20 (top dollar I will pay for shoes) they are teva sandals and they are SO comfy!!!! I wore them for the first time yesterday and I walked all over hot pavement from about 1pm-6pm. My feet barely hurt! Best $20 spent ever!!!! in fact the whole outfit cost me $27, jeans on clearance at Gap for $7 and a free Vox shirt from Mr. Heartshapedsky!
Yesterday was a different ballgame. I was originally going to meet Heartshapedsky and her adorable family for lunch and see them off to the fair while I stopped by the yoga studio to sign up Mr. Lavender and I up for the intro series. Then I said, drive me to my Dad's lot and we will see about getting you some free parking. I thought I would chat with my Dad and Sister a while then go on a photo walk with yoga agenda. Dad pulled out a free ticket and I went to the fair again. I looked, well, not very cute as I was cleaning my house earlier and had not even brushed my hair, just smooshed the mop under a bandana and went to lunch. Since Heartshapedsky's camera is on the fritz I became the family photographer for the day. It was fun, seeing Heart's son ride on the same rides we did when we were his age. I snapped several hundred photos that I still need to download off my camera. I had a great time with them. Such an adorable family they are! (thanks Guys!) I came home with a Caramel Apple for Mr. Lavender, and a couple scones, sunburned face and arms, tired legs.
Here are my loves and loathes for this tuesdays things.
Loathes-
* the farmer tan I have going on, seriously, defined line mid arm where my t-shirt sleeves stop.
* my abs still hurt so bad from yoga last Saturday! I still have a hard time pulling myself off the couch, bed, or chair.
* stupid hip pain, I need to seek medical attention for that. I thought it was going away, but it tricked me.
* Mr. L and I were awoke last night to our bedroom flashing lights and sirens from emergancy response vehicles. 2:30am. they were parked all across our street, blocking the road, using police tape, and carting someone away in the ambulance. One of my neighbors, I could not tell who. We watched and listened from our dining room window, but got no info. I just hope they are okay, there are a lot of children who live along this street, eeek.
Loves-
* children laughing
* Heart's son finding the buzzer button on the rides and being utterly delighted by the hideous noise.
* Sunny weather! Yay! It had been SO nice! I guess I complained to the right people because we are having a little belated summer weather. I was going to get a little bitter.
* fair scones, they are so dang good
*so many plans with so many people, Lucy tomorrow, Homebody next week (yes, to the fair)
* yoga studio less than a mile away from my home
* coffee, which I am most likely going to have to make more of to keep me going today
* the smell of cotton candy
* the sound of the roller coaster floating in my bedroom window at night
* My Daddy, he is so sweet!
* going to a wedding where they will be playing the song from Juno after they are anounced husband and wife, it is going to be an incredible wedding. One with fine music, My dad borrowed some of my CD's for this event! (Dad is a DJ if I have not mentioned this before)
* Mr. Lavender being touched that I thought of him and brought him home a caramel apple (I always think of him) he then ate the apple and got caramel on his shirt which is now soaking in some Shout to be washed.
* new sandals I got at Ross for $20 (top dollar I will pay for shoes) they are teva sandals and they are SO comfy!!!! I wore them for the first time yesterday and I walked all over hot pavement from about 1pm-6pm. My feet barely hurt! Best $20 spent ever!!!! in fact the whole outfit cost me $27, jeans on clearance at Gap for $7 and a free Vox shirt from Mr. Heartshapedsky!
