POTD Day 14 Drink

These two items are things I drink every single morning...I try to have at least two glasses of lemon water to start my day off and of course my one cup of coffee w/1 tsp of raw sugar and almond milk in it. I try to be diligent about getting enough water in the day so the two glasses right off help but I don't always succeed in drinking enough at the end of the day.

I need to be better about bringing my water bottle in the car on errands so I get in enough. I did a diet a few years ago that required a lot of water drinking, and I found that my skin and overall body felt so much better when I was drinking enough, so there really is no excuse...it is the easiest "good" thing I can do for myself.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Week 29 MCP Project 52

POTD Day 13 Composition

So this is the first pic that is actually about photography itself. I tend to take a lot of pictures using the macro setting because I love seeing the details of things that we see everyday but rarely seem to notice. This shot is not one of them, but I loved the old stone staircase and leaves and snow and the fog swallowing up the top.

I read both the Fat Mum Slim post on Composition and this other one I found by Googling. Photography in general has a ton of different rules, techniques and recommendations that help to make those of us that aren't pros into decent photographers. I probably could read more about it than I do and I am sure that my photography would improve if I did.

Anyhow, this pic was taken in the afternoon of the first day of snow...we were up in an old cemetery on a hill and that explains the low clouds/fog. I like the most of the color was sucked out of this image.

I took this with my Fuji Finepix f50, no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 using auto correct for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Week 39 MCP Project 52

POTD Day 12 Joy

This little guy just turned 2 (as evidence from the chocolate cupcake on his face), and the smile and chocolate are both JOYful to me. He is my cousin's youngest son, and a ton of fun. He is at the age now where he is starting to turn into his own person and is learning at lightening speed.

He is starting to talk up a storm (which also means we have to be careful what we say around him), and knows more way than we give him credit for. He knows how the whole birthday thing works and actually kept blowing out the candles before we could get the song finished...LOL. He seemed to really like opening presents and seemed to really appreciate the gifts (more than just the paper)...LOL.

Potty training is on the agenda these days, thankfully as his Auntie-Cousin, I am not reponsible for that...LOL.

I took this image with my Fuji Finepix f50 with the flash on. Edited it in GIMP 2.6, using auto correct for color and light and then added some magenta back in, and added a white fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Week 42 MCP Project 52

POTD Day 11 Green

Green is one of absolute favorite colors...I love to wear it the most...in fact my sorority in college had green, white and purple as its colors. How is that for destiny? I tend to buy things in green as well...not necessarily household decor, but items like Kleenex boxes, storage totes, pottery, china, and of course plants! As you can see, I managed to find these weights in green too...that was purely by accident though...green was the only color the 5lb weights came in.

I have these sitting on the floor near the TV stand in our livingroom because I use them all the time, and if I were to put them in the weightroom with all the other fitness equipment, they would never get used or I would spend a lot of time bring them up and down the stairs. I love that they are covered in a rubber-like substance because they don't rust, and they aren't loud when clanked together. I sometimes take them on my walks so I can do bicep, tricep and shoulder exercises while walking...they are very versatile.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50, with no flash, and macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 using auto correct for color and light and then I used the blurring tool to blur around the edges a bit...
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Week 44 MCP Project 52

POTD Day 10 R Is For

I love to READ...anyone that knows me IRL or is friends with me on Goodreads, knows this...but there are times when I get behind, or get myself spread too thin and then reading almost becomes an item that needs to be added to the To Do list. This is not a good thing...because I love reading and I don't want it to ever be a chore (unless I am doing it for school and then that is completely acceptable...LOL).

Right now, I have listed that I am reading 5 books on Goodreads even though I have actually only started on three of them, and I have one magazine subscription...however, I get magazines from other places (friends, family, etc) and I am way behind on the magazine reading.

This can be easily explained...I read before bed on my Nook primarily. I do this because I don't have to have any other light with the Nook so it is super easy and convenient. When I take soaks in the bath, I usually tackle magazines, and I sometimes put a magazine in my messenger bag if I know I will be waiting somewhere and don't want to carry my Nook with me. Thing is, that lately, I have been reading a few books in hardback and so the magazines have been bumped from the tub soaks. Today I picked up a book I have had reserved at the library for a while...and because it is rented, I have to bump it to the top of the list.

These magazines have been sitting on our livingroom floor since last week because I was determined to make one day a "magazine catch up day"...and that has just not happened. I will get to them, and it will be soon...because I really don't want reading to become a chore and having these sitting here are making me feel like I am not tackling things on the To Do list.

I took this image with my Fuju Finepix f50 with no flash and macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 to auto correct for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...January MCP Project 12

POTD Day 9 This Is The Weather Today

Our weather has been basically the same since Friday night when we got about 8 inches of snow on the ground. We have not gotten above freezing since then so the snow has hung around but the areas that were plowed or shoveled are now sheets of ice. The last two nights have been record lows for the area for the last 25 years.

I went up to the pool this morning to check it out (and to turn the light in the pump house to 24 hours) and found that the majority of the pool is frozen over. This is not a bad thing...as long as the water below the ice is still circulating, it will be fine and the corner where the water comes into the pool isn't frozen because of the movement there.

I even bent down and knocked on the ice and it is pretty solid...so this picture is of one of the ice crystals sitting on the surface. It was too cool looking to ignore. We should be getting above freezing tomorrow during the day so I am sure we will start to see some melt by then.

I have been limited in movement to those places near by that I can get to on foot...I have no desire to get our truck wrecked by someone that is driving recklessly. Many drivers seem to think that because the sun is out and the snow has stopped, that it is safe to drive however you want...and that is not the case. We get black ice really bad here and right now there is a ton of it. It is almost impossible to see (especially at night). I haven't had anywhere that I needed to go that wasn't in walking distance so it hasn't been a big deal for me. We have restaurants and stores all within walking distance.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50, no flash, and with macro turned on. I then edited it in GIMP 2.6 by cropping it to just the crystal, auto correcting for light and color and then added the fuzzy border.
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Last Year on In My Words...MCP Project March

POTD Day 8 Where I Shop

I took a pic while I was out running errands in the snow, of a snow covered tree, and a store I shopped at was in the background but reality is, this pic is more accurate of my shopping habits...LOL.

Today while out trekking in the snow, I saw a jack-knifed semi truck on the freeway. Must have been super scary for the driver. Fortunately he didn't roll over or anything. People seemed to forget that even though the sun is shining and the snow has stopped, the temp is still below freezing and that means ice!!!

On my way back, one of our neighbors called and borrowed the snow shovel. While we were chatting a Red-breasted Sapsucker flew up the spruce and flittered around the trunk. I had to look it up in the book since I had never seen one before and now I can add it to the bird list for this house. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of it in time...hopefully it will come by again and I can get a shop for my house blog.
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Last Year on In My Words...MCP Project March II

POTD Day 7 Six O'Clock

This is what I was doing at 6 o'clock. Eating kwiteow that I made yesterday. I learned to make it from both a Thai friend and a Vietnamese friend (it is called pho in Vietnamese). When we lived in Japan, I would have soup days at our house. I would make a big batch of soup and then invite friends to come over for lunch or dinner (or both) for two or more days.

The broth is the part that takes the longest but after that, it is just a matter of fresh veggies, rehydrated rice stick, and thin sliced meat. Everything but the broth is cooked right at the moment a bowl of soup is being made, which makes it taste so good and fresh.

Yesterday, with the snow falling, I had the hankering for it and I knew I had most of the ingredients already. I used beef short ribs and spices to create the beef stock, and started them boiling after lunch. Then when I walked to the store in the snow, I got the fresh ingredients I was missing. I ended up eating two small bowls for dinner.

Then today after my hike in the snow, I got the pot back out of the fridge and back on the stove so I could eat it for lunch and dinner. Lunch was a little bit late since I got home from the hike around 1pm but then I  had a second bowl at 6pm for dinner.

I don't feel a bit of guilt eating this awesome dish. Only thing that would have made it better would have been if I had thought to make some Thai tea to go along with it...but with the cold weather, I don't usually think of iced tea.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix F50 without a flash, and macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 with auto correct for color and light and then added a fuzzy border.
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Last Year on In My Words...MCP Project April

POTD Day 6 Shadow

We have been scheduled for a storm since last week...and today was the day, although the time continued to change. Around 2:30pm it started to snow a bit and it picked up from there...by 6pm we had 5-6 inches of snow on the ground.

I had started making one of my favorite Thai/Vietnamese soup earlier in the day, and I needed a couple of fresh ingredients, so I decided to bundle up in all my snow gear and walk to the grocery store (about a mile away).

Before taking off for the grocery store, I had been listening to a live stream of our state police, local police, and department of transportation feeds. The roads were a complete mess which is why I knew I was going to be walking. I can drive in the snow, but absolutely didn't want to take any chances that someone else would slide into our truck. I felt bad for some of the drivers out there because the department of transportation made the pass "chains required" so there were lots of people stopping in town to get chains for their cars. I walked by three different people trying to install chains on their cars in the parking lot of a local DIY store.

While out, I thought I could take some pics in the snow, which I did. We have a street light right next to our house and this picture is from next to that before I started the hike to the store. The walk ended up being a fantastic workout and I was actually perfectly warm the entire time.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix F50, no flash under snowy skies with only the street light for illumination. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 with an auto correct for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Last Year on In My Words...MCP Project For August

POTD Day 5 In The Cupboard

We have one full double cabinet that contains ingredients for the various Asian food I like to cook (mostly Thai and Japanese). There are two really good Asians markets about 4 hours from here so I tend to stock up when I need to.

We have a case and a half of Chaokok coconut milk and a 25 lb of Thai Jasmine rice, along with sticky rice, sushi rice, rice stick, soba and somen noodles, spices packets, roasted rice mix, and frozen lemongrass, peppers, and lime leaves. There are tubs full of curry, and jars full of soup base and chili paste. I like knowing that cabinet is full.

I love having the opportunity to make some of my favorite food whenever I want to. There are a few things that I would love to eat that I don't have ingredients for, like Soki Soba but I do have plans to try my best to make it someday.

We have a couple of good sushi places in the area that also make a fair amount of other popular Japanese and Korean food, however authentic Thai food is harder to find. We do have a good Vietnamese pho and banh mi restaurant which definitely makes life better...it would be cool to nail down a few other favorites, that is for sure.

Took this with my Fuji Finepix F50, no flash with macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 using auto correct for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Shutter Sisters For June

POTD Day 4 Tiny

The idea behind the picture for today was pretty easy at first thought, but I did keep my eye open the entire day just in case something else would just grab me. I had a tiny bit of running around to do. One of the items was to check our mail box which contained a couple of nice surprises: the Christmas stamps I ordered so I can mail cards, and then a perfectly wrapped gift from one of my dear friends. Both things made me smile.

Next stop was the local hardware store to get something for the sidewalks in case we get a lot of snow or ice in the next few days. Then a quick coffee and a stop at the bagel shop to get a lox sandwich for lunch...yum, yum!

These ornaments in the pic are all very tiny...the balls are smaller than a dime and the penquins and girls are less than inch in height. These tiny ornaments adore the small live Christmas tree that I will decorate next week (I don't bring it in too early, because I want it to stay alive).

I took this pic with my Fuji Finepiix F50, no flash, macro used. I autocorrected it for color and light and then added a fuzzy border in GIMP 2.6.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Shutter Sisters For July

POTD Day 3 Silver

Today was an on the road errand day, and I actuallly contemplated for a moment just taking a picture of Jack the Colorado since it is painted Silver Birch, and I was spending my day in it...:)

Instead I found these cute silver bells in a DIY while I was looking for a real wreath for the front door. This was part of a door hanger set however since I already have bells on my bow for the wreath, I opted to not purchase it. It stilll didn't keep me from taking a shot.

While I was there, I also got a couple of 60 lbs bags of sand for the back of Jack to keep it weighted down a bit since we are hitting the teens over the next few nights and that means black ice in this region...not fun.

At the beginning of the day, I tried to get my tires rotated at the place I bought our tires at, but they were pretty busy with people putting snow tires on or purchasing chains for the pass, so I figured it would be a better use of my time to wait for another day.

The DIY was my second stop after picking up 24 skeins of yarn for baby blankets I need to make for two of my neices that are expecting. After the DIY, I hit three more stores and a sushi restaurant before hitting home. None of this was for Xmas shopping...just everyday errands.

This shot was taken with my Fuji Finepix F50, no flash, macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for light, color and added a fuzzy border.
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Eighteen Months Ago on In My Words...Shutter Sisters For March

POTD Day 2 Where I Stood

I was thinking about doing a scenic pic for this image requirement. But the weather today was rainy and kind of closed in, so I thought I would do something a bit more literal.

My yardwork for the last six weeks has mostly been about leaves. We have two oak trees that drop in our yard (one on our property and from the neighbors), and this year in particular has been a very heavy acorn and leaf year. On top of that we have three fruit trees that drop leaves too. Good thing raking is good exercise!

So for this pic, I thought I would take a pic of my feet standing in the midst of a pile of leaves I still need to rake. If you have seen any of my other pics, I take a lot of pics of my feet, in different situations. My sister started the trend and I started taking pics of my feet on our travels for her, and now I just take pics of my feet for me. So here are my feet in my mary jane toyah Keens with my Smartwool stripey socks surrounded by oak leaves.

I took this pic under cloudy/rainy skies, with my Finepix F50, no flash, and used GIMP 2.6 to auto correct color and light, and added a fuzzy border.
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Eighteen Months Ago on In My Words...Shutter Sisters For August

POTD Day 1 Red

Some friends of mine have been doing a Photo Of The Day project for the month of November and a new one started today for December and I decided I would play along.

We are going off the list from Fat Mum Slim's blog post, at least until we reach the 12 days of Christmas where it might change to something else for those 12 days.

I really thought I was going to get some holiday decorating knocked out today, so I thought that getting a pic for Red was going to be a piece of cake. While I did get the decorations out and organized, the actual decorating didn't start today because there were a few other things on the list with higher priorities.

Then as I was looking across the room, thinking about my To Do list in general, I spotted my wristgators that my sister got me a few years ago that I wear whenever my hands feel a bit chilly. I realized that they actually would make a great Red pic and the story behind them would be even better for me than a pic of Christmas decor would be.

So here is my pic for Red, taken with macro turned on, with my Fuji Finepix F50, no flash. I edited in GIMP 2.6 for auto color and light adjust along with a fuzzy border add. It just worked out that I was enjoying a fire tonight too.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Shutter Sisters For December (another photo project I have done)

Maru Has A Friend

Looks like Maru has a new housemate named Hana...she is a cutie and full of spunk! Seems Maru is not completely sure what to do about her...LOL.

I haven't seen the full story (if there is one) on how Hannah came to be part of the family, but I sure it will come out eventually.

I am happy for Maru to have a playmate!
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Last Year on In My Words...Newish Maru

Netflix Requirements

I have decided that in order to get our money's worth out of having both the DVD and Streaming versions of Netflix, I need to be watching at least 4 of the DVDs a month. I have been bad lately about watching movies, either on DVD or streaming because I tend to run the TV in the background of doing other things. This means not watching something new (because I can't multitask through something new), especially if it means being in a different room from the TV.

Last weekend, I watched two DVDs that I had from Netflix back to back, put them in the mail and got two new ones today. I figure if I just knock them out like that...either on a lazy morning or in the evening when I have settled in for the night, I will be good to go. I also watched two newish movies on HBO this week, that I was then able to remove from my DVD queue on Netflix.

I tend to use my DVD queue as a way to remind myself of movies that I have just seen previews for. I don't get to see them necessarily when I want to but the list helps me keep track of flicks that look interesting.

It is weird to feel like I have to put movie watching on the To Do list...but along with writing regularly on my blogs, it seems I need to allocate time for this as well.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Irked

Jingle Bell Hell 2013

I just signed up to do this one for this year. If you remember from my recap last year, my ipod was dead as I headed out the door (and I really don't run without music), and it was also freezing cold, windy and hailing. Lots of fun.

This time it runs from December 14-22nd. I have another IRL 5K that I am signed up for on the 21st so I will probably tackle this one the weekend before. Thankfully it is a virtual so I can fit it in where I can and hopefully this year I will be smart and actually get it done during a nice weather weekend.

Today, I got out and walked the same route that I do for these virtual 5Ks (which is actually 3.34 miles) in 50 mins...and that was with no running...so if I run the downhills, on the next couple of training runs, I am sure I will do decently on this run and on the next one the 21st.
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One Year Ago on In My Words...Jingle Bell Hell 2012

Birthday Madness

Own personal Google Doodle on your bday!!

Birthdays are a tricky situation. While I like having people remember my birthday, I don't want to get older...LOL. This year, I got a call from my aunt about two weeks out, asking me to save the date, that she and my grandmother and mother wanted to take me to a local Mexican place for dinner. That sounded cool to me, and I put it on my calendar.

The day arrives, and I get the posts on Facebook for my birthday, which is great, and some texts and cards in the mail. I work on some stuff around the house and head over to my grandmother's a little early so I can tackle a couple loads of laundry before we go out. When I get there, Grandma lets me know that she won't be able to make it since she has a bit of a cold coming on and doesn't want to be sick for Tday. I totally understand and tell her that we'll make sure there are leftovers brought home so she can have some good food too!

Cute pumpkin stand (made for bigger pumpkin)

I have texted my cousin and one of my local sister in laws to see if they want to come with us since it is going to be a small scale dinner celebration. I don't hear back from either of them. The week before, at bunco, I overhear my other local sister in law and my mother in law both talk about obligations they have that same day, so I don't ask them to try to come.

Ducks PJs were put on first night!

My mom's birthday was earlier in the week so we planned to have a couple of things for her too, and she didn't know we were going to do it, so I was excited for her surprise.

Cards from mail and party!

We leave for the restaurant and sit down at a table, start looking at a menu and wonder why they haven't given us any chips and salsa like normal. After a bit, my mother in law and father in law walk in...LOL. That is when I start to realize that not everyone has been forthcoming with me over the last two weeks.

Mylar balloon still flying in the livingroom!

Over the next ten minutes pretty much all of my local family shows up at the restaurant for a big birthday surprise. We take up most of the bar area. We have our own cake, and the restaurant (where we do a lot of birthday celebrations) is super helpful like they always are. They come out with two sombreros and they sing for me and my mom. We both open presents and over all it is a fantastic time and definitely felt the love!
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...White Towels

It Is Gonna Get Cold

Brrrrr...cold nights for most of this week. I went up to the pool and made sure that I had the lightbulb on the timer light set to run in the pumphouse and that the pump was set to run during the coldest part of the night. I was thrilled to see that there weren't nearly as many leaves on the leaf net as I was expecting after not seeing the pool for the last week.

I didn't sleep for crap last night because I had a mocha very close to bedtime, and ended up reading until after 1 in the morning. While turning over in my sleep, I kept waking up because my left arm was hurting and it wasn't until 6 or so in morning that I remembered the tetanus shot I had in my left arm yesterday afternoon...duh! No wonder it was tender.

Managed to get my driver's license renewed yesterday too, since it expires this week on my birthday. It was surprisingly easier than I was expecting and that was a nice surprise! So I currently have a paper temporary one until the real deal comes in the mail. This one will be good for 8 years...woohee!

Gotta go for now, hope to be writing more frequently but really have to get to bed early tonight so I can get back on a decent schedule. Goodnight world.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...It's Cold Out There (boy do I miss this fur ball)

Sushi Options

We don't have a lot of options for Asian food here.

At times I have to put in orders to my sister who lives near a couple of really good stores so I can get ingredients for some of my Thai and Vietnamese recipes. We do have a really small Japanese and Korean market that I can use and it is attached to a little Japanese/Korean restaurant. This establishment is in the same parking lot with my main grocery store so I treat myself to sushi there sometimes.

Between this place and another place near my house, I have found pretty decent sushi (nothing will ever be like eating it in Japan), but the one near our house is a lot more expensive.

I don't get to use my minimal language skills much because most of the people that work in both establishments are not native speakers and I don't want to put them on the spot, but I do thrown in a few konichiwas and arigatos when I get a chance.

So anyhow, on this day, I was enjoying a roll (which I usually refrain from), some ocha, and some edamame. It was a nice little snack before tackling the grocery shopping.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Anyone Want A Drink?