3 Year Anniversary

I know this is a little out of order, and not to mention a little late. But I had to make the pictures look a little bit better. I am still getting used to editing. And, you know what, it is hard especially when the picture in the program looks different than in the folder it is saved in. Weird.

Anyway. We went to the zoo. I love the zoo. Nikolai loves the zoo, and for the first time we got to go with Daddy (during the day, ZooLights doesn't count). And I think he enjoyed it as much as we did. Though we were only there for 2 hours and I can spend an entire day there. I prefer to take a leisurely stroll.

We came home and had take out from Little Mexico, Nikolai got cranky and needed to sleep. But, it was a good day. :)

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of spring! Not like it makes too much of a difference out here in the hot, 2 season (summer and spring) desert! But after the all day rain (with some hail) of yesterday and the some day rain of Sunday, I think it adds to the spring premier all the more! The weather is this perfect cool. It's not too hot, not too cold with a slight breeze to cool of the sun-kissed skin. Perfect! And not to mention the slight cloud coverage is beautiful too! The perfect day to grab the camera and head out for a Signs of Spring type walk! :)

Photo Editing Crazyness!

I downloaded a trial of Adobe Lightroom 3 about a year ago and I will say that I kinda GREATLY SUPERLY miss it! I might buy it, maybe, using a teacher discount. maybe...

I have been using Photoscape. Not even remotely close to Lightroom 3! The moment I ran out of the trial time, I was sad. Hugely sad. It cannot compare.

Then I finally brought myself to download Gimp. I have heard good things about gimp. Don't know why I didn't download it sooner. It is sort of like photoshop (what I used to use before my old computer pooped out on me). I have to say, I like it much better than photoscape. It can't do some of the things that photoscape can do, but I like the way I can edit photos so much more! Check out this crazyness!

Original

Gimp

PhotoScape

I know it is kinda hard to see the difference here, but I think I prefer Gimp way more over PhotoScape! The colors on the carrier and Nikolai's shirt pop more. I may have played with the red and yellow a little too much and over done it a timy bit, but I am no professional and nor do I claim to be. But even so, it is nice to be able to take a picture and make it look all the better as in this case. The original seems so gray almost, and washed out. I used mostly the auto settings on PhotoScape because I have not figured out manual, and manual on Gimp. But, I am excited to having something that works a little closer to Lightroom 3! :)

Not Home, CPI Training

This has been one crazy week! I felt so bad for poor Nikolai. I don't know if it was this hectic schedule that caused him to be in such a fussy mood, or the teething that he is experiencing, or just not feeling well.

My Second Quilt Plan...

I have had this thing colored on graph paper in the zip-lock baggie with some of my fabrics.  Since I have gone through all those that I got and attempted organizing (still brainstorming that one), I had pulled this paper out. For kicks, I pulled up paint and attempted duplicating it. It was so much fun! I am so excited to maybe actually getting started sewing this thing together. It should be pretty easy (it is fairly simple!)

Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

March 2, 1904 Dr Seuss, that fantastic author we have all grown up with, was born!

How can we not celebrate the marvelous mastermind of a fantastical world full of imaginary creatures and amazing rhyme?


This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books "Oh, The Places You'll Go"

And in honor of him I write my own poem...

"Oh, How you have affected us, if only you'd know,
the minds you have inspired and urged to grow!
You will continue to reach us through your words of wisdom,
and your extraordinary use of your imaginary kingdom!"

--JessiBerry

Fabric Stash Organizing

I have been looking and looking on pinterest to find a reasonable way to organize my fabric stash. As I may have mentioned (or not, I do not remember), I have started this Craftsy Block of the Month with my mom. It has been fun. I have also been working on the memory quilt from my high school band shirts. Just these two quilting projects has created some scraps strips. And then from my two previous quilts, I have scraps from those as well. I needed a way to organize it, that looked nice, and would somehow manage to fit into my crazily over-stuffed craft room.