Just Playing

OK I have now surpassed Chapter 2 of "Photoshop for Dummies." Books give information that I just don't need... it gets confusing for petes sake. This gal is telling me just what I need to know ...love it! So here are some pictures that I have been working on. Now I really should have posted the original but Ella gets home from school in 2 seconds and so playing time is over. Maybe I will try and do that next time.

-I have learned a little about layers
-the opacity in layers
-blending modes
-how to add type
-how to add textures
and all sorts of little things.

I am having a complete ball playing around with my pictures

We went to Alamo hay and grain to look at the chicks on Saturday. I have never seen anything so adorable. Ella and I could not stop screaming and talking in really high voices. We might have to build a chicken coop and buy a little friend.

I am grateful for some new skills.

OK Let's Try This Again

Oh my heaven's I want to learn Photoshop. Finally about 6 months ago we got Adobe Photoshop 6.0 an old version that came free with our scanner. So I bought 2 books on it ready to go, and about chapter 2 I had no clue what in the sam hill they were talking about. One of those books was "Photoshop for dummies." I am not sure what this is saying about me but seriously does it have to be so complicated?

So I am trying a new approach.

I stumbled on this website "Kim Klassen Cafe" and she is teaching a 10 day free course on the basics. So I am going to see if Kim can help me understand anything...anything at all. My first class was today and so far so good. I will certainly keep you posted. If you are interested here is the info.

I am grateful for people that understand things and then try desperately to help dummies like me. :)

The Simple Things

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Confucius

Sometimes in life big events make me happy( i.e. Kate and Williams wedding.) But more often than not they are the little things adding up. Simple things that happen each day that make me smile, bring me joy and just make me happy to live on this planet. I have to be less busy, quieter,
and pay attention.

These are the subtle moments that will be lost in minutes if my life is too complicated.

OK just because I feel like it I am going to list a couple of miniscule things that put a huge smile on my face.

fresh cut flowers in a vase
a strangers smile
my child's genuine smile
a daffodil that has just broken through the soil
a clean house
singing my favorite hymn at church
having a good laugh but especially with my kiddos
finishing an amazing book and wanting to read it over... right then
fresh cut hair
watching the sun set over the ocean
planting flowers and watching them grow(especially impatiens when they spill over my pots)
ok just anything to do with flowers
the sound of my children's laughter
the night sky
the perfect temperature during the day (78-85 degrees)
rain hitting the roof while I fall asleep(especially at the cabin)
or a diligent Mama bird taking care of her babies

My kids and I watch this Mama bird every spring.
She/offspring has been laying her eggs in the same birdhouse for the last 4 years. We can hardly wait until her delicate eggs hatch and we hear those itty bitty chirps. They get stronger with each passing week until they are really loud chirps and we know it won't be long until they learn how to fly and leave their cozy nest.

The reason I even bring this up is reason #93 of why I love the camera. Taking pictures makes me relax and just notice what is going on around me.

So anywho a couple of weeks ago my kiddos wanted to see if we could get a picture of the mama feeding her babies. They are demanding, hungry little things and they are just a chirpin all the time. They practically scream when the Mom is in the nest. We had so much fun sitting there quiet so she would forget that a family of humans was watching her. (Pretty difficult with Charlie there but we managed.)

So I got out my camera and sat. Just a simple moment and if I am quiet enough and pay attention it will add up to a lifetime of wonderful.

Today I am just grateful for simple things.

Happy Ever After

Once in a while
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.
~ Anonymous ~

That is just how I felt. Somewhere in the middle of my ordinary life someone sprinkled fairy dust on my head and I was placed in a magical kingdom in a far off land. It was in another time and dimension and it was straight out of a leather bound, gold leafed book. There along with all the other common folk we witnessed a real life prince and princess start their enchanting life together.

I felt privileged. Reality would never be the same or so I thought.

My sisters and I along with 200 thousand other happy commoners watched the fairy tale in Trafalgar square.The square is flanked with fountains, beautiful St. Martins-on-the Field church, the national gallery and the statue of Lord Nelson proudly looking down on us all. Trafalgar is about a 3 minute walk from our flat and is central with Westminster Abbey just to our right and the mall that leads to Buckingham palace just to our left. Prime seats baby right at our doorstep. London had installed 3 huge movie screens around the square so that nobody had a bad seat. Now all we had to do was watch the wedding of the decade and wait in anticipation in hopes of catching a glimpse of that carriage holding the worlds new beloved couple.

And then we saw them.
First the white horses and then the prince and princess.
Time stood still and my life was complete.

Why was it such a big deal?
I guess all of us are hopeless romantics. We want to love and be loved. We love fairy tales and happy ever afters. We dream of true love for ourselves and we want everyone we meet to find their true love. On top of it all we find a connection to Kate and William. They seem like us in a regular sort of way. Well except they are royalty and thus we find ourselves completely and hopelessly wrapped up in their story. I was blessed enough to have fairy dust sprinkled on my head and witness it all.

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.

~ George Sands ~

Love doesn't make the world go round,
love is what makes the ride worthwhile

Elizabeth Browning

The happy onlookers at Trafalgar square

The National Gallery in the background

Big Ben in the background. That gives you an idea how close Westminster Abby is.

When the one man loves the one women and the one women loves the one man, the very angels desert heaven and come and sit in that house and sing for joy

The Brahma Sutras

To make the celebration complete they flew jets and old WW 2 airplanes right over us.

Well I thought I was leaving that magic fairy land behind and reality was going to be difficult. But when I got home I remembered that I married my own prince over 20 years ago. He had stayed home happily while I was in England. He had to work his job as well as mine. He tried to keep cultural shock to a minimum by having the house clean and flowers in a vase.

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own

Robert Hienlein

So you see I married my prince not in a cathedral but in a temple of God. It was not in front of billions but in front of less than 30 people that we love dearly.
I didn't give birth to an heir to the throne but to 4 children that have far more important earthly responsibilities.
My mother and father in law are not the King and Queen of England but continue to teach me everyday by their example of how to be a better person with their wisdom and kind words.
I am not going to live in a palace but my Tom has given me the cottage of my dreams.
I will not have unlimited supply for clothes and shoes but shopping at Ross with Tom beats that any day. (Well almost.)

In the end I remembered I was privileged beyond my wildest dreams. I had my own happily ever after. So after a very long plane ride home I cuddled on the couch with my very own prince.

I am grateful that we are all princesses after all.