Please pardon my dust

As you can see I am in the process of making changes. It has been a long time in the making but I have been unsuccessful in the past on finding a blogging template that would work with uploading my photos from Flickr. All the regular Blogger templates cut off part of the photo.

So while fooling around last night I found one that appeared to work. I started working on it with the intent to have it all uploaded first thing today. But then this morning I had to go buy Twilight (of course) and I had to watch a movie with the hubs and his friend ( NOT Twilight). Then while the boys were distracted with Rock Band I finally got back to editing. I didn't get too far as you can see before the hubs needed me to help out with something. So off I go.

Whoooosh!

Can you hear that? That is time just rushing on by. Before I realize it, another weekend has come and gone.

I don't want to say that this month has been busy but I sure have been doing a lot more than the normal for around here.

I got to hang out with some awesome old friends. This is the 2nd time so far this year that we have been able to get together. These are friends from high school so we are talking over 20 years of knowing one another. One, I actually see every week but the other travels. I mean she travels, a lot. She came for a visit back in January and we had a wonderful time catching up. She then came back this past week. It really is hard to tear myself away from it all.

I have been calling 2009 the year of reunions. I was supposed to have my 20th high school reunion last year. It never happened. But no worries. It seems like there will be reunions up the wazoo this year. Not only have I been able to spend time with some lovely ladies (and you too Andy) but in April there is an informal reunion that spans different graduating years. There are quite a few people that will be attending and I am excited to go. Then there is another in December that will be super cool. But between those two parties there are other reunions being planned. I am so happy that I still live in town and won't have to travel to attend any of them.

Work has been pretty steady. I am slowing working on upping my pace. Some days are more productive than others but I think I am finally starting to get my rhythm. It has been a year so it is about time. I still have to teach myself new stuff everyday though and I just hope that I am doing it right. I really need to start taking my classes too. Hopefully this weekend will see me signed up for the first class in the program. I need to finish up the classes in time to sit for my certification test. I had hoped to test this year but it looks like it will be more like 2010.

Sadly, not much going on around here in the creative department. Although I still am taking a photo-a-day. Which reminds me, I have not taken my shot for the day and it is already 10:30. I guess I had better do that so I can get myself to bed.

-- Good night.

...and so ends 2008

I have done it!

I have finally finished uploading my Project 365 photos for the month of December and the year of 2008. Let's just hope that it doesn't take me as long to upload my 2009 photos. I really do hate getting so far behind.

I do credit my getting caught up with finally being able to install Photoshop on the new laptop. This thing is FAST! The only thing that I don't really like is that the pictures don't look as good. They seem to be sort of flat looking. But I guess that is one thing I can put up with if it means I get to actually upload my photos in the same year that they were taken.

My Hero

This was fun to make. Although making these things always drives me a bit crazy. I think I worry too much about looking cool. I can't believe I worry about making the wrong choices over a silly thing like this. How silly is that?

That being said...I wonder if I should have chosen the sword?

Home. Alone.

Tonight the husband had to go to a meeting after work. Poor guy was away from home the entire day from 7am to 10:30pm. So that meant that I would have some alone time. Ideas flowed thru my mind all day as to what I could do with this time, my time. Maybe I could finish that scrapbook page that has been sitting on the table for about 2 weeks now. Maybe I could get caught up on uploading my Project 365 photos to Flickr. Maybe I could clean something. Before I could even make up my mind I picked up a book to read for just a bit before eating dinner. The next thing I knew it was 10:30 and the husband was home. Dinner...totally forgotten. Oops!

Although I did not accomplish anything that I had thought about doing I did find that what I ended up doing was the perfect thing. Total relaxation.

No wonder...

Are you looking at me?
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

I am so tired.

I can never get on this computer until after 10pm and by then I really don't feel like doing anything. This laptop has turned the husband into a computer junkie. He NEVER used to use the computer. When we were at the store looking to buy he even told the sales guy that all he uses it for is his iPod and the occasional viewing of a webpage. Well all that has now changed. He is constantly on it. Of course I have to be honest and say he is using it to fill up his iPod. I cannot wait until that this is full so he no longer needs the computer. Of course he is thinking of starting a Facebook page so I still may not get any computer time.

Oh have I even mentioned the whole iPod thing? I know I mentioned that I got one as a birthday gift. What I didn't mention is that the husband had to buy himself one too. Not AFTER my birthday but at the same time. Why do men to that? Or is it just mine?

In other news, I have lost a bit of weight this past month. 12 pounds down so far. I have NO idea why it is coming off so fast. I know it is bound to slow down very soon. As long as it does not stop I will be happy. The husband wanted steak tonight. I am sure it will be reflected in my weigh-in tomorrow. Well there is always next week, right?

aaaand she's back!

Well I hope I am back.

I am really having a love/hate relationship with this whole computer. We ended up having to take the laptop back to the store. They immediately switched it out for a new one but then told us that the only way it would not happen again was for them to "optimize" it. We were told there was a conflict with the software that Dell has pre-installed and that if we did not want the same thing to happen to the new computer then we needed to pay extra. That there was nothing we could do at home to fix it on our own. I think that's kind of a rip off. I would think that a computer should work correctly right out of the box. So we paid our extra money for them to "optimize" it and we brought it home. So far there is no blue screen but the user they created was corrupted. I took it back yet again today and they only created a new user. If that was all that was needed I could have done it myself but the guy on the phone said that to fix it there was nothing that could be done on my end. I also checked all the stuff they were supposed to do when they "optimize" and it was not done. So who knows what they did.

I am not feeling too confident with the tech support that this company provides. The girl helping us yesterday and today did not even know how to explore windows. She asked me to show her. And yesterday one of the techs yelled out "does anyone know how to change a phone number for a dial up connection? Where do you go to set up the Internet?" Of course it was the old guy of the bunch that knew where to go. Maybe I should have charged them $40 for my service.

So to take my mind off of all this computer stuff I decided it was time to get to scrapping. I really wanted to do the color combo challenge for last week (new one was posted today) but I was finding it really hard to find colors that match the posted colors, but I found some that may work. I am now thinking that maybe I don't understand the directions. I looked at all the pages that were posted and people were using colors that were not the same. Colors like bright orange, bright blue and white instead of the creamy vanilla. Here are the colors that I had to chose from. When I printed them out they weren't very bright and are darker than on screen. If I can use similar colors and not those posted then I think the challenge would be much easier. But then it wouldn't be following the rules would it.

this makes me smile

A friend of mine introduced me to this wonderful gem and I thought I would share the love.





Take a look at her other videos. You won't be disapointed.

Making contact

I have a question for those of you that wear contacts. When you wear contacts are they comfortable? Do they blend into your eye or do you constatnly feel them?

I have worn contacts off and on for many years. Many different kinds from soft to hard. I had stopped wearing them for awhile but a few years ago I decided it was time to wear them again. I bought some soft contacts and they worked okay. My eyes are always dry so I am used to them being even drier when I wear the contacts. But that is something that I have learned to live with. Then one day I had a problem with the contact in my right eye. It hurt. I couldn't see anything wrong with it and it was a fresh pair. I stopped wearing them just in case it was my eye. Well a couple of years passed with me just wearing glasses and forgetting about the contacts.

I have been wanting to wear my contacts again so I decided to start again. I opened up a fresh pair and put them in. The left eye felt just fine but my right eye had that same pain. It feels like the contact is hard or that there is something in my eye. When you look into my eyes you do not even see the left eye contact but the right eye contact looks like it is not fitting snug against my eye. Does that make sense?

My eyes are exhausted but today I am trying them again. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment.

In other news, we are loving the new laptop. We don't like all the errors and weird stuff that is happening with it but everything else is just too cool. The husband never used to use the computer, now I cannot get him to leave it alone. I think we have a problem there. LOL!

genuine article

Yesterday was my birthday. The hubby got me a wonderful surprise. My very own iPod Touch. Thing is...I couldn't get it to work. I couldn't even get past the first step to set it up. That first step being to update to the latest iTunes. I updated but when I tried to synch the iPod the computer wouldn't read it. So I restarted the computer. After that iTunes wouldn't even open and all of a sudden my Windows XP was no longer genuine. The computer was totally messed up. It looks like I will have to reinstall Windows and I don't even know if that will fix the problem. The computer is old and I am embarrassed to tell you just how old it was. The system was top of the line years ago. Back when 40GB hard drives were all the rage and 256MB RAM was considered fast. I knew it was only a matter of time before the system was at its end. I just did not expect it to be last night.

So....after work today we stopped by the store. Yep. I am writing this from my new Dell laptop. It is red and it is fast. The Internet can actually be considered high speed now. Maybe now I will actually enjoy my computer time; get those pictures uploaded and actually be able to save my pictures after editing. Imagine that.

How can it be February already?

It is a good thing I am not one to make resolutions. If so I would have probably made one to blog more and I would have failed. It is now February and I have only posted 4 times this year. So much has changed in the years since I started this blog. I can pretty much tell how much time I spend online by the amount of posts.

This year is speeding right on by. Everything keeps rushing by and I never seem to have time for anything anymore. I am always trying to "catch up." I am still waiting for my life to return to normal but it has been so long that I think this is the new normal.

This past week has been a bit out of the ordinary for me. A friend was stage manager for a show her daughter was in. She asked me to help out backstage. So this past week I was at rehearsals each night and then there were the 2 performances this weekend. On Friday, I actually got to watch the show and then on Saturday I was backstage. It has been so long since I have had anything to do with the theatre. I really felt out of touch. There was a lady working the lights backstage that used to run a theatre here in town. One that had been around for years and that I was familiar with. She and I got to chatting and she told me about how her friend has now taken over and that I should go check it out. I don't know if I would have it in me to audition but maybe I could start off small by helping out behind the scenes. Of course this would have to wait until I am finished with my classes but it is a nice goal that I hope to keep my eye on.

Speaking of goals. I am still taking a picture a day. It just takes me super long to post them. Here is the mosaic I made for my November 2008 pictures. If you would like to see any of the actual photos, just click on the photo to take you the Flickr page that has the links.

The kind without the bull

doze [dohz]

verb, dozed, doz⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to sleep lightly or fitfully.
2. to fall into a light sleep unintentionally (often fol. by off): He dozed off during the sermon.
3. to sleep for a short time; nap.
4. to be dull or half asleep.
–verb (used with object)
5. to pass or spend (time) in drowsiness (often fol. by away): He dozed away the afternoon.

I have never had a job that made me as sleepy as the one that I have now. The kind of sleepy one only gets when they are taking classes in school. Some days it is really hard to keep my eyes open. But I get that way whenever I have a lot of reading to do. It has not seemed to affect the work that I have done though, well at least I hope it hasn't. I think I am doing pretty well, all things considered. I do find though that when I take breaks I do much better. But then I also feel guilty taking a break. I don't want people to look at me and see that I am not working. I don't want anyone to think that I am slacking off in any way. I have discovered that for a mere $1.99 I can access the web for an entire day on my cell phone (of course it only costs $5.99 for the entire month). There isn't too much that I can to do online using my non-smart phone though except update my Facebook status and at $2 a day I think I would have to come up with some pretty darn good status updates.

half done

I cannot believe that January is already half over. How fast the days are flying.

I have been trying to be a bit more of a domestic at home. You know...cooking & cleaning and stuff like that. Not that I did not do any of these things before but now I am trying to do them more often. I can tell you that this new way of doing things sure is cutting into my Stefani time. It seems like I barely turn on the computer and the husband is ready for bed so I have to turn it off. That is the ONE bad thing about having the computer set up in the bedroom but we really had no other choice. My dream is to some day have a new computer. A nice fast computer and preferably one with more than 1 GB of free space. Possibly a laptop but I have not decided yet. I am still debating on whether I want to switch over to Mac.

So...I got my 2008 W2 today. It made me very sad. I made less than half of what I am used to making. It is even less than last year, the year that I did not work. But I really cannot compare anything to that year. Being laid off from work really messed up our taxes last year. We ended up owing A LOT and I was not even working. Hopefully this year will be a little better.

Oops! I just realized that I am not wearing my finger splint. It is only supposed to be off my finger for 8 hours during the day but it is hard to keep on when I am cooking & cleaning and doing all that domestic stuff. Oh and the husband mentioned something about going to bed. So I guess that this is the end of my computer time for the day.

g'night.

I just have to get it all out!

Cat 'N' Mouse
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

So today it was back to the grind...well for pretty much anyone I would think. I got up early and actually got to work a bit earlier than usual. So totally out of the norm for me. Maybe that is why I am so tired. Work was non-stop and surprisingly I got a lot done. I have found that listening to my iPod all day really does help me to concentrate. Now I just need to find all the good music I used to have on my old work computer. The disks are around here somewhere. I really am tired of listening to the same few songs but having only 2GB free on my computer really does limit the music choices. Actually it limits ALL choices. Anyone want to buy me a new computer?

I really did enjoy my time off this past holiday. Before the break (no pun intended) I finally got in to have someone look at my finger. Back at the end of October/beginning of November I broke the tip of my finger. It was super crooked and bent and I finally realized it was not getting any better. I have what is called a mallet finger. The x-rays show that the bone was indeed broken but had already fused back together. Nothing can be done about it now but I am to wear a splint to strengthen up the ligaments. Wearing a splint makes it pretty hard to type or blog or do just about anything. So I have been a bit quiet on the Internet front.

Christmas Eve was spent at the parents with lots of family. Since people don't arrive until late we showed up late ourselves but still have a nice time for the couple of hours we were there.

Christmas Day was different this year. For years the husband has been wanting to cook on Christmas and this year he did. We had both sets of parents (and nephew #1) over for Prime Rib. It was all very tasty and everything worked out great. Well except that I have absolutely no pictures from Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Oh well.

New Years Eve was spent at home. We ordered out and popped in a movie. The husband was asleep by 9pm. I finished watching the movie in time to hear the gunshots (and cannon), Then I got myself to bed. How exciting life is as one gets older. LOL!

New Years Day was spent at the in-laws. Well that evening anyways.

Saturday was the husband's birthday. He decided he wanted to cook another Prime Rib so that is what he did. So he did all the work for his own birthday dinner. SWEET! My sister joined us for dinner and we had a very nice night.

That then brings us back to today. Monday. Where all the fun ends and reality begins.

Here's to 2009

self
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

It is hard to believe that 2 days of the new year are already over. Time already feels like it is getting away from me. Not that it feels any differently than usual but something about it is making me a bit anxious. I hate when I get that feeling...lIke something is passing me by or I really missed out on something. Maybe it is due to taking a couple of days off from work or maybe knowing that this year will be the year that my past comes back. So many exciting things to look forward to this year. So many long lost friends that I will be seeing. Well not really all of them are long lost but just those you don't see as often as you would like. Lots of old feelings coming back to the surface.

Or maybe it is just this darn Frou Frou music that I am listening to at the moment.

October 2008

I finally uploaded all my project365 photos for October. Between broken fingers (well just one broken finger), less Internet time then I am used to and just having way too much to do...it took me awhile. I am already okay with the knowledge that I will be uploading my Christmas photos come this February. Well at least I tell myself that I am okay with it.

1. My life is just one big pile of stuff., 2. Princess Moody-Pants, 3. Twilight, 4. gown, 5. Eegee's, 6. it's blartzy., 7. beerkeh, 8. kitteh toyz, 9. comfy, 10. It's all about the Facebook, 11. In a patch of sunlight, 12. iCan, 13. Keeping it all together, 14. Every ball of yarn dreams of becoming something more., 15. friendship, 16. just a bunch of apples, 17. HeroClix, 18. dessert, 19. tassels & flowers, 20. red, 21. Chuck, 22. night light, 23. Colgate, 24. Trying to Better my Home and Garden, 25. blossoms, 26. Desperate HouseKitties, 27. kitchen duty, 28. It's all about the mint, 29. red dahlia, 30. recipe, 31. no tricks...just treats

Where does the time go?

Who knew this week would be so crazy?

The sad thing is…it is not even due to the holidays. It is only Tuesday but I am already ready for the weekend or just a really nice long nap.

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment that is about 1 hour from work/home. I left work early and will have to stay late every night this week to make up for it.

After my appointment, I got to stop by the newer scrapbook store. This one is supposed to have lots of good stuff. It is new and huge and since it is so far away it is a treat to visit. I was pretty disappointed that there was noting in the entire store that even caught my eye. The store is set up with individual displays that usually have different companies but all of them (and I mean all of them) were just Christmas.

The next stop on the agenda was Ulta. I had to stand in line for about 30 minutes but only spending $10 for items that should have cost $30 made it all worth it.

By this time, it was already 5pm and I had to get home to let out the neighbor’s dog. Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up a few things. By the time I got home for good, I was exhausted and hungry. As is usual when I run errands, I had not eaten all day. Being home for only a couple of hours in the day sure does make for a short relaxation period. I never even got to turn on the computer.

Today there was work (with an extra hour+ added in). Then off to Target to buy regular everyday stuff that we need and a gift for tomorrow’s Christmas potluck/baby shower. On the rest of tonight’s agenda there is frozen pizza making (and eating), potluck cookie baking, baby shower gift wrapping and maybe…just maybe…some Christmas tree decorating.

It's all about the Facebook

It's all about the Facebook
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

And I think that is why I am slacking when it comes to everything that I need and want to do. Don't get me wrong. I am not there ALL the time. But I am there often enough that the normal things I would do on the computer have kind of taken a back seat.

Eventually I hope to actually edit the photos that I take and maybe upload them at least within the same week (and not months later).

Although I have found time to scan old photos. Then I post them to Facebook. Of course I only do a few at a time. I don't want to appear as if I have no life.

Things that I used to blog about I now find myself posting on my Facebook page instead and since I have my blog feed show up on my Facebook, I don't want to have the same thing posted multiple times. I have no idea why. I don't even think anyone would notice. Personal hang-up I guess. Or maybe it is because the people I used to blog about are now my Facebook friends and well......you know how that goes.

Oh...to be as carefree as a cat

comfy
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

How nice that would be.

Each day I am so tired. How will I ever find the time (and energy) to get ready for Christmas? Well maybe I could find the time but where will I find that energy? Why must everything be so jammed packed at the end of the year?

Work is work. Nothing has changed there. I still need to sign up for my classes. I really need to do that. I wonder when I will.

The husband decorated the outside with pretty Christmas lights. It is the first year that we have been able to decorate the outside. This weekend we will hopefully decorate the inside. I just need to figure out where to put the furniture so that we can put out the tree.

This Christmas we hope to have our parents over for a special Christmas dinner. I guess I will need to clean my house or something. ;)

I have been trying to upload my photos for my new 365 project. I am SO behind. Months behind. To be honest...it is not as much fun as the self-portrait project. Although I really do like taking pictures of other things. I really do need to upload them quickly but at the speed I am going I may be uploading my Christmas pictures come this February.

stolen

just a bunch of apples
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

My photo is not up even a day and I find that it has been added to the stock photography section of a web building site. What thieves! People are paying them to use my photo and I get nothing in return.

I don't even have the photo on my OWN website. Well actually now I do, cause it is this one with the apples. I wonder if I can break the link by making the photo private?