How about it runneth over?

(even when you don't know what you're doing :o)

We're not going to talk about exactly how much time I've spent playing around with my digital dream. The reason for this lies somewhere between I don't want to say and I don't want to know *grin*. In case you're new or just missed it, here are the links for my digital drama: Part One and Part Two.    I did finally go back and read some information about how to get better action shots. Although I still don't really get it, I do know that the higher the aperture and shutter speeds the better it will freeze the action. The sports setting basically eliminates the picture preview. This enables you to take a series of action photos more quickly. I made some adjustments to the settings and spent some time practicing by shooting swishing tails. Then I got this still of Bella as she shook her head and swished her tail (she was multitasking).

I cropped it to see whether or not I had a decent shot, and had the overwhelming urge to edit it just a teensy little bit. I lost some resolution in the cropping process, but I think it'll work...don't you?

There is a scenes setting on the dial that offers a plethora of supercool enhancements. I think the one called "Fish Eye" has to be the most fun. I knew exactly who I was going to test drive it on, too. Taya enjoys sticking her nose out and making faces at me (she did it once and made me laugh, so of course now she does it all the time; such a silly girl). I think I'll entitle this one, Sally Schnozola (and move over Jimmy Durante - because WOW :o)
Of course fish eye segued straight into shooting the fish; I wondered if I would get better pictures now (I have a really tough time photographing those little boogers). This is another area I hoped the higher speed would help - they zip around so darn fast in there, most of the time all I can get is a frame full of little orange and white blurs. Sometimes I miss them entirely; they're just too quick for me. Here is a shot of  Faith and Charity...(tubby, aren't they? :o)

Oh, and I did finally get an equine action shot of Rina cantering up the hill. Hey look, it worked - boo-yeah! Looks kind of strange with only one foot on the ground, but her legs aren't blurry at all. Woo! With cooler temps, the horses will be feeling friskier so maybe I can get some really great shots to share. Here's hoping!

There sure are an awful lot of features on this camera. It has a foliage setting? Hm. I wonder what that one does. Boy, that really punches up the color doesn't it? Cooool.

Then there is the sepia setting that I thought was pretty neat too. I took a picture of Champ napping on the job.  He started dozing off while I was busy snapping photos - can't say I blame him, (I was taking forever ;o)
There is an amazing wooden carving outside our local library (it's huge) that I'm going to try to take a picture of to post; it just screams sepia if you ask me.

The poster setting adds some shimmer and shine to your subject. I found this little guy hiding out in the sink in our guest bedroom. Note to self: post a clear-cut definition of the term "guest" somewhere on the premises. I have absolutely no idea how he got in there; no outside door anyplace near that bathroom, and I do NOT want to think about him coming up through the drain - Ugh. He is cute, though (I'll give him that).

I have to say, I think it's going to be another spectacular (on the vivid setting) sunrise this morning. Just in case it's cloudy at your house though, I'll share mine:

Have a great day (the bad ones are just way too much trouble :o)

Half full or half empty?

...and is puddling up all over the place... WOO!

I am big believer in shooting for the moon.Why? Because as Les Brown says; "...even if you miss, you'll land among the stars". Speaking of missing, in case anyone missed the digital drama of last week's post, it's here (you'll want the background to keep confusion to a minimum :o) Re-researching cameras led me to discover my digital dream; the Canon SX30 IS. The reason this camera caught my Googling eye is because it boasts a 35x optical zoom; virtually unheard of in a mid-range camera. Translation? Not only could I have photographed the cowboys more closely at the rodeo last weekend, I probably could have brought their nose hair into focus... cooool. Well eew actually, but you get the idea, right? The "IS" stands for Image Stabilization, and is something that Canon excels at. It's a definite selling point for someone like me who has unsteady hands (and a large part of the reason I'm such a diehard Canon fan). So, armed with my list of covered holidays I went off to plead my case to DH.

One thing you should know is that my husband is so tight, he squeaks. While I find this generally annoying, I will admit he is the perfect counter-balance for me. Because I funnel most of my paycheck straight into the non-profit, without his financial frugality we would probably be living in a tent in the middle of the pasture with the horses by now (and is that actually a bad thing?). Anyway, in spite of my campaign readiness I fully expected him to laugh himself silly over my high-end technological request. All I can say is that he must have felt far sorrier for me than I thought; would you believe he said yes? While I admit that my justification speech would have done any [cheesing up for their own car] teenager proud, I didn't even get to finish reciting the full list of covered holidays before he told me to just go ahead and get it. Really? Do you mean it??? Hot DAWG! I shot out the door faster than you could say 35x Optical ZOOM, (on the off chance he thought about it some more and changed his mind).

Of course post purchase, I realized that my alter ego (Techno-Twit) was likely to become a major factor as I struggled to understand what the heck all this hi-tech mumbo jumbo stuff meant. Things like bracketing, aperture, AWB, ISO, M, Tv, Av, and MF (I was pretty sure that last one was not what popped into my head; although I suppose if you get frustrated enough... well, never mind). I decided to just play around with it and see what we got; and quickly too, before I ran out of daylight. I thought I'd start with something simple, like the zoom. Of course first I needed a willing victim. Aha! Found one...

Let's see what this 35x bad boy can do, shall we? I did not crop these either; the first shot shows you where I was standing before I zoomed in...

Holy cow! I can even see the strands on the wire. Awesome :oD Let's see what else we can blow up *grin*...

My apologies for shooting into the sun (I know it's a picture taking no-no, but I kind of forgot about that in all the excitement). Woo!

Since I had such great [albeit amateur] success with the zoom, I thought I try out  the sports setting for some action shots...that part didn't work out so well:

Hmmmm, man that's bad; YUCK. Would have been a nice action shot if I knew what I was doing *sigh*. I kept tweaking and shooting, but when you don't have a clue it doesn't do you much good. I have to tell you a funny, though. Bella is my protector; if any horseplay gets too close to me, she will put herself between me and whoever gets too near  (I have some video of her "running interference" that I will share when I get a chance to edit it). Anyway, when this particular exuberant episode started, Bella was at the top of the hill. She came flying down (running to the rescue - that's my girl :o) and I belatedly thought to raise the camera and get a shot of her charging towards me, but wasn't quite quick enough. I snapped her picture right about the time she slammed on the brakes and gave me a rather frantic "Are you okay?" look. So this is what I got: Equus Dementius Ha.

Needless to say, the rest of my action shots were terrible too, though they all sported the official Bella safety theme...I sure do love those Arabians; they're SO cool!

Well, I guess it's time to check out the manual that came with this cool - yet complicated - technological toy. Here's hoping I can finally find my focus! :o)

It's all a matter of perspective really...

The Good News was
I have a great digital camera that I use all the time. 

The Bad News is
I had a great digital camera that I used to use all the time.

We went to the rodeo last weekend (I always root for the horses), it's usually pretty good for some family-friendly entertainment. With the exception of the "Grand Entry", that is, which always makes my left eye twitch. Actually, I call it Idiots on Parade with 300+ horses pouring into the arena at a gallop (and let me just add that not all the riders can ride, nor are they all sober). This was a banner year, as only five folks hit the ground (fell off) and there was one false alarm. Some guy hit the ground deliberately and went down on one knee to propose amid all that chaos (I'm thinking he was part of the non-sober crowd, but you never can tell :o) 

The temperature was easing toward cool as the sun went down, so I laid my folded jacket across my lap for some warmth and to give me a handy place to keep my camera. Full hands are not conducive to signing, so I'd pick it up for a shot or two and put it down again either on my lap or in the bag by my leg to keep it secure while I interpreted bits and pieces of what the announcer was talking about to DD. Above is my attempted shot of the Grand Entry...it was kind of far for my little camera and had lots (and lots) of motion...

Anyway, there I was up in the stands with a gazillion other folks, casually taking pictures here and there; I think the one on the right was probably my best shot. As I was shooting, I was thinking I might get a couple worth posting on the blog, and wishing a little wish that I had that cool sports feature on my camera (for all these high action shots I was going for) and maybe a little bit more oomph to my zoom too. I signed a little more, then a breeze came up and I decided to cover my legs a little better with the jacket. I glanced down at my lap checking for the camera before moving my coat, but it was empty. Thinking I had stuck the camera back in the bag, I picked up the jacket and...BAM! In less than 8 seconds my camera was GONE. Turns out the camera had shifted just enough that it was tucked up underneath the sleeve of my jacket and completely hidden from view (of course this critical piece of information registered right about the time it was too late).
On an interesting side note, it would seem the camera had something to say about it's own untimely demise. My Canon SX120 Powershot's final [slightly scrambled] statement was shot at 8:32p.m. on Saturday, October 9, 2010. This picture of my daughter's foot and the bleachers was apparently taken on its way down when the camera bounced off the seat in front of us with a resounding crack (I think it had already gone into shock, since the date should NOT be up on the side of the photo), I hope it didn't suffer. It struck the slat at my feet with a solid clunk before dropping through the bleachers to hit the ground [way down] below. Actually, I think I suffered enough for the both of us; I was beyond devastated. I couldn't believe the camera that I had waited so long for was gone, just like that. I sat there for a moment - frozen in shock and disbelief - torn somewhere between throwing up and bursting into tears (to DH's relief, I managed to refrain from doing either). For those of you who weren't here for that big bad purchase in January, click here to read the post. Other than being able to rescue the smart card, my wonderful "new" digital camera was history. Which leaves me with...
The Good News: I need to get another camera right away.
The Bad News: I need to get another camera right away.

ALL of the pictures on this blog, our website, and many of those on my umpteen lenses on Squidoo are/were taken with that camera. Clear photographs of the items up for sale in the Etsy shop are also a critical factor, as are progress reports for our donors. In other words I use the camera almost every single day, and it is definitely an integral part of the non profit. I had some grand picture plans lined up for this week, too. I've started teaching DD how to use the video mode (which you all know I've already been using), and had countless other "meaning to take" photos I was going to knock out during fall break this week. It's way to big an expenditure for our little non-profit to handle, although I did consider it for almost a full 10 seconds before rejecting it as an option (hey, I was desperate, and that's pretty much all I use it for anyway). Okay scratch that for a funding source, so what am I going to do now?
The Good News: Cameras have improved considerably since January; there are some phenomenal digital options out there.
The Bad News: My pocketbook has not improved since January, my financial abilities are definitely limited (so, you want your old film camera back or are ya gonna just use the cell phone? Pick one sistafriend *sniffle*). 
- BUT -
The Good News is: I have a great husband who feels extremely sorry for me right now, and he sometimes gives gifts in advance combining birthday and Christmas if it's a big one (oh-Ho-HO).
The Bad News is: I've done some research and I think it would be a good idea to upgrade just a little bit; what do you think, honey? (uh-oh-Ummmm).
Since I am pretty sure that a gift of this magnitude should be covered by WAY more than just my paltry little birthday and Christmas, I thought tossing in a few more holidays might help my cause. Here is a proposed list (with justifications in parenthesis) of the covered holidays over the next three month period:
For This Month:
1.Columbus Day (because I am on fall break and it will - hopefully - be official camera-purchase day);
2.Eleanor Roosevelt's birthday (to make it a birthday twofer, I really don't think she'll mind); 
3.National Grouch Day (in honor of DH, although I'm not telling him about this one until after we go get the camera);
4.Dictionary Day (for fellow lexophiles and because I use it to doublecheck words which are sometimes used in the description of my photographs);
5.American Craft Week (since I photograph most of my crafts);
6.National Apple Month (goes with the horses who I take frequent pictures of, and I did photograph a bucket of apples once);
7.Polish American History Month (because Lady is a Polish Arabian American and she has quite a history).
For Next Month: 
8.National Model Railroad Month (because I sometimes take photos of my dad's iron horses - er, trains); 
9.National Candy Day (I use the camera to photograph step by steps for my lenses on Squidoo - my Candy Day lens is here);
10.Parade Day (because if I ever go to a parade I will probably take pictures);
11.National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day (um a participation pass, but the front of my fridge is covered with photos, so I'm counting it);
12.Thanksgiving (I photograph the food and sometimes the folks - proof of that is here :o)
In December:
13.National Fritters Day (since I can fritter away LOTS of time photographing stuff; and I'm exercising artistic license on the word usage);
14.National Brownie Day (hey, it's chocolate);
15.Nobel Peace Prize Award Day (because if I can't take pictures anymore, I am pretty sure there will be no peace in this house);
16.Chocolate Covered Anything Day (again I say: Chocolate);

17.Humbug Day (in honor of my camera's tragic and untimely death);

18. Christmas (of course).

Well, that about wraps it up; that's 18 Jen-u-whine (that was WAY too good bad  punny to pass up, sorry) holidays that will be covered by this purchase. I'm thinking that oughtta do it, don't you? Now I'm off to take my list of holidays to DH which will [hopefully] help me plead my case; I'll let you know what happens, 'kay? I think I'll take a page out of MiKael's book, and just say To be Continued. Mwah-ha-ha...

FINALLY! Our MAXimum problem

Would you look who I found frolicking in the poop? I know, I know, profound apologies for the yuck factor and all but I was so excited to catch Harvey and Elwood both in the same place for a picture I didn't stop to consider that they were playing in "The [poop] Zone". Guess that should explain why the grass is such a deep and brilliant shade of green though, eh? *grin*. They sure are adorable, in spite of the backdrop.

How do you all do with your weekly plans? Do yours work? Mine always seem to tank. Somehow, it is Thursday already (and where exactly did Monday through Wednesday go anyway??) Once again, my brilliant plan to work on my weekly post a little each day has been largely ignored - how do I let this happen? I am amazed at the people who are able to pull off a post every single day when I have so much trouble pulling off a weekly one; how DO you do it?  It doesn't seem to matter how hard I hop to it (ha), my hare-brained (ha,ha) plans to piecemeal my posts never quite seem to work out. Speaking of hopping to it, look at my happy accident photo of Elwood on the move... Someone should do something about all those weeds though - they really do look awful ;o)

I have a very exciting update for you on Laura G.She placed third in her class, which made her the highest scoring rider on the U.S. team. Isn't that just fantastic? I am so (so-so-so-SO :o) happy for her; and thankful that she was able to go and compete. There is a story about the para equestrians and a brief interview posted here. Boo-Yeah. Photo courtesy of: Lauren R. Giannini
DD is having her wisdom teeth taken out today; I wonder if she'll lose any IQ points over it (anyone besides me wonder why they call them "wisdom" teeth?) I thought I'd find out, just in case I'm not the only curious mind out there. According to Wise Geek, the third molar teeth are referred to as wisdom teeth because they come at a time in your life when you have [or are supposed to have] attained some wisdom. Hmmm...jury's still out on that one, although I think we're not nearly as vacuous as we were earlier in our teenage years *grin*.

DH has finally tossed in the towel on the patio project and admitted we're going to have to have some help to get it done. Remember the construction zone? Everything is still there; stalled out in exactly the same place it was when I blogged about it in August. *sigh* Being a man and all (no offense Jerry :o) it has taken him approximately one year and three months to come to the [seriously belated] conclusion that 70 hour work weeks are not conducive to DIY building projects. In all honesty though, the financial factor played a big part in the delay; we are not exactly rolling in it (understatement of the century there) and with DD in college and me funneling most of my paycheck back into the non-profit we were trying really hard to avoid the expense. 

I have to say though that even with those idiotic posts peeking into the frame from the left, it's still gonna be a beautiful day...don't you think?

Hope you all enjoy yours as well! As always, thanks for reading this far!

I missed my anniversary...

is achieving minimum success...

This is Max, he is an American Quarter Horse we rescued several years ago. He is our resident "hoovenile" delinquent, walking disaster area, and all around problem child. His mane is perpetually snarled and he is usually covered with dents and dings from his latest misadventure; not to mention numerous teeth marks and hoofprints from his long-suffering pasturemates. Max has lots of personality and energy which he [unfortunately] dispenses at warp speed to irritate everyone within a six acre radius. Honestly? If there was ever a horse in need of a hefty dose of Ritalin, it would be Max. He is like that trouble making kid in class who wanted everyone's attention SO badly he would [and did] do anything that helped him get it.
You know the kid I mean? Every school has at least one. If he doesn't get yelled at and sent to the principal's office at least once during the course of a day he feels deprived, and the principal assumes he's absent. For some (stupid?) reason, I have it in my head that there is an awesome equine buried somewhere in there underneath all that reprehensible behavior. Look at the photos below for an idea of what life with Max is all about...Nuisance.

I have tried pretty much everything I could think of in an effort to help Max achieve one little success; just ONE. Something. Anything. Once a horse figures out the whole desired behavior/reward thing, it all starts clicking right along (and please don't misunderstand me, training the right way takes lots and lots of time when things go well). Unfortunately, Max's behavior was so annoying I was starting to think that we would never get there. Happily I have plenty of my own *cough* tenacity, and have finally figured out what makes that little turkey tick. Basically? I got in his face and ignored him. Although I had already tried shunning him in the past - without success - it turns out that it was the right key to unlocking Max, I just wasn't being obnoxious enough about it for it to register. Once I achieved all the subtlety of a concrete block *grin* we finally started getting somewhere.

To give you some insight into Max's pigheaded personality, here is a case in point: The hay roll in the pasture was not enough of a challenge for our little delinquent; no, he opted to start sneaking under the fence and raid the Hay Express. Oh, and the electric fence is ON. At the moment, the Hay Express is empty (time for DH to make another gun run). There is, however, plenty of hay left in both pastures for now. At least this will keep Max out of trouble for a day or two, since there's no reason to sneak under the fence (he already ate all the grass). For those of you that missed it, here's Max's mini movie from one of his little escapades...if you are a subscriber reading this via email, you'll need to pop over to the actual blog to be able to watch the video (it's quick!)

Mad Max's Micromini Movie from Jen on Vimeo.
And what was I thinking again??? I'm pretty sure Max staying out of trouble is some sort of massive oxymoron. Saturday [as in yesterday] we had a yard sale with a group from church (it was at someone else's house several miles away). I got a phone call from our neighbor at the top of the pasture, letting me know there was a big brown horse in Mr. T's vegetable patch. Oh, NO. I just checked the fence up there yesterday. *Groan*. I dispatched DD to investigate, and sure enough it was Max. Our little miscreant apparently found a weak spot in the fence down one side of the pasture, snuck through and looped back around to hit the smorgasbord jackpot. I wonder if duct taping a horse to a tree would be considered wrong...I'm thinking probably so.

I would like to point out that although Max does get into trouble on a regular basis, it's usually on the home front. He's only gotten all the way out once before (and that's been a long time ago), so maybe we've gotten a bit lax in our supervision only checking on the horses two to four times a day. I wonder if we need to just camp out in the pasture or hire a sitter. Sheesh.  The last time we got a phone call from the same neighbor, it was late one afternoon (she's a very nice lady; we chat over the fence on a regular basis :o) and it was to tell us that she had seen a big red horse and smaller brown horse raiding Mr. T's vegetable patch for several nights running. Since we weren't missing any horses, I feed twice a day, we didn't actually think it was ours; particularly not with those super skinny horses down the road that are running away from home every time we turn around (story posted here). That night, however, DH decided to go up to the top of the pasture and check just in case. Surprise, surprise, Max and Champ were both out; poking around in their newly discovered all-you-can-eat buffet and having a grand ol' time. Rickey made some silly comment about fencing the two of them OUT, and started to walk back down the hill to get what he needed to fix the fence. He turned at the sound of hoofbeats, to see Max and Champ hot-footing it down the hill in case he wasn't bluffing (and now that I think about it, he may not have been :o)   

Here is some typical Max thinking for you; with photos (below). It was pretty nippy out being winter and all, but Max decided it would be fun to play in the pond. He got himself nice and muddy (had a great time splashing around and wallowing) and then got out. Unfortunately, between the wind (brr) and the mud drying (itch-itch-itch) Max spent several minutes racing around madly and annoying his pasture mates trying to warm up before having a nice big roll in the grass. Of course the dead grass stuck to him everywhere, making him look like an environmentally friendly version of tarred and feathered (goober :o)

 

Waaa-Hoooooooooo!

 

Since I posted an update on Faith, Hope and Charity last time, a friend of mine wanted to know how the rest of our fish were doing. So here is a picture of the other half, just for you Lori ;o)

I have to say, that Moe is definitely the coolest looking one of those three stooges. 
<-- Check him out up close and personal, isn't he neat? Believe it or not, that round thing that looks like his eyeball is actually a bubble; his eye is right underneath. Weird, isn't it? Moe is a Ryukin Goldfish; the rest of our little cleaning committee members are  Fantails. Believe it or not (and I'm thinking Moe's little pot belly over there is proof enough) the Moo Crew's fish are even fatter than the girls'...Wow. Have a great week everyone! 

...and I am tickled PINK!
My husband and I were talking the other day, when it suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten all about my anniversary. I'm not talking about my wedding anniversary though, I'm talking about cancer. Yep, this past July I was officially four years out, and I completely forgot (yay!). For each year that passes the chance of survival increases; the first five years without a recurrence being the most crucial.  I was 40 and in the best shape of my life when I was diagnosed via my very first mammogram. My risk factor? Less than one percent.  
October is pink ribbon [BC awareness] month which means, ladies, you should go get 'em squashed; it could be more important than you know! The photo is me and my "chemo buddy" (I'm the one with the pink hat ;o) God took him home not long after this photo was taken; he and his wife were a precious couple that went to church with my parents (she still does). His infusions were done through the arm (hence the pillow), while mine were taken through a central line (I had a port surgically implanted near my collarbone). My treatments were every 21 days for a year and a half; it completely eclipses your life and can cast quite the lingering shadow. All I can say is that this survivor (yours truly) is sponsored by the grace and glory of God: Boo-Yeah baby, Woo! If you or anyone you know has been recently diagnosed with cancer, please feel free to visit my Pink Think lens for some helpful information.

Lady and Cinnamon will both be celebrating their 20th birthdays next year. Since a horse is 3 to 1 in people years, this means they'll be turning sixty. My best guess is that they are supposed to share the card (I wonder if this means we'll be able to ask for a senior citizen discount at the feed store now - whaddaya think? :o)
Although I believe we probably had more than two donations, there were only two people that actually left their names for the WEG giveaway.  Since we had two prizes up for grabs; a box of goodies from us, and an Equestrian Collections gift certificate from Stacey at Behind the Bit, we thought we'd have a little drawing to see who got to choose first. I typed each name on a blue piece of paper (horses see blue better than any other color) and let Bella choose the one who gets "first dibs". We're slightly soggy looking - it rained - but we got the job done...the most important thing is that LAURA G. IS ABLE TO GO AND COMPETE - Sorry for yelling (ha ha), I'm just so very excited for her! 
NOTE: In case you're wondering why I said, "Lady, don't help", she was parked right behind DD and stuck her nose about two inches from the camera *grin* (I was kinda thinkin' one blooper was enough :o)

WEG Giveaway from Jen on Vimeo.

I'm posting an updated photo of The Girls' cleaning crew; I still can't get over how fast those little boogers are growing. They were circling in anticipation of an incoming breakfast delivery (you can see Lady's reflection in the water). Personally, I'm thinking that Faith wins the pudgepot award this month. She'd be the tubby little white one on the left...looks kind of like a ping pong ball, doesn't she? ;o)

 Have a great week everyone!