31 October, 2010 - Halloween

To be honest, I'm looking forward to the end of Halloween. No more costumes. No more scary or gruesome decorations. No more being asked what I'm going to dress up as (I stopped trick-or-treating at the age of twelve). Instead, we can look forward to Thanksgiving! I love that holiday.

Anyhow, my mom likes to take pictures of us on Halloween. Since she got us the gangster hats this year, we wore those for the pictures. Before we set off on that adventure, though, I nabbed CoolBreeze and took a shot of her and her faithful sidekick, Jared.


And because I was plum exhausted after the photo shoot, I took a nap right on the deck.

Okay, not really. However, my dog wouldn't cooperate for normal photos and decided to lay down on the deck. So I joined her in being lazy.


(P.S. We only have two more months of 2010 left! I don't know for sure that I'll continue with Project 365 next year. What do you all think?)

30 October, 2010

My sisters got some fancy masks when we went candy shopping this week. They decided they wanted to have their photos taken in the masks. This is one of my favorites of over two hundred photos.

29 October, 2010

A very typical day. As the sun neared the end of its downward trek, my dog and I went outside and enjoyed the pleasant fall day. That time of day tends to be very soothing, I find.

28 October, 2010

We went on another outing on Thursday (Hooray!). This time, we sought to get some candy for Halloween since our self control is lacking. (Yes, we'd eaten just about everything that we had previously purchased... This is why you should purchase candy you don't like.)

27 October, 2010

More birds on the electrical and phone lines... It's one of those things that occurs in everyday life, so I constantly have the opportunity to get photos of it.

26 October, 2010

Shortly after noon, my grandfather called and requested that myself or one of my sisters spend a few hours at their house this evening. After being cooped up in our house for ten straight days, I was thrilled at the prospect of being somewhere else. So here I've been for the past hour and a half and here I shall stay until they return from their event.

My responsibility is simple - make sure the dog gets bathroom breaks. Since that's only needed every two hours or so, there's not much to this job. So I'm sitting here, enjoying my music and chilling. I haven't had a house to myself in ages, so--as something of a loner--this time is much appreciated.

Before the sun went down, I convinced Caprice and Watson to "cooperate" for a photo of the two of 'em. (I was holding a dog treat. Hence the funny expression on Caprice's face.)


Once Watson wandered off, I decided to snap a couple shots of Cappy. She's such a pretty little dog.

25 October, 2010

What can I say? I like clean windows. (And yes, our window cleaner seriously looks like shaving cream. I love it.)

24 October, 2010

Pretty average day. The most notable thing I did today was practice my elbow stalls in the backyard.

Despite their occasional squabbles, our two "puppies" usually get along rather well. In fact, it's generally pretty obvious that they're sisters. For example, their two-headed dog impression:

23 October, 2010

Unfortunately, I had to replace my headphones today. My old ones were given to me by a friend last year, but they bit the dust a couple days ago. Because of the sentimental value, I'm somewhat sad to replace them, but don't see that I have a choice. This pair is the cheap kind, so I'm hoping to replace them with another pair like my old ones in the [hopefully] near future.

My biggest reason for insisting on a new pair of earbuds: Ryan Kelly, my favorite member of the band Celtic Thunder, released his first solo album on the eleventh. Alas, we just found out about and purchased the album from iTunes today. We're all quite thrilled to have it!

22 October, 2010

I woke up early this morning to the sound of a rainstorm beginning. As the morning progressed, the rain got heavier, the ground wetter and the skies darker. By ten o'clock, everything was thoroughly soaked. I escorted my dog into the backyard (she doesn't like rain) and took the opportunity to snap a couple photos. Naturally, just when the creative juices started to flow, the rain got drastically heavier. So, fearing for my camera, I sought cover in the house. About half an hour later, when the rain had settled, I went out for round two. This shot was a product of that particular venture.

21 October, 2010

Still staying at home and keeping an eye on the dogs. On the bright side, all of this time at home is allowing us to get some cleaning taken care of.

My mom and I gave the freezer a good cleaning (you know it's been too long since you last cleaned the freezer out when you find stuff with 2008 "best by" dates), thus vanquishing the avalanche hazard that we had going.

20 October, 2010

As the sun neared the end of its descent, I realized that I had yet to take a photo for the day. So I photographed a relatively new (just came out this year) and wonderfully tasty candy.

19 October, 2010

The photo manipulation bug bit me this morning. I've been wanting to do a manipulation to the song "Code Name Raven" by House of Heroes for a good month or so now, but haven't had the inspiration or motivation that I needed. So, when I finally felt inspired this morning, I didn't hesitate to take two hours to piece this beauty together. I cannot deny that I'm very happy with it.

(Critique is always welcome.)

(Click here for larger image.)

I also put together a birthday package for a friend with my family this afternoon. As has become a habit of mine, I put one of my wax seals on the envelope I included in the package.

18 October, 2010

My grandpa came over to help me with my car this afternoon, I spent a little while talking with a friend, cleaned the kitchen and did a variety of other things. And I forgot to photograph all of them. So, you get a picture of the new ball that my grandmother was kind enough to send me.

(A demonstration of the tripod stall.)

17 October, 2010

Yard work.

16 October, 2010

Our oldest dog, Dosser, fell on the stairs and hurt his leg pretty bad early Sunday morning. The vet diagnosed his injury as a torn ACL. He's too old for surgery to help him, so he has to take it easy for ten days, to allow the muscle to heal to the best of its ability. (Yes, that means that we're all on "house arrest" to make sure he rests and the other dogs don't bother him.)

As such, any time I feel cabin fever setting in, I'm stepping outside and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

15 October, 2010

Some might consider me pathetic for this statement, but I've been waiting on this buffalo since June. This is what Breyer calls a "Connoisseur" model. These models are produced in limited numbers and can only be purchased if Breyer draws your name. As one of the lucky few to get the opportunity to buy this model, I could not turn the offer down. My lovely model finally came in this afternoon and he is stunning. This photo absolutely does not do my buffalo justice, but it shall have to do.

14 October, 2010

We took a spontaneous trip to the dollar store this afternoon. As we hadn't been there in forever, it was an interesting adventure. My mom and I found these juggling beanbags there and decided they might be a good investment, since CoolBreeze and I are both learning juggling, in addition to contact juggling. (Contact juggling is easier, in my opinion...)

13 October, 2010

I have an incredibly tolerant dog.

12 October, 2010

It's not yet Christmas... In fact, I still have Thanksgiving and several birthdays on my priority list before I even start contemplating Christmas. But this was seriously the best photo opportunity I had yesterday (besides several pictures of a blackbird that I took... But I didn't want to be redundant and post a bird on a wire yet again.) So... Here's a Christmas decoration.

11 October, 2010

The car trouble continues. Since we didn't run my Saturn yesterday, the battery needed jumped again today. Twice, none the less. (Once at home and once at the gas station, when it wouldn't start.) Fun times.

10 October, 2010

October 10, 2010... Or 10-10-10. The most exciting part of the day was the awesome roundness of the date. It was definitely a day of rest for us, after the long (but fun) day before.

After spending the entire day rolling around in the dirt and being handled by an assortment of people, all of the toy balls we use for contact juggling practice needed a good wash. Our collection is large enough that a kitchen sink just would not do.

9 October - Contact Juggling Awareness Day!

After much waiting and preparation, Contact Juggling Awareness Day finally arrived! I spent a good portion of Friday morning printing fliers off and my youngest sister put together a tri-fold poster to keep them in.

The morning of, we pulled out all of our balls and loaded them in the car, along with a cooler, posters, my iPod boom box and various items to keep ourselves comfortable. Our plan had been to meet with LH at Manitou, which worked fine (despite the fact that we were running a bit late). We promptly set up and started juggling.

In the four hours that we were out there, we talked to and taught people of all ages, from all walks of life. We gave out as much information as possible (the fliers turned out to be an excellent idea), had a great time chatting, and even contact juggled with oranges! (Several people didn't believe they were real oranges until we handed them off as proof.) I'm willing to bet that a few folks will most definitely pursue contact juggling, while others will walk away merely educated. Both are fantastic, however!

I'm thrilled to have been a part of the experience (and I'm certain that my mom, sisters and LH are also). The fact that I got to teach kids and adults alike is fantastic! (I even got to work with a group of Korean tourists, which I thought was neat.)

You'll have to forgive me, though, for my lack of photos. My mom snapped pictures the entire time, but I was almost always occupied with a ball--and if I wasn't, I was likely taking a drink to relieve my dry throat.

When we had handed out all the fliers, we took off with LH and hung out the rest of the afternoon and evening, which made for a fantastic conclusion to a fun day!

This photo was LH's idea. I had just intended to snap a shot of her with a contact juggling ball, but this was way more clever!

8 October, 2010

Friday, as usual, was shopping day. Before we took off for the store, though, these three amusing Mourning Doves simultaneously flew to and landed on this wire. I mentally named them "The Three Stooges" and was thrilled when they stuck around long enough for a photo.

7 October, 2010

We took my dad's car to Jiffy Lube while he was away to get its oil changed. Before we did so, though, we took it through the car wash and removed a few layers of road dust.

6 October, 2010

In an attempt to get outside, be active, and have fun, my mom, sisters and I set up my ladder golf game and played a few rounds. We had a great time!

5 October, 2010

We spent a long while browsing Hobby Lobby (and purchased a few things, while we were at it) and dropped by my grandparents' house for a little while.

4 October, 2010

Forgive me for falling behind. I've found it very easy to procrastinate blogging this week. However, I am still taking my daily photos!

I can't honestly remember what all we were up to on Monday, but I do recall going to Culver's for supper. Surely that counts for something?

3 October, 2010

Apparently, there is much to celebrate in the month of October. My mom received a list of the official "holidays" of October in an e-mail and had me read it. After completing the list, I insisted on printing it out and photographing it. For the entire thing view this website.

2 October, 2010

After the most important football game of the year (in our house - Navy vs. Air Force), we took off for a park to meet up with LH and one of her college friends. The little meet up had initially been planned by CoolBreeze in an attempt to get some of her friends together, but they wound up too busy to join us. So we just hung out and contact juggled in the park a bit (despite the wind and numb fingers).

I spotted this little Harvestman on the knot of a tree, pretending he didn't exist.

1 October, 2010

Shopping day. Mom purchased some fake cigars to go with the "gangster hats" that she got us at Party City.

30 September, 2010

My mom and I did a fair bit of cleaning before decorating for fall. We found a cute assortment of fall-type items when we went to Party City last weekend, so we have the most "important" windows covered in decorations.