what was my first word?
what was my first oufit?
was i always this scared?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
no really, thanks
so i'm swimming last night and some guy mistakes me for some swim team member. he stops me during laps to ask if i'm "swimming with anyone". i mistakenly took this to mean he needed a lane. he clarified that he was impressed with my swimming and more impressed that i was self-taught. okay, so if this was a pickup line, i'll take it. oh, and i doubled my kick turns last night.
i know it's shameless self-promotion to even be posting about this, but if you knew how slow and clumsy i am you'd understand why i feel the need to brag about this. i mean, i fall going UP stairs. i bump into everything and i'm famous for cutting myself on sharp objects - and not intentionally! i consider myself the living Mrs. Magoo! so when the opportunity arises for something that i've actually been able to accomplish, well, i'm all over that shit!
i know it's shameless self-promotion to even be posting about this, but if you knew how slow and clumsy i am you'd understand why i feel the need to brag about this. i mean, i fall going UP stairs. i bump into everything and i'm famous for cutting myself on sharp objects - and not intentionally! i consider myself the living Mrs. Magoo! so when the opportunity arises for something that i've actually been able to accomplish, well, i'm all over that shit!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
why thank you
i got an interesting complement today. i was telling my co-workers that while swimming laps last Friday, i decided to teach myself kick turns. it's pretty common knowledge among my friends that i taught myself how to swim in college.
like most kids i knew how to "survival swim". my dad threw us out of the boat in a pond when we were kids and it forced us to learn how to swim. in an ironic twist, while an undergrad at UWF, i worked at the pool. don't worry, i was just in an admin job. anyway, to add to that irony, i dated a lifeguard. so the sign was clearly there. after hours of watching the guards and the local swim club, i decided that i wanted to learn to swim the right way. it would make a great form of exercise and could save my life one day. so i spent the next several weeks not actually swimming, but sitting in the stands watching the swim team. i'd pick one swimmer and practice "breathing" with them. so when they'd take a breath i'd take one. finally i put myself in the water, and after what seemed like months, i began to show signs of an actual swimmer. i sucked up a TON of water. but i finally got....sort of.
i believe in the piecemeal approach. so instead of tackling the whole thing at one time, i used a kick board and fins to practice kicking. then i'd use pull buoys to practice the stroke and breathing. the only problem was, i never really practiced putting it all together. and i'd just tag the wall and turn around when i was done with a length.
this went on for years. and i never even tried turns. then, the year i got married, i decided to do a mini triathlon. well, they won't let you use pull buoys so i had to learn to put it all together. so i taught myself that. more water consumed. i got it down enough to struggle through the event. but again, i never really tried turns.
that was until this past Friday. i won't go into all the details, but for some reason, i decided it was time. and i patiently tried again and again, talking myself through it. i practiced flipping up close to the wall, then incorporating a turn. i'd then back away from the wall, take off and flip, later adding the turn. finally i felt i had it enough to swim an actual lap and add the turn at the end. AND I DID IT!!! as a matter of fact i did 5 laps continuously! much water was consumed, but i stuck with it. so much so i'm excited about swimming tonight.
so after detailing this to my 2 office mates, one commented on how impressive that was, no really, that's awesome! but more than that, he commented that he's really impressed at how i'm always working to figure something out - mental, physical, emotional. and he felt like a lazy blob compared to me. he's not, but can i say that's one of the nicest things i think anyone has ever said. thank you very much!
like most kids i knew how to "survival swim". my dad threw us out of the boat in a pond when we were kids and it forced us to learn how to swim. in an ironic twist, while an undergrad at UWF, i worked at the pool. don't worry, i was just in an admin job. anyway, to add to that irony, i dated a lifeguard. so the sign was clearly there. after hours of watching the guards and the local swim club, i decided that i wanted to learn to swim the right way. it would make a great form of exercise and could save my life one day. so i spent the next several weeks not actually swimming, but sitting in the stands watching the swim team. i'd pick one swimmer and practice "breathing" with them. so when they'd take a breath i'd take one. finally i put myself in the water, and after what seemed like months, i began to show signs of an actual swimmer. i sucked up a TON of water. but i finally got....sort of.
i believe in the piecemeal approach. so instead of tackling the whole thing at one time, i used a kick board and fins to practice kicking. then i'd use pull buoys to practice the stroke and breathing. the only problem was, i never really practiced putting it all together. and i'd just tag the wall and turn around when i was done with a length.
this went on for years. and i never even tried turns. then, the year i got married, i decided to do a mini triathlon. well, they won't let you use pull buoys so i had to learn to put it all together. so i taught myself that. more water consumed. i got it down enough to struggle through the event. but again, i never really tried turns.
that was until this past Friday. i won't go into all the details, but for some reason, i decided it was time. and i patiently tried again and again, talking myself through it. i practiced flipping up close to the wall, then incorporating a turn. i'd then back away from the wall, take off and flip, later adding the turn. finally i felt i had it enough to swim an actual lap and add the turn at the end. AND I DID IT!!! as a matter of fact i did 5 laps continuously! much water was consumed, but i stuck with it. so much so i'm excited about swimming tonight.
so after detailing this to my 2 office mates, one commented on how impressive that was, no really, that's awesome! but more than that, he commented that he's really impressed at how i'm always working to figure something out - mental, physical, emotional. and he felt like a lazy blob compared to me. he's not, but can i say that's one of the nicest things i think anyone has ever said. thank you very much!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
phase 1 complete
kudos to nacho for working so hard this last week to get the decking done. that completes phase 1. now onto phase 2, stairs. and he swears phase 3, railing, will be done before the end of the year. well, i'm living on borrowed time anyway so what's 4-5 more months. good job babe!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
flowers
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
a little more lightning
okay, this is the last of them, i promise. and, believe me, i feel for everyone who's gotten hit by all this bad weather last week. really. my entire beach is under water so i feel some of your pain. but i just couldn't resist more lightning pics last Thurs night.
manual focus
Focal length = 34mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Manual
f/4
manual focus
Focal length = 34mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Manual
f/4
manual focus
Focal length = 34mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Manual
f/4
manual focus
Focal length = 34mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Manual
f/4
Saturday, August 25, 2007
today's subject - hummingbirds
since the bulk of the bad weather has passed, i'm out of chances for more lightning photos. although i did take some more cool ones Thurs night - i'll post those later. my subjects for today are the hummingbirds that have started coming around. mind you, i didn't have a feeder, but apparently my red glass candle lanterns attracted their attention. so, of course, i had to go buy a feeder. i am now a hummingbird feeder home owner. what's next? cooking magazines? i can see the domestic goddess in the distance - but will not photograph her. enjoy these!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
lightning
my first practice shots of lightning - thanks to this blog for getting me started. taken last night around 9:30pm. there's more thunderstorms over the next 2 days, so i'll have more time to practice. next stop....remote cable!
manual focus
Focal length = 28mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Appeture Priority
f/4.5
manual focus
Focal length = 50mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Appeture Priority
f/5.6
manual focus
Focal length = 28mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Appeture Priority
f/4.5
manual focus
Focal length = 50mm
ISO = 250
Exposure Mode = Appeture Priority
f/5.6
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sunrise Tree
another experiment with White Balance
Date/Time: 08/01/2007 6:06am
Focal Lenght: 50mm
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: F4.8 - 1/320sec
White Balance/Exposure Comp: -1.7EV
ISO: 250
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