Quotable Thursday #16

"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to." - Bill Vaughn.

Christmas 2009 Recap

Christmas 2009 was a busy one, though I feel as if Dave and I actually got a little bit of time to ourselves this year, which was a nice change.

Our first Christmas event was back on the 12th at the NAC for the DST Christmas Party. It was a really nice event with great food. Everyone seemed to have a really good time, including Dave and myself. I took the little camera out for a field trip and it fared pretty well, for a point-and-shoot. We also apparently got a semi-decent photo of Dave and I, which is an added bonus as I think this is the only image of Dave and I for all of 2009 (the Dave and Steph folder on my computer seems to be empty).

The second Christmas event was on the 18th at Chris, Jerrica and Lindsay's house, lovingly called Die Hohle. The Christmas dinner was set up by Jerrica and was a really nice idea. We got another excuse to get dressed up (because I really do need reasons to wear something nicer than jeans out of the house) and ate some good, homemade food. Hats off to everyone who helped with the dinner. I plan on putting these photos up on Flickr once I get the ability to work on them back - I will let you know when that happens. For now, please enjoy a photo of the eggnog Dan made - I am told it was really good (I wouldn't know as I don't drink eggnog because it is weird).

I am considering the third Christmas event to be the weekend that Dave and I set up the tree and the proceeding weekend where we attempted to get all of our Christmas shopping done. I swear Christmas really creeped up on us this year. Normally I would have all my shopping done by November 30th at the latest, this year though Dave and I were buying the last of the gift cards on the 21st!

Fourth Christmas took place on the 23rd and 24th at Dave's parents' house. Some of his extended family from both sides were there and we again ate really some good food. We also played a lot of Wii and I of course took a ton of photos. Dave's family asked for a family portrait to be done this year, likely because it is the last time they will be in Canada for Christmas. We shot in three locations, but this was my favourite photo so far. I think it came out pretty well (though I am thinking it could use some lighting up in the back - I am not completely done with it yet).

Once Christmas in Peterborough was done, we headed to Prescott. We spent Christmas Day with my parents, brother and sister-in-law and my Mom's Dad. We ate our traditional Christmas dinner and opened our gifts, which were of course awesome. We also spent some not so traditional time in the hot tub which was a super nice treat - oh how I wish we had a hot tub here in Ottawa. Mom tried something new this year and put our Christmas money in little tiny gift bags which she then put on the tree. The plan was to tell us to go to the tree every once in awhile and let us get one. In reality, she kept forgetting about it until we reminded her and we ended up getting two each time. It was still a rather interesting way to get our Christmas money.

Thankfully the very dirty car had winter tires on and made it everywhere this year as it wasn't the greatest weather while we were driving around. To the right is a photo of the car (taken from the passenger seat). As you can see, it was very packed on the drive home and it took Dave and I a fair bit to get everything into the house. The process was sped up a bit by the fact that it was ice raining and neither of us wanted to be outside. To date, the only things that have been properly put away have been the gifts. All of the things we took with us, clothes, etc are going through the normal process of sitting in the luggage until they are needed.

I am still looking forward to exchanging gifts with a few friends, though I need to buy those gifts yet (this is not me procrastinating but rather something we do every year to ensure the things we needed to get for Christmas are received).

All in all, Christmas was really good. It was a little stressful at times due to the driving, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It would have been nice to spend more time with each family, but we only get a few days off for the holiday and needed some time to ourselves as well.

Meadowlands Christmas

A couple weekends ago Dave and I spent several hours 'putting up Christmas' in our house. We set up the tree and our stockings and even got a large portion of our gifts wrapped - it was a rather productive time. We did have a few issues with the tree, like the very top bit not being strong enough to support our star and Dave having to MacGyver an attachment piece for it.

We also learned that the tree would look better with both white and blue lights rather than just the blue ones we got during the Boxing Day sales last year. So the goal this year is to get some white tree lights so that we can have both next year (excess blue lights will be used to decorate some windows as we don't have any window decorations this year - at least not yet) - we also need a tree skirt. I am really happy with our Christmas decorations, we obviously have a blue and white/silver theme going and I think it looks really pretty and very Christmas-y.

I've Got Your Back

It's just so funny!

Transparent Fish

This 'weird fish with transparent head' was first discovered in 1939, but has only recently been found alive. The image was taken in 2004 but was just released in February, 2009 and published on the National Geographic website. It was taken by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in the deep waters off California's central coast. Its name is barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) and as you can see, its forehead is similar to a cockpit. It is completely transparent enabling you to see its inner workings. What you would think were eyes at the front of its head are actually smell sensors. The eyes are tubes (or barrels - hence barreleye) that lie under the green domes in its head. The domes themselves are used to filter out the small amounts of light that reaches down into the deep, dark waters it calls home.
(information and image found at National Geographic)

Boxing Day

Every year when I was little I would go Boxing Day shopping with my mom. We usually waited until later in the day as to avoid as much as the crowds as possible and we normally just bought Christmas stuff for next year (cards, ornaments, etc.). Last year was the first year we faced the crowds and actually got to a store before it opened, though this part was not actually planned. Dave and I bought our name brand 32" TV and GPS unit for the car as well as the traditional Christmas stuff. It was very pleasant.
This year we waited until the stores were open before we headed out of my parents' house. Upon arriving at the store, we realized that the Christmas stuff had been almost completely bought out and though we were able to get a tree skirt for out Christmas tree, we weren't able to get anything else 'Christmas-y'. Dave bought some stuff from Future Shop and I looked into some Bamboo stuff, but didn't buy anything as it wasn't on sale and I need to think about it a little longer. It was definitely a much lower key Boxing Day as compared to last year.

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays everyone!!
(I know this is the same image as last year, but without Photoshop, I can't make a new one)

Quotable Thursday #15

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time" - Laura Ingalls-Wilder.

Way Back Whenesday: Super S

Do you remember drawing this? I sure do. I think I drew it more than most people as my name starts with S and I would often use it to start my name when signing it. I also tried to mimic the style with the other letters in my name, but I don't think I ever got it to work quite right. The drawing I found of the Super S also has an optional hat feature, which I don't think I ever did, but was apparently just as popular.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is well, everything. I have compiled a list of wants for this Christmas season. As usual, I don't distribute this list anywhere but here, and don't intend to actual receive really any of the gifts from the Dream List, but I think it is fun to make and it helps me determine what I will want to buy myself throughout the next year.


Dream List

1. Nikon SB-800 flash unit;
2. Macro lens;
3. Nikon 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5D lens;
4. Nikon SC-29 flash cord;
5. Adobe CS4;
6. Bamboo tablet (pen and touch, 5"x7" or larger);
7. External hard drive (with viewing screen);
8. Small chest freezer;
9. Kitchenaid toaster;
10. Winter coat (sport, detachable layers, water resistant); and,
11. Winter boots (work boot style).

Rational List

1. Photography portfolio (I believe this is coming from Dave's sister - yay!);
2. Photography reflector (white/gold);
3. Epson photo paper (8"x10" - cheapest is at Canada Computer in Ottawa [near Costco]);
4. Cirque tickets & Disney Vacation (this would be part of the dream list, but Dave and I already know it is coming from his parents - how awesome is that!);
5. Gift cards (Sears [I need capri pants for Florida], Ricki's, Reitmans, Bluenotes, Cappucci hair salon [in Ottawa], Henry's, Future Shop/Best Buy); and
6. Money is always useful.

As you can see, many of the things I want, both in dream world and the rational world, are photography based. I am pretty sure those of you who know me, or read this blog regularly could have guessed that be the case.

Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy died yesterday (December 20, 2009) at age 32 apparently from cardiac arrest. An autopsy is being performed to determine if this was indeed the cause of death.
She starred in a couple classic teen movies such as Clueless, but also more serious dramas like Girl, Interrupted. She also had some face time on the tabloids when she was dating Ashton Kutcher in 2002. Brittany Murphy dabbled in music as well when she sang with Paul Oaklenfold and also in the movie Happy Feet.
She seemed to have a good career going for her, and on the more quiet side of Hollywood to boot. I really hope her death is confirmed to be natural and the tabloids let her rest in peace.

Ctrl + Alt + Del

A while back, okay a long while back, Chris told Dave and me about a webcomic she thought we would really like = Ctrl+Alt+Del. She would periodically send me links to pages of it, most of which were about WoW. Neither Dave nor myself really got into the series, that is until recently. Dave has finished reading the entire comic series from back when it started in 2005 to the most recent posts. I am somewhere in the middle of 2006 and have a fair bit left until I am caught up, but am really enjoying it. Essentially it is a webcomic about two gamers. There is lots about gaming, obviously, and computers and comics and some movies (mostly game based movies), but also bits about their lives. I really like it and think it is actually quite funny. Everyone should check it out. (I have also added a link to it on the right)
(oh and the image is from the Ctrl+Alt+Del website)

Quotable Thursday #14

"Life isn't fair. It is just fairer than death, that's all." - William Goldman (The Princess Bride)

Working without a Header

So as you can tell, the only blog of the three that I run to have a header is my Photography one. As I lost Photoshop a little while ago, I have been unable to create (or finish creating) the headers for this blog and my weight loss blog. I had a grand idea for the weight loss blog and was just about to start it when I lost Photoshop. I had been working on a header for this blog, and had some prototypes, but nothing I really loved. So, unfortunately these blogs will be running without a header for a little while yet as Dave and I try to trick my computer into letting me install Photoshop again. Not having access to it is really hindering my creative process; however, I have reinstalled Lightroom 3 (the Beta version is available for free from Adobe) and am able to complete basic alterations and edits to my photos.

Feature Listings

Interested in looking up a previously posted feature? Well now it is easier to do just that.
I have made the list of features (over on the right) links to posts where a full listing of feature posts can be found (including their original post date). Enjoy.

How-To Tuesday: Make a Basic Collage in Photoshop

Chris asks me How to Make a Collage in Photoshop on a semi-regular basis, and though she wrote it down last time I told her, which was a while ago now, I figured I would post it here for anyone else who might be interested.
Step 1. Decide if you want a basic coloured background (1a) or a picture as your background (1b).
1a. Coloured Background
If you want a coloured background you can do one two things (i and ii):
i. After opening Photoshop, create a new image. Input the dimensions you want the final collage to be (the size of one of your photos might be a good place to start) and select the background colour desired, see below. Hit OK. You now have a blank canvas to start with. Proceed to Step 2.

ii. Another way to do this is to open any image in Photoshop. Then hit CTRL and the A key to select everything in the image. With the selection tool active (this may be the rectangular, elliptical, single row or single column marquee tool), right click the image and select Layer Via Cut, see below. You now have Layer 1 as the original photo and the background layer as a blank colour, see below (whatever your background colour was at the time). Proceed to Step 2.1b. If you would rather have an image as your background, open the image in Photoshop and then proceed to Step 2.

If you decided to use Either Step 1.a.ii or Steb 1.b then save your collage file with a new filename now as to not alter the original file used. You will likely have to save it as a Photoshop file (see end of post for description and helpful images).

Step 2. Start placing your collage images.
Open the image you want to place into your collage, make sure to keep your collage file open. Either hit CTRL and the A key to select the entire image, or using the selection tool, select only the part of the image you want in your collage. Hit CTRL and the C key to copy the selection then go back the collage file and hit CTRL and the V key to paste the image into the file. It will come in as a new layer, see below. You can move each layer around by selecting it (the currently selected layer is highlighted blue - layer 1 is selected above) and using the Move Tool, see below. You can resize the image by transforming hit, hitting CTRL and the T key will allow you to do this. Once you have resized it how you would like it, press Enter to accept the transformation. Proceed to Step 3.

Step 3. Adding the remaining images.
Repeat Step 2 with each image you want to use in your collage. Make sure to exit each photo after you are done copying them into your collage to keep your computer running efficiently. Also, remember not to save any changes made to the photos that might have been made in the process. Proceed to Step 4.

Step 4. Saving the collage.
When you save the image you get the option of what file you would like to save it as. If you intend on continuing work on the collage, you should save it first as a Photoshop file, see below. This will save all the layers and any other techniques you have used so that you can alter them later on.Once you want the image to be used in other programs, save it as a JPEG image, see below.

General Notes
Save your collage file on a regular basis to ensure you don't lose it at any time during the process.

Merry Textmas

Lately Dave and I have been listening to Live 88.5 on the drive into work. We also listen to it as we fall asleep at night (well most nights). This entire month the are having a daily contest called Merry Textmas. Basically you text in to receive a different gift (or prize) each day. As Dave and I listen, we hear of things that we would like and since I have excess money on my phone that will shortly expire, we have been texting in most days. Usually we only text once, perhaps twice each day but today we must have texted at least 5 times. Today they were giving away a 46" LED TV. I am not sure where we would have put this TV had we won, but it would have been awesome. We have tried to get another dSLR camera, a waterproof point-and-shoot camera and a kindle in the past and failed each time. I don't expect we will win anything during this month long contest, and will end up spending most if not all of my phone money on these texts, but it is fun anyway.

Quotable Thursday #13

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." - Herm Albright (1876-1944)

Way Back Whenesday: Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin was one of my favourite children cartoons. His voice was soft and soothing and I loved him very much. I wanted to get one of the Teddy Ruxpin talking dolls, but they were deemed too expensive or generally unnecessary. I did however have one of his friends. I don't remember what they are called but they were the little jumpy guys that followed Teddy around. They were cute and I had a hand puppet one. You could move it's mouth, eyes and antenna and make its neck really long (as it was essentially a sock). (image found through Google) I took it to daycare one day and then lost it shortly thereafter. I found one at daycare and must have thought it was mine so I took it home. A few years later I found two of them sitting in my toybox and realized that I had actually stolen the one from the daycare - oh well.

Blog of Note (December): Totally Looks Like

Totally Looks Like is exactly what it says it is. People submit images of nouns that look like famous people. For example (this is for you Chris):Zach Efron totally looks like Toupee Dog. There are some that are funny like this one, and other that are stunningly accurate - at times I will be like oh that is Tim Allen, then look at the second image and see that the first wasn't Tim Allen, merely someone who looked EXACTLY like Tim Allen.

Techno-Drama

About two weeks ago I downloaded Lightroom 3 Beta from the Adobe website. Normally this wouldn't cause people any problems whatsoever, but considering that I had not so legal software on my computer, it caused havoc to my system when I decided to uninstall the program a few days ago. When I attempted to complete my assignment on Friday, I learned that I no longer had any access to Photoshop or any other Adobe program. Not a problem, that is why I have a backup computer right - WRONG!
Upon turning on the backup computer, it froze and Dave had to restart it. It now just beeps when you attempt to turn it on. No screen to inform us of an error - just the tower itself beeping away - like it is mocking me. So no backup computer. We tried to install the software again and again (differently each time of course) and failed every time. Eventually we decided Dave's crappy computer was going to have to take the hit and get over 7GB worth of software installed on it so I could finish my assignment on time.
A few hours later, the assignment was completed (after realizing that Dave's monitor is not colour corrected and having to do it twice as the first round was so weak I couldn't bare to submit it). I submitted the not so great assignment with no signatures on it as my brush files are all on this computer - and quite possibly deleted.
The stress levels of the day resulted in me working out a lot with the Wii Fit Plus to counteract the copious amounts of chocolate covered almonds I ate.

Quotable Thursdays #12

"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want." - Ben Stein.

Nintendo Wii

Dave and I have been looking into the Wii for quite some time. Originally I was going to purchase it back when he got the PS3 but figured that buying two consoles at the same time would lead to either fighting between who got to use to big television with their console or one console not getting played nearly as much as the other (with the latter scenario being more probably for us).

We ended up buying the Wii system this past weekend and have been playing it since. The reason we ended up buying it is because we got one as a Christmas gift for the Konings (who already know about it so on the off chance that they read my blog, I am not spoiling anything).

So far we only have Wii Sports but boy is it fun. The first day we played it, we tried out all the sports and realized that golf is the stupidest sport and we will likely never go back to it.

We went through the training levels and then tried our hand at the boxing fights which really kicked my butt, but I kicked Dave's so it was okay. We fought and played for about 4 hours and afterwards I was very tired and am now a little sore - but in a good 'I can feel my muscles' sort of way. It feels weird to play video games all day and yet be able to be happy with myself afterwards for being physically active.

We also purchased the Wii Fit Plus package (board and game) but we haven't tried it out yet. I suspect I will be equally sore and tired after it but also pretty impressed and pleased with it.

I want to buy a bunch of games that are out for the Wii like Mario Kart and Super Paper Mario, but for now I am just going to stick to Wii Sport and Wii Fit Plus.

(image found through Google)