cosymakes and lifeLOVEpaper had this little questionnaire over on their blog.. and I haven't ever done a flickr mosaic ... so I thought I would give it a try. Here are the questions and the concept of the game:

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Lisa
2. What is your favorite food? Seafood
3. What high school did you go to? Vancleave High.. Go Bulldogs!
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jon Bon Jovi
6. Favorite drink? Coca-Cola Classic!
7. Dream vacation? Maui
8. Favorite dessert? Molten Chocolate Cake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? A Mother
10. What do you love most in life? My husband
11. One Word to describe you? Open-Minded
12. Your flickr name? ak_lisa

* The picture of dh didn't come up in the search. I cheated with that one.


1. Breaking News: The Mona Lisa mystery finally resolved, 2. Paella a la Valenciana, 3. whatcha lookin at?, 4. JJ's Boulangerie Strawberry Tarts, 5. Photo_Jon-Bon-Jovi_304RGB, 6. Always Coca-Cola, 7. Big Beach (Makena), Maui Hawaii, 8. Everyone's Favorite!, 9. To Be A Mother, 10. Hal & Purrcules, 11. KEEP AN OPEN MIND CAPTAIN, 12. Reflection

As Promised Wedding Pictures

This was the Kiss that Sealed the "Contract"

Callie picked out her own dress. She asked me what color would I prefer..
and I said ... "I like Red"
It ended up being very patriotic.. Red, White and Blue.
My husband was very proud to serve and is now a proud veteran.

Ok, so this is the Honor Guard and I had no idea they were going
to smack my rear with their sword!

My reaction... and see Hal is grinning.. He thought it was funny!

My Dress... When I tried it on, I knew it was the one.
I made the veil.

And this is me with my Mother.
I was so happy that she could be there for our wedding!

Wedding Story...

Every wedding starts with a proposal and I think mine was different than most. Hal had left Keesler AFB and had went back to his home station in California... I was working in McRae's shoe store at the Edgewater Mall in Biloxi, MS at the time and was at work on the anniversary of our first date, December 1st. When I got to work there was this beautiful bouquet of red roses.. and of course I was curious, I kept asking everyone... "who are the flowers for?" Either they avoided me acting to busy to answer or I just didn't get an answer and I was trying not to be too nosey. Finally, I asked again and my co-worker said ... "well, if you want to know that bad, why don't you read the card!" And I was like really, isn't that private? So I took the card and it was for me! The card said, "When you've got a minute, call me." It was from my sweetie! I couldn't believe it. So, I call him right away and he said all those mushy things like Happy Anniversary, I love you, then he said... Do you think your Mom would be able to come to California on the 13th of Jan? and I was like... why? and then he said, "Will you marry me?" I was a bit shocked! See we had planned to move in together for a little while before marriage. I was going to move to CA, get a job, go to college, get my degree, then we'd get married if we wanted to.. That was the plan. Well, obviously I said yes! But after I said yes... I was like why Jan 13th? He said it was the first date that popped into his head. We changed it to Jan 12th (a Saturday vs a Sunday).

Now the other unusual thing about this wedding was.. I didn't plan any of it. Hal planned the whole thing from CA. He got the Honor Guard, the chapel at Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA, the reception hall at a very nice Marriott, the hotel in San Fran for our wedding night and he made reservations for our guest to stay at a base turned into a hotel and housing. I told him what my fav flowers were, he picked them out, I told him what my fav cake flavors were, he ordered it, he got an organ player for the music and also a wedding coordinator (required by the base) to help with decorating the chapel and the clean up afterwards. He did it all. All I did was show up with a dress! And to me, it was the perfect wedding! We had 22 guest. They were all family, including my mom and one sister (my bridesmaid who was in the AF at the time too). It was all very sweet. Except the part where the guardsman smacked my butt with a sword and said, "Welcome to the United States Air Force ma'am!" We hadn't rehearsed that part and I didn't know it was coming. Even then I will stick with my original opinion... It was perfect!

I would normally add pictures, but as I'm at work and forgot to bring them with me... I will post some pics when I get home tonight. I look forward to crashing on your wedding :)

RAK Winner

12:30am and the winner is....



Congrats Angie! I've got some of my favorite things to send to you :)

And Thank You Everyone for all your lovely comments!!!!

Randomness...

I am fond of reading blogs with random things. It makes me feel that we are all the same really even though we obviously have our differences. So here's some randomness from me today.

I had a horrible migraine yesterday that kept me home from work and disabled all day.
My mother-in-law stopped by unexpectedly and I was in my pj's. I find it funny (she always looks perfect!) It was a good visit. She's such a nice person.

It isn't a very good summer yet. I'd say we've had about 3 good days. I need more sunshine for my flowers and little garden because it is really looking pitiful now. Some of the leaves on the plants have changed to red which looks like fall to me....

Stopped by McD's this morning and got an egg mcmuffin and I was asked to take a survey while waiting.. interesting.. I don't mind surverys.. Just not a morning person here. Need caffeine!

Next month I will have to cut back on the caffeine and eventually rid it from my diet.. Yikes!!

Have you read Real Siimple magazine? It is a real jem. I really enjoy it.

Well, I guess that is enough of the randomness for right now.. Hopefully, I will have some pictures of a few finished projects for you to see by the end of the weekend. :)

Have a great weekend Everyone!

Happy Blog Birthday to Me...

You know it is hard to believe that I've been blogging for a year already. I've met some very wonderful people along the way and have been very inspired. I started out thinking that I would use this blog to talk alot about scrapbooking, but I haven't really... it has taken shape all by itself. I truly enjoy the interaction with others. And.. receiving a comment to me is the absolute best ever!

So... if you would like a chance to win a present (and isn't birthdays about the presents?)... Please leave a comment between now and next Tuesday and on the following Wednesday (after I get home from work) I will draw a name!

Sew...

I've been looking at this book for a while. I can't remember where I first saw this book, but I have been inspired by sweet little aprons for a long time. You have to check out this apron swap! Flickr: A Feathered Nest Apron Swap . Ok, so I know most of you are probably already aware of these goings on... but not me, until very recently and it was too late for me to participate. However, I have been inspired to make an apron for myself (and maybe one lucky person) ... and do you see that fabric? I picked it up today. What do you think? I think it will be fresh and cute... anyways... stay tuned!

Do you know what tomorrow is? It is my Blog Birthday! And, I have never celebrated anything on a blog before, so.. yikes! I'm a little nervous about throwing a blog bash, and I am in no way prepared to throw a bash.. so instead look for some crazy activity here. I'm gonna blog everyday for one week and celebrate.

Ps. I'll be giving away my very first ever RAK :) and I think since the FIRST swap I ever participated in was a swap of "My Favorite Things" ... well... you figure it out!

daylight

According to Weather Underground Length Of Visible Light: 24h 00m. How about that? and I believe it.. I think that's why I'm still up! It says the sun rises at 4:20 AM AKDT and the sun sets at 11:40 PM AKDT, but honestly.. I could cut grass right now and not cut my foot off! But.. I might would wake the neighbors.

There are lots of things inspiring me right now and I feel pulled in so many directions!
1. I have two knitting WIP; two socks at a time on circulars and a felted market bag.. neither even close to completion.
2. I have 3 outfits yet to cut out and sew for our darling neice.
3. I have been commission to make a window seat cushion. (Guess that should be at the top of my list!)
4. All the wonderful tutorials.. like at lynda.com and over at NAPP!! I could watch and participate 24/7 ..
5. I truly need to SCRAP! My poor mother's pictures are waiting on me... and I just can't get enough of the gallery over at SIStv ! Loads of wonderful layouts and inspiration for scrapping :)

And that's just the fun stuff!!!

I also need to:
1. Get my carpets cleaned.
2. Mow the lawn. I think that's going to be a weekly thing.. but actually, I really enjoy it :)
3. Organize the everything room.. *sigh* It really is a everything room.. guest bed, 2 computers, 2 desk areas, filing cabinet, piano, scraping area/sewing area... I've crammed quite a bit in here... and it drives me NUTS! Why do I do this to myself???
4. I need to strip the paint off the front walkway, stain and seal it.
5. Transplant a few perennials.

Ok.. so that's a big enough list for now :) I will leave you with some edits I've worked on.

Ps. Guess who is having a blogiversary this week??? I think I feel the need for my very first RAK ;)

55mm pic & edit

This is the original.. I'm still learning about editing photos in Photoshop. I think it is an on going process. If you click on the pictures, you will see a bigger difference. Looking at them here, I really don't see much of a difference.

I was going for a subtle difference. Don't know that I've achieved the effect I necessarily wanted, but I do kinda like the result. I still may play around with it more.

I do like the picture, though. What do you think?

Have you ever been to a Drive-In?

This was my first time going to a Drive-In. And you want to know what was funny about it? I went to see Indiana Jones.. why is that so funny? I was in Indiana to see a Drive-IN..

What a treat! You gotta get there early to get the first row and if you bring kids they had a volley ball net set up in an extra-extra large sand box. Don't think I've ever seen a sand box so big! They also had a small putting green for some minature golf. Other kids brought football and tossed it around. Fun! Fun!

The party we were with brought their own drinks, snacks, lawn chairs, blankets.. you name it. They had van that had seats that open to the back.. Way fun! and if you wanted to sit in your car to hear the show (which we did).. You can tune in to a local FM station and you have it there in your car.

One tip! If you are going to watch from your vehicle.. clean the windsheild before the show starts!

So that's about it with the trip to Indiana... other stuff we did? We went downtown and shopped at the Mall. I went to a photography store. Hal went to cigar stores. I went to Lane Bryant's, Hobby Lobby, World Plus, fabric stores... and that's about it. It was good times.

Now it is time to stay home and enjoy the Alaskan summer! Fishing, gardening, scrapping, grilling, hiking, walking, Saturday markets, etc....

Stay tuned! :)

Indianapolis Zoo

The Zoo was terrific in every since of the word! I fully enjoyed myself and was also a little terrified at times.

Terrified = snakes! I didn't take any pictures and had to walk as quickly as possible through that area.

Our nephew thought he wasn't scared of sharks and wanted to pet the baby sharks... but when we got to that area, he just couldn't do it... maybe he felt like I did about the snakes!

So what did we do at the Zoo!

We saw most all the mammals they had.
We saw the desert area... lizards.. yikes.. not fond of reptiles..
Rode the train.

The nephew & niece rode the ponies.
I think the only portion we didn't visit was the petting zoo.. but by the time we got around to it.. they so needed a nap!

I enjoyed the butterflies most of all. It was so pretty in there and so relaxing and so warm... just makes you feel happy and good.

They had to check our clothing before we went outside. I thought that was pretty cool.

And then there was the loveliest garden, just like out of an English countryside... Very manicured and very elegant. LOVED IT!

There were statues like this little prince charming waiting for his princess kiss all over the gardens. I could imagine all sorts of goings on there...

I didn't get a picture of the overall look of the place... but I did have two little monsters to keep up with.

Going to Indy was a welcomed change and I enjoyed every minute of it. But now that summer is approaching, don't think I'll be leaving until the fall for another trip.

I have a little bit more to tell about my trip... but I'll do that later.

Ps. My father-in-law let me play with a micro-Nikkor 55mm lens for as long as I want. I've been playing and I will show some of my photos and edits soon. :)

The Main Attraction

This picture isn't the greatest, but it'll do.
My dh took it with his phone..
and I'm sure glad I didn't bring my Nikon
because it would have gotten soaked, or beaten up pretty bad.
We knew a rain storm was coming, we just didn't know when.
During Robert Randolph's performance the sky was putting on
a light show all on its own...
and we thought for a little while the clouds were heading away from us.
But no such luck!
Into EC's performance it started sprinkling and I put a t-shirt dh had bought
around my shoulders hoping it would take care of my back.
We were just under the pavilion, but not far enough out of harms way.
The lightening and thunder was pretty cool.
We just don't get storms like that here in this part of Alaska.
And just as he started singing Wonderful Tonight,
the sky fell and it was falling sideways, but we didn't care
We just cuddled up close and enjoyed the music.
Then... I thought it was over but the crowd was going wild with chanting
for another song.. so he came out and did Layla, Awesome!!
I had binoculars for the most part and EC just seems to do everything so effortlessly.
His music is simply amazing! He did do a couple acoustic ones (those are my favs!)
Have you seen Crossroads? You've got to rent the DVD's!! Fantastic..
Ok.. anyways... the show is over.. and people are running like mad to get to their cars.
We parked a mile away and that ain't no exaggeration!
We get bottlenecked in the masses and I had to find a way out!
I was getting anxious, panicky and very mad, it was go and stop.. like the hwy in winter!!
I had Hal's hand, he had his mother's hand, and she had Hal's sister's hand...
I found a way through some trees and I'm shorter than them.. and I took off..
I didn't know they were gettin' hit by tree limbs.. but I did get us outa Dodge!!
We finally got to the the rental and we were beyond soaked! and a little chilly.
It wasn't as warm in Indiana as I would have liked it to have been.
I was hopin' for some good deep heat to the bone warm... didn't really get it.
We actually got outa there pretty quick.. on to the road I mean.
But getting home... that's a whole other story!

Opening Act - Robert Randolph & the Family Band

These guys were awesome! Click the link and listen to another song. Love their sound! Do you like a little organ music, steel guitar, drums? Believe it or not.. this sounds like church music to me. I grew up in a southern apostolic pentecostal church. Reminds me of home and people worshiping God, running aisles, dancing and clapping their hands. Music like this makes ya wanna move :)

Robert Randolph and the Family Band was the opening act for Eric Clapton on Friday, May 30th in Noblesville, IN. AND WOW WHAT A SHOW!!! Not only did we have the light show under the pavilion, we had a lightening storm outside. I really enjoyed it! I've maybe seen lightening once in my 6 years of living in Alaska! The lightening was quite spectacular and even in rhythm at times. :)

More about the night later... gotta get back to the pile of work on my desk!

ONCE: Falling Slowly

I watched this movie on the plane Saturday on our flight back to Anchorage. If you haven't seen it and are in the mood for some awesome guitar and piano sounds, watch it! Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard sing in such beautiful harmony. I bought the soundtrack yesterday and I absolutely love it!

The trip was great.... but more to come on that later :)