More Yard Work Under Way

The rock wall was too quick and easy. We needed a bigger project to sink our teeth into. Enter the new yoga deck. Oh wait, maybe it’s the new dance/art studio. We still haven’t quite made up our minds yet if it’s going to be a deck or a building. We will just have to wait and see what our mood is in a couple of weeks.

On Saturday we got the first shipment of wood delivered. And perfect timing too. Karlo just finished pouring the concrete footings. I helped get the support subframe in place and it went pretty smoothly.




I wimped out on Sunday, due to the rain, and watched Karlo put all the floor joists in. Now we are ready to lay the deck. Or wait, maybe we are laying the subfloor. Uuuugh. How will we ever decide what to do with this thing?

Catching Up

I disappeared for a few days and I think I forgot to mention that I was going to a conference in Boston last week. I attended Photoshop World and had a ball. My cousin Jamie came along and I think our heads are sufficiently filled with as much new software knowledge as can be. It was pretty much three straight days of non-stop tutorials, but it was as much fun as one can have while learning. And having a buddy to hang and chat with was a new experience for me. Normally I go to these types of events alone and it was much better to share all that I saw and learned with somebody as equally geeky. For some reason Karlo just doesn’t appreciate me calling home to tell him all about the cool Photoshop filters and masks I learned about. I just don’t get that. But Jamie, he speaks me language.

So we sat and learned, and strolled Boston, and took pictures . . . and met the Photoshop God himself, my idol Scott Kelby. Not only did I get to meet him, but he treated us to dinner. I’m sure not many of you even know who Scott Kelby is, and this probably isn’t anywhere near as exciting for you as it was for me. So that’s a long story that I’ll save for a rainy day. Looking at a few of the pictures I snapped during our picture taking outing is probably more interesting to all. Here are a handful of my favorites:









And because I just can't resist . . . here's me with Mr. Photoshop himself:

Hard Labor

Because our P90X workout isn’t hard enough, I decided to supplement my weekend workout with some rock moving. The guys at work still don’t believe that I can move rocks. Looks can be very deceiving sometimes. I’m not nearly as weak as I may look. So to prove what I did, I took a picture of the trailer full of rocks that I collected, all by myself. I drove the ATV and the trailer out into the woods and spent an hour all alone picking and moving my favorite rocks. Here’s the proof.



And here’s the before picture of our very ugly front side yard.


I just had to take this picture because our friends in Eastford now call Karlo the Axe Man. That’s a story that I didn’t share last week. Karlo nearly lost his finger in a terrible axe accident. I think I didn’t share because the mere thought of continues to make me sick. Some day maybe I’ll be able to relive the story via the blog. The doctor said he has two more months of healing so that gives me two more months before I have to face what’s under his bandage. Maybe by then I’ll be better able to cope.


I wish I had a time stamp on my camera because this picture was taken less than an hour after the first picture was taken. Because of my awesome job picking such nice rocks, we assembled this wall in no time. We are finally making some headway on transforming that disaster of a side yard. Now I can’t wait for planting season!

Test Results

I performed a couple different tests this weekend. First, I tested my ability to lure wildlife into our yard. I failed miserably. I'm still not sure why nobody was interested in the cut up apple and carrots I sprinkled around the pond, nor the pieces of bread that I sprinkled on the dock. I even filled our bird feeder and after over 24 hours, nobody took the bait.

So the shooting of animals didn't go as planned. I did spot a pair of ducks on the pond on Sunday morning and Karlo still can't believe that I went running outside (in my pajamas) in the cold to try to take pictures of them. I'm not even showing those results. They were pitiful.

When the weather warmed up a bit I ventured outside again. This time I restricted my shooting to non-moving objects. I took about 10 pictures before my wrist hurt so bad from holding up the monster lens that the novelty of the lens wore off. I found it to be a bear to work with. Very hard to focus at full zoom and way too heavy. The good news is that I don't think I would ever make the incredible investment of purchasing one. And why would I do that anyway when I have a friend willing to let me borrow it? Here are some test shots (straight out of the camera 'cause I'm too tired to bother altering them). I'm pretty sure I could achieve all the same results with my own lens. Just think of all the money I'm saving not buying a new lens. Yeah.

My Happiness for Today

In response to Lisa’s last blog posting I’m going to list my Top Ten Things I’m Happy About Today:

1. Today is P90X Rest Day and let me tell you, it’s glorious to go home and NOT work out.
2. Today is the first day of Spring – yipppeeeeee. I can’t wait to start spending more time outdoors.
3. We are picking up a Big Y pizza for dinner tonight and after eating cereal for dinner two nights this week and pretzels one night, I’m ready for a warm meal that I don’t have to cook.
4. Despite the fact that I’m still doing tax homework and collecting missing information, the latest word from our accountant is that we only owe $5 in Federal taxes! I true miracle. We won’t discuss the State taxes today because it’s Happy Day.
5. As of yet, Karlo’s finger has not fallen off . . .
6. My work Hell Week is finally coming to an end and most of the recent work stresses are now being resolved.
7. I got word yesterday that our mortgage refinance is actually coming through. With a little more paperwork, looks like we may close within 2 weeks. That should put some extra money in our pockets to help stimulate the economy.
8. My coworker is bringing me his 400mm Nikon VR zoom lens today so I can play with it all weekend. I’m planning on baiting some deer and ‘shooting’ them from the deck. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
9. We have no extra curricula activities to do tonight. We are going home . . . and staying there. Bliss.
10. Did I mention that today was P90X Rest Day?????

What Day Is It?

Well, I completely missed “Wayback Wednesday” because I was unaware of what day it was. Seems like I rarely know the day of the week and my days are defined more by the activity of the day, rather than the name of the day. For instance, Karlo and I will refer to yesterday as Legs & Back, and today as Kenpo. Or Monday as Swing and Tuesday as Latin. There is so much going on, both at work and after work, that I can’t keep anything straight.

This week is a particularly rough week. Karlo is training, which means we have to stay at work late every night, leaving us very little time for our workouts and our dance classes. I had cereal for dinner on Monday and pretzels (in the car) on Tuesday. I keep telling myself that this mad rush is short-term and pretty soon things will settle down. What a joke. Shouldn’t I know my life well enough by now to know this will never happen? As soon as one thing settles down, we find something else to fill that time slot.

As much as I love all my dance classes I do look forward to them ending. I am counting down the days until our P90X workouts come to an end. Those are really started to drag me down. I long for the days when we come home from work and say, “What do you want to do tonight?” I will just have to keep fantasizing about that for the rest of this month . . .

My New No-Maintenance Pet Fish

Working my way up to real ducks . . .These fish will play with you. Check it out. They will chase your cursor.

The Picture I Didn’t Get

I was going to title this “The Picture I Didn’t Take,” but I did take it. I just didn’t like the result. Let me describe it . . .

The time was just about 7 o’clock and entering dusk. I looked out the back window and saw two deer quietly having their dinner in our back yard. They were both on the far end of the crystal-clear pond and one of them was drinking from the pond. The reflection off the water was magical. I ran to get my camera and switch to my largest zoom lens. But the lighting was too low and the distance was too great. I’m sad and so convinced that I NEED another lens. 300mm minimum for wildlife shots from my master bathroom.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

Well, not literally with the picture shown above. What is wrong with the fact that I went to the pharmacy to get my eye drop prescription filled and the pharmacist saying, “That will be $225”? Does that just sound wrong to you? I was stunned and just stood there with a blank look on my face as if to say, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” The good news is that they tried to fill all three refills at once, instead of just giving me one bottle at a time, and therefore my insurance was refusing the charge. But even with the insurance, that little bottle of drops in my photo cost me $55. Seems to me that there is a serious flaw in our health care system that anybody would have to pay that price for a silly little bottle of doctored water. What can possibly make this liquid be so expensive and how dare they charge these prices? If I filled, and used, both of the necessary prescriptions for my very non-life threatening dry eyes, it would cost me well over $100 per month. WFT? No wonder our country is on the verge of an economic disaster. It just makes me sick. Wait, don’t get sick . . . who can afford THAT?

Some Rare Photos

This Way Back Wednesday theme has caused some great sadness as I realize how very few photos I have of somebody that many people in my life have never caught glimpse of. Let me present . . . my mother. Oh, and my father, and one set of grandparents too. I've been told that I look like my mother, but I don't see it. As far as I can tell, I'm all my Dad.

Cute One-Liner

Last night Karlo cracked me up with a one-liner, but first I need to back up and explain how it came about . . . Yesterday I wore a sweater that Karlo picked it out all by himself and bought for me as a gift. I couldn’t resist telling Karlo all about the compliments I got throughout the day. I mean this day really stood out as the all-time most compliments I ever received in one day. I had to tell everybody that complimented me that it was all Karlo’s doing. I couldn’t take the credit in any way.

So last night we were watching American Idol and the contestants (or the judges, I can’t remember) were commenting on the “Glam Squad” and how great of a job they did making a particular Idol look fabulous with her hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I instantly whined, “I want a Glam Squad” and Karlo replied, “I’m your Glam Squad.” That was so adorable. And so true. He picks out my clothes, he highlights my hair, he buys me makeup. Where would I be without him?

A Cruel Trick

Mother Nature sure is playing some cruel tricks on us. This past weekend was just glorious. Karlo and I made a point to spend as much time outside as we could. We went for our first bike ride, washed the cars, went for a run, had lunch on the deck, and even spent an hour sun bathing. I’m not kidding. We sat in our lounge chairs wearing shorts, t-shirts and sporting bare feet–even me, bare foot! I was in such heaven that I didn’t want to move. I could have laid out there all day on Sunday.

And then yesterday this is what we come home to. Only in New England . . . and so not fair!

The Botox Filter

I promised my blogging buddy Michelle that I would add some Photoshop Before & Afters to my blog one of these days. I have done some pretty amazing Photoshop overalls in my day and it would have been nice to show off some of them. Only problem is that I always copy over my original photos. This is my way of destroying the evidence of my not-so-stellar orginal photo.

The only Before & After photos I could find on my computer are not nearly as drastic, but were sort of fun. They were using Photoshop's new Botox filter. Let me present Figure #1: Karlo in RAW format, and by that I mean in his true raw self.

(Note: you may have to click on these biggers to view bigger images. The subtle differences can be seen around the eyes.)

And now Figure #2: Karlo after the Botox filter:

I couldn't resist trying this filter on myself too. I can see this coming in very handy over the next couple of decades!

Paula Before:

Paula After:

My First Love

I many not have many pictures of me as a child, but I have plenty of my best friend. Please let me introduce Boomer . . . In my humble opinion, one of the best dogs of all time.

As a child, I wanted a dog more than anything in the entire world. I begged and pleaded and cried myself to sleep countless nights trying to persuade my mean ole Dad to let me have one. It seemed there was nothing I could do convince him.

Then one afternoon I was sitting on the front stoop waiting for my father to come home from work. He was coming home early to take me to the hospital to get my cast changed. I had a broken arm and needed either a bigger or smaller cast. Either way, I was terrified and I sat there hoping Dad would be late and maybe we wouldn't have to go. But he wasn't late. In fact, he was early and when he drove down the street I would SWEAR I saw a dog in the front seat of the car. How is this possible? I must have been hallucinating.

But I wasn't. Dad indeed had a dog in the car. Apparently somebody 'donated' this dog to the facility where my father worked. He didn't know what to do with it and I think having a sad and scared kid at home, with a cast on, persuaded him to take the dog home. To date, one of the happiest days of my life. The time at the hospital sped by. All I could think about was my new pet at home.

Boomer joined the family when I was in 5th grade and he was part of my life until my senior year in college. Here's one shot of the two of us together.

A Warm and Toasty Day

Not only is the sun beaming through my office window, but I have some cozy new knitted items to keep me especially warm today. We skipped our dance class last night so Karlo could clear the snow and I made good use of the extra time at home. I finally finished the scarf that I started months ago. Well, I almost finished it. I still don’t know how to end a knitting project, but luckily I have friends at work that do. I brought my project in so my friend Robin can help me out and, to my surprise, she had a little present for me. What do you know? More knitted treasures for me! Knowing that I wanted to make myself some wrist warmers, and also knowing my patience level with knitting needles (aka ‘sticks’) in my hands, Robin quickly calculated the chances of me making my own wrist warmers at zilch. So she went to town knitting for hours on end to make me a pair. How incredible thoughtful. THANK YOU Robin!

I spent the first hour wearing both my scarf and my new wrist warmers, but once the sun came up full strength I was actually too hot to sport my new goodies. Now I’m in no rush for Spring to come. Bring on more cold. I need to get at least a few uses out of my new accessories this season.

A Little Happiness to Share

I'm not very happy today. Maybe that's just because it’s Monday and it’s cold. But more likely because I’m ticked off at my insurance company. After being a loyal customer and paying all my bills on time for nearly 15 years, those useless thieves decided to drop me as a customer. The mere thought of insurance companies makes me sick right now. They happily take your money for years on end, but the second you need them and try to file a claim, they want nothing to do with you and treat you like a criminal. Uuugh. I don’t even want to discuss it.

In place of more ranting about my displeasure for insurance companies I am going to share some happiness with you. I have been diligent about making a ‘happiness collage” every month and I’m already on my second scrapbook. Looking through these books really does bring joy to my heart. Because I needed a little extra happiness this weekend, I decided to digitally document the book so that I could share it . . .

MY HAPPINESS