One Mom's Perfect Imperfections

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One Mom's Perfect Imperfection: April 2010

One Mom's Perfect Imperfection

One mom's journey through life and her hodgepodge of hobbies.

30 April 2010

On Vacation!



My family and I are officially on vacation!!!  WOOT!  We are headed to Gatlinburg, TN for a few days and then to North Carolina to enjoy the coast for the remainder of our trip.  I do have some posts scheduled throughout next week.  I will have my beloved iPhone with me throughout so I will periodically tweet and check emails, comments, etc. but not sure how often so please excuse me if you don't get a reply back right away from comments or emails.  

Around the Town Tuesday is still a go.  I have my post scheduled as well as MckLinky and am praying Blogger and MckLinky play nice.  I will direct you to my blog hop partner, Jes should there be any issues.  

Don't fret.  I'll be back soon enough shoving my latest pictures, crafts, etc. down your throat.  Until then, everybody wang chung!

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29 April 2010

Before & After Blog Hop



Time for Pixel Perfect's before & after blog hop!  Love it!  I tried something a little new this week - learning some new tools in PSE 8.  Hang with me as I experiment.  I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time.  But I'm having a blast learning.  Here's my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot:




And here is my edited pic:



Let's start with the obvious.  I rounded the corners and then tinted a duplicate layer sepia and adjusted the opacity.  Then I added a texture layer, adjusted the opacity and used the brush tool to remove the texture from her sweet face. I need to work on blending the texture around her face.  This is my first try with the brush tool.  Some of you are gasping right about now.  But yes, first timer.  I'm expanding my horizons.  

I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my edits.  

To see more before & after pics or to add one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect by clicking the logo.  Thanks for stopping by!



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28 April 2010

More Craftiness

I had a pretty crafty weekend thanks to some wacky spring storms that blew up in the Memphis area.  I decided to try my hand at another sewing project - a camera strap cover for my new baby.  I didn't really use specific tutorial.  I researched a little reading several tutorials and then formed my own idea of what would work for me in my head and set it into action.  I was very pleased with the results, especially considering this is only my SECOND sewing project.  EVER.

I didn't want to destroy the camera strap that came with my new baby, just cover it up & make it pretty.  Also, I liked the idea of changing strap covers.  Many of you know I get bored easy.


I headed to Hobby Lobby & actually had a bit of a hard time picking out fabric.  I never really found anything that felt really me.  But I thought this was feminine and pretty so this is what I came home with.



I used a quilting ruler to measure my strap as well as my material.



I also measured my lens cap because I wanted to sew a little pocket on the front of the strap for it.



Measure twice and cut once, right?



Before I went to the sewing machine, I laid everything out tucking the sides in to see if everything fit accordingly.  So far, so good.



Off the sewing machine we go.  



My seams are getting straighter, thank goodness.  Takes practice.



Now, I added quilt batting to one side (the side against my neck) of the material because I wanted a little padding and comfort while carrying around my big girl camera.  But I was afraid to put it on both sides because I was sure I'd have a hard time threading my camera strap through.  However, after it's all said and done, I'm probably going to look for a better method my next go 'round.  

I think sewed only the short edges of the cover.



Then I attacked my little pocket, sewing him on the lower front of the strap cover (the side without the quilt batting).  I wanted to make sure to do this prior to sewing the long edges of the cover together.



With pocket in tact, I then sewed the long edges.



Then I turned the cover right side out.



Nice, huh?!  Not bad for my second project.



And now to thread the camera strap through its new cover.



Everything fits!  What a proud moment.  



Now that I've used it a couple of times, I will say that I LOVE the padding against my neck from the quilt batting.  Things I will do a little different next time:  It's a little wider than the actual camera strap to accommodate the lens cap pocket so I might taper it at the bottom where the end meets the actual strap.  Other than that, I'm pretty pleased with it!

Hope y'all enjoyed!  

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27 April 2010

The Chicago Dog Award

I recently received The Chicago Dog Award from Liz at a belle, a bean & a Chicago dog.  I love the description of the award.  You can read all about it here.  So I want to give a big thank you to Liz for bestowing it upon me and my little blog.  Ain't it cool?!




a belle, a bean & a chicago dog


So you know that I now have to pass on the award to some more than worthy recipients.  Are you antsy with anticipation?  Eagerly awaiting?  Okay, without further delay I want to pass on The Chicago Dog Award to the following bloggy friends:

1.  Heidi @ From 3 to 5
2.  Jes @ Exposing the Drapes to My 20's
3.  Christina @ Pooh's Corner
4.  Mandy @ 2 sweet things

You will usually find me lurking around these blogs every morning with my cup of joe and I think these ladies are very deserving of such an award.   CONGRATS, Ladies!  Click on the first link above to retrieve your award.

Thanks again, Liz!

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26 April 2010

New Camera Play

Are you sick of hearing about my new camera yet?  I hope not.  I've been playing around with it a lot some and just had to share.  These are a SOOC shots (straight out of camera).  I did zero editing.  I didn't even watermark them so you wouldn't think I cheated.  Being a newbie to the DSLR world, I didn't think they were too terrible.  I still have lots to learn, I know.   And when you're stuck in doors with 2 sick kiddos, you're limited to the subject matter of my children and things sitting around my house.































I am having fun experimenting with the settings on this phat camera.  So fun!  I can't wait to go for a walk with it around the neighborhood with this baby.

Thanks for humoring me yet again.  Have a great week!

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25 April 2010

A Touch of Spirituality



Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.  Romans 5:12

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24 April 2010

Saturday Morning Comedy

23 April 2010

Around the Town Tuesday - Next Post Information

Thanks so much to those of you who linked up for Around the Town Tuesday this week.  Jes and I loved seeing all of your parks and learning a little more about your surroundings.  Our next post day is Tuesday, May 4th and the subject is "best food in town".  Tell us, better yet SHOW us, what your favorite restaurant is in town and why.  Show us your favorite dish.  If you have more than one favorite restaurant, that's okay.  Show as many as you want!  Jes and I can't wait to see what's being plated up in your town.  We like to eat.  ;)

FYI... I will actually be on vacation with my family on this post date, but I'm going to do my post this weekend and schedule it and MckLinky for that day and pray it all goes off without a hitch.  But please excuse me if I don't comment right away. I'll do my best to check in when I can and catch up when the kiddos hit the hay that evening.  I'll also be sure to direct you to Jes in case there is an issue with MckLinky.  

Want more info about Around the Town Tuesday?  Click the link in the menubar or contact me.  See y'all on May 4th!

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Happenings with This Tiny Blog

Some exciting things have happened concerning my tiny blog. Not long after discovering a love for blogging, I signed up on Mom Blog Network hoping to meet a few new ladies in the wide world of blogging as well as gain a little exposure for One Mom's Perfect Imperfections.  Since joining Mom Blog Network, I have definitely made new friends and and gained some very loyal followers.  So for that, I am already grateful.  However, MBN took it one step further and recently featured me as a Mom Blogger of the week!  



See that thumbnail right under their banner?  That's me!  Very exciting!  And THEN, MBN featured one of my past posts as an editor's pick on their front page.


See the section titled 'Editor's Picks' under my thumbnail for Mom Blogger of the Week?  That's me AGAIN!  Can you believe it?!  Guess I could have taken some better screenshots but I wanted to include Mom Blog Network's banner and give credit where credit is due.  But you can go see for yourself here.  

So to MBN, thank you from the bottom of my heart!  And to all of you who follow me through thick and thin, thank you as well.  This little girl from Kentucky is humbled.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

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22 April 2010

Before & After Blog Hop



It's Before and After blog hop day with Pixel Perfect! Loving all the tricks I'm learning thanks to Monica and all the ladies linking up for this blog hop. What fun it is! 

So here is my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot:



And here is my edited pic:


I bumped the color a little making a duplicate layer and then used a soft focus layer as well as a tinted layer.  I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my editing.

To see more before and after pictures or to link up one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect blog.  Thanks for stopping by!!!

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21 April 2010

Winners!

First of all, I just want to thank each and every one of you for entering my very first giveaway.  Your support is so appreciated and has not gone unnoticed.  I hope I can reciprocate the love.

I used a random number generator to pick the winners and just numbered each comment starting at the top (excluding my own, of course) and working my way down.  So without further delay....

Grand Prize:  Commenter #4 - Jes
2nd Prize:      Commenter #1 - Mandy
3rd Prize:       Commenter #6 - Malory


Congrats, Ladies!  All you have to do now is email me your mailing address (no P.O. boxes, please) and Horizon Organic will get your prizes to you.

Again, thank you all so much!  Hope to have another giveaway real soon!

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I'm a Big Girl Now!

My husband is the best. I mean it. He's truly one of a kind.  He's watched my obsession love for photography grow rapidly over the last couple of years and is supporting it with all his might.  He could secretly be hoping I make us some money one day.  But for now, he has surprised me with an early Mother's Day present - my big girl camera!  I have been saving a little at a time hoping I'd be able to purchase it sometime around Christmas this year but Mike has boosted it up and all right before our vacation that's coming up in less than two weeks.  You can only imagine my excitement!  This is my new baby:



A Canon Rebel T1i EOS 500D.  And I have no idea how to use it.  Actually, it is somewhat familiar because I have been using a Canon PowerShot for the last year and it's been great.  I'll continue to carry it with me for daily use.  But sticking with Canon, I'm not completely in the dark.  I'm reading the manual and doing a little experimenting.  So I hope to have a few tricks worked out before we leave for vacation and bring back some incredible pics.

This camera came with the EFS 18-55 mm lens.  I haven't done much research on lenses yet so I'd love to hear what those of you that have DSLR cameras think I should purchase next.  I also welcome any and all suggestions, tips and tricks with this camera.  Those of you that blog about photography tutorials, I'm stalking you.  I'm just sayin'.  

I'm so very blessed to have a husband that loves me unconditionally through all of my crazy obsessions hobbies and even feeds them.  How loved am I???

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20 April 2010

Around the Town Tuesday - Parks




Welcome to our second Around the Town Tuesday post!  This week we are featuring the parks in your community.  To grab your Around the Town Tuesday button or read about Town Introductions (previous post), click the link above in the menubar.  We've extended MckLinky time to midnight, Wednesday, April 21st to give everyone more time.  Hope this helps!  Let's get it started!

My little town of Arlington, TN has one park, but it's really a great park.  Hughes-College Hill Park is where you'll find the majority or our community on pleasant days.  It's located very near our town square.  


There's a big, wide open space for frisbee, a friendly football game, or picnicking.


There is also and outdoor amphitheater down in a nice shady area of the park.  However, I don't believe this area has been used for much lately.  But the kids love to stomp around on it.


There are 3 total gazebos in the park.  You'll often see birthday celebrations held in one or more of these on a weekend.  These are the two smaller gazebos with only a couple of benches.


There are lots of gorgeous, mature trees throughout the park.  



This is the original playground.  There is a grill and picnic tables nearby.



We have a nice walking track with fitness stations along the way.  





And here is the third gazebo, the largest of the three in the park.  There are 2 large picnic tables and a grill nearby, great for an outdoor family event.



There is a lovely memorial dedicated to the citizens of Arlington who served in past United States wars.  






Hughes-College Hill Park is also home to the Playground of Dreams.  Now, this is kinda cool.  In 2006, Arlington residents as well as volunteers from other communities nearby came together to construct this awesome playground.  


This playground was conceived, constructed and named by the children of Arlington, TN  Below is their permanent stamp on their work.  A design firm from New York was brought in to make their ideas a reality.  It took months and months to complete the design itself and raise the money within the community to get ready to build it.  But it took only one week of vigorous work to complete the amazing project.



I, personally, love this at the entrance to the playground.  In mid to late summer, this trellis is covered by these honeysuckle bushes and they smell so good!  Reminds me of my childhood back in Kentucky.  Honeysuckle bushes were ample behind my grandparents' house.


If you know anything about Memphis, you'll know that FedEx is based here and is a major sponsor for many things.  Obviously, they were a big part in the Playground of Dreams project.  Keegan loves to play in this airplane.  


I also love that they have a few different touches - a tic-tac-toe board and chimes for some "lovely" music.








Gotta love that these are still around.  And still a hit with the kids!


And it's not really a playground without a tire swing, right?!


And swings galore.


While the kids love the playground, I love that there are big open spaces and trails to walk around and explore....



and experience nature....










I hope you enjoyed learning a little about my community park.  We sure love it and are very proud of it!  

Link it up!  If there are any "bugs", issues, etc. with MckLinky, please contact me ASAP.  Thanks!

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