Five Question Friday - My Vlogging Challenge

I have been bullied challenged to vlog and link up with Mama M. from Five Crooked Halos today.  So I'm gonna do this. Disregard the part where Keegan is picking his nose.  I tried to record this video too many times to start over.  And I haven't had my coffee yet.  TGIF, right?!   Just hope I don't lose any followers today.

Macro Friday

Ah, it's Friday!  Can I get a WOOT!  WOOT!  Hope you are all enjoying your summer so far.  We certainly have.  Though, it's terribly hot and I'm not sure how much hotter it could possibly get before I melt away to pure nothingness.  On another note, this week I've been sharing with you lots of the pics I took while we were in Kentucky last weekend.  Here is another taken from my great-grandmother's array of foliage...

I have no idea what kind of plant this is that I stumbled  up on sitting on her front porch, but it made a PERFECT macro shot.  I did ZERO editing with the exception of the rounded corners and the watermark.  I am pretty proud of this shot.  Can ya tell?  {grin}  I actually did try to spruce up the color a bit but when I did I'd lose certain elements of the shot I liked so I am going with SOOC today.  And I'm okay with that.  

To see more macro shots or link up one of your own, head over Laura's blog, Blogging from Bolivia by clicking the logo above.

Hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend!  

Before & After

It's time for another edition of Before & After! I love Thursdays. It means I get to see some great pics and the weekend is just around the corner. Off we go!

I shot this picture in Kentucky over the weekend with my Canon Rebel T1i. My great-grandmother has a major green thumb and I always love to see what beautiful things she has growing every time I go home to visit. She is something else.

SOOC (straight out of camera):

Edited version:

The flower is the poetry of reproduction.  It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.  ~Jean Giraudoux

I bumped up the color a little by adding a soft light layer and then added the texture layer.  I then added my two obsessions - rounded corners & vignette.  I did all my edits in Photoshop Elements 8.  

To see more before & after shots or to link up one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect by clicking the logo above.  

Hope y'all have a great day!

Black & White Wednesday: Meet Scout

Meet Scout.  He is a four year old German Shepherd and he's fantastic!  He belongs to some of our best friends back in Kentucky.  I think I mentioned that this is where we spent our weekend.  I pull up into their driveway and this gorgeous creature came to great me.  

I understand that this breed of dogs can be somewhat intimidating but Scout is a gentle giant.  My kids rubbed all over him the whole day through and Scout hardly blinked an eye.  But if one of the kids started to fuss, he was by their side in an instant to make sure he/she was alright, though he'd never met them before.  This is one of my favorite traits of these dogs - protective.  

I grew up with a German Shepherd of my own.  Her name was Dutchess.  Dutchess and I were inseparable.  I napped on her.  She drug me out of the woods after getting lost one day exploring.  When I fell down the steps she was the first one to the bottom to see if I was okay.  And if someone she didn't know came up to the house, she stood between the stranger and me until she knew that stranger wouldn't hurt me.  Protective.  Scout reminded me of Dutchess.  A little too much maybe.  Many childhood memories of my dog and me came flooding back and I may have tried to put Scout in my car.  More than once. 

I can't think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog -- completely exhausted after a hard day in the field -- limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I'm sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep. I don't know what I've done to deserve that kind of friend.

-- Gene Hill

Scout, I can't wait for the day we meet again.  Maybe I'll be successful in dognapping you to Memphis.  Or maybe I'll have a little Scout of my very own.  Time will tell....

Linking up with The Long Road to China for Black & White Wednesday...

Before & After

So it's Thursday which means time for another round of before & after photos.  I have truly enjoyed seeing some of the transformations photographers can make with their shots.  It's incredible.

Here is my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot for this week:

It's a somewhat cute shot - Presley peeking through the red fence at her brother.  I took this picture with my Canon Powershot 110 XSi.

And here is my edited shot:

I really loved that red fence and wanted to keep it, but thought the black & white would intensify the shot a bit.  Why settle?  I can have my cake & eat it, too!  Then I added my two obsessions - the rounded corners and the vignette.  Now, I think the shot deserves a second glance.  I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my edits.  

To see more before & after shots or to link up one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect by clicking the logo above.  

Before & After

So I'm admitting now that this isn't exactly my best work.  I actually picked this photo because I thought it would be a could before & after challenge for me and it ended up being a complete fail.  What I had in my mind didn't not end up being what I saw with my eyes.  So I ended up scrapping my original edit and going with something way different.  Something much simpler. 

This picture was taken during our spontaneous trip to Hot Springs, AR.  Unfortunately, we got there just in time to eat dinner before it got dark so all of our walking around that evening didn't make for great pictures.  

Here is my SOOC (straight out of the camera) shot taken with my Canon Rebel T1i, 18-55 mm lens (not a great lens for low light shots):

And here is my edited version of the shot:

What I originally had in mind was to add a little grunge texture to mostly the sides but it took away from the building.  I also wanted to keep the original color but I didn't like that yellow light and I couldn't get the lighting just right.  So I gave up and tinted it sepia, cropped the pic, rounded the corners and VIOLA!  This is what I got.  I do like the bit of spookiness the picture gives off but I'm not terribly happy with the edit.  I gotta do better next week.  I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my edit.

To see more before and after pics or to link up one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect by clicking the logo above.

Friday Follows!

I am linking up with Smart and Trendy Moms this week for their Social Parade as well as Trendy Treehouse.  I'm very excited to be a part of both blog hops because I haven't ever hopped into any of these and I'm looking forward to "meeting" some new bloggers.  If you are visiting from either of these sites, WELCOME!  I hope you'll stay a bit and click around.  TGIF, y'all!

Give Me Your Best Shot!

It's Friday before a 3 day weekend and I'm feeling particularly on the lazy side.  I had not prepared a post for today.  So while sipping my morning coffee, I began uploading an insane amount of pictures and reading through some of the blogs I follow.  When I got to Lolli's blog, Better in Bulk, I was reminded of her  blog hop, Give Me Your Best Shot.  You link up your favorite photo from the week.  Perfect... I thought, while I watched all the pictures slowly upload to my computer and I quickly picked out a favorite.  

Keep in mind, I said I was little on the lazy side this morning so this is my favorite from the week with just a tad bit of editing.  I, personally, think I have two of the cutest kids ever.  But then what mother doesn't think that?

Head over to Better in Bulk by clicking the logo above and share your favorite photo of the week.  Give it  your best shot!  ;)

TGIF, y'all and have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Before & After

I have been using Monica's Before & After blog hop to experiment a little with my photo editing but admit that I fell back into the familiar this week. I'm not terribly original, but I did enjoy changing up the photo of my baby girl a bit. And you guys are lucky - this is one of my precious vacation photos that has yet to be posted on my family blog. So you're getting a sneak peek!

Here is my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot:

I took this in NC while we were on the beach with my Canon PowerShot SX110 IS.  LOVE the floppy hat on my little princess.

Here is my edited photo:

I applied a colored filter (can't remember which one) and changed the opacity.  Then I messed with the lighting a little, added a soft focus layer and added the vignette.  Of course, the rounded corners which I'm addicted to.  I like the simple, vintage feel of the photo which I think goes nicely with the floppy hat. I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my editing.

To see more before and after photos or to link up one of your own, head over to Monica's Pixel Perfect blog by clicking the logo above.  Have a great one and thanks for stopping by!

Some News About Around the Town Tuesday

Several weeks ago my bloggy pal, Jes and I rolled out a new blog hop called Around the Town Tuesday.  We were very excited about it and thought it would be something unique and somewhat encouraging to bloggers to get out into their communities as well as learn about fellow bloggers' communities, especially since warm weather is upon us.  We got lots of positive responses on our blog posts about it, in our BlogFrog communities, Twitter, etc. and we still get great emails and comments about it.  However, the linking up has been pretty scarce and it's an awful lot of work on our part to prepare the posts, the schedule, post reminders, promote.... you get the picture.  So for now, Jes and I have decided to put it on hold and re-evaluate the blog hop.  We're going to talk about it, maybe change it up a bit, marinate in our thoughts and could very possibly bring it back - if there's any interest.  So if you are interested in participating in this blog hop in the future, please leave a comment or shoot us an email.  Constructive criticism is certainly welcome.  We'd definitely love to hear from you about how we could improve it, change it up, whatever.  But if there's no feedback, it will most likely be discontinued.   

Have a great day y'all and thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions!

Around the Town Tuesday - Historical Sites

It's Tuesday and time for another Around the Town Tuesday. This week we're exploring your historical sites. Grab your button from the link in the menubar and don't forget to link up.  

So I cheated a little this week.  My little town of Arlington is just outside of the big city of Memphis.  We had just done a Flat Stanley project for my nephew in Wisconsin and had toured Memphis a little already.  Those are some pretty interesting and better known historical sites so I decided to just roll with it for this post.  

First up, Graceland.  You can't come to Memphis without going to Graceland.  Well, maybe you can but it would be a sin, in my opinion.  While doing the Flat Stanley project, I learned that Graceland has the most visitors per year for a private house in the United States, second only to the White House.  This 13.8 acre Estate was the home of the one and only Elvis Presley.  SWOON!  It opened to the public in 1982 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991.  It was then declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006.  Elvis, along with his parents and his grandmother are buried on the estate in the Meditation Gardens.  

You can just see the house behind the trees in the background.  We couldn't get any closer without security jumping us or paying the admission fees.  We'll save that post for a later date.  

On the famous Union Avenue is the equally famous Sun Studio which houses Sun Records.  Opened by Sam Phillips in 1950, Sun Records gave many famous musicians their start - Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, just to name a few.  So you can understand why it quickly came to be known as the birthplace of Rock N Roll.  If you love music, being here is surreal.  Many a famous songs and their creators have come to Memphis just to record here.  Sun Studio was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 2003 as well as listed as a National Historic Landmark that same day.

Heard of Beale Street?  It is significant to the City of Memphis' history as well as to blues music.  The street runs through downtown Memphis from the Mississippi River to East Street.  Originally called Beale Avenue for a forgotten military hero, it originally housed shops for trade merchants trading goods with ships along the Mississippi River.  Eventually, it became a street where traveling musicians would perform, eventually becoming known as home of the blues.  Today, there are many clubs and restaurants  along Beale Street which has become a major tourist attraction for the City of Memphis.  It became a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1966 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.  It truly is an experience if you ever have the chance to walk along Beale Street.

The Lorraine Motel is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968.  It is now the location of the National Civil Rights Museum.  The Museum opened on September 28, 1991 and details the struggle of African Americans civil rights from the arrival of the first Africans in the British colonies in 1619 to the assassination of King in 1968.

King was standing on that very balcony where you see the wreath at the time shots were fired by Ray ending the civil rights activist's life.  The room just to the right of the wreath was his motel room.  

Last but not least is the mighty Mississippi River.  The largest river system in North America, it runs from Minnesota through Louisiana where it begins to flow into the Gulf of Mexico.  Memphis has the second-busiest cargo port on the Mississippi River, which is also the fourth-busiest inland port in the United States.  Just across the river is Arkansas.  

I hope you enjoyed getting a taste of Memphis, TN and it's history.  I certainly enjoyed sharing it with you all as well as with Flat Stanley who is back home in Wisconsin safe and sound.  

Jes and I will be updating the blog hop schedule this week with 3 more exciting subjects for you to blog about.  I'll be sure to post about it and link to it in the menubar for reference.  

Don't forget to grab your button and link up!  MckLinky shuts down midnight tomorrow.

Around the Town Tuesday - Next Post Information

The next post date for Around the Town Tuesday is May 18th and the subject is historical sites.  I know this could potentially be a huge post so just use your judgement and don't feel you have to post about EVERY historical site or detail in your town.  As a huge history buff, this will probably be my favorite post.  :)  However, we're all sick here and trying to catch up on things since being gone on vacation for ten days so I'll do my best to make it interesting.  Remember, the schedule (which will be updated soon) can be found in the menubar as well as previous posts and information about the blog hop itself.  Any questions, contact me!  Hope to see lots of linking up!

Vacation pics coming soon!  I promise!

Before & After Blog Hop

It's Thursday!  WHOOT!  Time for another Pixel Perfect Before & After blog hop.  Now, I'll be completely honest and tell you that I don't remember the details of this edit.  I did it several days ago and I can't remember what I had for breakfast much less what edits I did to a photo almost a week ago.  Sorry.  Anyhow, here is my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot:

And here is my edit:

I rounded the corners, obviously, but also lightened the kiddos' faces a bit.  I really don't think I did much to the photo at all.  But it's one of my favorites.  :)  Had to share.

I used Photoshop Elements 8 for my edits.

To see more before & after photos or to enter one of your own, head over to Pixel Perfect by clicking the logo and link up!

Around the Town Tuesday - Best Food in Town

Welcome to Around the Town Tuesday!  Today we're learning about the best food in town.  While my little town of Arlington is lacking in quantity of restaurants, we are not lacking in quality.  I had a hard time choosing my favorite.  But when I asked my husband what his favorite was he was like, are you kidding?  RIZZI'S!  Rizzi's is a great little Italian restaurant just minutes from our house (that's the great thing about living in a small town).  Their pizza is some of the best I've had.  There spaghetti & meatballs are probably right up there as well.  Seriously. Very tasty.

These are their garlic knots - covered in butter and tons of garlic.  They are delicious.  But if you are not a big fan of butter and garlic then you're crazy you probably should stick to the cheesy bread which is also very good.  The marinara sauce is awesome.  Not sweet, not too salty.  

The first time I had their spaghetti & meatballs, I have to admit that I was more than impressed.  The sauce was seasoned perfectly as were the meatballs themselves.  It was delicious and one of my husband's favorite dishes.

But here is the star of the show.  Their deluxe pizza is truly a work of art - in my opinion.  Mike goes on and on about the mushrooms and how they had to have been sauteed in butter and garlic first.  I don't do fungus mostly because of the texture.  But they do smell good.  The sauce is not sweet, just seasoned enough so you can still taste the pizza topping - all fresh and still with a slight crunch.  The crust is thing and crunchy.

Rizzi's is a little pricey but so much better than ordering Domino's.  I'd rather pay the price for this delicious slice of heaven any day.  

Now link it up and tell us about your favorite food in your town.  MckLinky will be up and at it until midnight tomorrow night - Wednesday, May 5th.  Don't forget to grab the code for your Around the Town Tuesday button by clicking the link in the menubar.  Remember, I'm on vacation but will try to get a look at everyone's posts and make some comments as soon as I can.  If there are any questions, contact me.  I'll have access to email.  If there are MckLinky issues,  please contact my bloggy pal, Jes at Exposing the Drapes to My 20's.  Thanks, y'all!

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!

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!

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!!!

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!