Thursday, February 25, 2010

And the winner is.....

Katy with photo #1 Rocks and Minerals.
Thanks to all of those who voted by commenting, e-mailing or facebooking. Your votes were a big help and I loved the comments.
And photo #2 Water actually got the most votes - but I disqualified it because it was mine and for me to win would be unfair to the kids. We only had three students submit entries, so I decided to particiate but I never really expected to get the most votes.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Photography Contest


I teach a home school photography class and we are having a photography contest. The topic of our contest is "Elements" and it is up to each student to define the topic in a photo. The photos above are the entries and each one is vieing for your vote! So, which is it? Which photo do you think is the very best? You can vote by commenting here or by e-mailing your vote to my personal e-mail account: patty.patterson@sbcglobal.net
And THANKS for voting!


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sweetheart Day...

Saturday was Sweetheart Day at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, and we had the opportunity to take pictures of several lovely couples. We've been shooting their banquets for several years now, and I've always been very impressed with this church and the people who attend. St. John's feeds the hungry at lunch time every day except Sunday and has a prison ministry. They reach out to the community to meet the needs of the people on a daily basis. And they are a very loving congregation!

This couple was one of my favorites this year. I love the look of adoration that Felicia has for her husband. He looks quite comfortable as her sweetheart, also!


And this couple looks absolutely JOYFUL! I think we have taken their pictures several times over the years and I've always thought they were a gorgeous couple!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

We are back from the vet, and my suspicions were right. Abby is overweight. I took her to the vet in July and at that time she weighed 53.06 lbs. It was summer and she normally loses a little weight in the summer because she gets more exercise and at that time she was actually underweight. Today, she weighed 71.09 lbs, which was even more than I had expected. I noticed that she had put on weight when I got back from Japan in mid-December and have been watching it since then. She has been trimming down and is beginning to look a little bit more like her old self, but she is still a whopping 17 lbs. heavier than she was just seven months ago. But, the vet measured her from the floor to her shoulders and from shoulder blade to shoulder blade and calculated her "ideal" weight, which is right at 65 lbs. So, she is really only about 6 lbs. too heavy. And for a 6 year old, the vet thought she looked pretty good and he said she was in excellent health. Our vet is also the owner of a Golden Retriever and very knowledable about the breed and breed standards and he assured me that we really don't have too much to worry about, but a little more exercise won't hurt.
And these pictures are from today. The previous picture was from the fall of 2007 so really, she hasn't changed that much!

Time for a check up....

Today is Abby's annual check up, so we are going to the vet to get shots, get a check up and most importantly to weigh in. While I was in Japan for Grace's birthday she stayed home with my husband and sons, and I think everyone remembered to feed her - so she gained weight. We have been cutting back on food and snacks and increasing exercise and she was losing nicely until the ice storm. She doesn't like to go out when it is wet and nasty outside. She's very prissy for a dog and she likes to stay clean. It's kind of funny watching her tip toe around the puddles in the yard. She even stops at the door when she comes in and waits for someone to wipe her feet.




Monday, February 8, 2010

I was given this award by Jami from Ain't She Crazy!

And we need the sunshine in Oklahoma so I'm happy to receive it. Thanks, Jami!


Here are the rules for the award:



  • Put the logo on your blog within your post.

  • Pass the award on to 12 other bloggers.

  • Link the nominees within your post.

  • Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their post.

  • Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.


So, I hope you will visit and enjoy these blogs. I'm sending awards to:


It was really hard choosing twelve, but I think I chose 12 very deserving blogs. Some are definately rays of sunshine and some live in areas that could really use a little sunshine right now, like me!
Blessings,
Patty







Thursday, February 4, 2010

6 Days and 5 Nights.....

It sounds like a wonderful trip being offered by a travel agent. But, in our case, that's how long our electricity was off - and it was no vacation. We kept warm by the fire, and by using ThermaCare Pain Relief back warmers to warm the bed. And really, it wasn't so bad. Nights got down into the teens and twenties, but the ThermaCare warmers heat for 10 hours. (although the box only claims 8) We have lots of wonderful quilts that my Mom has blessed us with over the years, and they were put to good use. And - looking on the bright side - we got to eat out nightly. I love to eat out! And, going out to dinner when the sun goes down gave us another hour or so of light!
Storms like this are destructive and inconvenient, but they are also quite beautiful! I love the look of the ice glistening on the trees. It was a real photographic opportunity. Here are just a few.
This is what your dish soap looks like when it freezes to a thick goopey gel. I took a picture of it Sunday when I noticed that it had nearly frozen while sitting on my kitchen counter. I took another picture today for comparison. We now have power and it's WONDERFUL!!!

The ice on the trees was really beautiful!

Without power there is really not much to do, and since it's warmer in the Jeep than in the house, we went for a scenic drive through the refuge.

These are the Power Lines that feed electricity to our neighborhood! The lineman were eventually able to re-route electricity to get our power on, but Lee Blvd. is still closed.