The Goat: November 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

November Links 2010

These are the links to all of my November posts.
(for those of you seeing this in your reader - I forgot to put this up at the end of November.)

Photography Class

My photography class is once again kicking my rear end.

I'm supposed to be learning how to meter for light. The above photo was one that I took for that metering assignment. I did something wrong. We have a couple of mini assignments and so far, I can't seem to get past the very first one.

Why is it that I get hung up so easily?!!

Today was the deadline for the the metering assignments. I'm hoping that the deadline was just a suggestion and that I'll be able to turn them in! If not, I'll be out of the loop for the next assignment, which we get tomorrow.

Oh geez. What a whiny post.

On a more positive note, each mistake I've made I've been able to see that it is a mistake. Correcting it has been a bit of an issue. The nice thing is that I'm really getting it. S L O W L Y getting it, but getting it haha! I took algebra three times and that third time all of a sudden I found the correct key and I understood how to do it. When that happened it seemed nearly impossible to me that I didn't understand it before! I'm hoping that's the way this is going to be with the metering. I just hope that it doesn't take three photography courses!

Extra good news -- I just got a message back from the instructor and she'll accept a late assignment! Whew. OK, so when I'm done here, I'll get back to my project.

It's the last day for NaBloPoMo and I did indeed blog every day. Well, we all knew I'd do it, but my goal for this month was to write my blog post for the day before 5pm. I think the majority of the month I did that, too. It made for much less stress at the 10 o'clock hour. I'm going to try to keep that up as it was a nice habit.

Alrighty folks. Have a great day! See you tomorrow :)
Kristin

POTD - Happy Tuesday!

My change from my lunch at the 3rd Street Diner.
I liked that the waitress gave me such a cheerful message.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Monday, November 29, 2010

Cyber Monday

Today's shopping excursion on Cyber Monday is going to highlight some of the folks in my Google Reader. I am so grateful to (virtually) know so many talented people. I'm happy to link to their sites and tell you about their sales.

Happy Cyber Monday Shopping!

One of my favorite photographer, blogging friends, who I still haven't met in person yet is Lisa. Her Etsy business, Lisa Ceaser Photography, is having a 25% off all prints and cards until Christmas Eve. One of her cards is pictured above.

An Advent house from Can't Stop Making Things. This one is free! ALl you need to do is print it out and assemble.

Linda and Harriet. They sell a bunch of lovely letterpress items. Today until midnight you can receive 25% off your entire order.

Saturday Morning Vintage had these neat bingo dots in red and green. So retro and so Christmas all at the same time.

Bloom, Grow, Love has announced a 20% off sale, today only, at her Alicia Bock photography Etsy site.

If you were thinking about buying Photoshop or Lightroom or any number of Adobe products, there are a ton of discounts. The Pro Designs Tools website explains all of the discounts and how to use them.

A long time favorite of mine is Paper and Cake. They have some of the loveliest printables ever. If you have a party coming up, go there first and see if they have a theme that you might like. Right now, all of the items in their Etsy shop are 25% off.

Don't forget I have an Etsy site, too! Everything in my shop is on sale for 25% today and tomorrow (Nov 29th and 30th) until midnight pacific time November 30th. Just use the coupon code NOVdeals when you check out.

Well, it's been a fun weekend for me. I've been tearing up the internet looking for things to buy. So far I haven't shelled out a single cent! I'll have to get on the ball and make my decisions so I don't miss out on all of the great deals. My husband is coming home tonight, so I need to get the house picked up for his arrival. I should also take a shower, make some chicken salad, change the sheets and fluff the pillows. Then, when I've gotten all that accomplished, I'll sit back down and do a little Christmas Shopping. Wish me luck!

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Swing Park

I posted this on last nights blog post, when I realized that I meant for it to be the POTD! Ooops. So I promptly took it out of there :) This was part of the mosaic entrance to the Swing Park in St. Augustine, FL.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Slight diversion on a Sunday

I asked my friend Brenda to go with me to the St. Augustine Art and Craft Festival today. I rarely ask anyone to go with me to these type of things but I planned ahead and asked Brenda the night before. She said yes!

The Festival was really nice and full of vendors that I hadn't seen before. I even saw some crafts and techniques that I hadn't seen before. All in all it was a great time. I came away wanting to get creative!

As we were exiting the Festival we both started walking toward this giant playground. It was full of parents and kids and some big kids like us. Isn't the entrance beautiful?

Travel the Universe on the wings of imagination.

One of the play sections was the Pirate and Mermaid area and you could be a pirate...

or a mermaid!

These were absolutely made for kids - I knocked my head getting into this tiny space. I wonder if I knocked any sense into my head :)

Brenda took my picture and I took hers.

I took a photo of the plaque because I have some very dear friends named Siefker and I had never seen their name before in my travels. So hello Siefker Family! even-if-I-don't-know-you! Thank you for a fun place to play.

We saw a wooden lion.

rooooarrrrr!

There was even a place to play the xylophone.

Twin Peaks!

At first I though these had blue tape on them - then I realized it was what was left of the original latex grippy stuff. That's the technical term - grippy stuff. Looks like they are well worn even if the grippy stuff is gone.

So I had a slight diversion from the Fa La La La online gift tour I was giving. It was such a gorgeous day out that I just had to be in it and be one with art and the Swing park, too it seems! The gift giving tour will conclude tomorrow.

Oh you know, I'm going to link this up with Sundays in my City. This is what I did in a city near me (St. Augustine, FL) today, on Sunday. Perfect! For more SIMC please head on over to Unknown Mami. She's the best!

Enjoy!
Kristin

POTD - Lines

This is one of my favorite times of year in Florida with the orangey deep shadows at sunset. However, if you want a photograph, you have to act quickly. I was standing by my car ready to run into the grocery store when I saw this shadow. I debated whether or not to get my camera and walk across the parking lot. By the time I finally got to the stairs I only got three shots before the sun had set behind the trees. Thankfully, this first shot, was the good one!

Enjoy!
Kristin

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Fa La La La Etsy

Welcome to Day Two of my Fa La La La Black Friday Shopping event. The best thing about my little shopping excursion is that I didn't have to leave home!

Yesterday was Fa La La La Shopping and today is Fa La La La Etsy. Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I hope I'll find a few items that helps you with your holiday gift giving.

I actually looked at the prices on these items (unlike yesterday!) and I do believe that everything is under $40.

John W Golden is quite a creative force. I like the graphics he uses on these triptychs. Oh and there's 25% off your entire order now through the 29th of November, 2010.

Kitty Rogers creates these business card sized calendars with an easel. I marked them as a favorite last year (and as an inspiration) and I'm going to have to mark them as a favorite again. Their mini size makes them a great stocking stuffer or a nice hostess gift.

I have to admit - I want this perpetual calendar. I even have the wall all picked out where I'd like to put it. It's on sale through Tuesday the 30th. Little Brown Pen has taken all of these photos in Paris. A city I've never been, but am anxious to go. (this one is under $40 if you get the Black Friday discount)

KNH Designs is just one of the many Etsy Shops that make and sell eye-spy bags. Since all three of my sister's children are girls, I decided that I'd like to get an eye-spy bag that was designed like a purse. Funny thing was that I didn't think there'd only be one seller that sold them as purses. It seemed like a natural thing for a girl. Unless I'm steered otherwise, I'm getting this for one of the girls.

Humor, education and good looks are all wrapped up in this charcoal pig butchery print from Drywell's shop. If pigs aren't your thing, there's a butchery of a hot dog, a hamburger and many others! I really like the colorblock pig, too.

This Mother's necklace is lovely for a new mom. SJ Engraving will also engrave a name on the back of the real beach stone. It looks like they do a really nice job and have lots of different ideas for stone engravings.

I go from a Mother's necklace to a sex pot! JMN Pottery has a lot of humor in their pottery and these little sex pots are a real hoot. They even have some grouchy pots, too. Love them.

I'm so glad I have been going through my favorite sellers in my Etsy account. I just noticed that Olive Rue has a bunch of items in her shop! I think that most of the items are digital downloads, so you can do so many crafty things with her incredible images. Most of the items she creates have a vintage look to them, but I liked this holiday image for today.

I was going to post the photo of the man and the woman WC signs (bathroom signs) but when I saw the name Lily, it was a done deal. My BFF's daughter is named Lily. The letters are topped with Japanese paper and resin. They almost look like tile.

These felted red acorns from the Etsy shop of Reya Veltman are just adorable! The shipping on them is just $2 - that's great considering these little fellas will be traveling from the Netherlands. She has some wonderful items in her shop and the acorns come also in natural colors and a beautiful blue!

I hope you enjoyed this little shopping tour. I imagine all of these items would look great in a gift gallery. I would stop in this store and would have a hard time not leaving without buying something...or maybe asking for a job! Sunday, tomorrow, will be the last day of the shopping adventure.

Have a great day!
Kristin

POTD - Wash King

I was four years old when I first saw this sign. My Grandfather owned a Burger King franchise so for me, as a kid, it was so cool that the Wash King was across the street from where I lived. Wash King, Burger King, Wash King, Burger King. This was an incredibly cool connection to a four year old! This particular Wash King is located in Lansing, MI on Elmwood Road.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Friday, November 26, 2010

Fa La La La Shopping

My husband called me a few days ago and told me that he wanted to book tickets for us to go home for Christmas. Would I mind?

Ha! Would I mind? No. not at all. Book those tickets.

So he did.

Because of that one decision, it means that I'm having Christmas with my family. So I'm going to need some gifts.

While I've been gift hunting, I thought I'd log all of the pages and share them with you. I may not get anything that I feature, but it all passes the Kristin-thinks-it's-cool test.

Oh dear, I didn't look at the prices for anything, come to think of it. I hope nothing is over $100. I'm shopping more in the $20 - $50 range.

Since I'm going home to Michigan, I thought I'd start right off with a Michigan item. love, California makes these state pillows. I'm already very happy with this company because they included the Upper Peninsula. (Hi Annie!!) Isn't it sweet?! I can imagine a WI friend of mine that might like a little state pillow.

BookBook for iPad. OK, this is pretty cool. This is an iPad protective case that looks like a vintage book. They have them for your Mac laptop, too. I don't have an iPad, but if I did, I'd have to consider one of these BookBooks.

Missed connections* on Craigs List has been turned into some really cool artwork from Sophie Blackall. I originally found this artist through the blog Benign Objects, which is a great place to get lost. I spent nearly a whole day over there!

*Missed Connections is under the personals section on Craigs List.

Dynamic Frames - easy front opening frame so you can change out artwork easily!

I swear all of the things I 've found so far all all things I'd love to have! Then again, I don't think I've ever given gift that I wouldn't have enjoyed having.

Tired of A is for Apple? Well then, how about U is for Underpants?!

Love Love Love these XYZ blocks by Fred. I'd love to have a set of these, too - and we all know I don't have any children. You can't order these from the link at Fred's place, but you can order them through Amazon and a few other places. I think I am going to get these for one of my nieces. (I found this on Benign Objects, too!)

The Tinted Mint has the Japanese paper tape that is all the rage, but sold right here in the U.S. A. The stamper, scrapper, designer, photographer, creative type would love a few of these tapes. The Tinted Mint has dozens of styles. These just happen to be my favorites.

These two calendars are from Miriam Bereson. The Family Planner is customizable - you can add all the family members in their own spot, while the yearly calendar is a nice sized wall calendar.

This plate comes from Just Noey who resides over the big blue ocean from the United States, but I couldn't resist falling for it. For one thing the title of the piece is King Bob Hearts... Bob is a cat and he hearts a lot of things.

Speaking of kitties (Zora loves cats, so I've been searching for cat things) - I found this retro kitty print from Karin Grow. Cute, huh?

Funny Mail Stamp - Do not fold, bend, etc. The Terbear Collectables shop has a Santa Claus signature stamp, a cancellation stamp for the North Pole and a bunch of other fun stuff.

I think that's a pretty good start. I'll post a few more this weekend. Since I'm probably going to buy everything online, I'll need to be sure to order early.

POTD - Bowling

I've been wanting to go bowling for quite some time now. I finally found a couple of people in our support group that mentioned they might like to go. I think I'll set up an afternoon of bowling for our group. Hopefully I won't be the only one to show up :)

This sign is located in Lansing, MI.

Enjoy!
Kristin

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Friday Fragments

It's Friday Fragments Day!

It's Friday Fragments Day!  

Our fearless leader is Mrs. 4444 whose blog, Half Past Kissing Time, is a JOY to read. She has gathered many wonderful bloggers to Frag on Fridays and we love her for getting us all together.

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Happy Thanksgiving! My husband is in Michigan and I'm in Florida. He spent his Thanksgiving with his family and I spent mine with 16 of our liver transplant support group friends. The neat thing about having new folks in the our group all the time, is that we learn about new foods and new names for food.

Today we had Shoo-Fly pie.

I'd heard of Shoofly pie before, but I honestly thought it was something that was a long ago food. Sort of like Pease Porridge. I've never been served pease porridge, but now I have had Shoofly pie. Oh My Goodness, it's delicious! The pie we had was from the Bird-in-Hand restaurant and bakery. They shipped it right to the folks who introduced this wonderful pie to us today. Yummy yummy!

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The same folks who brought the Shoofly pie also brought filling. My brain couldn't wrap itself around what filling was. I was thinking of the filling in a cake or the filling in a canoli. It didn't occur to me that it was stuffing. Stuffing! I guess filling and stuffing are pretty similar words. Those folks from Pennsylvania are a funny bunch. They taught me a few things today that's for sure! Oh and the filling was really good.

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Foot out the window (source)

Pet Peeve - when I see the driver of a vehicle with their foot out the window. The photo above isn't one that I took, but I did see the "Foot out the drivers side window" last week. It's actually amazing how often I do see that. That's just dangerous if you ask me.

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I'm watching Oprah right now. She's rerunning the interview she did with John Kennedy Jr. in 1996, with some current commentary from her. Well one of the things she said as she was showing a photo of his mother, Jackie. She said, "Jackie was 31 when she became First Lady." I'm sure I knew this at one point, but today it really struck me. 31?! She was just two years out of her twenties when she became first lady of the United States! OMG.

Can you imagine being First Lady when you were 31?

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In less than 6 hours, Kohls Department Store will be opening their doors for the early bird shoppers. I can't imagine. I've been in food service and retail for years and years and I loved Black Friday. I loved the frenetic energy, the excitement and even the exhaustion of working so hard helping people all day. In those years when I worked we opened early - about 8am instead of 10! I can't begin to imagine if I had to be a part of a 3am opening. Not sure I'd enjoy the day so much.

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I for one am not going out shopping before dawn, if at all tomorrow. I will probably buy everything I need for my family gifts on Etsy and there is one item so far that I need from Amazon.

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This weekend I'm going to be linking to cool items that I've found that would make great gifts to yourself or others! There are just so many really great items out there and I would like to show them off.

Speaking of gifts -- If you folks are looking for a cool photograph to give someone -- Check out my Etsy site! I have photos in all sizes and prices - I have greeting cards, too.

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I hope you had a wonderful wonderful day today.

Happy Friday Fragments, too!

Kristin

POTD - Happy Thanksgiving!

POTD - Happy Thanksgiving

Vintage postcard

I searched high and low for a Thanksgiving appropriate photo when I realized that I really wanted to feature this postcard. I found this online and I thought it was just so sweet! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Kristin