101: New Generation

After work today I headed to the Boo Williams Sportsplex to take headshots and team photos of the New Generation Boys Basketball Team. Jocelyn, my fabulous coworker, asked me to come back again this year to take the photos for them. (Her son is a player on the team...he's the one holding the ball.) The Sportsplex is a really nice facility and I even got to see Boo Williams himself.

Many thanks to Jocelyn for having me back and letting me practice my photography skills!

100!!

It's hard to believe that I've been doing this project for 100 days now. Time really does fly. For those of you new-comers to the blog I started my Project 365 after being inspired by a high school friend who started her own. To read about the project, you can visit: http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

I really have enjoyed the challenge of finding a photo each day and learning more about my camera and about photoshop. It has been a really nice outlet for me creatively and I look forward to continuing.

Tonight was the final Crew Leader show of the 2009 Orientation season here at CNU. (Crew Leaders are CNU students that assist the students here for orientation and they also put on a very creative show of well-known songs/commercials/etc. that are rewritten to be about CNU and being a first year student.

My favorite (and probably the favorite of most people) is a take-off of Bohemian Rhapsody that involves students having parents that don't want them to go to college and just aren't ready to let them go so they attach long ropes to them. It is a hilarious sketch. (Hopefully we'll get a video posted so you all can see it.) Anyways. The photo of the day is from that particular sketch. Gold stars to all.

P.S. New summer layout in honor of 100!

99: Painting

Today I got to venture into the world of painting when Eddie, Terry and I headed over to the new East Area Office (on campus) to help the director of housing get things painted. (He had been giving up his own time because they don't have it in their budget to pay any of his employees overtime to get the work done.) I really enjoyed myself and found the painting to be relaxing. The back RA work room has lots of colorful rectangles and reminds me of Mardi Gras. I captured one of the places on the wall where all four colors come together...this is before the final edging was done.

98: Bubbles!

I went down to my parents' house today to spend some time with them and to celebrate my mom's birthday. We enjoyed a good day spent playing Ladderball, eating pizza and watching old home videos. Eddie and I got my mom (as part of her birthday gifts) a GIANT bottle of bubbles. She is a well-known fan of bubbles so she took the bottle out for a test run right away. As I found out, bubbles are hard to capture well on film. (I think I will have to work on this at some later date.) I do, however, enjoy this picture taken in front of their house with my mom blowing bubbles with my dad looking on.

96 & 97: Thursday and Friday

Thursday:

Our laptop was in the office so I didn't have access to the internet at home to post so here it my Thursday photo. I took this shot of the bright yellow Mountain Dew while doing drink duty during one of our orientation sessions.

Friday:

I actually noticed this shot earlier in the week but didn't have time to stop on my way into work to take it until this morning. The sprinkler/misters were on by one of our campus buildings and there was a rainbow in the water droplets. I'd like to try it again with my "real" camera to see if I can get a better result.

P.S. Happy Birthday to loyal reader Karen Schroeder....my mom! She's 19 today. :-)

95: Night at the Movies

I headed out to the movie theater to see The Proposal with some of the nice ladies from work. The movie was pretty hilarious and I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite moments was when the teenagers behind us thought that during the movie when the computer made the dial-up noise for the internet that it meant that the computer was broken. Poor kids...never had the pleasure of experiencing or remembering the joys of dial-up internet!

Sidenote: Congrats to my brother-in-law (and fellow photo-blogger) Kevin on his graduation from high school today! Wish I could have been there to see it!

94: Ah, Warwick

Warwick Blvd has been a sea of these orange construction barrels for quite some time. It is an adventure that nearly requires an off-road vehicle to make your way around it with the constant bumps, potholes and dips. I was at the stoplight waiting to leave Harris Teeter and noticed the usual barrels. I hadn't gotten a photo of the day so I snapped one quickly. Hardly inspired, well composed or really that interesting so I played with another Photoshop function for practice. I chose the Plastic Wrap effect because it seemed appropriate for the plastic barrels.

93: Orientation

Eddie is heading to New Jersey to watch his brother graduate and already packed up the camera so I had my pocket digital with only the internal memory (forgot the card in the computer) and a very low battery. Thus, I have two lame pictures to choose from....I chose the lesser of the lame.

I took a picture out of a window in our office suite of the plaza outside the building. The "crews" of orientation students were out there doing different teambuilders and icebreakers. I enjoy the fact that there were students out there and using the space...hurray for student life.

92: Birds on A Wire

Eddie and I took a walked through the neighborhood behind campus to our local Rita's to use the coupons for free treats he had. Along the way we saw:

-1 raccoon

-1 cat

-5 rabbits

-8 dogs

and.....one child stuck in their swing on their swingset in their backyard. (The swing was pretty high off of the ground and the girl had her leg awkwardly in the swing and the other dangling. Her dad came out to help her.)

We also saw plenty of birds, including these two morning doves on a wire. I decided to play around with a different photoshop function and came up with this image from the photograph.

91: Hannah

Eddie and I went down to Deep Creek this afternoon and took a dip in the backyard pool of Tim and Amanda. Amanda, her dad, and Hannah joined us for some fun. Hannah sported her summer hat and looked quite cute in it. (I played with the photo a little in photoshop just for some practice.)

90: BB&B

Eddie and I stopped in at Bed, Bath and Beyond to check out a wedding registry of a coworker that is getting married. I took the time to check out my favorite china pattern....a Kate Spade design, I think, that has different tasteful insects in silver on the white china. Weird, maybe, but I really like the set. (Eddie doesn't.) I took a picture of the coffee cup and saucer. I only had my little camera and it didn't have the memory card in it so I had limited memory to take pictures. I played around with this shot in photoshop to make it more interesting.

Now....bedtime. It's been a long week!

89: More Special Guests At Trivia

My parents came down for trivia and a sleep over as a stop between Williamsburg to home (in North Carolina). (They were in W'burg celebrating their anniversary.) Dad has been to trivia before but it was mom's first time at our beloved Weekend Pub for Trivia Night. It was a fun night even though we placed second (losing by only half a point!).My photo of the day is of my parents smooching at trivia....staged in honor of their 35th wedding anniversary!

88: Setting Sail

The office where I work at Christopher Newport University handles the summer orientation programs. "Setting Sail" is for incoming freshmen and is broken into four different sessions. The first session starts tomorrow bright and early. Needless to say work has been quite busy. My photo of the day is of the polo shirt that I will be wearing quite a bit over the next two weeks.

87: Interesting Ride Home

On my way back home from errands and the tail end of the little league baseball game (Eddie helps to coach) I saw two interesting things:

1) An abandoned weave on the side of the road balled up on the curb. I thought it was a dead animal. Alas, the light turned before I could take a picture.

2) This dump truck:

86: Heading Home

I have noticed the reflection of the windows and of the library on the floor but there are usually people there that would get in the way of taking the picture. The building was pretty empty when I left work today so I pulled out my little digital and snapped a shot. I may have to go back with my "real" camera at some point to get a better result.

85: Tasty

I signed up for a Kraft Foods email newsletter a few weeks back and this week got a recipe for Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts. I thought it sounded good and filed it away in my head for future use. My friend Jacqui offered us some fresh basil from her garden so I took that as a sign that we should make the chicken. The hardest part of the meal was smooshing the chicken with a can of green beans since we don't have our own meat mallet. They came out really well and were quite tasty. I think this may become one of those meals we'll make on a semi-regular basis as we continue our adventure into the land of cooking.

P.S. The recipe is linked above....feel free to check it out!

84: Enjoy your day here at Buuuuusch Gardens!

Eddie and I headed to Busch Gardens today to meet up with Steve, Liz and Parker for some fun in the park. It struck me at some point today while we were waiting in line for a ride that I held Parker when she was a tiny baby and now we're riding roller coasters together (including Griffon!). Weird.

This isn't the best picture that I took today but it is my favorite.

83: Friday Night Baseball

I spent my evening watching 10-12 year olds play baseball. I know it's weird but I really enjoy watching kids play sports even though none of them are related to me. (Eddie is helping to coach the team that I watched tonight...I don't just roll up to a baseball field and watch random kids play.) After the game Eddie and two CNU students (who are also helping to coach) decided to throw and hit a little. Brandi and I enjoyed watching them...we laughed a lot.

Sidenote: The Chatham A's had their first game of the season tonight. I'm looking forward to following them online and then getting see them in July in person!

82: Shout-Out to Georgia O'Keefe?

On my way to work I noticed a magnolia tree I had never seen before next to one of the campus buildings. It had two HUGE flower blooms so I wandered over with my little pocket camera. After I downloaded the two photos I took I was quite pleased (shocked even) to see that one of the pictures had come out so well. I am really happy with the lighting and contrast. I'm so proud of my little pocket camera...I didn't make any adjustments in Photoshop on this one.

P.S. I'm excited to have this posted before trivia so I can hit the shower (always smokey there) and get to bed without having to edit a photo and post. I will post our team result with tomorrow's entry.

81: Sleepy Time

Feeling a little uninspired today for the photo of the day. I settled on a shot of our bedding since I noticed tonight (as I was wandering around the apartment looking for a shot) that there are three different textures and patterns. I'm not really pleased with the outcome of the shot but I am pleased that I am about to crawl into the bed for some TV and sleep!

80: Evening at Home

There were storms in the area tonight so Eddie didn't have to head out to coach Little League Baseball. We took advantage of the free evening by having some pizza from Azzurri and watching some West Wing. I hadn't gotten a picture of the day yet and asked Eddie what I should take. He suggested the Mustache Glass that he was using at dinner. He was a good sport and even let me take a picture of him using it.

P.S. Thank you to Ms. Katie Baynor for giving me the mustache glasses as a gift last year. I love gift exchanges with her because she knows me better than just about anyone and never fails on getting the perfect gift. (Yes, I consider Mustache Glasses the perfect gift!)

79: Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Sarah, Matt, Jacqui, Eddie and I headed to Harbor Park in Norfolk to take in a Tides baseball game. Sarah was nice enough to go pick up our free tickets last week. We enjoyed the game, some people watching, some ballpark food and overhearing a handful of ridiculous statements from the drunk girls two rows behind us.

I was anticipating having a photograph of the field or of a great catch but instead I snapped this gem:

(Yes, readers, that is indeed a tattoo of the old UPS logo. I didn't realize that they had updated until I just looked it up online. You can see a comparison of the two logos here.)

76, 77 and 78: A Weekend In New Jersey

Eddie, Tim, Amanda and I headed up to New Jersey for a wedding. We had a really great time, before, during and after the wedding. I had a lot of really great opportunities to use my camera and I am pleased with many of my shots. I had a hard time choosing just one per day but here they are...

#76: Friday: We headed to Aldo's for dinner, which is a favorite place in Jersey for Eddie and Tim. It is the best Italian restaurant outside of Italy. We enjoyed a leisurely meal complete with a stuffed artichoke as an appetizer and some delicious wine. My photo of the day is of the Rigatoni Alla Vodka that I got as a meal. The creamy sauce is so very tasty and I hope to someday be able to replicate it.

#77: Saturday: We attended the beautiful wedding of Christine and Chris. (Tim and Eddie went to high school with Christine.) The ceremony was in Hoboken at a great church and featured some really great music, including a surprise performance of "Love Changes Everything" from the show Aspects of Love, which the priest referenced in the homily. It was my favorite part of the ceremony. Everyone clapped at the end, which means it was really fantastic because there usually isn't much clapping in the Catholic Church...just ask Katie Baynor.

The reception was held at the Chart House in nearby Weehawken. (For those history nerds out there, Weekhawken was the site of the Burr-Hamilton duel.) It is located right on the Hudson, right across from New York City. It was absolutely gorgeous. We could not get over the view of the skyline of NYC the whole night.

#78: Sunday: Amanda, Tim, Eddie and I headed out this morning to come back to Virginia. We had to, of course, stop at Bagelicious on our way out to stock up on "real" bagels to bring home. I grabbed my camera and shot the storefront window before we headed home from a great weekend.

Note to Readers

Eddie and I are up in New Jersey for a wedding this weekend. Our laptop is currently having some issues with the internet so I'll do a big update from Friday, Saturday and Sunday when we get back home on Sunday evening.

Have a good weekend everyone!

75: Hurray for Family Night at Trivia!

It was yet another Family Night at Trivia. Over the last months we have hosted Eddie's parent's and sister and my dad at Trivia. Tonight we were honored with Sara's mom's presence at our weekly fun. She was quite a hoot and very enjoyable to have.

I always enjoy meeting people's parents because it really gives insight into their offspring. It was really fun to watch Sara and her mom interact as they are both fun-loving and friendly women.

For those readers keeping track....we finally broke our losing streak and came in third, thanks to an outstanding Rock-Paper-Scissors victory by Terry!

(Tomorrow, Tim, Amanda, Eddie and I will roadtrip it up to New Jersey for Christine's wedding. Expect some great pictures from the weekend entries!)

74: Summer Must Be Here

Well, folks, it's official....summer is here. I know some of you are still counting down the days of school or don't really have a summer break to speak of but summer is here. I know this because I saw fireflies this evening! I had my camera out for a program that Eddie and his RAs were putting on and was glad that I had it. I would have stayed out longer to take more pictures and to play with settings but there was lightning and now some thunder so I skedaddled back inside.P.S. I also took a wide shot of the grass where I was standing and actually have a tiny yellow pinpoint of a firefly lit up on it. The rest of the picture is pretty lame so I went with my hand in black and white with my little firefly friend.

73: Books

Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends. ~ Dawn Adams ~

I completed a survey on Facebook this evening about reading and books. It got me thinking about the role reading and books have played in my life. I grew up as an avid reader and had parents that modeled that reading could be fun and interesting. Even now as an adult (even though I don't feel like an adult sometimes!) I still love getting lost in a good book.

I have a shelf in our office/music/guest room with my favorite books on it, including some old books that I have collected over the years. I really treasure my books, the familiar, worn pages of an old favorite like A Prayer for Owen Meany, the smell of the old paper of my copy of Last Days of Pompeii (a joke gift from my mom after we played in the pit for The Music Man), the colorful covers of my Sarah Vowell books....I love them.

72: Tripping Billies

Dave Matthews Band...

DMB has a new album coming out tomorrow and they have been getting some nice press about it, including a great feature on CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. (Yes, I am a 40 year old woman and watch it almost every Sunday.) FUSE (TV channel) is running a live feed from their concert in NYC this evening as well as a four part documentary about the making of their new album.

I seem to fall in love with DMB all over again each summer. There is something about the old familiar instrumentals, the lyrics, the sound, something....something that brings back this nostalgia but also the feeling that there is something great just beyond tomorrow....memories of going to the record store in downtown Harrisonburg with Brandon and Katie to buy the new album and being reassured by the girl in front of us that the album was going to be amazing (and we wrote her a Pat!)...cool summer nights in my room in our old house in Sterling with the windows open...warm summer nights on the lawn with so many people on their feet and singing at the top of their lungs. There is just something about them.

I dug out all of my album covers for a little collage for my photo of the day.