It's Sunday night, the most bittersweet time of my week.

Setting goals for the whole world to see forced some accountability into my weekend, which I kind of enjoyed (remember, I'm Type A).

Ok, first of all, did you SEE the Wolf moon on Friday night? Holy cow, that sucker was bright.

Copyright Alan Walters

The first thing I did Saturday morning was clean out my clothes. I had to run a few errands in Poway in the morning, and in order to multi-task and stop by the Salvation Army there, I needed to get that chore out of the way pronto. I delivered a large trash bag full of clothes that I have not worn in over a year, and I started my morning out feeling good.

While I was in Poway, I decided to stop by Lake Poway and take a few photos. Here are some of by favorites:

As for the afternoon...well, that's a different story. I decided to just "rest my eyes" on the couch, which turned into a two hour ordeal. Tony, however, went happily downstairs to powdercoat some parts for the Coug. He has a lot more energy than I do. Sigh.

Church was really great last night. Part of the chorus to one of the worship songs was "Hallelujah, You're the lifter of our heads." This really resonated with me last night, and looking back on the last month or so of my life, I can't help but believe that statement is true. The kiddos were okay, but instead of feeling uplifted at the end of my service there, I've been feeling a bit discouraged. I have to remember though, as long as the KIDS feel uplifted and like they have learned something important, then I have done my job.

This morning I woke up early without an alarm clock. Sigh. I decided I felt like painting. I was too scared/lazy (the paint thinner is all the way down in the garage) to paint with oil, so I made an acrylic painting. It was inspired by my visit to the lake yesterday. I'm not entirely amazed by it, but it's a good start!

I also did get to spend some fun time at one of my small group girlfriend's birthday dinner. We took lots of photos (well, she took lots of photos), but I did manage to get one with her. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the cable to my point-and-shoot camera, so it looks like we'll have to wait a bit to see that photo.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

For my fellow Type A friends, here's the stuff all crossed off (well, italicized)!

Clean out clothes (get rid of unused/old stuff)

Help Tony work on the Coug-we took out the old heater core, and inhaled a lifetime's worth of rust

Get sewing machine to work

Work on sewing a blanket

Hang up some framed photos and wall art

Clean up hard drive(s) on the desktop computer

Go to church

Teach at Kingdom Builders (kindergarten)

Stargaze

Take some photos

Paint 1 small oil painting, (well, it was acrylic...)

Go to a friend's birthday dinner

Have quality time with my small group girls

A few goals for the weekend...

Clean out clothes (get rid of unused/old stuff)

Help Tony work on the Coug

Get sewing machine to work

Work on sewing a blanket

Hang up some framed photos and wall art

Clean up hard drive(s) on the desktop computer

Go to church

Teach at Kingdom Builders (kindergarten)

Stargaze

Take some photos

Paint 1 small oil painting

Go to a friend's birthday dinner

Have quality time with my small group girls

Am I missing anything?

Nope, definitely not :).

Saffron and Tony: A Vignette

Tony loves playing with Saffron.

Don't let him tell you he thinks she's a turd bag (which she is). She's got him right where she wants him.

They like playing together with shrimpy (that red thing Saffron is mauling below).

Saffron likes to jump really high, but sometimes, she also likes to squish shrimpy.

When someone even thinks about touching shrimpy, they have her complete and undivided attention.

Oh, wait. Excuse her while she walks away with her "kill".

Yep, she's got him wrapped around her paw.

Singin' in the Rain

We have had some awfully strange weather for San Diego these last few days. Torrential, and I mean TORRENTIAL rains, high speed winds, thunderstorms, and 20 foot swells.

This makes for a very unhappy community. We are all so spoiled living here. I actually welcomed the rain. It's been quite some time since I've enjoyed a good downpour. I enjoy them the most, however, when I'm not caught walking in them!

I really haven't had much of a chance to photograph the rain, because, well everything was just so...soggy.

The rains have let up a bit today, and I was able to take some neat shots with my new macro lens!

The dirt and mulch in most areas of SD are churned up, and you can see where small rivers formed during the worst part of the storm.

I love how lush and green all the plants have become!

I appreciate how hard it is to find a perfect "droplet". This is as close as I could get:

The flowers weathered the storm and came out victorious!

"Rain" by Shel Silverstein

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Demands and Requirements

Hi there,

I wanted to share one of my favorite excerpts from one of my most loved authors, Annie Dillard. I've been reflecting on this passage for the past week, and I've gained a lot of insight about myself when reading this in parallel with the first few chapters of Ephesians.

Enjoy.

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk:

God does not demand that we give up our personal dignity,

that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose

ourselves and turn from all that is not him. God needs noth-

ing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. It is a

life with God which demands these things.

Experience has taught the race that if knowledge of God

is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the

condition in which the means operate. You do not have to do

these things; not at all. God does not, I regret to report, give

a hoot. You do not have to do these things — unless you want

to know God. They work on you, not on him.

You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however,

you want to look at the stars, you will fnd that darkness is

necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.

::The re-posting of this passage is not with the intent of infringe copyright, but rather, to educate those willing to read it. ::

A Macro Lens and "The Coug"

How.dee.

I've been playing around with my new 30mm f/2.8 macro lens recently, and I've learned that I don't really know how to use it well yet. These things just require practice and patience, just like all tasks in life. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite photos from my practicing with the new lens, along with a few other odds and ends that have happened in my life recently.

This is Saffron. You've met her before. You may not know that she's what the cat-gurus call a "talker" (yep, that's technical. I think.). Anyway, she is indeed part Siamese (read: crossed-eyed banshee), which means she is rather vocal. She just wanted to say hello to all of you.

I love her perfect, blue, crossed eyes, and the freckles on her nose.

I took the opportunity to photograph Tony's cigarette. The embers were still glowing.

I tried to take photographs of my eyes. It didn't work out so well. Some of the modern/amateur photographers I follow online ONLY take photos of themselves. They're also under 18, and far too narcissistic, in my opinion. It doesn't mean I don't want to copy them. Sigh. My eye photos didn't work out, and Lord knows I'm not going to photograph my nose, so you get my mouth.

I'm not going to lie. I photoshopped out the candy apple red Cover Girl lipstick all over my teeth. Just being real, here.

World, meet our new 1967 Mercury Cougar. I'm still working on a name for him. It's hard to get past names that go with the black primer like "Snuff" and "Brutus"...well...okay that's all I came up with. Basically, he looks like he'd rip to shreds all the foo-foo BMWs and Range Rovers running around here in San Diego. I'm working on the name, but I'm all for suggestions.

I think the radio is pretty cool. We have no idea if it works.

This was the previous owner's idea of a floor mat and upholstery work: a carpet sample and duck tape. Yee-haw.

I'll keep you updated on how our project goes.

After I took about 100 photos of the car, I had to shake all of the man-powered, sheer brute force of the Coug and take some foo-foo photos.

P.s. I made a real photo album of all the photos I shot in 2009 that I thought were decent. I ended up with exactly 365 printed photos without trying to count. I am amazed.