365 photos

This will be my third year of taking (at least) one photo every day. 2010 started out stellar... but when the sock monsters and Lens Pets took over, my camera had no choice but to take a backseat. This year I am re-commiting myself to taking at least one photo every day. Not only because I love the end result and having a record of the entire year (especially since I have no time for scrapbooking right now), but I really LOVE taking pictures and I miss it when I don't do it. So far so good as the first week of 2011 comes to a close, though I could have done without today's perfect opportunity for a photo of the day!

guardrail-1 / bumper-0

On my way to pick up my son from school this afternoon I had a minor collision which resulted in a big hole in my bumper. I was already slowing down since one of the cars ahead was stopped to turn left, so when the car right in front of me stopped to turn I wasn't going very fast at all (thank goodness). My tires suck though, so I braked... and kept going. I didn't want to slide into the car in front of me so I turned onto the shoulder and the guardrail stopped me :p Thankfully no one was hurt (I was the only one in the car), no other cars were involved and my headlight is intact! :) I was hoping to wait a while on new tires but even driving carefully I've been slipping and sliding whenever I drive in the snow. Next week I'll have another perfect photo opportunity when I go buy four new tires. ick

If anyone else is interested in trying 365 (POTD)  this year my FAVORITE site for keeping tracking of my pictures is Shuttercal! You can upload your photo and add some journaling about the day (or not if you don't want to). Then at the end of the year you can get the whole thing printed on these super cute cards that look very much like polaroids and all twelve months worth of photos fit into a little shoebox (included in the price). You can't beat it. You can also keep up with friend's calendars so if anyone joins (it's free! though there are perks to being a paid member) feel free to add me as a friend! Me ----> http://www.shuttercal.com/calendar/mzelenka/

the perfect beginning to a new year

I am a BIG fan of sunsets! (sunrises as well, of course, I just have more opportunity to catch the sun going down than coming up) I am always amazed at the number of colors the sky can turn during one amazing sunset! On January 1st I left the house just as the sun was beginning to set on my way to the airport to pick up my kids (who spent their Christmas break with their dad in NC). I noticed the first bit of pink in the sky and was glad I had my camera with me to snap a couple pictures. The first one I took at 6:09 pm looked like this: 

But just a few minutes later at a stop light and I'm seeing this!

6:15 pm

6:16 pm

6:17 pm

6:19 pm

6:20 pm

6:21 pm

Simply stunning!!! I think this definitely means 2011 is going to be a GREAT year! :) In fact... I've got a little bit of shop gossip for you. I'll be working over the next few weeks to really get orders shipped and get my wait time down to something much more manageable. I *might* have to close the shop for a few days in the next couple months to help with this. BUT the good news is that not only with there be NEW Lens Pet designs and NEW ready to ship sock monsters, I also have a completely new product line that I will be debuting this year! :) I haven't been able to come up with a suitable name yet though so I might just need to create a contest to get some help in that department! Lots of fun stuff on the horizon! So thankful for everyone who has ordered and supported me over the last seven months! (can you BELIEVE it's only been seven months?!?!) Thank you thank you thank you!

Back to work I go! Hope everyone has a great first week back to school and work! :)