I consider myself intelligent (on some scales) and relatively handy when it comes to minor home repairs and such (thanks Dad!) and even able to hold my head above water when it comes to electronics and computers in general. As such, wires and html and all that don't frighten me. I will try, falling just short of crashing the computer or blowing the fuse before calling in the reinforcements.
Then there is photoshop.
What??!!!! Surely this little photo editing program used by thousands can't be that difficult??!!! Well, I recently purchased Elements 8 and was tinkering around with it before I went online and purchased a book to help me out a bit: (image "borrowed" from amazon.com)
It is a great book and I am working my way through it. The problem being is that the authors assume certain skills and knowledge of "step one" when going through the editing techniques. (like they assume you know how to make a selection, what tool to use, etc. Ok, apparently not) More tinkering to ensue. I have looked from some free classes in the area and so far no luck.
What I want to be able to do is turn my photos into eye popping visions, kinda like Dooce. Especially while Zane's eyes are still blue. How cool is that?
So, a picture I have been working on is this one - see the object is off center, small, the door looks like the focus. I wanted to clean it up, crop it, make some of the colors pop.
A couple hours into it and I am still working on it. At least the subject is cute! It is hard (er) to get frustrated when that darling face is looking at you!
Another thing that I find, not necessarily complicated, but just not quite as easy as I envisioned is Post baby BF weight loss. I took whole heartedly and bought into the thought that "BF makes the pounds just FALL OFF!!!" Um, ya, I should have known this not to be true as lbs have never just fallen off. I have worked for every lb lost ever. Ok, except for that little diet known as chemo and radiation but that just doesn't count. Like, duh.
There is my little reminder there to live in and love the present, appreciate and cherish good health and all our many blessings and not obsess. The fact that I was able to get pregnant and have Zane is a miracle to me. For years I had resigned myself to the fact that my ovaries were fried and that was ok - God had other plans for me. When we found out we were pregnant in early '09 I lived in a state of semi-denial for months (brought back to reality when my head hung over the toilet bowl, sports center blasting in the next room as Mark tried to drown out the heaves. Really though, he was great. He let me puke with the door open so I wasn't "alone" Ha!)
When we mulled over names - Some of Mark's tops were Dutch (Um, no, but we can only hope Zane is as much a bad ass as Arnold in Predator), Alouicious, Tank, and others that are better left unwritten. Our niece Maddie suggested we name him Zane. We liked the name and when we came home and looked it up the meaning was, "God is gracious". Bingo. Sums it right up.
I digress - so I start boot-camp on the 15th and I could not be more excited. I did boot-camp the spring before the wedding which was FANTASTIC. I was in the midst of grad school and was even more beneficial for my overall well-being as stress buster.
Still on the job search, I have some options and am weighing a few possibilities right now though it will probably be at least a month before I get back into it.
Oh, and LOST was just as mind twistingly great as usual. My sister Liz's boyfriend was in town from NYC on business and I got to pick his brain a bit about theories. Thanks Matt!!
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