Early Morning

My lovely little chihuahua/mini pin mix, Coco, decided she needed water in the middle of the night. She doesn't do this often, but when she does she will not stop until I give in. It's 4:30 am and she starts talking to me...it's like a whimperish growl. I quickly grab her and stick her back under the covers hoping she'll forget about it and go back to sleep.

A couple of hours later she's doing it again, except now she's more persistent. She stands on top of me and scratches me with her paw. She's 5lbs, so standing on me and scratching me with her paw doesn't hurt. Finally she's got me up and she's so excited to get down stairs she can't even take it! Except, recently, she's decided she's afraid to take the stairs down...at least at the top, if I start her on the steps a little ways down then she'll take them the rest of the way. (In her defense, the top of the stairs are carpeted and then it goes to wood, so it's a lot easier for her to slip.) I open the door to see if she would use the stairs herself and of course not. She's hopping around like a little bunny, her floppy ears bouncing up and down waiting for me to take her. We're down stairs and she's finally getting water. Yay for Coco! Except, now I'm awake and I can't go back to sleep. But Coco just curls up and starts snoring in 5 minutes.

I decided to catch the sunrise outside with my camera...oh but wait. It's all fog again this morning. But I love the fog. I think I've said this before, but it reminds me of home. Being from Coastal California there was fog in the morning and fog in the evening. I decided even if I didn't get any great pictures at least I'd enjoy the cool moist foggy air.

I set out to the local park with my camera and these are the shots I got...



I loved this pine tree's silhouette behind the fog.



This little bridge was so pretty. I was trying to find a good quote to go with this picture but none of the quotes I found were speaking to me.



This nosey rooster ran right over to me when I walked by the petting zoo area. Actually I'm not sure it's a petting zoo, you can't really pet birds. At least I wouldn't want to for fear of being pecked at!



I wanted this guy's picture so badly. He was such a pretty goose, but he was being kind of shy. Or maybe he was just teasing me. "I know I'm a pretty goose, but you can't get me!" And then he burst out sangin' "Can't Touch This" and started doing the MC Hammer dance. Well maybe that didn't happen...

This last picture I may have over edited...but I think it's kind of cool.



I found a hashtag on Instagram called #birdonawire and ever since then I've been taking pictures of birds on wires. Funny how people, or maybe just I, don't notice things until they're pointed out and then I try to notice them after that.

Well now I'm back home and I'm playing with my pictures and sipping my coffee enjoy my quiet time.

Oh and yay 49ers! They did me proud last night against Green Bay.

Hope you enjoy your Sunday Funday!

Keep Smiling!

Editing Photos

I got a great shot of a cat yesterday. His name is Little Man. I didn't name him and he's not my cat, but he is a really pretty cat.

Here is the original shot.

Here is the black and white with some curve changes.

I really loved the black and white, but I wanted to keep his yellow eye color. So I used the app ColorSplash which lets you make a photo black and white and bring back the color from the picture.

I was completely happy with that. I posted it on instagram, but you can't really see his yellow eyes in the smaller picture. Either way, I ended up with what I wanted and I was happy with the picture.

Do you have any favorite editing apps or programs?

I was using iPhoto on my mac for a long time, it's really easy to use, but I wanted a little more control, so I got the application Aperture from Apple. It's been fun using it but I feel like it freezes a lot, so I'm thinking about getting Adobe Light Room. I got it for my dad for Christmas and I wanted to check it out next time I go home before I end up buying it. That won't be for a while, maybe Apple will fix Aperture by then.

Happy Editing...keep smiling!

Pink

I've been wanting to change the background of this blog, but wasn't sure if I wanted to go straight up clean lines and basic colors.

For some odd reason I decided to look up the meaning of color and this is what it gave me. Here.

I clicked on the first search which was perfect. Here.

So what did I find out about the color Pink.
According to empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, pink is an unconditional love and nurturing affect. Which I thought was really interesting.
However, on the flip side there is also the feeling of girlishness, immaturity and silliness
So what's your favorite color and do you agree with the psychology behind it?

Happy Friday and I'm leaving you thinking about Pink Skies....in a loving nurturing way!

Keep Smiling!

Good Morning

I woke up excited to see if we had icicles. I only got baby ones, but they're still pretty. Well maybe they're not considered icicles if they're in a bush? It's just an ice bush then? Well that doesn't sound all that exciting does it. haha

The 3 inches of snow we got yesterday has dwindled down to maybe an inch and has kind of frozen into crunchy ice snow.

I wonder if we'll ever get a good amount of snow. Can you tell I love snow?

I bundled up both of my short hair dogs this morning because it's in the freezing temps and not to mention we've got 25 mph winds, so that doesn't make things any warmer. When I walked to the end of the sidewalk near the wooded area, I saw a herd of deer bouncing away. I've never been able to get a picture of them because they're always too far away. But it was really cute watching their white tails all bouncing away. They must have a pretty thick coat because I couldn't stay out there too long.

Anyway down to some pics...

I loved this shot of my ice bush. This is the edit. The original is below. I loved both versions.

The original is just as good I think.

I'm giving you all sorts of edits this morning. I love this black and white one.

And the final edit for today is the antique look.

Now off to make another cup o' cafe. Ciao. Enjoy your day.

Keep Smiling :)

New Snow

Yesterday I knew that it was supposed to snow and I couldn't wait to get my camera out and take pictures.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

Who am I kidding they're all my favorite.

Someone was following me....

I loved the snow on the branches, the contrast was so beautiful.

I took two of the same shot, but have a different focus in each shot and I can't figure out which is my favorite.

I love that I could capture the snow falling.

I loved the pinkish hue from this bush with the snowy cloudy background.

Great Contrast

When the sun was starting to set, not that I could see the sun setting, I went outside for that glowing blueish sky. I absolutely love the coloring from these shots.

Small creek

I couldn't pick between these two droplets shots so I posted both of them.

The neighbor's dog loves to watch me when I'm walking around outside. I think her name is Rosie and she is a sweet heart. Reminds me of my parents' poodle.

Nothing is in focus in this pictures but I loved all the blurring colors for whatever reason.

This shot wasn't really that special, I just loved the bokeh the Christmas lights made. Made me smile.

Overall I was over joyed with the beautiful scenery and the beauty that the snow makes. Most of the snow falls up to this point have melted within a couple hours. Right now this has lasted pretty long.

I had fun walking around like a little kid enjoying the snow today, I stayed outside until my hands were too frozen. I hardly ever wear gloves.

Christmas Candy

I've always been a lover of candy canes. I just love them...I especially love the curl of the candy cane. I have no idea why. If I was to share the candy cane with you, I would ask for the curled side.

So in the spirit of loving candy canes, I bought the hershey kisses candy cane chocolates and they are FANTASTIC!
This is my attempt at being all photographerish.

My little Christmas display.

5 Days to Christmas! (5 Golden Rings.....)

Trip Home - Part 5

My last day home and it was another fantastically gorgeous day!

My friends and I watched the seals for an hour, seriously. I have no idea why it was so fun to watch seals, but it just was. Something relaxing about watching animals.

This little ocean bird just paddled by.

I really love watching pelicans fly, they just glide. I especially love watching them when they skim the surface of the waves and fly super close to the water.

It was fun watching this otter swim up and down over and over coming up with stuff to snack on. I really need a zoom lens! :)

We walked down to the beach for the sunset. Another gorgeous sunset. I swear I'm so lucky to have seen so many beautiful sunsets!

Just before going down. I thought this was so cool. I love the little last bit before it slips into the ocean.

Moss Landing Smoke Stacks/Power Plant

Sometimes the sky after the sunsets is even better. I love the color changes.

And then I see the pelicans fly into the sunset.

Trip Home - Part 4

Mismosas for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. They were fantastic! We also had bagels and lox with capers and red onions, but of course I didn't get a picture of that. They were good too. My mouth is drooling as I remember them!

These are the only pictures I got from Thanksgiving. Cute stuffed turkey on the counter.

The day after we went up to Half Moon Bay and it was another gorgeous day. I seriously got lucky while I was home. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, it rained the first day, but everyday after that was full of sunshine.

Just the start of the day.

My sister is a Nikon girl, but then again we have our things that we're opposite about.

We usually go to San Francisco the day after Thanksgiving, but this year it was my mom's idea to head up the coast to Half Moon Bay.

Highway 1 - Also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, but usually only by SoCal Folks

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

This is my artistic photo. I just loved the way the sun and shade complimented each other along the fence line.

My sister and I got our love of photography from our dad, my mom will just pose for the pictures...sometimes.

I'm completely afraid of heights, so when we went over this giant mountain I could barely look at the beauty that was over the cliff. I did get this picture though, can you see the shaking from my hand in the picture? haha(nervous laugh) Just the thought of it gets my heart racing again.

The reflection was amazing in the Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay.

These pelicans were watching the fisherman fish off the pier...and I was watching the pelicans watch the fisherman.

We went to eat at Sam's Chowder House, which had a great view of the sunset, but they had screwed up our reservation so we had to sit inside. But I went outside as the sun was going down. It was a spectacular end to a fun day or driving up the coast.

A picture of me, I was trying to figure out how to merge these two pictures so I had a focused view behind me, but I wasn't successful and it was taking alot of time. I'll have to try it again for another photo.

Profile Pic of My sister.

And the sky just got better as the sun went down. So beautiful!