Sunday, January 31, 2010

The month in pictures--January 2010


Here is my photo mosaic for January 2010. It is missing two pictures though since it is a 30 picture mosaic and the bottles are on there twice. Can you tell which two are missing?

Wow, ONE Month in the books! Jan. 31, 2010


Today Gus and I went to the 6 pm service at our church and sat closer to the front than we usually do. I noticed the organ in a very different way. The pipes look like little mouths of people singing so I imagined that all the organ's pipes were additional choristers tonight. Can you see them?

Jan. 30, 2010


Okay this is a bit of a cheat--I was sooooo busy yesterday and I forgot my camera (bad Laurie!) so I am having to put in the picture collage of the fabulous full moon tonight (1-31-10). Oh well, I still made it 31 days and 31 pictures! Enjoy

Saturday, January 30, 2010

January 29, 2010


Apparently, the third time is the charm. I have been in the Chevron/Subway in Livingston 3 times in the last 2 weeks and have been fascinated by this product available at the cash register. The first two times I didn't have my camera and I didn't today either, but I used Lynn's iPhone to take this shot. I can decide whether I am grossed out by the ear of caramel corn or really intrigued by it. I love caramel corn but I am not sure I could enjoy this product since it is in the shape of an ear of corn. There is just something not right about that!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Today at UWA-Jan. 28, 2010


It was a gorgeous, sunny day today in Livingston. The sky was very blue and it was in the mid-sixties and the sun was shining. I walked over to the Caf to get some lunch, but forgot my camera, so after I ate in my office I went back outside to get my Picture of the Day. I walked to the edge of campus and got shots of the UWA sign and the banners hanging on the light posts. I used Picasa to create a collage of the pictures I took.

Books to Read--Jan. 27, 2010


Here is my current book stack. We have Scrapping Plans--a scrapbook mystery, Listening is an Act of Love--about NPR's Story Corps project, The Blind Side by Michael Lewis about Lee Ann Toohey and Michael Oher, and Firstlight by Sue Monk Kidd--essays and reflections from her early writing. Eclectic? Sure! I love reading lots of different things.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sculpture and Shadow, Jan. 27, 2010



Okay, I was not willing to walk very far from the office today to try and find my Picture of the Day. I went out into the sunshine and decided to take several pictures of this statue outside of Bibb Graves Hall on the UWA campus. I took several shots, but this one with the shadow behind it spoke to me. It was a little after noon and I imagined this statue was acting as a pseudo-sundial. Also, the shadow as I look at it in the photo resembles either a plane taking off or a person balancing on the top of the statue. What do you see?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

What a difference a month makes--Jan. 25, 2010


Just one month after Christmas and at 5:00ish the sun is making its way down among the trees at the end of Fairmont Drive in Tuscaloosa. Wow, just a month before on Christmas Day by 5:00 pm it would have been dark, and I don't mean dusk, I mean flat out dark! So it is good to see the cycles of the seasons continue on in the background of the busyness of our world. I hope you have the chance to see a beautiful sunset this week also!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Cantebury Chapel--January 24, 2010


I was the chalice bearer today at church so this was my view during the service today. This is the University of Alabama window at Canterbury Chapel the Episcopal Student Center in Tuscaloosa. I have loved this window for over 20 years. It has 2 versions of Denny Chimes and the sentiment, The Gathering of Knowledge, right next to a computer. It also has both a male and female professor teaching to classes. And lots of pictures of music notes and instruments are included in the window. I wanted to get the whole window so I am not sure that you can see the details that I have described above. I may go back and take close ups of each part of the window for later pictures.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Tis a Gift to Be Simple--Jan. 23, 2010


Today, I led a Community of Hope retreat for 8 people at the Julia Tutwiler Library at UWA in Livingston. I did the program and provided the snacks and was generally VERY busy. I had good intentions of snapping some pictures of the participants during our discussions, but it never seemed to be a good time. Alas, I let the day get away without a picture. So, I kind of cheated and used Wordle to create a word cloud of the 28 Spiritual Gifts that we discussed and discovered today. Each person at the retreat seemed to have either a reassurance of their gifts or they identified a new gift they had not previously acknowledged. All in all a productive day.

UWA Sign--Jan. 22, 2010


I went on a short walk today from my office to the Dollar General Store to pick up some snacks and a Diet Coke. As I came out, I saw the UWA banner strikingly red against the brick of the downtown building with the spindly trees and blue, blue sky. After I downloaded the picture, I also took note of the architectural details on the building and that I got the dome of the Sumter County Courthouse, too.

I was happy that I had my camera with me and got it out to snap this shot. Having my camera with me is truly making me a better photographer and I am noticing things that I have been by a million times before. It's a good thing to be paying attention to more of the details of life. Many times I whiz by and miss too much of the important stuff.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Social Media Baby


I love teaching! I taught Social Media to my graduate class last night. And tonight I subbed for a colleague who is out of town. Both classes were great and I had such fun showing all my social media sites and fun stuff. Here is a screen shot of my Plurk site that I shared with everyone. I know, I know, I am such a geek!

Rolling on the River--Jan. 20, 2010


I really wanted to take a picture of the Black Warrior River as I crossed over the bridge this week and thought to myself, there is really no good place to get a shot without cars or people since the park at Manderson Landing is the only place to stop safely. Then, I was about to enter the parking lot at my friend Lee's apartments when I realized at the end of the road I was on was a boat landing and only two trucks with empty boat trailers. I was a bit early for carpool so I went on down and took several pictures of the river, trees, and bank. This is the one I liked the best with the bank, the river, the reflection, and the trees.

Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010


I was working late at UWA because I had to meet with my Tech Portfoio class and I was trying to get ready for my grad class on Wednesday night when I got an email to remind me that the Student Intern Dinner was that night and that any faculty who could come were invited. I went to the dinner and enjoyed some conversation with colleagues but the best thing was that one of my ED 405 students from last spring came up and gave me a hug and said he would be doing his internship if it weren't for me. That really made me feel great! But the picture is of the UWA lunch box that I got to carry my hopefully more healthy lunches in!

Monday, Jan. 18, 2010


Not very inspired today. I saved a Coca Cola napkin from the plane on Friday because I liked both the design and sentiment since I love Coke products. But the napkin was a little worse for the wear, and it didn't photograph well. I guess when you are taking a photo a day you will have days like this!

Monday, January 18, 2010

January 17, 2010


After almost a month of waiting since Christmas, I took Hallie Grace, Luke, and Eli to see 101 Dalmations (the Broadway play) at the BJCC in Birmingham. I actually was basically the benefactor here. Lindy drove the van and Mom came, too. We had a great time. On the way to the show we ate at a McDonald's in Bessemer. When we turned in, Luke said what a great playground. To which Mom, Lindy, and I all said we don't have time to play on the playground. We just have to eat quickly and go on to the BJCC. Luke's response--That is a big bucket of fun that can't enjoy. (or something like that) It cracked us up! He is so funny.

But anyway, we made it to the BJCC, saw the Dalmations bus, and really enjoyed the play. The popcorn, pretzels, and drinks were big hits, too. Finally, we got this shot of me and the kids in front of the show poster. A great time was had by all!

January 16, 2010


Okay, be sure to read this or this pic makes NO sense. The Reader's Digest quotes this month were about Stress. And lately, my dear husband has been fixated on pie.
Soooooo, I laughed out loud when I read this quote
"Stress cannot exist in the presence of pie"--David Mamet.

January 15, 2010


Here we are at the airport and I see a Best Buy Express vending machine. Yes, you can not only buy batteries, headphones, and chargers, but you can pick up an extra iPod Nano, iPod Touch, or iPhone. I was not sure how you would activate the iPhone, but hey, convenience is a BIG part of our lives in 2010. FYI, I used Picasa to create a collage with the pictures I took and you can see my reflection in the one on the bottom left.

Thursday, January 14, 2010


Today after a great day of learning new, cool technology. Mom and I went to the FETC Night Out at Epcot. She took this picture of me "holding" Spaceship Earth, the iconic symbol of Epcot. I think I visited Epcot the summer after it first opened in 1983 with my aunt Winona, uncle Phillip, and cousin Regina.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Happy Feet at FETC!

 

Today at the Exhibit Hall at FETC, I discovered the most awesome thing! Happy Feet insoles are made of poly-something and have liquid glycerin in them. This stuff moves around to give your feet a massage and helps you stay balanced (which people who know me will say this is a good thing!). So here I am with the two salespeople! Check them out online at Happy Feet!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

WiFi is really everywhere!


I know, I know, I am a geek girl. I freely admit this, but did you know that you can get WiFi service on AIRPLANES??? You have to pay for it, of course, but who knew you could do this? And how exactly do you "catch" the wifi signal from the ground or do you even do that? These many questions have been rattling around in my head all day. Still don't really have an answer, but I will have to Google it soon.

Ice, Ice Baby


This was taken at 7:00 am on Monday, January 11, in my driveway. I was fascinated by the ice crystals on the windshield as well as the reflection of the trees. I tried to use the close up feature, but you still can't see the detail of the ice crystals I was trying to capture.

Roll Tide!



At church on Sunday, the people who served coffee hour had a package of Alabama Silly Bandz out for people to pick up with their snacks. I got this red A and put it on my radio knob in my car. Just another little reminder of the National Championship!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Magnolias and Icicles, Oh My!


So, today, I was out running errands, and I saw these icicles on a rock formation by the river. As I drove past, I thought to myself, that would be a good picture. Then, at the next opportunity, I did a u-turn and went back to take the picture! Good to have your camera with you and to have the time to stop when that interesting picture presents itself.


I took several shots, but this one of the icicles and the magnolia leaves spoke volumes about living in Tuscaloosa right now. Yes, we are in the Deep South (hence the shiny, green magnolia leaves), but we are also in the midst of a deep freeze (hence the icicles!). The high today was only 33! That's darn cold for Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Crimson Title!


This is a photo of my husband, Gus, reading The Birmingham News on Friday, January 8, 2010. Nick Saban finally had a smile on his face. Hats off to a classy coach and an even classier team! Roll Tide Roll!

Thursday, January 7, 2010


ROLLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL! Only 4 1/2 more hours til the BCS National Championship Game! I have my game day apparel on and am ready for some cheering!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Jan. 6-Me in my element


I am back at work. I love my job and love the folks I work with! I am so happy. So here is a picture of my happy magnets on my office filing cabinet. They are souvenirs from Tavern on the Green (RIP) from my NYC trip this summer.

January 5 Eleventh Night Party


This is an arrangement of glass objects at Paula Sue Hayes's house. She hosted a lovely simple supper for some folks from the Community of Hope at Canterbury on Tuesday night, January 5. The colors and light appealed to me although I am not sure that I captured them very well.

Ode to Andy Warhol--Jan 4, 2010


Well, not exactly, but Monday night was very cold and I didn't want to go to the grocery store, so I found enough stuff to cook breakfast supper for Gus and grilled cheese and tomato soup for myself. Mmm mmm good!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

January 3--A Unique View in the Basement


So today, my hubby and I worked on covering up some holes in our basement so the weather coming to Alabama in the 20s and teens this week won't seep upstairs and make us cold. While we were down there, I saw the old green coke bottles with the sun setting in the woods behind. So here it is.

January 2, 2010



January 2, 2010
A picture of my new blood glucose meter. As a recently diagnosed diabetic, I am starting the long, hard journey of getting a better handle on my health. I am on medicine for diabetes and will begin working on my diet soon. My Wii is helping me get a start on the exercise. Wish me luck!

Okay, really, I am going to do this in 2010!


I have lurked and viewed so many of my online friends' 365 photo blogs over the past year that I am super-motivated to do this myself in 2010. Seems like a good year to start! And away we go . . .
January 1

Picture of the trees above my car in the drive way