Celebrate the Season - FOL28

Our July theme for the Focus on Life:2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is "Celebrate" and for week 28 Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, prompted us to

"Celebrate the Season"

Each summer we spend time at my sis's cabin in the mountains and I love to 'Celebrate the Season' by capturing photos of all the lovely wild flowers growing all around!!  

Please stop by and see how every one else is Celebrating this Summer Season,....

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Celebrating Summer!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 27

The theme for the month of July for the Focus on Life 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is 

"Let's Celebrate"

Week 27: Celebration!  "There are so many little celebrations that occur everyday and you may not realize that they happen.  A quiet toast between friends, a smile for a job well done, a candle on a cake, a sparkler all aglow.   Let's Celebrate the season, family, love hope and life!"

Monday was our son's 17th Birthday. 

He absolutely hates having his photo taken - even on his birthday!

Logan, Day 1 - in the hospital.  Then this summer at the cabin actually smiled and let me take a photo before he went on a motorbike ride!! (yippee!)

I snagged a pic of him blowing out the candle on his cheesecake (he's not a fan of regular cake) and then he turned around to see I was trying to snap another photo.

You can tell by the photo that he's not standing still and the look he's giving me is one that says, "I can't believe you're even trying to take a photo of me, mom!" 

Oh well, I still love it. And him!  

We also celebrated our country's birthday yesterday.

The good ol' USA turned 238 years old. 

So, Cheers to Birthdays and wonderful celebrations!!

Click on the links below to see what everyone else is celebrating this week!

Until Next Time, 

Peace, Love and Celebrating Life's Special Moments!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Playing Catch Up

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks around here. 

Busy, fun, crazy, happy, excited, stressful, frustrating, confusing, shocked, sad, lost,....we've run the gamut.

So, I'm playing a bit of catch-up today with the Focus on Life: 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge.

Sally over at The Studio Sublime, gave us these two prompts for weeks 24 and 25.

Week 24:  Have FUN and get snappin'. To shoot with abandon, basically. 

These folks are kinda making fun of me taking photos. We're all 'snapping' each other 'snapping' each other - fun. And FUNNY! (it was to us, anyway!) I laughed so hard last weekend my sides still hurt.

Week 25: Be Colorful 

a) full of interest; lively and exciting.

b) having much or varied color; bright. 

Each day this summer I've tried to 'drink my colors'.  I mixed various fruits in my glass each morning, add ice and water and drink several glasses and then at the end of the day, eat the fruit. It's really refreshing, especially here in the desert with the 100+ degree temps.

I hope you're all having a great summer!  Be sure to hop around and see what 'colors' every one else has captured this week!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Colorful Fun!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL - Week 21

**I'm trying to link up with the FOL2014 Group this weekend but due to the internet connection in the mountains being totally useless, I may have to link up on Tuesday when I return home and pop over to see everyone's photos and comment next week. Sorry folks!!** :-) 

May's topic for the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge is 

'In, At and About' 

and for week 21, Sally over at  

The Studio Sublime, gave us the prompt:

This Week Fill in the Blanks: 

At or In the __________, I_________.

  

This one stumped me for a bit, but then I realized that

In the mornings, I take care of Coco and Kiki.

I fluff their seeds, refresh their water, talk with them and watch them snuggle.

It's rather difficult to get a focused photo of these two cuties!

It's a morning ritual that is rewarding!

Be sure to see what all the other 

Focus on Life 2014 participants 

have captured this week!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Snuggles!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 19 - Good Things Inside

May's topic for the Focus on Life 2014 weekly photography challenge is 

'In, At and About' 

and for week 19, Sally over at  

The Studio Sublime, gave us the prompt:

Good Things Inside

She told us that this was a good prompt to think 'outside' the box.  

Not quite sure I've accomplished that this week or not but since Mother's Day is Sunday, I thought a photo of these might fit the bill and be rather appropriate.

 These are Kiki's eggs. 

Coco and Kiki are our Peach Faced Lovebirds.

Coco's on the left here, and Kiki's on the right.

 

 Coco's my baby and can do no wrong. 

But Kiki,...she's a piece of work!  

I still love her though.

She's just barely 2 years old. Coco is somewhere between 8 to 10 years old (I simple can't remember the year he was born - bad mommy!!).

 None of their eggs have ever had anything 'inside'. Well, one did last year, but it didn't form all the way and after about 28 days or so, she just quit sitting on them. As I cleaned up their cage the other day and held these up to the sunlight, it doesn't look like there's anything at all in these little guys either.

Poor Kiki. She's such a good little 'Mama in preparation'. 

She's still sitting on her little eggs, protecting them with all she's got and building her little nest. 

Driving Coco nuts. (you know, just like normal pregnant women do to their men!)

And, she's got 'good things inside' as far as I'm concerned. 

Good instincts and a pretty little song voice. 

And one of these times maybe she'll have eggs with 'good things inside'. 

Coco and Kiki "Inside" their "love shack"! ;-)

Hop on over to all the other participants this week and see what 'good things' they have 'inside'! 

Until Next Time, 

Peace, Love and Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms out there!  (Including Kiki!!)

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 18 - In Your (Their) Hands

It's May!  Wow, the year is just rushing by, isn't it?! 

May's topic for the Focus on Life:2014 weekly photography challenge is:

In, At and About

Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, gave us this prompt for week 18:

In Your (Their) Hands

Here's what was in my hubby's hands this week. 

 

He found some cool old, mold-making pieces over at a local jewelry shop in town and decided to play around with pouring some pewter in them just to see how they'd come out. 

He says he curses me for infecting him with the 'jewelry making bug' and tells me that he can't wait to get into the garage after work each day to see what's coming out of the molds. He says it's like Christmas every time he opens one of them to see how they turned out. 

Sadly, the elephant didn't quite come out as expected,..but there's always tomorrow! :-)

Yep, gotta love that!

Click on the links below to see what everyone else captured In Their Hands this week.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pleasant Surprises!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14- Week 17 - Evening Moments

Continuing with April's theme of 'Moments', Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, gave us this prompt for week 17 of the Focus on Life: 2014 weekly photography challenge:

 

 

 

Evening Moments

 

"There is a moment when the day begins to quietly slip away from the earth and the calm of evening floods over the land.  Colors deepen, stars peek through pin holes in a twilight sky.  We begin to exhale and slowly let the world of the day slide from our shoulders."

 

Dusk, next to dawn,

is my favorite time of day.



 

Especially in the desert.

 

 

 

For my birthday last month, my sister took me to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly Exhibit. 

 

His glass sculptures are out of this world!
 

 

It was so cool to see how the sculptures mimicked the desert vegetation.

 

We went an hour or so before sunset and enjoyed all the beautiful flowers blooming on the various cactus.

 

 

 

Then, as the sun settled down and the day turned into evening, we were able to see "Chihuly After Dark".

 

 

 

 

It was a breathtaking 

Evening Moment in the desert.

 

 

This one was my favorite. The way the sunlight glistened off the tips of the glass as day turned into night
made for a very special moment indeed!

 

 

Until Next Time,

 

Peace, Love and Life's Evening Moments!

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 14 - Morning Moments

It's week 14 for the Focus on Life 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge and Sally over at The Studio Sublime has given us the theme of "Moments" for the month of April.

 

 

This week our prompt is

"Morning Moments".

 

Sally asked us to photograph what our Morning Moments consist of; whether it be a quiet, coffee drinking moment or a mad dash to get the kids off to school, a 3a.m. feeding for those with little ones or stolen moments waiting for the train or bus to take us to work.

 

Most of you know that I capture as many 'Morning Sunrise Moments' as possible.

 

Despite the fact that I LOVE the time where the sun starts to rise and it goes from dark to light and the day officially begins,

my favorite morning moment is actually chatting with my son for a while

 before he leaves for school each day. 

 

But, since he wouldn't let me

snap his photo (surprise!)

or capture any of these moments on film

(digital camera! LOL!),

I captured this Morning Moment instead,

 

Yep, pretty much everything is 'outta-focus' until I have this! :-)

 

 

Ah, the morning Cup O'Joe!

 

It's my second favorite morning moment.

 

Okay, well maybe it's my third, favorite!

 

 

 

Please go check out what

Morning Moments

every one else has captured this week!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Morning Moments!

Cheers,

~Shel~

 

An InLinkz Link-up

FOL14 - Week 13 - Eye Level

It's week 13 for the Focus on Life 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge and Sally over at The Studio Sublime has given us the theme of

"Checking Out" for the month of March.

 

 

"For the last Saturday of March, we're going to check out what's going on at eye level.

From where you stand, sit, kneel or lay, take a look around at your surroundings and capture what's at eye level."

 

I was going to snap a photo of my computer screen for the prompt this week because, lately, it's what's at 'eye-level' every single day as I work on analytical data review.

 

But, I thought that would be rather boring

for you all to see, so,....

 

I had lunch out on the patio one day

and this is what was at eye level.

 

Well, it was at eye-level as I leaned back in my chair to enjoy the scene. :-)

 

 

And then one night this week, Mike and I walked over to the neighbor's and had cocktails by his negative-edge pool and watched the sunset.

 

This is what was at eye level

as I sat in one of the comfy chairs.

 

 

 

 

Of course I had to include a photo

of a sunset (or sunrise), right?

 

(today's my birthday, so I'm allowed!)

 

This is really 'eye-level'. You can't tell where the pool ends and the lake begins. I love that!

 

 

 

Please pop over and see what every one else captured at eye level this week.

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Eye Level Beauty!

Cheers,

~Shel~

An InLinkz Link-up