Remember those MREs?

Sorry, no photo-related posts today, but I do have a video for you to check out!

I told you all about how Nick spent nearly a week in Georgia with the National Guard, bringing home the tasty delights that are MREs.

Well, Nick and Kurt (the photographer who accompanied him) finally got their videos up demonstrating how to make one of these meals. If you want to see an amusing few minutes of my (cute) hubby making a "ready-made" meal (he's pretty excited by the brownie that came with the bag!) then click here.

Cool new features!

I doubt many friends or family members have been checking here lately, but when you (hopefully) do get back into the habit, please notice some cool new features I've added to the right-hand side of the blog!

Friends who are photographers, I hope you add my blog to your RSS feed!

For those of you asking, "What the heck is an RSS feed?" ... I'm not the most tech-savvy to explain it, but feeds are ways for bloggers to get you to subscribe to their content.

With the growing popularity of blogs, if you check more than two or three a day (mine maybe included ;) I highly recommend you look into using a service like Google Reader, which is what I use. So instead of constantly "blog stalking," (clicking on a person's site seven times a day to see if they've updated), Google Reader does it for you!

If none of the above made sense, and you want to bypass this whole "RSS feed" business, then you can subscribe to my blog by e-mail too! Sounds easier, doesn't it?

For me to attract (and hold) people's interest in this blog, I need a way to keep you all in the know that I'm posting — and this is a great way to do it! So I hope you subscribe!

Feeling hungry?

I'm feeling a little deprived at the fact I'm not posting much on here these days, so I thought I'd remember what it's like to blog again with a little update.

Still waiting on the computer purchase — but for a good reason I hope to clue everyone in to soon!! And when the computer comes, look out — I will be on a photo-finding mission! :) I'm looking forward to lining up shoots to help build my portfolio. The latest potential client? My guitar instructor, who, because a friend screwed up his wedding photos two years ago, is totally down with both a casual and a more formal session to be shot by me! I can't WAIT for spring!

On a more personal note, Nick came back last night after a near week-long assignment for the paper, training with local National Guard soldiers stationed (for now) in Georgia. Reading his blog was a lot of fun (I'm biased, of course, but I think my husband is a great writer!) and I learned a lot of the ins and outs of military life from him (and now, he answers all my questions with a "Roger"). Is this gonna get old? "Roger."

Anyway, last night, he was so excited to show me an MRE. An MR-what? A "meal-ready-to-eat," but that definition is really stretching it. Inside this little pack is a for-real meal, but it's so strange to think this is what our troops have to look forward to eating. There is this little heat element that gets HOT HOT that warms up the box's contents (in this case, beef stew) and gives off the most gross chemical melting smell. And then, there are other tasty tidbits: saltine crackers (yum!), peanut butter, a chocolate bar, and (my favorite), a little teeny-tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce with the salt, pepper and Chiclet gum (which Nick heard from soldiers who swears its some form of laxative - apparently these meals are pretty hard to digest!)

I told Nick we should keep the few MREs he brought home with him on hand ... you know, in case a nuclear fall-out should hit Muncie and we need rations to make it through!

R.I.P.

For anybody still checking up on the blog, you know I've been having computer problems as of late.

Well, the Dell officially died over the weekend. Thankfully, I'd been anticipating the event and had backed up all files save a few random singles off iTunes (which makes me sad still, but it's better than losing everything for sure!)

Nick and I will be purchasing an Apple (a date upon which, when opening the box, I will purr like Sex in the City's Carrie 'Hello lovveerrrr...'), but until that day comes, posting on here will be pretty sparse because, well, I can't process any photos without a machine and posting photos and growing my love of photography is the whole point of this blog!!!

I'd love it if you guys would check back here in a few weeks and hopefully, I'll be back up in running!

My personal resolution(s)

Happy New Year everyone! (well, I'm a little early ... but this still counts!)

I've been talking with friends, family and co-workers about New Year's resolutions for 2008, and this year, I decided to do something a little different. Inspired by a few photographers who have developed their own lists, I've created my own 101 in 1001.

What is this list, you may ask? Well, it's 101 things I want to accomplish in the next three years. Yes, this appeals to the side of my overachieving personality that is WAY too Type A. But I LOVE lists — and the joy that comes with crossing things off them. (surely I'm not the only one!)

Anyway, what I love about this list is that are some big goals and lots of little ones. It took me about an hour to compile, and yes, I had help coming up with some of these ideas. If any of you guys want to join me in making your own 101 lists, I'd love to hear about it. And if you need some inspiration of your own, just type "101 in 1001" into Google and you'll be set!!!

What do you guys think of this?

Have any of you heard of Google's "Street Map" function? Well, if any of you have used Google Maps for driving directions or to find an address, this function takes it one step farther and shows you, at street level (hence the name), your home.

Google brought its satellite cam truck to Indianapolis recently, and apparently decided to cruise around Muncie too because, lo and behold, here's Nick and I's home:


What's ironic about this is that, despite getting a bird's eye view of our house, they labeled our address wrong (they say it is "approximately" 672 N. Brentwood Ln. Umm ... well, I live there, and last time I checked, the numbers over our garage read 608!)

My understanding is that, eventually, Google wants to take "Street View" everywhere. So what do you guys think about this feature? Is it a gross invasion of privacy? Is it a way for us to all feel "closer," as a Ball State professor says in this Indianapolis Star story?

I don't really know how I feel about the function yet, but I do see it as a sign of the times that, with today's technology, there's no such thing, really, as privacy. (and I'm just glad Nick and I weren't out working in the yard when this shot was taken -- apparently, there's a Web site out already of odd things and or people caught in unflattering "Street View" images. You can check that out here.)

(On an unrelated note, if any Mac users out there ever need to know how to do screen captures like the one above, I found this Web site to be a big help with this post and some other fun Mac tricks!)

Merry Christmas everyone

Nick and I opted for old-school Christmas lights on the rhododendron tree this year!

Hope everyone has a great holiday week!!!

(and because I posted this image -- and a few others -- to Flickr long before the computer glitches, I still have some Christmas shots to post!)