Duke

Duke , originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 17 pic - Let me in! He does not handle the cold very well and would rather stay inside than brave it. He will run in and make a lap around the room before settling down in front of the fireplace!

sheep

sheep, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 16 picture: Winter will just not go away. Extreme cold and even more snow is on the way. I think they do not mind being locked in right now. I know I don't.

This is being posted on the 18th. We now have 2 feet of snow and have had quite a bunch of winter.

candles on a cold night

candles on a cold night, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 14 photo: Too cold to go out and get a bunch of wood for a fire (plus keeps rest of house cold.) Candles will do the trick. This is one of the coldest snaps this country has seen in years. We are expecting two hour delays for school. the kids of course would like an actual snow day!

leo

leo, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 13 photo: The gecko on the prowl for crickets. Leo belongs to my son Ryan. It is a good thing the pics of the pinky mice being eaten were fuzzy. Cool but gross.

Clean desk

Clean desk, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 12 photo: Monday 1/12 was clean your desk day! This is as good as it will look!

Shovel more here...

Shovel more here..., originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 11 photo. After shoveling comes a little playing. A buried child makes an easy target!

Buried

Buried, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 10 photo. Poor squirrel statue buried under the fallen snow.

Last artifact of the holidays!

Last artifact of the holidays!, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Day 9 photo. The lonely wreath still stands. All the other decorations are put away.

Blast of winter - Day 8 photo

Blast of winter, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

After Christmas with no snow, finally some white on the landscape! Yesterday, ice and no school! Today, 2 hour delay and off to school soon. After snapping picture, wanted to play outside with the dogs!

As fresh as it gets! Day 7 photo

As fresh as it gets!, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

These are eggs from chickens on our small farm. Unless you have had farm fresh (day old), you have no idea what you are missing!

Still of winter - Day 6

SSPX0009.jpg, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

This tree is just so still, conserving energy, waiting till Spring...

Winter leaf impression

SSPX0008.jpg, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Hats off to my son, Ryan who saw this great shot on a walk with the dogs. This picture was taken on 1/5/09. The leaf must have originally been on the ice but as warmer temps caused it to melt, it fell below . Cool effect!

jake

jake, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Share the road

Share the road, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

Enough said.

Farm fence line

Farm fenceline, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

After the edge of our woods is a great fence line along my in-law's property. On the edge of the woods (behind the photographer), is an old stone fenceline that is very old as well as remnants of old barbed wire fence.

Happy pups

Happy pups, originally uploaded by hurricanemaine.

This is really how the dogs walk. They line up this way and turn quite a fair amount of heads in the process. The larger brown dog on the left is actually my nephew's dog.

Joined the 2009 365 photos group on flickr

As part of a 365 photo challenge posted on twitter, here are a few local pictures. This challenge will be a great way to get back into taking pictures. I used to take loads of pictures but have fallen out of not only picture-taking, but scrapbooking.

These pics are actually from my sister-in-law Jennifer Sizemore, though...

1. I will post more than 365 to make up for them not being mine.
2. consider the one of the dogs as "mine" as I had to walk the dogs in order to keep them in their line.

Wow!

Many of what I have been reading online and digesting these days is summed up well by Colin Powell on Meet The Press.

Let me say that as a teacher who is making great gains in 21st century learning and creating critical thinkers who can look at both angles of information, annotate, and think, I am impressed with Barack Obama's campaign. Let's face it, his advisers are transparent yet a definite force in his campaign. He has surrounded himself with the best thinkers. He would do the same as president if given the chance. Those of us who know what a personal learning network is can understand that. The Republican party on the other hand has not learned this lesson and resorts to strategies that are grasping to the air.

I found Colin Powell's speech to be well thought out and heartfelt.

I have too much going on...

Has it been two months since I blogged here? I know I have blogged here and here and here since then. I know, 4 blogs, am I nuts? Yes, actually, but I am trying to maintain on several fronts to open doors in future areas. Nuts, I know.

However, I am attempting to leverage the great web 2.0 technologies I talk about day in and out to help me. I am also focusing on things I know work (that are not revolutionary) to help as well. So here goes:

• Finish going through the rest of my house and declutter (I actually did a lot this summer). Have 3 bins: Trash, Donate, and Maybe (sell or donate is probably where they will go)
• Create a no distraction zone - it was the couch but the TV sometimes interferes, it can be the breakfast counter (my last use was the time I fell off the bar stool - don't ask - and was in a cast for 6 weeks), it can be my craft room provided I follow the next step...
• Use Remember the milk to automate my schedule for keeping the house clean (and my craft room). I currently have tasks set for each day - it is easier to keep the house clean this way instead of spending a whole weekend morning. I am also learning to put in even small tasks to manage business, home, and work items that need to be done. The little woohoo messages they give you as you cross items off your list is great too!
• Make a short list of 4 or 5 things I love and include one a day
• Single task - I really thought I was good at multitasking but that is not the case. Spend enough time to get to a certain point and then put aside for review if not possible to finish. (If my work makes me think of an idea for another project, note it but do not go and work on that one too.) Add also that this task should be timed so loss of focus does not increase time spent on it.
  
• Start my day with peace. I try, and I actually get there a little bit. After my husband leaves and the dogs have been fed and potty-ed, I may read, sit in silence with coffee, mull the news, read blog posts, exercise, etc.
• Eat nothing from a box - okay we aren't counting cereal, but eating whole foods makes you think twice about what you eat and is not so ready that you grab without thinking. Don't ask my kids or husband what they think about this.
  
• Go paperless. I am close to this. Need to automate a few more things but sometimes it is necessary for me to print off in order to read and mull over properly.
• Have 3 tasks for the day. Tough for me. I generally think I can get 20 things done in a day. Realistic until family, students, and others start interacting. I think i can handle this and perhaps create a maybe list in case extra time comes my way.
• Get rid of two things for every new thing that I bring in to my house (exception: food. We have to. We live out of town, can get really poor weather in winter, and I have a large pantry for storage). This will help with the first strategy.

These are not new or revolutionary but a focus on these may make a difference in my ability to manage tasks and time. Do you do any of these strategies and how do you feel about them?

Taking the Rock band guitar up a notch

As a Pazzles design team member, I get to play with interesting materials as well as designing new cutting files. Our June task was to use vinyl on anything in our home. Waiting to the last minute (that is not a trait of mine - I just could not get an idea I loved), I stumbled upon a DOA Xbox guitar and the idea hit me. I used a quote that my SIL Jennifer Sizemore used on a past layout: "Life without music would be a mistake."

Well, it was chosen for Design of the Month at Pazzles. I am so excited. Now to decorate the other guitars in the household.

Tags: Pazzles, Rock Band