Today took us to a few wineries, a sequoia forrest and the ocean (burrr)! This is a great pic of the sun shinning through the mammoth trees! I warmed up the colors a bit in photoshop. The highlights might still be a bit too white though.
Sorry I'm a little behind in the posting - I thought I would do more on vacation, but it ended up drinking wine was more fun than posting to my blog! Anyhow - I will not get through all my backlog tonight - but I'll start catching up! This was a fun pic from the porch of a general store (with FANTASTIC sandwiches) in Sonoma! I played around with this in photoshop by boosting the colors then running a colorize action on it to mute them with a vintage-y feel. 
Day 100!!! Can you believe it?! And it just so happened to fall on the day that I ran my first half marathon! Not only did I finish it - but I did it in under 2 hours (1:59:18:06 to be exact) which was my stretch goal! The last mile I wasn't sure I was going to make it - but I did! I realize this is a very similar pic from Friday - but we all deserved a big cheers for our finish! There was a wine tasting at the end of the race - it was fun!
Our first day of wine tasting on our vacation took us to a few old favorites, and a few new wineries. At each we had the opportunity to take in the beautiful landscapes and rolling vineyards. I just love getting shots of the grapes on the vines!
We officially began our vacation today! We flew in to San Francisco this morning and once we got our rental car (which is a story all in itself), we journeyed into the city before making our way to wine country. We had lunch at a favorite called Frjtz's for some nummy sandwiches and a few pints of Hoegaarden. This is our "cheers" to the start of a fantastic vacation!
Last night before vacation and we had a lot to do to get ready. We got in a last 4 mile run before our half marathon on Sunday and then had to pack. I had to water my garden before we left as well, and I thought my lettuce looked nice with the water drops still on the leaves.
I was getting things ready for my trip tonight - prep for packing - so this was a last minute photo. You can see by my watch that it is about 11:20 pm. This some of my jewelry sitting on my dresser. I really liked the look of all the silver - and the reflections in the surface.
Playing a little ball before dinner - camo glove, neon ball and a superman shirt - what else do you need??!!
Last minute scramble for a photo tonight - but turned out sort of fun. I used my close-up lens on this one - I like the focus area of this photo.
I almost didn't get a picture in today. It was one of my first open weekends in a while and I had to mow my lawn, clean my house, shop for vacation (woo hoo) and then got to a block party. By the time we got to the block party I was pooped - but I still got in a photo. Not overly exciting, but I did like the glow of the light behind the left side.
We had an absolutely beautiful Friday night. Splashing, dinner with friends and then ice cream. AND we learned that safety comes first - and manners come second! OK - some of us knew this already...
The first day of Bastille Days (Milwaukee Festival), and they always have a 5k "Storm the Bastille" fun run. It starts at 9pm and you run through the streets of downtown Milwaukee with a thousand or so people - SO much fun! Although fun, not all that "french" - most people were drinking plastic bottles of Miller Lite. Oh well - we enjoyed the faux Eiffel Tower anyhow!
Went for a 10.5 mile run tonight and the sunset was beautiful as we were running. We got home just in time to get a few pictures of the gorgeous pink and blue sky. I literally only got about 6 pictures before the sun went down enough for all the pink to disappear! I played with the curves in Photoshop just a little.
It was a sunny evening today and I liked the shadows from the sun shinning through the trees. I need to start getting out to areas where I can take some different types of shots - there is only some much you can do around the house!
A new week - and no new theme yet. As my half marathon is sneaking up on me (less than 2 weeks away!), I'm obsessing about getting my runs in after work! I still had some good light tonight after my run so I looked to the neighbors for some floral subjects. I like the focus of this one little bud amongst the full bloom of the flowers.
I have to declare another cheater day - sorry folks. All the work this weekend kept me from getting a photo in on Sunday - but this pic is from Friday. Although we were at work on Friday, we were able to watch the lakefront fireworks from the clocktower - which was pretty cool. I didn't have my tripod, so I was expecting the blur. But I still thought this picture was fun.
Last of the senses today - taste! So as I mentioned in an earlier post - I had to work all day today. And when we have a big cutover weekend, one staple is Oreo cookies (have you tried the mint oreos??? they are like HEAVEN)! I must have had at least 10 oreos on Saturday.... but they were also a fun subject!
Sorry I've got a backlog of photos to post from this weekend - it was the conclusion of our latest go-live at work - so I was in the office all weekend (yes - I know it was the 4th of July). Today was the sense of "touch" - I wasn't sure what I was going to do (as I was at work all day and night) but then it came to me - my computer keyboard. It's probably the thing I touch the most each weekday! I played with this photo in black and white to make it a bit more interesting.
Our second sense is sound - I hope this fits the bill. We were at our dear friends Todd and Marks' for an evening gathering, and the sounds of a crackling fire and friends talking just screamed summer fun! I loved how the fire looks in the foreground, and you can still see the people gathering the background.
