January 4th - Then and Now

My old (Old!) cell phone on the left (the yellow one with the green frogs and palm trees), and my current one on the right (the green one). How are you liking my old frog phone cover and holographic frog sticker? :) My new phone is much lighter, and fits in my pocket. It also has web access and a camera and a music player. How times have changed.

January 3rd - Pencil Sharpener

My (broken) pencil sharpener. It doesn't spin anymore if you shove a pencil in. Not enough power. Where's Tim Taylor when I need him? ;) The pencils are some that my daughter got in her stocking for Christmas. I arranged them one way, and she moved one. I liked her arrangement much better! Can you tell I'm using two different light bulbs on either side of the white box? ;)

I am LOVING the comments, everyone! Thank you so much! :D

And for everyone who thought this looked like a helmet: I saw that, but didn't think to actually try to fool you like putting a motorcycle with it or something. :P I wish I had thought of that yesterday!

January 2nd - Earrings

Here's a pair of earrings I made. I like them, even though they're simple. I'm making a bunch of jewelry and am planning to stock my Etsy shop with it all, soon. :)

January 1st - Cactus

Wow! It's been almost a year since I posted?! Where does the time go?
I've had a rather trying year, actually. Hoping 2010 will be much better!
Here's to a new 30 day photo challenge!
This month's theme is "Green." Each picture will have at least one green thing in it.

January 31st - Heermann's Gull

I'm pretty sure this is a Heermann's Gull. They are prettier, in my opinion, than the standard gull that is seen around here. They also seem to be coming around more often. :)

Happy end of the month! Yay, the challenge is over! Now, what to pick for my final h2h photo?!?

January 30th - On Top of the World

I had a doctor appointment today (I'm getting better, no worries!), and this is part of the view from the parking lot. Nothing like living on top of the world, eh? :)

January 29th - Monterey Bay Kayaks

I almost lost it today. I deleted three pictures off of my memory stick that were from yesterday, or thought that was what I was doing, and my computer deleted the entire folder! It doesn't put it in the recycle bin, for some reason. (I guess because it's a different drive?) Luckily, I found a recovery software program online, quickly, and it worked to get all of today's pictures back!! It was actually so easy and worked so well, I was quite impressed! The one I bought is called, "CardRecovery."

Anyway, today's shot is of Monterey Bay Kayaks. You can buy (and most probably, rent) kayaks there, and I'm sure they give lessons, too. Directly behind it is the beach from my shot on day 2.

January 28th - Sweet Pea

I wasn't feeling well again, today, so here's another sweet pea for you from my garden. Sorry. I took it at twilight, so that's why the background is so blue. It's actually gray brick. I like this shot, because the sweet pea flower looks like a dragon, to me. :)

January 27th - Poisonous Mushroom

Look what I found under a tree, today! I found it in Carmel Valley, while taking photos of horses. I couldn't get close enough to the horses to get a decent shot, but when I turned around, this huge mushroom (a good 5-6 inches across, at least!) was shouting at me, "Take my picture, take my picture!" :)

January 26th - Mal's Market

This is Mal's Market, in Seaside, Ca. They claim they have the best sandwiches in town. They are pretty good, but I prefer to get sandwiches at Hilltop Market in Pacific Grove. Yum!! :)

The signs in the door read, "Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin." and, "We cannot choose the things that will happen to us, but we can choose the attitude we will take toward anything that happens. So much of fate depends on your attitude." (I'm actually not 100% sure on that second one, it was a bit hard to read, even in the full size photo.)

I remember, as a kid, going in there and getting 3 candy bars and a soda for $1.00. Wow, time's have sure changed, haven't they? ;)

January 25th - Odd One Out

Not much to say today. More rain. Dreary, actually. :P
I took this at Roberts Lake in Seaside, Ca. The rain was coming down really hard when I shot this. I don't know if it's very evident in the shot, or not, though.

January 24th - Luv Flower

I love the rain, and apparently, I'm not the only one! :) Look at the center of the flower...see the heart?

January 23rd - John Denver

I went to the butterfly sanctuary again today, and found this. :) He died here, in Pacific Grove, so this is a tribute to him, I suppose. For this photo, I am standing in the walkway to the sanctuary, and behind the bench is a hotel. The planters on either side of the bench are rather short, and it's open on either side of them, so nothing is being blocked, even though it looks like it. :)

January 22nd - Sweet Pea

It rained almost all night last night, and I am not feeling well today, so I took another shot from my garden. This is a sweet pea flower, and it smells so good! :) Cliche, or what?! They bloom around here pretty much year 'round.

Sorry about the blurry leaf on the top, but I loved the droplets on the stem so much I just had to choose this one.

January 21st - Look what I found!

This is what I saw at school today:


So, of course I had to stop to take pictures:

I mean, look how many flowers there were! And this is only one tiny part of what was there!

I found a red one among all the yellow:

There were some tiny purple ones, too. They're hard to see among all the vast yellow-ness! I thought it was so pretty, I just had to share it! :)

January 20th - Salinas River State Beach

This is next to the Salinas River State Beach, in Moss Landing, Ca. If I'm not mistaken, this is part of the Elkhorn Slough, but I'm not really sure of that. I just loved this scene. However, I think it could have turned out better. Oh, well.

January 19th - Seagull in flight

I'm sorry today's picture isn't a very good one. I love the gull, but the wires have got to go. I just didn't have time today, so had to go with the best of what I was able to get, unfortunately. :P

January 18th - Fuschia Gooseberry

This is a native plant called a Fuschia Gooseberry. It's got some serious thorns, but hummingbirds love it! It flowers in winter through to spring, and then gets berries. However, this one, which is in my front yard, has yet to get any berries. My hubby planted this underneath my daughters window. I suppose it's in preparation for her teen years (yet to come!). ;)

January 17th - Twinsies

I call this one, "Twinsies," because it looks like a very unusual mirror image. :)
I think the blimp is around because the AT&T National Pro-Am is starting soon.



This one is a bonus, because I had a really hard time choosing today. :) The boats in the background are a fishing boat and a Coast Guard Fire Rescue boat, I believe.

January 16th - Red Wing Blackbird

I saw this guy at Lake El Estero, today, in Monterey. I like their call. He's a cute little fella, ain't he? :)