#52 and #32 again

#52 is to drive across the country for the third time. Check! We completed this on May 3rd - May 8th, in just 6 full driving days! We travelled 3200 miles and averaged 500+ miles per day. We are now living in Maine once again. :) It was a beautiful drive and we drove so much that we didn't sight-see along the way but we so enjoyed the beautiful views along the way.

#32 is to buy a house. We did this earlier this year and then rescended our house purchase in favor of moving to Maine in March 08. Before we hit the road we found a house that we liked and made an offer, sight-unseen (though we toured it via pictures and our agent walked it for us). We entered into a contract for that house on May 5th and toured the home in person on May 9th! The house is great and we are very excited to be moving in on June 16th. Our new house has a pond on the property and we will own half of it. Too fun. I'll post pictures later.

#2 Check

Teach myself to make an action. CHECK!

So, recently I took a pic of my son that I just love and it was calling for a blue process (his favorite color too). So, after I created the steps I wanted to do it again and again to others of him. And so, the determination for creating an action of it. So, happily I can announce that I have created "Blue Haze" my new self-created action. :) Here's is a collage of pics I just put together that I did the exact steps of post-processing to. Fun huh!

#88 check

Participate in doing our 2007 taxes. Completed!
A few weeks ago we did our taxes and I completely forgot I had this on my 101 list. ;) Anyway, my hubby loves to do our taxes and has done them for many years. I don't pay much attention to the taxes as he takes care of them but this year, and last year but I missed out, I wanted to have a hand in the process and see what paperwork is involed and the number crunching too. So, I am happy to say that I helped prepare our tax documents this year! I did the number calculating and assisted in figuring our taxes. It was fun to see the process and I am thankful that he loves to do them. They aren't as hard as I thought but the organization of keeping track of all the forms and transactions throughout the year is eye-opening. Thanks for all that you do hubby!

#32 Check

Buy a house!

Ok, so we are in the process of buying a house. It's a new build and so it will be completed and ready for move-in around July 2008. We commited to buying this house in the first week of February 2008 but I am just now getting to post the check on this item. This week we went in and had our final appointment on the upgrades for this home. So, actually this is the week where all became "final" as of Wednesday, March 5th.

Here is our house (photo is of another house) style, colors, and orientation exactly.

#13 check

Meet a local photographer and go on a shoot together. Done!


On Wednesday, March 5th, a group of seven ILP photogs met up for a lakeside shoot of photog children. It was alot of fun and it was great to meet other photogs in the area. See my main blog for pics from that day under the post "ILP Meetup". Here's one of my fave shots from the meetup.

#98 Check!

Inspire another to make a 101 list! CHECK! My lovely sister-in-law has started her very own 101. Good for you Kiley! Happy checking! http://kiley101.blogspot.com/

#23 Check

Buy a point-and-shoot camera. Done!
I finally decided that it is time to have a pocket camera for those occassions where I don't need to bring my pro gear. It took me many months to decide on the camera and after reading a great deal of reviews and trying one and returning it to finally purchasing this one - Canon G9. I've had it for two days now and have taken some test shots but haven't really given it the full test. I'm reading the manual at present. It has a lot of features and I am so far very impressed. Tonight I decided to try it out under the most difficult conditions - low, indoor lighting with a closeup portrait and on-camera flash. Yikes! I was so surprised to see the camera in full auto mode did this well. Here is the shot. No red eye! Wow. And subject is sharp and not blurred. The camera fired off quickly and captured the shot that most P&S would miss. The color I felt was rich but I'm used to RAW lately. I did a slight crop and sharpen in Photoshop for web but this is what I got. The flash is a bit harsh but that is expected. Our daughter is really excited to learn how to shoot with this camera. She calls it her camera. HA...

#14 Check

"Form a local photography group." Check!
So last week I began searching for local photogs that would be interested in getting together to have group shoots! The interest was a hit and now after a few days a local photog group is born. I started a yahoo group for us and we have begun the planning process for our first group shoot. Yay! I'm so excited for it. So far we have 21 interested photogs. Membership is by invitation only but if you are a WA photographer and an ILP member and interested in joining, please do. The link to our ILP WA Photogs is: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ilpwaphotogs/ We are planning our first shoot in February! :)


Click to join ilpwaphotogs

#21 Check

Read my camera manual front to back. Done!
This is something I have never done. Sure I reference the manual when I need help with something but I have not just sat down and read EVERYTHING that it has to offer and I learned alot of fun things and features that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. I have a bunch of little tags on my manual now for things I want to try, add to my custom functions, etc. I'm glad I did this.

#42 Check

Find and join a local homeschool support group. Check! I just filled out the information this morning and will be mailng the check payment and forms today to become a member of www.washtpa.org. This is one of two groups that I plan to join this year to fullfill this need. It is my hope that we will meet other local homeschooling families and making new connections and friendships while we learn and share with each other.

#12 Check

Today I joined NAPP - National Association of Photoshop Professionals - with a one-year membership! I look forward to seeing the membership side of this website and am hopeful I will learn a great deal.

#45 Check

Hip-hip hooray! Our daughter is signed up for violin lessons and has her first lesson next week! Today we rented her a violin and she was delighted to get it out of the case and play around with it. She did really well. She is very excited and you know what, so am I!!! I can hardly wait for her first performance. :)

#11 Check

I am getting an early start at my list! I just listed these items yesterday and today they are sold and gone. So, "check"! One down and 100 to go. I am happy to have this checked off from my list of things to do. I can't believe I have already sold my very first DSLR camera and first lens. WOW. The camera I had purchased in 2004 after our son was born. My first DSLR and second digital camera (I was a 35mm film girl once upon a time - Canon RebelG and a Nikon). I had purchased the 17-85mm lens as my first lens and kept it on the camera body for two years without ever taking it off. It was a great multi-purpose, walk-about lens. Earlier this year, February, I introduced myself to some real glass - the"L-series" and haven't looked back. I dove head first into this life-long hobby. I have purchased four new L lenses this year alone. BIG growth! And my hubby thinks I am addicted...and I think he's right. I already have my sights set on a macro and wide angle primes. Yup, I'm headed to primeland. As promised, when available, here's some photos of the equipment I just sold. :)

Sold on ILP in one day.



Sold on craigslist in one day. (I had 8 interested buyers!)