New Desert Sunset Photos & My Cafe Press Shop

I haven't posted new pictures in ages! I've taken quite a few, but I haven't had much time to go through a lot of them. That and the sun seems so much brighter in Arizona, so more of them don't seem to turn out quite like I want them to.

I've been spending quite a bit of time playing around with my Cafe Press Shop (http://cafepress.com/michellebphotos) Feel free to stop by and check it out! I'm still adding things as I get time, but now there are quite a few things there including some 2008 calendars!

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took when I last drove back to San Diego. The sunset was so amazing that I just had to pull over and take some photos. Sorry that the focus is a bit off. I was a bit paranoid about getting killed as the huge big rigs flew by me:S

Enjoy!








I haven't posted new pictures in ages! I've taken quite a few, but I haven't had much time to go through a lot of them. I've been spending quite a bit of time playing around with my Cafe Press Shop (http://cafepress.com/michellebphotos) That and the sun seems so much brighter in Arizona, so more of them don't seem to turn out quite like I want them to.

But here are a few pictures I took when I last drove back to San Diego. The sunset was so amazing that I just had to pull over and take some photos. Sorry that the focus is a bit off. I was a bit paranoid about getting killed as the huge big rigs flew by me:S

Enjoy!

I'm Alive!

Howdy all you faithful blog readers:) I just wanted to post a note to say that I know I've neglected my blog lately. I've been feeling a bit blah and then I've been busy with school since I had to prepare for being at a math conference in Minneapolis last Wednesday night through this afternoon.

I have many, many photos to post (once I sort through them) and this week I hope to start back in with the Thursday Thirteen (as long as I can think of one!)

Hope you are all doing well.

Thursday Thirteen #11: 13 Ways I Know I'm in Arizona

This week my list is 13 ways I know I'm living in Arizona, now. I recently moved here to the Phoenix, Arizona area (in August). A lot of it has to do with the insane heat. I wonder how much things will change as I live here longer...

Happy TT everyone!

Thirteen Things about Michelle B 1. Hot takes on a whole new meaning (116 degrees anyone?) 2. You consider it "cooling off" when it's only 90-100 degrees outside and downright chilly when it gets below 80. 3. Your driver's license doesn't expire until you're a senior citizen (mine expires in 2041). 4. I actually have to wear sunglasses which I have never done regularly before. 5. The TV schedule is so funky...some things are shown according to central time and some things aren't (it depends on the station). 6. Fighting for parking means vying for the one shady spot even if it's the farthest spot from the store. 7. You have to worry about finding scorpions in your classroom. Someone found 2 babies in the room across from me just this week! 8. You need gloves to touch your steering wheel in the summer (even when you put up the sunshade). 9. The crickets are everywhere! 10. You can actually get a table at most restaurants without waiting (or with a very short wait) on a Friday or Saturday in the summer between 5pm and 7pm. 11. If you order deodorant via the mail, they won't leave your package outside because it might melt. 12. You can't leave anything in the car in the summer or it might melt. 13. You love having the 24-hour stores so you can shop in the wee hours since it's cooler then. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #10: Places I'd Like to Visit

Happy Thursday Thirteen everyone! This marks my tenth TT:) I've traveled quite a bit, but I would definitely love to see more of the world. This week I decided to list 13 places I'd like to visit. Enjoy!

Thirteen Places Michelle B wants to visit 1. All the Hawaiian Islands (at once on a cruise!) One of my dream vacations is to cruise around the Hawaiian Islands stopping at each one for a visit. I've only been to Oahu so far. 2. The Matterhorn-- the one in Switzerland, not the one at Disneyland (I've seen that one). I've been to Switzerland, but I didn't make it to the Matterhorn, so I want to go back! 3. Italy. I've never been and I'd love to tour around the country some day. 4. Stonehenge. I've been fascinated by Stonehenge. I even did a speech on it for my 10th grade communications class! 5. Egypt. I'm fascinated by Ancient Egyptian civilization. My favorite class in college was Intro to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I was lucky enough to get to see the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles when it was touring, but I'd love to go see the Pyramids and other places in person! My biggest worry is my safety because of things going on in the world today. 6. Scotland. There are a couple of reasons I'd love to go to Scotland. It's a beautiful place, and I'd love to meet Tony, one of my online friends that I've known now for over 6 years! 7. England. Yes, I'm listing England separately than Scotland:P I'd love to go see London one day as well Liverpool and other various places to visit friends I have spread throughout England. (And yes, I realize Stonehenge is in England, but there are different reasons for my wanting to visit each, so I decided to list them separately). 8. Ireland is another place I'd love to visit. I've heard such wonderful things about Ireland from friends who've had the chance to visit (other than weather issues from some). 9. Down Under (aka Australia & New Zealand). My entire family (except for me of course) went to Australia and New Zealand when I was a freshman in college with a school group. I felt so left out, but missing 2 weeks of school just wasn't going to work. I'd love to visit both places one day. 10. South Africa. In the 9th grade, we did a mock UN and I was the representative from South Africa. That was the year after Nelson Mandela was set free and so it was quite an interesting time. I also had a pen pal in Capetown growing up. I'd love to visit one day! 11. Machu Picchu in Peru. One of the things I longed to be growing up was an archaeologist/anthropologist. Discovering the mysteries of ancient civilizations sounds like such an intriguing job (though I'm well aware some of the day-to-day dig duties can be quite tedious). I've been fascinated with Machu Picchu for quite a while and would love to explore it! 12. Alaska is another place I'd love to visit (and take photos!) I'm not sure if I'd do it on a cruise or not though. 13. The other 27 US states (not counting Alaska) that I've never had the chance to visit. One of my goals in my life is to visit at least one city in all of the 50 states. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #9: 13 Memories of Cherie

As I mentioned in my earlier post, we discovered today that Cherie's illness was caused by a brain tumor. There was pretty much nothing we could do other than let her go rather than prolong her suffering. Cherie is pretty much all that's on my mind, so here's another Thursday Thirteen tribute to her. I love her so much, and I'll miss her more than words can say!

Thirteen Memories of Michelle B's Cat Cherie 1. Cherie has a brush fetish. She loves to be brushed and if you won't take the time to brush her, she'll do it herself! She totally has brush radar; she can find a brush (human or kitty) anywhere you hide it. She even jumps on the bathroom counter just to rub on my hair brush. 2. Our dog, Bijou, used to beg to lick any dish once we finished eating. After we lost Bijou, Cherie took over the plate-licking duties. Now, she even tries to get at it before you finish eating (just like Bijou did!) 3. Cherie loves to eat Cheetos, potato chips, and popcorn. I'll never be able to eat any of those things without thinking of her! 4. She loves to lick things (people included)! She's the only cat I've known that loves to lick people. She even licks the catnip pillow we bought her one Christmas and it's loud enough to hear across the room. 5. She always tries to sit on any papers I'm working on (especially when I'm grading or doing lesson plans)! 6. She loves to sit with my mom and do puzzles. She brings my mom luck just by sitting with her. 7. She found a way to let herself into my bedroom at my parents house and she always busts in during the wee hours of the morning. She even busted in last weekend when she wasn't doing too well and hopped on the bed to curl up next to me. 8. She loves to sleep next to me on my bed when I'm at my parents house. In fact, sometimes, she gets right in my face and starts purring to get attention. 9. At Christmas, she loves trying to climb the Christmas tree (even without her front claws). I always say she thinks we brought a tree in the house just for her! 10. I remember the day I first met Cherie. We went to the shelter to adopt a cat and my mom and sister were drawn to the kittens, but I was drawn to Cherie. She was older (about 2 years old), but so sweet. When my mom went back to get one of the kittens a couple days later, they were all claimed, so she adopted Cherie instead. I'm so glad it worked out that way because my life just wouldn't be the same if Cherie hadn't been a part of it! 11. She gets so hyper sometimes. She'll run up and down the halls and when she gets really adventurous, she runs into the fireplace (behind the screen!) 12. If she thinks you're paying too much attention to anything other than her (like the computer!) she'll move right in front of it so she becomes the center of attention. 13. I'll miss cuddling with her the most. Of all the cats, she's the one who loves to sit on your lap or next to you and just cuddle and purr. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Update on Cherie

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers for Cherie.

I drove back to San Diego last weekend to see her along with my family. She's been in and out of the hospital because she wouldn't eat, but in some ways she was still the same old Cherie.

Yesterday my parents took her to a specialist. The specialist said she either had a fungal infection or a brain tumor.

We found out today that she tested negative for the fungal infection. She's been so sick and not eating, so we've decided that it's best to let her go rather than hang on and watch her suffer.

It's really hard for me to even type this through my tears. I have so many wonderful memories of Cherie through the 10 years we had her. I just can't believe she won't be there the next time I go back to San Diego.

If I can bring myself to do it, I'm going to do another Thursday Thirteen about her this week just with memories of her. I've been a bit of a mess this last week and a half since she's been sick, so I may not get around to it.

Thanks again to everyone for the thoughts and prayers.

Thursday Thirteen #8: Photos of Cherie

It's been an odd week. I wasn't even sure that I was going to do a Thursday Thirteen this week, but here I am :-)

Earlier this week, one of our cats, Cherie, had severe trouble breathing and had to be rushed to the pet hospital. I should note that when I say "our" that Cherie lives with my parents, but I still think of her as part "mine." Anyway, when I spoke with my mom last night, she said it didn't look good because the vet didn't know what was wrong with her.

After being on antibiotics, she was much better this morning, so she's home tonight. Since they don't know what happened, a relapse is still possible. I'm just praying that she'll be okay.

So this weeks Thursday Thirteen is a tribute to Cherie (in picture form)...

Thirteen Things about Michelle B's Cat Cherie 1. Cherie loves to sleep on my laptop; partly because it's nice and warm, and partly because that way I can't be distracted from paying attention to her! 2. Another warm spot...the cable box! And its a good high spot to see what's going on as well. 3. Cherie in the backyard looking for trouble! 4. Cherie asleep in my unmade bed:) 5. Cherie taking a bath in the backyard. 6. A close-up profile shot. 7. Curled-up asleep in what we call "her" chair because if you sit in it, she glares at you until you get up so she can sit there! 8. On the bench in the backyard. 9. Sitting next to an out-of-control weed that's taller than she is in the back yard. 10. Another shot of her atop the cable box. 11. Curled up in a different chair this time... 12. What do you mean you want to print something?! 13. Another shot of her on a different laptop this time! Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Early Birthday Present!

My birthday is coming up soon (in just under 2 weeks), and I bought myself an early birthday present today. I just couldn't resist sharing, especially as it relates to my Thursday Thirteen for this last week!

After posting about art and artists I like, I inevitably ended up visiting their websites and looking at new work I hadn't seen before. I fell in love with Tabora's latest release, Midnight Interlude (shown above). It is in pre-release, which means the prices are a little bit lower. I was also really excited that this time there's actually a painting available at a more affordable price! It's a little hard to justify spending $3,000 on a painting on a teacher's salary when trying to save for a house!

The painting I bought is still a good size (18 inches by 24 inches) and though it's not hand-highlighted by the artist like most of the others are (including my Diamond Head Sunrise painting), I'm sure to love it just the same! I'm so excited:D

On another note, I took some photos the last couple of days that hopefully I can post soon. The ones I took a while back were somewhat underwhelming so I haven't posted them here.

It's a busy week ahead for me. I'm having my first in-class evaluation on Monday! Then I'm subbing for 2 classes on Tuesday and Thursday night. And on Friday, we're having a math department meeting with the president of the college. So it may be next weekend before I can download the photos and such.

Of course, Summer and I were considering driving up to Sedona for my birthday then. Hmmmm. Well, I suppose you'll all just have to be patient:)

Have a wonderful week!

Thursday Thirteen #7: Art I Like

I have pretty simple taste when it comes to art. And when I say simple, I mean that I'm not big on fancy frames and too much going on in a painting and such. Also, what most people tend to think of as great works of art rarely appeal to me enough that I'd want to own it.

That said, here are 13 works of art that I like. I've included small photos, but in some cases (especially with Catalina), the photos don't do the painting justice.

***Edited to Add Links to Artist Websites***
Roy Tabora's Website
Simon Bull's Website
Cao Yong's Website

Thirteen Works of Art Michelle B Likes 1. Diamond Head Sunrise by Roy Tabora I actually own this one and I love it! 2. In the Solace of the Night by Roy Tabora My parents own this painting, and I wish I did. Though I don't love all of his work this way, I'd definitely say Tabora is my favorite artist. 3. All the Way to Paradise by Simon Bull I actually own this one as well. It was a birthday present from my parents when my mom was working at the Thomas Kinkade Gallery. You'll see that I have more Simon Bull art on my list as well. 4. Catalina by Cao Yong I have a mini canvas of this one that was also a present from my mom. 5. Because of You by Simon Bull 6. Just the Way You Are by Simon Bull 7. The Journey Never Ends by Simon Bull 8. With All My Heart by Simon Bull 9. Nocturne by Roy Tabora 10. Once Upon a Midnight by Roy Tabora 11. Softly Glows the Night by Roy Tabora 12. Rhythm in Blues by Roy Tabora 13. Echoed Silence by Roy Tabora Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #6: Some Favorite Songs

I love music! It offers me an outlet for my emotions when I just don't feel like confiding in anyone or when I just feel blah for no particular reason. Since I've moved, I've slacked off with my Monday Music Mania (where I post about music I enjoy), but I think I may start that up again! For now, I thought I would list 13 of my favorite songs. I have many more than 13 favorites, but I figured I would list 13 of the songs from my CD collection.

I must warn you, I have pretty eclectic taste. I tried to choose primarily songs that are not as mainstream, so you may discover some new tunes:) Thanks to imeem, I'm posting clips of the songs (and in a few cases, the entire song), so you can at least get a feel for the songs. I wish I could upload the entire song in all cases, but the only alternative to avoid the imeem permission issue was creating video files with just audio and the size limitations degraded the quality of the MP3s more than I wanted to tolerate. Okay, enough rambling from me...On with the list!

Thirteen of Michelle B's Favorite Songs 1. Writing to Reach You by Travis 2. Spread Love by Take 6 3. Zombie Jamboree by Rockapella 4. Never Going to Give You Up by BBMak 5. I Can Tell by BBMak 6. Love of My Own by Eric Benet 7. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight by Amos Lee 8. Looking for an Echo by The Persuasions 9. The Beginning by BBMak 10. State of Grace by Seal 11. Colour by Seal 12. Just Like You Said by Seal 13. Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Exploding Soda!

I am going to post a Thursday Thirteen this week in just a bit, but I got side-tracked because of an exploding soda can! It was my fault, but wow, what a mess.

I forgot I left a Dr. Pepper in the freezer last night. When I went to look in the freezer for dinner ideas, I wondered why there were brown icicles all over the place. Then I saw the Dr. Pepper can:|

It went everywhere! So I spent 30 minutes cleaning out the freezer, the ice maker, and everything that was in the freezer (which thankfully wasn't all that much). I've never had a soda explode like that before. Probably because I'm usually good at remembering if I put one in the freezer!

Anyway, TT coming up in just a bit.

No TT This Week:(

Okay, I didn't get a chance to post a Thursday Thirteen this week. I suppose I could post one now, but it's already Friday in many places. I think I'll just wait until next week.

In other news, I decided to change my template again since the last one wasn't working anymore. Sorry about the weirdness there for a while!

I've been taking some photos (thought not too many), but haven't even had a chance to upload them. Hopefully I can post some here this weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #5: Favorite Quotes

I haven't had a chance to do a Thursday Thirteen the last two weeks with moving and the start of a new job and new semester. I'm in withdrawal! I'm having some template issues (or possibly it's just my computer), so I apologize in advance to visitors if things don't look quite right.

This week, I decided to list 13 of my favorite quotes. I have many more than 13 favorites. In fact, I have an entire notebook of quotes (along with scraps of paper that have yet to make it into the notebook). I hope you enjoy them and thanks for stopping by:)

Thirteen of Michelle B's Favorite Quotes 1. A dream is a vision of the future, in light of the past, tainted by imagination. --Judge Dana LaMon 2. Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. --Life's Little Instruction Book Vol. III 3. Remember that love doesn't always make things easier- just worth it. --Life's Little Instruction Book Vol. III 4. I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence. --Frederick Douglass 5. The imagination is always the best torturer. --Bryce Courtenay (in The Power of One) 6. You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. --Kahlil Gibran 7. We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. --Sam Keen 8. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. --Anonymous 9. Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards. --Unknown 10. The only people that you should get even with are those who have helped you. --Unknown 11. What you dislike in another take care to correct in yourself. --Thomas Sprat 12. Never forget the power and potential that comes from doing little things well. --Life's Little Instruction Book Vol. III 13. I have found in life that everything, no matter how bad, comes to an end. --Bryce Courtenay (in The Power of One) Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

ARGH!

So it appears that my blog template decided to stop working (at least on Internet Explorer and Firefox). Grrrrrrrr. I'm a bit busy with school, so I really don't have time to mess with it at the moment.

If anyone happens across this message, could you help me out by commenting and telling me whether you see my usual blog or just a white background with text? Also, if you could include the browser you use (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc), I would greatly appreciate it!

Middle Name Meme

I've been MIA again while I've been getting adjusted in Arizona. My stuff is just got here from California late Sunday night and classes started Monday (at 7am for me!) And I'm having issues getting my cable connection set up, so I may be MIA a bit longer...

Anyway, Stacy tagged me to do this middle name meme. While I like the sound of my full name, I've never liked having the middle name that I have. Oh well. Here goes:

Here are the rules:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. (I'm not going to tag anyone this time LOL).

J- Justice. I realize that life isn't fair, but I do my best to make sure it is when things are within my control. I think it's the whole Libra thing...

O- Observant. Being into photography and math/science makes me constantly aware of everything around me. Sometimes people look at me weird because of it LOL.

H-Helpful. I like helping people. The whole reason I became a math teacher was to help those who struggle with it!

N-Nice. I make an effort to be polite and courteous to everyone I meet. I like being nice! Of course, I do have my off moments...

S-Sensitive. I try to be sensitive to people around me. I'm always worrying if I'm bothering someone! I also tend to get hurt feelings pretty easily.

O-Open-minded. I generally strive to keep an open mind in all situations, though it can be tough sometimes.

N- Nutty. I am definitely a bit off my rocker. That's what makes life so much fun:P

Thursday Thirteen #4: 13 Jobs I've Had

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I'm moving to Arizona at the end of the week, and I'm still teaching classes until tomorrow in California, so things are a bit insane.

Anyway, this is my fourth Thursday Thirteen! This week I decided to do 13 jobs I've had at various stages in my life. Keep in mind that I'm only 30 (almost 31, though). I changed jobs quite a bit while working for GTE/Verizon.

Thirteen Jobs Michelle B's Had 1. Scorer & Announcer for the Stanford Ice Hockey Team. Did I mention that I knew nothing about ice hockey when I started?! 2. Project Manager at Verizon. 3. Grader for Introductory Electronics (Engineering: 40) my senior year at Stanford. 4. Grader for 9th grade Social Science when I was a sophomore in high school. One of my previous teachers paid me to grade the objective parts of tests and assignments to lessen her load. This is the only job my parents allowed me to have in high school. They said my primary job was being a student:) 5. DSL Technical Support Specialist at Verizon. 6. Customer Care Coach (i.e. a supervisor at a call center that took trouble reports about phone service) at Verion which was GTE at the time. I have some pretty crazy stories about some of the calls we received! 7. Network Engineer at Verizon. 8. Supervisor of Facilities Administration at Verizon. This is nothing like it sounds, really. I supervised employees who tracked and made assignments on telephone cable out in the field via computer. 9. Assistant Statistician for UC Riverside working on the StatGames project, a project to make statistics fun and appealing for high school students. 10. Instructor/Tutor at ScoreRite, Inc. which is an after school SAT-prep type center. 11. Adjunct Math Instructor at San Diego State University. 12. Adjunct Math Instructor at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, CA where my mom worked when I was growing up. 13. Math Faculty at Estrella Mountain Community College (where I officially start next week!) Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #3

Photography is a hobby of mine, so this week my Thursday Thirteen is 13 photos that I've taken!

Thirteen Photos I've Taken 1. I took this sunset photo the day after Christmas last year from my parents backyard. 2. In this picture, I'm looking up through the branches of a Coral Tree to the sky above. 3. The sky at sunset on a stormy summer day. 4. This white lily came from a condolence flower arrangement after my uncle passed away. I liked the contrast between the white lily and the blue sky. 5. A fall sunset (taken in 2004) from my parents backyard. 6. A close up of some thunder clouds taken last summer from outside my apartment in Claremont, CA. 7. Sunset over the foothills in Claremont, CA. 8. I noticed these reeds when I stopped to take a picture of something else. I ended up liking this shot better than the one I stopped for in the first place:) 9. The view of the sky through a gazebo roof. I liked the pattern against the sky. 10. Another fall sunset taken from my parents backyard. 11. A bird of paradise that appears to be crying. 12. This is one of my favorite sunset photos that I've taken. I took it after a storm in January 2005. 13. A butterfly as it stops to rest on the San Diego State University campus that I took one day between teaching my classes. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants


Bad Blogger!

I've been a bad blogger and haven't been posting. I've missed the last two Mondays posting about music...eek! Things have just been really crazy with my summer classes winding down and me getting ready to move to Arizona and start work. I did squeeze in some time this last weekend to read the final Harry Potter book though:) I wanted to re-read the sixth book first, but figured if I waited to do that, I wouldn't get around to book 7 until Thanksgiving LOL!

I also finally decided to actually open a Cafe Press store using some of my photography. Right now it's only the basic store (which limits what I can offer), but I plan to upgrade and add more in the next couple days! I've ordered a few things from Cafe Press to check out the quality and overall, I'm happy with the quality. And the nice thing is they do allow returns. Anyway, if you'd like to check it out, the URL is http://www.cafepress.com/michellebphotos or you can click here.

Hope everyone is doing well! I'll be posting another Thursday 13 this week. It will probably go up late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.