Randomness

I'll admit it. I've been a lazy blogger as of late. But I have an excuse...sort of. It's been slow. Life just sort of trudges on.

Anyway, here are a few things happening in our neck of the woods. So to speak.

It's October, and we finally got the calendar hung up in the office. This calendar holds special memories for me. When we hung it in our first home, we thought we were so good and screwed right through a stud. Well, we thought it was a stud until water started running down the wall later that morning. Turns out the "stud" was a pipe. Oops. Chalk one up to first time home owners.

October has brought a lot of rain to Houston. Several large storms in the past few weeks have caused a few problems around town. Luckily, our new home does not have the same drainage problems that the rental did. (You can click here to refresh your memory regarding last year's flood) The drainage ditch in the front yard did a good job of keeping the water away from our house.

The puppies are doing well. Bentley especially loves the doggie door and the freedom he has to the outside world (we have started referring to the back yard as his "kingdom"). I have not been enjoying all the leaves he brings inside now that the leaves are falling (and most of the time they are wet, which is even more fun).

Bella, however, prefers this approach to fall.

My Blackberry takes terrible photos, especially in low light, but you get the idea. Here's a better one (taken with real camera).

Both the dogs are looking a bit scruffy these days. That will soon be remedied, as they have their annual trip to the vet and then an appointment with the groomer next week. Poor puppies can barely see through their bangs. :)

Happy October, blog readers!

Where is my husband?

When Dan got home from Dallas last night, I thought I had married Paul Bunyan.

Where is your blue ox?

But later that night I found out I was wrong.... he is not Paul Bunyan.

He is Abe Lincoln.

Bokeh practice

A few weeks ago, I was reading about bokeh on Pioneer Woman's blog. This is what she has to say about it.

"Bokeh, which is pronounced bow-kay or bow-keh, refers to the wonderful out-of-focus light and shapes and colors you find in the background of many photos taken with a digital camera. It is created by light and glass (in your lens) and distance and wind and focus."

It takes a bit of practice, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

When Chris came to visit in September, we this game several times:

That's right: Risk. And for the record, I was red. With Chris and Dan attacking each other all the time, I pretty much sailed to victory all weekend. But I digress...

What a perfect time to practice my bokeh, right?

Isn't it beautiful?

I think this might be my favorite shot.

You know what they say, practice practice practice. Now if I could just find some models that aren't carrying tiny plastic weapons...

Time Flies...

...Even if you are not having so much fun. :)

We've been plugging along with little interesting to say these days. With Dan driving back and forth to Dallas, it has been getting kind of mundane around here. We spend our weeks hoping for the weekend, and then when the weekend comes, it is always too short! We are hoping and praying that he is offered a permanent position here in Houston very soon.

Last week, I captured this as my photo of the day. If you look carefully, you can see the little lizard. As long as they stay outside, I am fine. :)

Rocking a New Haircut...

at least that is what I keep telling myself.

It will grow back, right?

Race for a Cure - Huntington's Disease

Dan and I are participating in a fundraiser for Huntington's Disease on October 10th here in Houston. We will be walking for a cure!

You can read more about Huntington's Disease here. Huntington's disease is a disorder passed down through families in which nerve cells in the brain waste away, or degenerate. There is no cure - yet.

If you would like to support us in this cause, you can donate by clicking on the widget on the sidebar of this blog, or through our webpage:

http://www.firstgiving.com/chrystalhollingsworth

We sincerely appreicate any and all donations! Thank you for your support!

Another Peek

It's been a busy couple of weeks! We had our good friend Chris visiting from Salt Lake. Dan took the week off (well, Wednesday thru Tuesday) to hang out with him. I wasn't quite as lucky - aside from the weekend, I only took Monday. But even so, we managed to have a great time visiting with him. We packed a lot into Chris's first trip to Texas, and for the most part, the weather even cooperated. Lots of board games and Nintendo Wii-playing, a little travel, and a lot of eating. Which makes everyone happy. :) More on all of that later.

In the meantime, I have another sneak peek into our new house. Yes, we have been here for almost a month, so maybe it is not quite new anymore. But since we still have a good amount of (unpacked) boxes laying around, I'm happy to have one more room I can call "finished." The kitchen.