Pierre the lolcat

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Cleaning tips-got any?

I'm currently iced in to my apartment. I awoke to a temperature of 19 degrees(unheard of in this part of texas) and the precipitation during the last few days settled into ice. YAY! I'm going to work a little later. Last night I tried to clean my bathroom with baking powder+ water, sponges and a toothbrush on the grout. I'm pretty good at getting the rest of the house sparkling, and I'm OK at getting the bathroom clean, but I have this fear about chemical interactions in the bathroom. I don't know what to use to clean, and the stuff I do use doesn't seem to work. Plus I've got a giant garden tub so it's hard to scrub and rinse.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure some of you are a lot smarter about cleaning than me, and some know  a lot about being green(Our Green Nest). I'm appealing to any of you with a tip or two. Please share what techniques you've got to make your bathrooms look good!

Meet the Stewardsons

Welcome to part two of my photo shoot in San Antonio early in January. The Stewardsons are also friends of my cousin Renee. Robin, Rod, Rachel and Tyler were a fun family! They also included their two sweet dogs. We took some photos in their front yard and also in a nearby park--the same one where I took Renee's photos! Again, different lighting achieved a totally different result! The Stewardsons requested more black and white photos, so I've included some of those here.

The Stewardsons were up for whatever I asked them to do--including staging a race!

It's impossible to get a sweet photo when you've got two boys on swings. High-jinks are bound to occur!

That's more like it!

I love the brown outfits the family chose. It worked so well with the woodsy decor.

Thanks again for a fun photo shoot!

Jordan's Seniors

One of the first weekends in January I went to San Antonio. I was able to schedule two photo shoots for a Saturday morning--both friends of my cousin Renee. The day dawned COLD and WINDY--quite unexpected. But it was cloudy early on, which was perfect for Jordan's photos. He requested some black-and-white photos, and I was only too happy to oblige. I haven't done too many senior portraits, so I was happy to expand that part of my experience. We went to Landa Park, which was where Juliet's photos were taken, but the lighting lended a totally different effect. I did most of the following photos in black and white, but I've posted some with different effects for variety. Check out some of the best ones. :-)

Milano

Bet you guys thought my trip ended in Florence, since my last post about our Europe trip was months ago! Nope nope! Good thing I wrote about everything in my damask journal-- I have already forgotten some of the details!

After saying good-bye to Stine and Massimo in Fiesole, my brothers, Zach and I shopped a bit in Florence before heading to the train station so we could travel to Milan. By this point, we were all exhausted. I was still getting over being sick, and Zach and I had been traveling for 12 days nonstop. I went to grab a book from the book store and I returned to find my sweet man guarding my stuff while he caught a quick nap.

Milan's train station architecture was really interesting to me. I read that it was built under Mussolini's reign and it's kind of a fascist look. I think it looks like a big hangar or something.Upon arrival, we took the Metro to a stop beside Milan's Duomo near our hotel. I loved Milan way more than I thought I would. By this point, we had become accustomed to navigating around confusing cities, but Milan's layout and public transit were so metropolitan. You could compare it to Paris, London, NYC, etc. It was very easy to figure out--a nice change from the eccentric Italian transit systems. :-) 

I was desperate to check out the Duomo--I'd heard the architecture was like none other. I LOVE gothic buildings, and this was supposed to be Gothic to the extreme. I also was anxious to get there while the afternoon light was shining. We were carrying our lives on our backs, so we needed to drop off our stuff at our not--too--distant hotel. We walked through a much more business-like city than I'd seen anywhere else in Italy. Everyone was in sexy Italian suits. Zach was in heaven. I rushed us on to go back to see the Duomo and take a quick photo before the light was all gone. 
Image captured, the next thing on the agenda was FOOD. I hadn't eaten much at all all day, so I was famished. We saw a advertisement for Chinese food with an arrow pointing down a street, so we decided to go there. As much as I love Italian(it's my favorite cuisine by far) I'd had quite a lot of it by then, and I welcomed the thought of something different. The city is laid out nicely, but advertisements were not, and we wandered around for a long time looking for that restaurant before collapsing into an Irish publike restaurant. Sadly, I ordered spaghetti again. However, Zach ordered this sausage meal that looks just like--- well, you judge for yourself.

Zach was really hungry, otherwise he probably wouldn't have eaten that after I told him I thought it looked like a big turd. :-D

After dinner we headed back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep. Here's where we stayed! It was a really cute hotel.

The next day we got up really early to try to see "The Last Supper" painting. We weren't sure when we'd be able to go, if at all, so we didn't take our guidebook's advice and book a viewing months in advance. We'd gotten in to the Accademia Museum in Florence without too much of a wait, so we figured we'd try anyway. Thanks to The Da Vinci Code movie, the church where it was located--Santa Maria delle Grazie--had mandatory reservation requirements. There was one ticket available, but there were 4 of us so we passed. I did like the fence around the church!

We set out for a sight I really wanted to see: a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's horse. It was near the Milan soccer stadium, so I was able to easily convince everyone to go. :-) We took a trolley(so fun :-)) and stopped by the stadium. The futbol boys wanted a photo.

Walking from the stadium to the horse, we passed this cute house with crawling vines all over it.

We passed the trotting track too. I saw my very first trotting track in Saratoga earlier in 2008, so I was excited to see one again,

There were even some horses getting worked! Italian trotters look the same as the ones I saw in New York.

Next was the regular racetrack. 

And finally we arrived at the horse, after much direction-asking by myself to police officers and passers-by. I asked in Italian, but even then, I didn't understand their answers and this exhibit was really obscure. If you ask me, there should have been signs EVERYWHERE, but maybe I just got a little excited about it. :-)

Leonardo's Horse is the largest equestrian monument in the world right now. According to Rick Steves' guidebook, it's a modern reconstruction of a model created in 1482 by Da Vinci for the Sforza family(the local rich family). The model was destroyed in 1499 by French soldiers who used it for target practice. In 1999 an American art collector  named Charled Dent decided to build a replica based on Da Vinci's designs  to present to Italy as thanks for the Renaissance. The statue weighs 15 tons and is 24 feet long. Check out how little Jon and I are in this photo!

I've grown up looking at art of horses in this style and I was totally fascinated. it was SO beautiful and huge!

Ok, moving on. :-) We headed back to the hub of our Milan stay--the Duomo. Now we got to explore! 

The inside was awesome, like I expected. This is the fourth-largest church in Europe. Love the ceilings. I'm going to confess I think I love this style because i was wayy influenced by the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. Just sayin! But at the same time, I could also compare it to Lord of the Rings because it was so massive and it had tree-like columns throughout.

The interior had stained glass windows all along the back illustrating many of the stories of the Bible. The guidebook says their purpose was to teach the illiterate masses the way to Salvation. What a great way to learn!

After perusing the HUGE interior, we stopped by a nearby trendy restaurant/bookstore/electronics store to eat some lunch. It was just to the right of the Duomo in the Piazza del Duomo. Then we walked around the exterior of the amazing church and looked at the hundreds of statues embedded in the pink marble facade of the church. Next, we ascended to the top of the church and it was glorious! You could walk among the forest of spires and see all of Milan. I'd broken my point and shoot camera and my 30D camera battery began to die so I was sad, but I still managed to get some great images. This was another one of the highlights of my entire trip.We didn't stay up there too long because it was boiling hot, but it was beautiful. We headed to the left side of the piazza to the famous Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle--a shopping arcade built in 1870, the first building in Milan to have electric lights. We perused the expensive shopping areas for a while, but we made purchases at affordable H&M. I love the H&M clothing in Milan--more than any of the other branches! They had other stores I loved too--like Promod.On the floor in the Galleria, there are symbols in the mosaic representing Italy as an independent country-- all the regions as one-which was what Vittorio Emmanuelle did during his reign. In this photo I'm standing on the symbol representing Torino, a bull. Lots of people did this and it looked really funny. I'm standing where the bulls "balls" are with my heel. You are supposed to turn around on  your heel for good luck. :-) It's worn down cause so many people have done it!

Behind that side of the Galleria was another little square. I thought this scene was interesting-- a giant sculpture spelling "amor" among all these amorous couples. Even old people! It's so Italy. :-)

Of course, Zach and I had to get a picture with it. :-)

After shopping for a while, we were exhausted, so we started looking for a nearby place to eat. We decided on a restaurant called Ristorante Belvedere. I ended up eating my favorite dish from the entire trip there-- I had spaghetti with clams and olive oil. We all had a great time at our last meal together in Italy.

When we got back, I took this photo with my brothers--with my camera that Zach fixed!. All of us are wearing clothes we got in either Florence or Milan.

The next day, we packed up and took the metro to the train station to say goodbye to Jonathan and David. They took a flight home. Zach and I headed to a different train station to go relax in Lake Como. I'll save that tale for another post! Thanks for sticking with me through this one!

The Ramirez family dogpile

Christmas weekend I spent in San Antonio with my family. One of the days I got to take my cousin Renee's family portraits with her husband Reuben, his son Reuben Jr. and their boys Isaac, Nathan and Aren. And their two pugs Sadie and Charlie. We staged our photos on a beautiful day in a park in Cibolo not far from where they live. Renee is so beautiful, and the boys of the family made my photographs pop with their antics. Hope you enjoy a few of my favorites!

Aren the monkey

Isaac's got a great smile.

Portrait with the dogs!

My favorite group photo of the day

They're not related. :-)

Cutie boy always posing for the camera.

I decided to go for some action shots so I had the guys throw the football around. Nathan was super serious.

Trying hard

Isaac is a pro

Renee suggested a dog pile. Brilliant! I LOVE this photo.

Success!

The inspiration for the dogpile-- adorable PUGS! Their fur looks awesome with this filter, I think.

Let it rein

I've been spending this weekend catching up on photo editing, and I figured it's about time for me to share some photos from the NRHA Futurity! I was there to work the APHA booth, as I wrote about here. I also had some friends show, so I was excited to be able to take photos of them in my off time. Here are a few of my favorites.

Quincy Allen

Katie Cahill

Fred Thomsson

Clayton Eggers

What do you think? I love to take photos of horses. I guess that's a good thing, since I spend a lot of time doing it for work! Reining is my favorite event to ride in and to watch-- and especially take photos. 

I've got more photos to work on, so I'll let you go. Look for some family portraits and senior portraits soon!

Honestly, Abby

This post has been taking me a long time to finish! I've been nominated by my friend Katie to receive the Honest Scrap blogger award! Basically, I have to tell you "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know." A lot of you know me very well, so we'll see how this goes. Check the end of the post to see if I tagged you for the award too!

1. I wish I'd given campus tours at A&M. Maybe it's because I'm a tradition freak and I love to know and share trivia, but this is one regret I have from my college years. I think it would have been fun to walk backwards, telling potential Aggies all about the school I love. I also wish I'd written for the Battalion school newspaper.

2. I was a voracious reader as a child. Before the 8th grade, I read every book in my mom's library and my own bookshelves at least once. Sometimes more than that. And many of the (grown-up)fictional books at the church library. My brother David thinks I read faster than anyone he knows. I don't know about that, but I do read pretty fast! I still love to read, even more now that I have time after college. I've always been the kid completely content with a book and even today, if I have a book, I'm not bored. Also tied to this-- I've read several horse magazines consistently every month since age 8. Thanks Mom!

3.  I have a very real fear of becoming a cat lady someday. I have always had cats with great personalities, and right now I've got two that are like people. I talk to them like they are human all the time, just like my other cats in the past. They're like my 2 roommates. I didn't even notice this was out of the ordinary until friends pointed it out! For now, it's all ok, but I do fear becoming that single elderly lady with a lot of cats and no other friends.

4. Frizzy hair is my mortal enemy. I've finally made peace with my long, very curly hair, but I've spent more than a decade battling the dreaded FRIZZ. Curly girls know it's the downside to what many people think are beautiful curls. Through trial and lots of error, I think I finally have it figured out, but nothing makes my day worse than ending up with frizz before i have to go out the door. That's when it all goes into a bun. Take that!

5. I would love to visit Israel again and stay for a while. I don't have a scanner, or I'd post my favorite pic from Israel. Just picture me on a camel on the Mount of Olives. This is also a pic of Jerusalem. Visiting Israel in 2004 was life-changing for me, and it sparked a passion to travel internationally. My grandma and I spent 15 days touring this amazing country and I really want to go back. I know things are dangerous there right now, but I do hope to visit again.

6.  I took piano lessons for 12 years and have a piano in my apartment. Katie and I both took piano lessons at one time from Mrs. MacReynolds. I tried a lot of things as a young girl: ballet, gymnastics, etc. I finally narrowed down the classes I most enjoyed to horsebackriding and pianos. After graduating high school, I quit taking piano and (obviously ;-)) kept up riding. I played piano off and on for fun throughout college and after moving to Fort Worth, my grandma gave me the piano from her house. Yay! I don't know many people my age who have an upright piano in their 2nd floor apartment--aside from actual musicians and piano teachers. I'm so blessed to have it. I don't play enough and I don't play all that well, but I enjoy playing for myself and I know enough theory to learn songs I think are pretty. 

7. I have never broken a bone. Knock on wood, but I've never worn a cast or walked using crutches. I'm past the age where it was a badge of honor, so hopefully I can keep up my record.

8. I'm distantly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Referring back to #2, I read the entire Little House series literally at least 12 times growing up. When my Papa Wilder told me as a child that Almanzo Wilder was in our family tree, I was so excited. My hero was in my family! I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls. I had the high top boots and all I wanted was a gingham pinafore and a bonnet. I did my hair in braids and I watched the TV show religiously. Hey, it was educational!

9. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to high school graduation. A lot of you probably know this, and if you didn't well, my bonnet photo probably gave that one away. :-) My mom started Drills, Skills & More when I was really young and we traveled to homeschooling bookfairs selling her products all over the country every summer during that time. Because I was homeschooled, I was able to ride my horse with my trainer and compete more. I really think this helped me get on the Equestrian team at A&M. I had tons of friends, was really active in my church youth group, went to two proms and graduated with a group. I didn't have any academic or social adjustment issues in college and had a great time... eventually getting a good job right out of school. :-) There, I think I answered all the FAQ. :-) It's definitely not for everyone and at times I did wish I had gone to school, but once I got to A&M I didn't mind at all. A fellow homeschooler Stephanie was actually my first roommate at A&M and she did well too! 

10. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years and I can't swim freestyle to save my life. It wasn't my idea to become a lifeguard. I'd intended to work the snack bar at the tennis club. But they needed lifeguards, so I signed up to get certified. I barely. Barely passed the swimming part. I can swim like a frog awesome, and breaststroke--I'm on it. Freestyle is the death of me. But I passed everything else with flying colors. Then my future boss required all of us lifeguards to get swim instructor certified. MORE swimming laps and that class was much harder! I eventually passed that too, but I really can't get the hang of freestyle. Or butterfly(as the michael phelps photo shows) for that matter. Sigh. Maybe it'll be like running and I'll eventually figure it out. :-)

This was really hard but fun! I tag Jashley, Alisha, Faith and Megan. I'm interested to see what y'all have to say!