Photography

So as my sister and I both take a ton of pictures, I was thinking that maybe we might post some up somewhere and sell them. I've been looking for a website to utilize for this and all I seem to run into are sites for stock photography. Our photos don't often end up as stock photography, so it seems like I will have to continue digging.

Just so you know, 'stock photography' is comprised of images that can be used for many different advertising routes. When you pass that billboard with a chair and umbrella situated on a beach, that image is a stock image. They have no discernible brands identified and can be used for multiple purposes.

I definitely don't ever intend to become a millionaire by selling photos, but I would like to share them and getting paid for my time and work is always a good thing. I'm just apprehensive at this point. I don't want my images to get stolen, but I do want them to be seen by the world.

I'll have to do more research and talk this all over with my sister, but I'm pretty excited about this prospect! She's looking for a way to make more money and as a new job would be the best route, she is looking into all possible avenues. She has been going to school for journalism, but likes to write short stories rather than articles. Wish her luck finding a big-kid job!

Leader Dogs...

The other day in my wanderings I happened to drive by a place called "Leader Dogs" and noticed that their sign advertised a need for volunteers. That piqued my interest and I went to their website.

After looking through the open volunteer opportunities, I concluded that my best match would be a Puppy Care Assistant.
"Puppy Care Assistants volunteer one 3 hour shift each week to provide care, socialization, and exercise to both adult dogs and puppies. This includes walking, grooming, set-up of puppy pens, general clean-up, laundry, and feeding as directed. This is a physical, dirty job."
I think this would be a lot of fun and a great way to help a great cause. I miss having a dog of my own and this would give me the chance to be around dogs every week. It would also let me feel like I'm making an impact in the great, wide world.

And I have a bit of experience socializing pups as my aunt breeds, raises, and shows poodles. It is quite fun to approach a pen full of dogs that are excited to see you and just want to play and hang out with you.

I will have to work out the scheduling to work with both of my jobs, but I think it would be so much fun and rewarding.

So many RSVPs!

So this summer is already shaping up to be a busy one! Too bad my main events are in Ohio.

This past weekend included a family reunion, a Birthday / Housewarming party for my friend Alex, going to see Harry Potter with some of my cousins, and kidnapping Miss Jessey and Bella to go see Brigid's Cross in the park. It was a totally rockin' weekend! Bella even got close to attacking Paulie of Brigid's Cross. Peggy thought that it would have been hilarious. (Peggy and Paulie make up the band, Brigid's Cross.)

Next weekend will be Alex's surprise bridal shower (SHH! Don't tell!) The I'll have Alex's wedding to go to and then in October I have Erika's wedding to attend... I have to be at that one because I am a bridesmaid! I'm totally looking forward to the weddings as I often have a blast and my dress for Erika's wedding is adorable!

I have finally sent in my RSVPs for the wedding events and now it's just waiting...

One bill out of the way!

... At least for a while, anyway. As mentioned in this post I have sold the two beater cars. A happy side effect of this that I didn't see right away was a drop in insurance. Mind you, I lost my multi-car discount, but in the grand scheme of things it wasn't bad.

So... Since I only have one vehicle insured and I had a TON of overtime this paycheck, I paid off the insurance. So that means that I don't owe a thing unless I change something, which isn't really likely. And the best part is that I'm done until JANUARY! I'm totally excited about this. It will help pay off other bills and save up a bit.

I'm totally psyched. This feels awesome!

Now for planning ahead...

So I'm trying something new... Menus!
Meal planning is going to take a little bit of work, but I think that they will really help out a lot in the long run. I won't have to worry about what to make for dinner at the last minute. It will also help out in shopping excursions, too.

A friend at work's wife is very good at utilizing coupons along with sales. I hope to be able to work on getting better at this myself. I don't want to become obsessive with it, I just want to save some money. I finally feel like I'm making some headway in my bills and I want to keep going in that direction.


I think that this is a good track for me to get onto. Wish me luck!

Okay, so it's the little things...

So my truck has a new windshield... that I have to clean inside and out. But no cracks!!

Dale's had a couple days off, and he's actually had a chance to hang around the house. He cleaned up the living room and got a chance to chill and watch TV and play video games. It's been a long time since he's been able to due to car maintenance schedules... All of the cars...

We went to see Cars 2 yesterday. It was very fun! It kept you guessing who the bad guy was. And we saw it in IMAX 3D so it was really cool!

We had dinner the past couple evenings at Dale's parents' house. It was cool to hang out and it also helped my food budget. Oh, yeah, I am starting to work harder at an at-home menu / budget. Last week I was so proud of myself. I took the Meijer ad from the mailbox area. I used the sale items to make a list. I used the list in order to find coupons. Then feeling all prepared, I went to the store, only to find that the ad that I based all of this planning on was LAST week's ad! Oops! I was a bit aggravated, but I persevered and ended up getting food for the next two weeks and got a couple good deals.

So it's all about the little victories that keep me going.

Happy Independence Day!

So today is the anniversary of our forefathers biting their thumbs at their old homeland. We worked hard and fought hard for what we finally achieved. From this we have grown immensely.

We are now a world power. My concern is that as a world power, we should be setting a good example by our behavior. I know that, personally, I am proud to be who I am. I help others when I can, I try not to be rude and to appreciate others for who they are and what they do.

Lately, I am realizing more often that I feel as if I am in the minority of people who have good manners and do some simple things such as saying "hello," "please," and "thank you." I find that these things are becoming less common. Ha, common courtesy isn't so common, huh?

For example, today Dale and I decided to have a nice lunch a Pizza Hut since we had a gift card. Near the end of our meal, a large family group comes in. They are loud and immediately start moving the tables around in the dining room. They don't seem to understand when an employee explains that they can't block aisle-ways due to fire hazards. The lady had to explain this at least five times! Then when they gave up with the tables, the adults and children sat at different tables and the adults immediately stopped trying to keep the children in line at all.

Thankfully we were almost done with our meal because I couldn't even reasonably carry on a conversation with the person across the table from me. And I could go on and on about so many similar situations, many of them happening at our own apartment complex.

I'm just so fed up with it. What would the men and women who worked so hard to make this country a great place, think of such ignorant and downright rude behavior? Be sure if their children started yelling inside a building and they weren't injured, that child would at LEAST have more chores to do when they got home.

I guess I just needed to vent.

Happy Birthday USA!