Wait! What? Is…. Is that…. Is that the finish line?

Okay, so I’m still trying to burn through 2012’s Project 365 picture updates so that the dang thing will finally be out of my hair.  I think there will just be one post to go after this one.  Ready?  Me too.  Let’s do it….


Day 336 (2012-12-01) ~  Scope’s mom had a Florida-themed tree set up for Christmas.  This is a shot of one of the sand dollars she has hanging on it.  I love, love, LOVE how to looks in black and white.





Day 337 (2012-12-02) ~  Just a partial shot of a beautiful light-up house Scope’s mom had set up in the guest room we stayed in when we visited for the weekend.   (Sorry, this pic was really taken on the 1st, not the 2nd.)





Day 338 (2012-12-03) ~  A shot of Christmas lights on a fence that I snapped while running to the train station in the dark.  (Eh.  I know, I really felt like I started to lose my motivation on the whole project right about here.)  I wasn't happy with the quality of light in the shot, so I tinted the whole shot green, which I definitely prefer.





Day 339 (2012-12-04) ~  This is a similar shot to the one the night before—lights on a fence, which I dyed green.  However, I was playing around with effects on Picmonkey and kind of liked how this one came out with the red bow immune to the green tint.  It's kind of striking in a way, I think.  (Pic really taken on the 3rd, not the 4th.  Another boo-boo, I know.)





Day 340 (2012-12-05) ~  So, the neighbors started decorating for the holidays and this was the first guy to go all out.  *snicker*





Day 341 (2012-12-06) ~  Oops.  A ball buster.  While decorating my tree, I accidentally dropped a ball which smashed into a million tiny red splinters of glass all over the hardwood floor.  *sigh*  What a pain!  But at least it made good picture-of-the-day material.





Day 342 (2012-12-07) ~  Ummm….  yeah. So, it was, clearly, a very, VERY hot day at one of the local high schools!  *snicker*





Day 343 (2012-12-08) ~  Wednesday had a weekend school assignment which took us to the Art Institute of Chicago.  This was the first wall of paintings she studied.





Day 344 (2012-12-09) ~  Another shot from inside the Art Institute of Chicago.  (Actually taken on the 8th, not the 9th).  I liked the lines and festivity of the staircases there.





Day 345 (2012-12-10) ~  Okay, so this was a shot Wednesday needed for a computer class she’s taking at school.  She needed me to take her picture, then she would use Photoshop in class to transform herself into a superhero.  I haven't seen her Photoshop transformation yet, but I really, REALLY love this photo of her.  My goodness!  When did she grow up????





Day 346 (2012-12-11) ~  Another one of my 80's Strawberry Shortcake dolls.  This is Lime Chiffon. 





Day 347 (2012-12-12) ~  When I went for my morning walk around the park on 12/12/12, there were police cars everywhere and the buses were being re-routed off their usual street.  Very strange.  As I rounded the corner, I found out why.... a motorcyclist had crashed into the back of a parked car so hard that he caved the back of the car in, shattered the car's back window, and actually moved the car off to the side!  It was an unbelievable sight.  No, the motorcyclist did not survive.  And, no, I didn't see the body; I arrived on the scene after he had been taken away.  What I saw though was a demolished car, a fallen bike, a broken helmet and gloves on the ground in all different directions near the front of the car (as if the motorcyclist's helmet and clothes had come flying off at impact and kept moving forward without the body), and a street that sparkled with tiny vehicle fragments as if it were covered in glitter.  I can't fathom how fast the motorcyclist was travelling to make an impact as catastrophic as that, but it must have been an astonishing speed.  Ugh.  Slow down out there, people.  The hurry just isn’t worth it.





Day 348 (2012-12-13) ~  Another 80's Strawberry Shortcake doll that sits in the glass cabinet in our den.  Crepe Suzette.





Day 349 (2012-12-14) ~  Cute, isn't he?  This is one of this year's new ornaments on my Christmas tree.  It's Mickey Mouse dressed up like the cast members in the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland!  I love him!!!!  (Oh, if only they made a Tower of Terror one like this.... Maybe next year.)  (My days were still off a bit, so this pic was actually taken on the 17th, not the 14th.)





Day 350 (2012-12-15) ~  My kiddo told me (for the millionth time) how much she hates mushrooms and will never, never, NEVER eat one.  Then she opened her advent calendar.... and it was a chocolate mushroom.  (Ha ha!)  And, yes, she ate it.  Never say never.





Day 351 (2012-12-16) ~  Another filler picture of an ornament on my tree.  It's a limited edition Harry Potter Golden Snitch from Hallmark.  When they came out, Chicago sold out of them instantly and I couldn't find one anywhere. Scope and I went from store to store, but they were all gone.  *sniffle*  Luckily, I whined about it enough to my mom that she found one back in Seattle and gave it to me for my birthday that year.  Yay! : -)  My favorite part of it is on the front where it says "I open at the close" just like in Deathly Hallows.





Day 352 (2012-12-17) ~  The flag at the local high school was at half staff due to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  At first I was standing there wishing the wind would whip up into a frenzy so I could get a picture of the flag billowing, but then I realized I actually like it better this way some how.  The air was still in the Windy City.  Completely still.  Somehow that just seemed fitting in a way.





Day 353 (2012-12-18) ~  Sometimes Christmas feels JUST.  LIKE.  THIS.





Okidoki, just one more Project 365 post to go and then we’ll be done with them. 






© Coracabana

Walking in an Autumn Wonderland

Aaaaaaaand now for another update on this year’s Project 365….


Day 276 (2012-10-02) ~  This is Halloween, this is Halloween….  Our fireplace mantle is covered with spooky Jack Skellington lights.





Day 277 (2012-10-03) ~  Okay, so there is this therapist's office kind of nearby here that has this painting of a grumpy, surly-looking dog, glaring down at everyone in the lobby.  This has always made me wonder.... WHO picked out THIS particular painting for a THERAPIST'S office and WHY????  Wouldn't a painting of nice calming scenery be more appropriate?!  I mean, seriously.  Strange.





Day 278 (2012-10-04) ~   Whooooosh.  Just experimenting with the Halloween lights.





Day 279 (2012-10-05) ~  Fall leaves.





Day 280 (2012-10-06) ~  You just have to respect a person that is THIS self-aware.





Day 281 (2012-10-07) ~  We found some VERY red leaves at the park.  Soooo pretty!





Day 282 (2012-10-08) ~  More fall leaves at the park.  (This one was actually taken on the 7th, not the 8th.)





Day 283 (2012-10-09) ~  A very creeEEeeEEeepy front yard in our neighborhood.





Day 284 (2012-10-10) ~  This is the view of the city skyline from our window.  Half of the year it is completely hidden by that line of trees there, but all of a sudden this week the trees dropped all their leaves, revealing the city again.





Day 285 (2012-10-11) ~  Just an early autumn morning walk through the park.





Day 286 (2012-10-12) ~  One of our neighbors has Frankenstein's Monster lurking in their front yard.  Awesome!  I love Halloween!





Day 287 (2012-10-13) ~  Sooo.... is it luggage or a bench?!  Scope found this in a local train station and took me there to show me because he knew I'd get a kick out of it.






More on the way soon….





© Coracabana

It’s all JK Rowling’s fault. (Well, kinda.)

You guys, sometimes blogging is just too hard.  There, I said it.  Sometimes it seems like the only way I could ever possibly get done everything I want and need and have to do is if I had a Time Turner.  AND severe insomnia.  But I don’t have either one.


(Okay, fine.  I do have a Time Turner. Happy?  But that little f*cker has NEVER worked, thankyouverymuch.  *grumble*)


(But I digress….)


The last several months have just simply been batsh*t crazy.  What with the Ohio trip; the Washington trip; all the photo editing and organizing from the zillions of pictures I took on both trips; the court crap; the post-court crap (including a two-inch thick stack of receipts and coordinating papers I am presently getting ready to mail to comply with a post-court order—oy, please don’t ask); my eBay selling and all its required running back and forth to and from the post office; juggling all our various appointments and schedules; my quest to lose the weight I’ve put on since moving to Chicago; trying to help poor Wednesday through a very, VERY difficult emotional time (*sniffle*); and having JK Rowling publish a brand spankin’ new book in the middle of it all—*whew*—well, I guess the blog just kinda got lost in the chaos for awhile.


(There there, poor, neglected blog.  Mama still loves you, I swear.)


To those of you who contacted me and Scope to ask if I am okay, thank you. I really do appreciate it.  Yes, I’m fine.  Frazzled and tired, but fine.  However, the more time that has slipped through my blog-ignoring fingers, the more I started to worry how the hell I would ever catch up on what’s been going on the last few months….


Ummm….


Hmmm….


Nope, no clue….


And then suddenly—*BAM!*—it hit me like a phone in Naomi Campbell’s house: Project 365!  I can tell you the whole whoppin’ tale in bits and pieces as I update my take-a-picture-a-day project!  Yep.  I’m still taking a picture every day, and I am only…. ohhhhhhhhhh…. four freaking months behind on posting it all here.  So, before I get even MORE behind, here is another long, lonnnnnnnngggggggggg overdue update on this year’s Project 365 with little stories of what we have been up to along the way….


Day 161 (2012-06-09) ~  “Hey! That sculpture looks like sh*t!”  Scope and I went for a quick walk along the North Shore Channel Trail on June 9th.  While on the trail we spied this monstrosity, which I'm sure inspires many a poop joke.





Day 162 (2012-06-10) ~  Scope, Wednesday, and I celebrated an early Father's Day before hitting the road for Ohio.  We went to the park for a picnic which was fun and relaxing.... until the evil pigeons showed up.  *shudder*





Day 163 (2012-06-11) ~  I just shot a quickie of a patch of mini daisies I passed while on my way to the train station to meet up with Scope after work.





Day 164 (2012-06-12) ~  Another quickie of flowers.  Oy.  I know. Sorry!  But, look, I posterized it to shake up the flow a little bit.  That was nice of me, huh?





Day 165 (2012-06-13) ~  When Wednesday was little, I used to draw faces on her oranges.  For no reason, really, but she LOVED it.  As she got older, the habit died off, but this particular day I surprised her with one again, which made her giggle.  Hey, even at 15 years old, an orange face is still awesome!





Day 166 (2012-06-14) ~  The 7th (I think….?) shot of my retro Strawberry Shortcake doll series.  This is Lemon Meringue and she still smells incredible!  Mmmmmmm.





Day 167 (2012-06-15) ~  This is a complete throwaway shot.  (Duh.)  We were hurriedly packing up our things for our vacation to Ohio and it dawned on me that I hadn't taken a picture yet that day, so I shot a super-quick snapshot of the messy scene in front of me and went right back to packing.  Just pitiful.  I know, I know.  *hanging my head in shame*






Day 168 (2012-06-16) ~  Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to Ohio we go.  This was the view somewhere in Indiana.





Day 169 (2012-06-17) ~  Our first full day in Ohio, we went to Ghostly Manor Thrill Center's haunted house (which was SPECTACULAR, by the way!!!!)  This dragon was lurking outside the building when we arrived.  CreeEEeeEEeepy.





Day 170 (2012-06-18) ~  Our 3rd day in Ohio, we went to Nickel Plate Beach where we saw this lanky bird slowly creeping through the water.  He crept several yards out into the lake as if he was stealthily stalking something and then inexplicably just turned around and walked right back to the shore.  Bizarre.





Day 171 (2012-06-19) ~  This was from our 4th day in Ohio where we took a boat cruise right past Cedar Point Amusement Park.





Day 172 (2012-06-20) ~  This was from our 5th day in Ohio when we toured the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and saw this massive moving puppet of the "teacher" in Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall" music video looking down on us.





Day 173 (2012-06-21) ~  This was from our 6th day in Ohio when we took a look in an antique store.





Day 174 (2012-06-22) ~  This was from our 7th day in Ohio when we got up close and personal with dinosaurs inside Cedar Point Amusement Park.





Day 175 (2012-06-23) ~  This was from our last day in Ohio as we said goodbye to the beach early in the morning before hitting the road back home.





Day 176 (2012-06-24) ~  Our first morning back home in Chicago, Scope and I took a walk around the park and saw this VERY bored film crew across the street.  *snicker*





Day 177 (2012-06-25) ~  I saw this cutie playing ball at the park and couldn't resist snapping his picture.  :-)  (Okay, okay, I cheated a bit on this picture, which was taken on the 24th, not the 25th.  I was soooooo busy organizing and editing all the pics from our Ohio trip that I forgot to take a picture on the 25th.  Whoopsie!)





Day 178 (2012-06-26) ~  Yeah.  It’s a Lego genie.  And?





Day 179 (2012-06-27) ~  I thought I'd go old school with the picture this day with an old Depeche Mode record.  (And, yep, I cheated a bit on this picture too, which was taken on the 28th, not the 27th.)





Day 180 (2012-06-28) ~  This is a dragon that guards a local shop.  I love (LOVE!!) his flame-like eyebrows.  (Another cheater pic.  What with all the Ohio trip picture editing I was doing, I somehow got my days all jumbled up for a bit.  This was taken on the 29th, not the 28th.  Grrrr!)





Day 181 (2012-06-29) ~  A tornado?!  Nah.  It was just a funky cloud that passed by our deck.  It startled me for a second though, I admit it.  Yeesh.





Day 182 (2012-06-30) ~  My lovely, handsome hubby and I went out to dinner at Isla Pilipina to celebrate our 2nd anniversary a couple of days early.  (I had the teriyaki chicken and it was incredible, by the way!)  Can you believe it’s been TWO YEARS already?!





Day 183 (2012-07-01) ~  Our anniversary cake.  Mm-mm-mmmmm.





Day 184 (2012-07-02) ~  I stumbled upon this sunflower growing on the corner of a city street.  Someone's garden is conveniently in the background, making it look like this pic was taken in a field, not the streets of Chicago.





Day 185 (2012-07-03) ~  Okay, so I *CLEARLY* had the camera on the wrong settings for this shot of the moon, but I dunno, I kind of like it.  It makes the moon look like it's made of cheese.





Okay, that’s it for today.  I’ll be posting more pics soon, including shots of our summer trip to Seattle.






© Coracabana