Here is WebGuy’s:
…or is it?

This serves as a reminder to me that not all things are always what they seem to be.
Hand drawn and photographed with my iPhone.

Here is Annie’s:

Robin

There is a family of robins that live in our neighborhood, as evidenced by the calling cards on the stair rail… they are a fun reminder of our Robin, who is so fond of wearing mustaches.

taken with Olympus sp500uz on manual

©2011   Annie and Guy Smith   All Rights Reserved

Here is mine:

We walked out of the Walt Disney Gallery on Main Street USA and the Soundsational Parade had begun and we got stuck right at the most amazing place to take pictures. My camera couldn’t take the pictures fast enough, but luckily, it kept ahead of the dancers and allowed me to get absolutely perfect stop-frames of all of the dancers. This photo is one example – not blurry at all and they were moving. The colors on these bird-like creatures is electric, and fascinating.

Taken with Olympus sp500uz on Manual 1/160  F2.8

Here is Webguy’s: It is said, “the best things come to those who wait.” I was waiting to meet Annie tonight at our favorite mexican restaurant in town and I looked down and saw this beauty staring at me saying, “Take my picture! Take my picture!” The colors in the warm afternoon sun were truly fascinating.

Taken with an iPhone using Tilt-Shift Generator App.

©2011   Annie and Guy Smith   All Rights Reserved

Here is WebGuy’s:

I picked-up these tops in Solvang, CA on our way home from our weekend trip to Los Angeles. They immediately became residents on my desk at work. Taken with iPhone (Camera+ app) incandescent lighting with white balance on.

Here is mine:

I apparently mis-read the topic as TOYS.

Ahem… however, I am not mistaking my subjects, who were neatly lined up on the table. The two in the middle have just come back from being repaired and the one closest to the front was bequeathed to Kirsten when I first upgraded. It’s the quietest machine of the bunch.

taken with Olympus sp500uz on the Portrait setting (befitting monarchy ; )

©2011   Annie and Guy Smith   All Rights Reserved

Here is mine:

This was taken at La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara, a very unique taqueria. Their food is out of this world. It is a hole in the wall, with a constant line out the door. You saw a part of their menu in a previous 365 post. It was so good, we had to go back again before proceeding home.

Taken with the iPhone

Here is WebGuy’s:
“Fred”
I wasn’t able to get anything related to eating that I was totally happy with. Sorry. Taken with iPhone.

©2011   Annie and Guy Smith All Rights Reserved

Here is WebGuy’s photo for today:

I sat down just after sunset and saw these beautiful palms in the breeze. Their silhouettes always cast such a tropical image – even though it is only about 60 degrees outside.

This image is dark. If you could this on a separate page with a black border, it looks so much nicer. I will try and make a separate page for your viewing pleasure.
Taken with Olympus E-500 f3.5 – 1/3″.

Here is mine:

When we travel, we like to find some random places to eat where we have never been before. Southern California is a treasure trove of heavenly eating. The place we went had an award for their restaurant called Where The Locals Eat — and oh my goodness — it was good! My photo for today was the shadows cast by the bars on the windows — it was a mexican restaurant in Placentia. I just happened to look up and see it. I think 90% of picture taking is that things just present themselves to you, like my photo today and Guy’s photo from yesterday.
I took this with my camera phone. Ok, I’m not going to feel guilty about taking photos with my phone anymore. Professionals use their phones if that’s all they have on them.
P.S. How am I doing on my diet? great btw… I only eat half of what is on my plate and I don’t feel guilty about that either ; )

Here is WebGuy’s:

It was only by chance that I walked by this bush. It was only by chance that the bird held still long enough for me to get my camera up to my face. It was only by chance that the settings and focus were ready to snap. The bird flew away in about three seconds after these prior events happened.
Yes, I will name this one, Chance.
Taken with Olympus E- 500, f5.6 /1000″

Here is Annie’s:

An average art store, on an average street in Southern California, Pasadena – to be exact. Guy and I were having lunch, talking about an art project that we want to do together using folded paper and cutouts and I said, “gee, I wonder if there is a Dick Blick store around here”. We got in the car and drove away, and Guy said take the next left and park. When I got out of the car and turned around there was the store, like a magic oasis, just two blocks from the restaurant! That is definitely chance.
Taken with my camera phone

Here is WebGuy’s:

Here at Disneyland things are not what they seem to be. Even the rocks are not actual rocks, but they are rocky. Here is a photo of a portion of the beautiful recreated landscape of the southwestern rock formations found at Big Thunder Railroad: “The Wildest Ride In The Wilderness”.
Taken with Olympus E-500 140mm telephoto lens, f 5.6 1/1000″.

Here is mine:

Big Thunder Mountain is about the only place in Disneyland where there are real rocks. This little grouping is at the base of the stairs where you go up to get on the ride. I love how it was staged and the little story it tells.
Olympus sp500uz on Landscape setting

This is WebGuy’s:

In Santa Barbara on an anniversary trip with Annie. I shot these words in the sand just before the water washed them away. Taken with the iPhone at dusk.

My photo is of the menu board at La Suoer-Rica, the legendary Santa Barbara Eatery. This place is truly a hole-in-the-wall, but was mentioned on the tv show Alias, and is well known by So-Cal celebrities. Not your avaerage taqueria with burrito fare, but creative yummy healthy food. I thought their menu was filled with words, hence, my photo for today.
Taken with my camera phone

Today’s Theme is Black and White:

Here is WebGuy’s photo:
I call this still life with water bottle. I also call this what I consume through my day. I caught this grouping on my desk at work. It thought it worked for me. I added a little lighting from one of my swing-arm incandescent lights and took the shot with my iPhone. The iPhone can manipulate the highlights and shadows quickly and simply without any manual adjusting by the operator. I then softened the image just a smidge. I LOVE the patterns in the apples — almost too pretty to eat!

Annie’s note: I love the lighting and the shadows that Guy got in the above shot. I especially like the shadows underneath the apples. This is a totally descriptive photo!

Annie’s Photo:

You know, feet are not particularly beautiful. Actually, I think people’s feet are pretty odd looking, except for my own, and even then… I suppose that’s why I enjoy pedicures and having pretty toenails when I’m done. Comedienne Carrie Snow said: “If your toes are painted then you’re all dressed up when you’re naked”. I really love the depth and definition that black and white photography gives that color photography cannot duplicate. I especially love the vibrant turquoise and red fabrics of my quilt being subdued.

taken with Olympus DSLR 500 in black and white mode.

©2011 Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved

I am just a little over 5 feet tall. I stopped growing when I was in the 6th grade, to my consternation. But because I’m little, I love little surprises more than big surprises.

I’m going to share something with you that has taken a lot of courage for me to share, and I know you’ll understand why in a moment.

It’s no secret that I’m not exactly skinny, eh?

Here’s a family photo from ten years ago (You’ve seen the most current one on a recent blog post. We haven’t changed much…):

we’re all a little chubbalicious here.

(Check out the picture of Robin on the left — he grew out of his baby-fat phase.)

Speaking about baby fat, I didn’t always look this way. I lost my baby-fat in junior high and weighed 95 pounds, soaking wet, in high school. The day I got married, my wedding dress was a size 5, which in today’s uber-skinny sizing, was the equivalent of a size 0.

Babies — all three of them, helped me to get to a not-so-zaftig look. (Zaftig means sexy-curvy auf Deutsch) There was nothing zaftig about me. I constantly battled the losing weight/gaining weight yo-yo of life until 1989, when I started Weight Watchers for the first time.

I was soooo good and so diligent. I started out there at 180 and was within 5 pounds of goal weight… when I found out I was pregnant with Robin! Well, I was SO happy — it was a good pregnancy because I was really healthy but my craving in the last trimester for Baskin-Robbins Jamoca and hot fudge shakes and tuna sandwiches did not help a thing. Like the heart wants what it wants, the pregnant body wants what it wants too.

Kirsten started out losing weight at the end of October this last year, and by February she had lost 5 dress sizes. I started her weight loss routine and lost 16 pounds, but I started traveling a lot to teach and Quilt Market and nothing is a quicker weight loss killer than traveling and not being able to control what you eat. so… I climbed up and added 7 pounds.

Enter WebGuy, who was inspired by Kirsten’s weight loss, who has lost over 100 pounds since the first of February — that’s the equivalent of losing a small size adult like I was prior to babies! And he looks fantastic, I’ll tell ya. Just check out his Facebook picture.

Contrary to popular belief, NOTHING inspires you more to lose weight than to see current pictures of yourself. NOTHING. And certainly not pictures of you being thinner and looking great. When you are so over-weight, it’s hard to visualize ever looking like that again and eating your emotions (happy/sad, mad/glad) always outweighs the desire to be thinner. At least in my family, with my genetic makeup. My mom and sisters would agree.

This picture:

Yes, Cambria is darling, but it’s my chubby legs in this picture that I saw and thought “I didn’t know that I looked like that…” that gave me pause for thought.

And, this picture…

… when I saw this picture, I just about passed out. This is my favorite top. It doesn’t look like how I think it looks on me — it makes me look FAT. : (

These two pictures have motivated me to lose weight more than any skinny pictures ever would.

(I will post some of those next week. I will have to scan them because I have no skinny digital pictures…)

Immediately after this last picture, I decided that enough was enough – if Kirsten and Guy could do it, so can I. And, I decided that traveling is no excuse. After all, I make the decisions for myself and I CAN be in control. That was at the end of August.

So… Today, after 30 days of making that commitment and after 20 years, I finally have a cause to celebrate… for the first time since I was expecting Robin, I weigh…. 199.7!

I am under 200 pounds for the first time since I had Robin.

©2011 Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved