Sunshine, smiles and some creativity :)

I figured I haven't blogged in a while, so why not write while I'm sat here looking at the sunshine?!  As seen as the Photography Challenge photos are due to be posted on the 1st April, I decided that I would do my March review so that I have plenty to talk about - though to be honest, I don't think I have done much this month...

Where to start?  

The beginning maybe?  The 1st March - I made the fatal error of agreeing to go to corp!  I honestly don't know what possesses me to do these things... The brightly coloured pints?  The black mark on the back of my hand that didn't come off for days?  The loud band that sounded better when the singer stopped yelling into the microphone?  (No offence to those of you that do like them :p) It was a good job there was decent company eh?!  Went clubbing with my little sister and the boys... Was an awesome night - until it wasn't - but we won't go into that!  It's not a night I plan to repeat anytime soon let's put it that way.
I did run into an old friend from school though - silver lining and all that - and have spent time with him since, which has brought on some serious spontaneity...
Leading straight into the next thing on my list - the weekend enjoying the weather and being all outdoorsie...  yes that's a word now!  

You already know I spent a day playing nicely at being a big kid out on the mountains... and a morning enjoying the sun in Rother Valley - I thought I'd put up some more pics I found of those days just because I can :)

I have spent a lot of time riding this month :) I think I have averaged at least once a week - I love being out on the horses, I love the freedom and the fresh air, and the conversation with Vicky of course :) 
She abandoned her girls this weekend to go and spend some time at the Caravan, so I got the pleasure of looking after the girlies!  Been up there this morning in the sunshine to turf them out and sort the stables out.  Enjoyed spending some time out in the peace and quiet on my own - even got some piccies with the girls :)

My beautiful girl Rosie :) 










Vicky's baby Mollie :)





My goal this summer (And Vicky here it is in writing so there's no backing out now) I want to start jumping with Rosie.  Vicky taught me to ride, and gave me the opportunity to become a reasonably competent rider.  My next challenge is that I want to learn to trust her enough to let her jump when I'm riding her.  So Vicky - that's your teaching abilities booked!  :)

Something else I've done a lot of this month is go to the cinema - I've managed that once a week too, and with someone different each time lol!  Seen some good films this month too - and some that don't even deserve a mention - it was a good job it was decent company :)
Vernon even made it to the cinema again - he sat on my shoulder throughout the entire film to watch!  Sammy wasn't impressed I'll tell ya!  She's still not a fan of him coming out when I'm with her!

He also made it to the pub too, helped with the quiz - of which we came like next to last... We're so awesome!  But we had a good time, and ate far too many sweets in place of not drinking too much.  There was a serious sugar high and an even more serious come down the next day - not even joking!

Other than that - and a lot of lazing around watching DVD's, I haven't done much.  I must up my game for April - more randomness needed!  It's on my to do list!  As for #mycrazyreadinghabits on Instagram - I know there hasn't been much activity this month - I am alternating between reading and watching Seasons 1 to 3 of Veronica Mars ready for the film that's coming out, so a lot of the time I would normally spend reading, I am watching hour long episodes of that.  Once I finish them, the reading will pick up again - I have a list waiting of the things I want to get read.  
Remember to keep up with Vernon at #vernonsadventure on Instagram, he will be joining I with whatever randomness I manage to pull off.
And just to involve everyone in my success - my month of no chocolate... has been a success.  To be honest I haven't really struggled with it either.  I thought it was going to kill me, I really did - but I even turned down the awesome chocolate caterpillar cake at work yesterday!  Was a little guttered at that - but I survived and feel better for the detox - my skin definitely looks better for it!  

The only other thing that I haven't mentioned was the Facebook craze of no make-up selfies for Cancer Awareness - I did join in and do my part - and Vernon even got involved - though he never wears make-up, so not sure whether his counts or not?!  He's spent a lot of time having cuddles this last few weeks too :) if you're following him on Instagram then you will have seen :)  He can be a right little snuggle bunny!

Well, I think that is enough rambling for today - I need to get something productive done.

Till April - remember to get your photo's to me before the 1st if you want putting on the blog - I can't wait to see them all together!

Louby x

Photography Challenge

Ok, so I had this idea about a Photographic Scavenger Hunt not long back... since then I have had several people show there interest in taking part and I have looked into a set of rules and ideas for the photographs.

So here are the rules:

• All photos must be originals taken by the 'photographer' taken during the time period of the challenge
• Photos may be edited, both with alterations to the picture and with quotes/lyrics 
• Any quotes/lyrics that are used must be sourced so that there are no copyright infringements
• No photos that are entered into the challenge are to be posted on any other social media site before the blog has been posted with the photographs.  All photos will remain copyrighted to the 'photographer' and can be used in any way after the blog post - but I ask that they do not get used before, so that the pictures are new when posted for the challenge
• All entries must be submitted by email/facebook email before the date given as this will be the day that they blog will be updated
• Photos submitted must have the name from the challenge with them, any comments that you want publishing with them and any copyright sources that need to be included
• You must enter all photo's from the challenge to be included in the blog post!

Photo's will not be accepted if:

• They have already been posted on another social media site before entry
• There is no copyright source to any quotes/lyrics used
• They are submitted on or after the date given for the challenge

The object the of the challenge is to show how differently one idea can be interpreted - so remember to be creative; think outside the box and most of all - Have Fun!!

Photo Challenge - Blog post will be updated on April 1st (No April Fools)

Seven ideas - seven photos

1. A Book
2. Reflection
3. The number 'Three'
4. The Moon
5. Light
6. Flower
7. Black and White

For anyone who read this tonight - there is a Full Moon if you're interested :)

For my email address feel free to contact me - or just send them over Facebook when you have them ready - Please try and email them all in one go - not one photo at a time!

Enjoy :)

Sunny Days :)

Not going to complain if this weather is here to stay!!  I love the sunshine - it just makes everything seem better :) puts a smile on everyone's faces and just generally makes people happier.  Let's hope that Spring is here and we can look forward to more days like yesterday and today!

I made the most out of the sunshine yesterday by going to Rother Valley and getting nice and muddy with the puppies :) We went for a lovely walk around the lake with Dave and even got ice cream.  I made the fatal error of assuming that the ground would be ok, and nearly sunk in the mud in my little grey pumps, (which are now more of a brown colour than grey!) Not even joking - I was filthy by the time I got home again!  
And a day out in the sun... Vernon had to come of course :)

The day before, although not as sunny, was still a pretty epic day :)  Spent it being seriously spontaneous and doing whatever took our fancy at the time.  Started in Castleton, where Vernon went too of course!  

In our wisdom we decided it was a good idea to climb Mam Tor... all the way from the bottom... all the way to the top... in the wind... and cold... with two people that just generally complain a lot... And the bright spark idea of the week goes to!  Nah, despite our moaning about being cold and tired, we did make it all the way to the top, and we felt good for it - it took us just over an hour to make it to the top... and only twenty minutes to get back down to the bottom - where we proceeded to sit in the car for a good quarter of an hour doing nothing!!

 Afterwards, Vernon had to have a nap because he was so tired.  It' alright for some eh?!
For more of Vernon's adventures check out #vernonsadventure on Instagram.

 Overall, the weekend was pretty damn awesome :) and has left me with a decent smile for the week!  Now I'm laid on my bed in the sunshine streaming in through the window.. What more could a girl ask for?

Laters, Louby x

P.S. Photography Challenge is on my to do list this week :)

World Book Day!!

http://www.worldbookday.com/

No copyright intended

This has to be one of the most awesome days of the year!! An entire day to celebrate books and reading!  So I figured it's only far to dedicate a blog post to it...   

I'm going to start with a picture that I saw on Facebook not long back, I thought it was the most amazing idea ever, and it is one that I will be using in my own house one day - although I'm not going to lie - I may need a whole room as I have enough books to fill an entire library!  


This is a Book Nook - it was an old cupboard space that someone turned into a little book room.  What a simple, yet ingenious idea?!

http://houseofbrokersrealty.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/awesome-ideas-for-awful-rooms/

The only other pictures I have to put on today are from my favorite page on Facebook 'Books Rock My World' (Find them at https://www.facebook.com/booksrockmyworld - they're totally worth a look) 

No copyright intended - they're all stolen off the 'Books Rock My World' Facebook page.

Well, so much to do, so little time - that's me off for now... I'll update on the photography idea soon - and don't forget to follow me on Instagram #mycrazyreadinghabits for more book related craziness :)

Louby x

Photography

So, here comes the randomness again...  I was sat earlier, looking out of the window at the sunshine and decided that I needed to crack out my camera again.  It was currently sat on a shelf getting a little dusty, and I thought that it was about time that I got it down, dusted it off and took some photographs.  The million pound question… What should I take photographs of?  I believe this is why it got shelved in the first place, because I just didn't know what to photograph.  I love taking pictures, it sounds ridiculous, but it makes me feel calm.  What you see through the lens in what’s there; no pretending, nothing fake – just the truth of reality.  The magic of it – what you see and what I see will be completely different!  All it takes is a little imagination, to notice something the other didn't, or just to look at it from a different perspective; like upside down!

No copyright intended - image from 

http://davidsmcnamara.typepad.com/sixbysix/photography-quotes.html

Well, since then I have Googled my little heart out to see what I could come up with as a project.  Everything I could find suggests similar things – Photowalks, (where you take a walk somewhere reasonably familiar and start looking at things differently and see what photographs you can take) A-Z challenges, (where you either pick an object or feeling for each letter of the alphabet and take a photograph, or looking for things that look like letters of the alphabet in nature) picking an object and shooting it in lots of different ways, (shoes seem to be a popular one for this, and some of the photos are pretty cool actually) and the idea of taking a photo every day for a set amount of time, (sometimes with a theme, or having to include yourself, others just of something relating to your day).  Not many have grabbed my interest like I need it to, however, there was one that did.  A Scavenger Hunt! 

The idea is to make a list of objects, places, people, feelings or ideas, give the list to several different people, and then each of them go out and take the photographs for the list.  The diversity of photographs that come back on some of these projects look stunning, and I think it would be an awesome thing to try.  The photographs can be edited by the photographer, they can have special effects put on them when taken if being taken on a camera phone etc, or left as they appear after being taken, which gives a fantastic appearance when the photos are all seen together at the end of the Scavenger Hunt.

So… My proposal… I want to create a Photographic Scavenger Hunt :)

My first hurdle; I need some volunteers to get involved.  I will create the list and get it to each person who wants to participate and set a date to have the photographs back by.  Then, when all the photos have been taken and edited by the photographers, they will be collated and I will post them on my blog (with links to each member’s blog/Facebook/Instagram) and show the different takes on each idea.  Obviously all photographs will remain copyrighted to the person who takes them, but I will ask that until they have been posted on my blog for the challenge, that they are not posted anywhere else.  Afterwards, they can be put on blogs, Facebook and Instagram etc (preferably with a link to my blog so that others can see the project) and depending on the success, I may repeat the project with another list :)  

What do people think?  If you are interested, please comment on here, on Facebook, or drop me an email or text and I will look into the finer details of the whole project :)

Eek!  Excited now, and to get my creativeness off to a good start, I even went out to play with the camera for some good ideas... and to get muddy with my puppies - who definitely enjoyed their spontaneous walk!!

Over and out - Louby x

White Rabbits!

The 1st of March and the end of Half term - How time is flying?! 
I've managed to get this blog post up today, not an epic fail like last time when it didn't make it until the 2nd!  And guess what? This is totally the same thing but for February :) I thought I'd share my thoughts and feelings on the month just gone and check in on how my plans and resolutions are doing!

Where to start?  This time I'm going to start with the fact that, despite my rumblings in the last blog about him not getting out much in February, Vernon has done some serious sight seeing over Half Term! He went to the National Coal Mining Museum where he had lots of photos taken with me and Vicky, and he got himself into lots of places I'm pretty sure he shouldn't have been, plus he went down the mine shaft with us.  Now although we were not aloud to take any photographs down there, I did buy Vernon a certificate for his adventure :) 

After the museum, we took advantage of the reasonably nice weather and headed for Kirkstall Abbey, we knew it was around Leeds somewhere as we had passed it back in January when we went to pick up Mollie.  So we set off, and found it pretty easily - finding the car park however was more difficult than it should have been!  It took us three trips around the block and a one way system that had Vicky swearing!  But we finally made it, only to find out that it had technically shut an hour earlier.  So we went for a walk in the grounds and took some silly pictures and intend on returning another day to actually go and look at the ruins.  Vernon enjoyed the pretty purple crocus' that were growing and, of course, had to have his photograph taken surrounded by them - I think he thought he could blend in!

He also stowed away in my bag to the Butterfly House yesterday when I went out with Momma Kate and Squeak :) He didn't have loads of photo's like he normally would, but he did escape to take a look at the Fairy Village!
To follow Vernon's travels in March, check out #vernonsadventure on Instagram and keep an eye out on the blog for more photographs :)

Sticking with Instagram for now, #mycrazyreadinghabits has seen 4 more uploads during February.  I'm still averaging a book a week!  The Year 10's also finished reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time at school during the last week of term too, so I'm definitely seeing plenty of other worlds :)  Never to be complained about... Stick with it on Instagram to see more books and hopefully more interesting backgrounds as I have started to try an put them in situations to do with when I first pick them up, rather than them all have my bedding in the background!

Moving straight on from books to my book... I did it!  I finally did it!  On the 21st February, I sent my final manuscript out to seven different Agencies :) Fingers crossed... Now I just have to wait and see if any of them actually like it!  It is going to be a very very long six weeks!!

In other news, I have kept to swimming with Sammy, and have roped others into it too lol, Vicky has been a couple of times, and so has Fiona!  I'm spreading the fitness bug... granted we haven't been managing the same amount of days, but it's still regular enough, and I am now definitely starting to see the improvement, I can do the half an hour swimming now without really having to stop, and I can pick up the pace and stroke every now and again!  Bring it on!
I have also started going riding more often with Vicky, we are managing once a week at the minute, and usually a decent distance - though none as good as that original hike!  It's definitely improving the muscles in my legs, which is helping at swimming - Bonus!  It's like a little cycle that I didn't even realise I was creating... And speaking of cycles - I fully intend on cracking out my bike when the weather hold steady and the ground dries up a little bit, if anyone would care to join me :)
I have noticed the Spring weather making an attempt to take over Winter :)  Can't wait for some sunshine!

My next challenge - I'm giving up Chocolate for March!  Crazy I know, but I'm going with the idea of determination!  I can do it if I put my mind to it!  And I will do it, I'm seriously going for this whole fit and free thing! - My New Year's Resolution still stands - I'm doing things for me, and making sure I am happy - I may have had a tiny glitch mid month, but after a good talking to myself I shook it off and kept smiling!
As for March, I'm sticking with all my good intentions, and adding to it to keep myself out of trouble - well, the bad kind anyway, 'cos we all know I like trouble :) I am going to make sure I keep smiling and concentrate on all the good things in my life!

Till next time readers :)
Louby x