Check out these buy photo images:
Best! Cat Tree! Evar!
Image by Oaktown Pirate
Bought this directly from the manufacturer. Suggested retail 9, and honestly... it's worth it.
Paid 9 + free shipping (although UPS was a bit of an adventure). Hands down, the best cat tree we've ever owned, Easy to put together, PLUSH, tons of sisal scratching post area, and a variety of levels and heights for the girls to enjoy. It's stable enough that it's stands on it's own with the girls running up and down it's whole height and wrestling on it.
They use every bit of it all day long, even the parts we looked at in the photo and thought I don't know.... Good exercise for them. We looked in lots the local stores and for 0 we couldn't find one HALF as sweet as this one, and we'd have to lug it home ourselves.
Petrified Wood
Image by Bill Gracey
We bought this at a rock shop in Moab, Utah. There's quite a bit of petrified wood in national and state parks in Utah and Arizona. Based on the price they sell it for in rock shops, it must be quite valuable. Pretty stuff, and I was happy to buy it.
I lit this with two Strobie 130's in softbox, placed on either side of the subject at about a 45 degree angle. I wanted side light to show the textures. The speedlights were in manual mode and I adjusted the output of each one independently until I got the look I wanted. They were triggered by Tiny Triggers from scottrobertstudio.com
Other pictures taken during our Red Rock Country trip can be seen here. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157631740697332/...
Other pictures I've taken of our rocks can be seen in my Rocks set www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157631898864615/. In the set description, I emphasize how relatively (it is photography, after all) inexpensive and easy it is to use off camera flash to light things. I also list a good resource that will help you in learning how to do this. I've only been using off camera flash for a little less than one year. It ain't that hard.
Like most images, it looks best when viewed large. Press "L" if you'd like to see it in that enlightened manner.
Weight Loss 20X6
Image by jpmatth
i bought new shirts today, which is not particularly exciting except that today i was able to buy and wear size XL shirts, which i haven't done since i was a senior in high school exactly 10 years ago. these are a little snug yet, but not so much that i wouldn't be able to wear them to work.
last year around this time, i had lost 8 inches. now i'm up to 14, and the total goal is between 20 and 22. on new year's eve i'll post another pic of my belts so you can see the difference between last year and this year.
in roughly another year i'll have -- to quote the stupid bowflex commercial -- "the body i've always wanted." already i have far more muscle tone and a better posture than i had in high school, even though i weighed less then. back then i was running up and down stairs all day long and strength training every other day, so that's a much different type of body than what i'm getting now. more muscle mass, but less tone and no awareness of how to carry myself. my current plan is the same as it's been for a year and a half -- 15-20 minute hatha yoga practice every morning, corpse pose every night before bed to maximize sleep quality, getting enough water, and eating manageable portions of whatever i want.
