Fun Weekend with Grand-Girls!

July 17, 2023 by GmasPhoto 15 Comments

Hi, what a fun weekend I experienced with my grand-girls. My daughter and son-in-law went out of town with friends for a float trip. Which translates to me getting to spend the entire weekend with the girls, YES!!

I took the day Friday away from my work to do my weekend errands in the morning so I could drive to Topeka and get the girls picked up from summer camp by 4pm. That evening we went back to their house to take care of the pups, get dinner ready and then movie time. Grandma let the girls stay up later than their bedtime. Saturday morning Kevin came out to sat with the girls while I went to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. While I was away, Kevin took the girls to the Farmer’s Market. Upon my return the girls were excited to tell me, they got some honey sticks and already ate them. After Kevin left, we ate our lunch and decided to go to the Topeka Zoo.

After the zoo we stopped by the girls choice restaurant, McDonald’s. Brynlee likes the playground. We ate and then I watched the girls play for a bit. Then back to their house. Once back to the house we let the doggies out and fed them. By this time the weather had cooled down some. We went outside for some fun activities, hula hoop and jump rope. Here is a fun video of the girls trying to teach me how to hula hoop!

MacBook viewers: If the video does not appear, switch from Safari browser to Google.
The video will then appear.

The best part of the day for me was when the girls were getting ready for bed. Briella told me she had a fun day. This warmed my heart. My husband always asks me what memories did we make after I am with the grand girls. This is certainly a memory I will treasure.

Sunday was my last day to spend with the girls. The plan was to meet Shaune’s parents for them to take the girls to Branson. Our hand off was a success!

This weekend the grand girls and I completed two of my 101 in 1001. #13 Go to the Topeka Zoo and #89 Learn How to Hula Hoop. At least I tried! 🙂

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -8.8lbs 🙂

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

To Face the Sun, or Not

July 10, 2023 by GmasPhoto 8 Comments

To Face the Sun, or not.

Hi, have you ever thought about the position of the sun when you take your picture? Should the subject be facing the sun or looking away from the sun? This is a question I have been asked more than once. I have taken a few ‘selfies’ to demonstrate the different positions of the sun.

Let’s begin with the sun behind the subject.

The image on the left is straight out of the phone’s camera. No edits. The image on the right was edited. As you can see the image was lightened so that my facial features are more visible.

The next set of pictures, the sun is in the West. The left picture I have turned my face so the sun is shining on the left side of my face. The right picture I turned my face to the right.

Both of these images were right out the phone’s camera. No edits were made to the pictures.

This next picture I was facing the sun.

It’s important to know that when these series of images was taken, it was in the golden hour; approximately 45 minutes before sunset. As you can see all the images look nice with little to no editing needing to be done. Another prime outdoor photography time is in the morning the first hour of sunrise. The sun is softer in the morning and just before the sun sets. If I need to shoot in the middle of the day I look for shaded areas. This next set of pictures was taken in the shaded area of my yard.

silly pictures in the shade — Silly pictures in the shade.

There is no correct way to take an image. Photography is an art. Trying to make the image look nice is the main point to focus on. How to make your image look its best. As long as you are pleased with the result, it is a good picture!

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -6lbs

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Celebrate Independence Day

July 4, 2023 by GmasPhoto 3 Comments

Celebrate Independence Day

Hi, we celebrated this past Saturday with family and friends. The weather couldn’t have been any better. There was a short bout of wind that cooled the evening down and made watching the light show very nice and comfortable. Below was one such firework that was beautiful. The guys were down at the pond dam shooting the fireworks while the girls were on the other side of pond watching the display. The fireworks in air and the reflections in the pond were absolutely stunning.

Wishing you a safe, fun Fourth of July!

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -6.6lbs

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Happy Father’s Day!

June 18, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Happy Father’s Day.

Hi, Happy Father’s Day to all dad’s, step-dad’s and grand dad’s!

I spent Father’s Day with my dad yesterday. It was a wonderful day. He requested Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. My son, daughter and her family joined us at my folks house.

Some fun facts about Father’s Day.

A. There are 1.5 billion fathers worldwide. 66.3 million of those father’s are in the United States.
B. Father’s Day is the fifth-largest card-sending occasion in America with almost 100 million Father’s Day cards sent each year.
C. Only 50% of all Father’s Day cards are purchased for dads

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Friendly Selfies!

June 12, 2023 by GmasPhoto 6 Comments

Friendly Selfies!

Hi, I just had a rough day at work. Are you familiar with tough work days? Now I need to have some fun. I am now on a mission to find a way to create slideshow video’s. My selfie folder makes me smile when I look at these images. Needing a pick me up, I have decided to create a slideshow for my week’s post.

It has taken me a bit of time to figure out which software program would be best. Then I had to conquer how to use said software! The software I have chosen is Movavi. It is available for either Windows or Mac.

There are several different programs available for making slideshows. Some are free, with limits and options to upgrade to a paid version without limits. I selected the personal license for Movavi which comes with plenty of basic elements, transitions and such. Comment if you have any questions about my selected slideshow maker.

The pictures were taken by not only myself, but family and friends have shared with me some they took. Please enjoy the show!!

MacBook viewers: If the video does not appear, switch from Safari browser to Google.
The video will then appear.

In my prior post, ‘Selfies, Take Part in Pictures, I had mentioned we are our own self critics. Practicing taking our own pictures give us the opportunity to see what angle our head needs to be at, where to look when taking the photo and just getting used to seeing ourself in pictures. The more you see yourself, the more comfortable you will be each time seeing yourself in your selfies!

friendly selfies — Briella took this selfie!

Slideshows are wonderful for special occasion celebrations- graduation, weddings, birthday, anniversaries and even end of life services. Slideshows add life to photo’s! My goal is to provide different formats when I share my photo’s.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra
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Fun at the Kansas City Zoo

May 29, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Fun at the Kansas City Zoo.

Hi, I had a fun birthday weekend with my family at the Kansas City Zoo. Happy birthday to me!

#14 Go the the Kansas City Zoo
and #38 visit the grand girls once a month

fun at the Kansas City zoo — Click image to see the images taken at the KC Zoo!

The morning began with eating breakfast out. I ordered a two egg omelet with cheese, bacon, green onion and tomato. After breakfast my daughter and her family picked me up to go to the zoo. It was for sure a fun birthday. It did make me realize a few things.

Firstly, I want to do better of taking pictures through out my adventures. There were things the grand girls did that I never took a picture. For example when they slid down the slide instead of using the stairs. I never took images of our lunch, what we ordered and the menu to show the high cost of ordering on zoo grounds. The thought of bringing a picnic lunch didn’t even come to mind until I saw the prices. One bottle of water was $5.00. Ouch, a family of 4 would be 20 bucks.

Secondly, my weight. My age, working from home, not getting out among other things I have been telling myself when I look in the mirror. This adventure to the zoo made me realize how my weight is affecting me. And it is not good. From this day forward, I will take more responsibility to do something for myself to improve my health. I want to be like my Aunt Phyllis was. When she was 80 she could keep up with my dancing when I was 50. She looked amazing. That is how I want to be when I am 80.

favorit aunt Phyllis — My inspiration in aging, my Aunt Phyllis.

#52 Walk two miles 3x a week.
#53 Do nightly excersizes 3x a week. Opposite nights from above walking goal.

These two will be a work in progress. And to keep a journal of progress, I will include a selfie of me each post. And hopefully this will show the change/progress of my efforts.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

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Fun at the Kansas City Zoo

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