Only A Week! I Call This Improvement

Hi there! I'm here to share my photographs with you! Except I'm really supposed to be vacuuming my room so I'm gonna go do that and I'll be right back!

... *roar of the vacuum is heard* ...

Okay, so here I am again! Pictures, pictures, where did I put the pictures...? There they are! Here:

One of the windows outside the local elementary school, along with a lovely tree:

A figurine of two sisters having a chat (this needs white balancing, doesn't it?):

AWESOME sunlight on some pretty purple flowers that fell off our tree:

A rather odd-looking pink zinnia from the mailbox garden:

This is SOOC, I promise - I probably should have turned down the exposure before I took this!

Returning to an old favorite, the baseball:

Two other figurines, lit by sunlight streaming in the front door:

Mr. Baggins' favorite squeaky dragon:

The lovely cloudy sky (and a bit of a nice tree, too):

A bit from the bottom of my family tree; by the way, I have a few notes on that subject. Please stay tuned after this broadcast for a special announcement.

My ticket for DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2! Such an awesome movie...

Snape's last words... :'(

It rained rather hard for just a little bit yesterday afternoon, and I took this picture through the window over the kitchen sink:

FORK. I'm always the one who has to set the table for dinner, because I'm to OCD to trust anyone else to do it. Some days are worse than others, but I'm always pretty picky.

Okay, I think that's it - now for the special addendum to the Harry Potter Family Tree. I have two(ish) notes:

1. Marius or Cassiopeia (third generation from the top) may have had a child called Araminta Meliflua who tried to legalize Muggle hunting. She's only referenced as Sirius' mum's cousin, though, so that actually leaves quite a lot of possibilities, even if we only consider FIRST cousins. For instance, we don't know if Irma Crabbe (Sirius' grandma) had any siblings; we can assume she had at least one brother to carry on the Crabbe name, so Araminta might come from that side of the family.

2. Also, Lord Voldemort is descended (through the Gaunts) from Cadmus Peverell, original owner of the Resurrection Stone. Cadmus' brother Ignotus, original owner of the Cloak of Invisibility, is an ancestor of the Potter family. Ergo, Voldemort is related to Harry and should therefore appear on this family tree (along with the rest of the Gaunts and the Riddles).
Building from that, both Salazar Slytherin (ancestor of the Gaunts) and Godric Gryffindor (ancestor of the Potters) should also be included.

By the by... if you have no idea what I'm talking about, look down to the next post. ;)

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

I get bored sometimes and start drawing up a Harry Potter family tree. It's insane how many connections there are, how many familiar names you can happen upon. Check it out (and click to view large, please!):

A couple of notes I found on past editions I've done:
*Dorea and Charlus were probably not James' parents but rather his grandparents - this makes the dates fit better.
*Also, Lucretia and Ignatius were probably Molly's grandparents - the generation missing from this particular map may include the famous Auntie Muriel.

Quick (But Depressing) Note (Which Then Becomes Uplifting and Has a Moral, Too)

I got called to the counselor's office on Tuesday. Naturally I assumed I had won some kind of honor or award (and they really did call me back today for that sort of purpose!). But they just sat me down and they told me I can't take photography next year because I haven't taken art. (You'll recall that I can't draw my way out of a paper bag, but my photos are pretty nice).

So... *headdesk* and also *sigh* to that.

They gave me until today to pick a new elective, and after talking it over with friends, family, and my choir director, I've decided to add an additional choir to my schedule - Women's II. It's gonna be lame and SO not as fun as photography, but hey - at least I get to sing twice as much. You have no idea how much I love to sing, guys. It just makes my whole day better. So now I'll be in that and Concert Choir (the largest of the groups - and there are MEN in it! Singing with men is quite an experience if you've never done it before).

I do have a lesson to share here: Positive attitudes are so awesome. Maureen Johnson tweeted this morning, "LITERALLY nothing can go wrong today. Proceed with TOTAL CONFIDENCE." So you know what? I did,  and my day was not half bad. If I had had a bad attitude, it would have been a LOT worse. Here's what I say to you, in this random photo-less rant: Start every day thinking "Today is going to rock my freaking socks off." And the universe will make it happen.

P.S. Ooh, I owe y'all a monthly wrap-up for February, don't I? I'll put it on my list.

It's Today!

And the only pictures I have for you are from... wait for it... TODAY! I'm so cool. Here they are:

First, to mark the date. I had plenty of ideas and knew I'd take a more interesting photo than this, but I still did it. The angle appeals to me.

More book hearts! I told you I'd come back to this. And with tomorrow being Valentine's Day and this week's 365 theme being hearts, how could I not?

I like the bit of the text that you can see in this one: "angels' wings" on the left and "I have the power" on the right. Very uplifting, and I didn't even mean to do it!

This is the book I used for the hearts, Rebel Angels by Libba Bray. It is undeniably fantastic - you must read it immediately.

I tried some really cool stuff with this lens, but in the end my camera simply wouldn't cooperate (regular readers will remember that I have a very unruly camera). So here's a simple shot of a lens and its cap, backlit by my creepily glowing blinds.

Along with the old camera and lenses that used to belong to my dad, I also have this cute little mini-tripod. I can't really figure out how to attach it to the camera, but that's okay! It's still cute!

And finally, a shot similar to today's favorite. I've seen this done with various items: matches, markers, etc. So I just had to try it out to kick off my "hearty" week. It's not the best, since I prefer taking natural shots to having to set them up, but I like it. I really like it.

Random note: psychology is a powerful thing, y'all. I made some microwave fettuccine alfredo for dinner, which of course my aunt said looked anemic. She's always saying things look anemic. So to appease her (and also because I thought it would be cool), I got out the green food coloring and added a few drops. Boy, was that a mistake. Don't get me wrong - it tasted just fine. But the psychological aspect was almost more than I could bear. Seriously, kids: don't try this at home.

Good News!

I just remembered something totally awesome that I heard today. My school is currently in the midst of a construction project, and when the new part of the building is finished it's supposed to be an art wing. And today my English teacher told me that one of the new artsy classes they'll be offering is Introduction to Photography! Hooray!

Just thought I'd share that with y'all.