Happy Halloween!

Yee-Haw!! A big happy Halloween to ya'll from Jessie and Buzz. Last night was our ward's trunk or treat and we had fun, it was the first time he's worn his costume for more than 10 minutes and his nursery teacher even got him to put on the hood.
So I finished my costume just a few minutes before we left. But it turned out ok. Cory was supposed to be Woody, but he missed out this year!

I am not into pumpkin goop so this was my alternative. I love my pirate punkin...arrrrr!

Botanical Garden

My friend Ford and I signed up for dinner at the botanical garden. It turned out to be a very well manicured garden right outside of FT Sam Houston.

Ford loves photography just as much as I do. He picked up a nice Nikon camera in Korea and has been an avid shooter ever since. The above photo is Ford after our night of shooting and dinner reviewing his photos on the bus just before we came back to base.

To get this shot I manually turned the temperature down to a freezing 2800 to let the background come in very cool. I countered this by using a warming gel on my flash which was essentially determining the exposure of my subject.

I love the warm light on the cement floor and the golden highlight on the Nikon lens. The camera in Ford's hand actually reflected a lot of the cool colors of the night sky. I turned up the blacks in the photo to bring back the true color of his camera.

Cowboy hats are fun to wear. You can even wear them while you are taking photos, unless you are using a hot shoe flash. I did not think about this as soon became annoyed with my hat. I decided to take it off, but I did not want to loose it as I have already lost one cowboy hat here in Texas. I decided to keep track of it by including it in some of my shots.

The sun made this nice orange light on the stone wall for about 20 seconds. I had to act fast to capture it.

I am not one for posed photos. Few people smile on cue well. Modeling really is a talent. Instead, I prefer to take candid shots. Here is Ford fully engaged in his own work which puts him completely at ease in my own photo. When I asked Ford to smile for me he gave me the stone face. Ford is a good photographer, but a terrible model. If I do have to take a posed shot of someone I have learned to put them at ease with conversation and tell them that the shots I am taking are just tests to see if I have the settings right.

Math 117

My math class is becoming quite difficult for me. There are some great on line resources for me to use; none the less, I do not have a mathematical mind. I will be very glad when this class is over and behind me. I hope that this is the last math class that I have to take forever.

Treasure Island

I arrived home from church just in time to receive a phone call from Jeffrey. It seems that he got a hold of mommy's phone while she was sleeping and pressed the dial button, which calls the last dialed number. I spoke with Jeffrey for a minute before I realized that Tricia had not dialed me and then handed on the phone, but that he had called on his own. We talked for another minute and he let me know that, "mommy sleeping."

On Monday I went to Paesanos, an amazing Italian restaurant. Our meal was more than just a good one. This is four star eating. We do not know who has made the donation, but once in a while a small group of wounded warriors are invited to eat here and I can tell you that I would not be able to afford to eat there otherwise.

I am still reading Treasure Island to Jeffrey. My personal items were sent back to me from Afghanistan and my microphone was one of the first things I looked for.

Medina Lake

The Boy Scouts invited us out to Medina Lake. When we arrived after a short drive we found plenty of fishing poles, a few paddle boats and a small troop of scouts excited to show us around.

Lunch was an amazing Texas BBQ. You know you are in Texas when brisket is served. Yes! I spent my time in the boats and walking along the shore with my camera. I listened to The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis in the afternoon and fell asleep on the grass in the shade. Someone had to come and tap me on the shoulder to wake me up to tell me it was time to go.

The administrative process to get me back to FT Carson has already started. I have appearantly set a record for turn around time here at the WTU from arriving to getting ready to leave. Rather than go back to a WTU at FT Carson it looks as though I will be headed for the rear detachment. There is no sense in me being in a WTU since I am doing so well. WTU are really designed for soldiers that need to see doctors on a constant basis and are not ready to get back to the rigors of regular military duty. I am told I could be on my way in as little as two weeks.

CFC

It is that time of year. The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) in upon us. This is an opportunity for federal employees to make a payroll deduction donation to a favorite charity. I found the I found the Warrior and Family Support Center (WFSC) among the long list of charitable foundations. This organization has provided me and many other wounded warriors with good activities that get us out of our barracks rooms and allows the local area an opportunity to give service to us. The charity code is 33046 and can be found on page 43 of the CFC charitable organization list.

I finally received my gratuitous issue of uniforms. Until now I have been wearing civilian clothes each day because the only thing I brought back with me from Afghanistan was a strategically placed ID card. I am glad to have the uniforms, but I have to break in a new pair of issue Bellville boots. I like the boots once they are broken into my feet, but already after a morning of walking I have blisters on my heals. The leather is not very forgiving when it is new and stiff.

I have been keeping a copy of the Book of Mormon on my night stand. I see it when I wake up and am reminded not to put off reading for the end of the day when I am tired. Having this small book makes it easy to pick up and carry with me when I suspect that I may have some time to read while out and about. When I want to do some serious subject study I prefer to get online where I can look up long list of scriptures all at once. This paper back copy reminds me that it is also good to read cover to cover to see how the history and stories all connect.

My math class has been kicking me in the rear. I spent nearly three hours today working on four math problems. Let’s see, that would be 60 x 3 = 180; 180 / 4 = 45 minutes for each problem. That was useful math. No polynomials on this blog.

Tonight’s entertainment was another trip to the San Antonio Race Way. While I was in the stands I figured out a way to reconfigure my cameras neck strap to turn it into a combination neck strap and hand strap. With the best of both I can go hands free and have a tight grip on my camera. I attached the thin end of one strap to the eyelets of the battery grip and right side top to form the hand grip. This leaves the rest of the fat portion of the strap to go around my body and attach to the left top eyelet.

Christmas Cards already?

I know what some 0f you will say...Christmas in OCTOBER? Can't she just get through Halloween already? Well let me explain, I've learned that putting things off until December makes Christmas much too stressful so I'm helping you destress your holidays.
This is the card I made for our workshop today and it was so cute that this will be my Christmas card this year, but I'm also offering it to you all for a SPECIAL price as a kit. If you buy all of the items that are needed to make this adorable card (* everything but the embossing folder on the brown paper, you'll need a BIG SHOT for that) I am offering a 10% discount on everything. Included is the Dasher Stamp Set, The Four the Holidays set offered in the new holiday mini catalog, a pack of whisper white cardstock, Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa cardstock, the Bashful blue ribbon, the close to Cocoa ink pad, and a pack of 40 envelopes to mail them out with. The total for all of the items separately would be 61.80 but if you email me and place the order you will get this kit for 55.62. I will also include detailed instructions on how to assemble and make your cards. You will be able to make 40 Cards with some left over supplies.

I am going to be placing a Stampin' Up! order on THURSDAY the 29th of October, if you are interested in this or anything else in the Holiday Mini Catalog email me. tuckeranne(at)gmail.com.

If that's not enough reason to make you want to place an order, here's my other plea...I have gotten back to dancing and will be making my return to competition next month. Thanks to Jeffrey and my post-baby body I need a new dance dress. They aren't cheap so I'm trying to do what I can to earn the extra money without affecting our family budget too much. If you've thought about making your own christmas cards this year this is the perfect opportunity to make an ADORABLE card and help out an Irish dancer in need! Love you all!

Lifting Burdens

Back to Texas

I am on the air plane and heading back to San Antonio, TX. When I left Jeffrey gave me a hug and kiss, but was most distraught when I walked away with my carry on bag. He had pulled it quite a distance and was sad to see it go. Tricia told me later on the phone that when they arrived back at the car and were loading up Jeffrey started looking around and asking for me.

While I was working on my homework this morning Jeffrey came down in his pajamas looking for a peanut butter (peekut butter) sandwich and a tall milky. This is a great reason to take a break from dividing polynomials. I will miss seeing his antics, like dropping a new roll of toilet paper into our toilet. Classic.

I will be enjoying my flight time by reading Catch-22. I picked it up on the way to Colorado and found it very entertaining. A man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request proves that he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

The MacNeils Come to Visit

After the Browns went back to their home in Utah, my parents came to visit for a few days.

We did not go on any trips, but had fun together around home. We did take my parents to the Garden of the Gods and walked around the neighborhood a few times pulling Jeffrey in his wagon.

This is Jeffrey running away from us at the Garden of the Gods. He is pretty fast when making a get away.

A friend told me that aiming the camera at 90 degrees to the sun makes for the bluest skies. I finally understand what he means now. Looking toward the sun makes the sky so bright for the camera that in comparrison to any mountain or tree in the viewfinder as well, the sky will be blown out and turn white. Composing a scene with the sun on your right or left hand side changes the intensity of the light and allows the blue to be exposed properly.

I tried out my Dad's macro lens on a vase of flowers we have on our table.

Tricia did plan a party for me and many of our friends from church came to welcome me home. The owner of our home even came by to say hello. It was a great party and people kept coming and going for about two hours. There are a lot of people in our ward that have gone out of their way to take care of Tricia and Jeffrey while I have been gone. We are blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.

My dad and I took some time to shoot photography together.

They brought a toy camera for Jeffrey that takes real digital photos that can be down loaded onto a computer. Jeffrey loved it right away.

Fun With Jeffrey

I have had more fun than ever being with Jeffrey. My experience of being away from him for a while and having an unexpected return has made me want to spend even more time with him.

This is Jeffrey tuned into his favorite movie, WALLE.

I am glad that I took the time to wake up early each morning to record a few mintutes of story for him. It made me feel close and gave me something to do for him rather than just think of him without anything to show on his end.

Last Vacation Photos

On our last days of vacation with the Brown family we passed through the city of Silverton. Our first stop after the local information hot spot was the photoshop where we had our pictures taken. We all dressed in old western atire and I picked out a gun from the rack on the wall for our vintage photo.

As we were leaving Silverton we started heading the wrong way, but found this wonderful canyon we wanted to come back and explore some day. I used two neutral density filters on my lens to slow down my shutter speed to get this photo. The water looks silky because at f22 I am still using a shutter speed of 8 seconds.

Tricia met this nice man while we were walking through town.

As soon as everyone steps off of the Silverton Durango train the first thing they want to take a photo of is the train. I had to wait for the crowd to move on before I could get this shot. I dialed down my EV a full f stop to ensure that the black train would turn out black in the exposure.

Outside of an antique shop a lot of rusty farm implements and tools were hung on the barn like wall. I cannot resist taking photos of old things.

Our plan was to return home through Gunnison National Forest, but it was so dark when we passed through that all we saw was the first line of trees in our head lights.

Images From Vacation

Here area few more images from our vacation with the Browns.

The Mesa Verde park was a lot of fun to walk and drive around.

Although we were not allowed to touch the stones of the indian dwellings, we were able to walk right up to them during our tour.

This is what it is like to drive around the park and look out of our windows and the scenery we are passing.

The weather was perfect for our time on vacation. Each day was sunny but cool.

I think that the train ride was one of the funnest parts of our vacation. Though it was short, about 45 minutes, it was just enough for Jeffrey not to get bored and enough for us adults to enjoy the country side.

Chocolate milk (schocate milky) is a favorite treat for Jeffrey.