Merry Christmas - Another Card in the Series

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I mentioned yesterday that I'd taken some Christmas light shots that I wanted to try to process for today's daily. I ended up taking Merry Christmas out of another shot and putting it as a screen layer over the tree shot and then adding two frames from OnOne's PhotoFrame to give it a finishing card style touch.  I'm not sure how I feel about so much blue when Christmas is more of a red/green holiday, but I tried a red frame and it was just too much!   I can also see that the image is a little tight in the frame, but I'm out of steam to keep redoing it this morning.

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Here are a few more shots from the night that I liked:

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I wish the snowman was more prominent in this shot.  I tried to merge it with a non blurred shot, but I didn't like the results.

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We found a few houses not far from ours that had very nice lights up, which is where these pics were taken, and Joey is asking to go back and enjoy the show again:-)

Gypsy's Shiny Diner

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I had yet another doctor's appointment yesterday, and I'm so thankful that Donnie went with me.  Days with him are good days no matter what...

After the appointment, we were ready to get some lunch, and Donnie thought we should try Gypsy's Shiny Diner in Cary.  Most folks that live in the Raleigh area will remember that the town of Cary had issues over the shiny outside of the diner and tried to block it's construction for a while.  Irritating.  The town and restaurant came to an agreement, and the diner did open in 1997.

"Gypsy's was constructed in Florida and trucked to NC on 6 over-sized tractor-trailers up I-95 and then onto I-40. Once the trucks reached the NC border, they were met by 2 state highway patrol cars for an escort (required by NC law for super over-sized loads). Once the diner reached Cary, the state patrol assisted the Cary police department in stopping traffic while an over-sized crane set the diner on its foundation. It was a true sight to see!!!

Gypsy's has won many dining awards and has been featured in documentaries, on TV shows, on commercials, CD covers, featured in photo shoots, and print ads. You can always count on Gypsy's being on the local "scavenger hunt" list at least once a month.

Gypsy's has an "original" 1950's and 60's jukebox spinning 45's all the time. You can choose songs from either our original Seeburg jukebox or the small replicas at every table.

Gypsy's Shiny Diner has been the site of: 19 marriage proposals, numerous birthdays and anniversary celebrations, 28,000+ "first date" meetings and thousands of informal lunch meetings. Spend your next significant date at Gypsy's.

Gypsy's is proud to have given to many local, county, state & national charities including the fight against women's breast cancer."

Here's a shot of Donnie enjoying his breakfast for lunch meal:

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The picture is definitely one of my favorite shots of the day!  He's such a smart guy knowing that we'd enjoy the food and that I'd enjoy taking pictures before and after the meal.  I had a sandwich and onion rings...YUM!

From the outside:

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The counter stools:

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The lights decked out for Christmas:

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The counter and table-sized jukeboxes:

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The table top:

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And last but not least the ceiling:

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I grew up eating occasional meals at the Hightstown Luncheonette near Princeton, NJ.  The parents of a very close friend of my mother's owned and ran the place running a taxi service from it too.  We'd stop in to say hello, and of course they'd want to feed us.  So, when we walked into Gypsy's today, I took a fast trip down memory lane.  Sweet!

I can't help but share these cute pictures of the kids from Chick-fil-A last night.

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I took quite a few Christmas light shots on the way home from CFA.  With clouds and rain moving in today, I will probably spend some time pp'ing one or more of them for tomorrow's post.

It's back to work for me today for the first time in over a month.  Do you have any clue how much e-mail is in my work inbox?  Ugh...  My year end vacation starts next Wednesday along with the kid's holiday break, and I am looking forward to that!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

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I took this  tree light shot Tuesday night while we were out looking at lights.  Although it's a 'blurry' shot, I liked it right away.  The colors reminded me of the fabric I imagine an angels dress would be...golden and warm.  I went through my December 2010 gallery and found this angel:

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I had decided the angel should be in the tree.  I took the angel out of her shot and made her a new layer in the tree shot and then made the tree a duplicate layer on top of the angel as a slightly reduced opacity pin light layer.  I added the text too...Loriah BT seems to be my favorite font.  I use it a lot.

Here are the layers:

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After school yesterday, we had fun in the backyard with leaves and our slide.  Mostly Donnie and I enjoyed sitting at the picnic bench while the boys played.  It was warm and enjoyable as the sun set.

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Hot Chocolate!

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Last night it was all about Joey and his Movie Musical at his school PTA meeting.  The kids sang 6 (more?) songs in about 30 minutes including Hot Chocolate from the Polar Express.  Thanks to Donnie, Madi, and Teen for coming out to support him.  I was very proud, and he was super excited to perform for us.  I was very pleased with his participation.

Sorry that I am out of time to clean up the wall and add a frame to the shot of Joey and Madi taken right after the performance.

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We drove around looking at Christmas lights afterward and came upon some industrious kids selling hot chocolate near one of the displays.

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On the Pond

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I wish I didn't feel compelled to tell you that this bldg. is a doctor's office.  Some office, huh?!?  Donnie spotted it in our previous travels through the medical park and thought he should stop yesterday to let me take some pics in an effort to cheer my spirits. He's such a great guy.  Not only was the architecture/view pretty, but we also saw a great blue heron (extensive crop):

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and a mallard pair (this is the female):

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There was a hooded merganser pair as well, but they stayed too far away for a decent picture.

We also stopped on the way in from school to see this heron, hooded mergansers, and a kingfisher:

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I found out yesterday that in order to reduce my cancer recurrence rate from about 18% down to more like 6% that I need chemo.  It's either going to be 4 doses 21 days apart or 6 doses 21 days apart depending on which medication combos I pick. We are still trying to decide, and I have another test to help with that process tomorrow.  Most people who get this type of chemo lose their hair, and most of you have probably seen pictures of me with my hair long enough to touch the tops of my blue jeans.  I sometimes say it's 3 feet long...a slight but not by much stretch.  You know, I'm one of those types where I get it cut a couple of times a year whether I need it or not;-)  I was thinking yesterday that it's only been short 3 times in my life (age 6, 1986, and 2004).  Let's just say that I'm upset about losing my hair and then I'll try to move past it.  I told Donnie it's at least 5 years to get it back this long and he said but it will be shoulder length in no time.  He of course it right and do I really need 3 feet of hair anyway.  Sigh...  The chemo will probably start the week after Christmas.  Trying not to lose sight of all that there is to be thankful for but some days it is harder than others.

Added note: I made an appt. for 1/4/12 to get it cut locally for the Locks of Love charity. The may not use my hair to make a wig for the children because it has color in it, but if not, they will sell it and use the money to fund the wig making. Either way, it's good for the charity. Much better than letting it be wasted.

Candy Cane Candles

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A few weeks ago I picked up a set of candy cane candles at the thrift store. The box set of 3 (2 tall and 1 round) was missing a square mirror, but the candles were still in their protective wrapping paper and looked really cool.  I know, I mention the thrift store a lot.   You're going to think I have a problem LOL:-)  Well, maybe...

Donnie stayed for dinner with me and the boys last night, and that was reason enough to light the pretty candles and of course take some pics.  I wasn't totally delighted with what I got but happy enough to try to use one of the shots I took to create the card I've posted as my daily.  Unfortunately, not long after they were burning, the sides near the top got uneven and wax went down onto the mirror, etc.  So, no second chance to take shots at least not with them looking pristine.

I got the idea for the card layout from Picnik. They had a card you could create and send but not save as a .jpg.  So, I went into PSE and created the card from scratch.  It wasn't too hard to get the boxes and stripes added to the background.  I downloaded two free brush sets for the snowflakes too from here and here.  Brushes are fun!  I love making cards:-)

I saw this totally nifty hat that TinaMarie had made El Jay and asked her to make one for Johnny.  It came in the mail on Saturday and was waiting for him when he came home last night. His favorite color is green, and he loves to run his fingers over blankets and soft things. He was delighted!

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You can look at some of the other items TinaMarie has made here.

I just can't say enough good things about Donnie...  Although it was football day, he gave up some of his time to wrestle with the boys and put a smile on their faces as well as mine.  Joey was quite enthused to come home and find Mr. Don:-)  Joey weighs 110lbs.

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Today is the day I meet with the doctors again...

Candlelight

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A pretty candlelight shot I took while preparing dinner last night.  I got a set of 3 tiered votive holders at the thrift store last week.  They had candycane twist stems on them in red and clear..  The pics didn't turn out how I envisioned even with a mirror as the base, but I like this shot from underneath anyway.

Donnie and I went to see the movie In Time yesterday afternoon and then settled in on a cool, December night with beef stew and candles.  I love the smell of good food cooking in the house and beautiful candlelight and of course someone wonderful to share it with.

BTW, Justin Timberlake did a good job in the movie and we enjoyed seeing Olivia Wilde from House and Johnny Galecki from Big Bang Theory.  Amanda Seyfried as beautiful to watch as well.

This is the recipe that I made with garlic powder substituted for onion powder and minus the pearl onions.  I recommend it.  I  made steamed fresh green beans and herb baked potatoes on the side, and then we mixed them in. Yum!

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http://fotomom.smugmug.com/Nature/December-2012/20368322_PrFmS9#1626641692_FHrxr83

Still trying to get a shot of those roses that I think is good enough to share!

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http://fotomom.smugmug.com/Nature/December-2012/20368322_PrFmS9#1626645400_rhrBSxg

Here's one other alternate candle glow shot too:

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http://fotomom.smugmug.com/Nature/December-2012/20368322_PrFmS9#1626534194_ftszZbs

The wax was red, but I have blue LED lights in one corner of the kitchen, and some of that light got picked up in the shot.