Girl in the Light

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I saw the gorgeous natural light spilling out of the room (Joey's basketball game) and the people walking in front of it and saw the potential for a really nice shot.  I  just didn't quite get what I wanted as the light was not so wide and the silhouette is partially out of it.  Still, I see something here that catches my eye so will post.

Hearts

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I have a small pink crystal tree with pink lights that I decorate with Valentine's Day ornaments.  I took some pics last night and post processed them this afternoon.  I used Picasa for the tint, grain, and crop and PicMonkey for the small heart overlays.  With Donnie around I am always thinking about love and romance. Hopefully I can come up with a few more Valentine's Day themed pictures between now and the 14th.

Carolina Wren

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A cute Carolina Wren that stopped by this AM for some water and sunflower hearts.  I got lucky with the focus on ISO 100 on a gray winter's day.  No snow for us here in central NC, but we will see rain overnight as the storm heads to the NE.

Birthday Cake (Carrot)

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It's rare for us to have baked goods since we started on a low carb diet 10 months ago.  Now our treats are truly for special occasions like birthdays and some holidays.  Donnie's favorite cake is carrot cake, and since yesterday was his birthday, of course I wanted to make a very special one.  I used the Namaste Spice Cake mix and added in a cup of shredded carrots and some pecans.  This was my first time using a Namaste product, and I think it turned out pretty good.  In this case, the mix is gluten free and makes use of non wheat flours.  It's not organic, and I don't like the xanthan gum in it, but the ingredients are pretty basic/safe:
Evaporated Cane Juice, Sweet Brown Rice Flour, Brown Sugar, Tapioca Flour, Arrowroot Flour, Rice Milk Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, Cream Of Tartar, Xanthan Gum, Cinnamon, Nutmeg And Cloves.

The cake was a real hit with cream cheese frosting (2 8-oz. organic cream cheese, 1 teaspoon organic vanilla, 1 stick salted butter and 1 cup confectioners sugar).  

My birthday is up next (May), and I'm thinking cheesecake:-)
 

Happy Birthday, Donnie!

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The fan went out in my ThinkPad T60.  Those fans are prone to failure.  Last time the machine was still under warranty and I got a new one.  This time the warranty was past, so Donnie ordered a part on eBay and got some help from a YouTube video to fix it.  That machine is my major picture processing machine, so I am very glad to have it back:-)

OK, so the daily photo is not about Donnie's birthday, but the collage below is.  Happy Birthday to the best guy ever!

In the middle of the collage, Johnny is excited to give Mr. Don a Matchbox Scion xB just like his real xB.  I am irritated that somehow that picture is messed up.  Look at the fade on the right side.  I don't know what happened.  The boys and I made homemade cards, the Gadget Man got a new gadget, and not pictured were some short sleeve yellow running shirts to fit his slim downed look and keep him safe on his runs.

Carrot cake in the oven and London Broil on the grill later.

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Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Woodpecker

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I was super excited to see this Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker woodpeckeron the camellia bush that I'm always taking bird pics on.  They never come to the suet or feeders or this close to the house!  I noticed the telltale rings of holes on a few branches of the camellia, so this wasn't his first visit.  I was so lucky that I had my camera with me taking pics of other birds when this guy flew up.

Here are a few other views.

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Go Camelbacks!

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We were lucky to score some tickets to see the Campbell University Camelbacks against UNC Asheville yesterday.  It was our first time to a real basketball game, and we were impressed with the Campbell University facilities.  Not a bad seat in the house, and we were so close to the action!  I tried to catch some action shots along with some shots to remember the day.

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