It's finally that time!

Come rain or shine, photography is a very serious business. :) I hope I don't look that consterned all the time. Eeek.

**Anyways** I am so excited to say that I reached my goal of posting a picture from every day of the last year!! It was really fun, especially knowing that you were my audience. Thanks so much for keeping me company through it all and encouraging me along!

I don't know what comes next for me and my camera. At the moment I am pretty tired of taking pictures. Aye. Largely because I've lost some creative zest. But, I know it will come back. So, I am very open to ideas for future little projects; themes and such to work on. For the time being I think I'll continue to post some pictures every week. So, I hope you'll check back now and then.

But for now, for reasons which I will inform you of in due time, I would absolutely love to know what your favorite picture of the year was. So, if you would be so kind I would love to hear what you think! Thank you!

Love,

Annie

September 5: pajama party

Tonight we made pajama pants with all the new first year ladies. I'm pretty sure we bought out all of Wooster's yellow fabric supply :) It was a lot of fun and I think we must do it again.

September 4: my social director

An unexpected and very delightful evening spent with two of my favorite people, explaining the inner workings of my planner system (and other things). This was my life a few years ago...I wonder what all those conversations were about. I am a planner convert and like to pass along everything that's been taught to me. It's nice to be your planner-twin Paul!

September 3: looks like a duck...

Until Katie burst in the door this afternoon asking me to take a picture of her vegetable that looks like a duck, I did not know that this website existed. Apparently, there are a lot of people who are very fond of ducks who take pictures of things that resemble them.

http://www.thispeanutlookslikeaduck.com/

September 2: a knock at the door...

This is my downstairs neighbor. He knocks on our door with his own special knock several times weekly. He always has wierd stuff with him...sometimes he brings plastic bottles up to put with our recycling because he knows we recycle and I guess he wants to be part of the action. One time he came up with a subway bag full of dimes asking me to pot his geraniums with my potting soil (I didn't accept the dimes in case you were wondering). Recently, it was a small plastic container of earth worms that he had left over from fishing (not wanting to hurt his feelings, we of course accepted the worms and put them in the balcony garden). AND today while we were eating dinner there was the special knock at the door and low and behold --there he was with a giant box of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. It's just one sitcom episode after another around here. I do nothing -- I do absolutely nothing. It all just happens around me.

September 1: cute

It's that time again!!!

AUGUST PICTURE OF THE MONTH....

I'm only five days away from completing my goal of taking a picture every day for a whole year!

I am of course curious as to what your favorite picture of the day from August is.

You can click on comments below and vote :)

August 31: fun with sparklers (part 2)

August 30: Birthday girl!

With her very own glow-in-the-dark name bracelet.

August 29: harvest!

This is a tiny watermelon (a quarter-melon is what we are dubbing it) that Katie and I grew on our balcony. After waiting patiently (and remembering that balconies are not the natural environment for farming watermelons) it seemed that it had reached its peak size and we decided to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was remarkably delicious and sweet, and lots of joy was derived from the whole experience. The peppers are finally turning yellow and red and I'm really excited about THAT!

August 28: What can't you make with duct tape?

Oasis got off to a great start with a duct-tape creating fest. Audrey was adorned with various accessories that we created. My group made a red winter ensemble. The mittens sort of looked like boxing gloves but I am convinced that if absolutely neccessary they could provide some warmth in a frigid Ohio winter.

August 27: eager anticipation

We can't wait to meet you baby! Doesn't Julie look cute? I know.

August 26: bubble-wrap

It was all rolled up and waiting to be played with.

August 25: quotables

I forgot to take a picture, until I was about to fall asleep. So, I took one of the bookshelf next to my bed. It's sort of a simple commentary on how much my life has changed in the past five years. I used to love quotations. I collected them and would write a new one down every day to put in my friend Maggie's locker. It was one of the many little distractions I employed to keep myself sane (and attending) high school (ask me about fake flower extravaganzas, Galsmaltalhaler, 2nd Tuesdays of the month, and bubble-skating rinks...I was not lacking in diversions :). I didn't notice till just today how long it's been since I even looked at one of these books full of the gems of dead people. Not that there is not wisdom contained there, surely there is. But now I find that all the gems I really need are contained in one place, the Word of God that uncannily fits into my purse. It was a good realization. Then I fell asleep.

August 24: dinner

August 24: Ohio #2

It's nice to see the corn again. It's wierd how the field next to church morphs so visibly throughout the seasons of the year. I appreciate it a lot.

August 22: under the tent

An afternoon of meeting new students and eating watermelon under the tent.

August 21: pew pile-up

Goodbye circa 1972 Northview carpet!

August 20: orange sky

sort of like fingerpaint

August 19: found

Katie rescued these roses today (who would have thought?), and they are now adorning our table.

August 18: Linda

Linda is one of the most beautiful people I know. I love how her shoes are always under her chair.

August 17: grasshopper in a box

This was my attempt to capture the grasshopper emerging from the cardboard box. He had a lot of battle-wounds...he was a seasoned grasshopper with lots of character.

August 16: surplus

Today, Julie D. and I were extremely fascinated by the shenanigans of the matching umbrella people. They were sort of loud and without even trying, my ears kept perking up when a woman from this bunch of people would say fascinating and strange things, such as: "It was really a shame when they stopped making picnic tables with the holes drilled in 'em...luckily for us though all these companies had lots of extra picnic table umbrellas that they couldn't sell. So we bought 'em out." (This was news to me...I didn't realize the decision to stop putting holes in picnic tabels had occured on such a widespread scale)

And then later I heard two people having what seemed to be a very passionate discussion about linguistics. One man said:

"In all of my reading, I have never ever come across anyone in thier twenties who uses the word 'coiffed'"

I wanted so badly to know where that conversation had started and how they had gotten to that point. It will always be a mystery I guess.

August 15: campfire

August 14: "a deer"

My mom and I went out to dinner at this little cottage tonight. This original placemat was on display in a glass case and we were quite captured by it. The cook said it was her favorite crayon-on-placemat drawing that she'd ever seen.

August 13: Squishy

I found this chart at the library today. Because my squishy fruit disdain seems to regularly become a topic of interest at meals, I thought you might appreciate an annotated pictorial rubric which you can consult regarding my fruit preferences. Hopefully this satisfies your curiousity at some level.

Additionally, for the record:

• I love the flavors of all of these fruits it's just the texture that I find to be unpalatable. For some reason, squishy vegetables have never been a problem for me.

• No, this is not my mom's fault. She provided me with plenty of opportunities to try different fruits throughout my childhood.

• I love street names that have fruit words in them (Cherry Street, Lemon Avenue, Peach Lane...) and even hope that maybe someday my return address could bear a fruit name of the like.

• I think fruits are beautiful, even the ones I don't like and think they are an amazing creation. Sometimes I wish I could just like peaches, because in theory they seem so amazing.

• And finally, I have been to far away lands and eaten insects, and assorted unidentifiable delicacies that I just pretended were vegetables in order to eat them and keep my hosts and hostess feeling happy. I can and will eat anything if necessary, and until you eat some bugs too, I will not be accepting any snide remarks about my choice to not eat orange slices :) Thank you very much.
  

The end.

August 12:

Katie and I spent a lot of time in her car tonight listening to some timeless classics...and some other things.

August 11: Don't leave home without it

A tribute to a great invention.

August 10: to love and to cherish

So, Becky got a husband this weekend. I got an orchid. While hopefully I'll get the former someday too, I guess I have always wanted an orchid. I was pretty impressed that it made it all the way home in my car. Hopefully, it will survive in my care. (hopefully :)

August 9: Wedding day!

They sort of looked like they belonged on the cover of a magazine all afternoon. Beautiful people :)

August 8: partiality

August 7: Jack & Becky

August 6: Chettie grows up

Katie and I got in pretty late to Lancaster. Chettie was excited to see us, but mellowed pretty quickly as you see here. He's growing up!

August 5: good form

I'll be on Dan's team any day.

August 4: The Balcony Garden

I'm pretty excited about all of the growing vegetables on our porch right now! I can't believe that they were just seeds and tiny little plants a few months ago! (April 13th for example) Miraculous.

August 3: Hello Wooster.

I realized a few months ago that I have an affinity for a particular industrial corner in Wooster. I found myself going out of my way to drive past it sometimes. I think I like it so much because it's full of colorful boxes that are always being moved around and stacked in different places. It's always changing like some alive form of abstract art. It showed itself well today when I got home.

August 2: Hampton's porch

I got to spend some time with the Hamptons today at their new home in Michigan. It's really peaceful, beautiful and in a friendly neighborhood. As you might expect, there were also lots of flowers :)

August 1: spectacular clouds

This could never do it justice, I wish you could have seen this sky for yourself.

It's that time again!!!

JULY PICTURE OF THE MONTH

July's pictures are all up!

This was sort of difficult month for me in terms of the whole picture taking enterprise. I found myself pre-occupied with a video camera, and a lack of feeling any sort of artisticness, and there were lots of people with really nice cameras with zoom lenses that I was pining after, and I couldn't seem to get the light setting right on my camera, and....I could whine on for longer BUT, instead I will just say that I still took one every day and I am satisfied to look back on them all and see the collection of moments. That works for me and I hope you like some of them too!

As always, I love hearing which is your favorite. Click "comments" and let me know what you think!

July 31: Gnome Rock

We left our pile of rocks. They are beautiful and waterproof.

July 30: a beautiful song

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in they sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

July 29: notes from II Timothy

July 28:

I had to run back to my cabin after dinner and when I got there, there was this deer waiting outside the door. I don't know why it came so close but I didn't seem to scare it. So, we stood there for a few minutes looking at each other. It was a sweet surprise in my day.

July 27: The list

Whitney's list of the possible talent show offerings our family group could come up with. Once we found out it was a "classy" talent show, the list got considerably shorter.

July 26: At the locks

Today my family group went to Sault Saint Marie to the locks. We waited and waited and waited for this ship to arrive...unfortunately there were no men in yellow and orange rubber suits to wave at us as they came through. But I did find this nice flag with an 'A' on it.

July 25: aphids are cute

While I realize that aphids eat plants and are one of the most destructive pests on earth, I just cannot get over how cute they are. So cute. Look at that little expression...and his green metallic torso...and those wayward antennae. I also find them to be extremely friendly, content to just sit on my finger. I think I am in denial that they are trouble makers.

July 24: pennants

Can you find Wooster's? It's pretty old school.

July 23: starlight cruise

Our family group got to go out on a pontoon boat tonight and learn about the constellations. It was a really beautiful and clear night. Did you know there is a little constellation that looks like a dolphin? It was dark enough that we could see it. I also saw the milky way and a shooting star!

July 22: a favorite pastime

Video camera got most of my attention again today...so just before I turned off the light Katie and I had a little photo shoot...a very lazy photo shoot at that. :)

July 21: Mackinaw Island

Today we went to Mackinaw Island. I was so excited about going to the butterfly house, but unfortunately by the time we were able to go it had just closed. The sign on the door said that the butterflies have an early bed time. Next time...

July 20: Wobbily Bobbily

You can draw your own inferences.

July 19: "We charge by age...not maturity level."

That's what the lady at the miniature golf place said when Scott and Steph pretended to be seven. It was a pretty heated game. Scott won.

July 18: my first pinata

Friday night staff party! Stephanie dazzled us all with her kick-boxing pinata skills. I really enjoyed the whole experience.

July 17: the enforcer

Steph has a natural gift at getting the lights out and people in bed.

July 16: three strikes

and thankfully we had a fire....which was handy because we realized once we got to the fire pit that we only had three matches. Jake made us these really amazing chocolate/hunny/peanutbutter/marshmallow burritos in the fire.

July 15: Cedar sunset

July 14- toad

Unlike all the other women on staff, I have not yet had a run-in with an animal at camp while walking back to my cabin. I'm glad I have managed to miss the raccoons, snakes, and deer. Tonight though, this little toad made me gasp when he plopped right in the middle of the path. I'm glad I saw him before I stepped. He then hopped over onto the sand. I blew him a kiss just in case he was my prince, but nothing happened.

July 13: flag project

After dinner, we made family group flags. Here is the intricate one that Zach designed for us. It wasn't quite done when I took this picture, but it turned out just right.

July 12: Logger's Day

William's team dominating at tug-of-war on the beach.

July 11: michigan mirror

Okay, again the video camera trumped any chance I had at creativity with the other camera today. It is worth noting though, that all the cabins at Cedar Campus have random decorations and accessories. No one has the heart to overhaul the decorating scheme though.

July 10: stowaway

I was unsuspecting of this little guy's favorite hang-out which was under the piano. He scares me every time! You just don't expect someone to grab your foot in the middle of a song, you know? He is certainly charming though.

July 9: wierd E.R.

Today was sort of a whirlwind. One of the students in my family group dislocated her elbow (I must say that she was a really tough cookie through the whole ordeal) and we found ourselves in the emergency room. It had a strange waiting room. There was a small collection of videos which sort of flabbergasted me: Chucky, Bad Boys I, Liar Liar, Poltergeist, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and to round out the set, Homeward Bound. I can't really imagine watching Bad Boys while someone I loved was in the E.R. But maybe that's just me. This was one of the nurses and her dog in his carrying case. She was very friendly and had lots of pictures of him (even though he was right there for viewing). I didn't think dogs were generally allowed in medical facilities. But, he didn't seem to be making anyone sneeze, so that's good.

July 8: Butterflies

July 7: Ohio goes to Michigan

Ohio is a beautiful state. It also abstractly reminds me of a heart. AND no matter where I go, or where I end up living, part of my heart will always be in Ohio. Luckily for me, Emily gave me my very own stuffed-Ohio with tiny arms and legs that can go with me everywhere. It was bedtime and as has been the case a lot this month, I had been taking videos all day and neglected my camera.

July 6: Sandcastle Champions

At SLT, each of us on staff is entrusted with a family group of students that we meet with every night to debrief, and pray, and play. I'm just delighted with mine. Here we are after our victorious participation in a sandcastle building competition. It was 50% creation, and 50% explanation. I wish you could have seen the explanation part...it really highlighted everyone's skill set -- we even had a structural engineer on our team which helped!

July 5: the SLT torch

"Normally you would light the torch at the beginning of the games...well, we're not doing that."

July 4: fun times with sparklers

I got to go to fireworks on the 4th of July after all! It's hard to determine what my favorite part was because there were some very exciting parts. For one thing, the grass caught on fire where they were blasting off fireworks (apparently, this is not unusual for the Cedarville fireworks display). They stopped the show momentarily and brought in the fire trucks to handle it. Also, there were two high quality fireworks interspersed in the show. They were smiley faces. And even though they came out sideways, they really added a lot to the experience. Stephanie, Luke, and Susan made this sparkler masterpiece.

July 3: meeting the video camera

Today I got my introduction to the video camera I'm going to be using all month. I have the role of putting together the video for our month at SLT. I was so intimidated when I was handed all of the equipment with lots of cords and lenses and no instruction manual. But thankfully for Scott and Caleb, they helped me figure it out.

July 2: Wooster in Northern Michigan

This begins my month long trip to Michigan to staff the School of Leadership Training (SLT). I was surprised to see a car with a Wooster alumni sticker on the window on the lonely roads of northern Michigan....I was so curious to see if I might know the people (as has happened at airports and concerts and walking on city streets)...So, I passed them and tried discreetly glancing over BUT I was caught and there were these two young guys that I didn't know who were pretty sure I was checking them out. What ensued was a very awkward next forty miles.

July 1: Goodbye Wooster (for a little while)

I didn't mean to leave Wooster at sunset tonight, but I got a little held up. It was the strangest thing...this afternoon as I was finishing packing I got this piercing headache that left me incapable of doing anything. I was planning to visit my family in Cleveland for dinner but this headache was so severe I didn't think I should try to drive home just then. When I talked to my brother to tell him I wasn't going to make it for dinner he said, "That's so wierd, I just got a really bad headache and so did mom and Bill. We're all sort of out of commission." Apparently, my whole family got struck at the same time. They assured me that it was best if we all took a nap because none of us would be very much fun together. The weather pressure must be indecisive today or something. *Anyways* I feel a lot better now! And I made it home and it was a really pretty drive. So, tomorrow morning I drive up to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to spend the next five weeks staffing student training. I'm really looking forward it! The thing is though that my internet access is rather limited...soooo I'll update the pictures of the day when I can. Have a wonderful fourth of July!

It's that time again!!!

June has officially come to a close. All the pictures have been taken and now I eagerly await to hear your favorites from the month. Click "comments" and leave yours.

June 30: cruising with pancho

Katie and I were in pursuit of a Dilly Bar but we were too late and missed out...fortunately I was able to swing by my office and pick up pancho the pinata before leaving for camp.

June 29: like a mack truck

I really wanted to know what that is an acronymn for but I had to exit before I could tell. (Speaking of which, Valerie, I hope you are loving your new job and that the three letter acronymns are sticking :)

June 28: a beautiful bride-to-be!

We through a shower for Becky today and I thought she looked just gorgeous and glowy. The six week countdown begins!

June 27: dandilion in the sky

I'm missing my favorite fourth of July activity this year, going to Lakewood park with Emily and having polar pop. It's really a "This is Your Life" kind of experience with everyone you've ever met from growing up there. BUT, I was pretty excited that the rain stopped in Lancaster just in time and we were able to go to fireworks tonight a few days early.

June 26: traffic jam

It's either a tractor, or a horse and buggy, or in this case two unidentified men running with police escorts ahead and behind them. It always takes me forever to get out of Wooster for some reason! (By the way, does anyone know what was going on here? I was really curious)

June 25: giselle

I've been going through a slight Disney princess phase lately (Belle has always been my favorite, for the record). I think watching Enchanted last week probably instigated all this...Katie called me while I was in front of the beach towel section at the store and I thought this was the most hilarious and unflattering picture on a beach towel I've ever seen. So, I promised her I'd take a picture to prove it.

*** So, I have tried to excercise extreme self-control this year by not typing disclaimers underneath every picture about what I don't like about it, and I think I've mostly succeeded at that! Excellent. HOWEVER, I'm just going to go ahead and type a disclaimer here to say that the last few days and the next few days are, shall we say, the more raw, unartistic, just a "moment in the life" kinds of pictures. Just wanted you to know that the whole picture taking enterprise has been a little rough lately and I'm aware. :)

June 24: matching (remix)

This is more a testament to my brother's girfriend's matching capabilities. She matched up the appropriate golf club head color and ball with our outfits. The natural blue springs back there were just bonus in the frame.

June 23: hail storm

This is what trying and failing miserably at capturing the hail storm off my balcony looks like.

June 22: hood ornament

I love this family a lot.

Hi!!!!! I have pictures...I just haven't had a chance to load them here yet...I'll be out of town until Sunday night...so Monday you can have a little picture of the day extravaganza. -Annie

June 21: picture of the day

I was sitting on my parents' front porch swing explaining to someone about 'picture of the day' and I was like, "I just take a picture capturing a moment in the day, like for example a limosine driving down the street..." *click*. And when I got home I kind of liked it with Jim sitting there in the front yard and my mom's flowers too. It sort of represented the whole day, there was certainly a lot going on!

June 20: finding my marbles

I haven't ever gotten rid of my marble collection from sixth grade (somehow marbles swung back into fashion at my middle school just long enough for all of us to go through a phase of playing at recess...I don't think that's normal)....I pulled them out of their cupboard home today...stuff sure has a way of triggering memories.

June 19: fancy

Valerie was kind enough to share some of her fancy hand-painted chocolate with me. I didn't know there was such a thing. It was decadent as you might have guessed.

June 18: orni-appreciation

I have not liked birds for some time now. As I may have mentioned before, exactly two years ago I had a bad incident with a blue jay and a psychotic baby bird within the same week and it was just too much. Let's be honest, the fact that they've got an extra dimension on us and can swoop down from on high with that pointy appendage on their face has not helped me to conquer my paranoia. HOWEVER, this has been a good week with the birds and I am hopeful about the future of my orni-appreciation. We had the hummingbird visit, and then today there was this guy. He just sat looking in my living room window (albeit a little wierd, but I accepted it as a friendly gesture) for a whole minute before I decided to see how close he would let me get. I got my camera, and then there was a series of about seven pictures before this as I inched towards the window. He was remarkably peaceful with me standing right there, especially since the door was open and I know he could hear the camera beeping. He stayed for approximately 4 minutes just sitting and looking around. How nice.

June 16: feliz cumpleanos

Today was Julie's birthday, but everyone got to enjoy the sombrero.

June 16: orchids

June 15: lovely

June 14: little league

June 13: fake flowers are forever

That's what I always say, anyways. In high school I'd bring a beautiful basket full of fake flowers to school every valentine's day, sweetest day, and day before spring break and just pass them out to people...That may sound crazy, but it made people so disproportionatley happy to the gift that it was really worth it. Some of the flowers had hot glue drops on them to look like water droplets...my English teacher who was on Jeopardy but may not have fared so well on Survivor actually watered one of the fake flowers I gave her for 3 months before she figured out it wasn't real. That was a sad day. *Anyways* This morning, I stuck this giant gerber daisy that Cheryl gave me like four years ago on our balcony garden. It needed a little color. And, later while I was sitting my couch typing away I noticed something flitting around out of the corner of my eye. It was a sweet and very hyper humming bird. That little buster was so determined to get nectar out of that fake flower that he hung around for about thirty seconds trying away. I felt simultaneously delighted to be visited by a hummingbird and guilty of false advertising. Where did he come from? I am just hoping he didn't fly too far out of his way.

June 12: garden house

June 11: cowboy Joe

The Wooster chapter of the "Cowboy Joe fanclub" got a special visit tonight AND I got a double portion of tollhouse pie by accident which was awesome. (Today's special guest photographer is none other than Katie K)

June 10: loop

June 9: parcel post

Today I got a box. It came from Argentina.

June 8: my dad

My mom gave my dad this pocketwatch on their wedding day almost 32 years ago. I think it is really sweet the way he always has it with him on special occasions. Today was my brother Dan's graduation from high school and amidst the chaos outside the ceremony I caught my dad winding up his watch.

June 7: lost

June 6: paper crane

I have one origami skill: I make bowties out of dollar bills. Fortunately, that's a very handy skill when leaving tips at restaurants. But that is where it stops with me. Here, however, we have an example of a talented artisan named Susan and her paper-folding deftness. Not only did she make a paper crane out of a post-it note, but she made one out of something like a quarter of a post it note. I was dazzled, so I of course took a picture of it. We also sang this hymn this morning and I thought it gave you a nice scale by which to appreciate the tiny crane.

June 5: Stephanie

I tried to stealthily take a picture of Stephanie tonight without her knowing and I failed miserably. But, I think this captures her delightful essence quite well AND her beautiful hair too! We've shared so many wonderful acronym memories together over the last four years (I think more than any other person I've been with on staff!)...SLT, RSTI (I, II, III, but not IV which we're still bitter about), CFW, RSC, NSC, ONS, CUP...and perputually FD. Whatever set of letters it is, you can be sure that we are making the most of them and usually Steph is infusing some sort of musical fun into the experience. :)

June 4: Little Mountaineer

I think InterVarsity staff have some of the cutest babies in the world. Here is a perfect example :) Incidentally I was sitting at a picnic table with four pregnant women who are as far as we know are having a total of five babies within the next few months. Which means more very adorable, pudgy, smiley InterVarsity babies coming our way!

June 3: David's guitar