Focus On Life Week 50 ~ Lights

The topic for December is "Tis the season" and this week's prompt is lights.  I had fun playing with the camera this week.  The last photo is from playing around in Picmonkey, which was also fun!

Last week's prompt was chaos.  Shylee was trying to untangle the beads for the tree.  We ended up not using them!

I hope you're enjoying the lights of the season.  It's one of my favorite things.

xo Annette xo

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Focus On Life Week 46 ~ Faith(ful)

Hope you're having a spectacular weekend!

xo Annette xo

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Focus On Life Week 45 ~ Grateful

I have missed participating in Focus On Life.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of what you want to do.

The topic for November is ...ful.  This week's prompt is grateful.  I try to live my life with gratitude.  Everyday, I find something to be grateful for.  It's too easy to focus on the negative and everything that is going wrong, but when I deliberately look for something to be thankful for,  I feel better and it becomes easier to put everything in perspective.

Today, I'm grateful the sun was shining.  It's bad enough that it gets dark so early since changing the time, but when it's cloudy all day for days on end I get depressed and a little grumpy!

What are you grateful for today?

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

192.  health insurance

193.  old movies

194.  new movies

195.  sunshiny days  

196.  phone conversations with a 6 year old

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Focus On Life Week 37 ~ Window(s)

Our theme for September is 'simplicity'.  Last week's topic was door and this week is window.  I went to the pictures I took in Charleston, SC a few years ago, because I loved the doors and windows in that city.  So here's my photos for this week and last.

Click on the link to see more windows!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

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Focus On Life Week 35 ~ Lazy Days of Summer

We've had such an unusual summer...not as hot, less humid.  I'm not complaining.  In fact I've been outside more this summer than in the past.  I've also been lazier this summer but didn't want to post a picture of ME being lazy, haha!  So I found this one of Shylee that I took last summer when we went on vacation.

I missed last week but here is my photo for "about the ground".  It's been quite dry the past month and the leaves are turning yellow and falling to the ground.  It looks like fall but it's not.

I hope you're enjoying the weekend!

Check out more lazy days of summer by clicking on the links below.

xo Annette xo

169.  new glasses

170. new sunglasses

171.  a diabetes support group that is encouraging and supportive

172.  realizing I'm not alone in my struggles

173.  making progress in physical therapy

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Focus On Life Week 33 ~ The View of Above

This week Sally says to change our photo taking perspective and look up.

We were walking along the boardwalk in Solomon's and I was watching the seagulls hoping to get a good shot when I spotted this bird.  I thought it was a hawk until it started hovering and I realized it was an osprey.  I'm so used to seeing seagulls that I wonder how many times I've missed seeing an osprey because I don't usually look up.  It was fascinating to watch.

Click on the links below to see more views of above.

Have a great weekend!

xo Annette xo

166.  feeling good

167.  watching  a good movie

168.  physical therapy that's working

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Focus On Life Week 32 ~ Fresh Air

Our theme for August is "outside" and this week's prompt is "fresh air".  We've had a very mild summer.  It's been hot and humid but nothing like it usually is.  By August, the grass is turning brown and everything just looks dry and tired.  Not this August.  Everything is green and the flowers are still beautiful and full.  My crape myrtle tree is fuller and lusher than ever.  I never get tired of going out front in the fresh air and seeing this beauty.

I missed last week.  We've been having internet problems for the last few weeks and I'm just now getting caught up with blogs and blogging.  The prompt last week was "outside the box".  I took it literally and snapped a shot of the lace I took out of the box trying to find just the right piece.

Click on the links below to see more fresh air!

I hope your weekend is everything you want it to be!

xo Annette xo

161.  weekends

162.  getting healthy

163.  finding an unexpected treasure

164.  lunch with Erin on the water

165.  looking through old photographs and reminiscing

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Focus On Life Week 29 ~ Celebrate Sweetness

To me, there is nothing sweeter than a child sleeping.  They look so angelic, so peaceful, so innocent, so....sweet!  And seeing my granddaughter and her grandpa together is sweet too.  Especially when she falls off her bike and he's there to pick her up.

Click the links below to see more sweetness!

xo Annette xo

161.  another week with Shylee

162.  tickles and giggles

163.  relief to find no sign of diabetes in my eyes

164.  hearing an old song that triggers good memories

165.  sleeping through the night

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Focus On Life Week 28 ~ Celebrate the Season

Summer is my second favorite season after spring.  I love the hours and hours of daylight, the fresh fruits and vegetables, and not being restricted by a coat!  I'm just happy it's not winter!

While walking along the Patuxent River, I captured these shots of summer.

You can click on the links below to see more celebrations of the season.

xo Annette xo

156.  the silliness of a six year old

157.  playing with my camera

158.  an ice cold drink that quenches thirst

159.  a cooling breeze on a hot humid afternoon

160.  the sunshine on my face

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Focus On Life Week 27 ~ Celebration

Our theme for July is "Let's Celebrate", and this week's prompt is celebration.  This was the perfect week for celebration here in the USA as we celebrated Independence Day.  I went to the VA home to take photos of the flags.  I have a thing for our flag and all things Americana.

To see more celebrations, click on the links below.

I hope you're having a happy weekend!

xo Annette xo

153.  this great country

154.  freedom

155.  happy news from Sean

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Focus On Life Week 26 ~ Free Space

Can you believe we are half way through the year already?  Time just goes by faster and faster it seems.

This week Sally gave us a free space so I thought I would share a couple of pictures I took at AnnMarie Garden last month.  The kids play area had these stepping stones made from sawed pieces of logs and painted by kids.

All throughout the garden were birdhouses of all kinds.  This one with the keys was one of my favorites.

To see how others used their free space, click on the links below.

I hope you're having a great weekend!

xo Annette xo

145.  people who are able to teach well

146.  forgiveness

147.  cooling afternoon rain

148.  fresh summer fruit

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Focus On Life Week 25 ~ Be Colorful!

Continuing with the our June theme of having fun with photography, this week we're being colorful.  Shylee stayed with us for a week and this girl loves color (and coloring!)  I just loved watching her!

To see more color, be sure to click on the links below.

 Have a great weekend!

xo Annette xo

141.  summer

142.  blue skies with puffy white clouds

143.  my Daddy

144.  the father that Michael is

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Focus On Life Week 23 ~ Silliness!

It's a new month and that means a new focus.  Sally wants to shake things up a bit and find the fun in photography!  This week's prompt is "silliness".

I had to look back in the archives for this one since there was no silliness to be found around here!  Actually there was, but Michael doesn't like me taking his picture on a serious day let alone when he's being silly!

I took this photo a couple of years ago at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.  This dog was silly and cool at the same time!

 To see what other silliness there was this week, click on the links below.

xo Annette xo

138.  seeing Shylee graduate from kindergarten

139.  Footloose, Dirty Dancing, Grease

140.  hours and hours of daylight

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Focus On Life Week 22 ~ In Bloom

It's the last Saturday in May and we're focusing on what's in bloom.  We have lots of honeysuckle blooming and it smells so sweet!

My daughter gave me a red bud tree for Mother's Day and although the blooms are long gone, it is getting new leaves.

Don't forget to see the other blooms below!

xo Annette xo

135.  making plans for summer

136.  working in the sewing room again

137.  blue skies with wispy clouds

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Focus On Life Week 21 ~ Fill in the Blanks

This week, Sally told us to take a moment and pay attention to patterns of our day or the unexpected.  Then we were to fill in the blanks:
At or in (the time of day) I (what are you doing or what's happening in a photo).

At least once a day, I wish we could move closer to my granddaughter.

To see how others have filled in the blanks, click on the links below.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

131.  being a grandma

132.  cake and ice cream

133.  ordering shoes on the internet and they fit

134.  fresh cut grass

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Focus On Life Week 20 ~ The View About The Ground

This week, Sally told us to change our perspective and take a look down to see what's going on about the ground.  The irises around my mailbox started blooming this week, but I was sad to see some of them laying on the ground.  Seems the mail truck gets too close and has knocked them over.

Click on the links below to see what others are seeing on the ground.

xo Annette xo

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Focus On Life Week 19 ~ Good Things Inside

There are so many good things inside these books!  I never get tired of looking through them and finding inspiration.

Click on the links below to see more good things inside!

xo Annette xo

124.  the busyness of preparing for a fun weekend

125.  finding something I thought was lost

126.  going to bed knowing it was a productive day

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Focus On Life Week 18 ~ In Your (Their) Hands

It's May (already!) and we have a new topic for the month, In, At, and About.   This week's prompt had me stumped until I saw my husband sitting at the table doing homework.  It wasn't just that he had a pen in his hand, but the fact that he has always believed that our future is in his hands and he works so very hard to provide.

Click on the links below to see more!

xo Annette xo

121.  a day spent with my sister

122.  Shylee's Frozen birthday party

123.  chocolate cupcakes

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Focus On Life Week 17 ~ Evening Moments

The month of May ends with evening moments.  Sally says, there is a moment when the day begins to quietly slip away from the earth and the calm of evening floods over the land.  Colors deepen, stars peek through pin holes in a twilight sky.  We begin to exhale and slowly let the world of the day slide from our shoulders.

It's been mostly cloudy all week.  I was doing dishes after dinner one evening and when I looked up the sun was shining as it was going down.  There was just something about the color and the shadows and the way the pink blossoms on the cherry tree sparkled.  I knew I wanted to capture it for this week's prompt but it was one of those moments I would have grabbed the camera anyway.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

xo Annette xo

There are more evening moments below.

115.  an impromptu date night

116.  sleeping with the window open

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Focus On Life Week 15 ~ A Moment of Focus

This week we're focusing on one moment, one subject.

Shylee turned six this week.  It was the best moment of the week as she proclaimed, "I'm six.  I'm done with five".

You can see other moments of focus below.

Have a great weekend!

xo Annette xo

103.  still celebrating

104.  perfect spring days

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