Ten on the 10th [but posted on the 11th]

I decided I would join in the fun over at A Bit of Sunshine, and participate in Ten on 10:

Fun socks!  Love those cute little whales! You can't help but have a great day w/ cuties like these on your feeties!  =)



Free car wash!  Score!

Happy fabric.  These colors just make me want to dance bc spring is HERE!

My bi-monthly run to Heaven...err I mean, Chick-fil-a.  B/c let's face it, if my stomach had it's way, I'd totally be there every.single.day.  {Thank goodness for the saving grace of a Budget!}

Made my own carpet powder!!!! 

Oh the happiness that is towel day!  Love me a nice snuggly towel when I get outta the shower!  =D

Oops!  Washed the ol' lens cap. 

Mid afternoon snack.  Yummy fruit:  reason #378 that I LOOOOOOOVE springtime!

Preparing for Bible study w/ Beth.  Love that girl, and the humility and grace God gives through vulnerability with good friends.  We were put here to learn and love and share, and I'm so blessed to get to do it each week with sweet Beth. 

Baked ziti.  Yummy for the tummy.

This little guy made clean-up at Beth's way fun!  I think he needs a name.  Something catchy like Jenkins or Barnaby.

Well, there ya have it.  This was way fun!  I just might have to do it again in April.  =)

Blessings for your weekend!

<3 Michelle

The Boat Post

Last week, I went to Waco to complete my Level 1 Fieldwork at Scott & White Hospital. It was such a wonderful time...I learned so much from the remarkable therapists there. I was in the pediatric and NICU settings, and I LOVED it!

I decided to kick off the week by going waterskiing w/ some of my very favorite people on Sunday afternoon! It was so great to be out on the Brazos River, soakin' up the Texas sun, and laughing and loving w/ three of the greatest souls I know.

Patrick is relatively new to skiing, but he did GREAT!  I even managed to capture a grin in this picture! 

Then there's Don.

Don is an old pro.  No that was a jibe at his age.  =)  He has been waterskiing for 30 years! 
 
 

 
 
Now for Brandon:
 
 

 
 
I was privileged to get to help teach Brandon how to ski a couple years ago.  Now he's a pro, and the student has become the teacher.

 

 

And finally,

 
 

 

 

There's me.  Thanks to Don's expert coaching, I was able to manage getting up on the slalom (w/out having to kick a ski.)  Definitely my new favorite thing!

 

 

 

And just for fun:

 

 

 

I'm blessed with the greatest friends!  There are few things I like better than a sunny day, great friends, and boating.  Throw in some Rocky Mountains, and life doesn't get better!

 

24 hours... or something like that

My dad joined the ranks of the mountain biking maniacs about 3 years ago and hasn't looked back.  Probably b/c looking back means falling off cliffs or crashing into cactus plants.  But anyway, he convinced me that I would love it, so for my birthday last year, he bought me a brand spankin' new shiny Specialized mountain bike.  It's a hard tail, w/ a Shram derailer, no disc brakes (sadly), bright blue, 19 inch frame, bike of wonders. 

Wowee.  Mountain biking is HARD.  And INTENSE.  And some of those crazies are truly maniacs on wheels, but it's such a rush and ton of fun.  And I wished I didn't live 2 hours away from home, so that I could join good ol' Papa John (aka my daddy-o) for more biking excursions.

But he did manage to con me into joining him and some of his biking buds for the 4th annual 24 Hours In The Canyon biking event.  Yep, you heard right...biking for 24 hours.  Ok, so it's not quite that intense unless you are competive. 

Here's what went down:

Friday June 4th

Dad & I packed up enough supplies & clothing for a month...ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but neverless, we had PLENTY of stock.  We loaded up the good ol' pop trailer and zoomed down into the beauty that is Palo Duro Canyon.

Gorgeous, huh! 

We set up camp, complete with Arizona misters (heaven sent when it was 116 degrees the next day), our own personal shade tree, and all of the mosquitoes & horse flies in the great state of Texas.

We enjoyed a delicious spaghetti supper for carb-loading with other biker crazees, took a short bike trip at dusk to prepare our muscles for the next day, and then turned in for a good night's sleep.

Saturday, June 5th - Go Day

We had a nice breakfast and lunch, and then it was Go Time!  We headed to starting line, and when all the announcements had commenced, the countdown began.   And we were off!

600+ bikers (both roadies and mountain bikers, competitive and non-comp) jumped onto skinny little bike seats in sweltering 115 degree Texas heat to ride for 24 hours.

So in reality, unless you are in the competitive devision, you don't really have to ride constantly for 24 hours.  The event is designed so that at least one member of you team is on the trail throughout the time frame...but they aren't sticklers to the rule.  The first year of the event, my dad road for 17 hours, 100 miles.  He's crazy.  I was just hoping to not break a bone.  That would be success for me.  =)

So 30 minutes into this crazy day, my legs began to shake, I stopped sweating, and my energy level plummeted.  Yep, that's right.  Started the event off with a good ol' case of heat exhaustion.  Luckily I stopped before it resulted in heat stroke.  They put me on ice, got some electrolyte water (nasty stuff) pumpin' in me, and I took a nice 5 hour break from the sun and the ride.  It was a sad start to the event. 

But I recovered, and at 5:30, we took off for one round-trip loop before supper.  We ate, road back to camp to grab our head lamps & bike lights, and thus began the adventure of trail riding in the dark.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  To be bouncing over foot & a half ride trails, with nothing but a head lamp and handlebar light guiding your way...well it was intense, adrenaline pumping, and best of all...COOL!  That's right, temps dropped to the 80s, which felt like a cold front compared to the earlier weather, and we soared over those trails.  It was fun, but the old guys that I was riding with (aka my dad & his friend Mark) couldn't handle the nighttime riding with their 50+ year old eyesight, so we called it a night and turned in. 

The next day, Dad & I woke and finished the event with a couple loops of the trail.  Total, I road about 35 miles.  Not impressive by any means, but definitely longer than I have ever gone...so for me it was a personal best. 

Oh, and I took a nasty spill that morning.  I had the worst bruise on my booty that I have ever had in my entire life.  And I played soccer...aka bruise-filled-intense sport.  It was awful...in fact, it's still lingering & tender!  But, no broken bones...so it was a success!

We had a great time.  Love that my 52 year old dad can totally kick my tail on those trails.  He's crazy, and fun, and the best dad a girl could ask for.  Love our father-daughter adventures.  

Plus, how can you not have fun in a place as beautiful as this:

 

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty you created for us!

Hope your summer is full of fun adventures too!

blessings!

♥ michelle

Colorado shenanigans!

During Spring Break, my mom and I hung out for 10 days in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of southwest Colorado.  Ahhh, my beloved Rocky's are just soooo refreshing!  We went skiing, thrift shopping (turns out the San Luis Valley has amazing thrift shops, who knew?), picture taking, deer chasing (see pics below), and other random activities.  My best friend Britt, her boyfriend, and another friend of ours, Kristen, joined us on Thursday for some skiing and swimming adventures. 

No, do not get your eyes checked.

I said swimming.  I'll explain in a sec.

Once, again, I went to the mountains with several people, and I came back with more scenery and deer pics than anything else!  =) 

You'd think I hadn't seen deer before...

I like to call this one the

Three Musketdeers!

bu-dum-ching!

"Hey guys, let's jump over the fence!  Some crazy lady is takin' pics of us!"

This one is called "Trend setter."

The deer randomly decided to come back across the fence.

Which gave me more picture taking ops! 

How kind of them!

Perfect form!

The deer were kind enough to run right across the road in front of me.

So fun!

All the gorgeous girls hangin' out at the cabin.

Yes, we all have bachelors degrees.

Yes, we all are in grad school for higher education.

Can't you tell by looking at us?

=)

So about that swimming story....

There's a hot springs just north of Alamosa, CO that has been turned into an awesome swimming pool.  It is a Pollard family tradition to go swimming there when it is below freezing outside.  It's a great way to relax after several days skiing!

Here is a pic of Britt doin' her thing!

Notice the MAJESTIC Sangre de Cristo mountain range in the back.

It's most def my favorite mountain range in the whole state!

Yeah, we're all jealous of her sweet hair. 

Have a great weekend!

Ready, Set, ACTION!

I am such a rookie when it comes to photography and photoshop.
My momma uses my computer occasionally for her yearbook course, so she loaded photoshop on it so that she can work from home (whenever I'm home, that is.)

Yeah, there's obviously a total benefit to having a teaching mom.
Conflict of interest?  I like to think not.

But I digress.
I'm totally digging Photoshop actions right now. 
The Pioneer Woman has some AMAZING ones for FREE.  Yes.  Free.
Oh, and there's this nifty little site, Coffee Shop Photography, that also has about a bazillion free actions too.

I simply can't get over how easy these things are to use!  
I've learned so much about layers simply by playing around with these.  
And they are sooooooo fun. 
And a great way to procrastinate.

Anywho.
Back to the original plan for this post.
Thought I'd share with you some of the amazingness that is a Photoshop action.

Remember how I went to Ruidoso and only took pictures of deer?

Here is the Straight Out of the Camera (SOOC) shot of the buck who so willingly posed for my camera.

 

Not too pretty huh?  I was quite a distance from this big guy, and I don't have a mega zoom lens or anything, so this was the best I could do.
And it was evening. 
And cloudy.
And I'm amateur photographer remember, thus...a not-so-pretty pic.

But Photoshop saved the day!

I tweaked this baby with the Boost and Define and Sharpen actions from Pioneer Woman.
And this is what I got:

It's pretty good, but I wanted more.
So I boosted again.

And WA-BAM!

Now we're in business!

So much fun.

And really simple.
Photoshop is quickly becoming very addicting.
But I'm ok with that.

And even though it's not a Laughter Monday, all this deer talk has brought 2 jokes to mind.


What do you call a deer with no eyes?

No eyed deer.

(no idea)

What do you call a deer with no eyes AND no legs?

Still no eyed deer.

Just cracks me up. 

Happy day, me dears! 

(pun intended)

Oh deer

Well, Hello there!

{Ps. 42:2}

I have been absent from the real world for a few days.  I had the privilege of taking a group of teenagers to Ruidoso, NM for a fun ski trip this passed weekend!  It was A-MA-ZING! 

The teens were awesome!  Love them soooo much.  Our youth group is growing and I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to work in the lives of these young whippersnappers.  Gosh....God is So Good!

We drove down Friday night, skiied all day Saturday and Sunday.  A group of us drove back Sunday night, but some waited until Monday to come home.  It was a quick trip, but soooo worth it!  The weather was beautiful, the snow was incredible, the company...delightful. 

Oh, and I may gone with 20 other people, but you wouldn't know it from the leftover proof on my camera.  14 teens, 6 adults, tons of beautiful scenery.  And the only thing I captured were a couple of deer.  Ha!  Gotta love it!

Happy Monday!
♥ michelle

dreaming

of

{beautiful Colorado in Summer}

Instead, I woke up to this

{Cold Lubbock in Winter}

Dear Summer,

Please hurry.  My bones are achy, my hands are dry n cracked from scraping ice, and my electric bill would like a break.  Plus, I desperately need a snow cone...and...my flip flops are lonely. 

Miss you,

♥ michelle

Dear Spring,

Please bring pretty flowers and green grass to dreary Lubbock ASAP.  We West Texans are suffering from the dreaded LOAPA disorder.  [Lack-of-anything-pretty-around].  K?  

Thanks,

♥ michelle

P.S. How 'bout you leave the wind that normally accompanies you with your evil stepbrother, Winter. mmm k?  thanks very much!  

Rebel love!

Yowza!

I graduated from my beloved Baylor University in May.

                                         Sic 'Em Bears!

Mom and Dad didn't know what to get me for graduation.

But half a year later, they came through. In a BIG way!

I'm talking HUGE!!!!

Yep folks, I got a brand spankin' new Canon REBEL T1i!!!

The necessary self portrait of course

And yes, I'm wearing quite the outfit:

Christmas up top

Candy-stripe pjs on bottom

In case you didn't know, I am THE Official Mistletoe Tester

I promise I really did graduate from the esteemed Baylor U

It came in this ginormous box with lots, and lots of goodies. Like a second lens. And photo editing for dummies. (Apparently they didn't get the memo that I had GRADUATED...and hence, am no longer a dummy. Sheesh.)

So I proceeded to take pics. Tons and tons of pics. And here are a few of the gems:

Artsty Fartsy Christmas Ornament

Again with the artsy fartsy shenanigans

Got to play with this cutie at the annual Pollard Christmas Extravaganza

Dad bought Mom some flowers for her b-day, and I just HAD to document them

And finally the BIG Finale:

No I did not take this pic.

But it just cracks me up!
Seriously, laugh-out-loud funny!
Anywho, that's it for my Christmas photography adventures.

For now anyway.
I have get back to the important things in life like birthday cake ice cream & sprinkles. And figuring out why my printer will NOT turn on!!! (Technology and I do not get along. At all.)

And I promise not to wait 2 months before posting again. If you're lucky, it might even be sometime this week. But only if this printer cooperates. :D

Have a Picnik!!!

Have ya'll heard about Picnik? It's a way fun photo editing site! And the best part? It's free!!! And who doesn't love free? =)

Here's a sampling of the fun I had:

By the way, it's BAYLOR'S HOMECOMING!!!!! I't's arguably the best thing about fall! I'm so sad I can't be there, but I'm totally there in spirit!

Let's go Baylor! Beat the Cowboys!

Sic 'em Bears!