It's Hard to Keep a Straight Face When I Just Want to Smile

       I love watching CSI and all of it's spin-offs.  Mostly because of the terrible one-liners they make right before the intro.  (Especially CSI: Miami) There is a marathon on AMC at this very moment, which reminds me of one of my college classes (hardboiled fiction).  In it we read hardboiled fiction, including some detective fiction (and the books that inspired detective fiction).  These books were the original place where jokes were cracked over dead bodies.  However, those (original) jokes were definitely not too corny or cliche.
      If you are looking for a good hardboiled book (that used to be your grandfather's dollar paperback), I do have some suggestions.  If you like a book where the "villains" always get what's coming to them (i.e. no happy ending for anyone), The Postman Always Rings Twice is the book for you.  Laura is a wonderful book if you are looking for a change, also there is a movie too.  I always love the older books that are translated into movies.  The movies always come out so much better (than they do now).  (Plus hardboiled books are equal to the film noir movies... and that's what Laura the movie is.)  Cotton Comes to Harlem was another of my favorites, it brings a bit of the south to New York (well Harlem).  Plus I love all of the women characters (I feel like they are the most fleshed out in this novel as compared to the other hardboiled novels we read).  Of course there are many other hardboiled novels and tons of contemporary takes on the hardboiled/detective fiction.
         Below is a video of the horrid one liners I was talking about.  I hope you enjoy.  (But you don't have to watch all of it cause it's pretty long.)

        The botox has got to be working.  Currently I feel better, but my head still hurts on a constant basis.  But earlier today I had the worse migraine.  Not good.  So maybe my headaches will get better (as in go away on a daily basis) but my migraines will be worse when I actually do get them?  I don't know the suspense on if it is going to be a viable treatment is definitely wearing me out.  I just want to know either way so I might can move on to something else if possible and maybe that will work.  
       I'm not giving up hope.  But I'm just ready to know.


  Title:  "It Gets Better" by Fun.

There's Five for the Silver and Six for the Gold

Five things from throughout this week:

Snacking on Granny Smith Apples... yummy and healthy

Being able to wrinkle up my forehead even after Botox.

(Not even embarrassed I took at least 10 photos... It was actually kinda fun)

Working on this adorable guy's photos all week 

(and I'm still not done... YAY!)

Finding this gem when I plugged in my SD card tonight 

(I was really looking for the photos I took tonight but this has to be my favorite)

Seriously can't wait for this little guy to be apart of our family.  

April 16th can't get here soon enough!!

(Photo Credit: D's Doodles)

Post title inspired by the number five... Lyrics from "Patterns" by Band of Skulls.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

      It's the first day after Botox and while I've been saying all day I still haven't felt relief, I must have been feeling some because I got most all of my to-do list done.  I think I pretty much put in what I would consider a "full day's work" (about half a day for normal people).  I guess we'll see tomorrow how I feel, I  can definitely tell right now that I've been doing things because I'm super exhausted.
    The weird thing about the Botox shots in my forehead is that this morning I could still be "shocked" and wrinkle my forehead (and get the lines that you would normally have).  Tonight I tried to do the same thing, I can barely move anything.  I guess I'll have to post a picture eventually.  My mom is convinced that one of my eyebrows is now lower than the other (and it wasn't like that before).  The injection sights are still a little swollen and swore and my scalp is tender to the touch.  I'm hoping that will go away within this next week.
     I know I promised a post about Craft Beer, but I'll take the time to write a really awesome post tomorrow I'm way too exhausted (and weak) to do that now.  I hope everyone's week is going well!  I'm really looking forward to the 30th anniversary of the Miss Olive Branch Pageant.  It should be lots of fun!

     Earlier this year I took the reigning Miss Olive Branch's picture.  Sarah Mathis (2011 Miss OB) is such a sweetheart!  It's hard for me to pick out just two photos from my session with Sarah to post on here.  If you want to see more, check out my photography blog.  I bet this coming Miss Olive Branch will be just as awesome!  I hope I'll get to know her as well.  (The Miss Olive Branch pageant is an annual pageant hosted by the Olive Twig Humanitarian Group, a philanthropic group of women who take the proceeds of the pageant and put it to good use in the Olive Branch, MS area.)  I remember when I was growing up my mom helped behind the scenes of the pageant and I loved to go watch the older (high school) girls practice.  They just seemed so much older and so sophisticated.  

P.S. I wish I could find a good link for the Olive Twigs, but there doesn't really seem to be one. 
Double P.S.:  The title for today's blog is inspired by the 2012 Miss Olive Branch Pageant ('80's themed); "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper  

Live Like It's The Style

      I got Botox for my migraines today.  It was a little more painful than I expected (at least 31 shots) but I hung in there and was rather proud of myself.  The doctor said the results could take up to a week (so I might not feel any relief for a little bit longer).  Right now (and this whole afternoon) I've had a raging headache.  But I'm extremely hopeful that the Botox will help.  
      The doctor gave me a series of shots in the middle of my forehead (between my eyes), in each of my temples (but further back into my scalp... which I guess is really where your temple is instead of being further up closer to your eyes like I originally thought), the back of my head (in my scalp) where the beginning of my neck starts (in that little dip you can feel with your fingers), and in my shoulders along the base of my neck.  Basically everywhere I feel pain when I have a migraine.  The only part that I didn't really feel at all was in my shoulders.  That felt like just a pinch, the rest not so much.  I've been applying cold packs all around my head which does seem to help just a little bit.
      Oh, and I also got invisalign today from J. Cox Orthodontics.  It's been interesting having them in my mouth since I haven't had a retainer in a while (I lost it in 2011 and I wore it only off and on) and I haven't had braces since I was in middle school.  I'm very glad I don't have to get braces again, that's one experience you really want to only have once in your life.  But I mean I do admire the older people who have them... I just wouldn't want them again (it would definitely decrease my chances of getting a date... just kidding).  But seriously, I'm hoping that the invisalign will help decrease the amount of headaches caused by my jaw not being aligned (it swings to the left when I open and close).  Not a big deal, but I'm trying to eliminate anything (and I mean ANYTHING) that might trigger or even in the smallest way contribute to my migraines.  
     To end on a happy note, we have finally managed to get a puppy!  He's still too young to be home with us, but he will be ready to be picked up by April 16.  And we're all so excited!  We even have a name for him, Oscar (named after my grandfather, Everett Oscar Peterson).  He's so adorable!  New pictures were just posted on Facebook today.  

OSCAR!! (Or Buster as he's called now)

Photo Credit: D's Doodles

The title of this post was inspired by Oscar. (It's lyrics from the song) "Oscar Wilde" by Company of Thieves

I Don't Know Where I'm Going

      I never realized how much I could ramble on until this blog (and if you've just met me I'm pretty sure you probably think I can barely talk at all).  I'm shy until you get to know me and then you better watch out cause I don't stop talking.  But I'm going to make this blog short and sweet (or maybe just short).  
       I am terribly nervous about getting Botox (for my migraines) tomorrow.  Apparently its not so uncommon, but it's still nerve racking.  I hope it helps.  I am so exhausted doing nothing.  And when I do have a halfway busy week, my body hates me for at least a weekend (from like Thursday-Monday)... or at least it did this weekend (i.e. major migraine, major psoriasis, and major tummy aches).  Not fun at all.  Ready to be over migraines and this pain in general.  
      But I know something will come out of all of my suffering even if I don't realize it.  Like this caterpillar turning into a butterfly, it's just something I have to go through.  

I'll leave you with two songs I absolutely love!  This first one completely changes my mood like I talked about yesterday.  All I want to do is dance when I hear this and it makes me want to spread the love.

"Obey Your Guns" by Matrimony

This second song is off an album where every song is golden.  I'm pretty sure there isn't a song on Modern Love that I don't just love! The only other video options were live options and as much as I love live performances... he talks in front of the song and I know if I hadn't heard it before I wouldn't wait it out.  (We Americans are so ADD when it comes to entertainment.)

"Modern Love" by Matt Nathanson

P.S. If you've made it this far, you're in for a treat!  Look forward to a fun post about Craft Beer sometime this week!

Instant Happiness

           Music can instantly change a mood.  It can make the dullest day sunny, no matter where you are, especially when it's the right music.  I am not embarrassed to admit that at least half of my time driving my car is spent dancing.  (But I usually am too embarrassed to have a dance party with actual passengers, so I'm not sure what that actually says about me.)
          Starting in high school, I made my friends mixes.  I was always a bit proud of them.  I liked to think of myself as a music connoisseur (p.s. I did just look up how to spell that correctly and one thing that popped up was Wiki How to Become a Wine Connoisseur... because of course I looked up "wine connoisseur").  But back in the day (because I'm so grown up now) I definitely thought too much of myself and instead of actually spreading the word about the band, I always got a little defensive when other people had heard of the song/band.  I guess it meant that I wasn't so special?  I don't know (so glad I grew out of that these past 4 years).
           I always glean songs from TV shows, I don't know who has the awesome job of picking out music but the best (and most addicting shows) have really amazing people who do their job wonderfully.  I used to actually have a few running playlists for One Tree Hill and Grey's Anatomy (my two favorite shows still).  I would get so excited when I recognized a song on the show, it always felt like I was apart of this special club.  Like I got the scene so much better because I knew what song that was and I already liked it... I didn't need an "awesome" stamp of approval (but I got it anyway).  I know I'm way cheesy and get excited a little too easily, but it's the little things (like I've said before) that mean the most.  So when Peyton Sawyer (from One Tree Hill) said this quote it was like she got me (and was speaking directly at me).
"You know I've got this theory, there are two kinds of people in the world. There are lyric people and music people. You know, the lyrics people tend to be analytical. You know, all about the meaning of the song. They're the ones you see with the CD insert out like 5 minutes after buying it, pouring over the lyrics, interpriting the hell out of everything. Um, then theres the music people, like Brooke. Who could care less for the lyrics as long as its just got like a good beat and you could dance to it. I dont know, somtimes it might be easier to be a music girl and not a lyric girl. But since Im not, let me just say this. Sometimes things find you when you need them to find you, I believe that. And for me its usually song lyrics." -Peyton Sawyer, One Tree Hill 

<--- Peyton Sawyer  (Photo Credit)

        But then again, I believe in fate (to a degree) and if you look for meaning in song lyrics, you're going to find them.  This quote (her artist angst, love for Lucas, blonde ever-changing hair, and numerous other things) made me believe that Peyton and I were kindred spirits.  If I was any character from One Tree Hill I would be Peyton, no questions asked.  (You know you compare yourself to characters on TV all the time, or hey I may be the only one.)  However, the older I get the more I realize I'm Brooke.  I love some songs for their lyrics, but sometimes all you need is a song that has a good beat to cheer you up. 
       Anyway, I completely got off on a tangent.  What I was really going to say, is that I quit making mixes at one point.  I'm not sure when it happen, but I found one of my old mixes at exactly the right time.  Just by playing certain songs I became energized in a way I haven't been in a while.  My spirits were lifted.  It was a few days before Valentine's Day so I immediately started planning a Valentine's Day themed mix.  And I immediately started looking for more music.  
        I'm a person that is pretty much against the radio.  I hate how much the radio DJ's talk, how many commercials play on a regular basis, and especially the fact that the radio will play a song out.  I'm a huge fan of plugging in my iPhone and listening to my music.  I want to have completely control over what I'm listening to.
        This school year, I finally gave into the Pandora craze.  And honestly, I don't mind it when I'm not really paying attention to what I'm listening.  I love just putting it on my "How I Roll" (yes, by Britney Spears) station while I'm getting ready if I need to be pumped up or putting on my "Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack" station (the latest one with Keira Knightley) while I need to concentrate.  
       However, just today I joined the Spotify trend (it's all over Facebook... So-and-so listened to this on Spotify fills up my newsfeed).  I have been reluctant to use this application because I do not want everyone on Facebook to see what I am listening to.. if I want to try out someone else's playlist I think that should be my business and my business only.  But I joined and am IN LOVE.  It allows you to find new music while playing what you want to listen (not like Pandora).  I'm definitely going to use it to make all of my mixes from now on.
      Which brings me full circle, from now on I want to make my boring days more fun by having Holiday Themed mixes...  And of course I'm not going to make this simple because that's not how I roll.  Here's an example of the mixes I've made so far:  
                The Five L's of Valentines:  Lewd, Lust, Like, Love, Loss
                Drink, Drank, Drunk & For the Hangover (2 separate CD's for St. Patrick's Day)
In the process:
                Refreshed, Renewed, and Easter Bunnied
I love the CD's I've put together.  (7 CD's altogether) But now I'm running out of ideas for mixes.  The Easter mix totally reflects that.  I'm not going to lie, I'm not 100% certain how this next CD is going to turn out, but I guess we'll see.   


Resolution #4:
Make a mix for every U.S. holiday (except maybe memorial/labor day?)

Mad Men Makes Me Swoon

MAD MEN!

Photo credit: The Art of Manliness Blog

        It doesn't take too much to get me addicted to a TV show, especially since Netflix came along and now has oodles of TV shows streaming.  This means I can multitask and watch TV on my computer and actually be productive.  It also allows me to become addicted to way more TV shows than I ever should.  Too much access.  I'm not even sure I could name all of the TV shows that I follow on a regular basis.  
        But Mad Men is a head above the rest.  I love the portrayal of the '60's and as one of my college professors remarked, it actually is a commentary on the '60's while still being about the '60's.  Something that other TV shows trying to mimic it don't quite understand.  
        That and I'm 100% IN LOVE with the fashion!  I almost wish that I lived in the '60's so I could wear some of these awesome clothes.  I guess I will just have to be a fan of the vintage-fashion that is present in today's society.  (And maybe find a way to dress up as one of these fabulous ladies for Halloween!)

(Or dye my hair this awesome red color!!)

Photo credit: Art is Not Dead Blog.

(Or Fashion like this! Where women took a whole day to get their hair done for a night out)
Photo credit: Season 3

Belated Five Things

My forgetful self totally forgot about the new tradition of the five things that have made this week:

My parents back home!! (especially to help me bake)

Watching the ridiculousness of "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" with my parents

(not my photo... I got it from this website)

Making Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Visiting (and dining with) my extended family in Alabama

These neon yellow legging jeans I just added to my wardrobe (from Gap)

Alabama

Because my migraines have taken over today here's just a picture from my weekend in Wetumpka, AL. My parents and I are visiting my grandfather (in Titus, AL). We also visited my grandmother's (and uncle's) graves.

It's always disappointing to me when I realize my pictures are a little bit blurry. I have taken my focus off of Auto and put it on manual in my slow change over to everything on my camera being manual.  However, this is kinda how my whole day feels with my migraine.  (I've added a picture I took the last time we visited in November.)

Rethinking but Not Quitting

The more I think about my third resolution the more I worry that I am taking on too much.  After all, since the 40 Loaf Challenge hasn't exploded all over the interweb... I think I'll make the challenge into something that will be more manageable.  This way I won't get upset at the end of the year because I haven't made 40 different loaves.
Also, after this year is over I'm still going to want to continue to bake loaves, etc.  I just have to come up with a catchy tag so you can eventually find all of them once I've gotten a few months under my belt.

Edited Resolution #3:
To make 2 loaves of "bread" every month for as long as possible.

40 Loaf Challenge

I grew up eating my mother's homemade bread.  I love cutting open a warm loaf of bread straight from the oven (that's been cooled a little of course).  I started baking desserts when... well I can't exactly remember when I started.  But when I returned home from college, I took over baking the homemade sourdough bread.  (My mom's starter had died, so we started completely from scratch.)

The process of making bread takes about 3 days. Simply broken down it ends up going something like this:
Day 1: Feed the starter.
Day 2: Split the starter into two parts-- one you put in the fridge for later and one you use for your bread. Add ingredients and then knead loads of flour into the dough. 
Day 3: Split that risen dough into three parts.  Knead each part further into loaves and let those rise for a few hours before actually cooking.
(P.S. I know that's not a real recipe don't worry, if you really want a recipe I'll post one later.)

To challenge myself and keep me baking/cooking items that weren't just sweets (my parents had started to complain), I decided I was going to do something like the 40 Loaf challenge found on my favorite blog (of course). I thought I had seen it in other places, but maybe not.  Anyway, I'm debating on how I am going to go about this challenge.  I want to make it my own, so I'm not just copying everything Elise does.  (Although her blog is mighty inspiring.) If I wanted to make 40 loaves in 2013 then I would have to bake roughly 5 different loaves every month, which might be challenging but wouldn't be completely difficult (that is if I did my math correctly).  But I might want to make it something a little more manageable.  However, as of right now, I'm thinking 40 loaves is a nice number to shoot for.

Resolution #3:
Bake 40 loaves in 2013.

New Additions

If you read my list of five things that made Spring Break bearable you might remember an adorable picture of a puppy. I have finally convinced my parents (whom I am living with) that we need a playmate for our current puppy Jack.

Jack is a 3 year old Golden Retriever, who is a loving dog.  However he sometimes has problems with being hyper and bouncy (he's the dog in all of the pictures I've posted on here and he is pretty much the star of my Instagram feed).  Jack will walk around the yard with his toy bone in his mouth whining because he doesn't have anyone to play with.  It's really sad.  So we're getting him a puppy!

After much consideration and research we've decided to get a Goldendoodle.  We want a dog that will stay outside (something that usually hinders us from adopting a puppy from animal shelters) and my dad would prefer to get a dog that is just a puppy.  (Jack was found in vet's parking lot when he was 6 months old and there are clear signs of abuse that will probably last his whole life.)  

I've been searching and searching for the right puppy for us.  I know that whatever puppy finally makes his way to us will be puppy we're supposed to have.  (The situation with Jack and the Golden Retriever we owned before him proved that-- they were both dogs that needed a good home and literally through one way or another found his way to us.)  We think we might have the right puppy in our sights, but time will tell.  

One thing I want to make sure of is that I document this new puppy's growth and development.  I want to be able to look back and see how much he grew, etc. I recently came across pictures of Dante as a teeny tiny kitten that made me wish I had more pictures.  (Dante was so small he could fit into the palm of your hand and now he can barely fit into your lap.)  

As I've said before I fail at scrapbooking, but straight from the blog that inspired me to start blogging again comes a new way to Scrapbook.  Mini Books.  It's just made from paper held together with book rings and completely left up to your imagination.  The best blog post explaining it that I could find is found here.  But there are so many different ways to create a mini book.  And Elise Cripe has post after post of what she has created.  Each one can be as unique and different as you want it to be.  I think I'm going to start one when we get our new puppy (maybe just not put it together for a little while as I don't really have any workspace).

Elise Cripe with just a few of her mini books. 

(Photo credit: Elise's Blog)

 Just another picture of a mini book.  

If you want to see more check out Elise's detailed posts about how she puts them together.

(Photo Credit: Elise's Blog)

Resolution #2:

To create a mini book centered on the new Goldendoodle puppy and his new life in our family.

It's the Little Things

Today I wasn't sure if I was going to have time to post anything.  I've been gone almost all day today (shopping, MRI, work, and then more errands).  The MRI was nothing like on House or Grey's Anatomy, its loud and cramped and noisy and towards the end you feel like the board you're on is moving (or at least that's how I felt).  And of course, I had a migraine before the MRI, did I mention that it was really loud?  I think you get the picture.  But hopefully, the images will be clean and then it'll just be something that's over and done with.
I was able to have a few brief moments at home (okay so it was probably like an hour and a half).  During these moments I found myself outside with my camera in my hand taking pictures of my kitty, Dante.  My instagram feed is full of pictures of my puppy dog, but my cat somewhat gets ignored because I can't get close enough with my iPhone to take a good picture of him without the dog running him off or trying to get in between Dante and me so that he (Jack) get all of the attention instead of Dante.  
So today, while I was taking pictures I thought up this profound blog idea about the details in life.  I tried to specifically focus on the yellow pollen on his front paws.  I am not an original thinker for this focus on the details, just a scroll down my Facebook newsfeed shows at least one photographer's blog about the little details whether it is in their work or in her home life. (I use her as a generalization, I mostly follow female photographers.  I guess I am a little sexist.  However a good many of them work with their husbands in some way, just another generalized side note.) But no matter who is saying it, the little details are sometimes the most enjoyable pictures.  Sure, you want to see the big picture, but it's really the little things that count right?

This picture is still my favorite from the day.  It just fits the personality of my cat: lazy and relaxed.  

But he can be a mini Simba when he's feeling naughty.

Much Too Much

How private is too private?  If I told you I was a pretty private person, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't believe me.  My brother has recently been upset with me about taking pictures of him and posting them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, this blog... (I think you get the picture).  His argument was that he didn't want everyone knowing what he was doing or where he was.  
It got me to thinking about all my pictures and posts on not only this blog, but Facebook as well.  When I'm on vacation I'm mostly taking pictures because well, number one I love taking pictures.  But the pictures I love the most are just the random ones of random moments.  Posed pictures, to me, aren't the best ones.  It's the ones where the subject doesn't know you're taking their picture (they're happy and relaxed or maybe just relaxed).  Posting pictures on Facebook/Twitter is just to keep up with my photos with the added bonus of family and friends being able to keep up with what's going on.  
I'm not 100% certain why I feel the need to keep up a blog or why other people do either.  But I do know that it's nice to be writing again (even if it's not fiction... I still have a dream of being a novelist).  The idea of everyone (including people I don't know) knowing where I am at all times is a little creepy (I agree with my brother on that).  But when I'm on a vacation, it's nice to "check in" places so that when I'm older I can look back and see where I've been.  I used to always try and keep souvenirs from every place we stopped on vacations (I wanted to make scrapbooks with them). But I would always get home with loads of scrap paper and never do anything with them.  So Facebook and Instagram have become my albums and scrapbooks, I guess.  

And even when my brother gets super mad, I'm still going to take pictures because you never know when you'll get another chance, every moment is precious.  Maybe when he gets older he'll understand, but if not I'll still be his annoying older sister with her camera/iphone taking pictures at every turn (until he gets too mad... then I'll stop).

Will giving me a lecture about taking his picture!

But I wanted to document his beard (and mustache)!

Spring Break's Over!

I had a detailed blog thought up that I was going to write today, but unfortunately my head has other plans.  (Note to self: write up a few blogs to have on hold just in case your migraines act up.)  So I'll just leave the blog universe with a quick hello.  

My family came back from Spring Breaking in Colorado (Copper Mountain, to be exact) today!  I was so excited to pick them up from the airport.  My parents and younger brother have been away this whole week. Which means it's just been me at the house our pets (Jack the golden retriever and Dante the kitty cat).  Very lonesome.  But now people are home! I think Jack might be a little more excited than I am, but not by much.  And my little brother came home with a BEARD (but its really a mustache and then some chin hair).  It shocked me.  I'll have to try and grab a picture tomorrow before he heads back to Oxford (or shaves it off).  

My family in Hawaii for Christmas this year.  

(Mary Margaret and her husband live there so we visit as often as we can.)

Five Friday

Five things that have made this Spring Break:

Taking a relaxing bath with half of this bath bomb, sadly it didn't produce bubbles.

The 2-part St. Patrick's Day mix:  "Drink, Drank, Drunk" and "For the Hangover"

Possibly getting this goldendoodle puppy named Webster.  He's a smarty, middle child who loves horses.  I'm in love.
(photo credit goes to puppyfind.com, please don't poach my puppy.  But he does have brothers!)

Crossing this bridge.  It always means I'm so close to Oxford (my home away from home, forever and always).

Believing in Fortune Cookies!

My Migraines and Me

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I graduated in December, but since then I've been living at home with my parents.  Which has been fun, of course, but during these past few months I have been dealing with horrible migraines.  I have been debating whether or not I was going to write a blog about it.  Talking about my migraines and the pain makes it seem a little unreal.  These past two months I normally have a migraine 3-4 days out of a 7 day week.  

Some days the pain isn't so bad; I can do mindless things barely noticing that my head is actually aching.  Then I try to problem solve or make sentences and do something besides watch TV, and my head feels completely full and throbbing.  This is a problem when I run into problems.  It makes any problem seem overwhelming and almost unsolvable and completely stressful.

And then there are days like today, where the pain is sharp (especially) behind my eyes and sometimes (most of the time) just all over.  Again making it hard to think.

But even when my head doesn't hurt, I am sensitive to everything.  Any bright lights, strong smells, pressure on my neck and it quickly triggers a headache.  It extremely limits my life.  I have to be so careful on the days that I don't have a headache to watch out for the potential circumstances that will lead to another headache. 

I didn't write this post to complain, so please don't read this as that.  I'm just exhausted.  Right now, I feel as though I don't really have much of a life.  A full day for me is probably a normal person's version of a half day of busyness.  I mostly just lay in bed with a headache:  napping, sometimes watching TV on my computer, and trying to find things to do once I get better. 

I am on all the prevention medicines that I can be, so the next step is Botox.  My insurance approved it recently.  I'm not quite sure how the Botox is supposed to work or how they will inject it into me.  But I'm also getting an MRI of my head and neck just to make sure that we're not missing anything.  I guess I will keep this blog updated on my progress. 

It just felt like I was keeping a big part of my life off of the blog.  Anyone who has ever had a migraine knows how crippling they can be.  But I know some of the people in my life get frustrated with how much of my time is taken up by my migraines.  I mean I get frustrated with how much of my time is compromised of migraines.  I would never use migraines as an excuse just not to go somewhere.  Anytime I say I have a migraine, I really do.  Anytime I ever used to use migraines as an excuse and I ended up with one.  I would rather do almost anything other than have a migraine.  ANYTHING.  Migraines are no fun (and nowadays if I get one it usually lasts from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed for at least 2 days).  

My Favorite iPhone Photo Apps

Just a small disclaimer before you even start reading:  1) I'm still counting this as my Wednesday blog, even if I didn't manage to post it before the clock struck midnight (this took more effort and time than I first thought) and b) I am including photos of myself in this blog for educational purposes (please excuse the silly faces!).

Yesterday I blogged about Instagram, today I thought I would share my favorite iPhone camera apps.  While I will never claim to be an expert on the subject, I am always looking for new and fun camera apps to use in my everyday life.  Usually I try not to pay for any of my apps because I am never sure which apps I will actually use on a day to day basis and I don't have any spare change to waste on applications.  However, if I use an app almost everyday I would never consider it a waste which is why I am recommending the apps that cost money first.  

Paid Apps:

Hipstamatic

Hipstamatic to me is the app that is the most fun.  It takes its cues from the Holga cameras of the world.  This app has so many options.  You can have as much control over the final picture by choosing the film, lens, flash, and even the case (though that doesn't really affect the picture).  The one catch is that most of the films, lenses, and flashes come in certain packages (that you have to buy in the app's store).  But once you have a good selection to choose from you can produce beautiful photographs that always look like a piece of art.  (You don't really even have to buy any packages to produce beautiful photos.)  There are also sales and sometimes free packages, but you have to be patient for these to come about.  My favorite part about this app is the "shake" feature.  If you shake your phone you get a surprise combination of film, lens, and flash.  I love that I never know what the picture will look like until it develops.   (Oh and the Hipstamatic app acts somewhat like an in-phone polaroid camera, as it takes the picture just a little while to develop.)

Diptic

Diptic allows you "collage" pictures together into one square picture.  This app is extremely helpful when used in the editing stage before uploading pictures to Instagram.  The process of using this app is simple.  You pick your layout (how many pictures you want to put together and in what format).  Then you add pictures to the layout (in this step you have many options: you can take the pictures then, upload from your phone's library or from Facebook).  After this step you can tweak your layout--maybe one of your pictures needs more room, you can move the borders however you need them to go and you can also switch your pictures (rotate them or make them mirror images).  Then you can change the color of the border to any color you like, as well as changing the thickness of the border and if you want rounded edges (new feature that I love!).  After you finish all of these steps you are ready to export it!  You can send it to a numerous amount of places.  You can send it directly to Instagram or Facebook or you can just save it to your phone.  In my opinion this app is very worth the money spent.  I like some photo collages now and then.

This collage might be a little confusing, but there are 2 diptic pictures on each line.  Notice how you can change the border to as thick as you want or make it so thin it's nonexistent? You can also change the color--white, black, any color you want (any mix of primary colors you can come up with) and round the edges (top left photo).

Incredibooth

Incredibooth is your own personal photo booth!  I love this app, even though I need to use it more than I do.  From the makers of Hipstamatic, you have your choice a few different styles of what the final product will look like.  In my opinion this app is one that is much more fun with your friends than by yourself.  Just make sure to warn them that it takes 4 different pictures before the mini-photoshoot begins.  Otherwise you end up laughing too hard to take good pictures, from my experience.  If you're patient, diligent, and lucky you might be able to get this app for free.  I did, and since then they have had it on sale before at least one other time that I can remember.  (The notification came through my Hipstamatic app.) 

Free Apps:

Disposable 

Disposable is also from the creators of Hipstamatic (and Incredibooth). This app is supposed to mimic the disposable cameras we all had at one point (growing up or on trips).  You are unable to see the photos until after all of the photos have been taken on the "roll."  However, a really fun aspect of this app is your friends who have the app can be invited to participate in the roll. Whoever you invite and joins can take pictures from their phone and when the final product is completely developed they can see their photos and your photos on their phone.  How cool is that?  Also, these aren't just regular photographs, you can pick different cameras to play with and you can play up or down their effects (fx).  As of right now, my only friend who has an iPhone and this app is my Mom, but when go on trips it is a lot of fun to contribute to group albums! (And the pictures get stored directly to your phone for safe keeping).

There are three different free cameras you can choose from, I obviously have a favorite.

Squaready

Squaready is another app that is very helpful in the editing process before a photo goes to Instagram.  All Instagram photographs have to be square, no exceptions.  So if you have something that you want to put on Instagram, say a photobooth strip, you first load it into Squaready, choose a background color and save however you want to (whether that's to your camera roll or just in the Instagram format).  To be honest, I haven't used this very much, but I do have a couple of times on Instagram where I really did need Squaready.  Also, even if you don't want to put your photobooth strips on Instagram, if your photograph is just better being in its original format, keep it that way, and here's how.

This is actually my favorite picture from my goofing off Incredibooth "photo shoot" (I had to test them all out!)

PictureShow

PictureShow, to be honest is something I don't use that much either, but it is one of my favorite free editing apps.  You can take any photograph and turn it into something special through this app.  However, in my opinion there are just so many choices it is a bit overwhelming which just means that I spend most of my time hitting the "shake" button to mix every option up.  If I like it I keep it, if I don't then I hit the button again.  I use this app for those photographs that I know I want to put on the background of my phone because I get beautiful effects without losing the height of my photograph (basically it doesn't have to make the photograph square).  Also this time last year, I some fun experimenting with the camera effects, as you can see in the photographs below.

Here's a before and after for PictureShow.  I know it's not the same photo, but it basically has the same original lighting (it was in the same series that I took).

These photos are from the in-app cameras.. You can choose the different cameras with 2-4 lenses.  It's quite fun to play around with when bored.

Instagram

I didn't feel right not mentioning Instagram again.  Instagram is an amazing free camera app.  You get to choose from numerous amount of filters (the best choice of filters out there in apps as far as I can tell) and a tilt shift like blur.  These two things can change your photographs and push them to a new level.  Also there is a new feature called Lux, this feature brings out details and can help underexposed pictures.  If you click on the link, it explains how you can apply this new feature (sorry, not sure what else to call it since it's not a filter).  As far as I can tell sometimes Lux really does enhance a photography beautifully but sometimes not so much.  In case you can't tell, I love this app.  I use it pretty much everyday to share pictures on Facebook and Twitter.  If I'm not using it to upload my own pictures I'm oohing and ahhing over everyone else's pictures on my feed. (I will openly admit I follow at least 4 dogs. Yes I know their owners are the ones doing the uploading, but I just want to see the puppies!)  

Before and After Instagram images.  The bottom 2 photographs also have the Lux feature applied to them.