Spring is my favorite time of year. New colors, smells and shapes emerge. I just love it! Signs of Spring are finally starting to appear. Here is my first flower photo of the year. Enjoy! You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
I captured some amazing photos of a couple of swans over the weekend. I really couldn't believe my luck. I am excited to share this photo with you this week. Hope you like it! You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
Today's high resolution photo was taken last week after an early spring snow storm. I captured a photo of this little bird just as it was sneaking a peek back at me. We shared a moment together...ha! I hope you like it. And, I also hope this will be the last of the snowy images I get to share for a while. Spring is here! You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
It's been a while since I've posted a creative writing piece. I hope you enjoy this one and it gives you a little laugh. The Writing Prompt was: After an extreme evening of fun you wake up feeling groggy and fall over. The ground greets you much quicker than usual. You waddle over to a low-lying mirror and see that you’re a baby, but remember everything. You parent’s voice is lilting up the stairs. What do you attempt to tell them? How did this happen?
My head starts to pound as I awake. I guess I did have a little too much to drink at Jeff’s going away party last night. The clock beside the bed reads 11am. What? I am late for work! Dammit!
I try to stand up, but my head feels like it’s being hit repeatedly with a sledge hammer. Bong, wham, bam! Ugh, today is going to be a bad day.
I decide to roll out of bed instead. As I do, I flop onto the ground with a soft thud. I attempt to stand. But something still doesn’t feel quite right. I am standing, but the world seems a lot “taller” than normal. It’s as if I was still lying on the ground from my pathetic bed roll, looking up at the ceiling. Shaking away the cobwebs from last night or at least trying to, I walk towards the bathroom.
As I do, I catch a quick glimpse of myself in mirror that hangs on my closet door. Wait…what the hell? I slowly back up and stand in front of the mirror. I look to my left and then to my right, someone is playing a trick on me, right? Reflecting back at me is a baby. Not just any baby, one that looked exactly as I did when I was that young. Short brown hair, freckles on the face and big blue eyes staring back at me. I blink my eyes and the baby blinks too. I lift my right arm; the baby lifts their arm too. I scrunch my nose; the baby scrunches their nose or at least tries to do so. Because it’s a baby, it doesn’t quite get the nose scrunching thing yet. The nose scrunch ends up being more of an “I Dream of Jeanie” nose twinkle. I take a step back and then forward. The baby is in perfect unison with me. It’s like I am the baby.
Then I hear my parents’ voices. They have been visiting from out of town and staying in the guest room. I will just go say good morning and confirm with them that they see a grown man before them, not a baby. This has got to just be a really, really bad hangover.
I waddle towards the door, damn, I am waddling. The door is closed. I can’t reach the doorknob.
“Fred, are you ready? We have massages scheduled for 1pm. We have to leave soon,” I hear my mother say.
Noooo, they can’t leave yet.
I yell out to my mother.
“Mom, can you come here?” To my horror though, it sounded like this, “Mama, goobi, gabo goo!”
Whaaaaatt? No way. I try again.
“Mama, goobi, gabo, gooooo!”
I am now becoming frustrated. I feel tears falling down my face.
“Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh” I let out ghastly sounding scream.
“Jack, is that you?” I hear her say.
“Mama”, I yell and fall, my butt hitting the floor hard.
Oh crap, here comes an all out tantrum and I can’t stop it. I start to wail, bang my fists on the ground and cry like a baby that’s gotten a lollipop taken away from him.
My mother opens the door. “Jack, what on earth is wrong?”
I settle down a little, sniffle and start to whimper a bit.
“There, there, Jack. You don’t look so good. Are you sick? Let’s get you back to bed.” She says.
She takes my hand, and I grab it. Her hand engulfs my tiny baby palm. I never realized how soft and loving her hand felt before.
We walk towards the bed. As we get closer, I reach my hands up towards her...as if to motion “Pick me up, mama.”
She looks at me a little strangely.
“Me, ba-ba”, I blurt out.
“Your ba-ba?” she asks.
Apparently baby Jack wants a drink. I reach my hands up towards her again. She looks at me incredulously.
“Jack, you don’t want me to pick you up and help you into bed, do you? You’re a grown man, for heaven’s sake. Give it a try yourself”
Woah, good, so I don’t look like a baby to her. That’s good news.
I grab hold of the comforter and attempt to climb up the bed. Realizing that to my mother, I look as normal as always. This must look really crazy to her right now.
“Fred!” she calls out to my father.
“Fred! I think there is something wrong with Jack. He’s….well, just come here.”
My father enters the room, just as I loosen my grip from the comforter and fall to the floor.
He looks towards me and then towards my mother. Then, back towards me again.
“Dada…ba-ba,” I say.
He laughs. “Rough night, huh, buddy?”
He walks towards me. He reaches out, puts his big strong arms underneath my armpits and lifts me up off of the floor.
“Ok, you need to help me here.” He says, as my baby legs and feet dangle in the air.
I try to move and pivot towards the bed, but I end up just kicking my feet back and forth. I giggle.
“Ok, let’s try this.” He swings his body towards the bed, with me still clutched in his arms and he kind of flings me. I land on the bed, but bump my elbow on the bed frame.
“Owie. Boo-boo,” I say.
My parents glance at each other. I can tell they are both trying not to laugh.
“Jack, here, let’s get you under the covers. I will bring you some aspirin and water. You can then just sleep this off. Ok?,” my mother says.
I nod my head yes. She disappears out of the room.
“Jack, you really did a doosey on yourself, didn’t you? Rest up. All will be ok when you awake later.”
I wanted to say, “Thanks, Dad.” But afraid some sort of baby babble would come out of my mouth; I just nod to him as well.
He pats me on the shoulder and leaves. I roll over and decide it is best to get some rest. Perhaps my parents are right. Last night was too wild for me and I just need to sleep it off. I pull the comforter up over my shoulders, close my eyes, and welcome the sleep that will eventually come. As I drift off to sleep, I shove my thumb into my mouth and drift off into a peaceful slumber.
After spending an hour at the park with family, run/walking for 3 miles yesterday morning, my husband and I made the 45-minute trek home. I had forgotten my camera that morning, so I was pretty bummed. When we got home at 2pm in the afternoon on a Sunday, after being out since 9am, I was tired. BUT, I had missed my weekend photography session. I am starting to really enjoy 30-45 minutes outdoors, being one with nature. And, I am also committed to sharing a free photo download each Monday on my blog. When we got home, I grabbed my camera and back out I went. Below is a photo of dormant railroad tracks I found at a local park. I figured it's rare to get that up close and personal with railroad tracks, which is why I am making it this week's photo download. You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
Over the weekend, we went bowling with our family. It was a great time! I took my camera along and captured a lot of fun family photos. I got so caught up in the family fun, I didn't take many photos for Hi-Res Photo Monday consideration. However, I did have take few. Below is the one I decided to post. Perhaps someday you'll find a use for a bowling alley photo! You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
This Monday, following Friday the 13th, I decided to post two somewhat ominous images. The first is one I like to refer to as, "Uncle Tom's Cabin". In actuality, it's a work shed at a local county park. With some photo editing though, it looks much more depressing than it truly is, in person. The second photo is a photo of two crows in a tree. However, the colors of the crows are just amazing - blue and purple hues. I had to share it with you! It's ominous because it's crows, in a tree. You can't get any more creepy than that. Enjoy!
You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on an image to open the high-resolution version in a new window. Note: the files are large, it may take a few moments to download.
| "Uncle Tom's Cabin" | "Crows in a Tree" |
 |
 |
Once a week, I spend some time outside, taking photos of nature. I make it a point to be in the moment and become one with the environment I am shooting. It sounds so silly, I know. It wasn't always this way. In fact, when I first started taking photos, I simply pointed and clicked at whatever I thought looked cool. Until one afternoon when my perspective changed. It was a cold day, having just snowed a few days before. I was driving around my town, looking for scenes to photograph when I came across a deserted playground at the edge of a frozen lake. A playground covered in snow with a sheet of ice as the background seemed cool enough to me. I pulled over and started taking photos. Slide covered in ice, click. Docks stretching out to the frozen lake bed, click, click, click. As it turned out, those photos didn't come out that great. What happened next was truly magical.
I walked back to my car. It was an isolated area. I was a little spooked. Because of my trepidation, I was hypersensitive to the sounds around me or should I say the lack of sounds around me. I looked over my shoulder as I approached my car, I heard trickling water. I remember thinking, where was that coming from? I had looked around me. To my right was the lake, obviously frozen. I looked to my left. A bunch of trees and a big ridge of snow. The sound was coming from behind the frozen ridge.
It took me a moment, but I soon realized the trickling water was a stream! Snow, frozen lakes and drab looking scenery had been my photography subjects for weeks. A trickling stream of water? I couldn't believe my luck! I raced towards the ridge. It was steep. Very steep. I stared towards the top, still in the isolated area, with my camera hanging from it's strap around my neck.
Here's how the thoughts formed in my mind, as I tried to decide what my next move would be.
Do I dare?
No, it looks too dangerous.
But, but it's a stream!
What if I climb to the top, fall, break something and get hurt?
After debating with myself for a few seconds, I decided the risk was worth the reward. Anyway, I would be careful. Very, careful! I carefully and slowly climbed up the ridge and peered over. At first I didn't see the water, although the sound was very loud now that I was atop the ridge.
Finally, I had found it! It was, indeed, a stream. It wasn't much though, a very small body of water enclosed by snow and ice. I started snapping pictures like crazy. None of them came out good. In fact, because of my excitement many of them came out blurry or crooked.
However, I learned the most valuable lesson of all that day. If I just stop, look around and focus on my surroundings, a whole new world of surprises would appear right in front of me.
My view of the world is slowly starting to change. I find myself looking at the people, places and things around me with new wonder and appreciation. To quote my favorite movie from the 1980's, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and a while, you can miss it."
I wish I had started paying attention much sooner.
I have been exploring different methods for video lately. I recently found a way to do whiteboard animation. Inspired by what I had just learned, I decided to create a pre-launch video for my new eBook. Here is what I came up with!
Here is a new how-to video, showing how to install free or premium Wordpress themes.
UPDATE: JUST 2 Spots Left! Woohoo! The pre-launch for my eBook The Inspired Entrepreneur's Guide is here. Seriously, I can't tell you how excited I am about this announcement. Even more exciting is that I am running a private beta group for the book and a special Facebook Group. There are currently 5 spots left!
The reason I created the group is to get feedback about the guide, potentially make some tweaks to content and most importantly fine-tune the Facebook group. What gets me super pumped about the private beta is the fact that I will be connecting with 8 people that are open to learning more about themselves and thereby sending positive vibes into the world. All beta-testers get 2 consulting emails with me too, which means I will be their mentor of sorts. That is truly invigorating!
What a beta tester gets: - a PDF digital download of my guide, The Inspired Entrepreneur's Guide to Living and Growing Successfully - access to a special closed Facebook group - 2 one-on-one consulting emails with me. Use these two emails for some additional inspiration, support, or to ask me a business-related question. You decide what you need most and Ill be here to support you.
Who I am looking for as a beta-tester? If you are someone that wants to improve your inner-well being and is in the startup phase of your WAH business, this is a great opportunity for you. I'd love for you to participate!
Or if you are traditionally positive minded, but sometimes have a hard time keeping your "mojo" in check, you can benefit as well.
In return for your participation, I am asking for your feedback about the guide and a review for use on my product page or in marketing materials.
Ready to roll or want to learn more? Awesome! Go here to find out all the details.
It's Monday, which means it's time for another hi-res photo download! This photo is brand-spanking new too. I took it just this morning. Hope you like it. You can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is highly encouraged.
Click on the image to open the high-resolution version in a new window.
You may have noticed an onslaught of content being produced by me over the last several weeks. Along with my productions, you may have detected an attitude adjustment. Let me just say that the two are deeply connected. I am a positive person by nature - a glass half-full kind of girl. If you know me, that's no shock to hear. What may seem shocking is that sometimes I fall short of that and can be a huge grump. Hey, I am human. I refer to those grumpy times as "Exorcist Darlene", because it's the complete opposite of my usual nature, it's like I truly am possessed. There is a reason. Let me explain.
A little over a month ago my world was shaken up a bit. I found myself left wondering, "What's next?" The answer at the time was, well produce something. Produce anything, just do something creative!
Growing up, anytime I was sick or sad or felt really down, I turned to creativity. There was a time, while sick at home as a teenager, when I created movies on my VHS camera (they will NEVER see the light of day...while hilarious, they were extremely embarrassing). I also wrote a lot and my first business idea was born.
Back to the here and now: as soon as I turned to doing something creative, I was forced to take a long hard look at myself. Why was I being such a grump and why when I turned to creative work, did my attitude change?
That's when I realized there was a correlation between the "not-so-nice Darlene" and the creative work I was (or in this case, was not) doing, as well as, finding ways to do the things I love throughout the course of the day.
Creativity makes me happy. It allows me to express myself, but more so my hope is that my work will make at least one person smile or make their day brighter. That's where I thrive, helping people and making their day better, in some small way. Creativity (for me) = happy. It's as simple as that!
I started piecing myself back together, one creative project at a time. I had turned a corner. Darlene 2.0 was here, a happier, more focused and inspired me. I was open to people again and to opportunities.
Later in February, I got some good news. Had I been in a different head space, I may have reacted differently or may not have even gotten that good news to begin with. You get out of life what you put in, didn't you know? With my new focus, I reacted positively. I am happy with how life has unfolded over the last month. Turns out, shake ups are good.
I continue to strive to take a few creative action steps each week. The steps keep me grounded and in positive spirits.
If you are finding yourself in a slump or feeling like you are possessed by Oscar the Grouch- take a look within and determine what is missing. Then, figure out a way to get whatever it is back into your life..pronto!
Happy Monday to you! It seems the weekends are devoted to photography and I don't mind that one bit. Although, I really cannot wait for the signs of Spring to start appearing. Many of my outside photos all have one thing in common -- lots and lots of snow. Which can make for some pretty boring photos. I've selected two of my more favorite ones to share with you this week.
As usual, you can download, use on your website, or even as the background for your computer. It’s my gift to you! Attribution is encouraged, of course. 
Click on the image to open the high-resolution version in a new window.
| Horse Statue | "Red" Tree |
 |
 |
On Friday, I posted a video to my YouTube channel that shows you how to quickly and easily remove a comment box on a Wordpress page. Watch the video below. I also updated my YouTube Channel to display videos by subject. Check out my fixed up channel, here!