Ahh (or: What I did on my summer vacation)

Time is running out. Tomorrow, I will again have to rise at 6:15 and get ready to greet my cube with enthusiasm after a mere five days away.

But hey, who am I kidding? I'm seriously jazzed. It's been a nice mini-vacation, and it really didn't feel all that short. Not every day went as planned, but with no major mishaps and a lot of relaxation, I think I'll count it a success.

As for the "what I did" part: haircut, Fort Worth, BFF, movies and bowling and games, coolest kid ever, good food, double dates, not much else. Which is more than fine with me.

Now, sure enough, today is the one-year blogiversary of when I made my skimpy first post. And tomorrow is the 'versary of the full-fledged one. Of course, little to everyone's surprise, I'm woefully unprepared, despite Kelly's best efforts on my behalf. I've had a lot going on (most of it good, but not all of it blog fodder), and I'm completely scattered in my energies as per normal.

I still plan to make a big comeback, though...and reader enthusiasm would sure help...so is anyone else going to enter my contest? So far, Laura is the only one who's hazarded guesses (much appreciated). Come on, folks! Free stuff of your choosing!

The biggest news for today is this:


My Canon PowerShot A570 IS, self-portrait courtesy of the 10-second timer, a nicely lit bathroom mirror, and a flipped image. Preliminary tests indicate that it's easy to figure out and will drastically improve the quality of my photos. To wit:


My everyday bag, shot with my old Olympus D-380. Used the digital zoom for detail, and (obviously) flash. And as you might expect - a little blurry, undefined, washed-out colors, bad white flare, and pixellation even on slight enlargement. This is what I've had to work with; in the words of Agent J in MIB 2, "old and busted." And this:


is the new hotness, shot with the Canon - in this case, 1.5x optical zoom, flash, full auto, macro setting. Sure, there's a bit of white flare...but look at the difference. In focus, sharp definition, amazing detail; I couldn't see pixellation until 300% enlargement on my screen. As impressive as that is, this:


is what took my breath away. It loses a tiny bit in resizing for Blogger, but folks, you can see *the weave of the fabric.* It's slighly less than color-true, but MUCH better than before.

(Be sure to click for larger views...Blogger-sizing reduced some of the drama. :) )

The quality and detail wouldn't surprise me with a good 35mm, or even a well-made digital SLR, but on a point-and-shoot that cost less than $200? It's a godsend, and I'm thrilled. I was expecting this to be a half-step between the Olympus and the Digital Rebel I eventually intend to get; it's starting to look like three-fifths, at least.

*****
As for the rest: Forest Canopy? Still in progress, still fixing missed YOs (IDK WTF I was doing week before last). Red Shawl Dammit? About to come to the fore again, seeing as how I'm a bit brainless these last few days. Husband and cats? Still cute and obnoxious. Other non-blog-worthy things? Rather good.

Odd that I'm feeling a bit out of sorts tonight, but I'm hoping that will improve over the week. As for y'all? Enter my contest, yo. I need to feel the love, even if I'm extending the deadline due to lack of previous interest. See below and change "July 31" to "August 5."

And come hell or high water (both distinct possibilities on the last day of July in Houston), I'm busting out the champagne tomorrow. See you then!

(Note: all photos unretouched except for sizing and cropping.)