Photo hunters: Metal

amanda flying planes, originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

Check out the big hunk of metal behind me in this shot. This is back in my flying days. Not really. Way back in time I had this little junky digital camera that came with this neat photo cd that allowed you to place a picture of your face on different shots. I have pictures of Norwood and I as hippies and of course rock stars. This is one of the collection of funny photos.

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Photohunters: Reflection

Part of the Music, originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

For this week I went through my photos labeled reflection and I thought "Oh I have so many great ones what should I choose?!" While mulling it over I watched as Norwood picked up his guitar to play a song. While I watched I noticed myself reflected in the guitar. I felt that I was part of the song that he was playing. Waiting until he was done I decided that my reflection in his guitar would be what I would use this week. Everytime I see this photo I will think that I am a part of the music that comes from it. Photohunters Themes | My photohunter pictures | Zen Home

NaNoWriMo Progress

All this month there has been a curious little icon in the right sidebar. Some of you may have noticed that I joined the NaNoWriMo. I have joined in the past but have not actually written anything most of the time because I completely forgot about it. This year I told myself that I would finish my current novel and I would do it during NaNoWriMo. Well I currently have 6,308 words out of the required 50,000 to complete the challenge. That means in two weeks time I need to write 43, 692 words to complete the challenge (but possibly not the novel). This time I actually think that I can do it. The novel I am working on is more of a collection of short stories about different people all living in the same area. Norwood started off the story with two characters that he both hates but at the same time loves (he loves them only because they are funny to imagine their actions and words). They are a comical pair of drug addicts that find love across generations (this section is based somewhat on the truth of two people we encountered in Florida). I picked up the story and have helped to fill out the characters by adding more people around them. My real focus is on another couple who moved near the comical drug addicts because their father wanted to keep them out of trouble. The story is a satire. Inspired by Henry Fielding’s characters in Tom Jones (of course, if you only knew how many times I read that novel!) and some of the people we have encountered these last few months in Florida this story is actually coming out pretty good. Once it is complete and edited I will have it for sale at Lulu.

Well now back to writing…

Photohunters: Ruin

Recycle, originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

So we do not completely "ruin" our planet let us all recycle! And really how could you not want to throw your old water bottle into that cool looking bin. Norwood bought more water bottles just so he could recycle them in the cool bin (yeah he is a joker).

Edited to add: Someone asked me where I found the recycle bin... It is located in Disney World's Epcot in Futureworld. What you see off in the distance is the Imagination Pavilion. Oh and thanks to Sabine for offering more water bottles to recycle :).

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Photo hunters: Together

Hinge, originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

Last year I was on a kick of taking pictures of interesting metal things. I have a complete set of different types of tire chains for instance. It was shortly after Norwood put up a gate in the front of our driveway that I then became interested in hinges. The photo above is close up of the hinge that held the gate to a very large tree in front of the driveway at our cabin in Colorado. I love this shot because you can see the metal wearing away on the bolts. My favorite part of the shot is where the two bolts come together.

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David Cassidy at Disney World's Epcot

David Cassidy (66), originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

Tonight was a great night. Norwood and I went to see the David Cassidy at the Eat to the Beat Concert during Epocot's International Food and Wine Festival. He was fantastic! He sang my two favorite Partridge Family songs; "Come on get happy" and of course "I think I love you." Which he declared that he will sing "As long as he has breath in his body." He saved that song for the last song of the first show and of course all the women (and some men) rushed up to the edge of the stage for a chance to hold hands or in some cases kiss him. I of course went to the edge of the stage while Norwood snapped shots and laughed at me, but alas there were just too many ladies in front of me. I did however get a ton of photos! If would you like to see more of the them check out the David Cassidy Slideshow. Oh and if you are a Disney fan check out my all the time Disney Photo Blog: Mouse Beat

Dog vs Mower

Dog vs Mower (5), originally uploaded by amandavisualzen.

Maverick and Norwood both have a new hobby... cutting the grass. Norwood loves his new lawn mower and looks forward to when the grass needs to be cut and Maverick loves to chase after him. They are both so funny!

Sole F83 Treadmill Review

Norwood and I used to be avid walkers. I would walk to work in Boulder and walk home each day (about four miles round trip). Lately though we have become a little lazy. We have tried various different types of exercise equipment to get us moving and burning calories but none seemed to actually keep up interested for more than a couple of week and end up just sitting in a vacant room or being given away. One piece of equipment however has lasted for six years our treadmill. Until recently we had an old Horizon treadmill that moved with us from Colorado. This year it started to finally show its age. The elevation stopped working, after about an hour (sometimes half an hour) it would completely stop. So we decided to invest a little more than the $800 we spent six years ago and get a new treadmill. After lots of research we decided on the Sole F83 Treadmill (2009 Model). It is an amazing treadmill! It is the one that the Hilton Hotel will use in their fitness centers. It has a 3 horsepower motor. Will rise in elevation to 12 and goes 12 miles an hour. It is surprisingly quite for as big as it is. With the Horizon we always had to turn the TV up more to hear over the treadmill, not so with the F80. The control panel is easy to use and see and you can also control the speed and the elevation from the side grips.



The best part about the Sole F83 Treadmill (2009 Model) are the warranties that they offer. .. the motor, deck and frame have a lifetime warranty. The electronics and the wear components (the belt) have a 5 year warranty and many have said that Sole will honor their warranties without hassle.



We both highly recommend this treadmill. If you are a runner or just a walker like me you will find it easy to do an hour on this treadmill. Although you are looking at spending around $1800 for it the deck alone is worth the extra money you will spend on this compared to the cheap ones you can often find in department stores. It has a cushion deck which helps to absorb some of the shock of walking and running on your knees. So far it is well worth the money. Oh and one little tip if you do get one… you are going to need some room. Although it can go against a wall it is very large so check out the dimensions and measure your intended space before purchase. If you want to find out more about it or see some of the sellers of them at Amazon check out the link below…

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Photohunters: Blue

This is what it looks like when you are heading into the future... well when you are one Spaceship Earth in Epcot anyway. In real life the blue above are just a bunch of little lights but here with no flash and an unsteady hand I got the cool picture above.

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