Monday, March 1, 2010

why am i so tired?

i'm not usually one that's known for being tired... in fact it's usually quite the opposite. i'm the one that hardly sleeps at all. but for the past week i have been chronically tired. maybe i'm fighting off some bug, although i don't feel sick. either way, it's left me feeling a little behind on life. so i type this from under a blanket feeling sleepy in the middle of the day. nonetheless, i am determined to get my blog updated hopefully i'm not too off my game to type coherently.

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we've been especially busy enjoying our taste of spring this past week. sunshine and high 50's isn't normally what we consider warm, but after it's been cold and rainy, sunshine and 58 might as well be summer time! the girls have been running around making mud pies, hula-hooping and playing backyard baseball. and when the rain made an appearance again, the girls got some good old fashioned puddle jumping in. i've tried to keep my sleepy self going with them, and keep stan supplied with lots of pictures of the daily happenings at home.

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speaking of supplying pictures for my sweet deployed husband, i caught this one, from our deck, just as the sun was coming over the mountains a few mornings ago. i sometimes wonder if it's harder to see all of the pictures from home. there are days that it increases the homesickies for sure. but then again, it does give you something to hope for, and something to miss. so hopefully in the end it's a decent balance of the two extremes.

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then, of course, there are the loads of daily pictures of the sweeties... chronicling just how quickly time seems to be passing us by.

yesterday i brought my laptop to church to help register ladies for our women's retreat between services. stan surprised me by calling (since i was logged onto the internet for registration)... we talked and lots of people got to say hello. it was definitely one of those does this make it harder or easier moments. the girls got to talk to him for a bit after sunday school, and it really does drive the being away point home. it's those little moments where you miss him most. the everyday things, that you always do together. we go to church together as a family. of course, it is the life that we have chosen, and there are no guarantees that another career wouldn't come part and parcel with its own share of hardships... not only that, but i am forever grateful for his heart of service beyond just the career choice. the missing him moments always seem to remind me again of just how blessed i am to have such an amazing man.

OH! i forgot to mention that i was a guest blogger over at ella publishing today. i made a photoshop picture pop action that you can download there for FREE! yippee! there is a link for installing the action in the post as well. the little video below will show you how to use it... actions are super easy to use (double yippee). enjoy!


18 comments:

Stephanie said...

What lovely photos of your beautiful daughters. I just started vit D therapy as I just didn't get enough sun this winter, it was leaving me lethargic. Hope your energy levels pick back up and I'm off to try my very first Photoshop action:) Thanks Noel.

Anonymous said...

I tried to download the action, but I got a warning saying it was for Windows. Will it work on a Mac? I'm finally conversant enough with PSE to follow your directions, but would LOVE an action to do it for me. Thanks. Great post on Ella!

Kelly said...

Thank you so much for your action! I admire your photos and love the vibrance and life they always have. I saw your action on Ella and had to try it. The action works awesome...thanks!!!

Susan said...

hey tired missy - have you taken a pregnancy test???

BWAHAHAH!!!

Jeanelle said...

Hi Noel - I just had to pop in and tell you how much I love the pic of the Olympic mountains. I catch a glimpse of them (from much further away) when I'm driving to work and they have been stunningly beautiful all "winter" haven't they (and winter is in quotes because we did NOT get one!!) Hope you're feeling more like yourself soon!!

Angela said...

Thanks for the action on the Ella Blog...I'll be playing with it this weekend!!!

noel joy said...

@Karen
yes, it works on a Mac (I made it on my iMac!) Let me know if you have any trouble with it. :)

@Susan
lol. I'd be in BIG trouble if I were pregnant being that Stan's been gone. hee hee.

Monica said...

I love your tutorials and the action you made. It took me awhile to get it installed in the correct location, but now a whole new world has been opened up to me. I didn't know actions existed. I love photoshop, but only know how to do a few basic things. I have never played around with layers before. I'm learning so much from you! My husband is overseas as well as a civilian contractor. He's only gone a few months but it is still hard. However, him being gone has given me lots of evenings to scrapbook and play around with my photos. Thanks for the new toy!

suzeyq said...

Thanks for your photoshop action! At last something I can understand and use! Your fatigue could be a clue. Besides having your Vit D. level checked, your hemoglobin, iron and ferritin (stored iron) should also be checked! Hope you're back to yourself soon!

Scrappy Girl said...

Hope you get your energy back soon!

Jenni said...

Thanks for the action Noel- I can't wait to try it!
And I say go for some Vitamin D as well. We just don't get enough in these parts! (and it can't hurt to try!)
Hope your back to doing a zillion things soon!

noel joy said...

thanks for all of the tips. i went out and picked up a bottle of vit d today. :)

Sabrina said...

Ok- I am having huge trouble installing the action into my pse and the google searches I've done aren't helping me out either. Can you tell me how to load the action?

noel joy said...

sabrina, email me with your photoshop version and i'll do my best to help! noel.culbertson{at}gmail{dot}com

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the action! When I run it (on PSE7), the top layer isn't a vignette. It says Layer 1 but seems to just be a copy of my image. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks!
Katrina ;)

Karen P said...

Noel,

Found your action and blog today; I just want to encourage you with your dh deployed. I think you are doing an amazing job by doing new and fun things with your daughters even though your husband is not there to enjoy them. Don't be down on yourself for feeling tired, lethargic, as it is a huge job to be a military wife and be responsible for the family alone. I think it is great that you have more opportunities to correspond with technology, but like you said, it can be a double edge sword.

Just want to encourage you and thank heavens for our troops that are willing and committed to helping others and ensuring our way of life is still protected; very selfless!

Monica said...

I took some maternity photos for my sister this weekend. Your action came in very handy while editing! I also used your bright eyes tutorial several times. I love both things so much! Thanks! My photos are nothing like yours, but I'm growing, and that is so fun! You can check out the pics at my blog http://scraplifters.blogspot.com/2010/03/maternity-photos.html

Donna C said...

Thanks for the action -I am looking forward to trying it.

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