two hundo 45.

snow snow snow SNOW.

expect more pictures too, I'm sure you're quite aware of the weather forecast.

well, this is lovely and soft and beautiful.  enjoy.

falling slowly.

day 2-forty-4.

most of my dad was spent in a car.  and this picture was actually taken while I was behind the wheel.  oops.  I guess I should spend more time focusing on the road.

but this was too pretty to ignore and I didn't wan to pull over, I was desperate to get home and get in my sweats.  finally caught up on this blog.  almost to the 100 days left mark.

snowy swirl.

blurriness mixed with focus makes me happy.  expect some more snow pictures, we're gonna get dumped ON.

243.

we were stuck in a hotel all weekend but we got one night to get out, and a good time we did have.

got some mexican, had lots of laughs, and then we went and got some custard.  it was a really cute little place and I had a delicious chocolate peanut butter shake.  but before stepping inside I admired the joint with my camera.

ice cold.

colors!

day 242.

so this weekend I went to madison to a conference for young life.  it was super fun.  we also learned a lot about leadership and life and it was just generally really great.

on the way there we stopped at this gas station and it was kinda weird and they had decorations and crazy stuff everywhere.  including a wall of license plates that I really enjoyed.

well...here.

fully licensed.

maybe a little ordinary, but I like it.  and I just love that "spiffy".

day two hundred 41.

so this was another night of drive-bys.  I had a busy day, I guess, so it was left up to dark hours to get a picture.

I really did this though.  I've always thought that its odd that the speed-lube keeps its lights on all night.  why waste all that electricity?  it's also a little creepy.  but, visually, its reeeealll nice. 

see through.

I love the inner edge of the windows.  its sick.

2-forty.

so after a couple of late nights and a weekend out of town with no internet, I'm back.

I've had a long couple of days and some of these pictures are random, not gonna lie, but hopefully they're still good.

so last week I had firehouse pizza THREE times.  and each time was more delicious than the next.  this particular visit featured amazing dessert pizza.  good thing for me that I got to consume this, too bad for you.

how sweet it is.

you can never go wrong with cinnamon crumbles...and chocolate...and icing.

two hundred thirty nine.

so lulu's is my go to place when I need something spunky to take a picture of...and right now I just needed something non-snow related.  I hate the snow.

so thanks to joan and her colorful store, I have wonderful options for photos.

I want this rug some day, but right now I have nowhere to put it.

rags to riches.

 




































mmmmm fabric makes me happy.  like, really happy.

2-3-8.

I think I kinda got lucky today.

maybe not, maybe I'm just really observant and smart.

well I noticed this great line of pine trees over by village courts so I drove myself over there and took some pictures.  they turned out really pretty.  and I just like the angle.

trunk show.

I love the pine needles scattered all over the snow.  happy birthday, stinnivicci!  hope you like the new blog design!

day 237.

drove around again.

this is my life.

creepin out my window with a big ol' telephoto on the side of the road.  what a weirdo.  this is at jefferson school, which, as I've said before...is insanely creepy at night.

swing low.

the snow looks pretty.  though I wish it would go away.

two hundred 36.

games are so so fun, and they are SO good for my blog life.

they're colorful and animated and awesome.

I love our starting line-up, its so sweet!  lights out, blues brothers theme song, hyper excitement, and GO!  so much fun.  and they invite the different area grade schools to come and they get to make a tunnel for the players to run through!  the kids get SO psyched.

I must say, its kind of annoying that they are doing all this stuff AFTER I was in school.  not fair.

tunnel of love.

look how happy those kids are!!

235.

yo yo.

I really enjoy this picture.  even if its sort of weird subject manner.

I did my morton drive around session, like I always do on boring ordinary days.  and I decided to drive through the car dealership.  I love the way this turned out.  the snow looks so cool, its not even right.  except I suppose it is, since its snow.  hope you like this one, katie, happy birthday!

pick me up.

shadows+snow=awesome.

2, 3, 4...

ahhh washington square, you are so generous.

you are constantly providing with quaint and lovely things to photograph.

I park my car and take pictures from the window.  people must think I'm a P.I. at this point, trying to find a man in adultery.  my lens sticking out the window and my conspicuous snapping.  oh well, its fun to pretend.

street stroll.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

day two hundred thirty three.

so there's this church in morton I drive by all the time and I've been wanting to take pictures of it for a while.

this is pretty.  and colorful.  and kinda creepy.

holy ground.

I really like the way the ground looks.  and the windows.

two-3-two.

eighth grade night!

a little bball, a little dancing, and some good times.

I really really dig this shot.  I love the depth and the different shapes and the overall look of it.  hope you like it too.

take the bench.

:)  go potters!

two-thirty-one.

I was lazy today because I had the day off.

but that's ok.

I still got a great picture.  that I thoroughly enjoy.

little town.

booyah.  thanks for the caption, belle.

two 30.

this one is super fun:)

mom and I went to the penguin project show.  for those of you who don't know, the penguin project is an opportunity for kids with special needs to participate in theatre.  they put on a production every year and its AWESOME. 

the first time we went a couple years ago, they did high school musical, this time they did the sequel.  cried within the first ten minutes, laughed the rest of the time, they're hilarious and crazy and awesome. 

here they are, doin' their thing.

rising stars.

you should go, its amazing.

day 2-2-9.

I went over to peoria to visit with the onkens and help them paint.

on the way home I decided to drive through downtown peoria and take some pictures.  which I love.  there's a lot of cool things down there.  there was a wall of a building that was especially cool to me.

I liked that this was behind the buildings, a weird perspective.

rhythm and blues.

some pictures just look absolutely sweet in black and white.

two hundred 28.

I have not felt like blogging.

at all.

but I still take my pictures every day.  It's just super tedious to do this part.  so if anyone wants to be encouraging and share some comments on the pictures, that would be appreciated.

here's this one, went over to grand view drive.

ghostly white.

the trees in the background are my favorite.  they're barely there.

day 227.

today I go out of the house.

I took some pictures when I went to my chiropractic appointment.

I'd say I got lucky.  this turned out way cooler than I thought it would.

cargo hold.

the street looks so grainy and awesome and the trucks are so cool.  it'd be sweet if there were some indie band member sitting in the open space, huh?

day two twenty six.

sick day.

awful.

I hate being sick, and it should be noted that I still am.  my throat is annoyingly scratchy and I can't breathe through my nose.  I feel much better than I did, though.  I wish I had some magic tea to make my throat feel better.

you're not gonna get much out of this one, I sure didn't.  my dad brought over the motherload of drugs and remedies.  this was what my day was consumed of, thus the picture of the day.

a little healing.

I love the colors.  and the steam in the background from my soup.

two hundred twenty five.

sorry for the delay - I've been sick!  you don't feel like doing much when you're sick, let alone blogging.

but I did take pictures.  of course.

the day before my illness truly hit, I got a couple of neat pictures in morton.  there are some neat spots downtown if you look hard enough.
par example...

raise the roof.

looks like it really IS from 1887, huh?

two-twenty-four.

I've been eyeing this gorgeous church in downtown peoria.  I hope to get some far away shots of it too, with the city surrounding it.

but today I got up close and personal.  I love gothic style architecture.

and this is really pretty.  I was obsessed with getting a shot of all the birds that were perching themselves on the steeples.  birds and churches just go hand in hand, don't they?

i'll fly away.

gorge.  props to the hymnal for giving me a caption.

two-23.

today was a spectacular day for church and friends.

I love new friends, its hilarious and exciting to get to know a new group of people.  but that, has nothing to do with today's post.

its kind of crazy weather lately.  it randomly snows.  and then it starts to melt.  but then its not like its really getting warmer, cause its still frigid.  so the melty stuff freezes over.  its infuriating, really.

yet sometimes it can be pretty interesting, visually.  this reminds me of a tiny little mountain.  and I like the texture and graininess of this picture.  the color is crisp yet subtle.

mountain high.

gotta love the parking lots.  what would I do without them?

222.

an overall good weekend.  starting with heading over to my friends' new house!  mr. and mrs. onken bought a house in peoria and we all gathered to help out and as with any move, have a little fun.

late into the evening after painting, organizing, and cleaning...we had some delicious soup and baked some cookies.  and before cookies comes cookie dough!

this picture makes me happy, and hungry.

mix it up.

delish.

two hundred 21.

welll.

it snowed today.  not something I was too thrilled about, but nonetheless, it was pretty...I suppose.  this is rare.  I have selected the first picture I took today.

I think its beautiful and detailed.  it almost makes the fact that winter will not go away, worth it.

a little dust.

a little pop of color...shading and texture...yum.

2-2-0.

I had trouble deciding on this one.

it was between something cute, and something lightly sad and creepy.

I went with sad and creepy.  hopefully nobody reading this has strong feelings for the emotions of crustaceans. I have to admit, they're weirdly cute, but they also taste delicious.  yet, I'm a person who has the tendency to look at cows and start drooling.

I find this picture interesting.  I like the big claw in front and I'm pretty sure he's looking at me...probably giving me the stare down because he knows I'm about to order lobster bisque.

in a pinch.

poor guy.  he's just too pathetic for words.

day 219.

the blog was NOT cooperating yesterday.

but I had this one picked out!

this is one one of the little side streets in morton, off main st.  there's a cute little shack near the library.  after enhancing the colors on this one it turned out pretty glorious.

true blue.

that window is incredible.  everything about it.

two hundred 18.

so so happy with this one!

I took a lot of cool ones today, and they were all at a school, believe it or not.  it was a beautiful (yet freaking cold) day and there was a lot of great light.

I've been admiring these guys for a while.  frozen and fuzzy and perfect.  this is currently my wallpaper and its absolutely delicious.

amber waves.

ohhmagossshh.

217.

hey-o.

I wasn't feeling so good this evening.  my body aches and I just didn't wanna go out.  and I was in the office all day so I wasn't out during the day either.

but I decided to try some zoom shots from my window.  I like the way this turned out, especially after I edited it, its actually kind of funny how I got the shot.  I was breathing on the window and liked the way it looked so I got down on the floor to make the fog part of the picture.

hoisted heights.

what decade are we in again?

two hundred sixteen.

so imago is experiencing some baby fever.

literally.

here are two of my new friends, juliet and grace.  they are sweet girls and are both vying for the heart of one oren bradley.  you've got some pretty girls to pick from, obi.

I just love the layering of this and how sweet these girls are in their mothers' arms.

everything nice.

aren't they so sweeeet???  hopefully, you can all figure out where that caption comes from.

two fifteen.

crisp winter day.

this photo shows that pretty well.  the color of the sky was perfect.  that brilliant blue that makes winter seem not so dreary.

I love that this photo was taken from ground level, my zoom enabled me to to get up close, but the distance created a cool effect.  I know I have a lot of twig pictures, but they are pretty awesome.  so I'm not complaining.

two of a kind.

 

I love how there is a contrast between the bare tree and the evergreen.  so pretty.