44th President of the United States of America

Barack Obama 44th President of the United States.

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE ..... YES WE CAN !!!!!!!!!!

Wow ! What a race ?

There is no doubt who the people wanted to lead us into the future. We have seen the first major change with the first black President and there are many many more changes to come.

John McCain is a very gracious looser and his speech was an incredible one. I love how he said that the victory will not change their differences from each other but that he accepts Obama as his president and has pledged to help Obama in the future struggles. He was very tasteful in his speech tonight.

Congrats !!!!!! to our new President BARACK OBAMA.

He deserves this position and is very capable of leading us. We need somebody confident and ready to face the challenges ahead in a tough economy. I love his reference to the 106 year old woman and how he talked about everything she has witnessed in her century alive. The bombing of the harbor, bringing down the Berlin wall, The fact that she could not vote because she was black and woman were not allowed to vote. The hopes, dreams and struggles that she has witnessed. It was a powerful speech and we can only imagine that if our kids were lucky enough to be anywhere close to 100 years old what they will experience and witness through out their lives. Today Pravan is six and he will be fortunate to be able to vote again in 100 years and all the triumphs and struggles and dream he will witness along the way will be amazing.

These are the exact words from his speech and I quote :

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? "

I have never been so passionate about politics before but there is a certain security in Obama. This is the beginning of many firsts.Pravan is obsessed with learning the presidents in order and he can name the first 20 in order. Priyasha is not too far behind. At 2.5 yrs old she can name the first twelve in order. Pravan immediately knew this was the 44Th president and said we should put a picture of Obama on his place mat. Here are some pics i took tonight as we watched this historic event together.

It really felt like New Years eve. All those clips of all those places. Times Square, Harlem, Chicago, Phoenix. People all over were a part of this historic event. I sat comfortably on my couch and snapped all these shots. Thanks for stopping by.

Here 's to the future !!!

History in the making

A very nice gentleman pulled over and offered to take our picture. Sign outside public library On the side of the road. At the clubhouse in my development. Notice the snow on the mountains. It was a very cold day and my son decided not to wear a jacket. That was one battle I chose not to fight this morning. Suprisingly he was not cold. Today will mark a memorable day in History and we all get to be a part of it. My kids will grow up and may never remember this unless I can do something to change that. That is exactly what I did. I too them out today to see the voting booths and also see the political signs on the side of the road. They have watched the presidential debates on TV and they have heard so much. They obviously have very little or no idea about how important this day is. Pravan understand there will be a change of presidents but still there is so much more to it than just replacing who is in the white house. I was nervous taking their pictures with the signs today as the motorists that passed by honked at us. For good reasons and in support I am sure. I guy went out of his way and pulled over and offered to take pics of me and the kids together. I thought that was so sweet. Well this morning we got up to snow on the ground and it has been a dull, gloomy, cold day and it has sleeted on and off. I went to the gym and I am in my hot pink tracks today. Someone had to brighten up the day and it was me today. I am so proud of myself for keeping up with the workouts at the gym. Anyway it will be a long night as we watch the results and see what the future holds.

If Obama wins we make history as he will be the first African American President ever. If McCain wins he will be the oldest president and we will have the first woman vice President. Well today will be a truly memorable day and these will be great shots to share with my great great grandchildren and all the ones before and after. You know what I mean.

View of mountains outside my house.

This is what the booths look like where you vote.

This sign was on a busy street and it was unsafe to get the kids out.

At the clubhouse. It was very quiet but they expect to get busy when people get out of work.

I just had to be a part of history. Thanks for stopping by.

Photo Challenge # 23 make over

In my photo challenge group we have the opposite challenge from last week. Last week was click and post with no editing and this week we can dress and doll the image in any way we choose. This for me is a huge challenge. Photo shop is very complex and intimidating to me. It is a steep learning curve and I am learning but still very confused. Here is my entry. I duplicated the image. Turned it black and white. Copy and pasted and then erased to reveal the flowers. I then used an action set downloaded from http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm

I used Aly's vintage set. I then used the sharpen tool to add sparkle to the eye and the burn tool to deepen the eye color. I also used the burn tool on the lips. See I told you I was confused. Don't know what I did and not sure if I like it but this is what I have done. Please leave some constructive criticism. i was really hoping to have her lip color show through and deepen it so it looked a little like lipstick but not too deep. If you know how please e-mail me directions.

BEFORE

AFTER

I love when the kids pick me dandelions and this was last week on our walk in the park. Dandelions are very special as they are the first flowers a child picks for theirparents and every year on mother's day my kids pick me dandelions. That may sound strange but it really is from them. Daddy did not give them money or take them to a store to but me some. They had a blast running around on the grass scooping up every yellow dandelion they could find and the pure joy they have and the simple pleasure of watching them is priceless. I just love it. With that I will share this poem I found on the internet. It is very touching and I love it.

The dandelion who wanted to see the world Once there was a dandelion who wanted to see the world. It may seem strange to you that a dandelion should have such notions. But consider her situation. A small circle of leaves in the middle of a large lawn, all she had ever seen was the dirt beneath, a forest of grass all around, and a patch of sky above. This didn't satisfy her. She didn't know what else there was to see, but she was sure there must be something. And she was determined that sooner or later she would discover it for herself and she certainly tried. The thought naturally came to her quite early that she should grow her leaves above the surrounding grass. Then she would be able to see whatever there was beyond her immediate neighbourhood. And this she tried to do but every week something terrible happened. Perhaps you could help with the sound effects. We need the noise of somebody trying to start up a rotary mower. It's a bit like a sneeze? Ka-CHOO-hoo . . . . . . . Ka-CHOO-hoo . . . . . . . Ka-CHOO-kata . . . . . . . Ka-CHOO-kata . . . And then suddenly the mower comes to life. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr . . . . . . . Those were the sounds that brought awful fear to the heart of the dandelion. For a while the noise would keep its distance: Brrrrrrrrrrrr . . . . . Then it would come close and very loud: BRRRRRRRRRRRR . . . . . Then it would move off again. But always, at last, it would happen. A shadow would suddenly come over her. There would be a whirring and a smashing and a mangling in the midst of incredible noise. A second later, when it was over, her leaves were gone, and she had been chopped back to the level of the ground. It was a dreadful experience. For two days afterwards the dandelion would be in a state of shock. Then, when she began to get her wits back, she would say to herself: "Why do I bother?" But then she would take courage and begin all over. She would send up young leaves and try again. And then, one week, it didn't happen. The horrible noise didn't start up. Her leaves were allowed to grow higher than they had ever gone before. The reason for that, though the dandelion didn't know it, was that the family had gone off for their summer holiday. All she knew was that this time no dreadful shadow descended on her to chop and crush and mangle. She pushed her leaves higher, and she saw things that she had never seen before. She saw other growing things besides blades of grass. She saw flowers in beautiful colours. She saw shapes that we would recognise as fences and sheds and houses. It was all very exciting, even if a little bit hard to understand. With great daring, she then began to do something she had never done before, something she had only just realised she could do. She sent up a stem with a bud on the end. "Goodness," she thought, "I'm going to have a flower! I wonder what colour it will be!" When the flower opened she found she was a beautiful golden yellow, and she was pleased. Now she could see all sorts of things, and she just wished she could go to explore them more closely. The fence, the house, the flowers, even moving things - butterflies and birds, cars passing beyond the fence. It was all very strange, and a bit confusing. But it was wonderful. After a while the petals of her flower began to dry up, shrivel, and fall away. But the dandelion didn't mind that. Because she suddenly realised there was something else she could do, something else she could become, just as lovely in its own way as the flower. Soon, on the end of the stem where the flower had been, there was a marvellous round, white, fluffy ball. It was about that time that the family came back from holiday. "Goodness!" Father said, as he stopped the car in the driveway. "The very first thing I must do is put the mower through the lawn." "Oh look!" said one of the children, "There's a dandelion!" She ran over. The dandelion found herself plucked from the ground and lifted high. The child blew. The downy seeds danced away on her breath . . . . And the dandelion was free at last, free to travel in a hundred directions. She was off to see the world. Evan Lewis

The simple pleasures in life should define childhood and every child should enjoy the dandelions. There is no harm in the growns joining in on the fun.

Day in Truckee

These pictures are from Friday. We spent the day in Truckee and visited dad at his office. Most of the co-workers passed out candy to kids. the kids had a blast and Priyasha wants to go to work with daddy everyday. She is a daddy's little girl.

pumpkin carving

It was a lot fun doing. I have to admit thought that I enjoyed the end result more than I enjoyed the process. After four pumpkins I was exhausted and there was a huge mess to clean up. We'll do it again next year.

Classroom favors

I made these coffin boxes and we found candy that were in the body parts shape. It was freaky looking. There feet, hand, eye ball, teeth. The kids helped fill the box. I cut them on my silohuette using a GSD file.I used chalk to age the box. I then used spider web to wrap the boxes up. The kids had a blast. They goofed around and tried to look scary.The kids in the class loved the boxes. Thanks for looking.

Batman and tinkerbell

Behind on pictures

I know Halloween has been over for more than two days but I have soooooo many pictures that I want to share. I will make slide shows and add them here. Thanks for looking. Trick or treating on Willow Ranch Trail

For my Sparks visitor

I know I have a visitor from Sparks which is close to where I live. I wondering who you were. Please shoot me an e-mail. Just curious if I know you. Thanks for checking out my blog. I welcome the visits.

esplandry@sbcglobal.net

Batman and Tinkerbell

Priyasha like any other little girl seems to like different things. She first fell in love with Dora and even said her name was Dora. Naturally she was Dora last year. She then discovered strawberry shortcake and we started a collection of all the dolls. She now loves Tinkerbell and I was surprised when she said she wanted to be Tinkerbell. I was certain she would want to be strawberry shortcake. The new Tinkerbell movie is out and she is thrilled to watch it. Maybe she will get it for Christmas. Pravan on the other hand loves all the super hero's. Last year he was black spider man and this year he wanted to be batman. Tara , thanks for the costume. It just worked out that her son was batman last year and this was a hand me down costume. He wanted to be batman before we got the costume so it was great. Pravan's favorite color is black so hopefully he changes it by next Halloween as I do not know what other super hero is black. Here are some pics for you to see. This is so long overdue.

Thanks for looking.