Currently {july third} - UPDATED!!

No graphic this week because I haz the lazy.  So the prompts for this week are managing, missing, thinking, creating, and looking.

a)  I am currently managing to not lose my mind! July is always a busy, hectic month for us.  We have two birthdays and parties to work through, a mini-vacation to take, and then this year, we begin the endless running that is high school marching band.  I might feel a little better if that planner that I ordered a month ago had shipped already.  The page mentioned it would take 3-4 weeks for shipping, but several reviews said that it hadn't taken quite so long.  I'm impatient and I want it like... yesterday.

b)  We are missing the annual county fair/Catfish Festival/fireworks this year.  More like opting out as opposed to having something else to do instead.  I'm all about supporting local, but the only thing that has changed about the festival in the 8-ish years we have been going is the price.  It used to be just $10 per car for admittance, but now it is priced per person.  It's a catfish festival so they have catfish plates (catfish, slaw, hushpuppies, fries) that used to be $5, were $8 last year.  Like I said above, July is a busy month and we already have so much going on, can't afford to be wasteful with the monies.

c)  I've been thinking A LOT about a friend of mine.  Her not yet 2 year old daughter was sick last week.  Wasn't eating or drinking, was vomiting and had diarrhea.  She took her to a local hospital multiple times and kept being sent home and told it was only a virus that would run it's course.  Was even told on the third visit to not bring her back.  But as a mother, you KNOW when something is wrong with your child.  She returned to the ER again and this time her sweet baby had to be life-flighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville because of acute renal failure!  Within 45 mins of being at Vandy, it was discovered she has e.Coli.  She's had three blood transfusions, a surgery two days ago to prep her for dialysis, and a surgery to start a PICC line so she can get medications.  Thank all the lucky stars that overnight she had several wet diapers (!!) and even ate some pudding cups (she hasn't eaten anything since last Wednesday, not yesterday... last week) which means she *knock on wood* will not have to have a feeding tube.  If you'd like to keep up with her or donate for her medical expenses and her parent's traveling expenses, click here. She still has a very long road ahead of her.  Keep sending the good vibes!

d)  I've done the Fat Mum Slim Photo-a-Day challenge in the past, but I wanted a fresh start.  So I'm creating photographs using her prompts and only my DSLR camera.  I don't use it enough and the more practice I have with that new lens, the better I will become.  It's like having homework that I actually want to do.

e)  I've been looking around our yard and wondering how best we can make use of the space.

Recently got the Google Camera app for my phone and I was trying out the Photo Sphere section.
I don't think I did it right because clearly this isn't a sphere.

We keep talking about a garden, but never actually get one going.  Maybe next year.  We've also considered a pond, but the idea of mosquitoes scares me into not considering it too much.

Currently link up is hosted by Harvesting Kale and OT & ET.

next weeks themes:

celebrating, growing, playing, setting, feeling

So that whole Photo Sphere not being a 360 degrees was kind of bothering me. Turns out you have to have a special viewer. I did a little searching here and there and TADA! Here it is!!

Views: Butler County, KY by Christine Bewley

Please ignore my less than perfect house and non-manicured lawn. We can't all be squeaky perfect. :) But you can see our re-purposed dog kennel.  That is wisteria we've been weaving in and around the chain link.  We cut it all down at the beginning of Spring, but that wisteria is apparently a hardy plant because it's come back with a vengeance.  Not exactly pretty yet, but eventually we'll have flowers and a butterfly garden around it.

Pros = you can see a whole view! You can scroll and zoom.  I look forward to doing another in the Winter for comparison.

Cons = I don't like that I can't (or haven't figured out how to) not show location. I guess it's not too big of a deal, a quick search will probably give my address anyway...