Day 31

You know how it was amazingly warm last week? Yeah. It's no longer warm. Tomorrow the high is -1. Fun.

(f: 3.5; 1/4000s; ISO: 1600)

Day 30

I have a love/hate relationship with laundry days. I love it because after 2 1/2 weeks I FINALLY have clean clothes. :) (Okay, that was probably more than you needed to know, but what is a girl without a washer supposed to do??) I hate it because I have to sit around for hours on end waiting for my laundry to be clean. 

But all is good. Because now my laundry is clean, and I have some good smellin' socks to wear! :) 

I could not think of anything to photograph. Seriously. my life isn't all that interesting, but I guess it is a challenge to photograph inanimate objects... 

This was the best picture I got ... for some reason they all turned out blurry. I don't think the lighting helped much.  

(f: 5.6; 0"5s; ISO 1600; 35 mm) 

Happy Sunday! :) 

Day 29

School started last week. The first week has gone well. These are all the books I have to lug to class and back. Can you believe that it cost me almost $500 dollars to buy these USED books? Well it did. Crazy.

(f:5.6; 0"3; ISO 800)

Day 28

I love little boys. They are so fun, adventurous, curious, and cute. :) Today was even warmer than yesterday! I think it got close to 70 degrees!

(f:6.3; 1/200; ISO 100)

Day 27- what a beautiful day.

Today, I was able to spend over two hours outside in the sunshine! Maxwell, Asher, and I decided to go on a walk (Caden was at school). That walk consisted of ending up at the park, then heading over to Caden's school where we watched ducks swim around on a pond, and then we went ice skating on some of the ice (Max loved it. So did Asher... well, he loved his nap :) Later we picked Caden up from school and played on the playground there for awhile, and then we trudged on home. It was beautiful weather here in the Springs.

(f: 29; 1/15; ISO 100)

Today I decided to try my hand at photographing landscape. Thankfully God made a beautiful creation, and I was able to get a decent picture even in the middle of winter :) 

Day 26

I am so upset. I left my manual (for my camera) in Ecuador! Right when I really wanted to start using it, too! I have SO much to learn about photography. I have SO much to learn about my camera. After owning it for over half a year, I still do not know much about it. Sigh, I wish I had my manual, but thank goodness for the internet :) Tonight I read something about how to take pictures of fireworks.... too bad I didn't know it a few weeks ago on New Years Eve. 

Anyway, I had no time today. I went to class that started at 8:30, and finally emerged from my jail of books and classes at 5:50. Okay, that was a little bit dramatic...but really, it was a long day. I wasn't sure if I would even manage to snap a picture for ya'll. Eventually I did. It's not great... but I like the background. 

Today, for the first time in months, I visited the Wendy's I used to work at. Apparently, there was a huge turn over after I left, and there were only about 3 people who I still knew. One of the girls working there was the girl that I trained.... and she took my order, and oh man, did I train her well ;)  

(f: 5.6; ISO 400; 18mm)

Okay, I've run in to a little bit of confusion... this may be really dumb.... but if my camera says 1"... is that shutter speed? Or what is that?

Day 25

This is the little chime outside the front door.

(f:4.0; 1/160; ISO 200)

Day 24

This little boy, Matthew, is such a sweetheart. I babysit him almost every monday :) I'm not a big fan of taking pictures at night, because the colors turn out weird. :/

(f:4.0; 1/8s; ISO 800)

Day 23

This is exactly how my Sunday school classroom looks every week. My life is surrounded by crayons, coloring pages, mess, and children. I love it.

I've also found out that I LOVE keeping my camera on a lower aperture, because I love seeing it focus on something. I should probably start learning about more than just blurring the background out.

(f:3.5; 1/50s; ISO 400; 18mm)

God is Good

But even the very hairs 

of your head are all numbered. 

Fear not therefore:

 ye are of more value 

than many sparrows.

Luke 12:7

I am just so overwhelmed right now. Right now I am wondering why I ever second guessed God. I wonder why I ever felt like I had to take things into my weak hands.

A couple weeks ago, I found out that my hours had been cut quite drastically (at least she had taken less class time, which means I had less work). I added up the hours, and it appeared as though I was only going to get about 10 hours of work a week. That means I would only be making about $100 a week. At first when I saw that, I wanted to panic. Yes, living off of $100 a week is very doable, but with grocery and gas prices going up, I would definitely have to be very careful with my money (hey, it might be a good lesson). The reason I wanted to panic most was because I had no idea how I would save up for college (which I will be paying for starting this summer) when I was going to have to use most of that for groceries, gas, car insurance, car maintenance, and paying off my computer.

I told myself constantly not to worry too much about it. My mom told me it would be fine, as did my dad.

Lo and behold, they may be right!

I told Kate, the lady I work for, that I would take as many hours as they would give me, and just in one week I got about 25 hours of work from them! It also sounds as though I am going to be getting close to 20 hours next week!

I love it when I am reminded that I am weak, but that I have a mighty God who does provide. :)

God is good. 

Day 22

My beautiful friend, Kristin:

(f:4.5; 1/60s; ISO 400)

 We were missing my sister Julianna, so we included her:

(f:8.0; 1/30s; ISO 400)

Day 21

Maxwell makes such a great model! I turned it into a game, and was able to get a few absolutely adorable pictures of him. I was so torn on which one to put up. I chose this one, because it's different. I'm not totally sure how I managed to get the camera to focus on his face and blur out his hand, but I think I like it.

(f:5.6; 1/20s; ISO 800; 55mm)

In other words, Asher is sitting up! I can't believe it!

Can you believe I get paid to watch these little boys grow?!?!

Day 20

Yesterday I made donuts. They were delicious. :) These were the leftovers along with the dirty dishes! ;)


Edit: I think I could have used better lighting to create a better picture. Maybe I should have used the flash? I just never like using the flash. I could have turned on more lights? What do you think?

(F:3.5; 1/100s; ISO 1600; 55mm)

Day 19

I got several of my books for school today. I set them on the floor and then later found Poncho protecting them... or taking a nap. Who knows.

(f:11; ISO 400) 

Random Points

I finally feel as though some normalcy has finally hit. Yes, I'd love to be in Ecuador still, but there are many ups to being in Colorado.

• My best friend is here
• I have a wonderful job! I actually went back today and worked 7.5 long hours taking care of little ones with fevers. 
• I get free college, and with that I am gaining knowledge

The whole time I was in Ecuador, I wanted to write about a few of the things that surprised me about being there again, but I never got to it. So I'll do my best to cover it now. 

• It's so hard to remember to toss toilet paper into the trash rather than the toilet. 
• One needs to bring TP with them when they go somewhere, because most public bathrooms will not have any. 
• The traffic is crazy. I always forget about how bad it is until I go back. 
• People great you with a hug and a kiss whether they know you or not. 
• People live off of so little. Maids make $15 a day. Wow. I almost make that by the hour. 
• There is a lot of robbery there. Guards are EVERYWHERE. 
• The mountains are huge! Even coming from Colorado, I was in awe of how big they seemed. Magnificent. 
• The malls are all packed. All 7 of the ones in Quito are, at least. 
• Bread is delicious there (and cheap. about 10- maybe 20 cents for a bun). (actually everything I ate there was delicious!)
• The tap water is not something you want to drink- even after being back for four days, I have to remind myself that it is okay to drink from the tap water. 
• You constantly hear alarms going off. 
• The internet is slow. 
• There is so much use of public transportation. 
• You have to yell, "don't run the water" loudly so that it is heard throughout the house so that you can shower with a decent amount of water. 
• Coca Cola is better there.
• Fruit is delicious there. so fresh.
• It's easier to get carsick on road trips. The roads are so curvy. 

I'm sure there are more... I just can't think of them. It's late. I'm tired. 

Day 18

This is the mirror in my bathroom. After taking the picture, I did play around with the colors some, but not much.

I actually found this picture harder to take than I thought it would be. I had an idea in my head, but I could not get my pictures to turn out the way I wanted.

(F: 3.5; 1/40s; ISO 800; 35 mm) 

Philippians 1:20-24

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don't know which is better. I'm torn between two desires. I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes it is better that I continue to live. 

I like these verses. They are a good reminder as to why I am living :) 

Day 17 - before and after

It's been a struggle coming home. The darkness. The quiet. I'm struggling with being alone, and with the feeling that I am not doing anything with my life here. I feel like I could be doing so much more somewhere else. 

I know that right now God has me here for a reason. So to fight the feeling of loneliness I dive into the Word. It's one of the few things that has given me comfort these past couple of days. 

I decided to take this picture to represent the way that I feel. Normally I keep my room decently clean... but these last couple of days it has been destroyed with my lack of motivation. 

For lack of better words, this picture describes how unorganized I feel on the inside. 

It also doesn't help that I have a ton of mail to go through. I also have two suitcases and a backpack to unpack!

(f: 3.5; 1/13s; ISO 800; 18mm)

(f:4.5; 1/20s; ISO:800)

 I keep reminding myself that this is my temporary home, and soon I will be where I've always wanted to be: Heaven :)

I did finally make myself clean up today. I feel a tad bit more organized. 

Also, this wasn't supposed to be a moody post at all. I never expected that coming back would be such a difficult transition, but it has been.

It will help to start work and school again, and just have a life.

Any prayers for my transition would be awesome :)

I can already tell this next semester is going to be full of growth.

Day 16

Here's my first 'official' photo for my project. Although I'm counting the past 15 days as a part of my project as well.

Poncho's home! :)

(ISO: 400; 35mm)

Adios a Mi Pais.

Yesterday was a long, tiring day. It's amazing how traveling can be so tiring even though you just sit all day...

Lunch in Miami. It was good, and decently priced. 

The sun was very hot! 

I liked the colors in this picture. 

I was so thankful to find a nice lounge in the Dallas airport. There were even cots around that I lay down on for awhile. 

My flight from Dallas to Colorado Springs went right towards the sunset. It was gorgeous. 

I thought it was so neat, because you can see the lights under the clouds from the city, but over the clouds there was a gorgeous sunset. 

 I wish I could still be in Ecuador. Last night it was hard to go to bed all alone, and getting up was even worse.

For now God has me here, and my family in Ecuador. So even though it's hard to miss them, I try to make the best of it. Most seniors do not have this opportunity.

I am also so thankful for my pseudo family that I have here.

My friend, David, picked my up from the airport last night and then we went over to his sister's house and I got to see two of my favorite boys, and surprisingly, they were excited to see me! They kept running around calling my name, "Stina".

My Family

Today we went to the Middle of the World. It was cool... I guess... I've just been there so many times and the stores are much more expensive than Otavalo.

It's also my last day in Ecuador, and I am OH so sad. It's been such a wonderful month. It's been full of adventure, and full of growth. I've seen so many beautiful things, and learned so much.

I have to admit, I am dreading going back home tomorrow... I'll probably feel better when I'm there.

I've been trying to make myself happy about going back, and here's a list that I've come up with.

• I get my own room back. 
• I get a big bed :)
• I get to see my friends. 
• I get to see the boys I nanny. 
• I get to go to church
• I get to drive (although I'd love to just always be driven around ;) ) 
• I get to ... Okay... I ran out of things. 
• I have the ability to get one last free semester of college (It's school :/, but I should be thankful)
• I have an awesome job to go back to. 

The monument at the Middle of the World

Judah Boy

Cuties

The whole family except for Steven

We're pretty normal 

365 Photography Project

Recently I was introduced to doing a 365 photo blog. This came up when I started following Karin's 2011 Project. Over the past couple weeks I've been not so sure about whether I want to do it or not.

I didn't really want to do it at first because,

• I'm not that great at photography
• I don't know if I can make myself take a picture a day for the rest of the year
• I don't know much about photography (the lingo, and my camera).
• I felt weird?

I've finally decided to do it because, 

• I will be able to improve my photography skills
• I will have a hobby
• I will learn a lot about photography
• I will hopefully become better at photography
• It will create a new skill (hopefully). 
• I enjoy taking pictures

So, after I finish my "Ecuador Project" I will continue posting hopefully everyday (or a picture for everyday). This project will be intertwined with my personal life as well, because I don't really want to make a new blog for my project. 

I guess we'll see if my photography has improved at all on December 31, 2011.  :) 

The Teleferico

So I started off my day today with a little of this.

And this. 

The teleferico is just a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain. It takes about 15 minutes to arrive at the top, and then you are greeted with a spectacular view. 

We had a little bit of this.

And this. (GROSS ;))

Isn't Ecuador gorgeous?

The city of Quito. Spectacular.

Sisters <3

I told Jason to jump off the mountain. He almost did. 

Yummy Salchipapas. 

 After the Teleferico, we moved on to lunch. It was SO good.

And then my day ended with some funny baby faces.

And some beautiful baby cuddling.

Otavalo

purses. my favorite. 

 Today we went to Otavalo. It was fun. :)

Micah bought a hat

And sunglasses. He's rockin it!

Add caption

Happy Wednesday!

Two for One Pizza Tuesday

Tonight we had pizza. Yummy, delicious, great tasting Papa John's pizza. We ordered 4 pizza's and got two of them free. We grabbed some plates, cups, drinks, and pizza, and took it upstairs. We sat down, put in a movie, and then chowed done. It was nice to sit back and relax... especially after last night.

On the Road Again

When I woke up on Monday morning, I instantly thought, "Oh man, I'm leaving the beach today." I really didn't want to leave the beach, but it happened. We ate some breakfast, sunscreened up, and went out to spend our last, few, precious hours on the coast. We swam for awhile in the ocean, but after two people being stung by jellyfish, we all got out not wanting to be stung. We spent some time at the pools; we went swimming, soaked in the hot tub, and lay in the sun. We then went on a couple tours of apartments that were for sale in the Playa Almendro complex. We were trying to convince my dad to buy an apartment.... how sweet would that be? My dad said he would only consider it if they lived in Ecuador for more than 9 1/2 months.

With that, we had a lunch of left overs, packed all of our stuff, took some pictures, and then headed home.

The trip was going really well until about 7 that night, when my dad (in his little red car) went over a BIG bump in the road which caused both tires on the right side to go completely flat. We were 2 hours away from Quito, we only had one spare, and we were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Thankfully, right where we broke down, there was a mechanic (literally just a block away). He helped put the spare on, and then tried to patch one of the tires. When he came back with one of the "patched" tires, he told us that the glue was just not sticking, but that we could make it to the next town and find a mechanic who would have an intertube to put in the tire which would help us make it back to Quito. So we slowly drove (trying to avoid every little bump) to the town only to find that every mechanic there was closed and wouldn't help us. We decided to keep up our slow travels and hopefully make it to Quito on the tire that was barely glued together. We finally made it to Quito (thankfully, because if the tire had completely collapsed my dad would have had to sleep in the car right on the side of the road), and we went to sleep.

It was so good to get home.

Oh yeah, did I mention it was raining?

Poor lil car

It was great that we had two cars with us! They gave us light!