THIS is why I haven't been blogging....

Hooray! I finished the first course in my Graphic Design program! PHOTOSHOP BASICS. Thought I'd share the fruits of my labor...not sure what else I would do with all this....

So this was our first exercise. I had to extract this taxi to make a mockup of colorful taxis to pitch to the city of New York.

This was cool because I learned to color change things. Next I'll turn Obama into an alien or maybe make some new types of fruit. The possibilities are endless when you know how to color change things. And yes that is the technical term. (No it isn't.)

This exercise we had to turn this cabin into a nice Alaskan retreat. This project just about killed me. I found out that I'm not big into doctoring photos. I tried to make it look as realistic as possible, but succeeding at that would probably take a lot of practice.

This one we had to make a fake drug ad for "Filtrex." My instructor seemed to really like mine and nominated it for the student gallery, a place of high esteem for photoshop amateurs such as myself!

This exercise we had to make a visitor's guide cover for the town we're from. We had to use our own photos and use ridiculous filters that I don't like. I cheated by using a photo that Nate took (shout out to my bro!) and also I didn't follow the directions at all because I thought they were silly. I was wondering what my grade was going to be since I went my own way on this one, but it came back with a 99! My instructor was probably sick of all the cookie cutter layouts. So BOOYA. And I even got submitted to the student gallery again!

Our final project was to create a TV or Movie Poster. Chuck's a fun show so I decided to do a poster for that. The show has a pretty big geek following as do most shows with a hot female agent and geeks love wallpaper so I made my poster a wallpaper. I'm happy with how it turned out even though my images weren't the best quality.

Overall, I'm really enjoying my program! I love graphics design and I'd spend even more time on it than I do if only my beautiful girls would allow it...

(Sigh....) They are cute though, aren't they?

Can't just let this one go...

As you may or may not know, Congress will be voting on the new Health Care system tomorrow (or maybe it's Tuesday).

I believe that implementing this new system will take America in a direction that is fundamentally against the founding principles of our nation, the principles that made us so successful in the first place. A free market system has historically made us great and the lack of a free market system in other countries historically has been crippling. If the government takes over our health care system, our free markets will be destroyed. To say I'm worried would be a huge understatement.

So in an effort to do something, I've written a short letter which I've sent to Obama, Biden, and my CA state reps. This is just a bit of what I feel, I could go on and on, but hopefully I've gotten my message across. Here it is:

November 6, 2009


To a representative of the people of America, my representative,
I would like to say this:

I am completely against the government takeover of health care.  I plead
with you to vote no when it comes to this vote.  America was created by
our industrious families under the proven system of capitalism.  When
creative and hardworking people are able to create businesses themselves
and serve each other, we all benefit from the innovation.  If one source
governs any whole system, there is no advancement, no innovation, no
creativity and we all lose out on the chance to serve each other and try
to make each others lives better.  I believe in free enterprise,
especially in the health care system and am horrified at the prospect of a
government take over.  Please, DO NOT VOTE FOR THIS HEALTH CARE BILL!

I am a mother, I take care of a family.  I am a former business owner who
has lost a thriving business due to the plunge in the real estate market.
I have not had insurance for some time now.  But I would rather endure
some hardship than to allow the government to take over so I can have my
hand out.  It is too expensive fiscally and too expensive to the well
being of our country.  Free enterprise is one of the most important
principles this country was founded on.  Please, DO NOT VIOLATE IT!
Nothing would make me sadder.

The people of America are a great people.  We do not need to be and do not
want to be spoon fed by the government.

Sincerely,

Tara Ethington

I would urge everyone to do their part and make their opinions known. 

 "Evil prevails when good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke

I used this site to email my letters.  They make it pretty easy.  The emailing part is at the bottom. http://www.capwiz.com/libertyleaders/issues/alert/?alertid=14016051&type=ML

If you agree with me, feel free to cut and paste my letter, change or add whatever, and put your name in.  

We all live in an incredible country built by incredible people, built on principles that are the envy of the world.  Our forefathers have laid the foundation and it's our privilege and duty to make sure their work doesn't unravel because we failed to take action.  Don't let ridiculous politicians run away with our country.  Let's remember who we are, and where we came from.

I seriously love America, I can't stand aside while she gets hurt.

Not sure what to do next... Anyone want to start an "I love America Action Club" with me?

Oh, and if you do end up writing a letter or have an opinion regarding what I wrote would you comment?  Just want to know how many people will actually even read this.... :)

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I love this.

Awesome New Show Alert

So I watched the pilot episode of "Community" and I thought it quite enjoyable and hilarious. Officially recommended.

Watch it here on Hulu.

And yes, Chevy Chase is in it!

Photo Editing Bonanza!

A few weeks ago, Phillip and I discovered a program benefiting military spouses. The program gives $6000.00 to military spouses to pursue education for a "mobile" career. You know I jumped on that and now I am currently enrolled in a 13 month graphics design program through Sessions Online School of Art and Design. I'll be learning a bunch of awesome stuff including how to use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I know...BOOYA! So I'm into the 2nd week of Photoshop class and I already know how to do stuff! Following are some of the fruits of my labor, which I'll probably be posting a lot of. Let me know what you think...

I'm particularly proud of this Izzy photo, because it was actually taken by me with my bum camera with a broken screen. When I took it I couldn't see what I was capturing and I was just hoping Izzy was actually in the shot. Izzy luckily was in the shot, but the photo was pretty lame. I was able to mess with it (alot) and I think it turned out pretty good!


This was for class. This girl had a messy messy face. I cleaned it up.





These 2 were also for class. My first attempts. Not too shabby...

Anyway, I love Photoshop now! I'll keep on practicing!

3 Recommendations!

Recommendation 1: Netflix

I love Netflix sooo much that I am officially recommending it to everyone! We got rid of our cable about 5 months ago and haven't missed it one bit. We get 2 DVDs out at a time for $13.99 a month and we get a ton of movies and shows we can watch instantly too. I'm stoked about all the money we save not paying for cable and that all this happens through the mail. I don't see why anyone would ever go to a video store to rent anything ever again (especially with Redbox...which I also recommend...) You should definitely Netflix.




Recommendation 2: Hulu

Hulu is a website that posts practically anything you would be likely to watch on prime time cable. Check it out and watch what you want.

Recommendation 3: Make your TV your 2nd computer monitor! You can watch everything from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, whatever on your TV, just like it was cable! So wow! And you can surf the net on the big screen if you so desire...it's the best.

So my ultimate recommendation today is to get rid of your cable, get netflix and turn your TV into a giant computer. Trust me, you won't be sorry. I'm not!

Umm, Phil, I think we need more powder.

I was at my desk, 5 feet away apparently COMPLETELY engrossed in Photoshop. Dora was on, no one was crying, things relatively quiet for once, so I guess I didn't feel the need to look up. Lesson learned...

I spent yesterday dusting.