MILLing about: The Crowe Family Farm (part 2)

A few other pictures taken on the Crowe Family Farm

That is all.

MILLing about: The Crowe Family Farm (part 1)

You met Joey in an earlier post. He recently bought a house! As a housewarming gift Ty, Heather, and I planned a secret trip to his family's farm in KY (just south of Scottsville). The farm has been in his family since the 1800's and the house on the property has been there since the early 1900's. We got lots of good photos of the place. Joey has told us many a story about visiting there as a kid. The house is in poor shape, so we wanted him to have something cool to remember it by. Here's the photo:

Heather had the great idea to get a canvas print done. I cropped the size a little, tweaked it some, and placed the order. It turned out really well. 

Of course, the light in my room created a nice glare...

Here it is from an angle:

I'm a fan of canvas prints. I wasn't super confident about the place I ordered from, but it was the only place I could find that offered custom sizes (at a reasonable price). I decided first to order a smaller print in case it turned out terrible. This is what I got:

I love it. It's hanging in my office/cubicle with my new chair!

If you come visit me at work I'll let you sit in it!

The end.

Still to come: more fun on the farm

MILLing about: Alabama (w/Kitty)

I spent the past weekend hanging out with an old friend. Elizabeth (aka: Liv, Liver, Patty, Kitty) and I have known each other since the middle school-ish years. She now lives in Pelham, Alabama just south of Birmingham.  We spent a few hours wondering around, sweating, and getting a few fun photos.

My favorite picture from the weekend. We found this train "museum" that was more like a train junkyard. The sign said, "for your safety do not climb on the equipment." We promptly pretended to not see the warning and continued about our train hopping.

I'm not used to being in front of the camera, so when the opportunity arises I look like this:

Next, we visited a state park. We found a waterfall trail and decided that .4 miles wouldn't be tough in flip flops. The path was only paved/gravel for about .2 miles. Then came the worst hiking I've ever experienced. Trees, rocks, and a cliff had to be maneuvered around to get to the falls. The folks we passed who were making the return trip told us it wasn't worth it. Apparently the fall was more like a trickle that day and the climbing required to get there wasn't worth the effort. Even though we didn't make it to the fall/trickle we did stop to take a few pictures.

Anyone else think it looks like Kitty is climbing a tree?

I'm quite the jumpy person. I'm not a fan of anything that might fly/hop/run at me. Even this little butterfly caused me some fright for a few seconds.

That is all...

Coming soon: A trip to a KY farm. You're gonna love it!

the fASHion Mill 1.6

I've been working on a few painting projects lately, but have been crazy busy with other things and haven't had a chance to finish them all or blog about it. Here's something I painted recently for Emily and Adam (let's be honest, it's more for Emily). They just bought a house and, if all goes as planned, will close in a few weeks. They're either planning on hanging this in the living area or Emily's sewing area. It depends on who wins out between the two of 'em. I think it might be a bit too girly for Adam...

I used tape before painting the colors and flowers. When I ripped the tape off, I had nice clean, lines. It was fun. And different. That is all.

O wait, that isn't all. I got something in the mail tonight that I can't wait to show you! Check back soon...

MILLwork for food: the Conn's

Dave surprised Deanna with a weekend getaway to Nashville (from Louisville) for their 10th anniversary. While here, I spent a little time with them taking pictures. I always love catching up with people from back home, so it was a welcome visit. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

I love catching candid moments. Especially when it's two people who enjoy each other's presence. So cute.

The "cog" at LP Field. A strange structure to be at a football stadium, but a good photo op.

I'm a fan of this wall. Really.

The pedestrian bridge from LP Field to downtown. 

Sneak Peek!

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to today. More to come.

Stay tuned...

for Emily

Dear Emily,

I made this for you.

Now you have 18 J's.

Sincerly,

AshMill

a MILLion stories to share 1.6

This past weekend I took my little sister to Nashville Shores. It was definitely an experience. Amidst water slides, a large water bucket dumping on top of you, over-priced fried food, large ladies that couldn't keep their tops on, rain and clouds, and almost as many lifeguards as visitors, Jamenita decided to throw up in one of the pools. Too much excitement I guess. Since no one seemed to notice, we quickly evacuated the swimming area and headed to the restrooms/showers... YUCK

Despite the incident, we still had a lot of fun. I had a few shots left with the waterproof disposal camera that I took rafting. Take a look:

Isn't she cute?

Nice. I know.

Her eye is open. Creepy.

Another great photo of the two of us. 

a MILLion stories to share 1.5

A few weeks ago I went white water rafting with some pals from Bowling Green. For fun, I bought a waterproof disposable camera to take along. Keep in mind that disposable cameras offer no features other than they can get wet. These pictures aren't quite quality, but they do let you in on the highlights of the event.

Everyone looks ridiculous in these helmets that don't really feel like they'll protect you.

The one time Carly and I actually smiled for a picture. Emily didn't get the memo.

I'm quite proud of this picture actually. It's hard to look through the viewfinder when you're bumping along the water. Notice the other raft in the background and our guide. They add nice detail to the great shot of Emily.

Here's Emily again. Right after a big rapid sent her into the floor of the raft. After some body part hit my back. Before Adam and our guide were lured out of the raft by one of the more mischievous rapids. Before I "rode the bull" and also ended up in the floor of the raft.

This is something I had not done before on other rafting trips. You see, this here raft is upside down and bolted into a rather large rock. We all got to take turns using the raft as a slide/trampoline into the water. It was pretty fun and quite hilarious to watch people frantically swim over to the other rafts after sliding so they didn't get taken down current.

All in all, it was a great trip. I hadn't been rafting in like six years. 

Coming soon: more adventures with the disposable camera

MILLing about: Chicago

Over the 4th of July holiday I headed up to Chicago with some family. Nine of us in one house--sounds crazy, right? It probably was, but we had a good time anyway.

Unfortunately, it rained on Saturday while we were playing downtown. My camera was safely tucked away under my $3.00 poncho. Besides, amongst trying to keep warm and dry, eating Giordano's crazy good pizzas, and figuring out the whole Steve McNair deal, I barely would've have time to fit in picture taking. Maybe.

On Sunday my sister had a cookout with yummy BLT Dip (great with wheat thins), guacamole (very green), some-type of sausages (dee-lish-us ones), potato salad (approved by Bo-bo), texas barbeque beans (i'm not typically a fan of beans, but these passed the test), and the always invited to cookouts hamburgers and hotdogs. It was quite a spread and I'm pretty sure I didn't go more than 15 minutes without taking a bite of something. Really.

My brother-in-law's sister came along with her 4 children--all boys. This was the only time I pulled my camera out the whole trip.

Lucas is one of the twins. He was really good at the slip-n-slide as well as splashing the camera.

This is Jacob. The other twin. Quite precious. And quite the little ham.

My mom considers these guys her grandkids. They're really good at making funny faces. Nicholas is the older one who seems embarrassed by his little brothers and Zachary, aka "Mad Man", is the little one sticking his tongue out.

Here's a pic of the crew that made the trip (minus Brittany who took the photo)

From left to right: (Top) Paul (Bo-bo)- we're 20 days apart in age. As a baby, I was a giant compared to him; Gabe, my 14-year old cousin from Florida who thinks Spanish people are from Mexico, not Spain; Sabrina- the sister with the Baby Baker growing inside of her; Me; Mom- the insane one (her word, not mine); (Bottom) Jim- the Bears fanatic; Ray- the uncle that gets me into UK Football games; Dad- the cornhole champion

MILLigrams: CHICAGO

Last summer the family headed up to Chicago for a few days to hang with my sister and brother-in-law. This Friday, we're heading that way again! Here are a few pics from last year's trip.

I was extremely impressed by this guy. First, his painting is ridiculously amazing. Second, he sat there in front of thousands of people who strolled by. I don't have that kind of courage.

My brother-in-law, Jim, at the Taste of Chicago. Pretty sure he enjoyed that turkey leg.

The birds at the Navy Pier are not afraid of people. They'll fly right by your head.

Sweet little Bailey. She's been the only kind of grandchild around for a while, but there's going to be another princess (or prince) around soon.