winter walk

winter walk from Ali Murphy on Vimeo.

"ever so softly, winter brings peace to the earth and hope to our hearts" 

this weekend i went for a winter photo walk around campus.  it was freezing and snowing heavily at times, so i didn't stay out too long but i got some nice wintery shots.  i had to trek through about 8" of snow to get the first few photos in this video...and i loved every minute of it :)

i put together a quick movie of some of my photos [they're all unedited and straight-out-of-camera].  it was so much fun to be out in the snow and just enjoying nature.

a few of the snowy pine photos are on flickr.

hope you had a wonderful snow-filled weekend too!

saturday morning

 

i've been spending way too much time on the computer lately [surprise, surprise], so this morning i decided to take a break from technology.  i put on some music, made a cup of peppermint tea, and painted my nails...then i flipped through some wonderfully mindless gossip magazines [a perfect saturday morning, i think].

my mom got me the prettiest red nail polish for my birthday.  and guess what it is called??  ali's big break!!  how perfect is that?

so i'm back on the computer for the rest of the day to work [and to procrastinate on facebook, flickr, and blogs], but at least i took a little break from technology...

...and now i get to rock pretty red nails while i type :)

snow day

the past few days have been extremely snow-filled here in PA, and most people are miserable about it.  but not me...i love it :)

yes i have moments, like when i was walking back from a meeting late last night, almost a mile across campus...my feet were cold, my head was wet from the snow, and i keep slipping on all of the unplowed walkways.  or this morning when i cleaned off my car for the 20th time this week [a total exaggeration, i know :)].  or tonight when i hike downtown to get groceries and build some serious arm muscle carrying it all home.

but every morning i still wake up with a smile on my face when i see those fluffy flakes falling from the sky.  i think people have lost that magical excitement of a snow day.  people no longer appreciate mother nature, they just complain about how she disrupts their life.  i think that the snow is a reminder to slow down, to stay home and take a break from the busyness of every day, to enjoy a quiet moment in nature, or to channel your 8-year-old self and have a snowball fight or build a snowman.

last night i looked out my window and saw this sweet little snow angel on the lawn outside.  someone remembered what snow days are really about and took time to enjoy it :)

so i challenge you to take a minute and enjoy the snow this weekend...no matter how miserable it makes you.  go for a walk, take some pictures, or fall back into the snow and make an angel of your own...

christmas in new york

[see larger images on flickr]

for my birthday, my parents took me into new york to see a broadway show and walk around the city.  the show was so much fun [promises, promises] with lots of laughs and great music :) and the city was absolutely beautiful.  it was truly dressed in its christmas best:

bows on skyscrapers

twinkling lights on every tree

christmas shoppers dodging bright yellow cabs

carolers singing

st pat's filled with candles, christmas trees, and prayers

...there was definitely some christmas magic in that cold, winter air :)