Look up.

I'm not much of a photographer and I don't have a fancy camera. But since starting this blog, I've tried to get a little more creative with my pictures. Lately I've been fascinated by looking up and seeing what I can capture. Here are some of my favorites, mostly because they remind me of fun times and great trips.

Children's Museum of Indianapolis

Looking up at the base of Fireworks of Glass, the Chihuly sculpture at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Opryland Hotel in Nashville

Admiring stained glass in the lobby of the Opryland Hotel while in Nashville for the Blissdom conference.

Phoenix

Sunbathing by the pool at the Canyon Villas in Phoenix.

Indiana Statehouse

After a meeting with the Lt. Governor and other Indiana bloggers, I stopped to check out the rotunda of the Indiana Statehouse.

St. Pete Beach

And finally, trying to get the arrow to look up at the kite flying above while spending time at St. Pete Beach.

Maybe now I'll work on looking down and seeing what I find near my feet as we wander around!
This post is a part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Waterfalls and fountains at the Opryland

Last week, I shared a few favorite photos from my morning photo walk at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. But I have so many more that I fell in love with--particularly those of the fountains and waterfalls. You would have thought I was standing in a tropical forest. And I can assure you it's not my photography skills: I use a point and shoot camera, and I don't know the first thing about editing my pictures. (Not something I'm proud of, but there are diapers to change and mouths to feed around here. Someday!)

Opryland Fountains

Opryland Waterfalls

Promise me you'll pay this place a visit the next time you're in the Nashville neighborhood?

This post is a part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

A blissful, happy morning

I got back late last night from Blissdom, a blogging conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. I learned so much from the sessions I attended and met some great people while there. The conference continues through Saturday, but the middle of the week is a tough time to get away when you're a stay-at-home mom. I really appreciated my day there, though. (And many thanks to my parents and husband for caring for a sick arrow while I was gone.)

I had some time in the morning to go on a self-directed photo walk of the Opryland Hotel, where the conference was held. The Opryland reopened last month after being devastated by the floods that hit Nashville in May. (I talked a little bit about that here.) My, what an amazing job they've done with the renovations. It is truly a spectacular facility. My favorite part was all the lush plant life you'll find. I'm sure part of my attraction to this is the cold winter we've had. The arrow just seems to go from one illness to the next (nothing serious, fortunately), and this winter season has gotten me down. We've been stuck inside more than I'd like. (I have a little rule that it has to be above 20 degrees to go on a walk in our neighborhood. Which we've been able to do only one time this month.) My own walk through the Opryland was a much-needed tropical escape from all the stuffy noses and fevers (cabin and temperature!)

The theme at I Should Be Folding Laundry's photo linkup this week is happy. A big dose of Opryland happiness was the cure for my winter blahs, and I'm glad I could share these photos in case you needed some too.

Look for more photos from my time at the Opryland in the weeks to come.

Finding my bliss at Blissdom in Nashville

One of my goals since I started this blog last July has been to attend a blogging conference. I've been teaching myself everything I do here in this space completely on the fly, which has never been my preferred method of learning. And I'd really like to be more intentional about improving my writing skills, and a conference seems like a good avenue through which to do that. I also thought it would be a fun chance to meet some people in real life who share my interest in carving out space for myself on the web.

I know very little about what separates one blogging conference from another. But when I read that the Blissdom conference was taking place in nearby Nashville, Tennessee, I thought it made sense to sign up. It's being held the last week in January, and I'm only going for one day, but I hope to learn a great deal and meet some fellow blogging folks.

A highlight for me will be spending a night in the recently renovated Opryland Hotel. I visited this hotel when my family first moved to the midwest from Connecticut. I think I was 10 or 11 years old, and I remember very clearly wandering around the hotel's giant atrium in complete awe. The lush greenery, the water, the bright flowers--I nearly convinced myself I was in an exotic jungle. I was devastated when I heard how it was almost completely destroyed during the floods that hit Nashville last spring. The Huffington Post has some astonishing photos of the damage. I worried this American treasure might never bounce back.

Atrium of the Opryland. Photo courtesy of the Gaylord Opryland.

But indeed it has, and today I dream of once again standing in awe in that atrium. I'm also dreaming of being able to devote a full day to learning about blogging--I hope to return home with lots of ideas to make Arrows Sent Forth a more fun and enjoyable read.

Are any of you headed to Blissdom? I'll be there on Wednesday for the Wisdom Workshops and would love to meet up!

This post is a part of Mondays are for Dreaming at The Mother of All Trips.