Losing That Baby Look

I got my Canon XT just as my son was on the cusp of losing his little boy look. I can remember snapping his picture and thinking that I was so glad I had saved enough money at the time that I did to take these precious last young boyhood photos, all the while wishing I had had the camera many years prior.

I can't help but think that any parent with a digital camera is probably in the throws of taking every possible picture they can of their kids - something our parents could never have afforded to do "back in the day" when we used film and had to send it out to be developed.

Tonight, I went through my files of photos of my boy just to see how he has changed in the almost 2 years I've had my Canon. I also wanted to experiment with making my watermark for photos. I know I probably didn't do it right but I'll eventually figure it out.




Oh, yesterday Miz Booshay tagged every one - sixth folder, sixth photo. This little redhead was mine.



I hope everyone has a safe, dry, warm weekend. Who do you want to win in the Super Bowl tomorrow???

Skywatch Friday

Late afternoon sun today. Minutes later, view of any sunset was totally clouded over.
Check out other skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday!

It Was Just About The Photos

A while back, I mentioned that I had my brand new Moving Star external hard drive crash shortly after I got it. With this crash, went all my photos from our St. Patrick's Day party in 2007 and also my husband's 50th birthday celebration. However, I happily found the above two pictures that were taken and placed in a folder on the hard drive of the family PC. The sole purpose for this blog was to document the improvement (or lack thereof) of my photography skills and would only be viewed by me. Little did I know that keeping a blog and eventually making it public could lead to the fun that it has. One of the best things is finding fellow bloggers with similar interests to mine. One blogger in particular has gone above and beyond normal blogging duties by offering me a help in creating blog banners.

Last night I had the privilege to meet Angie Arthur (well, not in person but over the phone) of The Arthur Clan fame and I Heart Faces fame. We had talked via the internet a good while back about my banner making skills (or lack thereof) and Angie graciously offered to walk me through using Photoshop to create a banner for my blog. Unfortunately, being the non-expert at CS4 that I am, I got hung up on about step 3 of her instruction and try as I might to unlock the stubborn layer, we didn't get far into the tutorial. However, we will try again once I do some homework on my end.

Angie, I just wanted to stay that I appreciate you taking time out of your hectic schedule and also away from Sweatiepy to help a fellow blogger out. It was wonderful to chat with you and I'll look forward to delving into this again very soon, after I get my layers all lined up!

It may have started out as just being "about the photos" but my blogging has become so much more thanks to people like Angie.

Dogs on Thursday, Again on Friday!

Here he is in all of his stunning, sleepy glory! I'd love to get action shots of Freckles but there is no action happening anywhere in his life. Thank goodness I'm not relying on a video camera for him!!!

He's entitled to these years of rest... he was very active as a puppy and always in trouble. Now, he's just my velcro, snoozing, snoring beagle who is loved to pieces!

Be sure to check out Dogs on Thursday for great photos of hopefully more active pups than mine!

My Goodness, I Think Have A Problem!

I didn't realize until this AM, when I went to put my chapstick on, that I may have a problem. I looked on my bureau and this is what I found.



I thought, Yikes, how did I end up with FOUR?

I then opened my nightstand drawer for my hand cream and I found SIX more!








Last week I picked up one from CVS when I was checking out at the register AND
I then remembered yesterday that I picked another up when I went to the store for a hairbrush.


I wonder if they have some sort of support group for this................................

The Results Are In ....

Saw the surgeon today and the news is, the tumor on my tongue was all just fibroma and benign! Deep down I knew that but it's good to hear.

It's been a relatively quiet few days. I've gotten to knit my blanket some, practice some Photoshop skills a bit, and actually sit and watch a TV show on Monday night - Jon and Kate Plus 8! My son and I enjoy watching it together, although I'm finding Kate to be more and more rough/nasty with Jon - which I don't like to see. I'm also seeing that they are definitely straying away from being your ordinary mom and dad raising eight children and more into celebrity-like status which is fine, I guess, as long as the celebrity-like attitudes don't develop right along with it.

I do find joy in watching the Gosselin kids relating to one another. I always wanted several kids but God had other plans so I am content with my two but I do enjoy watching families that have many.

I find joy in my guy too - most days!

PS My nose actually is not THAT LARGE!

I Heart Faces, Week 3 - Joy

Here is my entry for I Heart Faces this week. Be sure to go and check out all of the great entries!

(If only she hadn't had that darn red popsicle before I took the picture!)

Saturday Catch-Up and Pouring Out of My Soul

Nobody said the age I am approaching would be one filled with such mental deficiency. I've always had a fairly spotless house and have had all of my tasks organized so as to be accomplished in an orderly fashion. Dinners for the week were fairly well-planned out a few days ahead, I took my time looking over the grocery store ads, and I just felt like my home ran like a well-oiled machine.

That has all gone out the window in recent months. I cannot stay on task. If I start cleaning one area up, I jump to another area before completing the first. My fuse can be short some days, and I just generally feel.....weird. Can't explain it, I just feel so unfocused. I didn't realize that being premenopause meant I'd feel like I was losing cranial function and capacity.

Laundry, dust bunnies, and various items strewn about the house have been issues that can go unaddressed for days. The daily question of "what are you cooking us for dinner tonight" can some days be "Are you cooking dinner for us tonight".

I pray daily for this to pass quickly. Can a 49-year-old develop ADD????

I Heart Faces

Head on over to I Heart Faces today and check out all of the great face photos people from all over have sent in.

Below is my entry for this week - my nephew!


"

Women Are From Venus, Men.....

Wife said, "Gosh, it'd be so cool to have one of those Gevalia one pod specialty coffee/cappucino/espresso coffee makers for a Christmas gift this year". Husband heard "I really want just a simple run of the mill one-cup plain old coffee maker for a Christmas gift this year, nothing fancy. And I already have the perfect mug!"

I Survived

I had the tumor (technically a fibroma) removed from my tongue today. Hubby insisted it would be a good idea to photograph it before I had it removed. I mean, it has been a part of me for a while now and I probably should have even named it...something like Ralph or Marvin seems to have suited it.

So, we photographed it and I am currently working up the nerve to post the picture... Not sure about how that would appear to anyone who looked at my blog. So, for now, I'll think about it and maybe one day I'll post it.

Instead, I will leave you with the tranquility of a snow scene from today.

Quiet Weekend

Just a photo to remind us all that spring will eventually return, and with it the vibrant colors that nature does provide.

This weekend was uneventful and quiet - just the kind that I like. I got to knit a bit and that was fun... until I dropped a stitch and couldn't figure out how to find it again. So, I went to bed a bit miffed with myself and started anew today.. and fudged the dropped stitch to the best of my ability. I'm okay with the extra little flaw (a small hole) in my knitted blanket. When the Amish make their quilts, they intentionally incorporate a mistake in every quilt because only God is perfect. Yup, that's the way I operate with my knitting/quilting. There is usually a mistake in everything I do. I can guarantee, though, that all my mistakes are unintentional...

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM, I will be lightly anesthetized to have a small tumor removed from my tongue. Doc says it appears benign but needs to come off and then he'll send it off for biopsy to confirm that it is. It will all be done with a laser so I won't have to get any stitches. Hopefully doctors don't perform their surgeries on the same principles that the Amish make their quilts.......

Skywatch Friday

I finally remembered to grab my camera yesterday when going to pick my daughter up from school. The school sits relatively high up and usually there is a great view of the sky that I always stop to look at and take in but NEVER think to bring my camera along. Well, today was the day. The non-pink shots were up at school. By the time I returned home, the sun had really started setting and I was able to capture a bit of nature's watercolor from my driveway.

The sunrise was pretty this morning and I would have gone outside to take a photo but it was cold, very cold, and I was in my PJs, and then there's the problem of the neighboring houses cluttering up my view. I figured any photograph just wouldn't do it justice so I didn't bother...

Be sure to go to Skywatch and check out the view of the skies from all over our world!

Dogs On Thursday ... Almost Friday

Today, my sister came over and we attempted our first session of meditation. For thirty minutes, we listened to amazing tranquil music and relaxed. I can see myself doing this daily as I did feel rather refreshed afterward. I just could not clear my mind of thoughts the entire time. Just as I would sweep thoughts about laundry from the front end of my brain, thoughts of dinner and work and housecleaning crept into the back of my brain. There must be some sort of art to doing this that I will have to read up on.

My son was home sick from school today...He's usually good for one sick day a year, just enough to ruin perfect attendance. He has pretty much missed only one day every single year except for one year in which he got perfect attendance. I made him study for exams and do homework - I'm mean, I know, but I did let him sleep until almost noon.

Finally,I almost missed the deadline for DOT (Dogs On Thursday) but I am getting them in just before I turn in for the night. The cast of characters are, of course, Freckles, our current "king of the house", and Ceili who left us this past summer and who I miss to this day.

Well, a dull entry for today but some days are just like that. Nothing amazing happened and I'm cool with that. I don't look for or need excitement. I just enjoy my home and the day-to-day goings on - the simple things in life.... I don't need much except my camera, my laptop, my iPod,.....and hopefully another dog....and hopefully soon.

My Neighbors - I Heart Faces Adult Category

My neighbors so far have been my only customers (aside from the schools) since I entered the photography world. I photographed them before and then after delivery of their son for the birth announcement and I again photographed them for their Christmas card.

I happen to think they are a very photogenic couple with eyes that are just beautiful and perfect for close-ups!

Check out other adult (and kid faces) at the I Heart Faces website. The photos there have been unbelievably wonderful.

I Heart Faces Launch Day

My blogging friends, Angie and Amy, just launched a new web site for us budding photographers to show off some of our stuff! Be sure to go on over and check out this wonderful new blog, I Heart Faces, and meet some great people. Also, be sure to check out some of the entries!

This is my son with that "oh mom's got the camera again" look on his face. I think I captured it perfectly!

Sunday Music

The Archdiocese has annual auditions in December for a band that performs one concert a year at one of the Catholic high schools in the diocese. This year, my kids' school was the host school. My daughter auditioned and made the band this year, 7th chair clarinet. She (and we) was thrilled. The band met Friday for the first time at 9 AM, under the direction of a guest conductor and practiced from 9:30 AM until 7 PM Friday, 9 AM until 7 PM on Saturday, and then 9:30 AM today with the concert at 2 PM. (Conductor is a trumpet player who has recorded with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, LL Cool J, and also records trumpet soundtracks for the NFL. He was a real down to earth guy who made sure the audience was updated on the Eagles/Giants game midway during the concert). Actually, the conductor was built like a football player himself!

I was asked to come and take photos of our kids (20 kids from our school made the band) but I could only see a handful from where we were seated. The kids did an awesome job and it sounded like a professional band. I did my best with the pictures but the lighting was a bit dim. I did my best.

In March, the band will have the honor of performing at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, a top-notch performance theater in downtown Philadelphia.


My kids' regular band director is the guy with the dark hair and glasses who looks like a high school student himself.


This was a great experience for my daughter, maybe a once in a lifetime, unless she makes it next year.....

I wish I could post an audio clip of their performance, it was phenomenal!

Skywatch Friday

We hadn't seen the sun in quite a few days here but today she was a welcome sight for me. I just wish I didn't have the power lines in my path. I tried to head out to a local park just around dinnertime to catch the sunset in an open area but the insurance company came to assess the damage to our basement just when I was ready to head out. Thus, while they were in our basement setting up huge fans and dehumidifiers, rolling up our rug to take away to be clean, I stood in our driveway next to their truck and snapped a few photos for Skywatch Friday. Be sure to head on over to see other amazing sky photos from around the globe!

Family Photo Circa 1933 - A Grandpop I Never Knew

Actually, I never had the chance to meet either of my grandfathers. Funny how you start to realize that this is an experience I missed out on. I have no idea what it is like to have a grandfather!

My three older siblings got to know my mom's father, who died nine months before I was born, but my dad's father who is pictured in this photo, passed away when my dad was just ten years old. It is strange to look at this man that I never had the opportunity to know or even hear many stories about and actually see that I sort of resemble him.

I think this photo is spectacular. My sister used Photoshop to repair some of the damage where the original was cracked. There are three or four other pictures I had never seen before that she is working on and will email to me when she is finished. But, I wanted to share this little slice of my family history. My grandfather worked for Jewel T (I think that was the name) but died of a heart attack at the age of 40.

Occasionally, I will post one of the old vintage family photos but right now I am starting to look through all of my more recent photos of faces as two wonderful girls (yes, I'll call them girls 'cause they are much younger than I) I've met in the blogging world have started a new website called "I Heart Faces". The link to this site is over on my side bar and the site will hit the ground running on January 12, 2009! I am so excited and happy for Amy and Angie. Although I've never met them in person, I really feel I "know" them and I wish them all the best with their new adventure into this world we call blogging.

Monday Morning Wake Up Call

Hubby got up to take a shower for work and found no hot water. Most people know what that signifies. Yup. The water heater went some time during the night and our basement is full of water, soaking anything we had laying on the floor, the area rug, the furniture, the fold-up soccer chairs, our luggage, etc., etc., etc.

On Friday the front brakes and rotors needed to be replaced on the van, on Monday the water heater is shot. While I love and try to incorporate by the "rule of thirds" in photography, I dread and fear the "rule of threes" in every day life. I don't consider these two financial hits anywhere near "crisis" proportions. They are only annoyances and if they are the worst things to come our way, I'm fine with that.

I just also know things usually come in threes. I just hope #3 is as insignificant as the first two!

Not many husbands will smile as they begin the 8 hour long process of sucking water up from the basement!