I started a new blog, which will be in addition to this one. It's for my artsy side so I don't clutter up this blog which is supposed to focus on being a wife and a mom.
So, go over there and check it out, if you'd like, and please let me know what you think!
Spanks!
There comes a moment in every persons life....
where they just want to pull their hair out
and then go to bed.
Good morning everybody!
Today I present to you the Choose Your Own Adventure Post!
Da da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I have been reading some of my favorite blogs and have seen two subject patterns emerge.
I am observant.
Yay for me!
Subject numba ONE! Photography, specifically photographing children (i.e. moving objects).
Subject numaa TWO! House cleaning, specifically keeping up with the mess (i.e. moving objects that move other objects...ceaselessly)
Well, I have some little knowledge of BOTH of those subjects that I would love to share with you all! More importantly I have personal, all access passes to professionals in both those topics who's brains I can pick to answer your questions and write something relatively useful.
Now.
People.
I need you to understand...my blog gives me stats. My blog tells me that right around FIFTY people land on my blog on any given day and over half of those people stay for a minute to actually read it.
I know you're there.
You cannot hide!
So, here is what you should...no, MUST do!
You must VOTE!
You must CHOOSE!
Death by shark or death by monkeys!!!
No, wait...(name that movie)
Shall I, today, write a post on house cleaning.
Or about photographing your or other people's children.
#1 or #2
A or B
It's not hard.
PEOPLE!
Leave a comment...tell me what to do.
This is your chance to be BOSSY!
With someone who will OBEY!
Do not fail me, dear readers.
Or I will write a post about something boring.
Or gross.
Or both.
Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of
the light ~Maurice Freehill
The secret to happiness is freedom. The secret to freedom is courage. ~Thucydides
Science will never be able to reduce the value of a sunset to arithmetic. Nor can it reduce friendship to a formula... ~Dr. Louis Orr
To be happy it first takes being comfortable in your own shoes. The rest can go up from there. ~Sophia Bush
We think in generalities, but we live in detail. ~Alfred North Whitehead
Fires can't be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.
~James Arthur Baldwin
I've never looked as forward to spring as I have this year. My garden is pretty sad, but Millie's is beautiful, thanks to her daughter, Patty, whose green thumb is more than enviable. So I brought my camera along to work today and we walked the small front and back yards and I took pictures. I hope you enjoy them!
We're in Leavenworth, WA for the weekend! Our 9th Anniversary is next week and my parents have the kids until Sunday evening. While we're here I'm taking advantage of beautiful scenery and interesting buildings and architecture to do some photography.
Steven's Pass, on the way to Leavenworth.
For some reason I couldn't write above/below the other pictures. There was a really cool old building across from our hotel and I decided to make Brad pose for me...he needs more photos for his music promotion, anyway.
Then, the light coming in our room was too good, with the shadows from the window panes so I had him sit on the floor in the shadows to get a few shots there as well.
Yes, he IS that hairy. I wasn't lying. He saw these photos and decided some trimming was in order when we get home!
More later!
It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.
~Winston Churchill
When nobody around you can measure up, it's time to check your yardstick.
~Bill Lemley
A country so rich that it can send people to the
moon still has hundreds of thousands of its citizens who can't read.
That's terribly troubling to me.
~Charles Kuralt
I
would not leave you in your times of trouble. We never could have come
this far. I took the good times, I'll take the bad times, I'll take you
just the way you are.
~Billy Joel
I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.
~Anne Frank
There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.
I really enjoy photography...along with what seems like the rest of the world.
I have a camera, too. But, unfortunately, I've learned enough about photography in the last year that my skills are way beyond the capabilities of my glorified point and shoot.
It's not that it's a bad camera. It actually takes some really great photos.
It's a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 with a nice lumix lens. The problem is that I bought it figuring I could buy better and better lenses for it as I progressed in my learning about photography.
I did NOT do my research...no lens upgrades available, because the Lumix lens doesn't come off. It's an all in one. Which, for what I'd like to do, is seriously limiting.
Here's the blurb about it on a Digital Photography reviewing website:
"Bridging the gap between high-end compacts and digital SLRs, Panasonic’s DMC-FZ18 offers a level of control close to that of an SLR, but without the need for interchangeable lenses. Perfect for photographers on the move and families who want to shoot pictures outdoors for example, the FZ18 offers an easy way to enjoy the fun of capturing beautiful digital pictures."
Because pro cameras are so freaking expensive, this little camera is going to have to cut it for now. It's a hard worker and has come through for me on many occasions. However, my friend Wendy has a really nice pro camera that simply blows the pants off of mine. I've used hers for wedding photography, portraits, etc...and it's just amazing. I can't remember what it is but I know it's a high end Nikon with a really nice lens. If Brad's guitar is The Other Woman, Wendy's camera is my Other Man.
My friends Matt and Rachel Nickle over at Nickle Images had the amazing privilege to go to Georgia for a year (or two? Rachel, I can't remember!) and train with Matt's sister in law, Karen Nickle, who does amazing work down south and passed her knowledge on to Rachel and Matt. One of the things I've learned from Rachel and Matt is that it takes time, sacrifice and dedication to really hone talent you already have into a craft. I'm always having to remember: practice, talent and an eye for composition is of first importance in photography. Which is what inspires me to keep working at it, despite not having the tools I'd like to have. Rachel always reminds me that it's not the size of the camera but the dedication of the photographer.
All that to say, if you have something you enjoy doing, you gotta work with what ya got.
What I got is a pony who can only pull a small plow...for now.
One day, I'll get that draft horse and you can bet I'll be turning dirt like a pro!
NOTE: *All of the pictures on this post were taken with my Panasonic. It is a great camera, don't get me wrong. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted a lot of versatility but didn't want to spend the money on a higher end camera with a bunch of stuff they'd never use. This camera is perfect for daily amateur use!*
"It's not all bad, this getting old, ripening. After the fruit has got its growth it should juice up and mellow. God forbid I should live long enough to ferment and rot and fall to the ground in a squash." ~Josh Billings
"Sensual pleasures have the fleeting brilliance of a comet; a happy marriage has the tranquility of a lovely sunset."
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." ~Abraham Maslow
"Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines." ~Satchel Paige
"The church is always trying to get other people to reform; it might not be a bad idea to reform itself a little, by way of example." ~Mark Twain
"There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child." ~Frank A. Clark
"Doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love." ~William Shakespere
The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved." ~Mother Theresa
"We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining, they just shine." ~Dwight L Moody
