Days 21 and 22

Day 21 was titled "Attitude Adjustment" and the concept behind it was to capture something that shows a side of yourself that might be last on the list of to-do's. So, something sassy, or fun, or something with attitude. When I checked out what others were posting there were a lot of fun shots of people acting silly, pictures of high-heels, tall boots, etc. While I love this idea, I went about it differently. It's true that my "sassy" side has long been put away. Heels and boots in my closet are all but forgotten, begging for the day when I'll put them back on again. But I like this side of me...and it seems like the only attitude "adjusting" I've needed lately is one to get me in the spirit of the season.

I've had a hard time with it this year, and there are a lot of things that I should be doing with my kids that I just haven't been in the mood for this year. Baking more cookies, building gingerbread houses, Christmas crafts, and gift wrapping. The thought of doing all of these things with a 5 and a 2 year old is just daunting. And messy. I need to strap on my patience and get over the mess because who knows what tomorrow might bring, and my kids deserve to have all of the fun this season has to offer. Therefore, I chose this picture. These 2 little snow angels are a reminder of what the holiday season is all about. And they give me all the attitude adjusting I need.

By the way, I cheated in every sense of the word with this photo. I shot it with my iPhone and used this app called "Big Lens" (photo buffs - check it out!) and with this app, you can adjust the color, the aperture, and the lighting AFTER you take the picture. Making picture taking as easy as pie. Hardly what this photo challenge is about, and hardly teaching me anything about photography. But the app is so cool, I couldn't help myself. I and bet you would have never known...if I hadn't just told you. :)

Day 22 was titled "You're getting sleepy" and the idea was to capture rest. (And to hopefully get a little rest while we we're at it.) Rest is something hard to come by, especially at the holidays. It's funny because before I was a mom, I always laughed at those moms who said they stayed in shape by "chasing the kids around all day." And while I still don't think it's an accurate measure of "staying in shape", I get it. From the moment my feet swing over the side of the bed in the morning til the time the munchkins drift off to dream land, I do not sit down. All day. Not once. My husband doesn't understand why it is so hard for me to get up in the morning. Truth is I've never been a morning person - pre or post kids - but knowing that the minute I get up will mean another 12+ hours until I get to sit down again is exhausting. I just need those few extra minutes to get in the game.

Today I chose this photo. It's not of me...but I think it captures rest at it's finest. I've actually had this photo for awhile, and from the moment I took it, it became one of my favorites. What I wouldn't give to lay down in the sunlight and close my eyes for just a minute.

Recharge, Making a List, and Wrapped with Love

Day #18 was all about recharging and taking some time for a little self-love and down time. I have a hard time recharging. There is always something that needs to be done. Not just time of year, but constantly. There is always laundry to be folded, a bathroom to clean, or errands to run. And this time of year it gets even busier. The one thing that I love to do, but I don't take enough time to do it is reading. It seems that I only let myself read when everything else on my to-do list has been crossed off. Which, as you can imagine, is hardly ever. I find it stressful to sit with a book when I look around and see so much around me that needs to be done. However, when I take the time to read and relax, it really does recharge my battery and I remember how much I love the quiet relaxation. Today I snapped this picture. It's just a few of the books on my shelf waiting to be read. There are many more where these come from.

Day 19 was "Making a List." I make lists for everything. I often have several lists going at one time. However, none of my lists would have been interesting enough for this project, so I chose this list. It was created last year by Zachary and I think his sweet little handwriting is adorable and it really reminds me of the magic of the season. He didn't make a list this year, so I'll hold on to this one forever.

Day 20 was "Wrapped with Love." I actually spent a few hours last night wrapping presents. (Which, is my least favorite part of the Holiday. I really really really dislike wrapping the gifts.) While I was wrapping, I snapped this photo with my iPhone, and I really loved it. I think I'll try using the iPhone for the few remaining days and see what I come up with. This gift is for my niece Maya, and it was definitely wrapped with love. Can't wait to see her this Christmas!

Season of lights

Seems like I'm always playing catch up after the weekend. You would think that I would be able to keep caught up over the weekend, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Therefore, I'm a couple of days behind on my photo project - again.

Friday's prompt was "Season of Lights" and this one actually took me until today to get the photo I wanted to use. I had taken a few photos at the Bellevue Botanical garden a few weeks ago, but none of them turned out to my liking. Alexis and I were shopping today and we happened across this tree. She pointed it out actually, by wanting to play with all of the decorations. I took one look at the lights and knew (or hoped!) I had the perfect lights for this project.

It's actually kind of hard to see the exact colors of the lights...but I really like that aspect. You can see the colors reflected in the tree and the decorations, and I think it gives the photo a really warm glow. Hope you like it too.

Gifts

Today's topic was "Got Gifts?" Tis the season for giving...the idea today was twofold, first take a photo of something that we would want to put on a gift tag, and then create the gift tag. Frankly, this was too much effort for me today considering my day consisted of preschool, gymboree, making treats for the school cafe, karate, and a winter concert. I'm actually surprised that I got any photos taken today at all. (And I got a run in! No idea how this happened...)

Instead of thinking about something I would want to put on a gift tag, I chose to take a photo of the first gift I got this season. A votive candle holder made by Zach in preschool. He was so proud of it. He brought it home from school all wrapped up and put it under the tree. Only to ask me to open it about 2 minutes later. I think it will be my favorite gift this year.

Sincerely Yours

Today's topic is an easy one for me. The title is "Sincerely Yours" and the idea is to slow down a little today and appreciate all the hand written epistles we come across. Whether they are to us, or from us, revel in the delight of letters and cards. Signed, sealed and/or delivered, capture sentiments crafted with love.


My friend Alli has been making cards for years, and I am lucky enough to be a recipient of those cards on occasion. Her cards are gorgeous, thoughtful, and full of the tiniest of details that are perfectly crafted for those receiving them. I've been telling her for years that she needs to sell her cards, but I speculate that with each one she makes she has a specific friend in mind and therefore selling them might not have the meaning that it does when she crafts them individually. I'm not even sure that she knows that I still have each and every card she's ever made me. But I do. I have them all in a special box, and I would never dream of getting rid of a single one. (Even the year she said it was her "ugliest Christmas card ever" and begged us to trash them.)

This last year was the hardest year of her life, as she fought with everything she had against melanoma. Through it all she still made cards. I think it probably helped her, to have that one thing that was special to her and that she could continue doing through all the sickness and treatments. Ironically, in a year where she needed the most care, she was still taking time out of her life to send cards and notes to those she loved. That is her...always putting others first. Knowing that she brings a smile to someones face, brings a smile to hers as well.

I hope she knows how much these cards mean to me. I took a million shots, but here is the photo I chose to use today:

Days 12 & 13

And I caught up!

I mentioned yesterday that day 12's prompt was "A Whole lot of Happy," which immediately I thought of the kids and their happy smiling faces at any mention of Christmas or Santa Claus. Smile and the whole world smiles back at you. One problem...BOTH of them are camera shy these days. They will not let me take their photo. I beg, I plead, I pretend to take pictures of things around them. But they are smart little people and they know when the camera is aimed at them. It took me two days to snap a photo of one of them genuinely happy (God forbid they both smile in a photo...), here is the result. Yeah, I kinda like her.

Today's prompt was "Simply Divine." No matter what holiday you celebrate, chances are there is something divine about it. There is a reverie this time of year for forces far grander than ourselves. Find a way today to translate the truth for you. Share the divinity in your life, whether it be through an obvious symbol or an overall feeling you carry.

With this prompt I thought of angels, and what they mean to the season. My mom has a Christmas tree topper that is an angel, and it belonged to my grandparents. It has been through many years and many trees, but it still shines brightly each year atop my parents tree. That angel definitely means Christmas to me, but since I didn't have that angel at my disposal today, I chose this little guy instead.

Every year I get the kids a Christmas tree ornament. I figure this way, when they have their own Christmas trees they will at least have 18 years of ornaments to put on it. I got this little angel for Zach in 2008. It was his 3rd Christmas. Zachary loves this angel. He loves that it is his, and that like him, the angel carries around a "blankie." For the first few days we had our tree up this year I could not get Zach to leave his angel on the tree. He would take it off, play with it, and put it somewhere else on the tree. I love this angels sweet face, I love his understated features, and I love that my little boy loves him so much. This is my divinity.

(On a side note, the kids now pick out their own ornaments...needless to say, goodbye days of sweet faced angels, hello days of skiing hippos and pink Care Bears.)

Days 9, 10, and 11...

...eek! I got behind (again). I've been busy these last couple of days! Had a little work project the last few days that kept me from my camera and my posts.

Day #9 was called "It's as sign." Signs can warn us, lead us, remind us or even state the obvious. Whatever the case, it's our job to interpret the signs as they pertain to our own lives. What the signs say is up to us.

I don't have very many actual "signs" around my house. I always see signs and sayings that I love, but I never buy them. Frankly, I don't have the wall space. Someday. I have one sign in my house, which I love, that says "Family..Having a place to go is home, having someone to love is family, having both is a blessing." I love that sign, but I didn't choose it for this assignment. I felt that the sentiment behind it was obvious, and that my feelings surrounding the sign were obvious. Instead, I chose this:

I love this sign as well, even though it's pretty simple, and quite literally, about coffee. The reason I love this sign is because it hangs in my kitchen, and it reminds me of a cafe. (Which my kitchen feels like most of the time...with trying to keep the tummies of 2 little ones happy.) It also reminds me of what I would want my cafe to look and feel like - if I actually had one. It's cozy and classic. I think I'm cozy and classic.

Day # 10...Twinkle Twinkle. Twinkle lights, fantasy, wishing and whimsy; they are all part of the season. The trick is translating the ambiance we see with our eyes and the glow we feel in our hearts into effective photographic images.

This one I tried to get really creative and play with the shutter speeds to get some blurred twinkly like excitement, but in the end, I liked this photo the best. And actually, the lights don't even twinkle. But, there is nothing that speaks to the splendor of the season like the star on top of the tree.

Day #11...Shaping Up. When I first read this prompt I was thinking, please don't try and make me feel guilty for the number of cookies I'm consuming this season. Please wait until January. But it was simply to pay attention to the shapes of things and see if anything reminds me of anything unexpected. This was by far the hardest prompt to date. I could not find anything nonseasonal that reminded me of something for the season. I finally settled on this.

Although much more of a summer or fall flower, I thought that the petals on this flower reminded me a bit of snowflakes. And considering that I don't think it's going to snow on us this winter, I think it might be the closest to snowflakes that I am going to get. I know, it's a giant stretch...I was struggling.

I'm still one day behind. Today's topic was "A Whole Lot of Happy." Tune in tomorrow to see what I choose to do with it.

Express Yourself and Reflecting on the Season

I got a day behind, so I'm again combining days. Day # 7 was titled "Reflect Yourself." Within this assignment we were to listen to how our bodies were feeling, reflect on it, and try and capture that emotion in a photo.
I took this photo:

I was going for a bit of a contemplative, introspective look. How did I do? The reason that I took this was that I did actually have a lot on my mind yesterday, and thought this might convey that feeling. I'm not sure it
really came through, but I do like that my wrinkles didn't show up in the shot. So there's that.

Today the topic was "Reflect on the Season." Capture something in a reflective surface and see what we find. I took this photo today of some snowflakes I have hanging in my bathroom, and when I was done, I found it hard to distinguish between which snowflakes were the actual snowflakes and which ones were the reflections in the mirror. Kinda cool, right?

The Little Things

The topic of today's photography assignment was "Every Little Thing." We were prompted to find delight in the little things today.
I decided to take this very literally, and took this photo of Alexis's hand on my hand.

I didn't have much time to get the perfect shot. She was off and running about 30 seconds after I asked her to pose for me. Therefore, I'm not in love with the composition of the shot. But I am in love with the idea. I love that her little hand fits so perfectly in mine. And I love that she wants to hold my hand. And I love that the moment after I took it she said "I want to see it" and then "my turn." Someday her hand won't fit in mine anymore, and some day she will roll her eyes if I even suggest that she hold it. But today, those this little hand was comfortable resting on mine and I continue to be amazed everyday with this "little thing."

Days 4 and 5

Day 4 threw me for a loop so I'm combining days 4 and 5 into one post. The topic of day 4 was "You hold the key" and we were instructed to find our one magic remedy that no matter what, gives us the perspective that we need. Because this month is about enjoying ourselves and not letting the craze out there get the best of us, we were to use day 4 to remind ourselves of what helps us to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

The topic itself was simple for me. Running. I seriously love to run. I really do. For me there is nothing more peaceful and relaxing  then putting on my shoes and going out for a run. Long or short...it doesn't matter.  I love the time to myself and the ability to clear my mind.

The challenge with day 4 came with capturing the topic the way I wanted to. I had this idea to photograph my running shoes in the background with a key in the foreground. I wanted the key to be in focus in and the shoes to be blurred. I could NOT get the shot to turn out the way I wanted. I tried what felt like a million different settings and angles, and none of them looked the way I had imagined in my mind.

In then end, I ditched the key and just shot the shoe. I'm still not happy about the final product, which is frustrating considering this was the first day that I had no trouble figuring out what I wanted my subject to be.

Day 5, "The View from Here." We were instructed to take a few moments to enjoy the view. Take stock at what beauty Mother Nature had dished up today.

Currently the weather outside is freezing, but without the beautiful snow. The mornings have been foggy, and the evenings cold and dark. There is a lovely cherry blossom tree across the street from me, but of course it's branches are currently void of any leaves or blossoms. All the gorgeous fall leaves have made their way off of the trees and are turning into mush on the lawn. In fact, not much is beautiful around my house this time of year.

And then I looked out and found these stray pansies blooming in my flower bed. Even with the freezing temperatures, these little guys still seem to find their way. I thought they deserved a photo today.

Waterbabies: (Atleast) 10 Things I Hate About You

Oh Waterbabies, how I hate you so. Let me count the ways... There is soooo much I dislike about you, but yet I keep signing my kids up. Glutton for punishment? Too lazy to find something else? Probably. Here is my top 10 reasons that you make me crazy:

10) We've put a man on the moon and I can have a video conference call with China at the push of a button, but you still can't seem to figure out a way to get your registration to work properly. Funny thing, it has NEVER worked properly in the 4 years I have known you. There is this thing called a "shopping cart" (all the online retailers are doing it now...you should check it out) and with this cart you can actually register multiple kids at a time and pay for them ALL AT ONCE! I'm not kidding! It can even save your credit card information! Seriously, it's not that hard. Figure. it. out.

9) Due to the aforementioned lack of cart...you force me to register each kid separately. Logging in twice. Entering my credit card twice. And, because this seriously-behind-the-21st-century program is so in demand (for reasons I cannot comprehend) if I want a remote chance of getting the classes that I want, I have to have my husband log on from another computer so we can each register a kid the minute the site goes live. If I register one at a time, by the time I get to the second kid the spaces in the class I want are gone. When this happens I have to a) call Waterbabies and get on a 'wait list' (which sucks for them because I'm usually mean) b) register for a time I do not want, causing me to go to the pool 2x in one week (sucks for me - and family - because this makes me mean).

8) If you don't enter your credit card info at the speed of light, a class can become 'not available.' No joke. This happened. (Waterbabies got a call...you're welcome.) I had the class in my hot little hands (notice I didn't say cart) and after I entered in my credit card I got a message that said in the time I selected the class to the time I paid for it (which was all of about 45 seconds), the class was no longer available. Are you freaking kidding me?! Sorry that my 10 key skills are not up to par. Again, I'll bring up the shopping cart. When you put things in it you have a reasonable amount of time to purchase them before they are given away to other consumers. What a concept!

7) When the registration has technical difficulties (like it did last weekend) I get to wake up and do it all over again the following weekend! Yay me!

6) Registration is at 6:30 in the morning. Nothing should be at 6:30 in the morning.

5) Apparently the way you keep kids from outgrowing the program is to prevent them from moving up. Ever. Alexis has been in the same swim class for 4 sessions now. She can teach the class at this point. They gave me some age excuse as to why she can't move up...but I'm well aware it's a scam so they can keep raking in the dough. The girl is a fish. Move her up. (Or I might call you...and we know how you love that.)

4) The other parents. Ok, not all of them...I have met a few nice moms. But most of them. I've learned there are 2 kinds of Waterbabies parents. #1) The "I'm using this 1/2 hour swim lesson as a break" parent. These parents bring a book or stare at their phones the ENTIRE time. Their kids could drown and they would be none the wiser. These poor children do something great in the pool and they look up at mom or dad, and mom or dad are staring at their kindle or phone. Breaks my heart. Pay attention to your kid. It's not free time here people. #2) The "I think I could teach this class better than the teacher" parent. I want to push these parents in the pool. They are constantly barking orders, giving suggestions, or shouting out corrections. Seriously, why do you pay for these lessons? Shut up.

3) Repetition. I get that it's good for young kids, but when you've been in the same class 4 times (and I'm not the only one!), please change it up. I've heard your speech on life jackets every session for the past 4 years. And guess what? The other parents have too! Instead of giving the EXACT same speech each session, how about you ask "Is anyone new to the program? Does anyone not have this information permanently etched in your brain?" If everyone has heard it (and I'm guessing we all have!) then please let's move on and do something else. I'm begging you.

2) Registration gives me nightmares. For real. Which makes me extra excited when I get to do it twice because their ass-backwards registration system fails. Did I mention it's at 6:30 in the morning?

1) To add insult to injury (and the main reason that I hate you), for all of this you charge me $250 per kid! Per session! Note: you really should be paying Alexis, she's teaching the PT3 class at this point...

All you need is love...

Day #3 topic: All you need is love. Simple as that. The instructions were to "Be it, Feel it, Capture it, Share it." I feel pretty lucky to be surrounded by a lot of love, so the choices for me on how to capture this are endless.

However, instead of focusing on people, I chose an object. Hearts. Hearts are the obvious choice for conveying love and I decided to get creative on how to capture them. I have an entire folder filled with hearts that Zachary has drawn or cut out for me, but I couldn't figure out a way to photograph them that really did justice to the hard work he put into making them. The real things are just better than a photo.

In the end I decided to use jewelry. I positioned it on a background of hearts and used natural light to capture it. (These dry, cold, grey days make great weather for photography!) Voila!

Reframing the Season

Day #2 of my "Picture the Holiday's" photo challenge. Today's topic is "Reframing the Season." For this topic we were instructed to use a literal frame for our image as a way of "seeing things a little differently." This is hard for me because I am very literal.

I thought a lot about a creative way to do this...I thought I could take a frame and put "something" other than a photo inside it and I thought of taking a photo of a framed photo and positioning it in a new and creative way. In the end I decided to create a frame around a photo, using items that remind me of the season. Here is the result:

I think it turned out pretty cute, right? I had just picked up the kids 5 year and 2 year photos today, so in order to capture the spirit, I used pine needles from our tree in the front yard and gold and red Christmas tree ornaments to frame them. I did this out on our lawn in order to utilize the natural light on this hazy and cold December day. One broken Christmas ornament and several strange looks from my neighbors later, I had a nice "framed" photo.

Can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow.

Picturing the Holidays

Thanks to my good friend Alli, I was introduced to this 31-day photo challenge called "Picture the Holidays." Everyday for 31 days I get an email prompt giving me a topic to focus on for the day and I take photos of whatever inspires me about that topic. I'm really looking forward to the next 31 days. I feel like this will really give me a chance to get back to taking photos as well as challenge my creativity surrounding the given topics.

Today's topic was "Holding on to Gratitude." A fitting topic for the post-Thanksgiving week. I chose this photo as an example of one of my many blessings...

I took this as we were getting bundled up for our morning walk. The reason I chose this photo is not as obvious as it looks. Of couse I'm thankful for my beautiful children, but it's more than that. Today I am grateful that I'm able to be at home with them, spending this precious time with them while they are little and still want me around. I get to see this little face all day long, every single day. At times, believe it or not, I have to remind myself that this is a good thing. There are days where all they do is fight, or times when they cannot possibly go 5 minutes without needing something from me. There are moments when I'd love to hide in my room and close the door, and most days I go all day long without having a conversation with someone over 4 feet tall. And honestly, weeks go by where I don't shower or wear "real" clothing. But that being said, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am lucky. My kids will look back on this time and remember ME. Not a daycare or a nanny. ME. And just when I think that my life would be easier (and more lucrative) if I went back to my day job, I look at this face and the face of her brother and know that it is all worth it. I might not have a fat paycheck or a clean house, but I have them. And they have me. And together we have a pretty good thing going. For that I am grateful. Until tomorrow...