Posts Tagged ‘photography’
I’d intended this morning to write a blog entry about our weekend trip to Cobourg, Ontario, for our friend Chuck’s wedding. But instead, I need to complain. (Here’s one picture, though ~ a family portrait that our friend Matt took in Victoria Park near the beach. So pretty!)
My head feels *so* freaking strange right now! I don’t know what’s going on, and it’s kind of weirding me out. It feels like I’ve downed a bunch of Nyquil or enjoyed way too many glasses of wine, but there’s also a headache feeling. Sometimes when I move around (walking up and down the stairs, bending down and then standing up, etc.), it’s like it takes my head a while to “catch up.” I know that I’m not describing it well. I think that I feel basically fine other than that. But … maybe it’s from the cold/flu that I had last week? I’m still trying to get over it. On Saturday and Sunday during our trip, my body ached *all* over and I felt pretty crappy. I was shivering at times, too. Thank goodness I was able to take a nap with Meredith on Saturday. I just kept popping Tylenol and didn’t tell anyone about how I was feeling, though, because I wanted to hang out with our friends and have fun discovering a new place. I did OK, and I do feel better than I did, but I feel like I’m in a fog today. I don’t feel lightheaded like I’m going to pass out, but my head does feel like a balloon filled with helium.
Well, enough venting. I know that you don’t want to hear about my aches and pains. I just hope that it gets better soon. Hopefully it’s just a sinus thing left over from this cold/flu bug and nothing serious. I’ve uploaded all of our Canada pictures to Flickr if you’re interested in taking a look (there aren’t *too* many). We had fun! Recap to come!
“Autumn wears her leaves like jewelry.” ~Author unknown
I couldn’t resist venturing out into the chilly air this morning and snapping some pictures of the beautiful fog. It was gorgeous ~ so calm and serene. Fall has truly arrived here!
Plans for today: finish my freelance editing assignment, clean, and prepare for our trip this weekend. Exciting, huh? I entered our destination into MapQuest, and it said that it’ll take us seven hours to get to our friend’s wedding. Yuck! I was thinking that it would be a much shorter trip! I hate being in the car for so long. But, I’m sure that the drive will be *very* pretty with all of the autumn colors. We’ll see what the GPS says, though. I can’t wait to take pictures while we’re there!
For my birthday last month, my parents bought me a brand-new four-cup Cuisinart coffee maker. It’s absolutely *perfect* because I’m the only one in our household who drinks coffee. Before, I was making an entire pot and throwing out most of the coffee because I only drink one or two cups. This way, I have exactly the amount of coffee that I want ~ and it also doesn’t take very long to make (a plus when you have two toddlers who need breakfast ASAP!). I’ve been alternating lately between Dunkin’ Donuts decaf and Green Mountain pumpkin-spice decaf (*so* delicious!).
Anyway, this morning when I opened the coffee maker lid, I made a *horrible* discovery. Our brand-new coffee maker has gone over to the dark side of the Force:
See how the lid is shaped just like Darth Vader’s helmet? Hang on a second … I’d better go check our food processor … it could be shaped like the Death Star.
I ran some errands this morning and happened to see a *perfect* shot for today’s Wordless Wednesday. Problem is, I couldn’t really pull over anywhere. It was incredibly foggy along our road, and I disturbed a bunch of black birds as I drove past. They all headed over to a nearby farm fence to perch instead. Seriously, they all looked like musical notes on a staff! And with the farm and the fog in the background, it was just amazing. Alas, that beautiful photo was only snapped in my mind. Hope you like this one instead. I thought it would be fun to “quiz” you. :)
I feel like we’ve been running nonstop since getting home from our vacation on Sunday. By the way, several people have asked me about how to get into Canada. One of the security officials at the border told us that all you need (if you’re driving) is a birth certificate and a driver’s license, but come June 2009 you might also need to have a passport. The law isn’t set in stone yet, though. I do know that if you’re flying into Canada, you definitely need a passport. We’re happy to know that we won’t need passports in order to attend our friend Chuck’s wedding this October. But we’ll need to double check beforehand to make sure that nothing has changed.
I think that I’ll bake some caramel-banana cupcakes for our farmers’ market tomorrow. I found the recipe in Rachael Ray’s latest magazine issue. Maybe I could also try selling my photo note cards at the farmers’ market ~ especially the ones that feature local photos. I haven’t had any luck on Etsy yet, but we’ll see. I know that I just have to be patient. In the meantime, I’ve been having fun shopping for photo-related stuff on sale online. We should get more storage space! :)
I can’t get over how *cool* our weather is! I actually turned on the furnace for a little while yesterday morning because I was freezing. In the mornings, it has been around 54 degrees! The kids wanted to play at the playground yesterday, and I actually put jackets on them. I’m not quite ready for fall, but I have to admit that my thoughts are starting to turn toward honeycrisp apples and long sleeves! :) I just called our local orchard to find out when honeycrisp apples will be ready, and they said about the third week in September. Can’t wait.
Ugh ~ I’m exhausted again today. But I just *had* to stay up until midnight watching Misty and Kerri get that GOLD! And in the pouring down RAIN! Oh, I am *thrilled* for them! While I am *incredibly* excited about swimmer Michael Phelps and his unbelievable athletic achievements, Misty and Kerri have my heart. They’re *so* amazing, and I just love watching beach volleyball. What an awesome team they make. And I’m excited to hear that they’re both planning to start families after the Olympics! It would be neat if they were both pregnant together, since they have already shared so much together! Volleyball is one sport that I don’t suck at (I actually wanted to try out for my junior high’s team but never did). It’s *so* much fun to play. I was on the edge of my seat last night. SO happy for them!
As you probably know by now, I’ve *really* gotten into photography during the past year. I’ve always enjoyed it ~ ever since taking my first photography class in high school. And I continued learning about photography in college as a journalism major and when I graduated and became a newspaper reporter. But here lately, it has captured my interest as a main hobby. I don’t necessarily want to become a professional photographer (I think that I’ll leave that to the experts ~ at least for right now!), but I’ve been wanting to do something special with my photographs. Sharing them somehow (besides just Flickr). And that’s when I came up with this idea:
I found a way to combine three of my passions ~ photography, graphic design, and letter-writing ~ by having some of my best photos printed as artistic, original note cards and selling them on Etsy. (If you don’t know what Etsy is, please check it out sometime ~ all of the items listed there are handmade by talented people around the world!) I only have three note card sets up for sale right now, but I plan to expand as soon as I figure out whether anyone actually has an interest in them! :)
My grandma used to *love* writing letters, and I definitely think that I inherited that wonderful trait from her. I’ve loved to write for as long as I can remember. Sure, I adore e-mail ~ but there’s just something incredibly special about sitting down to write someone a note or a letter. The excitement of a brand-new notebook or a gorgeous piece of stationery, the feel of the pen in your hand and the way that it glides across the smooth paper, searching for exactly the right words to express your thoughts, perhaps decorating the envelope with stickers, affixing a stamp and return address label … how exciting it is to receive something fun and handwritten in your mailbox! I truly think that letter-writing is a lost art, and I want to change that!
I’d like to offer a little “giveaway” of sorts. On your blog (if you’d like to participate), write some kind of post related to letter-writing. Provide a link back to this particular entry, and let me know (via e-mail or in the comments section here) that you’ve submitted something. I’ll gather the names of all the contest participants in a big hat and draw one ~ and that person will win a package of six note cards created by me. (I’m not sure which design it’ll be ~ how about I surprise you?) And if you don’t have a blog, in order to enter, feel free to leave your name in a comment right here (along with a sentence or two about why you’d like to enter).
Your blog entry could be about a letter that you’ve recently written to someone, maybe a love letter that you’ve secretly kept all these years, your children excitedly writing letters to Santa, a long-time pen pal overseas ~ anything you want, as long as it relates to writing a letter. Just have fun with it! And if you have any questions, of course please let me know. The deadline for submitting a blog entry for this contest is July 31, 2008. I’ll draw the winner on August 1, 2008, and announce it on my blog that day.
Thanks so much for letting me share my excitement about this new venture! :)
I looked at my “365 Amazing Trivia Facts” desk calendar this morning, and I thought that today’s question was incredibly fitting and appropriate for my blog. “Who brought the first bathtub into the United States?” If you’d like to know the answer, it’s in my comments section.
And then, when I opened my e-mail this morning, I saw today’s horoscope (yes, I have my daily horoscope e-mailed to me, LOL!): “Go through your desk or your closet ~ or, if you’re feeling ambitious, your attic ~ and reorganize. Better yet, you may want to clear out some of that clutter and get rid of it for good!” No need to tell me twice. That’s the mood that I’ve been in lately (and I think that Jeff is, too). I’ve been wanting to reorganize our linen closet; maybe today’s the day! :) Funny ~ the last time that closet was reorganized, I was pregnant with Meredith (talk about nesting ~ I even took a label maker and labeled each shelf, LOL!).
Inspired by another member of my photography e-mail group, I’ve recently tried taking pictures solely in Manual mode. I’m so proud of myself ~ no longer am I “hiding” behind that Auto button! :) Nothing’s wrong with Auto mode, of course, but I’m trying to learn more about photography and expand my skills. Also, I’ve been shooting in both RAW and JPG formats, then using a program that came with our camera to edit the RAW photos. I am *so* proud of this picture of Meredith. I think that it’s one of the best ones that I’ve ever taken of her. I’m completely addicted to RAW! I’m just amazed at how editable the photos are.
By the way … my husband says that my blog is really difficult to read because the font is incredibly small. And then a blog friend e-mailed me today, telling me the exact same thing. Are you guys finding it hard to read? I’ll have to try bumping up the font size a notch. You’ll have to let me know what you think.
So … what’s on tap for your weekend? This afternoon, we’re picking up our CSA share and stopping by the farmers’ market. Tomorrow, I might take Lucas to help with weeding and mulching at our town hall. Sunday, I’m volunteering to help care for the infants during our church service ~ and then there’s a church picnic afterward. Should be fun, hopefully! But right now, I’m heading outside to finish up the trimming in our yard so that mowing will be easier for Jeff when he gets home from work. Have a great Friday, everyone!
As soon as I turned in the rest of my freelance assignment this morning, I packed our diaper bag, scooped up the kids, and took them to the beach. The weather couldn’t have been any more perfect. Absolutely gorgeous. One of those beautiful summer days that I wish I could somehow bottle up and then fling open during the height (depth?) of winter. I figured that Lucas and Meredith wouldn’t want to go into the water (as in, the Hudson River), so I didn’t dress them in swimsuits or pack them ~ and boy, was I *completely* wrong! They were like fish.
