My favorite guy

We had a very nice Christmas this year... I hope you did too!

We had a nice Eve of Christmas Eve with extended family. The girls were spoiled rotten with gifts from Nana on Christmas Eve. And then Christmas morning, our little family read of Jesus' birth and opened our own gifts to each other. I had found a play kitchen for the girls to share on clearance way back in the summer so it was fun to FINALLY give that to them (Not as fun to assemble, however!) We had a nice Christmas morning service. The choir sang two songs, without much practice. he he he Always interesting... We stumbled only a little and it's completely allowed on Christmas. =)


We spent most of the day at my father in law's, enjoying a house full of family.

I was thinking back on what my favorite element of Christmas 2011 was, and though I had fun with relatives and received some nice little treasures for myself, I really think my husband was, and is, my very favorite part of Christmas. Not a particular gift (though he did give me several... and only one made to Christmas day! He can't help himself and gives me presents early all the time.)









He's just so very good to me. I could elaborate and make ya'll nauseated. But in a nutshell: he is thoughtful of me. Like all the time. He's hopelessly convinced that I'm attractive. Poor guy has terrible taste in women. He's nice. And considerate. And works hard. And has absolute integrity.

There is an age old problem with young couples having unrealistic expectations in marriage. You know what I mean... he thinks she'll look like a super model 2 seconds after delivering a baby. She thinks he'll jump to take out the trash the very instant it's full. Or whatever else people dream of and expect of their future/current spouses. Of course, the fact that she is a sinner and he is a sinner doesn't cross their mind. Somehow they dilute themselves into thinking a perfect marriage can result of two imperfect people. And so that is an issue dealt with (hopefully) at some point before or early on in marriages.

But you know what I've noticed among younger generations growing up and getting married? They don't have unrealistically high expectations: sometimes they have no or low expectations. In 2011, young people don't envision the marriages of Ozzie and Harriet. The envision the marriages of Raymond and Deborah on "Everybody Loves Raymond" or Kate and her husband with the 8 kids. I personally see more young couples forming views of marriage that says lying is fine and customary, sarcastic cutting remarks are normal, regularly scheduled fights are to be expected, fidelity is nice but a lot to ask, and each partner is entitled to their own approach to parenting, even if it conflicts with the others.

I've heard lots of wise people recommend losing our unrealistic expectations of a perfect marriage. but I also want to encourage young couples to have a dream for their marriage. Dont' let the unhappy couples you observe, whether in real life or on TV, lessen your hopes and dreams of what your marriage can be. Perfect? Of course  not! But not mean and selfish. No lying. Ever. Fidelity is absolutely expected. I'm not Harriet (thankfully...really don't love that name!) and Seth is no Ozzie. But overall, our marriage is a source of joy and a huge blessing to us, not a source of strife and a curse. And it's my hope that it always be will.




Love,

Ladies Christmas Coffee & Cookie Exchange

Merry (day after!) Christmas!!! We had a very nice holiday... sweet service at chruch, a wonderful gathering of family (pretty soon we'll need to rent a banquet hall, I tell ya!) and just a fun relaxing day. I may have another post coming with more on our personal celebration of Jesus' birthday but today I wanted to share about a church ladies' fellowship. I really have one major reason for sharing... many of my friends are also in the ministry and we are ALWAYS looking for ideas to incorporate for our own churches!

This flyer/poster was  printed on festive paper.



For refreshemtns, the ladies brought their "specialties" so we ended up with a sausage roll, spinach roll, a few different cheese dips and other similar goodies, along with a couple different varieties of coffee and fancy creamers. I love love love flavored creamers. =)



We ate our snacks, and then I had a very short devotional. I won't include the entire thing but my theme was "Chilled but Filled". The basic idea was it's a cold, stressful, somtimes difficult time of year and if we don't avoid it on purpose, we'll be filled with many negative things. But with Christ's help we can be filled with a some wonderful things. Several Scripture verses contain the phrase "filled with" and it's a fun Bible study to do. I particulary liked the vereses dealing with being filled with "wonder and amazement" and "joy and peace". Of course, the way to ensure being "chilled but filled" with the good stuff and not the bad stuff is keep our personal devotional time with the Lord a priority, especially during a time to celebrate His birth, and by doing for others, which is part of why we gave a portion of the cookies from the exchange away (see flyer).

I gave each lady a little momento pertaining to the devotional theme. These pockets made from scrapbooking paper contain a hot cocoa packet and a chocolate dipped peppermint stir stick.



Next was a simple game. I had several gifts wrapped mulitple times (varying from 3 times to about 10). I stood by a CD player with Christmas songs playing while the ladies passed the gifts around in a circle. When the music stopped, whoever was holding a gift carefully unwrapped ONE layer of wrapping paper. If they revealed the box itself, they won the gift. If they revealed another layer of wrapping, the present stayed in rotation. It was fun and rawdy! The gifts were: several sets of inexpensive Christmas pot holders, a beautiful christmas candle (the kind with a reflective finish on the inside- LOVE those!), and a cute cookie platter.







At that point, we did the exchange. Everyone gets their empty tray/platter and we walk around the table, each taking the same amount of cookies until they are all gone. No picking and choosin' - we all leave with the same variety/quanitiy, and no hurt feelings. Of course, this year, we first made little goody boxes of cookies for a short list of people we thought needed some extra holiday cheer. Volunteers delivered the cookies with a beautiful Christmas card that all the ladies had signed.



I think it was fun and it wasn't a ton of work for just one person either. I am no great party planning myself but I know it's helpful to me when other share the details of their own events so hopefully, I gave you enough info to be useful!

Looking forward to another year to serve the King of Kings! ♥


Love,

Working on: Focus and Processing

I know- I promised a non-photography post. THIS is not it. I am planning to share about our ladies cookie exchange at church but (ironically) have to upload my photos from that still.

But in case you are actually interested in reading about my latest photographic adventures, here we go....

I have MUCH to learn still and honestly, this is a hobby that can be quite overwhelming. The day I took my camera out of the box, I switched it Manual and haven't turned the dial back. It's sort of like driving stick shift, with a million a half things to concentrate on all at once. So, lest I get overly discouraged, I'm biting off specific areas to work on, little by little. Lately, it's been focus and post processing.

Focus is a little elusive to me still. Of course, I only post the pictures on here that are (I think!) in focus. But trust me, there are probably 10 out of focus images for every one that is! Achieving sharp focus, for me, is like trying to make gravy. I do the exact some thing every time but get varied results, as was apparent last night when we smothered our country fried steak with some sort of dark brown goo in a gravy boat.

So there it is people. Manual mode is like driving a stick shift and focus is like gravy. A publisher will be knocking on my door to write a photography book at any moment.

If any of ya'll have some ideas for me, I'm all ears. I've googled and read until my eye balls bleed and still.. not nailing it.

Eye balls bleeding is by far the grossest metaphor I've used to date. Sorry.

I do think I'm improving in post processing. I'm still looking for ways to illuminate skin tones without making people like bizarre. (Do you other bloggers have get annoyed by how many sentences you begin with "I". Blogging can feel totally egotistical at times.)

But here are some examples of what I hope are post processing success:

My original edit back in October (I think it was October... I'm not looking it up!)

And then my recent re-try:


I think seeing these side by side, the re-edit looks a little overdone, but when this was printed, the colors were muted and I really liked how it printed.

Another from that same day:


Re edit, which I already dis like. Look how pink that "white" shirt is:



Oh and by the way, those are 2 different pictuers. Oh well. It's about the same with the actual picture that belongs there.
And Little Leila, looking more than a little yellow:



And now, hopefully with her jaundice cured:



And of course, I have the feeling that a year from now I'll look at these re edits and cringe and wonder how in the world I thought they were good. =)

And I finally got around to creating a watermark because apparently the internet is full to the brim of mean dishonest people. Who knew? ;)



Love,
 

The trouble with winter...

Well, first off, there are several things I could mention that trouble me about winter. But since we've been having really nice unusually warm days, even in December, I'm not going to complain. Much.

Nope, not gonna complain about the drama of finding gloves and hats for each of the girls (who cares about me. By the time I get into the car I've worked up a sweat getting them ready and am peeling off my coat!), Then get a coat on, one without itchy fur bothering certain little girls over sensitive chins, and zipped up, which of course means taking OFF the gloves we just wrangled on. And then the perpetual heap of boots and coats that weren't hung up upon re-entry. No I am not going to complain about that. And those "heaps" and "drama" of finding things is WITH "a place for everything and everything in it's place!" Oh for the days of slipping on flip flops and skipping out the door.

The real trouble with winter is that we can't play outside. And mama can't get good pictures without natural light. Flash = not my friend.

So my mission this week was finding the light indoors. Which also means weird, distracting backgrounds. Check out the grass and cat tails growing out of the girls heads while in their room. (I also had a bunch from a different room indoors but seem to have mis place those somewhere on my PC!)












I'm not 100% crazy about the light and how it falls on their faces. I need to find a way to succeed inside though.

Or ya'll ready for anon photography related post? One is a comin', I promise. Meanwhile...this is my relaxation technique. And with winter and all  it's  trouble, I need some way to relieve the stress of boots and gloves right? ;) Just jokin'. I'm glad my girls have all the winter gear they need to stay cozy.


Love,

Once a week

I take a shower, whether I need it or not.

Okay, not really. I actually take one every day. But that's the first thing that came to my mind when I typed that title.

I have a really strange sense of humor. I used to try to hid it. I've given up.

Maybe I should type posts first, then title later.

What I really am implying by "once a week" is how often I'm committing to post photos. So now I have a dorky question: Is a 52 project like an official thing that one signs up for? Is there more then one? What's the best one? What does it mean to join one? How often do you take a shower? What is the meaning of life?



What in the world was in that Mocha whatch-ma-call-it drink from McDs?? *sigh* Probably lots of caffiene. It's gonna take a melatonin pill to get to sleep tonight. I'm so worn out in the a.m., it's take some serious coffee goodness to get going and then so wired by bedtime, I need some "natural" melatonin supplement to drift off before 2 am. Just a few steps away from Michael Jackson, I tell ya! Nothin' "natural" about that! =P



Anyway, how cute is Maddie? The other day, my sweetie pie honey bunches left these single pink roses all over the house with little notes. They're on their last day or two, so I let Maddie hold them while posing for me. It was pretty cold out (in the 30s!) so I got her a hot chocolate to warm up and thank her for helping Mommy work on photography. I'm still not nailing a few technical aspects. Bummer. It's sort of frustrating to not improve on something when you study up on it and work at it. But ultimately, I think the practice of being patient and not expecting instant expertise is good for me. For instance, I wasn't instantly good at snarky ridiculous sarcasm. It's taken years of practice, right? Well, no actually. I think I was born this way. Okay, bad example.



In other news, Christmas is soon to be here and it's a great time of year to be a mommy to 3 little ladies. We drove around looking at Christmas lights tonight. The older girls stared out of window shouting "LOOK AT THAT ONE!!!" to every house with so much as a lit up wreath! Maddie spotted little princess cell phones in a dollar bin and asked to buy some for her sister and friends. So she did and wrapped them herself. There's a LOT of tape on those little suckers! =) We're still carving out new holiday traditions for our young family so our plans for Christmas day aren't exactly settled, other than church. I love Christmas falling on Sunday. It just seems right to have a church service for Jesus' birthday.








Enjoy the season! ♥
 

Love,
 

Catching up...

Let's see how much catching up I can do before one of the younger girls wake up or the older one comes home from her Grandpa's....



We had a nice Thanksgiving... well okay it wasn't the absolute best Thanksgiving of my life. The flu hit our home on Monday with Leila, than on Wed. (yes, that would be the night directly before Thanksgiving!) Maddie contracted the grossness. Then poor Seth had it right smack dab on T-Day. He was sick in bed all day. We had a really delicious spread. But Seth didn't eat a morsel of it until the next day. And another not so great part of Thanksgiving was that my step dad passed away. It's very sad and I wish I had some positive spin to put on it. It is what is. He led a sad life and died in a very sad way. A part of me feels like there is not much point in being upset about it. While he was alive and doing poorly, there was a reason to be concerned and pray for him and cry over him. But now? No reason really. That may sound horrible cold. It's just how I feel about it right now. Maybe that will change. (A woman change the way she feels? Ha. It's been known to happen.) And while a death in the family right on a holiday is far from ideal, at least I had a fridge full of comfort foods at my disposal. Always something to be grateful for.



And by the way, the images I'm including in this post have literally nothing to do with what I'm writing.

We spent the day after Thanksgiving at home, enjoying just each other's company after the previous day with a house full of relatives (and enjoying not getting pepper sprayed at WalMart!). Seth recovered and gave food a try while I decorated our house in a Christmas flurry. I really enjoyed decorating this year. It's our second year in this house so I had a better idea of what I wanted to do. And ya'll should be very proud of me because with Seth still a bit disabled, I lugged my massive Christmas containers up and down the stairs all by myself! Exercise and Christmas decorating at once! =)

I did run out to Rite Aid to snag some fabulous deals on Thanksgiving day... yes, even with a sick hubby and lots of cooking/cleaning to do. BUT sadness of sadness, I accidentally THREW AWAY $25 in UP+s!!!! I couldn't believe it. So disappointed about that. Oh well. I just have to think of all the money I've saved over the past year with couponing and just let that loss go.



We're planning a cookie exchange for the ladies at church. Very excited about it! We'll each bake 6 dozen cookies and give some away to some people we think could use an extra little blessing this holiday season and then divide the rest up amongst ourselves for a scrumptious variety platter of cookies for our families. 6 dozen is a lot of cookies and now I'm slightly regretting stating so many but we'll manage. Maybe (if we do it next year) I'll lower the amount. I'm planning a game and the ladies are providing snacks. I have a devotional all typed and ready to go, even with a little favor to compliment it. But I'm lacking the nerve to actually give it. It just feels presumptuous to be a 28 yr old. giving a devotional, short as it may be. If a friend of mine said the same thing, I'd dismissed her hesitancy and whole heartedly encourage her to do it. But for myself... I'm still on the fence. =P

1st try at family photos

As far as my future as a blogger.... here's what I'm thinking:

Most of my computer time is spent trying to learn photography. So I'm considering joining the 365 thing but am not sure if I can actually commit to posting a picture every day. Maybe I'll do 52... once a week? We'll see.





Let's see what else...?...

I made my own hand soup. Just grated a bar (I used a 4 oz. bar of Yardley's Lavender soap), melted with 2 Tbs. of liquid glycerin and a gallon of water. I like it fine... it smells pleasant to me: like lavender (duh) and well... soap. =) I guess soap should smell like soap! The only negative to me is that when you pump it, it leaves an annoying string... you know, like melted cheese on a bite of pizza and makes a tiny mess on the counter. Something about store bought hand soap makes it not do that long strand of soap. But it was very very easy and made a TON for about $2. My plan is to use it when I can not get hand soap (or sometimes I just used dish soap in my hand pumps) for super cheap (with coupons of course). I've personally been having a dry spell with the fabulous coupon deals so this will do just fine.

Maddie is done with her Kindergarten phonic program. She started 1st grade L.A. and has half a year of K math to do. I know I've set myself up for complication later with being "off" her exact age / grade level, but I just couldn't see holding her back. I feel like in this one area of liking a goal and being challenged she is like me and I know if that appetite isn't satisfied, she'll get frustrated and loose interest in school all together. Just ask my former elementary teachers. They're motto was to keep me busy and challenged or live to regret it! ;) Of course Maddie would never do the horrible things I did to my teachers! =P I shudder at the thought! I think eventually, she'll run into something she struggles with and it'll slow her down enough to put back on the normal tract of curriculum. For me, algebra was that for sure and for certain. I never did figure who was that elusive Mr. X and frankly I just don't care! Or maybe she won't run into a subject to slow her down and we'll enter her in the kids tournament of Jeopardy and makes lots of money and retire. But probably the former. =)
Girls up and home. Have a great weekend!
Love,

That's the kind of blogger I am

The kind of blogger who neglects her blog (and blog-world friends, even worse...sorry) for a month and then pops on just to shamelessly post of picture of her cute baby.

yup. That's the kind of blogger I am. 

Actually, I've got lots I've been meaning to "catch up" on.  It's just been very busy. Holidays, home school (just y one lil' kindergartner but boy it's just "one more thing" that for some reason zaps my time!), church stuff, and I don't know if you realize this or not, but 3 children are kinda time hogs! Who knew? ;)

Anyway, I do plan to blog more in depth as soon as possible. I've been thinking of what direction this blog will take in 2012 (can you believe where almost there already?!!!) and have (obviously) lots of pictures to share.

The above pic was taken today. I kinda love it. I don't think I've really loved any image of mine thus far. Yeah. Improvement (I think). Yeah!
Love,

Getting started with photography

I am completely NOT at a skill level to teach photography. But having just gotten started, and having several friends inquire, I'll share some things that have been helpful to me.



You know that cliche saying "Life is about the journey, not the destination"? Well... it majorly applies to photography. As much as I would like to read a few books, try a few things and instantly be great.... it's not happening. But... I am still really enjoying myself. And am pretty sure I'm going to be enjoying photography for the rest of my life. So hopefully, somewhere along the way, my photos will improve. It's bound to happen, right?

Right?

Anyway, there are a thousand ways to skin a cat (as if you'd ever want to). But here are some resources and tips that I have found useful.

The basics of exposure, focus and composition is pretty much what it's all about.



This book was very highly recommended to me and helped me understand the basics, and inspired me to try some techniques he describes. Keep it away from your husband's eyes though because the author included photos of his wife and she's got a great figure. At least in the 2004 version. Maybe the 2010, one she's let herself go.☺ The above book is older version from 2004 which my library had. The one below is the most recent.



This post about the basics of exposing in manual mode from Click it Up a Notch helped me as well. Check out all the posts on her 'best of" tab. She also has a few videos with helpful instructions on setting focal points on individual camera brands.



The Pioneer Woman also has a series about exposure that may make the concept more clear. I also was helped by several posts made by contributor "Miz Booshay". This one in particular was very influential in my choice of camera and lense.

Handsome Man

Obviously, whatever camera you have, you've got to learn how to use it. Study your camera and it's manual until you can operate your camera without needing to think about it. (Which I'm not quite there yet.)

Cute nephew with big brown eyes

And another obvious point... practice. I happen to have 3 adorable practice subjects. BUT....

It's really helpful to practice on non-children. When you're trying to concentrate on so many things all at once, and you finally get everything how you want and you're ready to snap the picture.... the toddler waddles away. Or the 3 yr. old decided looking at you is just too much to ask. Now, Maddie thankfully, is a willing (usually) and calm volunteer. But children are not the easiest subjects to photograph and can be down right frustrating. So practice on adults when you can. Or salt and pepper shakers. Or lamps. ☺

Kids and other moving objects need faster shutter speeds

Shooting in RAW is generally the way to go according to.... everyone. ☺ When you have the RAW format, you can improve your photo so much in ways that otherwise just is not possible. If a photo is too dark, or too cold due to indoor lighting, a quick slide of a lever can make it all better. The reason I bring up RAW at all is to give you a head's up on a couple frustrating problems I ran into while transitioning from jpeg to RAW:

1. You need the resolution on your screen high to open RAW photos. It's simple fix of just right clicking on your desktop and increasing the resolution but it tooks me HOURS to figure that little thing out.

2. You may need to convert your RAW files from your camera to dng to be able to open them. This was so frustrating. I sat at my computer trying to figure this out and was ready to throw my whole desktop to the curb. I just want to take photos, not be a computer nerd!! Because my version of Photoshop Elements is a few years old and my camera is brand new, the two don't know how to play nice together. So I have to convert to dng format and then open with PE8. And extra step. But now that it's figured out, I can deal with it. Here is an article to help understand that issue.

Seth & Leila

While we're taking about annoying technical aspects that I really didn't know had anything to do with photography, color management is on that list. Did you know that the color you see on your screen is probably slightly different than what I see on mine? And then when we are surfing the Internet (or posting pictures to it) it's different again? And what Internet browser you use can change it yet again? This bring you into the subject of monitor calibration (setting your monitor's color to a set standard for consistency with other people's monitors). This can be expensive and I'm not forking over any more money right now. Photography can be one of those hobbies where one purchase leads to another which leads to another and I'm just not going to play that way. If I ever photograph professionally, then I will calibrate. Color management also bleeds into sRBG vs adobe RGB, which strangely enough people have strong opinions on and will debate emphatically. Personally, I find this whole arena a black hole that I don't want to get lost in. All I want to know is enough to be able to print and share photos online with the colors looking good to the normal eye. But it so sad to work on a picture and love it, then print it and be disapointed by it. So while it's not fun, figuring out color issues are important. Here's an article on color profiles . In a nutshell, convert your image in sRGB before posting online. (In Photoshop, you go to the "Image" tab to slect the color profile.)

Newborn Nephew

Speaking of printing, professional printers really do a much better job. I didn't want to accpet this. I wanted to be loyal to good ol' WalMart. But after printing the exact same photo at WalMart and at a local pro lab, it was painfully obvious that WalMart couldn't hold a candle. Of course, I'm not planning to print every single photo, or those that I do, sometimes WalMart quality is fine. But when it does matter... got to shell out a little more cash for quality.



My last bit of advice to is find a group of photographers who will critique your photos. All your non-photographer friends will love and compliment every shot you take. But other photographers will notice the technical aspects, be they failures or successes. It's hard to honestly evaluate your own work. And though hearing all the flaws on a image to which you are emotinally attached can be disheartening, it's really helpful in improving. Online forums can be a great source of information and tutorials as well.


And though it may not affect your photos, you sure will look cute wearing an adorable strap cover like this one! So wanting one like this!

So that is about it. Right now, I'm trying to work on light. I've noticed my photos tend to have harsh light (big shadows over the eyes, skin too bright), or not enough contrast (just dull, flat light). I'm looking for tips for placing myself and my subject properly in relation to the light source (which for me is the sun, since as I already said- I ain't spending no mo' money!)

If anyone has any tips about anything regarding photogrpahy, I, and I think others, would looooove to hear 'em!
Love,