54-58/365

Things are crazy around here.

First, my mom...we've been running back and forth to Dr.'s, CT scans, Pre-admissions testing, etc. until we're both frazzled. Turns out she kinda shattered the bone under her shoulder. The surgeon is thinking "ball" replacement. I really liked him and think she did too. We've heard nothing but good things about him and she's even okay w/ going into the hospital she didn't want to use. She's having surgery Monday morning so any +++ thoughts are appreciated.

My middling has been having dizzy spells for the past few months. DH & I didn't realize how often he's having them but have found out, it's a lot. We carried him to the family dr. last week. He was thinking possibly seizures. Freaked this poor mama out! He referred him to a neurologist who quickly said "not seizures" and referred him to a cardiologist. He did a complete blood panel, ekg, echocardiogram and has a tilt-table test scheduled for next week. Middling's blood pressure is always low so I'm guessing that has a lot to do with it. But hopefully, we'll know more after next week.

Middling also had a trip to Huntsville to the news station again for more training. Nothing exciting this week. I don't think I blogged about his last training session. He got to help cover a shooting at a college...made the national news so you may have heard about it. Not a typical training session for sure but he got a real dose of reality. Last night, he got to cover a rodeo and have a normal night. DH dropped him off at the station & then came back & got us (after mom's testing & younger's school got out) & we went & hung out at the mall for a while.

Ok, enough about me.

On to my missed photos. Just a reminder that this week's topics are catch lights & affection.

I think I covered them both with each shot! ;)

#54

#55

#56

#57

And last but not least...

#58 Don'cha just love that face?

In a world where everyone seems to be larger and louder than yourself, it is very comforting to have a small, quiet companion. ~Peter Gray

53/365

Life is getting hectic. My mom fell last week & broke her arm right below her shoulder. She was to have surgery Wednesday but when we went in to talk to her dr., we found that the CT scan showed more damage than originally thought. He doesn't want to do the surgery & recommended a shoulder specialist in another town. She REALLY dislikes one of the hospitals in this other town & is freaking at the thought of having to have surgery there. Her dr assures her though that the specialist IS the go to guy for shoulders. We go see him tomorrow & will hopefully have a surgery date tomorrow.

It's turning gloomy and gray again. I throughly enjoyed the 2 days of spring we had. I know it'll be here again soon.

Ok, now for my photo. Ted again. New location. Nice catchlights. Pure affection.

Anyone who has looked a teddy bear in the face will recognize the friendly twinkle in his knowing look.

52/365

Sunday means new themes: Catchlights & affection.

Meet Ted E. Bear. He was a Christmas gift when I was 16 -- one is never too old for a teddy. He adorned my bed until I married...well, until after really. He's been dragged around by 3 kids. His joints are a little loose (like mine *L*) and he's got a couple of patches of fur missing, dirty feet, etc but he'll always be a part of my home. No way he'll be packed up for storage.

He's the most cooperative subject I have. Never complains, always poses how I ask, etc.

We're having a burst of spring here so I took Ted out on the porch and grabbed a couple of shots. He's soooo photogenic and I got great catchlights in his eyes! As far as the affection theme, what is more affectionate than a teddy? Two-fer! *L*

I've done a fair share of moaning & complaining that I don't have real people to practice on. The elder is never here. The middling doesn't mind (much) but ditto on being around. The 12 year old just makes faces. So, if I'm to get any catchlights this week, you may be seeing a good bit of Ted around. He's quite a card & there's no telling what he'll be getting into. :)

Ted asked for a moody black & white. Not sure I accomplished that here...

A teddy bear is your childhood wrapped up in faded yellow fur, and as such, he commands affection long after he is out grown.

51/365

My favorite line from Twilight...

I wish the line of focus was only on that particular line but I fiddled w/ it & it didn't happen.

50/365 Mandarin Love

The "words" theme is proving difficult. I'm having trouble finding anything inspiring. I think if the weather were warmer & we could head to a town or city & walk around snapping, it'd be a lot easier for me. But, that's not happening & I'll be glad when there's a new theme...no offense to the theme chooser. :)

And the "in the kitchen" theme...I've been on a slight strike lately & my kitchen is a mess. BUT I have a 12 yr old, an 18 yr old & a 22 yr old. I'm NOT washing dishes after them. I cook breakfast & supper, the least they could do is clean up after themselves. They're beginning to get the hint & even had the kitchen spotless on Tuesday. But, it didn't last long & one night of clean does not a happy mama make. And no, having every dish in the house crammed into the dishwasher does not = clean. *LOL* All that rambling to say, I'm having a hard time with this theme too.

I do have another two-fer though, even though it feels way less than creative & kinda blah to me.

We :heart: mandarin oranges. I bought a bag last night and caught a glimpse of them sitting amidst the chaos that is my kitchen and saw the humor in the "delite" in the middle of it all. *L* Better to laugh than cry, right? So, I staged a couple of little orange jewels for today's word/in the kitchen shot.

A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom. ~Robert Frost

49/365 Family

Not exactly what I'd envisioned but I was having a time keeping a decent shutter speed and couldn't open up the ap much.

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. ~Alex Haley

48/365

BOR-ING

But it's a word AND it's in my kitchen. How's that for a two-fer?

47/365

I'm an Oly girl, through & through. :)

46/365 Words

Snow day!! It started snowing last night. We have about an inch on the ground so not really enough to play in but enough to keep the kids out of school. Yes, today was supposed to be a regular day. Now we have 3 snow days to make up. Joy. Really it doesn't bother me. I was hoping for more snowflake photos. Unfortunately, they didn't cooperate too well. Too dry or something I guess.

Theme: Words

Kinda Valentine-y. And I know I've done it before, but, I've been wanting to try it w/ poetry instead of the Bible (though I liked the Bible results). I've been looking for a vintage poetry book (preferably love poems) but have had no luck so I took a couple of poems from Browning & Barrett-Browning, printed them & stuck them in a book. Kind of a wonky angle but...

45/365 Happy Valentine's Day

Top 10 reasons I :heart: my valentine! In no particular order...

1. He's a great dad! He loves doing things with the kids and does so often.

2. He ain't bad on the eyes. :)

3. He's a wonderful provider. I've never had to work. Yeah, there were some tough times & some times that I wanted to work but we've always been able to make it on what he provided for us.

4. He ALWAYS opens the door for me. Always.

5. He makes me laugh.

6. He's a loyal friend.

7. He loves to cook! Well, grill but anything that puts food in our tummies that I don't have to do = good! *L*

8. He soooo gets me! He KNEW the Jelly Bellies would win out over the chocolate. He probably spent 20 bucks on JBs for me. :)

9. He got the chocolate too!

10. He's my best friend.

New themes! "Words" and "In the Kitchen".

My words for today...Eat Chocolate!

Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.

44/365

Last day of water...

This time, I used an inverted Corning Ware lid to, I thought, give a bigger splash. Ummm, not so much. I think I did better on focus here though.

All of my water attempts were shot w/ my 50mm 2.0. I love that lens!!

The closest I got to a "crown".

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams

43/365

Trying to get a "crown". Not so hot at manual focusing. Oh to have a larger viewfinder!

Every drop in the ocean counts.

42/365

Back to water...

The flowers are gaudy but show up better than the silk hydrangeas. I sooo want to master the water droplet shot!

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

41/365

If you know me well, you know I'm an Enya fan. HUGE Enya fan. I'm also a huge fan of her lyricist, Roma Ryan. The imagery of her poems astounds me.

Recently, there was a competition held at Enya's site to promote her new release The Very Best of Enya. There were several different contests...vlogs, create banners, name nightflowers and the main event, a treasure hunt. I entered them all and was a winner w/ my vlog. Click here if you want to see it. You may not "get" it if you didn't play the games but I used one of Middling's songs in it so you could check it out. :) Middling was a runner-up in the treasure hunt so he's excited about that.

Today, I received the first "fragment" of the prize(s) I'll be receiving.

An autographed The Very Best of album sampler... Grà ò Enya = Love from Enya.

Fragments of the lost lyric booklet. It's made from a lovely textured linen paper. I love how the CD packaging looks like flower petals.

And my favorite item - a personal note from Roma.

I cannot wait to see what else is coming!!

40/365 My son, the egg

A couple of months ago, my middling won a reporter contest for a local TV station. He gets to cover a local festival (AL Chick & Egg Fest) this spring as well as any media events leading up to it. He's made a video that was on their website for a month, been on TV, all kinds of other cool stuff.

Well, the younger, being how younger's usually are, was feeling a bit left out. I wondered aloud if he might could be one of the mascots for the festival and ba-da-bing, the wish was granted. So now, younger gets to attend the media events as well, put on an egg costume and dance his heart out. He literally had us rolling at this last one. As you might imagine, dancing in an over-sized egg costume is not an easy feat but he did all the hip moves and was proclaimed the best Scramble (that's the egg's name) they'd ever had. So he's quite happy and proud of himself. I'm puffed up like a proud mama hen myself.

The chicken is middling's girlfriend. At this event anyway. She did a wonderful job as well but, I'm fairly certain she's not going to be jumping up & down at the chance to do it again. The costume is quite hot & the mask has a real latex odor to it. But anyway, they had a great time together and did the job they were asked to do quite well.

39/365 Another water droplet...

38/365

New themes this week. One group's is shoot from the hip (don't look through the viewfinder while shooting) and the other group's is water. So, we're going for water today.

This was so much fun. The silk hydrangeas were a bit too small to show up well in the droplet so I've got others w/ bigger, gaudier flowers but this was the only one w/ a pendant. I think my focus was off a bit too but I still like it. Can't wait to do more of these now that I semi-know what I'm doing.

37/365

Final day of self-portraits/macro. No self-portrait attempt today. But I did have a go at a few macros.

I've been wanting to do this forever...just never took the time.



A different take on it...
I love the shadow I got but it bugs the tar out of me that divorcement & adultery show up so well. I shall be investing in some old love poetry books to make this shot a little easier. *L*


I recently won a drawing on my friend Carol's blog. Carol is a CTMH consultant. If you're a scrapbooker or are into rubber stamping, you need to know her! She's an awesome lady & a great consultant. Thanks again Carol! I love my goodies! Wanna see what I won?

Pretty Pins - Aren't they the cutest?

Suede Pinwheels - I love these too!

I also won a pack of Bitty Sparkles. I'll attempt a photo of them when I use them on a project. :)

36/365

Here's a self-portrait that I'm "ok" with. The color is wonky but I just can't quite get it right. Maybe it's time for a trip to a make-up counter & make sure my color is right. I'm thinking it's not.



It is soooo wet here. I'm tired of squishing in my yard. If I don't get to start walking soon, I think I'm gonna pop! My jeans will for sure. *L*

My youngest has a sweetheart. :) They're so cute together. She's a head taller than him but he says that's okay because he's older than she. He asked if he (we) could carry her to the movies for Valentine's Day. We said ok but her mom said she's too young to date. He's bummed. This age group (12) is so funny. They're "going out" but never go anywhere. They're dating someone but it's a secret. How do you date someone secretly? I'm proud of Kaleb not letting his friends' teasing get to him though. Oh the joys of puberty. *L*

I've not posted a single macro photo this week so I'm hoping I get some time tomorrow to experiment w/ some things & maybe catch up w/ that group.

I am more than I know myself to be.

35/365

I soooo want to get a "real" self-portrait before the week is up.
I attempted today but had a bit of unsolicited help from Butch aka Buttsniffer...



And this always happens when I'm in a photo...



BAck to the drawing board.

34/365 Morphed

I followed a tutorial I found on Flickr to try my hand at a self-portrait Manga doll. Would've been better if I'd had a decent photo but...

My kids were a bit weirded out by it. *LOL*

33/365

My attempt w/ the self-timer on my camera. The kids have a go-kart track that I use for walking in nice weather. It's SOGGY now. I set my focal point, set the timer for 12 seconds & took off running, trying so hard not to splash mud all over the place and make it to said focal point & make myself look like I'm walking calmly all before the shutter clicks. NOT as easy as it sounds! And I didn't realize until after that I have on my fat jeans so I'm looking like I have a good case of noassatall. Really, I do have one. *LOL* I'm hoping to get a "real" self-portrait before this week is over. May have to enlist the help of an older child though.

As you can see, the groundhog did not see his shadow at our house. Maybe spring will be here soon!



Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow. ~Henry David Thoreau

32/365 The hat

The hat belonged to my grandmother. She had several and I inherited most of them. This is one of my favorites though because I think it could still be worn today. It still has the price tag inside, $5, which I bet was pretty pricey back then.



Yes, I'm still hiding! Baby steps! :)

My middling won (co-won actually) a student news reporter contest a couple of months ago and he's getting to go to the TV station tomorrow for training. The other boy is getting to be annoying. He tries to hog the limelight when their doing something for the festival they are to report for...stumbles over himself to answer a question before Nathan gets a chance to, etc. But, he's really stiff and formal acting whereas Nate is really laid back & easy going which fits this particular TV station to a "T". I told him to just be himself & let his personality shine through. I'm so wishing I could go with. They have a GORGEOUS water garden outside where they do the weather that I've been dying to see in person. But it's an all day thing & there won't be anyone here to get the younger when school's out. Yes, he really is old enough to be home by himself but...he's my BABY! *L* There will be other trips so I'll try to go to one of those.

Cock your hat - angles are attitudes. ~Frank Sinatra