a bit behind uploading week ten but still trucking along with the 52 week photo project, you can read more about this project here or click on the link-
<<<over in the sidebar under categories.
here is my photograph for this week's theme :: vegetables
our family eats a lOt of vegetables especially green salads filled with all sorts of chopped up fresh goodness. in fact, just recently the kids have been talking about eating the rainbow--- they try to see how many different colors they are eating at dinner on their plate. have to say that purple gives us the most trouble-- sometimes there will be purple greens, purple cabbage or we'll have purple fingerling potatoes but it's definitely the trickiest color.
we also grow vegetables during the summer--- sometimes peas and lettuce but always cucumbers, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, rhubarb and lots of pumpkins. each year is an experiment-- we even tried an artichoke one time-- but always the kids help plant, weed, harvest and eat the vegetables. i'm so happy they like vegetables.
as for photographing vegetables....
i'd like to say these lovely radishes are fresh from our garden- but in the pacific nw, during the rainy month of march, i had to head indoors to take this picture. we are lucky to have a local grocery store that has amazing fresh produce and a large quantity of organic products too. and if you remember, with this 52 week photo project, i'm trying to challenge myself.... so, i took my camera into the grocery store, bent down to the shelving and started photographing the vegetables. i'm sure i looked a bit strange. but i told the gal standing nearby that i was practicing which seemed to be enough of an explanation.
as for the picture it is SOC... that is photographer speak for 'straight out of the camera'. if you recall, i manually set my exposure on all my pictures. so sometimes i'm a bit off which can be compensated for when editing. but this photo didn't need any editing. it is soc. i'm thinking that challenging myself is a good thing.
it's that time of year, the troops are at the grocery stores, in their brown vests, with rainbow boxes in hand asking "would you like to buy a box of girl scout cookies?" ahhh, yes! so tempting! and now so many to choose from.... there are the new savannah smiles- a lemon tea cookie and some with fancy names like thank you berry much, dulce de leche and do-si-dos. then there are our family favorites--the tagalongs with chocolate n' peanut butter or the samoas a caramel coconut delight. but we can't forget the traditional shortbread trefoil or the infamous thin mints...... so many to choose from. and they are only $4 per box- such a great deal plus just look at those cute faces- who could resist.
but this year we have an inside track because in the fall, miss a. joined brownies.
this is great! we can order them directly from her. and not only did ally take turns with her troop at the grocery stores but she also went door-to-door in our neighborhood. so, we now have rainbow boxes filling our dining room to deliver. this is good. this is tempting. this is bad.
did you know that you can freeze the girl scout cookies?
i think we're in trouble.
photograph taken at bedtime right before this moment...
every night it is the same routine; pick up room, shower, pajamas on, brush teeth then reading in bed before lights out. alex is our reader- he loves it. as do i. in fact, i will read the same book as alex so we can talk about the plot and characters- our own mini book club. although he always zooms ahead of me- it's hard to keep up.
and on this night, he was asking me about my progress with Inkspell for he was already onto the third book Inkdeath (what he's reading in the photo). our conversation went something like this...
I replied to him, "I'm still reading it (Inkspell) every night but I keep falling asleep. I'm nearing the end but not getting very far."
Alex said, " Well then you should read it during the day."
I replied, "I know buddy but I get so busy, there is alot to do during the day."
So he said, "Well, you should just hurry up and get everything done."
Craig and I chuckled, "Yep, but when you're a mom or a dad nothing gets finished there is always something to do."
There was a bit of a pause then Alex replied...
"Well you should pick up the book when you're eating lunch and save some time for it."
Such wise words.
a bit of catch up... just now uploading week nine of the 52 week photo project, you can read more about this project here or click on the link-
<<<over in the sidebar under categories.
here is my photograph for this week's theme :: spirit
as you can see i couldn't just pick one photograph for this week, it was hard to choose.
when i hear the word spirit i immediately think of miss ally, this girl has spirit. she has spunk. she has energy. she goes for it, without fear. she laughs. she cries. she has comedic timing with her sense of humor and when she gets going she has a serious giggle. she is smart. she is independent. she is strong and strong willed. she is loved. she is happy.
she has such an amazing spirit.
photograph taken in maui- dt fleming beach
ta-dah, our second photo for the 4 of us 12x project-- all of us together at the beach! so happy with this photo... the blue, blue water, our bright colored swim wear, our sun hats, the blowing wind, and sandy beach--- *deep sigh*, this was a good day. i started this project two years ago, trying to capture all four of us in a photograph each month. You can read more here or here and you can also see past images by clicking on the 4 of us :: 12x category
<<<over in the sidebar.
but please note: all images before jan 2012 are a bit wonky... i updated the blog recently to be bigger but my older images weren't sized for the new, larger dimensions. ugh, oh well- you'll still get the picture right? um, that would be a lil' photography humor?!
as for february highlights...
it seems february is not only a short month but also a full month for our family. with our mid-winter break, it just wooshes by in a heart beat.
- we began the month with school routines, playdates, brownies, choir practices, basketball for alex and indoor swim for both kids. we went to birthday parties, had sleepovers and celebrated valentines day with parties at school along with a family dinner at home.
- then we ended the month with our vacation trip to Maui. we definitely look forward to spending time together in the sunshine. during the winter months we are always ready for the warmth. this vacation was even more memorable because our neighbors were also vacationing in maui at the same resort. we spent many, many days (and nights too) together-- so much fun for our kids to be with their friends.
- yep, it was definitely a fast and full month for our family!
- but before we say good-bye to february, i must share one last photo from the winter featuring miss ally at indoor swim. she was quite the fashionista!!
sunset at dinner- taken with iphone
alex learned to scuba dive, he loved it!
he said the hardest part was just walking with the tanks
kaanapali beach at black rock
a lot of this!
just the girls- with black rock behind us
my all time favorite boogie boarding shot! just look at all that air, and just look at that happy face!
more boarding at dt fleming beach
breakfast in napili with our friends
climbing the lava rocks
back at dt fleming beach for more boarding- with mom too
the girls digging a sand castle
burying alex
the end of our day-- a group shot of 'the gang'
our last evening-- taken at sunset
saying good-bye
a favorite photo- even if i'm looking a bit like a drowned rat. but, there is a reason why i'm laughing so hard....
first of all, i got in the water and i went boogie boarding. this is a story in of itself. i enjoy being in the ocean i just don't enjoy being cold and each time i made the attempt - i would last only a few minutes. i would just shiver in the water. who wants to be cold when you're on a tropical island?? the reason we vacation during the winter is to escape the wet and cold. but, i digress...
on this day of our vacation, it was warm. the water looked inviting and i wanted to boogie board with the kids. so there you go. i was out catching waves and riding them onto the beach. we were having a lot of fun. just look at us girls go...
we were catching many waves.... riding them into shore and then back out again. over and over. then i caught this wave. it was a good one. just look at all that air. it was a strong wave and i was holding on tight. but folks, you need to take a closer look at this photo and my expression...
i'm not laughing any more. i'm definitely holding tight and i'm tryyyying to smile. but there is a bit of worry on that face, could it even be mild panic?? you see, it may have been at this exact moment, that my swim skirt started filling with water. i could feel this rush of water and my skirt starting to move-- it was creeping down! rapidly!!
what do you do in this moment?? there are only seconds to decide...
my brain was working at warp speed... do i bail off the board and let the curve of the wave crash over me? this option could be good, it had potential because my bare bum would not be riding in the air on top of the wave, exposed for all to see- or would it? if i bailed, i most definitely would be toppled head-over-heels with the force of the wave thus at risk for completely losing my swim skirt out to sea... and then what? the walk of shame to my beach towel???? at this point, my swim skirt was already at my ankles!!!!
what to do? what to do? my decision... hold on tight to the board- i did nOt want to get toppled. yes, hold tight and flex those feet, hard. yep, flex my feet to hook my suit, keeping it at my ankles. i WAS NOT going to lose my suit! i rode that wave, bare bum and all, to the shore (hoping like crazy that no one was watching too closely!!!) then as the white water was swirling around me and the beach was beneath me... i did a quick roll off the board, grab suit at ankles to quickly hike suit up maneuver before the white water receded around me. can you see my 'flexed feet' in the photo?
bringing us back to this photo...
craig snapped this photo of me the moment i stood up from that crazy 'roll, hike skirt maneuver'-- i could not stop laughing. i mean really what else can you do? that was sOme ride and my last of the day. how could i top that bare bum boogie board ride??? it was quite memorable!
and craig took this last photo of me as i was saying "duuuuude, did you see that!!??!!"
which we had a little photoshop fun with....
note to self: get tighter swim bottoms
