in the moment

week 37 :: in the kitchen

 

last year i was working on a lil' photography project -- taking one photograph each week to represent a theme.  the hope was that, given a word as a focus,  i would be pushed creatively to reflect and stretch myself in capturing an image.  have to say i really enjoyed working on the project and did well up to week 19 then there after it was just a few photos here or there, it's hard to carve out time.  you can read more about this project here or click on the link-  

<<<over in the sidebar under categories. 

but, since i've had some time away, thought i'd like to pick up my camera again in a very laid back manner.  so when a previous theme inspires me (and life allows some time)  i will post an image from time to time.  

so here is my recent photo for the theme  ::  in the kitchen

 

 i couldn't pass by this theme and it's timeliness because now that school has started my mornings are spent "in the kitchen" right at this spot making lunches.  our family is a believer of homemade lunches and i've been happily making them since alex entered kindergarten.  the kids have never had a driving desire to eat the school lunches which works out well for us.  

through the years i've made turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches, cheese sandwiches too. but the all time favorite-- is peanut butter and jelly with some years only being able to eat these on weekends because of classmate's allergies.

our lunches always contain fruit (apple slices, purple grapes, pears or raspberries) a cheese stick or yogurt and something crunchy like organic chips or crackers and we can't forget the pirate booty years.

and get this, i've calculated the total amount of lunches i've made through Alex's 7 years of school along with Ally's 5 years of school   (i'm not including this new calendar year yet)  Do you have a guess?  Any thoughts?

Well the school year is 180 days so I've made approximately 2,160 school lunches and still going!

Hmmm, do they make a medal for that?

only in our neighborhood...

only in our neighborhood....

over the weekend, the sun was out along with all the weeds!   so, on this sunday it was a 'work in the garden' day and that meant weeding.  this doesn't always enthuse the kids but they were sharing the load over in the vegetable garden while i was working in the flower beds.  

well, when the sun is out so are the neighbor kids and I could hear alex n' ally greeting their buddies in the cul de sac.  in addition, i kept hearing alex ask his friends if they would like to help weed.  well sure enough a couple buddies joined him- then they would greet the next set of kids who also decided to join the group and all of a sudden we had a posse of kids weeding the garden!  

this is a true story!

these kiddos knocked out the weeding in record time.  i should've taken a 'before' pick because that dirt was covered- they did a great job!  well of course we had to celebrate their efforts -- so craig brought home klondike bars and ice cream sandwiches for the group.  

i'm thinking we might be on to something ;)  

week 15 :: work

time for my next image 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  ::  work

 

work started for me back in middle school... i earned my first spending money as a babysitter.  now i'm sure back then i would've qualified middle and high school as work too-- with studying, tests, essays and reports.  but my first official job was babysitter.

then in college, work continued with part time jobs.... restaurant hostess, waitress, cocktail server and working the nordstrom sales. but after graduating, work progressed to a career path...

the first, being hired at a local advertising company.  i worked at this agency for several years.  i enjoyed the people i worked with but wasn't necessarily happy with my job.  although this all changed.  one day, my friend invited me to spend time at the pre-school where she worked.  i had such a great time.  so great-- that the next day, i walked into the advertising company and quit my job.  yep, quit my job-- it's a true story.  and it was the absolute best decision because...

this led to my second career, as an elementary school teacher.  i worked for seven years as a first grade teacher, 1/2 day kindergarten teacher, full day kindergarten teacher and primary multi-age teacher.  i worked for most of these years in the lake washington school district but also back east in an arts and science magnet school just outside of Washington D.C.  i have sooo many stories from these years.  i thoroughly enjoyed teaching-- it was exhausting, teachers wear so many hats but it was rich with rewards of the heart.  i learned a lot about children, how they develop, all the different ways they learn.  which did in fact, somewhat prepare me...

for my third career as a mom.   yep, the role of parent definitely qualifies as a career.  and talk about wearing multiple hats...  there is nurse, head chef, chauffeur, accountant, personal shopper, tutor, teacher, coach, counselor, seamstress, handyman, gardener and house cleaner extraordanaire--- thus the photo above because that housework well, it is a constant.  this by far is my most challenging career - there are definitely moments.  you know of what i speak.

it is work.

but the best kind.  

 

week 14 :: excitement

time for my next image 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  ::  excitement

not a technically great photo, it's blurry from his motion but, i only got one snap of the shutter for this pic. remember i manually set the iso, f-stop and shutter speed for each photo-- this takes time, so when you have only one attempt well, you just do your best.   i really didn't have a plan for the theme this week - we've been pretty busy.  so when this moment presented itself over the easter weekend i went for it.  

now the question is.... does this look like excitement or does it look like he's screaming for help?!?!?

which poses another question, what exactly would he need help for.... escaping a giant sized, marshmallow peep about to eat him?!?!?

week 13 :: planning

i'm continuing to work on 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  ::  planning

yep, i'm a planner.

i multi-task well. i'm a project gal. i think through all the details. i write lists. i check things off. i complete tasks. i'm organized. i'm a 'type a' personality.  the first step is admitting it, right?!?

although, since craig is a pilot and his schedule changes every month, then within that month it changes again. plus having two kiddos involved in basketball, baseball, softball, honor choir, brownies, talent show, birthday parties, play dates along with my own volunteering schedule, doctor or dentist appointments, running errands etc. etc. it reAlly helps to have the 'type a' personality.  ~i happen to think the 'a' stands for awesomeness ;)

so when it came to this photography theme well i knew what image i wanted to capture.  the calendar.  we have a 'master calendar' (in background) that hangs on the wall of our pantry. yep, the pantry-- our family is in/out of that pantry ALL the time.  our life; every event, activity, sport practice, work schedule or appointment is recorded here.  and any event or activity is not scheduled until first consulting the calendar.  further more, any changes to craig's schedule is also recorded here --uh, this took a bit of training but is a marriage saver-- ladies you know what i speak of, right?!?! ;)  i also have a daytimer with the same information that i carry around with me.

i know, i know this is old school.  i'm behind the technology times.  i know there are many of you that have your iCal, or comcast calendar or gmail/google drives that are all synced up to your work or your home computers or iphone calendars. i'm just not there yet. most of you know that i still don't have voicemail set up on my iphone that i've had for over a year and half.  well, really the fact is, i don't like being tied to my computer (or even my phone)-- there i said it out loud.  technology is so gReat-- i love it.  i love the opportunity to access information, to look up recipes, to find art projects or creative inspiration, to ask the all mighty google oracle questions with answers at your fingertips and for photography-- technology is amazing.  but, technology is a big time sucker.... you know what i speak of, how you can just get lost for hours on the worldwide web.  so as a multi-tasker, list writer, likes to get things done type 'a' personality... well the 'time sucker' just doesn't compute with me.  

it's all about balance, right?  we're teaching our kiddos about balance with what we call 'screen time'-- you know, t.v., wii, computer, itouch, ipad -- these are all screens.  the kids can easily get sucked right into the vortex for hours at a time too.  i'd rather spend time with them-- being and doing.   so i save my limited 'screen time' for the fun things like photography and creative projects.  at this point the master calendar is working just fine.

now, if i could just get a handle on planning our meals!??!

nw baseball??

yep, in the garage.

why, in the garage you ask?  because it's baseball season in the northwest and you all know what that means.... rain, rain, rain and more rain.  baseball practices have begun but with the horrible weather and rainy conditions last week, everything was canceled.  

so, if it's raining and the kids are stir crazy and they both need baseball practice well, you make due with a little hitting practice in the garage.   what you can't see is Craig standing on the driveway, in the rain tossing whiffle balls to alex-  now that's the pic I should have taken.

just a few images of alex, he's looking pretty happy here...   (because he's nice and dry)

good concentration- check out the pursed lips

one hit....

two hits.....

three....  (check out my notes,  it doesn't look like it's raining from the photos but we have 'splatter' to prove it!)

am I looking forward to baseball season???  

watching alex and his team, yes.

 the rainy weather, uh not so much.  so we'll be doing a few 'sun dances' round here in hopes of better weather.  or better yet, i need to invest in some good galoshes and rain gear ;)

 

girl scout cookies

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 cookies to choose from....  there are the new savannah smiles- (a lemon tea cookie) and several 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 rows of 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.