Friday, April 2, 2010

Simple Pleasure...


A good book is one of life's simplest pleasures- a mom seeing her child indulge in that pleasure is simply heaven.

Jace got How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 today and is already more than half finished. This is definately blog-worthy because while he's a good reader it's rare for him to read for pleasure. He's usually reading for information, not for fun- but not today! In fact he was so engaged that I was able to snap several pics without him noticing. We'll definately be getting more books in this series.

Oh, and it was also quite pleasurable to realize I can already get better shots in my dark living room than I could when we started this project. ;)

A pleasurable place to sit...

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Panning??



I took several shots today that I really like and I even posted one of them already and decided to delete it. It wasn't perfect but I know why and know how to fix it. However panning is not something I know so I'm putting these up as a reminder of where I want to go from here.

I love panning shots- for those not familiar with photography lingo that means you keep the subject in focus but blur the background in a streaking way. It is supposed to imply motion and it also looks really cool. I really want to learn this technique and so far I'm getting not great results. I'm hoping that posting shots that aren't my favorites of the day but that instead show something I want to improve on will help give me the push I need to figure this out. Wish me luck!

Park Pleasure



I got some great shots today, I LOVED taking pictures of some of the kids at playgroup on the swing. It was so much fun! Ok, I HAVE to add 1 more pic. I make the rules here, right? I LOVE the picture with the chalk and if pleasure weren't the word of the day, I think I would have picked it instead.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Double your pleasure...





It was a gorgeous day and the temps climbed up to 80!! The kids were so excited and when Robbie got out the power washer to wash the truck they couldn't resist getting wet- their favorite summer pleasure. No matter where we are or what we're doing water has magical powers in our family. We can all be in full meltdown mode and a fountain or mister will completely transform the day. Today was already pretty good so this water wasn't needed to save the day but somehow it still did. I think their faces say it all. :-)

Simple Pleasure...


Ok, that's a lie, it wasn't simple at all! I teach an American Girl history class for our homeschool co-op and today we talked about WW2, Hiroshima, etc. and then we made Origami paper cranes. Luckily one of the older girls knew how and came in to instruct us b/c it certainly was NOT simple, but it was VERY pleasurable! The rest of my day was extremely pleasurable, but I'm not about to take pictures of myself in a bikini, laying on the deck in the sun reading! LOL. Origami it is!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Broken wing...

sunset pleasure


What's better than a glass of wine, sitting on the deck, watching the sunset?!?!? I'm not sure! To be honest, I took some other pics and as I was driving home realized that I was supposed to be focused on pleasure this week and I didn't much today. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, but I really want to focus on the positive things in my life right now, so the word pleasure is a great word to focus on. Now I'm off to watch LOST! THAT is pleasurable! LOL

Monday, March 29, 2010

A Pirate's Life for Me...



We had our Pirates of the Caribbean day today and it was a big hit with everyone! The kids loved the treasure hunt, Karen and I loved the tablescape full of photo ops we created. I couldn't decide between a pic of the kids happy with their booty or one of the table so you get two today! :-)

A Pirates Pleasure


I wanted to challenge myself to take a pleasure picture (our word of the week) every single day this week b/c I think it's good for me to see the small pleasures in every day life. Today we were busy having our Pirates of the Caribbean movie day and it was very pleasurable! I think I'm about ready to turn off the vivid setting on my camera though. Although it's nice for landscapes, I think my eye is getting sharper and I'm finding I don't like the colors as bold as my camera is taking them, especially in darker conditions, inside. So, I wasn't terribly pleased with my pics today, but wanted to post a pic of our pleasure today, so this is the one I picked.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Not enough distance...


Whew, today was a busy day! I had so much going on and I barely had time to get any pictures today. I did manage to walk to the end of the driveway and snap this pic for a final installment for our word of the week. The title eludes to the fact that these neighbors are a little close for comfort. It's not really the proximity of the house so much as the happenings in the house- neglected animals, automatic weapon fire on peaceful mornings... well, you get the idea.

I've actually taken this picture before but didn't have great exposure. Now that I better understand metering the shot is MUCH better.

cook, read, love?


Today's been a really nice day. I'm kind of shocked to say that. For the past few months I've found sanity in living in the future, sometimes living in the moment is hard when the moment sucks! Today I was just HERE. I spent time talking with people about important things and sharing my beliefs, I baked cookies with my daughter, and I started reading a book I've wanted to read for a long time. I didn't take a lot of time for my camera, but I'm totally ok with that. I was living in the moment, something that never really fails me. When I choose to, I can always find joy in the moment, no matter how small. I'm looking forward to our word of the week starting tomorrow and finding even more pleasure in living in the here and now.