Scavenger Hunt Sunday: Love is in the air

Valentine's Day, for me, is more about the kiddos. I enjoy making treats, buying little cards, and helping Jared stuff them with goodies. But I try to stay away from the commercialization and pressure they place on adults and their varying relationship statuses. No one should ever feel excluded or inadequate over a holiday.

This year was a bit different. Jared's class didn't exchange cards and didn't need treats. That was weird for me. On the other hand, Mario came home a whole day early, we had a lovely lunch, and I got a pretty amazing gift:

Mario could have come home with this on any random day, he's that kind of guy, but it was sweet that he wrapped it up in a pretty pink bag and gave it to me over lunch. Perhaps I should rethink my curmudgeon ways when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Those close-ups that I couldn't quite take? All mine! I am so excited about this lens. The crispness, the color saturation...perfection. Mario said he read about 100 reviews before buying it and they were all positive. I can see why. Some of this week's prompts were taken before I got it, but I imagine there will be a lot of close-ups in the coming weeks. I just can't get enough.

Here we go:

Candy

Apparently there was a Valentine's Day special at the hotel we stayed at Friday night, so these, and a bottle of champagne, were waiting in the room when we arrived. Yum.

Pink or Red

On Friday, Michael's shuffled all their faux floral Valentine's-themed wreaths out front on a clearance rack. They were wild! Flowers, bows, wire garland, folliage...I've never seen something scream Valentine's Day! more than these. So, of course, I took a picture.

Love

This photo combines two loves: the ocean and this child. I am never more at peace than when I am next to water. And although he makes me crazy and frustration-filled on a regular basis, I have never been more in love with a soul than I am with Jared's.

Kisses

Oh, these two. Best buds and brothers rolled into one. Jared was sitting on the floor with Jack and I grabbed my camera just in time to snap this cute interaction. Perhaps it isn't the best demonstration of my new found skills, but I managed to capture the essence of their relationship in a just a few photos.

Smile

If you haven't gathered this by now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I have a really quirky, wonderful kid. Who does things like eat a kiwi with the skin on. Like a furry little apple. He makes us laugh every single day.

I realize Jared made quite a few appearances this week. Not to be neglected, it should be noted than I am pretty enamored with this guy:

So it was only appropriate  that he got his close-up as well. 

Happy Sunday!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: Love is in the air

Sunday, February 17, 2013

High Five for Friday: A Week of Love

Hidey ho good neighbors! Too early for a Home Improvement reference? Never! The peppiness is for good reason: My groove is officially on its way back. Bags packed, flights booked...it's returning!

This boost in morale oddly correlates with a big journal article presentation (we nailed it), a monster homework assignment (done a day early), and two upcoming exams (one is take-home!). In the process of meeting with my classmates to prep for our PowerPoint, researching, and streamlining my notes, things started to fall into place. Next week's exam is going to be tough, but it feels good to be flexing my brain and getting back into my element. The last few weeks have been painful...trying to find motivation from nothing was really hard, and I was starting to worry about my mindset. Why am I feeling so indifferent? Am I depressed? What's happening?! 

From now until next Thursday, my life is going to look a lot like this:

Kiddo also seemed to find his groove this week. I should do an entire post dedicated to the wonder that is Hue. Admittedly, the app required to run it is a bit glitchy, but the system is awesome. We have two light bulbs in Jared's room and I used the third in my bedside lamp. At 6:05a, on the nose, the sun rises in our rooms. No more struggling to wake up in pitch black darkness. A good start has made all the difference for him (and me).

Source: minifanfan.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I've had a strange relationship with my blog the last two weeks. In an attempt to find balance, I started writing the bulk of my posts on the weekend, then scheduling them in advance. Although it helped me manage my time, I felt very disconnected from my content...like someone else had written it. So I am going to try and tweak my process a bit over the next week. I'm thinking I will plan posts in advance, create the collages and such, but save some of the core content for the days leading up to the post. I'm sure a lot of you have experienced this (advice?!), but I was spending two hours in the morning writing that day's post, answering emails, commenting on other blogs, and linking up instead of using that precious alone time to study or get ahead on assignments; leading to unnecessary stress and guilt over wasted time. I can't say it enough: Balance. I need to find it.

I also started taking better care of myself. It is no mystery that tired, processed-food-eating Sarah feels icky. I maintained a reasonable, regular bedtime every night this week and realized that I hadn't taken my B vitamins in several days. Things quickly fall apart without them. For the first time this year, I downed the health shake my doctor recommended years ago...the total nutrition makes it seem like I'm running on more cylinders, at least. I'll have to devote a post solely to this issue as well.

Anywho, I hope everyone enjoyed the Week of Love. Although I don't usually invest much in this rather commercialized holiday, this year felt different.

1. While I was in talking to his teacher, Kiddo built this smiley snowman. In a half hour. Did I mention it is nearly as tall as he is? Seeing it the last couple days at drop-off/pick-up has made me happy. I think we found his calling... 2. I got a wild streak. Literally and figuratively. I was feeling spunky and up for a change (my months old pink streaks were almost gone), so I put some blue streaks in my hair. By myself. I said I was feeling frisky and acknowledge that things could have gone horribly wrong. I don't bleach my hair before putting it on, which allows me to change it up when the color starts to fade. And yes, my fine, curly/wavy hair is that wild when left to its own devices.  3. Mario left on Sunday for some meetings at his company's San Diego-based headquarters. His last meeting was cancelled, so he changed his ticket and caught a red-eye home Thursday morning. A whole day early. I took a break from lab work and we went out for a Valentine's Day sushi lunch. The only thing better than a sushi lunch date? A half price sushi lunch date. Thankfully, we felt quite well, so 1/2 price wasn't synonymous with get-rid-of-the-old-fish. After finding out how much my present cost, I'm glad we dined on the cheap. We are serious romantics.  4. My Valentine's Day present! I don't expect such things, but Mario pulled up outside the science building with a gift in hand. A micro lens for my camera! I am now officially a serious photographer, because I have lenses. Plural. I photographed everything on the table at lunch...it takes amazing photos! Husband is getting a massage on Monday (better to let a professional handle that).  5. Because Mario came home early, and is oh so nice, he took over chaperone/carpool duties for ski day at Jared's school today. It's a small charter school, so they rely on parents to get the kids to various events. I happen to be one of the few parents that consistently volunteers, so I often spend my days off shuttling kiddos around. Instead, I am sitting in a quiet house, hot beverage nearby, typing up a fresh post. And before I head out to turn in an assignment and run errands, I'm going to tackle the monstrosity that is my desk. Holy catalogs, junk mail, bills, and magazines Batman!

Happy Friday! Plans?

High Five for Friday: A Week of Love

Friday, February 15, 2013

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I am absolutely obsessed with my new camera. I've gone from auto mode pics of my cat to really experimenting with settings and exposures. I know what aperture is, yo! This little beauty is now my constant companion, and nothing is safe from my lens. Honestly, I think the boys (and pets) love all the extra attention. 

Last week Kristen over at KV's Confessions joined in on Scavenger Hunt Sunday, which is hosted by Ashley at Ramblings and Photos. Ashley is a photographer who takes insanely beautiful photos. Each week she posts five random words, and interpreting them photographically is the name of the game. I can't think of a better way to stretch my camera's legs. 

I posted the words to my computer desktop with a virtual sticky note and thought about them all week. Some were snapped by Tuesday. Others were dreamed up yesterday. Here goes nothing.

1. Basket

Mr. Vista in a laundry basket. We laughed at some of the photos because he looked like a masked feline crusader when his eyes and nose matched up with the slots. He was indifferent to the whole thing, actually getting quite sleeping mid-shoot.

2. Park

Our local Starbucks backs up to a lovely river park. The water was so still that it was difficult to tell the reflections from the actual trees. I had a hard time choosing just one photo to post.

3. Auto

So...this one may have been a stretch. I had a few minutes until Kiddo's school let out, so I sat in the car and starting shooting things around me. Letting go of my old car last spring was tough, I'm very sentimental, and Jared made me this tissue paper flower the first week I owned it. I stuck it in the air vent where it will remain forever. The colors are fading, and I love it so. This lovely is in my car (auto) and I used the single-focus AF setting for the first time, so it was an 'auto' double whammy. Makes sense, right?

4. Recycle

Starbucks is doing a promotion where you buy this reusable cup for a buck and save 10 cents every time you use it. I can actually remember to bring this one with me. I was practicing with the AF settings and shot the cup. Again, I was in the car trying to get creative with my surroundings.

5. People Watching

Kiddo mimicking me taking a photo of him. Then I used my camera's black and white option. I wonder if I really look like this. I've been thinking that I should double up on eye cream on my squinting eye if I am going to have a camera in front of my face all day every day.

How did I do?

This is a really fun idea! I'm excited to start working on next week's words.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Snap to it.

A little intimidated at first,
I finally charged, set up, and tried out my new camera a couple nights ago. 

While I still have a ton to learn about photography, 

it was so simple to maneuver and took effortlessly beautiful pictures. 

It's incredible what a high quality camera can do. 

I can't wait to really stretch it's legs.

For my first subject, 

I chose the newly snow-covered trees on either side of our entryway. 

Lovely.

Mario also gifted me with something called Eye-Fi. 

As I take photos, it automatically loads them into a file on my computer. 

Gone are the days of plugging my camera into my computer to sift through images, 

or emailing photos to myself from my iPhone before downloading them onto my computer. 

Fancy pants stuff in some very amateur hands. 

I hope to remedy that.

I bought a new camera bag yesterday
and found that our local shop offers individual lessons by the hour.
I'm leaning toward that as an option.
The simpler, the better.
If I can learn the bulk of what I need to know from the comfort of my home,
then hone my skills with private lessons,
that would be ideal.

My camera came with a leaflet about Nikon Photo School. 

Anyone have any experience with it or other online courses?

Snap to it.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Food, fun, felines, festivities and photography

My cup runneth over yesterday. With all the hubbub building up to it, I was afraid that I hadn't quite reached the peak of Christmas spirit. But it was an amazing day full of bonding, love, and amazing, heartfelt gifts. It was just me, the boys, and our little holiday bubble.

I was so surprised to unwrap a new camera! I always admire blogs with beautiful photographs and have wanted to improve my own for some time now. With this bad boy and some lessons, I think I can achieve my photography goals. It was such a sweet and unexpected gift from a thoughtful gentleman I am lucky to call my own. The fact that I took a picture of the box containing my fancy new camera with my iPhone is not lost on me.

It was a beautiful day filled with food, love, and lounging. It may go down in history as one of the best. 

 

It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness surrounding the holiday season in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, but this moment is what I live for:

I hope you all had an amazing day!

Food, fun, felines, festivities and photography

Wednesday, December 26, 2012