Photo Friday #7

Yikes, I almost forgot about photo Friday!  Must have been all the yummy food I ate yesterday.

Another "off" week for me....not overly motivated or creative as I was getting ready to host company.  Here are the pictures I managed to sneak in:

Just a little Santa statue in my house.  He is standing next to a mirror and I love the way the reflection looks whenever I walk past it.

Our barn.  I have tried so many times to take a good picture of it and hadn't had much success...until this time.  I'm pretty happy with this shot.

 

I was driving home one night, admiring the sunset.  I wanted to capture something interesting as a silhouette against the light and kept looking at barns...and then I saw the wind turbines and knew I had to keep driving until they were in the right spot. It was freezing cold out and I didn't have gloves , but I pulled over anyway and walked up a little hit to get this shot.

 

I just finished vacuuming and then Wyatt brought crackers out to the living room and crumbled them in his hands.....it's a good thing he is so dang cute! 

 

Rylee wanted to go outside and play in the fresh fallen snow Wednesday, but I had way too much on my "to do" list.  After I took the garbage out to the road and realized it was pretty warm out, I decided to give her about 20 minutes of playtime.  I pushed her down a small hill on the sled....she crashed into a tree a couple of times...I told her that was "real sledding"  :) 

 

I also took a few photos while we are outside playing in the snow.  It really was a beautiful sight to wake up to that morning!

Photo Friday #6

Happy Friday!  This week I hit 10,000 views on my blog!!  I started my blog 16 months ago and this is post #100.  Thank you all for reading!!  I know not everyone is interested in all of my topics, but I do love to write down my thoughts and am thankful to have the opportunity to share them with all of you.  I'm a pretty open book and don't see any reason not to share my life. 

I can't believe this is Photo Friday #6 already.  I wasn't feeling very motivated or creative this week with my photography, but I still got a few good ones in.  The idea behind the project is that you take a picture each day, but these 7 were taken in just 3 days. 

A house down the road from our property.  This page is making the image look very orange, but it really isn't.  

I entered this in another 6 word story challenge (my apple one did not win).  My title is "This is important Son; listen up."

 

While my sister-in-law and I were waiting for a friend to show up at the restaurant (turned out she was already inside and we just didn't see her car), we decided to take a few pictures of the sparkly snow.  We had actually been out shopping in the snow all day long (mostly Valley Junction) and had planned to take lots of pictures....we kept saying "oh, that would be a neat shot"...but neither of us wanted to stand in the cold long enough to take pictures.  By the time it was dark out, we finally got brave.

 

My sister-in-law as mentioned in last image.

We headed to the mall after supper and I brought my camera inside with me to capture some fun "shopping" images, and this was all I got.....

Headed outside to play in the snow with the kids take pictures of the first real signs of winter in our yard. 

Rylee warming up with hot chocolate after her first time playing in the snow this season.

Dishes and Freedom

How often do you run your dishwasher??  Ours is completely full every other day and I just couldn't figure out why we have to run it so much!!  But then I got to thinking about it.... 

Rylee uses 3-5 cups per day.  She likes that she can get her own water now and she often does so when I'm not paying any attention...and of course she has to get a new cup every time (never mind that she already has 1 or 2 half full on the counter..."it's not fresh", she says). 

Wyatt uses 2-3 cups per day, depending on if we can find the one(s) already in use or not.  I know many parents can relate to finding cups full of spoiled milk in the most random places...I'm getting good at putting my "1 year old eyes" on and looking in some very unusual places, but he still has some hiding places I haven't discovered yet. 

Both kids use 5-8 bowls each for snacks all day long.  Most times, they get their own snack and I'm nowhere around to make sure they use bowls they already have out.  I have to admit though, I find it incredibly adorable when Wyatt gets a box of crackers out of the pantry by himself, takes it over to the cupboard with their bowls, takes a bowl out and sits down on the floor trying to pour his own snack.  It is the one thing that really makes him seem like a little person to me and it melts my heart every time....I just can't interrupt the cuteness to have him use a bowl that's already "dirty". 

And finally, for fun, Wyatt takes out all of my plastic mixing bowls and leftover containers and drags them around the house.  Whenever I find one I put it into the dishwasher, because 1) kids are germy and 2) there is no telling where it has been....too many have been found in the garbage. 

I hear you thinking it....I am too...."Who is running this show???"  Kids getting their own snacks, dragging dishes all over the place....  Well, here's the thing.  I use a lot of breaths each day yelling at the kids  to "get down", "stay out of there", "close that door", "don't touch that", "stop it", etc.  To keep myself sane and the kids from thinking I'm the wicked witch of Southern Iowa, I have to pick my battles and choose some things to just let go.  While I really dislike emptying the dishwasher every other day, it is worth it to me to let the kids have some freedoms and independence in their own house.  No one is going to get hurt dirtying dishes, so it's the least of my worries really. 

We do spend a lot of time in our house, and thus many meals, snacks, etc and it does make sense that we would need to run the dishwasher often, but dang! it just feels like all I do is put dishes away.  Oh well...I am thankful to have plenty of food to cause so many dirty dishes and thankful to have dishes to eat our food on!

Campfire Hootch Photo Contest PART 2

Hopefully you have already read the previous post....if not, do so now and then come back.

So...today, to my surprise, I received an email from the winery congratulating me on my 2nd place win (prize was a $25 gift certificate).  Though I was excited about the prize, I really didn't care that I won 2nd place.  I figured that James winning 1st place and my winning 2nd must mean we were the only 2 submissions to the contest and the fact that I lost to my husband was a downer.  I e-mailed the winery back and thanked them for the gift certificate.  I told them how I just got into photography this year and this was one of my very first contests---but that I lost to my husband who isn't really a photographer (right, honey??).  I shared my blog with them to read about our little friendly competition.

The representative from the winery (who James and I met when we were there), replied to my email that she loved my blog story and that she actually loved my photo, but didn't get to vote.  She then went on to tell me that they were judged by a panel of adults who had over 20 images to choose from!!!  What?!?!  20+ photos and James and I won 1st and 2nd place?!?!?!  Sweet!!  I changed my mind about the 2nd place win and was super excited!   But still....I lost to my husband.  Hopefully our $75 worth of wine will make things better! 

Campfire Hootch Photo Contest

A winery that James and I love in NE Iowa (we spent an anniversary weekend at their B&B on the River) was having a photo contest entitled "Campfire Hootch", which is the name of their best selling wine.  This wine is so good that the Wines of Iowa store in Valley Junction, which is the only store in Central Iowa who carries it, sells out of it faster than it comes in.  Trust me, it's yummy! 

Anyway, the only instructions for the contest were, "Send us your best photo of Campfire Hootch."  The prize for winning was a $50 gift certificate to their winery AND your photo would be hung in their tasting room.  Cool!  Since we happened to have a couple bottles of it, I told James we needed to participate in the contest.  I had an image in my head of an actual campfire in my shot, along with the bottle.  However, on the day I was in the mood to do this shoot, James wasn't home and I cannot start a fire on my own.  So, I came up with a new idea.  I spent a long time recomposing my shot and taking it from different points of view, etc.  After about 30 minutes I was satisfied.  Here is the shot I submitted:

 

Later that day I texted James and told him I got our picture taken for the contest.  His response:  "I want to take one too."  Huh.  I wasn't sure what to think for a second and then I thought, "This could be fun to see what different pictures we come up with."  So, I told him he could borrow my camera and take his own.  I made sure not to leave any traces of what I shot, so that we could genuinely compare our ideas. 

 

As soon as he got home he grabbed my camera and headed outside before it got too dark.  He asked if I took my photo inside or out, but I didn't spill any information.  I watched him start a fire and compose his shots.  It was fun to see, because he was doing something a little similar to what I had in mind originally, but he used a few other props that I wouldn't have thought to use.  Here is his final photo he submitted to the contest:

 

I really liked his photo, but still thought mine was better suited to be hung in their tasting room since you can see the name of the wine so well.  The winery owners thought otherwise.....James won the contest!!  I thought I would be bitter if he beat me, but instead I was just super excited about the $50 gift certificate :)  At least, I assume he is going to share it with me. 

 

And yes, I am proud of him.  It's so neat that his picture will be in their tasting room!  He has been sharing in my love for photography for the past few months, which is mostly fun.  I say "mostly", because it drives me nuts that I spent months learning my camera on manual mode, and he just picked it up, did an hour of reading, and took off shooting in manual.  He does have good ideas though and is great help sometimes when I'm stuck. 

 

Congrats, Honey! (now go buy your own camera)

 



Photo Friday #5

I have had an amazing photography week!  It started on Sunday when I decided to do our Christmas card photo shoot of the kids.  Originally I wanted snow in my picture, but decided doing this on a 60 degree day was a much better idea since I didn't want them to wear coats for the photo.  I had everything all ready to go and we set the kids in place....only for Wyatt to immediately start whining and try to get away...over and over.  After about 5 minutes of this (it felt like 20), I threw in the towel.  I had an image in my head of the kids laughing and there was just no way this was going to be happening.  My amazing assistant (aka, my husband) had a great idea though, that turned this shoot from disaster to phenomenal!  In just a few minutes I got the exact shot I was hoping for, and more!!  I still cannot believe I was able to capture this image I had in my head for weeks!  So excited!!  (sorry, can't show the picture until cards have been sent out)

Then, on Wednesday morning I woke up to discover in an email that I had won an award in my first ever photography contest!!  The Des Moines Camera Club that I joined this fall has a monthly photography contest, in which a member can submit any photo they want.  The club has hundreds of very talented members and I was very nervous to submit a photo, but I also figured, "why not??"  The awards handed out each month are 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place as well as an Honorable Mention.  I had one particular image that I was very proud of and decided to submit that one for my first contest.  I couldn't make it to the meeting Tuesday night to find out in person if I won, but as soon as my eyes opened Wednesday morning, I checked my email.  My photo won the Honorable Mention award!!  I was soo excited!!  There were 37 amazing entries, some from very experienced photographers.  To have my photo placed above 30+ others was quite an honor.  One of the three judges gave me a perfect score!  Here is the picture.

 

In addition to this award, the photo gets an automatic placement in the "Best of the Best" contest next year, in which all award winning photos from this year are judged together.  Also, I now have some points next to my name, in the quest to move from novice to advanced.  Every new member is automatically a novice, regardless of experience.  In order to move to the advanced category, a member must earn so many points, which are only awarded when your photo wins an award.  I think a person has to win about 15 awards before moving to the next level, so it will be awhile for me.  From Advanced, a member moves on to the Master level....that one will be years away for me. 

Finally, my other exciting news this weeks is that I had a picture in this week's 365 project make it to the popular page!!  This means that my image was viewed, commented on, and "favorited" by a certain number of people, making it one of the most popular images on the site this week.  Interestingly, I knew the second I snapped the picture that it was going to be liked by the photographers on the website, but I never expected it to make the popular page.  Here is that photo.

 

 

 

And here are the rest of the photos from this week's project:

 

One photographer commented on this image and said, "This horse has been to so many imaginary places, it surely has some great stories to tell."

 

I took a walk around my property for something interesting to photograph.  I wasn't in a very creative mood this day, so the water pump thingy was the best I got.  Yeah, I don't know what it's called.

 

I took this image for a challenge called "mundane mouse", in which the photos must contain a computer mouse.  I was having a hard time getting the shot I wanted, and then I opened the curtain next to my desk to let a little sunlight in, and it lit the mouse up so perfectly.

 

This is on an abandoned property about a mile from my house.  I actually stopped by there to photograph the worn down house, but ended up liking this subject better.  This has been my 2nd most popular image on the project.

 

Wyatt was just not a fan of this hat I wanted him to wear for pictures.

My favorite little helper.  Every day I hear, "Mom, I can help you with that."

 

Mommy Friends

I so love my local mommy friends from our "play group"!!  You know when you read an article or blog written by a mom and you think "Yes!  Someone else understands me."??  I am so blessed to experience that feeling in person on a regular basis. 

Less than a year ago I was having the stuck-in-the-middle-of-nowhere lonely blues.  Then one day, on the Facebook swap page for a town about 25 miles away that I frequented often, I noticed that someone (a mom) had asked if there was a mom's group in town.  Several people replied that there wasn't, but they wished there was.  So the original enquirer started a Facebook group for the local moms and I offered to help get a play group started.  There were several of us making phone calls to places asking begging them to let us use their facility as our indoor play area (it was January).  We finally found a church that not only said "yes", but was even excited about it!  So, in February of this year our play group was officially started.  At some point along the way the original founder of the group moved and I became the co-admin for the group (which doesn't mean much...Holli, you are truly the organizer of the group!). 

We have a regular large group meet-up once a month, but usually make it to someone's house from the group another time or two during the month.  When the weather was nice enough to be outside, we would have frequent meet-ups at the parks to play.  So, in all, I at least saw one Mom from our group on a weekly basis. 

Rylee loves all of her friends from playgroup, as most are girls her age.  They all get a long so well too; it's really pretty amazing!  The best part of the group for me though, is the bonding time I get with the other mommas.  It is so nice to have other adults to converse with and share ideas or vent to.  I would say that we all feel pretty comfortable with each other and aren't afraid to share anything about our lives.  As most of us are stay-at-home moms we can relate to each other very well. 

While we don't all have the exact same views on parenting, I don't think anyone in our group is afraid to share their "less than stellar" parenting moments.  My favorite is when a sentence starts out, "Don't judge me, but...."  I always chuckle and know that whatever they are going to say, I have done it too and am glad to have that in common with someone else!  Once the sentence is finished, you might hear, "I can top that story..." and it becomes a comical conversation of our less than proud parenting moments. 

Today we were all complaining about the dirty looks we get when we are grocery shopping or eating in a restaurant and have screaming kids that we just ignore.  Sorry, but we all agree that we are NOT going to just abandon our grocery carts and leave the store, because it's a lot of work just to get to the store and all we want to do is finish our list and get to the check-out counter so we can get out of your way. 

Last week we discussed how much our kids have learned from watching TV and how nice it is to have an electronic baby-sitter sometimes....  Don't judge us, you do it too.  And, more on why I think TV is okay in a later blog post......

The best today....the thing that reminded me why I love these ladies so much was this:  We were leaving play group at the church and I happened to be following one of the moms.  I noticed she pulled into a gas station (I figured to buy a coffee), and I thought to myself, "I should go stay with her kids for her so she doesn't have to take them out of the warm car to run in for coffee".  So, I did a U-turn in the middle of the road and hurriedly pulled into the gas station....just in time to see her going into the store....SANS KIDDOS!!!  Hahahahahahahaha!!!  Yay, someone else that thinks having to take your kids inside with you is just nuts!  I get why it is illegal to leave your kids in the car, but I turn down so many errands just because it will take me longer to get the kids in and out of car seats than the amount of time I will spend inside the store.  Seeing this just made my day...but I stayed by her car until she came out anyway...just in case.  You never know who is going to "tattle"....and I bet they don't have young kids ;)

Anyway, I could go on about why I love my mommy friends, but since Rylee is making me play "Grandma" right now, I will just end with this:  To my new Mommy friends...I love you and am so glad you have come into my life!!  You all keep me sane and entertained :)  I love your children too!! 

Photo Friday #4

I so so love this project!  It's very enjoyable for me to create an image idea in my head and then try to see that image through my lens.  I'm also using these daily pictures to practice my post processing skills (or lack thereof).  It makes me so happy to receive comments on my images from other photographers.  I always find it interesting which images get the most attention...usually they are images I wasn't overly impressed with.  It goes to show that everyone has different artistic taste...which is good. 

I'm also very much enjoying viewing all of the images posted by the other photographers involved in the project...there is some truly amazing talent out there!  Yesterday as I was reading profiles of some of my favorites on the project, I noticed that many are from other countries.  It makes me feel a little "worldly" to be participating in a project with so many photographers from all over the planet.  I learn a lot from viewing and commenting on others' work too. 

 

Here are my photos from this week's project:

We went roller skating for my niece's 9th birthday.  I had zero intentions of skating....until I walked in the door.  I immediately felt 12 years old again and just had to give it a whirl.  It was just like riding a bike....sort of....not really.  I felt muscles in my legs that I didn't know existed! 

 

This was another one of those "need something to take a picture of" days.  I do love the way my utensils look in their crock on my counter.  Red, Black, wood and silver....they say "Emily, please use us; we are getting dusty." 

 

Rylee has decided the camera isn't so bad...but she still prefers to make her own faces no matter how much I ask her to smile. 

 

This was practice with some post processing tools.  I submitted it for a contest within the 365project, in which your image title tells a story in exactly 6 words.  The title for this was "Forbidden fruit becomes core to health".  So, what was once the forbidden fruit biblically, now keeps us healthy...per the quote "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away". 

 

After story hour at the library this week, Rylee begged to play at the park across the street for a little bit.  I was hesitant, but agreed.  When we got to this run down park, I realized how many photo opportunities there were and the rusty playground equipment started to look beautiful to me. 

 

A different perspective of an old water tower.  It was a hazy day and the sky was almost white.  The tower is silver and the shadows created some darker grays.  While I took the image in color, it appeared black and white. 

 

Happy Friday!  Have a Great Day!

I Love Target

I read this blog today http://citymomsblog.com/desmoines/how-to-save-big-money-at-target/ and thought to myself "wow, no wonder I love Target so much"....and then I thought, "wow...why am I not using all of these wonderful discounts?!?!?!"  I do use a few of them, but get lazy or forget about the rest.

I love Target.  When I worked for them 13 years ago (holy cow, how can it have been that long since I graduated from college?!?!?!) this was the single most heard phrase.  I don't care where you go or who you are talking to..."I love Target" can be heard on a weekly basis. 

Why do we all love Target so much??  It can't be the way it is lit so nice, with those shiny floors.  It can't be the way the isles have plenty of room for 2 carts to fit side by side.  It can't be the way the seasonal items in housewares dazzle and jump into our carts, or the dollar spot items make us "ooh and ahh".  Speaking of the dollar spot, it surely isn't the way Target puts that right at the front door so your child can have an item to keep them happy throughout the store without breaking the bank.  Or the way a mother with 3 screaming children can get a caffeine fix right as she enters the door to prolong her patience. 

Really though, it just can't be the way that we give in to temptation so easily at Target and the way we feel pushing our adorable new merchandise through the store like it's our newborn baby.  It can't be that we know we are going to experience this amazing feeling as we even begin to think about a trip to Target. 

Hmm??  I don't know.  I'm just not sure what it is.  Just can't quite put my finger on it.  Maybe it's the way the employees are forced to ask me "What can I help you find?" every time they come into eye contact with me and they appear to genuinely be interested in helping me find what I'm looking for.....HAHAHAHAHA....duh!  I know where EVERYTHING is in Target, I don't need help!  I only spend about 3 hours there per week.  In fact, I went there 3 times in 22 hours last week (and then came home and ordered something from target.com just because I have free shipping)!  Speaking of free shipping...AMAZING!!!  I get 5% off every single purchase I make AND I get free shipping....I can buy stuff from target.com every.single.day.  And sometimes I do.  So what?

Perhaps our love for Target is due to the attractive items they carry (did I mention how eye catching their seasonal items always are?!?!?).  Perhaps it is the way you can get everything from pizza sauce, to ironing boards, to ballet shoes for your daughter.  Maybe, like me, you just really love the color red and seeing it all over the store makes you feel happy inside.  Since Target stores are always so clean and bright, the colors of the signage and merchandise just jumps right out. 

Whatever Target's marketing tactic is, it is working.  Most everyone I know prefers Target over any other similar big box retailer.  90% of the couples who's weddings I have attended, have registered at Target.  Who doesn't love a little Target in their home??  And...who doesn't love the Target holiday commercials....has anyone seen one yet??  I can almost always call out a Target commercial in the first 5 seconds it's on television. 

Seriously, thinking about all of the things I genuinely love about Target over their competitors, the top of the list for me has to be their merchandise.....it's always just so cute, stylish and looks adorable in my cart and my house :)  I'm pretty sure my wallet tries to commit suicide when it sees the giant bullseye as I pull into the parking lot.  My wallet fights my "list" every time we go, but like a champ, my wallet always wins! 

Shop On, fellow Target lovers! 

Book Nerds Unite

My husband sometimes makes fun of me for reading...calls me a nerd...it annoys me.  However, today, I think I just crossed the nerd line.  I joined a book club meeting. 

I haven't been reading near as much as I would like and last month I saw that there was a book club meeting taking place during our toddler story hour at the library.  When I inquired about it, I was informed of the books they would be reading for the next several months.  I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to be forced to sit down and read (yeah, it kills me to be forced to read). So, I picked up a copy of their next book...which happened to be the "All Iowa Reads" book.  If you haven't heard of this, it is a book by a Midwest author, chosen by the state library for all of Iowa to read.  It kind of brings all of the Iowa readers together to be able to discuss the same book. 

Anyway, I read the book (Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman).  It was strange.  At times I didn't even want to finish it, but I just had to know what happened at the end, so I got through it.  All in all, it was a good book.  I returned it to the library when I was finished and then sort of forgot about it....until today.

We walked into the library for story hour (which we almost decided not to attend) and I saw that there were people gathering in the meeting room.  OH CRAP, the book club meeting!!  I had forgotten all about it.  So, I got Rylee settled for story hour and I headed into the meeting.  Since this was the All Iowa Reads book, there was already a list of discussion questions prepared for us.  I have never participated in a book club, nor discussed a book in such detail.  I have to say though, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am excited for the next one!

I think I have mentioned this before, but I am so intrigued by the way an event will take place and it ends up being a precursor to another event.  What do I mean by this?  Well last night I attended a camera club meeting (yes I nerd out with photography too) and we had a presentation by a lady from the art center.  She spoke about the photographers who inspire her and I kid you not, the images she showed looked like they were taken by blind 2 year olds!  But, nevertheless, she very much enjoyed them and she clearly verbalized what she enjoyed about each image.  While I found her taste to be odd, I learned so much about critiquing art by listening to the words she was using and the emotions she was feeling from each image.  I wasn't really sure what my "take away" was from that presentation until I got to the book club meeting today and had to discuss the book in the same way she discussed the images she showed.

I love to read. I love getting so caught up in a story that I forget what is real life and what I read in my book.  Sometimes I want to tell someone about my friend (insert main book character here) and then I remember it's not real...just my story I'm reading.  But, I have never stopped to think about the story from the author's point of view and what he or she wanted the reader to gain from the story.  Authors spend so much time putting words down and they do it methodically so that they convey more than just the literal words.  I, however just read the literal story.  It makes me feel a little bad thinking about how much work the author puts into their masterpieces and knowing I don't dig too deep into them.  After today's book discussion and seeing how much more to the book there really was than just the words I was reading, I think I will spend more time analyzing a book after I finish it.  Perhaps I will search the internet for discussion questions and actually read the ones that are often times at the end of a book. 

Another super exciting, total book nerd thing that happened at this meeting today is I found out the gal leading the discussion is the author of some of my favorite children's books!!!!!!!  I felt star struck ;)  How the heck is such a successful author from this teeny tiny rural Iowa town?!?!?!  I'm pretty sure she thought I was loony when I made Rylee come meet her and I told her I felt like I was meeting a celebrity.  Oh well.

Yes, I'm a book nerd.  And, I'm proud.