February 1

I'm assuming several of you blogstalk Tara Whitney, right? Did you see her post about the challenge at this site? Thought the coffee cup photo/journaling was a neat idea. So, when deciding on photos for my mentoring assignment with Tori, I thought it would be fun to do a photo of my coffee cup and then maybe scrapbook about it as well. Love this cup! I'm into using red as an accent in my kitchen and this cup is the perfect fit - great color, great size, great shape...you get the picture!

January 31

Guess what today is? The 100th Day of School. That's pretty exciting stuff when you're in kindergarten!

January 30

There is nothing cooler than listening to your kids start to read books to themselves for the first time. Kate sat in her room tonight reading "Jamberry". Initially I tried to take photos of her doing a headstand (which she practiced tonight at gymnastics). They were disastrous photos! So I'm trying to follow the vertical/horizontal theme by showing this scene two different ways!

January 29

There are SO many things wrong technically with this photo! But is a memory of Kate I needed to capture. In kindergarten, they are looking at the Grand Forks Herald every morning to see the temperature highs/lows and the weather forcast. So, the first thing she does in the morning is check out the paper at home. There's something very humorous about at 6 year old asking to see the paper and then scanning it as if she is really reading it. We get the weather update on the front, look at the picture on the back (for sun, snow, etc.) and the proceed with our day. A memory of kindergarten that I don't want to forget!

January 28

Unfortunately, I don't have any new photos today so I'm posting one more from yesterday. Doesn't she look tired? This was at the end of the meet (and having to get up at 5:30 in the morning!).

I'm tired of sick people in my house. My husband now has what Abby had a couple of weeks ago. But it is not the same - it is a "Man Cold". Reminds me of this video. I'm sure a lot of you have already seen this clip, but it makes me laugh. It is SO TRUE!!! :) Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE

January 27

Meg competed her first meet as a Level 5 gymnast this weekend in Fargo. She did really well and had a lot of fun. It's always nice to get the first meet out of the way when you move to a new level.

January 26

Came home tonight and saw this in Kate's backpack from school. Thought it was very appropriate for this week's theme, huh? The second is what I find every night in her room after she is supposed to be in bed. Horrible photo, but so Kate!

January 25

Thursday night means .....Spelling "Words"! Thought I'd include Meg tonight - she hasn't had a photo taken in a while.

January 24

Another wall hanging in our house - right over the door we use all the time. It is one of my favorite things! Used Amanda's Creamy Black and White.

The second is one of the pictures I took of Kate to possibly use for Valentine's Day stuff. Tried a little texture on this one.

January 23

My "word" theme for today is magazines. I get so excited when I get the mail and there is a new magazine or two in the stack! I love all kinds of magazines - scrapbook, fitness, travel, home/decorating, etc. When I am running kids around town and waiting for them in the car, I love grabbing a magazine and browsing through it.

I'm also throwing in a goofy shot of Kate - because she's just a goofy, spunky kid. And a shot of our dog, Jet. She is about a year and a half old and has been the best dog for us. So easy and friendly. We just love her!

January 22

I decided today to learn how to do the custom white balance. OMG!! Why haven't I ever learned to do that before?! What a difference it made taking inside photos! This is a wall hanging in Meg's bedroom. She just got it for her birthday and it looks so great in her room.

ISO 800, f/3.5, ss 1/25 and ran Ren's Booster Baby.

January 21

Tried taking photos for Valentine's Day cards for school. These didn't work the way I wanted (I also know it's not a very original idea!), but thought they worked for the new POTD theme! Lots of words (ahem - out of focus words) on these little candies!

January 20

I had to jump in on the chocolate chip cookie posts! Ha!

Actually, Abby wanted to bake cookies today. I think I mentioned about a week ago that she wasn't feeling well. Turns out she has pneumonia. YUCK! She is especially bummed because she can't do gymnatics for a while. The doctor originally said "a few weeks" but by the end of our visit yesterday, I think he realized that Abby would never stay away that long. We've tried to convince her that this week is out (including her first meet in ND next weekend) but we're hoping she can start back after that. She's a pretty active kid, so all the sitting around at home is driving her crazy. Baking cookies helped distract her for a little bit.

January 19

Happiness is............................Peanut M&Ms. Especially the pink and red and white ones. They make me smile! :)

January 18

Kate's art project that she was very excited to show me tonight! Don't you wish your day consisted of fingerpainting? Gotta love the life of a kindergartener!

January 17

This is the running/biking/walking path that we use a lot in the summer. Oh how I miss it! Doesn't it look desolate and lonely? I love that first day of getting back on it. The path is right along the river and is a great place to take the kids. They call it The Greenway - it is one of the positive things that came out of the flood that devastated our community 10 years ago.

We had a beautiful sunset last night. I don't think the color of the snow is right. I really struggled getting it the right color - the sunset put such a color cast on it. The top one actually has more pping done to it - adjusted the color curves more.

January 16 - Winter Blahs

January is a tough month in North Dakota. It's cold, we don't have a lot of sunshine, and it's dark early. Oh how I long for the warm days of summer and fall! It's not very inspirational for photo taking - that's for sure!

The last photo is one last one from Cinderella this past weekend. Abby got really sick on Friday so this isn't a terrific photo for her, but I thought Kate's expression was cute - and very typical of her ability to steal the scene and have it be all about her! :) The middle was taken this morning from my office window. You'll notice in the background that at least the sun was shining today! But the piles of "snirt" (snow+dirt) are all over and I'm tired of looking at them! The first is my favorite thing to do on winter nights - get in my pj's, put up my feet and flip through magazines and books.

Not much photoshop tonight other than adjusting color and contrast. I did do a slight vignette on the picture of the girls.

January 15

I'm cheating today and using photos from last summer. It's too cold to take photos outdoors today and I didn't get home while there was any light! These photos were taken last summer. Both were shot in Av mode with ISO of 200 and f/2.0. The close-up had a ss of 1/2000 sec and the other was 1/500 sec. I used Bella's Creamy Black and White for both of them and further adjusted contrast and brightness. Last summer I loved the close-up shot. Today it bothers me more that her back eye isn't in focus. Any thoughts?

January 14- Photoshop Comparisons

I have been going back through photos from the past couple months getting things ready to print. So, today's photos are from the holidays. I received Scott Kelby's book on PSE5 for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and am really excited to learn more. This week's theme should force me to try some different things. These photos were just tweaking color contrast, brightness/contrast, etc. Nothing fancy.

These are photos of my sister's table on Christmas Eve.

January 13 - Focus on the Little Things

One of my goals for the year is to focus on the little things in life - the little daily events that often go unnoticed and unappreciated. One of those things for me is to cherish my kids childhood. I know that sounds cheesy, but I have been very sad lately at how old my kids are getting. I regret I didn't scrapbook more and wasn't into photography when my first two were little. I so wish I had pictures of their little hands and feet and the little things like when they started to draw pictures. Today Kate sat at the counter and drew pictures of the Spongebob Squarepants characters - and here are a few of the photos.

January 12 - Back to Focusing on Ballet!

I posted the other two girls in their costumes - so I better post Abby, too. I like the close-up, but thought I should show more of the whole outfit. Unfortunately, it was a crazy, noisy, crowded dressing room and I was in a hurry. Really bummed that I cut of her right hand! UGH!!! I can guarantee I'll be sure to check for all limbs in the future!

Difference of Focus

At bedtime, Kate and I usually have a very different focus. Mine is on getting her to bed so I can relax and regroup for the next day. Her focus is on playing - and very often it is with her Littlest Pet Shop toys. Anyone else have them all over their house? I find them everywhere! Here's Kate playing with her favorite "focus"!

January 10

I have not done a good job this week of being on theme! I have lots of ideas - especially to go along with new year resolutions/goals. Unfortunately, I may not get to them until the weekend.

I took this picture today to send to the wonderful young woman, Susie, who made it for me. It was a Christmas gift for Abby. I met Susie this past fall at a scrapbook retreat. Most of us scrapbooked all weekend and she knit and knit and knit and knit.......you get the picture. She makes ADORABLE things. Here is a link to her blog...be sure to check it out! http://susieknits.blogspot.com/

January 9

A jester and a mouse.......so far no sign of Cinderella. Hope we get to see her soon! :)

January 8

All three girls are in the Cinderella ballet this weekend through their local dance studio. Loved the girls that were on stage with jeans in contrast to the girls with pink tights! Wish I had brought my 50 mm lens. Shot this with 300mm zoom lens. Didn't have ability to walk around and get really close or try different angles. Abby was already embarrassed that I was even there with a camera! :)

January 7 Focus on the New Year

As I mentioned in a previous post, Meg turned 9 last weekend. So, it is also a "new year' for her. Instead of a party here in Grand Forks, she was promised that she and her best friend (also in Minneapolis for gymnastics) could go to the Mall of America and get their hair and nails done as well as go on a few rides at the amusement park in the mall. These are some photos. I realize these probably have nothing to do with focus - other than I find it a challenge to get both eyes in focus when doing close up photos with large aperature. I also had to work on getting both girls in focus as they were walking away from me!

January 6 Post

More from gymnastics. Again, a challenge with lighting. I love the one of Abby looking at me before her bar routine and am so disappointed with how grainy it looks.