One Day at a Time

July 8, 2007 ~ Baby Alex...

2007-07-08T21:04:00.001-05:00

This is my adorable nephew, Alex. He is such a good little boy. He has the cutest reddish blonde hair...I could just eat him up! :)

June 13, 2007 ~ More Sydney!! LOTS of pictures...

2007-06-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

Thanks Jay and Greg for letting me come over for my very first official "photo shoot"! I had a blast!

June 8, 2007 ~ Babies, Babies EVERYWHERE!!

2007-06-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

Well, I shared some pictures of my new nephew so now I thought I'd share some of my cousin's new baby. This is Sydney, my cousin Greg and his wife, Jessie's 2 week old baby girl. Isn't she a doll too?!? How great is it that I now have two babies to take pictures of...SO fun!

Lots of pictures...Happy "Birth" Day ALEX!!

2007-06-07T00:35:00.000-05:00

I have a new nephew...meet Alex. Born on 6/6/07. Weighing in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Here are a TON of pictures...

May 2, 2007 ~ Spring!

2007-05-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

Spring is finally here! We spent some time outside today after school. My daughter loves to swing. My son just loves to be outside. I'm just happy it is finally warm enough to be outside!

April 28, 2007 ~ True Love

2007-04-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

First of all...Happy Birthday Bee! I hope you got our message and had a fantastic day!!

Today's picture is of my son Nolan and my dog, Michael. Our dog sleeps in our bedroom. Last week I heard him get up in the middle of the night and walk out to the hall. He came back in and let out one quick bark which fully awakened both my husband and I. After that, he walked out to the hall again. My husband followed him and there, sitting on the top of the stairs, was my son Nolan who had gotten up and plopped himself on the top step (and was still asleep!). Michael made sure my husband got Nolan back into bed and then, finally, fell back to sleep for the rest of the night at the foot of our bed...What a good doggie!!

This is how I found them a little after the first photo was taken..

April 21, 2007 ~ The Hike

2007-04-21T22:12:00.000-05:00

We went on a hike on Saturday up near our local reservoir. It was cut a bit short due to the a skinned knee. My daughter, who was having a blast, tripped and fell on the gravel path. I took this picture as we were walking back to the car. She was very sad at this moment! Like the wings?!?

April 17, 2007 ~ Dark and Moody

2007-04-17T21:28:00.000-05:00

One of my co-workers has a son that is a student at Virginia Tech. I literally felt my heart drop to my stomach when I turned on the news yesterday. I knew that her son was not only a student there but also an engineering major. He is fine. He was in the building right next to the one where all those innocent people died. I can't imagine how he is feeling right now. I can't imagine how his parents felt yesterday. They unfortunately heard about it on the news before they got in touch with him. Luckily they did not have to wait too long to hear he was safe. It is events like these that make me want to wrap my kids up in a big bubble and never let them out...impossible, I know! Let's all say a prayer for everyone involved in this terrible tragedy...

I took the following pictures yesterday morning before I heard the news. We had a big snowstorm and I liked how I could see our church's steeple through the snow covered trees, so I snapped a few with the Nikon 70-200 2.8 lens I rented and played around with my focus points(I took these through my front window). I thought that they would make good pictures to post with this entry.

April 16, 2007 ~ I'M BACK!!!

2007-04-16T07:04:00.000-05:00

Okay...so I took a little break :) Okay, so it wasn't so little!! My dad is a big fan of my blog (Hi Dad!) and has been teasing me about my lack of posts. Well today, beacuse of the Nor' easter, we have yet another snow day and I am home to post. Because I am a teacher it's great because I get to stay home with my kids on snow days, but because I am a teacher I am sitting here wondering how/when the district is going to have up make up this day as we have already used up all of our allotted snow days. Can they take Memorial Day away? Will we still be in session in July? Yikes...both thoughts are frightening! The following are pictures I took of my daughter about a week ago. She is trying to "catch" a falling snowflake...it's great to be a kid!! :)

March 6, 2007 ~ Words, lines and angles...

2007-03-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

Someone on the board I visit at Babycenter posted a creative shooting challenge and this is what I came up with. The idea was to take photographs of different things in order to "represent" a word. You could take a picture of an object that begins with the letter you want to represent or find the shape of the letter in everyday things. I obviously chose to use lines and angles to represent the letters. It was really fun to walk around my house looking for things that looked like the letter I wanted. I would recommend this challenge to anyone looking for a way to see things in a different way!! I had the hardest time with the letters "e" and "m"...so, can you read my words? This is worth trying out sometime!!

March 4, 2007 ~ Is it March Already?!?!?

2007-03-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

Oops...I missed a week again! I need to get motivated again! I took a couple of my son today and liked how this one came out, so I will share. I promise to attempt to get a picture up every day this week...

February 27, 2007 ~ Tutu Time!

2007-02-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

Well...a lot of you have already seen these pictures (I posted them on both ILP AND Babycenter!) I like how they came back but wish my daughter was more cooperative when it came to taking pictures. The first picture was the shot I had in mind from the start but unfortunately I only got her to look at me once and the shot was a bit blurry. I did my best to pp it but will not be able to print it very big because it is so processed! Oh well...I'll try again soon!

February 23, 2007 ~ Rainbow Tutu!!

2007-02-24T20:52:00.000-05:00

1/60" F/1.8 Aperture priority ISO=200 Bounced flash
Well my son had a birthday party and a play date with his cousins today so my daughter and I stayed home and made a new tutu! She loves rainbows so we went with a rainbow theme. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some pictures of her in it on my white backdrop. That is my plan anyway. I am actually amazed that she is looking at my camera in these. She HATES my camera and usually starts whining when I take it out! Do you think I photograph her too much?!??! I am actually pretty proud of this picture because aside from the crop and frame, it is straight out of the camera. Check it out full sized...not too bad! Can you tell I used my external flash?

February 23, 2007 ~ Two Little Monkeys...

2007-02-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

JUMPING ON THE BED!
My kids had a little fun today in my daughter's bedroom. I took all of these with my 28mm lens. Settings were SS=1/200, ISO=125, f/4.5, external flash bounced off the ceiling. We have been so cooped up with all the snow for so long that it was good to let loose in the house. Needless to say, they had a blast. Their new favorite game is to go up there, turn on the cd player and play "Dance Party"... someday, I'm sure my son will be terribly embarrassed to know he once enjoyed this! I put the picture with dog in to show you all that the bed is really low to the ground (it is actually the bottom part to a trundle bed) so you didn't have to worry about my kids falling off and getting injured :) Have a great weekend everyone!

February 22, 2007 ~ Bath Time

2007-02-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is getting harder and harder to get on here at night. I actually took these yesterday and had every intention of posting them last night. But then I put my son to be and fell asleep right beside him. Needless to say I did not get back on the computer last night!! I am actually off to bed right now...I am exhausted!

Edited to add...Just wanted you all to know that you can click on any picture and it will enlarge!!

February 20, 2007 ~ More Snow

2007-02-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, although it warmed up drastically today (how pathetic that I consider 40 degrees warm!!!), I thought I'd show another snow picture. This was taken at my parents' house. It is of the small slide leading into their pool. They live on a lake so they tend to get mre snow than others in the area. I thought the way the snow drifted was pretty! This was not taken today but I still wanted to share it!

February 19, 2007~ I'm BAAAACK!!

2007-02-19T20:49:00.000-05:00

Oh dear...I missed a WHOLE week! I am very sorry! Sometimes life just gets in the way. Last Tuesday was my birthday so I went out and celebrated with my husband, Wednesday was Valentines Day so my hubby and I had a nice quiet dinner at home, and I spent Thursday night packing for my "Girls Weekend" (which, by the way, was a lot of fun!!). So those are my excuses :) I am going back at it full force now! Today's pictures ore of my kids out sledding. Did I mention that we have a TON of snow here? We got hammered with it last week and are expecting more tomorrow! YIKES! Oh, and I haven't forgotten that I have been tagged...I'll try to get to that tomorrow!

February 11, 2007 ~ High Key

2007-02-11T22:04:00.000-05:00

I attempted a high key photo shoot today. I have NO other equipment other than my camera and external flash so I used a rather large piece of white marine vinyl I bought at Joanne's as a backdrop and my big window in the front of my house for my lights. I kind of like how they came out...aside from the goofy looks from my son! Unfortunately, my fun was cut short so my son could have some fun. A bunch of his friends came over to ice-skate. They had an absolute BLAST! (Skating is WAY more fun than a photo shoot...especially if you are 5!!) After skating, we went over to my parents' house for dinner. They had a little birthday party for me...my birthday is on Tuesday. My parents bought me a portable lighting studio...how cool is that? I can't wait to try it out! It was a fun night...actually it was a great day altogether!

I wanted to share this one too. A poster on ILP posted instructions on how to change out colors in Photoshop...VERY fun and addicting! These are what I came up with...

February 9, 2007 ~ Friendships...

2007-02-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

I am so lucky that all of my close friends have children close in age to my own. We had another snow day today and decided to get all the kids together at our local Armory for a play date. It was great!! We were the only ones there and the kids ran around and had a blast!!! Afterwards, we all loaded up and went to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet. It was so funny to look around the table at all of our kids interacting and having fun together. It makes me feel good that our kids will grow up together...they will always have each other...how great is that??

This is my good friend Jacque's daughter, Molly hugging my niece Anna. Molly and my son have spent a lot of time together because they went to the same babysitter before starting school. Jacque and I teach together (how lucky am I to be able to work with all my good friends?!?) We like to tease them by talking about their future proms, wedding, etc...

This is baby Joey...my friend Angie's youngest. Isn't he the cutest baby EVER?? I just want to squeeze him!

January 8, 2007 ~ Chutes and Ladders

2007-02-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

Well, the kids and I played a rousing game of Chutes and Ladders. All was going well until my son, who was way ahead, landed on a chute and stormed off because he was no longer winning!! My daughter was having a ball...she especially like spinning the spinner. Every time it was her turn she would simply move the arrow until it was pointing four with her little fingers, call out "FOUR" and then move her game piece while counting like this, "one, two...seven, eight, nine, TEN!!!!" She did this EVERY time it was her turn! What a riot!

February 7, 2007 ~ Lollipop!

2007-02-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

The focus on this one is off but I still love it!!

Well, these were actually taken yesterday but I still wanted to post them. I did take some pictures today but wasn't real happy with any of them so I m going with these today instead! We had a snow day yesterday. It was so cold that we all thought it would be a great day to keep our PJ's on all day! My son came across these lollipops from Christmas in the pantry and I thought it was a perfect day to crack them open...they enjoyed every minute of them!

February 6, 2007 ~ Snowed In!

2007-02-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

I did not take these pictures today...my dad did, with his d80. My parents live about 10 minutes away from us on a lake. They had a bit of snow last night...

The snow drift reaches the top of a very tall fence in the back. It is hard to believe but there is an in ground swimming pool under all that snow.

What they saw when they opened their garage doors...

A look out their front door...

We had snow here too but not like that. The schools were closed though. When you live in an area that is used to snow, it takes a lot to close down the schools. I think the fact that it has been so cold helped make the decision today. Of course, last night my hubby was supposed to fly in from Colombus...right in the middle of many snow warnings and high winds (at least in our town). When he called me from the airport, I went in to freak out mode and pretty much insisted he give up his flight and spend the night so he could avoid the bad weather. I don't think he was too happy with me...especially since he had to be questioned by airport security when he let them know he wouldn't be taking his scheduled flight and would like to purchase a one way ticket to the same destination the following day...I guess that seemed suspicious to them! Poor guy! He should have just told them to call his hysterical wife...they would have understood immediately...

February 5, 2007 ~ I can't believe it...

2007-02-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

Even my dog hides from the camera!!! :)
I swear he learned this from my children!! :)

Truth be told...I am feeling a bit uninspired lately! I can't imagine finding something to photograph for the next 11 months! I am going to try though! I think part of the problem is the season we are in here in central New York. It has been SO cold and SO snowy...It's hard to get outside and there are only so many things I can photograph inside my house!! Actually the weekend after this coming one I am going out of town for a "girls weekend" with my friends from college. Three of us have birthdays in February so we like to celebrate together every couple of years! I can't wait to go...I feel like I have been looking forward to it forever!! Maybe I'll find some inspiration there...well at least I'll find someone who doesn't cover their face when I hold up a camera!!!

February 3, 2007 ~ Best Buddies

2007-02-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

1/60 F/4 ISO=200 50mm External flash

Today my son went to his "best friend's" 6th birthday party. Steven and Nolan have known each other since birth. They always have a great time together because they have so much in common. His mother, Angie is one of my best friends. We were pregnant together, went to Lamaze together and we work together. I love being friends with Ang. Like our sons, we also have a great time together. I always hate when she is not at work because I look forward to going in to her classroom and chatting. She makes my day more enjoyable! I'm glad my son and I have such good friends in our lives...Happy Birthday Steven!

Oh, and in case you are wondering...In the top picture, Steven is holding up a stuffed groundhog...He was born on February 2nd...Groundhog's Day!!

BEST BUDS!!

February 2, 2007 ~ Tiny Toes...

2007-02-02T20:16:00.000-05:00

1/40 F/2.5 ISO=200 50mm

Well the Picture of the Day challenge on ILP for today was TINY. The very first thing I thought of when I read that post was my daughter's toes. They are not tiny like a newborn baby's but they are the tiniest in my house. I want to be able to capture things during this year that I will look back on and say "Oh, remember when..." Now this picture will always remind me of when her toes were oh so small!!

Edited to add...Oops, the challenge was small, not tiny. Same thing...right??

February 1, 2007 ~

2007-02-01T20:33:00.000-05:00

1/100" F/1.8 ISO=100 50mm

1/80" F/1.8 ISO=100 50mm

Well my daughter is FINALLY feeling better! Let's all keep our fingers crossed that she makes it through the night without needing a bath and new sheets!! I snapped a couple of her today. The first is of her highness in the beautiful crown she made with her Grammy. If you look closely, you can see the medicine she spit out at me this morning running down the front of her nightgown and on her sleeve! I took it because it was one of the first smiles I've seen from her in a few days!! Pay no attention to the toy strewn background!! The second is just a mugshot I liked. Thanks for looking!

January 31, 2007~ "Shoot the Moon"!!

2007-01-31T20:12:00.000-05:00

1/80" F14 ISO=125 200mm(tightly cropped)

Have you ever played Pitch? It is a card game. We played it all the time when I was a teenager at our camp by the lake. It is really a fun game...although I am not sure I remember all the rules...it has been a LONG time since I have played. I do remember that there was something you could do called "shoot the moon". Basically if you pulled off a chance to "shoot the moon", you won (I think...well you at least won the round)! Because of this, I always tend to think of the summers playing Pitch when I look up at the moon (especially when it is full). Well tonight I as inspired by Louisa to take a photo of the moon. She made a very nice comment on yesterday's pictures and really sparked my interest in shooting the moon. I looked over this article for tips. It was really fun! So here is my attempt to "Shoot the Moon"...What do you think? Did I win??

PS...Sorry I haven't been commenting as much...my little ones still aren't better and need lots of Mommy lovins'

January 30, 2007 ~ Icky Sicky!!

2007-01-30T20:29:00.000-05:00

1/200" F2.2 ISO=100 bounced flash

Well, three days later...my daughter now has strep too! Unfortunately she is vomiting too. The poor honey. She does not get sick very often. As a matter of fact, my entire extended family (us included) had the notovirus right after Thanksgiving, EXCEPT for Sophie. She somehow escaped it...THANK GOD...the rest of us were SO sick. Well she didn't escape it this time. My poor, poor baby!

1.3" F6.3 ISO=400 tripod

I took this one too tonight. I wanted to capture the blueness of the sky as the moon was rising. The moon was behind a cloud. I liked the colors and wanted to share!

Oh, and I guess I HAVE BEEN TAGGED~
Here are 6 things about me (I'm cheating and using ones from my about me posts...it's my blog...I'm allowed :) )
1. I am a constant worrier
2. The children's song "The Ants go Marching" creeps me out
3. I am uncomfortable around mean people
4. I love snow
5. I wish I was shorter (I'm close to 5'10")
6. I feel really nervous when I get lost

Off to tag 6 more bloggers!!

January 29, 2007 ~ KERPLUNK!!

2007-01-29T19:08:00.000-05:00

1/640, F/5, ISO=200, 50mm

1/640, f/5, ISO=200, 50mm

Nothing too exciting today! I was playing around with fast shutter speeds and managed to get these. I like how the first one captured the ice cube falling and how the second captured the water droplets! Once agian thanks for looking and taking the time to comment!! Oh, and I encourage you to click on the picture to see it at a bigger size!!

January 28, 2007 ~ Snapshot Sunday!!

2007-01-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

1/60, f/3.2, ISO=200, 50mm, bounced flash

Hello everyone! Today's picture is of what I found this morning when I walked in to my kitchen. When I picked up my son on Friday I noticed he was burning up...a quick trip to the doctor and one throat culture later, we learned he had strep throat! YIKES! Needless to say he has been laying low this weekend...luckily our dog is very tolerant! Have a great week everyone!

January 27, 2007 ~ Happy Birthday Mom!

2007-01-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

1/60, F/3.2, Aperture priority, ISO=200, 50mm

1/60, F/3.2, Aperture priority, ISO=200, 50mm

Today is my Mom's birthday! We celebrated with a party at my sister's house. I love getting together with my family. We are all very close. There is always a huge crowd when we get together. My "family" includes Aunts, cousins, friends and sometimes even in-laws. We had a great time tonight...Happy Birthday Mom! I love you!

January 25, 2007 ~ Mommy Pot

2007-01-25T18:12:00.000-05:00

SS=1/80, f/2.5, ISO=400, 50mm

SS= 1/80, f/0(reversed lens), ISO=200, 50mm

Okay admit it...how many of you thought I was talking about something else :) These pictures are of one of my favorite gifts from my baby shower. It is a Mommy Pot, a beautiful clay vase about 2 inches tall. It came with a little tag that says, The Mommy Pot...For the short-stemmed flowers children bring home. It was given to me by a friend I met in graduate school named Kara. I remember when I got it I couldn't wait until the first time I could use it. Luckily my son has always loved to bring me flowers (and weeds, and leaves and blades of grass...you get the idea) so it has gotten many uses. The flower of choice for my 5 year old is the dandelion. He loves finding them and presenting them to me as if they were the most expensive, most beautiful flowers he has ever come across, and to me ...they are. I happened to notice the other day that one lone dandelion was still in my Mommy Pot, left over from last summer. Only now it is what my son calls a Wish Flower. Many wishes have been made on these puffy white weeds (which is probably why we always have so many dandelions). I haven't shown my son this leftover Wish Flower yet...I have to think up a good wish first ;)

January 24, 2007 ~ Snowflakes!

2007-01-24T19:38:00.000-05:00

1/50, ISO 1000, f/0(reversed lens) 50mm

Well it has officially snowed every day for a week now...and it is still coming! So much for our mild winter. I don't mind though. I love a good snowstorm. There is something so beautiful about a world covered in a thick blanket of snow. The picture above is of one of my rings. The reason I chose to photograph it today is that it reminds me of a snowflake. It is the ring my wonderful husband gave me for having to suffer through childbirth...twice!! He gave it to me on the Mother's Day after the birth of our second (and last) child. It really is a beautiful piece of jewelry. It is something I will cherish for a lifetime.

January 23, 2007 ~ Homework!!

2007-01-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a bit tired tonight so I'm just going to post my photos and run! Homework comes home from Kindergarten about once a week. He typically loves doing it and is rewarded for returning it to school! Here are a couple of him hard at work. The second one was because he didn't want his picture taken...I liked his pose!! :)

January 22, 2007 ~ Pumpkin Muffins

2007-01-22T18:21:00.000-05:00

Okay, I confess...today's pictures were actually taken yesterday...but I edited them today ;). My daughter, Sophie and I were up early Sunday morning and decided to make pumpkin muffins. My kids LOVE pumpkin muffins. My son who eats nothing but chicken nuggets and french fries LOVES pumpkin muffins. WE had a blast making them yesterday and these were going to be the photos I shared yesterday but then when the ice rink was ready, I couldn't resist sharing those. These were taken using my external flash bounced off the ceiling. ISO was set to 100 and my f stop was 2.5. The shutter speed varied. Thanks again for looking!!

January 21, 2007 ~ Ice Skating is Nice Skating!!

2007-01-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

THE ICE RINK IS FROZEN!! I thought it would be like this for the whole winter, but luckily we have had a bit of a cold snap this past week in sunny central New York and the rink is skateable (Is that even a word???). We had a blast today! My son picked up skating very quickly...we were very proud of him. I have so many photos that I would like to share but I am limiting myself to a storyboard and two others (isn't this supposed to be ONE photo a day?!?!?). I call this one WIPE OUT!!...

If you look real close at this one you will see that he is actually in midair, as is his hockey stick! Maybe this one should be called Wipe out!

1/800, F4.5, ISO = 100, 50mm

And I just love this one of Nolan and his Daddy...

1/3200, F3.2, ISO = 100, 50mm

Thanks to everyone for looking! We had such a great time today!!

January 20, 2007 ~ The Beach

2007-01-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

I am loving this Project 365 challenge! I have been using my camera every day and have found that taking pictures truly makes me happy. I have to admit that I enjoy the post-processing too. I went out to the lake today...one of my favorite places to be. My family has been coming to this lake since I was a baby. My mom has been coming since she was a child. I have many, many fond memories of our summers at "The Beach". It is where I had my first job...and where I had my first kiss. It will always hold a very special place in my heart. Now I get to watch my children make their own memories at the Beach...they already love it too!

In this picture you can just make out the lake in the horizon. It is SO cold there now, I couldn't get much closer. This photo is very photo shopped. I wanted to put some color in the sky so I used the selective colors to do that. I also added a vignette. I thought it added interest to the picture. Thanks for looking! As always, I look forward to your comments!

January 19, 2007 ~ Rainbows

2007-01-19T19:59:00.000-05:00

I just love the color in this picture. I like it so much I am going to change my profile picture to the photo below. Color makes me happy! I was playing around with my d80's focal points and a wide open aperture. It was neat to pull up the pictures because I could tell which focus point I used by where the blur began and ended. This was taken with my 50mm 1.8. My settings were: SS= 1/60, f/2.5, ISO=125, bounced flash off the ceiling. I cropped, upped the contrast and sharpened in CS2. What do you think? Here is another I liked...

SS=1/60, f/1.8, ISO=100, 50mm

January 18, 2007 ~ My World...

2007-01-18T19:31:00.000-05:00

My children are my world. There is really no other way to say it. I would walk to the end of the earth for them. They are everything to me. They have the ability to entertain me, amaze me, worry me, educate me, comfort me and inspire me. They make me feel happy, proud, lucky and young. My children are my world...

January 17, 2007 ~ Extreme Close Ups!!

2007-01-17T19:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I was completely inspired by Betty of Once Upon CC Photography to try reversing my lens to get some macro shots. It was tough to do but I like how these came out...

One of my plants (I have NO idea what kind :) )

Ice Crystals on the Ice Rink...

A frozen thorn bush...

I used Indy's Rich Color Action on this one

I used my 50mm 1.8 lens for these. I changed the aperture value by rotating the aperture ring and then adjusted the shutter speed. I had to move the camera in and out to focus. I used a small aperture for all of these that is why there is such a narrow depth of field and why some parts are out of focus (not to mention the camera shake :) )

January 16, 2007 ~ Strawberries!!

2007-01-16T22:11:00.000-05:00

My daughter LOVES strawberries!! We found some nice looking ones on the supermarket tonight so we picked them up, brought them home and had a feast!! I had some trouble taking these. I couldn't bounce my flash anywhere so I bumped up my ISO and put away the flash. Unfortunately, my white balance was WAY off so I spent a lot of time on these in Photoshop...and they still don't look quite right!

Oh, and sorry I missed a night. I spent the day cleaning my house and didn't touch my camera all day long...bad me!

January 14, 2007 ~ Go Pats!!!

2007-01-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I honestly didn't think I'd get a picture up tonight. It either rained or sleeted all day long so it was a very dreary day here. You are probably wondering what the heck I chose to photograph today. This happens to be the only bobble head doll I will allow in my house. It is a little "Patriot" that I guess you could get at Dunkin Donuts back in 2001. Good friends of ours in Massachusetts had one when we were there watching a playoff game years ago. My friend Pete used it as a good luck charm. A simple pat on the head was all the New England Patriots needed for luck and a winning play!! Well when we came home we HAD to have one too! I found him on ebay and suprised my hubby with him. He sits on the windowsill of my family room until he is needed for a big game...he was out tonight. Sorry to all the Chargers fans out there but when you are up against a good luck bobble head doll...you don't have a chance :)

By the way, that is my hubby's hand and my son's hand...he thought the whole idea was GREAT!! And in case you are wondering...my son is holding a tube of chapstick!

January 13, 2007 ~ Might as well jump!!

2007-01-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

JUMP!!

I took these tonight so I could practice with by external flash. I was determined to get pictures without pinpoint catchlights. I think I did it! In the first three pictures, I bounced the flash off the ceiling and used my Gary Fong Lightsphere. What do you all think? Do they look flashy? The one below was taken with the same setup but I bounced the flash off of the wall to my left. I am excited with the catchlights in this one. Anyone have any tips they want to share for flash photography? By the way...how excited was my daughter that I actually LET her jump on Mommy's bed?!?

January 12, 2007 ~ Laughter

2007-01-12T23:04:00.000-05:00

Let me start with 25 more things about me...are you bored yet???

26. I love to read…but usually only get to do it in the summertime

27. unless you count children’s books…in that case I read every day :)

28. I have never been able to do a cartwheel

29. When I was in 6th grade I missed 11 homework assignments in one marking period and my grade went from an A to a C

30. I always did my homework after that

31. I have three sisters and we are very close

32. I love spending time with my extended family

33. I don't like any seafood except lobster with lots of butter (and a side of Filet Mignon doesn't hurt either :) !!

34. I consider myself lucky to be blessed with the family I have

35. I am not good with money

36. I like to be taken care of

37. I got caught cheating once on a vocabulary test by my favorite teacher in high school

38. I never cheated again

39. I drive a minivan…and love it

40. I love getting mail

41. Christmas is my favorite holiday

42. I hate that my birthday is the day before Valentine’s Day

43. I look forward to summer vacation (I’m a teacher)

44. I like being able to figure things out on my own

45. I consider kindness to be the most important trait in a person

46. I am uncomfortable around mean people

47. When I meet you for the first time, the first thing I will notice are your eyes

48. I am fascinated by tornadoes … but hope to never experience one

49. I love watching my husband play baseball

50. I like chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping

On to my picture... I needed a dose of laughter today. My husband is always there when I need a laugh. This is a silly picture I took several years ago at Christmas Eve dinner...what a goofball. I know I am supposed to take a picture a day but it was so dark and dreary all day today and I went out with my friends tonight and didn't get a chance to take out the camera. This picture reminds me that laughter is the best medicine...

A Little about ME!

2007-01-11T22:43:00.000-05:00

One of the other 365 bloggers posted a challenge to come up with 100 things about yourself and post them on your blog. I have decided to participate but am only going to post 25 tonight and I'll follow up in the next few days with the rest. So here goes...

1. I absolutely ADORE my children...I look forward to spending time with them every day.

2. I worry about stuff I know is silly - but can't stop.

3. I believe in God.

4. I am married to my best friend...

5. he is also my biggest fan.

6. I HATE being hot.

7. I fear confrontation.

8. When someone I know is in a bad mood I usually think it is because of something I did.

9. I lost 30 pounds last year :)...and put on 10 this winter :(

10. I love my ipod

11. I stay up WAY too late!

12. I hate doing housework!

13. I can make jewelry

14. I talk to my mother every day...and look forward to it.

15. My father is the most generous person I know.

16. I like my coffee with a lot of fat free french vanilla creamer.

17. I make cool birthday cakes for my kids birthday parties

18. I have a masters degree in education

19. I am a procrastinator

20. I'd like to be a stay at home mom but am afraid to quit my job

21. The children's song "the ants go marching..." creeps me out

22. The last time I was on a roller coaster, I threw up.

23. I worry about my kids every day...sometimes I wonder how I will get through their teenage years.

24. I want everyone to like me.

25. Some people would call me scatter-brained

That is enough for tonight! Here is today's picture...it is of Michael again (I am running out of ideas!!!)

Although this photo may not be technically correct, I like it for some reason. It was pretty underexposed so it doesn't look great full size but I like it as a snapshot of my dog.

January 10, 2007 ~ Thank You!

2007-01-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone! I don't have much to write tonight so I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your comments on yesterday's photo/entry. I was really feeing crummy when I got home from school and your kind words made me feel so much better. So, a big THANK YOU to all who took the time to respond...I really appreciate it! On to today's picture...

This is my son Nolan. At the moment his favorite things are soccer, hockey and Superheros. He is a GREAT kid! Nolan is the type of child who won't go to bed without saying "I love You", cries when his sister gets hurt and thinks, "We have the BEST family ever!!" I just adore him...he is MY superhero!

January 9, 2007 ~ Baby Steps

2007-01-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

SS=1/50, f/2.5, ISO=1600, 50mm

Shutter Priority Mode

I am a teacher. Actually, I am a special education teacher. Generally I love what I do. I just hate this time of year. In January, New York State requires us to administer what is called the ELA Test. It is given to all students in grades 3-8 and measures their ability to read, write and listen. Every year at this time we give the test...and every year at this time I feel like a complete and total failure. My students typically bomb! That's not saying much about my ability to teach is it? The problem is the test usually contains passages written above the grade level it is administered to. For the most part the students I work with have reading difficulties. It is the reason they come to me...the reason they have Individualized Education Plans. Yet the state feels they not only have to take it, they expect them to pass it as well. So I have to sit there and watch the students I have become very attached to and protective of struggle through a test written 1-2 years above grade level knowing full well their reading level is 1-2 levels below grade level. Like I said...they typically don't do well. What this test doesn't measure are the small accomplishments I celebrate with them every day. The smile I see creep across the face of a 10 year old boy who just realized he read the entire sentence without any help. The increased confidence that comes with knowing they are improving (even if it is at a slower rate than their friends). The pride that comes with being called on and giving the correct answer. I prefer to celebrate BABY STEPS!!

January 8, 2007 ~ Sophie

2007-01-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

SS=1/50, f/2.8, ISO=200, 28mm

Manual mode

SS=1/50, f/2.8, ISO=200, 28mm
Manual Mode

Well, because I showed off my son yesterday, I decided it was my daughter's turn today. This is Sophie. She is a princess through and through. She is only truly happy when surrounded by things that are pink and/or sparkly. When asked the question "Who is a Princess?", she proudly points to her chest and shouts out, "ME!!".

January 7, 2007 ~ Anticipation

2007-01-07T14:05:00.000-05:00

SS=1/125 f/4.5 ISO=100 28mm

Manual Mode

I live in the Northeast. We are used to cold winters and snow days...this year has been an exception. While the west is getting pummelled with snow, we are enjoying weather that is more reminiscent of Spring (even my crocuses are confused...I noticed them popping up yesterday!). Well, most of us are enjoying it that is. This past fall my husband and I decided this would be a great year to set up our backyard ice rink. We told our son and Santa even brought all the necessary hockey gear. He has been waiting anxiously for it to be ready. Unfortunately it doesn't look like that will be anytime soon!

January 6, 2007 ~ Cleaning Up

2007-01-06T22:29:00.000-05:00

SS=1/40" f/2.8 ISO=800 28mm

Aperture Priority

Well, this is the best I could do today...not my favorite by any means! It pretty much sums up what I did today...took down the Christmas tree. That pile of "stuff" on the carpet is pine needles. I swear no matter what I do my tree is just about bare by the time I take it down. I practically have to shovel the needles off the carpet! I always feel a little sad when the tree comes down. The weeks of preparation and anticipation are over and all I'm left with is a huge mess!

January 5, 2007 ~ Merry

2007-01-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

SS=1/20" f/4.5 ISO=H 0.7

Aperture Priority

Well I think it is time to take down the Christmas decorations. I thought I would see if I could get a shot of this Santa on my mantle. The impressive thing is this photo was shot with my d80 at an ISO of H 0.7. I think it came out pretty good! There are several things I would like to work on during this year. The first being composition. I feel like all my photos have a real snapshotty feel to them and I want to improve in this area. I also need to continue to work on nailing focus and exposure. This challenge will keep me practicing!

January 4, 2007 ~ Michael

2007-01-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

SS=1/60" f 2.8 ISO=100 28mm

Aperture Priority

Well, I have decided to give blogging a try. A challenge was posted on the I Love Photography message board calling people to take and post a picture a day for 365 days. Let's see how long I last. I got a late start so I am actually starting with a picture taken on January 4th, 2007. This is Michael. He is a 4 year old black lab we adopted this fall. He is a wonderful pet...very calm (how many people can say that about a 100 pound lab?!?). Our whole family is in love with him...especially my 5 year old son, Nolan. He is the type of dog who doesn't mind being used as a pillow and is happiest when lying at your feet. We were very lucky to be given the chance to adopt him.