Catching Up

I have a lot of pictures that I have taken over the past week or so, and not a lot of blog posts to reflect that.  So, this post is all about catching up.  With Ray back at work, Isabella and I have had a lot of fun days at home, just the two of us. 

Isabella has a love for her easel from her grandpa, particularly all of her letters and numbers.  She loves to put them all up on the easel, and then take them back down.  Move them around to various places in the house.  Put them in her stroller and push them around (I'm not making this up).  =)














So, I totally nailed focus on this one...  On the Apple Jacks box!  That's totally the most interesting and significant part of this image...  ;-)




Bella got really into her mashed potatoes this week...




"Boots on?  Boots on?"  She insisted on wearing her boots all day long. 






She does rock the Minnie Mouse pajamas and boots look though.

A Day at the Playground

My daughter loves the playground.  The slide.  The swings.  All of it.  Probably not a terribly uncommon trait in children, I would imagine...  But I'm her mommy.  So, I get to swoon over her great big smile as she comes down the slide for the 20th time.





Ok, so this one is terribly out of focus, but I love this smile!




Once we were able to pry her away from the slide, she had a great time on the swings!

Lightroom - Welcome Back to My Life

Yes, I'm in need of catching up.  I have not kept up with my blog this week, but I'm happy to say that since last weekend, I have been keeping up with taking photos.  Nothing super spectacular, and mostly around the house, which means super noisy photos due to my lack of an external flash.  So, thank you Lightroom for coming back into my life.  =)

Isabella has not been feeling well this week, and has also been super cranky.  It has been meltdown city in this house.  Which is due partially to her cold, and due partially to the fact that she has recently decided to start waking up at 5 am again (oh, how I miss her sleeping until 7!).  Coupled with her shorter (or non-existant naps), and you can imagine what our days have been like.

Fortunately, there is such a thing as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  Pooh has saved my life this week.  I think we have watched Pooh at least 75 times.  I have had the songs in my head for days.

Despite the crankiness and drama, we have had a lot of fun together this week, even with Ray back at work.  However, it is needless to say that Bella did not want her Dada to go back to work...





Although a pajama day at home full of Winnie the Pooh and toys definitely helps.

A Lack of Pictures This Weekend

I have not taken any pictures the past two days.  I confess to having been completely absorbed in the tragedy that occurred in Tucson (about 20 minutes from my home) yesterday morning.  I have been glued to the television and the internet for updates, and my thoughts have been wrapped up in the stories of the victims of this senseless shooting.

I especially can't stop thinking about the beautiful and completely innocent 9-year-old girl whose life was taken by this disgusting person.

I hope to resume back to normalcy again tomorrow, but this weekend has been about those who were victims to a person full of hate, whom I can't really talk about without getting furious.  This weekend has also been about special moments with my husband and daughter. 

Times like this make you realize what really matters in life.  I keep thinking about what the mom of that little girl must be going through, and I can't help but hug my daughter tight.

I hope you are all hugging those you love as well.  This world needs more love.  Less hate.  And I am an eternal optimist who believes there is far more love in this world than hate.  I just don't like it when the hate gets a loud voice like it did yesterday.

The English Teacher in Me

Currently watching the Pima Community College distance learning channel.  Course:  Lit 265.  On Zora Neale Hurston. 

Apparently I miss teaching.  A little bit.  Or a lot.  Depending on the day.

I Suck in Manual.

Ok, so I'm having a rough time with taking pictures in full-out manual.  I have a basic understanding of what I'm supposed to do, but I am totally not fast enough with changing my settings to catch anything before she moves.  I also hate that when I move even a fraction to the left (or right, or up, or down - you get the idea...), the light changes, and I then have to change my settings. I'm sticking with it because I hear that shooting in manual is the awesomeness (think:  clouds parting, the lights shining down, and the angels singing) once you get the hang of it, but in the meantime, don't have high expectations for photos from me...  (and I can't promise that if I want a good picture to not switch over to aperture priority from time to time until I get the hang of it!).  ;-)

At any rate, here are a few photos I took this week in manual.  These are all SOOC (straight out of the camera - for you followers who are not on the Photography board).  My trial with Lightroom (photo editing software - for those of you wondering WTF Lightroom is...) just ended, and we ordered it last weekend, but it's still not here yet.  I'm kind of experiencing Lightroom withdrawal at the moment, so bear with me on some of these pictures.  I'm hoping that things will improve once I:

A)  Get (significantly) better with manual - haha
and
B)  Get Lightroom safe in my house and back on my computer.  I swear I'm already addicted.  Adobe is pretty smart with that 30-day free trial...

Casual days at home:
























A day out with Grandma!  (Terrible exposure and some white balance issues on this one, but editing will have to wait til next week when I get Lightroom.  I hope I can fix it some!)

A Walk with Dada

I'm already a little behind on the blog.  These pictures aren't from today, but they were taken within the past 2 days, so I figure that is close enough.  =)

The girl has got her daddy wrapped around her little finger.  Or in this case, her whole hand wrapped around his.