Fall...

Afternoons are the best. 

Saturday was a great day of hanging out with a bunch of different friends. We all met up at a family friendly Oktoberfest. 

This is my favorite picture from the weekend. Rhys was super thirsty and we had gone through all of the drink that we brought for the kids. He kept asking me for a drink of my beer. We went in search of a drink for him and we found this giant lemon shakeup. He was excited!

The cup was so big and so full that I had to sit it down on the sidewalk for him to get a drink. 

It's Fall...

Y'all!

Last week, Emerson learned about Johnny Appleseed and the last day of his school week was Johnny Appleseed day for his class. They were all to wear pots on their heads and make applesauce in celebration of Johnny. Well, Emerson missed that day because he was at my parent's house but, my mom came through and was able to make the day happen for him. 

I look forward to this time of year because every year I get a box of apples from my parent's apple trees to make a couple apple crisps, one apple pie and maybe some applesauce. It's enough apples for a months worth of apple desserts and usually I just make apple crisp because it's the easiest of all apple desserts.

Emerson and Rhys picked apples and made applesauce with grandma and loved every minute of the process. When I picked them up, we picked a box full of apples and were set. I was thankful for this because I could finally make apple crisp and I didn't have to make applesauce for the boys. 

I was ready to get the apples home and make a pie with Emerson or just crisp because let's face it he doesn't know the difference. Plus, I was excited because he had made a super cute craft at school that looked like an apple pie and smelled like one and he really wanted to try to make a real one, too. 

A few days went by, I kept putting of making any dessert because we had just returned from a trip and I needed to get back on track with my nutrition. Then on Friday night Eric asked if we could make some crisp and with no hesitation we started the task. I peeled the apples and Eric prepped the topping and filling mixes. We mixed and layered everything together, then baked the sweet treat for forty-five minutes. I couldn't wait!

We waited a minimal time for the deliciousness to cool and then served it up.  It was great but after a few bites I asked what we ate for dinner that was spicey that I am just now tasting? There was just enough zing with every bite to make us wonder, what could have possible been in the seasoning that was on our pork chops? When I say spicey, it's like the spicey you taste when eating a cinnamon gummy bear or red hots. So, it wasn't horrible and we ate our entire plates of apple crisp and then decided that we weren't going to give any to the boys because they would have taken a bite and hated it. 

When we finished and started cleaning up, I asked again, "What could have been on the pork chops or did you accidentally use cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon?" As I said it, I remembered that they are both in the same type of bottle and stored next to each other, for a very easy mix up. Eric looked at me and started laughing and said, "That's exactly what I did!"

Sunday Morning Run...

Sunday morning we set out for a six mile run with Rhys in the stroller and Emerson running with us. Emerson jumped in the stroller about 3/4 a mile into the run. They both got out about mile two and ran for about 1/2 mile before we made them get back into the stroller to finish out the run.

It is fun to have them run with us and learn how to pace themselves and breathing techniques. They both had fun running with us and checking out things on the path.

Catching up...

On our life.

Sugar Creek, Shades State Park, Indiana

Coming home from a camping weekend and then leaving two days later for a weekend getaway for Eric and me has caused our day to day routine to look more like a disaster.  We try to plan for our returns, so we have an easy transition back to reality from vacation mode but it never goes as smoothly as we hoped it would.

Planning for our return, I like the house to be clean, the laundry to be done, and some food in the house so we can eat at home that first day we get back. So, I work on all of those things within the days before leaving.  Well, with going on two trips with only two days in-between my planning did not go so well.

We left for camping with the house pretty clean, the laundry done, and the fridge had enough food in it. When we returned home Monday and were able to unload, unpack and clean up everything pretty easily, only to start repacking and reloading to take the boys to my parents and us to catch a plane to South Carolina.

Hiking trail in Shades State Park, Indiana

I packed the boys and started packing for myself on Tuesday. I hate packing for trips where I need three outfits per day. Workout clothes, everyday clothes and dinner clothes. I know some things can be repeated but it is so hard to edit down and not overpack. But by the end of the day, I had a plan for my packing, running some errands, dropping the boys and dog off, and cleaning the house.

Wednesday, I dropped the boys at school, ran a few errands gathering the items that we all needed, loaded the car, picked up the boys and the dog, then headed to my parents to drop them off. I made my visit short because I needed to hurry back to eat dinner, go to a meeting, finish packing and clean the house.

My mom calls me, with only a half an hour to go on my return trip to asks where I put the car seats. I left them in my car, of course. So, I turned around for another three hour round trip drive back to my parents house. I was bummed. I missed my meeting and after driving for about six hours, I didn't want to come home and clean the house.

I got home and suggested heading up to our watering hole for a beer, after we finished packing. This was the fastest I had ever completed my editing process and finishing touches on my weekend wardrobe. The best part about grabbing a beer was when we sat down the bartender took our order and asked if we wanted our usual dessert. We are now "sometimers," we don't go enough to be regulars but enough to be remembered.

Atlantic Ocean, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

When we left on Wednesday morning, the house was picked up and I had run the vacuum but I should have really mopped the floors. The bathrooms were just ok, they really needed to be refreshed. The laundry was done but there were four baskets full of clean clothes. There was a lot of work that needed to be done.

Our return home Sunday evening was ok, the unloading and unpacking process seemed easier since we just had our clothes, the boys clothes and some toys. We had enough food in the house to pull together a pretty good meal, the laundry was manageable and the house felt dirty but we could make it until I was able to get to it.

This was when I began to feel overwhelmed. I had to take the boys to the dentist, pick up the dog, take Emerson to school, and get groceries on Monday. The boys made it to the dentist, Emerson missed school, the dog got picked up, and groceries were bought. It was a great day, a lot was accomplished.

I was happy but I also wanted to sit down to write, edit pictures, check emails, write down all the ideas that had come to me in the past week, and take some time to plan for the week. But sleep was more important, when then lead to missing a meeting the next day because I decided to take some time for myself and head to the gym.

Middleton Plantation, Charleston, South Carolina

Wednesday ran pretty smoothly with catching up on my regular tasks and getting all of us back on our schedules.

Finally, today, the house is completely clean, laundry is done, we have plenty of food, and I am able to sit down to write, edit photos, write down my ideas and take some time for myself. Four days after we have returned I feel like I am back to my routine.

Things I love...

Photography.

I took thins in a church in Italy of my friend Mel. She is sitting in the sun light beaming through one of the stain glass windows in the dome of this church.

It's no secret that I take a lot of pictures. Probably, too many. Maybe, not enough. I just love photographs so much, that I think, why not shoot away.

I struggle with the process, though. I went to art school to learn the process of taking a great photograph and what I came out with was that a great photograph happens because its full of great content. That kind of messed me up. It more or less made me not want to share or show pictures to anyone because they were not full of deep meaning. Then the process of learning about lighting, which is what makes for a good looking photo, became something I didn't care about. So, something that I loved to do became something hard for me to do.

I didn't stop taking photos because of this. I came to the conclusion that I would take snapshots to capture a moment and they will just live for me and my family. Then, I decided to share my blog with you all which means you see some of my photos. I still just thought of my pictures as snapshots until I saw this. A video about how people look at art and think I can do that and most likely they probably can't.

This video made me think that all art is about the artist's experience in making it. That should be the approach that I take. I take photos to remember an experience and by doing so I am working on the process of making a great photo. Sometimes they will be about getting the prefect lighting, other times they will capture great emotion, there will be times when a full story can be told in a 4x6 format and then there will be times where it is about nothing at all.

Taken with my DSLR while in Yosemite National Park.

Taken with iPhone while in Glacier National Park.

So, while I'm working on the content side of making a great photo I am also working on the technical side. This is another struggle because it comes down to what type of camera should I use. Truth, I use my iPhone more, mostly because it fits in my pocket, it isn't heavy and I usually have it pretty close by. Not to mention, that Apple has developed a pretty good point and shoot camera. When you compare the two pictures above that have very similar content, look at the quality. Yes, there is a difference but if these are just snapshots then the difference doesn't matter because they are close enough.

iPhone, home grown tomatoes.

iPhone, the boys playing hot lava.

iPhone, working on focus.

I want to use my DSLR because I do have more control over what happens in the camera and post processing which is important. Even knowing that, I still don't choose it as my first option. I just tend to not choose it because it is heavy and bulky, it takes a second to get the settings where I need them and the moment could have already passed me by.

DSLR, photo shoot for head shoots for Muscles and Munchkins

DSLR, end of the year classroom photos for the boys school.

As I struggle with my process and decided where I want to fit in the photography world, I now know that I want to fall back in love with the process of taking photographs. The past couple of weeks have lead me to this point of wanting my photography to be more than just something that lives for me and my family.

My goal is to start choosing my "good camera" over my iPhone and to continue to study lighting. I want to work on my process and continue to learn how to take a great photo.

Bravo...

The new MTV for anyone over thirty!

www.usmagazine.com

I love watching tv! It is my favorite down time activity. I could easily become a couch potato if any station is running a marathon of a show that I am even slightly interested in.

This is why I love the Bravo network. Everyday, they show a mini marathon of one of their shows. Plus, they are the home to The Housewives series, which I love all of those.

That brings me to my first statement. I think Bravo is the new MTV for anyone over thirty. I was watching this weekend to catch up on my Housewives of the O.C., the one with Vicki, Tamara and Heather. There were these commercials for their new series about these women throwing lavish 40th birthday parties called My Fab 40th, so a lot like My Sweet Sixteen on MTV. The first episode of My Fab 40th, even had two friends celebrating their birthday together and making a donation to a great charity. I may be a little off but I am pretty sure that is very similar to the very first episode of My Sweet Sixteen. I don't know, I do really watch too much tv!

As I watched the ladies of the O.C., I came to the conclusion that I want to be on that show but somehow come in as a second year cast mate. I am a little scared of Vicki's welcoming tactics, she always puts the new girls through the wringer. So, lets just skip the first year. I am also going to need Gretchen to come back, not because I want to be friends with her but because we are the same age. If we became friends though, I think I would be ok with that.

The reason why I want to be on the O.C. housewives because I want to compare how I am aging to how they are kind of aging. Does that make sense?!?! I know its weird. It is not secret that they like botox and other elective cosmetic surguries. I also want to see how much makeup they all actually wear. Many times I find myself staring at their makeup and wondering why so much?

Which then just leads to a bunch of questions like why do women wear makeup at all? Why don't men wear makeup? What if babies wore makeup? That last one is just stupid because that is way too much work to have to keep applying lipstick to a baby. Then, I wonder how they all have perfect hair all the time. I know they have stylists that do them up but why? Do they do their hair like that when the cameras are not rolling? Next, I wonder what I do all day long that keeps me from doing my hair and makeup, sometimes even taking a shower. Until finally, I am just sitting there watching tv wondering why I just spun myself into a stupid web of comparison.

So, back to the MTV comparison. The Housewives series is kind of like The Real World. They don't have really any music videos unless you count the handful of housewives whom worked at fulfilling a dream. I know you all are singing, Don't Be Tardy for the Party, right now! Seriously, no one really cares because if they did MTV would show more music.

I am so thankful for Andy Cohen for being apart of creating an acceptable place for me to watch these shows and remembering what worked for us as teenagers in high school and college!