10 Minutes from Home

I got this weeks assignment for DPS submitted in just the nick of time! We visited my mother-in-law last night and she lives about 10 minutes from home. Conveniently enough, the theme for this week is "10 Minutes from Home". My daughter loves horses and after promising her pictures of the neighbors horses, I decided to use one of them as my submission.

Zac Sunderland: America's Most Amazing Teen

This is Zac Sunderland. Looks like your typical teenager, right?



Ehhh, Wrong!! This kid is truly amazing and I have to say, as a mother of two, this kids mom is one brave woman - kudos to you! Typically, parents give their sixteen year old boys (and yes, girls) a curfew, this young man was given the opportunity of a lifetime. He is in the process of fulfilling his dream of becoming the youngest solo circumnavigator. How many sixteen year olds get this opportunity! He is from California but is currently living alone on his boat, Intrepid, sailing his way around the world.

Seriously, you're impressed aren't you....

Check out his website / blog here.

Time Out Chicago

I got an email this morning from an organization called "Time Out Chicago". It seems they are having a photo contest and the theme is Transit. You are allowed to submit up to five images into the contest so I submitted three. I am still debating on a fourth one that I'm not sure will fit the theme completely. Chicago is one of my alltime favorite US Vacation locations, I could probably visit once a month and never get bored. Check out the three images that I entered - wish me luck, if I win, I'll be hitting the runways for another trip to Chicago.

It's been so long....

WoW! I feel like I haven't been here in ages, I guess with the holidays and all, I've lost track of time. But I'm back and ready to roll. I hope all had a safe and fun Fourth of July, I picked the image below in honor of the holiday, this is one of my many favorites from the celebration.



A quick update on myself, still, no job.... I have decided to wait a couple weeks on pulling the kids from daycare as I have had a few possible leads and a few interviews. So far nothing has panned out, even the one I had my heart set on. I suppose the right job is out there, I just have to be patient. Even without a job, a girl still has to splurge occasionally.... right?? Well, the other night, I went to Walgreens and they had an assortment of attitude t-shirts for kids. This particular shirt is Max all the way and I absolutely had to share this with you.



Yes, you are reading the shirt correctly.... It says, "Lock Up Your Daughters". I thought Jeff would be upset with me spending money but all he could say was, "he needed that shirt last weekend..."

I have a few design projects coming up so stay tuned for some new designs by yours truly!

Trying something new....

I had a request lately to create a video for a family member and while that one is still in the process of being created (and cannot be unveiled yet, as it is a surprise....), I decided to try my hand with this one. I created this video for my sister-in-law, surprise surprise, with the images I took of her and the girls. It was just a practice one to make sure everything worked the way I had hoped. With the persistance of my mother-in-law, I decided to post it her - well, and the fact that she wanted to show some friends and this is the perfect way to share and be known! So, hopefully this works, enjoy the movie....

Official Announcement

I made the call - the kids last day at the sitter will be the 18th and I will officially be a Stay At Home Mom. I'm good with it but really hope the finances and my patience can keep up. If by chance a phone call comes with a job offer I will definately pursue it as I really want to go back to work. If you can believe it, I actually cried when I called the sitter. I feel stupid and my husband agrees - I feel bad, like I'm giving something up but in reality, I guess I'm lucky to be able to stay home, raise my kids and be with them everyday. If nothing else, this should be interesting!!

DPS Assignment

This weekend, my sister-in-law and I gathered the kids and let them run wild at the park. Thanks to her letting me run wild with my camera, I actually got a picture for the DPS Assignment for the week. This weeks assignment was feet and I wasn't about to take a picture of my narly looking feet - I don't exactly have the prettiest toes in the world. J and her baby, E let me capture a few pics of their feet while playing in the sand. I also snapped a picture of all the kids little piggies but decided on the mom and baby feet for my assignment entry.

The Business of Being a Mommy

Picture this....

You're at the park chatting with another stay at home mom about her three kids running rampant with your two kids. After watching the kids play for an hour or so and getting to know her, you both decide to get the kids together again. She is scrambling for an old receipt and stray crayon in her purse to scribble her name and number on, you whip out this:



I know, I know... You're thinking: You've GOT to be kidding me!

Well, I'm not... It's a Mommy Card - I met a lady last night and as we talked about our kids and what not, I told her I would email her something (I was drinking and don't remember what though, so if you happen to be reading this (and you know who you are) drop me a little reminder!!)... Anyway, I told her to give me her email address and grabbed a keno slip and a crayon, by the time I slid them across the table she's whipping this thing out, "Here," she says, "it's my mommy card...".

What an awesome idea!! I know several stay at home mommies out there always looking for something to do with another stay at home family, why not make the contact part easy on everyone. You've got your name, number, email and kids names (as a friendly reminder) - you can put as much or as little information on them as you want, personalize your image and next time you find the perfect SAHM to hang out with for some well deserved play time, whip out a card! So, point of my story - I'm starting a trend, and you're spreading the word!

If you are a SAHM and you want some really cool Mommy Cards, contact me.... I'll hook you up! Tell your SAHM mommy friends... I think it's a great idea, they're cheap, easy to keep and if I was a SAHM I would totally have these!

Oh, and by the way - the mommy card shown above isn't real, it's a fake. The kids aren't anyone I know - I googled them, the name is made up as is the info. So, if you try to contact Miss Jennie Wilson and her two kids, you will be sadly disappointed. So sorry.

Photography 101

This blog seems to be taking the turn to photography only and I apologize for that, I haven't exactly had a mad rush of design jobs coming my way!! Much of my days is spent around the house, forcing myself to do housework and entering application after application after application in hopes of finding a "real" job! Mind you I have applied for fifty-seven jobs as of this morning and have been called back for only ONE interview.... how that is even possible I don't know. I spent a while this morning making phone calls to follow up but it seems everyone is screening their calls today. Just my luck.

Anyway, enough about that.... I am a member of an online group called Digital Photography School. Every week they have assignments, and every week they choose one winner and two runner ups which are featured on the blog. They have a ton of information, activities and critiques all aimed at improving your photography skills. This weeks assignment is "Natural Framing". Natural framing includes borders, nature paths, windows, etc... anything that may setup a nice natural frame outline for the focus of the subject. The photograph entered into the weekly assignment has to be taken within a specific date range and unfortunately, I don't have one.... yet. However, to give an example, I pulled one from the past. This is a picture of my (beautiful) daughter, the natural framing being the window of her little house. Maybe before tomorrow I will be able to shoot a picture with natural framing to enter into the assignment, otherwise, there's always next week.



Happy Tuesday everyone, enjoy your day.

Flickr Photostream

I don't know if many of you have ever used Flickr but I thought I would share it with you. Somewhat because I really have nothing else to share but feel the need to update my blog every few days! Flickr is a website which lets you create "photostreams" or albums of different images and / or photographs. It's a great tool to use for sharing your work with other people or getting opinions on your pieces. I have uploaded some of my photography and artwork to Flickr and I have added a link to my flickr photostream, click here.

I have used flickr to allow my "customers" to see designs I have created for them, I have uploaded images to use in a digital photography forum and I have uploaded photos simply as a way to share them. I also like to use flickr to see other peoples work, it's definately a way to get inspired and see things from another persons perspective.

If you have a minute or two, check it out following the link above, from there, you can browse different public photostreams and see the amazing talent people have out there. Have a great day, everyone!