Temp. Limit

I think I misunderstood the length of time for the challenge, so I understand that this will probably be deleted, but I was able to do this challenge (the first in a while), so here goes:

My 3-year-old boy is very sick today, and this was his temperature. I REALLY hope it is the limit, because it always scares me when it goes so high. All he wanted to do was snuggle in something soft, and be held by me. It's so hard to see them sick!

CC welcome

All About Me!

NAME: Janette P. (ZealyGirl)

1. What camera do you use?

Canon S3 IS

2. What is your favorite photography subject? (or, what do you like to take pictures of the best?)

My kids, but I like macro shots, as well.

3. What camera equipment is on your wish list?

Digital SLR, preferably Nikon

4. What are your hobbies outside of photography?

Cooking, reading, piano, looking at real estate, being in charge of things, playing

5. Tell us about your family! (married? Kids?)

Married 4.5 years; 2 boys, one 3, one 1 year

6. Where do you live? (you don’t have to be specific if you don’t feel comfortable)

My home state of Idaho

7. Do you have a blog you would like to share? (family blog or photography blog?)

I have a blog, but it isn’t updated as regularly as it should… zealygirl.sampa.com

8. What is the best photography advice you have ever received?

ZOOM in & get at their level.

9. What (if any) editing program do you use?

I just got Paint Pro, and am still experimenting with it.

10.Can you share your favorite 3 pictures with us??

It wouldn't be me without:

I wear these sandals pretty much every day of my life. I resist the urge to wear them to church. My first pair lasted 5 years; these are almost through their first. Love em. Chacos are the best! If you want to know how big my feet are, just click on it to view full size (just kidding).

Now, about the picture, I made it grainy with texture and fun colors. Kinda fun and off kilter, like the shoe set up. No fancy lightbox (though I loved the tutorial and WANT ONE), just the living room carpet.

CC please!

The Mundane Pin

This is my take on ABSTRACT, using my clothesline for inspiration. I was surprised how it turned out. I make it b/w to emphasize the lines.

The spiderwebs are an interesting hi-light, don't you think?

Let it FLY!

I promise it's before midnight here.

I attended my brother's State Track Meet. He threw discus, and I am very proud of him. He has to have a very FLUID motion to get the furthest possible throw.

I didn't get my F/stop high enough, but he only had 3 throws so I wasn't able to make the adjustments. The end result is interesting with the blur. The blur by his right arm is the just-released discus.


I cropped, then applied a 30-year newspaper finish. I think it looks kind of cool.

CC

The Key Was Turned...

I had three pictures I really liked, but this is the one I chose to post tonight. I'll put all of them up on my blog if anyone wants to see.


This is a snowmobile, and the key has been turned for many a fun ride. It's old and ghetto, so it won't make it through many more seasons.


Taken in positive film mode, then sharpened and clarified in PaintShop. As a side note, I like the 24 on the key, as well as the fact that the odometer is surrounds the key in the background. I considered cropping, but decided to leave the depth.

CC, as always

p.s., my blog is: zealylife (dot) sampa (.) com

Word of... and all of that trash is not...

I did a challenge!

We went on a family walk, and along side the road were a plethora of empty beer cans.

I subscribe to the Word of Wisdom, and the knowledge that SOMEONE, SOMETIME had consumed all that beer, well, it didn't seem very wise. Oh, and it's so not wise to litter!

Here's my beer can, in all it's unwise glory!

*My mom couldn't figure out why beer was getting such a prime place in my pictures tonight :) *
I just got PaintShop Pro, and I did a couple of things, but I was just playing around and I have no idea what...

CC as always.

Shot of Yellow

This represents Easter to me on a lot of levels.

Forsythia always bloom early in the spring, and the color is so vibrant you can't miss them!
My father always put forsythia blossoms in a vase on Easter morning.
This is my Grandmother's favorite bush, and I have the firm conviction that I will get to see here again; the flowers remind me of that eternal truth.
The bush is very hearty and comes back strong after every cold winter and puts on a lot of growth. I have needed that lesson in my life right now.


About the picture: today was a very dreary day and my colors were all washed out, so I was very proud of myself for playing with the settings to come up with this. I also like how white the background is; so pure. It looks much better than the overcast sky.

I like the line moving up and over, as well as the blossoms climbing up.

SOOC

CC, as always!

Neighbors Seen Through Black & White

This is of our neighbor's yard, and although I wouldn't buy it (the picture) to put on my wall, it appeals to me. These neighbors are kind of kooky, as evidenced by their 'scarecrow' staring at the run-down car that still has the reflective shade. I also think the brand new home in the background is an interesting juxtaposition.

This is SOOC.

CC welcomed.

Watch the Garden Grow

I love the simplicity of gardening. There is something cathartic about working nice, tilled soil with my hands, then watching the plants miraculously grow.

This is a picture of the garden we are doing this year. We just planted the early crops, and I am eagerly awaiting the sprouts popping up!

SOOC

My husband's bonsai that still needs a little support. I love how they are shaped like hearts, which is very symbolic of his love of plants.

I think the flash is a bit harsh, but that's what I could do to make the supports really stand out.

Generations

I don't have the technical specs on this, but it was taken on my kitchen table with natural light; sepia setting on camera; just a little bit of cropping.

This is a list of names that I am entering for family history work. My progenitors are my heroes. I seek to have their faith, endurance, capacity to love, and ability to stay true. Working on their histories and doing their work helps me love them even more.

The other side of this story is that my father does the initial leg work to extract the names. He doesn't type very fast, and where I type 74ish wpm, it works out for me to put them in PAF(plus, not very many people can read his handwriting...). It has also brought me closer to him. He has been my hero for many years, and the more I know of him, the more that title fits.


CC

Balloon!

These are the balloons I got for my husband yesterday, and they indicated the SURPRISE date I took him on. The date was great, by the way.

The other reason I chose to post balloons is that I have always dreamed of getting balloons as a suprise for...whatever. In high school I wanted just ONE balloon for SOMETHING JUST FOR ME. (Like, I got some for Basketball, but I wanted one for my birthday. Not sure if that makes sense.) I never got any. Anyway, this is one I way I see giving love.

CC

The Sticky Side of Success

Another one-minute picture. And, it's blurry. In the middle of everything else, this is what I've got. I did play with the color some, and I think this looks more interesting than the original.

Yup, we've been potty training, and I feel like it is a huge success. He's not all the way there quite yet, but just as I'm typing this, he called out, "Daddy, I need to go to the bathroom!" and raced down there. That is definitely success.

Eye Shadow

This is my favorite color of eye shadow, but it was very difficult for me to photograph. I couldn't get my point-and-shoot camera to focus as close as I wanted, and the lighting seemed weird. I keep dreaming about SLR, but know that I need to really learn about this camera first because I would be REALLY overwhelmed with something more complicated.

CC

Read-a-holic's Welcome!

I had to do my thinking and pondering about this BEFORE checking all of your posts for this topic because I didn't want to be swayed.

I thought a lot about things our individual families have done for traditions that we have continued, but none of those things felt right. Also, many of our traditions focus around holidays; I wanted something more generalized.

Then, I realized that one of our most treasured traditions is something I hadn't thought of because we do it so often.

My husband and I read to each other out loud. He does great voices, I don't fare too bad myself.

Since we have been married we have read approximately 80 books out loud together. In addition, each of us has read books personally. There is no question as to where our 2 1/2 year old gets the propensity to sit on the couch and pore over books!

This is a picture of just the books I could scrounge up that we own that have been laying around the house, so there are no where near the number of books there that we've read.

Also, the books are arranged on our bed, which is our favorite place to read, and, as a side 'tradition', there are generations of quilters in my family, and I pieced the quilt they sit on.


CC

Green Portals & Strokes

I've been behind on the topics, so this is a dual-purpose post.

I find both of these subjects (self-portrait and dream) to be very difficult. This is what I came up with tonight:



These are my eyes, and they are my most favorite feature. They are a green that is very different, and I love having something that is really just ME.

When I used the flash I looked VERY scary, so this picture is what I settled for tonight. (Anyone have any ideas for shaping eyebrows? I've never been confident in that area at all, and obviously need some work!) (And.... this is without any makeup. Sorta scary.)

I am a mother of two boys (2 1/2 years, 8 months), I work part-time, I love being in charge of things, I am have recently taken to exploring allrecipes.com to create different things for dinner, I am gearing up to move (dreading that!), and we are trying to make it with my husband laid off and finishing his last class in school before he gets his Horticulture degree. I feel like this great big hodge-podge of things, and I am excited for contributing to this blog.

And, this is my DREAM category picture:

I have a hard time quantifying my dreams. I just really don't do it. And I've never really had a problem with not dreaming much. Believe me, my husband does it enough for both of us. However, there are parts of me that want to reach out and LEARN or DO, and this is one of those things.

My grandmother was an accomplished oil painter, as were many of her relatives. She produced art that continues to amaze me. I have never felt very talented in this area, but I have never tried. When I was younger I found her painting kit and asked my Mom if I could try, and she got very upset at me. I don't think she realized I was serious, but it still really hurt my feelings. So, my dream is to take an oil painting class.

I hate to admit it, but these brushes are from a make-up kit. I don't even own a real paint brush.

I'm not really looking for criticism on these because I took them in all of, seriously, one minute, so it's just more FYI this time. Thanks for the previous comments, though!

Comfort

I walked in to wake up my 7 1/2-month-old boy this morning, and this was the sweet, innocent scene I found. It nearly made me cry as I thought about all of the love and joy this guy brings. Not only does he comfort my soul, but it is quite clear he is finding comfort in his blankets.

I'm not usually a fan of diaper-only pictures, but the other side of this story is that he leaked out of his diaper during his night feeding and I was too tired to put new jammies on him. Oh, the added perspective two more hours of sleep bring!

CC

CLEAN, just a little late

I was all disappointed about not getting another 'assignment', so I came to the actual blog instead of my blog reader, and I missed it! So terrible. (I'm going to have to get that fixed so I get the updates!) So, even though this is late, this is what I came up with:











These are close ups of my wedding gown. I am helping my future sister-in-law get her wedding dress set to go, and wanted to show her something we did to bustle it up. Anyway, I pulled it out of the box, where it has been CLEAN for the last 4 1/2 years.

It also reminded me of the CLEAN and beautiful day of my wedding and how careful I had to be in my white dress. Good memories!

CC

(I like the sepia because it seems like an heirloom, but it doesn't scream clean like the pure white. The blue reflections on the sequins are from the blue around it; my dress isn't really blue. However, I think it works okay for the picture. Also, blue was one of the colors of my wedding, so that is fun.)

Resolution: Measuring Up (or DOWN, as I am hoping for)

Obviously, fitness and health is a big one this year. It is no different for me.

I have a weight and waist measurement that I feel I need to get back to before getting pregnant again, so I need to get started. I feel like if I don't make a lifestyle change now, after my second child, then it will be that much harder to do with subsequent children.

So, this is a picture of my tape measure. Used for tracking progress of the waistline. In the picture is my current waist size, as well as my ideal (plus a bunch of other numbers), and no, I'm not going to say which is which.

Not super artistic; it's a good thing I have this blog to practice!