Tuesday, September 21, 2010

On my mind...

 

Outside my window.. looks like a beautiful day today.  The sky is blue and the light is just right.  I really should be outside taking pictures... maybe I will.  (and I did... see pic below)


I am thinking...  well, I woke up thinking about how old Julia is and had to ask my husband what grade she is currently in.  That shouldn't be something that I need to question.  I homeschool her after all!  I should know, but I found myself lying in bed trying to picture her math books, wondering if it said 4th grade or 5th grade on it.   Honestly, I just think it was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that my BABY could possibly be that old!



Looking forward to.... next year.  Next school year to be exact.  That's what brought on this sudden confusion about Julia.  I'm trying to decide what classes to put her in when we move and I'm realizing that she will no longer be young enough for the co-op classes that are listed for grades 3-5.  

I am thankful for... cooler nights and bearable days.  I love fall although summer does seem to be hanging on here in VA.  There are still days that they are forecasting to be 90 degrees this week.  That just seems wrong!  But at this moment I am thankful that it's cool enough to want to wear....

I'm wearing... jeans, a black t-shirt, and a light fleece with the sleeves pushed up to my elbows.

I am remembering... the tons of apples we picked last week that are begging to be mashed and turned into apple butter before they get old and yucky. 

I am creating... currently it's still in the idea stage, but Julia wants to be Mary Poppins for Halloween, so we are coming up with some plans for the costume which involves some thrift store shopping and dragging out the sewing machine for it's annual usage. 

I am going...to have a deck full of teenagers wielding paintbrushes this afternoon as they create a Key Club banner for the Homecoming parade.  Which means that I am going to have to go buy some snacks, because we all know that teenagers don't work well on an empty stomach.

I am reading... 1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber, but either it's starting off  by rehashing some stuff from the last book or I've already read it... I'm not sure.



I am hoping... to do well with the pictures that I entered into the state fair this week.  That was a trip.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I struggled trying to decide which pictures to enter.  What a pain!  I was totally second guessing my choices, my talent, my everything, but now that I've made the decision and have sent them off to be judged, I'm feeling relieved. 

From the kitchen...Apples, anyone?  Apple sauce, apple butter, apple bread, apple pie, apple crisp.  I'm probably not making all of them today, maybe just the apple crisp for now.  Yummmmmmm. 

Around the house...Even though I am sure that the kids won't care, having a group of unknown teens descend upon my house makes me want to get the house generally straightened, so that's what I'll be doing in a bit. 

One of my favorite things...  Fall!  And why isn't it the first day of Fall today?  I could have sworn that it was always on the 21st, but my calendar says that the first day is September 23rd.  ????

A few plans for the rest of the week... A trip to IKEA with friends, homecoming parade and dance (not that I'm dancing, just chauffering), a possible photo shoot with the teens all dressed in their homecoming best.
I'm thinking of taking them down to the Metro station and taking pics there. 

A picture I would like to share...   I really have no clue what I did "wrong" with the focus, but I'm kind of liking it and wish I could do it again.  (okay... I know it's shallow depth of field, but what I really think is that I was going for shallow DOF and got that but didn't really get anything in focus, but I like what it did to the leaves in the bottom left corner.)

12 comments:

Leslie said...

a big bunch of teenagers sounds scary to me

koreen (aka: winn) said...

There's nothing wrong with the focus... you have a great example of shallow depth of field. Beautiful! Can you set your camera to vivid light instead of neutral? I hear that makes the colors pop. As it is, it's a nice soft hazy photo with lots of background bokeh and lighting effects. I hope you figure out how you did that so you can do it again!

For me, fall is when it gets all frosty. So, it's been fall here for at least a week. I'm too uppity for calendars. I use my own methods. ;)

Happy week!

Alita said...

Your week sounds busy! I'm a tidge jealous. We don't have any plans. Yes, you read that right. That hardly happens.

I'm also envious of a homecoming picture shoot. What fun! Especially at a train station. Great idea.

We have some unusually warm weather here, too. But I'm not wishing it away. As you know I don't mind it at all.

Oh and please send me some apple pie or apple butter, stat. YUM!

Jess said...

That photo is gorgeous, and you did nothing wrong with your focus. I can see exactly where it landed. The soft colors are so calming and I love the angle you have the branch coming up at.

Yellow House said...

I didnt realize you homeschooled! What a lucky girl to have you as her teacher! :) If/when you move back to Seattle and if/when she goes to public school, let me know. The district where I work is pretty darn wonderful. :)

Yellow House said...

And PS. I want to go to IKEA! Jealous!

Anonymous said...

The top edge of the plant IS in focus. Wonderful narrow DoF and a beautiful accident.

Mary said...

But you still haven't told us about your new camera. Did you get a 7D? And what about your telephoto lens? Do tell.

Mary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jp said...

love the pic...love depth of field shots...so much

good luck with the pictures

From the kitchen...Apples, anyone?
yes
yes
yes! :)

Brooke said...

YAY FALL! I am coming to your house for all the appley goodness :D We must go apple picking this year!

I love your shot - the tip is in focus (TOTALLY) and the rest looks amazing. I love it!!!

mothergoose518 said...

That picture is AWESOME! There is nothing wrong with your focus!

I haven't had hardly any time to shoot since my teens went back to school and co-op started for the others. It's only 2 classes on 2 different days, but I'm don't have nearly the flexibility I did last year. On top of that, my big pregnant belly is getting in the way of getting good angles. We went to the beach on Sunday but my husband has been super sick all week - like admitted to the hospital sick - and I haven't had time for anything other than that and the images are still on my memory card. However,the best one may have been taken with my iPhone anyway.