2013:52-03 waiting for the stage… er, um… gym floor

 

My oldest niece is part of her school’s jump rope team. Here she waiting to perform at halftime for a local high school basketball game. Little does she know I snapped her photo AND her team coach gave her the old bunny ears. It was fun watching her in action. She’s quite the jumper.

2013:52-02 {homework can be fun}

Homework. Just the word sends shudders down my spine. I’d gladly go back and get a Masters in whatever if I just didn’t have to do homework and take exams. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning. I just don’t like the pressure of a deadline. Now if I could tackle homework with an attitude like this, I’d be all over it.

This is the 6 yr old daughter of a dear friend in our small group Bible study. We meet every other Thursday so this little munchkin gets to do her homework while we all catch up on life. I know she’d rather be hanging out with us or watching My Little Pony but she gets her work done even so. And with a grin. How fun is that?!

where did the time go?

Has it really been nearly 4 months since my last post?! Wow. I’m reeling. Can’t believe how quickly time passes these days.

<blink> It’s Thanksgiving

<blink> it’s New Year’s

<blink> it’s Valentine’s Day

Is anybody even still out there?

I’m still here. At least I was last time I checked. There are some days I wonder.

And I’m still taking photos. No project 365 this time around – well, not with the big girl camera. Still doing the fat mum slim photoaday challenge. I enjoy the prompts most days but trying not to let myself get too hung up on it. I can get stressed out when I miss a day or 2 (or seven) so I’m taking a more laid back approach this year. It’ll get done when it gets done. Just gotta enjoy the ride. Join in the fun!

Now, I am tackling photos with the Nikon in a different way than the past. Trying to challenge myself and grow in many ways. I really want to work on my portrait skills. (guys only like girls with really mad skills… nun-chuck skills,  computer-hacking skills…) So my goal each week is to capture photos of people. Obviously, I started with those peeps I spend the most time with (~ahem~ the boy).

It’s nearly March so I am already WAY behind in my postings. Here’s the image from week 1. I’ve got some serious catching up to do.

 

::swoon::

so this happened…

Turning forty may have sent me over the edge or I just finally lost my marbles. I did something this year I thought I’d never do. I am officially inked. Yep. I got a tattoo. Me. of all people. Not that it’s unusual getting ink… it’s just one thing I pretty much had sworn off my whole life up to this point. First… I’ve just never seen myself as a tattoo kind of gal.  Second… I don’t like needles. The thought of metal piercing skin really freaks me out.  Third… I really don’t like pain. I spend my life avoiding it at all costs. Seriously. I’m even super careful doing filing at work to avoid papercuts.

It crossed my mind one day months ago and I wasn’t totally opposed to the idea – which caught me rather off guard. So then I started thinking about what I would get. I wanted something meaningful… something that represented where I am right now. If it was going to be on me forever (for. ev. er.) I didn’t want it to be trendy or trite. Well, for the first time in my life I feel like I have the proper perspective… that even though I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I know the important things in life – that’s what I wanted it to convey. And I wanted something sort of photography related since it has become a passion over the past few years - not completely centered on it, just related to it.

So I started to think about where… that part was settled pretty quickly. I decided on the wrist for a couple of reasons: 1) I would see it often and 2) it could be easily covered up by a watch or bracelet (yeah, how weird is that?! planning on how to cover it up before I’ve even got it – those are the things I think about). Then what to get was next… a word. What word? That was the question. I played around with a few ideas – even having them done in Greek or Hebrew because it’d look cool. A word that would encompass several meanings – that was the tough part. It hit me one day like a ton of bricks: focus. That was it! I feel like I’ve got the right things in focus right now - and it’s such a photography word. Often the story you tell is reflected by what you’ve got in focus – in life & photography. So I thought the tough part was over since I’d chosen what to get – right? Oh no… being the font addict that I am, it took me longer to settle on the font than it did to choose a word. Sheesh. Who’d have thought that part would be soooooo difficult?!

Have I ever mentioned that my baby brother is a tattoo artist? Well, he is. And I considered having him do it but he’s in Texas – makes for a VERY long trip just for some ink. I figured I’d have to just go to a local place but then… he took his kit to a family vacation over 4th of July week. Apparently, tattoo gear is like AmEx… you don’t leave home without it.  I almost got inked then. No, I didn’t chicken out – we just ran out of time. So back on the local hunt I went until… B was coming in town for a concert the weekend of his birthday. And you guessed it, he brought his gear. So not only did I get ink, but my baby brother (12 years my junior) did it. How cool is that?! It became a family affair… sis 1 & sis 2 as well as bro-in-law 2 were there as witnesses. That is a memory for the record books.

B at work – all professional & stuff

It was strange seeing him in his element – so focused (ha!) and serious. But I couldn’t have asked for it to go any better. Sure, it hurt a bit but not too much. Thank goodness I chose something small. I can’t imagine having complete sleeves done… ouch.

So there it is… I’m inked. And I couldn’t be more pleased.