Dear week...

I'm still thinking about blog post themes; so things may eventually change, or maybe they'll stay the same.  Who's to say? I am. Duh.

Mondays are going to be my "Dear week..." posts. I plan to use this post to talk about the things that are coming up this week, things that I'd like to accomplish this week, etc.

So let's get this party started.

Dear week,
Let's get one thing straight: it's spring. Let's start acting like it.

Dear week,

Emma takes math facts tests each week on Tuesday. If she doesn't pass the 2-minute, 25-question test on that day, she has another opportunity on Friday. So far, she and another girl in her class haven't failed a week yet. Praying both girls keep up the good work and pass their tests on Tuesday.

Dear week,

Mothers Day is coming up. I feel that I should get Emma a gift for making me a mom. I may not always act like it, but being her mama is the most wonderful job in the world. I am so blessed.

Well, that's all I've got right now. This has been the first installment of "Dear week..." Thank you, and have a happy springtime.

Back in the saddle again

OK, folks, I'm back. A friend of mine (Eva, of Snappee Turtle fame) is doing a blog-every-day-in-May challenge this month. I've really enjoyed reading her posts; and I got the itch to start blogging again. I don't think I'll blog every day, but who knows?

My current deets (details, for those of you who don't speak abbreviation):
1. I work part-time as an administrative assistant at a church near our house. (That's a fancy way to say I'm a church secretary.) I've been there for a year and a half. Some of my posts will be all about me.
2. My hubby, Chris (who shall henceforth be referred to as Big Daddy in my posts), works as a super-smart computery-type consultant at a business in Indy. He will make some appearances in my posts - probably mostly in the form of humorous anecdotes. He's the funniest person I know.
3. Our daughter, Emma, is 7 and almost finished with 1st grade. Where does the time go?? Most of my posts will be about her, I'm just going to be honest with you right now. But she's awesome, so there you go.
4. Our dog, Norbert, is 10. He's weird. Similar to Big Daddy, he will appear periodically, possibly even in some pictures. He's very photogenic.

I'm thinking I want to have themed posts each week, which might help keep me blogging. Miss Eva does some cute things each week on her blog. I desperately want to copy her on a few of them, but I should probably come up with my own stuff. I'll have to think about it. Do you have any suggestions of things you'd like to read?

It's super late, and I really should be in bed already. And away I go!

Mommy freak-out

So I'm running behind on the Get to Know Your Camera series, but I do plan on doing the assignments at some point. Right now I have other things on my mind, like how Emma is starting Kindergarten IN TWO DAYS. I am both super excited and super nervous at the same time.

I'm excited because she loves school. I always loved school, too. I'm excited because I know how well she's going to do in school. She listens and follows direction well, and she loves to learn. She's going to have so much fun.

I'm nervous because this is a whole new experience. I've never had a kindergartner before. I've never put my child on the bus and watched her drive away, heading to experience something of which I don't get to be a part. Speaking of the bus, I don't know what time it gets here (we're going to get up early tomorrow so we can see when the bus comes), nor do I know the route or who the driver is. I'm sure he's very nice and a great driver, but still.

I'm a bit sad that my baby's growing up, but mostly I'm so excited for her. I think the thing I'm looking forward to most is watching Emma get off the bus on Wednesday and hearing all about her day.

But I will cry as the bus leaves. And that's okay.

Get to Know Your Camera - Week 3

New week, new camera challenge. This time it was dealing with Aperture. I'm still a bit confused about aperture, but I did my best. With my camera set to the A priority mode, here's what I took:

This was the first one I took...

While I really like this one, the background is not blurry like it's supposed to be. Still a cute pic, though. :)

I think this one is the best one. The background is nice and blurry and everything.

I don't think I could ask for a better model, even though she gets bored somewhat quickly. And it was SUPER hot outside today. But she really does like posing for the camera, so it's not like I'm pulling teeth or anything.

Looking forward to the next challenge!

Get to Know Your Camera - Week 2

I should have done this last week, but things have been super busy around here. This past week's challenge was taking a photo inside without the flash, making it the best possible by adjusting the ISO. I sat on the floor with my model in front of her tent. She had just applied probably 5-8 different lip glosses, so that's why her lips are so shiny.

This first one is, I think, the best one of the bunch. But not my favorite. ISO 400.

This one is pretty cute, too. ISO 800.

This is my favorite. But not the best one, I don't think, but it's my favorite one. ISO 1600.

The settings on my camera go to ISO 1600, then anything higher than that is ISO HI1. So this is that one.

I like this one a lot too. Doesn't she look like she should have a cigar in her mouth? "Ah cha cha cha." Also ISO HI1.

So that was my attempt at learning more about my camera. Can't wait to get my next challenge!