Starting Something New

Well since Ive started blogging I have a found an old love. I don't think I ever lost it but sometimes it feels new to me. Photography people! I believe I got the "photography bug" from my mother. She may beg to differ. But seriously, I remember her having a camera almost all the time and taking lots of pictures. They say you learn a lot from your parents! I can remember in 5th grade taking an "enrichment program" and having to make a pinhole camera out of a Quaker Oats cylinder. It is so vivid in my mind... the whole class in the gym parkinglot ...aiming our pinhole cameras... ready to lift the "shutter" to capture... and the best part...a trip to the janitor's closet! What?! It was the makeshift darkroom of course! I will never ever forget seeing our images appear in the liquid-filled tray swooshing back and forth. I did not experience this again until my college photography class. I truely love the traditional way of developing black and white photography in a darkroom. But ya just gotta love digital and the instant gratification of seeing the pic on your LCD and seeing the potential it has for an awesome print! Well, as you can see, I have added some scrolling pictures to my blog. I will try to update when I can. Some may be of the kids or I may just go creative on ya, I like to keep themes in mind. But these are just starters to see how this slide thing looks:-) Enjoy!

SKEINS FOR $ 1.00 !!!

Well, today I stopped by Michaels Arts and Craft store just to look around. I love going in there to find inspiration and see what's new. I came across a few skeins that were only a buck! I just love when I find a great deal! I grabbed a few so I can start on my knitting! I learned over a year ago the basics and I was hooked( no pun intended...but then again I don't crochet) Anywho, I have many scarves and plan to venture into some hats. My friend Amy , who lives in Michigan made me a hat last year and gave it to me when we finally met up in Lansing. It was made out of hand-painted yarn from Briar Rose Fibers, her mother's business. These yarns are so beautiful ! Check-em out!

What boys will do to get Attention...

Can you believe this! I can. Nicholas called me into the bathroom because he wanted to show me something. I thought ,This ought to be interesting... He shut the door and proceeded to show his climbing techniques! He is such the daring one! I said WOW! and left it that(so it wouldnt encourage anymore climbing feats!)
I remember using my body in a door frame ,with my back on one side of the frame and my feet on the other to do the climbing. I also remember doing HEAD stand-splits in the middle of the den,and the hallway ! Speaking of... I was daring enough to do a cartwheel in my hallway when I was a kid! My sis and I came up with routines on our twin bed(conviently placed together) Jumping , somersaulting and whatever else we did in that room. This was during our Mary Lou Retton phase! I don't have immediate access to these pictures but Im sure you can imagine! I thought I would share the craziness :-)

WaterPark on a Beautiful Summer Day

All summer, I've been planning to go to Randolph Park . It was a beautiful day and I had off from work. It is about 45 minutes to an hour away but is well worth it! Only $3 per person. Chad had so much fun! Nick,well he had to warm up to it. He discovered the Froggy slide and wanted to try it. After one time down that thing he was really into it! I got to go down the huge yellow waterslide they have during an adult swim(...check out the site ) I

didnt even take a picture of it . It really makes you feellike a kid all over again!

Needless to say, we all had a great time! Until I discovered I got sunburn on my back! We don't need to show pictures of that! Believe me , I'm tender!
UPDATE: I just noticed:The last two pictures have two different boys..don't they look so much alike?!?! I even had to look twice!

Inspire Me Thursday: Black and White:" Black Beauty"

This is my 1st entry for Inspire Me Thursday! I saw the challenge and got so excited!I LOVE the contrast of black and white photography. I find myself always thinking before hand of what I'm photographing how it would look in black and white. Driving home from work I passed this old Buick Special in a Kroger parking lot! I had to get shots of this ! I'm attracted to the old/vintage cars and have great potential for great photography! Taking what might not be so "pretty" and getting close in, changing the angles and cropping the subject to find and bring out the beautiful details is what I love!! I manipulated this photograph in Photoshop to get the contrasting b/w effect. I had fun with the whole process, taking something from the past, which is still used in the present, and making it into a future piece of artwork for my wall.

Heat wave !

Can we say HOT! Trying to cool down from the heat around here in Va! My sister invited us over for a chill down in the pool yesterday! Well, it is so hot it felt like a bath,but the first time in was refreshing. I'll bring ice cubes next time! We had fun splashing here and there. Greta loves the water! I'm still trying to figure out why my boys are so cautious of the water(that can be a good thing). You see, My dad(grandpa) was a swimmer and has swam all his life,HE got all of us girls( my kids' aunties) into swimming. I swam on a swim team for 10 years! Growing up I lived at the pool during the summer! It is in their genes! One day , just one day, it'll happen, I can feel it, a champion swimmer...we'll see. But ya gotta loose the swimmies and all that floating gear, that's no fun is it!?