Sham Rock On

Joy of Luck assignment today? Green. Took this one to the extreme. Green is actually my favorite color, but this photo makes me kind of queasy. It definitely looks like we threw up all over ourselves.

Today we ran the Shamrock 8k race. My sister is funny. Growing up she was the anti-exerciser. She did nothing athletic. Made fun of anyone who ran. Fast forward many years. She is now a "runner." So much so that she flew down from Connecticut to run this race. It was her first 8k. Her husband was very supportive. So much so that we are sporting not one head covering. But two. Erin go braugh.

I am not a runner. I run occasionally but it is not my "sport." I did this for my sister. We had a training schedule. I followed it. Faithfully. For about a week. Then life got in the way.

Even so, we managed to pull this off. You can see in the picture that my legs are quite a bit longer than hers. She worked a lot harder to go the distance. When the finish line was in sight. And she was ready to collapse. I reached out for her. And we ran together. Crossing the finish line. Hand in hand. 60 minutes. 13 seconds.

Joy of Luck: Gift

I'm back! I am so excited that Willette is offering another free class this month. The Joy of Luck. This one is a quickie. About a week or so. Anyone care to join me?

Today's assignment was "Gift." Something in your life that you are so lucky to have. That you take for granted. At first I was going to photograph gummy vitamins. Because I am so grateful that those are the strongest drugs anyone in our house needs. That we are all healthy. Such a gift. BUT...I was too superstitious to do that. I am afraid putting that out there into the universe would suddenly strike us down with illness. Cancer is still on my mind daily. It is my biggest fear these days. So...I decided not to tempt fate and went in a different direction for this assignment.

The beach. I can hop on my sweet cruiser and I'm on the beach in less than two minutes. Such a gift. So many days as we're relaxing on the beach BSD and I look at one another in amazement and say, "We are so LUCKY to live here!"

It's almost beach weather. Pretty soon we'll be able to do this minus the long sleeves and long pants. I can't wait!

Joy of Love: Day 22: Portraits

The Joy of Love class is winding down. I would love to go back and make sure I hit each day's assignments, but I doubt that is going to happen. I do have grand ideas for a few of the ones I've missed. But they require warm weather. And members of my family to be home. And willing participants. Three attributes that rarely go together.

OK...so today's assignment was portraits. Close up. Head and shoulder shots. Indoor. Natural light. I should be a pro at these by now. Right? So..how come I'm not? I'm blaming it on my house. My gear. And the weather.

My house is just not conducive to beautiful indoor natural light photos. I'm convinced. Not sure why. Is it the way it's positioned in relation to the sun and the windows? Is it the lack of windows on the sides of our house? Is it the paint color?!?!?

Since I can't do anything about the way our house is positioned on the earth. Or where the windows are located. Or the weather. I guess I'll just have to paint the walls. Something bright and neutral. This deep yellow/gold color? It's gotta go.

As for gear? I know it's not the gear. I have a great camera. Some decent lenses. But I can't help lusting after a 50mm 1.4. I have the 1.8. It works well enough. I just feeelllll like the 1.4 would be so much better. I've heard mixed reviews on the 1.2 and with the $1500 price tag that bad boy is not in the cards. Anyone here upgrade from a 1.8 to a 1.4 or 1.2? Did you notice a big difference?

Ok...so enough excuses. Oh wait, one more thing. There was NO light today. Totally gray and overcast. But here are my pictures for today. Both are taken with the 50mm 1.8.

The Joy of Love: Gift From the Heart

BSD is the best gift giver. Not only is he extremely generous, but he puts so much effort into finding the perfect gift. And then he presents it in a special way. I remember one Valentine's Day after a romantic dinner, our server presented me with a little robin's egg blue box with a white ribbon. Yep, a coveted Tiffany's box. Inside was a gold heart locket. The locket now holds a picture of each of the ballerinas. I wear it often. The ballerinas love to open it and see their faces inside.

The most precious gift he ever gave me, though, was my Christmas gift about five years ago. We were searching the Electra site for a bicycle for the Big Ballerina's birthday. I clicked on this frilly, girly, limited-edition bicycle, and oohhed and ahhed over it for a minute before continuing on.

BSD tucked that moment away, and on Christmas morning I woke up to this under the tree...

I have to admit, I was a little irritated because we weren't supposed to spend any money on each other. I think we must have just spent a bundle on something for the house. We promised, "Nothing big."

But, I have so many wonderful memories wrapped up in this sweet cruiser. Every time I hop on I can't help but smile. Because BSD knew it would blow my socks off. And I feel loved.

For Valentine's Day this year, I WISH I could surprise BSD with this beauty. I know it would blow HIS socks off. Can't you just see him cruisin' to the beach in this little cutie?

With one of his retro longboards on top?

That Bronco is parked right along my daily route. I drive by it constantly. I don't know how many more times I can pass it without bringing it home.

The Ones They Love...

One week down. I'm still cookin' on the Joy of Love assignments. I skipped Friday's assignment because I want to wait until BSD returns for that one. But Saturday's was "The Ones They Love." This was very easy for both of the ballerinas.

Meet Bunny.

Bunny was given to the Big Ballerina when she was born by my mom's boss. Out of all the stuffed animals BB had, Bunny was the one she latched onto. BB's name used to be embroidered across the bottom, but that, along with the stuffing in Bunny's left arm are now long gone.

I can still picture BB toddling down our street in San Diego dragging Bunny behind her. She never went anywhere without Bunny then. And even though she doesn't take her everywhere she goes anymore, Bunny is still the first thing she packs when she goes on a sleepover. I know I'll shed a few tears when she no longer needs her beloved companion by her side at night.

Meet "Bumpies"

Can you tell what it is? This is the Little Ballerina's most precious possession in the world. It is the bumpers from her crib. They have gone everywhere with LB since we removed them from her crib rails. They have been left behind in stores. And I've had to drive over an hour back to retrieve them. The Little Ballerina sleeps with it every night. Cuddles up to it in the car. And cries out for it when she's sad or hurt. Nothing calms her down like her precious bumpies. It even got her through her most recent trip to the dentist.

Bumpies is literally in tatters. I have sewn it dozens of times, but the fabric is completely threadbare. And bits of fluff can be found throughout the house. Time is running out for this loved one. I honestly don't know what will happen when it finally disintegrates. Hopefully it can hang on for a few more years. Or LB will be completely lost.

What She Wore: Then and Now...

I guess I suck at following the rules. Either that or I'm a brown-noser. Turns out today's Joy of Love assignment was What They Wear. I kinda did that on Wednesday. Oops! So, I either get a big fat goose egg. Or an A+. To make up for my lack of obedience I combined What They Wear with Then and Now for today's assignment.

The Big Ballerina started dancing a few weeks shy of her third birthday. If you could even call it dancing back then. She couldn't even gallop. She looked more like a gorilla than a racehorse as she hobbled across the floor. But the smile on her face. And the joy in her heart. Were undeniable.

BB is now one month shy of her 11th birthday. And still dancing. It hasn't been an easy road for her. If she wants this she's going to have to really work for it. Sometimes she does. And sometimes her head is off in the clouds. But the smile on her face is just as bright. And the joy in her heart is just as pure. So we continue.

Here is BB this evening. She is wearing a very special Christmas gift. Her first pair of pointe shoes. Being old enough and strong enough to finally go "on pointe" was like finally reaching out and grabbing that brass ring. Finally being good enough. Finally being...a Big Ballerina.

And the winner of the CSN giveaway is Mandy. Congratulations, Mama! Send me your email address and I'll get your gift card to you right away. Will you be buying something pink or blue with your prize?!??!

I tried to be all fancy and post the picture of the random org generator to show that this is legit, but I could NOT get it to copy. You'll just have to trust me.

Burly Surf Dude: Then and Now...

Today's Joy of Love theme is Then and Now. I love this theme. I really wanted to take some NOW pictures of BSD, but he's not here today. Even so, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to apply this theme to him so I am using a picture I took over the summer. I think it goes well with this THEN picture that an old girlfriend recently sent back to him.

It was ripped out of one of those old sticky-back photo albums. I guess she figured it was finally time to let him go? The top left-hand corner was torn, and the colors were all funky. CRAZY PINK. Which goes well with my Valentine theme. But even BSD was neon. So I tried to doctor it up a bit. I'm guessing he's about 16 here?

BSD has always been a surfer. He grew up in Southern California. And the way he tells it. He spent every day this way. At the beach. Surfing. Without sunscreen.

Living in Virginia now, he still spends every minute he can... At the beach. Surfing. With sunscreen.

When he can't get in the water, you can find him in his "surf shop" shaping boards. 

His hair may be a little darker. His face a little fuller. He may no longer live in sunny southern California. But Burly Surf Dude is definitely still that 16 year old surfer boy at heart.

I heart you, BSD! 

What They Wore Wednesday...

The Joy of Love assignment today was "how they look." You could interpret this any way you wanted, but since it's What I Wore Wednesday, I decided to combine the two. And since this workshop is about love I tried to play up the Valentine's aspect of the outfits they chose for school today when I was editing the photos.

For the Big Ballerina that meant trying to make the pink in her shirt pop.

top - Dillard's

jeggings - GapKids

Boots - Amazon.com

The Little Ballerina was actually a walking billboard for Valentine's Day today. Her shirt was decked out in hearts. Her skirt in frills. But the colors were subdued so we added in her umbrella since it was a rainy day here today. SEVENTY TWO DEGREES...but rainy. It was insane to have such a warm day in the sea of near freezing temps we've been experiencing this winter.

shirt, skirt, headband and leggings - GapKids (gotta love their 45% off sales!)

booties - Marshall's

umbrella - Dollar Tree

OK...and since this IS What I Wore Wednesday, I'll go ahead and post a picture of my outfit too. No fancy processing. Or background for that matter. But hey, I did wear pink too. And ruffles.

sweater and belt - JCrew

tee - Target

jeans - Lucky

necklace - local surf shop

The Joy of Love

It's February 1st! Whoohooo! I am so happy to have January behind me. It was a rough month. Plus, I love February. It's all about Valentine's Day. And hearts. And red and pink. All things girly. Sign me up.

Another reason to love February? The Joy of Love workshop started today. It's all about photographing the ones you love. And documenting a different "theme" each day. And it's free. Take pictures of my peeps? Learn something new about my camera? Sign me up.

Today's theme was "what they do." Of course, I wanted to photograph the Big Ballerina dancing. But today is the one day of the week she has off. So instead, I caught her doing the other thing that consumes the rest of her time.

The workshop is free. And fun. Anyone care to join me? It's not too late. I'd love to have a buddy. It's also not too late to enter the CSN giveaway.  Who couldn't use $25 of free stuff for your home?

Only One More Week to Go

You may remember that I signed up to take an online writing class. Well, we're already heading into the home stretch.

Last night, I stayed up until the wee morning hours getting my homework turned in only to wake a few hours later with a whole new idea for an entire section. Two nights ago, unable to sleep, I turned on my computer at 1am and worked on my essays until 4am. I've spent hours poring over magazines at Barnes & Noble. For the first time in years, I walked past the Children's Room and crossed the threshold of the Reference section of the library.

I am tired. I am spent. I still have one week to go. But, at the same time...

I am invigorated.
I am excited.
I am learning.

While I miss the camaraderie of a live class, I think it is fair to say it was worth it.

Sorry...you'll have to wait...

I just spent the last hour working on a post only to realize that it's the perfect subject for one of the two essays I need to write for my writing class. So...the entry has been saved to my Blogger Dashboard and will be posted at the end of the next 6 weeks. Unless, of course, some brilliant editor realizes how witty it is and decides to publish it in her fabulous magazine. Then you'll have to pay to read my pearls of wisdom....or at least pick up your free copy at a McDonald's play center nearest you.

It's good to dream, right?

Oh, and how's this for another "sign". My homework assignment this week was to study some of the winning essays in the ERMA BOMBECK writing contest! I didn't even know there was such a contest.

Snakes and Erma Bombeck. Who knew?

Mean Ass Woman: The Head Shot

My online class starts tomorrow. I've already picked out my clothes and made my lunch. I'm ready.

Wait? What's this email in my inbox? There's already homework due and it's not even the first day?!?! What have I gotten myself into?

My first assignment is to write a short bio and send in a head shot. What? I thought this was a writing class, not a modeling class. Who's teaching this? Tyra Banks?

I don't have any head shots. I'm just a mom. I don't have any published works that would require a formal portrait. Heck, I don't even have any pictures of myself because, again, I'm a mom. I'm the one who lugs around the 50 lb camera bag on all family adventures. I shoot all the fun; I don't have any of it.

What is this teacher thinking? I thought this class was for moms. I better go back and reread the course description. I think I signed up for the wrong class. hmm...I'm going to email the teacher about this obvious mix-up.

OK...the teacher emailed me back and assured me that ...

1. I signed up for the right class
2. This is a writing class
3. It is for moms
4. She is not Tyra Banks

PHEW! She also said she understands about being a mom and not having any photos. She recommends I use my web cam to take a current picture of myself.

OK. Let me go put on some makeup and fix my hair first. Let's see...1, 2, 3...."CHEESE!"

I know some of you didn't believe that I truly am a Mean Ass Woman, but here is the proof. Cold hard undeniable evidence. I am not proud of this, but since the purpose of this blog is to thoroughly examine myself I need to accept the truth. The good, the bad and, yes, the ugly truth.  

So there you have it. This portrait of a Mean Ass Woman was drawn by my biggest ballerina when she was about 4 years old. When she shared this drawing with me back then she said, and I quote,  "This is a picture of MAWMAW (pronounced momma) when she's mad".

I knew I should have been concerned that her favorite picture book for so long was When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry... It was obviously therapy for her.

So...who wants to sit next to MAWMAW for the next 6 weeks?

I Heart Erma Bombeck...

The deadline to vote in my online class poll has passed. Sorry if you missed your chance. The early bird gets the worm, and all that, you know. After many hours spent counting all the votes, the final tally was 3-3.

A BIG FAT TIE! (although my IRL friends seem to think their votes count more than my shiny, new cyber friends'....ummmm, no)

Yep, all that blood, sweat and tears and it's a TIE! Big help you all turned out to be. So, that puts the decision back on my shoulders. And, after pondering long and hard, the winner is........

• That
• B
• Jersey

I know, I know. Half of you are disappointed, but let me explain why before you rip my jersey dress to shreds in Cinderella's Evil Stepsister fashion. 

You see...I heart Erma Bombeck.

Erma Bombeck, for those of you too young to remember, was a newspaper columnist and author who wrote funny stories about being a suburban wife and mother. I guess you could call her the precursor to today's "Mommy Bloggers". She didn't write as an expert on any subjects. She wrote about her regular, ordinary life.
 

I had long since forgotten about my love for Mrs. Bombeck. It wasn't until I started this blog that I remembered my junior high fascination with all things Erma. While my friends and I were secretly reading and underlining the racy passages in this...

I was also secretly nose deep in this, guffawing my way through along with the rest of the 35 year old suburban housewives who were her target audience.

Don't ask me why. I don't know HOW I discovered Erma. My mom didn't read her books; neither did my sister nor my grandmother. Yet somehow I found myself waiting impatiently for each of her new books.

Maybe her column was printed on the same newspaper page as the Daily Jumble; another one of my younger days' fascinations. Wow! I never realized what a nerd I was back then. Good thing nobody knows these deep dark secrets. Maybe it was the only book available that I could understand at the airport newsstand on one of our family vacations. Maybe it was Erma herself trying to guide me in my journey of what I should be when I grow up.

I just don't know.

I do know that I haven't thought about her in years yet she came to me in the shower this morning. I was shampooing my hair and I remembered her books. And my love for them. Just like that. Her name and her books came back to me. I smiled and rinsed my hair.  I understood. Erma had cast her vote. And it was for jersey.

Side Note: For those of you who are going to try to figure out how old I am by researching the publication dates of these books, I'll save you the trouble. On Halloween this year, I'll be 29, and not a day older!

This or That? A or B? Jersey or Silk?

I've been considering taking an online class for a while now. It's something I've never done. I guess I'm old school. It seems strange to me to take a class yet not physically sit in a lecture hall with a spiral notebook and my favorite Paper Mate pen. I love being part of a class; sharing a common interest with others. Will an online class leave me lonely and unmotivated? The course description talks about "classmates", but who are these people? How will I know who to sit next to if I can't see anyone? This is starting to sound like that dorky TV show, Dating in the Dark. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit I watched some pathetic TV programs this summer.

There are actually two classes I'm considering. Both are writing classes. I learned about these classes from The Writer Mama Riffs blog. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take one of these classes. I just need to figure out which one.

The first class is called Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff (Especially for Moms!) [WPSS]. I love the title. I love the idea of this class. You work on writing and submitting short articles to get your feet wet so that you can move on to lengthier pieces when you're ready. This class sounds like it was made for me. Of course it's for me. I meet the prerequisite... I'm a mom.

The only problem is what kind of articles can I write? What subjects am I an expert in? I guess these are the things you examine about yourself in the class. This sounds like a great way to figure out "what I'm going to be when I grow up." While this sounds great, it also scares the heck out of me. What if I have nothing to write about? What do I know enough about that a magazine would actually publish? Here we go...I'm starting to talk myself out of this. The only difference is I'm actually sharing the idea first.

The second class is called Personal Essays That Get Published. In this class you're supposed to "get real and personal". Write about your own life. Now, this I feel more comfortable with. It seems like a natural extension of what I'm doing here with this blog. And if I can earn some money from writing what I already know, it sounds like a perfect fit. This class seems safe. Interesting, yet comfortable. Aaaaahhhhh.....

So...which class do I choose? Do I go with what makes me comfortable? A simple jersey dress. Or....do I go with WPSS and push myself to put on one of those unworn silky dresses in my closet? My inner voice is telling me jersey is more practical. Of course it is...

The classes start October 7th. I need to make a decision already! HELP!!!