Buried in Blossoms

 Today I found myself walking around in the backyard waiting for the battery in my camera to charge. I found myself forced to slow down. I had no camera in my  hands or in front of my face, or demanding that I capture each moment in a unique and new way. I had nothing between the blossoms and me. The next thing I knew, I was kneeling down with an arm full of wisteria, my face buried in the blossoms, the bees buzzing around me as if I was holding them up from a very important job, and yet I felt no threat. I felt, for a brief moment, completely at one with my moment & my Earth.

Sidewalk Picasso

     My little guy sees something in the store, or the fridge, or where ever & "NEEDS" it..."NOW"! Usually we have an arguement over one of the many reasons why I won't allow him to meet his "need" for the item, and sometime I win hands down but sometimes I have to work it into a sort of bribery or reward thing. The rare times when I can actually say "yeah, you deserve this and I want to give it to you just because I love you" (with no fear of spoiling him) are actually more fun for me than for him.

    The other day I came home from work tired & stressed. Before I could even get my purse out of my hands he was pulling me outside to use his new chalk on the driveway. I had purchased it for him the day before during one of those times when I felt he had earned it & he later told his daddy that he bought it for me. Do you think he knew how good it made me feel to be able to give him something "just because"? Regardless, we had a fun hour outside in the spring sunshine drawing and playing together.

Don't forget to check out my new contest...see my post for the details.

Contest! Win a free print from my gallery!

The 50th person to join my blog as a follower will get a large print from any of my galleries sent to them. Spread the word, post the contest, and for those of you already following, you will get a print of your choice if your referral wins. Just post here where you have posted this contest announcement and who has joined from your referrals.

How to eat a hotdog...

Is there really only one way? Having children has opened my eyes to ways I never thought I'd see. I'm learning there is never only one way to eat a hotdog...or do anything else for that matter!

"You Shall Not Pass!"

We had our performance at the UIL One-Act Play competition and I must say IT ROCKED! It was THE BEST show we've taken to contest in a long time. The acting company was on cloud nine and giddy with excitement. They surprised us all with what they put out there. But the judge felt it was not worthy of advancing so we are done. That's right, one judge. He watches 5 plays, each one from any genre the director wants. So there could be a greek tragedy going up against a modern comedy & it's all up to one person. Can we say SUBJECTIVE???? Oh well, we know going into it what we are up against & we are happy with what we gave. We did get 4 medals for acting & one best techie award though!

We've got a show tonight... EEEEAK!

Tonight is the first levelof competition for One-Act Play in the UIL. Texas has the most amazing pool of talent in the high schools & I get the privilage of teaching & directing a wonderful group of highly intelligent people every day! Most of these students have upper level courses, many of them are AP honors students! Theatre is an incredible way to explore higher level thinking in so many ways.

This year we have chose to do cuttings from Inherit the Wind. These are some rehearsal shots. I will let everyone know how we did later. Now, off to knock 'em dead!

When little girls become little fairies...

When little girls can giggle at the sunshine they learn what it's like to be a fairy. When they run in grass with their toes digging in the earth, and they smell the scent of the dandilions, when they feel wings following their path. They lay in the leaves, and they skip through the puddles. When they reach into the light and find the stars at their feet, that's when little girls become fairies.


My side note: I did not select the italics icon for my font to change. I was in the middle of typing & suddenly found myself interrupted by my son who needed something. I ran down to help him, & upon my return to the desk I began typing without selecting any change in the keys. I looked up at the screen to see it was typing in italics. I started to correct it then stopped. I felt compelled to leave it.

You may interpret that as you feel compelled to do. I created this image & wrote the story for my two daughters who are now in their spirit forms.

Elizabeth Crocker

Textures from Jerry at Shadowhouse Creations. White spirit fairies free PS brushes. Pink wings were watercolored by my oldest daughter before she passed. Bokeh and both girls were photographed by me.

Tuesday's Toys

Well, it seems I have a growing feeling of joy and silliness when I play with my son's toys. I like to pose them for the camera, sometimes for subtle humor. I was inspired by a Flickr group called Bench Mondays & thought it would be fun to start a Tuesday's Toys as a weekly blog entry here and maybe even a Flickr group. Please let me know in a reply or something if you think it would be a fun group on Flickr.

Newborn Twin Session! Take a Look...

I got to photograph these beautiful twins, a month old & born premies. One slept like a rock the whole time, the other was very curious about this crazy flashing light. I even got in a few with their big sister at the end of the session. It was fun!

16 yr old sailing solo around the world!

Here is the link to Abby's blog. She is a 16 year old sailing solo around the world in an attempt to break the world record for youngest around the world sail. Can we say COURAGE?????? Send her some love!

http://soloround.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=43

Gotta love Jerry at Shadowhouse Creations!

I am loving all his free downloads...great textures!!! I did this postcards using my images of my girls and his post card texture. http://shadowhousecreations.blogspot.com/search/label/Textures

Here are a few more w/ my lensbaby optics.

My Lensbaby Review & Images

Well, I dropped a small chunk of greenback on it but It's seems to be worth it! I got the Lensbaby Composer and 4 additional optics to use inside it (they switch out). I got the fisheye,the single glass, the plastic, & the pinhole/zoneplate. I have not yet tried the pinhole/zoneplate optic since it requires a tripod & I have not had any time. I did play with the others while directing a play rehearsal at work & then again at home with my family on a lazy Friday night. I found that I need to practice getting the sweet spot (focal point) more accurate, but that's just a matter of getting the feel for my lens as I practice the pivot of the rotating ball.

Tell me what you think!!!!!

Free downloads!

I came across this link to get free stuff for post editing & wanted to share. These are just a couple I threw together quickly in my excitement to play. More will be coming, I'm sure...meanwhile, visit the site & check out the stuff! Thanks to Jerry & Shadowhouse for sharing!!!!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Skeletalmess/ShadowhouseCreationsPostedTextures#5443076955166870370