Hi guys.You might have noticed that I didn't (couldn't) blog last Friday. The health situation in our house has gotten worse, and blogging had to take a hit this weekend.Jamie came down with Pink Eye on Thursday. I still had my cold, it waned, and then I was hit again (this time by the flu, I think -- something with a nasty fever). Ezra, however was in great spirits all week and happy as a clam. But on Saturday, we noticed some "stuff" in his ear. Calls were made and a doctor appointment was set up. It turns out he has 1) a double ear infection 2) a ruptured ear drum and 3) a huge pain tolerance. So now he's on some antibiotics, which create other, shall we say, digestive issues. And yes, I'm also giving him probiotics.During all of this, I was fed up that none of the decongestants I was taking were working, so I switched to Mucinex, with dire results. I had a horrible reaction to the medicine and was pretty much listless, queasy and dizzy for 24 hours after taking the pill (which was to last 4 hours). As you can see, we can't seem to catch a break over here. And obviously, I did not even pick up my camera once this weekend.I'm going to take a few days off from blogging this week while we all try to recover. I hope you understand.If you are healthy? Enjoy it. For me.
On Sunday, I photographed the Bloomington Orchestra. Sometimes, I just love examining the instruments. This was the tuba, and I loved the pearl buttons.You guys... I'm beat. I've been shooting for 5 hours the last three days on top of this illness. And tonight Jamie came home from work with pink eye. We are so over being sick all the time.For your internet share of the day, I'm going to miss Cousin Violet so dang much.
So about a few months ago, we got a new light fixture in our dining room. I really, really love it... but you guys? It has seven bulbs. Which look AMAZING... when the lights are turned off.The problem is, when you turn on the lights... it's as bright as the sun. Even with 40 watt bulbs. Which means sometime in the next week, I'll be installing a dimmer switch! Wish me luck. I got a lesson at the hardware store guy... but... we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you updated.And for your internet share of the day, check out these *amazing* underwater photo winners. Holy cow!
We had surprise snow this morning, and it was so pretty! It has been so warm lately that almost all of our snow has melted and has left behind ugly, dirty, icy slush. So to have a pristine white blanket over the city this morning was beautiful.As soon as I got Ezra off to daycare, I ran outside to capture the falling flakes. I took one snap of Magda to get my camera settings adjusted... and then the snow stopped. Yup. Just my luck! But here are a few frames I captured anyway.
And here are some fun internet shares for the day!This gnocchi recipe looks amazing -- I might have to make that this weekend.This aerial video of herding sheep is totally mesmerizing (and if you watch closely, you can see the dogs working!)Ever wonder what Emily Blunt and John Krasinski's house looked like? Not too shabby.And lastly, here are some great life lessons.
It's like pre-Ezra over here today... except that Jamie and I are both home with horrendous colds brought to you by Daycare. So only like pre-Ezra in the sense that we sent the (healthy) kid off to daycare and have spent the day snuggling with Magda on the couch, blowing our noses, sucking on cough drops, drinking tea and watching a lot of television.Magda is pretty happy because she's getting all kinds of snuggles. Wait, scratch that.Magda was pretty happy, until our new dryer was delivered (Happy Valentine's Day to US!), and now she's extremely nervous. We aren't sure why as the new dryer is way quieter than the old, except that maybe she can see the clothes in this one drying? Or the beeps it makes? Who knows.
But you know it's serious when she's taking cover BEHIND THE VACUUM CLEANER.For your internet share of the day, I thought this was a clever marketing ploy. And this is a fascinating read on a day in the life of a hand model.
Today I had a shoot at a local company that works on all the retail displays for Target. It doesn't sound that interesting, but it really is! Each door that you see in this hallway is a small conference room, and in each room, they have two displays they are working on -- and they are really fun and creative and amazing to see in progress! But I figure they don't want me showing you all their secrets ... so.I was there today taking portraits of their employees (it's a five day job -- big company!), and I found this shot on my card when I got home. I must have mistakenly clicked the shutter when I was walking down the hall, but I sortof like it. The tilt makes it seem... like a funhouse? And the blur of the woman walking looks almost ghost-like. Anyway, nothing great, but it is a glimpse into my day.I still have one helluva cold, so I'm beat and gonna crawl into bed around 8 tonight. No internet share -- the bright computer screen is doing my headache no good.At least it's almost the weekend!? Let's relish in that, shall we?
Look at that delicious paper! For the last few years, I've been making albums for my own family full of our photos from the weekly updates and also from our vacations. There is something so wonderful about having these albums to hold in my hands and page through. And while I love this digital version of my archives, the paper version is just so ... beautiful.So I decided to offer them to my clients!I cannot tell you how many times I have moms (or sometimes dads) say that they keep meaning to pull together albums from my shoots with the family, but life gets in the way and it just never gets done. I totally get that -- some of my albums have taken me 4-6 hours to build. Choosing the right photos takes time! And finding a day with that big of a chunk of time open is harder and harder with a small child in the house.These are some of the sample albums I put together to show how gorgeous the books are. I love the thickness of the paper, the stunning linen on the cover, and I especially love how the photos work so great as they are presented over "the fold" of the book.
And I have a bunch of internet shares for you today!Like, how about buying a new car that has a rice cooker included?This letter from Tim Cook was fascinating to me. I had no idea the government was asking Apple for such technology.I would love to see the history of all sorts of nations presented like this! I learned so much about Japan!Lastly, I learned about a ton of new apps through this blog piece. I can't wait to try Thumbtack and Think Dirty!
On Valentine's Day, we had a few small flurries. And it was really, really, really cold outside -- which makes great conditions for taking photos of snowflakes! Something about how they don't melt when they land. However, they were still super teeny tiny, so even with my macro lens, they look itty bitty. But I love seeing the shape of them all and how they do vary. Plus? They really *do* look like the paper flakes we made with scissors as a kid!Anyway, these images need a bit more studying than usual, but I hope you enjoy them.
For your internet share of the day, I have a few.First, I wish the olympians enjoyed their routines as much as this UCLA student -- this is so much fun to watch! (And it's awesome to see such a great gymnast with a more "normal" body type.)I also think this is a fascinating site where you can buy books read by celebrities. Not, like, audio books. But the actual hard copies of books that they read (and marked up and dog eared and noted). Plus it's just fun to see what they're reading!And this article about how romance evolves after 10 years of marriage really sucked me in.One of the most "romantic" moments Jamie and I had this year was on a trip to Wichita. Jamie was still asleep in the bedroom (we were staying in a suite hotel with a living room / bedroom setup) and I was changing Ezra's diaper in the living room. It was a monumental diaper with a LOT of ... material... to deal with. But Ezra had just started this phase where he did NOT want to have his drawers changed, and when I lifted his legs to clean him, he straightened his entire body and pushed himself off the couch where I was changing him. This left me holding him upside down by his ankles with feces all over him and no free hand to fix the situation.I began screaming for Jamie to come and help me. "Help! Help! Jamie! I need your help!"He comes *running* out into the living room thinking, I don't know, there was a life-or-death emergency or something due to the anxiety in my voice. Instead he finds me holding Ezra upside down (who is swinging back and forth screaming at this point) and poop everywhere. We both began laughing hysterically. Needless to say, we got him all cleaned up and had a hilarious time doing so.And yes, that counts as romance. Someone you can count on for help with anything, even a poopy, flailing kid. (Don't worry, there's plenty of the old-fashioned romance with us as well, but the story above is the kind of "romance" we need from each other most these days).