Freezing moments in time

I get to go to my first photography class tomorrow. I want to get better so my pictures can be something more extraordinary. My real hope is that someday my photography skills will just approximate the women here, here and here. I want to learn how to shoot on manual, to know what I need to change when the picture doesn't turn out so well. I'd like to understand natural lighting better and all the technical terms like aperture. I need to remember more often that I don't have to get a smile or even have them looking at the camera for it to be a good picture. I recognize this is going to be very long process but hopefully I will start to some progression soon. These are pictures I took tonight. I have great models to practice with at least, if I do say so myself!

Food (not so) glorious food!

You know the feeling when you come home from the grocery store after having spent too much time and money there only to feel like there is still nothing to eat in your house? Grocery shopping is so frustrating! Tonight I went to two grocery stores to take advantage of sales and to build our year supply. I spent almost $300 and came home feeling like we are still nowhere close to where we should be. It feels so overwhelming.

Those bygone days

I am taking the Library of Memories class at Big Picture. My first assignment is to sort all my pictures into chronological order. Last night, I was pulling pictures out of the old magnetic albums and sorting through the other stashes of pictures I have. As I was dismantling my high school album, I felt such a wide array of emotions. I smiled at the good memories, the pictures with friends, the plays and concerts, and awards. I laughed at my youthful follies and cringed at my youthful mistakes. I yearned for my high school figure. Anyhow, it all got me thinking about how I was going to scrapbook those years of my life. Certainly, my perspective has changed. What was so important to me then is so very not important right now. I don't remember even a smidgen of the details. Nor would my journaling contain so much of the teenage angst I show in the tidbits of writing I did then. I just realized how very important it is for me to scrapbook/journal/record our life moments in the now or at least close to it. Otherwise, too many things are just lost.

Just begin!

Ali Edwards in her weekly newsletter challenged everyone to come up with one word to be their motto for the year. It was an interesting challenge which I enjoyed contemplating. Eventually, I came up with "begin". This year I want to begin. Begin getting up early. Begin improving my photography skills. Begin Kids' Company. Begin to lose weight and live more heathfully. And lastly begin this blog! I am a blog-lover. I love to read them, unfortunately a bit to distraction from the more important tasks of my life. Its just like how I always read the journaling in the scrapbooking layouts I see. I love getting a glimpse into how other people live their lives. I have gotten great tips off of them too so they are not entirely useless! Anyhow, I am trying to let go of the perfectionism that has held me back and just start this baby up! Here's to a happy new year, happy new blogging, and happy new beginnings.

me