Week 1: Newness

Weekly Photography Challenge:

I didn't put a ton of effort into this one. I just took a quick photo containing 2 beautiful things, my baby boy and our new woven wrap. It's my favorite color and August looks good in green!

2 months old!

He looks like such a little boy now! Where did my little baby go? He has been talking to us more, using his arms to work on reaching things, kicking his legs a lot, smiling, and showing increased interest in his surroundings. He us still eating all the time, sometimes hourly. Just within the past week he hadn't been sleeping as well, unless he's on my breasts. He is about 10.5 pounds and almost 22 inches!

Do I look like I did at my ultrasound?

Weekly Photo Challenge

I'm going to challenge myself to do a weekly photo challenge. The rules are: 1. Post the weekly photo by Monday at midnight 2. The photo should somehow relate to the theme, literally or otherwise 3. The photo can be taken on my DSLR or camera phone I found a list of weekly themes here: Digital Photography School

I'm hoping I can stick with this. Photo 1 is due tomorrow!

Goodbye Summer!

I write this as I have one day left of my summer vacation! The end of the summer is always both a sad time and an exciting time for me. I look forward to returning to work, getting back into a routine, and seeing my coworkers and students. However, I know I'll miss the freedom of summer days to do whatever the hell I feel like doing. I did A LOT this summer, but I made sure to have a few days where I stayed in my pajamas until 2 pm drinking coffee, dilly-dallying, looking at old photos (in albums!), rummage through papers from my Beloit days (angry feminist!), call old friends or just do nothing. It feels so luxurious to go to a movie in the middle of the day or to my favorite Indian lunch buffet!

So, what did I do this summer?
1. Travel to California for a 2 week vacation - San Francisco, Marin, Oakland, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Big Sur, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Los Angeles! This was an awesome trip and I was able to spend time with old pals from Beloit and family. It was also my first solo travel experience and I am hooked. I can't wait for my solo trip to ... New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Spain, I guess I can't decide. I promise more photos from this part of summer. I'll probably get to them in December.
2. Get my Masters in Special Education! I can't believe I am done with school! I actually could be done with school for ever if I want. Never done learning of course.
3. Love my Eric. We had a month off together. Amazing! We are so blessed. Even though we couldn't do a big trip abroad it was fabulous.
4. Go camping. At Kohler Andrae State Park in Sheboygan, with a beautiful beach on Lake Michigan.
5. Lots of running and a little biking.
6. Friends, friends, and more friends. Eating with friends, drinking with friends, swimming with friend, eating with friends, laughing with friends, eating with friends. It was great to reconnect with golden friends.
7. Family time! Milwaukee, Fond du Lac, Los Angeles.
8. Swimming, swimming, swimming. I think I was a child the last time I swam so much in one summer.
9. Hire a new teacher at my school. Not exactly, but I was on the interview team. This was fun, interesting, and insightful.
10. Read and watch a lot of movies.
11. Get a new (to me) car.
12. Go through a foster parenting home study. Intense.
13. Lots of self care and love.
14. Dentist and doctor and all that fun stuff.
15. Go sailing and have a picnic in the middle of Lake Mendota with 6 other sailboats. I even conquered a fear and jumped into the middle of a really deep lake (with a life preserver on).
16. Fell in love with beets. Where have you been all my life?
17. Go to a Brewer's Game and knit with a bunch of ladies at the annual Stitch n Pitch.
18. Get my first eyebrow waxing!
19. Move into an apartment we love and plan to stay awhile.
20. Have our 2.5 year old nephew over for a weekend. He was so good and we also did a great job, even with no toys in the house!

The photos below are from one of the many lazy summer evenings. This one was in Fond du Lac, on the beautiful Lake Winnebago. What's more Wisconsin than lakeside sunsets and beer? If only I liked beer.

A beautiful wedding: A sneak pique

California Vacation - Phase 2

After spending about a week in the SF Bay Area, visiting Rebecca in Marin County, Ben in San Francisco, and First Congo people in Oakland, I began phase 2 of my California vacation. I was travelling on my first solo vacation. I stayed at a hostel in Pescadero for 2 nights, drove down hwy 1 and then stayed 2 nights in San Luis Obispo. San Luis Obispo is about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's a cute little city. It actually reminded me of Madison.

One day, I went to Pismo beach since it's supposed to be one of the nicest beaches on the California coast. But, it was a windy day and only about 62 degrees on the coast so I didn't stay long. I decided to head inland and check out the Paso Robles wine country I'd heard about. I heard it was like Napa 15 years ago, before it exploded. Don't get me wrong. I like Napa. It's gorgeous and I had a lot of fun visiting there with Eric's mom, Bob, and Carrie a few years back. Eric and I even watched the sunrise from a hot air balloon ride! But, Napa is a huge tourist destination. It is very expensive and can be quite crowded. Paso Robles on the other hand has many opportunities for free wine tasting, is supposedly less pretentious, and less crowded. You may familiar with the region if you saw the movie Sideways.

I did a little wine tasting, but was traveling on my own so I couldn't do much. It was fun - and free! After the tasting I drove out to the rolling hills to capture a few images of the vineyards. I only wish it had been sunrise or sunset. Next time.

You are my home

Isn't this guy adorable? That's my beloved husband of 4 years, Eric. Here we are in Pescadero at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. Some random guy snapped this photo of us. We left from Los Angeles at about 6:30 the morning this was taken. Eric drove all the way from LA to somewhere near Watsonville where he stopped at In-N-Out Burger with me (even there was nothing he'd eat there).

Next, I drove through the berry and flower farms, then mountains and redwood trees as the roads became windier. Eric began to have a terrible allergy attack and rubbing his itchy, watery eyes. He became exhausted and couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. This continued for the next hour or so. I was excited to get to the coast and show him the beautiful scenery - ocean, cliffs, and beaches. But, he could barely keep his eyes open. We made it to this lighthouse and I knew he just had to see the beauty of the place I was lucky enough to stay for 2 nights. I knew he'd appreciate the serenity, the smell, the sound, the solitude. And, he did. We listened to the roar of the ocean. Many more photos to come...

I write this tonight as Eric sleeps beside me and I am so grateful. My gratitude for him is beyond words or photos. Let me tell you some of the things I love about Eric.

1. I love that today when the nurse walked him to the bathroom (when recovering from surgery) he walked like a robot and asked her, "Is it normal for me to walk like a robot?"

2. I love that the other day he made a "secret" list of Harry Potter parody titles.

3. I love his generosity and caring.

4. I love his positivity.

5. I love his cheerleading skills. He has an unwavering belief in me.

6. I love his commitment to and relationships with his family.

7. I love that he is the one that always wants to talk about every little thing.

8. I love that he's not into watching most sports.

9. I love his talent and creativity. I didn't know I was marrying a great poet and playwright.

10. I love that he listens to me when I drink a lot of coffee and start spewing off random information I heard on NPR that he is not really interested in.

11. I love that he's also a great friend and has stayed in touch with a lot of old friends even though it seemed for a time that they didn't have much in common and stuck it out until he was able to recall that we all have so much in common.

12. I love what a great father he's going to be one day.

13. He's a great singer. No, really. Have you heard him? He really is good.

14. And many, many more

More, more, more

I hate using this site for a photo blog, but for now it will have to do. I do like that they now have lots of easily customizable options so that I can change the background to reflect my mood. That's fun.

I have been reading/looking at a lot of other blogs lately. Tonight I read this one by an old friend. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and inspiring. OK, decided I should check with her before I post the link. All I can say is that she has inspired me by sharing her bravery.

http://www.mylifeline.org/melissazannis/

I also look at a lot of photographer's blogs. I love seeing the latest images and especially the stories that go with them. I have mixed feelings about sharing the stories that go with my images. But, I'll try.

Paul, sound artist

That's what I'll call him. I'm not sure what he calls himself. Something funny I'm sure.

Thanksgiving in Asheville, NC

an image in the arts district

driving home through Virginia

Eric and I visited some waterfalls outside Asheville.

sunrise in the mountains

right before the police came. I guess it's not a good idea to stand on a fence like this overlooking a mountain ridge.

My love

Wow, it's been awhile. I have officially made it through 3/4 of the school year at a another new school! It is my 3rd school in 3 years teaching. I have finally found somewhere I want to stay awhile and that feels good. Here are some images I've been meaning to share.

This is a felted alpaca wool stocking I made at Christmas time this last Christmas. When we were in Peru for our honeymoon I bought this poncho. I haven't worn it since, for a few reasons. 1. Ponchos are hard to pull off well. 2. I accidentally felted it. 3. It smells like stinky animals. I love homemade Christmas decorations, including hand knit and felted stockings. But, I know I am never going to get around to knitting them. This was super easy to sew. I made 2 big ones and 2 little ones.

This was last summer at one of the many beautiful parks in Madison. Madison is a wonderful and beautiful small city. I feel like we've returned home. After all we fell in love here 7 years ago.

Sailing on Lake Mendota

Last Saturday we went sailing with an old Madison friend, Barry. Barry is dear to my heart since he came to party at my house with Eric the night we fell in love. It was an interesting evening and my life has not been the same since.

This was only our second time sailing ever and both times have been with Barry. It was a breezy day in the 70s and perfect for sailing, at least that is what Barry said. We sailed across the lake and stopped at the UW-Madison Union Terrace and had something to eat. Then we sailed back across as the sun set.

Editing these photos was a little challenging since there were so many that I liked. Additionally, I accidently shot in JPGs. I am used to editting my photos in Raw, but it was a good learning experience.

Hiking at Blue Mounds State Park

A couple weeks ago (I am so behind on photo editing and sharing), I spent some time with myself hiking at this nearby state park. It was lovely and mostly hiking and nature focussed rather than photography focused, but I have a few I wanted to share.

This tree was so cool looking. I see an old man praying, complete with glasses and moustache. Do you see him?

Herbal goodness

These are the bulk herbs my acupuncturist gave me, pre-cooked.

A glimpse

Here are some photos I took when walked around our lovely new neighborhood and at a nearby, lakeside park. I got a little happy with the Photoshop this time...

Walking down Baldwin Street. Lake Monona peeking out between the trees.

The beautiful man I live with.

Eric wearing the Angela Davis T shirt he bought for me.

Me.

Olbrich Gardens July 2, 2009

In early July I spent some time at Madison's Olbrich Botanical gardens. I was there with Eric, my mom, sister, and nephew but you wouldn't know by looking at my favorite photos from the day. The Thai pavilion is gorgeous and it is the only one in the continental United States. We missed the rose garden that day and will have to go back...