There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~Ansel Adams

I received the most awesome Christmas present this year. So awesome in fact that I cannot seem to figure the durn thing out. 

Most of my childhood photos were taken with a Kodak Instamatic with a removable flash cube. Anyone remember those? Flash cubes? It was easy to use. Point and shoot and rarely a photo out of focus. The colors were pretty vivid as well. Without this camera, I would have a hard time remembering my 'firsts'. Our family never owned a video camera so the stills are our life in pictures.

I have been interested in photography since I was a young child. At the time I owned a Kodak Instamatic. The coolest at the time. Slim enough to fit in my pocket, and the flash too. The only problem was that it took 110 film so I could not snag my parents extra 126 film. Nor did their cube flashes work on mine. But so many memories made. Goofy pictures with my friends, family and school groups. Glad to have shared them at my 25th reunion. 

We also owned a color Polaroid instant camera. It was fun and instant but the film was expensive, and the quality was poor. Love the groovy rainbow though. These were great for parties and reunions when you wanted to share the images instantly... well within 3-5 minutes anyway. Shaking them, did that really help?

More recently we have owned a few digital cameras, which in the beginning to me seemed to be a bit of a pain. I used most of my pictures for hanging in frames and showing to relatives at gatherings. What did I need with photos that were only left in my camera and computer? Now? I admit, I do miss the old film developing. I do however love the conveniences of digital and have nearly mastered the art of printing them myself. Although without the aid of a true photo printer.

I have fiddled with photography more and more, attempting to produce creative and stunning art. I have a long way to go. Until Christmas this year, I have only owned point and shoot cameras. 

And now I enter an entirely new world. My first digital SLR camera.

I have very few photos of Christmas this year that are in focus. I have a lot to learn. I hope to learn and practice here so feel free to give your feedback on any photos. 

Here are some of my 'practice attempts' over the holiday's

   Our Bowling shoes

Blurry girl.  

Focus in all the wrong places!

Getting a little bit better

I also took all of the photos in my last post with this new camera. I am getting better but most times I end up back on auto focus. I also think I may need to invest in some change-out lenses of differing zooms.

But this is one think I am excited to learn. I need to learn about Aperture, zoom, focus and lighting.
More to come:

Sorry- been a little MIA lately

Blogging is a full-time job and well, I am struggling to find the time for this third job in my life. I love blogging, it is a real stress relief and great place to keep memories.

I am not like a lot of other bloggers, this sight is not for money making or social opinion as much as it is, just 'my place'.

So, although I love the comments and I love the people I have met while blogging and hope it continues, I don't really feel the slightest bit guilty or sad that I have gone a while without a post. My later posts have lacked a little in substance and I don't ever want to get to the point where I am posting just to get something out here.

I have a lot to say, a lot to write about, but a lot going on in my day-to-day life that would be really boring blog subject but is also keeping me from here on a regular basis.

Spring is right around the corner and I always seem to get my second wind when the sun shines more. So I am sure that I will have some great reading material here soon.

In the meantime- I will continue to read and comment on my favorite sites, as time allows and will post something fantabulous  here very soon. So I hope the few readers I have can bear with me and stick around for my creative juices to once again begin their flowing to the page.

I also have a few very personal stories to share, stories of my own life that some may or may not be able to relate to. I would also like to have it so that I may save it for my children. They know the stories but this I hope will be a record for them.

For those in the states, I hope that Daylight savings time doesn't take too much out of you and that you all have a great St. Patrick's day and don't drink too much green beer!

New post coming soon

One whole year already?!

My children don't read this blog. Maybe that is for the best as I don't hold back much on their behavior and their incontinence moments.
However, my youngest daughter recently searched for and read some of the older posts. We read together some the the posts over the past year.
And realized, this is the week of my one year posting anniversary!
Time goes by so fast.
When I started this blog, I had in mind sharing my silly, frustrating, crazy Murphy-law single parenting stories... More to get it out of my head than to really share.
Since then, I have begun to read others stories and blogs, found many I can relate to. People all over the world who are raising kids alone, or struggling with finances, or a troublesome relationship with their ex.
This blog has also become a bit of a scrapbook of time spent with my kids, a bit of a snapshot for my parents to keep up with our adventures.
I am glad I chose to start this one year ago, I think that my writing is improving, my subject matter is variant and I like that too as I am a pretty spontaneous personality.

I cannot believe the things that have happened in the course of a year...
loss of employment to a new job

I have written about many road trips. and holidays.

And even my 15 minutes of fame!

There were hard times as well this year, besides the lack of employment there were home repairs , near fires and other struggles.

But great times too.

Oh and lets not forget the food posts!

The coming year I may really need to write some healing postings. With my son gone there will be some trying times. We also have an upcoming first-time cruise with my family. And who know what adventures and struggles await us in the coming months. Come along for the ride I enjoy the company.

I have really enjoyed making record of this past year.. and look forward to sharing the future too. Let me know what you like best.

Pulling out the power suit again

I one again have a job interview. They are fewer and further between than I thought they might be. The thing about interviews is:
They expect you to really sell yourself, tell them why they should love you, then with the flick of a wrist they can dismiss you like a begging dog...
This is a tough market these days. The state I live in has a low unemployment rate, sure. But the rates are so high in other states that willing workers are relocating and taking the opportunities that might be available here.
In less than an hour, I will be selling myself once again. I will do my best to keep my chin up, my outlook high and sell my wares so to speak.
The last interview I went on, I thought I had it in the bag... but heard nothing.
That is a crumby way for a company to be. No correspondence at all? seriously? The four people I interviewed with seemed to want me to be a-one hundred on everything... including how I answered every question, my body language, my knowledge, my punctuality. I expected all of that. However on the flip side, they seemed a bit bothered that they had to take time out of their day to meet with me, there were very few slots of time that they could all meet with me, they screwed up the scheduling so that even though I was in the lobby 15 minutes early, I still met with the first one nearly a half hour late.
I left a thank you card to each of them, thanking them for their time. I walked out of the company with my head high, I felt I had blown them away.
I did not expect a letter explaining why I was not a good fit for their company- although wouldn't that be awesome? But was it too much to ask them to send a letter or even an e-mail in this day and age... letting me know that they had filled the position but not with me? That would be the polite thing to do. When they asked so much of me. (Note to managers: Let people know where they stand: Whether they are a new employee just interviewing, or a long standing employee I cant tell you how much better an employee I am when I know where I stand.)

And now, I am preparing to do it all again. Pulling out my new power suit. I'll let you know how it turns out. Who knows, I may just come out of this one thinking I really blew it, which may just mean I am a shoe-in!

Starting a blog

I have to say- I have wanted to start a blog for a long time now. For one reason, I love to talk - even about myself, what you see is what you get. I'm an open book. I am not one to hold back most things about myself. I feel it is better to get it out, deal with any reactions and then move on. This philosophy has served me well thus far.
I am excited to start this blog and share my (far from boring) life events with anyone who cares to read about them. But, where to start? In the past few days leading up to actually posting this blog, my mind is reeling with topics of discussion. Olympics, Presidential elections, my daily life with the kids and our adventures.
The hard part is not writing a 20 page novel on my first day. So, for today, this is what you get.