I don’t know if it’s the cycle of the moon or some other naturally occurring phenomenon, but my children’s mood and behavior varies wildly yet they stay in synch with each other. This week has been more challenging than last. Anna is handling the STAR bowling program surprisingly well, managing the transitions and the bus and everything (this happens every Monday morning). She had a really bad rough spot during lunch after they got back, so I am thinking it’s residual fallout from being good for bowling. I got a call from Dominic’s assistant principal Monday afternoon that Dominic had slapped another student across the face and would be in ISS the following day. Sigh. Tuesday was bad for Anna. I got a call at 4:15 saying that Anna was having a bad meltdown on the bus, refusing to put on her seatbelt, hitting other students and the driver, throwing things, cursing… I had to go pick her up. When I got to the school, she looked ragged and wasn’t wearing her glasses. She had bent the temple so badly that they were barely wearable. Apparently that had happened earlier in the morning but they didn’t call me. Grrr. New frames are coming on Friday… this will be pair #4 since school started. We finally have her ARD scheduled, next Wednesday, October 26th. Despite me asking and harassing them, it’s taken over a month to get this meeting… and I’m certain they are going to refuse giving her a 1-1 aide. I’m tired. But there is a piece of good news, transportation rearranged the route so that Anna is getting dropped off around 4:50 instead of 5:15. Yay!!!
Day 288 ~ Friday Night in Gruene
Friday, October 14th, 2016
The boys went camping with the Boy Scouts for the weekend at Pedernales Falls State Park, so I took mom and Anna out to dinner at Adobe Verde in Gruene. They have the BEST queso around, at least I think so. On our way out, the band had just started playing. Forgive me, but I didn’t catch the band’s name. Anna has a love/hate relationship with live music… she loves music and wants to hear them but at the same time, she’s scared it will be too loud. Luckily there wasn’t a large crowd yet, so we listened for one song. They were pretty good!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.5 | 1/400 | ISO 1600
Day 289 ~ The Pumpkin Wears Pearls
Saturday, October 15th, 2016
There is a call for entry for Still Life coming up for one of the galleries in which I’ve juried into before, so I wanted to create something new to enter. I had a vision in mind for this photo… autumn colors, rich and deep, with dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and one element that was quirky or strange. There was a team effort involved in creating this image. I purchased tons of flowers at HEB earlier in the week and had my mom arrange them. I wasn’t super clear in what I wanted though and she spent a lot time arranging and rearranging until I had my vision solidified. I knew I wanted a black background but I only have a small piece of black velvet fabric (which you can see down the center of the background). My neighbor and friend, Andrea, is a photographer and had some black muslin that I borrowed (thanks, Andrea!). I tried taking this in natural daylight but it wasn’t dramatic enough, so I pulled out my Speedlite and Brolly box to attempt some off-camera flash once it got dark. It had been a while since I’ve used that equipment so it took me a good hour to get it set up, but once I did… bingo! I had my shot. There was still something missing though… the quirk factor. I thought of the pearls and wondered if they would work. Then the title came to me and I knew I had my image.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/7.1 | 1/80 | ISO 50 | tripod | Speedlite SB600 mounted off-camera in a Brolly box to the left
Day 290 ~ The Grasshopper Sends His Regards
Sunday, October 16th, 2016
I walked out my front door with my macro with the intention of getting one good macro shot for the day. God provided. In my front flower bed sitting on the sago palm, sat this grasshopper. The composition was there, I just had to point and shoot.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/5.6 | 1/250 | ISO 2000
Day 291 ~ Fall Court of Honor
Monday, October 17th, 2016
Monday was the Fall Court of Honor for Dominic’s Boy Scout troop. This happens twice a year and is a ceremony where the boys get the Merit Badges and Patches they’ve earned, as well as rank up if they qualify. Dominic was the troop historian this past six months and has been working on a slideshow of images to show the parents. Unfortunately, we had a technical issue with one of the cords, so he couldn’t show off his hard work. But he sure did look good!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.8 | 1/160 | ISO 2000
Day 291 ~ Long List of Merit Badges
Monday, October 17th, 2016
Dominic worked hard during the summer and fall earning 8 Merit Badges! He was also supposed to rank up to Star but didn’t because of an administration issue. He earned Fire Safety, Finger Printing, Rifling, Leather Working, Insect Study, Fly Fishing, Cinema, and Fishing. To say I was proud of him would be a massive understatement. He and Curtis work very hard at being successful in Boy Scouts. <3
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.8 | 1/160 | ISO 2000
Day 291 ~ A Little Dab Will Do Ya
Monday, October 17th, 2016
Along with drawing all over himself with pens and markers (seriously, we had to make him take a shower before the meeting!) and flipping water bottles (all the middle school moms know what I’m talking about), this trend of dabbing (the dance move) is quite popular. I’m not always able to catch him with my camera, but this time I got him.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.8 | 1/160 | ISO 2500
Day 292 ~ Morning Routine
Tuesday, October 18th, 2016
My children like routine and usually have the same exact thing for breakfast every single day. I thought when they’re grown up, they might like to see what they ate when they were 15 and 12. Anna has Nutrigrain waffles with organic peanut butter and low-sugar grape jelly with chocolate almond milk. Dominic has Nutrigrain waffles with either turkey sausage or turkey bacon and Ovaltine chocolate milk. Anna gets up at 6:30 and Dominic gets up at 6:45. Anna’s bus comes at 7:10 and Dominic’s bus comes at 7:30. Here I have Anna’s breakfast prepared along with her backpack while Dominic’s is prepped to make.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 1600
Day 293 ~ Taking Care of Myself
Wednesday, October 19th, 2016
It had been a stressful week already and I had two very busy days of running errands. We are expecting a cool front later in the week that will drop morning temps into the 50s and neither child has any pants that fit. So I did a lot of shopping. (Note: I need to take Dominic with me, nothing I got him fits properly so returns/exchanges were involved). Curtis came with me for some of the errands on Wednesday and kept me company while I got a much needed pedicure.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 1000
Day 294 ~ Where the Smiles Comes From
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
The flowers in the arrangements I had for my still life were beginning to wilt, so I took them outside for some macro. I like to look for different perspectives on things you’ve seen before and thought a photo of the back of a sunflower might be interesting. The color is so happy, isn’t it? I like how the green leaves layer and point like the yellow petals.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/6.3 | 1/200 | ISO 800
Day 294 ~ An Old Mum is Still Beautiful
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
These mums were so gorgeous… truly autumnal with long tendrils of petals opening on each end like a yawn. Even though this flower is near the end of her life, she is still so beautiful and has a lot to offer the world. This image is virtually straight out of the camera.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/6.3 | 1/200 | ISO 800
Day 294 ~ Come in a Little Closer
Thursday, October 20th, 2016
I knew that the deep, dark, burnt orange at the center of the petal would create a gorgeous contrast with the pale peach of the tips. This one practically begged to be converted to black and white. I can almost feel the flower through the screen, how about you?
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/6.3 | 1/200 | ISO 800
This weekend Curtis and I are having a date night away (thanks mom!!!), we are attending a Boy Scout Eagle ceremony for one of the boys in our troop (congratulations John!!!), and Curtis leaves for a week-long trip on Sunday. We are entering the busy season now, aren’t we? I hope everyone has lots of love and laughter in their lives this weekend. Thanks for looking.
