May 17 - Make a Wish
May 16 - Papa's New Puppy
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 15 - First Campfire of the Year
Hubby was on call this weekend, and my brother in law was on a boy's fishing trip, so my sister in law and I decided to have a slumber party with the kids. Such a good time. We had movies, campfire, pancakes for breakfast and just plain silliness. I think we have a new tradition. 
May 14- Stuck in the Dungeon
Every home has a spot, where the junk collects. Ours is the laundry room, probably because it is the room that has access to the crawl space. Which if you are wondering, is a mess too. I've been wanting to clean house, so to speak and get rid of what we don't need or love and organize/ pare down on what we have, so today I had a "free day" to spend in the Dungeon slaving away. One of the items that I have decided I don't need is my smiley face balloon I bought for myself as a birthday present. He is not looking so happy now, in fact rather deflated. He should go. But he brought me such joy....and you see the problem. In the end, I did get rid of a HUGE pile of stuff, but Mr. Smiley is going to stay - just for awhile longer. 
Thursday, May 13, 2010
May 13 - Thursday Self Portrait
Okay, so maybe I'm more of a Roseanne than a June Cleaver, or maybe I'm neither. Maybe I am me and I need to stop comparing myself to the TV moms. Life is so much more complicated than a 30 minute sitcom, or even 1 hour drama for that matter. Maybe I need to just work on being me - warts and all. 
May 11 - Goodbye Bling!
Today The Kid got her braces off! I convinced her to do a before and after. I think this may be one of maybe three pictures of her with her braces.
and TaDa!
(growing up too fast, where does the time go?)
and TaDa!
(growing up too fast, where does the time go?)
May 9 - My Mothers Day @ the Zoo
When Hubby asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, I knew right away what I wanted. I wanted to spend time with my family having fun, and creating memories. So instead of a plant, jewellery, perfume, or chocolates, we went to the zoo. We haven't been for a few years, and with The Kid now a teenager, I doubt that she will want to go on many more of these family outings. It was a wonderful day.
Along with the zoo trip, my kids made me a scrapbook, and each of them made me a card. The words inside made me cry - (something I don't do too often ) My 12 year old son thanked me for helping him with "the blues". The Kid told me that I am an everyday hero to her, and that one day she hopes to be as good of mom to her kids as I am to her. The Little Man's card was cute too, he used pink ( my favorite colour) and blue ( his favorite colour), and he was sure to point out the lipstick that he had drawn on his mother day picture of me.
My funny, strong middle son.
love em!
me and the big kids
the boys and I
me and the bunch.
Along with the zoo trip, my kids made me a scrapbook, and each of them made me a card. The words inside made me cry - (something I don't do too often ) My 12 year old son thanked me for helping him with "the blues". The Kid told me that I am an everyday hero to her, and that one day she hopes to be as good of mom to her kids as I am to her. The Little Man's card was cute too, he used pink ( my favorite colour) and blue ( his favorite colour), and he was sure to point out the lipstick that he had drawn on his mother day picture of me.
My funny, strong middle son.
love em!
me and the big kids
the boys and I
me and the bunch.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
May 8 - My Mother's Day with My Mom
It's not until you become a mother
that your judgement slowly turns
into compassion and understanding.
- Erma Bombeck
I spent Saturday night celebrating mother's day with mom. We had roast beef for dinner, complete with gravy to make any mother proud, mashed potatoes, and Grandma's salad. After dinner we headed down stairs to play Beatles Rock Band. Yup, my mom's a rock star, she did amazing! I can't remember the last time that I had so much fun with my mom. It was an awesome night, one that I will hold close to my heart forever.
May 7
Have a look at the two pictures below. Notice how the first image has a slightly yellow or warm cast to it, while the second photo is cooler - and a better likeness of the pure white jug. The only change that I made was to the white balance setting on my camera.
The white balance setting on your camera is there to ensure that you do not have an incorrect colour cast; so that any object that is white in person is also rendered white in the photo. In the old days of film, this was done with different filters that attached on the lens of the camera.
With the first image, the white balance was set to shade On the day this was taken, the sky was overcast, not very bright outside, so the shade setting wasn't a horrible choice. But because I was not happy with the colour of the picture, I changed the setting to cloudy. I feel that it makes a much better image, because the colours in the image are truer to the objects in person.
To change the white balance on my camera, a Nikon, I need to go into the tools menu, but every camera is different. If you are unhappy with the colour of your photo, reread your manual, it will point you in the right direction.
* white balance set to shade
*white balance set to cloudy
The white balance setting on your camera is there to ensure that you do not have an incorrect colour cast; so that any object that is white in person is also rendered white in the photo. In the old days of film, this was done with different filters that attached on the lens of the camera.
With the first image, the white balance was set to shade On the day this was taken, the sky was overcast, not very bright outside, so the shade setting wasn't a horrible choice. But because I was not happy with the colour of the picture, I changed the setting to cloudy. I feel that it makes a much better image, because the colours in the image are truer to the objects in person.
To change the white balance on my camera, a Nikon, I need to go into the tools menu, but every camera is different. If you are unhappy with the colour of your photo, reread your manual, it will point you in the right direction.
* white balance set to shade
*white balance set to cloudyFriday, May 7, 2010
DIY Canvas Wall Hanging
I was feeling creative so I decided to create some art out of the gift bag that my anniversary present came in.
Supplies:
Here we go....
Step 1,
I cut out the saying from the gift bag. If you don't have access to a pretty gift bag, you could use a computer print out.
Step 2,
I base coated the front of the canvas with acrylic paint.
I used a darker colour to paint the edge of the canvas, but I thought that using ribbon would look nice too.
Step 3
I spread the glue in a thin layer on the canvas, and another thin layer on the back of the gift bag . I carefully positioned the gift bag onto the canvas, and brushed on another layer of glue. Working out any air bubbles.
Step 4 ( not shown )
I printed out a picture of my hubby and I on card stock, cut it out and, glued it to the canvas in the same manner as I did the gift bag.
(Just a warning, the computer ink ran when it came in contact with the white glue, in the future I would either test, or apply the glue only to the back of the picture.)
and ta da, the finished masterpiece,
Supplies:
- canvas ( I got mine for $2.00 at Dollarama )
- gift bag
- paint ( dark for edge, and a base coat )
- white school glue
- photo
Here we go....Step 1,
I cut out the saying from the gift bag. If you don't have access to a pretty gift bag, you could use a computer print out.
Step 2,I base coated the front of the canvas with acrylic paint.
I used a darker colour to paint the edge of the canvas, but I thought that using ribbon would look nice too.
Step 3
I spread the glue in a thin layer on the canvas, and another thin layer on the back of the gift bag . I carefully positioned the gift bag onto the canvas, and brushed on another layer of glue. Working out any air bubbles.
Step 4 ( not shown )
I printed out a picture of my hubby and I on card stock, cut it out and, glued it to the canvas in the same manner as I did the gift bag.
(Just a warning, the computer ink ran when it came in contact with the white glue, in the future I would either test, or apply the glue only to the back of the picture.)
and ta da, the finished masterpiece,
May 6
I love this graffiti, it makes me think.Why not go for it?
why not wait it out,
why not believe,
why not disbelieve.
Why can't it be me or my turn,
why not someone else?
Why not?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 5 - Thursday Self Portrait (on Wednesday )
Inspired by my good friend Jenn, I visited my local library. Jenn loves the library. Personally I don't get it. I mean there are some peculiar people at the library. Like the woman over stuffing her bag with books -( lady, there free, come back next week.) Or the teen couple making out at the computers - really? cant find a better place? My favorite was the librarian, who made it her mission to insist my daughter use her given name, ( both Charlie and I were not made to comply, just Kenzie. ) At least Sergeant Books let me off the hook, she waived the embarrassingly high overdue fees. I got a bundle of books, and I promise to return to the twilight zone, I mean library to get the books back on time.
May 3- Cloud Study
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
from up and down,
and still somehow, its cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all. 
Monday, May 3, 2010
365 Project - April 30 - May 2
Slow shutter speed, and slight jiggle of the camera gives this photo of tulips in my garden, an artistic, pastel drawing look. - April 30.
The drive home - I thought the car lights looked pretty. April 30.
Thai Sesame Chicken - April 30.
Saturday brought sore throats, and tomato soup for dinner. May 1.
Night Time Apple Tree. ( Should have cracked out the tripod, feeling lazy) May 2.
The 365 had a theme this weekend. It seems that I was inspired by food and night time photography.
Celebrate Life
To start off the weekend the family took Grandma out for dinner to celebrate her 84th birthday. Grandma will tell me of stories of herself as a girl, a teen, or a young mother and wife. I am always in awe of how much she has accomplished, how brave she has been. As a girl, Grandma rode a cow ( yes I said cow!), in her teen years, she would take the train all by herself to visit her cousins in the States. Grandma shared with me that Union Station was one of her favorite places, with the hustle and bustle of people going places, maybe because her father worked for CN, (although I'm not sure what he did, I must ask.)
In love Grandma was also brave. Grandpa was Catholic, and Grandma is Protestant. Regardless of the church's opinion, Grandma and Grandpa kept their chins up and had 60 happy years married.
What I admire most about Grandma, is that she has shown such strength after such devastating loss. In the last 10 years, Grandma has lost her family. Her son, her husband, her daughter.
Think about that for a minute. Think about the faces at your dinner table - all gone.
The faces at my dinner table, my family, are what get me out of bed some days. They give me joy (and grief), but with them, I feel such emotion that it makes me feel alive, human.
Nobody would blame Grandma for being bitter. She is not bitter, sad some days, but not bitter or angry. What is more, she is so thankful for what she does have - and we are so thankful for her.
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