So … there’s a blog I read that offers almost daily photography tips.  What I love is that she spells out exactly what camera settings she used to take the photos she features.

She has this thing each week {Tuesday’s} where she posts a photo and then asks you to ‘play’ with it and then send her your submissions.  Of course, I procrastinated on this one too.  The different types of things you can do with photos are so subjective, and I guess I haven’t quite come up with my own style yet … so wasn’t sure which one would be the {perfect … sorry} entry.  What did I do?  I went overboard!  I submitted 17ish photos!  But apparently she liked them.  Here’s a link to the results from last week {she used 3 of mine!! … they’re the last ones in the slideshow series}.

Okay, and because I’m retarded, here’s an email I got from her that I was excited about:

Hi Tracie!

Wow!  Great work!  I love the site as well.  I love the colours on 4, the glow in 10 is great, nice texture on 14, the bright colours on 15 are beautiful and yet the muted colours on 16 is just as gorgeous.  17 has a nice ‘aged’ feel to it.  And your faves certainly bring attention to her and her shadow.  :)

They’re all so great!  Thank you so much for playing!  I hope you’ll continue to participate!

And I do realize that she’s just a normal person like me and apparently very nice … but still … I love how people can make connections like this with people they’ve never met and also learn something about yourself, your hobby, who you want to be, etc.

And speaking of being who you want to be … I have a long post I seem to be writing in my head {actually, that the Lord is writing in my head} that I will sit down and work on at some point.  And to this point, I read this this morning, which I believe is the Lord speaking to me louder and louder.  I know it’s a long one {the link}, but please take some time to read it, or go back to it when you can.

Seems I haven’t been spending much time with miss independent teenager lately.  What with a sleepover most every night, and basic lounge lizard activity {her} … and crazy work schedule, 3 little ones, and basic manic craziness {me} … we just haven’t got together!

So, when the Hannah Montana concert in 3D was on … I knew I had to be a part of it.  I’m just glad I didn’t have my photo taken in the 3D glasses!  :)

Seriously though, it was great to spend a night chilling with Taylor … I miss her.

This photo may look like anything but victorious, but if you look beyond the crocodile tears, you’ll notice something shiny {victorious}.

You may know, Piper is pretty shy til she gets to know you.  She’s my gentle old soul with the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen.  Whatever Piper is feeling, you’ll see through her eyes.

Happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, tired, sick, apprehensive … or as you see in this photo … brave.

Here’s the story … Piper made swim team back in June, but because of the vacations we’ve taken, she’s not made many of the practices or had a chance to build any camaraderie with her teammates.  She had a swim meet a couple of weeks ago … it was her first and she froze up at the gate and refused to swim.

For a while now, she’s been wanting to have her ears pierced … so I did what any good mother would do … I bribed her!  Swim in your next meet {this past Tuesday} and I’ll take you to get your ears pierced.  She agreed.

But man!!  She did not want to swim.  She kept asking what would happen if she didn’t do it.  Would she still get them pierced and when … on and on.  Curt talked to her, I talked to her, Taylor talked to her, her coach talked to her, and her teammates talked to her.

She finally decided to do it.  She had two events … freestyle & breaststroke, and she’d be in the clear.

To see this humble little peanut of a girl, up at the starting block, waiting for the horn to blow, knowing her insides were dancing all over kingdom come … I wanted to jump up and grab her and tell her she didn’t have to do it and we’d be off to her piercing anyway.  Of course I didn’t … because I also wanted to see this little peanut come out of her shell and make it across that pool.  She’s good … she can do this.  She’s the youngest member of the team and chosen because she was good enough!

The horn blew and off she went … I promise you, the fastest freestyle you’ve ever seen out of a 6 year old!  She swam with all her might as I fought the crowds to get to the end of the pool to take a photo finish.  But as I got to the end of the pool, just as she was getting to the end of her lane and finishing, she stopped.  Hmm, note to self … “make sure you tell Piper she needs to touch the wall when she gets to the end of her lane.”

I was SO proud of her.  I was puffed up with pride {sorry God … it was only a moment}.  That’s my baby and she did it.

Now for her next event, the breaststroke.  “Which stroke is that again?” she wanted to know.  And her coach explained it to her.  So once again, she’s at the starting block.  The horn blows and off she goes … she dives in, she’s underwater … why isn’t she surfacing?  Wait!  Is she doing the breaststroke underwater?  That would be a big ol’ affirmative!  She came up for air and then right back under.  The best underwater freestyle you’ve ever seen … and she came in second place!

It was awesome to see her blossom that day.  And off we went to the mall to get her ears pierced.  She was so excited.  That is until the first one went in {yes!  they did them one at a time!}.  Her eyes welled with tears, but she didn’t break down and let them finish what she came to have done!  I’m so proud of her, and I hope she’s proud of herself … it was quite a day.

And for the record … that was her last swim meet.  She had one today, but refused to swim in it.  I couldn’t very well offer a second piercing … and she declined the tattoo offer too.  :)

Click here for more photos from the day.

On another subject, thank you to everyone who helped me choose a photo to enter {I haven’t officially entered yet … I’m not quite sure why I’m procrastinating, the deadline is tomorrow.}  I think I’ll be submitting the photo shortly.  I think it’s just that I want it to be perfect … okay, bad aspiration, I know … but I can’t help it.  It’s just that I’m sending it to a professional photographer and most of the other submissions seem to be sent from professionals … or at least, very good amateurs {that should be professionals}!  I’ve noticed that a few people have sent in a series of photos … so here are the ones I’m planning to send in.  Actually, I’m only going to send a handful of them … but these are my top picks.  And I realize the post-processing I’ve done may kill my chances, but it’s something that I’m trying to learn more of.  Okay, enough rambling … click here to view them.

A friend of mine, Amy, serves on the board for The Ophelia Project.  The Ophelia Project is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping form healthy peer relationships and creating safe social climates.  Jane Finkenbine, the director of The Ophelia Project of SE Wisconsin, visits schools in our community and works with students to teach them how to be better friends with one another.  

Friendships are wonderful and valuable–especially when you have children. You can call your friends when you need a last-minute sitter or if you just need to talk.  The friends that I have in my life now are people I will cherish forever; I feel  fortunate to have you all as friends.

But relationships can be difficult.  Even as adults we can become victims to rumor spreading, feeling left out, having others roll their eyes at you, and other negative behaviors.  It is one thing to experience it yourself, but when your children fall victim to what is known as relational aggression, it can be devastating.

A while back, Amy was asked to chair a 5K Run/Walk Fundraiser to help raise awareness for The Ophelia Project and she graciously agreed.  As friends, I am asking for your help in this race.  There are many different ways to get involved in addition to participating in the race.  Below is a link to the website for the race.  Please pass the website on to everyone you know. 

http://oprunforchange.googlepages.com/op5krunforchange

Together, we can do our part to make a difference in the lives of our children.

{this text is from an email sent directly from amy, i’ve just edited to come from my voice}

Some ramblings on what’s been happening in our life over the last week or so:

still struggling to find a balance between work/home {wanting desperately to be home with the kids for the summer}

piper swam in her first meet on tuesday {will do separate post on that}

i’ve been identity thefted!  someone got a hold of my cc # and has been having fun with it.

oh the joys of changing my new cc number on all the zillions of sites i store it on … because i shop online a. lot!

hmm … maybe that’s why i was thefted?  i’m not afraid of them, they can’t scare me out of convenient shopping

if you look closely at the photo above you will see a hunk of puke in hunter’s hair … yes, i said puke

it was a good 2×2 inch of puke {photo below}, and i left it in for an hour or so until i was able to take them all a shower with me

hunter woke up 4 times the previous night, but couldn’t tell me what was wrong.  i figured it out when i found her in a pile of puke in the morning … i love being a mom

we saw batman last night.  somehow voyeuristic to watch heath ledger in this freaky role, knowing he’s no longer with us

i was at the grocery store yesterday {with 3 kids, i forgot how much fun that was} and taylor called just as i’m trying to get a cart, corral three kids, and stay out of an old lady’s way.  wanted to know if a friend could come over.  “no,” i say.  “why,” she asks as i’m balancing the phone on my shoulder …

did i mention i just got the new {very slippery} iphone?

SMACK … it’s on the ground.

i pick it up … the face of it is apparently made of glass {brilliant move steve jobs!} and it’s shattered.

i ever so carefully call her back, because if i put the phone to my face
, i’ll cut myself.

and what do i do?  i start yelling in my most awesome mother voice ever “if i say no, i mean no.  i’m balancing 3 kids here, trying to get a cart, and i dropped my phone.”  {basically saying it’s “all your fault”}

said kid sends me pathetic {read = i’m pathetic with my ranting} text saying she’s sorry for being a bad kid and she wishes she were better and i should’ve just said “taylor, i can’t talk right now, i’ll call you back.”

gee, why didn’t i think of that??

i get home and go upstairs and apologize

and yes … friend did come over

my back is extremely sore

i’ve started running … i want to get strong and i thought if i start exercising, i’ll get some energy and get strong … after all,  it’s a catch 22 isn’t it?

apparently, it’s not working for me

in a matter of 15 minutes on tuesday, i managed to almost run into my mom, our barn manager {who’s living in our apartment} and a deer … in my driveway

that’s all the randomness i have for now.  i must shower and get to work.