Project 365 (Day Fourteen)

So, now that I'm caught up, here's the picture for day fourteen. 

Can you believe I still have the original box?!  Even the tape was still on it!  And the original instruction booklet (such that it is) is still in the box as well.  I never kept any original box for anything when I was a kid!  Of all things... Wonder why this particular toy made it this far in tact like this?  Have you kept anything like this over the years? 

Project 365 (Day Six Thru Thirteen)

Well, life has been a bit too busy and got away from me.  I couldn't even get to the computer, let alone upload any pictures.  I did actually take a few, so here they are, all in one lump sum.  Enjoy!



Ok, Daddy, let's get to work!

 

It rained so much, we had a pool in our front yard!




Look at the little monkey toes!

 

Bubbles bubbles drool and troubles




That's "Mr." Giggles to you!  LOL

 

It's sad when $2.97 is "cheap" for gas!




My little man, growing up too quick!

 

Big Bubby feeding Little Bubby


Ok, so most are of my son (with my hubby and older son thrown in there for good measure) but at least I was still taking pictures!  I have a picture for today too, but I'll post that separately as an official posting for the project to get me back on track.  Hope you enjoyed my pics!

Project 365 (Day Five)

I've officially given my family the Project 365 to do as well.  I'm hoping to have a good journal of our year to show for it and to increase their awareness of the world around them, particularly our son.  I'm hoping that he'll gain a new outlook on life after seeing it through a camera lens.

So, here goes nothing....

This is my contribution.  This is off of our coffee table.

I liked the texture of the leather and the gold leaf design.

This is my son's first picture of Mommy holding Monkey Toes.

I'm sorry, but I had to tweak it in Photoshop and blur my body out.

This is such a terrible picture of me. 

Actually, he did well with taking the picture,

I just look terrible, I can't believe I'm actually posting it!  LOL

My husband still hasn't given me his contribution as of yet.  He's still working, but has agreed to participate.  But I'll post his as soon as he gets it to me.

So, there it is, Project 365 Day Five and The Mad Hatters are officially a photography journal family!  I'm very excited and can't wait to see what comes next!

Project 365 (Day Four)

So, my question is:  How do you only choose ONE picture to post?  I've taken THREE today that I really like and I'm going to post all of them.

I've also decided to challenge my whole family to the Project 365.  I think it would be wonderful to be able to look back on the year and see what each of us saw and did and where we went and how we saw the world.  I've already challenged our son, now I just need to tell Hubby when he gets home!  :o)

Ok, here are my pics of the day...

Sunrise Through Fog

(The fog was so thick this morning in some places,

that it gave off a strange glow to the sun.)

Sunrise Through Tree

(With the fog lifting a bit, it was just beautiful

through the branches and leaves of this tree.)

My Honey gave me this flower the other day. 

It was just barely blooming with one flower. 

Now there are three of them coming out!

Project 365 (Day Three)

Being a Cub Master has been challenging and also a lot of fun.  This January I get to be the hostess to the Pinewood Derby!  I'm very excited and have decided to make my very own car as well (to race in the Post-Race, of course) and I've decided to document the development as part of my Project 365. 

Here are the pics for the first and second days of carving.  I've been only using a dremel so far and have allowed the design to come into it's own, without any real goal.  It's coming along better than I expected, seeing as how it's my first time doing anything like this.  I can't wait to see how it comes out!

Any Pinewood Derby fans out there?



Days 1 & 2 of the development of
The Cub Master 2011!



Project 365 (Day Two)

On with the show!  I had no idea what I was going to take a picture of today... and honestly, I almost forgot!  But when I took my camera out, I zoomed in on my little man and then his feet and he was just so excited as he was moving about, the idea of this pic sparked and here it is:

Monkey Toes walkin away in his walker. 

He's not even 5 months old yet!

Project 365 (Day One)

Project 365 is a project that I came across for blogging and photography.  The goal is to take a picture and post it every day for an entire year.  You can start any time, so I'm starting now.  I think it's a fun idea and I hope to be up for the challenge.  This also means that some days I'll be posting more than one post, due to the Writer's Workshop and other such things that I tend to sign up for.

Anyway, I hope it helps me to better my photography skills and the way I see the world around me.

So, here's my first pic/post:

Monkey Toes and I are still trying to get the hang of this baby food thing.  LOL

I had to include this 2nd pic, to kick off the project right.

Monkey Toes was getting really upset that I was taking pictures

and not feeding him non-stop.

I tried to catch him smiling, but my trigger finger wasn't fast enough on the old camera.  And he's not one to hold still for pics anyway.  And how dare I stop feeding for 2 seconds to snap a picture!  I think I got more on his face than in his mouth!  LOL

Brrrrrrrrrrr

This Week's Prompts

1.) Something unique you love about your significant other.
2.) A photo journal entry...show us what winter looks like in your town.
3.) It has been said that kids these days are pushed into too many extra-curricular activities and are not given the freedom to play and be bored and to use their imaginations. Is this true?
4.) 10 Reasons Why I Could Never Be Friends With...(fill in the blank)
5.) How has social media changed you?

So, everyone thinks that just because I’m in Florida, it couldn’t possibly be cold… well let me tell you something… I grew up in PA and had some of the worst winters imaginable, (hence why I live in Florida now!) but Cold is Cold, I don’t care where you live, if it’s below freezing, it’s downright
F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G!!!  Granted, we don’t have to shovel anything down here, but then again, we have our own disasters to contend with, such as hurricanes and the like.  But still... it does actually get cold here.  To prove it, I took a pic of my van with frost on it.  I actually had to get out the ol’ trusty ice scraper, and it wasn’t the first time!  We could actually see our breath as I took our 16 year old son out in the morning and I let him and the other boy whom I take to the bus stop sit in the van with me while we waited for the bus.  It was just too freakin’ cold out!



You can see the ice crystals on the side window




Here's the windshield before scraping




And here's after... look ma... SNOW! (well, sorta)

 We actually had snow flurries here too a couple weeks ago.  They didn't land or accumulate or anything, but the wind was blowing, making it just that much colder!  It just goes to show you that it does get cold down here!

Freaky Friday

So, we watched something really weird today... Kabluey

It's dubbed as a comedy, but I think they missed the mark on that one. Not a completely terrible movie, it was a little more than depressing with a brief teary moment toward the end. I won't give anything away, just in case anyone wants to actually watch it (of which I would advise against, unless you truly enjoy depressing Indie movies. Not that there's anything wrong with them... they're just not my style. Especially when I'm expecting an actual comedy.  I have my depressed moments when I can sit and wallow in misery with one.

Now the movie has a great cast.  I just love Lisa Kudrow, Conchata Ferrel and it was so nice to see Teri Garr in something (although she's put on a ton of weight and I almost didn't recognize her!) again.  I haven't seen her in anything for years.  (granted this is a 2007 movie, but it's been longer than that since I've seen her on the screen.)

Anywhoooo.... I just wanted to share my movie review with you. 

Strange, I'd started this on Friday, but didn't finish it until Saturday.  Gee... I've got a 4 month old in the house, I wonder how and why that happened?!  LOL

A scene from Kabluey

Scarred

I look at myself, at the scars left from years and years ago.  Some are faded, others very vibrant.  My hands have some that are easy to see, one when I used a knife and cut toward my hand even though I knew better.  I had to learn the hard way. 

Other scars have faded to nothing.  I had three holes put into my left hand when dad and I had played Monkey in the Middle with our dog.  She was the Monkey in the Middle as we tossed a ball back and forth.  Then the ball and her mouth came down into my hand at the same time.  Three holes, almost all the way through.  I was two years old.  Our dog didn’t mean it, it was an accident, and honestly, it didn’t even hurt, strangely enough.  My parents were horrified, of course.  That was the end of our game.

I have scars on my knees from climbing trees.  Oh, how I used to climb as high as the roof and jump down where my parents couldn’t see me.  I have bad feet now, I’m wondering if that’s one of the reasons why. 

Then there are the emotional scars.  My mom and dad deaths.  Dad died first.  My divorce to my first husband.  Numerous breakups, too many to count.  Pets dying or having to get rid of them for one reason or another.  Depression at different times in my life. 

Of course, there are many more scars of different types, too numerous to list. Now I look at my baby, (oh, and let’s not forget those scars!) innocent, loving, funny, adorable, and I think of how much his daddy and I were daredevils when we were kids and all the scars both of us have, both physical and emotional, and I get scared… no, terrified!  He’s going to get hurt, he’s going to get scars, I can’t imagine the terror my parents felt when my hand went into our dog’s mouth.  But I’m sure I’ll probably find out one way or another. 

I wish I could call my parents and apologize to them for putting them through such pain, seeing me go through what I went through.  But my mom’s philosophy was that I had to learn from my own mistakes.  No matter what she could possibly say, I had to experience the pain on my own, or otherwise I wouldn’t actually learn anything.  She never interfered.  She sat and watched, and was always there to pick up the pieces when I needed her, but she let me fly from the nest on her own.  How strong she was to do that.  I know she worried beyond belief.  She was overprotective of me when I was little, in some ways.  But in others, she allowed me to experience life and pain, but also happiness and love.

Mom always said, what doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.  Great, what doesn’t kill you?!  Are you kidding me?!  What about the broken bones, teeth knocked out, God forbid getting maimed,  mental issues, therapy, etc….. Aaarrrggghhh!!  I’m not going to survive this motherhood thing.  I’m going to curl into a little ball until it’s over.  OMG, that’s going to be a long time!  Maybe I’ll just put my baby into a protective bubble and not ever let him get hurt…. Of course, then he’ll never experience love and kindness and all the good things in life either.  Hmmm… not such a good idea, either.  How did my mother do it?!  Amazingly she and I both survived.  How, I don’t know.  But it’s my turn to find out. 

Life is a journey, not a destination. And I plan to have a great time with my family on this journey.  Oh, we’ll have our hard times, our bad times, and we’ll all get scarred.  But we’ll have good times as well and we’ll all be better people in the long run. 

Our scars tell stories of our lives.  Display them proudly.

Back from hiatus...

Well, Christmas came and went rather quickly... so did the new year. (Happy New Year, by the way) Things got really busy around here and I didn't even get the tree out of the box, let alone the rest of the house decorated!  Ah well... there's always this year!  (which is what I say every year)

So, I need to get back to posting and here we are.  I didn't realize that I'd slacked off for so long. 

Hiatus: A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break.

Anyway......

I've got some crafty things planned that I need to do/make for Cub Scouts (Pine Wood Derby is coming up at the end of this month!) so I'll be posting some stuff in that area. 

To be continued....