May photo a day

Last year, I did the photo a day challenge a few times. The last time, in July, I didn’t finish the month. I wasn’t very motivated and it kind of made me think it would happen again if I tried for another month. Well, I decided to get over it for May and I’ve been happily snapping away for 9 days now!

Here’s what I’ve got.

Day 1, I bought this!

Day 2, Morning ritual

Day 3, This is really good!

Day 4, In my cup

Day 5, Paper

Day 6, Broken

Day 7, Something begining with F

Day 8, Shape

Day 9, A snack

I won’t be posting all my pictures here, but I am posting them on my facebook page, so if you would like to see the rest, head on over there and like me!

Country roads

I went to visit my family this weekend. I grew up in the country, and when I go back on beautiful, sunny weekends like this one, it makes me realize how much I miss it! I love my appartment and my life in the city, but summer-like days just beg to be spent outside, with no hum of traffic, by the water, with a nice cold drink.

I am very much like my mom in a lot of ways. We both love old things. Houses, books, barns, family history. On Sunday, I wanted to go out and take some pictures, so my mom and I drove around on some country roads (which are just called roads, at home) for a couple of hours. Here’s what came out of it.

It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon with my momma!

Snow yoga

Dear snow,

I’m sorry I complained about you last week. To make up for it, I shared with you one of the most important things to me. Yoga.

I was very excited about this photo shoot. I went out to the park, then hid somewhere on the path so all the skiers wouldn’t see me posing in front of my tripod. I thought I was all awesome-photographer, now that I’ve got a fancy new camera and I’m taking a photography class. Not quite. My photos didn’t turn out exactly like I wanted, but they’re still pretty cool.

It was quite slippery on the snow, so my alignment is a little off. I even have a yoga blooper! Love the look on my face as my feet were slipping.

All that being said, Snow, please don’t visit again until next year!

Winter cottage life

You know you live in Canada when you say “It’s only minus 18 degrees outside, let’s go for a walk!” (For my American readers, minus 18 degrees celcius is 0 degrees Fahrenheit.) It was cold all week. And I mean cold, even for Canadians. The temperature was around minus 25 all week, with a wind chill making it feel like minus 30, and colder! Like most people, I spent a lot of time indoors.

I had a weird neck issue all week, so I couldn’t even do yoga. I finally went to see a massage therapist on Saturday, and I am happy to announce that I can now turn my head from side to side without making an “ow, this hurts” face. I felt like a robot all week, turning my whole body to talk to people. I don’t think the cold helped my neck at all.

I had planned to go to a yoga class this morning, then out to brunch with a friend, but decided yesterday to cancel, fearing that my neck might not be ready. I was right. I have mobility, but I feel like I got run over by a truck.

So, yesterday, after deciding to go yet another two days without yoga, I went to visit some friends at their cottage. I was planning on staying for dinner, then coming home, but since I had canceled my yoga date, I stayed overnight.

We had homemade pizza and apple pie, then played a game of “Name the country’s capital” (Yes, we are dorks.) It was hard. I’m not as smart as I thought I was.

This morning we went for a walk, since it was so mild out. (And by mild, I am referring to the -18.) I had my new camera with me and I was on the lookout for photogenic trees, as my assignment for my photography class was to take a picture of a tree. I wanted a picture where the tree was in focus, but the backround was blurry. This one is my favourite.

I was on the roof when I took this picture. It was nice and sunny, so we hung out for a while.

I’m also really happy with this picture. It’s pretty and it looks the way I wanted it too! I love that I’m starting to figure this out.

All in all, it was the perfect winter weekend, even with my sore neck and cold weather. There’s always fun to be had, pictures to take and people to laugh with. Winter’s meant to be enjoyed. Next up, skating and snowboarding!

You don’t take a photograph, you make it

I enjoy taking pictures. I’ve never called it photography, because I know there’s more to it than pointing and clicking. Sometimes, my snapshots look good, and usually, they capture the moment, which is what I’m after. Sometimes though, I know what I want the picture to look like, and I can’t do it. I can see the picture in my mind, but it doesn’t come out the way I want it to.

I’ve been wanting to learn how to take good pictures for a while now. It’s number 47 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. Writing this blog has made me want to take a photography class even more, since I don’t think a blog post is complete without photos. So I did it. I signed up for an 8 week photography class and the first one was tonight.

I’m not sure if I learned anything new tonight, because it was pretty basic stuff, but it was interesting. Oh, I did learn something. Out of the millions pf people who buy cameras, only about 4% will take a class to figure out how to use their camera properly.

Speaking of new cameras, I bought myself a treat. After Christmas, there were amazing, a-million-percent-off sales, and I got a new toy. It’s a Canon Rebel T3. I’m still not sure exactly what that means, but several people had the same one as me in the class tonight.

Isn’t it lovely?

It has all kinds of fancy buttons and it can do pretty much anything, like stop time and levitate. Ok, so maybe not, but that’s what it feels like now, because I don’t know how it works.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m taking a class.

I bought it a few weeks ago, and I didn’t want to wait until class started to learn how to use some of the fancy functions, so I went to see my cousin Annie, who is a photographer. She gave me a crash course and I tried to take pictures where the backround is blurry. It made sense when I was there. Now, well, I think I forgot part of it. Maybe I can go to my weekly class and also have private lessons.

This is my favourite photo taken with my new camera, so far.

I also like this one. I didn’t take it. (Obviously. I’m in it.) Annie did. I love how the big kids are interested in the gum from my purse, while the little one is all about the wallet!

I’m looking forward to playing with my new toy and sharing some lovely photos! My assignment for next week is to take a picture of a tree. Humm. I wonder if tree pose counts?

Every day is the best day of the year

This past year has been filled with so many wonderful experiences and memories. I’ve started this blog and tried new things. I’ve met new people, lost good people and held many babies. I’ve played in the snow, the ocean and the forest. I have tried, although it was not always easy, to enjoy each and every moment life has given me. Here is my year in photos.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I was inspired by this week’s photo challenge, which was “My 2012 in photos”. The suggestion was to use one photo per month, but that was impossible! There were so many wonderful moments to share, 12 photos would never have been enough. Even with all these pictures, I feel like there are important moments missing. It’s just a snapshot of my life. I’m happy I take so many pictures!

Peace, love, be happy and green

I take a lot of pictures, so when I saw the prompt for this week’s photo challenge, I was inspired. The only word to go on was green. Also, I learned how to make this snazzy photo gallery. Enjoy my peaceful, lovely, happy, green photos!

Happy Rainy Day

When was the last time you enjoyed rain? I mean, really enjoyed it? From outside, not from inside a nice, dry, house looking out? It had been a while for me. Then today, I got caught in a storm with 19 kids. How can you not enjoy that?

We went out for a field trip to paint mugs and bowls for father’s day. The weather was calling for an afternoon storm, but it was bright and sunny when we headed out, so I just assumed it would be ok.

I was wrong.

While we were painting, it started pouring. And this was no sissy rain either. Big raindrops that bounced when they hit the ground. Louder than the kids.

I love storms. When I was a kid, my mom used to tell us storms were like movies and we would open to door to watch the show. I try to do this with my students, because so many of them are afraid of thunder and lightning, and I want them to be excited instead. I think it’s working. Whenever the weather reports call for a storm, the kids tell me as soon as they get to school, just to see my reaction. Last year, we had a really big storm one day and we all turned our chairs towards the window and watched “the show”. Some of the kids even mentionned it today. (I have my students for three years, so they have lots of time to get used to my quirks!)

So back to today’s storm. It rained really hard for about 15 minutes, with some thunder and lightning, then the sun came out, so I told the kids we were leaving right away. The sun was pretty much just an illusion, because as soon as we started walking, everything turned grey again. When we heard thunder, the kids actually clapped and cheered! Thankfully, there was no lightning.

It was only a 10 minute walk back to school, but about halfway there, it started to rain again. Kids really know how to enjoy everything. They were looking up, jumping in puddles and squeeling. How often, as adults, do we walk in the rain without thinking What’s this doing to my hair? These are new shoes! I’m getting all wet and dirty! I did have to tell the kids to hurry up, however, because as much fun as it was, we had to get back to school.

This is what they looked like. Me too, actually.

When I got home from work, I fell asleep on the couch. I hardly ever have naps, and when I woke up, I remembered why. I was cranky and I just moped around. It’s not good for me to mess with my sleeping schedule. After a while, I couldn’t stand myself anymore and I decided to go for a run. I kind of wished it would rain again so I could get my happy feeling back. About halfway through my run, I realized I felt better and didn’t need the rain. Obviously, that’s when it started to rain! It was only a sprinkle, but it was like the universe was telling me “I hear you!”

My run inspired my picture of the day. The prompt was “a number” so I went with number 2 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. (yes, I know the numbers 101 and 1001 are messed up.) I’m not sure I’ll do it this week, but it will definitely be soon!

If you want to check out all the pictures from my challenge, click here.

Don’t forget to embrace the rain!

Walk, don’t run!

I have a nasty cold. So bad, that I just spent all weekend complaining. It was a really nice day out on Saturday, but I spent most of it on the couch. At one point, I opened the door, stepped out onto the porch to confirm that, yes, in fact, it was a beautiful day. Then I went back to bed. Yesterday was a little better and I spent the afternoon with family, sitting on my grandma’s porch.

Today, I decided I was sick of being sick. It was another amazing day and I could not spend one more minute inside. Well, after work, anyways. I stopped at the park on my way home, because the word for my photo a day challenge was grass. Since I live in an appartment, I don’t have any grass. I sat around, took some pictures and enjoyed the sun. This is my picture of the day.

Then I decided that what I really wanted wasn’t just to sit outside, but to run. I went home and started getting ready. That’s when the inner dialogue started.

Sick me: – You know, you’re still sick.

Sick of being sick me: – Whatever, I need to move!

– I’m just saying, walk, don’t run.

– We’ll see. I really want to run.

– I know, but you keep having coughing fits.

– I can stop running to cough, it’s all good.

– Ok, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Obviously, 5 minutes in, I started to run. I felt amazing, free, like I was a gazelle….and my lungs were on fire. Actually, I started coughing so I slowed down, and that’s when my lungs felt like they were about to explode. So much for running while being sick. I did run for longer than I thought I would though (a total of about 5 minutes).

Since I couldn’t run, I decided to go back to the park. There were beautiful lilac bushes. Some kids gave me some lilacs today. It was very sweet, even if the flowers were a little (a lot) wilted from being held in grubby little hands for who knows how long during recess. I decided I wanted to pick some. Trouble is, the ones I could reach were on the street side and I didn’t want anyone to see me. I don’t think picking flowers is allowed in parks, but there’s no sign or anything. Anyways I went to the other side and jumped around and grabbed at the branches untill I had a few flowers. I sent all kinds of tree bits and leaves and maybe a bug down the front of my shirt, but it was worth it. I also picked some blue flowers.

I like to take before and after pictures. This is before and after my run/walk/flower picking expedition. I still have dark circles under my eyes, but I think I look happier after playing outside.

So this is what I learned today: when you’re sick, walk, don’t run. Or even better, pick flowers!

Running with my camera

Today was a gorgeous day! The nicest we’ve had this spring since that freakishly hot week in March. I decided to go for a run. If I want to be a real runner, I have to run.

I drive across a bridge every time I go to yoga, and there are always people running along the water. I wanted to do that too. I discovered that my camera fits perfectly in one of the little elastic pocket things for the mini water-bottles on my fuel belt, so I swapped out one water bottle for my camera. That still left me 3 bottles. That’s 24 ounces of water and let’s face it, I wasn’t going to run a marathon here.

I didn’t time myself, or even check to see how far I was going. I ran, I walked, I took pictures. I kept wandering off the path to get closer to the water. I made friends with a blue-eyed husky. I heard bits of conversations as I ran past people. My favourite was the girl telling her running partner how much she really wanted sweet potato fries.

I encountered quite a bit of wildlife for a run in the city. The first was a groundhog. I named him Juan. At first, I thought he might be dead, but he was just sleeping. He woke up and smiled at me. Actually, I think it was more of a go away and leave me alone look, but whatever. He was cute.

I ran a little more, then I met Dolly and Daniel. They’re ducks. For some reason, they were swimming against the current. Dolly was doing ok, but Daniel kept getting swept away. It was pretty funny and I laughed at him untill I realized it might be bad karma, so I encouraged him instead. He finally caught up with Dolly.

I started running again, only to stop and look at a tree. He didn’t have a name, that’s just silly. But it was a really nice tree. Also, I wanted another little break, so I took a picture.

After my tree break, I ran until I saw some pretty purple flowers. Obviously, I needed a picutre. I’m pretty proud of this picture, because the backround is out of focus. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do that. I’m actually not sure how I did it though.

I was looking for a photogenic bird, because that was the word for my photo a day challenge today. I saw this flighty little thing on a branch. Her name is Raven, even though she’s not a raven. Kind of like when people call their child Apple or Dallas. She kept moving around, but finally she stopped to pose.

I ran some more, then decided I wanted a picture of myself. Let’s hear it for self-timers. I had a scary few seconds where I thought my camera was going to fall off the rock and into the water, but it all turned out ok.

All in all, it was a great day. There was more walking than running, I think. But since I haven’t really been running lately, I feel pretty good about running at all. I had a good time taking pictures and I think my new friends liked having their photo taken. Well, except for Juan, but that’s just the way he is.