Absolute Fav!

This weeks theme at the Paper Mama is your absolute fav. How are you suppose to narrow it down to just one?!?

I love all my photos. I love that my photos remind me of great memories. I love that my photos can tell a story. I want my photos to share the emotion I felt when I took the photo.

Lately, this is my favorite photo.

This IS Woody. He's inquisitive. (He's looking at a ball over my head). He loves the water. He's always cheerful.

Woody is my first dog. I never had a dog growing up. My parents got a dog once I moved out. I never knew having a dog could be so much fun. I can't tell you how exciting it is to come home, even from just going up the street to the store, and Woody is excited to see you. Like Tail-Wagging, jumping in circles, happy to see you.

I love this dog and this is my favorite photo of him.

Sports!

JJ loves sports, so I love this weeks photo challenge at the Trendy Treehouse!

JJ is into bascially any sport. Soccer is his first love, but he will play baseball, golf, tennis, basketball, heck even bowling.

I love photographing him at sports. His face always shows so much intensity. The little quirks he does with his hands while he's playing. Its been a challenge to learn how to capture all the emotions and action into one great shot.

Here is a photo of JJ playing soccer last spring. I love his little lip curl and his fisted hands, going in for the kick.

I can't wait for soccer season to start up again soon. I feel my action skills getting a little rusty. Soccer camp starts next week and then fall practice starts two weeks later. I'm sure I will have TONS more soccer photos to share this fall!

I'm from the country

This weeks In a Yellow House/Ramblings and Photos photo challenge is Urban. I don't have a lot of "urban" experience. I live in South Carolina. There aren't many major metropolis' here. That's what I think of when I think urban: NYC, ATL, big skyscapers, taxis, traffic, noise. We don't have much of that here.

So, I scavenged through the photo files, because I know I will NOT be any where urban in the next few days and came across my photos from our recent trip to Charleston. I immediately didn't think of Charleston as urban, but I think it would be considered Historic Urban.

I took this photo because Gene was fascinated with the wooden doors. I thought it was framed well. The dark would constrasting with the white stucco.

This as urban as the laid back Southern gal gets!

2-6

This weeks Raw (e) challenge over at Sailor and Company is 2-6. You're suppose to look in the second photo folder and take the sixth photo. You then post your uneditted photo!

This could be very interesting. Currently, I am at work, so I decided to take a gander at what was hinding in my 2-6 spot.

This is what I found...

This is the cake from my Bridal Shower. I love cake! This cake came from our local Publix Supermarket. I am crazy for Publix bakery cake. My wedding colors were purple, and purple, and more purple, so it was fitting to have awkwardly colored purple roses on the cake. (Which I claimed were all MINE... the bride gets what the bride wants, right?!? And I wanted frosting!)

Stepping outside my Box

I did something this weekend that wasn't really "me". I'm shy, terribly shy. But I decided, to better my photography skills, to participate in the Scott Kelby photowalk. My little town didn't have one... hehehe.... so I travel "Into Town" for it.

I met some great people. Including two fellow bloggers. Ellie has just moved to the area from Australia, she hosts Shine! I also met Sharon. She has several blogs, but you can find them all here at Isn't She lovely. Sharon also has a sewing blog/business. She's using the money to help adopted a child from China. Little Shayleejoy should be coming home soon. You can follow her journey via the blog.

Overall, I did manage to get a few shots out of it. It wasn't at all what I expected, but I made some new friends, which is better I guess.











You can see a few more on my Flickr Photostream. Just click on the link at the top left of the page.

I'm also linking in to Meet and Greet Monday over at Southern Reflections. Hop on over for a great Monday morning blog hop!

JJ is nine today!

He's not a little boy anymore. He's not the kid pointing out Hummers or Big Rigs. He's not the kid wanting to read the Bunny book for the millionth time.

He's into iCarly, Legos, and books with more than 100 pages.

It was a weekend long celebration for him. I guess that's how it works with the modern family. He had his party with his friends last night. 3 other boys joined him at the pool for a little splish splash and pizza.

Here are a few photos from the celebration!

Flash Back Friday: Dream House

4 years ago, our house looked like this!





How did I ever live through the renovations. This looks like a disaster, but we were so happy with it at this point. This is several months into the renovations and we would move into the house for another YEAR!

This is what the house started out looking like.....

This is Gene's Grandparents house. It has always been Gene's dream to renovate it and turn it into a beautiful bungalow.

This is what it looks like now (or at least last fall.. .not many changes to the outside lately)

I loved watching Gene's dream come alive! I love our house, and I think he did a fantastic job!

Check out more Flashbacks Here:

Sucker!

I'm a sucker, for most things. I love photo challenges, and I love Giveaways. I stumbled across this fabulous giveaway from Leigh Ashley.

I love bags. I would have a million if Gene would let me. I think I did have a million before we got married. I had to downsize when we moved in together. It was a hard choice, but I managed to separate myself from some of my beloved bags.

To me, bags are tied with emotional events. I'll remember a special event that was associated with that particular bag and it will be hard to give it up.

----Oh... I remember this one. I carried this one all over Europe.

---- I can't get rid of this one. This is the one I carried on my first date with my first boyfriend.

Confession time: I'm sooooooo bad with bags. I still have the backpack I carried in KINDERGARTEN! Now, I don't have all my backpacks, but I do have that one. Its so tiny. I remember it being gigantic on me. I love that it has Rainbow Brite on it. Its so special, I'll never get rid of it!

So, if you are in need of a cute bag. Hop on over to Leigh Ashley site and check out her Giveaway and the Etsy link to tons of cute things!

You Capture: Black and White

The theme at You Capture this week is Black and White.

My in-laws raise Miniature Donkeys. They are pets. They buy them, breed them, but can't get rid of them. There are 12 on the Choo-Choo mini donkey farm now. The most recent, was a surprise! A donkey gestation period is 14 months! (Wow! No thank you!)

These little fellas have become very accustomed to us, really people in general. I can come up to the pasture fence and they will all come over to see me. You gotta watch your shoelaces though, they'll get them if you're not looking.

POTW: Food

This weeks Photo of the week challenge is all about food. I had high hopes of capturing something delicious. I failed on that. I took some pictures of making ice cream, but they didn't look that appetizing.

So here, is a photo. This is from our trip to Charleston. This is She Crab soup and hushpuppies from Hyman's Seafood. It was soooooo good. I could eat a million of those little, crusty nuggets.

Shout Out

This is a shout to my good "e-friend" Ashley, who I affectionately call A-Rob. Blogger at Ramblings and Photos. She introduced me to all the fanstatic photo challenges that are out there on the interwebz. I will admit to stalking her blog, just to see what's the next challenge. I don't enter them all, because I don't feel like I have enough photos to use yet, or my photos aren't up to par.

I think A-Rob has commented on just about every one of my posts. She's been a great encouragement for me and my hobby. I am genuinly grateful for her support and her "e-friendship".

She created this magnificent button that I just had to include it. If this button reminds you of yourself, please feel free to grab it!

Speaking of Action

The lovely Paper Mama has decided to make a theme after my own heart this week! Action!

Now the hard part is what photo to choose. There are so many... JJ playing soccer, JJ playing baseball, JJ just playing. But, this challenge is dedicated to the action of my sweet pup!

Woody is our fantastic Frisbee catching Border Collie! This is him competing in a local frisbee dog competition. He's still a rookie, but watch out. In the next few years, I think Woody will be a winner.

Here is the series for this photo...

Action is my schtick

I love action photos. I'm not gonna lie. I like capturing candid actions. A portrait every now and then, a macro or two, but... Landscapes....

I love the look of landscapes, but I just can't seem to put together the image in my head to the image in the camera. I know, one thing I lack, is the proper lens. I know for sure, I need something with a wider angle. The lowest I have right now is 18mm, and that's the horrid Kit lens. I'm scared though, to invest in a wide angle, because I know its not the lens/camera that makes the photo, but the eye of the photographer.

However, I cannot turn down a photo challenge. This weeks challenge at In a Yellow House is Landscape. They are going on a European vacation soon, so this will be the last challenge till September. So in honor of their up coming trip, here is a landscape I took in Europe.

This is the Amstel River, in Amsterdam. Taken from one of the many bridges over the river. All the canals looked like this. House boat, after house boat, tied to the edge. I thought it must be such a fun life to live on the river.

I hope you have an awesome vacation!

I love this face

JJ has a great face. He is a kid of expression! He has grown to know I'll be sticking the camera in his face. Its optimal to catch him off guard to get the best expression, but the cheesy smile is great for memories as well.

This photo is 2 years old, and it was actually taken with my film SLR. The quality might not look superior because I scanned it in. However, I thought it was too cute not to share, and especially since the theme at Trendy Treehouse this week is Faces.

This was taken on our JJ and Lisa Adventure weekend. Gene had an event in downtown Atlanta and JJ and I tagged along. I thought it was a great oppurtunity for us to spend a little time together. We visited CNN and the World of Coke (Where I let him sample to his little hearts content) This is at the fountains at Olympic Park. It was overcast and cool that day, but JJ couldn't resist the water. He's trying his hardest to smile through the teeth chattering. Bless his heart!

Over My Head: I Heart Faces

This week theme at I Heart Faces is Over My Head: left to the interpretation of the blogger.
That's a very vague theme. I skimmed through my photo files, trying to find something I felt "fit". I saw this one and thought it would do the job.



This is one of JJ when we went Blackberry picking in the back pasture. It was the heat of the day, obviously by the amount of sweat pouring down his face. He kept telling me he saw a ton of berries, but he couldn't reach them because they were over his head. I managed to capture him going in for one.

Thanks Trendy Treehouse

Thank to Marlessa at Southern Reflections for choosing my By the Pool, Splish Splash picture as one of her top ten! I can't say enough how excited I am.

Thanks to the Trendy Treehouse gals as well for hosting such a great event!

Keep checking back, I'm sure there will be more pool pictures to come!

Flash Back Friday: Playing Putt Putt

We've been vacationing in the mountains for six years now. Every summer, JJ wants to do the same thing... play Putt Putt, aka Miniature golf. And he doesn't want to play once, he wants to play every day. Thankfully, we have figured out which courses are worth it and how to get the most play time with the least effect on the old wallet.

Here's a picture from 3 summers ago. JJ was six, about to turn seven.

Here is from this year, JJ is about to turn 9!

He looks so big! I can't believe how fast he has grown. He probably still is wearing the same shorts he did three summers ago. The kid only grows vertically, which is a GREAT thing. He's so athletic, he's nothing but muscle.

Here is another then and now from the same summers:

I love my boys!

Black and White

I have a lot to say about Black and White this week. First of all, its the POTW on the photograpy board. Here is my submission:

This is JJ playing in the river on vacation. I love the sun on his back, shining on his hair, the bokeh of the glistening water. I'm not that great at converting to black and white, but I like how this one came out.

Also speaking of Black and White...my local Center for the Arts (for which I am a board member) is hosting a member only show this month called, "Basically Black and White". I entered two submissions, mostly because it was free and I felt obligated as a board member. I told them they were not allowed to hang my pieces next to the pro photographer, because its obvious I have a long way to go.

But, for your viewing pleasure, here are my two submissions:

Palmetto State (8 x 10 framed out to 11 x 14)

This wasn't the photo I wanted to submit. (The one I did, when I enlarged it, it didn't look as good, and then the frame I had was horizontal not vertical) I considered not submitting anything at all, but tossed this one in there at the last minute. Much to my surprise, it received a lot of complements at the opening reception.

And the second,
First Snow: This one is printed on Metallic Paper (11 x 14 framed to 16 x 20)

Make Me Laugh- Take 2

If you saw the first post, dang you're quick. I apparently didn't read the directions correctly, so I'm re-doing my entry for Paper Mama's Make me laugh photo challenge.

The cute cow I had posted, that gave JJ and I lots of laughs is not my child or pet, so it can't be included. Bummer. But, I do have this photo from vacation that gave Gene and I laughs.



This is sibling rivalry. JJ was upset that Woody had just splashed him. JJ's little hissy fit that insued was cute and Gene and I couldn't help but laugh. Its karma kid!

Best Shot

In A Yellow House theme this week is your Best Shot. I'm new to photography, so I don't think I have very many. But, I do think highly of this photo.

This is from our ornamental peach tree in our front yard. This was actually taken with my 55-250. I feel like the stamen on the bud are tentacles and they are coming to get me. The bokeh is also delicious (I Heart Bokeh).