Love From Above

Day 7: High Angle


Last night at about 10:00, after a long day with Doodle, an absent husband, and very few "to dos" checked off the list, I was ready to go to bed.  As I was summoning the energy to get up off the couch and go upstairs, the Beagle decided to vomit his dinner all over the hardwood floors.  As I started to clean it up, I was eternally grateful he didn't find carpet.  As luck would have it, he continued to have an upset stomach. I let him out 2 or 3 more times.  I was concerned enough that I followed him around with a flashlight making sure there was nothing worrisome in his emesis.  Now I must confess something.  I am almost 33 years old and I am still terrified of the dark.  Hate it!  Run from my car to the house if I am alone kind of terrified.  Guess I shouldn't have read so much Stephen King and James Patterson.  Letting the dog out  multiple times in pitch black dark without any backup was not my idea of a good night.  So as I swept the flashlight from one side of the yard to the other I was checking for the Beagles messes, but also for the Boogie Monster that  might be lurking in the corner.  When I swept the light behind a bush, I saw something that made me smile.  Made me feel a little bit loved.  And something that distracted me enough that I wasn't quite as scared.

Now remember, I am terrified of the dark, so obviously I did not stop to get out the step ladder and take the picture at night!  But look closely behind the bush.  There is a red heart.  It is the ribbon from a bag of dog food.  It has been there for several days.  It must have landed that way (or I have 2 talented dogs).  I liked it, so I have left it there.  Last night, it served it's purpose.  I wasn't so scared.  
So today's assignment was to take a "high angle" photo.  Hope you all like this as much as I do.  It's still in my yard.  I will leave it there for a while.  To me it's God's way of making me take a second and smile each time I see it!

Old and New

Day 6: Books
For an avid reader, taking a picture of books seemed like a super simple thing.  I decided to take a picture of all the books Doddle and I read together throughout the day.  So after I put her to bed, I layed all the books out and got on the step stool and took the picture.  I sat down on the couch to upload the pictures to the computer.  I also took a second to double check the list of photos.  When I checked, I saw a picture of some old books.  At almost the same time, I looked up on my build in book shelf and happened upon a favorite spot in my house.  I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier.   The shelf that the books sit on, has a nice mixture of old and new.  It is just above the TV and I often find myself looking up at it while deep in thought.

The books ( a five volume set of Edgar Allan Poe) were published in 1903.  I asked for them for Hanukkah when I was sixteen.  I love looking through old books.  I always wonder about where they have been and who they belonged to.  The tea pot and cup and saucer were my paternal grandfathers.  The Weird Georgia book I brought back as a prize for my Favoritest after a girls weekend in Savannah. Everything in this frame makes me smile.  

Breakfast in Bed

Day 5: Breakfast


We have formed a weekend tradition in our house.  Don't get all mushy and sentimental.  It is a tradition born out of laziness and fatigue.  It is not our finest parenting moment, but it sure makes the daily 7:00am wake up call easier to handle two days a week.  On the weekends, as Doddle and the dogs start waking up, my Favoritest and I decide on our jobs.  Job 1- feed dogs, let them out, gather supplies (ie fruit loops and sippy cup of milk).  Job 2- get Doodle, change diaper, get entertainment (dvd of toddler's choice) ready.  Usually my Favoritest takes dog duty, because he can sleep while they go out, and he can't fix a diaper while half asleep.  I gather Doddle and her friends and bring them to our bed.  I get the entertainment ready.  Favoritest brings the ever important supplies.  We all get under the covers.  I usually read, check facebook, or doze.  My Favoritest goes back to sleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.  Doodle, crunches Fruit Loops and sips on milk and watches her movie.  Yes, it is lazy.  Yes, the T.V. probably rots her brain cells a little at a time.  Yes, we get to rest and relax for an extra hour!  Don't judge.  If you are a parent, you know you do it too!  So here is my picture of breakfast

Don't worry, she gets second breakfast that includes something of nutritional value as soon as we go downstairs.  Also, don't worry, in order to get out of the bed there is usually lots of tickling, snuggling, and kisses.  It may be lazy, but it's a great way to start the day a couple of times a week!

Cloudy

Day 4: Clouds


When I was a kid, I loved "finding" things in the clouds.  Truth be told, I still get easily distracted while driving over the mountains on a day filled with big white billowy clouds.  So I was pretty excited about taking pictures of the clouds.  Wouldn't you know, on Saturday there was hardly a cloud in the sky.  We went out for lunch to a brewery on Afton Mountain.  I took my camera, no clouds.  I was determined, so I drug the camera along to a friends birthday party.  Desperate for something, I took a picture looking up through the tree I was sitting under.  I figured I could at least get some really nice contrast between the sky and the leaves.  When I loaded the pictures, I was excited to see that not only did I get that lovely contrast, I also got a swan!

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Day 3: Hands

In this photo journey I am taking, today's assignment was "hands".  I tried several different ideas, took a billion pictures, and ended up with this:

I took it while I was walking with Doodle.  I didn't even look at the camera display.  I was really just enjoying the pressure of her little hand holding my finger.  She is totally in the "all by myself" phase of toddlerhood.  And though I am grateful for her independence, every one in a while I miss being needed for the little things.  Today as we walked, I wasn't so much needed, but wanted.... at least for 2 minutes and then she was off to climb the rocks.  

Happy Dance

Day 2: Favorite Shoes

So, today's challenge was  to take a picture of your favorite shoes.  Obviously, if you know me, you can figure out 2 things.  One: those are not my shoes or my super cute skinny legs.  Two: I probably didn't read the instructions well.  I thought the list just said "shoes" not "your favorite shoes".  So in typical me style, I decided that these were in fact MY favorite shoes today.  Why? Because Doddle loves them and wanted to wear them.


My kid is not a shoe lover.  She has a very small foot, and therefor we have a super had time finding shoes for her.  As a result, I usually only have 1-2 pairs in rotation at a time.  As a result, my routine bound toddler only likes those 1 or 2 pairs of shoes.  She hates new shoes so much that I bought the same pair 2 times in a row.  And when we needed new ones 2 weeks ago and the Clarks Store (only place that has shoes that fit her and are made for toddler busyness) didn't have the "mouse shoes" anymore, I made the clerk take our old shoes when we left with new "apple" shoes.  That way, I wasn't lying when I told Doddle that the "mouse shoes" were all gone.  


So last night, when she decided to "play" with the 3 pairs of hand me down crocs, I was thrilled.  I had her run, dance, and jump in them.  My hope was that when we went to the pool on Saturday, she might wear them without pitching too much of a fit.  Imagine my surprise, when she not only wanted to play with them again, but insisted on wearing the "new black shoes" to school today!  I, was so excited about that, and the pictures I got of her playing in them, that I couldn't wait to upload the picture to the flickr group. 


Then I logged on and realized my mistake.  And then I decided that the crocs were my favorite shoes right now.  And I decided that if I followed the rules of the game 100% I wouldn't love the picture of what ever other shoes I took!

30 Challenge

So, I happened upon A Feathered Nest: Photo Fun in June-come join the party! It was a 30 day photo challenge.   I have been thinking about doing a 365 photo project, but that seemed overwhelming, this seems like something I could possibly complete.  So I started yesterday.  The challenge gives a photo challenge for each day.  Today while doing some deep thinking in the shower, I decided that this would also be a great opportunity to get back to my blog, and figure out what I want this blog to be about.  So here is the picture from Day One

Self Portrait of Exhausted Me

June 1st was Self Portrait day.  I of course procrastinated all day, and was left with nothing but my Iphone and a frizzy head of hair, sitting by the bath tub while Doodle played in the water.  It had been a really long 2 days.  I had honestly only seen My Favoritest for maybe 3 minutes (through sleep encrusted eyes) in the last 48 hours.  Six meals and 48 hours as a solo mom had left me feeling haggard and impatient.  So there I sat, taking self portraits with my phone.  Holding it down low to avoid all my jiggly bits.  I kept getting these horrid mean looking faces.  My smiles looked fake.  It wasn't me.  So I decided to see what happened if I took a picture of myself while I was watching Doddle play.  And this is what I got.  It might be one of my favorite pictures of myself.  

A while ago I saw Maya Angelo on Oprah.  She was talking about the best gift to give to your children. She said to look at them so they can see the love on your face.  That was not a verbatim quote, but you get the point. I have really been trying to do that not only with Doodle, but with My Favoritest too.  I think this picture of me captures love.  Hopefully those I love see this face often!