2009 slideshow…people, moments, memories, beauty…

Yippee!!!  We actually got some real snow today!  Over four inches between 2 and 5 pm.  We weren’t home to play in it until about 4:30, so I was only able to get a few dark photos.

The reason we weren’t home to play in it much was because Ethan was attending a birthday party about 35 minutes away.  I picked him up at 2:20 and the snow was really coming down!  It looked beautiful.  But traffic was beginning to s.l.o.w. down.  I’m so glad we made it back to swim practice before things got even more messy.  The birthday party was for our neighbor and we saw them pull in about 4:50.  They left the venue at 3:30 and came straight home.  Ah, Oregon.  You do so many things well, but not snow.  I think that’s why I like it so much!  Snow=vacation…at least in spirit.

See Ethan in the background?  He’s throwing snowballs at me.  Not too long before this photo, I had thrown one at him and turned in just the right way to make me completely lose my footing in the snow and slam onto my left hip and shoulder.  I was on the ground before I knew what happened!  I laughed in surprise, but I think I shall have a dandy bruise!

I’m so glad we hadn’t yet taken down our oversized Christmas lights along our driveway.  They look so fun in the snow!  In case you’re wondering about the very blue background behind me, I stood just outside the garage and let the outdoor light hit my face.  As I expected, the light on my face was very orange and the background was kinda snow-gray.  Once I adjusted my white balance (on the computer) to better represent my face, the rest of the photo went blue.  That’s what happens when you mix different colors of  light.  In this case, I thought the blue was fitting.

Our high temp is supposed to be 45F tomorrow, so all the lovely snow will be gone very soon.  We’re thankful for what we got!

Christmas has gone.  A New Year is nearly upon us!  Normally, I like to let lights and decorations linger into January.  But I have hopes and dreams for 2010, and I don’t want remnants of 2009 cluttering up the beginning of the New Year.  So, I think they shall come down this week.  But, I may just leave the tree for last.  I always miss the glow of lights.  When do you take down your Christmas decorations?

Completely off topic…I had a photographer’s nightmare last night!  In my dream, I ended up at a little get together at Jessica Claire’s house.  (She is one of the best wedding photogs in the world!)  There were other very nice people there: some photographers and some who just knew photographers.  They all treated me as if I were “one of them.”  They were all kind, but I felt like such a fraud, worried what would happen when they found out how incapable I actually am!  I was already planning how I would turn away any referrals they sent to me.  At the end when we were all gathering our things to leave, I figured I needed evidence that I had actually been there, so I asked to take a snap of Jessica.  She generously let me do a little mini-shoot with her, outside in her neighborhood.  I had my 50mm f/1.4 lens on and just went for it.  I was too embarrassed to do much chimping (checking the LCD for results), and in my anxiety I wasn’t paying attention to my settings very much.    Later, I discovered that I had bumped my ISO down too far and was shooting at 1/15 of a sec…which pretty much ensured that I didn’t get one clear, non-blurry ph0to.  Ahhhhhhh!  I woke up before I actually pulled the photos onto the computer.  What a relief!!!  Isn’t that funny?!?!?! 

Simple.

Sunny.

Smiley.

Silly.

Sweet.

It’s been a long while since I did any sewing, and I’ve been missing it.  So this weekend I dug into a Christmas-gift, sewing project, and I liked it so much I just had to share!

A few weeks ago, I decided to order personalized chef hats for a niece (almost 2 yrs) and nephew (4 yrs).  They enjoy cooking with their mama (who is a fantastic cook, by the way).  I found some at Growing Cooks.  They even had a camo one, and since my nephew had recently had a camo-themed birthday party, I knew I had to get him that one.  They arrived last week and I think they’re great!  They are very adjustable with long velcro pieces in the back, so they should last a long time.

Along with the chef hats, I figured they needed aprons.  In search of a pattern, I somehow came across Sew Liberated where she had posted a free pattern for a Montessori Child’s Apron.  I had nearly everything I needed to make my niece’s, so I got started.  Since she is just turning 2, I made it a bit smaller.  Isn’t it darling??

What I love about this pattern is the fact that a child can put it on by herself!  There are no long apron strings to be tangled and tied.  The neck strap has elastic and just slips over the head.

Around the waist is a strap that velcros on one side.

Chef hat and apron…

Since my nephew’s hat was in camo, I wasn’t sure what fabric I’d end up using to coordinate with it.  I figured if I couldn’t find a camo that matched reasonably well, I’d just get a solid color.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find some fabric that was pretty close to the hat’s fabric, so I went with it.  Not bad, huh?

The hat’s colors are slightly brighter, but I think that’s OK.

These came together quite quickly as the pattern is super simple and well done.  If you like to sew and your child could use an apron, I’d highly recommend this pattern.  Next time, I might consider adding a pocket, but I was very pleased with how these turned out.  Now to just get them in the mail!  I can’t wait to see pics of Sam and Esther in their cooking duds!

A few weeks ago, my friend was shocked with a diagnosis of breast cancer.  This week she had some major surgery.  Even though the docs are confident they got it all,  she will be facing chemo in the New Year.  Strengthened by faith, family and friends, she is courageous, beautiful, and able to find moments of humor and levity in the midst of this storm.  C, you are loved and covered in prayer!

Since September, we’ve been a swim team family.  Well, actually we were one over the summer with our neighborhood team, but now we are with an “official” team.  Ethan is the swimmer, of course, but as parents, we have to volunteer 30 hours over the course of the swim year (Sept – Aug) to help the team function.  It’s a large team (maybe 250 swimmers from ages 6-18) and there is a lot going on behind the scenes.  So far, I’ve enjoyed getting some volunteer hours by being a timer at the meets (once a month).  Last Saturday I actually got to time Ethan for one of his races.  That was fun.  At first, I felt badly that I wouldn’t get to take pictures if I was working at the meets.  But, most indoor swimming venues are poorly lit for good pictures anyway, and as a timer, you get the best seat in the house.  I’ve passed picture duties off to Seth who uses the Flip to get some video instead.

Entering the swimming world has meant learning a lot of new things…about how the team works, how meets work, what time standards are, what short courses and long courses are, etc…besides all the technical swimming details.  We’ve learned that each race, for each age group, for boys and girls, has an “A” standard time and a “B” standard time.  As far as I can tell, this is a way of tracking the swimmer’s progress, and if you achieve an A time, you get to attend a championship meet at the end of the season (I think).  It’s similar to track and cross country in that you’re really racing the clock more than your fellow competitors.  Your goal is to beat yourself, and hopefully end up with a nice placement as well.

Last Saturday was Ethan’s third meet with this team, and one of his races was the 100 yard Individual Medley (25y butterfly, 25y backstroke, 25y breaststroke, 25y freestyle).  This was the first time he had swum this race since August, when he did it with our neighborhood team.  Some of you may recall the divejumpflop?  Well, there have been some improvements!  Check him out!  He’s the one in the cap on the right when they come off the blocks (the kid in first place!).

-video-

The A-time standard for this race is 1:50.99.  Ethan swam a 1:44.20!  He has also reached an A time in the 25y freestyle and has a B time for the 50y breaststroke.  He’s really enjoying everything about this experience (except the early wake-up times on meet days).  We may be a swim team family for quite a while!