Changing

These past few weeks have been full of changes. Changes at home, changes at work, changes, changes, changes... And the next few months don't show signs of that changing... lol

Hubby's shift at work changed a few weeks ago, leaving us with only one day off with everyone at home together. That was an adjustment, but it makes us sure to use that day to spend time together as a family and do something fun vs. wasting it just lying around, so it's been positive. Plus it sets us up for a great schedule once Jordan starts kindergarten in August.

I also just restarted a more rigid diet/exercise plan for myself. I worked really hard in December to meet a goal I wanted for Christmas, but have been totally slacking off since then. I'm heading on vacation in June to see a group of old friends so I'm using that as my new goal to get back on track. I won't be where I wish I was by then, but if I can be on my way I'll feel a whole lot better.

Then this week, I got an offer at work to change my schedule so I'm home earlier every day, which will be awesome, but sets up some challenges with getting to the gym since I'll now be working during the time I usually go, and it means I'll miss some of Jordan's soccer games the rest of this season. But again, the payoff in August to have less time we'll have to have a babysitter for Jordan after school is going to be worth it.

Ironically, another change this week is our weather. It is GORGEOUS outside. Are there really states where the weather is usually like this during April? Temperatures in the 60's and no rain or humidity... I wish I could make it stay. Being able to have my windows open in April does NOT happen in Florida. I will enjoy it while it lasts and then wish for November to roll in as fast as possible...

Nice weather does mean we can spend more time outside though, which gives me more opportunities to practice with my camera. This week I've been playing with ISO and aperture. I've found I'm learning more by having a basic knowledge of how everything works and then just taking pictures with different settings and comparing them. Thank goodness for digital... How did photographers get better when using film without going broke?
I got some shots I'm pretty happy with and posted them below. I'm making an effort to blog more often than just once a week for my photo challenge, so let's hope I keep it up. We'll add it to the list of changes.

 Here's a magnolia blossom from the tree in the backyard,

And a shot of my pretty kitty Maggie, 

Jordan playing baseball (one of the few where his eyes are actually open) ,

And one last picture of the magnolia tree as the sun starts to come down for the evening. This was my favorite shot of the day. I even decided to use it as the main pic on my blog title since it worked with the color scheme...

Blueberry Memories

Today was such a great day. A local farm nearby grows blueberries and lets you do u-pick, so we thought we'd head out for lunch by their pond and some blueberry goodness. And let me tell you, we will return. The farm is wonderful, the perfect place to have fun as a family and also get some great fruit to take home.

Here's my hubby picking some,

and then Jordan,

and then, some pics that make me wish I had a macro lens... but my birthday is coming up... lol



I have decided that I love to take some close up shots of nature... So I think I'm going to move on in that direction in my photography... We'll see how it goes.

Oh, and those blueberries, those wonderful blueberries... They are some of the biggest, best, blueberries I've ever had. We had so much fun, picking them, and eating them. I can't wait to go back.

P52 Week 14 - Things that Grow

For my photo this week I had what I thought was a neat idea to take some pictures of waves growing at the beach, but our beach trip had to be postponed due to something else that grows in Florida, rain clouds. It looks like we have a wet weekend in store for us, so the beach will have to wait until next week.

Instead, for my Things that Grow picture, I took a few pictures of  the hibiscus plants that are starting to flower in my front yard. I need to get some new plants to add to the landscape for the spring, but I just haven't found the time yet. Thank goodness these hibiscus keep coming back. They took a hit a few winters ago, but with the mild winters the past two years they seem to be making a bit of a comeback.

P52 Week 15 - Sacrifice

Late on my post this week, but at least the picture was taken in the right week! :) I've been sick over the weekend, so blogging was not on my to-do list. Feeling better today, but wishing I didn't have to be at work. Since my 10 hour days consist of talking to customers over the phone the whole time, having a sore throat, cough, and runny nose are not really helpful.

I can't believe we are already through 15 weeks of the year already. This first half of the year is flying by. Before I know it, I'll be shipping Jordan off to kindergarten. No! I'm not ready! But he is, he's so ready. We registered him at the school on Wednesday and he was so excited. We got to tour through the classrooms and see some of the campus, and he can't wait to go back. He asked me how long until school started, and after he figured out how long it is between April and August, he was very disappointed.

This week's P52 theme is Sacrifice, but thank goodness Darcy, the blog host, clarified that we were able to use any pic from our Easter holiday celebration, which is great because I was struggling with the theme, and because there is a picture I took of Jordan hunting eggs on Easter that I love and SO wanted to use for this week.

P52 Week 14 - Foolin' Around

Spring has sprung... so why does it already feel like Summer? Oh, that's right, I live in Florida. Jordan and I attempted a trip to the park this week that didn't last very long, it was way hot! Just last week I was enjoying driving around with the windows open, hanging around outside during the day, but alas, it seems those days are already over for this year. Now comes the time of year where we have to find things to do inside from 11 - 4 every day, because it is just not friendly out there unless you're at the beach.

We still had fun though, for the short time we were there. This weeks P52 theme was "Foolin' Around" which is never hard for this kid. The park we like to go to the most has some statues of kids around it doing various things. One is reading a book. Of course, my silly kid thought it would be hilarious if he sat down and read with her, and it actually was.

He also loves this big hill that he can climb up and then slide down and then of course everybody loves a good slide.

P52 Week 13 - Details

Lot's of fun this week, but also a lot of changes. Hubby started a new work shift. It comes with a promotion, so it's worth it, but it means we only get to be off one day together each week, Sundays... So I've been doing what I do best, working out the details. I'm a total control freak (shhh... don't tell anyone) and planning helps me calm anxiety and frustration, so that's what I've been working on this week. Figuring out how to juggle food, cleaning, and errands so that on Sundays all we have to do is hang out and enjoy each other.

But, that doesn't really pose great picture taking opportunities so I've decided to use a picture I took at Seaworld this week. On Sunday we got to attend a special breakfast with Jack Hanna that was only for pass holders. I loved Jack Hanna growing up, watching him at noon on Saturday mornings. When I was in school I wanted to be a zookeeper, and he was a great influence in that. Of course that didn't happen, but I still love animals and I think I could hang out at Seaworld all day every day and not get bored.

I took this picture of a lizard (not a typical Seaworld animal) while we were watching the dolphins. I love the detail in the picture, so that's why I used it for my P52 post this week. After it, I've posted some of my other favorites from the day. Now just waiting for Sunday for some family time!!

P52 Week 12 - Hunger

Late with my post this week, but still getting it in under the wire. This week was trouble for me. I know it was Hunger because of The Hunger Games, which I actually just got into and ended up reading all three books in the past two weeks, just finishing on Thursday; but that's not what I think of when I think of Hunger. I think of food. Which isn't surprising, because I'm always thinking of food. And when I'm not thinking of food, I'm probably thinking about trying not to think about food....

I don't get too hungry, I don't let myself unfortunately, which is something that actually made me pretty sad when I thought about it this week, so I've decided to challenge myself this week. When I feel "hungry" (which probably means I'm bored) I'm going to wait at least 30 minutes before allowing myself anything to eat. Then, if I'm still hungry, I'll think about it again.

My most often time to get hungry is at night. I work until around 10pm so once I'm home and settling down, my brain tells me I need a snack. So that's what I took a picture of this week.  A pick of an open fridge in the dark, ready for me to find something that I don't really need to eat...

For a hard picture week, it really did make me think about some things that need some changing...

P52 Week 11 - The 'Eyes' of March

Nothing exciting planned this week, just hanging around at home. The weather was great though, one of the few times of the year in Fl that I remember how much I love driving with the windows down and hanging out outside, that is, until the horrible heat and humidity set in in a few weeks and I wish I lived in Alaska...

I got some great shots of Jordan on the swing set in the backyard one afternoon, and used him for my 'eyes' picture. I love his big brown eyes. They always make me melt. Why is it that boys get blessed with big long eyelashes while girls are left to cover theirs in mascara.

The first shot is the one I thought I would use for the P52 challenge this week, but I'm in love with the second picture. He's in a phase right now where he always wants to make silly faces at the camera. In order to get a nice smile, I have to promise to let him take one with a silly face next. And of course, he has to look at it right away... This is not a child to shy away from the camera.

April is shaping up nicely with plans. Soccer starts the first weekend and goes through the beginning of June, so we are looking forward to that. It's the first sport he'll play, but in this family I can guarantee it won't be the last.

P52 Week 10 - Be Still

This week's theme, Be Still. I struggled with ideas for this one, for very little in my life is still. But, I did get a picture of a bee while picking some local strawberries on Thursday, and since I'm usually frozen in fear around bees (I have never been stung and the fear of the unknown is overwhelming around bees and wasps!) I figured I'd use that as my pic for the week.

Jordan and I did have a great time picking strawberries, one of the perks of living in central Florida this time of year. So yummy....

P52 Week 9 - A Great Leap

So my leap day this year was pretty exciting. The Magic Kingdom was open for 24 hours and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a part of something really exciting in a place I love so much.

We didn't make it the entire 24 hours, but we did go from 8:00am - 4:00am and that's pretty good, especially with a 5 year old in tow.

I took plenty of pictures, but just posted four of them below. A really cool button we all got for being there in the morning, a picture of me and Jordan in front of the castle, the awesome shirt I bought and wore that night, and a shot of the fireworks that marked hour 12 in our 20 hour excursion.

A great Leap was this weeks P52 theme, and I think I took that, taking a 5 year old for some crazy Disney fun for 20 hours. I'm still recuperating from not only being up that long, but walking for most of it, but it was such a blast. I'm so glad we did it!!

p52 Week 8 - Cabin Fever

Not too much cabin fever going on when you live in Florida, but the past few days have been a little stormy so we've all been holed up inside enjoying catching up on some tv and doing puzzles and games.

I got some shots of the rain out the front door on Wednesday, so that's my P52 shot this week... I realized the white balance was off a few pictures later, but this was still my favorite, the way the rain was captured, so I went with it anyway.

P52 Week 7 - True Love

I did a whole lot this week regarding love. It was my son's 5th birthday on Saturday, my 7th wedding anniversary on Sunday, and when you throw in Valentines day it makes for some busy, fun, loving times with family.

But for my P52 picture this week I decided to show off some love from my extended family, my beautiful sister and niece, who we got to visit with on Thursday.

Here's my gorgeous niece....

And her equally gorgeous mommy... Now, at 15 months, Emilee is not one to slow down very often when her awesome aunt and cousin are around, but she did sneak some cuddle time with her mommy toward the end of our visit, definitely true love :)

P52 Week 6 - Drink Up

Jordan's 5th birthday is Saturday, so as a surprise I took him to Walt Disney World on Thursday for his present. He had such a good day. When we got there a cast member gave him a button that said he was there for his birthday and all day long everyone kept telling him "Happy Birthday." He loved it! I'll need to do another post with the pics of our day, but for my P52 post I thought I'd keep it short and sweet.

I made reservations for us to eat dinner at the Plaza Restaurant on Main Street. It's a cool little restaurant themed like the 1940's and they have a old fashioned ice cream parlor too. I ordered us a strawberry milkshake to share and then they also surprised Jordan with a cupcake for his birthday. It was sugar overload!!

So here's my P52 Post for this week's theme, "Drink Up."  And we did.....

P52 Week 5 - Shadows

Late this week on my post, but I did take the picture on time.

This weeks theme is Shadows. You'd think in sunny Florida that I'd have plenty of ops for some good shadows outside, but it's been surprisingly overcast this week, but I did get some good shadows as I was relaxing in the bath Thursday night, so I thought I would post one of those.

A dimly candlelit room is not the best place for pictures, but it is a great place to relax, which was desperately needed that night. As Jordan comes upon 5 years old he's also learning how to through a great tantrum. Sometimes a minute in a hot bath with some music, a candle, and a glass (or two) of wine is one of the best things to help me relax and wind down from a draining or frustrating day.

This upcoming week is probably one busiest weeks of the whole year, with Jordan's birthday, his party, and our wedding anniversary all packed into a few days. Add a secret birthday surprise for Jordan and my mind is full of to-do lists and scheduling, but it will all be worth it in the end. I know I'll be filling up my memory card this week... Stay tuned.