January 14 - Living With A Marine
My husband served in the Marine Corp a few years back before I knew him. He was a scout sniper during Desert Storm and still to this day you place any type of gun in his hand and it is like a switch comes on and he instantly looks like a Marine. I understand he is always a Marine, but it is not as obvious to me until I see him with a weapon in his hand or he is calling out cadence to the kids. I do not see that side of him often, except when he made his own ghillie suit which was pretty cool. Typically, I see him with musical instruments or even the XBox controller playing Call Of Duty. I wouldn't mind seeing him with a vacuum, but I am not complaining he is pretty darn awesome.
Well our oldest happen to see a really cool backpack that James used years ago in the Marines. Well the Alice pack, as it is called, is pretty cool looking and I am sure someone who is in High School would like to use it. I think it's cool looking too and might snag it for my photography gear as it has a cool back support system. As my Marine husband starts to clean out the Alice pack for our use, here is the photo of the lovely item left inside the bag. Of course anyone who was not married to a Marine might gasp when they saw this empty (YES EMPTY) shell sitting on their kitchen table. For us, it is a pretty typical response of oh how cool. Then we are lucky enough to hear a cool story of how he came across this and cannot wait to share this with the little guys when they are older.
I am going to take a bet that we are probably the only house on the block with empty shells like this. Being married to a Marine, there is always a story!
January 13 - YouTube
I am married to an extremely talented man who plays more instruments than anyone I know. Not only does he play
them, but he plays them very well. He has finally started to record his songs on different instruments and upload to YouTube to share his talent with the world. If you look on YouTube there are enough people without a lot of talent posting so he is hoping that he might just be slightly better than them!
As his wife with the fancy camera, I have offered to help record a great video with a backdrop and make it look more official than say an IPhone video that you see uploaded. The first video turned out great and right now he is working on Home Sweet Home on the banjo.
I was sitting there thinking what am I going to post about today and then it hit me, you have two cameras so why don't you take a cool shot of recording his playing. Well that is exactly what I did as you see below and I really liked how the shot turned out...I can be very clever at times. Yes, I am patting my own back after 41 years you will learn that if you don't pat your own back once in a while no one else will do it. You gotta learn to appreciate when you can do something well and not be afraid to say it. Well that is what my husband is doing also, he is learning that no one will appreciate his talent unless he shares it. The "taping" of the video is still ongoing I will be sure to share the link next week when he has completed the song to his satisfaction.
I hope you enjoy and thanks for taking the time to follow this blog!
This image was chosen as Photo Of The Day on January 16, 2013! There is a Capture My Chicago website for local photographers and I have won a couple awards, but it looks like this photo was a winner!
http://www.capturemychicago.com/photos/2013/1/16
January 12th - PALEO OH MY
Saturday the 12th was very busy with different types of foods. I ended up going to a fabulous Mexican lunch with two girlfriends. We spent the time chowing on the chips and salsa and then I finished my lunch before the other two were even close. I am going to blame that on the fact that I have two little people at home and rarely am I able to eat in peace so I shove the food in like a female wolf. We also spent the time talking over all the benefits fo getting older...NOT! I did not take a photo of the luncheon as I believe chips and salsa stained shirts would not be appreciated by anyone.
I did come home being completely stuffed and did not even make dinner. I had a sweet tooth later on and decided to give this recipe a try from PALEOMG.com. It looked like a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe and everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. PALEO in case you are not familiar is not dairy, grains, sugars, processed foods, legumes, etc, it is called the Caveman Diet. For people who have thyroid issues it is suppose to be very beneficial so I thought I would give some recipes a try. It is Almond Butter, Dark Chocolate chips, 1 egg and some salt, baking power, baking soda and some vanilla.
Well let me tell you this was a really good cookie! Calories is very close to the original chocolate chip because Almond Butter is not calorie free, but no flour at all. Even my husband who enjoys the not good things to eat said he would eat this cookie again it was good. I am going to make smaller cookies next time and sneak them to my children because they won't even know. Going to try and health up this house a little with some smarter choices. I am hoping Kale Chips are a big hit, but I will have to bribe the older two to even try them. Here's to the New Year and some healthier choices.
January 11 - Car Rides
I know my little tiny man is 5 years old, but even now if we go for any kind of car ride within 2 hrs of his normal bedtime this is what happens:
I happen to think that it is so sweet that he is still little and a soothing car ride knocks him right out. Seeing him sleep so soundly reminds me of when he was small and I use to just stare at him in my arms. When he sleeps like this I can still pick him up, as long as I bend at the knees, and hold him close. I can smell his hair, feel the weight of him on my shoulder just like I did when he was a meatloaf.
Once he is awake it is non-stop talking, playing, questioning, learning, testing some boundaries and watching. I love those times and marvel at how much he has grown, along with all my kids. But I do enjoy these quiet times where I can watch him sleep, just like when he was little. It passes way too quickly!!
January 10 - Basketball
I enjoy watching my daughter play basketball. I happen to think basketball is "her" sport. She is very athletic and good at all the sports she has participated in, but basketball is her thing. I enjoy capturing some great moments during a game and when my pics are her friend's profile photos on Facebook, I smile! There are times that I miss a good capture, but that is because I am whistling obnoxiously.
I have an obnoxiously loud whistle that I am very proud of and have taught many. People do marvel at my whistling ability, come to any game you will see firsthand. Okay let me continue about tonight's photo...
I usually let my daughter have "approval" before I post a picture of her or even her friends (that is why you rarely see them). Gymnasiums are not always the best places to try and get some great shots as the lighting is horrible. Here are a couple of recent shots of her and her teammates that I think capture the action of the court. Thank goodness I have a couple low light lenses. I look forward to figuring out something special to do with all these photos end of her Senior year!