Listen to Maná

Siempre me ha gustado la música de Maná. Aunque me pica hasta el corazón lo que cuenta...lo que canta. Ellos son padrísimos. Ojalá que te guste tanto como yo.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This is my first week participating in Scavenger Hunt Sunday. I have to admit that I've been lurking for a few weeks because I didn't think I could handle 5 new photos that I was willing to post in a week. So, here goes.

Sparkle: A necklace that hangs on my rear view mirror that my daughter made.
The View Above: Standing above an old bell that sits outside of a local church

Something Hot

Something cold from the archives.

Electronic: With my husband being in charge of all the technology at work I was able to sneak in his room to snap some pictures this week. I had some really cool shots of the inside of computers and tons of wires and some real behind the scenes electronic stuff. I was squeezing behind furniture and sticking my arm through small spaces to get the perfect shot. And at the end of it all this is all I got. It would sound more exciting to say that the other photos were confiscated by security since I felt like a spy in there but the real reason was that the lighting was horrible and I was unable to edit any of them to my liking.

You Capture: What inspires you?

One thing that really inspires are all of the awesome photographers and photography blogs I have discovered. Chances are if you are reading this then YOU are who I am talking about. Aside from participating and sharing photos in the many challenges out there I have been inspired to move outside of my comfort zone with my photo editing. I use Picasa which isn't very fancy but I tend to always use the "feeling lucky" button and then one click on "sharpen." So, this week while I was waiting in the car for one daughter to finish her piano lesson, I snapped a picture of my oldest daughter's first grade reading beads. I thought it was the perfect picture to venture out with some enhancements that I normally wouldn't use and share. Thanks to all those creative and artsy people out there who are so generous to share their experiences, secrets, and photos I have learned a thing or too and have found some great communities of photographers who support each other! And most importantly, I like what I came up with! Thanks for the inspiration!

The View From Here: Milestones

This is a milestone post for me because it is the first time that I have used an archive picture for a photo challenge and it's my first time participating in The View From Here. As for my two youngest children they both figured out how to swim underwater this summer!

For more milestones check out the photo challenges below.

Happiness Project

Pizza makes me wildly happy. We drove an hour to just to eat Steve's recipe and it was totally worth it. The crust was a simple yeast recipe and cooked to be crunchy on the outside and a bit doughy on the inside. And I especially love that it wasn't greasy. The cheese was fresh. It was the perfect consistency without it feeling gummy or gluey in your mouth. It came to the table steaming hot with my favorite toppings...sausage and green olives. Oh, I didn't mention the sauce because it needed more. That's my only complaint...MORE sauce. We WILL be making the hour drive back to Steve's pizza and ordering the same pizza only this time with a heavy dose of their sweet orange tomato sauce. Just thinking about it makes me happy So, have you decided what you are having for lunch today?

Visit more happiness by visiting Leigh vs Laundry!

You Capture: Serene

This week the weather was beautiful. After school I sat outside and watched the kids play. P just found herself comfortable riding her younger brother's 2 wheeler and I was so proud as I watched him cheer and encourage her. I got to sit with the late warming afternoon sun and snap pictures. To some this may not be the picture of serenity but let me tell you that the photographer was in a state of utter tranquility. It was after work for me, after school for the kids and nobody was crying, hungry, or arguing and most of all they didn't need me for anything. This meant I could simply slip into my happy place and enjoy watching them.


P would coast and balance down the hill and S with pedal it back up for her.

Shutter Love Tuesday: Brown

This beautiful head of hair is what I wish mine could be. It's soft, curly, and bouncy. Meet my second daughter P. She is such a good sport with me because I am NOT super hair fixing kind of momma at all. I can braid but I'm not a super braider. I can do pony tails and piggy tails but make no promises that they will be straight. P usually walks around with some crazy doos but she can totally pull it off with her natural locks and her offbeat personality. So, I'm joining this weeks BROWN party over at Trendy Treehouse with my amateur debut photo taken in the garage from my point and shoot camera.

Gratitude

I'm not going to write much because most of the time I simply don't have anything to say. I've just been feeling an enormous sense of gratitude today. And because of that I'm here posting again. The pictures are from this summer in Guatemala but I think they sum up my heart...

What would I do without flowers? and those nourishing drops of water? I'm sending gratitude to LIFE.

I'm thankful for COFFEE and all of the effects it has on me. That tender little bean was carefully planted and it's baby soft stem was grafted and wrapped so that it can bloom and grow into a coffee plant. The best part of waking up...

I'm sending gratitude to my abilty to REFLECT. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have access to all those archives.
I send gratitude to the JOURNEY AHEAD and that I have a desire to CLIMB and move FORWARD.
I'm sending gratitude to everything this picture says...

What are you thankful for today?

Sweet Reunion

I heard the chorus to this song when I walked into a bookstore in Spain to buy a map 18 years ago. I remember it was freezing outside and I was happy to be off the street. I never knew what song it was or who sang it. Only a brief moment with the chorus has stayed with me for 18 years. I really didn't look very hard but something inspired me the other day to do some searching and I found it! It isn't exactly as I remember but it is pretty close. Here it is:

I like this version with the lyrics:

POLYPHEMUS

So, the other day I got an anonymous comment and all it said was "that's cool." Yeah, go check it out for yourselves...if anyone is reading! Well it inspired me to look up some info on my pictures. Here is what I found about my moth invader.

It's a giant silkmoth called a POLYPHEMUS because of the eyespots on the wings...Interestingly enough it is also the name of the Cyclops in The Odyssey. Now THAT'S COOL!

Invasion of the moths

When the porch light is left on all night the moths invade making morning coffee hour on the deck an adventure! I took these photos back in June :)

More Guat...

Chicken busses.
View of Volcano from where we took classes.

Look at the different colors...and the patterns in this flower. So beautiful. I studied this one for a long time.
My awesome group of high school students at the macadamia nut farm.
Landslides made from tropical storm Agata on the Pan American Highway.
Corner store
View from window at the Central Park Cathedral in Antigua

You Capture: Get Down Low

I took these last night at the park with my girls. There they are near the top of the stairs. As I'm laying on the ground to get down low for the assignment I run into my friend who is a professional photographer. She was with her dog and her huge and intimidating camera and giant humungo zoom lense. She caught my attention by saying, "oh that will be a nice persepective!" or something like that. I'm not sure why I'm telling you all of this...maybe someone will read it. Anyway we chatted about photography and things like that. I shared with her the You Capture photo assignment...which she thought was a really cool idea. Anyway...here are my photos from last night.

What a dirty job! We all got railroad grease all over us by hanging out too long on the tracks.

Baby Wearing in Guatemala

One of the cultural habits that is immediately evident in Guatemala is the act of baby-wearing. Woman carried their young babies and even toddlers wrapped firmly upon their backs with beautiful fabrics that we Americans notice as being icons of Guatemala. American's tend to tow their babies in strollers. I myself have 3 children and we went through 3 different strollers designed for 3 different activities. Though I had strollers I also went through a period of time when I wore my babies but let me tell you it wasn't as easy as these women made it look. First, it was difficult to wrap the baby in a way that I felt both comfortable and safe. I think safety is a concept that we have been taught to become scared of not having enough of these days especially when it comes to our young ones. I'm sure our overly commercial/disposable society has a lot to do with that don't you think?

Ufff, this blog was never my intention to get overly wordy...so enough...just look and observe.

This woman was spotted in a town called Chicicastenango on market day. I'm a shameful photographer so the shots aren't that great.

Here is another woman at the Chichicastenango Market.
Woman in Antigua.
This woman came and sat next to me at on a bench at the park in the center of Antigua. She is holding her grandson. We chatted for awhile and she told me how her daughter was a working woman and she now takes care of her grandson during the days when mom is at work. Notice how he is holding her cell phone. I love it!! All but the picture below are photos of Mayan women. Almost all Mayan women still dress in their traditional clothing called a huipil. Mestizos which make up the minority wear western clothing.
Here is a woman doing her laundry in the town square with her baby in tow!

Guatemala 2010

Monterrico Beach on the last day of the trip. The red flag was out and I was traveling as a role model so I played it safe and waded in the shallow end.
The ancient Mayan city of Tikal is located in the jungle of Guatemala. Our tour guide grew up nearby and knew all of the shortcuts. I thought he was joking until after we left and I looked at the map. Hmm, the marked trails were wide and brown and we only walked narrow and green. Thankfully we didn't run into any snakes or tarantulas.

There was an abundance of flowers!! Especially orquids.
These are the colors and patterns of Guatemala. More to come...