"I Wonder" Wednesdays: Stuck Inside...What To Do?

It’s “I Wonder” Wednesday! After almost two months away, I think it’s time to get back to blogging. As I was lying in bed this morning trying to wrap my brain around the fact that it was morning, Kirk came in and mentioned that the temperature is supposed to reach the mid-90’s today. Wow…we’re barely into June, and we’re having a heat wave! Between the heat and the cicadas that have inundated our town, being outside for any period of time is not on my list of “to-dos” for this Wednesday, June 8th!

So I started to wonder what the girls and I could do today to break up the boredom of being stuck inside all day? After all, one can only watch so many episodes of Dora, Diego, and the Bubble Guppies before zombie brain sets in. I’m told that the cicadas won’t be here much longer, and believe me, once they’re gone, I’ll be pretty content to fill up the baby pool for the girls or hooking up the sprinkler and spend some time outside playing in the water. But what about today?

So I ask YOU…what do you do to keep yourself and the kids entertained when you’re stuck inside all day?

"I Wonder" Wednesdays: I'm Losing It!

I sometimes wonder what people think when I venture out by myself with the girls in tow and without my engagement ring or wedding band? See, it’s not that I don’t WANT to wear my rings…it’s just that since I was pregnant with Maddy more than two years ago now, my fingers have been too fat to wear them.

On a good day, I hardly give it a second thought, but sometimes it eats at me, and yesterday it finally broke me. In the midst of what was actually an extremely pleasant day, we had a minor setback at Walmart. Yes, Walmart…imagine that. I think someone’s cast a spell on all big box stores, surrounding them with an evil orb that once entered turns your children into mini demons who want EVERYTHING and can no longer HEAR their parents.

But I digress. Yesterday, my mini demons were actually less impish than usual at Walmart, but that walk from the back of the store where we entered after dropping off the minivan for an oil change to the front of the store to get a cart before starting our shopping nearly did me in. You see, the automotive section of Walmart is strategically placed right next to the toys, and my little sprites just couldn’t resist the bright colors and magical sounds of ALL THOSE TOYS. They both wriggled free of my grasp and ran in opposite directions. I chased Maddy down one aisle while Julia shrieked down another. All three of us finally crossed paths at the end of an aisle, and as I tried to pick Maddy up only to have her transform into what seemed like a greased pig, I noticed a lovely elderly woman giving me THE LOOK.

As I watched her glaring at me, her inner monologue became almost deafening when she realized that nope, there’s no big honkin’ diamond on my hand. “Look at that woman who can’t control her children. Well, it’s no wonder – not married, and two small children to boot. And they’re not even very far apart in age! How could she possibly teach her children any self-control when she’s obviously living in sin!”

I wanted to yell at her, “Hey, lady, I am too married!!!” My cheeks turned bright red and as I became increasingly flustered, my mini-fiends finally decided to cooperate with me. I guess they sensed that Mommy was at her limit…or maybe the LOOK the woman was giving me wasn’t derogatory at all, but instead she was praying that God would intercede and provide me and the girls some relief and move us calmly away from the evil toy section. Either way, we were able to proceed to the front of the store, grab a cart, and finish our shopping trip without incident. AMEN!

Yes, I realize that paranoia got the best of me and it’s extremely unlikely that the elderly woman was casting such awful thoughts my way, but that experience has been with me since yesterday morning, causing the wheels to turn. After chewing on it, I realize it’s time. Time to say goodbye to the baby fat…because after all, Maddy’s not really a baby anymore so I don’t think we can really call it baby fat now. Nope, it’s just plain fat – and it needs to go away so that I can wear my beautiful wedding and engagement rings again for the first time in over two years and everyone can know when I’m out and about with my two beautiful daughters that all is right with our world!

Kirk, will you marry me again? I can’t wait for you to slide those rings on my finger!

Digiscrap Monday...and a POLL!!!

Happy Monday! It's a rainy, blah day in Central Illinois, perfect for taking up a digital scrapbooking project. I've been working with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio lately, getting to know the software suite a little better, and I have to say the more I use it, the more I like it. When I started digiscrapping, I jumped straight in using Photoshop Elements and once I had a firm grasp on layers and knew where to find the freebies, I was hooked. But the one thing I was missing was all the super-cute Stampin' Up! artwork and style that I was able to enjoy in my traditional scrapbooking. Now that Stampin' Up! has launched My Digital Studio, I'm one happy digiscrapper! Here's a 12x12 page I just finished up, featuring sweet Julia Grace.

I've also been hard at work getting ready to formally launch Christa Donald Photography...my new business venture. Once I have just a few more things in place, I'll be able to make the formal announcement, but in the meantime, perhaps ya'll would let me pick your brains. I'm pricing out a few packages, and I'm curious to know what sorts of things are important to YOU in a portrait collection?

I'm still doing portfolio building and looking for families and siblings to photograph, so if you'd be interested in helping me launch my business and build my portfolio, please contact me at christa.donald@gmail.com. I'd love to work with you to capture your family's memories!

Cheers!

"I Wonder" Wednesdays: Signs of Life

There is nothing like Springtime. Nothing. I absolutely LOVE being able to shed my winter coat and venture outside to soak up the rays sans jacket. This morning when I peeked out the back window to see what the day might hold, I noticed some tiny green leaves beginning to pop out. So this afternoon, I ventured outside to see what other signs of life I might be able to see. And there were many!

So what's on my mind this lovely Wednesday? My thoughts lately have been consumed with a couple of big questions. First, would investing the time and energy into getting my photography business up and running be like putting the cart before the horse? I definitely want to go to grad school and earn my MFA so that eventually I can take all the knowledge I'll acquire throughout my career and pass it on to others. But what if I get so wrapped up in my business that when it's time to go to grad school, it's going to be insanely difficult to pull myself away and change focus? This has been a major point of discussion around here lately.

The other burning question is where will we begin our search for the place we'll eventually call home? There are so many things to consider once children are involved. Believe me, if it were just me and Kirk, we'd do a world tour, traveling from place to place until we both just knew we'd found the place for us. But now we're both in agreement that one more move is about all we feel comfortable inflicting on the girls. So for now, I guess we need to work on a ranking system, deciding which factors are most important to us individually and as a family, and then start making the rounds. This decision is going to be huge, since it will affect every facet of our lives. Daunting -- but exciting, too! Kirk and I are working like a team like never before, and I fully believe him when he tells me, "It'll be okay...we're going to figure this out." Sigh....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

The girls and I have had a wonderful day, complete with green eggs and ham, green oatmeal, a trip to the park, and we're getting ready for a corned beef and cabbage dinner with Gramma Tammie, Aunt Shannon, and the most awesome cousins ever -- Isaiah, Liam, and Elijah!

May you always have work for your hands to do.

May your pockets hold always a coin or two.

May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.

May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

(And may I someday figure out the trick to getting both girls to look at the camera and smile at the same time!!!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!



Time to SOAR! – Photo Exercise #1

Doing the Deeper Work

For our first SOAR! photo exercise, Me Ra challenged us with a self portrait exercise back in January. Oy! I love being behind the camera, but being the subject of the photos is usually a source of major discomfort for me. I rarely enjoy seeing myself in photos – it always reminds me of all the physical things I need to work on (losing weight being the big one, no pun intended).

The exercise itself required two photos: one image of myself, and the second image of an object that represents me – who and where I am on my journey. I pondered this assignment for a very long while (weeks really), and I finally had to admit that taking the leap into self-portraiture was really frightening to me. After all, once I completed the assignment, I’d have to post it, exposing not only my creative work to the world but also the feelings I have toward myself. In general, I feel pretty confident about where I am, but even on a good day, my old friend self-doubt always seems to park himself in a dark corner. (On a bad day, he’s at my front door ringing the doorbell over and over again, with the exuberance of a preschooler who’s finally tall enough to reach the button.) Every day I wonder, am I good enough? Am I smart enough? Will people like me? Fortunately, the volume of those questions is usually dialed down to “white noise,” but the thought of allowing the world to see this very personal piece of my soul has admittedly cranked the volume up a few notches. So I did what I always do in these situations…I procrastinated.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, something clicked as Kirk and I were carting loads of toys up from the girls’ basement playroom that was collecting water after a rapid snowmelt followed by a torrential downpour. We were setting all the toys in the girls’ bedroom to be sorted and find a new home there later, and the pile as it grew was becoming a giant, disorganized cluster you-know-what. In my frustration, I looked at that pile and I thought, THIS is my picture. THIS is the object that represents me…sudden chaos from what was once order. (What a downer, right?) But really, I think everyone can relate. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, something comes along and shakes it all up, and for a moment (or two…or seven), you feel like throwing your hands up in the air and letting chaos win. But what I knew when I looked at that pile and let my frustration simmer for awhile was that the chaos was only temporary, and that before long, the toys would be redistributed and everything would be okay. And it was. I’m happy to report that since we moved the toys out of the basement and into the girls’ bedroom, they’ve received a little more love and the girls have really been enjoying them. Silver lining, see?


"Chaos from Order"
(f/4.5, 1/30 sec, 800 ISO)


Self-portrait exercise part 2 – check. What about part 1…the photo that I actually have to be in? Ummm…. (You could add this to your heap of evidence, O dear family and friends who know and love me, that I might just be a cart before the horse kind of gal.) I procrastinated some more, and then last night as I was reading my Kindle in bed before finally calling it a night, I felt a spark. I was reading with the lights out, using the book light attached to my cover, so that when my eyes got tired and my mind calmed down, I could just shut the Kindle off, set it on the nightstand, and then drift into dreamland. And I thought to myself in the bluish-white glow of the book light, wouldn’t it make an interesting photo to use the book light as the main source of light in a picture? And as my mind turned, I thought, for that matter, a picture of me reading in bed would be a pretty accurate self-portrait. Reading is a HUGE part of how I nourish my soul, and it’s one of the main activities I turn to when engaged in an expansive period of procrastination. So tonight, out came the tripod and everything I’ve been learning about photographing in low-light, and what seemed like 100 exposures later, I think I managed to capture “me.”


"The Reader"
(f/5.6, 3 sec, 320 ISO)


What I loved about this exercise was that it required a great deal of self-reflection, not only in deciding what direction to take with the photos, but also in preparing a journal entry to accompany the photos introducing my version of “Christa” to the world. And it was a chance to practice some of those techniques I’ve been learning on my quest to master my camera and become a real photographer. Powerful stuff. Thanks, Me Ra, for challenging me to get to know myself a little better! (And you know what? In spite of everything I learned about me, I still actually think I’m pretty great! But I think I’ll try to work on that procrastination thing….)

Cheers!

"I Wonder" Wednesdays

When I look back to where I was a year ago, it’s hard for me to believe that I’ve arrived here, feeling grounded, hopeful, excited about the future, and grateful for the many opportunities that I encounter every day in my life. A year ago, I was working for a non-profit healthcare and patient advocacy association, and my world seemed very small. Small because of long work days – I often left the house before the girls woke up and arrived home just in time to tuck them into bed. Small because of an anxiety-inducing work environment – too much to do, not enough time or people to do them, and seemingly extraordinarily high stakes. Small because of a lack of a solid support system – being near family and friends with whom you can laugh and enjoy the good times and on whom you can lean when times are tough is key, people! And small because of the nagging voice inside my heart that kept telling me just “getting by” couldn’t be further from actually living life, and that as long as I was just “getting by,” I was headed in the opposite direction of where I needed to be.

I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say eventually the nagging voice got the better of me. Emotions ran high, and several tears and panic attacks later, Kirk and I decided to do the hard work and make some difficult changes so that we could reach our full potential – as individuals, as a couple, and as a FAMILY. So today, I find myself wondering – awestricken, really – at the way God has blessed me with the opportunity to find my way back to my husband, back to my family, back “home” and back to Him so that Kirk and I can begin to write our story our way.

Maddy and Julia enjoying "Movie Night"
(f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO 3200, then used the Pioneer Woman Vintage action)

Tonight’s chapter was a good one. Everyone was happy through dinner, and Maddy even asked for seconds of everything on her plate – fried fish filets, peas and beets. (Growth spurt, I’ll betcha!) Then we popped some popcorn, dimmed the lights, turned our living room into a “movie theater,” and settled in together to watch Care Bears. Maddy and Julia sat side by side, engrossed in the Care Bears’ latest adventure, munching on popcorn and Skittles, each of them enjoying the company of their very best friend. I pray, my sweet, beautiful girls, that you remain best friends for all your lives.

Tonight I’m counting my blessings (big, small and in-between), and my blessings are truly a wonder!

Time to SOAR!

Business Coaching Exercise #1 – What Is So?

Back in December, I stumbled upon Me Ra Koh’s website in one of my nightly photography-related Google searches. I was immediately captivated by Me Ra’s photography AND her story of how she grew into her now amazingly successful career, so I kept clicking. Photo Recipes…finally some useful information for me – a newbie to my DSLR – about HOW you did that…yay! Confidence Workshop…sign me up! (Just need to figure out which bank to rob in order to afford it.) Okay, Me Ra…you’re bookmarked! And then, click…a page that described the 2010 SOAR! Scholarship. As I read these words -- “SOAR! is a scholarship award program that not only changes the lives of three women, but breathes hope and encouragement into people across the nation. The SOAR! Scholarship helps three women each year to make their dream of building a photography business come true” – my salivary glands kicked into high gear. Hey, this is for me! I thought. Sadly, I was too late – by the time I found the information about the program, the application deadline was literally the next day, and let’s face it, you don’t just “throw something together” when making your case for why YOUR life should be changed. BUT, in the beautiful spirit of the program, Me Ra and the SOAR! folks are making good on that “breathing hope and encouragement” thing, and for those of us who applied and weren’t selected, or who just plain missed the deadline, we’ve been invited to follow the journey of the three amazing SOAR! recipients as they blog about their experience AND to participate in the business building and photography exercises as well. So here I am, jumping on the bandwagon (albeit a little late) with the first business coaching exercise.

You can view the entire exercise description here, but the gist of the exercise was to spend some time focusing on “What Is SO” in your business – not on what is NOT. I’m one of those who tends to see everything I don’t have, everything that isn’t working, all the challenges…and then I freeze. I don’t move forward, and in not moving forward, I tend to move backwards. Oy…. Fortunately for me, I’d already recognized this about myself and at the beginning of the year, as I put together my lengthy list of New Year’s Resolutions (or, more appropriately “Action Plan 2011: My Shortcomings”), I’d decided that when faced with a challenge, I’d start trying to see within that challenge the opportunity that was headed my way. This exercise seemed to dovetail with my new attitude (which I’m still only sporadically putting into practice), and here I present to you: WHAT IS SO in Christa the Photographer’s World. Try it for yourself – it’s easily transferrable to whatever your reality is, and I know I’m going to head to bed tonight feeling pretty darn great about my reality!

Talents & Skills:

• The ability to see in photographs
• Adaptability; the ability to master new skills quickly
• The belief that if I try hard enough, I can do anything I set my mind to
• Creativity; a love for “making” things 
• A passion for storytelling
• Emotional intuition; an ability to take in a situation and understand the feelings and emotions driving a chain of events
• Business sense which will come in handy when setting up business systems, marketing, pricing, client communications, etc.
• Technical savvy, especially related to Photoshop, setting up a website/blog, building tracking spreadsheets, etc.
• Entrepreneurial tendencies
• The ability to connect with kids and relate to them on their level
• A love of learning and an ability to find the resources to take me to the next level
• The belief that I am right where I need to be in this place in my life
• The past experience of having fallen flat on my face, so I’m no longer so afraid of failure

Money:

• Knowledge that I need to begin building a budget for my business and some frame of reference for how to do this
• Understanding of the difference between a “need” and a “want”
• $0 business debt and an expressed goal NOT to acquire debt for this business -- EVER

People:

• My incredibly supportive family who are excited about seeing me live my dream, starting with Kirk who has made a point of stretching himself to help make this happen for me and my father who understands photography and can give me tips and pointers, talk gear with me, and appreciate my work from the standpoint of someone who knows what it’s like to be behind the camera
• Friends who are excited about my new career and are willing to share their time with me to help me build my portfolio
• The wonderful women I’ve met through the SOAR! Forum who are so willing to share their experiences, successes and failures

Systems:

• Nikon D90
• Brand-new laptop and external hard drive for storage
• Photoshop Elements
• An online proofing solution

Agreements:

• An agreement with Kirk that he will bear the brunt of supporting our family financially while I pursue my new career and a Master’s degree

Mission Impact:

• I don’t just want to capture pretty pictures; I want to capture the hope in a couple’s first embrace as husband and wife, the innocence of a newborn, the overwhelming love that makes a new mama’s heart feel like it will burst, the palpable exuberance of a toddler, the mischievous camaraderie between best friends, the peace and acceptance that comes with growing old together, and even the silence that connects all of these things in the circle of life. I want to tell other people’s stories, and through telling their stories, I want to write mine so that our children will grow to know that life is PEOPLE and life is GOOD. 

Julia playing in her "hidey hole"

"I Wonder" Wednesdays

Today has been a busy day. I got to spend a good portion of the day using my camera and subsequently editing my images, thanks to a friend who was kind enough to bring her sweet little boy over for a "practice" shoot. Isn't he darling?

I learned a lot from this shoot -- primarily that it's A LOT different when you're photographing other people's kids! I'm looking forward to continuing to practice and develop time management and directing skills, so that I can shoot more efficiently.

And now, what am I wondering about today? My list is short!

1. How did I get so lucky? If you'd asked me a year ago if I thought I could be this happy, I'd have said no way. But today, I'm marveling at my sweet children, my giving husband, and how much I'm enjoying my life!

2. Will Maddy let me put her hair in pigtails again tomorrow? If so, I'll be sure to snap a picture and share -- the piggies she had today were so cute...really just completed the pixie image. What a peanut!

3. Sentimental vs. stylish?

4. Can I stick to my plan to actually carve out some time to stamp tomorrow? I really want to get some notecards made up to distribute to local businesses as a "Thank You" for what they do...create some goodwill while getting my name out there as the hottest new Stampin' Up! demonstrator on the scene! ;)

And that, my friends, is all she wrote! Good night!

A Trip to the Park

Today was a cold, wet, rainy, uninviting day -- one of those days where it's hard to find motivation because what you really want to do is snuggle under a blanket with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. Definitely not a day to head to the park! But yesterday afternoon was perfect for spending some time burning off our spring fever at the park. I was excited to take my camera with us, because I knew that I'd be able to get some great shots of the kids being kids. Here are a few of my favorites...enjoy!




f/5.3, 1/250 sec, 1250 ISO

 

f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 1250 ISO



f/5.6, 1/320 sec, 1250 ISO



f/5.6, 1/320 sec, 1250 ISO

f/5, 1/250 sec, 1250 ISO

f 5.6, 1/320 sec, 1250 ISO

"Snow" Much Fun!

A week ago, while Kirk was home briefly between business trips, we seized the opportunity to head up to Mahomet for a fun shoot at Lake of the Woods. Kirk graciously offered to be my model, and we had so much fun together. Lake of the Woods has been the backdrop for so many wonderful memories for us (engagement and wedding photos, wedding rehearsal dinner, golfing together for the first time when I was 8 months pregnant with Julia), and it's so nice to be back in the area and have the opportunity to visit whenever the mood strikes us. We can't wait for the beautiful spring weather, so we can load the kiddos up in the minivan and cruise on up there to make some more memories -- with them included!

"I Wonder" Wednesdays

My life and the world around me amaze me, inspire me, and sometimes cause me great pause. So here are some of the things I’m “wondering” about on this third Wednesday in February, 2011. (And for those of you who like cute baby pictures, you'll be rewarded for muddling through my rambling...wink, wink!)

1. Will I remember “’I Wonder’ Wednesdays” next Wednesday? I’ve been sort of flaky about routines lately…. (Note to self: DO BETTER!)

2. What is Kirk doing right now in Vegas…I haven’t heard from him tonight. Whatever it is, I hope it’s worth it!

3. Tonight, the girls and I snuggled up in my bed to read before bedtime, and we were reading Bambi. When we got to the part where Bambi, Thumper and all the other forest animals become “twitterpated,” I explained to Julia that meant that all the animals were finding somebody to love. Without missing a beat, she leaned over, kissed me, and said, “I’m twitterpated with you, Mommy.” How did I get so lucky?

4. Will Maddy and I make it through the Terrible Twos? This child is more often than not the cutest little pixie you could ever imagine, but like in the nursery rhyme, when she is bad, she’s horrid! I can’t seem to find the magic equation for appealing to Maddy’s better sense, and listening to Mommy is rarely on her agenda. SO FRUSTRATED…HELP!!!!

5. What is God’s plan for me? I feel so close to unlocking that answer, but at the same time, there are so many questions resting heavy on my heart about how best to move forward. It’s exciting, motivating, and anxiety-inducing all at once.

6. Why is my DVR not working?

7. How will I be able to knock out everything on my to-do list for tomorrow? It’s HUGE!!! Where on earth should I start?

8. Does anyone else out there agree with me that ellipses are the all-time BEST (and under-rated) punctuation mark EVER?

9. How many days in March will Kirk travel? (Leave a comment with your best guess, and whoever’s closest when March is over will win a fabulous Stampin’ prize – hand-crafted by yours truly!)

10. We have a super-cute kids’ upholstered rocker that’s in desperate need of being recovered. Anyone have the know-how on how to recover furniture, and is this something that I could hack on my own?

I could continue to ramble on, but I’ll limit myself to ten. I obviously have A LOT to pray on tonight, so I’d better get to it! ;-)

Oh, and here are a few pix of my sister's sweetie pie twin boys...I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with them today while Shannon was at class and they were home sick, though they certainly didn't act that way. Hopefully they're on the mend! Hugs and Kisses, SMILE! xoxoxoxo




My "boyfriend" Liam (f4.5, 1/200 sec, 1000 ISO)



Eli and Liam terrorizing the cat...but just look at those baby blues! (f4.5, 1/200 sec, 1600 ISO)

SO CUTE!!! (f/4.5, 1/200 sec, 3200 ISO)


Cheers!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A little Valentine's love for you...all lovingly hand-stamped. This Valentine's set is a retired Stampin' Up! set, but it's OH SO CUTE, and the girls were delighted to get to share these cute little cards with their friends at school! Enjoy!

Goodbye, Old Friends...

Today as I cleared out our shoe basket by our front door, I knew it was time. Time to let go of my favorite pair of brown loafers. You know these shoes -- you've had a pair yourself. That comfy, go-to pair of shoes that you slip on to take out the trash, check the mail, go to the mall, or the park, or ANYWHERE. Well, this particular pair I've been wearing since college, and they're worn out, falling apart, and they will be sorely missed. Goodbye, Old Friends!