A duck, a gnome, and a camera

Last weekend was Operation Homework. If you know anything about me at all, you know I’m a big nerd and LOVE homework. I take assignments seriously and am the annoying girl in class who fills Trapper Keepers with notes and asks lots of questions. I could be a perpetual student. The titles and degrees don’t matter to me. It’s the acquired knowledge that gets me doing the happy dance. Maybe that’s why I love Beth Moore Bible studies so much. She is notorious for her in-depth homework, which makes me giddy, and her Texas big hair, which makes me homesick. Sigh. I’m waist-deep in her Daniel study right now and it’s fantabulous. Where was I? Oh yes. Homework. Saturday, armed with my DSLR camera, notebook, and course handout, I ventured into the wilds of my bestie Flea’s backyard for some sunny day snapshots. I chose her yard because, well, she has chickens. And Little Jimmy Dickens. And a gnome. Heh.

For assignment numero uno (see, I took notes in Spanish class), I moved my camera out of automatic mode (the evil green box, as my teacher calls it) to manual mode. This means using my noggin instead of relying on the camera’s built-in intelligence. I adjusted everything, from the ISO and aperture to the white balance and shutter speed. With the sun at my back and a subject in my eye, I composed my picture. It wasn’t until I scrolled through my photos that I realized my shutter speed changed with each shot. Turns out I was not “metering” between the shots but was adjusting my exposure. [insert crickets chirping here…] My teacher explained this to me in last night’s class. I wanted to say “Ahh..”, in a now-I-get-it tone, but honestly, I didn’t get it. So yeah, I took EXTRA notes last night. I am learning more than I thought my, cough-cough, 40-year-old brain could hold. I’m still hazy on most of the technicalities, but haze is better than sludge. So there’s that. Plus, I’m having a blast.

Flea graciously loaned me her backyard AND her pink Crocs. Flash and Patches, her amazing Aussies, joined us as we released Jimmy from his house. And I must say that despite my shutter-speed debacle, the pictures turned out pretty good. For a beginner.

Meet Little Jimmy Dickens. He’s pretty much the cutest thing on webbed feet.

He was about to do the macarena. I just know it.

For some reason, Jimmy loves the pink Crocs, which is cool since I was able to get some fun shots of him.

Next up is the sideways-glancing Sir Gnome. His is a lonely existence of hanging out on ledges and in random plants. Perhaps I shall get him a friend.

Wherefore art thou, Gnomeo?

I took quite a few more pictures outside but had some fun indoors, too. It was Flea and her hunny’s anniversary, so she had a dozen long-stemmed red roses on her dining table. The next photo is my attempt at an artistic composition.

As a matter of fact, I DO hear “Phantom of the Opera” in the background

I was only a wee bit jealous of the roses. My hubby likes to give me practical gifts. Which is nice. Like last Valentine’s Day, he gave me a ceramic heater and some decks of cards. My brother-in-law said that was my hubby’s way of telling me that if I play my cards right, things might heat up. Heh.

Thanks, Flea, for letting me invade your home.

For my final photo, I put the camera back in auto mode. But, shhhh, don’t tell my teacher. My cat, Squeaks, who you’ve met, tolerates my obsessive picture-taking quite well. For some reason, though, when I returned from my backyard adventure, she developed a bad attitude. I half expected her to flip me the paw. Instead, this is what she did.

Go wash off that duck smell. The gnome, too. Silly human.

Time to go. I have notes to read, homework to complete, and pictures to compose.

Of nephews, pictures, and other addictions

Seven months ago, my sister and brother-in-law adopted a precious baby boy. Their adoption journey is a post (or 30) for another time, but I will say it was an extremely long and often heartbreaking experience. But my nephew was worth it. Is worth it.

I have never fancied myself a “baby” person. Maybe it’s because I’m the baby of the family. Maybe it’s because none of my friends ever had babies. Or maybe it’s because the few babies I ever held either cried, at ear-drum-puncturing decibels, when I held them OR projectile vomited all over me. And since I’m a sympathetic vomiter…well, you get the picture.

My hubby and I decided long ago that we aren’t the parenting type. Maybe it’s because I am selfish. Maybe it’s because I was a teacher for ten years and saw what the teenage years could do to one’s sanity. Lord knows they wreaked havoc on mine and I got to send the kiddos home at the end of the day. My brother, who is older than my by eight years, has never married. Thus, no kids. My sister and brother-in-law tried to have kids of their own (for years) but my sis had some health issues, meaning pregnancy was not a possibility. They began their adoption journey full of hope. Nearly eight years into it, they had almost given up. My parents resigned themselves to having grandpets, not grandkids. Which is tragic if you know my parents. They’re pretty much the best people you’ll ever meet.

Grandcat, Squeaks.

Where was I? Oh yeah, seven months ago. I refer to that time as P.B. That’s Pre-Baby B. Yes, I do call him Baby B. I also call him Baby Bears. Well P.B., my camera roll on my phone contained roughly 400 pics. The majority of those were of Squeaks, food, coffee, and my hubby planking. But that’s another post for another time. My camera roll POST Baby B has close to 2000 pics. I don’t know what happened to me. I went from being baby repellent to a blubbering fool who cries when he curls his little fingers around mine. The boy is too cute for words. Maybe that’s why I take so many pictures of him.

See the cuteness? No words!

My family refers to me as Aunt-a-razzi because I’m constantly taking pictures. Baby B loves my camera. He loves me, too, but he really loves my camera. See?

He’s trying to eat my phone. And still being too cute for words.

My sister, who loves being a mommy, adores all the pictures I take but thought it might be great if I could take better-quality photos. Let’s just say I squealed and did the happy dance when I saw my Christmas present—a DSLR camera, two lenses, and a case. Unfortunately, I am a newbie when it comes to photography. Sure I understand the basics, like point and click. Zoom in. Zoom out. Beyond that? Not so much. So I signed up for a beginner photography class. It’s four-weeks of ISOs, apertures, shutter speeds, f-stops, and white balance. I had my first lesson last night. Can’t you tell by all those fancy, new-fangled words I used? All I can say is, SHEESH. It’s not simple. At all. But I love it. I will keep you posted with my progress and pictures along the way. I have a homework assignment due next week that requires sunlight. The forecast is predicting sun, but this is Oklahoma. Who knows what will happen?

Just one more picture of my nephew. It’s OK. You can smile.

This is his new convertible. Hard to believe he’s still single.