Family Matters February Photo Challenge: Days 3 and 4

So, yes, okay, I did create this list of things to search for when doing our February Photo Challenge, but believe it or not, I created the list and the artwork months ago! And at the time, I just allowed the words to come to me randomly…then just like last year, I put the challenge away until publication time! (That way I’d forget! And it would all be fresh and new to me, just like it is to you!)

So here we are, I actually struggled quite a bit on days 1 & 2 but it turned out to be great! Now I’m posting Days 3 & 4:

Day 3: A Kiss

The color one was first and I took it on the 3rd at bedtime. I didn’t care that it was blurry; none of these would come out crisp because it’s a happy puppy eagerly jumping on the couch to kiss her favorite mama!! I loved catching the moment and the giggles! Then Wednesday was Day 4 'Black & White', so it inspired me to turn this picture into a black/white photo! I know that new iPhones do this conversion on-screen but I have an old iPhone 4 (no not an S) and I have to use one of my computer programs to alter it. If you’re looking for an easy (not public/social media based app) to use at home to make black and whites, I say try Picasa.  I’ve had it for years and love it. This one however was done with a more advanced software Adobe Fireworks. Either will do the job just fine.

Day 4: Black & White 
I admit, black and white (anything) will never be too difficult for me. I have black and white everywhere from my closet to the kitchen. The car is even black and the snow white… so for a second... I thought I might photograph these, but realized that some people might just be sick of seeing SNOW,  so I decided to share a photo of these items instead: A black and white antique butter pat dish I bought from an Ebola/Africa fundraiser, with my white headphones in it, a black and white bible quote for a volunteer project I’m working on, my white keys on my mac keyboard, my black and white mouse on my black and white News-Herald Ohio Community Media Lab mouse pad, all on top of my black desk! Yes, that is also a black paperclip. (You can’t see the black and white chair that goes with it…or the white couch, or the…. okay, you get the picture.) This is home, this is work, this is me and this is what my taste is like, and this is what my kids know is a little part of me. 

What photo this month can you use to capture (and share) a little bit about yourself? Will it be…..
Tomorrow... Day 5? "Outside the Lines”!

 (This post was edited from it’s previous and original version to reflect correctly on the day it actually posted- A Picasa link was also added.)

Popular posts from this blog

Back to School Anxiety: Bullying

Image
Download “School Boy Being Stressed” by David Castillo Dominici via freedigitalphotos.net I recently wrote about how to help your child if they’re struggling with going back to school because they were bullied. My biggest most important tip was to listen, because I honestly could not write a ‘How-to-make-them-not-afraid’ column. Frankly I thought that was absurd. Fear is sometimes real. Anxiety is sometimes truly there, and for a good reason. Our job as parents isn’t to try to make it go away, it’s to try to find out the true source of those worrisome feelings. If you’d like to read more, click here. And if you’re child is struggling to find excitement about the new school year, don’t deny it, just accept it and move forward gently. Here’s some more on bullying: Family Matters Links: A Touching Story/Song Bullying: A thing of the past A Peace Poem By My Teenage Daughter A Deeper Insight into My Thoughts on People Who Bring Harm to Others Other Links: Stop Bul
Read more

Would You Rather?

Image
My kids like to play a game called ‘Would You Rather?’. I’ve always liked getting in on the fun because they usually freak out when it’s my turn to ask, ‘Would you rather?’. I will ask, ‘Would you rather…have to go to school for 365 days a year, or go without television forever?’  Or when I say, ‘Would you rather eat broccoli at every meal, or spinach?’. It’s fun to watch them squirm. Now here is one for parent’s. School shopping is finally coming to a halt (thank goodness) and there are a few items on the market that I want you to see (if you haven’t already gasped at them yourself). They are: JCPenney’s (recently controversial) Shirt for Girls: JCPenney And the 'Eye Candy' (yes, it says Eye Candy on it-actually ALL over it) notebook that I hear no one talking about and which is selling at Walmart: So, hear it goes…. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Antie….etc….. 'Would you rather ' have your teen (or younger) daughter wear the ‘too pretty for math’ shirt?        O
Read more

Good Customer Service At Home

Image
Over the years, my careers have mainly been customer service based. I started in a family business and then moved on up through the rungs from waitress, to hostess, to sales associate, manager and eventually the GM of a hotel. In all my years, my training taught me that you should always do your best to take your customer all the way to what they need, make them happy, and never leave them until they are done with you. I pride myself on my customer service abilities. Though the other day, I think I failed at customer service in my own home! I was getting ready to cut my daughter's hair and because of how long it had gotten (she's been growing it out for a year!) I felt this time it would be best  if instead of me spritzing it with water, she could wash and condition it real quick. She was fully clothed so I just suggested she run into the bathroom and wash her hair in the tub. She’s fourteen. I suppose I just assumed that she knew how to kneel over the tub and do it.
Read more