1. I really am trying to make a blog come back. Well, I have
intentions of trying to make a blog come back. I rarely pull out my DSLR for personal photos these days, relying almost solely on the iPhone. Which means that I'm sharing mostly through Instagram and facebook. My instagram feed does show up on the right side of my blog over there, so you're not missing out if this is the only place you check in.
And I truly do want to continue to blog, because I love the story telling part of it that is sometimes hard to fit in 140 characters on Instagram. Plus, I have several years worth of pictures that I need to edit and post. This blog is my scrapbook and I want all those moments documented! So, don't give up hope. I will be back here more often.
2. I dedicated many, many, many hours this spring to volunteering. I serve as Secretary of the Parent Board at Ben's preschool, I'm Room Mom for Hayden's Kindergarten class, I was on the planning committee for the Run for Education 5K/10K, I put together the monthly calendar for the local MOMS Club, I decorate the altar at church on Sunday and just had a month-long rotation as a Sunday School teacher. It's no wonder the 12 solo daytime hours I get each week so quickly disappear!
3. I have not had a ton of photography clients lately (although I am Room Mom Photographer for Kindergarten, and boy do those kids do a LOT of fun, crazy, and picture-worthy days at school!), but I have written a few photography articles for publication in
Outside Bozeman magazine and one coming up this summer in Pro Photo West. I'm also putting the finishing touches on my input to the curriculum for summer class through
Big Picture Classes. The promo is adorable and I'll definitely share once it is released!
4. I had an interesting email yesterday, with my big break into Reality TV! A producer from the Style Network's show Tia & Tamara was looking to film a photo session for Tia's 2-year-old son. He needs head shots taken and that process is going to feature in the plot for one of the episodes of Season 3. And, you guessed it, they asked if I would be the photographer! It ended up not working out (I didn't get the message til late and it's incredibly short notice), but that is definitely only the type of opportunity that comes up in L.A.!
5. Speaking of Hollywood, I just got tickets to take the boys to see
Scooby Doo Live! this Sunday at the Dolby Theater. That's where they hold the Oscars! Not that you can compare Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Daphne and Velma on stage to the Academy Awards, but it will still be fun to be there, even if I have to endure hokey singing and a predictable plot line. I haven't told the boys yet, but they are going to be SO excited!
6. In case you didn't put two and two together, this Sunday (day of Scooby Doo Live!) is also Mother's Day. Now, Scooby Doo Live! is not my perfect Mother's Day activity, but sadly, Rich has to go out of town early that morning. So, we're celebrating Mother's Day a day early. And seeing the joy on my boys' faces at the show on Sunday will most definitely be a component of a perfect Mother's Day!
7. Speaking of Mother's Day, I have some Ginger Molasses Cookies in the oven right now, soon to be wrapped up and sent along to my wonderful grandmother. Mmmmmmm!
8. Benjamin's birthday is coming up and we are having a backyard carnival to celebrate! I designed the invites and just love how they came out!
9. There are 5 more weeks of school and I can not wait for summer! I put together a spread sheet of each week and have some amazing things planned for us. We're making our annual trek to South Carolina with the Cobbs and Clarks and we're also heading to Bozeman for a few days. We'll do some short California weekend trips, too, maybe go camping once or twice. Uncle Doug and Aunt Janet are coming for a visit (yay!) for several days. The boys are signed up for 3 weeks of camp, spaced throughout the summer (basketball, VBS, and Aquarium Camp -- a nice mix of sports, religion, and science). And then we have about 4 weeks of free days. I've already got my list of free day options planned! There is no shortage of fun stuff to do and explore here and with Hayden in Kindergarten 5 days a week this last year, we really haven't gotten out like we used to. So, I'm super excited to do it again this summer.
Some of my must-do's: the beach, the pool, bonfire on the beach, Disneyland, Hollywood Bowl, Aquarium of the Pacific, the Zoo, the Getty, the Annennburg Beach House, the Star ECO Station, the downtown public library, mini-golf, bike riding, hiking, Santa Monica pier, Griffith Park, the Observatory, the movie theater, and a whole grab-bag of fun activities for lazy days at home (craft kits from Michael's, water balloon launcher, pretzel-making, and more). Not to mention playdates at the beach and park with friends and backyard barbeques that last late into the evening. Oooooo, I can't wait!
10. Closing out my 10 with a book recommendation:
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I'm only about half way through it (it's my Book Club's pick for May) and I'll confess that when I checked it out of the library I was not looking forward to reading it. It's over 500 pages and the jacket synopsis didn't really grab me. But, oh wow. It's simply superb! I haven't read a book that I love this much in a long, long time. Beautiful (but not pretentious or hard to read) prose, intriguing characters, thoughtful insights, and suspenseful plot. . . LOVE it!
