June Photography Challenge

I love taking photos and I have the best subject in the world.....

....... but it may be time to branch out a bit.

My sister posted the May challenge from this blog.  Since I didn't have my act together in May, I decided to try the June Challenge:

Here are some ideas that the blog owner posted for suggestions each day:

1. Morning
Take a photo of anything from your morning; you in bed, breakfast, commuting to work, anything!
2. Empty
Take a photo of anything empty; an empty room, glass, bottle, sky, beach, anything!
3. On your plate
What's on your plate? That could mean - what's on your to-do list today? Or literally what's on your breakfast/lunch/dinner plate?
4. Close-up.      
Take a photo of something close-up; your eye, the grass, a toy ... absolutely anything!
5. Sign
Take a photo of a street sign, a shop sign, someone doing sign language, any sign!
6. Hat
Take a photo of you wearing a hat, someone else wearing a hat, a hat in a shop - and yes those in cooler months - beanies count!
7. Drink
Take a photo of a drink, a beverage etc
8. 6 o'clock
Take a photo of what you're doing at either 6am or 6pm. Or take a photo of the clock at that time.
9. Your view today
What's your view today? What can you see? Snap it. Share it!
10. Best bit of your weekend
What was the best bit about your weekend? Take a photo of it.
11. Door
Take a photo of a door, big or small.
12. From a low angle
Get down low and shoot.
13. Art
Take a photo of a piece of art you have displayed in your home, you've created or you see while out. Any art will do!
14. Time
Take a photo of time; a clock, a watch, before and after - anything that symbolises time!
15. Yellow
Take a photo of anything yellow - the sun, or something you see!
16. Out and about
Get out and about today and take a photo of what you do.
17. In your bag
What's in your bag? Share it.
18. Something we don't know about you
Can you twist your tongue? Did you get a diploma in something? Do you love Justin Bieber bad? Share something that we might not know about you
19. Imperfect
Share something imperfect. Is it you? A broken glass? An irregular shape. Something!
20. Fave photo you've ever taken
Re-share a favourite photo that you've taken over time or shoot a new favourite!
21. Where you slept
Where did you sleep last night? Take a photo and share it.
22. From a high angle
Shoot your photo from a high angle looking down.
23. Movement
Take a photo of movement; a car flying by, a person dancing, someone jumping - anything!
24. On your mind
What are you thinking about? The news? Your family? Yourself? Share what's on your mind.
25. Something cute
Did you spot something cute? An animal? A person? A thing?
26. Where you shop
Do you shop online? Or in a store? Share where you shop.
27. Bathroom
Share a bathroom - yours, a public one, a friends - can even just be the door.
28. On the shelf
Shoot a shelf and what's on it.
29. Soft
What's soft? Is it your hair, a toy, a sofa, or something else?
30. A friend
Take a snap of a friend and share it.

For all the William fans out there, don't worry!  I'm sure he will show up in some form in most of them!  

Tomorrow here I go!  If I make it through I will post my pictures on June 30!

The Kale Chip Debate

William loves food.  The good part of this is, if it's not edible he won't stick it in his mouth.  His favorite words are num, num, num, num, num?  Num, Num, Num, Num, Num.....!   NUM, NUM, NUM, NUM, NUM!!!!!!!  He has even begun presenting us with applesauce containers that he pulls out of the pantry himself.  That kid could win a hot dog eating contest hands down!

I really want to teach William that fast food (especially McDonalds) is bad and that healthy food can be delicious.  It's no secret that I've struggled with weight for most of my life and I want so much for William to be healthier than I......every parent wants to see their kid happy and healthy right?

So what do you feed a kid that hungry all the time?  Someone told me how they frequently made Kale chips to snack on and how delicious they were, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Very easy to make....

One bundle of Kale.  ONLY 75 cents!  Wash and dry thoroughly.  Dry, Dry, Dry.  Very important!  Otherwise it will steam in the oven and won't get crispy.

 Break into 1-1/2 inch pieces

Toss with 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil and your choice of Salt, Garlic Powder and/or Parmesan.

Spread out on a cookie sheet.  If you crowd it like this, it won't get crispy.

Bake at 275 F for 20 minutes.

Ready for consumption!

Now, what does my taste tester think of Kale Chips?  Let's see.....

My taste tester.....young hungry little boy, that just woke up from a nap.

 hmmm, I don't know about this.....

 

The moment of truth.....

I think these two pictures say it all......

Mom's healthy Kale chip is a bust!

Well, almost.....Ben and I have been snacking on it.  He likes the salty and I like the Parmesan with garlic powder.  But it's not as fabulous as my friend told me it was.

William did get to eat his dinner.....he was happy with brown rice, steamed veggies and black beans.....I guess that's not too bad, right?  

So the hunt continues for simple, healthy snack ideas......however it's a little more complicated. William is now suspicious of anything green.....

William's 2nd Birthday Party! - May 14, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM!

I can't believe my baby boy is 2 today!  Time is going so fast!  I am so grateful that he is big and healthy!

We decided that since he still isn't real sure what's going on, we'd do a family thing again this year.   Despite threatening weather, it turned out to be a great day for a picnic.

Every little boy needs a cake for their birthday.  William loves doggies so a lot of planning and strategizing went into figuring out how to make a doggie cake.  Finally I got some inspiration from an online picture.

the inspiration photo from the internet

How hard can it be to turn 2 cake circles into a dog face cake? .....well, it was more challenging than I thought....plus it didn't help that I wanted to make it a little more 3 dimensional.  The result looked like this:

I know I've got a long way to go before I can compete in a cake competition show but all I really wanted was for William to recognize that this is indeed a doggie....I've been prepping him all week. When he saw the actual cake, he was too overwhelmed to say anything. Today when I showed him the photo from yesterday he said num, num (food please). I guess I'll take that as my compliment instead!

The rest of the blog is from my mother's blog (I pretty much stole it from her page so I should give her credit right?).....since I was playing hostess for William photos weren't on the top of my to do list:

But William didn't want to go to the pavilion.  He wanted to go to the play ground.

O.k. it's his birthday!

Watch this!

Pizza ... William's favorite. And plenty of it.

His parents, grandparents, great-grandma, lots of people who love him. Lucky little boy.

He is two now. He wanted to drink exactly like the grown-ups.

He poured his water into the cup ... well, with help.

Yes, William is two. Mommy designed this shirt.

But look at this!  Haha, William has his own ideas and almost misses his own party.

 Pops (dad) had to retrieve him.



And then the big moment!

 William is studying his cake. Yes, Doggie!

Short video!

But he is not sure how to go about eating it.

Short video!

And then time to open gifts. 

Wow, a ball with lights!

Prime seats for watching the gift opening.

Grandma "Mops" Joy and Great-Grandma Gee Gee.

Grandpa George and Anna.

Ha, the cake was not only cute, it also must have been delicious!!! Not that much left.

After the party, in Grandpa's car on the way to the townhouse. The poor little guy was so exhausted, we entertained him with "lights" in the back of the car. And yes, since today he can face forward in his car seat. What a day.

So tired. But he makes it to the townhouse awake ... and even in Mommy's car home he manages to arrive awake.

William's 1st Birthday Party! - May 14, 2011

William's 1st birthday party! .....and BOY did we celebrate!!!!

William loves it when I read the Hungry Caterpillar to him in German....so the theme for his first birthday was the Hungry Caterpiller.

Omi Made special cookies for Williams birthday.

Aunt Sarah provided potted Sweet Williams for all the guests to take home.

 William loved playing with the decorations.

William mingles with his guests.  Geegee and Aunt Melissa before eating.

Waiting with Pops.  Grandpa is getting the bubble machine going.

Time for cake.  

The strawberry literally became a chocking hazard so we William ate the head off the caterpillar instead.

 Too much excitement for one day.  William falls asleep in Mommy's arms after all the guests have gone home.