Marching on

I've captured more photos in this past month, than I have in the last who knows how many years.

I'm loving this new camera. And that challenge.

And ZZtop was gone for the majority of March, so I stayed really busy with the kids.

(Can you say photo ops?!)

There is a good possibility that I am a better parent when I'm doing it on my own.

I know everything rests on my shoulders, so I just do it. With more patience than normal.

That being said, life's better with ZZtop. Single parenting is for the birds.

Or, at a minimum, very hard. I give the single parents a lot of credit.

Just don't ever knowingly choose it, if you don't have to.

We ARE still part redneck. In case you needed proof.

I came home to a small piece of cheese sitting on the countertop.

The nibbler of the cheese did not knowingly shape MN. I kept it around for a couple days.

I know, I'm weird. Or else I just really love MN.

Then, I remembered I could just take a picture. So I did.

Last, but not least: In Motion

This camera- and this challenge- has definitely made me look at the world in a whole new light. I find myself seeing life's little moments as beautiful pictures to capture. Like the guy at the park with his kid on his shoulders, the birds perched on the branches, my friends laughing, the kids playing, my food on my plate, the tatters in Izzy's jeans, everything. It's a good thing. It's a really good thing. Thank you, Canon Rebel, for inspiring me to see the beauty in things. It's a really good thing.

Purchased.

This morning, I was wracking my brain for what I could possibly take a picture of for this challenge. And then the mail came. And I had count 'em: one, two, three packages. Problem solved. Only one made the cut for this blog, as I got my Busy Bees photos (finally) and something from a secret store. And in the third package was this beautiful dough hook. My other one broke. I could say that after twelve years of use, it was pushed to its limit. In reality, I think it sort of dry rotted for the opposite reason. I started using it and it was too used to the easy life and buckled under the pressure. So, here's to hoping this one can handle the pressure until Zztop finally agrees that I do indeed need a Bosch mixer.

The simple joys in life.

Daily Routine

One of my favorite moments in my daily routine is lifting this little one out of her crib after her nap. Oh, the love she gives. It's my daily paycheck.

After dark

...when my mind should stop, it does not.

I lay in bed, mind and body pulling in different directions. One towards slumber. The other, a cacophony of emotions unable to calm. A wife, a mother, with life to think about.

Something old.

And! the novelty of homemade bread has officially worn off.

Sunflare and my sunshine

There. There's some sunflare. Now I need to go and take a shower before

the guy comes to take me away in a straightjacket. That way I'll have a fighting

chance to convince him that the neighbors are wrong- it's totally normal

to see someone crouching around behind bushes, taking pictures

of the sun. It's normal. It's sane.

And the things I was seeing were from photographing the sun.

I'm pretty sure.

Ahhh, childhood. If only I could go back for a day.