Bad Carma

16.
Bad news: car trouble left me sitting by the side of the highway today.
Good news: it wasn't raining. Not the whole time, anyway...

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

15.
Soggy, drippy, waterlogged, soaked, drenched, sopping, soused, slippery, saturated, flooded, doused, water-wringing wet. Enough!

Landmark

14.
“London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Boston has the CITGO sign.”

It wasn't until late last night that I realized I didn't yet have a shot for the day. It had been lousy rainy all day, but considering I was leaving a portrait workshop at the time, I had few excuses. It so happens my class takes place in the shadow of this famous landmark, so I pulled over to the side of the road, and snapped this quickly, in between swipes of the windshield wipers.

Cornus Mas

13.

Every year, this tree is the first bloomer in our yard. Despite the chilly, wet, and even snowy weather of the past few days, it means spring is really coming!

Sign of the Season

12.

You know it's almost Easter when egg-stra special creations come home from art class...

Geek My Ride

11.

If you add only one accessory to your commuter this season, make it custom-built wooden fenders.

Mr. CM made these with his own two hands, and is quite pleased with how they turned out.

Jelly Beans

10.
Anybody out there a licorice fan? I'll trade you for some red, pink, orange or yellow....

Picking Colors

9.
It's that time of year when I start to panic about all the projects in the house that I should have done while the weather was crummy.

Toast

8.

Some days are just this exciting.

Today I finally replaced our cranky old toaster. The girls couldn't wait to make toast -- with a great deal of butter -- for their after-school snack.

March MCAS Madness

7.

All across our state this week, students are taking the dreaded standardized tests known as the MCAS exams. Kids are nervous, teachers are on edge, and administrators have been sending home notices with reminders like: "Don't let your child stay up all night before the test" and "Please feed your child breakfast on the morning of the test."

Being the concerned parent that I am, I wanted to pack a snack in their lunch boxes that would provide a good enough sugar rush to sustain them until the last bell rings. These jam squares fit the bill - made with oats and plenty of butter, they stick with you.

Jam Squares

Combine 2 cups oats, 3/4 c brown sugar, 3/4 c flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Add 1 stick melted butter, mix well. Reserve 3/4 c oat mixture for topping, press remaining firmly into 7 x 11in pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins, until golden. Remove from oven, spread 12 oz jam on top, crumble reserved oat mixture on top. Return to oven until golden & bubbly, about 30 mins.

Together Again

6.

He hasn't been home since he left for school on Thursday, gone on a "field trip" to Philly with the high school band. During this time, our communication was limited to a few monosyllabic text messages. Which I thought showed considerable restraint (on our part) in this over-connected age...

But, when a teenager graces you with his presence, there's nothing quite like it. Mr CM & I just had to laugh when he fixed a box of mac & cheese for himself, and proceeded to eat all of it - straight from the pot - in front of the tv.

(technical note: Every so often, I really struggle with getting images to look right once they have been shrunk & uploaded to blogger. This is one of those times. I'm done messing with it for now. Hardly an award-winning photo, but just so you know, a bigger, better version can be seen here.)

Saturday

5.

About a minute after I took this photo, she mentioned to me, "You know, Mom, sometimes your photography is really annoying."

Sigh. Yes, dear. I know. I remember. Everything is annoying. Unless it's awesome. The rapidity with which conditions change from awesome to annoying - and back again - is staggering.

So, I'll pick my moments. And my battles. And try not to get too caught up in the changing winds of adolescent moods. But it's hard. This kid...this kid is so much like me it hurts.

'Nastics

4.

It was a beautifully warm, open-doors, out-of-doors kind of day today, even at gymnastics.

And can I just say... hats off to the coach! Due in another month or so, and there she is, dodging flying feet and spotting backflips at the gym. Crazy, brave woman. She looks great.

Thursday Morning With Wally

3.

It was slow going this morning.

She wasn't feeling so hot, and ended up staying home from school. Wally agreed it was for the best...

Springy

2.

I've been enjoying the signs of spring today... The evening sun, and its long shadows. Playing outside up until dinnertime. A kid who absolutely must wear shorts the moment the thermometer reaches 60 degrees, but still hangs onto the hoodie and winter shoes. But it's the shorts that reveal the most classic sign of all: pale legs!

I'm Baaaack...!

1.

I thought taking a week off would give me plenty of time to rest, recharge, and plan something fabulous for Crap Management, the Sequel... or is it: "the Next Chapter"...? Or, maybe, "Part 2"...? I'm guessing you can tell already that I didn't get too far with the planning part.

The only thing I could figure out for sure is that I enjoyed making pictures every day, and I think learned a lot in the past year by doing so, and that I want to continue on that course. And so, why waste any more time "planning"? Here we go!*

Which brings me to today's photo. Of a soccer field. There has been incessant rain, with damaging floods, for the past several days here. I read in the paper today that if it had been snow, it would have reached 83 inches high. But today, finally, the sun came out. Come on, spring!

*(I'm still thinking of changing things up a little... maybe re-arrange the furniture, you know? Not sure just how, but I reserve the right to figure it out as we go...)

Commencement

365/365

To have reached day 365 feels like my birthday, New Year's Eve and graduation day, all rolled into one! Indulge me for a moment, while I consider what it all means...

A year ago, I started this Project 365 with two goals. The first was simple -- to learn how to use my camera. Get out of "auto" mode, know what all the buttons & dials do, understand more about composition and how to make a nice photo. The second goal was more complex. I thought this project could help me get past my daily grind, and find myself again. It was a tall order for 365 photos, but that was my hope.

***************************

One year later, I have to say that this project far exceeded my expectations on all counts! No longer do I fear the buttons, blinking lights, and clicking dials on my camera. I toggle blithely through the menus, adjusting exposure, flash, file formats and reading histograms. I understand ISO, DOF, HDR, Av, Tv, M, RAW and jpeg, among other acronyms. I engage (mostly lurk) in online photography forums, subscribe to several photography blogs, and know a decisive moment when I see one (well, at least my hindsight is 20/20).

Besides my newfound mastery of my gear, I have found other encouraging signs that my skills are improving. Whether its your comments, seeing my work hung up in the coffee shop downtown, competing in photo contests or earning money with my photography, each time something like that happens, I get a little thrill.

I thought the "finding myself" part would come from simply re-connecting to a pastime I used to enjoy, in a former life. But it is so much better than that. When I know that an image I created moves someone else, it is an affirmation like no other. And that is so powerful because, now, instead of simply recording a moment of joy or beauty or triumph... that image is a triumph in itself.

I'm not sure what comes next. My intention when I began a year ago was to be open to any opportunities to learn and grow that might crop up along the way. That approach has been working for me so far, and I'm going to stick with it. But first I'm going to allow myself a short break. I'm still not sure when the next phase will start, but check back soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

What Remains

364/365

This is what's left of our ice rink, after lots of rain, several days where the temps pushed 40 degrees, and finally today, when we got up over 50. Even though the chilly weather isn't over yet, the odds of "recovering" from this assault and returning to backyard skating in the coming weeks are slim to none at this point. Welcome to mud season.

Back to the Beach?

363/365

It's been months since I've been at the beach for the "magic hour" of sunset. I was headed home, after dropping the girls at my parents' for a sleepover... and I had to pull over and get out the camera.

Well, I guess it has been too long, because the puddles and wet seawall didn't tip me off... Soon enough, the waves got me, crashing up and over the wall, spraying me, the car, my camera (thank you, Pentax weatherproofing!). It was a chilly & damp ride home.

On the other hand, that sunset is starting to happen closer to 5:30 pm than 3:30 pm is encouraging.

Gambas al Ajillo

362/365

Date night on a Thursday? Works for me...!

(Edit: I should mention that the only way this dish ("Garlic Shrimp") is acceptable on date night is if both participants eat some...)

Prince Firstly Rides Again

361/365

You may recall a couple of months ago when my son's bike "disappeared." What a crummy ordeal that was... And it took some time, but he finally came around to the idea that maybe he would replace it. He's been saving his babysitting money, and with some help from dad, scouring craigslist and ebay for a good deal. Recently, a deal was done, and today, UPS delivered the goods. Let the healing begin.

Consolation Prize

360/365

Well, we didn't win. And, to be completely honest, it was a teensy bit disappointing. But only for a moment. I am still amazed and overjoyed that my photo was a finalist, and incredibly gratified that it struck a chord with so many. What's more, I learned the most important lesson about winning contests: you have to enter. Plus, I earned a nice gift card to spend at B & H Photo! Overall, I gained way more than I lost on this one.

You are probably wondering how Wally took the news of his runner-up status. I dare say he's coping quite nicely, thankyouverymuch....

Rewarding

359/365

My mid-afternoon cup of tea. I usually need it for warmth, and the caffeine boost doesn't hurt, either.

Today, I was hoping my little teatime ritual would bring me some calm... because I am totally out of my mind excited about one of my photos being chosen as a finalist in The Pioneer Woman's photo contest!!!!! Of thousands of images, she chose mine as one of the final dozen! The category was dog photos, and there are some amazing images by loads of talented photographers in the contest. Here's the link.

Tomorrow, we'll know the winners. But, really -- truly -- I don't think I could be any more excited even if I did win. Wow!!!