A New Hobby for a New Year

Me, with Pike's Peak in the background, testing out the self-timer feature on my camera.

 I have always been interested in photography, and at the end of last year, I decided to take the plunge and buy a Digital SLR. After doing some research, I settled on a Canon EOS Rebel T5. I got the camera, an 18-55mm lens, a telephoto lens, a macro lens, some filters, a tripod, and a boat-load of other accessories. When the box arrived, I was super excited, and then, quickly, became really overwhelmed. The lenses, the filters, not to mention all the different settings on the camera! And, the acronyms, ISO, DOF, HDR, OIS...WTF was I thinking?!? I just spent a decent amount of money and I honestly have no clue how any of this works. I opened everything, put the camera and lenses in the little bag, and there it sat for a few weeks. I read the manual, played with the camera a little, and put it back in the bag. The next day, I ordered Canon EOS T5/1200D for Dummies, and it arrived, I skimmed it, and decided it was finally time to take the camera out for a spin.

I bit off A LOT more than I could chew for my first outing. I want to photograph my family (of course) landscapes, wildlife, and the night sky. So, I chose the night sky to go with first. Greaaaaaaat idea. We live in a city of nearly 500,000 people, and multiple military installations. It's hard to find a place without a lot of light pollution so you can actually see the stars. I asked Tom if we could go out one night, and try to take a few shots of the stars. After, hours of driving around, we finally settled on a gravel road east of the Springs, and south of Schriever Air Force Base. We stopped and got out, and I started to unload all the equipment, while Tom took a smoke break. I also had to pee (after the hours of driving and a hot cocoa) so, I'm getting ready to go, and Tom jumps around the backside of the car and damn near scared the piss out of me, literally. I cussed. A lot. (Strange, right?!) We should have just packed it up after that. But, after nearly 45 minutes in the freezing cold, I decided I thought I had some 'ok' shots to work with. When we got home, I looked at the photos on the camera display. They were all dark. Really dark. Like totally, 100% pitch black. Well, fuck. I put everything away, and there it sat, underneath our bed while we went to Idaho for Christmas, and for a few weeks after we got home.

This guy let me take so many photos! What a good subject.

Finally, on Wednesday, when it was crazy snowy, I decided to go out to Garden of the Gods and get some good snowy landscape shots. I took a lot of photos. Then, while driving through the north side of the park, I spotted a buck with six does. I parked, got my camera around my neck, and started out into the snow. I took more pictures. I got some good shots of the deer, but there are snowflakes everywhere, in every shot. So, I started researching editing software. Again, I was overwhelmed, almost immediately. I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to this stuff! I am going to look for a class I can attend, so I can learn what is what, why certain settings are used in certain situations, and what programs are good for beginning editing.

After really looking at the photos I took on Wednesday, I decided that I would use the editing software that came with the camera, I would read my book, and just go out and take photos. I wasn't going to be afraid to take a bad photo anymore! I live in a really beautiful place, and there are tons of people out taking photos everyday. So, Thursday when I woke up, and saw it was going to be absolutely beautiful, I put Alex on the bus, showered, dressed and got my camera bag, and headed back to Garden of the Gods.

Balanced Rock

I took a ton of photos, I played with the settings, the lighting, tried to compose what I thought would be a good shot and had fun. Lots of fun! I didn't look at any of the pictures until I got home, and I like quite a few of the photos. After transferring everything from the my SD card to the laptop, I opened up the editing program and got to work. The stunning orange of the rocks in Garden of the Gods is sometimes lost in the photos, but it was super easy to bring back with the editing program, and once I did that, the blue of the sky just popped. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited to see what kind of shots I can get and capture lots of memories! You can bet that I will be loading up my camera, stopping off at Dutch Bros. for a yummy drink, and getting out to capture the beauty of Colorado.

I took this shot looking south through Garden of the Gods.

One of my attempts at being creative.

 If any of you have any photography tips, tricks, ideas, shooting suggestions,  or even constructive criticism, please let me know! I am super new at this and would love to learn from anyone that is willing to teach.

Photography is my new adventure! This was taken with the macro lens with the lid in focus and the Garden in the background.

Never A Dull Moment!

Alexandra has had a wild ride the last 24 hours! Last night, she had two seizures (not out of the ordinary for her.) During the the second one, her teeth clamped down on her thumb, which scared the hell out of me! I was sure she was going to need stitches, and an x-ray to determine if she had broken anything. Alex is an incredibly strong girl with a super human pain tolerance, and strength, so when I asked her if her thumb hurt, and she said, "yes," I knew something was up. We loaded up and headed to Memorial Hospital ER to see what the damage was. The doc's determined that the bite, although nasty, didn't warrant stitches. Next up was radiology, for x-ray's. For those that know her, know that Miss Alex doesn't stay still for long, so that's when Tom worked his magic. After some comic relief with the lead apron, he was able to hold her wrist and keep her calm and still for the three views that they needed. The films determined that Alex had fractured her thumb, near the base, and it would need to be splinted until she can get in to see a specialist. 

Alex's poor little thumb in a splint!

So, for her awards assembly today, she was sporting a splint when she received her Principal's Honor Roll award. She was so proud of herself for doing so well in school and earning an Honor Roll award for the second semester in a row! I love that she is recognized just like the other kids. Even though her work load is a little different than the average 8th grader, she works her little booty off to do her best. She is in Special Education classes 60% of the time, and participates in General Education 40%. During her IEP meeting last week, her art teacher, Mr. Worrell, expressed how cool it is to see Alex work, create and interact in his class, and I was so incredibly proud.

Carson Middle School's 8th grade Principal's Honor Roll award recipients.

She'll see an orthopaedic surgeon on Monday, so he can decide to keep the splint or cast her poor little thumb. Either way, Tom said we can bedazzle her new accessory and that made her really happy.

Now, we're hoping for an extremely low-key weekend.

So much to write about!

So, I have a list of thought and topics I would love to write about, and then life happens, and I'm too tired, I forget, or I say I will do it tomorrow. Then, sometimes life happens and presents a situation to blog about, and I'll run with that. I think it's going to be feast or famine for posts. Hopefully y'all don't mind getting bombarded with posts for a few day and then having no new material for weeks. 

I hope everyone's January is going well, and you're keeping resolutions (if you made them) and that you are doing something everyday that makes either you, or someone else, smile.

I'll be posting on Friday, so keep an eye out for that. Good night!

My Worried Face

The title of my blog, My Worried Face, is taken from a sort of bit that my husband, Tom, and I do. He is a Sergeant First Class in the United States Army, and I could not be more proud of him! Because of his job, work ethic, and dedication to his soldiers, he often works long hours. Sometimes he works 14 hour days (or longer,) and sometimes he gets texts or calls in the middle of the night, and on occasion, has to leave in the middle of the night to deal with, take care of and/or resolve issues within his unit. So, when he says, "I won't be home until 2030 (8:30pm) maybe later." I look at him, give him a goofy grin and say, "THIS is my worried face," and giggle. I know he is here, he is stateside, he is safe. And, that's all I need to know. He will be home when he gets home. I'll make dinner, get Alex ready for bed, take Ginger out for a walk, give Harley a treat, FaceTime with Sean, and Tom will be home when he gets here. It might seem rough, and yeah, sometimes it sucks, but it could be worse. A lot worse. And, that's why I say, "THIS is my worried face." 

Definitely not a worried face! This guy gets it, and for that, I love him.

The phrase has also come from experiences with my kids. My oldest, Alexandra, is 13 years old, and quite the girly-girl, sassy as heck, loves horses, Hello Kitty and the color pink. She is also a Special Needs kiddo, and she needs a lot...Medication multiple times a day, a feeding pump, she has seizures, a bi-pap, and a wheelchair to act as her legs. She is also legally blind, non-verbal, and only one of about 40 in the world with her disorder, Tyrosine Hydroxylase Deficiency. She and I have been through a lot together. A lot more than what I will share now, but for instance, a solid 3 month stay at Seattle Children's Hospital, me performing CPR on her (twice), and just the in's and out's of everyday life.

My youngest, Sean, is six, and one of the biggest, brightest souls I will ever know. He isn't with us all the time, though. He currently spends the school year with his dad and step-mom, in Lewiston, Idaho, and we get him during the summer and alternating Winter and Spring Breaks. He cares about everyone, wants to be liked, he's wicked smart, and is incredibly sensitive (he, himself is sensitive, and is sensitive to the needs of others.) It damn near killed me when the judge ruled that he would stay in Idaho, rather than come to Colorado with me, his sister and Tom. It's been a year and a half, and it still hurts. A lot.
  These experiences have shaped me and because of them, and many, many others, not a lot phases me. Some one is going to be late? Ok. You don't like my shirt? That's fine. We have to rearrange plans for work, travel or a doctor appointment? As long as we get to do what we were going to do, who cares. As long as everyone is breathing, and no one is bleeding out, we're good!
It is because of these experiences, though, that I have an extremely low tolerance for drama and bullshit. If I can make it to a preplanned event on time (if not early) with a kiddo with a trach, suction machine, oxygen, food pump, feeding supplies, medication, and a smile on my face, you had damn well better be on time! If, while my husband is deployed, me, Alex and Sean, can fly half-way across the country, board the dog, find care for the cat, locate hospitals in case of emergency, and be in contact with the kiddos other parents, with less than a week notice, I don't understand why people cancel plans that have been made for months, because today is, "just too tough." On the other hand, if those people that cancel plans at a moments notice because of a hang nail, or their kid has the sniffles and it's just too hard to leave the house, I really, truly, and sincerely hope that is the worst they ever know. Because life can suck. The big one. Many times over.
But you have a choice when life hands you a shit cupcake...You can hold on to it, sniff it, maybe even take a bite and bitch about having it, the smell, the taste, or why you were given the shit cupcake in the first place. Or, you can throw that nasty thing in the trash, wash your hands and move on. I choose to do the latter. When something doesn't go my way, plans change or some thing happens that isn't really that bad, I say, "THIS is my worried face," and get on with it!

Not a moment is taken for granted when we can all be together!

Don't get me wrong, there are days when things totally suck, and I want to get back in bed and not deal with any of it. Scary things happen. Sad things happen. In December, Tom, Alex and I were driving around, listening to Christmas music and looking at all the light displays up near the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Alex presented with a type of seizure that I hadn't seen in years. The kind where she gets pale, then blue, and sometimes stops breathing all together. I had never had Tom pull the car over for a seizure, until then. That's the kind of shit that scares me and gives me worried face. Luckily, after a long four and half minutes, her seizure stopped, and she was still breathing. Tom got us back on the road and we hightailed it back home, where Alex rested comfortably in her bed with her bi-pap and her seizure mat/apnea alarm. It also tears me apart, when FaceTiming with Sean, 1,100 miles away, he gets sad eyes, his lip starts to quiver and he says, "I miss you, Mom." I can't reach out to wipe his tears or give him a hug. That is the kind of thing that gives me worried face. I have to hope that the love and words I have for him are enough to ease his pain, and to let him know that I love him, no matter the physical distance between us. 

Basically, it boils down to the old cliche of, "Don't sweat the small stuff." "THIS is my worried face," is just my version and my way of saying, "It's not a big deal and most everything will be ok."

How can you have worried face with a pup and a view like this?!?!

An Introduction, of Sorts

As you can tell from my "About Me" section to the right =============>
I do a lot, enjoy quite a few things, and though it might seem like I have multiple personalities, I know who I am, where I came from, and have so much I would like to do and experience.
I'm going to attempt this whole blogging thing, to document events in my life, share funny/sad/interesting things that I've done, (hopefully) entertain a few people, and to show my life (and life in general) can be a beautiful, messy, funny, infuriating, and wild ride! As you can tell from my "About Me." I have a few things going on, so posts may be spotty at best, so please check back often for new posts.
Stay tuned...