The Last and Final Day

With today being the last and final day of the photography challenge I figured that I would shed some light on the whole process. A behind the scenes look, if you will.

-The challenge started on June 1st, but I waited until the 7th to actually start participating. Why the wait? I was scared. Afraid that I would declare my participation, then not be able to take "cool enough" pictures, get frustrated, and ultimately give up. I took the plunge anyways.

-The challenge didn't require each picture to have a particular thought or meaning, but I liked trying to incorporate a picture and a thought into each blog post. It was hard, sometimes, to think of something creative or tie it into something else that was going on. There were lots of times that I would take a picture and my fingers would hover over the keyboard while I waited for some sort of inspiration. Some days were better than others.

-Speaking of which, it was really hard to blog on the weekends. If you look back you'll notice some of the lamest thoughts/pictures came on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. With Aaron being home the last thing I wanted to do was lock myself in my room and blog.

-Taking a picture everyday forced me to learn more about my camera. I learned the good spots for lighting, the best time of day to take pictures, and that sometimes you have to take 200 pictures just to get one good shot. People were even nice enough to give me tips and tricks along the way. My sister taught me all about metering and the manual setting, and I am a changed woman.

-Okay, so I didn't technically take a picture everyday. Some pictures I took on different days. For example, I knew the "Something Blue" day was coming up so I used a picture from a few days earlier. Or I forgot to take a picture with good lighting but had a viable option on hand. It made the whole process more doable.

-All in all I had a lot of fun participating in the challenge. I liked trying to find meaning in something small during the day, I liked having a topic to blog about each day, and I liked stretching and going outside my comfort zone with certain types of pictures.

-I'm sad that it's over, but grateful at the same time. It's nice to have a specific purpose for something each day, but it's also nice to not be tied down to something.

-Finally, it's on to the last picture. I'm breaking all sorts of rules with this one. First off, it's not a self portrait, it was taken by my incredibly talented sister Ashby. And second, I'm not the only one in the picture. However, with all of that said, I think this picture says more about who I am than any other picture. I absolutely love it.

Day 30: Self-portrait.

A Zebra Is

Okay, fine, I admit it, it's really hard to blog whilst on vacation. Part of me thought I could totally pull it off, and the other part thought I was crazy for trying. Obviously the lazy won over the crazy. There were too many games, too many rounds of pictionary, too many "Newlywed Game" questions that I wanted to answer and participate in that caused me to completely forget to blog. I dipped cookies in milk, snuck extra m&m's and ate mud pie until I had a stomach ache and during those evening moments blogging was so far from my mind and I just let it slide. I don't even find blogging a chore, but when games and cookies are involved, my brain can't focus on anything else.

Day 29: Black and White

Bloom Where You're Planted

Today, I ran while on vacation. (I, too, was shocked by this)

I learned that my girl is fearless in the ocean.

I saw every member of my family participate in a limbo contest (props to Ashley, our winner). 

I heard thunder crash all evening long. 

I realized that despite a re-donk-ulous downpour, people will still have a fireworks show.

And I smiled, because today was a little slice of heaven.

These count as flowers, right? Close enough.

Day 26: Flowers

Ain't No Sunshine

This morning didn't look promising as the rain dropped and the grey clouds rolled in. But with fingers tightly crossed and little prayers being said the sun made it's debut before lunch. It was gorgeous for the rest of the day. Feel free to be jealous of the killer view we currently have.

Day 26: From a Distance

Up Close and Personal

**Due to location differences, I experienced some technical difficulties preventing me from posting yesterday. It was ridiculously lame.

Nothing says "up close and personal" like a 5 hour car ride with your sisters, your daughter, and your niece. Did I say 5 hours? I meant 8. Traffic, not the best. We all caravanned down to the beach 4 cars, 12 adults, 4 kids, 1 toddler, and a wee babe.

There was a big helping of car sickness and the little ones touching you constantly with their feet, but we had a blast laughing, talking, singing at the top of our lungs, and of course eating at chick-fil-a, twice. Beach Week 2011 was kicked off in style.

And should I mention that I got to stare at this gorgeous face for the first leg of the trip? Love this Lily.

Day 25: Close-up

Survival of the Fittest

How to survive a 3 hour plane trip with a 22 month old:

-Crayons

-Stickers

-Coloring book

-Books

-More snacks than you ever thought possible

-DVD Player

-Dora and Kuzco

-Sippies

-Mookies

-Blanket

and most importantly

-A husband that will sit, play, corral, and take care of said toddler so you can calmly sit and read your kindle while eating a copious amount of trail mix.

Day 25: Something Pink

Husband of the Year? Mos' Def'.

And yes, I really like this pink shirt.

Birds of a Feather

Let's get real for a second. I totally had to type into google "Are birds animals?"All of my biology classes have failed me. That, or I have failed all of my biology teachers. Sorry guys.

Day 24: Animal

This is my favorite picture yet. Love these little birds.