PlainMama’s Weblog

So named because he is a silly boy. He’s given me a run for my money since day one. The formal introduction… this is my middle son, Brodie. He will turn 3 in July, yet, he acts well beyond his years. There is something about him that is inherently humorous. He has this comedic timing and witty way about him already.

He is also the child that is ALWAYS up to something. Be it good or bad, there always something on his agenda. He is the ring leader. He has the ideas, he has the courage to execute, he leads them into battle (a.k.a. trouble). Surely a world leader, right? Either that or a clown.

Sing out loud.

Sing out strong.

Sing of good things not bad.

Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song.

Make it simple to last your whole life long.

Don’t worry that its not good enough for anyone else to hear.

Just sing, sing a song.

La, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la, la, la.

Marley (top left) didn’t heed this advice.

Thank you coffee, for all you do.

You combat : sleepless children, crying babies, chirping smoke detectors, meowing cats, snoring husbands, restless dogs, pounding headaches, wrong numbers at 2 a.m., hangovers, long road trips, mid-night worries, and, oh, so much more.

You are my happy pill.

Where we live there are mainly new developments. Each of these developments have a home owners’ association. Some cost more than others. Ours was not expensive, but we also don’t have a pool, clubhouse, and apparently LANDSCAPING! I am so tired of paying a couple hundred dollars a year, for dandelions and splotchy grass throughout all the common areas. The association is supposed to cover 2 things, landscaping and salaries for those enforcing the bylaws. Obviously, the landscaping is neglected. And the bylaws, well, my neighbors have erected humongous lions at the end of their 20 foot driveway…

Every time we go to pick Marley up from school Brodie has to jump off the rocks.  He will only get one more chance since Marley only has one more day left of school.  I can’t believe he has finished his first year of school.

~Marley Abrew, when asked whether he thought the brownies baking in the oven would taste good.

There is one constant about Chicago summers… cornhole (insert Beavis and Butthead laugh and crude comment here).  I never knew about this game until we got here.  It is a phenomena.  EVERYONE plays.  Today the neighbors had a party.  As most weekends, its an impromptu festival comprised of beer, music, and bean bags.   A pre-summer soiree.  Some things you can always count on.

Matt and I were talking last night about what we wanted pictures of before we moved from the mid-west. No plans for evacuating, but we do know that we have many more places we would like to live before the end. He wants to get a shot of the tornado sirens and I wanted a shot of the water towers.

I know lots of places have water towers, but there is something about them in the mid-west. I guess its that they are usually the tallest things around. Even before owning navigation in my van, I would always know where I was due to those bobble-head buildings.

I got my shot.  I decided that I will begin to erect my own little world here on the web and my first step… my very own water tower.

My last 2 posts have been really, well…, gross. I mean, dead bunnies and smelly shoes, what the heck am I thinking? Does anyone really want to start their day that way? I know when I’m drinking my coffee in the a.m. I do not want to see a blog with dead animals on it. Nor do I want to think about someone with smelly shoes. Well, now I did it again. I’ve put all those thoughts into your mind. This is not the way today’s post is supposed to go.

Today’s post is about trusting my instincts. How I am growing and learning so much from all the photogs that I live with, that are on boards, and that are on flickr. That I take what they have to teach, what they have done, what they have captured and incorporate it into my mind, my being, my soul. And now when I shoot, I am starting to listen to that. Not to the rules I have read about. Not to the meter. To what I know I have been taught and what FEELS right. I came up with this.

By no means perfect or award winning. BUT for me, a turning point. A point where I know I can change the rules. I can decide how I want a picture to look. I can find the creative shot.

I am thankful for these shoes.  They are what I live in during summer.  Only problem… I have had them for years and they are getting worn and, dare I say it, even a bit of a funk to them.  Now I’m wincing that I just admitted that.  I wish I could find a replacement pair, but Keen no longer sells this actual style.  My afternoon may be sifting through ebay listings.