I Don't Get It

There are always fads that are really cute when they spring out of nowhere.  I've seen more than a few in my day (leg warmers, tube tops, mohawks and mullets).  If you didn't recognize or remember any of these, don't worry about it - you didn't miss anything.

However, there are some fads I just don't get.  They really don't make sense to me and frankly, they look odd.  For purposes of this post, I'll limit the fads I don't get to these photography trends.  Photographers and girls who pose weird, don't hate me, just sayin'.

The Mustache (and all other goofy photo props):

If you've been locked in a closet for the past year or so, these little paper mustaches on sticks are used in front of your face to take "cute" pictures.  Maybe the idea is that "old time" look from tintype pictures?  I just don't get it.  Here's the mustache in action:

O.K., this is wrong on so many levels.  First of all, an apparently naked baby in a box (see my pet peeve about that below), coupled with a mustache on a pacifier and a big a** bow on the baby's head.  In the future, people will find these pictures in time capsules and wonder what kind of experiments we were doing on babies.  I don't get it.

The Baby in the . . . 

Anne Geddes is a famous photographer that originated this adorable idea of photographing babies in unique ways.  The theme of most of her photographs was to depict babies as part of nature (pea in a pod, flowers, angels, etc)  Here's one of her photos:

I will admit, her many pictures were very cute, especially when no one else had this very creative idea.  Recent photographers have taken this idea to mean you can get babies to sleep in the craziest places.  Please, leave the cute infant pictures in strange sleeping poses to Anne Geddes (who I think has also moved on from this idea).  Unfortunately, the Anne Geddes copies just keep coming:

I have no idea what you have to do to a baby to make him/her sleep in those weird positions (and places).  Speaking on behalf of your children-who-don't-want-to-see-this-picture-on-a-giant-video-screen-at-their-wedding-reception, don't do this.  It's unkind and I don't get it.

The "Pose"

I don't think photographers are to blame on this one.  Anyone who has seen a picture of high school (or older) girls will know exactly what I'm talking about.  Hand on hip, turned slightly sideways and left or right leg slightly bent at the knee.  It's so prevalent that every time I see a girl that age get her picture taken (for anything!) out comes "the pose."

I do understand that it's not a good idea for a woman to have her photo taken straight on, but I don't know what the hand, hip and bent leg are trying to say.  I don't get it.

Duck Face

Last, but definitely not least, is the ugliest look I've ever seen on a face.  Photographers, this one is certainly not on you, because most of these pictures are taken by the subject with a camera at arm's length.  Not being a hater here, but any person - man, woman or child - who thinks this is cool looking in a photo, has obviously not seen that photo. 

And that's a good one.  Please. Don't.

There are two things in common here - neither Angelina Jolie nor the duck are making the "duck face."  (Sorry for the sentence on the bottom - not nice to call Angelina Jolie or the duck by that term.)

Anyway, I don't get it.

If anyone would like to explain these things to me, please do so in the comments.  Otherwise, I will just remain blissfully ignorant.  

cindy

I'm Naked -Where's My Phone?

The last week has been scary. I've been disoriented and disconbobulated.  I've been without a phone!

More accurately, I've been teased with a phone only to have it snatched away.  It started about a two weeks ago when my HTC Rhyme started to get hot - really hot.  After the guy at the Verizon Store burned his finger on the SD portal, he suggested we send it back for a replacement.  Two days later I had a "like new" Rhyme.  I meticulously reloaded all of my lost apps and thought the unpleasant experience was over.

No. Two days later my "like new" phone wouldn't turn on and it was hot.  I called Verizon and they agreed to send me a new type of phone.  After an endless holiday weekend, it finally came - another Rhyme?!?  I had to change SD card because the phone practically burns up with the old card.  It's still hot with the newer card, but not as bad.  I'm trying to deal with it.  Who knew this would be so traumatic?

My daughter thinks I grew up with cans strung on twine, but I can say as a kid I was excited when we got a phone on the wall with a long cord.  It was awesome because I actually talked on the phone with my friends.  The best game we "played" on the phone was the one where we pranked the lady down the street by asking her if her refriverator was running.  I remember being amazed in the 80s when I saw Michael Douglas in "Wall Street" walking on a beach with a shoe phone.  So rich!  So futuristic!  Now I can't go 5 days without a phone, and I don't even talk on it.

Definitely the worst part about being without my phone was my recent jump into all things social media.  I just started with Instagram and haven't been able to take a single picture because I didn't have my phone (15 years ago people would have looked at you funny if you said you couldn't take pictures without your phone).

I'm recovering nicely from my traumatic adventure, thank you.  I'm getting reacquainted with my "new" phone.  Hopefully this one won't leave me in the cold (wait, the problem was with heat so we should be OK).

It's a love affair I tell you. (Just don't tell my husband)

cindy

Scrapbook Sunday - Superstar

I haven't done a Scrapbook Sunday for a while, mostly because I'm too tired on a Sunday night to put it together.  I swear sometime I'm going to get the pictures done during the day so I have better light.  Oh well, on with the Superstar.

This is a page I did for my guy when he was about 2 (my little dude will be 11 in April).  I like doing pages like this - a single subject without an event.  Sometimes these little opportunities come along.  Christian just found some sunglasses and beads and he just did his thing.

The page was pretty simple because I wanted to keep the focus on the subject and not a bunch of fancy stuff.  I used some paper letters and glued each one on the page.

I love mats.  I have a hard time doing a layout without them, mostly because I cut my pictures in squares or rectangles.  These mats were plain blue on green (to match the background paper).

I also used brads to attach the pictures (can you tell I also like brads?)

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures.  I miss those chubby cheeks and how serious he was about everything.  I had (have) the cutest boy!

cindy

Is There Anything Left To Do?

I'm worried.  Our very existence as bloggers might be at risk.  There is nothing new to do.  I'm having a great time learning all kinds of new things.  It's so easy to find instructions on how to do about anything I can imagine.  Scary, huh?

About two weeks ago I was trying to think of something different with spring colors to celebrate spring.  I imagined a cool wreath, with pastel or white yarn wrapped around it with some kind of little flowers on the bottom right.  I was so surprised when I looked at some other blogs and Pinterest, because the wreath I imagined was popping up.  Subliminal?  Maybe.  Freaky?  You bet.

Source: aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com via Miranda on Pinterest

Source: sewcraftalicious.wordpress.com via Melissa on Pinterest

In fact, there were some gorgeous examples with twists I could never imagine:

Source: steamykitchen.com via Sugar Scientist on Pinterest

Now I'm not going to suggest that I created or thought up the idea of a yarn wrapped wreath with felt flowers.  But it's funny that when you think of "what to make this season" you happen to think of the same thing everyone else thinks.  It's like when you rack your brain to give your baby an interesting (but not too weird or original) name.  You think you have picked the name that isn't on everyone's top ten lists or is trendy.  You're pretty sure you've done a great job too, until your child gets to preschool or kindergarten and there are three other kids sitting there with your child's interesting name.

I love the fact there is so much information and rampant creativity on the web.  We can do things, make things, improve on things so much faster and better than women did years ago with a couple of magazines and craft patterns.  Sometimes though, I just wish I could make it first :)

cindy

Flowers

I love flowers.  I love taking pictures of flowers, even if I'm just using my cellphone.  When I lived in the Midwest, I remember being tricked into thinking spring was around the corner by the end of February, only to have winter roar back in March.  These pictures are for you who are still subject to the cruel spring trick:

This is a calla lily from San Juan Capistrano.

Mexican poppies from my backyard (a sure sign of spring in Arizona)

Peace rose from the backyard

Hydrangeas from Mississippi.

Lilies from Louisville

As you can see, flowers give me great joy.  I love to take pictures wherever we go.  I hope today with spring coming, these give you joy too.

cindy

Scenic Saturday

The desert has so many unusual and beautiful plants.

This is a Teddy Bear Cholla (choi-yah).  

It is also called a Jumping Cholla because those furry looking balls seem to pop out if you get too close.  

I would rather stand back and see it as soft and cuddly. 

cindy

Winter Solstice

That pink glow is a snowstorm about 70 miles away.

I'm so blest.  I get to see this view every day on my way home.  Today I just had to stop near the Pima reservation to snap these.

I know this isn't a traditional winter scene, but I wouldn't trade this for all the snow in the world.  (Plus, we can drive up to that pink area for snow if we want some).

cindy

Pinterest Christmas Eye Candy

I'm just about crafted, cookied, decorated, planned and shopped out.  I'm just ready to sit back and enjoy some eye candy of the season, courtesy of Pinterest.  If you aren't crafted, cookied, decorated, planned or shopped out, feel free to click on any of the pictures and it will ultimately take you back to where you can get more information about the item in the picture.  Here we go!

Let's start with a little fa la la la la.

Source: Uploaded by user via Erin on Pinterest

Are you getting the gist yet?

Source: Uploaded by user via Alexis on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Chantal on Pinterest

Source: owlhaven.wordpress.com via Lindy on Pinterest

Source: designindulgences.com via Kristi on Pinterest

Source: craftrookie.blogspot.com via SweetAdeline on Pinterest

Source: 3krazychics.blogspot.com via Claudia on Pinterest

The real reason for the season.

cindy

Scrapbook Sunday

After spending time recently at the Phoenix Scrapbook Cottage, I realized how much I missed scrapbooking.  I tried to chronicle my kids, but am only up to the summer of 2003 (my daughter was born in 2003).  I have a lot to do.  I thought I would start Scrapbook Sundays as a way to inspire myself by looking at one layout I've done in the past.

For this first Scrapbook Sunday, I went back to 2001 right when I started scrapbooking.  My sister got me started with Making Memories materials.  I have always worked in 12x12, but in those days I worked directly on the white page.

Back then I liked to cut pictures in circles and ovals.  I like the side borders and use of a stencil to create an area to journal.  The little tiny marks on the page were put there by me.  I don't remember knowing about patterned paper then.

The stickers were big for me then too.

This is from my son's baby scrapbook and the idea was to show him what our life was like when he arrived.  Although I wouldn't want to show all the pages, I'm still pretty happy with some pages, both for content and appearance.

 

cindy

O Picture Tree

Sometimes the most treasured Christmas decorations are the accidental ones.  Several years ago I found this gold gilded tree at the Great Outdoors after Christmas.  It was one of those things you would never pay full price for, but can't pass up with the deep discount because the deal is so good.  I bought the tree without any idea what I would do with it.  The same year I found some great little frames at Michael's that they were practically giving away. 

Because I could get so many little frames, I started putting pictures of my kids into them.  Every year we take these adorable Christmas pictures but never seem to have a good place for them.  I started putting a picture of each child (or together) each year, marking the year on the back of the frame.

Michaels sells these frames every year so it isn't hard to keep the tradition going.  The tree sits on the foyer table, so when you enter our home you can see our best gifts on the tree.  It's also the gift that gives every year because when I decorate I get to relive each Christmas with my kids.

cindy

Lilies in Indiana

Last month when we attended a conference in Louisville, Kentucky, we spent an evening on the other side of the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana. There we visited Falls of the Ohio, a lovely state park.  Thanks to the wonderful ladies of Clarksville's Daylily Club, I saw a garden full of different kinds of daylilies.

I love daylilies from years of living in Illinois.  Unfortunately, they don't grow well in Arizona, so I really miss them.  I used my cell phone to take these pictures and because many of the plants were already spent, I took the pictures close-up.

Aren't they gorgeous? 

I couldn't stop taking pictures of each variety, so many that I won't be able to post them all here.  I had planned to write an entry about these lilies, but never got around to it.

When I heard about the tragedy at the Indiana State Fair this past week, it made me think about our trip and these beautiful lilies from Clarksville.

I thought it might be appropriate to remember the people who lost their lives and were injured last weekend.  Lilies are a sign of resurrection and I'm praying those who died as well as those who are still suffering might find renewal in God's creation.

Isn't that why God gives us beauty in this life?  To remind us there is more than just existing?

May God grant them peace.

cindy

Have You Tried Pinterest?

I know a number of people have already blogged about Pinterest, but I can't help jumping on the bandwagon.  I LOVE Pinterest.  For the few of you who haven't heard about Pinterest, I should say right away that I'm not receiving any benefit from blogging about Pinterest.  I say that because I'm about to gush about it. 

Pinterest is an internet bulletin board you can use to "pin" any image you want to save.  You can save food recipes, clothing designs, home ideas or anything else with an image.  Have you ever been surfing the internet and found something you really liked or that inspired you to make something?  You might not care to bookmark the site because that just takes you to the website generally instead of the specific image.  Pinterest allows you to "pin" images (you can even use a widget offered by Pinterest) on boards you name.  Kate from Songs Kate Sang has 38 themed boards, including boards featuring specific colors, photo ideas, home organization, vintage, ideas for birthday parties, holidays, seasonal decorating and more.  I'm just getting started, but if you would like to see my boards, check them out here.

That's the other cool thing about Pinterest - you can see other people's boards (and repin images to your own board if you want).  Because the "pins" are all in images, it is a feast for the eyes to see what other people like.  It's also better than bookmarks because bookmarks identify websites and you may not remember what you saw on the website that was interesting to you.  It's functional while aesthetically pleasing at the same time!  Best of all, there is no cost associated with Pinterest.

Currently, Pinterest is an "invite only" site.  You can request an invite from me (or anyone else with a Pinterest account), or you can request one here directly from Pinterest.

Be inspired and get pinning!!

cindy

The Great Camera Search

Blogs without pictures are boring.  I don't own a camera (unless you count my cell phone, which I don't).  I have owned several cameras, but I have a unique knack for losing them.  Needless to say, Kentster (read "husband") doesn't buy me cameras anymore. (Sung to the tune "You Don't Bring Me Flowers").  I am trying to balance price with quality.  I have had really crappy cameras, and I hate cameras that only have LCD displays (can't see anything outside).  I'm not a trained photographer, so it would be hard to justify a "fancy" camera.  I've been looking online at Target and Best Buy, but I don't think I understand the terms I'm looking at.  Is it better to have a camera with more megapixels, or a greater optical zoom?  Is it possible to get a decent camera for less than $200.00??  Decisions are tough.  I would love some comments, although I doubt anyone is reading this because it's only my second entry :)  If you are reading this (because you are hopelessly lost in Blog World), feel free to chime in with suggestions on cameras or features.