29 - 41: the first weeks of February

I am in Love with Love and Love is in love with me.
My body is in Love with the soul and
the soul is in Love with my body.
I opened my arms to Love and
Love embraced me like a lover.
~ R u m i

 half of February 2011 has come and gone in the blink of an eye.  there was the fortune of spending quality time with two cherished friends (with some very exciting news!), putt-putt golfing and red velvet cake for Ashton's birthday, leisurely park walking, Uchiko deliciousness and wonderful company for my birthday (32 - woohoo!), and a most memorable valentine's day Willie Nelson show at the new ACL Moody Theater (which is awesome, btw) with my more than wonderful husband. i got a new camera for my birthday (Canon 550D) that i am stoked about learning how to use effectively!  lovelovelove

{41} 02.14.11

does Willie really need a caption?!

Trigger waiting for his master.

 {40} 02.13.11

portrait.  i edited out the temple wound incurred from the previous night of debauchery. success!

{39} 02.12.11

best breakfast tacos on the east side.

{38} 02.11.11

it's been awfully cold again lately, and these beauties showed up on my car window this morning. :)

{37} 02.10.11

experimenting with DOF at dinnertime.

{36} 02.09.11

birthday & valentine's cards.

{35} 02.08.11

someone got a new camera. happy!

{34} 02.07.11

Arlo

{33} 02.06.11

view from Toscana - east Austin.
super bowl sunday!

{32} 02.05.11

Ashton blowing out birthday candles - Billy's BBQ
i caught the flash from another camera....  neat!

{31} 02.04.11 

snow day 2011. this is all we got! good enough to stay home from work until lunchtime!  morning meetings aren't so bad when you can cook breakfast at home in your pjs while listening in. :)

 {30} 02.02.11

Amber - post yoga dinner at Mother's.
these low-light shots are about to get much better (i hope!)

{29} 02.01.11

morning reflections.  the bushes outside of our windows make the prettiest shadows on the shades.

one month down

january 2011 came and went, and i am more or less satisfied with how i've kept up the picture taking.  sure, i missed a day here and there, but i would say, overall, month one was a success.  things i've learned: 

1. check your camera settings! (doh!)
2. take at least one picture before lunch time comes
3. anything can be a photo subject, so open your eyes and get creative
4. photo editing - learn it!
5. a daily goal really makes you aware of the passing of time (this life's short!)

last photo for january:

 {28} 1.31.11

19 degrees fahrenheit - 7:30 am.  coldest weather in 20 years....  enough already - where's spring?!

photos 24 - 27

this past weekend was really nice.  quality time spent with my honey on friday evening (date night!), Jette's 4th birthday celebration on saturday, and a productive sunday of errands and goal tracking.  a friend remarked on saturday that motherhood has created a shift in perspective within her understanding of the personal motives of humans in general.  that shift being the realization that people are not selfishly looking out for only their own interests, as she once thought, but they are actually all interested in and motivated by maintaining the well being of their children.  ie: the world is not as self-centered as it may seem.  i am not articulating it as nicely as she did, but it was a beautiful sentiment that will not be forgotten.  

ps - you might notice jan 28 is missing....  oops!

{27} 1.30.11

it was a busy day, and the only shot i took was through the car window while running errands.  oh well....

{26} 1.29.11

Jette had his 4th birthday party this weekend! spiderman theme... awesome!  it was really a lot of fun catching up with all our friends with kiddos - seeing how much the little ones have grown and changed is always amazing.  we've know Jette from the start, and love him to pieces.  just look at how intently he is staring at his spiderman cake!  the poor quality/graininess of the photo is my fault, as i forgot to check my settings and took this at ISO 1600 (doh!).  also, white balance might have been (ok, it definitely was) set at some weird indoor light setting, hence the slightly weird blue/green tint to the pic below.  so unnecessary - boo.  lesson learned... always check your settings!

{25} 1.27.11

mr. Price - this one's for you.

{24} 1.26.11

are you ready?