Glow

I love how the morning light made this photo glow.

As a still pretty newbie photographer, shots like these that have some special aspect just by catching light at the right moment are rare. I don’t have too many. But I really love the way this one turned out. Again, this shot is SOOC except for a tiny bit of sharpening. I wanted to leave it as is because, well, it isn’t often that I can do that.

Peony Petals

The wedding shower in my hometown last weekend was a success. The bride was all aglow. It was a joy to see my dear friend smiling, eating good food, and getting to spend time with friends she hasn’t seen for a long time. 

My sweet sister-in-law (who has recently begun a blog of her own!) gave the bride a lovely green vase as her shower gift.  In her typical creative-thoughtful fashion, instead of wrapping the gift she filled the vase with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and set it in the middle of the table. The bride got to enjoy the vase immediately as it fulfilled its intended purpose holding lovely blooms.

The peonies were so beautiful and fragrant, we couldn’t stop smelling them! The peony has been one of my favorite flowers for some time, but they are not always easy to find. Having access to some that weekend, I had to steal one for an early morning photo session the day after the shower. The light was perfect that morning, and my parents’ new white rocking chairs provided a nice backdrop.

I decided to leave the photos pretty much straight out of camera, only sharpening a couple the tiniest bit.

Monet said that he owed becoming a painter to flowers. Perhaps I can say the same concerning photography. I just can’t seem to keep my lens away from them…

Chocolate Chip Push-Ups

Sometimes, I end up unthinkingly doing oxymoronical things that ask for a hearty chuckle. Yesterday held one of those moments, when I literally did push-ups into baked goods. I don’t recommend it, as push-ups are meant to undo the deeds done by baked goods.

Thunder began sounding yesterday afternoon, so the walk I was planning had to be postponed. It would be unpleasant to get stuck in the rain while exercising. And dangerous to boot, with an iPod and earbuds powering me along. I could have been toasted by lightning!

Anyways.

I wanted to do some sort of physical activity, so I got out some free weights from the closet, warmed up by jogging up and down some stairs outside our apartment, then did a few sets of simple arm exercises I discovered before my wedding two years ago. The fourth exercise was a standing push-up which is to be done against some sort of sturdy ledge or countertop. My kitchen was the only place that had such a thing, so I chose a countertop, got onto my tippy-toes, checked my form, and began the push-ups.  Like so:

About 6 repetitions in, concentrating on my breathing and form, the familiar, delicious scent of cinnamon and chocolate began to flow through my nostrils. I had been so focused on completing my exercises, that I didn’t even realize that I was raising and lowering myself right over a Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake I had baked for dessert the other night. (I tweaked the recipe a little… I didn’t make the topping, but just put the chocolate chips in the cake itself. I highly recommend it. Yum… Anyways, again!) Do you ever get so focused on a task that you lose all notice of your surroundings? Well, that’s what happened.  I continued push-upping, or, pushing-up? I finished my first set, laughing at myself for exercising right next to, right in to, the very thing I was trying to work off my triceps. How silly.

Warning: Push-ups into cake may lead to eating of the cake into which you are doing push-ups.

Paper Flower

I really love flowers.

Even fake ones! I think I have a disease.

Clicking the photo above will take you to the tutorial where I learned how to make these cute little things. I found it right in time for traveling to my hometown this weekend. I’m throwing a bridal shower for my best friend from high school who’s getting married in July.  I’m going to make a few of these for fun and just throw them around the desserts, appetizers, drinks, and gifts for decoration. She likes hand-made things so I hope she’ll like them!

These buds are so simple. You really just cut out a spiral of paper and curl it around a pencil or Q-tip, or in my case, a pointer finger.

Simple creativities like these make me smile.

Why…

…Must you be $158?

You should know by now that seminary students can’t buy clothes that cost that much.

Yet, I still like you, with your peachy, lovely pleats, and bow that reminds me of my wedding gown.

Praying for a discount, into the wish list she goes.

Cold Spaghetti

I made spaghetti for dinner last night.  It was a quick meal, thrown together not long before needing to leave for Sunday evening service.  The pasta was still quite hot when I lumped it into tupperware to refrigerate, so I put it out to cool. Topped partially with a lid, I left it as we went to church then out for milkshakes with dear friends. We arrived back home later and I eyed the capellini and sauce. I checked the temperature, and of course it was completely cooled.  I ate a small chunk of the cold spaghetti, and instantly thought of my dad, transported to my parents’ kitchen island, standing, surveying littered leftovers.

Leftover consumption by my dad has always been a fine art. I can’t even begin to count the number of memories I have of him eyeing a bounty of tupperware, contemplating his coming dinner, which would always end up a funny concoction of the week’s previous meals. But there was always something about leftover spaghetti. It was special. I remember him many times heaping the pasta into a bowl.  It was ready for the microwave, yet he took his time, choosing other bits of this and that to complement his main dish.  All the while, he would pick at the cold spaghetti tupperware from which he had already dished his leftover dinner. My mom would wonder aloud if he’d be hungry for the cooked spaghetti after eating all the cold. I giggled to myself last night, as I did whenever I witnessed this taking place in my parents’ kitchen.

As I lidded my cheap Ikea tupperware full of cold spaghetti and memories, I wondered how many moments like this bring dad to mind that I don’t even notice. For a split second my eyes got misty, thinking maybe I wouldn’t be able to recall all the things that remind me of him till he’s gone. Cold spaghetti is just one. Hootie & The Blowfish (whose song we danced to at my wedding) is another.  A memory mushroom bloomed for a minute, as one recollection of him led to another.

I get to see him this weekend. Maybe we’ll get to eat cold spaghetti together. Even if we don’t, I’ll have to tell him how much I love that he does that.

Back to Blogging

I took a break from my “online life” until at least the end of finals, and now I’m returning to my little corner of the www, albeit a little timidly.  I actually enjoyed being disconnected much more than expected, and I almost don’t want to come back.  There was something simpler about not worrying about having to keep up with it all.  It seems that if you have a blog (or Twitter/Facebook account/etc.) there’s this pull to always constantly be communicating through them, and tendency toward guilt if you aren’t. I read this very interesting article recently about the amount of information that is created on the internet every day.  This statement was particular shocking:

After weeks of survey research, it turns out—the bounty and abundance of web data is out of control. As Google’s Eric Schmidt has been quoted, from the beginning of time to 2003, we created 5 Exabytes of data. We’re now creating that every two days—and it’s accelerating. 

Wow.  Isn’t that just staggering?   “From the beginning of time…”

This is the first break from blogging I’ve taken that I’ve actually enoyed and not felt that guilt of being away. Though a tinge of it hit on May 26, when I realized my predetermined month break was “up.”  Hmm.  I’m thinking a lot about my technology usage, how much time I give to it.  This “information age,” this Facebook/Twitter nation we’ve become leaves me often a bit overwhelmed.  Not that technology is evil.  I regularly enjoy it.  But I feel convicted to be thoughtful about my usage of it, and what amount of my life to give it.  As any of you fellow bloggers (or 21st century humans) know, the internet has a tendency to suck you into a black hole.  It’s kind of like when you’re driving somewhere that is so familiar, that by the time you get there you wonder, “how did I arrive here?” not even really remembering your journey.

Anyways.

In other news:

• School’s out for summah! *Insert huge sigh of relief here.*  It is so nice to have a break, yet at the same time quite odd to have the freedom lack of school work brings.  2 years to go…
• The kids I nanny and I have made up a game which I will certainly have to tell more about in the future.  It’s very hilarious.  It’s called “Rock, Paper, Scissor, Everything.”  After getting tired of playing regular “Rock, Paper, Scissor” we just insert whatever comes to mind at the end. We’ve been playing daily, and some of the things they come up with are just amazing. (i.e. “avocado,” “the earth’s core,” “pillow fringe,” “the moon,” “superman,” “a flip-flop made out of smarties.”)
• During my time offline, a family of birds decided to make its home in the upper left corner of our apartment balcony, right outside our bedroom window I might add.  This means several things: 1. I don’t go out there anymore, 2. our little balcony porch, railing, and walls are covered in bird poop, 3. my husband coming to my rescue–while not wanting to injure the creatures–bought a water spray bottle and has been spraying them to try and get them to leave.  They’ve quieted down, but alas.  Still there.
• I’ve been saving for a new DSLR camera, and I’m almost there.  Once I purchase it and take some new photos, perhaps that will provide some inspiration for blog posts this summer.
• This is the cake I was able to redeem. When a recipe says “use highest quality cocoa powder,” just buckle down and do it, people.

Mmm.  This cake very well could be begging me to make it a third time.