I really liked the lines in this one, and the way the light and shadows create their own counterpoint.
As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
Friday, June 6, 2008
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Thursday, June 5, 2008
TT - June Holidays
Did you know that June is jam-packed full of holidays? I mean come on, everyone knows about Father's Day, graduations, and the gazillion wedding anniversaries, but did you know about these:
June 5 - Festival Of Popular Delusions Day (wouldn't it be better to call this "The Moon is Made of Green Cheese Day"?)
June 6 - National Applesauce Cake Day (could do worse)
June 7 - National Chocolate Ice Cream Day (getting even better now)
June 8 - Name Your Poison Day (uh oh, I hope this isn't a result of the previous two holidays)
June 9 - Donald Duck Day (now this could be fun)
June 10 - National Yo-Yo Day
June 11 - National Hug Holiday (we used to have a group here that ran around hugging people, I wonder what happened to them)
June 12 - Machine Day (are we talking coffee machines, copy machines, flying machines? How can we celebrate with such a wide mandate?)
June 13 - National Juggling Day and Kitchen Klutzes Of America Day (I sincerely hope no one is celebrating these two simultaneously)
June 14 - Pop Goes The Weasel Day (can you imagine the chaos this could cause?)
June 15 - Smile Power Day (is this replacing fossil fuels?)
June 16 - National Hollerin' Contest Day (remind me to take an excedrin that morning)
And last but not least...
June 17 - Eat Your Vegetables Day (really? they have a holiday for that?)
Hallmark is missing some great opportunities here, don't you think?
Visit the Thursday Thirteen hub to see what everyone else is counting this week.
June 5 - Festival Of Popular Delusions Day (wouldn't it be better to call this "The Moon is Made of Green Cheese Day"?)
June 6 - National Applesauce Cake Day (could do worse)
June 7 - National Chocolate Ice Cream Day (getting even better now)
June 8 - Name Your Poison Day (uh oh, I hope this isn't a result of the previous two holidays)
June 9 - Donald Duck Day (now this could be fun)
June 10 - National Yo-Yo Day
June 11 - National Hug Holiday (we used to have a group here that ran around hugging people, I wonder what happened to them)
June 12 - Machine Day (are we talking coffee machines, copy machines, flying machines? How can we celebrate with such a wide mandate?)
June 13 - National Juggling Day and Kitchen Klutzes Of America Day (I sincerely hope no one is celebrating these two simultaneously)
June 14 - Pop Goes The Weasel Day (can you imagine the chaos this could cause?)
June 15 - Smile Power Day (is this replacing fossil fuels?)
June 16 - National Hollerin' Contest Day (remind me to take an excedrin that morning)
And last but not least...
June 17 - Eat Your Vegetables Day (really? they have a holiday for that?)
Hallmark is missing some great opportunities here, don't you think?
Visit the Thursday Thirteen hub to see what everyone else is counting this week.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
WFMW - Scavenger Hunts
Shannon's looking for ideas to beat the "Mom, I'm boooooooooored" blues this summer. Here's mine:
Send your children on a scavenger hunt. Depending on their ages it can either be around the house (great for a rainy day) or around the yard or neighborhood, just make sure your kids know exactly where they can and can't go. We don't want little Charlie trying to walk to the mall to buy his way to victory.
Give each child or group of children a list of items to find (or pictures if they can't read yet) and a bag to put them in. Set a time limit and send them off.
The lists can be straightforward or convoluted. One mom I know used to devise riddles - the kids had to solve the riddles to figure out what they were looking for (clever, but since I'm severely riddle-challenged I'd find that a punishment, so we skip that bit).
The first child/group back wins.
You can get creative with the prizes too. They can be traditional prizes or even things like the right to pick the entire dinner menu for the night - including dessert of course!
Happy scavenging.
Send your children on a scavenger hunt. Depending on their ages it can either be around the house (great for a rainy day) or around the yard or neighborhood, just make sure your kids know exactly where they can and can't go. We don't want little Charlie trying to walk to the mall to buy his way to victory.
Give each child or group of children a list of items to find (or pictures if they can't read yet) and a bag to put them in. Set a time limit and send them off.
The lists can be straightforward or convoluted. One mom I know used to devise riddles - the kids had to solve the riddles to figure out what they were looking for (clever, but since I'm severely riddle-challenged I'd find that a punishment, so we skip that bit).
The first child/group back wins.
You can get creative with the prizes too. They can be traditional prizes or even things like the right to pick the entire dinner menu for the night - including dessert of course!
Happy scavenging.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Blue
I stumbled across a fun new photo project the other day. Anna Carson is hosting Project Blue where, you guessed it, people post photos of something blue. Hmm I thought, this will be fun. I have loads of blue things around. 113 (yes really) attempts later I'm humbled to say that my photographic skills still lag far behind my artistic vision. I can "see" what I'd like to capture in my mind's eye, but making that vision a reality is a lot more challenging. I'm learning (and hopefully improving) each time I take out my camera but SLR's are a whole new world for me and the learning curve is still steep. One of these days I'm going to have to find the time for a photography class. In the meantime, I'm haunting photography sites and trying to glean tips and techniques wherever I can. Oh, and taking hundreds of pictures.
Here are two that managed to hide from my overactive delete key.
Here are two that managed to hide from my overactive delete key.
Constructive criticism gladly accepted.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Big Fat Mommy Brag
Wait a minute, did I just call myself fat? Nevermind, you know what I mean...
Look away now if you don't like shameless bragging, but I'm so damn proud of my kid that I just had to share.
Itai, my first-grader, had his (almost) end of the year parent-teacher conference last night (or more correctly "parent-teacher-student-littlesistertaggingalong conference). I love the way the students themselves are included in the conference here in Israel, so that the child knows exactly where they stand.
We walked in last night expecting a good report, but what we got just blew me away. The teacher started out by saying "I could have told you you didn't have to actually come in since there are no areas of concern, but I figured you'd enjoy hearing this."
She sat there and RAVED about Itai - academically, behaviorally, socially. What a wonderful kid he was, what a special kid, what an amazing kid, what a pleasure to have in her class. On and on... After she finished her own charter member of the Itai Fan Club bit she went on to read us the comments from all the various specialty teachers, which were equally wonderful. Not that as his mom I didn't already think he was all of those things, but what an incredible feeling to have the rest of the world agreeing as well. This really is an incredible kid, and I couldn't be prouder. He's meeting the world head-on and taking it by storm.
I had a lot of concerns about sending my child into the Israeli educational system, and I know that the system is still in many ways very flawed, but I have to say we have been happily surprised at every turn. Both of my kids are getting exactly what they need, and I am both grateful and very, VERY relieved. I don't know if it's our particular school system or if we've just gotten very lucky so far, but whatever it is I'll take it, and hope that it the system continues to surprise and impress me.
Look away now if you don't like shameless bragging, but I'm so damn proud of my kid that I just had to share.
Itai, my first-grader, had his (almost) end of the year parent-teacher conference last night (or more correctly "parent-teacher-student-littlesistertaggingalong conference). I love the way the students themselves are included in the conference here in Israel, so that the child knows exactly where they stand.
We walked in last night expecting a good report, but what we got just blew me away. The teacher started out by saying "I could have told you you didn't have to actually come in since there are no areas of concern, but I figured you'd enjoy hearing this."
She sat there and RAVED about Itai - academically, behaviorally, socially. What a wonderful kid he was, what a special kid, what an amazing kid, what a pleasure to have in her class. On and on... After she finished her own charter member of the Itai Fan Club bit she went on to read us the comments from all the various specialty teachers, which were equally wonderful. Not that as his mom I didn't already think he was all of those things, but what an incredible feeling to have the rest of the world agreeing as well. This really is an incredible kid, and I couldn't be prouder. He's meeting the world head-on and taking it by storm.
I had a lot of concerns about sending my child into the Israeli educational system, and I know that the system is still in many ways very flawed, but I have to say we have been happily surprised at every turn. Both of my kids are getting exactly what they need, and I am both grateful and very, VERY relieved. I don't know if it's our particular school system or if we've just gotten very lucky so far, but whatever it is I'll take it, and hope that it the system continues to surprise and impress me.
Itai and a friend working on a school project.
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