W is for Waaaaaa!

W is for "Waaaaaa!" That's me and Morgan missing Jenn and Maggie after they left. We sure miss them.

W is also for waffles -- Jenn made gluten free waffles while she was here and I fed them to the baby this past week. It made me whine all over again about how much I miss her.

I have to wait until October to see her again. There are 2 very wonderful conferences we are going to -- Apologia Live in Austin, and Relevant in Harrisburg. When you stop and think about it, October is just a few weeks away...

I'm still reeling over the fact that it is nearly September. Seems like just yesterday it was February and I was miserably huge - waiting on my wiggle-worm to be fully cooked and make his appearance in the world.

We're all waiting for something... what's your passion? What are you looking forward to this school year?

More info about this alphabetical photo meme is below...

Join me at the Homeschool Post for the A B See Meme (an alphabetical photo meme) and a chance to win a prize each month (this month's prize is a personalized canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints). All you have to do to enter is upload your photos to their Flickr Group each week. You don't even technically have to be a blogger to play along... you just have to have an alphabetical themed photo and a flickr account!

Here are the links to the past few 'A B See' posts I have done here:
A is for antique.
B is for bugging big-sis.
C is for computer.
D is for digger.
E is for eat... and Elmers.
F is for fried rice.
G is for goofy girl.
H is for Heather.
I is for insect.
J is for joy.
K is for Kreative Spelling and Killer Homeschool Deals.
L is for live music.
M is for matryoshka.
N is for national cemetery.
O is for Orchids and Opryland.
P is for Pregnant.
Q is for quack.
R is for rocks.
S is for street.
T is for Train and Tunnel of Turmoil
U is for unwound.
V is for vanity.

Tip: Use the dictionary to get ideas if you are stumped on a letter. No excuses! Get to clicking!

Of Viruses and Vegetables

Yesterday we had thought the kids were all on the mend and allowed three of them to go outside and play for the holiday. All four of my kids had a fever and sinus issues last week (they fell like dominoes, one after the other Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) -- one after the other -- starting with my 12 year old. None of them sounded like they needed fish thrown at them, though. Until the 2 year old Viking came in our room this morning at 4AM with a seal in his throat and part of his voice missing.

I was afraid that he had the beginnings of pneumonia or bronchitis (which is what my mom had the last time she sounded similar). Just in case he needed antibiotics and xrays, I thought it best to send him to the ER... with Dad and sister - since 4 month old little brothers can't tag along to a germ-infested ER while their immune systems are already compromised.

Thankfully, the little dude only needed a steroid shot (something daddy should also consider -- since he's had sinus issues for two weeks). Apparently, while he sounds awful, he doesn't need antibiotics. Poor baby cried for his mommy the whole morning while I laid awake pining for him - nursing his brother. Being the mom of 2 under 2 is sometimes a real battle. I was very torn this morning on what to do and how to go about the situation.



As for counting my blessings in this past week of sickness, I'd have to say that high on my list would be my daughter's new found love of polymer clay. I adore art, so I love it when we get a good dose of it infused in our homeschooling. She told me early in the week last week that she wanted some wood tools to whittle necklace charms. I introduced her to polymer clay instead -- and she's been making amazing little works of art since then. She's hoping to start an Etsy shop -- good for her!

We also got a lot of history reading done, some great Bible devotionals, and science and history Netflix movies. So even if school wasn't able to be in full swing, at least the kids got to touch on some subjects while everyone was down and out.

Today will be another day "off" with naps and home made chicken soup... but I'll be sneaking in a little reading while they aren't expecting it. The kids are pretty smart about my 'stealth' homeschooling methods now that they are teens... but I can usually bribe them with computer time... even when there are sore throats, sniffles and coughs.

What kind of school do you sneak in on sick days?

Phone-o-graphic

1. Angel clouds, 2. Sunset at the Bird Bath, 3. iPad before bed with a sleeping baby brother... Thank you Hylands teething tabs., 4. Useless to Resist Me, 5. TX BBQ, 6. Seattle Toes, 7. Happy Mothers Day, 8. Morgan's Mountains, 9. Eggs, Bacon, Potato on Corn Tortilla, 10. Breakfast Taco Team, 11. Saturday Nap, 12. Tiny Tractor, 13. Catty, 14. Godiva makes the list, 15. Love, 16. Let them have cake.

Today I'm playing along with Dawn's camera phone meme... while I make medical phone calls and try to plan a course of action for my daughter's back pain (which lingers after a year, still undiagnosed). She's in bed as I type this-- prayers appreciated. I guess we'll be moving on today in 'homeschool' without her, because I am at my wits end on what to do for her... feeling rather helpless.

Do you have a camera phone? I'll tell you how you can use it to create 'Art'. With a lot of health problems in our life right now... and the busyness of life with four kids - I'm clinging to the lighthearted stuff with all my might -- the pictures and little moments that make up a life. Even a life that is stressful and one that includes a heavy set of difficulties must be treasured. Pictures for me are a way to count my blessings.

I used my iPhone to take the pictures above. No time to drag out the big camera around here lately. I've got an impressive collection of photo aps on my camera phone now - thanks to some of my talented Instagram contacts who are kind enough to share their know-how. I'll tell you a few of the aps I used to create the pictures above (left to right, top to bottom):

1. I think the clouds were just an Instagram filter -- Lord Kelvin -- on top of a regular shot of the sky using my normal iPhone camera.
2. The photo of the baby outside with daddy (right before daddy sprayed him with the hose) was taken with Camera+ and I chose a point on the photo to be "in focus" with a radius of blur around it before playing with the color filters in that ap.
3. The baby resting on his brother was a late night Instagram filtered pic -- easy peasy. Not the best quality, but a priceless moment I didn't want to miss.
4. The man-cat. My furry sweetheart. Taken with Camera+. Opened in Xiamen, I think. I played with the color filters there until I got one that made it pop.
5. Texas BBQ on Mother's Day. My special treat from the man-of-the-house. Taken with Camera+, and I think this one was 'miniaturized' filter -- inside Camera+.
6. Seattle toes -- my gift from the 12 year old for Mother's Day. Took it with Camera+ and used an Xiamien HD filter on it, I think.
7. Me and the tiny baby -- stuck in the car nursing while everyone else was eating BBQ (story of my life lately) on Mother's Day. Taken with Camera+ and filtered with Instagram (Lord Kelvin).
8. Morgan's painting of Washington mountains that she longs to see. I wish I had the money to take her there. I took this picture of her painting and used HD filters in Xiamen to make the colors pop. Sometimes iPhone pictures can be kind of drab without a little filter help.
9. Waiting on my breakfast tacos ... I took this one with Hipstamatic but I would be lying if I told you what type of lens and film features I used. Hipstamatic is not as easy for me to use, but you can get some cool artistic shots if you like tinkering around.
10. Another breakfast taco joint shot. I can smell them from here. Mmmm. I think I did this all in Camera+ and I don't remember if I used filters or not.
11. SOOC from the iPhone camera. I loved the color it caught from the morning light in my bedroom, so I didn't alter it. The whole feel of it is 'soft spring green'.
12. Tiny tractor in a miniature train model world ... I loved these pictures after I filtered them through Xiamen and Camera+. I can't remember all I did to them. I just tinkered with the filters until it looked 'finished'.
13. My son's 'evil' cat. Taken with Hipstamatic. I used an Instagram filter on it after, too.
14. Ahhh - the to-do list (a familiar sight around here) and the stress level is high: which is why you see CHOCOLATE there on top of the page. Taken with Hipstamatic and labeled with Labelbox. I might have used a filter in Instagram on it, too. I usually pump all my photos through Instagram after I get my desired 'look' -- so that I can instantly upload them to twitter/facebook/flickr. You have to have them in flickr to make these really neat collages (at Mosaic Maker -- part of Big Huge Labs flickr tools). Mosaic Maker creates the HTML for you that appears up there below the pictures, too. It automatically provides the links and titles of the pictures in your post when you use their html.
15. Me and the kids. All taken with Hipstamatic and then I made a collage in Diptic.
16. Morgan and baby K eating cake at cousin Jake's party. I'm pretty sure I used one of the more colorized filters in Instagram here, but I can't remember what ap I used to take the picture.

Here are some aps that you might look up and get for your iPhone:
Camera +, Xiamen (Korean - but don't let that scare you off), Diptic, Halftone, Instagram, PS Express, Hipstamatic, Dynamic Light, Labelbox, TiltShiftGen

Some others that I haven't used, but that have been recommended to me are:
Filterstorm, Qbro, Iris, and the Guide to Hipstamatic

I'm sure there are more. I'm enjoying Dawn's Camera Phone series and loving all the 'phoneography' that my Instagram buddies are streaming. I warn you, though, Instagram is addictive and certainly not good for the DSLR. I use my camera phone way too much these days. This past weekend I finally uploaded about 500 pictures I took with the 'good' camera that I've been adding to a memory card for over a month. I wish it were as easy to prep them for use on the blog as it is with all my camera phone pictures.

I'll be keeping my iPhone handy regardless of the status of my DSLR. I can give up a little bit of quality every now and then for a LOT of convenience, artistic license and ENJOYMENT.

My First REAL Portrait Session... the Z Family

Repeat after me: I will NEVER complain again that a professional photographer charges too much money.

Now that I've:
...scouted locations
...taken sample pictures for free for others
...learned just how many hours it takes to edit 90 photographs and sort through over 300
...seen how much of a holiday weekend might get eaten up on a 'job'
...printed pictures and run errands and purchased props
...etc

I won't be complaining again the next time I pay someone to take our family portraits. Seriously.

The wonderful thing about BEING the photographer, though - is that if you LOVE what you do - even working for peanuts is worth it. I ADORE capturing people. Even when the photos aren't perfect. People are so amazing and beautiful - even the ones who don't think that they are (especially those people).



Funny... but the pictures you think you will throw out later - those are often the ones that grow on you and make you smile the most. The photo above is one of those for me. They wore white shirts, but they brought red ones for a 'Christmas' shot that we thought would work better with the letters I brought along. I mistakenly handed the letters to the kids before they changed in to their red shirts... but the kids were so excited to do this shot, I went ahead and photographed them. Even if they don't buy prints of this shot, I just adore it. I'm happy to have it in my portfolio.

What I learned:
1. Plan to spend more than 2 hours if there are more than 2 kids.
2. Plan to get to the site earlier on an evening shot if you will be spending more than 2 hours! HEY - newsflash to me: The sun GOES DOWN.
3. Make sure to check the ISO on every picture to make sure you don't ruin a lot of good ones.
4. RELAX
5. Mom knows her kids best. I loved it that this mom was very involved and outspoken to request things and stop the process to fix things she thought might be 'out of place'.

My husband jokes that he shoots guns and I shoot people. [Thankfully, he doesn't use his guns to shoot people.]



I love shooting people [with my camera]. It is a love affair that is just beginning... one that birthed my fledgling photography business and one that is certain to stick around with me as long as I can carry a camera around and 'see' the world through it.

As soon as I get my website up for the photography business, I'll be sure to post about it. Until then, I'll pop a few client proofs in here to see what you think - whenever I can get clients, that is... Or I'll just make you look at endless pictures of the Viking baby and his older siblings. Whatever keeps me clicking!

Treating Mom to Something Special...Lisa Leonard Jewelry Give-Away!

"  Whoooo do you love?" 

That was what Lisa's website asked me. You know, Lisa LEONARD! Maker of fabulous and unique jewelry? Yes, THAT Lisa.

I couldn't help but swoon over this shimmering owly pendant on her site. I am an owl FREAK. I contacted the amazing Mizz Lisa and told her I would LOVE to do a review and give-away for her. I told her that someone who reads my blog was DYING to be blessed by winning her scrumptious silver jewelry. She is just SOoooo talented.

But you know that already.



I bet you didn't know that everyone at Blissdom was jealous of her gorgeous hair, though. Seriously. She's too cute for words.

And she's so creative! {Her blog is as whimsical and fun as she is - and I adore her photography skills. Check it out.} If she goes to Relevant, I'm going to give her a huge hug.

I feel so very honored that she sent me a lovely, personalized owly necklace of my very own (being sure to leave room for an extra name - for the little one that will arrive in February)... and I've been wearing it everywhere. Unfortunately, wearing it and getting a photo of it are two completely different things... and with my current state of "back to school" decluttering chaos, they aren't likely to merge any time real soon.

My book cases look great, though. My daughter's closet is spotless and neat. {So is the hall closet.} I have whittled the piles down to a manageable beast... but my camera and blog have been silently collecting dust.

I'm sure you noticed the chirping crickets in here.

But that's going to change soon. We're about to start reaping the rewards of getting organized, cleaning up, getting rid of clutter, and buying shiny, new plastic 'workbox' drawers for our school work. The camera is about to come out of the closet and go on it's VERY FIRST paid portrait session (with me behind it - imagine that). To top it all off, mama's going to atomize the last of the piles on her desk tomorrow. Tomorrow is PORTFOLIO day. Yay! Out with the old (in to three ring binders) and in with the new!

You would think I finished school last year. You would think we were starting up like everyone else. Maybe starting "back in earnest" would be a better term for what we're doing. Us mandatory year-rounders (due to high-maintenance 1 year old monsters and pregnancy drag) need to break and recharge every now and then. I guess what you could call our last few weeks off is a "break". So technically, we really are starting back up.



I'll be wearing my "Who do you love" necklace on the first day of school. How about you? You know you wanna! I might even stop and take a few pictures... and try to find time to blog them. Then you can see MY very own hoot and moon charms - and my big goofy grin because I love them so much. And because I'm just goofy anyway. But that's another story.

Or maybe you have something else in Lisa's shop that makes you wiggle at the edge of your seat?



HERE'S HOW YOU CAN WIN SOMETHING SHINY:

1) MANDATORY: Visit Lisa's shop. Tell me what you LOVE.

*Update: Sorry I didn't include this earlier - Contest Ends Friday at NOON. No comments will be accepted after that time. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and your address for shipping will be required, along with the item you want from her store (up to $50 - you may pay any overage if you find something you like that is worth more/no shipping fees) and any engraving instructions you have. I'll forward that on to Lisa and she'll be in touch with the winner.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

2) Follow Lisa on twitter... and Follow me on twitter.

3) Subscribe to Lisa's blog... and subscribe to mine (use the button up top!). {You need a big subscribe to my feed button, Lisa! And full feed, not truncated. I'll hit you up about that later.}

4) Leave your gorgeous mug in my Friend Feed box.

5) If you already own a Lisa piece, tell us which one you have and what she engraved on it for you. If you don't, "put your leg in and shake it all around... do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around"... then tell us what you would engrave on your NEW item if you win!

6) Tweet (you can get an extra entry for this once a day) ... "Treat yourself 2 something special! @lisaleonard jewelry! Come enter Sprittibee's give-away: http://bit.ly/bs7LfV ~ ends this Friday!" 
...or come up with your own unique wording - but be sure to link to this post and use either @sprittibee or @lisaleonard (or both) in your message!
 

The end. Sorry this post is a little late. I fell asleep when I put the baby down to bed. That's how you know you are pregnant, tired, and old. Well, that and having your leg fall asleep when you are sitting on the toilet reading a magazine hiding from the kids.

Did I say that?

Bluebonnets: Take 1

I haven't seen so many bluebonnets in a few years, so we decided to do a photography assignment today and take some family portraits in the flowers. Finding a thick patch of blue is not hard - they are everywhere you look - but I wanted one that was convenient... because working with a baby is not as easy as working with big kids who do what they are told. I needed room to get down on the ground and lots of extra time for multiple shots (since he would rather eat the flowers than look at the camera).



I probably took about 200 shots today, and only these few pictures are what I would consider 'good enough' to 'make the cut'. The more pictures I take, the more picky I get about how the final photo should look. Maybe I'm becoming more of a perfectionist (my mom would say that... but then, she had to help me hold the baby and pull the weeds out of his mouth today). I feel like some of the criticism is a good thing, though. I'm pushing myself to take better photos.



Developing my photos is another matter entirely, though. Or doing anything artsy with them (I still have NEVER added texture to a photograph even though I love textured overlays). While I might 'see' one thing in my mind, I'm rarely able to get the final look I want. Most of the time the problem lies with my lack of knowledge with the software program I am using. Confession: I've been 'winging it' for years - only using free editing software and straight-out-of-the-camera pictures, cropped to fit my blog. It was fine for a long time, but now, I'm not satisfied. I have an appetite to use better programs and hop it up a notch.

Enter Lightroom. Well, the free Beta 3 of Lightroom (until they cut me off or I get a paying photography client - whichever comes first)...



Holy moly, I'm not sure I'll ever learn how to manage the beast. I can only tell you that it took an entire day to upload all my photos in to the software - some 30 thousand PLUS pictures. I have no idea where I would find the time to organize, group, sort, or tag them all. Right now I'm not even sure where my "library" really is on the computer. That's pretty bad, considering that I used to be a database manager and am not your average computer illiterate 30-something year old housewife. I can get around on a computer. But Lightroom is kicking my butt.



It seems to take triple the time I would have taken to edit a picture in a free program. I still have no idea how to do some of the "easy" effects I'm used to doing in my cheapy software... like frame-masking, resizing for the blog, and adding a watermark. Those are all things I still have to exit and do in Fast Stone Image Viewer for now.



I ruined the above photo with a flash. It would have been a great one. The Star Wars T-shirt was not the right fit, either. And I would have liked my eldest son's face to be in line with his siblings and not behind the baby. Otherwise, it was a nice set-up (and in the very next frame, babycakes stuffed that yellow flower in his pie hole).

I don't even want to think about Photoshop if Lightroom is this difficult to use. Maybe I can talk my NAPP buddy, Dawn, in to spending a weekend here in the Lone Star State for a few bags of gummies? A girl can dream.



It is hard to admit that your artistic photographic eye and desire to use it on pretty pictures is not enough.

It is even harder to admit that your equipment and software are smarter than you are.



And thus you have my 9 favorite bluebonnet pictures from today (instead of 200). But I'm not giving up. We'll be back out there getting bug bites and keeping the baby from eating the flowers this weekend. Just you wait.



One picture at a time, my friends. One picture at a time.

Mikarose Give Away

Another day, another give-away.

This time, I'm giving away a 60$ gift certificate to Mikarose. Because a girl has to look good when she's reading, right?

Isn't this brown dress cute? I got one of the same dress in black, too - and they sent me these groovy scarves that go with them - but I ended up liking the dress much better plain (with tall boots of course). The scarves go great with button up shirts, though.

Mikarose has children's clothing and women's clothing and is offering 15% of their proceeds to Haiti relief right now. Their clearance section is where you will find this particular dress. I adore it... especially since it won't wrinkle and is machine washable!

The room in the background of the picture is my daughter's and the baby's room. I painted the mural on the wall and am about to add the owl to it in the next few days. My recent planning and crafting for an owl-themed first birthday party for him has got me on a time limit. Kevin's family that haven't ever been to our house are coming Saturday and I want them to see a finished wall. It only took me 9 months of pregnancy plus 1 year of the baby's life to get it done.

And I get on to my kids when they dawdle on their math. Ha!

The cat in this picture is my fur child, Quaker. He was glad to pose with me for the pictures. His eyes are gorgeous and match the green on the wall.

He is telling you he loves my brown dress in the picture on top. Can you hear him?

Either he's saying that, or he's griping at Morgan for that blurry photo on the bottom. Or maybe he's telling me to lay off the sweets so I won't look so frumpy.

Sometimes he's hard to understand.

If you can't wait and want to buy a dress when you visit the Mikarose website, be sure to use this 15% off code: "Sprittibee15"... so they know I sent you.

Otherwise...

Here's how to win (each item is one entry):

MANDATORY:

1. Just visit the MikaRose website and browse the dresses, then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which dress you like best. Pretty simple, eh?

ADDITIONAL:

2. Make sure your pretty face is on my Google Friend box
3. Tweet about this contest (one tweet per day/each worth one entry if you comment separately for each one)
4. Stumble this post
5. Facebook about this post (be sure to stop in and fan Mikarose's page while you are there)
6. Blog about this give-away (worth 3 entries)

Fine Print: All entries must be received by next Thursday, April 1st. The giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. I'll give away the gift certificate to one randomly chosen commenter by the end of next week. You must provide a shipping address to me (that I will forward on to Mikarose via email) once the contest ends.

This review was my opinion of Mikarose and I was not compensated for it other than the two dresses Mikarose sent me to review.

Cat not included. (But I have another cat you might be interested in...)

The Loveliness of Spring

The last gust of winter came through this weekend. Jack Frost whispered goodbye. It seems like a dream that we had snow here (in Texas) just a few short weeks ago. In August of last year I couldn't imagine wishing for warm weather again. I never thought I would want to let go of the winter once it got here. Never have I been so anxious for sweaters as I was in the dry summer of 2009.

And then the seasons change and a new day dawns: winter becomes spring. My longing for cold becomes a desire for warmth and color.

The wise Creator gives us exactly what we need; just enough and never too much.

The loveliness of spring returns like a speckled blue secret at first, hidden under the breast of a robin.



Almost overnight the stark branches shoot forth leaves like dripping sunlight. The trees whisper of summer before our winter clothes have been tucked away.

It makes me want to count my blessings again...

Where was I? Oh, yes. Number 13. It's been too long. If I ever want to get to 1,000 - I had better get back to my weekly praise.

I'm thankful for:

13. Snow on cactus. Real snowmen that won't fit in your freezer. Memories of snowflakes on the baby's hair. Playing outside until our fingers burned from cold.

14. Golden sunshine and breezes from the north that make this place feel like heaven on earth.

15. The promise of green to come.

16. The tweeting birds. They're "twitterpated".



17. A thousand wishes yet to hope for while we still yet live. Knowing that anything is possible with Christ.

18. God's soft geometry - the puff of a dandelion.

19. The promise of seeds, carried on the wind... and life again.



20. Blue skies that reach into the heavens.

21. Easter

22. Fuzzy, buzzy, busy bees - dusted with yellow pollen - ignoring me as I stand inches from them with my camera.



23. The wonder in the eyes of a child... discovering the world anew.

24. Poetry to read:

BARTER ~ by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Join me at Ann Voskamp's Gratitude Community and count your blessings on your own blog each 'Multitude Monday'. Discover how she 'unwraps beauty' in the commonplace on her blog, "A Holy Experience".





Quick Links:
A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart (Post 1)

Credits: Last photo taken by my daughter, Morgan.

Winner Slideshow

I sent out the winner emails last night after our weekend project of drawing and assigning prizes for the winners of the Homeschool Blog Awards. I wanted to share with you all the pictures we took - and graphics we made of the winner blogs. They aren't pictures of the blogs, but rather photos of my kids' stuffed animals that they 'assigned' to 'be' each winner in the drawing. It was kind of like a proxy drawing, I guess. Each blogger had an animal 'representative' standing in for them.

So cute to see the kids take ownership of the project and make it a fun and educational thing.



Aren't they cute?

Here the 'contestants' are, all lined up and nervous as they make their way to the front of the line...



The ones that didn't fit right in the slideshow are here:





I hope you'll stop over at the Homeschool Post and check out the actual links to these great bloggers' digs. All of the winners are now listed in the Post sidebar for your browsing pleasure!

Photographic Homeschool Mama's Software Wishes

Besides being a wife, mama, and homeschooler - I'm a photo nut. This should come as no surprise to those of you who have ever been here before.

Photo nuts heart Adobe. That's just a given fact. See? You aren't learning anything new yet. But you will... just wait...

The photo up above was altered in Lightroom by my friend Dawn. It looks like a pro photo, right? Well, at least I thought so. I may be a bit biased.

I emailed the picture to Dawn to see what she would do with it in Lightroom because I love playing with pictures. And I love seeing what other people create when they play with pictures. Just look at the difference...

Here's the SOOC (straight out of the camera):



Amazing, hu?

Software is expensive, though! Who can afford all the stuff that pro photographers use?! I wanted to give them a try though. So I did. After using trail versions of Photoshop and Lightroom, I'm now hooked. The only hurdle is the price.

That's why it is great that you can buy discounted software (and lots of other things) at Academic Superstore. I love them so much that I signed up to be an affiliate. I'm so thrilled to find a company with such great prices - and they are even local (Austin based)... aren't I lucky?

You only have to submit proof that you are homeschooling (such as a receipt for your homeschool curriculum you purchased) to get the awesome student/teacher discount they offer - up to 85% off on certain items in their store!

On my wish list are these items:

Photoshop CS4 ($298.95)
Lightroom ($98.95)
Windows 7 ($119.95)
Office Professional 2007 ($179.95)

You just can't beat those prices. Even if it takes me a long time to get them purchased (likely), at least they are doable one-at-a-time at 50-85% off. If you are pining away and planning to buy some upgraded software this Christmas (especially if you are a homeschool parent), be sure to check out Academic Superstore! Even better, click over and buy your stuff from here! You'll help me save up towards my Christmas wishes.




Quick Links:
Another Post where I used Pioneer Woman's Photoshop Actions
Admit it, You Came for the Pictures (and another)

Subscribe to Sprittibee by Email

Field Trip Foto Friday: Asheville Type-A Mom Photo Walk

I mentioned the Photo Walk we took last weekend briefly in my Type-A Mom recap post, but today I wanted to share some of the photos from the event. The photo up top is my favorite from the walk. I edited it a bit - cropped a tiny bit off of the lady's dress up top, colorized it some, and added an edge burn (Pioneer Woman's site has these Photoshop actions available for download). I adore the shot - and the feeling it evokes. I love shoes and bags... and bokeh.



Bokeh is the faded part of the photograph that has a nice blur - and sometimes makes the picture look more like a work of art and less like a photograph. The Chocolate Lounge shot has NO bokeh. Everything is nice and crisp. Don't you just want to mosey on in there and have some sweets? Mmmmm. Chocolate.



I had a groovy crew to hang with for the walk. TYPE (see above photo - sorry, had to include it) A Moms. A for AWESOME. We had less time than we planned since our conference session went longer than scheduled, but it was a wonderful FIRST Photo Walk for me. Dawn and some of the others had already been on these types of photography events before.



Here's Dawn, Little Tech Girl and Mishelle. I plan to make Photo Walking a new hobby. Only, I'll have to get Morgan's camera fixed so the kids can share it. She borrowed my camera a few times and helped me change lenses. She was my photo assistant!



Dawn's "shoot sack" was pretty cool, too. Wish they would send me one to review! If you can't have an assistant, it pays to have your lenses nicely squared away on your hip.



Driving through a city gives you a small taste of what it is like, but when you are on foot, you get to see so many little things that you would miss in a car. Take for instance: this neat little 'Doggie in the Window'. I whistled at him when he disappeared inside to come back and he posed for us. I love standing still and listening to the buzz of traffic and people moving while I'm on a busy city street.



We got to see the bustling city at dusk. And we got to enjoy performances by local musicians. These are the Lyrical Vocalists, I think. There was a guy painted in white with a black guitar, too. When he was finished singing, he froze and tried to appear as a statue. The city is full of strange sights and interesting people to photograph. Dawn got some head shots of this guy. I was too far behind the crowd and our bus was about to pick us up for a ride back to the hotel.



We enjoyed the picturesque display of neon, groovy shops, and artwork. Below is a Viking Helmet (which of course, I had to photograph since my little baby was 9 lbs. and 4 oz. - two weeks early - and we've been affectionately calling him 'The Viking' since before he was born).



We even enjoyed snapping shots of each other.



I figured I would be really out of place with the big-shot photogs and their colossal lenses. However, they were really nice people - and they didn't make fun of me for asking questions about my DSLR. Mishelle even showed me a trick or two. If you like taking pictures, and you have a chance to get out and do a photo walk in your area... by all means, don't chicken out! You'll be glad you went!





Quick Links:
More Photographs from the Walk at my Whrrl Story
My Homeschool Series - where you can find more field trips by grade/year
Another Out-of-State Field Trip Adventure