Archive for March, 2009

Welcome to our second Remember When Linky… Remember Jr High?
To see all the rules go here.
If you are ready with your Jr High post, add to the Linky below and get ready for the gawk fest!!
###
Kara Noel remembers Jr High…
First off, any paparazzi better not copy these photos to sell for a million dollars to TMZ… (picture taken in 8th grade at Forest home Winter Camp… I was blow drying my favorite shoes because they had gotten soaking wet in the snow.)
Second… all these pix were scanned from my childhood scrapbook. Yes, an ACTUAL scrapbook with pictures from a film camera… just pictures and construction paper. Don’t hate all you digi scrappers when you see my mad skills…
The picture above shows just how tall I was in Jr High. Yep, that’s me, a head taller than the crowd. Funny… I never felt like a outcast. In fact, when I found this picture I was shocked at how much taller I was than the other gals.
I never felt “too tall” but I always felt plump. Oh the body image issues us ladies face! I remember in the picture below feeling super fat. Any ideas on how to prevent that feeling for our daughters??? Suggestions welcome…

My Jr High must have been incredibly cool because our yearbook was a play on In Living Color… Remember when SNL wasn’t funny we all watched Fire Marshall Bill?
.
.
.
.
.
My Jr. High class photos.
I remember sneaking Wet ‘n Wild pink shimmery lipstick on for my 7th grade picture. 8th grade I wore my favorite outfit, a forest green body suit and flannel vest... oh how I LOVED vests. My mom made me a gazillion.

I was on Color Guard. I got kicked off the team right before our last competition (we were the reigning champs). Why you ask?? Well… There was a Saturday practice, but my whole family (aunt, uncles… the whole big bunch) had planned our annual trip to Disneyland. We went to Disneyland in the morning and then my mom dropped me off at practice. I was wearing Birkenstocks. Open toed shoes are a cardinal sin for colorguard. No cell phones, so I couldn’t call my mom for a rescue. She picked me up at the end of practice to go back to Disneyland and I was off the team. I didn’t mind though… I got to go back to Disneyland and the season was over anyway.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I tease that I have looked 30 since I was 12… here is the proof. I swear that could be me now! Except I would never be caught dead in “mom” jeans.
Lets all pretend those were in style in 1993 and never speak of this again!!

I like to think I came into my own by the end of 8th grade. I was still the tallest. I still didn’t realize it. In Jr High I got up every morning before school to do devotions. What a precious time as I became a woman of the Lord! My mom (Suzie Says) made me this dress for 8th grade graduation. I just felt lovely!

Updated 3/30:
I’m adding this post to Mom’s The Word’s awesome meme called Making your Home Sing Monday. This post highlights 4 things that make our home sing: Our weekly family date night, our love of sillyness, the joy of kettle corn, and of course a family favorite… It’s a Small World!!
Every Monday night we take a trip on down to the Happiest Place on Earth…

UPDATE: If you have awesome blogging friends (like The Jungle Wife) then after reading this post they might leave a comment with a recipe for homemade Kettle Corn!!!
Just in case you are too lazy… I mean busy… to open up the comments here it is…

A recipe for making kettle corn on the stove top but of course its not quite the same:
1/4 cup oil (heat in a pan)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup popcorn
Cover and shake shake shake while it pops so the sugar doesn’t burn!!! Add salt at the end and let it cool a little because the sugar is HOT! Yummy! Maybe I will have to make some tonight Popcorn is our standard Sunday evening dinner.

Thanks Sarah, I hope you enjoyed your Sunday night popcorn… I know we’ll be trying this soon!!

Hi folks! You know I love to show off the amazing stuff I have found while paroozing the area (or the Internet). Today I’m going to feature Monkey Moon Photography. Gina, the photographer extrodonare (and mommy of 3), is an actual friend of mine… meaning I have actually hung out with her… in real life! She is just peachy

See…
Where did you get the awesome name of Monkey Moon?

Well, I thought about using my name at first but somehow Gina Carlin Photography just wasn’t doing it for me. I wanted something catchy and kind of child-like. So I played around with words in my head for a few days (literally I walked around the house saying to myself things like, “Pink Elephant? No. Polka-dot Pineapple. No. Blue Bananas? Uh, definitely, no.” And I somehow ended up with the combination of Monkey and Moon and it stuck.
How did you start Monkey Moon?

When our first son was born six years ago, my husband requested that I not subject our child to the likes of Sears or JC Penny’s studios. Certainly no offense intended for those who do.I didn’t have a problem with taking him there myself. It was just not his style.

Since we didn’t have the funds for custom photography at the time, I realized that if I was going to have anything approaching professional photos of my kids, I’d have to learn how to take them myself. So I bought some photography books and joined some online forums and immersed myself in the basics. Then I practiced every single day (since then I’ve taken over 35,000 pictures). In the last few years, I’ve found that more and more of my friends, family and blog-followers were starting to comment on my images. And I was learning more about the field and found myself really beginning to enjoy the technical and artistic aspects of photography more than anything I’d done professionally. At my husband’s gentle urging last year then, and with a lot of faith, I took the leap.

Where to you get your ideas for location shoots?

Coming up with new and interesting locations has probably been the biggest challenge I’ve faced so far as a photographer. One of the great things about southern California though is that there are so many different kind of settings to choose from. The gorgeous beaches have been the choice for many of my clients but there is also no shortage of urban backdrops for just about every personality. Personally, I tend to gravitate to the lush green spaces and have been known to pull over by the side of the road and go hiking to find them (my kids are safely at home on these occasions…usually). I will ask my awesome clients if they have a special spot where they would like to be photographed and, because of their creative ideas, I’ve found some cool places that way too.

What are your top 3 tips for us novice photographers to get great shots ofour kiddos… even if we have a less than great camera?

1. Get down on their level. This will not only make them feel more comfortable and relaxed but the eye-to-eye contact will make for a more natural looking photo than if you are standing above them.

2. Zoom in close. Those shots that mainly focus on the precious expressions can be some of your sweetest shots.

3. Don’t make them say “cheese”. There is nothing like capturing the image of your child’s pure, natural and contagious joy. You can’t get that with a manufactured smile. Be patient. Sometimes you have to wait for it. But it’s worth it.

What inspired you?

There are so many things I could put here but certainly the most influential inspiration would have to be that of other photographers. I have also found some inspiration in catalogs like Anthropologie and Mini Boden. But the most surprising inspiration for shots comes from the personalities of my amazing clients. Sometimes that is all the inspiration needed!

Monkey Moon is in good old Orange County, CA.

Read more about Gina here.

Here blog is awesome! Check it out here. You will fall in love with Gina’s photos and the way she captures her clients (and kiddos) is fresh, unique and NEVER boring!!

Go straight to her portfolio here.

Is it wrong that I don’t care when my son is potty trained?

Today we made a potty chart (using the crayons we made some time back). A sticker for every Pee-Diddy he does…

When Eli sits on the potty we all gather around to read Green Eggs and Ham. He took this picture of us while sitting on his Elmo potty…

In these parts you get 2 chocolate chips for going Pee (but we call it tinkle) and one big marshmallow for going Diddy (but we call it poo-poo). Sometimes if you try but can’t go you just might get 1 chocolate chip…

.

Check out this awesome post Anthropologie Style, Wal-Mart Price over at the AJW Design CO blog. Alycia was able to meld my love for Anthropologie style with my SAHM thriftiness!! That’s right folks… I was the inspiration for this post. Well not the inspiration… but it was my idea… that has to count for something… I’m going to stop typing now…