Photoshop for Digital Photographers and Photowalks

Y'all know I've really been working on my photography - reading my manual and everything (my lame attempt at humor).  I decided I needed to take it up a notch. I wanted to share how I'm doing that with you.

Photoshop for Digital Photographers Seminar

I attended the National Association of Photoshop Professionals' Photoshop for Digital Photographers seminar in Atlanta on Friday. I have heard so many compliments on Scott Kelby's seminars and was excited to attend this one. It was everything I had hoped for and more!

If you have an opportunity to attend any of his seminars, I highly recommend that you do. Y'all know I've really been working on my photography - reading my manual and everything (my lame attempt at humor). This seminar on Photoshop for Digital Photographers just really pulled it all together.



If photography is something you are interested in as a hobby or even more than a hobby, NAPP is an organization you will love. Great information, discounts on photography hardware and software, and exceptional forums.

I'm a member of NAPP and if you decide it is something you would enjoy, I would really appreciate if you would click on the button in my right sidebar or even the larger one in this post. I won't get money from your joining, but I will get points from NAPP for the referral which can be used for great stuff like extending my membership for a few months, books, and other goodies.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with Dawn and meeting so many great photographers of all walks of life and level of skill. Another post will be coming soon from all I learned from these great conversations.

Photowalks
I was bitten by the Photowalk bug when I participated in my first at Sun-n-Fun with Nikon earlier this year. I enjoyed it so much I've now signed up for two more.

I Heart Faces Photowalk Across America - I'm participating in the Atlanta Photowalk led by Dawn (I get to see her two weeks in a row. I'm a lucky girl!) with Secret Agent Mama assisting. I am so excited I just can't wait! Please pray the weather is gorgeous! Bloggers and photography, what in the world gets better than that on a summer day?


Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk - Oh my goodness this is going to be fun! If you have any interest in participating in this photowalk, I'd jump on getting registered. There is not a fee to participate and space in each of the groups is limited. Registration begins June 1st, but it opened a little early and I didn't think twice about getting registered for it.

What great photography lessons and tutorials have your found?

On the Grill : Meet Our Judge ~ Week 6 {Hoosier Homemade}

Enjoying your Memorial Day weekend? Ours hasn't gone exactly as we planned, but I am thankful none the less!

Maggie and Ryan are reviewing last week's entries and will pick the Grill Master! With two professional foodies judging, I can't wait to see their choice.

And now, on to this week and our Guest Judge, Liz of Hoosier Homemade.

I'm so excited about Liz being the Guest Judge this week. If you haven't already met her, be sure to read this. Don't you just wish you lived close enough to go for a visit?


Her Cupcake Tuesday is so much fun! If you love cupcakes, this is the place you want to be on Tuesdays. I'm serious! Just look at this spread she had for Memorial Day cupcakes for Cupcake Tuesday. I just drooled. Seriously.

Be sure to check out her Dad's Rock Giveaway Bash on June 10th. You won't want to miss it,  it will be a doozy for sure.

Please welcome Liz to Our Homeschool Home with a comment. Be sure to get your entry ready, I have a great giveaway for this week in honor of Liz. You won't want to miss it!

Mingle Monday :: Week 1

Happy Memorial Day!

Are you ready to promote your blog, meet new friends, or even find new blogs to read? Then this is the blog party for you!

Just add a link to your favorite blog post, about me page, or even just to your home page (ex:: http://www.ourhomeschoolhome.com). It's completely up to you!

If you would like, you are welcome to include this cute little blog button I made or even just a text link. But even that is not a requirement.

And to make this a no-stress, come as you are kind of party, guess what?  There is only ONE rule. Yes, just one. Keep it family-friendly. That's it!

To top of all of the blog-lovin' goodness I am giving away a copy of ProBlogger's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

I'd love to hear what you think about this new party. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Another Day Together

As I started my car, I got a little feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Something is just not right," it told me. I quickly passed it off to the dark clouds building in the direction of my drive. The light dots of sprinkles began to fall on my windshield.

And then I felt it again. The same gnawing feeling. I picked up my cell phone and called my husband. He and my son had been working at the lake house all day to finalize a few things for the new buyers. Our plans were a bit loose on how we would meet up after my class in Atlanta that day, but the intent was to spend the weekend at the lake.

No answer on his phone. Having a feeling that I absolutely needed to hear his voice, I waited a bit longer and dialed his phone again. This time, he answered.

"Are y'all okay?" Was my question. Normally, I would have said, "What are you doing?" or "How is your day going?" But I didn't. For some reason I said, "Are y'all okay?"

His voice cracked a bit and he said, "We are fine. They are loading us in the ambulance now."

My heart dropped and then a complete sense of calm came over me. Now I knew why I needed to hear his voice. I knew why I'd been having those tugging feelings.

Our conversation was quick with the details of the accident, our son being okay, and of the family that had been called to be with them. My husband's brother and his wife were at the scene in minutes to be with my husband and son, my Mother was at the hospital waiting so she could be with my son while they took care of my husband.

And I drove.

The rain came down faster and harder with vehicles pulling over to the side of the interstate. I knew I had 45 minutes at a minimum to reach them.

I followed the lights in front of me and drove. And prayed.

I prayed for God to be with them, I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for God's blessing of their safety.  I asked Him to help me to get to them.

And as quickly as it started, the rain stopped. Just as if I had driven through a curtain. One second it was beating down on the car to point I couldn't see further than the red taillights of the car ahead of me. And then, the curtain parted, the veil was lifted. I could see a wall of rain as I looked back in my rear-view mirror. Ahead of me were perfectly blue skies.

When I saw the truck the next day, I again prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. I could see God's protective shield all around the cab area of the vehicle where my husband and son were. And I could see God's Grace for another day together.

Carefree and Cautious.

One of my son's favorite things to do at the lake is to visit his Grandparent's lake house and jump off of the top platform of their dock. He looks forward all winter for the weather to get warmer and the lake level to rise enough "to jump".

As many times as he can climb the stairs and definitely more times than I can count, there he is yelling out, "Watch me!"

I watched him this past weekend leaving the wet footprints on the dock as he ran to get in another jump. The pure joy of the moment and excitement for the beginning of another summer season were evident in his huge smile and quickness in his step.


I wonder, was I ever so carefree? When did I become so cautious?

Back Scratches and Ticks

Little Buddy loves for his back to be scratched as he goes to sleep at night. He says it makes him relax and he rests better. There are some nights, I wish I could turn the tables and me be the one to get the back scratch at bedtime. I think it would relax me, too. And honestly, there are some nights when I beg off. Isn't that horrible to say?

There are nights when I think I am just too tired, too busy, too this or too that to add another five minutes to the bedtime routine for a back scratch.

And then, I feel guilty.

Guilty that I didn't. Guilty that I tried to get out of it. Wondering if when he grows up the one thing he'll remember from his childhood are the nights his Mom begged off giving him a back scratch.

The other night was a night I tried to avoid it. I was tired. I had been packing and moving the lake house for three days, our home was a huge mess, laundry was piled up to my eyeballs, I had work to do for my business, and I just wanted to go to bed. A bath was even optional I was so tired.

Have you ever felt that tired? I'm sure you have. It's miserable, isn't it?

And then I remembered my guilty feelings the other million times I'd tried to avoid the back scratch. Of how awful I'd feel all night, the dreams I would most likely have about it, and of how it would only take five minutes. Five minutes.

With the lights still off, I quietly started the back scratch routine. Scratch at the top of the back, side, bottom, other side and then middle. When I reached the middle, I felt something that I had not felt before.

I stopped. I went back over it with my finger. Definitely something different.

I turned on the bedside lamp and saw it. A tiny brown tick.

To say I was horrified is an understatement. However, I am proud to say I was extremely cool, calm and collected.

Quickly, I got Little Buddy out of the bed, took him downstairs and my husband and I began the removal discussion.

"Get tweezers and a match."

"Get the alcohol and peroxide."

"Do you pull it from the back or the front?"

Luckily, within a few seconds, we had the nasty thing removed. And then I remembered what my mother had done when I was about ten and had a tick on me. We put it in a Ziploc bag, cleaned the area well with peroxide and alcohol and then I snuggled him all night long.

The next day, I spoke with the pediatrician's office to find out exactly what to do and if Little Buddy needed a checkup. Here is what I learned:

1. Do not heat the tweezers or needle to get the tick to move. It can cause the tick to "spit" into the wound and leave behind even more disease causing bacteria and such.

2. With tweezers, flip the tick onto it's back. Then gently, remove the tick pulling from the head. If you pull from the bottom, the tick can break apart and leave the barbed head in the host (my child!).

3. Immediately clean the area with peroxide, then alcohol, then with Neosporine.

4. Circle the spot with a Sharpie where the tick was attached and removed. Monitor the site for up to four weeks for any redness, swelling, circles, etc. Also monitor your child for fever, tiredness, joint pain, etc. If any, take your child to the doctor and tell them of the tick bite.

5. KEEP the tick in a Ziploc bag stored with a damp paper towel. This will help the doctor should the person bitten become ill or need any testing.

For information on tick bites, prevention, treatment, and symptoms, please visit WebMD. 

I don't believe I'll ever try to get out of giving Little Buddy the back scratches he loves so much.

Disclosure: I am not a doctor or medical professional. I am simply sharing information I received when my child was bitten by a tick. You should seek medical advice and attention from your medical professional.

Promote Your Blog :: Mingle Monday

Don't you just love blog parties and discovering new blogs you've not read before? As a blogger, don't you love for new friends to find you?

Well, if you answered yes to either of these questions, then I've got the blog party for you! {I hope I'm not the only one answering yes to these two questions.}

Starting Monday, May 31st, I'll be hosting Mingle Monday.

Here's how it works.

You just link your blog up to the party each Monday. You can link the permalink to your favorite blog post, your about page, or to your main page. It's totally up to you. Easy peasy.

Since Our Homeschool Home is a family-friendly blog, I do ask that links be of the same nature.

Wanna join in? Come on back on Monday and link up. I'll be giving away a copy of ProBlogger's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog.


What do you think? Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

On the Grill

Y'all ready for Memorial Day weekend? You know it is one weekend where you should really plan on cooking out on the grill, don't you? I totally made that up, but our family definitely grills on Memorial Day weekend. And I'm finding lots of great things to try from the On the Grill parties each week - from appetizers to main courses and even desserts.

Last week our Guest Judge was Jill of Scary Mommy. I just love her! I've promised to make her my Honey Teriyaki Salmon the next time she heads to my little piece of the world. By then, I hope to have wrangled my husband's Sangria recipe and will make that for her as well. Of course, if he knows company is coming, he'll most likely have a batch already made. He's great like that! {And he also doesn't want me to get my hands on that recipe.}

She had a hard time selecting a winner from last week's entries.

Way to make my turkey sandwich look like the most boring food ever!! All of the submissions look mouth wateringly amazing!!! I picked the one that I most wish were sitting in front of me RIGHT NOW and that's the Fall Off the Bone Baby Back Ribs. I can almost taste them through the computer screen and I'm going to try them this weekend-YUM!!!

 Congratulations, Laura! Your ribs do look amazing! Shoot me an email so I can get you your gift card and coordinate with you on your t-shirt.

Also, take a few minutes to read over the On the Grill guidelines.


This Week's Giveaway

This week's giveaway is a copy of Weber's Way to Grill and our super cute On the Grill I'm a Grill Master t-shirt!

How Do You Win?

Our wonderful Guest Judge will review your recipes and photographs which are linked up below. She will determine the Grill Master {winner} for the week. The winner then receives a special button to display on your blog or site,  the Gift Card to Amazon will be emailed to you, and you'll be able to show off your new t-shirt at your next cookout.

Be sure to include a link back to Our Homeschool Home. You are welcome to use the snazzy button in my top right sidebar or use a text link if you prefer.

In true cookout party style, be sure to visit the other blogs linked up to On the Grill. If you can't visit them all, at least visit the link ahead of your link and behind your link. In other words, mingle a bit.


When Does It End?

The link will close Sunday evening. Entries will be reviewed and the winner announced at next week's On the Grill party. And yes, you may enter more than one post. You will need to make sure each post entered meets the guidelines.

As always, let me know if you have any problems with the linky. I'll be happy to help you.

Are y'all enjoying this weekly party as much as I am?  What is your favorite part, the recipes, the party itself, or the cool giveaways? I'd love to know.

A Play on a Book Report

Second grade comes to a big, resounding close on Thursday. Sound of the horns, call in the band! There are just a few more things we need to wrap up to be able to claim, all done. I assigned a book report - with a twist.

Here is the assignment:

Pick one classic book read this school year and write a one act play. Create costumes from items we have around the house and then perform the play for us on Thursday afternoon.

I made this assignment last week. Right after Little Buddy announced that he had completed all of his work and was bored. Have I ever told you how much I detest boredom?

There are days when I just dream of having a little boredom for myself, but if I hear Little Buddy say those three words, "I am bored," something just goes off in me. It raises the hair on the back of my neck. I start looking for things for him to do, things for him to learn.

Little Buddy selected his book, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The scene has been selected, play writing nearing completion, and costumes have been chosen. And today he announced that this was his favorite book report all year.

Well, at least he thinks my boredom buster is fun.

What "assignments" do you give when the word bored pops out of your child's mouth?


Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

I Heart Faces :: Yellow

A two year old Little Buddy in a big ole, antique Yellow Stearman.

A Race Well Run

This past week, my husband, father-in-law, and brother-in-law's father designed and built a cardboard boat to participate in a cardboard boat regatta at the lake. The crew was selected to be the four eight year old grandsons (three on my husband's side and one from my brother-in-law's).

There were design meetings, practice for the boys in the pool and then finally... race day.

And Little Buddy's face shows the joy and pride from a race well run.

On the Grill : Meet Our Judge ~ Week 5

On the Grill last week had more mouth watering entries this past week. They all looked delicious! Which was your favorite?

I have had so many people tell me that On the Grill is now their "go to" source for finding recipes for their cookout. Isn't that awesome?

Jill of Scary Mommy is reviewing last week's entries and will pick the Grill Master!

And now, on to this week and our Guest Judge.

This week, we are lucky to have a pair of certified foodies as our Guest Judges! You will just fall in love with them when you read what Maggie wrote below.

Ryan and I love all things food.  They met over a plate of creamy chicken enchiladas, a basket of salty chips and a dish of spicy salsa - him serving me, of course!  He was my waiter one night at a little Mexican food restaurant, where my family stopped in for a bite to eat.  And the rest is history!

Nine years of marriage and eight kids later our relationship  and our "food style" is the perfect blend of healthy and gourmet - him serving me of course!  In the kitchen he has taught me time saving knife skills and how to create beautiful plates of food that look and taste amazing.  Out of the kitchen he has tirelessly continued to serve me and our family.  He is always there to fix all of her "mess ups" both in the kitchen and out.  I bring to the table a love for pure, whole foods and the part they play in keeping our family healthy.  We eat about 98% organic.  In order to do that for this many people and stay on our budget I cook an average of 20 meals a week, not including snacks.  You could say I spend a lot of time in the kitchen!

Ryan worked in the restaurant business for about 12 years and then graduated with Honors from The Art Institute of Houston with a degree in Culinary Arts.  I graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Human Nutrition and Foods.

We are so excited about judging Robyn's On the Grill contest!  We can't wait to try your yummy recipes!

You can read more about Ryan and Maggie, their family, and their whole food living on the web at these locations:

Maggie Bokros
www.abokroskindoflife.com

"Creating Healthier Lifestyles, Making a World of Difference"
www.globalwellness4life.com




What are you grilling for Memorial Day weekend? Share it On the Grill!

Mama's Gettin' Snappy

My family loves me. They really do. I think they even get my quirkiness --- some days.
They are pretty supportive of this photography obsession I have. Always pointing a camera at them, saying stuff like, "hold it right there. Great one." And of course always taking way longer to actually get "the picture" than I intended.

Our simple walks become filled with tons of stops and starts so I can "get this" or "capture that."

And now, I get to share with you just such a little segment.





This was the photograph I was after during our walk on the pier.

But greedily, I asked Little Buddy for just one more. {Don't judge me}





And this is what I got. Funny.

But wait. It gets better.





Who in the world did he think he was hiding from with this pose?





And he obviously was not going to hang around for another shot. So what did I do?

Like any great Mom with a camera, I kept snapping!





And got this little jewel. Oh when I think how easy it would have been to have just stopped taking pictures after the one I wanted. I would have totally missed this one.





And then, like Dug in the movie "UP," my eye wandered over here.





And then over here. I am drawn to the color red. And boats. I had a thing for boats.

If you want to know how a pro gets her children to pose for photographs, check out Darcy's excellent How To.

How do you get your children to want to participate in photographs?

Grilling Recipes from Martha Stewart {Free Cookbook}

Wondering what to grill this summer? You can find wonderful recipes linked up each week in the On the Grill party. I'm sure you'll find something to tempt your tummy.

If you are looking for even more great things to grill, check out this free cookbook available from Martha, Martha Stewart Living Radio’s Summer Grilling Cookbook. 

Find a great recipe, try it out, and be sure to link up to the party! 

Also, if you have any burning questions (pun intended) on grilling, Martha is hosting a Grilling Hotline on May 24th. Should be fun!

What's your favorite Martha cookbook?

People Watching and A Yacht

I have a confession. I love to watch people. They fascinate me. What they wear, how they walk, how they interact with one another. It all intrigues me. I wind up making up my own little stories. Almost like they become characters in the book I've never written.

When we were on the cruise with nearly 4,000 of our closest friends (I jest, we didn't know a soul other than our own little family), I could people watch til the cows came home.

There was plenty to watch.

And then, when we were in port in St. Thomas, I noticed this.



And I stopped watching people and just watched this boat. I think it really is called a yacht and the folks that own it would probably prefer I not call it "a boat."

But watching this boat got me wondering.

Who in the world owns this thing? What do they do? What do they wear? How do they walk? How do they interact with each other?

Sadly, the boat wasn't telling.  But I imagined an entire book around it.

Do you people watch? Does it make me weird that I do?

St. Thomas in Pictures

Our cruise included stops in Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Martin (St. Marteen). It was my first trip to St. Thomas and to St. Martin. I'm not quiet sure what I had imagined, but the gorgeous waters easily exceeded anything I could have pictured in my mind.

I wanted to share a few photographs from St. Thomas with you and will share more from other parts of the trip later.

When we arrived, this was the view from our balcony.





I thought, "Oh my, this is beautiful. I hate that my Mom and Little Buddy aren't having such great views." I called them to invite them over to see and Little Buddy said, "Mama, I don't know what you have off your balcony, but you've got to see my side." (Our staterooms were on the same floor, but on opposite sides of the ship.)





Wow! Not much more I could say. Just Wow!

Our excursion for the day was called the Ultimate Tour. It took us to one of the highest points on the islands for photographs (right up my alley), to Maegan's Bay (one of the top 10 beaches in the world according to National Geographic), and then to Blackbeard's Castle where we go on a walking tour the rest of the way. Perfect.

Our driver was Mr. Lead-Foot and drove like a mad man through the streets of St. Thomas. As we whizzed past areas of interest, someone would say, "What is that?" He'd quickly mumble out over the microphone what we'd just passed. It was pretty funny, and led to a bit of nausea on my part. Trying to take pictures while being driven on the opposite side of the road, going at a break-neck speed definitely wasn't easy on my tummy.

But... the end result was well worth it.





Don't you agree? This was from the high point of the island overlooking Maegan's Bay.





Little Buddy thought we should check into getting an Iguana as a pet when we got home. Just because of this cool looking fella on top of the bushes at our stop. He was pretty neat looking, but we are not getting his cousin as a pet.

We. Are. Not. Getting. An. Iguana.

We loaded up and headed out down to Maegan's Bay for a two hour visit.





Now, this reminded me of National Geographic.

Did you notice those dark clouds building?

Yep, you guessed it.

It rained.

Raining while you are in the water really isn't a big deal, except that you have dry things on the beach that you really don't want to get wet. (Like my new camera.) So, when it looked like it wasn't going to let up for a while, we hustled to get all of our things and find some cover.

As soon as we'd gotten into our somewhat dry clothes, the sun came out, the clouds disappeared.

So we took advantage of the sunshine.





And played on the beach.





And dried our wet things.

Isn't that what all good tourists do? Find something to make a clothesline out of beside one of the top 10 beaches in the world?

Yeah, I did it. And it worked.

At least we were dry by the time to go to Blackbeard's Castle.





Since it wasn't raining, we were able to go to the top of the castle.

I'm not sure Blackbeard ever really visited or lived on St. Thomas, but we were most certainly into the folklore. If I were Blackbeard, it certainly would be on the top of my list of places to build a castle.





And we were able to enjoy this gorgeous view.





And all of the pirate statues.





And the flowers.





The walking portion included lots of stops.





And views of boats.





And a boat ride back to the cruise ship.





My husband most definitely got a sailing bug after seeing these beautiful sail boats.





But once back on the cruise ship, we were all able to enjoy the gorgeous sunset from the balcony of my Mom's and Little Buddy's stateroom.

And then I started trying to figure out what the galley inside this yacht must look like.

Which photo is your favorite? Mine? The one of Little Buddy playing with the stick on the beach.