Category Archives: Photography

Autumn is Here… And I’m Not Resentful

I have been known to resent the onset of Autumn weather. As the leaves begin to change and the rain starts to fall, it’s hard not to think ahead to at least four months of gray skies and being stuck in the house with two energetic boys when the weather is at its worst.

But this year is different. Portland was blessed with many, many days of sunshine well into October and the strangest thing happened… I actually felt myself looking forward to the rain and chill of Autumn. Of course, the fact that we made it through the majority of the soccer season without the need to wash mud-soaked socks, helped increase my level gratitude and I am secretly dreading the next few weeks. But, even still, I find myself yearning for a lot of things that come with colder weather, including:

  • Not always feeling like we should be doing something to make the most of the great weather (I don’t need the guilt trip)
  • Watching movies with the kids on rainy weekend days – we’re trying to finish the first Harry Potter book so we can watch the movie together before Halloween (a hint about Thomas’ costume…)
  • Warm mulled cider and wine
  • Wintry comfort food
  • Autumn color
  • Green grass
  • The rain that will wash away the thousands of spider webs that currently crisscross our yard (although resenting the fact that those spiders are now finding a dry place inside our house)
  • Clothes that cover up the rolly parts of my body
  • Days off work in November and December

To officially kick off the season on the weekend, we made our way to the Portland Nursery for their apple tasting festival…

—where Samuel practiced his monster walking pose (it was actually a whiny request for a hug).

…Thomas bowed to a few shrines (I think we need one for the backyard – the kid knows how to get his zen on)

…and, of course, ate more pieces of apple than our tummies could handle, washed down with some strudel and ice cream.

Before leaving, we bought about 12 pounds of apples at 99c a pound. I should probably learn how to make a pie or something.

Autumn – bring it!

Life.

Life and lack of motivation have both been getting in the way of blogging lately. I realize it’s usually “wordless” Wednesday, but I’ve been experiencing an overwhelming lack of words lately so here are a few random midweek updates.

  • I’ve discovered that both of my boys like to read by themselves at night before turning the lights off. And it’s hard for me to say no when I grew up doing exactly the same thing. (Secretly, I’m happy about it but don’t tell them that).
  • I am reading the first Harry Potter book to Thomas which is fun for both of us and may have started a new obsession (and inspired this year’s Halloween costume)
  • Also, I suspect that Thomas may be part monkey.

  • Samuel has also started a new obsession (for him) – Star Wars. May the force be with us.

  • Samuel’s class performed a Japanese bunny dance/song for the parents last week. Pretty darn cute.

  • Samuel is settling in well at school, although we’re starting to realize that starting school and soccer at the same time might not have been a wise decision. There have been a few meltdowns during drop off with at least two occasions where I’ve had to peel him off me so I could make a quick getaway. Not the most pleasant start to the day.
  • On the up-side, he loves learning Japanese and has been proudly counting from 1-10 (ichi, ni, san…) and singing the same songs over and over and over again until we finally have to ask him to stop.
  • Kei spent last week in Toronto on a work trip so I took over his “Little Kicker” coaching duties. In a word, exhausting. It takes a lot of skill and patience to hold the attention of five 4-5 year olds for a 45 minute game while also trying to get your own reluctant four year old in the game with the other eye tracking your seven year old as he keeps himself entertained. Needless to say, there are no pictures. But here’s one from last week…

  • After months of sunshine, autumn looks to have descended upon Portland. With it comes plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Part of me is excited while the the rest of me is a little terrified of the busyness that comes along with lots of plans.

  • And, finally, I was inspired by this article about putting yourself in the photo. I realize that when I put together our 2012 photo book, that there will be very few pictures of me on the pages. I’m starting a new leaf with this photo. (taken with incredibooth for iphone). More to come – although they won’t all be posted here. Baby steps.

Why Soccer is Better Than T-Ball (Photographically-speaking)

While Thomas played T-Ball last year, I managed to capture many photos of him in the midst of the following activities:

  • Running to First Base
  • Holding his bat
  • Occasionally hitting a ball
  • Standing
  • Waiting
  • Waiting
  • Waiting

And all through a fence. It’s safe to say that you have the t-ball photo opportunities pretty much covered after game 1.

But get me next to a Soccer field on an unusually sunny September day or evening (thanks crazily unseasonable Portland weather), and the possibilities are endless.

Lots of kicking…

Plenty of running…

Mid-air shots – they rarely happen in T-Ball.

I know this one is out of focus but… GOAL!

Sure, there may be a little waiting around…

and a few quiet moments with the coach…

…but there’s a lot more of this.

and this…

and this…

and, thanks to Little Kicker games at sunset, even a little of this…

Yes, I think it’s decided. I much prefer being a soccer mum than a t-ball mum, photographically-speaking anyway.

On My Happy List

I’ve been traveling back and forth to Seattle this week so my schedule is a complete mess, I’m tired and Thursday feels like it should be Saturday. I’ve also been spending a lot of time in airports and in the air (many on stand by for flights I will never board), which allows me the opportunity to stop thinking about all of the things I should be doing at home (laundry, cooking and…uh…more laundry) and instead catch up on a little reading, watch a TV show or two, listen to some music and get through my list of podcast downloads.

Here are a few things I’ve been enjoying this week:

Book: Daring Greatly, Brene Brown
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction and tend to avoid the self-help section of the bookstore so I surprised even myself when I pre-ordered this book a few months ago. It’s all about embracing vulnerability and how it can help you become engaged with your life. I’m only through the first couple of chapters but I’ve already highlighted many, many paragraphs on my kindle.

TV: The Daily Show
A must-watch during election season, although I often find myself yelling at the TV – not at John Stewart, but rather at the stupidity of others that he highlights most hilariously.

Podcast: Pop Culture Happy Hour
Love this podcast that features a roundtable discussion with NPR entertainment, book and movie editors. The “what’s making me happy” segment at the end of the show is helping me build my Amazon wishlist.

Music: Pink – The Truth About Love
I have loved Pink since she released her first album way back when I used to go to nightclubs, wear hot pants and dance into the wee hours of the morning. While my hot pants wearing days are way WAY behind me, Pink’s music just seems to be getting better.

Movie – New: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Kei and I both enjoyed this documentary portrait of a Sushi chef in Tokyo who has spent his entire life perfecting his craft from a tiny little sushi shop in the basement of a train station. I’ll never look at a nigiri sushi in the same way again.

Movie – Revisited: The Duchess
I caught this movie on cable the other day and was reminded about why I loved it so much the first time around. I’m not a huge Kiera Knightly fan, but I have to admit that she is perfect in this story about a woman who had the misfortune of being born in a time when women were rarely able to path their own destiny.

Coming soon…
I have more than a few things on my wishlist for the next few months. Musically, my Brit Pop cup (or my ipod) will runneth over, while I’ll also have the opportunity to put a little vampire saga to rest at the movie theater.

I’m heading to Seattle again tomorrow so suggestions for podcasts and music most welcome. And because I can’t have a post without a photo, here’s our view from the soccer field last week. Enjoying these beautiful warm almost-autumn evenings while they last.

Seven

Amidst the back-to-school, start-of-soccer and general-life craziness, I completely neglected to wish my first born child a public Happy Birthday. Or maybe it’s just that, subconsciously, I refuse to accept the fact that I am now the mother of a seven year old. It’s likely I’ll have a breakdown when he reaches double digits.

At seven, Thomas:

  • Is not too old to want lots of cuddles (and even holds my hand every now and then).
  • Can switch from serious to silly in a matter of seconds.
  • Loves to sing – his favorite songs right now are Life’s a Happy Song from the Muppet movie and Call Me Maybe (the second one pains his father, I’m sure).
  • Is addicted to Avatar: The Last Airbender and is enjoying a revival of Star Wars now that his little brother is watching it for the first time.
  • Loves playing with his little brother (except when he’s bickering with his little brother).
  • Enjoys playing Soccer – and scored a goal that his mother managed to capture on video during his first game – which also happened to be on his birthday. (please ignore my screeching voice on the video).
  • At school – enjoys Math but gets frustrated with reading and writing (although loves being read to).
  • Reads and writes Japanese in a way that makes me fear the day when he and his brother will be able to speak to each other without me understanding a word of their conversation.
  • Prefers to wake up in the morning by having his head stroked until he opens his eyes and gives you a big hug.
  • Is still my baby…although this photo of him seems to contradict that. He looks like such a boy.

And one for comparison…

Off to cry into my coffee now.

Not Quite in The Swing

This week has been just a little insane.

A quick recap:

  • Thomas went back to school on Wednesday and declared his first day to be quite a lot of fun (apparently they were allowed two recesses). I asked him on Thursday if he’d made any new friends and he promptly told me that he already made friends with everyone on Wednesday (accompanied by a big eye roll).
  • Samuel went to pre-k for three hours on Thursday. Drop off only took 5 minutes which is pretty amazing for the first day of school. I expected more clinging and crying but, although he was a little shy and nervous, it only took a few minutes for him to give me a kiss and send me on my way. First day was a big success and he’s excited to go back for real next week.
  • Soccer began this week. Kei is coaching Samuel’s team and, between the two boys,  we have three practices and two games each week. I’m a little exhausted just thinking about it.

The rest of my time has been about juggling school drop offs with work and having one child at home declaring “I’m boooored” every few minutes. It’s been rough and, frankly, I’m exhausted.

This weekend is going to be about celebrating someone’s 7th birthday (crazy!), a little bit of Soccer and a whole lot of recharging before school really begins next week. I think I might also find some time for a nap.

Also, a big happy birthday to my Dad today!

And because I can’t post without a photo, here’s one I took a couple of weeks ago, of the boys enjoying a Summer frozen yogurt treat with a friend. It’s going to be 92 degrees today so I suppose Summer’s not quite done with us yet.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

Photo Challenge Submission