Monday, January 31, 2011

Working Through My To-Do List

Wow! Today has been a day and a half! I think I am still recovering from the wild and crazy Macworld weekend, plus I had my first and second graders today, and they always take a lot out of me.

But once I was done at work, I still had a LOT to get done.

Got my application in for Apple Distinguished Educator (fingers crossed!), stopped by the Scout Store, had dinner with my boys, did the grocery shopping, got a birthday card for my girlfriend, set up online access to my HSA account, and refilled a prescription. Now I just need to get those two blog posts uploaded that have been sitting in my files for weeks.

Mondays kind of hit me hard lately.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hit the Bricks, Pal!


Hit the Bricks, Pal!
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
Full disclosure: this is actually from yesterday, but as days go, it had at LEAST two days worth of awesome packed into 24 short hours. So much so that I spent much of today in bed recovering. (I think I am getting a cold or something.)

Kyle did not know I was taking this picture during the Twitter Chorus at Macworld. Chris Bell and Carol Anne McGuire were talking about how to use Twitter as an educational technology tool, and they were just discussing blocking users when I saw Kyle holding his hand in this way while he worked away on something else.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Thank Goodness There Was a Sign

While at Macworld today, at Moscone West for the big CUE all-day event, I stepped away briefly to use the restroom. On my way, I passed this.

Thank goodness there was a sign, so I did not mistake these for some kind of wall-mounted bidets. The best part? Someone I know came along (also to use the ladies' room) while I was taking this picture with my iPhone and curiously inquired as to what I was doing.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Don't Try This At Home


Don't Try This At Home
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
As I approached work this morning, the fog got really thick as we got close to school. I may or may not have taken this with my iPhone while driving. If confronted, I'll deny everything.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Blue Skies and Blue Eyes


Blue Skies and Blue Eyes
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
This is my son before school this morning. He was clowning around on the playground with my husband when we got this silly shot.

Cameron also got to hold the American flag for this morning's first and second grade flag salutes.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I Fear Things May Be Getting Out of Hand

It occurred to me as we had to repeatedly school our son on what we meant when we said "here, bring me that remote" that perhaps it wasn't really his fault that he never brought the correct one the first time around.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Spike the Mic


Spike the Mic
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I was sitting at my desk at work today, admiring the hair on one of my 8th graders, and I realized it would look funny on top of the Snowball microphone already sitting out on my desk. A little creative angling and he didn't even notice until I showed him how the pics came out.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Food Pyramid Fun


Food Pyramid Fun
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
Here's one of my students, a second grader, searching for more clip art of food items to fill her food pyramid nutrition guide. Later, the students will type a paragraph about what the food pyramid is and how it helps us.

One thing I really like about this project is that it is one of the first in which my second graders start demonstrating some independence while repeating a series of steps to identify and locate clip art they need, insert it, change the wrapping and size, and put it into the correct part of the template diagram. After this project, they really show more confidence with a lot of what we do in the lab. It's probably at just the right time in the school year too.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

On the Phone with Nanny


On the Phone with Nanny
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
My son was at work with me today, so we called my mother. He chatted away, quite the thing, and I can tell she's really noticing how much he's growing up. He just turned seven on Monday. We're in California, and she is in New Jersey, so we don't get to see each other much. But we always phone on Sundays.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Scouting Pow Wow


Scouting Pow Wow
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I spent my entire Saturday at the University of Scouting, as I am a Cub Scout leader. When I was taking some pictures (with my iPhone) of the teepee, this young man was kind enough to stop to pose. He was one of a number of young people decked out in Native American regalia as part of today's education/celebration.

One of the things I learned early in the day yesterday is that our brand-new, very small Pack (14 boys, grades 1-3) is barely a fledgling Scouting unit. There are so many huge Packs with multiple Dens at each level (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos I, Webelos II). I started to feel really isolated and discouraged. I heard about Pack Committees that consisted of a number of people, whereas I alone AM our Pack Committee right now. I heard about Cubmasters of Packs so large they did not know all the boys' names, Assistant Cubmasters, Den Leaders, Assistant Den Leaders.

We have nothing like this kind of structure. The afternoon went a little better for me and I got some real positives out of all six sessions I attended throughout the day. I came away from the entire experience feeling that I need to help each adult in our Pack find his or her special role. And EVERYONE gets a job. Now, after some work I need to get done for another responsibility of mine, I just need to make a list of adults and jobs and help each one find the perfect fit.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Where All the Cool Kids Hang Out

I was working on testing the EyeFi card in my camera on the school network. Could not help but notice how hard our staff works to keep everyone healthy. This is next to where kids enter and exit the mini-lab of computers in our school library. Note the future president seen hanging out in a library in the picture....

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Nonchalant


Nonchalant
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
They didn't know I was taking this picture. Cameron was up out of his chair and Alec was about to say something like "what are you doing?". we had just finished dinner at Pasta Pomodoro. This isn't just today's Project 365 photo because it's the only one I took today, I also like it a lot.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Fire in the Sky


Fire in the Sky
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I had only JUST uploaded yesterday's 365 pic before leaving work, so I took my camera out as I left to head home, and just started snapping pictures. The sun was close to setting, and my new camera was having trouble showing me what this would look like on its little screen.

This was the best of the pictures from the set I took on my walk out to the parking lot. I love the intensity of the orange.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Other Side of His Sign Says "Single?"

My friend Ken and I were heading from La Jolla over to the airport so he could drop me off for my flight home. This cheerful chap stood on the corner with a sign that just said "SMILE" and in one part of the E it said "VET."

I don't know if he's homeless and looking for money or just a really happy dude. But when I looked out and smiled at him, he flipped the sign over, revealing the word "SINGLE?" I had to laugh.

The light changed, and Ken was like, "Can I drive yet?" because he knew I was taking this picture.

So, thanks Ken!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Today, my son turned seven. We met friends for lunch at In-N-Out Burger, and they had gotten him this huge balloon, which was so nice of them.

Today I took pictures of our family bowling, lunch at the burger joint, sunset over the mountains from the airport, and my suite and the entire hotel in La Jolla, San Diego. I've flown hundreds of miles and taken 49 pictures. This one came out the best and has the most meaning for me.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Energy Burst


Energy Burst
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I went for a walk with my husband and son after the conference I attended in Monterey. My goal was to take LOTS of pictures so I would have plenty to choose from for today's 365. I ended up really liking the colors and water droplets in this picture.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Sardine Factory Atrium


Sardine Factory Atrium
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I had dinner with some friends at the Sardine Factory last night. I took a bunch of pictures earlier today, but none of them really came close to how much I like this one. I took this from the spot where I sat for dinner. Meal was great, company was great. Tried new foods and made new friends.

Mesh and Lace


Mesh and Lace
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I was driving around, trying to find the Monterey Peninsula Airport, and I took a wrong turn. I found an adorable church I decided to stop and photograph, since I was early, and my friend's flight was delayed. When I got out of my car, I saw HUNDREDS of spider webs. They reminded me of terraced flats or something. Here's a shot I got of the detail of one of the "meshy-er" webs. The mist in the morning was perfect for bringing these masterpieces to light.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Lamentations 3:23


Lamentations 3:23
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
A former student whose mother works in our school's business office is now all grown up and she's an artist. When we came back from Christmas Break, our staff restrooms in the main building of the school had been painted. This extra gift in the ladies' room shows off some of Becca's talents. The details on the roses and thorns are lovely.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Workspace


Workspace
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
My husband and I just bought an Executive (with a capital E) office chair. He uses it during the day when I am at work (he's self-employed and does some of his work from home), and I use it once I get home. The dining room table, which resides in our living room (long story) has a special place at the end of it where the new chair stays and I sit with my laptop in the evenings now.

It's better all around than lying on the couch with the laptop literally in my lap, looking upwards at the screen, right? Tonight I am working on getting EyeFi cards working with my new Canon SD1300IS. (Hubby has the blue one, and my brown one arrived today!) So this has been my view this evening.

So I need to get back to setting up and experimenting with the EyeFi cards. This was a quick, fun diversion.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

African Masks


African Masks
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
You know, a project like this 365 thing is just the thing to open my eyes to some of the fantastic things happening around my school. Last week, I had third graders jumping rope. This week, seventh grade history projects.

These are just some of the African-style masks made by our seventh graders during their World History study of Medieval Africa. Their history teacher has a number of fantastically creative projects that tie into the cultures and civilizations they study with her. They also make Adinkra cloth designs and Samurai helmets, among other things.

I went and took a bunch of pictures of the masks hanging in the hallway near her room, and I liked the composition of this shot best.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Yuletide's Last Hurrah


Yuletide's Last Hurrah
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
At the risk of having my next-door neighbors think I am stalking them, today's shot also comes from their doorstep. What can I say? It's pretty classy over there!

Their wreath is still looking fantastic, but it's on the ground next to the door right now. I cropped a shot I took, then boosted the color a bit and blurred the edges in, all using iPhoto.

Today was a bit crazy, but yesterday I took a number of shots I liked, and even a few I was proud of once I edited them a little. This was one of those.

I love Christmas. I love the music, the decor, the holiday spirit. But most of all, I love its true meaning, what it stands for, and the message of hope it brings. We live in a world that can sometimes feel completely devoid of hope. Now that my son is approaching seven, I don't know how many more years of magical Christmas seasons we'll get. But this one was wonderful for him, and for us by extension.

For my neighbors, in front of whose house I took yesterday's and today's Project 365 shots, this was their first Christmas with their baby boy. I am so happy for them. I remember that joy. Our son's first Christmas was less than a month before he turned one. We spent it in Britain. He doesn't remember it, of course. All that travel made it a little hectic. This year, we stayed home. It was quiet. We have no family nearby. And it was still okay.

So, even though there's a lot going on between now and next November (when I start celebrating and breaking out the Christmas music), I'll hold on tightly to that little remnant of Christmas spirit for as long as I can.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Pots Aplenty


Pots Aplenty
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
Before church this morning, my son and I went to get the office chair for my husband and I that we got $80 cheaper than if we had bought it yesterday when we were at OfficeMax getting some other stuff at 20% off. So after church and lunch with friends, we brought the chair home and hubby got home from work shortly thereafter.

Then it would be chair building time. Cameron was anxious to help Daddy, so I knew a task that would normally take half an hour could expand to an hour or more. For the sake of my blood pressure as an innocent bystander, I grabbed hubby's new camera and went for a walk around the neighborhood.

I took a number of pictures I like, but as I headed home I spotted some things right next door on my neighbors' steps. I took a couple of pictures of these flowers pots because I really liked their arrangement. Then, in iPhoto, I boosted the colors just a bit to make this richer.

It ended up being my best shot of the set, but a few others may make appearances in the coming week depending on how busy things get around here.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Memories Captured


Memories Captured
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
Been a bit busy today and forgot to take many pictures. But we've been working at preserving our memories lately. I found this picture of my mother and father and moved it into this frame I had gotten as a gift at some point. In the background is a multi-frame my husband's been filling with shots from our recent trips.

The picture of my parents was from a place they stopped on one of their last drives to and from California to visit us. They visited after, but only via airplane from New Jersey. My father loved driving cross-country, but as they got closer to their 70s, we convinced them that flying was safer, quicker, and easier.

Today I spoke to a neighbor about his recent loss of his mother. It brought up a lot of feelings about losing my Dad (March 28, 2008). My neighbor's mother was diagnosed with cancer in mid-November, and it destroyed her body VERY fast. She died on December 22. With my father, we had no warning (as little time as six weeks is, granted), but we also did not have to watch him deteriorate like that.

Losing a parent, even though you know that's the natural order of things, is never easy, and it's not something you ever really get over. I feel so much for my neighbors. They've had a rough year or so with losing both their dogs since November 2009 and now this crushing blow. They've been together 20 years, so she was a mother to both of them. I just keep thinking of both of them as they face some big changes ahead and try to find a way to cope.

Hey Dad, Look at THIS


Hey Dad, Look at THIS
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
This is actually from a week or two ago, when we were staying in a hotel in San Diego between Christmas and New Year. I was out sick from work yesterday and did not get a chance to take any pics or sit down and upload something. So this is going to be my pic for January 7, 2011.

What I loved about this was that it really embodies so much of what we enjoyed about our time spent in the hotel room. We faced Coronado Island and a wonderful view of the harbor. My son spent a lot of time looking through binoculars at the water and boats. We had two pairs of binoculars, so sometimes both he and my husband stood gazing out at the sailboats and occasional Navy vessels.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Airborne


Airborne
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
Okay, so I actually took this yesterday. I work at a school, and the two PE teachers had to leave early for basketball games they were coaching. I covered the last fifteen minutes of a third grade class while they were jumping rope. I took dozens of pictures, and managed to get a handful with kids mid-flight, as it were, which I cropped to give to the teachers and our yearbook advisor.

I liked the spirit of this one a lot, and the fact that you can't tell who the kids are unless you know them, due to the light and shadow. Plus, the boy who is so high off the ground had been whining to me earlier about how many turns each kid was getting. So I was glad to see him joyful instead.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Lunchtime Stroll


Lunchtime Stroll
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I went for a walk today during lunchtime. I needed to mail off my passport renewal, and I also needed to release two travel bugs (it's a geocaching thing) I've been holding onto for too long. I ended up going in search of two geocaches, and as I walked along some retention ponds, I found a great spot to sneak up on the waterfowl. You can't tell, but I took this picture through an intricate spider web.

I was kicking myself multiple times for not bringing a camera out with me. The weather was perfect: a tad chilly, but sunny and fresh. I was also using my iPhone to look up information about the geocaches I was seeking, so it was a bit cumbersome to keep switching back and forth between the geocaching app and Hipstamatic or my iPhone's default camera feature.

I think my new resolution, then, is to take a camera with me EVERYWHERE. All the more reason to pick up a little Canon SD1300 IS for myself now too.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Dining Al Fresco


Dining Al Fresco
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
The picture's description pretty much tells it all:

I went out to my car to get some money -- no, I do NOT keep cash in my car, so don't break in to it! -- and I saw my co-worker's pickup truck parked next to my vehicle. With an entire dining room set in the bed. Now, he and his wife DID recently buy a house, and I am sure there's a great, simple, boring story behind this. But he's also from Nebraska, so I call him Cornfed and give him a hard time about being kind of a redneck. Former Marine and all that.

The subtitle for this picture would have to be "Now, you just might be a redneck..."

In other news, I am telling my 7th and 8th grade students about Project 365 today and encouraging them to try it. Let's see how that goes. A bunch of them have seen my soda can and beer bottle picture already. Oh, good.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Back to School


Back to School
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I'm already worried about this 365 Project. I am beginning to realize how many days I don't actually take any pictures. And also how much time I spend each work day cooped up in my computer lab at work.

So I think I am going to need to start going on little walkies during my off periods.

Sunday, January 02, 2011

New Year's Diet Elixirs


New Year's Diet Elixirs
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
So I still had $130.75 left on Target gift cards (thanks, kids!) and I decided to buy my husband a new camera. He has our first digital camera we bought just under seven years ago, shortly after our son was born. Sadly, I dropped it a few years ago. So, while it DOES take really good pictures, the screen is jacked AND the on/off situation is sketchy at best.

We picked up a soft-sided case, an 8GB SDHC card, and also a new case for his iPhone -- since that broke last week too.

Battery finally charged, so while we're both laughing away to Kathleen Madigan -- recorded on DVR when we realized her language is a tad too blue for our first grader to overhear -- I just took a few quick snaps with it. This is the only one I really liked.

But I plan to try the camera some more this week, and Alec will too, of course. So I should be able to post some more from the new camera as well as my own and my iPhone too.

Soon.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Neighborhood Walk


Neighborhood Walk
Originally uploaded by Dowbiggin
I decided today, pretty much on a whim, to do a Project 365 for 2011. I don't know what I am thinking; I am already really busy. I took a bunch of pictures today trying to capture what today ended up being about: taking down our Christmas tree and moving into the New Year. I ended up liking this somewhat random shot up the sidewalk from in front of my house more than anything else I captured today.

But I also downloaded the Hipstamatic app for my iPhone, so there may be some more interesting stuff on the way soon.