My New Toy.

With our pending trip to Walt Disney World with Ella and my parents (Ella's first trip, and the first time in about 20  years that my parents have been),  Jon and I decided that it was time to upgrade our camera.  Jon gave me the little Olympus point-and-shoot we'd been using about 2 or 3 years ago, and the quality of the pictures just wasn't where we wanted it to be...especially when trying to shoot a 2.5 year old who's constantly on the move.

So after much -- MUCH -- research, mostly on Jon's part, and visiting several local stores to try out the options in person, we finally decided on this bad boy:

The Sony Alpha 290a.

My very first DSLR -- be still, my itchy shutter finger.


I've only had it about a week, so clearly, I've got lots and lots and lots to learn.  But boy, I like this camera.  I like it a lot.

Here are a few shots I've taken in the past week.

She's not drugged, she just can't NOT blink.

                             

     

Weekend Update

Ella spent the night over at Grandma and Pop's this past Friday night, so Jon and I took decided to do something we haven't done in about 3 years...we went to the movies.  First off, HOLY COW.  I know people bitch and moan about how expensive the movies are, especially the concessions, but it's seriously ridiculous.  We went to a matinee, shared a popcorn and had two medium drinks (which were about a 1/2 gallon each), and it was over thirty dollars.  Are you kidding me?  Guess it's a good thing we don't go any more often than we do.

Luckily for us, though, we picked a really good movie -- Inception.  I'm glad we saw it in the theater, because I think it would have been a different experience altogether watching it on TV.  If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it.  It's thought-provoking, and very well done.

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The tree in the backyard has now moved from leaning over the shed to actually being in full contact with the shed, and laying on the power line.  It's been like this for a number of days now.  Since it's been on the power line, we've had four different people affiliated with Duke Power come out.  Nothing has been done.  The most recent time we talked to them, they said they were going to contact our property management company, since they can't be responsible for the shed or the fence if they should be damaged while they're trying to remove the tree.  If they're not able to remove it themselves, they will have to cut power to the house, a private company will have to come out and remove the tree, and then they will restore power.

So we remain in "wait and see" mode.  Hopefully, the tree is not putting so much stress on the line that it will cause the power pole to break, because that would lead to even more problems.

This has been going on the better part of a month now, I believe.  So take that for what you will.

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Erika was in town last week, and she was sweet enough to take time out of visiting her family to shoot Ella's 2-year portraits out at the Bicentennial Gardens and Bog Garden!  Let me tell you, I think we picked the absolute hottest day of the year to do it on, but Ella was a trooper!  She did tons of walking -- we were out there for about two hours, I think -- and didn't whine at all until we were almost done.

Our time in the heat was well worth it, though.  Erika did a great job with the photos, and I'm beyond happy with them.  If you want to see a few, you can check out her photography blog.  

Lake Brandt

Mom had mentioned to me earlier this week how pretty the leaves were out at Lake Brandt. We stopped by today on the way over to Mom and Dad's house, and even though it was overcast, I got a few good shots. I'm really surprised at how much color there is on the trees this year -- for some reason, I didn't think there would be much.

Weekend getaway.

Jon and I had a little weekend away in Asheville, which is probably our favorite place to escape to if we get the chance. We went up for a concert, so we spent just one night, but it was nice to get away and relax for a bit. We stayed at a new place (literally -- it just opened this past April) called Brookstone Lodge. It was really nice! We were a little leery about staying somewhere so new, but our room was great, and the people were more than accommodating. Plus, as we found out once we got there, it's locally owned and operated, and we like to support places like that whenever we can.

We had a great dinner at Barley's, as is our tradition, followed by a cream cheese brownie and Boston creme cupcake that Jon and I split from The Sisters McMullen. We wandered around downtown a bit, and I got some adorable tie-dyed pajamas for Ella at one of the head shops.

Yesterday, we had some time to kill between checking out of the hotel and the show, so after a yummy lunch at Mayfel's, we headed out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few hours. It was a great day for a drive...the leaves were just starting to turn (we saw more color the higher the altitude), and despite some spots of rain, and literally driving through clouds at some points, it was really beautiful out. A few pictures:





While on the Parkway, we went up Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. Since it was a pretty overcast day, the cloud cover was low in the sky, and by the time we up to the summit, we were actually walking through the clouds, which was pretty neat. Of course, the visibility was not the greatest...



...but it was still neat to be SO high up, and the blue sky even peeked out a little bit.



(If you want to see more pictures, click on my Flickr badge over to the right.)

All in all, a great weekend, but good to be home...aside from that whole work thing.

More beachy goodness.

"Emerald Isle '09"

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What's going on.

It's been weird lately...a lot has been happening, but time's been at a stand-still, at least to me.

We finally managed to get Ella's one-year photos done! We went to a different place, and the lady was really good. She didn't get a ton of shots, but I was happy with how they came out. They really captured her as she is right now. Here's a little sample:



She's also learning new tricks just about every day! She can find her nose, mouth, and ears (well, one ear, anyway), as well as mine or Jon's. She can also sign "more" and "all done"...we tend to get the former more than the latter :) She can stand by herself for a little bit as well...getting braver.

We've been working on using a spoon as well. For awhile, if I loaded the spoon up for her, I could give it to her, and she'd take it, shovel it in, and pull the spoon back out. She's not into that so much these days. If I try to give her the spoon, her tact is to either lean over, mouth agape, and try to eat directly off it with me still holding it, or she'll just scream. So what I've taken to doing lately is giving her her own spoon while I feed her with a separate one. She'll hold onto it, pass it back and forth between her hands, and even stick it in her mouth -- but won't eat off it yet. I can see her thinking about it, though.

I've started the list-making for our upcoming beach trip...probably should have started about a month ago, really. Better late than never, though, right?

Snow day photos.

Charleston

Jon and I took a few days and headed down to Charleston this week, while Ella spent some quality time with Grandma and Pop. Everyone involved had a good time. Jon and I didn't do anything in particular...slept late, ate lots of amazing seafood, wandered around downtown (Jon even humored me one afternoon by letting me poke around in a few cemeteries and take pictures).

Here are a few pics:

Charleston skyline, from the USS Yorktown


Bridge and sky


Baskets at the Market


Possibly the vaguest gravestone ever :)


Now that we're back, Ella and I are both sick. Jon actually had this particular crud before we left on our trip, and the baby and I have developed it in the meantime. I feel OK for the moment, but it's just starting to set in, I think. Poor Ella has a nasty rattly cough, runny nose, sneezing, the whole nine. Jon is taking her to the doctor this afternoon.

Christmas Photos!

A day late, but what can you do?

Just a few...

At Grandma & Pop's, considering her new piano. Yes, that's a bow in her hair...maybe now people will know she's a girl:



Our Christmas tree:



Ella helping Daddy open her present:



Playing with her new toy:

Opening night!

Jon and I went to the Hurricanes opening game last night against the Florida Panthers, and boy, I am so happy that it's hockey season again! We had great seats -- 3rd row between the benches! We've never sat that close before, but since we don't know how many games we'll make it to this season, we decided to splurge.

Here are a few photos from the game...

Faceoff


Rod the Bod


Just for Jon, Seidenberg and Kaberle :)


Cam Ward between the pipes

A few photos

She calls this her "thoughtful pose".



She loves to look off to her left...I think she was studying the sofa cushion in this one.



Extreme close-up!



"Okay, mom, I'm bored with this...."

Pretty birdy

Morning glory.

Holy Cow!

I got an email this morning telling me that one of my photos has been short-listed for inclusion in a Toronto travel guide!

I'm floored.

It's not even that great of a photo (IMO).

But still...how exciting!

A few photos from today

We went out to Cedarock Park in Burlington.



We took the yellow trail!



Sadly, no beers nearby...

Picture this

My digital camera is perfectly capable. It's good, and I can take good photos with it, but I'd like something a little fancier. And I'd like a macro lens as well.

I've been using my camera lately when we go out letterboxing to document where we're going and what we find (aside from the boxes). A have a few favorite photos, some of which I've posted here before, and one I'm actually entering in the state fair next month! I also get a lot of good scrapbook page ideas from my photos (although I haven't scrapped in quite awhile...something I'm meaning to get back to).

Not just a photo

Do you have a favorite photo?

-Why, yes, Kelly, I do. Doesn't everyone?

Probably. What if that photo could be something *besides* a photo just hanging on the wall?

-What? You're making no sense, stop your blathering.

No really. Think about it -- a Photo Blanket, photo shower curtain, photo pillow. Totally customizable... even text.

-That sounds crazy.

Well, it might sound crazy, but it's the real deal. And they're totally washable too.

-You can't wash photos.

But it's not just a photo anymore, now is it? Go see for yourself how it works.