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Friday
Aug202010

Have You Ever Lost Your Photo Mojo?

DateFriday, August 20, 2010 at 3:46PM

Everywhere I went in my 20s, my beloved manual film camera came along.  Everything I saw was filtered through a photographer’s eye, with attention to small details, to light, to how a sweeping real-life scene might translate in the tiny rectangle of a viewfinder.  Travel helped, but it wasn’t required — my camera also accompanied walks around the neighborhood or visits with friends and family.  I read photography books and magazines.  I even collected vintage cameras and experimented with developing, handcoloring, and altered Polaroids.

And then … I lost my mojo.  On travel, at home, even faced with our adorable and ever-changing baby … nothing brings back the old joy.

(Baby-with-a-pickle. Just because.) 

Two weekends ago, I spent 4 days in the most visually vibrant city in America.  During that time, I took the Times Square photo from my last post, two photos of some mini-cupcakes, and four photos of the baby with a pickle.  That is my complete visual record of my first time at BlogHer and baby’s first trip to NYC. 

I looooooove our current camera (an Olympus EP-1), so that’s not the problem.  I’ve wondered whether it could be the age of digital (too immediate? too easy to snap-and-delete?), the pressure from constant exposure to pro-level photographers on the Web, maybe just the constant fatigue of being chronically ill….  But whatever it is, I want my mojo back!

Have you ever lost your photo mojo?  What did you do to get it back?  Any advice??!?

AuthorTara | Comment5 Comments |
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Wednesday
Aug112010

When the Hard Stuff is Also the Good Stuff

DateWednesday, August 11, 2010 at 1:47PM

I went to BlogHer last weekend.  This was a Very Big Deal — between baby and illness I barely make it through a regular day, so it was daunting to pack up three generations (me, baby, and the ever-patient babysitting Nana), drive us from DC to NYC, schlep around the country’s most exhausting city for four days, and then pack up again and get home.  Overwhelmed by the logistics — not to mention the thought of networking while my self-esteem is at an all-time low — I nearly sold my BlogHer ticket and stayed home.

No question, it was exhausting.  But also: totally rewarding!  Even aside from anything learned at the conference, there were handfuls of memorable moments on Baby’s First Trip to the Big Apple.  She was so proud to be part of a big-girl adventure with Mama and Nana.  And just being out and about in the stomping grounds of my single-gal corporate-ladder days left me feeling more confident than I have in ages.

I battle fatigue and pain every hour of every day.  There are times when I really, really can’t find the resources to do something.  But how often do we miss out on life’s adventures just because of the chains that keep us to our daily grind?  Sometimes, it’s nice to have a little reminder that the scary experiences are usually the ones we end up valuing most.

When have you overcome logistical difficulties — or flat-out fear! — to end up with an amazing experience? 

AuthorTara | Comment4 Comments |
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Thursday
Jul292010

Baby Bee

DateThursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:15PM

How is it possible that I’ve had these photos for almost four months — one third of a year! — and never shared?

As most of you know, I got my blogging start at Weddingbee, where the bloggers are known as Bees.  Since then I have been quick to notice any design involving bees, and I couldn’t resist when I stumbled across a baby bee outfit on eBay:

Here’s Elsa at the White House Egg Roll last April.

E. was too young to take advantage of most of the Egg Roll activities, but given her get-up, we particularly enjoyed meeting the White House beekeeper.  (Did you know that the Obamas’ new White House garden includes a hive of almost 70,000 bees?  In their first year, they produced over 100 pounds of honey!)  

And at a party at the home of the lovely Mrs. D’Orsay.

(I believe those are Mrs. Penguin’s knees in the background …. hi Pengy!)

Other Bees, have you also fallen prey to noticing bees everywhere? Has it ever driven a purchase? 

AuthorTara | Comment6 Comments |
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Friday
Jun112010

Baby Giggles Are My Drug of Choice

DateFriday, June 11, 2010 at 5:50AM

Twenty seconds of baby giggles, just because it’s the weekend and the sound makes me purely and deliriously happy: 

(This was Elsa’s first taste of honey mustard.  Mr T, who hates mustard, was shaking his head emphatically “no” at Elsa.  She and I, who love it, were saying “mmmmm.”  Cue merriment all around.) 

AuthorTara | Comment6 Comments |
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Thursday
Jun032010

Holy Mum Mums, Amazon!

DateThursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:18PM

Young baldy enjoying her very first solid-food snack

Some baby products are “open secrets” among our local parent community.*  Among them: a certain adorably-named, surfboard-shaped cracker.  Pull one out and another parent is sure to enthuse “Mum Mums! We love them too!”  Usually followed by a wrinkled brow and a concerned “Where do you find yours?”

Ah, Mum Mums — our first introduction to the world of toddler snacks.  (A world where even notorious cheapskates like us vastly overpay for foods that usually wind up as dog treats anyway.  Because … organic!)  Mum Mums are melty enough for toothless infants but crunchy enough for toddlers, the surfboard shape is easy for little hands to grasp, and the crinkly individual wrappers have entertained many a bored infant.  They may not be nutritious, but at least they aren’t laden with chemicals.  And the vegetable version is oddly tasty! 

The major downside is that Mum Mums can be difficult to find.  I’ve heard rumors of sightings at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods but have never witnessed their presence in person.  We usually purchase off Drugstore.com, but that ordering situation is not ideal.** 

Enter Amazon’s June grocery sales.  Coupon code MUMMBB33 earns you a 25% discount on 6-box packs of Mum Mums, and the discount bumps to 40%, with free shipping, if you order recurring shipments via Subscribe and Save (which you can cancel anytime).  I ordered a 6-pack of Strawberry Toddler Mum Mums, with a retail price of around $20, for $10.47.  Score!

Do you have any favorite products that are “open secrets” in your social group?

 

* I can think of one favorite toy that appears in every single house in our playgroup.

** Lately, Drugstore.com has been selling Mum Mums at the full retail price of $3.49/box.  Sales of $2.50/box pop up frequently, BUT the price requires a multiple-box purchase, and that multiple-box purchase invalidates the site’s free shipping.  Not worth it.

AuthorTara | Comment1 Comment |
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Thursday
Jun032010

Two Cents Thursday: Filling Pretty Packages?

DateThursday, June 3, 2010 at 6:14PM

Last month, the unbelievably talented Holly of Bijou Lovely tipped off her blog readers to a day of giveaways through Sew, Mama, Sew.  I am always up for a giveaway, so I visited a bunch of new blogs and entered my little heart out.  

And I won something, from beautiful blog lovely bud!

(image borrowed from lovely bud, on account of I’m too tired to take my own pics…)

My winnings arrived today, and they’re even prettier than in the picture.  But here’s my problem — the bag, notebook, and treasure box are so lovely that I feel pressure to fill them with something “worthy.”  Something meaningful, creative, or at least equally pretty….  And I need ideas!  What would you put inside a special notebook, bag, and/or treasure box???

P.S.  If you have a really good use for the treasure box, I just discovered you can purchase your own through her brand-new Etsy shop.

AuthorTara | Comment3 Comments |
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Monday
May312010

If You Like It, Make a Link to It

DateMonday, May 31, 2010 at 8:20PM

I took a break from blogging in part to decide whether to continue.  For a while, I really thought the answer would be “no.”  But in the end, I emerged not only re-dedicated to this blog, but determined to start 2 more!  (Much more on that in coming weeks….)

Why blog, when it takes precious time and even money?  There are so many stories in my head!  Without some outlet, I fear my brain would eventually explode.  I picture the famous Monty Python gluttony sketch — cramming in blogs and books and TV and articles by hour after endless hour, until all it takes is one more celebrity factoid or YouTube kitten video and — KABOOM.  

(image here)

Baby and illness make me slow.  There’s no getting around that.  So, to let off some mental pressure until I can get a few posts written, may I present some links?

Amusing blurb on a 9-year-old overachiever.  I described this girl to Elsa, with a request that she start supporting Mommy and Daddy in the style to which they hope to become accustomed.  (Unfortunately, she countered with the story of the baby with a black AmEx.)

Amazing, affordable home office makeover.  (Via Belle Maison)

Kotex has clever new ads poking fun at traditional “feminine care” commercials.  Media censors objected.  Which is why we have those goofy, euphemistic commercials in the first place.  (Via NY Times)

All I understand about astigmatism is that it’s harder to buy contacts.  Thank heavens for I Am Bossy’s convenient tutorial.  (Ah, who am I kidding, I still don’t understand.  But I got a good laugh.)

One of my major regrets from pregnancy = not strengthening my abdominal muscles.  This video tutorial describes a low-stress way to work that giant belly.  (Via Trainer Momma)  

Colorful rooms from Project Nursery.

We all suspected it, and here’s some proof — how advertisers control content in fashion magazines.   Also interesting: how magazines cover trends.  (Via Searching for Style)  

Chicken coops and high-end gardens: bringing new meaning to traditional homemaking, or just a new form of whitewash? (Via BigThink)

Edit, Add, Appreciate: 3 steps to a more authentic life.  (Via MakeUnder My Life)

What’s inhabiting your brain at the moment? 

AuthorTara | Comment2 Comments |
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