The kids went to a 1 hour basketball camp at the Y today. More pictures will come once I have the time to process them. Till then, here is one:
How I take and make picutres
Our good friend Monica asked me to post a before editing and after editing picture of the apples.
So, to begin with, I’m shoot with a Nikon D40x with with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S. I’ll be honest and say that 9 out of 10 shots I shoot in the auto mode. Technically, the no-flash auto mode. At the rate I take pics (100-200 per outing) this is simply easier. Occasionally I’ll tweak aperture or shutter speed… mess with the iso, etc… but not too often.
After I get home (usually several weeks later) I dump all my pics into Aperture 2. Once in, I typically look over each one. If a picture has potential to be a keeper, I mark it with a rating of 3 stars. After going through a couple hundred pics, there are usually about 10-15 that have potential to keep. I then review those pics and begin processing them.
My typical steps in processing are adjusting white balance, adjusting exposure, adjusting highlights and shadows, general enhancements, and applying vignette.
The final result takes a picture like this:
and turns it into this:
New Phone Numbers
Ryan and Jennifer both have new phone numbers.
If you want our new numbers, please send us an email and we’ll get them to you.
Happy Thanksgiving
We’re chilling at the house and then going to a friends to share in a feast.
The picture below has nothing to do with Thanksgiving… just thought it was cool. Taken on our recent trip to Seattle.
October
Here are some pictures from our October adventures. This is all I had time to process today. More to come (eventually).
The month started off with Grace starting ballet lessons and Asher joining an official soccer team. Here is a picture of Grace in her ballet gear at the WRONG CLASS! This was the tumbling class. We eventually found the right room.
In October we had a visit from Oma and Opa. Here Asher and Grace help Opa get pizza ready for pizza night.
While the pizza was cooking Asher, Grace, and Opa built an indoor soccer goal.
Speaking of soccer, here’s Asher’s first soccer team. Today is the last game of the season. After the game today we’re going to a team pizza party. The roumor is that the whole team is also signing up for basketball… Do you think Coach K will still be at Duke in 14 years?
As I said, we eventually found the ballet class. Grace LOVES it!
We sat on the YMCA floor a lot in October.
Asher is working on spelling. For those wondering, the picture is “fencing.”
Here’s coach John teaching the team. The three things we learned this season: 1. Only the goalie can use hands. 2. The offense can go anywhere on the field 3. Defense can’t go over the black line.
Notice the jacket… it is getting cold!
I think this is the only time she wore the black outfit. It is usually the all pink one.
Here’s the class in action.
Asher didn’t go to the ballet class too often. It was pretty boring for him.
As I mentioned, these are just some of the photos. I’ll post more when I have “time.”
Antioxidant Omega 3 Greens Review & Giveaway
** 11/28/09 CONTEST CLOSED, WINNER (JUDY L.) HAS BEEN CONTACTED **
I’ve been sitting on this post for…oh…2 months? oops. Sorry. Tropical Traditions sent me some of their Antioxidant Omega 3 Greens to try & review for you, uh…a few months ago. So: I’ve been using it almost daily all this time and I’ll just say it: I love it! I’ve tried some other brands of “mix with water & drink” greens powder & this by FAR tastes MUCH better. Of course being a bit of a ‘locavore’, i also have dehydrated and blended into powder greens bought from a local farm this summer. But….that is for sneaking into pasta and pizza and soups and meatloaf and…..ect. There are days (more than I’d like to admit) where our veggie consumption is minimal and thus the ‘cheat’ of a powdered greens drink. Not to mention that this also contains some digestive enzymes and probiotics to aid in the digestion of all this good stuff (and flax…and…and…lots of stuff). Here’s the thing. With the Tropical traditions brand I have no problem drinking a glass of it mixed with water. Any other brand it takes some effort to do so. If you mix it with juice, well…..it might as well be dessert! My favorite? I mix it in plain yogurt, add a little stevia extract, ground nuts & deem it breakfast. Yum.
What I’m saying is, if you need some help boosting your greens intake (esp in the winter when greens aren’t so readily available from the garden): I HIGHLY recommend the Tropical Traditions Antioxicant Omega 3 Greens. It’s a brand I trust and the taste & texture is bar-none. Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product…my opinion is my own. If it helps clarify, I intend to buy more when the current canister runs out.
Even better: You can win some! They have generously offered to provide one lucky winner with a container of greens shipped directly from Tropical Traditions. To enter simply head over to Tropical Traditions, sign up for their sales newsletter and let me know in the comments. If you’re already signed up for it, just let me know in the comments. Winner will be randomly selected out of some sort of container old-school slip of paper style on Saturday, Nov. 28 (when you’re feeling all fat & full of turkey, in need of some greens) and contacted via email. If there is no response in 48hrs I will select a new winner.
Good Luck and hey, speaking of the coconut oil company, have you seen their coconut recipes? I’ve found quite a few gems on that page. 
9 Years!
Yes, you’re getting old… but so are we.
Despite my forgetfulness, Jennifer and I are celebrating 9 years of marriage today.
For those keeping count that’s:
9 years
8 cars
7 homes
5 or 6 fish
4 states
3 pets (2 dogs and a cat)
2 kids
1 amazing marriage
I love you Jennifer.
Thank-you for saying yes.
What a night…
As you may know, thedailyburns has been hacked into a number of times lately. Today, in fact, thedailyburns was just one of many sites I own that was hacked into. After 2 hours I’ve managed to get the daily burns back up, in relative order, and (I hope) secure.
Now off to fix the other 5 sites that were hacked… fun, huh?
Saturday Playtime
Ryan has been playing “Dad taxi” today. Took Grace to ballet this morning, stopped by the grocery store for me, then after lunch took Asher to his soccer game. As much as i enjoy getting to watch their sports, it has been nice to laze around and catch up on time-sucking, non-essential internet activities like updating my twitter and facebook profile photos to better reflect the new hair length, ha. While I was alone with each kid we spent some time playing with photo booth on the mac. I apologize for the weird spacing & words being off or whatever all that is called. this is why i don’t post pictures. I don’t know what i’m doing & i officially give up trying to make it line up.
Sad Faces
Angry Faces
Happy Faces
Grace Video (I didn’t see the video option when Asher & I were playing with it)
“What a Mighty God we Serve”
Children & Christmas
Just read a great post over at Preschoolers & Peace about Honoring Christ and Christmas. Part I of a 2 part series. It was jut a great perspective on of course presenting CHRIST throughout Christmas and teaching our kids about giving, but mostly remembering that they are children and will act & think as such. I think I often forget that growing up is a PROCESS and that just because my (3 & 4 year old!) kids don’t have the self control and selflessness expected of a christian adult, doesn’t mean they won’t grow toward that. She mentioned it last year, and I’m so glad she did this year too, because..well…I forgot! Thanks again Kendra! Now, go read the short post: Honoring Christ and Celebrating Christmas, Part I.
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