Thursday, March 29, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Kids and Cameras
I love when friends of mine come up with some thing ingenious and then ask if I want to tag along! Last summer a friend came up with the brilliant idea to partner with our local TV station and create a news program run by kids. It was launched in September with a core group of kids ranging in age from second through eighth grades. Each month kids pitch ideas, anchor the desk, produce feature stories, man the studio cameras, and much more.
January's news program focused on the exciting world beyond our little hamlet so my two eldest produced a feature story on what an adoption trip to China is like. So for those of you who don't have access to our tiny little TV station, here is the segment. (the beginning and the end were filmed with my iPhone off the TV so I could show you what the story looked like paired with the studio bit)
I loved working on this with them. The most magical trip of our lives from the point of view of an 8 and 10 year old.
January's news program focused on the exciting world beyond our little hamlet so my two eldest produced a feature story on what an adoption trip to China is like. So for those of you who don't have access to our tiny little TV station, here is the segment. (the beginning and the end were filmed with my iPhone off the TV so I could show you what the story looked like paired with the studio bit)
I loved working on this with them. The most magical trip of our lives from the point of view of an 8 and 10 year old.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Enrich yourself
It is this spark I hope to pass on to my children while also keeping it well alive within myself. So how to do this with kids? In the States?
- Have your kids start learning a foreign language. School curriculum be damned. You can just seek it out on your own. If you don't know of a connection in your area you can try searching for one at WyzAnt (wise ant). It is like SitterCity but for tutors. I am sure you could find someone looking to offer introductory foreign language instruction for children.
- Send them to French Camp! Or Swedish, or Italian, or any of the 15 languages offered by Concordia Language Villages.
- A friend just sent me a link to what looks like a collection of awesome summer experiences for teens around the world. Overland Summer Programs seem to run the gamut but they have foreign language and field study programs in Europe, South American and Asia. Check 'em out if this seems up your alley.
- Look to your city's yellow pages to see if there are cultural centers. Boston has L'Alliance Francaise, Chinese Cultural Center, amongst others. They have programs for kids and adults alike.
- Check to see if your local museums have cultural programs. A few of ours here will be putting on some fabulous Chinese New Year celebrations soon.
- And finally, don't forget the power of food. There are tons of ways you can give your kids a tiny bit of cultural experience just at dinner. Dig deep into your heritage and cook some things from your elders. Learn how other cultures prepare, eat, and enjoy meals and try it at your house.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
New Year Resolutions and Attainable Goals
It is pretty hard to believe it is 2012. Which means 12, TWELVE, whole years have passed since the whole Y2K thing scared us about turning the corner into a new millennium. Do you make resolutions? I do and I don't. I make them pretty often throughout the year as well so the ones I make in January are usually just a starting point. They are usually things that help me focus on achieving bigger, loftier goals that sometimes I think are a pipe dream. But it's good to have dreams goals. And in fact it is good to write them down. I am in the process of trying to write down some new dreams goals because about 4 years ago I wrote this little section on a personal website page and slowly but surely they started to get crossed off.
Read more....
Read more....
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The last things she needs is another project.....
hum. a project. I love projects. I love making change and starting something anew. The mere mention of that word sends my husband off to hide though. He's not a lover of things crafty, homemade, redone, or refurnished. He won't really admit he HATES my projects, but I can see the trepidation in his face when he asks on Friday, "so what are your plans for this weekend....????" I love the hard glance my dining room table gets when he sees the sewing machine is out. But the sewing machine is not out right now and the paint cans are safely stored away in the basement {in case you are reading this at work hun} so nothing is having a makeover at the moment.
I am thinking about starting up a project with my photography though. A personal one. Not one geared towards clients or gigs or growing in ways I want to grow professionally but rather one just for myself. I was thinking I'd start a 365 project on 1/1/2012 so I could have a whole year of photographs to look at by this time next year. But I'd have to have a slant, a focus, a thing to hang my hat on so to speak. I just read an article HERE about being fearless in your photography. It is a piece of advice that is universally needed by all photographers and perhaps all other artists. We find our safe zones and we stick with that and we love that we are successful with it and then it becomes formulaic and then before we know it we are in a rut. Thankfully, I am not in a rut. But I am feeling curious and creative at the moment and want to give myself a little push down a less traveled path. The advice in this article falls into two categories: don't look at the work of your peers, but keep looking at art. Seek out other genres and soak in the visual. Inspiration can be found everywhere. And the second suggestion she gives is to give yourself a personal project. And that was just what I was thinking about doing.
I don't have a direction yet but this article reminded me of my college days when I was asked to pick one very specific thing to photograph over the course of 10 weeks. I had a hard time coming up with my subject for this project. A really tough time. And then one day I came home to find my roomates watching MTV and a video was on of a popular song that year {and for the life of me - which includes a google search- I can't remember the name of the song. Although I can vaguely hum it.}. What I remember about that video was the richness of color and beautiful imagery of hands. Yup, hands. And I was so moved by the beauty in the music video that I decided to pick hands as my subject matter. My photography professor did not seem too jazzed about it when I told him but since it was my project and my grade, he just shrugged his shoulders.
The project was a little harder than I thought it would be but I managed. I produced enough work which I either liked or loved. And interestingly enough, about 3 weeks ago we found these four frames arranged on SweetPea's bed. I asked her where she found them and she said at the top of her closet. Then she said, "I just found them when I was looking for something else and I don't know where they came from but I like them". They are of course, part of my hands project from college and it reminded me of a time when I forced myself to get seriously focused with my photography. There are a lot of technical errors in these pictures but I love that because it reminds me of how much I have learned and grown. Of course these were taken with film and developed in a lab so part of my growth has been to make the leap to digital which wasn't all that easy for me. And how lucky we are to be able to see our shots so instantaneously now. There are lots of things I knew back then to correct but I couldn't see the image until the scene was gone.
So who knows what my next project will be. Maybe I should pick something like international spice markets and convince SJ that I will need to travel to exotic places to grow my craft. she says with a smirk.......
I am thinking about starting up a project with my photography though. A personal one. Not one geared towards clients or gigs or growing in ways I want to grow professionally but rather one just for myself. I was thinking I'd start a 365 project on 1/1/2012 so I could have a whole year of photographs to look at by this time next year. But I'd have to have a slant, a focus, a thing to hang my hat on so to speak. I just read an article HERE about being fearless in your photography. It is a piece of advice that is universally needed by all photographers and perhaps all other artists. We find our safe zones and we stick with that and we love that we are successful with it and then it becomes formulaic and then before we know it we are in a rut. Thankfully, I am not in a rut. But I am feeling curious and creative at the moment and want to give myself a little push down a less traveled path. The advice in this article falls into two categories: don't look at the work of your peers, but keep looking at art. Seek out other genres and soak in the visual. Inspiration can be found everywhere. And the second suggestion she gives is to give yourself a personal project. And that was just what I was thinking about doing.
I don't have a direction yet but this article reminded me of my college days when I was asked to pick one very specific thing to photograph over the course of 10 weeks. I had a hard time coming up with my subject for this project. A really tough time. And then one day I came home to find my roomates watching MTV and a video was on of a popular song that year {and for the life of me - which includes a google search- I can't remember the name of the song. Although I can vaguely hum it.}. What I remember about that video was the richness of color and beautiful imagery of hands. Yup, hands. And I was so moved by the beauty in the music video that I decided to pick hands as my subject matter. My photography professor did not seem too jazzed about it when I told him but since it was my project and my grade, he just shrugged his shoulders.
The project was a little harder than I thought it would be but I managed. I produced enough work which I either liked or loved. And interestingly enough, about 3 weeks ago we found these four frames arranged on SweetPea's bed. I asked her where she found them and she said at the top of her closet. Then she said, "I just found them when I was looking for something else and I don't know where they came from but I like them". They are of course, part of my hands project from college and it reminded me of a time when I forced myself to get seriously focused with my photography. There are a lot of technical errors in these pictures but I love that because it reminds me of how much I have learned and grown. Of course these were taken with film and developed in a lab so part of my growth has been to make the leap to digital which wasn't all that easy for me. And how lucky we are to be able to see our shots so instantaneously now. There are lots of things I knew back then to correct but I couldn't see the image until the scene was gone.
So who knows what my next project will be. Maybe I should pick something like international spice markets and convince SJ that I will need to travel to exotic places to grow my craft. she says with a smirk.......
Friday, December 16, 2011
What is it about Christmas??
Okay. I am going to admit it. Christmas is my least favorite holiday of the year. Depending on your faith, there are maybe 5 biggie holidays of the year and from the outside, it would seem that Christmas holds the top spot for those of Christian descent. I was not raised with much religious structure so for me Christmas has never been anything but the big ass day of gift giving. I find this December holiday to be fraught with pressure, guilt, anticipation, and very often let-down. The latter can be in the form of a child's heavy heart when all the gifts have been opened and IT IS OVER. Or it can be the feeling that you didn't get what you hoped {or asked} for. Christmas day is like a sugar high, it feels good when you are in the thick of it but once it is over you are exhausted. And why all the exhaustion? I refer back to the first three reasons why I don't like this holiday, pressure, guilt, anticipation. I like holidays that are just about food. I know. Huge surprise.
If you have children you know you want their holiday to be magical. Many of us fall prey to the Pollyanna-ic ideals of making everything perfect, shiny and bright. You want to make sure that the stuff under the tree makes the children happy, that the party you throw to feel all warm and fuzzy with holiday cheer comes off perfectly, and that you have a smile on your face as you pretend to enjoy the radio station that only plays Christmas music. Your company is at year-end and you are either still slaving away to make plan, or you are required to spend every night entertaining clients or you are still traveling like a lunatic to pull in last-minute contracts. All the while, you still have to be saying "yay Christmas". It is kind of a lot don't you think? I do think there is pressure to pull off a great holiday for your loved ones. I do think there is guilt if you can't or you don't. And I do think the anticipation of it all can lead to some pretty major disappointment. I dare you to deny that this holiday comes with expectations. And at the end of it all, I wonder how many of us don't harbor some negative feeling. I wish I could have done more. I wish I got what I wanted. I wish I didn't feel taken for granted. I wish, I wish, I wish.
And the reason I think for all this is that we feel the need to connect with the people around us more deliberately at this time of year more than any other. The neighborhood party that is full of cheer, the holiday cards you send, the special gift you buy or make for someone, and most importantly the holiday spirit you try to share with your children to add to the magic and joy of Christmas. Last night I stumbled upon a TED talk from the summer of 2010 by Brene Brown who talks about the primal need for human connection and the instinctive feelings we all have that can unravel it. From there she brings up some really interesting theories about who the people are who connect well with others and why. She theorizes that it is fear and shame that prevent people from forming authentic connections. And yes, I know how heavy handed that sounds but.....think about it for a minute. I mean doesn't everyone's life seem perfect on Facebook?
She dissects it even further to explain that vulnerability and worthiness are the underpinnings of shame and that people who form the best connections in life are those who innately feel worthy and also embrace their vulnerability. It is a head scratcher of a 20-minute talk and I challenge anyone to listen to it and not walk away with some positive feeling of how they can make their life better.
Every year I wish I could enjoy this holiday with less snark as I wrote about here, here, and then here and more joy. I am going to work on that but after rereading those three posts, I have to say I got a good giggle out of it all. So grab a cup of coffee and take 20 minutes at lunch today to watch this.
If you have children you know you want their holiday to be magical. Many of us fall prey to the Pollyanna-ic ideals of making everything perfect, shiny and bright. You want to make sure that the stuff under the tree makes the children happy, that the party you throw to feel all warm and fuzzy with holiday cheer comes off perfectly, and that you have a smile on your face as you pretend to enjoy the radio station that only plays Christmas music. Your company is at year-end and you are either still slaving away to make plan, or you are required to spend every night entertaining clients or you are still traveling like a lunatic to pull in last-minute contracts. All the while, you still have to be saying "yay Christmas". It is kind of a lot don't you think? I do think there is pressure to pull off a great holiday for your loved ones. I do think there is guilt if you can't or you don't. And I do think the anticipation of it all can lead to some pretty major disappointment. I dare you to deny that this holiday comes with expectations. And at the end of it all, I wonder how many of us don't harbor some negative feeling. I wish I could have done more. I wish I got what I wanted. I wish I didn't feel taken for granted. I wish, I wish, I wish.
And the reason I think for all this is that we feel the need to connect with the people around us more deliberately at this time of year more than any other. The neighborhood party that is full of cheer, the holiday cards you send, the special gift you buy or make for someone, and most importantly the holiday spirit you try to share with your children to add to the magic and joy of Christmas. Last night I stumbled upon a TED talk from the summer of 2010 by Brene Brown who talks about the primal need for human connection and the instinctive feelings we all have that can unravel it. From there she brings up some really interesting theories about who the people are who connect well with others and why. She theorizes that it is fear and shame that prevent people from forming authentic connections. And yes, I know how heavy handed that sounds but.....think about it for a minute. I mean doesn't everyone's life seem perfect on Facebook?
"Is there something about me that if other people know it or see it that I won't be worthy of connection?"She then goes on to highlight that "shame is universal and that the only people who don't experience shame have no capacity for human empathy. That no one wants to talk about it and the less we talk about it the more we have it." It is funny because I would have defined shame as something pretty major that you feel guilt over but I guess it could be classified as any negative feelings of not having been good enough in any area of life.
She dissects it even further to explain that vulnerability and worthiness are the underpinnings of shame and that people who form the best connections in life are those who innately feel worthy and also embrace their vulnerability. It is a head scratcher of a 20-minute talk and I challenge anyone to listen to it and not walk away with some positive feeling of how they can make their life better.
Every year I wish I could enjoy this holiday with less snark as I wrote about here, here, and then here and more joy. I am going to work on that but after rereading those three posts, I have to say I got a good giggle out of it all. So grab a cup of coffee and take 20 minutes at lunch today to watch this.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Wreath Making
There are two reasons why I tend to opt for the DIY option in nearly every scenario. The first, but not the most significant is that I am cheap. Or rather that I love a cheap thrill. I adore finding things for less than they normally sell for. The hunt is so much fun for me and when I find what I am looking for, whooooo weeee, I just about get a high from it. The other is that I am really picky about how I want things to look. I do not have an amazingly decorated house with perfect pillows and smartly adorned shelves but when I decide I need something for the house, I get in my mind what I want before I start looking and then nothing ever fits the bill. Both cases I think my husband would call a disease. Although he is pretty happy that I like cheap stuff.
When it comes to plants, I am a perennial person. Annuals, while pretty, are just a waste of money in my book. But then again I live in the NE and when it comes time to planting spring flowers I never really know when it is safe to put those pretty little pansies in the ground. It could just as easily snow in June and kill them all so you see my problem. Anyway, the same goes for seasonal decorating at holiday time. I hate spending tons of money on stuff that is just going to die. With one exception. I have to say, I don't mind dropping some cash on a Christmas tree. A good one. From a farm. That won't be dead by December 25th. This year we were not able to get to our farm before they sold out and had to resort to our local garden center and we have had unspeakable horrors with this tree. After some therapy I might dive into it here on PC.
As for a wreath, I like mine not so plain but not overly done and tacky. I don't want a gazillion silver balls on it or branches sticking out in every direction. I want something to look cute and Christmassy without being totally over tone. So last year I got together with a bunch of friends and we made our own wreaths. A friend ran down to a local floral wholesaler and bought tons of materials and then one evening with wine and desserts we gathered in her garage to make wreaths together. It was lovely and festive and you all should try it.
Last April January when it was time to undecorate, I tossed the wreath but saved all the elements I made. I am so happy I did that because this year I was able to make the wreath just how I wanted it in about 15 minutes. My poor husband saw me pulling out all the stuff about 25 minutes before we were supposed to leave the house and he was all are you really going to start that now!?! And of course I was totally NOT smug when I was done a full 10 minutes before we had to leave!
So what is in my arsenal for decorating a wreath? First off, a nice big red bow. a few red and ivory ornaments, a few small pieces of silver to catch the light, little red berries, and some seashells to represent our area. And this year, I grabbed some fresh eucalyptus at the garden center to add for some lighter green contrast.
Really you can use anything you want that you can either twist with wire or glue with a gun onto one of these green floral picks.These guys have wire attached so you can just wrap the wire around your item and then shove it into a tight spot in your wreath.
When it comes to plants, I am a perennial person. Annuals, while pretty, are just a waste of money in my book. But then again I live in the NE and when it comes time to planting spring flowers I never really know when it is safe to put those pretty little pansies in the ground. It could just as easily snow in June and kill them all so you see my problem. Anyway, the same goes for seasonal decorating at holiday time. I hate spending tons of money on stuff that is just going to die. With one exception. I have to say, I don't mind dropping some cash on a Christmas tree. A good one. From a farm. That won't be dead by December 25th. This year we were not able to get to our farm before they sold out and had to resort to our local garden center and we have had unspeakable horrors with this tree. After some therapy I might dive into it here on PC.
As for a wreath, I like mine not so plain but not overly done and tacky. I don't want a gazillion silver balls on it or branches sticking out in every direction. I want something to look cute and Christmassy without being totally over tone. So last year I got together with a bunch of friends and we made our own wreaths. A friend ran down to a local floral wholesaler and bought tons of materials and then one evening with wine and desserts we gathered in her garage to make wreaths together. It was lovely and festive and you all should try it.
Last So what is in my arsenal for decorating a wreath? First off, a nice big red bow. a few red and ivory ornaments, a few small pieces of silver to catch the light, little red berries, and some seashells to represent our area. And this year, I grabbed some fresh eucalyptus at the garden center to add for some lighter green contrast.
Really you can use anything you want that you can either twist with wire or glue with a gun onto one of these green floral picks.These guys have wire attached so you can just wrap the wire around your item and then shove it into a tight spot in your wreath.
So start with a plain wreath. This one was $17 at my garden center and is 20" wide.
Tie a bow how you like.
Then wrap the wire on a pick around the back.
Attach by wire or glue all the little bobbles you want to include in your wreath. This year I grabbed some fresh Eucalyptus.
I put the bow on first and then the eucalyptus. I used all the bobbles on picks to hold down the eucalyptus. We live in a pretty windy area so I have to really pin it all down well so it doesn't fly off the wreath.
Have you made a nice wreath for any part of the year? I'd love to see so leave a link in the comments if you have one!
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