Day Nine: Faceless Self Portrait

Hipstamatic: Kaimal Mark II lens, Blanko film
SwankoLab: Jerry's Developer, Grizzle Fix, and Vinny's BL04
I run twice a week on a trail near my office. I love that trail. My goodness...how I love it! For a period during the spring and early summer, in fact, I stopped running and just enjoyed walking the trail. I was really able to see all of the things blooming, notice how many trees fell after each storm and watch for the wildlife like the heron and the owl that live there. I'm running again, but a little slower than I used to because I'm still trying to enjoy the sights. The above is a picture taken as I crossed the creek yesterday using concrete pilings they have for foot traffic.

Day Eight: Technology

Hipstamatic: Jimmy lens, Kodot XGrizzled film
I was always one to get a new car as soon as the car I was driving was paid off. But, that seemed very irresponsible when the minivan I was driving was paid in full three years ago. So, it was only after the second car was paid for and the minivan was becoming more and more unreliable that we got a new car a few weeks ago.

The biggest change for me has been the improvements in the sound system in the car. I have a relatively long commute and I use either my iPod or my iPhone (Pandora, iHeart Radio or just the iPod on it) during the entire drive. In the van, I had to plug them into a transmitter because the van wasn't equipped with an iPod jack. The sound quality was iffy at best and getting worse as time went on. The new car does have a jack for the iPod which charges it and hooks it up to the sound system so I can choose what I want using the knobs on the stereo instead of dialing the iPod dial. Even better, the iPhone bluetooth connects to the car. This is great not only for music, but also so that I don't miss phone calls anymore. I play my music pretty loud so I was all the time missing calls because I either never heard the phone or I heard it and couldn't get to it before it went to voice mail.

I know none of these things are on the cutting edge of technology, but good grief they are making me happy!

Day Seven: Something New

SwankoLab: Vinny's BL04, SwankoDev H1N, and Grizzle Fix
The 2011-2012 school year got off to a horrible start last Thursday because the above pictured 10 year old had "nothing to wear". Please note that in the above picture she is in a dressing room happy as can be with one of several new outfits I bought her on the hot Saturday before school started. (I put in there "hot" because the only thing I hate more than shopping is shopping in the heat of summer.) I was angry because she didn't find any of the new things she had gotten good enough and felt sure she had let me buy her things she never intended to wear (been there, done that...many times before). But, at the same time, I felt like I failed her by not making sure she had the perfect new outfit for the first day of fifth grade. I remember how important it was to be dressed just right the first day of school. I remember it very well. So, there were a lot of tears that morning...including some of mine.

Now, the 12 year old boy? We just pulled a pair of shorts and a shirt out of the closet, handed it to him and that was that. When I told a friend last week in response to the news that she was having a girl, "Girls rule and boys drool (but aren't nearly as difficult to dress)," it was this kind of experience that made me say it.