Cadence's 15 Minutes of Webfame

I suppose it's silly pointing out the fact that a photo of Cadence is on another website, considering I've been plastering such photos all over this one since before she was even born.

But still. Humor a proud, silly mama, will ya? You see, Cadence and her playroom were featured as a Flickr Find on Apartment Therapy: The Nursery. Thanks, Alex!

Three Thoughts Thursday #1

I'm starting something new around here. I'm calling it Three Thoughts Thursday, and it should be pretty self-explanatory. Three thoughts. Posted on Thursdays. I was gonna make it Thirty Thoughts Thursday, but once you read my first thought below, you'll see why I changed my mind. For the record, these thoughts will be of the Deliberately Random sort, so don't be expecting a dissertation on the failure of postmodernism to address the specific needs of mommybloggers or anything of that sort. If it's erudition you seek, go somewhere else.

Oh. And the photos will be just as DR* as the thoughts.

*Deliberately Random

#1--I've been thinking lately that I'm getting dumber as I get older. Is it mommyhood? Am I just not reading enough? Or is it early-onset Alzheimer's (which happens to run in my family on both sides, yippe-aye-ay)? I used to toy with the idea of going back to school someday when we're independently wealthy so that I can become either a lawyer or a librarian, but now I'm thinking I won't be able to hack it. Maybe I'm just lazier, not older.

#2--I think that Brown and Pink might be the best color combo ever. Why? Because it immediately brings to mind Chocolate and Strawberry ice cream, side by side, just the way I like it. If you throw in off-white, you'd get Neapolitan, which is okay, except that I prefer to ignore Vanilla and just go straight for the Brown and Pink stuff. Cadence is the same way.

#3--I think it's about time I emerge from the Dark Ages and got myself an mp3 player. I've resisted the whole iPod revolution this long, but I'm finally surrendering because I really miss the rock 'n' roll. Since I take the train to work, I don't get to blare my car stereo very often, and I have fallen hopelessly behind on the exponentially-expanding volume of worthy music out there. The thing is, I have no idea which mp3 player to get. I'd really like to be able to listen to the radio, cuz frankly, sometimes all I need is NPR and WLUW. I don't know if I actually need 30GB, which is the size of my laptop's entire hard drive. Oh, and if I could get one in brown and pink, I'd be like totally sold.

Coming Clean

I guess it's about time I let you all in on a little secret. It's about these photos I've been taking lately. While I love my new camera and really believe it's made a huge difference in the quality of my photos , and while I would like to believe I have at least a little bit of skill in capturing moments of beauty, cuteness, sassiness, etc., I must now reveal to you all my new secret tool for creating these photos.

It's called Picasa, and it's by Google, and it's totally and absolutely FREE. Of course, it's only for PCs right now, so I apologize to all the Mac users out there.

I'm kind of a purist when it comes to photos. I don't own Photoshop, and I've been using Microsoft's Photo Editor (the software that comes free w/ Windows) for as long as I've been shooting digitally. All I've ever done (pre-Picasa) is to change the brightness and contrast, and maybe a little color if the white balance was funky.

I'm no post processing expert, but some of the effects available through Picasa are so easy for even a lazy post processor like myself. Here is the original to the photo above:

As you can see, I used the Soft Focus effect to focus more on the hands (which were already the portion of the photo in focus) and to blur our the background a bit. I think it's a subtle change, but I really like it.

I still use Picasa mainly for getting the brightness and contrast the way I like it, but every now and then, it's fun to play with some of those effects.

Of course, when your subject is as entertaining as Cadence, it really doesn't matter how much or how little post processing you do. Which is a good thing, cuz I'm still too lazy to do too much of it.

Best Shot(s) Monday--A New Angle

So Tracey's theme for this week at Picture This is Diagonal Week. That's awesome, cuz I just rediscovered my inner crooked thanks to The Antibride, and it's added new freedom to my shooting.

I shot this series of Cadence singing and dancing yesterday afternoon. It's actually best seen in the slideshow version here. Just click the next button quickly, and you'll see Cadence perform her little dance. Cue the Do-Re-Mi song from the Sound of Music, and that's what the movie version would've been like.

Believe you me, having a DSLR makes a huge difference when it comes to shooting rapid shots.

It's like, holy cow! I hold down the shutter button, and *click*! Instant photo!

I love how she's looking over at me on this one.

And if you're wondering about the muted colors, it's because I screwed up the lighting and since I don't have Photoshop, this was the best I could do without turning Cadence into looking like a botched Self-Tanning job.

Here's one with a little more color. Taken in lovely Morton Grove, IL.

In Case I Fooled Any Of You...

I would like to officially dispell any myths that may have mysteriously formed in the universe regarding my skills and qualifications for parenthood. I have read a number of good and not-so-good books on parenting since being drafted into this adventure. I continue to refer many of my friends and acquaintances and random strangers to some of these resources, because really, when you think about it, I should've been a research librarian. Nothing gives me greater joy than a thorough google search. However, keen aptitude on google does not a competent parent make.

Lately, Cadence has pushed me to the unchartered hinterlands of my sanity with her Endless!Boundless!Explosions! of Energy! This girl can go!Go!GO! like you wouldn't believe. I think she thoroughly wore out my La Leche League leader's 12 year old daughter at the family picnic last night. Laurel (the 12 year old) told me with total pre-teen seriousness that Cadence could outrun her if she wants to.

To add to the exhaustion, this week she has begun engaging in reckless behavior, such as hanging from the monkey bars 7' off the ground while I'm nowhere near her. Now we have to stick to her like white (or brown, depending on what you prefer) on rice to prevent her from breaking her little neck.

And then there are those times when she insists on taking a 2 hour walk at 7 in the morning. She'll lollygag with the earthworm, thoroughly fascinated by its creeping and crawling.

And of course, she'll have to look for every puddle in every alley and street and pothole on our route for the sheer pleasure of getting her boots wet. And she'll have to jump in each one twice or three times and sometimes four.

Why is it that when she's running around like the Tasmanian Devil, I wish I could contain that energy of hers and make her sit still, but when she lazily meanders through the neighborhood, stopping to smell the figurative roses that I wish she'd pick up the pace? Why can't I just be content to be in the moment with my totally amazing and delightful and awe-filled and joy-filled kid?

*Sigh*...So much to learn...