An Anniversary Gift Update

Today is our 15th  wedding anniversary. I thought I’d let you all know I took your advice and got Ash a watch. I was thinking it would be a good gift and then you all suggested it. Then, I talked to Ash and he said he’d like one, so that is what he got.

We actually went over the weekend to pick it out. I wanted him to be involved since he’s the one who has to wear it. I wanted to get something nice, but also know he is in uniform at work most of the time that he’ll be wearing it, so I wanted him to have something he would be comfortable in with that “outfit”.

I ended up getting him a silver (in color, you know what I mean, not gold) Tag Heuer. It’s kinda’ sporty, but also quite nice. It could easily go with something dressy as well. He really likes it, so I’m happy too. Last night we went to a little “harvest festival” at a church near out house. You know, bounce houses, games, etc. When we were getting ready to go Ash said, “should I wear my watch there?”

I’m a firm believer that life is too short, so use the fine china everyday, not that we actually have fine china..but you know what I mean. So I told him, “I’m not the one to ask. I wear a ___ thousand dollar ring to the grocery and dance class. I say if you like it you may as well enjoy it while you can.” So, he wore his watch to the little festival. I’m glad he likes and hope he gets lots of use out of it.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I think we made a fine choice!

Face Painting

I’m getting in under the wire for the I ♥ faces photo challenge this week so I’ll make it brief. Here’s my submission:

There are lots more costumes at I heart faces.

Where Do Little Brothers Come From?

Ava is (still) in her why phase. This morning I was getting Binh out of bed and changing him and all that morning stuff. Ava was messing around at the train table and our conversation went a little something like this:

Ava: Why do I have a little brother?

Me: Well, Mom and Dad wanted another child, and that’s what God gave us- Binh. (Meaning God gave us a boy as opposed to a girl)

Ava: But I thought we got Binh from the airport..

Tee-hee. Ava clearly remembers the plane ride to Vietnam, but I think she’s a little fuzzy on the rest of the details.

I did go on to tell her (and Binh) about choosing to adopt from Vietnam and how yes, we did go there on an airplane but no, we did not get Binh at the airport. Then we talked about how she was born in Boston and he was born in Vung Tau, etc. etc.

 I’m sure it all makes perfect sense to her now…

Does This Count As My First Gig?

I was asked a couple of weeks ago if I would be open to taking pictures of baptisms at my church. Of course I said yes, not only because I say yes to most things people at church ask me to do ( I mean really, how hard are most things to do at church- donate a toy at Christmas, help pass stuff out, go to  Egypt or Japan. I was kidding about that last one ) but also because I wanted to get the chance to photograph people who don’t know me.

Today was my first day photographing the baptisms. Well, actually, there was only one person, a little girl in second grade. See, they want you to stand on the steps in the baptistery and shoot about 3 shots- the talking, the dunking, and the “I’m now all wet”. It’s a kind of cramped space and you have to go through the ladies changing room in order to be in the right place. So, they wanted me to do it because our church photographer is a guy and he wasn’t really comfortable being in the ladies changing room, not that there are always people in there dressing but whatever. I wasn’t going to argue because I wanted to do this.

I went up a little early to see where I would be and to see what kind of light I would have there. So what kind of light did I have? The crappy kind. No windows (Hello, ladies changing room. Why would there be windows? We’re not that kind of church! tee-hee) and the baptistery had a couple spot lights but I still had to use my flash. Which brings me to my next point. I’ve been wanting an external flash and now this is my chance to say that I actually need one. They really do make your light look so much more natural.

Instead of the “big three” photos (they didn’t call them that or anything. I just made that up), I ended up taking 10 photos, two of which I threw out. One was just trying to judge the light to see if I’d really have to use the flash, and the other was just too much like one of the previous I shot. Anyway, the little girl was dressed really cute before time, so I asked if I could take her picture. You would have thought I has just told her she was under arrest because she was up against the wall stiff as a board! I engaged her before I asked and shook her hand. (They say touching your subject, like with a hand shake or pat on the shoulder is important before you start photographing people you don’t know). So, I’m going to have to work on getting people to loosen up, at least kids. I’m sure she was also nervous about getting dunked under a pool of water in front of about 1,000 people, so hopefully it wasn’t all me. I did get the “big three” and a couple of others that I thought were kinda’ cute, like her with a towel over her shoulders afterward.

So, I don’t know if this counts as my first photography gig or not, but I’m glad I gave it a go and will continue to do it. No, I didn’t get paid or anything, so I’m definitely still not a pro. Well, one can dream…

And, this is NOT the little girl I photographed, though I do believe it is sound advice. Incase you can’t read it, the small print reads, “is not advised”.