(133/365) Just because I think it looks cool....

(123/365) Top 10 Things I Learned During My Private Photography Lesson

1.  I already know a lot more than I think I do about photography.

2.  I barely have touched the surface on what there is to know about photography.

3.  Tri-pods are important and yes, they are a pain in the butt to carry with you, but if you're serious about photography you need to have a good one!

4.  Polarizing Filter can help you capture that beautiful blue sky.

5.  Shoot with intention.  Know what you are trying to capture BEFORE you take the picture and use your camera to create the look you want.  Don't just take a bunch of pictures and hope that one turns out the way you want.

6.  Take a quality picture with your camera using the right settings.  Don't rely on Photoshop to edit pictures...you want to spend time with your family and not in front of a computer editing pictures.

7.  I really don't need to put the lens back on my camera after each shoot - it waste time and you want your camera ready to capture the picture.

8.  Light is so so so important and you must think of what the light is telling you and use that as a guide to how to adjust your camera before you take the picture.

9.  I should use ISO settings for more than just indoor vs outdoor photography.

10.  There is more than one way to use flash ... it really isn't just for indoor and it can be your friend even on a bright sunny day!

Bonus 11 (and nothing to do with photography) ... there is something about walking through a museum looking at beautiful art on a quite Sunday morning (all by yourself) with your camera at your hip ... that really energizes and lifts your spirits!  I highly recommend it!

(120/365) Cupcake?

(119/365) Farmer's Market

(117/365) Happy Birthday Dan!

(116/365)

Love Wegmans cookies!!! 

(115/365) On Our Way Home

(114/365) Costa Rica - Waterfall Repelling

Costa Rica ATVing

(111/365) Kayaking in Costa Rica

(110/365) Surfing

(109/365) Punta Islita

We stayed for the first four days of our trip at Punta Islita, on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.  The hotel was amazing - beautiful, everything you could imagine.  We were one of very few guests in this remote hotel.  Took us 4 hours to drive from the airport, but it was worth it! 

(108/365) Costa Rica here we come!

We were supposed to be in Greece, but due to the Iceland volcano that halted and stopped ALL air traffice in Northern Europe we jumped on a plane South instead.  We loved Costa Rica and were proud that we were able to switch gears so quickly and still enjoy a lovely vacation!

(106/365)

(103/365)

(102/365) The 'not-so-happy' bike ride...

This photo sums up the good intentioned bike ride gone bad.  From the get go, there were obstacles to getting on the trail.  We raced from church to TJ Max to buy some much needed new luggage in order to get out on the trail and have a nice little ride before needing to be home to get ready for the week; however, the divine universe had other plans... 

Obstacle #1:  Dan had a flat tire, so he had to race out to the bike store while I stayed home packing the lunch to fix it. 

Obstacle #2:  We get to the trail and find out that one of the 'nut' that holds my bike tire on was lost somewhere in route.  So we spent at least 30 minutes figuring out what to do. I tend to give up too easily...in about 5 minutes, I was ready to say oh well no bikes, let's just go have a picnic down by the lake instead.  Dan, on the other hand, fended of my pleads and worked diligently in finding a make shift 'nut' to hold the tire on (and I'll add what a gentleman because he took the nut off his bike and put it on my bike so mine would be fine to ride).  I gave him a twisty tie off a bag of popcorn that we bought at a road side stand on our way up to the trail and said, "will this work?"  Well it did - bike tire fixed and we're off...

Obstacle #3:  Since Dan had to deal with a potentially dangerous wheel, I took Rosie with me.  I don't know what got into this dog but she was WILD ... did I say WILD.  She normally is so good running along side the bike, but today she was super charged and almost killed me several times.  I was NOT going to go on our upcoming trip with a broken leg/arm  or banged up knees so I just let the monster run free on the trail ... hence we were 'that' yelling noisey family of three chasing after their dog while others tried to enjoy a peaceful Sunday ride!  At one point, a biker raced by us and that was a sign for Rosie to take off turbo style trying to outrun the biker.  I don't know if she thought the biker was Dan because she kept running and running until all we saw was a tiny flash of blond tail in the horizon.  Finally she must have looked up and realized this man was not HER MAN ... so she ran back! 

Obstacle #4:  Dan rode over Olivia's foot .. so that caused major drama that lasted a half the trip!

Obstacle #5:  Rosie jumped in the lake, proceeded to roll around in a huge mud pile and then shook it all off on us while we sat trying to enjoy our lunch!

Obstacle #6:  The bugs decided to come out early this year and they ate us alive.  I now have to nurse several huge bug bites on my legs and arms!

So it wasn't exactly the bike ride of Sunday afternoon dreams, but at least we got out, didn't give up and tried to take it in stride! 

(100/365)

I went for a run on Friday around my neighborhood.  It was such a beautiful day for a run - not too hot and a nice breeze cooling me off as I went.  Although I probably would have burnt more calories if I didn't keep stopping to take pictures along the way (dang iphone makes it too easy!). 

(95/365) Three Chics & a Studebaker

(94/365) Cherry Blossom Festival

(93/365)

This picture just cracks me up.  Our little Rosie is such a dopey dog.  This is her 'uncle' PJ (Dan's parent's dog .. so I guess that would make him her uncle?!)  It's like PJ is looking up to Rosie just thinking, "what the heck is this thing doing and how come we have to be related ... my reputation is going to go to pots!"