3 For the Price of 1??

I'm going to do my best to write 3 blogs in this one post but we'll see if I can stay awake long enough to do it....

New Job
This week I started my new job and I LOVE it!!! I work for a grant funded organization, teaching 3rd-6th graders about self esteem, decision making, and saying no to drugs and alcohol. I get to use my creativity and the state curriculum to be in the classroom, teaching kids, without the hassles of dealing with parents or grading papers. It's the perfect job for me!! I only work about an hour a day right now but with the way my schedule is set up, some days Easton goes to daycare for 4 1/2 hours. He doesn't seem to mind in the least. I think this has been a good transition for both of us! I am so thankful that I've been blessed with this job because it has brought so much happiness to my life in the past 5 days. I didn't realize how much I missed being in the classroom, with students, and working outside of the house until I was given this job! Did I mention it's the perfect job for me at this phase of my life??

Rediscovering my Passion
Being in a funk has really messed with my photography. I have had NO desire to pick up my camera and capture any sort of beauty in the past several weeks. I took my camera to the zoo a couple weeks ago to try to force myself into enjoying it but, when I looked back at the pictures I had taken, I could tell they lacked passion. This week I've been thinking about my photography a lot and where I want to go with it. I realized I wasn't passionate about photography because I wasn't focusing on the genre that makes me the happiest...nature. I was trying different types of photography, trying to make it work for me because nature photography doesn't necessarily pay the bills. But what works for me is viewing God's natural beauty through a camera lens. That's not to say that I don't enjoy photographing people, but I'm most passionate about nature.
This week I went back to my roots and looked at pictures I was most proud of. I entered some of them into a daily Instagram photo contest put on by a national (maybe even worldwide?) editing business. Yesterday I entered a picture I had taken at our old house in the Highlands during a storm.

A few hours later I got notification that I was the featured photographer of the day because of it. I was thrilled! Professional photographers were complementing me on it and following me on IG. It was just the boost I needed. Then this morning I entered a picture of rain drops on a leaf taken just this week.

When I was notified that I shared the featured photographer of the day with 3 other photographers I was beyond thrilled! It was the icing on the cake for me. It's made me realize that it's time to get my camera back out so I can once again be passionate about photography. I may not like a lot of things about LA but it is a photographer's dream! I can't wait to get out there and capture some of the local Fall beauty soon!!

Perfect Day
Ok, I'm still awake so I will end this post by telling you about our perfect day. I have to admit, that when I was woken up before the sun to unclog a toilet due to my son's stomach issues, I had doubts about the day in store. But it quickly turned out to be the best day I've had in a long time! The weather was absolutely perfect, making it easy to be outside. The boys and I went to the annual Fall Fest because I wanted to go last year and missed it. We had a blast! There were vendors, food, free carnival rides, music, etc. We stayed for about and hour and a half and P thanked me profusely for taking him because it was "the bestest Fall day ever!" After we came home and took much needed naps we headed back out. The boys love the local produce stand as much as I do so we stopped there to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies. Then we went to get supplies for P's Halloween costume. (It's not a typical kid's Halloween costume but he came up with it on his own so I'm going to make you wait to find out about it.) After that we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather by going to the park. The boys played at the playground for awhile but when I told them I was going to go on a leaf hunt for a Fall project they happily joined me. We had so much fun laughing, looking for leaves and enjoying each other's company! When we got home, I popped a pizza in the oven and then we headed back outside to give my car a much needed bath. I doubt it got very clean since my two little helpers were making it double the work but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Once we got dinner and baths out of the way we opened the windows, turned on college football and decorated the house in Fall décor. I ended the day by cuddling with my oldest son and watching part of a Disney movie, just me and him. I absolutely loved today and will look back on this beautiful Fall day as the "bestest Fall day ever".

 

 

The candle that's burning on the mantle is what we used the leaves to make.