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Ten On Tuesdays

nely — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:53:07 +0000

Haven’t done one of these in a while. But my friend, Susie, inspired me. Just like she unknowingly inspired me to post Jackie & Andrew’s engagement session last week. (She’d bought that sweater Jackie has the same day without having seen my blog.)

1. And speaking of Susie’s inspiration, I feel inspired to do this with her. Isn’t that such a great idea? I love getting real mail but I rarely send any.

2. Have you seen the movie, Bright Star? (Isn’t the website cool, too?) It’s been a while since a movie enchanted me the way a this movie has. The first time we watched it, the visual aesthetics had me so transfixed, I wasn’t even really paying attention to the story. Though the story is beautiful, as well. It features the romance between poet, John Keats, and Fannie Brawne. It’s a great date movie, I think. Here’s the trailer from youtube:

3. Incidentally, we’re studying poetry this month for English. But Keats is beyond the girls, I think. It’s beyond me! So we’re reading limericks and Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry, instead. They’re a bit more accessible for us. Even David loves reading them out loud and laughing in his belly-shaking, quiet way.

4. We’re really enjoying homeschooling. We’re still constantly tweaking the way we do things – adding and removing activities, as we learn what works for us. But we like the freedom of slowing down on certain subjects and speeding up where needed. What I love most is that when Kealoha is asked about her favorite part about school, she says, “Being with Mommy all day.” Awww. It’s worth the dollar I paid her!

5. Keilah wants to learn photography. She said, “I want to learn the technical things first so I can make things look good!” Whoa. I think I’m more intimidated about teaching photography than anything else. Did I mention I am *not* a teacher? When I get asked to teach someone, I usually tell them to read their camera manual, read the book, Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and practice, practice, practice.

6. So, how do I homeschool my kids if I’m not a teacher? By employing the same idea as above. We read a lot. And we play a lot. The girls build a circuit with their dad when we’re learning about electricity and collect rocks when we’re learning earth science. We sometimes watch Animaniacs and Schoolhouse Rock!” videos. We go on field trips. Then, we read some more. And for History, I practice The Inquisition often! ha. Just kidding!

7. Oh, and we google things a lot. We couldn’t do what we do without the internet. It sure would be a lot more difficult.

8. We meet with a certified teacher once a month who makes sure the kids are learning. She makes sure we are, at minimum, covering California standards.

9. I have to admit homeschooling was something I never thought I’d be able to do. But I’m so glad we are. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think it’s for everyone. I certainly don’t think everyone should homeschool. We all have different circumstances, and we all need to do what’s best for our families. But for us, at the very least, it removes some of the guilt when I’m working on the weekends. They have enough mommy time during the week.

9. We must have been over-working our oven. It went kaput yesterday, and I had to go to my friend’s house to finish baking the quiche and loaves of bread I’d already prepared. Thanks, Jen!

10. An owl has been serenading us every evening from behind our house. We haven’t seen it, yet. I love going to sleep to its sound. I wonder if Tigger and Piglet are with him?

Feel free to share your random thoughts this Tuesday, or whenever you may be reading this, in the comments section!

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At the park

nely — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:59:39 +0000

Playing before school starts. Or PE.

(all photos were taken with my iphone. black and white conversions were done with best camera app.)

I’m enjoying blogging with my phone. I think I want to do a series on glimpses of homeschooling. It’s really not all about books. Though I’m sure Keilah wouldn’t mind if it was.

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So embarrassing

nely — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:25:18 +0000

On Friday night, I went to my friend, Aaron’s, birthday party at a bowling alley.

The place was packed with people (an important detail which makes this story more embarrassing.)

I went to rent some lovely bowling shoes. As our lanes were a bit down the hall from the cashier, I decided to put on the very stylish footwear right away so I didn’t have to carry them any longer. So I threw them on the floor and proceeded to slip my feet into them. I took one step and quickly realized that the shoes were tied together! But the realization came too late, as my clumsiness, gravity, and the still-tied shoes all colluded and propelled me into a face-plant right in the middle of the bowling alley! Haha!

Thankfully, no one in our party witnessed what happened. Most of them are wedding photographers with Twitter accounts, and I’m sure a photo of me would have ended up on the fail blog had they seen my little incident.

I’m still laughing about it. And I thought I’d share so you can also get a laugh on this Monday afternoon. Mondays can be so rough, right?

Please tell me I’m not the only one to whom these things happen? Tell me your stories. Email me if you’re too embarrassed to post here. I’d like to laugh, too. With you and not at you, of course! And it’s ok. You may laugh at me. I do. All the time!

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Blogging while away from my computer

nely — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:22:14 +0000

I’m trying to update this blog more consistently so I’m looking for ways to streamline my blogging – especially when I’m not in front of my computer.

This post is being sent from my phone through Blogwriter app. I wish it would allow more than one photo attachment at a time. Seems like a good way to make short, little updates though.

The image has nothing to do with this post. It’s just Keilah doing what she loves best: reading. I heard blog posts are worthless without a picture so I chose the latest from my phone.

Have a great weekend, everyone!! Can you believe January flew by so quickly?

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Happy Birthday, David!

nely — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:27:03 +0000

If not for him, I wouldn’t be a wedding photographer; he made me believe in love and cameras!:)

Seventeen years ago, he heard me laughing in another building, and he decided he was going to marry me.

Then, he saw me stuffing my face at the school cafeteria, and he almost proposed right then and there! Most guys choose their wives on looks and personality. Mine chose his for her laughing and eating habits.

He’s the only guy I know who auditioned for Grease with the song, “Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee!”

His motto in life is “It is what it is.” His faith is steadfast.

He believes I can do anything. When we first got married, he told me we didn’t need to buy a couch because I could just make one! If only I had that confidence (and skill)!

His kids adore him. They think he can do anything. Watching the Olympics, Keilah asked, “daddy, can Michael Phelps swim even faster than you?” lol.

He plays ball, forts, electronics, and Littlest Pet Shop with 2 girly girls.

He still has his *high school* senior picture on the front of his Visa card.

All he wants for his birthday is butter mochi mochi and vanilla (yes, vanilla!) ice cream.

He’s awesome, and I’m very blessed to call him my husband.

Happy birthday, David!

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