Photo Challenge #2: Breakfast

Our second photo challenge was breakfast.  Breakfast foods are literally my favorite...ever.  This added a bit of pressure, though.  Rarely is the food I make very picturesque...and I am the one in this house who usually makes the breakfast.  Typically, our weekday breakfast is pretty boring, eaten at different times, and is not very picture-worthy:

• Violet - cereal and milk
• Calvin - plain cereal with milk on the side
• Hazel - a frozen waffle, eaten on the last step while we get her shoes and coat on...and whatever remains she eats in the car
• Betsy - a piece of toast with either Marcus's home-canned jam or Brummel and Brown 
• Marcus doesn't even eat breakfast...

So, weekend breakfast was a better option for this photography challenge.  Traditional weekend breakfast fare at our house includes pancakes (that I have only recently started making from scratch), scrambled eggs, and popovers...each of which is coupled with fresh fruit and a glass of milk...my 'old standbys'.  Occasionally, though, we indulge in Marcus's skillet or crepes.  He is always such a reliably good cook and I love it when he cooks one of his breakfast specialties.  

Finding a picture-worthy breakfast took some time, but I think we got it.  

Breakfast - Betsy

Image notes:  We recently celebrated, with my extended family, Marc's parent's 50th anniversary at a wonderful champagne brunch.  The food was tremendous and bountiful...the champagne flowing.  My parents, when they were married, well...they had a difficult relationship.  I'm glad they didn't try to make it to their 50th anniversary...a toxic relationship for both of them.  Marcus and I are blessed;  I truly feel that I have found my partner in life...great love, great respect, and great fun.  My in-laws, despite a sometimes difficult life, are also partners in life and take great joy in every accomplishment, especially their children.  As I said in my toast last weekend, they provide a beautiful example for me of how I want to be with Marcus at our 50th anniversary.  As for my breakfast at the anniversary brunch, I enjoyed a spinach-tomato omelet, eggs benedict, grilled vegetables, dill shrimp salad, brie, a slice of bacon, a waffle, pecan-apple crisp, and too many glasses of champagne to count.  This image is a bit dark, but I loved the color on my plate and the celebration we honored. 

Breakfast - Marcus

Image notes:  As I mentioned above, Marcus has some breakfast specialties...one of which is what we call 'skillet'.  For this challenge, he has photographed the ingredients for skillet.  Basically, skillet is a sauteed potato dish with garlic, onion, cubed ham, and cheddar cheese.  After these are browned, he pushes these ingredients to the side of the large skillet and fries eggs in the center, over-hard.  For Mother's day every year, I get to have whatever I want for breakfast...after I've been left alone to sleep in as long as I want.  I always opt for 'skillet'.  A rare, but delicious, breakfast.  I love how he has composed this image...especially the raw edge on the cheddar cheese and the spilled salt.

Photo Challenge #1: Self Portrait

In my commitment to making progress this year in learning my new camera, I've decided to try a 30-day photo challenge.  Of course, with my hectic schedule and busy family...my 30 days will not be consecutive.  I'm just hoping to have it done by summertime.  That being said, I think posting them here will give me added pressure to finish it.  This seems like such a fun way to not only learn a bit, but chronicle some of my impressions on film.

I've roped my husband into completing the challenge with me.  This of course was a bit of a risk on my part.  Marcus is such artful photographer and has a great eye for composing a beautiful shot. He had a 'fancy camera' before the digital versions even existed...with all the lenses and even a tripod.  He really enjoys photographing nature...up-close images of flowers, snow, insects, etc.  He amazes me.  Many of his shots are publish-worthy.  I wouldn't consider myself a competitive person - my reaction to competition is a bit more childish.  When faced with someone who does something better than me, it doesn't usually drive me to compete harder.  Instead, I tend to give up entirely. Can you believe I actually got frustrated with Marcus once for doing so well on a family craft that I thought it was better than mine?  Just silly.  This time, though, I really hope to learn from his image composition and how he makes the camera do his bidding.  I'll be sharing his pictures here, too.

So, our first challenge was the self portrait.  I'm not sure why we both ended up with black and white images...these just happened to be our favorites.

Self Portrait - Betsy

Image Notes: I took this challenge to mean a head shot...and I delayed taking the picture for awhile so that I would have time to put make-up on and pick something suitable to wear.  Then, one lazy morning...without makeup and still in my jammies, I took this picture.  Its a very natural and relaxed smile.  I can't say that I gave the composition much thought...I was just trying different things and this one seemed to work.

Self-Portrait - Marcus

Image Notes:  This image is really an honest depiction of my husband...potting soil in hand, dirty fingernails, and gently cradling a plant.  He told me after he captured this that he was really trying to make his wedding ring the focal point. I love how this image captures so much about him...his nurturing personality, his hobbies, and his important relationships...in a single shot.  Already I'm learning from him.

reclaiming myself

Last semester was a whirlwind.  Our life was a flurry of stress, deadlines, work, and obligations.  I found myself drinking, eating, and spending more than I should...tending to the house less than I should...and generally feeling out of control and out of touch.  There was so much anxiety and rush that I was rarely 100% present in each moment.  I'd say I was about 45% in the moment and the rest of me was already on to the next thing.  It was painful and exhausting.

Then, the holidays.

We really took time as a family to just...be.  We didn't go anywhere special per say.  Sure, we visited with friends and family.  We exchanged gifts and ate fantastic meals.  We had our over-the-top Christmas morning. But amid the hustle and bustle, we took time to play, to sleep, and to refocus.  I took afternoon naps cuddled up on the couch with Hazel.  I played Jenga with Calvin, teaching him how to steady his hand.  Violet and I worked on designing her first fashion line.  And Marcus and I had a chance to talk.  Pure bliss.

Calvin at Nama and Papa's house for the annual Candy Cane Punch Party.

Hazel excitedly eats her chocolate Santa.  (This one cracks me up.)

Violet shows off her talents.  She loves this hat and likes to wear it when she's taking pictures.

Hazel with her coveted Yo Gabba Gabba characters.  These now go everywhere with her.

Calvin on Christmas morning.  This is such a happy and true smile.

A rare picture of me...with both eyes open.  I love having this picture with my Zelly Bean.

Violet on Christmas morning while we were going through the treasures Santa left in their stockings.

 

Marcus and Violet...a sweet daddy-daughter picture.

 

With only a small amount of sloppy wet snow on the ground, my kids headed out to make snowmen. I was sorry that the snow didn't stick around very long - they had such fun.

And so begins the next semester and I'm a little afraid to jump back into the fray.  There are already deadlines looming in the next few weeks make my chest hurt.  I've had trouble sleeping.  Nevertheless, I'm trying to be brave as I look to the year ahead there are so many things I want for myself to learn and be this year...and relationships that I want to cultivate.  I've set for myself some goals for 2012.  I won't call them resolutions...just goals that I'm going to strive for.  I want to see at least marked progress on achieving them, but if they spill over into 2013, I won't consider it failed resolve.  So here are my goals toward reclaiming myself:

1. Exercise and have it institutionalized in my daily life. 
2. Hire a cleaning service.
3. Read at least 1 book for pleasure.  (I've got Game of Thrones already bought.)
4. Learn how to use my new D-SLR camera to compose a picture and take some artistic shots of my beautiful children.
5. Continue to connect with my closest friends.  I've really tried to do this over the year and it is has been wonderful.  Dinner with Mandy, movie indulgences with Kellie, out to the ballet with Sarah, Sprite Reunion, or late night conversations over wine with Amy...aside from time with my family, these moments are when I feel most like...me.
6. Finish knitting the sweater I've started for Violet and try to knit myself some fingerless gloves before next fall.
7. Finish Calvin's baby scrapbook...and put some time in on Hazel's.  
8. Submit an abstract to a professional research conference.
9. Participate with others on the submission of an RO1 grant application.  (I have some plans for this already.)
10. Have an outing with my mom and sister...either separately or together.  I've taken them for granted over the years and I would really like to reestablish commonality with them.
11. Make some time to date my husband.  Perhaps another Chicago getaway...or just getting a babysitter and going out to dinner. We are so busy with our every day lives now...and my mind drifts to simpler times with him.  I want to recapture those times a bit.  Now that Hazel is older, I think we can really do it.
12. Spend regular one-on-one time time with each of my children.  
13. Plan an awesome camping trip for the kids - our family vacation.
14. Not let the craziness of my work or Marc's work get in the way of remembering what it feels like to be just us 5...our family...loving and being together...and treasuring every moment of it.