Another Lesson Learned

I took Driver's Ed when I was 16. I remember:

~Andrew, the guy I sat beside, flirted with, became friends with, and eventually dated (I would later break up with him because I met my now-husband)

~Lisa, the girl who could turn just about anyone's words into an innuendo, and frequently did so

~The day I sat through class with my faced numbed up and gauze in my mouth because I'd just had four teeth pulled in preparation for braces

~The checklist we had to follow every time we got behind the wheel, which always, always concluded with fastening our seat belt before we even started the car. I didn't always wear my seat belt as a passenger, but I have always worn it as a driver, thanks to getting the habit so ingrained so many years ago in Driver's Ed.

We spent today off-roading in Sedona, and I'm thinking of Driver's Ed not because we were driving in places like this...

but because tonight I was reminded of the importance of a checklist, and of getting into good habits.

I've blogged before about my new camera, and of the fact that I'm still trying to learn to use it (without relying on the automatic mode) I have had moments of extreme frustration, to be sure, but I finally thought I was getting the hang of it, and starting to produce more keepers than not. So tonight, when I uploaded my 200+ pictures from the day onto my laptop, I was devastated to see that with very few exceptions they were all blurry, soft, and various other degrees of "off." After a brief moment of mentally berating myself, I realized that my error was simple... it was on the wrong setting (and I then began berating myself anew) Mike had changed a setting when he was experimenting last night, and he'd never changed it back. And I never checked it when I started snapping today. I'm relieved that I'm not in fact just the worst photographer ever, but I'm oh so frustrated with myself that I made such a stupid mistake. And I'm disappointed that I missed on out some amazing photographs of an amazing place.

Next time - and every time - I will check my settings first.

Fuzzy pictures aside, we had a wonderful day, the kind that makes me glad I'm alive, and glad I live in Arizona. The whole thing was Spencer's idea:

It was a trip he'd been wanting to make for months now. We planned on going on his birthday, but got rained out. We rescheduled for another day, but, alas, we got rained out again. Today was our day, and it didn't disappoint.

We did some good rock-crawling, enjoyed some amazing views, had a picnic in the middle of red rocks, and watched the kids climb, jump and play.

Yup, 'twas a darn good day, made even better by the fact that we capped it off with gelato.

And next time I'll check the settings on my camera.

Tiny Paxton

Second full day of their visit.

My favorite place ... the middle of the desert. Off-roading. Exploring. Appreciating.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soule Mama

The Ladies In My Backyard

I've always been afraid of birds. They're unpredictable, and they flutter and fly and dive-bomb. And to be fair, birds never really seemed to like me either. I was attacked by a rooster once as a kid, and by a pheasant that flew out of the woods when I was walking home from the bus stop.

But.

I love my chickens.

They're about three months old now, and they're finally comfortable enough to wander the whole yard. They're funny and sweet and friendly, and they - thankfully - don't do anything too terribly scary, even for someone with a bird phobia like me.

Get Ready

...for a whole lotta pictures, because I got a new camera! We decided to go the Canon route this time, and after a somewhat strange and definitely interesting Craigslist encounter, bought a like-new Rebel XS, and an 18-200 lens. I LOVE this camera. I can't wait to sit down with the manual and really figure out everything it can do, but in the meantime, enjoy these random point-and-shoot shots I snapped this afternoon:

On My Phone

Suddenly being camera-less and laptop-less has made me more fully embrace the picture and computing capabilities of my phone, such that they are. I was looking through the 500+ pictures in my phone's gallery, and I realized how many I snapped over the past few months that had never been shared. And really, what's the point of a picture - even a questionable quality, hastily shot cell-phone picture - if it's never shared? So here are just a few random and happy memories from fall till now, in no particular order: