Aologia Live

Apologia is in my hometown March 9-10. So excited!!

Tickets are $115. But if you want a chance to win one, The Thrifty Mama is giving one away. She also has some materials from Apologia for the winner as well. Giveaway ends tomorrow, so hurry and enter...or not...gives me better odds! :]

Enter giveaway at The Thrifty Mama.

Easy Photo Tutorial::Rewarding Results

I wanted to share with you my first go-to actions when editing my pictures. People always ask how I change these things and I figured it would just be easier if I showed you. Please note, I am no Photoshop guru, or photography editing specialist. I am not a pro. I just make some simple adjustments to my pictures until I like the way it looks.

I shoot all of my pictures in RAW, which I suggest. If your camera has the capability, do it. It gives you the most control over edits. Basically, RAW is like the film negative. Once you make your edits and adjustments, it's then converted to jpg. P.S. I'm still learning my camera :]

Below you can see a photo (click photo to enlarge) I took of my lil squishy in the bright snowy daylight. Part of it is washed out and her face is in so much shadow, there's not a lot of depth and there are no blacks. I want this picture to be defined with depth, detail and shadow, while getting rid of the shadows on her face.

 There are three things I always do first to a photo. I work in CS5 {hubby is a graphic designer, and an awesome one at that} so I get spoiled with the latest software. But these edits can be done in any version of PS, including Elements. If there are technical terms for all of this, I apologize in advance for not using them. Again, I just play around until I like it...because I am too impatient to wait for my hubby to teach me.

First, I change my white balance. You can see that I put it on custom. I feel I get a better start from there than trying to adjust it from say, the cloudy setting etc. In this setting I can adjust the temperature (warm/cool-blue/red) and the tint (color).

The original was actually a little warm for where I wanted to take the photo, so I just moved the temp slider closer to the blue and that took some of the red out. Next I just barely adjusted the tint, it was a little blue and I wanted the color to be bumped up just slightly to a natural flesh pink.

Once I have those two steps where I want them, I move on to my exposure. Bringing my exposure up or down will effect the brightness of the photo. This was already pretty bright due to the glare from the snow, but I actually liked it. I didn't feel the need to adjust it on this particular picture, but usually I do. I find it helps to bring the exposure up slightly when I want a lot of detail in the face.

 (Click photo to enlarge)

So there you have it, my 3 "go-to" steps. I almost always do these three edits on all of my pictures before really getting into the edit.

Once I have completed my go-to steps, then I can get funky! I love to enhance the eyes, details in the face, blur the background and change the feel the photo. Most of the time I use Actions for that. Hmm, maybe I'll make another tutorial with actions...

Six Months

I can't believe six months have gone by already. I still feel like I am adjusting to life with a "newborn". People say that it's the third child that makes or breaks you. When Super Hero asks if I want any more, I say "Bring it!". Guess it didn't break me.

Just six short months ago we brought home this little bundle.

And now here she is, all sweet {almost 20lbs} of her! 20 lbs people! You should see those thighs!! No one believes me when I tell them she was 6 weeks premature. She sure doesn't look it.

Yes, she is a red head, and no, she doesn't look like me. But she sure is high maintenance. Super Hero says that's how he knows she's mine for sure! 

Six Things

Hey!

So, I was on twitter tonight. Like, actually on it, not just the random post here and there, but actually spending time and following along and having 140 character convos.

I saw this thing on there tonight called #sixthings. I saw it from @MinkyMoo but I believe it was started by @amydpp.

Anyway, thought it sounded fun, decided to join. Here are my Six Things. And if you want to join in on twitter, just follow along and you'll be updated on the next #sixthings gathering.

1. My inner monologue is always in a British accent
2. I always forget that I have a very visible tattoo on my neck
3. The hubs and I always try to one-up each other with slang gangsta sayings...Fo Sho! Word! Yo Momma! Fo Shizle!  {don't be jealous}

4. I will eat an entire wheel of brie all by myself
5. I was featured on GMA last July in a segment on 'making $$$ from home' with @sarahmae
6. I secretly pretend I am a rockstar when the hubs is not home. Ya, I'm so cool

And there you have it. 6 random, but fascinating facts about yours truly.

I would LOVE to know a random fact about YOU. Please share in the comments or follow on twitter and share.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward
-This dream I had where Trinity wasn't really mine. I was just a surrogate who also had to nurse her for a few months and her momma was an old black woman.
-resting my arm on the attached-to-the-wall soap dish, the whole thing broke off...Super Hero asked if the sink broke in half. Really? What kind of activities do you think I'm up to in the there?
-tried on a dress from my closet and a spider was crawling at warp speed toward my face. Yes, I yelped, and flicked him off. Then I had issues with being in my room because I didn't know where he landed.
-During one of the many baby-likes-to-eat-every-45-minutes nights this week, I managed to put my nursing pad in backwards, so for her next feeding my whole left side got soaked. Did I change my nightgown? Nope! I just threw a towel on the bed and told Super Hero not to worry about the sour milk smell

Awesome
-Science kiddo started scouts again this year, he is now a 1st year webelos scout and greatly looking forward to earning his badges.
-Chatty Boo has started ballet. She is not graceful, at all. Super Hero said something about getting it from some woman...but I didn't hear him.
-Went to a wedding to watch two people pledge their love for each other and to God.
-Mootshie Pie is growing so fast! Soon her double chinned, lumpy legged self will be in 3mo clothing!
-Watching my Science Kiddo and Super Hero break dance
-Super Hero and Chatty Boo, dancing sweetly together

What was awkward/amazing for you this week?


btw, got this cute aa thursday idea from this blogger!