Happy Monday

What a weekend.  Lots of rain.  I started out with high hopes but immediately realized they were going to have to be put on hold when I started having blacked out vision:  my sure sign of a looming migraine.  Sure enough, I spent the next 7 hours in a dark room with my head between pillows but amazingly it resolved pretty quickly and by early evening I was back in family life again.  Thanks to G, who was so solicitous and tender and took over everything that day instead of our usual divide and conquer weekend technique. 

We ended the weekend with a family viewing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  We were checking to see if the kids knew what the Holy Grail was and when we reminded them, they said eagerly "See! It IS a Sunday movie!"    Good old Roger the Shrubber and Brave Sir Robin and your-father-smelt-of-elderberries.  And so another generation enters the Monty Python hilarity club.

I usually dread Mondays a bit but today I'm feeling recharged and ready for a new week: two days of classes, the kids home tomorrow for Rosh Hashanah, an interview at a big university here to teach a human development graduate course next semester (panic. breathe. panic. play big. just try. what am I doing? just push past your comfort zone), Young Women activities on Wednesday and Saturday, more stripping of wallpaper (I say the word wallpaper like Seinfeld said Newman. It's my nemesis),  and just good old life.  

For a little fun sprinkled in the week, I've decided to take Ali's challenge of photo-documenting it with shots of real life.  There's a week in the life flickr group here.  You can join in {do!} or just take a peek. {These photos above were taken this morning in the parking lot at Tufts before class.  Oh, my poor bitten fingernails.  They're the first thing I see when I look at these photos.}  

So I got a new camera.

I ~love~ it~ so~ much 

{think happy sobbing, like Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona*}.

I'm still figuring it out, mind you.

Like how do you get all three people in a photo to behave at one time?

My back-to-school self portrait

He eated my cookie. And probably yours.

His cuteness saves him on a daily basis.

So now that I have a serious big girl camera, I have a whole new list of must-haves!  Lenses, software, things-I-haven't-figured-out-what-they-are-yet.  What are your favorite hints or gadgets for making photos with zing?  (Not a rhetorical question.  I really want to know.)

*if you don't know what I'm talking about (or just if you want a good laugh today), you must see this clip from Raising Arizona (around 8:05-8:20 is the specific moment but it's all hilarious).

I'll play along...

Liz of Calibosmom tagged me to do the show-and-tell meme. Now, I had seen this on others' sites and thought it was a great view into their lives. I even secretly hoped I would eventually do it. {Why, oh why, did I not go directly and clean my fridge? Tidy my closet?}

Alas, the rules are no tidying or prop styling. Kind of like having Publisher's Sweepstakes unexpectedly show up at your door but instead of giving the money, they demand to photograph the obscure and embarrassing corners of your life. Just keep it real. So here's the real deal, casa me, and the meme of shame.

1. Kitchen sink

Peonies (pee-OH-nies, PEE-un-hies. PoTAYto, poTAHto) from our garden...love those pretty ladies. Knife in the sink is from my breakfast of peanut butter & honey toast. See that little sliver of white soap? Sam carved it in scouts into a hedgehog. On the far left corner of the ledge is a nest the kids found which will eventually find its way back outside...

2. Fridge

We are one of those families that uses the outside of the fridge as a bulletin board: spelling tests, tickets, IOUs, calendars. They're all there. I try to use cute stylish magnets (see the typewriter key ones?) but other people in the family keep adding all sorts of atrocities. I have nothing to say about the inside. Too full. Not all that clean. Embarrassing.

3. Toilet

This is the toilet in the master bath, basically the view from the bedroom. The corner toilet has the effect of a spotlighted throne, don't you think? Sorry about the plunger on the bathtub rim. Not pretty. (I put it up to dogproof the room.)

4. Laundry

It is what it is. This is one of my next projects. It's basically a closet in the kitchen. Wouldn't it look great with some funky wallpaper in there?

5. What the kids are doing

The kids are at school, so no pictures there. Here's some mental pictures: Lauren had her last seminary morning today so they had a pancake breakfast before school {Louie treated the attendees with three accidents in a row in a one-hour period}. Maddy was running uncharacteristically late today and almost missed the bus so she rushed off with her shoes not all the way on. Sam brushed his teeth AND used mouthwash before leaving for school because, although I've been trying to get him to pay more attention to dental health (he couldn't be bothered sometimes, would pretend to brush), someone at school told him his breath was smelly and that has snapped him into hyper hygiene mode. Thanks, peer pressure!

6. Favorite room

The family room, off of the kitchen. It used to be mauve when we moved in so I painted it white until I could decide on another color. This is where all of our hanging out takes place. No dog accidents here because it's blocked off--humans only.

7. Closet

I like to organize the hanging stuff but I'm lousy at keeping the folded clothes, well, folded. (For some reason we've never purchased dressers for us.) The shelf above is G's shoes, since he graciously took the very tiny closet for his clothes but needed a place for shoes. The laundry basket's not usually in there. Shoot.

8. Favorite shoes

Love black, love wedges. I'm pretty tall (5'9") and I don't usually wear heels but I feel great in these. Great with skirts, pants, jeans. Peep toe very pedicure-forgiving. I wish I could remember where I got these.

9. Self portrait

This is where you'll find me if I've sneaked away for a quick read. {It's a self portrait so, yes, I did set up the camera on a shelf, push the timer, run across the room, settle in the chair, and pretend to be reading. Please pretend someone came around the corner and caught me unawares.} Still in my pajamas and not ready for the day yet {don't judge me!}, since I began this photo safari right after the kids left.

10. Dream vacation

Usually I would say London or Paris or Copenhagen but we've never done anywhere beachy. We're talking about a Christmas trip this year so I'm dreaming of Hawaii or Mexico or an island right now. Then I'll go back to my European journey dreams...

TAG, you're it...Stie (so you can put me to shame!), Jenny (yes, you), Diane, and Dayna.