Christmas 2011 Part 1: Getting Ready

Happy post-Christmas glow basking, friends and family! I have fallen so far behind on this blogging business (... a problem I intend to remedy with my New Year's Resolutions, at least for the month that I keep my New Year's Resolutions. Perhaps they should be called January Resolutions? I digress.) that I am breaking up Christmas doings into several posts or I shall be sitting at this computer all morning basking in ITS glow rather than showering, enjoying my lovely family, and putting some food in my cupboards. So let's back up....

The week before Christmas brought Mike's sister up from Florida to stay for a few days and kept my kids in school until the 23rd, a blessing and a curse one in the same. That Friday they got to wear pajamas to school and have parties in the afternoons and, well, God bless their teachers. Before that Friday, there were busy evenings of looking at Christmas lights and baking cookies with Daddy... always a favorite.

Look, he's smiling!!!

Waiting patiently or getting sleepy?

No, she is not a thug, nor is my house THAT cold. She's from the south, remember?

Gigi, did not join in eating the cookies... this time... although she has recently been cookie snatching in her spare time. See how she's eyeballing me? Perhaps wondering when we will leave the plate of treats alone on the table already?

After all that patience, the decorating DID get a little out of hand.

And COMPLETELY wore our guest out. (To be fair, she had only had a few hours of sleep the night before...)

And, after the cooking, there was Mama sewing. But that's another post altogether.

Photo.....piphany?

Just before Thanksgiving a good friend asked me to take pictures of her family for their Christmas card. Moi? Truly, I was flattered. And sort of nervous. I DO love to take pictures. SOMETIMES I think I have an eye for a good shot. Other times I am just reminded of how very little I really do KNOW about the subject. I want my pictures to look like this. I want to have cool editing software like this. My photo reality is somewhat less spectacular. Still I enjoyed the process and think it's the kind of thing I'd like to figure out how to do more of. I learned that I

1. find it pretty easy to take pictures of kids, but not as easy as inanimate objects. ;-)

2. find I am not good at giving directions to my subjects. Something I maybe should have thought more about before tackling a photo session with 4 people and 3 dogs. I am used to being the "just pretend I'm not here" photographer, not the "okay, everybody look at me" girl. Probably a "photo session" should have a nice AND COMFORTABLE balance of both.

3. should just take MORE pictures, instead of waiting sometimes. It's digital. What's my problem?

4. still feel happy even if only a handful turned out in a way that makes ME feel good, but wouldn't feel the same way if I were charging a photographer's fee.

5. Can't wait to get their Christmas card.

So, no photog business plans any time soon, but I'm happy to practice on my family and friends...