Shutterbug Mama

This is Cadence lounging around on the dining room floor Saturday morning. She's waiting for our friend, her Uncle Erik, to wake up. He got in the night before super late, so she was asleep when he got there, and he was sleeping in Saturday morning in Cadence's playroom. As soon as she woke up, she wanted to go wake him up, but I made her wait. We went and picked up our vegetables, dropped them off at home, had breakfast at our local coffeehouse, browsed a little thrift store (where she picked up that Pooh bear on the floor for a quarter), and finally came back home close to 11am, at which point she planted herself on the floor outside Erik's door.

She occasionally got up to do a little dance or just run around, but for the most part she stuck to the floor and would ask every 10 seconds, "Is he awake yet? What's he doing?"

She finally couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and started spying on Erik through the crack underneath the door. Then she started saying, "I think he's awake now! I see his feet moving!"

Cadence ADORES her Uncle Erik, and Ted and I are also very happy to have him with us. For Ted, it's like a big sleep-over with his best friend, except instead of ghost stories and flashlights and candy and soda, it's lots of beer and a late-night showing of The Dark Knight.

So while the boys were at the movies Saturday night, after I put Cadence to sleep, I happened to check the mailbox and found that some fabric I'd ordered from Etsy had come in. I was so excited that I made a dress that very night.

The fabric is a cotton-linen blend from a Japanese designer, so this was my first time making something for Cadence that wasn't made out of a t-shirt. It's actually a lot easier to sew by hand than t-shirt material because it is stiffer than jersey. I loved how the 1/2 yard length was perfect for folding in half and making this dress. I also loved how I could use the edge of the fabric as the hem so that I didn't have to sew an actual hem myself. I think it's kinda cool to have the fabric name and that frayed edge as the hem.

FYI, I don't know how to use a pattern, so that dress was simply made by laying another dress on top of the fabric (which was folded in half) and tracing around the other dress directly onto the fabric. I made the shoulders where the fabric was folded in half, and then I just sewed the sides of the dress (before cutting the fabric)in an A-line shape, cut the armholes and neck, and voila! Dress! When Cadence woke up the next morning, I had her try it on, and adjusted the shoulders a bit by scrunching them a little at the top. I may still do something about the neck and armholes, maybe put an edge on it w/ a blanket stitch or something to keep the fabric from unraveling, or I may just leave it as is. I like things that are rough around the edges anyhow.

You can see more folk's Best Shots on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, me.so.crafty, photos, sewing

One of the challenges as a photographer (and for any artist for that matter) is trying new things so that you don't get bored. And lately, I must admit that I HAVE been bored. So this week, like I posted over on Shutter Sisters yesterday, I decided to break a few of my own rules. Like in the photo you see above. For one thing, it's not in vibrant color. It's also got a bit of grain to it, which is something I normally try to avoid in my photos. And it's just a tad blurry. I don't have a problem w/ blur, but usually when I go for blur, I make it clear that I was going for blur so you wouldn't think it was just cuz I couldn't keep my camera still. I basically cranked up the ISO to 800 (which is high for me), shot in a moving car at night, and didn't worry about it. And you know what? There's something about that photo that I really love.

And here's another one taken about the same time through the back window of the car. Normally, I wouldn't have put the back windshield wiper in the frame, nor would I have taken a photo through such a dirty window, but I think those elements add a genuine dynamic to the photo that I really like.

In this photo, I totally chopped off the dude's head, and that wouldn't have been a normal choice for me for a shot that was framed w/ so much empty space. But it totally works for me and makes the image that much more interesting to not know what the musician's face looks like.

It was another busy weekend, and I'll leave the recap to another post, but it was really exciting for me to take photos in new ways, pushing past my comfort zone, and ending up with images that I just absolutely love, regardless of whether other people will "get it" too.


Don't forget to go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, photography, shutter.sisters

Here we are at Day 4 of 10 Days Without Daddy. So far so good, I'd say. We went to the Children's Museum on Saturday, where Cadence had a blast as usual.

The nice thing about this age is that she's still young enough that she doesn't get bored of doing things over and over again. She loves this blue car and kept going back to it over and over again throughout our several hours there.

Cadence loves seeing herself on a TV screen, that's for sure. Yeah, she's the kid who loiters at entrances to grocery stores making funny faces at the security camera.

Cadence developed a fever Saturday evening. I was worried she was getting sick, so we stayed home Sunday morning and just chilled. Her fever seems to come and go, and she's got a bit of a cough which manifests mainly when she's sleeping. I'm hoping it's nothing serious and goes away without any other symptoms popping up.

We tried to go to the zoo on Sunday...wait, let me back up. We tried to go to the Pride Parade on Sunday, but I realized that leaving the house 10 minutes before the Parade was supposed to start would most probably mean we'd miss the whole thing. That's when I asked Cadence if she'd like to go to the zoo instead, and of course she said yes. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who thought the zoo would be a good idea on a lovely Sunday afternoon. The traffic was SOOOOOOOO horrendous, and parking was virtually impossible, so I gave up and decided to get a cupcake at Bleeding Heart Bakery instead.

Oh well. At least I got my cupcake. Next time, we'll take the bus...

For more Best Shots, visit Melody of Slurping Life.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence

Ok, so I know I always break the BEST shot rule by posting a gazillion shots, so I'll just say right out this is my favorite from the week, even though that would be fibbing because I really can't make up my mind. I need to stop taking so many photos...

And with that, I give up finishing this post because I am truly, truly lazy like that.

Oh, wait. I changed my mind.

Ain't that an awesome photo of my friend Amy (Rudden's mom)? I just had to post that. The red couch, which is Hilary & Katie's (whose apt. the party was at) but soon to be somebody else's, was a killer prop for photos. I bet if you put a rotten potato on it and shot a photo, it would make Couch (Rotten) Potato look totally Pottery Barn. Oh wait, I'm not in ANY way comparing Amy to a rotten fermenting lump of starch. That was just a badly juxtaposed set of sentences and images. Sorry. Well, Amy knows I think the world of her, so I'll just leave it. I have no idea how to rearrange that paragraph.

Here's another Red Couch photo. This one's got the current owner on it. Just look at that texture. Yeah, it's kinda worn out, but that gives it CHARACTER, and y'all know what a sucker I am for stuff that's got CHARACTER.

Ok. That's it for now. I will have a catch-up-on-the-crazy-weekend post soon. Just not now.

*It's called The Manic Edition because--oh, gosh, never mind. It's just another Manic Monday and let's leave it at that.

See more folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photos

Since yesterday was Father's Day, here is a photo of Cadence and her Daddy. This was taken at a Trader Joe's crew party where Ted had 4 kegs of his homebrew available for tasting.

He also had a keg of root beer available, which he brewed w/ Cadence's help just a week or so ago.

And this is the photo I used for yesterday's Shutter Sister's post in which I said some very nice things about Ted.

Boy. He never takes that hat off, does he?

Speaking of my Stay-At-Home-Daddy of a hubby, Ted and his gang of merry musicians (a.k.a. The Tim Lowly Ensemble) will be heading off on a 10-day tour of the Eastern States starting June 27th. So they rehearsed last night, on Father's Day, because they really need to I guess, and I'm ashamed to say that we didn't actually do anything special for Father's Day except go to church. I didn't even make him breakfast. In fact, he made ME a delicious breakfast that involved english muffins, cream cheese and wild salmon. And then I had the beginning of a migraine after church, so we all took a family nap until 3:30, and then I sent Ted out to eat a late lunch w/ his brother Dave at their favorite Indian restaurant Bhabi's Kitchen, which I'm not too fond of as Indian restaurants go. I guess that was a Father's Day break for Ted, being able to have grown-up brotherly conversation AND his favorite food. He sure deserves it.

So I had Cadence all to myself last night, and we took a nice long walk to a park and played until the sun went down.

You can see more folk's Best Shots on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, family

I feel like I've lately neglected my duty to post an adequate amount of photos of Cadence, so it's a good thing I took a whole bunch of photos of her this weekend. Here she is sporting her new Woody Guthrie dress that I made on the train last week. It just so happens that Woody has been a long-time dead celebrity crush for me, along with the likes of Nick Drake (hopeless, I know) and Dostoevsky.

Okay, I realize this isn't a photo of Cadence, but just take my word for it that Cadence was only a couple feet away from where this shot was taken. Besides, I just couldn't resist posting a photo of Baby Jack double-fisting shakey eggs. Just look at that stance, that grasp, those curly locks!

And this may SEEM like a photo of Rudden, but if you look carefully, you will notice Cadence right behind him, like a little crown upon his head. I just couldn't resist the synchronicity of this shot. It's like the kids are performing an intricately choreographed dance of BLUR.

OK, back to the Cadence Channel. We decided after church yesterday that it would be a good idea to let Cadence run around some more in Giddings Plaza. Since Cafe Selmarie is right there, we lunched on their delectable oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (just two--one for me and one for Cadence; Ted's on a really party-pooping liver cleanse this week) and fresh squeezed OJ. Talk about a sugar high. At least I got this sweet shot of Cadence. I usually hate photographing in bright sun (and yesterday's light quality can only be described as blindingly bright sunshine), but I caught this moment when some light was inexplicably shining onto her face, and she actually WAITED for me to press the shutter! She must've known she looked good or something.

While walking back to our car, Cadence happened to spy this sad looking dandelion growing in a sparsely green dirt patch, and I just love how she bent down to smell it, as if it were the most fragrant blossom to ever grace her path. Then she picked it and showed it to me.

Then she tried to blow the wishes away, but alas, they were all gone already. Oh well. I just love how good Woody looks in this photo...

And now I reveal to you my most embarrassing photo technique, just discovered yesterday, and that is the Laptop Reflector. I realized that the glow of the laptop on Cadence's face as she numbed her mind on some Nick Jr. was quite suitable for photographing her in our dimly lit dining room.

Can you just SEE the brain cells taking a flying leap into oblivion? Eh, I still happen to really like the effect.

Her face looks much better lit up like this, believe me. And the glow is so subtle, it's...perfect.

We did get outside before the sun went down, since it was a beautiful day and all. Cadence even got to find some more "flowers" that actually had wishes left on them.

Since dandelions breed like bunnies in our neighborhood, Cadence was able to gather up armfuls of them.

I just love how some of our neighbors let their weeds grow wild. Well-kempt lawns are so over-rated. If it weren't for those cars in the background, you'd think this photo had been taken in the country, or forest preserves, at least. And I bet if I hadn't said anything about those cars, you wouldn't have even noticed.

Back indoors, Cadence had some nekkid time. FYI, I don't post totally nekkid photos of my kid for the whole universe to see because, believe it or not, I have SOME boundaries. Well, actually, it's to save folks out there with REAL boundaries the trouble of wasting their time judging me. I see it as an act of charity and not self-censorship.

So you'll just have to take my word for it that the sight of a totally nekkid Cadence banging on her toy piano while doing Max's Wild Rumpus dance was quite the visual extravaganza. And I know she's doing the Wild Rumpus dance because while she's jumping up and down and hopping from foot to foot while her hands do the same on the piano, she's yelling, "AND now, let the WILD RUMPUS START!"

Gotta love this kid.

You can see more folk's Best Shots on Tracey' Mother May I.

P.S. I have a post up on Shutter Sisters. Check it out to find your chance to win a totally awesome photo book.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

So I never went to my senior prom 18 years ago. I was too busy that night loving Jesus in Wisconsin (read: church retreat). I've never really regretted not going, but now that I'm a grown-up and don't care so much about appearances or being in the cool crowd, I've thought for some time that it would be fun to go to an adult prom. My friends at the Maplewood entity threw one last spring, and the photos were a hoot. I didn't go, of course, because I'm generally lame like that. This past Saturday, though, I got to go to prom. It was for 826CHI's fundraiser, and I went as a photographer. Although I was there dressed in mere jeans and a t-shirt (albeit a cool restructured Green Lantern t-shirt), it was still fun to be in the midst of the wild rumpus. I don't have too much time to post, so I'll just share some of my faves from that night.

There is something I just love about this one. Perhaps it's the ridiculous juxtaposition of this lovely, peaceful-looking blonde next to the girl in the gaudy green.

Oh, the things some guys will do to impress the ladies. I like the somewhat amused look on the girl's face.

I was tickled by the sight of this pile of shoes and accoutrement on the floor that just kept getting bigger and bigger as the night progressed. As crazy as things got, people were pretty good about dancing AROUND the pile and not falling over it.

Did I mention there was an 80's cover band? Called The Power of Love? They were a lot of fun, as you can probably tell from their outfits.

I didn't check the bathroom stalls or stairwells, but I'm sure there was some making out going on. I snuck a shot of this couple through a screendoor.


In the interest of time and space, I'll just post a pictobrowser of my Flickr set of faves from the night. If you want to see all 220 photos from that night, you can check out my other Flickr site.

You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: 826CHI, best.shots.monday, photography

I know I'll be way too busy tomorrow to post since I plan on working through lunch, so here are my best shots of the week.

This one is especially for my good friend Amy (Rudden's mom), who couldn't be at church w/ us today. I told Rudden to let me take a few photos of him for Mother's Day, and this is one of my favorites.

I really love this shot of Rudden and Cadence. I know it's really similar to another shot taken of them in the exact same place, but I still find it irresistible.

There's something about this photo too that I just love. I really enjoy observing these two's friendship. Cadence doesn't have a lot of friends, and Rudden is definitely the one she's spent the most time with. They squabble and fight like two siblings would, but I've also witnessed some tender moments in which they expressed genuine concern for the other. Seeing Cadence care for and delight in her little friends has been one of the greatest joys of motherhood.

Speaking of which, it's been a cold and wet and windy Mother's Day here in Chicago. We were going to go out to my mom's in the burbs for dinner, but she's not feeling well, so we're opting for Thai delivery and staying in where it's warm and dry.

There's a lot I could say about motherhood, about the joys, the heartaches, the excitement, the mundane, the hopes, the worries...Mainly, though, I'm full of amazement, even after several years of motherhood under my belt. Watching Cadence emerge as her own little person and being such a big part of her life have been more incredible than I could've ever imagined.

Happy Mother's Day to me and to all the moms out there.


You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, motherhood, photos

Well, April has been true to her motto, and we've sure had our share of rainy days this month, that's for sure.

I'm not complaining, though, when I get treated to sights like this one. The magnolias bloomed late this year, but look how beautiful they are!

Hopefully, all the rain and somewhat chilly temps we've been having will mean abundant and glorious flowers for May and the rest of summer.

I took the photos above on Thursday evening before a show at the Lincoln Square Theatre (housed in Berry Church) that was curated by Berry's band-in-residence Anathallo. The show consisted of Lake, a band from Olympia, WA who was touring w/ Half-handed Cloud (John Ringhofer) who was the headliner and also included performances by the Think/Dance collective. The show was amazing. All 3 performances would've been worth the price of admission on their own. I'm really glad I went, even though it was on a weeknight. Sometimes, I just have to make myself get out of the house after a long day of work, or I'll miss out on memorable events like this one. This was totally worth the loss of sleep. Here are some of my favorite photos from the show:

And here's a photo of Cadence for good measure. Man, I love thrift stores.


You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: anathallo, best.shots.monday, i.heart.berry.church, live.music, spring.fever, think.dance.collective

Folks, I took hundreds of photos this weekend at two photoshoots, and I am mentally and physically exhausted (but in a good, satisfying way). A few of my favorite shots, however, are more snap-shotty candids of other people's kids. Like Caely here with her totally kick-ass skull tattoo. I like me a good color combo, and that fuschia and green is one of my favorites.

And then there's this cute shot of Rudden, Caely and Cadence. They were nice enough to pause their flurry of fun to pose for one group shot. Otherwise, I'd have a bunch of blurs. Not that I have anything against blurs, but it's nice to get a shot in which you can actually make out faces once in a while.

And then there's this shot of my cousin's baby Eden, who is now a toddler already (!!!) and who is extremely photogenic. It's already hard to remember when Cadence was this little.


Which brings us to the Robotic Housewives portion of this post. I had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot for my friend Jessica Hannah's performance installation titled Showroom No. 6. The slideshow above is of some of my favorite shots from the shoot. You can see the entire set on my other Flickr account. This was Jessica's graduate thesis for Columbia College's Interdisciplinary Art and Media department. Here's a description from her website:

"Her thesis work explores identity struggles, her subject being robotic housewives. Showroom No.6 is an installation/durational performance involving six live women displayed in the 1950s-era showroom of Renaldi Industries, a fictional manufacturer of robotic companions. Six phones allow audience members to hear the inner monologue of each female robot; lifting the phone receiver actives each robot to life. A video catalog details other companionship options provided by the company."

I also did a photoshoot Sunday afternoon of my friend Ben (of Detholz! notoriety), but I haven't had a chance to go through all of those yet.

I've gotten some of my friends to volunteer as guinea pigs for photoshoots (Ben was the first) because I'm trying to get more experience shooting grownups. With just these two photoshoots, I've already learned a lot, and I'm excited to be pushing my limits as a photographer!


You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photography

I've been reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and getting mighty riled up. So it's quite appropriate that I got to do a photoshoot of Cadence with her Rogue Nation tattoo.

And while this photoshoot was tongue-in-cheek and more for our amusement than anything else, looking at the way the photos turned out makes me hopeful...

Don't be fooled by her looks. We are not raising this girl to be cute or to surrender to the culture of adoration.

And may she always dance in her own free-stylin' way to some Iron and Wine, and may she march to the beat of her own inner drum.

In case you're wondering, that Iron and Wine dress used to be Ted's Iron and Wine SHIRT. I restructured it into a dress in a fit of sewing frenzy (all by hand, mind you).

That frenzy also produced the dress you see above this weekend. I got the idea for this when Threadless had their $5 sale a couple weeks ago. This was one of the designs I had been waiting for like FOREVER for them to reprint on a kid-sized t-shirt. It happened to be on sale for $5, so I bought a girly-sized t-shirt instead and turned it into a dress. I'm gonna have to go through all my old band t-shirts that I don't wear any more...


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, i.heart.sam.beam, me.so.crafty

The trees don't lie, folks. It's really spring in Chicago, and it's about time. We had our first weekend of abundant sunshine and above 60 degree weather. And today? We're back down to the 40's. So goes life in the Windy City.

It's been a crazy busy weekend for me. For someone who says she wants to practice voluntary simplicity, I sure do make life complicated for myself. On Saturday, we had a wedding at our church for our friend Karen and Mark. We only went to the wedding ceremony and then hurried home because we were having a small chili party with a few of Ted's friends to try out his Quinoa lager from his new (used) keg. That meant we needed to clean and make corn bread. Ted had the sense to make the chili the night before, so at least we didn't have to worry about that.

I could've cleaned during Friday night and during the day Saturday while Ted was at work, but I had other things to do. It was Tim Lowly's 50th Birthday Party on Sunday, and I had my heart set on making a mix cd. Make that TWO mix CDs. 50 songs for 50 years. And then I decided to put all that felt I bought to good use by making a double CD jacket to go along w/ the CDs. I take my mix CDs very seriously, and since Tim is a musician himself, I wanted to choose the songs carefully--some which I knew he'd like (the usual suspects like Roise Thomas, Sufjan, Iron & Wine) but others that he may not like too much but which I still think he should listen to because I like pushing my favorite music on other people (Arcade Fire, Blonde Redhead, The Mountain Goats, Kings of Convenience, etc). I'm actually surprised that I was able to choose all 50 songs, put them in proper order (very important, you know, if you've read/watched High Fidelity), burn the CDs, print the labels and track lists, AND sew the CD jacket, and all this by Sunday morning.

And the reason I had to be done w/ the CD project by Sunday morning was because I was shooting photos at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church's Sunday Service so that they could have updated photos for their website, which Ted's brother is designing. After that gig, I had over 300 photos to go through and select and edit.

We made it to Tim's birthday party, and we were there pretty much all evening. And contrary to what you might think about a party being thrown at a pastor's house (Tim is our Pastor Sherrie's husband), this was a KEG party. That's right. Ted brought his quinoa lager on tap, PLUS there was a keg of Virgil's Root Beer.

Cadence and I took advantage of the weather and visited the brand new playground across the street from the Lowlys in Winnemac Park. It was the first time I'd been to a park with Cadence this spring. It was kind of crowded, which is understandable, as this whole city's got cabin fever. It was nice, though, to soak in that late afternoon golden sun and to remember what spring is supposed to feel like.

Back at Tim's party, which was also a book-making party, many of the guests created collaged pages which were all taped together at the end to make one very long accordian book. It was very impressive, and I'm curious as to what Tim decides to do with that book.

I was so exhausted by the time Monday morning rolled around that I took the day off. And now after this blog post, I'm REALLY REALLY exhausted.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Another reason I was so crazy busy was that I posted on Shutter Sisters on Sunday (which I wrote an posted after our chili party guests left late on Saturday night). You can check out my post here.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photos

Some of you may be familiar with our struggles to get Cadence to use the potty. I was starting to think that there was something physically wrong with Cadence and that she was never ever going to get out of diapers, and I lost much sleep despairing over this issue.

I finally reached the end of my rope a couple weeks ago and started putting her in underwear inside her pants to see where that would lead. Well, after washing pee-soaked underwear and pants numerous times, I finally sat her in front of the TV on her potty and gave her as much watered-down juice as she wanted. When we had dinner, I sat her in her potty. I followed her around everywhere with that potty.

That method apparently worked, and in just a day, she was running to the potty on her own. She's gotten so good at it that she even pee-ed in the dark on Saturday night during the Lights Out for the Earth Hour.

It warms my heart so very much every time Cadence yells out "Mama! I made yellow! You have to see it!" And she takes her pee-filled potty to every visitor and insist that they look too. Our good friend (and new neighbor) Keom was over yesterday, and he didn't want to look at the pee, but I threatened him into compliance lest he hurt Cadence's feelings and throw a wrench in our potty progress so far.

So now, when we're at home, Cadence stays pantless in her underwear. She's still not pooping in the potty (except for once this past week), and I have no idea how we would get her to use the potty outside of home, but this is so much further ahead of where we were that I'm going to enjoy where we're at now. And I wouldn't have made it this far without the support of my mama friends Amy, Jenn and Sarah S-B. Thanks, ladies!

Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, parenting

I don't know who was dreaming of a white Easter, but they sure got it whoever they are. I think it was colder this Easter weekend than most Christmases in recent memory (except maybe this past one--it's been a brutal winter here, y'all).

I didn't buy Cadence an Easter dress this year. Part of the reason is that Easter fell so early I just forgot. Another reason is that I don't like Easter dresses. Cadence already runs to the mirror and admires her own reflection every time I put any dress on her, so I don't want her acquiring a taste for foofy frilly stuff. Unless it's vintage, like the dress she's wearing in the photo above, or hand-made. Then it's okay.

I don't think Cadence minded at all that I put her in an old dress over blue jeans for Easter festivities at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She had a blast searching for the Easter eggs Grandpa had hidden all over the house.

We also had fun making real Easter eggs with natural dyes. Thanks to Amy Geekgrl of Crunchy Domestic Goddess for the tips! We found that turmeric and curry powder make a lovely yellow, paprika makes a nice brownish orange, and blueberries make an awesome lavender/purple. Next year, I think I want to use spinach for green and find a good source for making a really bright red.

I hope you all had a Happy Easter/First-Weekend-of-Spring!


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photos

I know I post photos of Cadence and Rudden a lot, but I just loved this shot of them sharing a Snoopy book together. It actually started out with them both grabbing the book at the same time and could've gotten ugly. But I happened to be there and suggested that Cadence hold one side and Rudden the other so they could read to each other. Redirection doesn't always work, but lucky for me, this time it did, and I had time to shoot a few photos of them.

And today happens to be Rudden's mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Amy! I took this shot of Rudden just for you. Oh, and he was totally posing, too. Cadence had already run off and was yelling for him to follow, but he lingered, waiting for me to take the shot.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, friends

A week ago, I wrote a post on Shutter Sisters about How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Blur. My best shot for this week fits quite nicely with that post. I snapped this photo while chasing Cadence down our hallway. There's something about this photo that I just love (and I don't say that about too many of my photos). Sometimes, the most perfect way to capture my little whirlwind-of-a-child is like this--a total blur.

In other news, it was Ted's 31st birthday on Saturday (which coincidentally was the 6th anniversary of this here blog). We celebrated w/ a few friends and family members at an Ethiopian place called Ethiopian Diamond. It's been a long time since I've had Ethiopian, and I forgot just how delicious it is. Chicago, esp. the North side has a large Ethiopian population, so there are a number of restaurants to choose from. I think we picked a pretty good one and hope to go back.

After dinner, we headed back to our place for more libations, including shots of a really really good bottle of scotch that I bought Ted for Valentine's Day. As you can see from this photo of Erik, the scotch had its intended effect.

So is anybody else's kid suffering from sleep deficit due to the time change? I have to say, that's the last time we have a late-night gathering on the eve of a spring-forward time change. We had to be up for church the next morning, and Cadence ended up getting only 8 hours of sleep Saturday night. Ouch.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, cadence, friends, photography, teddy

On Saturday, Cadence and I went to the Kohl's Children's Museum in Glenview, IL, just down the road from my mom's place. It was our first time there, and Cadence had a blast.

There was so much to do, from the moment you walk in. Like all these little doors to open and close? That was even before we went through the admission line. I had to watch Cadence like a hawk because she'd see something cool from a distance and just bolt in that direction.

We were only there for a couple hours because my mom was expecting us for lunch, and boy, was it was hard to get Cadence to leave. I think we could easily spend a good four hours there on a regular basis. Plus, they have Kim & Scott's Twisting Cafe which sells gourmet pretzels. Holy cow, the best darn pretzels I've had in my LIFE. And they're made with quality, fresh ingredients! Check your grocer's frozen goods department and you may find some there.

So here's the latest thing that Cadence said that got me cracking up:

Ted: I'm pooped.
Cadence: Then go to the potty.

This kid. I just can't get enough of her.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, Cadence-isms

One of the downsides of being sick for Cadence has been missing out on seeing her friends. She was so happy to be able to go to church yesterday where she was reunited with her buddy Rudden.

Here was the "conversation" I observed between them as they held hands walking to the nursery together:

Cadence: I love you, Rudden.
Rudden (singing): So we sailed up to the sun
Cadence (with her hand on his arm for emphasis): I love you, Rudden.
Rudden (singing): Till we found the sea of green
Cadence (unwavering): I love you.
Rudden (happy-go-lucky): And we lived beneath the waves
Me (interceding on Cadence's behalf): Rudden, Cadence is saying she loves you.
Rudden (carefree as ever): In our yellow submarine.

Ah, to be 3-and-a-half and have a hand to hold...

And here they are passing notes during Communion. These two are inseparable. Makes going home a physical challenge for both families. Hopefully, we're done with being sick so that these two can spend more time together, especially with the weather warming up (knocking on wood...) soon.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, friends

I recently purchased the SB-600 speedlight for a little more versatility in flash photography. One of my favorite features so far is the ability to bounch the light on the wall BEHIND me. I usually hate the way flash is reflected in the eyes of the subject as little white dots, but I think bouncing the flash backwards makes the catchlight in Cadence's eyes almost natural.

Still, nothing beats natural light in my book.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photography

Some of you are already aware of the Love Notes To a City project that started spontaneously by Krystyn Heide and Jen Lemen. You can read about it on Krystyn's blog here, here and see photos here. You can read about it on Jen's blog here and see photos here.

When I read about this, my heart let out a resounding YES! I've recruited some co-conspirators, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to do this here in Chicago in the coming days leading up to Valentine's Day.

Here's what I wrote for my friend Tim to post on Facebook to gather more co-conspirators.

"Loneliness. Despair. Hopelessness. Depression. War. Fear. We are surrounded and bombarded by forces that would rob us of our joy of life, our sense of community, our faith in humanity, our hope in love. But what if someone were to plant words of hope, small tokens of love, in our dreams and hearts and waking life? What if, as we picked up the cream at our local coffeehouse, or grabbed that can of chicken noodle soup at Trader Joe's, or looked through the Nick Drake section at the record store, we found a note--an anonymous love note--maybe with a piece of chocolate even, and what if that little note contained the words we needed to hear to bring us one tiny step closer to wholeness? What if people in our city started finding these notes in random places left and right?

Think of it as Guerrilla Art. Think of it as Love in Action. Think of it what you like. If this resonates with that secret chamber in your heart that longs for something more in this life, join in the Love.

You can do this on your own, with family and friends, or with strangers. Some of us will be making a concerted effort to leave these notes w/ some chocolate at various places in our neighborhood during a couple days leading into Valentines Day."

And for once, I will submit just this one photo as my Best Shot for the week. Feel free to join in the love in your own neighborhoods.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, hope, love.notes.to.a.city

I may be a little biased, or I may be a little too interested in the show Heroes, but I just happen to think Cadence is pretty Super. Just look at that smile! I do believe it could melt a heart of steel.

And that jump! I do believe this little sprite knows how to fly.

See more folk's Best Shots at Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Anyone who knows Cadence in real life (or virtually) knows that she is little ball of TREMENDOUS energy. It's probably why I'm so tired all the time.

As you can imagine, we start suffering from cabin fever right around this time of year. A 2 bedroom condo is not the best place to unleash the power of the force that is Cadence, so I signed her up for a few classes with the park district, including basketball. Hence the new kicks.

She's only had one class so far, and there was only one other boy her age, and I hear she was more interested in pushing some cart and something about a monkey than in actual basketball, but as you can see, she's a natural.

Now if only I could convince her that our couch is not a trampoline...

See other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Proof #1--Crazy bedhead hair. I could NEVER get MY hair to do that.

Proof #2--Totally cool flamin' hat.

Proof #3--Notice the flannel snap button shirt beneath her Threadless Tee. And that look of bershon. While holding a balloon.

Proof #4--She always travels with an entourage.

Ok. So all this really has nothing to do w/ hipness. But in my estimation, Cadence has mastered the hip and cool like I never could as a kid. I hope she masters the way of love and compassion and justice as well.

See other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence

It being Christmas this week and all, I guess I gotta post some Christmasy photos. I've actually been terribly busy and haven't had much time to lift up my camera, but we did go to the Daley Plaza downtown on Friday night to do some family oriented holidayesque stuff, so I can at least post a few of those shots.

It was a rather foggy night, which made the scene all the more dramatic with the spotlight effect of the extra bright streetlights.

There was actually a lot going on besides the big old blindingly bright tree. Cadence loved all the hustle and bustle, especially anything related to model trains, fake penguins and fake armadillos.

There was a German festival of sorts going on with a number of vendors selling everything from German chocolates to pastries to bratwurst to toys to ornaments galore.

This was definitely the place to be if you wanted Christmas ornaments. Or a $3,000 nativity scene.

It's been very busy around here, which is why I've been neglecting this here blog. Actually, I've been working on getting my new domain/blog up and running. It's pretty much ready to go now, I think, but I'll wait until the New Year to make a clean break of it.

See other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's first BSM at Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, christmas, family, i.heart.chicago

I normally wouldn't post a photo of myself because I usually hate my own photos, but I kinda like this one. I took it on our hayride yesterday at the Pioneer Tree Farm in McHenry, IL, a place where you can get organically grown Christmas Trees for the great flat price of $35.

And here are Cadence and Ted sitting across from me on our hayride. Cadence wasn't so sure about the bitterly cold winds, but once that wagon started bump, bump, bumping along, she was happy as a clam.

She was kinda more interested in finding pine cones than a Christmas tree, and there were a few times when she almost threw a fit amongst the trees, but I was determined NOT to ruin the experience of getting our very first Christmas tree, so I didn't give up on our search for "the perfect tree."

I finally found a tree that was just right. It may not be the most perfectly shaped tree in the world, but that's what makes it perfect for me. Ted had mixed feelings about cutting down a live tree, but when he actually put blade to tree trunk, it came down pretty fast. Well, I just hope it wasn't a Talking Tree...

And here's that same tree in our living room. It's the perfect size for our big window. We haven't decorated it yet, but I have a box of handmade Christmas kitsch ornaments from Yia Yia and her friends who run a Christmas bazaar every year, so I think our tree's gonna look mighty fine once we're done with it.

Go see other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, christmas, family, family.tradition

Well, Cadence kept telling me that when all the leaves fell off the branches, that the snow would come. Looks like she was right. We were totally taken off guard when we exited the Seeds of Change marketplace at church on Saturday afternoon.

It's too bad it only lasted all of three hours when the freezing rain and sleet started coming down and turned everything into slush and ice before it all melted away during the night.

That's okay, though. Even though we enjoyed it for only a few minutes before we had to get in the car to pick up Ted from work, the looks of total glee and wonderment on Cadence's face were so worth it.

Go visit other folks' best shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, here.comes.winter, seasons.change

You know what I love about autumn? I really, really adore all the leaves floating down one, two, three at a time, creating piles and piles on the sidewalks and next to the parked cars in the streets. I know that's like a duh given, but I just don't ever get over the leaves. I love how they crunch under my feet as I walk to catch my morning train. I love how they mute all the colors around them to browns and golds and oranges with the occasional blazing crimson.

I love autumn because it is the season that gave me my Cadence, and I love that SHE loves watching the leaves fall from the sky, kicking them up into the air with her feet, pointing out that once all the leaves have fallen from the branches (she actually likes using the word 'branches' these days), that it will finally snow. Only a kid, or a kid at heart, or someone from a tropical climate, could get excited at the prospect of snow.

And while autumn means that death and hibernation are just around the corner, and that I will soon need to wear longjohns on my walks to the train--every now and then, you encounter a vestige of life from the summer past, and it is even more strikingly beautiful because it has now become so scarce. I've always enjoyed a little splash of pink next to the browns in my life, because there probably is no better color combination than pink and brown.

Go visit other folks' Best Shots for the week at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, i.heart.autumn, photos, random.thoughts

Actually, Cadence is doing much better, but I've been sick as a dog this weekend. I've been coughing up so much gook and so often and with such force that I gave myself a migraine this weekend from just coughing. I coughed so hard this morning I threw up. Oh, wait. Was that Too Much Information? Sorry.

Seriously, though, it's gotten to the point where I don't go anywhere without a spittoon. Cuz swallowing that stuff back again just prolongs the sickness, ya know? Oh, wait. Was that Too Much Information? Sorry.

Hope I didn't totally gross out your Monday. If you want to recover, go visit other folks' Best Shot Mondays over on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, health, sick.moi

Slowly but surely, Cadence seems to be recovering from her cold. We went through an entire family sized box of Kleenex, and I think we'll be able to get through this week on maybe just half of one.

I tried to get a really snotty photo of her for posterity, but for some reason, it's really hard to get one of her where she looks all that bad.

Unfortunately, we spent the weekend pretty much indoors except to go out and buy more tissue and homeopathic stuff. Ted caught the bug Saturday, so we were a pretty miserable bunch for most of the weekend. I was a bit more lucky and got to go do a photoshoot of my cousins' daughter Eden Sunday afternoon. It was a really nice day, although it was a bummer to see the sun go down so much earlier with the time change. Oh, and it was a bummer I didn't get to give Eden any hugs from fear of making her sick too.

On my way home from the photoshoot, I stopped in at the rose garden near downtown Evanston. I was quite surprised to see so many roses in bloom in November.

I guess it's been a pretty warm fall so far. Still, it's pretty amazing to see such lovely and huge blossoms thriving in the middle of autumn, especially since we had some nights in the 30s last week.

There's something extremely nostalgic to me about this time of year. Spring and summer are such hopeful, exciting seasons--so much new life popping up all around, and countless hours spent in the warm sun outdoors. Autumn, on the other hand, is when time slows down, and I start savoring the memories, recent and from long ago.

Alright, let me cut this short before I get all sappy on y'all. Go see other folks' best shots at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

It's been a busy week photo-wise, so I'm going to have to incorporate my Best Shot(s) into a blog post to get caught up. Some of the photos below I would consider part of my best shots for the week, and others just part of the story. You can see other folks' best shots for the week at Tracey's Picture This.

My friends Yvonne and Justin and I get together on a regular basis to talk photos and take photos. We call ourselves the Photopeeps. Last Wednesday, we did a little photoshoot at our place with Yvonne's dog Barko and Cadence dressed up in costumes. Cadence barely fit into her catsuit, as this would be the 3rd year of her wearing it, but she was really into pretending to be a kitty. More like a little lion, perhaps...

She's starting to look like such a KID. I mean, just look at that hair. She actually has enough for it to be blowing in the wind. She was such a bald baby for so long, I didn't think this day would come.

Saturday evening, Ted, Dave, Cadence and I headed to University Village for a Half Acre Beer tasting at Lush Wine and Spirits.

[For those of you who haven't heard, Ted is now a resident small batch brewer for Half Acre, which is a new Chicago beer company that just put out a lager over the summer. It's available in a bunch of places in Chicago right now—some liquor stores, a few Jewels, a couple 7-Elevens, some Whole Foods and other specialty grocers, especially in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. If you like interesting lagers, you should check them out. Andrew Huff, the editor of Gapers Block has given it his seal of approval. Go to Half Acre's website, and you'll see a plug for Ted's brew blog in the right hand column.]

Dave's best friend (and Ted's former roommate) Keom met up with us at Lush. We went to Pompei for dinner, which is an old favorite haunt of Ted's from back when he lived at 800 South (the apartment where he and ALL his brothers lived at one point or another, as well as some close friends).

Keom's one of my favorite people. For one thing, we share a love of some of the same bands and we always talk music together. He's also fun to banter with on just about anything.

After dinner, we stopped in at Keom's new apartment in Pilsen. Cadence was delighted to find that a kitty lived there too, although I don't think the kitty was too happy about Cadence. Poor kitty…

Speaking of poor kitty, we (including Dave) went to Ted's parents' house in the burbs on Sunday, partly to deliver some framed photos of Sniper, the family cat, who died two weeks ago today. Sniper lived a long (16 years?) and happy life, free to roam and hunt in the woods on the property. Cadence was quite fond of Sniper, and I'm not sure she understands what's happened. She knows that he's not at Grandma and Grandpa's any more, but she did ask for him when we visited.

Another reason for our visit yesterday was to attend a bike race in Carpentersville that our friend Dave Norton was competing in. Since it was unseasonably warm out yesterday, Dad and (Uncle) Dave took a ride to the race in his Cobra. Dad took the long winding scenic route, and it was just lovely. I happened to catch this shot of Dave with his arms in the air. With the pretty fall foliage all around, it was quite a pretty drive indeed.

The race was just about to start when we got to the park, and all the riders were bunched together just waiting for the signal to start. This race is part of the 2007 Chicago Cyclocross Cup which will culminate in the final race in December at Montrose Harbor in Chicago.

We located our friend Dave amongst the crowd of cyclists. He looked pretty calm to me while waiting for the race to begin.

Cyclocross racing looks really challenging, as it requires not just cycling, but a variety of terrain AND dismounting and carrying your bike over obstacles at certain points. I think doing this for one lap would be more than enough for me. I don't know how these folks do it lap after lap.

We cheered for Dave whenever he passed us. Unfortunately, we were too far from the finish line at the end of the race so we didn't actually see him finish. In fact, HE didn't even know the race was over and thought he had another lap.

Cadence wore her cycle shirt for the occasion. Maybe watching the race will inspire her to be a cyclist someday. Her name would fit right into the sport, as 'cadence' is a cycling terminology.

Cadence fell asleep soon after we drove away from the bike race, and since Dundee has two microbreweries around the corner from each other, Ted and Dave decided to stop for a pint, while I stayed by the car so Cadence could keep napping. We parked facing the Fox River, and I took some photos of the seagulls soaring over my head. The sky was so blue, and the white birds literally glowed in the late afternoon sunlight as they would catch the wind in their wings and soar higher and higher [yikes, that sentence sounded way too much like a Bette Midler song!]. Watching them, I had to conclude that flying probably never gets old, even for a bird.

We went back to Ted's parents' house to have a little afternoon tea and cake (or limeade for Cadence) before we hit the road back into the city.

Cadence of course wanted to see the neighbor's horses, so we had to stop on our way out by the little pasture. Unfortunately, the horses were in the stable, and we could only see the baby horse's hindquarters.

Oh, the photo above? Cadence's finger was in her nose just moments before it was taken. For Grandma's sake, though, I waited until she took her finger out before I pressed the shutter.

Labels: best.shots.monday, chicago.cyclocross.cup, friends, photos, this.busy.life

Today is a Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers around the world will post about a single topic for the purpose of raising awareness and activism and discussion. This year, the topic is the environment. I normally participate in Tracey's Best Shot Monday on Mondays, so this week, I've decided to incorporate the topic of the environment into my post.

On Saturday evening, Ted and his brother Dave took our week's delivery from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription and cooked a delicious meal. What you see in the photo above are herbed potatoes, broccoli and leeks with some garlic cloves thrown in for good measure.

Our friend Erik came over, and we had a lovely spread on our table. The boys made a soup which consisted of 4 different squashes, and they even roasted the seeds from the squash to add to the green salad. Ted also made a pumpkin bread that was absolutely perfect (and the only thing Cadence wanted to eat).

And to top it all off, we toasted some of Ted's homemade dandelion mead, which was made from dandelion flowers that he and Dave and Cadence had picked themselves this past spring.

So what does a home-cooked meal prepared and shared with friends and family have to do with the environment? Well, let me tell ya...

As a non-farmer or gardener (like many urban dwellers), our family is dependent on other people to grow and raise our food for us. And more likely than not, most of us have absolutely no idea who or what corporation is responsible for the meals we put on our tables to feed ourselves and our loved ones on a daily basis. We may know what company is selling the products in the stores, but we don’t know much else.

CSA attempts to connect communities to local farmers so that they develop a relationship with each other that goes beyond the transactional. This way, we can "put the farmer’s face on the food," which is what the Japanese who pioneered the concept of CSA refer to as teikei.

And indeed, we DID think of our farmers Tony and Dela Ends, whose family-owned and operated Scotch Hill Farm delivers our CSA subscription every Saturday. We toasted them as we ate, knowing that our meal was the product of their sweat and tears, as well as their love for the land and commitment to stewarding it gently and naturally. Ted and I have been to their farm and seen the incredible amount of work that goes into growing food without the use of pesticides and other chemicals. The weeds, oh, the WEEDS. And to have to pull them up with your bare hands…

We are also lucky in that Farmer Tony is an eloquent writer, having been a journalist for 14 years prior to becoming a farmer. I look forward to his newsletters every week. Here is an excerpt from one of his newsletters:

"What it's all about--Every spring, Dela and I feel the same strange mix of sensations. In a progression that starts in January, we plan, budget, finance, order, purchase, seed, tend to the start of a whole season of vegetable and herb crops. The first few weeks of delivery, we sing in our hearts a joyful praise of delicious spring greens and herbal delicacies that arrive first among more than 100 wonderful plant varieties our subscribers will experience over the next 5 months. Yet as closely as we work with the cycles of life, we catch ourselves thinking these first weeks we should be able to give you the same uniformity, weight and variety you can find in any convenience-oriented store, any day or night of the year. Here we all are trying to be conscientious about the Earth, trying to do something daring and different, eating outside the Happy Meal box. We read and hear about what’s happening to the Earth and its resources every day. We all know human beings cannot conveniently and efficiently deliver mass quantities of plants and animals without mass quantities of synthetic chemicals, fossil fuels and farm and business practices that ironically kill Natural diversity, kill local economies, kill families. Yet when we have to adjust our appetites, food schedules, meal expectations to Mother Nature, we still feel somehow that she should be like a modern grocery store manager and warehouse distribution center. Seasonal eating can be delightful and frustrating. You are called on to be creative with each week’s fresh produce. We'll do our best for you. We’ll offer suggestions. We’ll give you what Nature gives us, on her schedule for this climate, these soils, this year’s rain and temperature. Yet we share in the discipline and the mental work of healthful change together." –Tony Ends of Scotch Hill Farm

This was the newsletter that opened the delivery season this summer in June. It was before we knew that there would be absolutely no rain in July and floods in August, wiping out a significant portion of his year’s harvest for Tony and Dela and so many other small family farms.

And this is the other thing our CSA-provided meal has to tell us about the environment…Global warming is real, and it affects small-time farmers in a big way. Tony mentioned in one of his newsletters how he and his fellow farmers experience first-hand the climate-changing impacts of global warming. It makes it that much harder for them to produce our food in an environmentally responsible manner. If global warming gets worse, it will have a grave impact on food production worldwide.

That being said, I want to focus on hope. I know there is a lot more to the environmental crisis than local farms, but this is the part of the story I want to share because it's something I've come in contact with in my own life that gives me hope. There are a growing number of small family farms that are committing to providing local communities with food grown naturally and sustainably. As a parent, I want to provide my daughter with food that was grown not with money in mind but the well-being of the land and water, animals AND consumers in mind. As a parent, I want to know that our kids and their kids and so forth have a beautiful world to look forward to, instead of inheriting the burden of environmental disaster created by greed and gluttony on the part of individuals and corporations.

Learn more:
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://eatkind.net/
http://www.familyfarmed.org/
http://www.sowtheseedsfund.org/

See who else is participating in Blog Action Day here. And see other folks' best shot Monday on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, blog.action.day, community.supported.agriculture, environment, family, global.warming, sustainability

I recently got myself Marina's Underground Set List for Adobe Lightroom. These are basically different settings (presets) that can be applied to my RAW (uncompressed)images in Lightroom to achieve specific looks. They are a lot of fun to play with. You can apply the setting and then adjust the exposure, color, etc to make the photo look the way you want it to. The setting I used for this one is called Mello MaiTai3.

It kind of gives the photos an aged, yet dreamy feel to 'em, which I really like. For those of you who have cameras that can shoot in RAW format, I highly recommend it. You have much more options when you edit photos for correcting exposure and color and whatnot. I've been shooting exclusively in RAW since Lauren's wedding.

Something else that I continue to play with is getting a different angle or perspective on my photos by "shooting from the hip." Basically, that means shooting without looking through the viewfinder. I often put the camera all the way to the ground to get a bug's eye view, so to speak. My aim kinda sucks, so I never know what I'm gonna get.

Like this shot here...That's not what I was going for at all. I meant to get Cadence in the shot, but of course I was too close and my aim too poor. Still, I really like the result, which I think is more interesting than what I would've gotten had I actually gotten all of Cadence in the shot.

Go see more folks' Best Shots for the week on Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, photography, photos

I am sad to say that I lost ¾ of Saturday to a god-awful migraine. I finally got desperate and called my mother to send me real migraine drugs via my brother. I haven't taken any of the more potent migraine pills since prior to getting pregnant w/ Cadence, but I just couldn't take it any more. Thankfully, my brother Jim brought drugs and food, so I was sufficiently revived by 6pm to take Cadence out for the last hour of daylight to play at our favorite park on the lakefront.

Here she is conducting an imaginary orchestra of trees, grass, leaves and pebbles while munching on an apple at the park.

And here she is commanding the lake and the rocks to give her more crescendo. Or maybe she's playing a fiddle? Who knows. She's quite dramatic with the hand gestures as of late.

She did actually get some swinging in, although she seems bored with most of the playground equipment nowadays.

Although she got into some good old-fashioned pole-swinging. I used to do that for hours on my grammar school playground.

And, of course, there was running involved. She sure took a long time eating that apple, too, I might add.

Finally, we're back home taking a breather. Oh, ignore the crumbs on the carpet, please. I didn't feel like taking out the vacuum cleaner just to take a few shots.

And that's it for my best shots for this week. Go see more at Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Today is our little Cadence's 3rd birthday. I'm off work today to spend the day with her, but we had the official celebration yesterday. That's also when she wore her birthday dress.

Poor thing. Her mama dresses her like a character out of Little House on the Prairie. I just hope she doesn't retaliate by wearing midriffs at the age of 9.

Ted's mom made a yummy banana cake in the shape of a flower. It was simply perfect. Although, I think Cadence covered it in her spit trying to blow out her candles. It literally took her 50 tries and then a little help from Dada to get those things blown out. Which is surprising, considering I KNOW for a fact that there's nothing wrong with them lungs of hers.

The big birthday present we got Cadence was a shiny new red Schwinn Roadster tricycle. We thought she'd be totally into it, but quite frankly, she was only interested in the bell at first. I think she was a little intimidated by the size. It took a little coaxing, but her uncles Dave and Jay got her to finally sit in it so I could actually get a photo.

Apparently, she feels much more comfortable on the trike when she's not wearing any clothes. She may be a future Naked Bike Rider in the making.

It's hard to believe Cadence was ever this little. I'm amazed at the big personality emerging from this still-growing body of hers. Thank you, Cadence, for being the best kid we could have ever asked for. We love you!

Go see more folk's Best Shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, cadence, photos

Ok, I hate to turn this blog into a fashion show for Cadence, but I'm kinda really digging the old vintage stuff I've been finding. Ted thinks this dress is GAUDY, but I like it on many levels.

First of all, it isn't pink or red or purple.

Second of all, it seems to make Cadence a bit thoughful and moody.

And lastly, I am just a total sucker for smockage.

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, i.heart.vintage

For this week, I give you three of Cadence's smiles from the past week. This one above is one of her sweeter ones.

And this one is sweet in more ways than one. This smile is covered in chocolate!

And here's a dimply one. Probably one of my favorites ever. Folks have been commenting how much older she's looking. I guess that's an inevitable part of growing up...*sigh*...It's been good times, fer sure.

Go see other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

I did an impromptu photoshoot of Cadence in her "new" vintage red dress while I was getting her dressed. The light was just right in her room, not that it matters so much when you're shooting raw and editing in Adobe Lightroom.

Here's a full view of the dress. It's pretty short, as you can see. I had her wear it over a pair of jeans, and it works well as a blouse too.

I'm kinda tickled at how good she's getting in front of the camera. Sometimes she runs, but sometimes she actually cooperates. She likes looking at the photos right after I've taken them.

I've got a dozen and a half of these Red Dress photos, so if you wanna seem 'em all, the flickr set is over here.

Speaking of that Red Dress, Cadence actually wore it to the Elizabeth Michell and Family show @ Ravinia on Saturday. In case you don't know, Elizabeth Mitchell, her husband Daniel Littleton and their daughter Storey have a series of kids albums that are THE BEST children's music you'll find in records stores these days. Their music is such a gift to true music lovers who do not want to have to resort to Barney or The Wiggles when it comes to listening to music with their kids. Cadence LOVES their music and sings along to all the songs now. I can't tell you what joy fills my heart to hear my daughter singing songs by The Carter Family and Woody Guthrie and Elizabeth Cotten, to name a few.

We met up w/ our friends Ada and her parents Jenn and John at the show. They are also big Elizabeth Mitchell (and Ida, Liz and Dan's grownup band) fans. Our friends Felix and Zarah and their new son Asher were also there. Zarah is actually cousins w/ Dan Littleton, so they got special passes and all that jazz. When Z invited me to hang out with them after the show, however, I got too shy and declined. It kinda would've been like having lunch w/ Bono for me.

Anyhoo, rest of the Elizabeth Mitchell and Family show photos can be seen over here.

Check out more folks' best shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, childrens.music, elizabeth.mitchell, i.heart.vintage

We went to the annual Chicago Korean Festival on Saturday. I don't know why I go to this every year. I guess to get my occasional Korean fix. Unfortunately, the food just isn't up to par, and I couldn't get any paht-bingsoo this year because the line was too damn long at Outdoor Cafe. We did get to spend some time w/ Halfmama and her family and later my cousins Ben and Rachel and Baby Eden, which was nice. I felt bad the festival was so lame though.

I am in full wedding preparation mode, PLUS I'm super busy at work. Poor Cadence...She's been watching a lot of Wonder Pets these days...

To make matters possibly worse, Ted started getting sick yesterday. We don't know if it's allergies or a cold. All I know is, we don't have TIME to get sick. Ain't that always the truth?

That's not all. I woke up with a migraine in the middle of the night last night, and I couldn't fall back to sleep. By the time I got to work at 8am this morning, I had already been up for 7 hours. That is going to throw my sleep WAY off. I just hope I don't get another migraine from the lack of sleep...

See more folks' Best Shots Monday on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, family, photos, this.busy.life

I'm practicing my photog skillz for Auntie Lauren's wedding, which is coming up really fast now! Here are a few of my faves from this past week:

Cadence's little friend Ada at her Dr. Seuss-themed 3rd Birthday Party. Notice her little tattoo on her arm. So cute!

Adorable little Nora at the birthday party. I like how Ada and Cadence are off in the distance, and here's little Nora chasing after them.

Here, I'm playing around on Picasa, which is a google software for organizing and editing photos. I've muted the colors every so slightly.

This one is kinda dreamy. I don't think I'd want to do too many photos like this as that would probably make me want to vomit. But a few here and there I think would be okay. I'm really not so much into the effects. I like when other people do 'em, but I like to keep things simple. Probably cuz I'm lazy.

I just like the light in this one. And I am a big fan of window seats! I always think of Jane Eyre as a little girl hiding away in one of these and reading for hours and hours during the cold winter months.

This happened to be in Ted's parent's fridge. It's almost 2 years old! There will definitely be a bunch of homebrew at the wedding after-party.

There's something about this photo that I really like. Part of it is because I think Becki is just absolutely beautiful, in a really pure, natural and wholesome way. The awesome part is that she's really this beautiful on the inside too. I know that sounds hokey, but it's true. Uncle David is so lucky that she chose him!

As you can see, Cadence is quite fond of her Aunt Becki, whom she called Aunt Duckie for the longest time. *sigh*. I kinda liked it when she called her Duckie...

Oh, all of these photos were taken w/ the 50mm f/1.8 lens on my D50. I'm thinking I'll shoot mainly w/ that lens cuz I just love the blur. So I guess it won't matter so much that my 18-55mm is broken. I have an older 35-55mm from my film camera that I can use on my D50, so I'll do that. I'll use my D40 for my 55-200mm zoom lens, mainly at the ceremony. I'm going to focus more on the reception and after-party and leave the main ceremony shooting to the pros. There is no way I'll get much more than maybe some artsy looking grainy B&W shots at the ceremony, since the church does not allow flash or planted lighting. We'll see how it goes...

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: auntie.lore, best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photography, photos, weddings

I don't know how we got so lucky, but we've had two weekends in a row of absolutely gorgeous weather. It's like someome screwed up and programmed Chicago for Seattle's summer weather, instead of the usual 90 degrees+/80% humidity that is normally to be expected in July around here.

I'm almost afraid to write about it, lest Someone realizes the mistake and switches us back to our regularly scheduled programming. Hope you all are enjoying your summers!

Check out more Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, i.heart.seattle, i.heart.summer, photos

And I'm lovin' it! Yeah, I'm starting to actually like the D50, as long as there's lots of light and Cadence cooperates. Of course, it's just the Magic Lens (50mm f/1.8) that I'm using on it.

Here's Cadence playing All Aboard the Ducky Train with her dad's skateboard. Great. Now I have Ernie singing the Rubber Ducky Song in my head. Do you have any idea how hard it is to erase a Sesame Street voice from your head once it gets started??? I better turn on some music...

So our friends Jenn and John and their daughter Ada came over for dinner on Saturday. They live close enough to stroll over, and it's a shame that this was our first time having them for dinner, considering we've lived in our place for over 1 1/2 years now.

Cadence was so excited about Ada coming over. She asked me all day for Ada and got so cranky and impatient I finally told her to take a nap (at 4pm) and that when she woke up Ada would be here. Luckily, that's exactly what happened, or I'm sure there would've been hell to pay had Cadence awakened to no Ada.

And then after asking for Ada all day, Cadence proceeded to call her "Hay-na" (Helena) all evening. Go figure. Anyhoo, I hope we have Ada and her mom and dad over BEFORE another 1 1/2 years have elapsed.

Oh, and go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, friends, friends.who.rock, photos

It's true. I love this dress, and on so many levels. I love that it's not pink.

I love the fact that it's old and used and that some one loved this dress so much that they lengthened it so their kid could wear it just a little longer.

I love the details, like the ruffles and the smocking.

I love how comfortable Cadence looks in it.

And I love it for this photo alone.

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

In honor of Father's Day, which was yesterday, here's a photo of Ted playing the drums at the Rogers Park Artists of the Wall Festival yesterday. What a hottie!

Labels: best.shots.monday, live.music, teddy

I'm actually going to post something short and sweet cuz it's actually been pretty busy at Chez Moi. This is Cadence sitting in Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square. I just love her blouse, which I think I got for like a dollar at the thrift store. Or was it eBay? The pants are definitely eBay.

So the one week I post just one, would you believe Tracey bends her own totally unenforced and unwritten rule and posts three?! Go check out every one's Best Shot(s) Monday at Tracey's Picture This!

And stay tuned for more rock 'n' roll! Chamber Strings! Baby Teeth! I got 'em!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos, this.busy.life

Happy Monday, folks! It's been a busy shooting week for me, so I don't know how I'm going to pick my favorite ones. I guess I'll have to pick one or two from each shooting session.

This one is from the Memorial Day BBQ at our friends Jeff and Lena's. It's one of the rooms in their historic Victorian fixer-upper. There's a lot going on in this photo that may not be all that obvious upon a fleeting glance. Ok. I'll just leave it at that.

While home with Cadence one night while Ted was out gallivanting, I got bored. I happened to look over at our mantel, and I thought to myself that I really liked our "grey" walls (they're really blue, but don't say that to Ted's face). I then thought, "Huh. That's mantel's pretty high off the ground. If I put Cadence on top of it, she'll most likely sit still." I don't know why I didn't think "Huh. That mantel's pretty high off the ground. If I put Cadence on top of it, she'll most likely FALL OFF." Just call me optimistic, I guess. Or a bad mom. Or stupid. Or all of the above.

Anyhoo, I was bored and getting sick of watching the Sound of Music again, so I cleared all the junk mail and artwork off the mantel, stuck my handy dandy SB-400 on my camera, grabbed Cadence (who happened to be wearing nothing but a diaper) and plopped her down on the mantel. According to my timestamps on the photos, she was content up there for all of 4 minutes and 53 seconds.

I love the negative blue space of the first one, and the layers of blue, white, brown and white in the 2nd one. I guess you can call this the birth of the Mantel Studio.

Well, the next day, I placed Cadence in our fake fireplace just underneath the mantel, and HEY! Guess what! Instant white background! You can call this one the Fake Fireplace Studio. I just love how Cadence's hair is sticking up here. It's most definitely post-nap hair (a.k.a. bedhead).

I think I elaborated enough on my photoshoot Thursday night at the Metro in my previous post, so I won't post photos of the bands, but I did really like this one that I took of a couple who were watching the show in the balcony. People-watching at shows is really fun.

Saturday we had Middle Eastern for dinner. Well, as you can see, Cadence went to town with the hummus. The interesting thing is that she generally doesn't play with her food and is one of those types who goes into hysterics if she gets a little ketchup on her finger from dipping her soy dog. I guess hummus must feel like beauty paste or something.

So that's it folks. Sorry I suck at narrowing down the really good ones. I must be biased or something. Please go and look at other folks' Best Shots @ Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, photos, week.in.review

Although I have found an excellent thrift store nearby for awesome kids' clothes at dirt cheap prices, I did recently get a couple of cool vintage stuff off ebay for pretty cheap.

This is a dress probably from the 60's. I absolutely love the print. Yeah, it looks like it was made from drapes or something, but that's even cooler cuz Cadence ADORES the Sound of Music.

The other ebay find is this vintage cycling shirt, which was perfect for our first family bike ride on Sunday. Doesn't Cadence look spiffy in her helmet?

And here they are, riding away. For the record, that strap should be under her leg better, but we weren't going far, so no biggie. I'm not sure if we would be ticketed for riding like this. I don't know what the bike rules are in the city. However, I CAN say that this is probably safer than using a childseat, which usually throws the balance off on a bike.

I really like this shirt. She looks great whether she's riding a bike or eating an apricot. I'm going to try and get all my 2nd hand clothes locally now, but I'm glad I found this one and the dress up there.

Visit Tracey at Picture This for other folks' Best Shots Monday.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

So Tracey's theme for this week at Picture This is Diagonal Week. That's awesome, cuz I just rediscovered my inner crooked thanks to The Antibride, and it's added new freedom to my shooting.

I shot this series of Cadence singing and dancing yesterday afternoon. It's actually best seen in the slideshow version here. Just click the next button quickly, and you'll see Cadence perform her little dance. Cue the Do-Re-Mi song from the Sound of Music, and that's what the movie version would've been like.

Believe you me, having a DSLR makes a huge difference when it comes to shooting rapid shots.

It's like, holy cow! I hold down the shutter button, and *click*! Instant photo!

I love how she's looking over at me on this one.

And if you're wondering about the muted colors, it's because I screwed up the lighting and since I don't have Photoshop, this was the best I could do without turning Cadence into looking like a botched Self-Tanning job.

Here's one with a little more color. Taken in lovely Morton Grove, IL.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

I am so behind on posts around here, and with the new camera I've got so many new photos that I think I've buried myself real good this time. Anyhoo, I don't have much time so here are some photos from the past week that I really like. And a lot of them have nothing to do with Cadence! (Nothing personal, of course.)

I took this photo after running out to the lake to take photos of a pretty full moon. I threw out all the photos of the moon but got a drive-by of this sign. It's a coffeeshop/diner on Grandville, right by Metropolis.

This is at the Dutch Village in Holland, MI. I just love how Cadence is running away here. Try to imagine this with a high-C-two-octaves-above-middle-C squeal of a toddler as the soundtrack.

Also at the Dutch Village. Red wooden clogs. Need I say more? Funny thing is, I was wearing my red crocs when I took this photo. Of course, I wasn't thinking so I have no photographic evidence.

I hope Ted doesn't kill me for posting a photo with his chest hair, but I really liked this one. And I risked water damage on my brand new camera to get it (I was very, very careful). It is inspired by this much better photo of a much cuter subject (sorry, honey) by the talentedJeanette LeBlanc.

This was in our hotel room. There really was no view except of the Howard Johnson across the alley, but oh well. It's black and white cuz I couldn't figure out the color. I don't have Photoshop, ya know.

We had the pleasure of hanging out with Lori and her son Devin on Sunday. I think Cadence has finally found another toddler who can keep up with her. My favorite photo of Cadence this weekend was actually taken by Lori, which you can see over here on her flickr page.

See other folk's Best Shot Monday posts on Tracey's site.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos, vacation

We've got spring fever here in the Windy City. It's been a cold, wet winter and we as a collective metropolis plan on WILLING spring into reality.

C'mon, Spring. How can you say no to a face like that? Admit it. Resistance is futile.

Go visit Tracey's Picture this for more folks' Best Shots Monday.

Labels: best.shots.monday, photos, spring.fever

We're not much about fashion in our household, but we did have some fun this weekend with some funky sunglasses and an outfit I absolutely adore. I don't have much time to elaborate, as I'm on a vacation day and we've got stuff to do, so I'll just post my favorite photos from this weekend.

My favorite smile of the weekend. I like how she's looking off to the side and not directly into the camera.

And here is my favorite outfit ever. The t-shirt was a thrift store find that I absolutely adore. I wish I could get away with wearing Baby Legs and a pleated denim mini-skirt.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photos

Every Easter since Cadence was born (actually, since Ted and I have been together), we go to Ted's parents' house for Easter dinner. Cadence seems to have developed a little tradition of her own.

Here she is playing Grandma & Grandpa's piano on her very first Easter. Does she not look like a natural?

Here she is at last year's Easter dinner tickling the ivories again. A little more hair this year--enough to warrant a barrette (barely).

And here she is at this year's Easter dinner, getting ready to carry on her yearly Easter performance. This year, she has enough hair for PIGTAILS, not juste a barrette.

She's also able to climb onto the piano bench all by herself now. Not to mention, she looks HUGE compared to the previous two years.

Just take a look at those dangling legs! She looks like she's big enough for piano lessons (not gonna happen). Well, if she keeps practicing her little Schoenhut, maybe she'll have a big piano someday. But probably not one as big as the one at Grandma & Grandpas. Unless she plans on sleeping underneath it every night. Excuse the fragments please.

Well, being big enough to get on the piano bench by herself also means she doesn't have to stay on there helpless while her mama takes endless photos of her. Oh well.

Go see other folks' Best Shot Monday here.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, family.tradition, photos

...it's monday and you know what that means...here are a few of my favorite photos from the past week. the one above is from potbelly's in lincoln square. cadence and i are usually home carless on saturdays because ted works. i've decided to take more frequent advantage of the extensive public transportation options in our fair city with cadence, so we took 2 buses to lincoln square on saturday afternoon. we were originally going to get ice cream, but i was starving so we stopped into potbelly's and got some soup and shake instead. cadence didn't know what was in the cup, but once she took a sip, she declared, 'it's good!' i would have to most heartily agree.

...well, summer decided to stop by for a short visit this week, and it was in the mid-to-upper 70s on sunday. ted had planned an extensive list of chores that needed to be done in preparation for painting our living room, but i decided cadence and i REALLY needed to get outside.

...unfortunately, cadence's sandals from last year were too small and were pinching her poor feet, so we had to run out to the mall and buy another pair of sandals before going to the park. i was hoping she would pick out something a bit less, uhm, PINK, but that wasn't about to happen. we left the store with these sandals and a pair of pink and brown sneakers.

it's in the 70s again today, but i have to work. ted, on the other hand, is off to the North Park Village Nature Center with cadence today. they're meeting up w/ our friend amy and her sons rudden (cadence's beau) and 7-month old jack. i'm so totally jealous...

Labels: best.shots.monday

...well, it looks like if it weren't for tracey's Best Shot Mondays, i wouldn't ever get around to posting anything any more. anyhoo, this one's one of my faves from the past week.

...winter seems like it can't make up its mind about chicago--'should i stay or should i go now?' seems to be the theme song lately. we had a couple warm days last week, which we took advantage of. then it was back down to the 30s. and maybe today it will get back into the 50s. you really have to check the weather forecast if you don't want to be caught freezing your ass off or sweating like a pig.

...i have to say that i'm really digging the fact that cadence's hair is long enough to put in ponytails pigtails. for the longest time, she resisted having anything done to her hair, even though she looked like she was going for a cousin itt look. now that she'll tolerate her hair being pulled back in a barette and ponytails pigtails, i think she realizes how much more comfortable it is to not have stray strands poking her in the eye all the time.

...now that she's not so bald any more, she's looking more like a kid and less and less like a baby or even a toddler. she amazes me all the time by her capacity to learn new things. she's like this big adorable sponge right now, and i feel like i'm short of breath trying to keep up with her...

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

...this is my pick for My Best Shot Monday for Picture This. as you can see, chicago was graced over the weekend with a respite from the bitter winter we've been having.

...luckily, ted took saturday off to extend his birthday celebration, so we got to enjoy the beautiful weather as a family. since we weren't expecting it to be so warm, we had originally planned saturday morning to take cadence to an indoor playroom near goose island, where we were going to go for lunch. fortunately, the playroom was closed for a private birthday party, so we were forced outdoors!

...we were near our old neighborhood on the wicker park/bucktown border, so we headed to walsh park on ashland just north of wabansia. the playlot is fully exposed to the sun, so even though it had rained cats and dogs the night before, everything was pretty dry, and we just had to watch out for the mud in the grassy areas.

...as you can see here, ted and i enjoyed being out in the warm weather as much as cadence did. it's been such a dreary winter here in the midwest that we really needed a break.

...i believe the last time i got to take photos of cadence at a park was during thanksgiving weekend, over 3 months ago. i think it's safe to say that we've all been suffering from major cabin fever around here. i hear we're gonna have a gorgeous couple of days and then it's back to the reality that is a chicago winter...

...oh, well. at least we got a little reminder of how lovely chicago can be when the weather isn't giving us a thrashing. hopefully, spring will choose to show up in MARCH, when it's supposed to, and not in MAY, as is typical in chicago...

Labels: best.shots.monday, photos

...the lovely tracey clarke over at Picture This posts her best/favorite photo of the week every monday, and her readers post links to their best shots of the week as well. grab your cameras and join in on the fun if you'd like.

...i took these photos at julius meinl coffeehouse on saturday after we picked up ted from work. they have really good coffee, but not as good as metropolis if you like a more robust flavor. still, it was a much needed coffeebreak for all of us. well, except for cadence. for her, it was a much needed GUGELHUPF break. their cakes and pastries are pretty much to die for.

Labels: best.shots.monday, coffee, photos