Sunday and blueberries

I have two seniors ready to have me take their pictures this week and probably next so I've decided that I'm going to plan all the details of poses, places, lighting, back-up lighting, and gear before I get out there.  Planning a photo shoot to this extent is something that I really haven't done yet.  I mostly go out there with camera a mano and have faith that my passion and limited knowledge gained from blog stalking will give me the results that I want. :)  Yes...I am a blog stalker of photo blogs and I am addicted to them. 

Shem, in his supportive and excited way, said that he would take me to a couple of parks and let me play with my flash just so that I could see what kind of results I would get while using the flash outside on an overcast Seattle day (seriously, when is it going to be summer out here?!).  Here are my results.  Oh, and I learned that my camera is really heavy with my flash on top and that my focusing is almost always off...I need to lift weights to strengthen my arms for added steadiness.

Here are some more photos from the blueberry fields in Bellevue.

The Blind Side

Shem and I just watched The Blind Side and it's my favorite movie...ever.  Really, I'm not joking around here either.  Way back in September, or whatever month it was, my "boys" in 2nd period (and some of my other students) told me how much they loved this movie and I just assumed that it was another sports movie.  I never anticipated it to be witty, loving, inspiring, ever so charming, or even that it would become our new family favorite.  You see we're not obsessed with sports like some other people in my immediate family (Uh em...Ken).  In fact, I'm the one between Shem and I that talks about our future kids playing sports and football.  Shem doesn't follow sports and really never has, but in my former life I followed baseball and I had favorite players and I loved watching college football on Saturday afternoons.  It just doesn't interest Shem like it does my brother.

Anyway, we both love this movie and right now the best sick day movie that we have is The Princess Bride, but now we've both agreed that The Blind Side is our new sick day favorite movie.  The movie that we'll watch so many times over that we'll be able to quote it to each other and laugh hysterically because, well, because it's just good!  So, rent this movie, watch it, and I know you'll love it, or at least think it wasn't a complete waste of your time.

It's that time of year again.

I feel like I'm running a race, but this time I'm trying to do the hardest, most tedious jobs first in order to wrap up another school year.  Today I just finished editing and revising my Spanish 1 final which only leaves my Spanish 2 final to edit.  I did, however, make a list of everything I need to change in it.  This is what I need to finish before I can breath easy and enjoy my summer!

• Write Spanish 2 final
• Grade 160 Spanish essays all 100+ words long
• Grade 160 quizzes from this Wednesday and last Friday
• Grade some random worksheets
• Enter grades for Speaking Evaluations on Friday
• Make a simple study guide for both levels
• Create a packet of questions for my students to work on while I have speaking evaluations all day Thursday and Friday

This is just what I have to accomplish this week probably sometime before Thursday!  This isn't counting planning lessons for Tuesday and Wednesday either.  It's crazy town around here.

After I finish all of that I will have to:

• Pack up my whole classroom.  Yes, everything that I am allowed to take with me.
• No, I'm not quiting my job. :)
• Label all of my boxes with the special Issaquah High School labels.  Yes, I'm transferring to the new, and very awesome looking, Issaquah High for next year and who knows for how much longer after that. :)  I'm really excited.  I'll be in room 2203.  I'm still waiting to hear what I will be teaching.  At this point I would like to stick with Spanish 1 and 2, but I could see myself moving up to Spanish 3.
• Start planning my first few lessons for next year and make copies just in case I can't move into my new room until the day before school starts. (this is every advantageous of me)
• Help the other teachers in the World Language Dept. with closing procedures with Karen.

So work has been and will continue to be crazy busy until the end of the year.  I've been so consumed with work and I haven't done much with photography lately.  I feel like I could put more time and effort into it, but I need to remember that the time will come.  I do have plans that finish up my photo blog though and make up some price lists and set up on online viewing/print purchasing gallery.  My goal is to have a working business by the time I'm home with my first child.  I wish I knew when were were going to have our first child, but I guess that just gives me more time to get it up and running. :) 

On the positive side I may not have mentioned that I have a new blog design for my photography and I have a business license for the State of Washington.  Right now I'm working on marketing and I'm shopping around for business cards.  During the summer I plan on putting some good time into making it into a working business.

P.S. I ran 8 miles this Saturday with my friend Rachael.  It wasn't my best, but I'm glad that I finished.  My body was tired.  My 1/2 marathon is only 3 weekend away!