The Arrival of the Toy Catalog {Project 365}

Remember when we were kids and the Sear Wish Book arrived in the mail? It was like the second most exciting day of the year. Second only to Christmas itself. It weighed a ton and it was full of toys, toys and more toys. Mom would give us a pen and say, "circle the things you want." Just like that. Almost like being handed a blank check. Almost. It was like a little piece of bait dangling in front of our eyes. What she really should have said was, "Circle everything you want and if you're really good, and don't fight with your sister and do all your chores and make good grades, you might get some of the things, provided they aren't too expensive and nobody loses their job before Christmas."

Like I said, it was as good as a blank check.

That Sears Wish Book has gotten smaller and smaller every year. A few years ago it was as thick as a Walmart circular in the Sunday paper. And now that I sit here to think about it. I don't think I saw one last year. Thank you Mr. Al Gore and your internet. You've changed the face of the Sears Wish Book.

But today we did get a little treat in the mail with the arrival of a toy catalog of some sorts belonging to the Toys To Grow On company, which I've never heard of before but it's shiny and colorful and the Boy was happy to grab a pen and put it to use.

So here's my photo of the day. Like I said, it's almost like the second most exciting day of the year, right behind Christmas itself. Seriously, it kept him entertained for a precious 3 minutes.

Eight days down, 357 to go.

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 8 {Project 365}

Well, anyone who knows my (Jayme's) photographic interests realized as soon as I agreed to participate in this 365 Photo Challenge with Lisa that I'd be including some infrared images. I'm a huge fan of the otherworldly look of infrared when done right. I suppose the only surprise is how long it took me to get around to actually shooting some IR for this challenge--a full week! Today's effort is a false-color infrared image of the San Xavier Mission replica at Aquarena Center in San Marcos.

Camera: Canon Rebel XTi/400D 720nm infrared-modified
Lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm

Lisa On Location Photography

Bouncing's What Little Boys do Best {Project 365}

Today's photo is simple but sweet. My Boy, bouncing on a big blue ball. Sweet as can be. I pulled out my fisheye lens for some distortion fun to go with the big blue ball. He's so helpful with my project. He offered to stick his tongue out as well. But I preferred the simple bounce.

Seven days down, 358 to go (I fully expect to one day make an error on the math and totally make a fool of myself. But for now, 358 plus 7 is still 365, right? Right.

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 7 {Project 365}

Lisa will be along in a little while with her entry for today, but first, here's mine: A corkscrew seed pod of a honey locust/thorny locust tree.

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

Lisa On Location Photography

365 / 6 {Project 365}

Just a reminder, folks, that Jayme (me) is doing the 365 photo challenge, too. If you're not sure whether Jayme or Lisa shot a particular image, it'll say so right at the bottom of the post. Sorry for any confusion.

Rumor has it, there was an election of some sort yesterday. Living in New Braunfels, one of the deepest crimson communities in the red state of Texas (81 percent of voters cast straight-ticket Republican ballots yesterday) the reaction to the election outcome has proven somewhat impassioned. I call this one, "Letters To The Editor, November 7, 2012."

Camera: Canon 7D
Lens: Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

Lisa On Location Photography

All I'm Saying, Is Give Peas a Chance {Project 365}

Coolest. Blog title. Ever. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to do a blog with that title. I seriously have tried. And tonight I have that opportunity.

I love peas. I just do. I think they're tasty little morsels of goodness. Jayme hates them. He really hates them. So for the first few years of our marriage. I avoided them. "We mustn't have peas in the house," I told myself. I'll just eat them at restaurants or pot lucks. Only the thing is. We rarely went to restaurants or pot lucks. It was a cold winter day in early '98 when I realized "how long has it been since I've had a nice steaming bowl of peas?" Too long, I say!

So began the battle of the peas that lingers to this day. Some nights they'd hide in a stew. Other nights a serving of chicken fried rice. It's always funny when he fails to notice the peas until they're in his mouth. Tonight's battle revealed itself in a home made chicken pot pie. I added carrots and green beans, but lo and behold, we were out of celery. "What can I use to take the place of celery in this recipe?" I asked myself. And what should answer me but a plastic container of left over peas from the other night (which Jayme didn't touch of course) staring me in the face on the top shelf of the fridge. Score Lisa!

So I added the peas to the chicken pot pie. "Surely he won't notice," I tell myself. Okay so the peas were a little more plentiful than I thought. There was more left over than I remembered. But that's okay. They'll get eaten. Mostly. So picture 1 is Jayme annoyed with having to clear peas from his homemade chicken pot pie. At about this moment he's probably thinking "why did I challenge her to this stupid thing" or perhaps "18 waking hours today and she had nothing else to shoot but me and these peas."

And picture 2 is the lonely pile of rejected peas on Jayme's plate. Aren't they cute! Six down, 359 to go.

Lisa On Location Photography

Day 5: My Dinner {Project 365}

Okay so I don't have anything as cool as Jayme today because I voted last week. So there! But I did take the kiddos to Cici's while he had leftovers for dinner. Score! This is what was left after we tore through the buffet.

Lisa On Location Photography