Surviving January: Bubbles
After the holiday red and green are put away, the winter blues hit our household, deepening with the inches of snow. This January my survival plan is to bring summertime activities indoors. While I try to figure out a way to bring in some sand – and then decide how to make castles in the house without regretting it – we’re starting the month with bubbles!
We cranked up the heat in the house, found summertime clothes (they picked their own), and got the bubble maker running:
thinking warm
a fragile proposition
feel the summer
barefoot
catching wishes
swimming in it
This was my first attempt at off-camera flash, just getting the pieces to work together and not worrying too much about the details of lighting arrangements yet. Honestly, assembling the bubble maker was the hardest part of the basic setup. It would go a long way toward peace on earth if I did not buy things involving batteries, Allen wrenches, or instruction sheets!
In spite of all the mistakes I am seeing in the above pictures (chopped fingertips?! oops – and this setup is going to push me to shoot fully manual if nothing else will), the bubbles brought some cheer to the household. There were several other strikes against the post-holiday blues this week, too… gentle things, for a rough time of year:
1. A friend of the family posted a series of sweet, funny pictures of my parents’ place, with creative narration.
2. My perpetually optimistic husband got us started on the P90X workout videos. He rocks. I think it was on the 25th frog squat/leap that I started feeling more like a giraffe on Jell-O than anything else. The trainer was hysterical, without meaning to be… He did say one encouraging thing, though, not just for workouts:
The important thing is to keep showing up… just keep pressing play.
Gentle words from steel and brawn.
3. A family friend and professional photographer spent some time giving me tips, and an advanced amateur acquaintance invited me to join a skill building challenge group. It will take a few weeks to start implementing these things, but their kindness was a much-needed, well-timed boost.
4. It’s my mom’s birthday – TODAY! I posted last week that she got a baseball glove and funky socks for Christmas. Just an example of one of many reasons I appreciate her so much.
5. My daughter learned to wink, which was pretty hysterical as well. (Family – and those who know you are – Does this remind you of someone we know, showing us how he really does wiggle his ears?!) If I can enjoy my daughter’s attempts at something new with grace and humor, I can do the same for myself.
wink
Playtime kit by After5Designs, Oscraps free template
Here’s hoping you are finding things to keep you going after the holidays, too.
Absolutely delightful!! Beth got a Cannon T1i (I think) for Christmas- told her about your blog. Love~
PS- lost of preschool teachers place sand in a little wading pool… the regrets may be there but it would be fun!
Oh YAY! I’d really love to hear her photography adventures!
If I can locate a wading pool this time of year, we’ll give it a try. Otherwise it may be just a big tarp!