Smile Please!

As a scrapbooker I need photos to put on my layouts but despite having a lovely camera for my birthday last year I seem to be suffering from a lack of photos!

My problem is I want to learn how to use the camera properly and not just point and shoot but most courses I come across are either for a much fancier camera than mine or seem to go on about Photoshop and not actually cover the photo taking techniques.

I decided to take my camera out and about with me more so that I have it on me to take photos but I'm then fighting with the automatic mode and just get bland, autoflash white pictures with the main item too far away, too close, out of focus or just not very interesting.

One piece of advice is to read the manual for the camera - has anyone ever really done this? How do you read a manual that is all in techno speak that has been translated from Japanese by a Swedish bloke anyway!?!

So I'm not quite sure where to go next with it all. I am hoping having a blog will help as I'll want to illustrate my posts - see yesterday with the handbag photo - yep I actually got the camera out and specifically took that picture for the blog. Humm, think more surfing of websites is required to find that sparkle of inspiration - even if it is just a website that translates Japanese into English from Swedish LOL

Passion for Pink

I don't remember ever being a girly girl for pink stuff when I was younger but for some reason since I hit 40 I seem to have a passion for pink!

It hit me when I was looking at how I set up this blog page - have you noticed how much pink I picked?! LOL

It started out as a minor addiction - pink purse, pick pink whenever I get a choice (like this blog background) etc but then it really became an addiction the day I saw the handbag that I WANTED! It is an All My Memories pink tote with cream trim and I saw it on a scrapbook website but couldn't source it in the UK. I tried e-bay, USA shops etc but kept missing out on auctions or the USA shop didn't ship to UK or it was too expensive for shipping etc.

In the end I found the blue version on a UK site called Crafts 4 Storage and nearly bought that but thought "no I WANT pink!". So I got in touch and bless them they bent over backwards to source me a pink one (I think they got it from France in the end). I got it last year (said it was for my birthday as it was a tad more than I would normally spend on a handbag) and I love it. It is amazing how many times a shop assistant comments on it (or at least the photos on the front of it) when I am getting my purse out and it holds tons of stuff (too heavy sometimes).

Of course now it means everything else has to be pink too! It may be a strange addiction as I've grown older but I truely have a passion for pink now I'm in my 40s!

A day for errands

It comes to something when you have to book a day off work just to do various errands such as family visit to the dentist, get your hair cut, pay some cheques into the bank etc but that is what I have done today. I find that working full time Monday to Friday, spending most of the weekend running around doing stuff with A and fitting in some housework and food shopping there isn't much time left for anything else.

Still it does mean I got to spend some quality time with J without him falling asleep on a sofa as he normally does the nights he isn't working. We even went and had grown up lunch in a Weatherspoons and "talked" to each other instead of communicating homework requirements and food instructions as we normally do in the week. I remember when it was like that before A and I'm happy to say we can still enjoy each other's company so I won't have to fear the empty nest syndrome in a few years time. I might be the golfers widow though!! LOL

Write something every day...

My friend told me I should write something every day but in this modern world of fast paced living, TV and Internet that is so hard to do. So I am going to have a go at typing something and probably not every day either!

I have only read a few blogs - mainly by friends as it gives me a little insight into their daily lives - so I have no idea if what I am going to use this for is the right format, the right place or even of any interest to anyone but at least it will get me thinking more and writing more.

This evening at A's parent's evening she was told she has to concentrate more in class as her mind is so "full"of stuff she is wandering off into other worlds. On the way home she told me she wants to start a daily journal to write down all the "stuff" to help empty her mind so she can concentrate at school more. I don't know if it will work but it means she'll write every day too so between us we are both starting out on our "blogging" experiences!