Content Creation class is TOO MUCH FUN. I highly recommend it. I can’t say the same for my other two classes but one rhymes with Bath and the other one is sometimes fun but sometimes drudgery. I am finding interesting points in it all though, even the (Math class.)
For our audio unit in Content Creation I interviewed my new boss. It was really fascinating and I wish you could have listened to it. Unfortunately technology was not on my side, and the interview did not record.
Thankfully my husband is a fascinating person and was a willing victim of my experiment. Sadly the audio isn’t great. Did I mention I’m a newbie? Be kind.
In this episode of Hometown Heroes I interview my favorite firefighter. Hope you enjoy it!
Due to the cheap nature of myself, I did not upgrade to upload audio and it was a whole mess trying to put that audio on YouTube. Here is 5 minutes of our podcast. (If there was a laughing/crying emoji I would insert here.)
When I was a little girl I had two goals: become a rock star, and a mom.
When I was a teenager I had two goals, become a Broadway star, and a mom. (Do you see a through-line?)
When dreams of fame and fortune made way for reality, momming was still a goal and I started to shape my education in a way that would be “Mom-friendly.” I asked myself when picking majors, what could I learn that would allow me to be with my future children and still contribute to the family in a monetary way?
Children came before I figured it all out. I’m a dreamer and not very practical, I married someone similar to me. Thus, children came before we could ensure my professional future or his.
It is hard to be a one income family in this day and age. Many times as we struggled through hardships, and recessions, I wished that I could take the burden off my partner’s shoulders. I took it upon myself to be frugal and decided that was what I could do at the time.
Now that the children are grown and I threw myself back into school I have been combing through the job market, the need for more income is real. Kids actually get MORE expensive the older they get. There is auto-insurance, a need for extra vehicles, missions, school, camps, and future weddings. I want to be able to help contribute to these events. I certainly expect my children to pay for some or most, but would love to help with part.
Then there are the vacations we’ve never been able to take. If there is one thing that makes me gag on Social Media it is the people that take the exotic vacations constantly. Every year they’re in Mexico or Hawaii, or Europe. I have dreamed for years of being able to take the children somewhere besides a place that is drivable in our 11 passenger van. Now they are older and time is slipping through my fingers. I am almost desperate to afford a real vacation with the kids.
Enter plasma donation…and where have you been my whole life?
I admit that I have never, not once, donated blood. My elbows are extremely sensitive and I really have to focus whenever I have blood tests. I get freaked out at the idea of a tube in my arm letting blood freely leave my body.
That is how desperate I am to take my kids on a real vacation. Did I mention I have four? Have you added the cost of six people and plane tickets, car rental, house rental, food, and sundries? It is a lot.
I gave plasma last week and I pictured our vacation the whole time. It worked. I didn’t even mind having to squeeze the blood out of my arm at intervals.
I also got a job. I am a contractor for a publishing company that is doing amazing things in the middle-grade book world. It is very part-time but also fulfilling.
As the funds slowly trickle in, I am slowly putting together an epic vacation. All while trying to pass my Math class and striving to sound organized in my English papers, and putting forth my best work for Content Creation.
The hardest part is ignoring the house falling apart around me. The kids have chores, but you know how that goes. I can’t stop and clean a room anymore, there’s no time! I don’t have time to make dinner and I rarely grocery shop. The house plants I cherish need love and care but I feel like I can only stare at them and ask them to hold on a little longer.
I know balance is elusive but I look for ways to maintain facetime with my children. I keep snacks in my room/office so they will come in and talk to me when they feel peckish. At 9pm we huddle on my bed for the “quote of the day,” and discuss what the next day holds for us.
I do miss being a full-time mom and feeling so useful in that way, but my brain loves the new challenges that come up with school and work.
Update: I went for a second time to the plasma bank, today actually, and almost fainted. It was one of the most humiliating situations to date…having the phlebotomists flock towards me, ice packs thrown around my neck, saline solution administered…anyhoo…here’s to hanging out at the nurse’s station with Powerade and a bag of Goldfish. I did sign up for another go just to see if today was a fluke. I sure hope so! My plasma donation days might be over.
There is much perfectionism that goes into graphic design, my problem is I am not picky. I have always been the type of person to see something that looks good and move forward.
For this assignment we could use a photo of ours and post a meme or topic over it that we were interested in. Since I am still in a Gift From the Sea mode I picked another beautiful quote from that book.
This quote means a lot to me in these middle age years of my life. I am a hopeless romantic and dreamed of the life I would have by now. While life looks very different than how my young mind envisioned, it is still very beautiful.
I have seen much beauty in struggle, the strength that comes from surviving trials that teach us lessons in ways an easy journey cannot.
I am grateful for the sense of humor I have, for courage that comes from hope, and for the strength I draw from those that I admire that have experienced hardships as well.
I wish for courage, strength, and a sense of humor for you too, my friends.
For this photo I cleaned up her skin a little so it was smooth and not distracting.
I saturated the color to show the greens and browns of the area.
I didn’t need to crop it as I felt the space around her was interesting.
I touched up her skin here so it was smooth and her natural color could shine.
I clarified it more, due to the color coming through the bridge the color bled a little bit so this helped.
That’s all, I like how this photo was framed in camera.
I touched up her skin here once again.
I touched up the clarity because the color seemed to bleed through in this area.
I saturated the color to bring out the greens and browns.
I added a filter to give it a little warmth and make it different than her other poses.
I cropped this one to focus on the lines of the bridge.
I saturated the color so that the moss and the greens behind the subject stood out.
I added a vignette so that the eye was drawn towards the subject and followed the lines.
I added a filter so that the colors were warm.
I cropped the photo to fill the space with the subject.
I retouched her skin so that it was smoother.
I added more light to help balance the shadows.
I saturated the color to help balance the shadows as well. This spot was overly bright but we liked the bench.
I added a vignette to focus on the subject a little more.
This was a fun activity. I would love to get my hands on a real photo-editing program for more in-depth editing but I appreciate how far technology has come on our devices.
In Content Creation class we are working through a photography unit. I spent two years in the late 90s in photography school in Seattle. I should be more excited for photography assignments…but if you noticed I said 90s, and in the 90s we used manual cameras with manual F-stops and apertures, we had to set and control how the light hit our film (yes I said film) at all times. Post taking the picture we entered these things called “dark rooms” where we had to develop our film in a small closet and hope that our exposures worked out. If our film processed like it was supposed to then we created contact sheets and picked out the pictures we liked, then we put them in these big machines where we exposed photo paper to light through the film, and then developed the photo paper through a series of chemicals laid out in containers on a table. Red lights were all we had to guide our way. Those were good times.
Is it more convenient now to take pictures? Yes. Everyone and their mother is a photographer. Gone are the days where we are hoping the wedding photos we took turn out, because we cannot go back and recreate the day. Maybe it’s the stress of it all and the tedium that I miss? Maybe it’s the boomer in me that is technology hesitant? I don’t love digital photography. I like looking at it, but the performance of it all has no magic.
So here is my candid photo for this latest assignment. My daughter took a photo of me taking a photo of her.
We needed to create a photoshoot, we were to scout out locations before hand. I love our local park, it’s gorgeous, but I had to be choosy about what day we went out. We get a lot of rain during this season. It was a bright day out and very cold. I wasn’t dressed properly. I should have brought a warm jacket. I also missed reflective discs that we used to bring on site for photo shoots in college. The brightness of the day leads to sharp shadows on the face and that is flattering to no one.
I am glad we are doing this photography unit. It’s introducing me to more that I can do with my camera phone than I knew before.
Only if one drops one’s phone into the cats’ water bowl… my goodness, friends. Today has been one of those days where all the plans you made fell into the cats’ water bowl and then even though you are a lifetime fan of the Android phone, the free one that you have at home is the other kind; the one that most of the world uses and you are clueless. So the day was spent transferring everything, one app at a time, to this new system. Creature comforts. I used to say that I didn’t use my cell phone for very much and now I use it for everything. Help me Rhonda! On to another Content Creation class exercise. This one was a lot of fun!
Motion Blur…Flashlight movement.My guitar reflects my money tree.Listening to her song recorded in the studio.Dog Park in the MorningDog Park after Dark
I never read a book that was an anthem for motherhood until I read Gift of the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Her husband was the decorated aviator pioneer, Charles Lindbergh. She was a graduate of Smith College, and she raised six children. Anne is a controversial historical figure and a book about her life would be fascinating. This book is an ode to motherhood, it’s triumphs and trials. Anne loved her annual get-away to the sea, and used it as a time to write and recharge.
“I find there is a quality to being alone that is incredibly precious. Life rushes back into the void, richer, more vivid, fuller than before.”
Thanks for the idea, Anne.
Two years ago I decided I would take an annual trip by myself. It has been all the things Anne describes, but I knew this year would be a little different.
Studies have taken a toll.
I try to get all of my work done by the weekend and take a nice two day break to recharge, reconnect with my family, clean the paths of clutter that have collected in my room, and generally pretend I’m care-free.
Sadly with my class load I’ve been running into Saturdays where I am still working through assignments all day.
Two weeks ago I worked through Saturday and my son was gone to Prom, my husband was on shift at the fire department and my daughters were out with friends. I turned in my last assignment at 6 pm and cried.
Tears are old friends. There’s a feeling I get when I cross a literal finish line of a literal race. It’s elation, relief, and pride all rolled up in a nice package that includes salty tears streaming down my face.
“That was really hard…” I said to the walls of my living room, “but I did it!”
This weekend I had my annual “Me” trip scheduled and looming.
There is something really magical about having an agenda for one. I eat, sleep, run, walk, shop, all when I want too. After 23 years of marriage and 22 years of motherhood, I can’t describe how delightful the feeling of being untethered is.
With all this in mind I tried my very best to get my homework done early this week. It would not do to spend my untethered weekend tethered to my computer.
Le sigh.
You know what’s coming. I found myself heading to the coast with so much left to do, including a proctored Math test that I was terrified of. There were so many little bumps along the way. I had a photoshoot to squeeze in for my Content Creation class, I had two other photography assignments yet to be finished. My math test was glaring at me and those darn pre-tests in Excel were taunting me. Maps took me a weird and unfamiliar way across the pass to the coast and I found myself on sketchy roads with polite signs that said “slide” to warn me that the ground was crumbling beneath my vehicle. By the time I found my Shangri-la it was dark and moody out. The sky was the color of my soul. All hope of a relaxing weekend was gone.
My first priority was my Math test. Our professor had warned us not to wait till the last day it was due to take it. “Wifi goes out, things happen. Take your test Friday,” he said. I sat there at my cute little desk and did indeed have technical difficulties. I won’t bore you with the details but during the height of my frustration, the people occupying the unit above me thought 7 pm at night was a good time to re-arrange the furniture. Usually I’m not that person that wants to pull out my broomstick and knock on the ceiling above me, but with my nerves completely frazzled, the vision of ending this “me” vacation with a drive back home to take this stupid test, I was about to explode.
I’ll end the suspense and say I hacked my way through the glitch.
My test went better than well. I can’t tell you how worried I was about conversion units. I was terrified. I spent three different sessions with tutors. They must have helped me because I received a 92%. Thank you Josh, Rachel, and Will for your patience with me. I will never forget you and will probably be back for rounds two and three, possibly four and five as well.
I woke up this morning, the second day of my self-exile, with those Excel pre-tests on my mind. I dreaded them but I wanted them done and no longer taking space in my head.
“How long can it take?” I wondered, reassuring myself.
Six hours.
That’s how long it took.
About three hours each pre-test.
All the while I could hear the ocean outside. It was calling me like an old friend.
I felt nauseous with the need to get out, but time was not my friend today. I had deadlines and the ocean would have to wait.
I did get them done just in time for a headache to kick in but with ibuprofen, and caffeine flowing through my veins I drove to the beautiful Ecola State Park.
The PNW is green all year round. I love it here so much.
This was my payoff for the un-fun tasks I had to do this weekend.
I ran a very intense 42 minutes but it was glorious. I came to my home for the weekend and figured out my last two photography assignments, hit submit, and felt the bliss of finishing another week.
This weekend was not the picture perfect escape I had planned, but these days I’ll take what I can get. As I write this I am watching all the shows my family doesn’t enjoy. I’m spread out on the couch with no one fighting for space. My belly is full of pasta I made for just me. I will soak up the last hours of this time until I drift off into sleep by myself. I will wake up and walk on the beach, I’ll find a bakery and stock up on goods to bribe my kids with. I will drive back through the beautiful misty mountains of the Tillamook Forest.
I wonder if my family has had time to miss me. Perhaps next year’s foray to the coast will need to be longer?
Monday morning comes all too soon and it all starts again. I will join the ranks of all the mothers as we try to balance parenting with pursuing our dreams. I can only approach it with patience.
Anne says it best in the book when she says;
” The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasure shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach-waiting for a gift from the sea.”
I mentioned I enjoy my Content Creation class, this week we start our photography unit and my how it has changed since photography school in the late 90’s. While we were plugging in digital backings to our 4×5 cameras, now we have cameras with us constantly and can share and edit to our heart’s content.
I chose this particular photograph to recreate because my daughter is obsessed and it is hard to stay relevant to your teens. For real. I use words like “cap” and “fit” and there is not response. There was a response to this since my 14 yo was our photographer. She coached us to channel our inner Jake and Taylor. She made us play “All to Well” the 10 minute version, in the car on the way to our location. She took her job very seriously.
Sadly, I have been losing points here and there in this class due to overlooking the specifics…something I plan to be better at. I need to answer a few questions for the sake of grading.
I think the original photograph is famous not only because of the celebs in it, but because there are some songs by Miss Taylor sealing their coupledom in infamy forever. It’s a whole rabbit trail that I have heard all about. From that teen I mentioned. (Not that I turn away from celeb gossip. It’s fascinating.)
As I prepared the photo I had to take framing into account. I had to find somewhere in the PNW that would simulate a New York street. Costuming was also considered. The lighting worked for us today and is very similar to the original.
Something I learned to make my own work better is to make sure I have a few optional days to shoot. This week has been unusually nice in the PNW but we had rain today and I was afraid that would ruin our shoot. I need to make sure we have time in case of inclement weather.
Our kids will now have this photo to remember always. I appreciate my husband being a good sport about it. I can tell you it wasn’t his favorite.
There is an artist coming to town soon, one that I have been wanting to see in person for over two decades. He is a well-known womanizer, immortalized in more than one song by a popular female artist. His presence in another female artist’s memoir was telling as well. He appeared manipulative and unkind. Every time his songs come on my husband reminds me of this person’s unsavory character. “He’s a jerk,” says my husband, “How can you listen to this guy when he treats women this way?”
The simple answer is I love his music. I love it in a way that I can’t quit it. This artist is a brilliant lyricist and I’m someone that loves cleverly put together words with catchy melodies. His music is the soundtrack to my young adult life.
Over the years of my musical fandom, I have learned that Michael Jackson is a child molester, R. Kelly kept a harem, and artists like Maren Morris bully people with different opinions in the name of social justice. With the age of the internet we have this phenomenon called “cancel culture.” Popularized in 2010 and acted out by boycotting or shunning those who are deemed unacceptable. So how do we decide who has demonstrated this unacceptable behavior? Does it feel like these call-outs have become more like witch hunts?
I like how Kevin Hart responded to the masses when asked about the rash of recent comedians being canceled. “When did we get to the point where life is supposed to be perfect? Where people supposed to operate perfectly all the time?”
Artists of all types are human, just like us. I have made some idiotic comments in my lifetime and count my blessings that social media was not around to document my stupidity. However, I also think it is necessary for us to draw a line. When referring to the artist with the soundtrack to my young adult life I don’t feel like he has crossed that line yet.
TickPick polled 1,001 music fans in the United States and asked them this question: “Should fans stop supporting musicians who say or do problematic things?” 51% responded with “it depends on the circumstances.” I think that’s an important distinction to make and appreciate that this was the majority answer. 42% responded “yes, absolutely.” And 7% said “no.”
This is where context comes in. If an adult is having an adult relationship and it goes poorly, or that adult is bad at relationships in general, the outcome is that adult will probably end up alone. It’s a natural consequence of being a jerk. I can still enjoy an artist that fits into this category since I believe that his behavior will lead to his loneliness. He may even write some really good music based on the pain he caused himself.
Here’s my line, if an artist is preying on a child, this has a lifetime of emotional scars for that child. That child doesn’t have a voice. That child has to find a responsible adult to believe them and stand up to the artist that usually has a lot of power and money. For years children would be brave enough to speak out against Michael Jackson and he would pay them off, leaving his adoring fans with questions in their minds…wanting to believe that this Pop Star was innocent and these families clearly wanted money. I can’t ignore this pattern, and I can’t listen to his music even though he doesn’t benefit from my patronage anymore.
Also: my mystery artist’s name rhymes with Ron Player.
Gloria Louise was a private woman, one that I struggled to know throughout my childhood, teen, and young adult years. She lived through most of them, dying recently at age 95.
One gift Gloria liked to give in her later years was spiral bound books of her life.
These are gifts that I treasure and feel close to my grandmother in a way that I didn’t while she was alive.
Gloria writes “I don’t propose to write of great trials though I have been through the refiner’s fire…Therefore, let it suffice to say…I have had my trials but through them all, life has been beautiful. I am grateful for the many happy, wonderful experiences I have had.”
Perhaps Gloria learned how to suffer trials gladly by this story she relates of seeing her own mother, Nida, go through a difficult time…
When Gloria had just started school her mother’s youngest sister died of Tuberculosis. For many weeks before this aunt (Shirley) died, Gloria remembers riding to the Sanitorium with her younger sister, her Mother, and Father. The children would sit in the car while the grown-ups would visit. Gloria remembered Shirley fondly, she said she had beautiful red hair, and would share her pictures of movie stars and lacey Valentine hearts with Gloria and her sister.
Losing her was Gloria’s first memory of loss. Shortly after Shirley died, Gloria’s own father became very ill, because he was a veteran of the first World War, he was sent away to the nearest VA hospital on the other side of Washington State. For three months he would write letters home to his little family. Gloria was so young she could not read so her dad sent his daughters cartoons of himself, leaning out of his hospital window and crying buckets over being away, he missed them so.
During this time, Gloria’s mother Nida was pregnant with their third child and they had no income while Dad was away. On one occasion Gloria saw her mother on her knees scrubbing their floor, they were out of wood, but while Nida scrubbed she sang a hymn and wondered aloud “How will all of this turn out?” As the question formed in her mind, she looked out of the window to see her brother, Morris, coming with a truck load of wood. He told Nida that one of his friends wasn’t using the truck that day…and the thought came to him that he should borrow it and get a load of wood for her. Gloria said her mother was always a great example of faith.
I learn many things when I read about Gloria, she was and will always be an example to me of how to endure with grace and see beauty through trials.
What She Learned Today 