Shades of Summer

Sorry for my rather long hiatus; I've been completely engrossed in my nearly full-time schedule at school for the summer, dealing with 4 kids who are less-than-thrilled at my absence around the house these days, and a hubs who has had to take over some of my less-than-thrilling domestic goddess duties as well.

I need more medication for this!

But I thought I would share a couple of moments of summer (before all the oil hits here and ruins the ambiance!), that are simple, but priceless.

These are a couple of shots that my instructor managed to give back to me after much wrangling in the floor for them because he just happen to be grading them at the moment I wanted to bring them home.

I got a "A"

I'm suppose to be working on a self-portrait project right now. I was greatly disappointed to find out that I could NOT point the camera in the mirror and "shoot".

Damn! I ruined 3 rolls of film doing that!

Maybe I should just hand the camera over to the four year old and let her have her try at it.

My lips should look interesting at close up range!

Shooting The Dead

Well it's been busy in my life of late. Started classes at the local college last week and boy has the schedule around here been nuts! Going 4 days straight a week to school, you'd think I'd be the one complaining, but instead it's been the kids whining about it.

And boy have they taken whining to an elevated art form!

Talk about mommie withdrawal symptoms. They do not like the idea that I'm not in the house 24/7 as they usually expect. Mommie having a life is apparently not on their agenda just yet. They seem to be having this elevated "fear" that I won't be home when they get home from school themselves.

My God! What are they going to do during the summer when I'm not here.

They'll figure it out!

One of my classes is this great black and white photography class that has me realizing now that I'm gonna have to hit the bank up for a small loan on all the rolls of film I'll be using. My first project entails me to use no less than seven rolls! Out of those seven rolls, I'm hoping for just 10 good pics for my project.

So I started out this morning embarking on photographing the St. Michaels' Historic Cemetary in downtown Pensacola. I got up to leave at 6 a.m., cause I wanted some good lighting for the "shoot". Instead, I woke up to thick heavy clouds signaling an impending storm on the horizon.

As my instructor says: "Creative doesn't stop when the rain starts."

I made some coffee shoved some leftover cold macaroni and cheese down my throat. The mac and cheese would have been completely gross for breakfast except that I made it homemade last night, and whether or not it's cold or hot, it's damn good!

Driving over the 3-mile bridge to Pensacola and still gobbling down cold mac and cheese, I see the clouds accumulating in darker and darker globs over exactly where I have to go. Upon arriving to the cemetary I find.... it's closed! You know that's just my luck!

Locked up tighter than a drum and no stinking way to climb over its' archaic wrought iron fencing without stabbing myself to death in some kind of "Exorcist" type manner in the process.

So instead, I decided to look like the crazy lady in the family van and start circling the place in hopes that if I go around enough times, the locks on the gates will magically fall off.

Well THAT didn't work!

I implore the assistance of a female cop parked in a nearby parking lot to let me in. She laughs cause she instantly realizes that I'm a Mom slash Photography Student slash Someone desperate to get some pics before she has to go home and feed the kids type of person.

She has no clue when it opens.

So I am left to either go home with nothing or attempt something.

I'm not about to go home empty handed. I came for creepy photos of the cemetary in black and white, and that's what I'm gonna get.

So as the dark clouds loom low behind me, I park the car and start clicking through the old black fence and realize that it's just the perfect day for photographing a cemetary. The dark clouds seem to accentuate tombstones and time-stained crypts billowing from about the ground.

A distant sound of thunder can be heard.

I swear I hear evil laughing as well.

I am so longing to be inside that cemetary though as if the dead are beckoning me to climb the fence and visit their quiet resting places.

There were shots I wanted to get, but didn't because stuffing ones self through a 6 inch space between fence bars doesn't work when you're trying to get the perfect shot.

I REALLY needed a zoom lens at this moment!

I had resided myself to the fact that I would have to visit later in the day (hopefully), when it was opened to the public (finally).

I did manage to pull out some decent shots - I hope - and even managed a cool one as lighting exploded over my head as I was finishing up. I just hope it isn't blurred cause I think I jumped quite a bit when that happened. Thank goodness for awesome shutter speeds!

I'm home now and it's pouring outside as the storm eventually followed me here. Everyone is still asleep and I'm sitting here being completely obsessed about that cemetary and the spirits in which I didn't catch in my lens today.

Until that moment arises, I am left to do nothing but..... my stinking math homework!

It's Back To School Time For Mama!

So I've been busy getting ready for school. Financial Aid finally showed up out of nowhere, classes are paid, and I'm going tomorrow to pick up the books and supplies for my classes that cost a little less than a car loan for that Ford Flex I've been pining away for.

Can someone explain to me why a book that consists of a little over 100 pages, costs me over $100 to buy?

OooooOOOOOoooh! Because it was updated! That explains the inflationary value of the thing..... NOT!

I came to my senses and decided not to finish off and do Dental Hygienist because I had temporarily forgotten my needle phobia and thought it would be okay to stab someone with a 6 inch needle of Novocaine. I also forgot that I would be the one actually passed out on the floor afterwards instead of the patient.

I don't think that job would last too long after that.

So I went back to my roots: Digital Mulitimedia and IT Networking. It seems only natural since I am on the computer so stinking much anyway that the kids wouldn't really notice if I was working or not.

What they are having a "problem" with is that this time I won't be doing online classes; I actually have to leave the house to attend the college. So far this isn't going over too well. They think that they are going to be left eating only bread and water for dinner since that seems to be the only thing the hubs can make without burning, or having to O.D., on rotisserie chicken from Publix.

Moaning and groaning is not in short supply around here I tell you!

So I'm pretty sure that I am going to get plenty of "emergency" phone calls like this while in class:


"Hello. What's up Nadia?"

"No... Daddy's making what? Pasta with garlic and olive oil?."

"He burnt the garlic? It's black?"

"And you wanna know how to get all the smoke out of the kitchen?"

"Why can't you see? Because of all the smoke? You can't see anybody? You can't even see the kitchen cabinets!?"

"Can you see Julian anywhere? No?"

"Yell to him to get the big fan out of the garage."


Pause while I hear Nadia yell at Julian and of course everyone else in my classroom can hear her as well cause she kinda has a loud voice in the yelling department.


"He fell? Cause he couldn't see because of all the smoke? Is he okay?"

"Good. Now tell him to open the kitchen window and point the fan so it's blowing air out the window; not in the kitchen. This will suck the smoke out."


And yes... I have to explain some things in detail because lack of common sense runs rampid in my family during moments like these!


"Hold on Nadia, I have to work this algebra problem."

"b negative square times b over a equals a over b 3."

"No Nadia, I didn't say anything about getting bee's; I'm doing a math problem with b's in it."

"MATH problems Nadia - NOT grades!"

"What should you do about what?"

"What to do about the fire? WHAT fire!?"

"The fire on the stove that daddy started!"

"Where's daddy?"

"Running around and yelling about the fire?!"

"Nadia! Get the salt and pour the whole container on the fire! NOW!"

"I don't care if it's expensive sea salt - THROW IT ON THE FIRE NOW!!!"


Everyone in the classroom will now stopped listening to the teacher and all eyes will be on me and my frantic phone conversation in the corner of the classroom.


"Daddy wants to do what? Tell him NOT to pour water on burning olive oil! He'll blow up the kitchen!"

"YES, I DO know what I'm talking about since my brother's did the same thing when I was little; so I DO have some knowledge in this area of whether or not I will still have a kitchen when I GET HOME!!!"

"Okay, the fire is going down. NO - do not fan it with a dish towel; just throw ALL the salt on it!"


I should now be getting suggestions from other classmates and the teacher as now not to have my house burnt down at this moment. One will probably be attempting to call 911 to send the fire department to my house at this time.


"Daddy wants you to clean up the kitchen now? Make daddy clean it up - it's his mess."

"He says he's too tired. He's heading for the Xbox!"


The class should be laughing at me now.


"Tell Julian to hide the components to the remotes now! Do it quick!!!"


Suddenly I hear arguing between the hubs, Nadia, and Julian and realize it's my signal to leave class early, go home and put the referee shirt on and deal with this.

The class is on the floor in hysterics cause somehow I would have managed to hit speaker phone on my cell phone and it will be broadcasting the chaos throughout the classroom.


"Nadia. Nadia! I'm coming home now. Just keep daddy away from the Xbox AND the stove. I'll just bring pizza home."


Nadia will mumble a quiet "Thank God!", as she hangs up the phone. I will be gathering my books and assignments apologetically, while leaving my math class in humiliation as the laughter continues behind the closing door.

I'm just hoping to scratch out a "C" in this class because I don't think my family dynamics will allow me on the Dean's List this year.

Driving home from school while contemplating what I'll find at home has me completely understanding why I took online classes in the first place!


Pray for me this summer semester..... pray very hard!