Day 24 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Snow Day Part 2. Sunday, and still snow all over the place. (Apparently they don't plow the roads down here in Virginia.) Wildman was not so accommodating today. First we wne t outside and I let him touch the snow. Big surprise to him, it was cold. After that he was not interested in touching it again. Soooo we had to brave the elements and go somewhere, any where. We ended up at Target. All's well that ends well.

Day 23 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Snow Day! After much hype from the weatherman and much doubt from me, we did, infact, wake up to several inches of snow. It also continued to snow, all.day.long. Wildman was not happy with being in the house all day but he took it all in stride. Once the snow let up for a few minutes I ran outside to take some pictures. The thing that caught my eye was how out of place the garden figures seemed covered in snow. This one was my favorite.

Day 22 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Time which should be objective (60 seconds in a minutes, 60 minutes in an hour) is actually subjective. Some days seem so long while some days seem too short. Well today was a long day. After 4 blissful weeks of perfect health—my son caught a cold. (Par for the course when you have a kid in daycare.) So with my eyes half open, I sprung into Mommy/Nurse mode. I wasted no time reaching for the Vicks and slathering it on his feet (don't laugh, it works!). Then I gave him a dose of Tylenol, a drink of water, and set up the humidifier. I tried to tip toe out the door but the crying started again. So I had to rock him for another 30 minutes. Then it took me like another hour to get back to sleep. So with the lack of sleep, this day has seemed ten times longer than it should be. Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight. Or not.

Day 21 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

This morning started with my three favorite words: OUT FOR DELIVERY. After a gift from the love of my life, here is the latest addition to my family. It is the HTC Droid Eris. Isn't she lovely?
I waited patiently for the loud roar of the FedEx truck, then ran down the stairs and flung the door open - startling the poor lady who was ready to stick a note on the door and run. (I am such a tech geek!) And can I just say I am in hot monkey love with this phone. Hot.Monkey.Love. It rocks.

Day 20 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Today was a walk around in my glasses type of day. I couldn't even be bothered to put my contacts in. I spent the majority of the day doing laundry and cleaning. Then I spent some time updating my website and researching furniture that I hope will make a guest appearance in my new house. (Wow what a boring day!) Also scheduled to make a guest appearance in said house is the 27 inch iMac. Drooooooool......

The end of February better come quickly. My poor laptop screen is hanging on by a thread.

Day 19 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Today I went about my normal routine, but after picking my son up from daycare and driving back to the house I noticed that the sky was still blue (much to my son's disappointment). He searched the entire sky, asking me several times "Moon? Moon?" But the moon was just barely on its way out.

Darkness is the death sentence to the day. When it's dark outside you can't bring yourself to run all those errands after work or to take that much overdue walk around the neighborhood. So what do you do? You go home and you start preparing for another day. But! When you leave work and the sky is still blue, you feel like "Hey I can still do stuff." So you run all your errands, hang out late and end up getting to bed later than you planned.... (but I digress) It's happening people. The days are getting longer! I can already feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. So let's start our countdown to the first day of spring - March 20, 2010.

Day 18 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Sometimes I wonder exactly what is going on inside his head. Today was a particularly trying day for the both of us. We went to run some errands and hit Taco Bell for lunch. I left him at the table with the tray of food and I turned to get some napkins. In a split second he had snatched the tray and managed to waste all of his nacho chips on the floor. At that point the crying started. He recovered from that and then threw a fit in Target because he wanted to ride in the bottom of the cart and not in the top. By the time we got to Walmart I wasn't going to take any chances. I yanked his portable DVD player out of the car and placed him the basket and turned it on. I walked through Walmart for 20 blissful minutes in silence. So to recap, not going to win the Greatest Mother Award but at least I got all my shopping done.

Day 17 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

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Do you ever wonder if your toilet paper gets lonely? Apparently the wonderful people at the Homewood Suites by Hilton thought that toilet paper could use a mate. That is the only way that I can explain why there are not one but two toilet paper dispensers in the bathroom. But even more curious was the fact that both rolls were being used. Why not just use all of one roll before moving on to the next? Or if they really wanted to cater to their clients why not put one roll with the paper over and one roll with the paper under. Now that would be service!

Day 16 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

During our brief stay in D.C. we had the pleasure of visiting Madame Tussaud's museum. It was so weird to see the celebrities in their actual size. Some look a lot taller on tv and some look a lot shorter. My little one walked through the museum telling each and every figure "Hi!" But the highlight of his day was at the gift shop when my husband bought him this airplane. We affectionately call it "Air Force 2" and it has saved our ears from hearing the "High & Low" song a million times a day. (Now we just hear it half a million times.) I don't know how much it cost but, believe me, it was worth every penny!

Day 15 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

And the moral of that story is....

This is my sister. She is a living, breathing, embodiment of the phrase "and the moral of that story is...". In this particular episode she allowed my niece to pack her own bag for our trip to Washington D.C. AND she didn't bother to check the bag before they left the house. The result was a shocking assortment of items including gold belts to go with silver outfits, summer shirts to wear in the dead of winter, and no toothbrush or toothpaste to be found. So the moral of that story was, if you are going to let (or make) an 8 year old pack her own bag—you have to check behind her.

Day 14 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Hint: This is a legal torture device that you must sit under for at least an hour, longer if you are in a hurry.

Give up?

It's the inside of a hair dryer (obviously the kind you sit under). Today I had the great displeasure of sitting under this thing for about an hour and fifteen minutes. On the bright side, while trapped I was able to use the Kindle Book App on my iTouch. And I LOVED IT! For those of you who have never heard of it, it is a way to read books electronically on your iTouch or iPhone. At first I had a lot of reservations about trying it. I mean I love the feeling of a book in my hand and seeing the pages turn as I finish them. But this was just so convenient. The words are about the same size as they would be in an actual book and it didn't cause me to strain my eyes. I'm not sure I'm fully converted yet, but if it might save a few trees—I'll consider it.

Day 13 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Today two thing happened. First I woke up and discovered three of the best words in the English language: OUT FOR DELIVERY. Secondly, I realized that somewhere between my early to mid-twenties and now (solidly 30) I lost my desire and love of shopping for myself. When I was younger I could spend hours upon hours in the mall searching for the perfect thing and I would leave with bags full of stuff. Now I drag myself around the mall and can't be bothered to try anything on and usually leave feeling like I just wasted hours of my life that I will never get back. Which brings me back to the first thing that happened; my notice that my box from Gymboree would be arrive TODAY. And so it did.

Today's picture is an homage to Gymboree. (The only Gym I run into with any regularity.) It was taken with my Macro lense that I got for Christmas and just look at how the texture pops off the page! In my former life I was a Graphic Artist, an excellent one by the way, and I loved typography. Have you ever really noticed that all the other letters in the word Gymboree are capitalized except the 2 e's?

Day 12 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

I sit here eating the sugar free, reduced calorie, chocolate pudding that I mistakenly picked up at Walmart. And as a public service announcement I thought that I would just put out there that - the quickest way to ruin something chocolate is to put the words sugar free and reduced calorie in front of it, ugh.

So on to today's picture. I was actually supposed to take this picture on the 17th when my little wild one would be exactly 31 months old. But I forgot (what can I say I'm forgetful) and so I'm just remembering today. Any-who, this is another public service announcement (of sorts): The new recommendations are to rear face your child for at least 2 years or until your child reaches the maximum height/weight limits of your car seat. Riding rear facing protects your child's spine in case of a collision. If you look closely you will see that the car seat in front is more in focus than my son. That isn't by mistake. I realize that car seats aren't for fashion or convenience (don't get me started on the 20 minutes it takes to get a kid in and out of the car) - but for safety.

Wrist splints; it's what all the cool kids are wearing.

Ok well maybe not, but this thing helps out more than you can imagine. Thanks to many long years of working on the computer all day and my career of constantly lifting a heavy camera up to my eye, I have developed carpal tunnel. It is some what worse today because I drove four and half hours back to Virginia holding the steering wheel with both elbows bent. By the time I got back to the house I could feel the tip of my index finger going numb (a lovely little side effect I've come to enjoy). So here I sit, splint on hand, looking unbelievable fashionable.

Day 9 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

I have a confession to make.....
I hate coffee. Hate, hate, hate. I love the smell of it but would rather lick the bottom of my shoe than drink coffee. Naturally, my weakness is hot chocolate. Today I had the great pleasure of going to the spa with my Mom and sisters (and one of my lovely sorors!). After a remarkable massage I sat down at the table for lunch in my rather thin robe and it was so cold my teeth were almost chattering. Luckily I noticed the hot chocolate on the menu, it was perfection.

Day 10 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

So here's another thing about me. I love babies wearing hats and I think that every little girl should have her picture taken in a tutu. So if you're wearing a hat and a tutu - even better! Today I had the pleasure of taking pictures of this lovely beauty. Her name is Emma Grace. She was horrified both by the hat and the tutu—I was mesmerized by her long lashes and beautiful eyes. The result was the picture posted above.

Day 8 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

I spent most of Day 8 in the car driving from Virginia to North Carolina. I realized that I needed to take a picture for the day so I took out my camera and started snapping. Something drew me to this image. Maybe it is the aggravated look on my niece's face, or the thought that no black woman has escaped being in this position. When you are a child getting anything done to your hair is always the worst. Sitting on the hard floor waiting for the torture to be over.

It has been said that the longest journey starts with just a single step. Life is nothing if not a journey. January is always a difficult month for me. To most it symbolizes a new beginning but for me it is a reminder of an end. I often question, how do I smile when a piece of me is missing? It's gone forever and I can never get it back. Time heals all wounds, or so they say. So I will wait patiently for time to heal me.

Day 7 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

I felt like today was a good day for getting an outdoor shot. So I wandered around outside and took some pictures of ice formations, trees and blah blah blah. Then I walked over to the patio area and saw this. It is exactly how I feel today—like the sun is broken. I have been freezing all day long. So I closed myself up in the room with a space heater set on high and read 110 pages of Twilight. It was heavenly.

Day 6 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Since my MFA classes don't start again until February I've been trying to keep my mind busy by reading some novels. Well this book has gotten so much hype (and even a movie!) that I have finally been suckered into buying it. I haven't started reading it yet but I'm preparing myself to be DAZZLED.

Day 5 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

This happy smiling airplane is currently the bane of my existence. My son LOVES it. He has just hit the phase where it must go with him everywhere... Upstairs, downstairs, to the bathroom, to the table to eat - EVERYWHERE. This plane has to be within arms reach at all times. I even got thrown into a Bad Mommy Moment because he wanted me to put it in the bed with him when he was supposed to take a nap. *sigh*

And it sings a charming little jingle (because don't all annoying toys come with a song?) that I can't seem to get out of my head.

To the tune of "This Old Man"
High & Low, High & Low, Up in the sky and away we go. With a cloud over here and a cloud over there. High & Low, Away we go!

Day 4 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Day 4 has been a bit of a challenge. Aside from going to church this morning we have just been lazy in the house. And as a result my little one decided that climbing across the glass tables and knocking everything off might be fun. (We are at my parents' house and babyproofing is impossible!) This poor angel was a casualty of the aforementioned "fun". Shhhhhhhh no one tell his Grandma, while I sneak off to super glue her hand back on.

Note to self: when trying to get away with something, posting photographic evidence on your blog might be a bad idea.

Day 3 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Wow, I'm squeaking this one in under the wire. Today we went to dinner in honor of my Mom's 16th birthday. (She's turned 16 every year since she was 30!) And since I had just gotten my hands on a new backdrop stand and backdrop - and everyone had on their fancy clothes - I hosted a photo session. My Mom & Dad were good sports and tolerated all the crazy things I asked them to do. This pose was one of the crazy ones. I'm posting it because if you've been married for 36 years and you can still stand to be around your spouse - you're doing something right.

Day 2 - Natasha King Photography - Project 365

Today's image was a no brainer. I knew I was going to Chilli's with my BFF/Sister from another mother (and father). We of course ordered the Molten Chocolate Cake. I was supposed to take a picture of it in all its' glory BEFORE we devoured it but I forgot. We tore into it like it was the last morsel of food on earth. Ah well. It was delicious!

365 Project - Natasha King Photography - Day 1 - Newport News, VA

Day 1 - As I was pondering what picture I was going to take to get my project started I happened to look up and see my purse hanging open on the back of the door. My purse is never zipped. Seems weird to even have it there since back in my college days I never needed one. All of life's most important possessions could fit in a little velcro University of South Carolina wallet that doubled as a key chain. Then after college I switched to a small purse—seemed more professional. Then I had a kid. And my purse just got bigger and bigger. It seems to be the catch all for all of my son's crap, all of my crap, and everything that my husband doesn't feel like carrying. Seriously, one day I walked through the mall with two bottles of olive oil in there. Anyway this picture is dedicated to all of the Bag Ladies out there sending in search parties to locate your wallet!

365 Challenge - Children's Photographer - Newport News, Virginia

There is no turning back! I am jumping head first into the 365 Days of Photographs challenge. Ideally I should have started this on January 1st but what can I say I'm a procrastinator! So starting tomorrow (which is less than an hour away) I will be taking one picture a day for the next year.

I will simultaneously be working on my Thursdays with Tony project. Where I will be taking a picture of my son every week on Thursday and at the beginning of next year I will compile it into a collage or photo book.

My goal this year is to just snap away and to learn a lot in the process. Buckle up your virtual seat belts.