Ho, Ho, Ho it's a Merry Christmas!

I'm feeling pretty good. Of course I always feel pretty good at this time of year. Usually that feeling is connected to a reason, like the kids and grandkids will all be home, or I'm going on a special date with my hubby, or it is just about time for a break from school. But right now, this feeling doesn't stem from any of the normal things that you would think. This feeling comes from having finished my LAST college class. The last final, the last paper, the last discussion posting. Now all I have left is the student teaching and a practicum next semester. Yeah, I know, those will involved papers and probably some kind of testing process, and I will still have to create the dreaded TWS (teacher work sample) but for all practical purposes I am done with "regular" classes. It has been a long time since Fall 2005 when I started this whole process with the plan to obtain my Associates in Paraprofessional Education (which I did, graduating in Spring 2009).

While I was working toward that I was also taking as many classes toward a Bachelor of Science in Sociology degree as I could handle, since the grant paid for the Para classes as well as anything else I wanted to take along the way. I graduated with my bachelors this past spring 2010 and thought I was finished. Then I found out about a program called Project Second through BHSU where someone with a related field bachelors degree could do an intensive one-year program taking summer classes and fall classes and student teach in the spring and obtain their teaching license.

Although I got started late in the program and only took one summer class, I had already taken four of the required classes while getting my para degree. This semester however, was intense. I had 6 3-credit classes, one of which doing the actual work was waived because of my 10 years experience at Newell High School. That still meant 15 credits, two classes of which were really time-consuming and difficult. Several other classes were pretty easy but all required a lot of reading. I averaged about 16 hours a week just reading and another 4 or so working on papers, posting to discussions, or studying for tests. It was brutal. But as of Tuesday night, I submitted my last paper, took my only two finals and closed the d2L program. I will check it a couple more times for responses to postings possibly or checking my grades but actual work is done. Yes, it's a very Merry Christmas!

The end is in sight

My education:
The end of this semester is fast approaching. It seems like there are not enough hours to get all the college class homework finished, yet when crunch time hits it seems that the assignments get done and turned in. I have some great professors this semester. I went to Rapid City and met with my SEED 408 prof today and she is just great. So willing to help and encourage. We had a good talk, she gave me some great advice and now I am determined to do even better.
My job:
I love my job(s). I love working at the school as the librarian and seeing those eager young faces daily. I love being able to help them get the materials they need and I also love helping to shape their lives. For my other job, freelance reporter, I absolutely love interviewing and writing stories and taking pictures of news-worthy events. It is great to write down things that make people happy and encouraged. And even when I have to write about something sad or tragic I am glad I can help document people, places and events that happen in our community.
My family:
Maybe I should have put this first. I am so blessed. A wonderful hubby who does just the right things at the right time to make my life perfect and wonderful. Fantastic children (and their spouses) who are living right, loving God and doing their best to serve Him and do everything they can for humanity. And those grandkids. Oh, so sweet when a little granddaughter calls and says she is missing grandma and poppa, or when I can Skype with my grandsons and see their funny faces and the joy when we chat, or when the youngest grandson "feeds" me cheerios through the computer. So fun!
My home:
What a great place we landed in when we moved 6 1/2 years ago; the best neighbors and close to school and Bruce's parents. My house is still wonderful to me after all these years. I love it.
Our country:
Sometimes it seems like when things aren't so great in America we see little glimpses of people and how they really care. Like when you see someone go out of their way to help someone else. I am thinking particularly right now about the Boy Scouts who are dropping off blue bags this next week and how as citizens of this country we should all fill those bags to overflowing. If you don't get one, call the local boy scouts and ask how you can help. Or just make a donation to the local food pantry or purchase some extra non-perishable items and drop them in the big box by the doors at Walmart. Bless others!

Just wanted to share my blessings at this time of the year when we are thinking about how many we have. God is good!

Word of Warning

This is just a word of warning to my friends. Please, please stay away from this stuff and don't ever let KIDS get it. It has 12% alcohol by volume content which is like 4-6 beers. Kids love the taste because it is all the flavored drinks they like. Plus it has a ton of caffiene which is just unecessary for kids to consume. Not good for kids! It is called FOUR.

Coming Soon

I will be heading to Casper, WY soon to shoot a wedding of a very special friend. I am excited to do it and even though it hasn't been very long since I did another wedding photo stint, each one of them is different, because each bride and groom are different. That is what I love about photography. Trying to make the photos reflect the people. I will post a photo or two of the most recent wedding I have done for you to see. Contact me at http://www.lastingimagesphotography.com/

Enjoy!

Excited!

Isn't interesting when you see one of your children change right before your very eyes? I have seen evidence of that today when my youngest daughter began her own blog. See the link on this page at Ramblings of a Regular Girl. Then there is the other blog link that seems to be following in my footsteps of being a very erratic blogger. Hmmm, that would be Little A, also shown on this page. We have someone to admire and use as our gold standard and someone who will always be there to share a word of advice or a hilarious anecdote. That would be American Girl in Canada.

Don't you love blogs?

Technology

Technology is the most important tool we can utilize today. This is true for education, business and personal interests. The interconnectedness of technology tools, including cell phones with internet capability, all kinds of social networking programs like NINGS, Blogs, Wiki's, Glogs and Twitter, Facebook, My Space, etc. can be very useful in our busy lives. Yes, we can go to the extreme and get so caught up in the "games" that we can play on the networking sites like Facebook that we forget these are very useful tools for communication. Education is a prime example. I am taking a college education class currently and all the communication is done through the above mentioned tools (websites). I use many of these tools to promote my business, communicate with clients and basically just get info out about my company. You gotta love technology!

Photo tips

Now for a photo-related blog. Here are some photo tips.

Everyone thinks they are a photographer. If they can pick up a point-and-shoot digital camera they think they know everything there is to know about photography. Unfortunately most people end up with the same kind of photos they used to get with film cameras. Crummy. The only advantage in a digital is you can just delete the ones that don't turn out. So, here are some tips to take better digital photos, ones you might just want to print and hang on a wall. Here goes:

1. Take your time! Don't be in a rush to snap that photo. Stop and think about what the end result is going to look like. Even if you are a whiz at Photoshop there are still some things that are hard to fix, even in a great photoshop program like CS5. So stop, really look at the LCD screen and what the outcome is going to be.

2. Think about aesthetics. Maybe you don't know what this word means. It is defined as "Dealing with the nature of beauty, art and taste." Look at the LCD screen. Does your potential photo "look" beautiful? Or is there something about it that makes it "off?" Someone's arm is cut off right at a joint so they look deformed. Someone is squinting or has their eyes completely shut. Don't snap the shutter until you are satisfied that all is as it should be aesthetically.

3. Lighting. This is key. How many times have you taken a photo only to find your subject is so dark you can't even tell who it is? If you have a great deal of light all around and the subject is standing in dark shade, the camera is "reading" all the light and will not adjust automatically for that. Zoom in on just the person or object so that lighter background is less prominant and the cameras exposure is on the object or person rather than so much of the background.

4. Think about unique qualities you can incorporate into your photo. Maybe zooming in on only part of someone's face or part of a tree trunk rather than taking a photo of the whole scene will make something stand out. This is a relatively new concept in photography. For years photographers have taken shots the same old way. Now they are beginning to look at taking a photo from a different perspective.

5. Finally, if you are taking a photo to preserve history, go to the professional. If you want something to be high-quality, and last a lifetime, get someone who really knows what they are doing, has been trained and will give you a memory forever. Don't count on a friend who has a camera to get that special shot. Many times it will be completely missed or the quality won't be what you want and you will be disappointed.

See you next time!

EDFN 365

In this class I am learning so much, even though I thought I knew quite a bit. Although I have blogged (sort of) for a while and had a Wiki for my job at school I really didn't know all the new technology that was out there. And there is new stuff being added all the time. Currently I am participating in a NING. Yep, one more way to communicate. I have to admit I am spending more time on my Facebook page than I was prior to this class.

Although I am sure when/if I end up teaching I will not use ALL the different technological communications methods I am learning I will probably use some of them. Kids are tech-savvy. We have to keep up.

Ok, time for a new post-well maybe past time

Since I have started a college technology class it is now time to update my own personal blog. Yikes, has it really been this long since I have posted here? Well here goes.

My life is busy as ever with college classes (16 credits) working full time as a high school librarian, part time as a freelance news reporter and then working at what I really love, my photography. I have a wedding next week and one the first weekend in November which will be it for fall. But I have a bridal show to attend to try to get my stuff lined up for next summer. Busy, busy, busy.

Of course that doesn't stop me from taking photos and I will be off to cover our high school's homecoming coronation tonight. Some photos will go to the Rapid City Journal (check rapidcityjournal.com tomorrow for Newell High School homecoming marshal and queen photos) and some will go to the school where I donate photos I have taken so they can use them in the school yearbook. I enjoy donating to the cause.

If you have a photo job or graphic arts project that needs to be done give me a call at 605-645-9976!