Friday, June 17, 2011

2 peas week 3-

finally week 3- since it is a yucky morning and our zoo plans are no longer, I am catching up- so week 3 was about white balance- I think I am getting a handle on it, but really I don't get it, lol!
So, I took the following pictures with my 50mm lens, SS was 1/160, f1.6 iso 1000(crappy weather and bad lighting in the house)
here we go-
Auto white balance-

tungsten white balance-
custom white balance(which I had to google to learn how to set, lol)
I can totally tell the difference and I may actually go an get those little card things to use this white balance thing more! Not a hard week, and now I am onto week four!

Not to much going on in this household. Kieran is done with preschool forever and I can't believe it. He will be 5 in a month and I just want him to stay little forever. At the end of the year show they sang I won't grow up from Peter Pan and it was too cute! The whole show was cute, I will miss the little school, but the I hope and pray the big school will be just as good to my little boy.  Mikey is sporting a new set of ear tubes and while it has been two days and no difference in his sleeping, I am hoping that they will help him! Oh and he may also be sporting a tooth soon! However, I may keep that secret until someone else sees it, cause in my family you see the first tooth, you buy the first shoes, lol! So, all in all the summer is about to begin and I hope it is a good one!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Finally- 2 peas Week 2-

yeah yeah yeah- I am like 4 weeks behind- but sick kids got in the way! So here it is week 2- we were to study ISO and shutter speed- 2 things I am getting a better handle on- First test- clean sink, another reason it took a while every time I had a clean sink I forgot to do the exercise. Now, we were to take an object to obstruct the flow of water and take a photo of it first with a slow shutter speed and then second with a fast one- not worring about aperture at this point.
Take one-SS-1/80, ISO 640 50mm lens
second picture- SS 1/1250 ISO 800 50mm lens
Then for step 3 we had to take a picture of an inanamate object and use the meter to help with exposure while using the camera in manual- this I am not really that good at and have to keep practicing, but here it is-
ss-1/200, iso-640 f 1.4 
Now onto week 3- 
Nothing much going on in this household- still trying to get back into a workout routine and into weight watchers again, but between Mikey's appointments and appointments etc I just haven't. Then this week was to be the week and Kieran came down with the stomach virus and then coxsackievirus, so another week down the tubes. I have been watching what I have been eating more- so it is a start. I am determined to drop 20 pounds by my 8th anniversary on August 16th. So, next week will hopefully be able to get back on track! 
And here are 2 pics of my cuties- gotta love them!
 

Friday, May 27, 2011

Such a bad blogger!

My favorites bar was all screwy the last couple of weeks and just been crazy running around that I have not been a good blogger. Well, this post will be short and sweet, but I am back and plan on doing a lot of posting in the next few days, so be on the look out!
Things are about to be a changin!
Peace-
Me

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

so far behind- 2 peas

I am so far behind on my course- I have to catch up tomorrow on 3 weeks of the 2 peas course, update on life and lots of other stuff.
For a quick update- Mikey is now officially on ear infection #4 and well on his way to a pretty set of ear tubes. He is still such a happy baby and I love every minute of watching him grow and develop!
Kieran is almost in Kindergarten and I can't believe it! He just went on his first real class trip and he had so much fun! He is going for his belt test on Friday for Tae Kwon Do and he is so excited! Can't wait to see him do it!
Mike is finally not traveling for the time being and it is nice having him home again! We are getting a new car to replace our heap of crap.
I have totally lost motivation on my weight loss journey and I am in a complete sabotage mode. I MUST BREAK OUT NOW!!!!
Ok- now to plan my day to catch up on my 2 peas course!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Two Peas 12 weeks to better photos- Lauren, Kristen and Christina rock it!

LESSON ONE: Aperture basic training
So, back in February I took Christie Adams Photography and Alicia Gould Photography's Camera Basics Class and it was GREAT! Really opened my eyes to many things! I would love for them to hold another class, so I can take part again! That said, I have really been trying to master my camera for fun and as a hobby. I make no assertions that I will ever be a photographer, but I want to be able to capture my family and friends! 
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, Lauren and I kicked around the idea that we should do the two peas course together and blog about it! Then came Christina, who also wanted to get better with her camera, so here we are! I think out of all of us, Lauren is probably the best, as she takes awesome photos of food for her food blog, but Christina and I can hang, lol! 
Ok, back to lesson one- aperature- I have a basic knowledge of it, again mainly thanks to the camera basics class, but here goes nothing- 
F1.8, iso 800, 50mm lens- 
F8.0
f20.0

Yes, I used Mikey's Sophie and Kieran's various figurines that were handy. I couldn't get outside since, well lets be honest, I just didn't feel like getting my shoes on and going outside, lol!
I will try tomorrow to go out and do it that way too-
You can see in my first picture focus is on sophie, then in the second the figurines become more apparent  and finally you can really see that in Lotso that it is much more in focus and clearer. 
Hope I did it right(besides the being inside part)! 
YEAH, week one done only 11 more to better photos, or so I hope, lol!
and just because they are cute- 
Kieran and Mikey-




Thursday, April 7, 2011

Sickness be damned! The Abbate house is on the mend!

Wow, even after I wrote my last entry, the sicknesses kept on attacking us. Kieran had an awful cold, good thing it did not develop into anything else. Then Mikey came down with his THIRD ear infection since February, we are on notice, one more in 3 months and tubes should be explored. We will discuss more at his well visit in a few days. Then I developed an awful ear infection, that caused part of my face to be numb. It has been lovely in this house. All while Mike is still traveling non stop and trying to adjust to his new position. There have many a time where I question this change in jobs in the last few weeks. While I expected him to be busier and some more travel, I did not anticipate him traveling non stop for weeks on end, hopefully only a few more weeks of this and then we can get into a more stable routine. 
Now, for more interesting stuffs-
I have been really playing around with my camera and trying to really get a hang of the settings and getting good pictures of the kidlets. It is not easy with a sick baby, a bored 4.5 year old and a mommy who just wants to sleep, since said sick baby is not, but nonetheless, I am trying. I have been reading a lot and trying to find some good blogs to follow. I am really liking this photography thing and hope to learn a lot more and become a good photographer for my family. I am not looking to be a pro by any means, just want to be able to get some good shots of life. 
Diet, diet, diet... Well, good news is I have not gained any weight in the last month. Bad news is I have not lost anything either! UGH! I will admit to not watching my Weight Watchers points+ at all nor have I or Mikey been well enough to go to my Stroller Strides class. I will say that I do fit into a smaller size pair of jeans I bought. So, while I am happy they fit, I feel like I lost all progress I was making since March was a WASH! I really can't wait for spring to really spring and to be able to get outside with the kids and get back into my diet and work out routine! 
And two funny stories about just how crazy some people are...
1- Last week after taking Mikey back to the doctor Kieran asked for Dunkin Donuts munchkins since he was a good boy while Mikey got checked out. I agreed and off we went. I pull into the lot and the only spot was  a tight one, but enough room that I could get in and out. I notice a lady sitting in the car eating, so I smile at her and get us all out and we go in to get the munchkins, go back to the car, put Kieran in first, then go around to the driver side(which was the tight side) to get Mikey buckled in. I admit I tapped the ladies car with the back door and I checked no mark, I mean I tapped it since there was no room to do much else to it. Oh well, I get Mikey in, go to get in my door and the lady rolls her window down and says to me, "excuse me, you are hitting my car." I say Oh, I am sorry, it is just really tight and I was trying to buckle the baby in. Lady-"well, you are HITTING my car." Me- ok- I am sorry, I just tapped it, there is no mark and I am leaving now. lady- "Well, can you not HIT my car?" Me- (getting annoyed as Kieran is crying cause he now has to pee really bad!) I am sorry, what else would you like me to do? as I go to get Mikey and Kieran back out of the car.
Hello- Crazy- I tapped your door- one time- it is fine- get over it and finish your lunch!
2- Going to the ENT yesterday there were no spots in the lot. So, I go to back out of the lot and a nutso lady blocks all traffic and me from getting out trying to pull into said TINY lot. She pulls back out and we go around the block to park. I pull into a street spot, turn car off go to get stroller out of trunk and another cookcoo bird starts telling me I am taking up too much space and to move my car, since i am running a little late, I say I am sorry, another car can still fit and I won't be long. She then continues to yell at me to move my car, I am taking up too much room, no one else can fit, yadda yadda yadda. I get the kids and she starts telling me I am fresh and she is going to call the police to tow my car (nice right?). I look at her and calmly, say go ahead call the police, last I checked this is street parking and not illegal. She starts to mumble at me and keeps calling me fresh. I laughed as I walked away and Kieran then asked me in his very loud voice, Mommy why did that strange lady say you are fresh? You did a good job parking and you were very nice. I said, i don't know Kieran, she just didn't like us parking there I guess. 
Seriously people, get a grip- lady #1- your car was so beat up I could have slammed my door into yours and it wouldn't have mattered and lady #2- I guess you did not call the police cause I had no ticket on my car, or maybe you did and they laughed at your ridiculousness!

Monday, March 28, 2011

what a sick few weeks...

Well, sick as in illnesses! My house has been illness filled for the whole month of March! Started with Mikey and his 2nd double ear infection, then onto myself with a horrible sinus infection, then onto Kieran with a run of the mill cold and back to Mikey with pink eye! Yes, please someone come disinfect my house! Plus, with the cold weather still hanging around, April can truly not come fast enough!
But, hopefully I am back and we can get on with our regular schedule. i have not been able to make it stroller strides in 2+ weeks, I did go to weight watchers and stayed the same, I will take it! Mike is still traveling for work and I am hoping that will end soon, but at least he is earning miles and maybe we can get a free flight for our vacation in December.
I also want to start doing product reviews on this blog! I have been cloth diapering Mikey since he was about a month old and it is fun to try new diapers on him. I also like to shop and I am pretty opinionated, so hey why not review some things and maybe help someone out.
I think my first review will be about our last two trips to Walt Disney World, I figure a good place to start!
And to close a picture of my favorite two little guys!


Monday, March 7, 2011

sometimes all you need is a Monday...

I have been wavering in my diet this week and since Mike has been traveling last week and will be again this week, it is easy to take the easy way out and eat fast or junk or lots. I tracked my points(I am trying to follow weight watchers points plus plan) on Thursday, but then ate way to much pizza. Friday was a blur, but I tried to track. Saturday was not bad, but I did not calculate or track one point, Sunday same as Saturday. But today, Monday tracking is done thus far- workout is complete(although I did not work as hard as I have been or could have, my back is bothering me a little), Mikey is sleeping and Kieran is eating lunch. Now, lets just keep this momentum of Monday going-
It is like the black eyed peas song I gotta a feeling- tonight's gonna be a good night!
I have dinner planned, nothing fancy to write about, but it is planned.
Good start to the week, good start to my blog and good start to changing...
And as the biggest loser song goes- what have you done today to make yourself proud?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Revised, improved and ...

So, it seems the new trend I am noticing is cooking blogs. For those that know me, know that isn't me,lol! I enjoy to cook, but it is not a passion and I will leave the cooking blogs to those that really enjoy it.
This will be all about my family, my journey of trying to get healthy and lose weight, finding myself again and being the best me.
I have 2 little boys- Kieran 4.5 and Mikey 7 months. I am married to Mike, a CPA and very busy getting back into public accounting after a 2 year stint with a quasi government institution. Of course it is only his second week of his new job and he traveling already. I am fully aware of what I am in for, however maybe I thought it wouldn't happen the second week there, but he loves it and that is important for happiness.
So, why start this blog? I need a place to vent about my weightloss and journey to a healthier and happier self. I am also hoping I can touch people and get ideas on what to do next in life. If I can help one person, then it is all worth it. Plus, I have loads of far away family and want them to see my family grow and change.
I am new to this blogging thing, so it may take me a while to get the photo thing down, but there will be plenty as I am trying to really learn how to use my camera and document my family so we reminders of where we came from. I just found a lot of old pictures and scanned them into my computer and love looking at them and remembering the "old" times. That is part of why I want to do this too, I want to create a place to remember!
So, here we go blogging community- welcome to the Journey of Me...revised, improved and revamped!