Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Adventures of This Stay-At-Home Mom


I have to admit that I have never considered myself an athlete. Nor does anyone else that has eyes or a brain... ;-)


The sports I did play (for fun) were non-contact sports. I was the ping pong champion of my 8th grade. Competition wasn't too fierce obviously. And in college I took two semesters of badminton. Badminton was one of those classes that all of the men signed up for, hoping to meet cute girls. So my class was made up of 80% cute guys, 20% girls. That was a fun class. And I actually did learn how to play the game pretty well (when I wasn't admiring my partner).

I also took tennis and beginning snow skiing. Tennis was a mistake (I made a B, and no one makes a B in P.E. unless they skip class, and I showed up early to every one...). Beginning snow skiing was a disaster. Down here in Texas we don't get snow (usually). So I learned how to ski (I say that very loosely) on a huge ramp covered with bristle brush material (like you use to scrub your floor). There were hay bales at the bottom of the ramp, and they were my best friends. I went home after every class with hay in my hair and up my nose...

The worst part of snow skiing was that my boyfriend (now my husband) loved to come by and watch. Here I was, spinning wildly out of control and flying head or feet first into musty hay bales, and he would be laughing hysterically on the sidelines...

And yet I still married him. ;-)

Even though I "mastered" ping pong and badminton (learned how to occasionally return the balls), I always wanted to play basketball. Unfortunately we lived out in the woods on a dirt road, so having a basketball hoop was not an option. And there was no way I was going to play it in school. I liked going home early to play outside, not staying late at school to practice sports.

So a few days ago we were at the store and we saw this affordable basketball hoop on a stick ($62). Add 2 balls for an additional $12 and we now have ourselves a basketball court!

Of course I bought it for the boys... Well, I told myself it was for them, but I have learned that a 2 and 5 year old can't throw a basketball into a 8 foot high net. At least my wimpy kids can't. So what is a Mom to do but play with the basketball net herself!

See, I have one minor sport talent. I can throw a basketball and more often than not get it in the hoop (with proper feet placement, no wind, no sun in my eyes, no distractions, and if I am right in front of the hoop). My husband says I have great stereo vision, but I like to think I have a hidden talent that was never discovered.

I realized I could shoot hoops when I was a little girl (older than 2 or 5), when I was at a school carnival. One of the games was throwing a basketball through a hoop to win a comic book. Well, I went home with a pile of comic books... I had never played before but for some reason I could aim really well.

Anyway, you can see a photo of my "kids" new basketball net. What a fun way to get much needed exercise!



I used my favorite Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. Great bokeh! I know I talk about this lens all of the time, but it is really amazing for less than $100. I processed this image in LightRoom (just a quick color pop) and then I used the CoffeeShop Butterscotch Vintage and Rounded Corners actions in Photoshop.

Another great way to get exercise is have 5 huge live oaks in your yard. Raking is a wonderful way to reduce stress and get blisters. The cool thing about live oaks is they provide exercise all year round. Summer they drop pollen thingies everywhere. Fall and Winter they drop piles and piles of acorns. Try raking those babies up...

Spring you get piles and piles of leaves. Yes, they don't lose their leaves in the fall like most normal trees, they replace their leaves in the spring and drop all of their old ones everywhere. So while everyone else is enjoying the lovely spring days, I am out there raking.

And what is more fun than having your kids help you. Yes, little Imp was a bit peeved that I would not allow him to jump in the leaves until I moved them to the compost pile. However, he decided it was OK to ride his trike in the leaves...



I used the CoffeeShop Web Diptych action on these two photos.

8 comments:

  1. Yet another talent you have...and being a SAHM is ALWAYS an adventure! {I want that lens!}

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  2. I love my nifty fifty, one of my favorite lenses by far!

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  3. Rita, Imp is *seriously* cute! I love the shallow depth of field with him in the background pouting! Awesome!!

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  4. Yay! for basketball!
    I bought my daughter a hoop when she was 9, under the guise of 'it's for her' LOL!

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  5. I stumbled upon your FABULOUS blog yesterday and about cried looking at all your free actions! THANK YOU! I am new to photoshop/photography and you have the best explainations on actions and everything else. I a mommy too and this has been such a great outlet for me. I was also considering the 50mm lens so I am glad to here you love it. I will bribe my husband to get it for me for my birthday:)

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  6. you have such cute boys!!
    outdoor is so much fun when you have your children sharing it with you :)

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  7. awesome post..love your way with words and of coures the pictures and edits are fab!

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Rita