life. photos. scrapbooking.

Perspective... from last Friday.

June 24, 2010~

I'm having one of those "too tired to sleep" nights tonight. So get ready... this could be one of the more authentic and from the heart posts than I've written in a long while.

Clark is coming home in about 16 hours and I've got a zillion things running through my mind as I anticipate the week ahead.

The entire family will be taking some much needed vacation time together this upcoming week. I, personally, couldn't be more excited to utterly unplug myself and just concentrate on my man and my little amigos.

And... all this anticipation has me thinking. About stuff that's totally been sitting just underneath the surface of my smiling face for awhile.

Yes... I been frontin' a little. Like everything's cool... I got it all under control.... yadda yadda.

No I don't.

Defintiely not.

My life feels like an out of control meteor just looking for a place to crash the past few months.

And I'm entirely to blame.

Let me just be clear, I enormously lucky and blessed in so many ways... I'm so fortunate to have a job that allows me to flex my creative muscle with photography and graphic design... make my own hours... and meet wonderful people along the way. Really, I can't believe I actually get paid to take photos. Like, pinch myself. I mean - 18 months ago I was still wrapping my head around the whole exposure triangle and trying to get Macho to pose for his monthly shot.

So - it's really incredible that I'm making a little extra dough for our family, which is paying for Macho to go to school two days a week - which he LOVES. 

The little booger is just so proud of himself... of being a "big boy." I'd work 10 jobs for him to be able to hang on to this routine awhile.

And with the photography thing... I really couldn't have forseen that things would snowball so quickly. I never would've expected being this busy. And I'm so SO grateful - so please don't misunderstand... 

But, combine requests for various things photography related and otherwise with my sheer inability to say "no" and I'm just at my total limit... Somebody call FEMA, cuz we got a full-on natural disaster coming our way.

I just feel like - right now - at this moment in time - that's my own personal forecast.

If I were to dissect this "problem" - the number one thing that bother's me - yet is a necessary evil in my career choice - is my computer. I feel like I'm all but chained to the thing most of the time. Design time, editing, blogging, etc. That's the real drag... Not the picture taking - or the lovely people - or the great relationships I'm building outside of my photography realm... It's just the computer time that's really rough right now.

Ya wanna know something ironic? I used to follow some great blogs - that actually inspired me to start this one... and I don't have time to read them anymore. How's THAT for selling a pill you arent' taking yourself? I miss that. I miss my little daily doses of inspiration.

And there I go. A walking contradiction. Do I want more time on the computer - or less?

Less.

Sure... loads of people out there have jobs where they are on a computer ALL DAY... but I would venture to guess that those people don't rush home at 5pm to jump on the ones they keep there.

I have to work my WORK into the nooks and crannies of my days AND nights. I'm really never "off duty." And that's my own fault too. But - when you have deadlines to meet for clients - and two little ankle biters demanding your time all day - well - you just do what you have to do to keep everything afloat.

What really kills me though... Is when Macho comes up to me and says, "Mommy, you play hockey with me when you done working?" He sees me on the computer SO much... and he tries his hardest to remain patient. But he's still 2. Patience is a fleeting thought.... a nice idea... at best.

I guess it just kills me that at even at 2 years old, he is very "aware" of the time I'm spending in front of the computer.

Like, it's nearly July and we've only been to the pool once - for an hour and a half. That sucks.

So - I guess I'm just so conflicted right now. I love my work. I love my family. I love blogging.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this struggle.

The point is - I'm just trying to get some perspective on it all. Achieve a better balance.

Work hard to provide some "extras" for our family - or work hard at "being there" more??

 

Well... I'm not making any decisions now.

I'm going to take this week and chill with my peeps. Have a good time and just unplug. Reel myself back in from feeling totally burnt out. Recharge.

So, friends - I love ya... but I'm peacing out until sometime next week.

And.. thanks for letting me vent.

Have a good one! :)

Every Mom Needs One of These...

So many of you out there who read this sorry excuse for a blog are moms with young kids. And some days (lets face it - a LOT of days) are just crazy. I'm with you sisters... And in those crazy moments, when you are wishing for a more perfect day - whatever that might entail - you might just need reminded...

 

I love this quote... and I needed a good "slice of life" photo to accompany it. And when I, too need a little reminding of how wonderfully precious all the normal days are, I can have this print at the ready.

Now GO!

Get yours.

 

"Normal Day" ::  5"x10" Fine Art Print with Embassy Texture

Size 5x10

Unmounted - $15

Mounted on 2mm Styrene - $25

Shipping - $5.50 to the US

Please Choose

5x10 - unmounted $15.00 5x10 - mounted on 2mm styrene $25.00

Wood Plank Ceiling / Recessed Lighting

So I thought I'd give a little update on one of the home rennovation projects going on around here.

 

I don't think I've shared some of the "before" photos with you - so here goes...

Our little 1953 rancher was very.... shall we say, 1953 bones with 1980's decor touches when we moved in three years ago. We had a very choppy floorplan. Lots of little rooms strung together. Connected by small arched openings. Like a gigantic horseshoe. If you wanted to get from the playroom to the bathroom, you'd have to pass through 5 small rooms to get there... It needed a LOT of work. And I was 5 months pregnant when we closed on it.

Enter - my superhero husband. Mr. Clark Kent himself.

This was the front "sitting room"

"We" removed the carpet, stove, mirror and draperies and painted the chimney white.

When I took this photo I was standing with my back up against a wall which led into the dining room.

This is the wall... looking back toward the chimney and down the hallway. Nice light fixtures, eh?

 

This wall went bye-bye shortly after we moved in. In order to support the house, the ceiling was cut open and a huge beam was inserted up into the attic.

This was the dining room on the other side of that wall... B-E-A- utiful!

And that little doorway led into the kitchen... Yeah - that wall went bye-bye too... and another beam went up. And the kitchen - well... that's another post for another day.

When all this happened we realized that the old dining room ceiling had one of those "popcorn-style" treatments - while the front sitting room and hallway all had smooth.

We also had this gigantic "drywall patch" where the beam was placed up into the attic.

What to do? What to do?

Hmmmm...

I like wainscotting. Like EV-ERY-WHERE.... Since moving in - we've done a ton of it in various styles all over the place. So I thought - why not put some wood planks on the ceiling to cover up all that mess...

And lucky for me, I have Clark.

SO... about a zillion cartons of pine tongue & groove planking later... we have this. Clark primed it and then installed it. He was gonna go ahead and put another coat or two of interior latex paint on it - but I told him not to. I like the white-washed look of just the bare primer.

This angle is where the wall would've been... old "sitting room" window on the right - old "dining room" windows on the left.

Our sectional couch currently resides in that left corner... So we needed some light over on that side...

Clark installed these recessed lights next...

The TV sits directly across from the couch. You can see there is some trim yet to be installed around the edges... We are deciding what type of moulding would be appropriate there... I'm thinking something really tiny. Like that concave quarter-round - whatever that's called.

On the old "sitting room side" of this new open space is where we have our formal dining table (which we never use)... with a chandelier (West Elm) just above it - so we really only needed the recessed lighting on the other half of the room.

Again - "we" still need trim up around the bookshelves, etc. - but I thought you'd like to have a look.

 

Before

After

Amen, Clark!

She Crawls...

For Clark... so many miles away. Thought you should see this for yourself in relative "real time." We love you Daddy!!!!

 

 

6 Month Layout!

_{LAYOUT SUPPLIES :: Adobe Photoshop CS5, Cardstock: Katie Pertiet Spot Dots No. 18, Anna Aspnes Freebie Color Challenge June 2010, Embellishments: Ali Edwards Kids are Cool Brushes, Patti Knox Acrylic Alpha No. 2, Michelle Martin Bling Alpha Silver, Fonts: PMN Caecilia, Pea Heather's Handwriting}

 

Realized just after I uploaded this that although this is a very different layout from her 5 month - it still has a consistent feel with the journaling in a strip along the left side of the canvas. Guess that's just my creative point of view at the moment... ?

Off to photograph a 1 day old baby! Love my job!

:)

 

Around here... JUNE.

Around here things have been pretty wild.

Mimi has been here helping out a ton while Clark's away. Here she is over Memorial Day weekend with my niece. This is the most recent pic I have of her... Mimi just loves her some grandbaby time...

Well... unless of course she's been at my house with my two kids for over 7 days... then she's happy to pack up and peace out to her much quieter, much cleaner house.

Head for the hills Meems!!!!

Around here Macho has been cooling off cowabunga style in a radical "baby pool" I picked up at Tar'jay.

Around here baby burritos have been made...

Around here... all the cool kids play soccer with their 84 year old great grandmas...

How dope is that, right?

Around here the little missus is soooo curious about everything.

and in my expert estimation is about 3.5 days away from fully crawling in hand/knee syncronization. Right now she's just up on all 4's scooting a bit.

Around here this same little missus turned 7 months old on Saturday but mommy was away photographing a wedding and didn't capture our benchmark monthly mugshot. After all that clicking - my clicking finger was just pooped out. Bad mommy.

Also - I should note - that this little missus has begun a new phase I like to call...

"Sleeping through the night is for wimps."

Oh - how I wish she were an utter wimp in this case. Again - I'm no expert - but I'm thinking it's her teeth that are bugging her every night around 3:30...Echk.

Around here bedtime is just plain hard all around. This is me peeking through the door into Macho's room at like 11pm... Snuck out of bed - reading on the beanbag. Little stinker. Just like his mamma was. Total night owl.

Speaking of mamma... Around here - she is trying to fit work time into nearly every nook and cranny of the day just to keep her head above water. We are managing - we are having fun... We are all loving eachother very much and that's really all that matters.

 

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days (of my life) were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:16

 

 

 

New Print For Sale...

The other week I saw this great quote on Elise's blog, and I thought... Hey now, I have a photo that would work great with that!

Printed 5" x 10 " with a nice woven texture from my professional lab.

Available two ways... mounted on 2mm styrene... so you can simply lean it somewhere without a frame like this... (my favorite!!)

or unmounted so you may frame it any way you wish.

So... here again are the deets...

 

"Right Track" 5x10 Fine Art Print with Embassy Texture

Unmounted - $15

Mounted on 2mm Styrene - $25

Shipping - $5.50 to the US

Please Choose

5x10, Unmounted $15.00 5x10, Mounted on 2mm Styrene $25.00

Happy Monday!!

5 years.

_{Image Copyright 2006 Tedjeske Photography}

 

Of you warming that pillow next to me. Providing me the kind  of security I only knew existed living under my parents roof. We've built a home together. Have two beautiful children together. We've packed up and moved. Struggled with tough decisions, laid loved ones to rest, and celebrated lifes many joys and accomplishments together. We've created a lifestyle of our own out of our respective upbringings. We know how to fight (an important thing for a marriage, so I'm told)... and we know how to take care of eachother. At least, you do a mighty fine job of taking care of me. I'm proud to think we are living proof of the vows we took. Sickness - health - richer - poorer - good times - and bad... We've been there - done all that.

I'll never know why you signed up to marry this hot mess - but I love you for it... and my parents are very relieved that you took me off their hands once and for all.

Love you so much Phil. Think you can put up with me another 5 at least?

You are a zillion miles away right now - but I just thought I'd shout it from the internet desktops -

"Happy Anniversary" to my professional golfer husband... 

 

Love,

Your wife - the supermodel.

;)

And the winner is...

The winner of the 5x10 fine art print is...

Commentor No. 18 - HOLLY who said...

"So, I am not faithful to any one type of cereal. My 2 year old daughter however, would probably not eat breakfast if it were not for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. As soon as her feet hit the floor in the morning she says "Crunch....a lot...in a bowl". Of course all the Mommy alarms go off about the sugar in that stuff, but it surprisingly has 2 grams less than the Smart Start I was eating a few weeks ago!"

 

Thanks so much for playing along and stopping by the blog here! Email me at katiepegher(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your loot!!!

 

 

I love... (& don't forget the giveaway!)

...taking random photos of Macho eating his Mac N Cheese.

I love all the crusty stuff all over his mouth...He eats like such a big boy, not nearly as much cleanup as even a few months ago... Still - I love this detail of childhood. Who cares? I have food on my face!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I love that he has a lone freckle on his left cheek... LOVE that little beauty mark. When it first appeared - I definitely thought it was either dirt or chocolate and tried to clean it off of him.

I love that floppy surfer dude hair he has going right now. It's ultra soft and totally blonde blonde blonde. I figure - that hair won't last forever - and as much as I loved his buzz cut last summer - this time we're going for a different look. Especially since he really has no opinion on how it looks yet - I get to call the shots.

I love that he still has baby skin... except on his legs... Geez - they look like he hiked through a rocky mountain forest... Covered in little black and blue marks and cuts and scrapes... All part of being a 2 year old boy, I guess.

I love that when I pick him up from his twice weekly school gig... he tells me how proud he is of ME that he goes to school...

Even though I know he's just got his pronouns confused - he's  right - I miss him when he's there.

I love that now when I try to take his picture - he'll actually stop and look at me (once in awhile) and then chirp "Now I see it!" as I turn the camera around to show him. Model in training, I say.

 

Just a few reasons...

Don't forget you still have time to enter the giveaway (below) for the fine art print today. I'll draw the winner for tomorrow's post. :o)