I have never been keen on Selfies. I really don't like them. Somehow I always manage to tilt my head in a weird way and taking a selfie just feels... well rather silly, so when I read that for our next assignment we have to take a selfie I wasn't really happy about it until I realized that we have to replace ourselves with a chair or a bowl! So I became the chair and this is my 'Self-portrait'. I bought a very small chair from Michaels - about eight inches high - and I already had an idea of where I wanted to place the chair. One option was on a stage and the other was in front of the incoming tide. I decided on the latter and this morning I headed to the beach which was so very cold but the sea was foaming and looked stunning in the early morning light. There I was with my tiny chair, laying down on very cold sand trying to take a picture of 'me'. The tide rushing in is 'life' and the chair is small because I am such a tiny part of this world but even so I can make a difference no matter how small. I did get some strange looks from a couple walking their dog!

I decided to take my kids to the trail at Poplar Grove - we love spending a couple of hours getting lost along the trail and of course, I took my camera with me. It was a beautiful Spring day and my children kept finding tiny fairy homes that people had left behind. Next time we're going to make one of our own.

My daughter has the most beautiful and expressive eyes so I decided to take some close ups of her and I ended up focusing on just her eyes. I was happily surprised to find everything around her reflected in her eyes and I personally think these are some very striking photographs. I also had fun playing around with different colors. Let me know what you think...

Sometimes we just need to pause and think. That's why I decided to call this photograph Pause because sometimes we simply need to stop and reset. I took my son to school a little earlier than usual this morning because he had taken part in Science Olympiad at the weekend and the participants were taking part in a victory parade because his school had placed second overall! Typically for a Monday, I was in a rush and I decided I didn't have time to put my sneakers on and so I ran out with my flip flops! It was unexpectedly freezing this morning so it wasn't a great decision. I dropped my son off and as I parked I spotted the incredibly beautiful mist over the school pond. It seriously transformed it from its usual appearance. I grabbed my camera and ran over the extremely wet and chilly grass. I was really regretting not taking the time to grab my sneakers! But it was completely worth it. I don't know why I haven't noticed this little tree before but I really hadn't. For the first time I could actually see it. There it was all alone and behind it the mist was floating above the pond. I only had time to take five pictures. I am so glad I took the time to actually look and notice. We should all pause more often.

** Since I posted this I found out that I won an award for this photograph! Someone bought my photograph!! 

This turned out to be a very busy week even though college was closed for Spring break. My children keep me busy with their many activities and this week my son was taking part in the annual Best Foot Forward performance at the Wilson Center Downtown. All the kids were waiting their turn in one of the classrooms at the Cape Fear Community College, and I happened to have a great view of the Riverfront. I had gone along to the dress rehearsal so I could take pictures for the school yearbook, and that night we were blessed with one of the most beautiful sunsets. I kept running over to the window in between taking pictures of the children in their costumes! 

There is something so very magical about frosty mornings and when my children were tiny (about five and seven) I happened to find a blog about freezing bubbles, so now every winter we look forward to doing this. After researching this further, I set my alarm for 3 am - yes, you read that right! - because the forecast predicted a temperature of 25 F that night, which sounded perfect for blowing bubbles and freezing them. Yes, I am sane! I decided not to mention any of this to my children as I didn't want them to be disappointed in case it didn't work. I also didn't mention this to my husband because he would have talked me out of getting up at 3am! I'm glad I did get up in the middle of the night though, because it took about ten attempts before I actually managed to successfully freeze one. I definitely froze before any bubbles did! Apparently, there is a knack to doing this and it involves blowing a bubble, laying it down gently and carefully on a frozen surface and waiting for it to freeze. The effect was exactly as I had hoped and a couple of very early mornings later, the forecast predicted another perfect frost. It was a beautiful, yet very cold, clear morning when my two children and I walked to the bus stop, and they were excited but surprised when I took out some bubbles and even more surprised when I told them to wait and watch. Luckily it only took two attempts for the bubbles to freeze and become almost solid. After a few seconds I told them they could touch the bubbles and one of them cracked and another collapsed. Once my children had left for school I decided to take some photographs but those were the days I just left the settings on auto. Still, I did get some really beautiful pictures. Unfortunately, it hasn't been cold enough this year though I did try to freeze some bubbles one recent morning but I didn't have much luck. I ended up just blowing bubbles instead and I soon realized that everything around the bubbles was reflected - and that's how I ended up with this photograph...

** This photograph is on display at the Wilma W Daniels Gallery, Downtown Wilmington, NC - so happy!