January Photos of the Day

January 1, 2010

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz! (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

My first photo of 2010: My #2 son sleeps on the couch after staying up late on New Year’s Eve and then playing disc golf.

January 2

Billy smiles (Nikon D700/Nikon 70-200mm lens)

Billy smiles as he retrieves a disc during today’s Cool, Cool Water disc golf tournament at the Links. Good thing he was wearing his “sexy boots!”

January 3

#1 loves cotton candy! (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

The #1 son enjoys his cotton candy while watching a replay on the big video monitor during the Houston Texans’ final football game against the New England Patriots (a victory!).

January 4

The Mister (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

The Mister shows his loyalty while watching the Fiesta Bowl (Texas Christian University in Fort Worth does have a great mascot in the horned frog!). But he ultimately was disappointed when Boise State beat TCU.

January 5

Not bad! (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

The #2 son is taking keyboarding this semester. When he left for school this morning, he was totally paranoid about how hard it would be to become a good typist. I’ve always told my sons that one of the best courses I ever took in high school was typing . . . of course, back then (in the stone age!) I learned on a manual Royal typewriter. Being able to type well (fast and accurate) is a valuable skill.

When #2 came home, he told me he had typed 24 words per minute and then challenged me to see how fast I could type. He opened up a book for me to use as copy. Unfortunately, the page he chose contained dialogue, which meant slowing down for quotation marks. But I still was pleased when I was able to whip out 61 wpm with only two mistakes. I hope #2 will be able to type that fast by the end of the semester!

January 6

"You rang?" (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

My #1 son plays Lux-Pain on his Nintendo DS. I sat nearby finishing up a riveting Harlan Coben novel, “The Final Detail.”

January 7

The #2 son watches the Mister expertly tape a spigot. (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

Baby, it’s cooooold outside! In anticipation of overnight freezes the next three nights, the Mister taped insulation and newspapers over our three outside spigots. Hope he did a good job!

January 8

The sheets bring back childhood memories. (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

This is our pathetic attempt to try to protect our relatively new front landscaping in the face of our cold snap. It was comforting, though, to see the Power Rangers, as well as Thomas the Tank Engine and Toy Story characters from back in the day. I miss all of them!

January 9

A melting icicle on the side of our pool's waterfall is frozen in time and space. (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

The cold only is good for photography! I loved the challenge of catching a drop from a melting icicle in mid-air.

January 10

“Leaf us alone!” (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

Something about these three leaves on the sidewalk near my house compelled me to snap a photo of them. I liked the composition—the way they lined up naturally—as well as the shadows they cast.

January 11

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder! (Nikon D700/Nikon 70-200mm lens)

When I was outside this morning taking the sheets off our front landscaping, I looked up, saw white trails in the sky, and ran inside to grab my Nikon dSLR and Nikon 70-200mm lens. Aim, point, and shoot! That jet was bookin’ it!!

January 12

Red berries glow in the fading sunshine. (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

With the #1 son’s car in the shop, I had to drive him to work at the public library. After I dropped him off, I drove around the parking lot and almost squealed to a stop. Jumping out at me was a bush with a ton of red berries adorning it, begging to have its photo taken. Fortunately, I just happened to have my Nikon dSLR and Nikon 105mm lens, so I could snap this picture of the day.

January 13

Love my warm slippers! (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

As I was driving to meet my friend Sue for lunch at Pei Wei, I started to think. What shoes was I wearing? Did I remember to change my shoes from the slippers I like working in?

Nope! Oops!!

January 14

Pool water droplets form an interesting pattern.(Nikon D700/Nikon 85mm lens)

I photographed part of our high school’s swim meet, and this was one of the last photos I snapped. I really like how the pool water droplets are raining down all around the swimmer. This was shot at f/1.4, 1/100th of a second, and ISO 400. Nikon D700 and Nikon 85mm lens.

January 15

Got a proofreader? (Olympus Stylus Tough 6000)

I was pleased that those of us who raised money for the Chevron Houston Marathon’s Run for a Reason program got extra goodies. But I didn’t like the typo in the sign at the marathon expo! Move that apostrophe behind the S!

January 16

Drew Brees leads the New Orleans Saints to a playoff win. (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

The day before the Aramco Half-Marathon is a time to rest. So I spent it reclining in a chair, surfing the web on my MacBook and watching the NFL playoffs. Go, Saints!

January 17

Prayer and long runs go together! (iPhone 3GS)

Today’s photo of the day has to be from the half-marathon (taken with my iPhone 3GS)! Gotta love the mile 11 prayer station!!

January 18

Black and white trees? (Nikon D700/Nikon 85mm lens)

I couldn’t help but snap a photo of these trees outside of Mercer Stadium. They look like they’re black and white, while the rest of the picture is in color. Bizarre looking!

January 19

Computer boy (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

I have an old Mac G5 in my office that gets quite a bit of use by the Mister, who loves watching YouTube videos. This time I turned around from my iMac and saw the shirtless #2 son checking out his Facebook page on the G5. So I grabbed my Nikon dSLR and snapped a photo . . . after which he said, “Stop taking my picture!” Well, I only needed one.

January 20

The burnt-out tree (Nikon D700/Nikon 70-200mm lens)

This tree is near the parking lot at my sons’ high school. Every time I see it, I wonder what happened to it. Did it get struck by lightning?

January 21

The view outside my office window (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

When I turned to look outside my office window today, for some reason my eyes were drawn to its top. I liked what I saw!

January 22

A brown gecko almost blends in. (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

I thought geckos were green! When I saw this brown one hanging on our house in the back, I ran in the house to grab my camera and Nikon 105mm macro lens. It was nice enough to pose for me!

January 23

Sweet pea! (Nikon D700/Nikon 105mm lens)

When the Mister and our #2 son competed in a disc golf tournament today, I had eyes for one subject: Baby Tristin Lee, the daughter of Tiffany and Patrick, two local disc golfers and friends. She’s so beautiful!

January 24

Driving Ms. Mommy (Olympus Stylus Tough 6000)

Today the Mister and I saw “Extraordinary Measures” at the morning matinee. We met the boys, driven by our #1 son, at a restaurant. Then the Mister and #2 went off for disc golf, while #1 and I drove back home. It was nice being chauffeured for a change!

January 25

Is this an alien hand? (Nikon D700/Nikon 35-70mm lens)

My friend and masseuse Tina recently had ganglion cyst surgery on her left hand. Last night at the kickoff for high school track, I photographed her colorful hand and arm. Hope she’s back to normal soon so she can work on my aching left hamstring!

January 26

Cody and the #2 son at track practice (Nikon D700/Nikon 70-200mm lens)

Cody and my #2 son have been good friends since second grade. Both are freshmen on the high school track team, which means they get to run together at times. Today I captured them during their cooldown.

January 27

Makes you wonder! (iPhoto 3GS photo)

Today I ate lunch with my friend Diane at a Thai restaurant. Every time I see this particular entree, Angry Beef, on the menu, it makes me laugh. Where’s the Contented Beef? Probably still grazing in the pasture.

And don’t get me started on poor, pitiful baby corn!

January 28

The #2 son’s sock farm (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

When I watched my #1 son clean up the floor in his room, which was strewn with stuffed animals and blankets, I found an unrelated benefit: A bunch of the #2 son’s white socks, which he wears every day. I had wondered where so many of his socks had disappeared. Apparently, he wears them to bed in the top bunk and kicks them off during the night. After this photo was taken, #1 policed the area under his bed and found eight more orphans. Hope they all eventually match up!

January 29

The #1 son’s closed door (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

This photo is a sad one. I captured it after the #1 son had run into his room and slammed the door. The reason? He got a very poor grade in AP Economics for the first three weeks of the second semester’s first nine-week period. That meant he lost his texting to all but his family and his extra computer privileges. Ouch!

I hate instituting consequences, but the boys know that privileges can be lost . . . even though they believe everything is their God-given right. #1 insisted that forgoing those rights didn’t help, but I disagree: His first quiz after increased a whopping 30 points, while his first test grade improved by 10 points. Hope his grade continues to climb in the right direction. So does he!

January 30

Got mail? (Nikon D700/Nikon 50mm lens)

Love that beautiful bokeh background blur that’s the forté of the Nikon 50mm lens!

January 31

The #1 son looks up from his magazine, while Chase plays his Nintendo DS at Pei Wei. (Olympus Stylus Tough 6000)

I started the month with a photo of the #2 son, so I’ll end it with one of #1. Pei Wei is one of our favorite restaurants; we go there once a week. Chase, our “third” son, doesn’t like the food, but he doesn’t mind tagging along.