my photos on etsy...

drum roll please...
just kidding. just a quick post to let you know that while it seems like i have been hiding away under a rock somewhere i have actually been quite busy. we moved, i have been working a bit again and i have been putting together a little online gallery of my favorite images from the last few years. those images are now available for purchase on etsy.



so please, stop by, check it out, let me know what you think. you can find my prints here, jessicashaver.etsy.com. thanks for stopping by.

this is just so good...

i don't want to forget these things...

west, aka teeny buttons, calls his dummy (pacifier) "derr" and he sleeps with both arms around a large, blue bear we call nelson.
there is something about him that commands the respect of even the toughest playground bullies. they do not mess with west. actually, maybe they have, i just don't know about it because he dealt with it his own way.
west loves books and dancing. actually, that might not be true about dancing. i don't know if he likes it or not because when he dances it is like he is taken over by the music. he dances so hard that he frequently loses his balance and falls down.
he eats. he eats as much as me, no joke. the kid is an eating and pooping machine.
he sleeps, oh how he sleeps. twelve hours, nonstop, every night since he was two months old. he also takes a good two hour nap every afternoon.
west loves to say my name over and over. mamamamamamamama. he talks a lot, but doesn't really say much that is immediately identifiable. mostly mama, dada, wee-ooh (otis), nana (all fruit is called nana), dooce (juice), guy (anyone. all people are "guy" as are all figurines of people), dai dai (bye bye), mo (more, he says this a lot in combination with anything food related), at-uh (hat), shar (hair), mouf (mouth), eye and the ever important NO, which means no. oh, does it ever.
west is a trooper. he just accepts whatever new reality falls upon him and rolls with it. he never complains. oh what, a big fever? no big deal. teeth busting through gums? whatever. epic fall resulting in busted eye and mega bruise on the head? no biggie. he walks it off, takes it in stride.
west is a passionate little fella and when he decides something needs to be a certain way there is no stopping him. and he is dense like a cannonball. it is best not to get in his way.
he likes to watch tv (he calls the tv "show") but he doesn't zone out like his brother does. west watches and plays and watches and plays. it isn't the center of his world.
west isn't really into coloring. he'd rather see what the crayons taste like than use them to draw.
the kid can and will stack almost anything to make a "tar" (tower). west's tars usually contain food items. making tars is a favorite past time around here.
west wears the same size clothes as his older brother.
our little wild west. we struck gold.

2008* was a very good year for music...

this post is more for me than it is for you. a list for me to reference in the future. sorry. very self indulgent of me, i know. i promise there is another tutorial or two coming very soon. good crafty stuff, for sure. plus, i would LOVE it if all of my favorite bloggers did this exact same thing. that would be so fun. in fact, please let me know if you decide to blog about your favorite music of the year.

some of my favorite songs that are not on my favorite albums:
sam sparro - black and gold
portishead - machine gun
snoop dogg - sexual eruption
solange - cosmic journey
late of the pier - the bears are coming
empire of the sun - walking on a dream
familjen - det snurrar i min skalle
rodrigo y gabriella - tamacun
puscifer - queen b
kelly rowland - work (freemasons radio edit)
jennifer hudson - spotlight
pink - sober
girls aloud - can't speak french
dizzee rascal featuring calvin harris - dance wiv me
sander van doorn - look inside your head

almost top ten albums of 2008:
calvin harris - i created disco
the whip - x marks destination
hot chip - made in the dark
kanye west - 808s and heartbreaks
ladyhawke - ladyhawke
the tings tings - we started nothing
david byrne and brian eno - everything that happens will happen today
gnarls barkley - the odd couple
glen hansard and marketa irglova - once (soundtrack)
snow patrol - a hundred million stars
adele - 19
sia - some people have real problems

top ten of 2008:
10 lykke li - youth novel
9 n.e.r.d. - seeing sounds
8 friendly fires - friendly fires
7 whitest boy alive - dreams
6 beck - modern guilt
5 robyn - robyn
4 roisin murphey - overpowered
2 & 3 the presets - beams and apocalypso
1 hercules and love affair - hercules and love affair

so, there ya go. i got to hear some amazing music in 2008. truth be told, if hercules and love affair was the only new music i heard in 2008 i'd still say it was a good year for music.

what tickled your eardrums this year? do we have any favorites in common? what is missing on my list?

*i don't have time to figure out release dates. this is the top music that i added to my itunes in the year 2008. the presets' "beams" was definitely not released in 2008 but i include it here because i hadn't heard of them until this year. i suspect that next year's list will be heavy with 2008 releases that i am only just hearing about now.

what a merry, merry christmas this has turned out to be.

max is sleeping in his new big boy bed for the very first time tonight. he is not psyched about the entire arrangement ("no, mama. i think not. i want the brown bed.") but it has been a few hours now and he seems fine. my fingers are crossed.
santa was good to me this year. no gift certificates to be seen, well not from scott at least. gcs from scott bug me. i have issues. scott got me a gorgeous necklace by a local designer from my favorite boutique up the road from my house. due to my nickel allergy he had the shop owner, who is a friend of mine, ring the designer to ask about the materials used in this particular piece. the poor dear was in labor but she still answered his questions. turns out it is nickel free and it is lovely. i'll take photos. he also went crazy buying me big bottles of aveda stuff. i love me some aveda. he also wrapped up a piece of gift paper that he thought i'd like. he rolled it up, put it in a tube, and then wrapped it in crappy xmas paper. sounds kind of crazy but it is exactly the kind of thing i appreciate. he was right. i love it. it is so gorgeous that it should be framed. he also gave me the latest aussie version of david sedaris' santaland diaries. he gave me an older edition last year for christmas. kinda cute.
my mama spoils me. my stocking was full of gift certificates to places i normally can't afford and some cool kitchen gadgets. fun. all of this was in addition to the trip she and her hubby are gifting us both for our birthday and christmas gifts. melbourne, here we come! sorry kids, you are not invited. that's the big part of the gift. no kids for a few days! woo hoo!
we had some amazing food on xmas eve. hugemongous chunks of tuna and salmon sashimi, the freshest of fresh oysters with a sauce that i would eat on everything i ever eat for ever and ever, grilled lobster (good god, was that good), pasta with the freshest to-MAH-to sauce ever and other grilled stuff. so good. also, banana effing pudding in the mutha effing house. sorry about that outburst. banana pudding is special to our family. we love food. fresh fish or cheapo, old school desserts. good food is good food.
today we went to my step-dad's brother's new wife's ex-husband's house. that is a loooonng story. my step-dad's brother's new wife recently had knee surgery so she wasn't able to be as involved in the meal as she normally is. luckily for us her sister sue stepped in and helped create for us an incredible meal. i mean, stupid good. pine nut and feta stuffed pork roast. ham basted in marmalade. potatoes, green beans and sweet potatoes. homemade tiramisu, made by a gentleman named kevin who happened to be my two boys' favorite guy at the party. max called him "brown guy" because he happens to have dark skin. embarrassing, but cute. max's observation makes me realize how white perth is. a person of color would stand out to someone new to the world in perth, western australia. we need more kevins. especially if they are nice men who happen to know how to cook. we all need a kevin in our lives.
this is a good christmas. max and west have no idea how to deal with all their gifts. neither do i. so much stuff. scott and i spoke this evening about getting rid of the old toys to counteract the new toys we have received. the poor kids would definitely disagree. they will get over it. i am certain that the amazing gifts they received will distract them long enough for me to sneak out a huge bag of slightly used toys.

i would love to show some photos but our internet connection is munted. maybe next time.

oh, photography...

i get messages via email, comments on this here bloggy blog and flickrmail quite consistently inquiring about photography. what camera do i use? what lens do i use? do i use photoshop? to what extent do i use photoshop? did i study photography? etc. so i thought i'd put together a few links and some tips and tricks that i use daily.

so, starting out...
what is iso?
what is aperture?
what is shutter speed?
a few more links from a very good website called photography basics.

a few posts on the topic from my very favorite bloggers:
still life with's guide to food photography gear.
my cooking hut's tips on food photography.
veganyumyum's food photography for bloggers.
mattbites' notes about photography.
yes, i know those are all food blogs. i learn something new every time i browse those links. the rules of food photography can be applied to all photography. as my photo instructor in college put it, "keep it simple with beautiful light and you'll have a winner every time."

my tips for photographing your kids, your animals, your food or your crafting creations...
if the light is right clean up a little. de-clutter. you can always photoshop stuff out but why set yourself up for more work? just tidy up a bit before you start shooting.
wear a white shirt for added bounced light. it makes a difference. also, paper towels are almost always bright white. i've used them to bounce light on my subjects many times, even on professional food shoots.
change your angle to eliminate background nonsense. don't like your horizon line? change your position.
get close.
back off.
put your camera on multi-shot mode and hold down the shutter, especially for kiddo or pet shots. let it blast off as many in a row as it can. one of them is bound to be what you are looking for.
once you figure out that you have the right exposure, don't look at the images you take on camera and don't edit in camera. something might look crappy on that tiny screen but you might find that it is magical on your computer or in print.
negative space is nice sometimes.
make sure shit isn't poking out of people's heads. that might be a big pet peeve of mine.
watch your edges. edge tension can be very powerful but isn't always appropriate. also watch fingers, legs, arms, etc. limb amputation can be quite awkward. i can't believe i just spelled awkward right. woo hoo!
rule of thirds. yep. sometimes a nice, centered image is really beautiful but for the most part not really.
bright, overcast days produce my favorite light. i'll gladly give up a stop in iso for that nice, naturally difused light through a big window. with big clouds the sky becomes a giant softbox. direct sunlight is evil, especially in the middle of the day. yuck.
open the curtains or blinds or whatever and turn off the lights. mixed sources of lighting produces funny shifts in color in your image.
if you are photographing kids try to get down to their level. or raise your camera up high and try to shoot directly down onto them. whatever, just mix it up.
especially when shooting kiddos, sometimes it is better to just hold your camera off to the side, maintain good eye contact and make funny faces at your subject. i wasn't looking through the lens when i captured many of my favorite images of my kiddos.
if you love an image and you can't fix the color balance in photoshop, screw it. just convert it to black and white. that's what i do.
i love my 50mm 1.4 lens. lots. it is my favorite. i hardly ever take it off my camera.
if you are like me and find that photoshop is a big maze of crazy tools, just go buy sesame ellis' basic action set. she is an incredible photographer and has generously offered up her photoshop workflow in a set of actions for a very reasonable price. they take your image to another level. trust me. a very well spent $75.

none of these tips are big secrets. these are just things i have learned that keep me shooting and keep me off of my computer. the less i have to do in photoshop the better.

if you visit the blogs i mention in this post and you enjoy what you see please leave them a note to thank them for generously sharing their knowledge with us. thanks.

stupid internet...

the internet is keeping me from blogging.
facebook
flickr
a certain lady group
bloglines
my endless quest for new music
stupid internet. too much stuff to do. i am trying to limit my time online to time when my boys don't mind that i am on the computer. i put it down the moment either one of them pays any attention to me. i never say "just a minute" or "mama's busy" because that just isn't true. there is nothing on this computer more important than my thirsty child.
speaking of thirsty children, we are trying to keep our boys well hydrated due to some pretty impressive illnesses. there is so much sick going on in this house that i'm not even mad. i'm kind of impressed. ear infection? check. sinus infection? check. anxiety attacks? check. pink eye? double check, soon to be quadruple, no doubt. the shits? check. back pain? check. blown blood vessel in an eye? check. mystery jaw pain? check. well done, 90a harold street. you win. sickest house ever. woo hoo! if only there was a prize. you know what? there is a prize. that first weekend when we all feel healthy is going to make all this sickness worth it. for sure. no doubt. we will picnic on a sea of fallen jacaranda blossoms. we will feed ducks, and some of us might chase them. we will go up and down and up and down the slide at the volcano park. we will fill our shoes (and house) with sand. we will learn a little bit more about gravity (this one applies mainly to teeny). we will need bandaids for the damage that will be done once we are healthy again. and then it will start again. eh, whatever. life with littles is a roller coaster. even right now, with all of us in pretty shabby shape, it is so fun. i can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. if it is anything like today i might have to erase this optimistic post but let's just hope this lovefest is justified. today was a bad day. it can only get better. i'll keep you posted. you might just have to wait a few weeks for the update, but it will come eventually.

random thoughts...

loving this shirt.
i miss bragg liquid aminos.
why does everything i cook have sriracha in it?
finally.
i am so proud of my crafty friends. a few of my favorite gals are kicking major crafty ass at local markets. their stuff is so well made and beautiful. well done, ladies!
the natural color cotton muslin from ikea is great. you know how many muslins tend to be really wrinkly and not so soft? well not ikea's muslin. it is so soft. i am going to make some pillow cases out of it. four dollars a meter is such a great price.
my house smells like yumminess. i am trying out a new recipe. one that i made up all by myself. woah. yummy monday, the thursday edition, might happen tomorrow. though it might be an epic fail. we'll see later.
west and max had their first full day at school yesterday. i don't have words to describe the look on west's face when he noticed us when we picked him up. it was somewhere between relief and pride. that west, he is amazing. seriously. amazing. if i could guarantee my next four kids would be just like him i would have more in a heartbeat. HA! just kiddin. no way. but still, he's cool.

i have big love for LOLcats...

more animals

i am pretty sure i have not made clear enough my deep love for LOLcats. some recent favorites...

























hey future me, these are from june tenth to december first in my email.

this post should write itself...

what the heck? where have i been? what have i been doing?
lots.
i have been going through some changes. good ones. i hit a bit of a crafty roadblock but who cares? my boys are enjoying the benefits, for sure. my brain is with them, if that makes sense. i'm not thinking about where i'd rather be, what i'd rather be doing. i am spending more time on the floor covered in boys. it is funny that i am all rainbows and puppies on today of all days. this has been, without a doubt, the most challenging day i have ever had with the boys. max has the sniffles. he turns into a total jerk when he is sick. the poor kid is sleeping now. so is his brother. i am still in my pjs and it is ten to five. scott should be home any minute and even though i like my boys and like being with them i am going to retreat to my little space for a little while as soon as my relief walks in the door. i might give him a hug first.

in totally unrelated news, katy perry is a total d-bag. this is a fact. i am mad at her for singing that kissed a girl song because at first i liked it. but then i figured out that she's a d-bag. that's all.

crafting will resume shortly. it has to. i have five more swap items to complete for the gift exchange swap i am in. they need to hit the post by december first. better get crackin.

here's my pinwheel. yes, my pinwheel. the boys don't get to play with it because i like it and don't want them to destroy it or use it as a weapon. it is mine.