Summer has officially arrived (weekend update).

It is officially summer at our house.  J has turned in his last report for the semester and now he's officially bored.  This happens every semester, he doesn't have homework and projects to work on and he doesn't know what to do with himself.  It takes him about a week to get back into the swing of not having homework.  So hopefully by next week we'll be working on some of our planned projects for the summer.

We had an okay weekend.  I mean I was pretty upset that my art show was canceled, but I got over it.  J got his mom these lovely flowers for mother's day and then we went out to eat at Tex Tub's a local tex mex restaurant.  It was delicious.

I sent my mom some flowers (yesterday because I didn't have her new address) and talked to her on the phone for a while.  Overall, it was a successful mother's day.

Yoda even got me some roses.  Okay, so she tried to eat them, but it's the thought that counts, right?!?  I used my macro extension to get up and personal with these lovely orange roses.  I can't wait to get out into the garden and get some more macro shots.

I also bought myself a new lens.  I got myself a nifty fifity.  Now I told myself that I wouldn't buy this unless I made $200+ at my first show, but, I couldn't resist.  Amazon had it for a good deal a week or so ago and I ordered it.  I know, I should have waited, but I wanted it and I don't buy myself a lot of things.  And anyway, my new show goal is to get a battery operated cash register to replace my old one.  So if you are interested, I'm having an etsy sale.  Use coupon code MAYFLOWERS to get 25% off your entire order.

Buy back to that new lens.  The nifty fifty if supposed to be the best starter lens out there.  It was what my photography class recommended  it is what everyone on the interwebs recommends.  Now don't get me wrong, it's a great starter lens, it was just there was a little bit of a learning curve.  I had just become comfortable with my SLR camera and the kit lens (even if I've owned it for 7+ years), so to introduce a new lens, I was surprised to see how blurry my photos were.  Everyone says the pictures will be crisp and clear, they were not.  They were awful.  I was ready to return it.  But after a little research and some (okay, a lot) of practice, I think I have it down.

I have to shoot in full manual mode to get the best results, but I'm getting some great shots.  Like the one of Nacho above.  I've taken a lot of pictures of the animals as practice.  They are good models.

 
Here is Toonces napping, or at least trying to nap.  I've been trying to practice not only my photography but also my editing skills.  Thanks to all my Photoshop classes, I've really started to become comfortable with editing.  Am I a pro?  Oh god no, but I am getting better and I'll continue to improve with practice.

Now I've become addicted to my SLR and I have a couple other lenses on my wish list, including this 40mm pancake one.

I would like to have this one as an everyday lens.  It's pretty new, but I've heard good things about it and some of the photos online look fantastic.  So that is next on my list of lens I want own.

And the funny thing, I found out my mom has just got her first SLR.  She is trying to take some photography courses at the local tech college and is going to try some of the online one's I've taken.  Maybe we'll be learning new things together soon?  Maybe we'll both be buying new lens together?

So that's what we've been up to.  What has everyone else been up to?  How was everyone's mother's day?  Did you do anything special?