117/365 Buttons

I spent the morning with a cute 2 year old and the afternoon with my biggest cheerleader. Mom and I had brunch together at an awesome Mediterranean restaurant in the city today. The food was excellent. We were both beyond pleased!

We reached the restaurant about an hour before our reservations, so we decided to pass the time by visiting some of the local shops. We finally just sat on a bench and began to discuss The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She had seen the movie weeks ago, I had recently rented the DVD. The overall message for mom was that we have to enjoy the time we have and to live without regrets. I'm still thinking about all of the lessons I learned and about the things I enjoyed about the film. Sometimes lessons hit quickly and other times they surface over a period of days.

This dusty miller plant was growing in a pot beside our bench. I pulled out my handy macro and focused on the flowers. Yellow is my favorite color and the light was perfect in this spot.

102/365 Emerge

Just playing around with one of the images from today.

98/365 Dario

Why Dario? Everyone knows that Spanish tennis players are some of the most gifted players in the world! If not the most gifted, they are some of the cutest!

I saw this little guy pressed to one of the doors of our home as I went to grab by camera for today's outing. No need to look any further, Dario had the job to represent us for Day 98!

One of the most fun things about taking an image a day is learning to appreciate the beauty that is close to home. It really makes me come to terms with how I define beauty. My definition is broadening for sure and that's a good thing!

Lesson: The most beautiful view is the one I share with you. (source unknown)

81/365 Dress

While I was out perusing the area to find something of interest to photograph, one of my constant companions found a vine of honeysuckles. After announcing the great find, my young companion then proceeded to make a dress out of the honeysuckle for one of the members of our entourage--Raidia, a female LEGO.

I remember being in the home of a new friend for a play date years ago. The children were coloring something (details are fuzzy) and the mom beside me was growing increasingly more frustrated as each minute passed. Her 3 year old just would not color within the lines no matter how much she admonished him to do so. I understood her frustration, it comes from wanting or maybe needing to fit in with the crowd.

Watching my little one today create this cool dress made me smile. I'm so glad I've never encouraged my children to color inside of the lines.

Lesson: "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
--Steve Jobs

53/365 Woollyhead

Craspedia. Craspedia is a genus of daisies commonly known as billy buttons or woollyheads.

I always believed that I love what I do, however, it has come to my attention lately that I truly do enjoy the relationship I have with my camera. When I'm feeling especially tense, I've noticed that I start to calm down and disconnect from my cares when my camera is in my hands.

Lesson: Give into your passion. You may discover that you truly do love what you do. You may discover that you are beginning to bloom and to effect those around you positively.

Tomorrow: People.