Wednesday, December 28, 2011

December Daily- Playin' Catch Up

So you are now officially "over" Christmas. Perhaps you would rather gnaw your foot off than see one more post boasting (OOPS! I meant "sharing") innovative handmade presents, wonderfully close family moments or cooking exploits.
Can't say I blames ya!
But I am finishing my danged December Daily and posting it if it's the last scrappy thing I do!!! I didn't shoot my presents which consist of one Sizzix machine (still "enroute") and one book "Snuff" by Terry Pratchett which I have already devoured and LOVE. We ordered (note I did not say MADE- as in that way lies madness) some traditional Puerto Rican pasteles and ate till it hurt- overall a fantastic holiday if you ask me.
Oh LOOK ornaments! I didn't buy those. And see the photo taken on the 22nd?  The photo I wanted to add here was too big to fit in a 2 inch circle so off to another day it goes.
December Daily albums are a hard project- you have to fight your own bad habits to get finished. Mine are procrastination, an inability to stick to a unified theme or color scheme, tendency to get overwhelmed during family moments and forgetting to actually SHOOT A PHOTO and posing people when I miss out on a moment. My family grew very tired of me saying "STOP! Let's do that AGAIN."
Day 22- you are only as old as your parents let you feel. I was not allowed to "restage" this.
Let's be real- anything with Lola is likely posed 'cause girlfriend REFUSES to look at the camera. This is what I figure- your brain will rewrite the memory later anyway so why not provide a pretty picture and start the historical rewriting right now? But I didn't make stuff up just to have it in the album.
When Lola is older though I will revisit the 31 NYC holiday hotspots in 31 days idea and use it as a way to keep from just sitting around at home all the time.
Day 17 is an iTouch photo of a regular photo. Lola was staring at the giant Christmas tree in absolute wonder. Day 18 is about how Lola got a new pair of pants from a nice old lady who FORCED me to hand them over so she could buy them- NY style generosity- let me treat you OR ELSE. ;)
Reality check number two? I take Instagr.am pix of 35mm images I shoot with my Leica using a real flash- cheating? YOU BETCHA!!!!
Why? Because otherwise my pix would all be muddy pixelated pieces of digi crap. I really hope Apple comes out with a better camera in the next iTouch iteration- I'm NOT paying for an iPhone data plan.
Day 23- Merry Christmas from the Hernandez (and company) clan!!
Reality check number three- I also choose moments that happen in a day I have already covered for my next page- am I REALLY going to remember the pants thing happened on the 20th and not the 18th when I open this book later on? NOPE! So why worry?
I love that stupid plastic snowman. I wish I had a yard so I could light it up with one (or a 20). Day 20 is about how it's been raining cats and dogs here. December has been freakishly warm- except for the day Letty, Robby Rob (her husband) and I decided to walk to Rockerfeller Center- it was 15 degrees that night and I tasted roasted chestnuts for the first time- DOH! I didn't take a PHOTO!!!
I'm working on the final few pages- I'll probably stop at day 30 and take down the tree- or just stage it and leave the actual tree up till early February as usual. I haven't decided yet. GRIN. So there you have it- a direct order to just let go of the rules and get crafty- it's just paper after all!
December 24th- Do you know how many of these I had to shoot (and repose- ha ha) before Lola looked anything but annoyed to be "opening presents" at MIDNIGHT? That's the Latin American custom and let's just say- it doesn't mix well with the under 10 crowd. PS- I also have the annoyed shot- you'll see it in my next post.
MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

7 comments:

  1. Your album is amazing!! So full of fun and color and randomness - totally authentic. I am only on page 15 so I'll be playing catch-up with ya.

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  2. Your DD is looking absolutely amazing Michelle! I envy all the famous places you get to walk to on a daily basis, too cool! And the lady who bought the pants for your daughter? So sweet! I can't wait to see the "annoyed" shot in the next post. :)

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  3. love it love it love it - thanks for the extra bit of inspiration to get mine finished and thanks for the giggle - your posts always make me smile!! xoxo

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  4. Your DD looks so lively and happy. I love your comments about your book - so real life!

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  5. This is soo lovely! I wish I could do something like that, but knowing myself to well, it would never be finished... Maybe some day... Love the pictures and the stories behind them!

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  6. I love how your DD is Christmas-y and not Christmas-y all at once. Such fun photos! :)

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  7. Love it all! You always leave me feeling warm and fuzzy and wanting to go DO something and scrap something! Happy New Year, Michelle, to you and your family!

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Ok peeps lets CHAT! You tell me what you REALLY think and I PROMISE to keep it open minded here.