Just For Fun

Looking for something fun, educational and interactive to do with your little one? Try showing them how to use the camera on your phone to take pics of the great outdoors while you’re on a walk. See the world through their eyes!

Every morning, rain or shine, without fail, during the stay-at-home order we’re under here in California, Connor Claire and I go out for a walk around the neighborhood, so we can get some fresh air, stretch our legs, and get allllll the wiggles out. We’re usually out about an hour, which is enough time to wear her out before her nap, and that nap time is golden! (I’ll usually do some work or squeeze in a workout.)

Sometimes, we’ll just casually wander around and check out flowers and say hi to the neighborhood cats, but other times I’ll try to do a more structured outdoor activity to keep things interesting, like this one: learning how to take pictures.

You definitely don’t need any fancy equipment. Your phone (ideally, with a sturdy case and a screen protector in case of accidental drops) or an old digital camera will work fine.

You also don’t need extensive photography experience. With phones these days, the pictures practically take themselves.

Connor’s hands are still very small, so I help her hold the camera while she takes her pics, but other than that, she makes all the executive art director decisions. When we’re walking around and she sees something she wants to take a picture of, she tells me to stop, and I take the phone/camera out. I help her decide if she wants the picture vertical or horizontal, then we frame the shot, and she pushes the shutter button.

A few things to keep in mind

• Still like statues: For a clear, sharp picture, you and your little one will want to stand as still as possible to minimize the movement of the camera. I’ll have Connor do a little “wiggle dance” or run a few circles, and then when it’s time to take the picture, we pretend to be statues and stand as still as possible.
• Choose a theme: Consider choosing a theme before you start your walk, like flowers in your neighborhood, dogs, or numbers. Our theme for our latest photography session was “signs of spring,” which ties in with what we’re doing for preschool homeschool this week.
• Crazy about collages: If you can print pics at home, print your child’s favorite pics, and have them glue the shots into a collage.

This activity isn’t just for the kids, either. How about stretching your photography muscles, too? Use your phone’s camera on your walks outside to document what moves you!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Well, it looks like I’ll be doing a lot of outdoor activities like this one with CoyCoy in the near future because the schools in Marin will probably be closed until at least May 1.

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.

1. Ocean or mountain?

Ocean 🌊

2. Pepsi or Coke?

Coke, because it tastes more peppery and less sugary. Preferably, it’s in a glass bottle and chilled (tastes totally different than Coke in a can), but I’ll take a fountain Coke over ice, as long as it’s not watered down.

I haven’t had one in years, though. Just small sips from El Hub’s glass here and there, so I wonder if I’d still actually like it… Yeah, I’m pretty sure I would. 😍

3. Have you ever hit a deer?

Nope, knock on wood, but they’re all over the place here. During rutting season you have to be extra careful when you’re driving, especially around blind corners, because bucks will run with the traffic on the roads, weaving between cars and sometimes leaping over the hood! 🦌

4. Would you ever get your brows microbladed?

I don’t know. Maybe if I could find someone I could trust 100% who did very natural-looking brows. I get freaked out by the thought of putting my brows into someone else’s hands… It’s a weird control thing, I guess!

5. How many layers of mascara do you typically wear?

Two layers on my top lashes (sometimes three), but no mascara on my bottom lashes, which is a recent development, because I used to be a lower-lash-mascara kinda gal, but over the last year I’ve learned that the less I wear underneath my eyes, the less tired I look. Go figure.

I think you’re just what I needed

Hiya. First things first…THIS SONG BY THE CARS. I heard it for the first time in years last weekend, and it was, quite literally, just what I needed. 😊

Secondly, El Hub, CoyCoy and I went for a long drive yesterday out to the Marin French Cheese Company. The store and deli were closed, of course, but the time outside the house was just what I needed. We haven’t left our neighborhood in weeks, and it was so nice to be outdoors in a big open space.

There were two other people there along with us, and we gave each other plenty of social distancing space.

It was nice to feel somewhat normal again, even if it was only for a brief moment… I do wonder if things will ever feel truly normal again.









Take care of yourself this week. Love you.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Ocean or mountain?
2. Pepsi or Coke?
3. Have you ever hit a deer?
4. Would you ever get your brows microbladed?
5. How many layers of mascara do you typically wear?

Good morning and happy Caturday from one cat lady’s corner of the Internet in Northern California. How YOU doing? Does the world feel topsy-turvy to you like it does to me? Is uncertainty churning in the pit of your tummy at all hours of the day and night?

Yeah, me too.

I’m naturally wired to worry, and keeping my spirits up hasn’t been easy, but I’m trying. I count my blessings often and I #stressbake. I also try to focus on simple pleasures, one of which is taking long walks with the CoyCoy every morning.

We leave the house right after breakfast and head outside to explore our neighborhood. Over the past few days, we’ve listened to birds sing, waved hi to our neighbors (from six feet away, of course), splashed in puddles, and met a new kitty neighbor.

Say hi to Nine, a gray stray who set up camp down the street from us. According to a friendly cat lady who lives nearby and feeds Nine all the time, he lives on the hill behind condo number 9, and he’s very friendly, but we’ve been told he will nip your fingers if he’s feeling feisty… We visit him every day and offer him treats if he’s around.

I don’t foresee him moving in with us any time soon because Rosie is queen bee around here, but I hope someone in the neighborhood eventually takes him in.

A new kitty friend is always a gift.

• Apparently, it’s not just an urban myth — stress can actually turn your hair gray, says science.
• Speaking of hair, bored women are cutting bangs while in quarantine. As someone who’s chopped off her hair under duress (usually in the middle of the night), all I have to say to that is FIGHT THE URGE, GIRL.
• How LVMH factories in France went from producing perfume to making hand sanitizer in just 72 hours.
• It’s okay to grieve even the little things we’ve lost during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Meet the cat ladies of Benzie County, Michigan.
• Yoga with cats… It’s a thing.
• Have you ever wished you could watch two cats “ice skating” on a frozen pool? HERE YA GO.
• People who are sheltering in place and using Zoom (an online tool for virtual meet-ups) are requesting face filters so they don’t have to do their hair or makeup before meetings.
• This dermatologist recommends using sunscreen and upping up your face mask game when you’re social distancing.
• Can coronavirus live on your beauty products?

How are you holding up?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen