crossrhodes

I tried something different this year. Instead of the annual Christmas or school portrait, I took a shot at portrait photography at home. Talk about amateur… I went to the brightest window in the house and hung a fleece blanket for a backdrop :) It was definitely more fun than taking James to a point-and-shoot clerk at Walmart. I wish I had better lighting conditions. The camera flash is too stark and indoor lightbulbs are too yellow. But I got what I wanted as far as capturing his personality on film (in this case, digital media).

Anyway, here are the pics of James at 15. (Click on picture or photo album on right.) I photoshopped them for the web so they may look lighter depending on your monitor settings. We’re going to do this every year on his birthday (winter, indoors) so I’m open to suggestions on professional lighting and equipment for an amateur budget :)

It must be his birthday. James talked to everyone from upstate New York all the way down to his great grandpa in Florida. He was a popular guy on the phone today.

We wanted to take him to dinner and a broadway show in Manhattan but planned it too late. I forgot it’s Valentine’s weekend when dinner and theater are a favorite venue. He’s never been to a broadway show. He’s never had Japanese food either. I thought I’d break him in to Benihana first so even if he didn’t care for the food, he’d enjoy a hibachi show. He picked the vegetables out of his food but enjoyed the rest of it. I guess it’s safe to take him to a real Japanese restaurant next time.

He had such an attitude before leaving the house that we almost went without him! He later told me it had to do with… what else… a girl. Then there was the clothes fiasco. I asked him to wear something more presentable than his basketball jersey and hoodie. What does he do? Chucks the hoodie and puts on another jersey! Finally, he found a nice button down shirt from the bottom of a pile of unfolded laundry… probably since he last wore it at Christmas. Oi vay!!!

If he was a girl, she’d have been trying on every outfit in her closet until she found the right one for the occassion. And then we’d probably yell at her to hurry up or put on more clothes that show less skin. She’d still have an attitude but the backtalk would probably be more creative. I guess it’s a matter of perspective.

James’ first half of freshman year was an uphill battle. Besides the social adjustment from small middle school to large regional high school, he experienced culture shock from the level of personal responsibility expected of high schoolers. High school clashes with his inherent lack of organization and self-motivation. (Wait till he goes to college!)

Last week was the beginning of a new semester and a clean slate! He has all the needed tools to stay organized. He seems excited to begin anew. He has math and science this semester, which he enjoys more than the language arts of last semester. He even found a new niche of friends in ROTC.

Speaking of which, he came home from school last week all excited about moving to a new lunch table. (Remember our high school days when lunch tables were segregated by cliques? It’s still that way today.) Anyway, he was talking so fast I vaguely understood him. He spit out a roll call of names - their nick names in ROTC - but he doesn’t know their real names yet. That’s how close of friends they are :)

We booked our first family cruise! It was nerve racking… like eBay! For days I had my eye on the cheapest inside cabin rate on a website. When I was finally ready to book, as soon as I turned my head, it was gone! I deleted my cookies and refreshed the site to find it but it was lost forever. (I read somewhere that web server cookies determine the “current” prices on your browser.) So I ran for the phone to book the next cheapest cabin before that one disappeared too. The next cheapest cabin was an oceanview stateroom. It was a tad more per person but it came with a free 5-night stay in a resort on the west coast of Mexico to use in the next year. So I guess our next vacation has been planned for us too :) The resort is sooo pretty! It’s called Pueblo Bonito, pretty town.

The cruise is a short 5-day to Nova Scotia, embarking in Jersey. It’s not the most exciting destination but we chose a Royal Caribbean ship that has it all! I can’t wait to see James on the ship’s rock climbing wall! Maybe I can conquer my fear of non-swimming pool waters in a sea kayak excursion. It was reasonably priced. We don’t have to fly. We unpack only once. And I don’t have to cook or make the bed. (Yipee!) Without flying, the only other options are Bermuda or the tropics. I don’t know about you but heat and humidity, especially in the peak of summer, are not my idea of an al fresco vacation. James will miss a week or two of camp. But he doesn’t seem too disappointed trading in camp for a cruise.

Aside from lack of a blog-worthy story, I’ve been too busy with busy work to blog. (Say that five times fast!) You know what I’m talking about… the never-ending list of chores, stacks of paperwork, and special projects. In fact, I’m in the middle of something right now but I needed a creative break from the mundane.

I’ve recently taken over control of the family finances (”control” defined loosely) from my more sensible, numbers guy of a husband. Is it just me or do you also spend 6-8 hours a week on personal banking?!?! It seems like it shouldn’t take me more than 20 mins a day to stay on top of it, espcially with automated tools like Quicken and online billing. I think I’ll do a survey. I’d be interested to know your routine and time spent on personal finance. Email me.

I’m so glad I got a paper shredder from my secret santa last Christmas! The amount of junk mail I’ve put through my old shredder is probably what killed it. Wish there was a spam blocker for old fashioned snail mail. It’s getting harder to tell between legitimate bills and marketing junk.

Don and I were planning an anniversary cruise to Alaska but decided to postpone till next year when he will be less limited by his academic calendar. We usually camp every year but this year he wants me to plan a family vacation that “excites” me. A 5-star culinary tour of eastern Europe excites me! But I think he meant something we would ALL enjoy as a family, which is difficult to plan for 3 people with very different tastes. I’m an indoor artsy-foodie. Don’s a nature and history buff. And James would be in heaven playing Xbox while he’s surfing. Come to think of it, it sounds like a cruise would be the way to go.

I’m working on a scrapbook for my niece who’s due any day now. My husband thinks I spend too much time scrapping (but not nearly as much time as he surfs eBay). I saw a scrapbook sticker that reads, “I love my life, that’s why I decorate it.” And unlike the dishes and laundry, a finished scrapbook lasts a lifetime (hopefully). When I complete a page today, I don’t have to recreate it tomorrow. Can anyone say that about dishes and laundry? Speaking of which, time to eat dinner and dirty more dishes!