January 30 - The Cult of Domesticity

On Saturday nights, I knit with a friend. She doesn't know this, and I don't tell her because I'm afraid to creep her out, but I look forward to it all week and I feel sad when we don't get together. These Saturday night outings have saved my sanity and probably my child and husband on more than one occasion.

We are regulars in the coffee shop and there are others like us. There is the business man who was on a first date with a nuclear physicist or something a couple of weeks ago. He met her online. And tonight, the nerdy divorced guy who was talking about watching "The Bachelor" and how great being married is. I'm sure they both talk about the two knitters who talk about husbands and babies.

And since my friend let me use her in my photo, I will plug her sewing blog.

January 29 - Made With Love

My husband graduated from trainee at work today. I am so proud of him and to celebrate his "graduation," I made him red velvet cupcakes (his faves). They were from a box and the frosting was pre-mixed. Betty Crocker can breathe easy because her job is safe, but I felt domestic in my own way.

January 28 - Snow Day

It snowed all day. The the whole neighborhood was a winter wonderland. I spent the day wandering around outside just to see what I could see.

Last summer I decided my faux English garden needed roses. I bought four bushes and gave them silly names. I hope they survive this unusually wet, cold winter.

January 27 - A Shot of Hope

I wasn't gonna vote for this guy. I never really loved him like some people did. I did it because the one I was gonna vote for told me to. It was a greater-good vote. And yet, sometimes I hear him speak and he moves me. Like tonight, like on the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day...especially then. He gives me hope. (He also makes me kind of mad sometimes, but that's a rant for another day.)

January 26 - Here's Looking At You, Kid

All these funny little creatures have invaded my house. I used to be so conscious about what I brought in, what the aesthetic of our home was going to be. Now I have a Glow Worm that turns up in every room; a wandering Pooh; and Nixon, the blue elephant, who stares at me from this crib or that bed. I have brightly colored toys that migrate from here to there and back again. I trip over books and rings and plastic keys. It sounds like a complaint, but I really do find it amusing. I think they are cute, I love to play. I can't wait until we are making craft projects and building towers out of Legos. Right now it's a matter of putting the walrus in the box and taking him out and flinging him to see how he bounces, but someday all too soon all these things will be put away and it will be giant sneakers and backpacks and books. So right now I cherish all these brightly colored little faces and the bright little face that gets so much enjoyment out of them.

January 25 - What's Up Doc?

My husband grew winter carrots...well, winter carrots grew where he planted summer carrots. Supposedly winter carrots are sweeter. Something about sugars and cold weather. They tasted like dirt to me. Not even sweet dirt. But they were a very pretty bounty.

January 24 - Where The Magic Happens

Some days the sunlight dances through the windows just right. Some days the best toys are whatever is closest to you. And some days my favorite images are so simple I don't even have to think before I shoot.

January 23 - Breakfast of Champions, Big and Small

Sometimes a book draws you in and no matter how tired you are, you can't stop reading. It happened to me last night with Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games." This morning my little alarm clock - who doesn't have a snooze button - wouldn't let me sleep off my late-night readfest. I needed a BIG cup of coffee to get moving and Owen got his day started with a jar of deliciousness.

January 22 - Walk in the Rain Clouds

I went for a walk ... alone. It was the most wonderful 3 minutes. I got to the end of the block before the soggy morning took the opportunity to turn into a icy rain storm, leaving me, literally, out in the cold. On my walk back home - I'm not the Wicked Witch, afterall, no fear of melting here - I saw this leaf either stuck to the sidewalk or basking in the cool, wet weather. I guess it's all in how you look at it.

January 21 - Light At The End of the Lens

And who says CFLs don't give off a warm glow? My husband likes them because I can't remember to turn off lights and we still save energy. I like them because they look fancy. Weird, right? If Dale Chihuly and a Dairy Queen ice cream cone had a love child, it would look like a CFL.

And because we all love the planet and are trying to be more eco-responsible, here are some easy ways to save energy.

January 20 - Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies...

When I went to bed, the news was talking about storms of epic proportions. I went to bed thinking I was gonna have to dig out in the morning - OK, not really a probability in New Mexico, but you wouldn't know that if you were watching the weather report. The day was crisp and beautiful, the sun was shining and the clouds were little wisps just floating by.

This is one of the things I love most about NM, no matter what season, it's always sunny. Even on the worst day, a few minutes in the sunshine can lift my spirits and there's no shortage of that spirit-lifting sunshine here.

January 19 - Purple Mountain Majesty

Driving to the grocery store, I passed the new park in progress and noticed how gorgeous the mountains looked. Admittedly, I take those mountains for granted. They stand guard over the city day after day, and I'm just used to having them there. We got a little snow in the mountains, giving the skiers something to smile about, but it was a crisp clear day down in the city.

I drew a little attention with my camera. The park construction foreman came over to see what I was taking pictures of. He tried to act unconcerned, but something tells me he was making sure I wasn't taking pictures of the construction and the park-to-be. Now, if I had one reporter bone in my body, I would wonder what he was worried about and start to investigate...but...I don't. So I just smiled and talked about the mountains and went on my merry way.

January 18 - It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Tonight I revisited a faithful friend - the neighbor's tree. It was raining and I wondered what would happen if I pointed a camera out into the dark, rainy night. Really fuzzy pictures, that's the answer. But also this amazing sepia toned marbled sky and ... this tree.

And because I'm still thinking about artists that I love and work that inspires me, I will offer this name: Robert ParkeHarrison. ParkeHarrison did a series called the Architect's Brother that was so beautiful and sad and hopeful that thinking about it can move me to tears. The images have a similar (and I'm flattering myself here) sepia-toned, painterly quality that came to mind when I saw my tree. I hope you'll check him out.

January 17 - Room with a View

We had a family lunch at my aunt's house. The living room gets the most amazing sunlight and it was just streaming in through the window. Hanging on the wall is a picture of my grandpa in his army uniform. This was a peaceful moment stolen in a house full of people. It was just me, my camera and the sunlight.

I love to spend time with my family, and the older I get the more fun it is. When we were kids, days like this would have been a little boring and rife with petty kid squabbles. Now, us "kids" gather in one room and play with our cell phones, compare work stories and try to find ways to quit our jobs without losing our houses while the "old ones" reminisce about old times, and compare aches and pains. The "menfolk" gather 'round to fix this or that, and you can hear our little ones squawking as they run from one room to another setting off timers and trying to steal just one more cookie.

January 16 - Taking a Swim

The dishwasher is an all-purpose cleaning machine...mugs, jars, dishes and ducks. Whatever needs to be really really clean takes a spin in the dishwasher.

January 15 - You Look Mahvelous!

My kid found a playmate today. He thought his playmate was such a looker that he couldn't stop giving him kisses. These are the moments I treasure. I couldn't stop laughing, he was just so cute. And I love his little feety pajamas and his diaper butt. You can see his chubby baby hands and his big round head - he gets that from his dad.

My mom has a picture of me at around this same age doing this very same thing. Guess little Narcissus Jr. got that from me.

January 14 - Andy's Dandy

And since I was thinking about favorite artists, I Andy Warholed this picture with my Warhol phone app.

Pulling back the curtain, I will tell you this is a blanket. But it reminds me more of anti-war propaganda or perhaps a Warholian statement on the commercialism of commercial airlines.

January 13 - Ode to Uta

In the style of one of my favorite artists, Uta Barth, I took a picture of our naked Christmas tree (yes, we are STILL packing it away). And, as I am every year, I was transfixed by the magic of Christmas lights. Here they remind me of falling shimmery gold coins.

January 12 - Dog Days of Winter

The first rule of art school photography: Never take pictures of your dog or your girlfriend. Well, that was money well spent. I have taken all that they taught me and used it to - blatantly and without remorse - take pictures of my dog.

January 11 - With Bells On...

It takes us a week to put up Christmas and this year it took weeks to take it down. This bell wreath was a straggler, hanging unnoticed on a key hook in the hallway.

This wreath was one of the first purchases I made when I moved into my first apartment. I was putting my hard-earned journalism degree to good use by working at Hallmark while trying to get my career going. I used my employee discount and bought what would be the first of many decorations that now fill 5 large plastic bins. Although my Christmas theme and colors change every year, this wreath always makes an appearance.

January 10 - The Greatest Form of Flattery?

Albuquerque has an In-N-Out knockoff called Stop-N-Go...it's not bad. The fries could use some work. But their own special treat, the Burque Burger - a delicious green-chile cheeseburger - is AWESOME! I couldn't help but wonder if the owner was so ballsy with the name and the logo to get In-N-Out's attention, hoping they would offer him a franchise here. I mean, look at the sign! That is SO ballsy!

January 9 - Caught ya!

And all of a sudden a great tree appeared where ... something used to be. When we put the tree, Owen was rocking on his haunches but not yet crawling. He didn't even notice the tree until this day and all of a sudden I couldn't keep him off of it. Every time I would turn my back for just a second, he would be over there tugging on the garland or trying to reach the ornaments.

January 8 - Keeping the Spirit Alive

Days after everyone had taken their lights down, this neighbor's house looked so warm an inviting. They aren't the friendliest people on the block, but for just this one night I wished they were the kind of neighbors you wave to from across the street, and who bring you soup when you are sick and casseroles when you have a new baby. Instead they pretty much pretend we don't exist and we try not to run over their kids when we are pulling out of our driveway...it's not Wisteria Lane, after all.

January 7 - Spot On

Another camera experiment...this time it was Fun With Concave Mirror: A Self-Portrait.

January 6 - Branching Out

I sit near the window every night at dusk and watch the sky change behind the neighbor's tree. There's a vascular quality to that tree. I ponder it each night as the blue sky turns to violet and then adds rosy hues and then fades to black.

I went out to photograph the tree (and got some great shots, just what I wanted) and then started playing with long exposures and the motion of the camera. The result was this amazingly fabric-like image with the shadow of vessel tree in the corner. It feels painterly and like sky and crumpled paper and textile all in one.

January 5 - On the Horizon

The sunset was amazing, it had bands of navy, blue and orange. It looked like a Navajo blanket. The phone camera tried to capture it, but found itself lacking in ability - it was the phone and certainly not the photographer that lacked ability.

January 4 - Wrapped in love

I made this blanket for a college friend's baby. I love the stitch - moss stitch - and the way the stripes make a landscape when photographed at this angle. I'm obsessed with the moss stitch, it feels to me like real knitting.

I started knitting when I was pregnant. Some women clean when they nest, I made scarves. Lots of scarves. Most of them ugly. As my friends started to reproduce, I made blankets for their babies. I love the idea of a homemade gift. And I hope that maybe just one of those babies gets a little Linus with his or her blanket, that would be the best thank you of all.

January 3 - We'll Leave the Light on for You

I see things I love and am compelled by something from deep within to utter the famous last words: I can do that better and CHEAPER. Well, it's usually not cheaper.

I saw a village in the Pottery Barn catalog and the houses were $60 each, and I so desperately wanted those houses. So I made my own with some cardboard houses, a few cans of spray paint and an insane amount of glitter!

January 2 - Pensive and Pacified

Not much to say here - as promised it's a picture of my boy.

January 1 - Baby New Year

Owen catches a New Year's Day nap.

I decided to throw my hat in the ring on the 3rd, so days one and two are pictures of my kid. Every day is pictures-of-my-kid day, but I promised myself I would look behind my favorite subject and see what else is around.

Project 365 - Everyday magic

The objective: Take one picture a day for 365 days

MY objective: To find the extraordinary in my ordinary surroundings.

My world changed when my child was born in April. I gave up my career for the luxurious life of a stay-at-home mom. Sometimes it is hard, sometimes it is boring, but most of the time it is filled with magical little moments that include chasing and tickling and giggling and endless games of peek-a-boo. This new experience has made me take a closer look at my interests, my goals and the point where my previous life meets this new one. I picked up a camera again as a means of documenting each moment of my child's life, but have hesitated to use it for "fun." My goal with this project is to get reacquainted with my camera and my "eye," as well as to capture some of that everyday magic all around me.