Welcome to Happiness Is! This is the second week that I have it as a blog hop...the rules are simple.

Write a post about two things that made you happy this week (please link back to me so other can join in the fun!) and link up! Please link up directly to your post and not to your main blog page...it makes it harder for people to find your Happiness Is post. :) Thanks!

Happiness is...

...FINALLY getting confirmed! After more than 1 1/2 years, I was very ready to be done with it. Woohoo :)

...orchids. They're my new favorite flower. Read my revelation here :)

Now it's your turn! What are two things that made you happy this week? Link up and have fun!



-carlotta

5/28 Edited to add: I realize it has now been a few days since I published this post, but I'm going to link up to Macro Friday at Blogging from Bolivia. I'm supposed to specify which picture I want people to vote for; I'm going to go with the last photo. 

yesterday i mentioned that i hadn't been taking as many pictures lately. part of the problem was that i've been stuck in the house and i couldn't find anything else interesting to take pictures of (not counting my siblings. ha.). my parents have two orchids - a white one and a purple one...i was slightly partial to the purple one - in the window seat of their room. i see them everyday, but i had grown so used to them that i didn't really see them anymore. 

today, i actually noticed them. all of a sudden, i had an overwhelming urge to photograph. i bounded up the stairs to my room, grabbed my camera, and ran back to the orchids. 

as i snapped away, i saw them, it seemed, as for the first time. there is something about photography that makes you pay attention to the tiniest detail. that's what i love about photographing everyday things. it's easy to take pictures when everything is - literally - picturesque. if i were in paris i would have no trouble taking beautiful photographs. but it's only when it seems like nothing is "worthy" of a picture that you grow as a photographer (in my opinion). you search for beauty more when it's harder to find. 

when i started project 365 (see my pictures for that challenge here), i had such a hard time finding things to take pictures of. i mean, i could have easily just taken random pictures of my weirdly shaped feet or whatever, but i wouldn't have learned as much if i would have done that. instead, i looked harder for beauty...and do you know what? i found it. i had not so great pictures, and i had pictures i really like, but through both i grew as a photographer.

orchids are now my new favorite flower...they're very good photography teachers :)

okay, so i meant for this post to be much shorter...i really should have been doing homework instead of blogging, but i kind of got carried away there. 

on a side note, tomorrow is happiness is. will i see you there? ;)

happy monday!

-carlotta

1. Sorry I haven't gotten around to posting sooner. Something is wrong with my wireless receiver on my laptop, so I'm using the computer in our library...and I've been busy all day.

2. Do you mind me writing posts like this occasionally? I like that I can make some sense out of my random thoughts... ;)

3. Our family planted a garden a few weeks ago...everything is growing like crazy.

Tomatoes are okay...they're not my favorite, but I'll eat them. That is, when they're store bought. Give me homegrown tomatoes and I'll eat them like they're going out of style. Yum. I was excited when I saw three or four tomatoes on the vines this afternoon.

I absolutely love basil ahem, my mom just informed me it's mint. That's embarrassing. I love mint too, though :)...but when it's grown in our backyard it's 10,000 times better. As is everything else that's grown by us. Mmm.

4. A week from today, the 31st, I'm starting my volunteer work at the library. It's only two hours three times a week - which doesn't "ruin" my summer at all - so it should be fairly easy. I'm curious to see what it's going to be like...my mom has a degree in library science - she was a librarian for a while - and she's happy that I'm trying this out.

5. I'm loving this weather. Today it was 91 (with a heat index of 98), but I loved that I could just throw on some shorts and a tank top and go outside - without having to worry about being cold. Today my siblings and I jumped on the trampoline with the hose...who needs a pool?! ;)

6. I'm on my last week of school. Can I get a woohoo?!?! I'm so glad. I need to do some school in the summer, though, because of us going to Germany in September. 

7. I haven't been taking as many pictures lately...probably because I've been so busy, but I really miss it. I need to go somewhere that's good for photography and get back into it.

 I've also been dealing with camera envy lately...I'm getting more and more frustrated with my point and shoot. I feel limited with it...it takes SO long just to get one picture and I would really love to be able to experiment with aperture, ISO settings and everything else one can do with a DSLR (Any suggestions for a first DSLR?). I know I don't really NEED a new camera...and I'm trying to be thankful that I even have a camera, I really am. But a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

-carlotta

PS After writing this post, I realized it fit the requirements for Miscellany Monday...so I'm linking up :)

I'm done. I'm COMPLETELY done with confirmation! No more quizzing over the catechism, no more memorization...ahh :)

I don't know what was wrong with me during the service. I was laughing at every little thing...I thought I was going to lose it when my friend randomly said something about turtles (Ha!). I don't think I was nervous, but maybe I was and just didn't know it?

My confirmation verse was Romans 8:38-39.

"For I am sure that neither life nor death, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We all had to say our verse. I knew mine perfectly, but when I stepped up to the lectern to say it, I completely blanked out. I was able to remember it fairly quickly, but I messed up on the order of the "nor"s. Sigh.

Blonde act of the day:

As we were about to take communion, I wasn't paying attention and thought I could go forward one more step. I ended up running into the kneeler, hurt my shin, and almost fall into the boy next to me. Nice. 

Although, I am blonde, so what did I expect? ;) I won't even get into when I banged my head on the roof of the car while trying to get in...

I digress.

After the service, there were of course pictures. I really dislike having my picture taken...I'm rarely satisfied with how I look. I prefer being behind the camera. I do like how the above picture of my mom, dad, and I turned out, though. The one good picture of me in all of the pictures :)

Some were asked to see my dress, so here it is...

I just adore it! I love that it's not so fancy that I can wear it again without being overdressed. I'm still stunned - two and a half weeks later - that we were able to find one that I loved and fit! 

How was your Sunday?

-carlotta