503 Online Photography Workshop

a little 'Thank You'  that is way past due!!

   Remember when you were looking for that 'totally awesome class' to fill your college schedule. You talked to all of your older and wiser friends(or Zeta sisters like me) to find that perfect class where you will learn tons AND have an awesome professor. You had a few on your 'must take' list a but couldn't decide which one to pick, so you did the old fashion 'eenie menne minnie mo' pick- just hoping it landed on the best one....remember that?
  Well, that is what I did about 6 months ago and boy did I pick the BEST one! Once I decided I  was really going to take this photography stuff seriously, I thought it would best if I took an online class to learn more about the art of it.
 I just happened(have no idea how) to stumble upon this website called 503 Photography and saw that they had an online workshop that looked to be pretty cool. I didn't know much about it but the website was cool and had great music to go along with killer pictures so I decided 'what the heck' gotta start somewhere!
   I was worried because the fall session that I wanted to take was booked(yes, like that great class that you were wanted to take and your counselor said- oh sorry, its filled) so I had to sign up for the winter class that started in Jan. I was a little hesitant at first because I knew basketball would be starting the EXACT same day but thought to myself   'I took 21 credits in college... I surely can handle teaching, coaching, photography shoots, a simple online photography class AND be a wife all at the same time'. Sounds easy enough right... well, I only went crazy once! haha
   Little did I know that this class was WAY more then just a ' simple online photography class'...it was a 'make you want to stay up late at night to practice, dream about f/stops and SS, read, read and reread your camera manual, take LOTS of pictures AND a head spinning most totally awesome online class EVER!'
 I LOVED every second(ok hours) that I spent learning for this class. Jessica(aka- awesome professor) was great! She was soooo very helpful each week. She takes the time to critique and give feedback to each of your photos and will give you ideas on how to make the shot better. She is so understanding when it comes to having a busy schedule- she even allowed me to turn in my homework late..how great is that! Each week she challenged us to learn something new and to broaden our photography knowledge. She answered our questions, allowed us to mess up(which I did more than a few times) without giving us an F :) , yet she challenged us to learn and keep learning each week. Not only was Jessica great but the online format was super easy and I learned so much just from the other students as well.
 I can't say enough about Jessica(aka awesome prof.) and the 503 Workshop, after the 6 weeks I was really bummed it was over and have missed getting the weekly assignments. Thanks Jessica and 503 for the AWESOME, TOTALLY WONDERFUL, SUPER FABULOUS, HEAD SPINNING CLASS! It was a great experience and I will forever owe you for helping me learn about the beautiful art of photography and getting one step closer to my dream of becoming a photographer.
  I will leave you with 'I learned how to do this!' shot!

check out how blurry the guys are in the back....

now, just changing a few things on the camera...now you can see the guys in the back!!

 

How awesome is that! Oh how I miss 503!!!

Ok, enough typing for the day...off to take some pictures!

yes, we are still alive

Its been a crazy busy last few days. Lots going on here at the Taulman house. Basketball has been taking up LOTS of our time(and many many many of my thoughts) to say the least. It has been a VERY challenging season. I am trying really hard to focus on the positives but man, it has been a test of faith that is for sure.
  We only have 2 weeks left(but who is counting right?) then I will be back in the blogging world full time! arnt you lucky.
  Tonight we have small group AND the Boilers are playing. so I will sign off with a...


 BOILER UP...WHOOOOOOOTT WHOOOOOTT!!!

say what?!?!

Today was PJ day at school  and the kids were sure in a funny mood. When they got off the bus, I kept asking them why the forgot to get dressed this morning. They looked at me like I was crazy! Not only did they look too funny in their silly PJs but they had some really funny quotes that I had to share with you. It took all I had to keep it together after hearing these! Enjoy a few minutes in the life of an elementary PE teacher!

4 grade boy: Man, Mrs. Taulman- I can feel my heart beating in my pancreas!  (Yes, that is really what he said!)

1st grade girl: situation- We were playing a game where you had to slide bean bags to knock over bowling pins and if your pin got knocked over you had to run a lap. She had to run a few laps and stopped and said 'Mrs. Taulman I am really getting knocked up today alot!' I think she meant...knocked over! hahaha

1st grade girl: Mrs. Taulman, did you know that dogs can not weigh more than 10 pounds, and if they do they turn into a bear. Also, I have the only dog that is now a bear because its 12 pounds.' (yes, this one I did start laughing at)

and the last one....

3rd grade boy: 'Mrs. Taulman, that girl keeps stealing my balls!'

Hope that gave you a good laugh for the day. It sure did for me.

Off to watch the Boilers play Ohio State right now... hoping for a great game and a W.

Valentines Day...E & N style!

  Today was a perfect Valentines Day for us! Nothing to crazy eventful but very nice and relaxing. We slept in(maybe the best gift! haha) until 10, then enjoyed making homemade biscuits and gravy together. After a yummy breakfast we relaxed and watched a little basketball and a few of the Olympics events. It warmed up outside a bit and Hoss needed some exercise so we ventured out for a nice little run. While we were running we saw a deer standing about 10 feet away from us!! It was sooo cool- Nathan could not believe that was not bothered by us! Hoss was clueless and just kept running on so I think that helped. 
  Just as we were coming in from our run it began to snow...it was an unbelievably beautiful and very peaceful sight. The flakes were HUGE and floating from the sky. We just sat in awe admiring the sight. The rest of the evening has been spent relaxing and eating a delicious home cooked candle light dinner. I must say... God  and Life is good- everyday! I hope that you had a wonderful day with your valentine too! Sending love and happiness to everyone on this 2010 V-Day!

a few pictures to make the day better!

Unfortunately school was not called off today (boooo hoooo). We do have a two hr. delay so I have time to post a few pictures. These kiddies are sure to make any day a little better!

Nathan was helping Marek brush his teeth... melted my heart.

 

Check out those beautiful eyes of Morgan...watch out boys- she is going to be a heart breaker!

 

 

 If this picture does not make you smile I don't know what will!!! Miss Hadleigh is soooo stinkin cute, I just love those cheeks of hers!

Happy Wednesday!

hoping

  Yes, I am one of those teachers that is hoping that school is canceled tomorrow!! We have a short week already but another day would be VERY sweet! Our game was canceled for tonight and they are calling for another 7-10 inches by morning on top of our 10 already. All of the schools south of us have have canceled or at least called a two hour delay. So I will be waiting to hear Mr. Larry Varacco's  voice bright and early in the morning!
 I have lots of GREAT pictures that I took this weekend from being with our niece and nephew and from the Super Bowl that I need to blog about and send to their owners! There is laundry and cleaning to be done too but the other stuff is more fun!
  The Boilers are playing Michigan State tonight so hubby and I am snuggled up on the couch ready to cheer on our Boilers. BOILER UP!

catch-up

Last weekend at this time I was getting my hair 'fixed' and had just won our third basketball game. After working the magic with my hair we headed up to the city for Gavin's birthday celebration. Mom, Nathan and I met Gavin and Sara for a dinner and a little sports competition.
We went to each at Weber Grill and had a very yummy, delicious meal. After great conversation and fun laughs we walked over to ESPN zone and had a blast!! Here are some pictures of all of the fun.

Gavin & I in a fierce game on basketball...yes I did W(TWICE!) Nathan is making sure I have the correct form... I think it looks pretty good there! 

Gavin and Nathan in a never ending air hockey game...brotherly love can you tell. 

 

Sara in her first game of airhockey! Looks like she is loving it.

Mom LOVED this motor cycle game...I think she played it about 10 times! I love her expression.

Nathan & I vs. Gavin & Sara in a Foosball game..WE WON!

Happy Birthday Gavin!!!

W

i know mom...this is not a post with pictures from the weekend. that is coming. I promise, however I must post about our game tonight. it was a crazy one.

It started out ugly again.. 17-4. I have to find a new way to get these girls going! However,  we decided to play and play we did in the 2nd Q. The score was tied 19-19 going into the half.

We came out flat again and they took a run on us. We finally decided to start playing...again. With 3 minutes to go in the 4th Q two of my top players fouled out!! YIKES. Never good when you only play 6 players on your A team!  I turned to the bench, told one of them(M) to go in...and said a little prayer.

Lets see...from what I remember M, who is a center, got the rebound and started dribbling down the court to take a shot(not a good idea). She missed. She went after the rebound and got it. I called a time-out. We had a turnover. We fouled. We had another turn-over. I wanted to cry. They fouled us with 1.7 seconds left. K made her first free throw of the game (1-8). They got the rebound. Missed the 3 and we won 42-39!

Makes me tired again typing it. Nathan kept the book...thank goodness for him. He was really helpful with keeping fouls and timeouts. Our pastor Greg came with his little girl(future basketball all-star) too. It was really nice of him to come and watch this crazy girl try a coach, I think I even heard him cheer a little bit at one point!! It sure was exciting and I was really proud of the effort each of the girls had. They are coming around...one more tough game this week and then a break for a few days. 

I think I will sleep good tonight.