My 30 Day Photography Challenge | Week One

At the beginning of the new year I was asked by my sweet friend Nealy to do a 30 Day Photography Challenge with her. I immediately said "YES!" thinking that it would be

a) fun

and

b) encourage me to dust off my Nikon and take some pics on something other than my iPhone. (I'm not gonna lie - I love me some Instagram Pics)

Now one thing I hadn't considered was that I'd signed up to do a photography challenge with my friend who takes photos PROFESSIONALLY!!! Ugh.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm kinda kicking myself for saying yes ... but I'm doing it...because I told Nealy I would. :)

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Day One :: Self-Portrait. Sounds a lot easier than it was but thankfully I was able to snap a couple shots while the girls were in the backyard playing one morning.

Day Two :: What I Wore. It's amazing how the most difficult part of this challenge (for me at least) has been taking pictures WHILE doing my full-time job of caring for my children. My guess is you'll be seeing a lot of the kiddo's in the back of my pics. I figure it gives you a little glimpse into my life. :)

Day Three :: Clouds. Now this was a hilarious challenge. I waited for THREE STRAIGHT DAYS for one cloud. Nothing. This is what I saw each of those days. Perfect clear skies.

Ahh... I love Arizona winters.

Day Four :: Something Green. I couldn't wait to show you our very favorite kitchen appliance these days - The Zoku Popsicle Maker. Nora got this as a Christmas present and we all LOVE it. (Thanks Tom & Jane!)

Nora especially loves her green Popsicles made from Naked Green Machine juice. We may or may not eat these 2-3x/day. Hey - it's 100% fruit and veggie juice. Why not?!

Day Five :: From a High Angle. By Day 5 I was in need of a little inspiration. What better way to get inspiration than from a morning cup of coffee! (Or should I say creamer? Yes - there is coffee in that cup)

Day Six :: From a Low Angle. We've spent a lot of time enjoying all of our wonderful Christmas presents (thanks again everyone). Another one of Nora's gifts was her very first Doll House from Papa and Ellen.

She loves it! I mean... what's not to love about a doll house that comes with a pink convertible?! And although it doesn't fit with the photography challenge I figured you might want to see the current condition of the dollhouse.
Day Seven :: Fruit. One of my favorite times of year is when the citrus fruit trees are in bloom. And specifically when the grapefruit trees are ready to be picked (and eaten of course).

For those of you who are not familiar with the amazing citrus in Arizona - let me explain my love for AZ Grapefruit.

Back in Iowa I never would have been caught dead eating a grapefruit without 20+ packets of sugar on top of it. It's just too bitter for me. Thankfully a majority of the grapefruit here is very sweet and mild. It actually requires little to no sugar.

In short... It's DELICIOUS!

Be sure to hop on over to Nealy's First Post for the 30 Day Photography Challenge too - that girl is an amazing photographer!

And lastly, be sure to follow my 30 Day Photography Challenge Pinterest Board where I'll be posting all of my photos throughout the challenge.