Photo a Day Challenge: June 18 – Pink (Plus a Monday Music Blog Hop)

HMP

My kids have developed an aversion to pink.

It’s partially because the entire toy section seems to be divided along pink vs. camo lines. My girls bring ferocity, in a pretty way. That’s the best way to describe it. Not hair-bow pretty, but just enough eye makeup, usually painted fingernails pretty.

Yet, they come to kick some ass.

My sport Saturday: To watch a handful of 3v3 games Grace played in, while keeping my germs at a distance, as the only guy at the field with a chill and long sleeves. I downed a couple of Gatorades on the day, one of them pink, to wash down Ibuprofen.

Photo a Day Challenge: June 17 – Organizatin

Take one look in my work bag or backseat of my car, and you’ll learn fast: Organizatin isn’t my strong suit.

I am, however, a problem solver. Today’s organizatin photo features froyo from the RV food court. I’d encountered a problem on my previous cup: Toppings that stayed at the top. As first-world as this sounds, it needed a solution. A dose of organizatin.

I found one, with careful planning.

I led with a swirled base of strawberry-vanilla froyo, but just a layer. I followed with scoops of Snickers and Butterfinger crumble, and topped that with a couple more swirls of froyo. I stopped to add M&Ms and Reeses’, then buried that below more strawberry/vanilla.

Go Ask Daddy About Shocking Tech, Spazzy Muscles,and Statistical Prowess

photo credit: Busted via photopin (license)

I’ve had the worst luck with law enforcement lately.

I’m a police advocate. If I behave, I’ll have nothing to worry about. Police are there to serve and protect. It’s a tough job. These men and women put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know – and for people who don’t respect them, in some cases.

I drive the speed limit, and limit my road rage manifestation to squirting windshield wiper fluid on people who tailgate me.

On the way to the park a few weeks ago, a state trooper pulled me over for failing to change lanes when he was on the side of the road. I passed a slower car on the right on a two-lane road, and this officer’s car (and another) was parked well off the road. I wasn’t even sure anyone was in them.

Photo a Day Challenge: June 16 – Dinosaur

 My dinosaur has no name.

I’m not talking given names, such as Geneva, Angelica or Noel. I’m talking a species identifier. He’s repping today’s word, dinosaur, nonetheless. He’s got a nasty disposition and major dentition going on. Who wants to mess with that?

Until science catches up with him, he’ll be known simply as The Writing Beast.

See, Elise won him at a beach-side arcade, and gifted him to me. I kept him close, and a funny thing happened: I wrote fiercely. I left him in my bag – and wrote non-fiercely. It’s a simple correlation, really: The Writing Beast begets monster writing.

Photo a Day Challenge: June 15 – Birth

First of all, this is Grace’s photo, not mine.

When I see something beautiful to photograph, before I can even find the stupid camera icon on my $20 Android, one of my girls will inevitably whip out an iPhone or iPod and say, “dad, I got this. Your phone camera sucks.”

I wish they were this way about laundry and dishes.

Today’s word, birth, wasn’t easy. I’m glad for that. Flowers, puppies and bacon? Too easy. Evoke thought, struggle. I wanted a shot of Marie’s first real training session with this crazy good team she made for the fall. A birth into something new, right?

Photo a Day Challenge: 🌊 June 14 – Ocean

The ocean came to Charlotte once.

On Sept. 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo made landfall in Charleston, S.C., in Category 4 glory. When the storm reached Charlotte, 85 miles away, he still packed hurricane-strength winds. I woke up after 3 a.m. to find my cat, Cybill and turned on the radio.

(Side note: We had TVs back then.)

I stepped outside. The wind seemed to push and pull at once, the heavy smell of salt water all around. The sky glowed a menacing sea-green then yellow. Trees snapped and transformers blew to punctuate Hugo’s howling winds.

Photo a Day Challenge: June 13 – Frame

We just wrapped up a weekend of joy.

We watched Elise cross the stage with friends on Saturday, turn her tassel, and set her eyes on college. Spirited and memorable speeches. Friends and family and fried chicken. A day to recognize a 13-year race finally won. And a new one to begin.

Friends and family dropped by for fellowship and fruit and cheese and frames.

The word for today, frame, took up two tables on Sunday. Grandparents and aunts and uncles got their pick of photos of Elise. Soccer Elise, prom dress Elise, Elise in a burgundy dress in the falling leaves at Frank Liske Park.

Photo a Day Challenge: June 12 – Youth

EJP

Youth surrounds me on all sides.

It’s in the teams I coach. It’s in my teammates at work (of whom I’m old enough to be a big brother.) It’s constant, with my girls. Especially its evident on graduation day. One hundred-three seniors let fly their caps on Saturday, and look where one landed?

Grace served as an enthusiastic (and sassy) human hanger for Elise’s cap and gown.

Youth’s also still within me. I might creak and groan when I get up. Maybe I can’t cover ground the way I once did. I’m just as good once as I ever was, as the song goes. At times, I’m an old car with a fresh tank of gas, and that’s good to go.(That’s Elise, by the way, in the background, in the peach dress.)

Photo a Day Challenge: June 11 – My Art 👀

 

I used to draw all the time.

I drew where I shouldn’t have. Like, during church. I drew when I shouldn’t have. Like, during church. Or math. (In art class, I didn’t always draw. Go figure.) I drew a cartoon bird on a serving tray at a restaurant and the girls all tried to use that one.

Marie found these self-portraits just the other night while cleaning out the games and coloring books table. Perfect for today’s word, your art.

I’m not sure how horribly accurate these are, but that’s youthful me there, on the left, and grown-up me, there, on the right. (I have no nostrils, Grace points out, but a lifelike representation of details such as nose holes might prove distracting.)

Photo a Day Challenge: June 10 – Wine

A team outing to Carowinds almost morphed into an afternoon of horror movies and drinks at Old Mecklenburg Brewery.

The latter qualifies as Millennial in nature. Those ‘Nnials love their drink. And movies, and gathering to eat and watch movies and drink and roar with outdoor voices indoors. Such an endeavor would have provided plenty of photo ops for today’s word: Wine.

As has become the calling card of this challenge’s first 10 days, I bumbled about the daily word with a drained phone battery and few clues.

These are those foil toppers to wine bottles. They’re like spirits to the spirits, a conglomeration of common designs and a handful of unique looks. Each tells a story: A bottle bought on sale at Harris-Teeter, one out of necessity from Aldi …