7 Quick Takes Friday

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It starts Monday. 31 Days of Preparing to Parent. . . when you're adopting an older child. 

I'm so excited. The guest posts throughout the month are going to be great. Adult Adoptees. Therapists. Adoptive Parents. I hope you'll check in every day. And I hope you'll help me spread the word.

I've been thinking of doing this series for a long time. But posting ever day -- for 31 days? I was intimidated and a little afraid to fail.

Then, I saw this on Nester's blog. And I was inspired to go for it.

Lara Casey

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Since this blog is going to be unreservedly devoted to all things older child adoption for the month of July, the next six quick takes will be totally random!

For years I've been basically using my fancy DSLR camera as a point and shoot, but today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I'm learning to shoot in manual. Yes, I am. I'm taking a class called Manual 'n More from Nancy over at Ordinary Miracles and the Crazy Nine. Today's assignment: Grab your favorite model and take a photo to upload to the class website. I picked Julia. The above photo represents the starting place for my work. I hope to take Nancy's Lightroom 101 editing class when I graduate from Manual 'n More. Get ready. Gorgeous photos coming your way soon.

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This time last year I was begging someone to put me into a medically induced coma for a few days while Nathan went away to camp for the first time. I poured out my heart in a post called Missing Someone, Sniff. . . Sniff. Well, it's here again. Summer camp. This weekend. Help!

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Guess what's arriving at my house next Friday? Stitch Fix #4. I was completely happy to take a break from Stitch Fix for a while, but then you guys went crazy ordering Stitch Fix fun for yourselves through my referral link. So now I have a pile of Stitch Fix credit burning a hole in my pocket. What's a girl to do? Oh my, I'm deliriously happy anticipating what my stylist will choose for me this time. You'll have to wait until August to see the photos. Because me modeling trendy, pricey clothes really has nothing at all to do with preparing parents to adopt older kids. In the meantime, you can read about my previous Fixes here.

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Here's the post that made me laugh the hardest last week: Kristen Howerton's the time the kids and I drank beer at Target.

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Here's the post that made me think the most last week: Scooping it Up's Two Cents on why it's OK to be Disgusted by Ms. Deen.

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Lastly, here's a post that I didn't expect to love as much as I did: Glennon Doyle's I Love Gay People and I Love Christians. I Choose All.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to drop by Monday morning!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!