June 30, 2009

testing

oh, she's a rock star alright...at least in my world she is...

this is georgia
my new rock star friend
{come on look at her cowboy boots~she's totally cool}
who through blogging
I feel like I've known for a very long time
not forever though
as that's a very very long time
and how do we really know how long forever even is
?
{said once again in my craig ferguson accented voice}
so the story goes like this
~~
we've been blogging buds for quite some time now
the two of us
me and georgia
georgia and I
and
when I looked on the map and saw how close we live to one another
well I knew we needed to meet in person
so
I suggested the flea market that I go to during the summer
which ended up being perfect
as
she loves vintage and old even more than I do
if that's possible
~~
okay
maybe it's a tie who has the greater vintage love
but whatever
anyhow
we laughed
loved many of the same things
~she really loves vintage fabric anything
and
jewelry and owls
and
noticed how gorgeous these table cloths were all lined up by color~
shared a cinnamon roll
and
a basket of fries
{not at the same time silly}
got pushed over by gusts of wind
fell in love with many things we couldn't buy
and
smiled at ourselves for the things we did buy
~that green striped beach umbrella that georgia is standing under
now belongs to me...for a mere $10~
bicycles and things with wheels seemed to be the theme of the day
as they were everywhere

if we lived in the same town together
we might have gone home with this bike
so we could ride around together taking photos
with our feet kicked out in the wind
while we held on tight to our cowboy hats
and
while I sat in back pretending to help with the pedaling
hee hee
we both wanted these chairs
but neither of us had anywhere to put them
so we left them for some other lucky person to find
this great bike was marked $30 and was sold right behind our backs to a little boy for
10 bucks
and
then we both kicked ourselves
for missing out on that sale
here's georgia doing some serious looking
and
I think I heard her say to herself
"walk away from the wicker purse georgia"
~~
by the end of the day
having only seen a third of the booths
we were
windblown
a little sunburned
and
our feet and shoulders were sore
but
our hands were filled with purchases as we walked to our cars
~~
and
after five hours of being together
we knew a little bit more about each other
and
talked about how amazing our blogging tribe is
and
how it kind of blows your mind when you finally get to meet each other in person
and
how those who don't blog just don't "get it"
and
how we need to plan a big get-together for all of our blogging loves
like
you and you and you
{I think it might actually happen}

and
when we hugged good-bye
I knew it meant
"only until I see you again"
*
thanks georgia for all the fun and for all you blog loves
wherever georgia's name is highlighted
it' a different blog of hers each time
so check them all out
as she's a super cool vintage loving rhinestone wearing photographer rock star
who made sunday a day I won't forget
*


June 29, 2009

wow...

I think maybe working for the olympics makes my hubby look even more handsome
if that's possible
and
how lucky is he to have had a photo op with
michelle kwan
?
and
a little teaser
for tomorrow
~~
wait until you see the rock star I hung out with for hours on sunday
*

June 28, 2009

I was balanced all along and didn't even know it...

this family had
fun
written all over them
as soon as our eyes met
they did everything I asked and more
and
made me smile
during the entire shoot
the kids had their own little inside jokes
that only siblings share
and
mom and dad
played right along
acting like kids themselves when I threw out things like
"climb"
"lift"
and
"jump"
and
not once
while I was hanging onto tree branches for balance
and
climbing rocks myself
did they give me a look like
"wow, this chic is crazy...where did she come from ?"
~~
thanks to all of you who told me this would be a great shoot
as always
{158 photos later}
you were right
*


June 27, 2009

balancing...

wish me luck today
as
I have a photo shoot with a family of five adults
and
by now you know my true love is children
~~
the weather all week here has been brutally hot and filled with sun
and
today the clouds are rolling in and it's supposed to storm
right about the time I'll be unpacking my camera
~~
and
if I understood the mother correctly
they're all wearing matching clothes
~~
deep breathing and balancing
that's what I'm doing today
~~
how about you
are you balancing something in your life today
?


June 26, 2009

oh for the love of children...

I'm blessed to live in a lively neighborhood
where the three homes whose yards back up to us
have
a total of
9
kids
all under the age of
8
and
they all know that I'm
the girl with the camera
the chic with a lens addiction
the mom who doesn't have any littles at home anymore to photograph
so
they welcome me with open arms
to sit in their yards
and
click away at their beautiful children
~~
seriously
I'm so blessed
*

June 25, 2009

it's not so "baaaaad"

I want to hug all of you
I really do
~~
your support and loving words
while waiting for my biopsy reports
have lifted me higher than I ever could have imagined
~~
the results are in
and
only one was positive
yippee
so
on july 15th
I'll see my dermatologist again
to have the rest of those ugly and bad and mean cells removed from my chest
and
then I'm going to throw them on the floor and stomp on them with my feet
and
say
"take that"
~~
well
at least in my dream last night that's what happened
and
you were all there to drink margaritas with me afterwards
and
then we danced
*

June 24, 2009

it wouldn't have killed him...

a few weeks ago
our little town hosted an all day play day
there were bands
face painting
dunking tanks
fire engine rides
food
horse drawn carriage rides
and
fireworks at dusk
and
I had no intentions of going or being any part of it
except
they got me with
"the giant used book sale"
advertisement
after filling a bag full of books
I couldn't help but notice that I was swimming in a pool of beautiful children
~
they were everywhere
dancing
laughing
crying
waiting patiently in line to have a stranger paint a picture on their tender cheeks
and
I felt this energy wash over me
I grabbed my camera out of the car
and
started shooting like a maniac
one mother asked what the pictures were for
and
I told her that I'd be giving them to the editor of the local newspaper
~
another dad
{the one above}
asked if he could give me his email address and could I possibly send him a copy of the photos I had taken of him and his daughter
"why yes, of course and here's my business card"
I said with a big smile on my face
while my insides jumped up and down in a happy dance
and
later after he received 6 photos from me
he called me and thanked me and told me how I had made his day
and
could I send him my prices for a future photo shoot
after I got home
I burned 84 pictures onto a cd
and
monday morning after talking with the editor of the newspaper
I dropped my cd off to him
~~
he told me he had worked the event himself
and
had over 200 pictures he needed to go through that he had taken
but
that he would take a look at mine
~~
and
when the newspaper's thursday edition came out
the two page spread for the event was filled with photos
and
none of them were mine
~~
they all belonged to him
the editor
~~
and
now I'm just wondering
would it have killed him to use EVEN one of my photos
?
~~
I think not
~~
so it begins
my first rejection
but
I'm not one to be brought down easily
because I'm just not that way
~~
granted
I'm a tender hearted girl who cries easily because life is so beautiful
but
I also have the kind of spirit
that can be put in a ring with rocky for a good knock down drag out fight
~~
so excuse me
it's
time to put the boxing gloves on
and
my dukes up
and
start again back in my corner
*

June 23, 2009

because I just can't "not touch" for very long...

in order for this to make any sense....see the post below this one....


on the horizon

floating on life...

today
in my notes I found this
~~
"it's not what's happening around you that determines much
but what's happening inside you"
~~
I wonder who wrote it
~~~~~
last week I spent a tiny bit of one of my mornings at a little park that I love
~
there's not really much to the park
but
because it's on the lake
I love it
~
and
there's really not much of anything to photograph while I'm there
but
I always come home with pictures that surprise me a little
~
I thought the photos I took of the huge dead fish floating right in front of me
would be really neat
but
they were just plain awful
~
I thought the photos I took of the mossy green rocks that were almost glowing in the sunlight
would be really neat
but
they were almost too green
if that's even possible
~
and
then there was this photo
which made me sit up straight so that I could really look at it
so that I could really see it
and
I'm not sure what it did to me
inside
but it stirred up some feelings or emotions
and
something in me changed a little
~
I didn't edit it
and
someday I will
~
but for now
it speaks for itself
even though I'm still now quite so sure what it's saying
*




June 22, 2009

sometimes when you're not looking...

in the right light
at the right time
everything is extraordinary
~~
aaron rose

June 21, 2009

blessed...

and
when the man who is your father-in-law
has been part of your life since you started
dating his son
when you were 16 years old
and
has always made you feel like you were one of his own
well then
you
are doubly blessed
on father's day
~~
happy father's day
daddy dick
~~
we love you

June 20, 2009

we've got you on a pedestal...

wow
you were such a handsome
fun loving man
and
an amazing father
who did anything and everything for his girls
and
who am I kidding
?
you're still that same 
handsome 
fun loving
amazing father 
today
~~
happy father's day 
weekend
dad
~~


June 19, 2009

crazy baby love story...

my sister called on wednesday asking if I was lonely
and
even
when I told her I really wasn't
she asked if she could bring me 3 baby chipmunks who had lost their mother

of course I said 
yes
and
then I ran to the pharmacy and bought pedialyte 
~because a google search told me I would need that~ 
and 
a 1cc syringe which was impossible to find
but
which the pharmacist took out of her stash and gave to me 
after I told her my heart's always too big to say no
to anything baby
and
then she smiled and wished me luck
and
probably rolled her eyes at me after I left
once they arrived 
my sister left and took her kids to a movie
and
I was alone to feed three starving babies
which I did quite successfully if I must say so myself
but
when I realized that stimulating their genitals was not making them urinate
and
that if they didn't urinate
their bladders could rupture
~google search~
I was immediately on the road to our local humane society 
which takes in abandoned wildlife during the summer
yesterday 
my sister called again
telling me that a hard rain must have flushed out the nest 
and
that the REST of the litter
was scattered in her front yard looking near death due to a slight drowning
but 
were a little better now that she had warmed them under a heat lamp
and
could she bring this bunch to me and could I feed them and also take them to the
humane society
of course I said yes 
and
this time my sister and her kids
 got to see these little sweeties eat and come alive again
and
even though they had a few fleas that we killed in our bare hands
we really weren't phased
as we were just thrilled to hold these babies 
knowing that we were making a difference in their lives
at the humane society 
we were over the moon to learn that the first batch 
had been taken home by a volunteer to be fostered
and 
that this batch would also be placed in loving hands
that could take better care of them then I could
~~
the end

June 18, 2009

and i can hear a pin drop...

I'm alone
now that the kids are down south for their summer camp counselor jobs
and
john's on his second week at his new job
and
it feels a little odd
~~
not odd
 in a bad way 
~~
surprisingly
odd 
in a good way
like a 
"type of cleansing" 
way
~~
maybe we all need to be on our own every now and then 
to really appreciate the breathing bodies of our loved ones
~~
maybe we all need to eat our meals alone
to really appreciate an occasional burp at the dinner table
~~
maybe we all need to sleep in a bed where the sheets in the morning barely looked touched
to really appreciate messy wrinkled sheets from nights of togetherness
~~
maybe we all need to spend a day taking photos with nobody to share them with
to really appreciate opinions that differ from our own
~~
maybe you don't 
and
 I didn't think I did either
but I do
so I'm embracing this time of my life with everything I have
to really appreciate 
the woman and wife and mom that I am
and
the woman and wife and mom
I
am still becoming
*




June 17, 2009

a little bit of the sweet summer blues...

I'm not really a blueberry girl at all
as far as just grabbing a handful and eating them
but
a certain cake I make
which needs to be stacked high with fresh fruit as the topping
always includes blueberries
and
then I'm alright with them
~~
only because
I know they're good for me
~~
and
they look cool

you know what else they're good for
?
photography
~~
so
"what are you eating and shooting today" 
?
~~~~~~
of course if you live in the hills of kentucky it's more like
"what are you shooting and eating today"
with a wild turkey as a possible answer
~~
 hey
we used to live on the kentucky border and I love that state
the people
and
their accents
so I can say things like that
~~
can't I
?

June 16, 2009

not a happy camper...

sorry about the little peep show
but
 it's the only way I can show you why I didn't dance at my self induced pity party
yesterday
~~
let's go back a bit in time 
shall we
?
I was a sun worshiper for years and years
especially when we lived in st. louis and north carolina 
~~
okay
indiana, too
~~
in all of those states
we lived in pool and tennis community neighborhoods
where my days started and ended poolside
while my children
covered head to toe with sunscreen 
would play for hours
and
where I
believing I had a little super human in me
would only
apply sunscreen to my nose and the tips of my ears
and
then sit for hours and bake
because 
I thought a tan made me look sexy
~~
guess what
?
not so sexy after all
~~
at my dermatologist's office
yesterday morning
when I pointed out the two spots on my chest that seemed a little "strange"
I was instantly on my back while a needle was numbing my skin
so that biopsies could be taken
~~
as I laid there
I heard her say
results
basal cell
 surgery
clean margins
stitches
~~
and
then all of a sudden I was outside 
staring at the sun that I love
that I haven't worshiped for eight years
thinking 
"damn"
"why did I have to be so vain"
?
~~
so now I wait
for results
~~
and
while I wait
I'll act as a giant blogging billboard
which reads
~~
go out and buy yourself some 50 plus sunscreen today 
and 
apply it everywhere on your sweet little bodies
every time you leave the house
because 
tans come and go
but
scars last a lifetime
*