Picnic

 
 
 
 
 
I'm loving looking back at the images that come back from my lab, reminding me of how we filled the latter part of our Summer. This afternoon the rain came right after we returned home from a long excursion out. Thankfully I made it several trips up the front stairs with arm loads of grocery bags and was safely inside before the dreary drizzle saturated the street scape. Later, sitting down at my [...]

A bucket list

 
 
 
 
 
4 more shopping days until my Birthday, people ;-) Of course it takes staring down the barrel of rounding into my 28th year to get all contemplative. Yes, I am turning 28. In some regards that may seem young. In others, getting older. To me it mostly marks getting closer to the far bigger milestone of 30. Which has got me thinking about what other things mark that milestone in my life, what thi[...]

Growing up fast

 
 
 
 
 
Thursday Morning Araiya came bouncing into our room. Matt was already out the door & 6:50 is far too early for me to be functional, let alone field issues of Daddy said vs. Mommy said. "Daddy is taking me on a Daddy Date to the Mall today and I'm getting my ears pierced!" She announces. Say what? She was pretty convinced, and we have said for over a year now that when she decides she is ready [...]

I heart Ebay

 
 
 
 
 
More than 26,000 garden gnomes were sold on Ebay in Canada last year. I however, have spent my online auction money on something far more nostalgic: This is a Contax 645 AF Medium Format FILM camera. It shoots FILM. Remember that stuff? This Film is 3 times the area of regular 35mm film and this camera body is roughly about the same bulk as my entire head. I've carried this bad boy aroun[...]

Churning stomach

 
 
 
 
 
Over the last four weeks I've worked on a presentation for a Photography Workshop I'm teaching this Saturday. All the curriculum, diagrams, words, concepts I've made from scratch. It has been more than a year in the making. Now we are down to the wire. I've sat on the $20 Staples Clearance chair I bought for my freshman dorm room, now residing my office (aka the Sensory Deprivation Room), and plan[...]

Drink of lack of choice

 
 
 
 
 
Lately a good martini has sounded really good after dinner. Or a glass of wine would be equally as good. Or a margarita, which is my default favorite drink. Since moving to Washington I have been to the liquor store all of, um... Zero times. Back home in Cali you could walk into any grocery store to purchase nearly any hard alcohol from their wide selections. It just doesn't work like that in this[...]

Joe's O's

 
 
 
 
 
I think we pissed off the weather-makers with all our joyous delight about the wonderful spring we’ve been having, because it responded with a little mini frigidly cool wave at the end of this week. There’s even supposed to be snow where we’re going this weekend. Bummer, ‘cuz I was soooo looking forward to last year’s sun-soaked lounging at the pool. It’s completely weird to be back in sweaters on[...]

Stubborn almost 2 year-olds

 
 
 
 
 
Oh, Pia. Pia is currently plagued by an insufferable (and incurable) case of the Youngest Child Syndrome. YCS is the injustice of being born last, an affliction which affects much of the population. Symptoms exhibited may include (but not limited to) the following behaviors by the child: Being obnoxious, an obsessive need to be the center of attention, being demanding, excessive use of tantrums wh[...]

The days where I want to curl up with a pint of ice cream

 
 
 
 
 
Burning the candle at both ends has caught up with us. I knew it would. Doesn't it always? This week has been one of recovery. Time to slow down. Pia & Tallis have been sickies, a bit low with hacking coughs, running noses and fevers. I like the change of pace a few days like that brings. But just a few days, because too many can be too much. Until it brings it's own crazies. The stir crazies.[...]