May 31, 2011

wide open arms....


so tomorrow we fly into june
~are you ready~
~
i've been working on a little something that i want to share with all of you
~
most of you know that i have a little home for my portrait photography
but 
recently i wasn't loving it and holding it the way that i should 
so
after a long talk with cups of hot tea and chocolate cookies
we parted, knowing that we will both always hold soft spots for each other
~
"be yourself" 
are two powerful words that have somehow magically attached themselves to my heart 
~with help from of all of you~
and 
i really felt it was time to embrace them with my arms wide open
~
so the ruby luna photography that you used to know 
is now 
~
you know how these past weeks i've been bad mouthing blogger along with many of you. well i have to tell you something. blogger did something this weekend that made me stand up and cheer. when i decided to change photography blogs, i had to export and import ruby luna into the new space. well let me tell you something. blogger makes this so incredibly easy to do. i was prepared for a headache and some swearing mixed with some butt kicking, but honestly it took me less than 10 minutes and wha-la, all of my blogs posts were moved just like someone had waved a magic wand. 
now granted, my followers didn't get moved over, but i've learned to control my expectations when it comes to blogger. so i hope that if you followed me before, you'll want to follow me again.
~
so the best part of all of this, is that if any of you were thinking about exporting and importing to a new space and were scared to death to try it, i can help you with it.
~
now
onto a new note that has nothing to do with blogging
~
have any of you seen the movie "easy A" on dvd or hbo/showtime. well, i just recently watched it and i have to tell you that i have a huge crush on stanley tucci. 
i've always loved him in any movie he's been in, but i really loved him in this. and the best part, is that this movie is really good and funny and sweet. i think you'll like it.
~
i'll be going now and spending the whole day all confused and backwards, while i believe that it's monday even though i know it's tuesday. 
doesn't it feel like a monday to you, too, or am i alone on this one.
*

May 28, 2011

i could have been a farm girl....








sometimes 
when a few of us from our photography group get together 
we do this or that or go here or there
last week 
we went to the heartland sanctuary
~
these are all rescue animals
and
they love people 
~kind of the way dogs love people~
~
i can't think of a better way to spend a late afternoon
especially since my hubby came with me
{can you find him in one of these photos}
*
i hope you are loving your long weekend

May 26, 2011

because of you.....


i don't know how 
to thank all of you for your supportive and encouraging words
from yesterday's post
~
because of you
i have been lifted up
~
did any of you get the chance to see oprah's last show yesterday
where she spoke directly to the audience in her studio
and
directly to us
~
i cried. i laughed. i cried some more.
it was incredibly powerful
~
she hit some of my hibernating and sensitive nerves and set me on fire
~in a good way~
~
there were so many quotes she shared with us 
and 
like a fool i took messy notes and wrote as many of her words as i could
in a notebook
{only to find them all on google this morning}
~i should have known~
~
anyhow
i want to share two of my favorites with all of you
~~
"you have to know what sparks the light in you, 
so that you in your own way can illuminate the world. 
you have the power to change someone's life"
~~
and 
this next one might be my all time favorite
and
as a gentle reminder to myself and to my loved ones
i think i want it on a plaque hanging outside my office
~~
"you are responsible for the energy you bring into this room"
{this is actually a quote by dr. jill bolte taylor who is one of oprah's favorite people"
~
so again
thank you 
all of you
for supporting me the way you do
~
you're all amazing and i'd give anything if we could all spend a girl's weekend 
together
on the beach
~
and
oprah would say
"well. if you dream it and believe it and put energy into it. it will happen."
gosh 
i'm going to miss her
*
happy memorial weekend to all of you

May 25, 2011

raise your glass....


i wasn't chewing gum, but when i choked a bit and my face turned red, he probably thought i had just swallowed a worn out piece of cinnamon trident.
~
he had just asked me how full my photography calendar was for the summer and all i could think about were the tiny stars i had doodled all over the month of june
while i was on hold making my yearly mammogram appointment.
~
i told him it wasn't nearly full enough and he asked where i've been advertising. i quickly looked down at my feet wishing there was something near them to kick besides myself. i told him i really don't advertise and when he asked why not, i told him about my fear of letting what i love to do, what i'm so passionate about, turn into a job. a real job, that might sabotage that love.
~
he said that can only happen if you don't know how to say no. then he said, you're good enough to be advertising. with a deep breath from me that wished it had someplace to go, our original conversation
resurfaced and he was back to showing me the new camera bags that had just come into the store.
~
as i drove away, i banged my hand hard on the steering wheel and thought damn.
he's right. how am i ever going to fly, if i keep tying bags filled with self doubt,
questions and concerns,
in 36 bitter tasting flavors, to my ankles.
if i don't get rid of them, i'll be grounded for the rest of my life.
~
so here's to change.
here's to untying those bags that hold me down. that maybe hold you down, too.
raise your glass
*




May 24, 2011

just a quick note....

hopefully i will be here tomorrow
as
blogger is hating me right now
~
keep your fingers crossed for me
*
edited
i think all that finger crossing worked as now it seems to be smiling at me
oh
blogger
you fickle fickle thing you

chickens for sale...


i don't know what the farmer's markets are like where you live, but here in madison once spring arrives, they are everywhere and often. on saturdays the hubby and i have our choice of three markets to visit. wherever we go, we always fill our bag with an interesting mixture of goodies. guess who has fresh cilantro growing in her kitchen. 
guess who doesn't garden or grow anything with much luck.


on wednesday there's another market i go to that is within walking distance of anthropologie
{that's what i call a win win}




and
then on thursdays, there is one within walking distance of our house. at that market, there is a vendor that makes and sells the most incredible pumpkin bars, smothered in velvety cream cheese frosting. maybe the best i have ever had. at the other end of his booth, he sells scrumptious and squeaking fresh cheese curds. if you don't know what a cheese curd is, buy a plane ticket and come visit me. 
i promise you won't be disappointed.










i kind of wanted to bring this chicken home with me. or at least take it to my sister, who already has a chicken coop full of the best laying feathered friends anyone could ask for 
and
say 
"surprise"
*

May 23, 2011

we have a winner.....edited




first of all
i want to thank all of your who entered this give-away
~
the number of comments blew me away and your determination did not go unnoticed
~
last night mary beth and i were on the phone together
with our computers in front of us
while my sweet hubby used the random generator app on his iphone to pick the winners
~
the winner of mary beth's new book is
stephanie
at
{dancing waves}
AND
the winner of my photo
is
oh
not so fast
you silly little monsters
{sorry i've been watching too much lady gaga lately}
you have to go visit mary beth {on this post} to find out who won
~
okay okay okay
jennifer higgins
YOU WON MY PHOTO
~
thanks again everybody for playing
~
you're just the best
*
{stephanie and jennifer, please contact me asap with your email and mailing information}

May 22, 2011

last chance harvey....

don't forget
~~
the
give-aways
end tonight
~~
where do you enter
right
{run there quickly and get your name in the drawings}
~~
when will there be a winner
TOMORROW
*
happy sunday

May 20, 2011

just a little reminder....


that you might win this photo
taken by yours truly
just by entering this give-away
and
if that's not enough
you might win
an amazing new mixed media art book
by mary beth shaw
by entering
~
seriously
who doesn't love to get something for free
right
*
{and because i love you, i'm letting you enter your name for both contests once a day through sunday}


May 19, 2011

when the wind blows...







looking at these photos
 that i took on tuesday
reminds me once again 
why i try to never pose children for a photo shoot
and
i try to never ask them to smile or say cheese
instead
i've learned that
"booger head"
"did dad just fart"
and
"did a bird just poop on my head"
work perfectly




just let kids play
~
just let them be themselves


and
to all you cat lovers
i about busted a gut when the extra kite string on the ground 
became a temptation that this cat couldn't resist


i mean seriously
this made me laugh out loud
and
to think that some people believe cats aren't helpful
~wrong~


and
when the kite comes down
you start all over again
*

{don't forget about the amazing give-aways over here}

May 18, 2011

hip hip hooray...it's a give away...times two


the amazing and talented mary beth shaw
is giving away another copy of her new book
and
lucky me
i'm hosting this week's give away
~
mary beth and i have known each other since 2005. the hubby and i were living in st. louis then and met mb at a fantastic art show, when we bought some of her artwork from her. after that first meeting, it seemed like every art show we went to, there she was and she ended up calling us her
"art show stalkers."
then
we moved to wisconsin and i thought our stalking days were over, but that was short lived as she ended up having her booth in madison's largest and super amazing art fair on the square
and
as soon as we saw each other, we just laughed. we were still stalking her, even if she did come to us.

{2009 at katherine's house}

i can't even begin to tell you everything she has done with her career, but it has sky rocketed. from selling her art, teaching, designing her own line of stencils to writing a book. she hasn't stopped moving from the day i met her. she's what we call a firecracker. or a little spitfire.
~
when she was writing her book, she asked me if i wanted to add some of my artwork to it and at that point, the artist in me was long gone, as the photographer in me had taken over, so i said "bless you for being so sweet, but photography is where my heart is" and she totally understood. she never did ask me for one of my recipes. obviously she knows that i don't cook.
{mary beth, me, elena, katherine}

lucky for me, one of the places she teaches at is valley ridge art studio, which is only about 75 minutes from my house. so last year i was lucky enough to take her class and even though she taught me and a room full of eager women for two full paint filled days, by the end i had mostly learned that i can't even begin to do what she does. not even close. please, give me a camera any day instead.
~
so for this give away
leave a comment here telling me either your number one favorite art supply that you can't live without or your one, all time favorite food that would crush you if you could never eat it again.
~
a winner
will be drawn monday morning
so you have until sunday night to leave your comment
AND
then you can head over to mary beth's blog to win a give away on her blog
{hint: it's one of my all time favorite photos printed in an 8x10}
~or smaller if that works better for you~
~
whew
i think i gave you all the information you need
now
go ahead
and
play play play
*
ps....you can enter this give- away once a day through sunday because we're nice that way



May 17, 2011

looks like the tango to me...








i never finished what i was sharing.
last week i only gave you part of my weekend and never followed it up with the rest of it. my bad. so i decided today i better play catch up before my current photo overload, that's dancing all over my desktop screams uncle and starts running around the back yard pulling its hair out.
*

May 16, 2011

sharing the good stuff...


i've learned something new
~
i have always used my macro lens while in auto focus
{not auto mode, auto focus}
which has provided me with some photos i've really loved
but
now i use my macro in manual focus 
and
ohh la la
what a difference
~
on a windy day 
shooting anything outside that can move in the wind
is really hard to do while in manual focus
so it's not worth the headache
but
on a calm day 
or while shooting inside
use your manual focus and i think you'll be presently surprised
~~
now
if all of you comment saying you already do this
i'm going to slap your hands and ask you why you didn't tell me this sooner
because
i think we need to share the good stuff with each other
right
~
so today
do you have 
special shooting techniques
or
a lens you can't live without
or
a camera bag that has changed your life
or
camera settings you swear by
that you want to share with everyone
 here 
as a comment
that i can republish on a future post
linking back to you
~
if you do 
i'd love to hear from you
*
ps....thank you all for the amazing amounts of congratulations from yesterday's post. you're the best.



May 15, 2011

the news i received on friday the 13th....


Dear Beth,
Good news! Your article, “Happy Mistakes,” which appeared in the February/March2008 issue of Somerset Memories has been chosen for Stampington & Company’s annual publication, “Hand Crafted: The Best of Stampington & Company.”
 
For the reprinting of your article, we would like to present you with a complimentary copy of this special publication, and a check for $50. 


now granted
i will never walk under a ladder and i still think a black cat crossing my path
is a bad omen
but
the number 13 
well
we're pretty darn good friends
*