be yourself...everyone else is taken

which way to go (when picnik is gone)

2012-02-01T11:58:00.002-06:00

i have been playing around with every editing program i can get my hands on and have been mostly disappointed with what i have found. many of the alternative editing programs need to be downloaded which irks me a bit.

i don't want to download something just to try it and then end up finding out that i don't like it.

ipiccy is the closet thing to picnik.

unfortunately everyone is heading over there to try it out and since it's in beta form {a testing mode} it keeps crashing or running at a snail's pace. but i do believe that once they get their head on straight, there will many of you who will love this site and it could very likely become the new picnik.

pixlr-express is pretty darn good and easy to navigate, but then there's another pixlr with an editing format that is amazingly photoshop like. if you don't like photoshop, you won't like this one at all, but go there just for fun, since on the bottom of that editing page you have the option of playing around with vintage looks and that seems to be pretty fun and easy.

be funky is fun and also easy to navigate and has a few picnik like options. this one is certainly worth playing around with and won't waste your time.

picture2life is alright. i haven't played much on there, but i think it looks somewhat promising. i think it's a site that holds onto your photos like picnik did, if you want to go back and find them later.

the only downloadable editing program i'm going to use at this point i think is snap seed. i have it on my iPhone and iPad and now they're made it for desktop use and from what i've read, it's getting two thumbs up.

photovisi-photoshop express-paint.net-lunapic-aviary-picasa-photoscape-gimp

are the other sites i know about that i either didn't like, are downloadable or i haven't tried.

i think this is now where we all need to come together and share what we find, what we know, what we like and what we don't like.

the one thing i know for sure is that i still love LR3 and am thrilled that i took the time to learn it and that no matter what, there will always be photoshop.

but i also know that those can be expensive programs and possibly more then what you really need or want from an editing program.

i also know that some people over all, just prefer an online editing program.

so come on everyone. let's play and share.

and hopefully, by april 19th when picnik is taken from us, someone will have been smart enough to duplicate it, give it a new name and hand it over to us on a silver platter.

today...

2012-01-31T11:46:00.000-06:00

"hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly"

today

i'm thinking: that taking the time to do absolutely nothing is a true gift to ourselves

i'm creating: a list of other editing programs to share with all of you

i'm feeling: lucky to be loved the way i am and slightly spoiled

what are you thinking, creating or feeling?

blinded by the light.....

2012-01-30T09:52:00.000-06:00

karen

who challenged me last year while i was in florida

threw another one at me this year

"find someone to make sand angels for you"

well i think i get extra credit since i found three little sweethearts

who answered the "sand angel" call

the poor little boys didn't last very long though just laying in the sun,

as they were truly blinded by the light. so cartwheels and handstands prevailed.

thanks karen for your challenge. anyone else have something they want me to photograph?

after the storm....

2012-01-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

a few nights ago, an early evening storm rolled in.

unfortunately it brought it with it, jellyfish.

now granted, they are amazing to photograph. but oh they're gross.

thankfully the beach is wide and you can still walk barefoot. carefully.

these little unassuming guys have tendrils and from what i understand,

they can still sting you even after being washed ashore.

{does anyone know for how long that's possible}

my apologies. i know. this one is extremely phallic.

oh and don't tell me, "what. i don't see it" because i know you do.

most of them are blue in color

some of them are lonely

and

some of them have families

unfortunately

all of them make it impossible for me to take sophie's leash off

when we're walking on the beach.

but am i complaining. absolutely not.

after all we're walking on the beach for pete's sake.

taking photos and laughing and eating ice cream.

life is good

formatting and mourning....

2012-01-27T08:57:00.000-06:00

my wintertime intermission continues and has yet to disappoint. i know when some people think of florida, hours of laying in the sun in tiny bikinis comes to mind, but that's not what it's like here in the panhandle at this time of year. hence the reason we love it so much.

while i hopefully have your attention for a few minutes, let's talk formatting. did you know that when you delete your photos from your camera, you should never use the delete button. the delete button is fine to get rid of a few individual photos every now and then, but when you're done with a large group of photos {you've downloaded them to your computer} and you're ready for a fresh start on your memory card, go to formatting instead of deleting. formatting will delete all your photos, while keeping your memory card very happy. i don't know the super fancy technical reason to do this, but i know it's important.

there's a huge group of us who are very disappointed and would love to give google a kick in the ass...me being one of them...for taking away picnik. picnik was a great online editing program, used by adoring flickr fans, and isn't like any other editing program out there. honestly, i loved it more then anything photoshop has ever done for me.

so, sometime next week, i will be sharing all of the online editing programs i have found and have been testing, that are user friendly and similar to picnik.

i don't know about you, but april 19th i'll be wearing black while i mourn.

1.2.3.....

2012-01-25T17:51:00.000-06:00

jump

for those of you who know me

you're probably surprised it's taken me this long to share some jumping photos

last year's "winter intermission" was during tallahassee's winter break

which gave me so many college aged jumpers

but

they're all back in school now

and

all the families from last year....well they're just not around this year either

thankfully these middle school aged kids were available today

and

happily jumped for me

thanks girls {and a boy} for being so much fun

maybe mom was right....

2012-01-24T09:01:00.002-06:00

"and charlie, don't ever mess with a jellyfish"

he had heard his entire childhood

"but it doesn't' look dangerous," he thought

"and i'm a big boy now"

"so maybe i'll just smell it for awhile"

"i can't believe one little peck can hurt me, right"

"whoa. you are one tough little blob aren't you"

"that first little peck would have been enough, but i have something to prove to all the other gulls watching me. so let's just get this over with. one more full beak peck just to prove how manly i am"

we have no idea if he was truly eating it or just pecking at it, but it was fun to watch. i did google it and gulls do sometimes eat jellyfish...even with fair warning from their parents.

wintertime intermission....

2012-01-23T14:25:00.000-06:00

that's what jennifer called my time here in florida

and

i pretty much love that

not a vacation. not time away. not a reprieve.

"a wintertime intermission"

so here's the big question of the day

"does he or does he not eat the washed up jellyfish"

BUT WAIT

don't go to google. just take a guess.

thank you everyone for the debate/discussion regarding watermarking. it was a good one.

there are so many opinions to what's right or wrong. what's good about it. what's bad about it.

why do it. why forget about it.

at this point, i'm still a bit conflicted. the biggest reason being the need to save my photos twice.

one set with watermarking and one set without. i'm wondering if those of you who only share low resolution photos, also save a copy in high resolution for yourselves.

oh the woes of protecting ourselves. darn you thieves. darn you.

(and no, i didn't have a photo of mine stolen and used in a gallery. thank god. that was just a "what if" question of something i thought would be really horrible)

you'll thank me later...

2012-01-22T09:59:00.000-06:00

seriously

i'm at the beach

but i know after yesterday's photos and now even more woodsy pictures today

you're starting to question me

but i promise

that once the sand and sea and jelly fish photos start showing up

and

i inundate you with more beach photos then any human should ever have to look at

you'll thank me

that i have a backyard full of pine needles and mushrooms

ps...in the past few days, i have read on a number of blogs, the importance for watermarking your photos. that there really are people out there stealing what belongs to us. what's your opinion. what do you think about watermarking. how would you feel if someone in, let's say san francisco, stole one of your photos, called it his, printed it and framed it for a gallery in his hometown.

you did "knot".....

2012-01-21T16:22:00.001-06:00

oh yes i did

after a 17 hour drive

i'm on the gulf enjoying the warmth

and

even though the ocean is "right there"

our cottage backs up to the woods

and

for some reason

i can't get enough of these vines

so i figured i'd start with these photos first

(since the beach photos will be plentiful soon enough)

i hope your weekend is filled with the good kind of "knots"

too

how does he know.....

2012-01-18T22:03:00.000-06:00

yesterday tim gunn {from project runway and now the revolution} said that crew neck t-shirts on women are one of the most unflattering things a woman could ever wear. he said if a woman is going to wear a

t-shirt {god forbid} in the first place, that at a minimum it needs to be a v-neck.

obviously tim has never lived in wisconsin or any place cold for that matter. tonight it's going to be below zero and tomorrow's high a great big whopping six degrees.

so tomorrow i think i'll wear TWO crew neck t-shirts, one right over the other, to stay warm and to cover up the most flattering part of me {according to tim}....my clavicle.

i bet he'd have a heart attack seeing my in my uggs

i kind of miss the butterflies....

2012-01-16T21:17:00.002-06:00

i dropped my camera. on black top. in a parking lot.

thankfully it's fine.

unfortunately its body now has two scratches. but nothing broke.

i truly believe the reason my lens didn't break was due to the fact that the lens filter took the brunt of the fall. not the lens itself. if you don't have filters on your lenses for protection. i highly recommend you buy some. maybe tomorrow or wednesday.

for every lens you own.

really. i think you should.

two words

bachelor. train wreck.

okay. technically that's three. but you know what i mean.

you were probably thinking i'd have some wisconsin winter photos to share with you after not posting for three days. or maybe some birds fighting for space at the bird feeder.

well instead i give you "old" photos. as in archived.

i organized photos this weekend. some got trashed. some were moved to my hard drive.

and some i played with. i like playing best of all.

help...

2012-01-13T08:01:00.000-06:00

you is kind

you is smart

you is important

and

now that i have your attention

what i really mean is

"the help"

{not help}

as in

if you haven't seen this movie

you must

i found this quote yesterday and along with telling you that i think you really need to see "the help"

i wanted to leave you with these words for the weekend

"you were born with potential

you were born with goodness and trust

you were born with ideals and dreams

you were born with

wings

you are not meant for crawling, so don't

you have wings

learn to use them and fly"

rumi

happy weekend everyone

and

if you've seen "the help" did you love it like i did

the world is coming to an end....

2012-01-11T21:02:00.001-06:00

sorry. that's my melodramatic side coming out. the world isn't really ending.

but it is going to snow

all of these photos were taken in the past two days. while it was 48 and 53 degrees.

that's right. record setting temperatures.

and

now mother nature, who has developed a sense of humor, is going to dump five inches of snow on us.

with blowing winds. and a high of twenty.

i don't like snow. did you know that.

anyhow

i have a new toy. it's a polarizing filter.

i normally use UV filters on my lenses, but my friends at the camera store talked me into trying a polarizing filter on my 70-300. and guess what. i liked it.

i mean who doesn't love a new toy. especially a new toy for a camera.

{insert smile here}

want to know how to get a photo like this.

first you have to find a weed or a flower that is being highlighted by the sun.

this weed was highlighted to the point of being completely blown out, so i moved my ISO to the lowest number i could, which in aperture mode was 200. then i stepped down my exposure by one full step and then switched my metering mode to spot metering.

have you ever met a milkweed, dead or alive, that you didn't just fall in love with.

me either

and

this little guy. well maybe modesty is overrated.

these are non-lightroom 3 photos since our computer with that program is having a bit

of maintenance done. oh well.

ps...send shovels

hi monday....

2012-01-09T10:01:00.000-06:00

thank you thank you thank you

for all the comments left on my last post

i was asked what my answer was to my own question and now with some thought

i think i'd have to answer "learn"

this past fall/early winter i took a class at our technical collage and i have to say, as scary as it was to be going "back to school" i loved it. i loved learning something new.

so yes, more learning in 2012 would be a gift

another gift at the moment is our incredibly mild winter.

40's and even 50's have been throwing themselves at us and nobody {well maybe the snowboarders and snowplow drivers} is complaining.

because i'm curious....

2012-01-06T13:47:00.000-06:00

finish this sentence:

"in 2012, i'm going to a WHOLE lot more."

happy weekend everyone

babies aren't rude...

2012-01-04T18:11:00.000-06:00

i've never seen a rude baby, so obviously we aren't born that way.

so why is it that the adults i run into during my every day errands are. how did they get that way.

is it too much ask for a simple "excuse me" if you walk in front of me, take up the entire aisle with your cart so that i can't move, or run into me. i think not.

everywhere you go around here, someone is talking about the weather. or the lack of.

it has been an abnormally warm and dry winter so far. the birds are not flocking to the feeders, which makes me sad. and i'm not sure who was supposed to eat this corn, but whoever it was, they certainly didn't hoard it. all of it makes me wonder what we're in for the next few months.

we cleaned out our closets over the winter break and i packed my car up yesterday and today and dropped everything off at our food pantry {which gives out free clothes} and the hospice thrift store.

that makes me feel so good.

and with my word for the year being "reach"

i feel the need to add it in every now and then... just as a reminder

at least we were warned...

2012-01-02T19:23:00.000-06:00

twenty eleven

wrapped itself up and walked out on us. just like that.

i swear i blinked and she was gone.

poof. nothing now but a few memories.

for the past ten years i've been saving my spiraled desktop calendars

{yep i still use one}

as they tend to act like my daily diaries

doctor appointments. lunch outings. visitors. birthday parties. photo shoots. girl get-aways.

weather remarks. travel. meetings. blog notes. dates. flea markets.

everything is documented. for an entire year.

now times ten.

i know some of you journal and i wish i could be as diligent as you are, keeping all my notes, thoughts and ideas in a cool moleskin, but i fail miserably every time i try. so for me, this is the next best thing.

every calendar is different in size and color. they stack haphazardly on a shelf in my office.

but they're mine. they're my life. my family's life.

and

now that time seems to be flying by faster then i ever imagined

and

my memory seems to be a bit weaker then it was just a year ago

they're cherished

as i type this, we're watching the rose bowl. praying our badgers win.

if they do, just so you know, that will be written in RED in my calendar

and then just like that.....

2012-01-01T01:12:00.002-06:00

hello 2012

i've been waiting for you

i don't have any huge expectations for you, as that's too much pressure for both of us, but i do hope you walk hand in hand with me as i REACH for what i need. for what i want.

i need to REACH higher and catch my dreams. especially the ones

that often seem to be just outside my grasp.

i need to REACH around those i love, bring them in closer and love them even more.

i want to REACH out to those who need a helping hand

and volunteer more of my time.

i want to REACH inward, in a self discovery kind of way,

in hopes of figuring out exactly who i am and what i'm supposed to do while i'm here.

i want to REACH the point of believing, one hundred percent, that i can actually do what i think i can do,

without letting self-doubt sabotage me.

but

most of all

i want to REACH for the moon. why not.

i've heard that even if i miss, i'll land amongst the stars

and i think that's a pretty special place to be.

happy new year everyone. i hope 2012 is truly a gift for you.

these photos are from yesterday, when the sky was grey and foggy and beautiful in only the way fog can be.

the trees had a layer of frozen fog covering them, making them sparkle in the darkness.

it was truly a winter gift

did your word find you yet. if not here are some that made the final cut for me before REACH was chosen.

allow, cherish, patience, light, fly, open, learn, do, appreciate, connect, embrace, emerge

release, dance, nourish and evolve

please feel free to use one if you're stuck

still searching....

2011-12-30T13:39:00.001-06:00

i really wanted this year's word to find me. but so far it hasn't.

i keep making myself available and whispering "here i am" while flapping my arms like a chicken.

but still nothing

most of you know by now about choosing your word for the new year, instead of making an impossible to keep new year's resolution. right.

if you don't, you might be living in a cave. kidding. not really.

anyhow, i have my list and the narrowed down version of my list, but still, there isn't one word that's jumping off the paper ready to live with me for 2012.

maybe it's my morning breath or something.

{actually it could be the chicken like flapping arms}

who knows

what i do know though, is that i only have one day left.

{can you feel the excitement and pressure}

the past years my words have been

see

focus

kurva

{sanskrit meaning one who does or whore depending on where you look it up}

and

savor

so as 2012 gets ready to drop her bags, kick off her shoes and stay awhile

i'll be busy trying on words

i guess i should be thankful there isn't a "pick your one word for the year" king

ready to bonk me on the head if it takes me a few extra days to find what i'm searching for,

but i like to be prompt. really prompt

so sunday, after a wild night of watching the ball drop from the comfort of my own couch,

i'll be back. with a word. for 2012.

control yourself

i know you can hardly wait

last night we watched "the adjustment bureau" which left us both talking afterwards. about life. and our paths.

i like movies like this. have you seen it?

impossible to do....

2011-12-26T10:05:00.001-06:00

i've decided it's impossible

to actually share the love and laughter found at my sister's house on christmas day

but hope these photos will always remind us of the fun we had

unfortunately

i don't have photos of the duck hunt

{and john getting taken out by the so called flying duck}

or the 12 days of christmas sung using the names of beer

{where bill's "good beer" brought us all to tears...of laughter}

or jim's christmas meat or even a photo of myself

{so i put my sister in twice since people say we look alike}

but

i do have new memories and new laugh lines that are extremely deep

the day was not long enough

but

we had enough food for a few more families

{hello leftovers}

and

then late last night our packers beat the bears

{talk about icing on the cake to an already perfect day}

i hope your christmas was as beautiful as ours.

in some of the photos you can see how brilliant the sun was the entire day and even hot if you were sitting in it.

thank you wisconsin. i loved your warm and green christmas this year.

twas the night before christmas....

2011-12-24T08:18:00.000-06:00

actually

it's the morning before christmas

and

i just wanted to take this time to let you all know

how very dear you are to me

your support and love throughout this year

has helped me climb the path that's in front of me

often

with you at the top telling me to keep going

and

your constant words of wisdom

have acted like bumper pads

as i've bounced around in the ups and downs of life

this little corner of the world

where my words and photos come alive

is so special to me

and

all of you have been a part of it

when i've been out on a limb

you've been there to catch me

and

pray with me or for me

and

laugh with me when i needed it the most

thank you

all of you

for being you

and

sharing you with me

while i've shared me with you

may you all be blessed with the merriest and happiest christmas

surrounded by those you love

and

those that love you right back

sleigh bells ringgggggg......baby version

2011-12-23T08:48:00.000-06:00

what. did you say we're going to sing christmas carols

oh please no. not jingle bells again

how about "OH holy night" instead

singing makes me hungry

and

thirsty

hey nanny that i adore and love....is your mom STILL taking photos of us

because if she is, i'm kind of done

oh alright. one more. but just of my gorgeous curls. talk to the head

hey photo lady, did you notice my twin sister is pretty much scared of you

she's playing peek-a-boo in hopes that she can't see you

just so you know, this is the closet thing you're going to get as far as a smile from her

and

don't even ask her to sing. she'll just eat her bagel and ignore you

i think she's thinking that if she has milk on her chin, you'll put that camera down

and eat your own darn bagel

HA...i taught her that. i taught her to turn her head and just show you her curls

i did. i really did. okay maybe i didn't. but it's funny that we both did that.

it's a twin thing

i shoveled this morning and didn't even complain....

2011-12-22T09:28:00.000-06:00

this made me want to run out into the street and throw my hat in the air

after that feeling went away

i decided i would love to be the shop owner who has this in her window

{oh and i found it here}

and

this is just funny

{i found it on pinterest. oops, didn't grab the link}

and

if you're one of the names above

{or even if you don't see yourself}

my apologies for being a crappy email returner and/or blog comment responder

what. returner is a word?

anyhow

this time of year, my computer and i are busy, but just not doing the usual things.

instead we're making ourselves comfortable at places like amazon and gap.com

so when the new year falls into my lap in january

i promise to get my butt back in gear and stay on top of my inbox

thank you all for your comments regarding migraines, our beautiful daughter and reassuring me that i'm not crazy and that you'd really come to the bonfire on the beach for a cleansing. believe me, when i teach my first photography workshop, this will be part of it.

we got an inch of snow late last night and the hubby had an early meeting, so the shovel and i became reacquainted this morning and i actually had fun. it's not cold here. only 30 or so and the wind wasn't blowing. i love my snow pants and of course since it's wisconsin, the rest of my "gear" is perfect, too. no matter what though, my finger tips still get cold the quickest. the rest of the week, dry and in the 40's by monday. WHAT. this can't be wisconsin, can it ?

there were days i just wanted to throw my head away and find a new one...

2011-12-21T10:36:00.002-06:00

i said last week that i'd talk about migraines this week, so here we go

{probably if you've never had a migraine, this will bore you to death}

i started getting migraines back when i was a teenager, although i think then, we just thought they were really bad headaches, even though my dad was a migraine sufferer.

into my twenties they kept coming and by my thirties i knew that my hormones played a huge part of how i was feeling. right before and right after my monthly period, WHAM. they would hit with such force that often i was incapacitated.

by forty, i was really keeping track of what was causing the god awful pain and realized there were multiple triggers.

chocolate, the smell of cologne/perfume, nitrates and hormones {still}

and

many other things i had to go back and think about

as i laid in a fetal position, moaning.

"maybe it was the aged cheese" "maybe it was eating too late" "maybe it was just stress"

"maybe it was the bright sun" "maybe it was the change in weather"

i tried many prescription migraine pain relievers and eventually built up a tolerance to the one i lived with the most, midrin. after a few months of acupuncture, the migraines were still there, but my medication in decreased doses, was working again.

then they started again. stronger and more frequently.

i had turned 46 and read that my hormones being all over the place due to peri menopause, was without question, the number one cause of my now, twice a week, migraines.

i was desperate.

fortunately for me the day i went to see my doctor, she was out, but her nurse practitioner saw me and realized how desperate i truly was. this is not to say that my doctor wouldn't of also seen my desperation, but sometimes i think things happen for a reason.

she said that she truly believed i needed to be put on a preventative and how they can be a tricky thing to prescribe and not everything works for everyone, but that she was going to do her best.

to the rescue.

a drug by the name of amitriptyline. typically used for depression she told me, but in low doses was found to prevent migraines. i said GIVE IT TO ME. she warned me it might not work and that the playing game would begin to find something else that would, but that we'd cross our fingers that this would be my miracle.

and it was.

for five months now, i've been taking 25mg of amitriptyline right before bed every night and have had four migraines during that time, that were bad, but i had the strength to deal with them.

one of the side effects of this medication is that it can make you sleepy.

to me that's not a side effect, that's a win win situation.

it also causes dry mouth, which i have really noticed. but when you're a migraine sufferer, a side effect like dry mouth, is easy to live with.

to this day, i still have triggers though and perfumes and anything with a florally scent are the number one things that about kill me.

i have to use unscented laundry detergent. i can't wear perfume unless it's a natural oil based one from aveda and even then i rarely do. my hubby can't wear cologne.

well he could, but i'd never get close to him and that would suck.

i can't sit near someone who has perfume or cologne on in a plane, or a movie theater or in my car.

some hand soaps are too strong for me. air fresheners, forget about it.

so for any of you who suffer from migraines, i know your pain.

and for those of you living with someone who is a migraine sufferer, their pain is real.

don't ever doubt how miserable they feel at any given time.

now with my story out there, i pray that if you are a sufferer and still looking for a cure,

that you can at least try "my drug" and see what happens.

wait...they've got props...

2011-12-19T21:45:00.002-06:00

when my daughter and her boyfriend volunteered at help-portrait with me

we had time to sneak into an empty bay after lunch

this is close to the same photo above. i just couldn't decide which one i liked best

as i was almost finished shooting

she says, "wait, they've got props"

it's sure a good thing she's a got a guy with a sense of humor like ours

and

the icing on the cake

this is their take on how NOT to pose for a photo

{unless of course you're a dork}

adult "kids" are really actually pretty darn cool to hang out with

these were all taken using only the overhead lights in the food pantry

ISO 1600 50mm 2.8

call me crazy...

2011-12-18T18:25:00.000-06:00

but

i would love to do this
::

would you come

if i built a beautiful bonfire

on the beach
~
would you be part of my circle

::
would you feel better
if you could watch many of the things weighing you down
go up in smoke
*

no whiners here today....

2011-12-16T10:29:00.000-06:00

i hope all of you have an amazing "last weekend before christmas" weekend.

by now, i bet most of you have all your shopping done and that your studio looks like a bomb went off in it and spewed scraps of wrapping paper, tape, ribbon, scissors and gift tags everywhere.

no? okay, maybe that's just me.

usually by now, i'm in a very whiney mood, complaining about how much snow we have and how winter and i don't get along. but not this year.

it was 50 degrees here the other night. 50 degrees. and remember i'm in wisconsin.

the weatherman keeps shaking his head, while we keep celebrating.

next week i'll be talking about migraines and i'll show you some of the photos that go with those little legs up there. oh, and i still have to share the goofy photos of my daughter and her boyfriend.

while i'm thinking of it, are any of you wearing "ugly christmas" sweaters to your christmas festivities this year?

ps....i would love to answer any camera and or shooting questions you have. i receive many personal emails asking me about this and that, aperture and editing, which i love. so throw some at me here and then we can all share.

finding your place in this world....

2011-12-15T10:02:00.001-06:00

a year ago at this time, he had dropped out of school.

a career in criminal justice just wasn't going to happen.

working full time in construction didn't keep his attention either.

although what he learned in regards to tiling, drywalling, roofing, closet systems, wood working and electrical will make him a wonderful husband someday.

then he got accepted into the music and recording technology program, moved back home

and his life has been changed. our lives have been changed.

to see our child loving what he's doing. wanting to learn. not skipping school. working long hours into the night. well, this is what we prayed for.

to watch him do what he does, knowing that what we see at home is just a tiny part compared to what he's doing at school, is a blessing.

only parents of other "where do i go, what do i do now" kids will understand

how proud we are. how happy we are.

because

finding your place in this world...even a tiny parcel of it....is an amazing thing.

a gift actually

thankfully i have a new camera, that can basically shoot in the dark. with an ISO of 1600, there really isn't any noise and with my 50mm 1.4 lens, taking these photos at 11pm was a breeze. the last one was taken with a bleach bypass filter that i don't really like, but made an" in the dark photo" kind of cool. the rest were shot in monochrome mode so that i wouldn't have to do any editing. so yes, these are all sooc. a pentax friend recently played around with my new pentax camera and even shooting at ISO 12800 produced amazing photos.

the disappointing fish....

2011-12-14T10:57:00.001-06:00

the above photos are children belonging to one of our volunteers at HP

aren't they adorable

this photo cracks me up

the ballon man at HP made a "fish" for this little boy and as he turned and looked at us when it was finished, we could tell he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

quickly, i said, "that's not a fish if he can't see where he's going" and the volunteer sitting next to me at the registration desk picked up his marker and drew a face on the so called "fish."

the little boy looked at his "fish" again and this time was only slightly more impressed.

i think he was really wishing he had asked for a sword instead

~~~~~

if you're looking for some great artistic wallpaper backgrounds for your phone,

here they are and they're free and fun. i'm using the one from kelli murray.

remember when i mentioned these t-shirts as my favorite....well just an FYI....the white t-shirts tend to run one whole size smaller then the rest of them. bummer. return. reorder.

plain and simple, i love this mom

{if you don't know her, start with her tab labeled "start here if you're new}

the photos here made me ache a bit. i need a flea market fix more then i realized.

and

last but not least

for little hands or moms like me who love their glue gun

i think this is the best way to make gingerbread houses

ps...finally we have a few birds at our feeder.

the little rascals have been elsewhere.

i guess when you don't have any snow and temps in the 40's in december, in wisconsin, that's what happens.

here~this will help...

2011-12-13T19:59:00.000-06:00

if you really want to get into the holiday spirit

and

i know you do

please watch this beautiful gift

ps....thanks mom for sending it to me

another magical day...

2011-12-12T17:36:00.000-06:00

it's so hard to put into words

what happens when 52 volunteers get together

to put smiles on the faces of 381 people

but i'll try

this is madison's third year to be part of the world wide help-portrait event

and every year, it just keeps getting better and better.

due to the nature of the event, we don't share any of the photos that are taken on help-portrait day,

except for those that we take of each other.

{respecting the privacy of the families that visit us is our number one concern}

as always, when a bunch of photographers get together, it's one big photography geek fest.

and guess who hates having their photos taken the most. that's right. photographers.

this is the father of one of our volunteers

and he sang and played his guitar during the entire event in our waiting/reception area.

we also had a "magic balloon maker man"

{as described to me by one of the little boys getting his photo taken}

who brought smiles to many little faces

this year, for the first time, we were thrilled to have volunteers from mary kay

prior to the first photos

we have to make sure the lights are all set up correctly and triggering properly and since we're all big goof balls. well. you get the idea.

it's obvious who the photographers are, as their cameras rarely leave their sides.

{just look for all the camera straps in the photos}

this is kelly and he is the farthest thing from serious, but i think i caught him discussing something intently with someone else. and after a tiny editing, i really liked the photo. so even though it was probably the most serious face seen the entire day, i had to add it in.

if only i had been able to shoot all of our volunteers, so you could see more happy faces like this

this is frank and our third year to work together with help-portait.

we're the only pentax shooters of the bunch

so we have a special language all our own.

this. well this is "come on, really. another photo of me. but i'm a photographer"

and

honestly, he'a a big goof ball teddy bear that makes us all laugh

many thanks to barry

{i referred to him as bank robber barry}

and his wife carol

{in the black jacket above this photo}

as they were HUGE in this years event

during lunch, we took turns sneaking into the kitchen and eating the wonderful donated pizza.

and who to my wandering eyes did appear, but my daughter and her boyfriend.

{my sweet hubby also volunteered again this year}

all of my photos kind of looked the same to me as i was looking at them,

so i ran them all through different presets in LR3 just for fun.

{because it was a FUN day with FUN people}

with her back to the camera is jenny, who along with her husband andy,

run the river food pantry. this is the second year that they have invited us to

turn their pantry into one huge photography studio for the event.

the channel 27 news crew

these two were also HUGE at putting this years event together and honestly

i'm not sure we could have done it without them

{keeping faces hidden}

i caught this little one waiting patiently for her photo

and

these little girls dressed as princesses

who absolutely took our breaths away

i have a few more photos i'll share this week, as i had the opportunity to shoot my daughter and her boyfriend in all their true goofiness and a few photos of the children of one of our volunteers.

but for now, i hope these photos let you all know how amazing this event truly is and was.

so with another year behind us, we're already talking about next year's event.

help-portrait was started 3 years ago and madison has been part of it every year.

the very first year i was one of 8 volunteers.

this year we had 52. and next year, well i can only imagine how large we'll be.

if any of you want to learn more about having your own help-portrait group where you live

let me know

i'd be more then happy to share with you how to get it all started

it was magical, again.....

2011-12-11T17:02:00.000-06:00

i'm still playing with photos and trying to find the words in my tired head

to tell all of you how wonderful our help-portrait day was yesterday.

so until that happens

here's a clip of us that aired on our local news last night.

{it will play on the left side, after a stupid commercial}

can you find me in the video

that's it, i've had it....

2011-12-09T16:30:00.000-06:00

the darkness that rolls in around 4:15 in the afternoon is depressing me.

don't get me wrong. by the end of the day i love to be in my fuzzy pants and slippers watching a bit of television while i wrap gifts and drink hot tea. BUT that shouldn't start at 4:15.

tomorrow is a big day. a huge day.

we have over 40 volunteers coming together to make another help-portrait event in madison a success.

we have signed up over 200 families that will get treated like kings and queens

while they get free photographs taken of themselves and their families.

squeal. i can't wait.

this is my third year to be part of HP and it has grown like a weed. a really good weed.

i hope you have a help-portrait event in your town tomorrow, too.

do you watch the today show? is ann curry getting on your nerves, too or is it just me?

our son has been summoned for jury duty and being a full time student does not excuse him.

for this, i am hugely irritated. for the first time ever, he is loving and doing well in school and to think that he may have to miss class because of some bozo doing something illegal, burns me.

are you an iPhone lover. are you on instagram.

if you are, do you want to be friends?

you can find me at buffymac

a few of my favorite things.....

2011-12-08T08:07:00.001-06:00

you get a car....and you get a car.... and you get a....well you know.

okay, i'm feeling a little bit like oprah today and decided to give you all a gift.

you're welcome.

well okay. they're not really gift gifts, but they are links to some of the things i love.

{blogger is being a baby and not highlighting my links. just hover over them}

1. this is my new favorite eyeshadow and hello, look at it's name

2. i love this facial cleanser and pretty much all of their products

3. i wear these socks around the house all winter long. in every color combination

4. these t-shirts are the best ever. honestly the best t-shirts and they're even on sale

5. and i only have one of these, but would love a closet full. hello santa

so as soon as you're done shopping for all your loved ones, do some shopping for YOU.

yes YOU. because you're worth it.

drama queen....

2011-12-05T17:41:00.000-06:00

i walked by my very neglected camera this afternoon and it started to sputter.

then it rolled over, grabbed it's chest and flung itself to the floor and played dead.

all in an attempt to get my attention. well it worked.

~how to take the photo above~

sit in front of your tree. stick your finger out in front of you and focus on it. move your finger out of the way and click. wha-la. a one hundred percent bokeh photo.

if you look closely you can see me in this photo. baseball cap and all.

here's how i keep sane during the holidays.

i buy two or 3 gifts for others and then one for myself.

{you were probably thinking it was massive amounts of wine weren't you}

anyhow, while shopping at tj maxx the other day, the bird pillow above jumped off the shelf and into my cart and begged me to take it home.

and you know, with the holidays and everything, well i'm a sucker for begging.

so now my most favorite pillow in the house sits in our throw all chair. you know, the chair where purses and cameras and coats and keys get tossed everyday.

what.

you don't have a throw all chair.

good thing i have a bit of christmas spirit in me, otherwise i'd have to hate you.

these photos are all sooc, even though the ornament one i cropped to square in my mac's simple edit program.

funny, how i haven't used that in like forever.

i know this is a totally random post, but it mirrors how i feel lately, but in a good way.

just some food for thought.....

2011-12-02T09:55:00.000-06:00

this video is running around facebook like it's in a marathon

and

i couldn't resist sharing it with anyone who maybe hasn't seen it

it's only 3 minutes long....i really hope you have time to watch it

i envy you....

2011-12-01T21:07:00.000-06:00

i like christmas, but i don't love it

and

i envy you if you do.

i'm not sure when i started only liking it, because i remember loving christmas when the kids were little and it was all about them and the mystery of santa claus. but then something gradually changed.

if i could put it all into words, i would, but i can't. and even if i could, i'd probably offend someone and i don't want that to happen. so, all i can say is that if you love all the shopping and

decorating and baking and parties. i envy you.

did you notice i didn't add in gift wrapping. that's because i LOVE gift wrapping.

i'm still editing photos in LR3 and loving it. here are a few i recently did.

the first two are from a recent walk with my hubby, at an amazing conservancy.

some people might think that since i'm in wisconsin, we're covered up in snow "around these parts."

lucky for us, not yet. but lord knows, it's coming.

peanut butter the enemy....

2011-11-30T09:02:00.002-06:00

yesterday was my hubby's birthday

our celebrations are usually simple, yet fun. a dinner out, cookies by design instead of a cake with candles and a few gifts with lots of laughs.

so last night the kids joined us at our favorite tapas restaurant after they were finished with work and school. we were about halfway through our evening, when all of sudden, our son looked at me and said i don't feel good. something is wrong. something i ate had peanuts.

you see, our son has had a peanut allergy all his life. we confirmed this with testing way back when he was 5 and in kindergarten and they made peanut butter covered pinecones with bird seed to hang outside. our son had made one {even after he had protested not to} rubbed his eye in the process and by the time i got to school, his eye looked like something out of an alien movie. a quick emergency room visit {i don't really remember what they did} and we were back home and he was fine. follow up testing said he was deathly allergic to peanuts {something you don't want to hear} and dust mites and various trees.

so for the past 15 years, i have read the back of every package of anything he has ever eaten, while he himself has been able to sniff out "peanut anything" from miles away. can you believe as a child he hated the smell of peanut butter and had never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his tiny 5 years prior to the allergy discovery. i think it was his own body's natural way to protect him.

well last night i screwed up. the chicken skewers i have eaten regularly at our favorite restaurant are described as "chicken satay with a peanut glaze" and because our son doesn't normally join us there, i overlooked this, until he looked at me with those eyes, that are still the same eyes i remember looking at me when he was 2 {and many other numerous ages} when i rushed him to the emergency room for a severe asthma attack when he couldn't breathe. i grabbed the menu, saw the hateful word peanut and the two of us ran out of the restaurant leaving the hubby and my daughter behind.

we were only 3 minutes from urgent care and with my son's pleading and telling me i had a really good excuse, i ran three red lights.

they saw him immediately and fortunately it wasn't an anaphylactic reaction

{which thank god he has never had}

and they were able to treat his swollen lip and mouth with good old benedryl and they also gave him something for his nausea.

i think it was his body's natural reaction to want to "get rid" of what he had eaten.

before they would let me go back with him, i sat in the kids waiting room and documented the time

gangsta

our epi-pen prescriptions have been renewed {one for the house, one for his car}

and after we were all home, he was as good as new.

good enough actually, to pull an all nighter and write an 8 page paper that is due today.

you see, he's kind of a procrastinator.

well, he's also a slob and wears his jeans too low and looks like a gangsta with his ball cap on, but it's funny how all of that really doesn't matter after an emergency.

so i'll give me a week

before i remind him to pull his pants up and clean his room

i think i'll stay with my theory....

2011-11-27T17:05:00.001-06:00

books are always better

i posted awhile back that i was reading and loving "the descendants" and it never disappointed.

not even once.

today we went and saw the movie,

and it was good,

but i didn't love it the way i loved the book.

now granted, i'm not a book or movie critic and nobody asked for my opinion, but if you were my best friend sitting with me in the family room, while the fire roared

{not really since it's gas, but it would be on}

and we were drinking my favorite toffee almond supreme tea,

i'd look in your eyes, take your hand and say "read the book first."

i love george clooney and he did a fine job and maybe he'll get an oscar nomination, but his teenage daughter in the movie, as well as the book, is an amazing character. i only wish the movie audience had gotten to know her the way i did. from the book.

maybe a book is always better because our own imagination comes into play.

we get to imagine, from words alone, what the characters look like.

what their voices sound like. how they walk. where they live.

we get to imagine how they feel and can feel what they say.

if you saw the movie this weekend and loved it, i'm not saying you shouldn't have. it was good.

and if you have plans to see it when it comes to your town in a week or so, go see it.

but at anytime, if you have the chance to read the book, just do it.

happy thanksgiving.....

2011-11-24T08:05:00.001-06:00

"if the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you,"

that would suffice."

~meister eckhart~

because it's worth it.....

2011-11-22T09:50:00.002-06:00

i know you need to laugh and smile today. so here's my gift to you.

which means you have to watch this and you can't give it back

it's a gift. remember.

thanks to susannah conway for introducing me to marcel

ps. i have a sick sense of humor. i hope you do, too

my daughter's right....

2011-11-21T13:07:00.000-06:00

after LR 3

last night my daughter told me i was being a blog slacker.

she's right. i have been slacking a bit. so sorry.

instead of blogging

i've been playing with LR3 and i have to tell you something.

i'm in love and i'm pretty sure the feelings are mutual.

sooc

after LR 3

sooc

if you're even a little bit like i was

{too often banging your head against the wall while using photoshop}

give lightroom a try

i don't believe for one second that you'll be disappointed.

instead, i think you'll be wondering what took you so long.

chances are

if you hate your photos and fall in love with other people's photos

they've been edited

if you've been thinking, "i really need to edit my photos"

start with LR3. don't start with photoshop.

believe me

i'm saving you days, maybe weeks of headaches.

you're welcome

the lights should have been on....

2011-11-17T11:10:00.001-06:00

last night

the overhead lights were off, forcing the ebony sky, sitting on top of the black parking lot to become threatening to a girl who's made it a practice to never be alone in the dark, at night.

i heard him walking, but i didn't see him.

suddenly i heard an awful noise and knew he had fallen. quickly i turned around and ran towards him. he was on the ground, just starting to get up. i asked him if i could help. he sternly said "no, i'm fine" but i still grabbed the computer bag hanging from his neck, so as to lift the weight of it off of him. a man behind me asked if he could help. he was also told "no" and then we heard "i'm used to falling. that's why my computer is in this hard case."

my heart ached as i continued to the doors of the school. you see, the man who had fallen is in my class. he's physically handicapped and drags his foot when he walks.

the man who had also asked if he could help, was right behind me as we approached the building and he said, "do you really think he's okay or do you think alcohol is involved" and inside, i wanted to haul off and hit him. here is this proud, handicapped man, who didn't want our help and now someone who has no idea who he is, was speculating.

i set him straight.

i was all settled in my seat, coat off, computer on when john came into the room. since i sit by the door he had to walk right by my chair and as he did, we locked eyes. i reached out and touched his arm and in a whisper said, "are you sure you're okay." he smiled and mouthed "thank you."

moral of the story.....don't judge
*
ps...i asked about the lights and something was wrong with the timer. fortunately they were all on when we left our classes at 9pm.

visually stunning.....

2011-11-16T10:03:00.000-06:00

not my photo

{even though this old house is really cool}

but

the video

below

honestly

it pretty much blew me away

and

all i kept thinking was how i would have loved to have been there with my camera

do you see what i see.....

2011-11-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

how do i say

'thank you so very, very much'

in a way that will fill and warm your hearts

the way you did mine

the words you left for me in my previous post

not only lifted me up

they also pushed me forward

i now have a new found strength and attitude and all of you are responsible for that

thank you

yesterday called for a walk. outside.

the dried reeds at my adored pond, have fallen all over each other and lay in a tangled mess, forming a rickety platform that now encourages me closer to the water's edge.

it's so quiet at the pond. those with wings have gone south.

the turtles. where are the turtles.

the missing muskrats. do they all hibernate.

living breathing animals

have been replaced with naturally made wooden replicas

just waiting to be found by a girl in her hiking boots

not afraid to get too close

what do you see. a fish. a shark. a ground hog.

all i know is that whatever it is.

it was looking at me.

it's okay to be yourself.....

2011-11-12T14:45:00.000-06:00

my friend diana reminds me to dream big. so i do.

my big dream for next year is to teach.

i want to teach a photography workshop.

in person.

surrounded by all of you. hopefully by the beach.

just today i read this post

and

if i teach next year

this is what i'd love for all of you to know before you arrive

because

i want you all to be yourself.

everyday. everywhere.

i hope you're all having an amazing weekend so far

11.11.11

2011-11-11T09:51:00.001-06:00

are you superstitious. i am.

i've never walked under an open ladder

but

i have broken my mother's back by stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk

{not literally...but all the same, sorry mom}

a black cat crossing my path

honestly bothers me

i have thrown salt over my shoulder

but

i don't really know that one so i don't remember why i did it

the number 13 i actually like

unless it falls on a friday

if i find a penny and it's heads up

i pick it up

and

even though it's not a superstition

i do believe in spirits

it's only right

that i believe today

11.11.11

means something

i've heard people talking about the fact that the number 11

forms a tunnel

{or some have referred to it as doorway}

and

having 3 of them together means

greatness in regards to starting a new career or a relationship

all i know for sure

is that i have to go to the mall today

and

since i honestly hate shopping in the mall

all i can hope for is that

11.11.11

gives me the extra strength i need to survive that place

empty hands....

2011-11-10T14:20:00.002-06:00

~50mm 1.4 ISO 400~

actually

my hands are rarely empty

and

right now they are filled with this book

have you seen the movie previews for it. it stars george clooney.

enough said

anyhow

it's based on the book and debuts next weekend and before i sit in the movie theatre with my popcorn to see it, i will have read every single page. so far it's fantastic.

and

based on what i've heard

thumbs up, five stars and all that other good stuff as far as the movie goes.

you know the theory though. a movie is NEVER as good as the book and of all the theories i've heard in my lifetime, this one is actually true.

but

come on it's george

and

the movie will be playing at our sundance theatre

so it's a win win situation as far as i'm concerned.

and

the best of part of george and the fact that i can talk about him the way i do....

well, he actually resembles my hubby. he does. really. honest.

i'm not joking. actually the hubby is more george with a bit of pierce brosnan mixed in

but

hey, that's more detail then you came here for

ps...for anyone out there who has seen or met my hubby.....back me up for those possible naysayers. here he is just in case you really need to see how lucky i am.

adding my own graffiti.....

2011-11-09T10:23:00.002-06:00

isn't this the best wall ever.

obviously it lives in a safe little community where the teenagers don't own smart phones to text their friends announcing the blank canvas they've found, with a request of "and dude, bring a few extra cans of spray paint."

okay. that's just silly talk. every teen i know has a smartphone. but maybe these teens choose to go home right after school and concentrate on homework. oops. silly talk again.

anyhow

i decided i'd be the rebellious and "badass" teen for the day

and

added my own graffiti

{please click badass for a funny video}

thanks eva for the badass video

why the love......

2011-11-08T17:50:00.000-06:00

i don't know why i have it or where it comes from

but

my heart loves the broken down and beaten.

the fragile and not quite right. the different and slightly damaged.

and

it's not always buildings

but

today it is

what is a quince.....

2011-11-07T12:27:00.001-06:00

this old church doesn't really sit in a field, but from my perspective when i shot it, it does.

isn't it funny how perspective works. i know without a doubt, that if i had taken this photo from any other place or any other angle, it would have been a very ordinary photo.

while i was out driving last week, i came upon these magnificent things growing in the backyard of a business in sauk city. yep, a business with a backyard and technically i wasn't really trespassing, although i did have a lady watching me from her car, acting like she wasn't.

anyhow. what are they?

edited

some of my readers told me they were quince and i googled it and they were right

who knew

{obviously they did}

all i know, is that they are not apples and they were not growing from an apple tree.

am i the only one who loves "where in the world is matt lauer" and will be glued to the television this week watching him every morning, or do you love this segment of the today show, too?

and

just one more thing.

many of you asked me about lightroom {LR} and yes, you can download a free 30 day trial of it. i highly suggest that you watch many of the videos that go with it though, or you will be lost. you can find those on youtube and they will totally be worth your time.

also, the 400 page book for LR 3 is fantastic.

happy monday everyone

it's sunny and warm and beautiful here today. but they said a chance of snow flurries wednesday.

now that's just not nice is it.

maybe it's true...

2011-11-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

maybe you're never too old to learn a new trick

i'm learning lightroom and loving it

maybe it's loving me

you see

i never had a love relationship with photoshop

nope

no love or lust

with mr. pse

no matter how i looked at him

instead it's always been a rather cold relationship filled with holes and too many questions

that's just never felt quite right

but

with light room

the feeling is

warm and understanding

now granted

i'm only at the beginning

but it's a beginning that's making sense

so here's my advice to you on this gorgeous sun filled friday

"learn something new...it's so good for your love life and your heart."

the happiest of weekends to each and everyone of you

still.....

2011-11-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

the leaves are fighting it. falling off with a grudge.

last night they got a dusting of snow. i think i heard cussing. from them. not me.

the wind this morning has her sucker punching gloves on.

still

it's fall

and

we love it

and

we know we'd be lost without it

oh baby baby....

2011-11-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

i had a baby shoot yesterday. lucky me.

these photos are just a sneak peek of a few that i played with last night

while watching parenthood.

there's something about this little angel, who just turned a month old, that reminds me of a little old lady, so most of the photos have an aged or layered look to them. it just felt right adding a bit of something.

are babies heads the most perfect thing ever?

in the middle of our time together, where i could have kept shooting, she was all snuggled up and sound asleep and i didn't begin to have the heart to start moving her again for more poses and waking her up.

i have my limits you know

her point of view last night.....

2011-11-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

come on sophie. we do this every year. remember, it's halloween.

your human sister lets the kids take some candy from the bowl, i take their photo

and you stand there and look slightly annoyed.

oh yeah.

it's that holiday. the one dad hates and the one that eats up minutes of my nap time.

fine. go ahead.

give the kids their candy already. let's get this over with as fast as we can.

here are some of my favorite little goblins that visited me last night

{not that sophie really cares}

one fine muddy mess.....

2011-10-31T08:55:00.002-05:00

my daughter is not afraid to get dirty

and

neither is her boyfriend

they ran in madison's mudrun on saturday

along with over one thousand other runners.

she was having a blast with the water hose

some of the runners

{taking halloween seriously}

came dressed up in amazing outfits

this was the farmer, his wife and their chickens

he finished before she did

and then came back

and ran up the hill to the finish line with her

isn't that sweet

this is the boyfriend

flying through the mud pit at lightning speed.

i'm not sure how i even got his photo.

and yes, technically this photo should be up at the beginning with my daughter's mud photo,

but blogger is being a bit grouchy this morning.

oh and in case you're a runner and are into statistics

she was 23rd out of 257 runners in the 20-29 female age group

47th out of 625 in the all female category

and

overall

she placed 171 out of 1063 runners

he was 16th out of 174 runners in the 20-29 male age group

27th out of 492 in the all male category

and

overall

he placed 34 out of 1063 runners

i think that's right.

she told me lots of numbers over the phone and i scribbled them all over an index card

and wrote them with a bold sharpie. so at least i know i'm close if not exact.

hey, i'm not perfect.

and it continues....

2011-10-28T09:07:00.001-05:00

the writer's block i spoke of in my previous post

continues to hang on like a acrobatic performer in the circus

whose ropes have become all tangled

and

unfortunately as she holds on waiting for help

the floor people have started to clean up and have removed the trampoline below her

this is an instagram photo of a picture that hangs in my office

that i put on facebook this morning with the caption of

"in case you were wondering what to do today"

what will you do today to prove you exist

i think i'm going to have a date with my camera.

i can tell that lately, she feels a bit neglected and that's just not right.

the happiest of weekends to all of you and your families

of cinder block proportions....

2011-10-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

i have writer's block.

not like those cute little building blocks that toddlers play with, writer's block.

no. that'd be too easy.

instead my writer's block lives in the gravel yard with cinder blocks and bricks and huge natural stones that men wearing tight jeans and driving bobcats fill your backyard with as they do your landscaping.

what. men in tight jeans.

is it just me or does everyone get as distracted as i do when they start writing.

let's see. i'll try a different angle.

like how "my cup runneth over" from all the well wishes and wonderful thoughts that you're still sending my way from my surgery last week and how this photo above looks like a cup of sorts.

use your imagine. a cup that mother nature made. in her first pottery class.

these photos are all sooc and that makes me really happy.

but now that i think about it, i don't think i ever told you that i got my new camera and i love it.

instead of changing completely and going the nikon route, which is where i was headed,

i stayed with pentax and bought the k-5.

there's a great little site i use when comparing cameras. it's called snapsort and in the upper lefthand corner, click on "compare" and put in the cameras you're thinking about. it's quite addictive and has some really good information.

just yesterday i ran across an amazing blog and his photos were out of this world. well he uses a nikon D3X which i hadn't even heard of. so i went over to snapsort and compared my camera with his.

mine won.

and his camera is 7000 dollars more expensive then mine. i'm not kidding. 7000 dollars more. who would spend 8000 dollars on a camera anyhow. and once again, it just goes to show you that's it not about the equipment. it's really all about your creative and artistic eye.

to keep the camera jargon going....i've been playing around with my very old 70-200 lens and i'm kind of falling in love with it. all of these photos were taken with it and what i think i really want is a 85mm 1.4 lens. so i'm trying to keep my 70-200 at 85 as i shoot. just to practice. but the big difference is that my 70-200 is a 4.7/5.6 so it's not really comparing apple to apples. but i do think it's totally eating up all the love i've been giving it.

oh and one more thing regarding photography. the yellow leaf above was being bathed in sunlight as i approached it and with my first shot, it was completely washed out.

so i lowered my iso and UNDEREXPOSED it on purpose and wha-la.

a beautiful yellow leaf with a dark background and an sooc photo.

overexposing and underexposing my photos is something i do all the time. if you don't do this. try it.

too many times, i find that iso, aperture, shutter speed and anything else you want to throw into the mix just isn't the answer. but exposure is.

at a loss for words...

2011-10-23T19:59:00.000-05:00

but

feel free to add some for me

i know most of you are witty enough to add captions to at least one of these photos

a few weeks ago i was at the zoo and throughout the area of the park i was in, you could hear this low

moaning noise. it was similar to the sound that bears make, so i didn't really pay much attention to it.

after all, i was at the zoo.

but all of a sudden, people started gathering around the tortoises. of course, with me being the curious thing i am, i had to walk over and see what was happening.

this is what was happening.

i'm guessing by spring we'll have baby tortoises. just a guess.

thank you everyone, for the amazing well wishes and prayers and good thoughts and happy ju ju you sent my way. it worked. i'm actually feeling pretty darn good.

to say you're all the best is an understatement. you're more then the best

and

i can't thank you enough for "being there" for me

e.t. phone home....

2011-10-21T09:17:00.001-05:00

before my surgery yesterday,

i walked around the house and my art studio

and

played with my phone. well actually, the camera on my phone.

here are just a few of my instagram and hipstamatic photos.

i'm new to the whole iphone love affair

so if you have any apps that you think are full out "you can't live without" must haves

i'd love to hear about them

{especially the camera apps}

thank you everyone for the well wishes regarding my surgery.

happy weekend

{this is a pre-posted post}

tomorrow....

2011-10-19T13:17:00.001-05:00

lately i've been unorganized and unsettled.

the piles of papers that live on our kitchen island and on my desk, aren't of tower like proportions any longer and the house, to the untrained eye, appears to look clean and comfortably lived in.

but inside. inside of me. now that's a different story.

it's because of tomorrow.

tomorrow i have surgery.

i could share the details. and someday i'm sure i will. but for now i'll just keep it at that.

i've known for a week now that tomorrow will be "the day" and as hard as i've tried to stop thinking about it, it's always first in line, waving it's sticky little hand at me, yelling "pick me pick me" when i turn my thoughts on.

i'm blessed to have a husband who will be my nurse as i recover.

his bedside manner is impeccable, but if my pain pills make me vomit, i know he'll go running,

as that's about the only thing i've ever seen him run away from.

well, there is the occasional spider that doesn't get squished on the first attempt and falls near him that can really make him move quickly...but still, vomit or the sound of someone vomiting can literally make the man run.

other then that, i know he'll be at my side constantly, doing everything humanly possible to take care of me, since that's just the kind of guy he is.

so it will probably be quiet around here for a few days or maybe even a week. i hope to feel well enough in a few days to at least stalk all of you, but comments probably won't get written and my own blog posts will be slim to none.

unless of course, my pain pills surrender me helpless in la la land and the hubby wickedly decides to take control of my blog posts and writes something in my place, to get back at me for letting everyone know about his vomit phobia. it could happen.

i just hope he doesn't tell you why, no matter how hot i am,

that i have to have a bed sheet over me when i sleep.

oh heck. i'll tell you. it's because of the ghosts.

james dean....

2011-10-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

when i was in chicago a few weeks ago, i talked to some strangers outside our coffee shop.

it's just what i do. all the time. no matter where i am.

anyhow, they let me take their photos. they always do. they always say yes.

this guy was a james dean wannabe.

i think he pulls it off quite well.

you can see that i couldn't stop playing with his photo.

i wanted it to look old. aged. vintage.

anything from the past. days gone by.

this is the original photo.

i found his freckles and blemishes to be distracting, so i got rid of those immediately

and then softened his face just a bit.

i had to age her photo too (obviously i was in a true vintage mood)

and no matter what i did, her eyes that kept grabbing me. in a good way.

here's her original photo. i love that she's so midwest.

anyhow. in case you wondered what i did for an hour last night, while we debated on what to eat for dinner. well this my friends is it. i know. control yourselves over how exciting my life is.

it's here....

2011-10-14T15:44:00.000-05:00

my new iphone arrived today

and

it's really pretty

but

figuring out everything it can do might take me a few ~~weeks~~ days

see you next week sometime

i can't get enough....

2011-10-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

there's an apple orchard just down the road from us.

you can pick all the apples you want or you can just stop by to people watch and eat a cider brat and take home a dozen of their cider cinnamon and sugar doughnuts.

apple trees are little and easy to climb

the orchard also has pumpkins

darn you fall. do you really have to leave. we've had such a great time with you.

i promise....

2011-10-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

if your front yard ever looks like this

i will show up

some people love bowling or nascar races

some people love square dancing or rock climbing

personally

i love rummaging

i didn't buy a thing at this sale

and

regret just a tiny bit

not coming home with those pink and burgundy theatre chairs

i didn't have room for them. and they weighed a ton. but aren't they cool.

and that brown couch with its amazing feet.

can you imagine that reupholstered anthropolgie like. swoon.

someday i imagine myself with a shop filled with finds like this. where the really cool things have all been prettied up by my hubby who has a workroom in the back. and in the window is a sleeping cat who takes care of the mice that sneak in, since we're in a really old building where all the walls are exposed brick. and during the winter, we have a sign that says we're open when we feel like it, because somedays wrapped up in a old quilt watching movies is better then working.

what. two days in a row.....

2011-10-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

i can do this. i can really do this. if i set my mind to it i can keep from editing my photos.

granted. it's painful and similar to when i was ten and my mom made me stop biting my fingernails.

but i can do this.

speaking of TEN. this is my niece and she's ten TODAY.

we celebrated her birthday on sunday. and of course i made her jump for me.

and speaking of fingernails.....

after we finished eating cake we set off on a long walk around my sister's amazing and gorgeous property. acres and acres of it.

her property has old fencing everywhere

and

i couldn't get enough of it

and

the old fence posts were scrumptious

when we finished our walk i told my niece how i really needed a great photo

representing her turning ten. she wasn't too thrilled about the idea.

but entertained me anyway

sydney was her adorable loving self and i couldn't help but shoot her, too

and

as my parents were leaving. click. i got them, too.

i'm not sure if you can read "eye language" or not

but this says

"enough aunt beth. you're driving me crazy"

happy birthday sweet girl. you are loved and adored.

it doesn't happen very often....

2011-10-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

it doesn't happen very often

that i use or even love my photos straight out of the camera

{sooc}

but

this past friday

the day was too perfect

to change any of the photos

from the way

i originally saw them

just a late sunday afternoon quickie....

2011-10-09T16:57:00.002-05:00

on friday

i met my friend nikki at the zoo with her little boy

and

as interesting as the animals always are

my camera was mostly busy with this little guy

if you have time, i have some other adorable shots over here

love is a gift.....

2011-10-08T07:50:00.000-05:00

i hope this weekend finds you soaking up the love that surrounds you.

too often, we take that love for granted and act as if it's never ending.

let's not do that anymore. instead bathe in it.

throw it up in the air and let it land on you like fairy dust.

dance in it. celebrate it. sit with it and really understand it.

listen to it. hold it tight.

love it.

overwhelming perhaps....

2011-10-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

this time of year gives us the opportunity to take hundreds of photos. which i do.

and

then my computer screams "what the heck are doing" as i continue to load more and more photos while watching my memory space go lower and lower.

but

don't think for a moment that i'm complaining about having too many photos to play with or the opportunity to take them.

winter will be here soon enough and that's when the real ~~whining~~ complaining begins.

when i mentioned my son's 20th birthday a couple of weeks ago, i didn't have a recent photo of him that i loved. WHAT. me. the girl who has a camera attached to her hand didn't have a recent photo of her son. that's just wrong. yeah. whatever. like i said. i didn't have one that i liked.

anyhow

i snapped this one the other day as he was leaving for work. and i kind of love this one.

back to the hundreds, well thousands of photos.

this one is from last year and i don't think i ever used it.

that's just wrong. i think my new years resolution will be organizing all of my photos so that the ones i share here, with all of you, are from within the current year.

the only problem with this is....well, i don't make new years resolutions

we ate dinner out last night and i snapped this with my cell phone

while he was busy telling us about his cool keyboarding class

where the teacher wants to be called by his first name. biff.

ohhhh. farmer's market fresh mushrooms being sold by a fun guy.

peppers anyone

and

last but not least in this post of true randomness....

this is how you dress when your badgers are playing a home game.

you throw on everything RED that you own and parade yourself up and down state street.

now this is where i could go into a huge story about how we be beat the pants off of nebraska last weekend. whooped them actually and sent them home crying.

but i won't do that.

that's just mean.

quilts and hot chocolate....

2011-10-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

actually just a quilt and a sneak peek

more photos over here

some people can juggle....

2011-10-04T11:09:00.002-05:00

i've tried it and have found it impossible

BUT

i do have the amazing talent of taking

"christmas card photos gone wrong"

i love....

2011-10-03T12:46:00.001-05:00

i love my kids

and

i really love that my kids love each other

i love that they both inherited the ability to laugh at themselves

{a guarantee that they belong to me}

i love that she has a little brother and that he has a big sister

{secretly i kind of wish she had a sister, too and that he had a brother}

i love that they are both patient

to a fault

{a guarantee that they belong to their father as they didn't get a lick of that from me}

for anyone worrying, it's just a bb gun and their target was a water bottle

{sooc}

and spin me, too.....

2011-10-02T10:09:00.001-05:00

sometimes

when life is taking us for a ride

all we can do is hold on

and

enjoy the wind in our hair

and

shout

"is that all you've got. spin me, too"

last weekend

we went to the apple orchard so i could play with my new lens.

lucky for me, a girl that my hubby works with was there with her two daughters

and they were pretty much game for anything i asked of them.

there are more, really fun photos, over here

i really mean it.....

2011-10-01T17:12:00.002-05:00

in no special order....

2011-09-30T09:03:00.000-05:00

i just finished reading georgia's post about our time together in chicago and now my heart is all mushy and filled up. if you have the time, i really hope you can visit her and read from her perspective, how really special it is to spend time with other bloggers.

the three photos above

are more little vignettes from georgia's gorgeous home

and

by now you know who this smiley little guy is

and

again

the three photos above are all from georgia's home. i couldn't get enough of it.

this was sitting in the kid's area at the coffee shop

from georgia's

sweet claire working on her amazing food photos

the two photos above are from when we were in woodstock for crepes

georgia's again. it's an addicting home. what can i say.

and

the little man not being very happy about claire heading to san antonio for a workshop and me heading back to wisconsin. can you blame him. lol.

disclaimer. i warned you i had 319 photos to sift through and thought this might be the last batch. wrong. gradually, more will appear, but i'll try and sidetrack you by hopefully adding some brilliant writing to go along with them. happy weekend everyone.

also

have you heard about the craziness happening here this weekend...the big 10 football game and our area being overrun with an estimated 30,000 nebraska fans who don't even have tickets to the game but just want to be present. with the economy being the way it is, i'd personally like to thank nebraska for taking up every hotel room within a 60 mile radius of us and eating in all of our restaurants and shopping in all of our stores. what a gift you are giving us.

but sorry

our badgers will beat you and it will be a very long drive home.

ouch