twenty eleven...

here it is

~

my

WORD

for

2011

~

savor

~

it's plain and simple

yet it eluded me for weeks. i tried letting a word pick me. but it didn't happen. so i looked under rocks. waited for a sign. read the thesaurus.

and

then

i

found it

~

but

as i started to type this

i second guessed myself and picked a completely different word

and

like those heels you used to wear that now pinch and make you walk funny

it just wasn't me

~

so

i closed my eyes

and

savor

welcomed me back

~

i think savor

stems from my ability to fly through life and then look back and wonder what i missed. or see what i missed and feel remorseful.

let's face it. i'm quick. things are done fast and efficiently when i'm in the room.

and

rarely have i truly savored the moment. or the laugh. or the words whispered in my ear. or the warm hand holding mine. or the embrace. or the tears. or the sunset.

~

when my kids were little i raised them well. but quickly. always ready to move onto the next stage while not savoring the age they currently were.

~

i want to savor the time i'm with my husband. i don't want to think about tomorrow's schedule. or the laundry. i want to savor him. savor us.

~

i'm lucky to have young parents and take for granted that they will always be around.

so i don't savor the time i spend with them. sure i enjoy it. but i don't savor it.

well that's going to change.

~

sometimes words are hard

~

just like resolutions

they have this uncanny ability to make you look at your truth

~

i think that's why i wavered when i started typing. truth has a way of doing that to you.

i also think that's why i came back

to

savor

~

i needed a little

butt kicking

truth

~

so 2011

i'm ready for you. i'm ready to savor what you throw at me. and if somewhere along the way i falter. i hope you'll be patient and know that i'm trying my best. that i'm really trying to savor the moments. your moments. my moments.

*

now it's your turn. please please please share your word with me. i'd love to hear what word you picked and why. either leave it here or tell me to come over to your blog. some of you have already shared your words, but you can still give me a little nudge here so that we can group as many of us together as possible.

~

happy new year

~

i adore all of you who visit me here in my little corner of the world

and

now i savor you

*

ps....the photo above is my newest postcard design. i'm kind of loving it.

it's almost time....

to ring in the new year

~

i'll be celebrating on the beach

with fireworks

{don't hate me}

and

then tomorrow

i'd love for you to come

back here

and

share your

WORD

with me

~

i finally have mine

~squeal~

~

happy new year's eve

everyone

*

because of this....

i almost

~

sort of

~

kind of

love winter

*

today's our 26th wedding anniversary. and i kind of almost sort of love my hubby with all my heart. kidding. actually i love him with every breath i take. i really do. i wonder if he knows that.

if he doesn't he's an idiot.

~

to any young loves

that might be reading this

that i might have offended.

after 26 years of marriage you're allowed to talk like this

*

just wondering....

no regrets....

~~

i found the saying on

"we heart it"

~

and

loved it enough to put it on one of my photos

~

maybe it should be on a poster

or

on a whole stack of "post its" that i can stick all over people and things

~

snort

~

are you still thinking about your "word" for 2011.

i am.

sometimes a word that i think will work beautifully for 365 days

fits perfectly in the morning and then becomes way too itchy by dinner time.

and

sometimes i say a word i just love over and over again

using all sorts of voice sounds

and

eventually it almost becomes bitter and i gag a little bit

and

then i know that's not the right one either.

~

but

i will find one. or it will find me. and it will be by the first of january.

~

so be ready

as i will want to share mine with you

and

i hope you'll have a fantastic one to share with me

~

and remember. a word is so much easier

and

i think more special

than a resolution.

resolutions are hard and overrated.

*

and just like that.....

new memories were made

~

watch out 2011

here we come

*

just fyi....that's my sister with her camera. not me. people tell us all the time we look alike. we don't see it. really we don't. plus she's more patient than i will ever be.

i bet you believe, too.....

it's the little things this time of year

~like an icicle~

that make me believe

*

and

to all of you. my blogging friends who visit here and fill me up with love and laughter.

you make me believe, too.

~

you make me believe

that the world truly is a magical place

as long as you open your heart up to possibilities.

*

it seemed different....

people were softer yesterday

~

smiles were larger. the anxiety wasn't apparent. back seats of the cars in the not so crowded parking lots were full of packages. thermal shirts at old navy were only five dollars. i bought 6 of them for my son. why not. they only had pastel colors left in large. i think he'll love them.

the weather was warm enough to leave your boots at home. grey slush replaced the white snow. the day seemed longer than usual. not by minutes. but by an hour at least. we ate leftovers for dinner and pepperidge farm almond cookies for dessert. why do they only have that flavor at christmas time. they're good enough to have year round. maybe i should write them a letter.

~

i just opened up the mail. a christmas card from my friend kim was filled with glitter which is now all over my couch and sticking to my fingers. it made me laugh. and curse a little. and then laugh some more. oh i love that girl.

~

now i know for sure it's christmas

*

i hope all of you are softer

now that christmas is just hours away. now that it's close enough to touch.

i'm ready. at least i think i am.

~

have you thought about your "word" for next year

?

i'm on my fourth year of "words"

first it was "see" and then "focus" and then "kurva" which is sanskrit for "one who does"

and i think i did something but often question if it was enough.

oh well

~

i think i know what my word for this year will be

but

i need a few more days just to make sure

it feels right

~

so think about your "word"

~

i'd love to hear all about it the first of january

i really would

*

want to help me ?

{spread the word}

~~~~~

i'm going to be down south in january

doing what i love to do

and

would love to

to do some photo shoots

on the beach

~preferably with any of you or somebody you know~

~

so if you're going to be traveling that way yourself or have some friends that live in the area

could you let them know i'll be there

with my camera

acting silly

and

willing to chase their children all around in the sand

after surprising them with cupcakes

and

promising to capture those special sunset moments

after a full day of breathing ocean air

~

if you could do that for me

i'd be so over the moon giddy

and

thinking of ways to say

thank you thank you thank you

while loving you more than i already do

~if that's even possible~

*

thank you my blog loves

for an amazing year

of

your friendship and inspiration and devotion

~

you all spoil me rotten

*

my two hour workout....

well at least that's what i called it

~

my kids are old enough now

that i have completely forgotten how fast a newly walking one year old is

and

when walking got in his way

crawling at lightning speed took over and he became a blur

whizzing past me over and over again.

am i complaining

~

not for one second. i love my job. i love babies.

and

portrait photography makes me happier than just about anything anymore

do you remember this little guy

from his earlier photo shoots with me

?

here he is as a newborn

and

then three months

and

six months

wow

~

how did a year of him growing up

go by so fast

he's even typing out his own christmas letters

~

kids are so advanced these days

happy 1st birthday

baby H

~

and

thanks A

for trusting me again to document your baby's first year

*

i'm still alive....

even though a texas sized migraine tried to take me down

yesterday

~

so today i walk on eggshells

knowing that a rebound migraine is waiting in the wings

for me to become a victim

again

~

is your shopping done. how about your baking. and your wrapping and ribboning.

have you sung any carols yet. baked a pie. made a snow angel. are all the lights on your tree lit. stockings hung.

~

not me

not yet

oh well

*

oh that light.....

"what was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year"

reverb 10

~

wow. what didn't i learn.

honestly i think we all learn something new about ourselves every single day.

~

anyhow. what i learned most, since i'm forcing myself to answer the question, is that if i don't take photos everyday, i get kind of ugly and kind of mean. seriously. photography has become an addiction of mine. the photos don't have to be perfect. and i don't have to take hundreds of them at a time. but my camera has to spend some time in my hands. everyday. kind of like the smoker who's giving up his nicotine but still puts an unlit cigarette in his mouth just for the feeling.

~

yesterday i took photos of all the little things in my studio that make me smile. just because i needed to shoot. it was too cold and grey to go outside. and then of course there's always sophie. who in the photo above is oblivious to the fact that i'm laying on the floor watching her lick up crumbs while her body soaks in the last rays of the morning sunlight.

~

so there it is. my name is beth. i have an addiction. i've had it now for 3 years. it's not getting any better. worse actually. but since i know there are so many of you sitting in this round circle with me confessing the same addiction. well welcome. i'm so glad you're here.

*

just a week before.....

it amazes me how just a week before the first snowfall

i photographed this moss at one of our favorite little spots

and

that the little lake was still bubbling. as compared to completely frozen now.

and

me. dressed in a few fall layers. fingerless gloves and a scarf because that's how i almost always roll.

and without any thoughts of snow.

let me tell you about my hubby here for a minute. he's great with the camera. better than me most of the time. and oh he loves angles. he man handles the camera and angles it to death. so there's never a question as to what shots are his. and i love that. i love the fact that maybe someday we could partner up and work as a team. during shoots. together. oh that would be so incredible. and believe me. i think about it often.

i wonder what kind of tree has these huge amazing leaves

that can jump out and eat your face if you're not careful

*

a bit random today. i know. cold weather does that to me. oh who am i kidding. i do that to me. i'm just generally random and wild and silly and appreciate the fact that pretty much everything

all day long

keeps me smiling

*

life as i know it.....

i've come to realize that the simple things in life are the most important things. and that things really are just things. and that memories are what truly fills our hearts. oh sure, so does a great chicken salad sandwich. especially if you have someone to share it with. but oh those memories. they are so special.

~

i'm trying to remember that now. right now. to savor what's going on around me. helping my daughter wrap her presents. sharing lunch with both the kids since they stopped by at the same time today. laughing at each other. wearing my bathrobe all day. making beef vegetable soup for the first time. from scratch.

~

yep. that's what sustains me.

*

i know, i know.....big whoop

i mean really. it was only 9 more inches on top of the 4 we already had.

and the winds were beyond brutal. but it is wisconsin. and this is our street.

for some reason

some of you think this is pretty

{shhh....i do too, but i don't admit it. ever}

did you know men like to fix things. my hubby walked down the sidewalk to talk with our neighbors who live on both sides of us who had just dug a neighbor out of the street. she's from california. the closer i got, i think i heard them trying to plot a way to magically make all this snow disappear. should i let them know it hasn't worked yet.

*

take my word for it....

this is what it looks like outside

~

this photo was taken last year. but it looks the same this year.

i'd love to take a new photo for you. but i'd get blown away and end up in my neighbor's yard.

we have blizzard warnings out. yep. the wind is blowing that hard. we're talking up to 50 miles an hour. and cold. the high today will be 18 with a wind chill factor making it feel colder than the north pole.

~

so we're inside in for the day. poking fun at each other. eating chocolate covered pretzels.

~

and

who knows.

the highlight of our day just might be taking a nap

*

it can happen....

i think they have eyes and are secretly alive. how else could they attack the way they do.

no pitter patter of little feet. not even a tiny little giggle.

and

then all of a sudden you're covered in them.

and

then your husband laughs as he watches you try to get them off your body. men.

*

update

sophie is doing so much better thanks to all of you and your warm thoughts. we were back at the vets this morning for another "camel back" treatment, but she's on the mend. and i forgot to tell you that more of the photos from my last family session of 2010 are over here.

::

just like a new mom....

she's been so sick. vomiting and diarrhea. i didn't know what to do.

so

when my most favorite vet in the world who i truly believes loves her as much as i do

told me i should bring her in.

i did.

~

they ran tests. lots of them.

and

she's healthy except for a virus.

so they gave her a shot for the vomiting. a shot for the diarrhea.

and

filled her up with fluids to replenish what she had lost.

~

they call it camel back. or at least that's what i think the technician said. the fluid was like two huge sacks that you could feel on her back. under her skin. kind of gross to tell you the truth.

~

so for the last 24 hours i have had two very sad looking eyes staring at me. pleading with me to make her feel better.

~

until now

~

now

she sleeps

*

reverb 10::beautifully different

the prompt today at reverb 10

is

::beautifully different::

~"think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up"~

~

honestly

i don't think i'm that much different from anyone else and i truly believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. so with that said. i type.

~

i cheer for the underdog and fight for what's right. i believe in god and ghosts. i floss. i have friends that are gay. i sing too loudly in the car. i swear. i love to volunteer my time especially when children are involved. i know how to belly laugh until tears fall down my face. i genuinely like people. i didn't really like high school. technically i'm a dental assistant because it says so on paper. in my heart i'm a photographer. i don't like to shop in malls. i always wear mascara. perfumes and i don't get along. i dance anytime i can. i talk too much.

i love flip flops and uggs equally. i used to be a runner. i saw a mouse yesterday running across the floor at bed bath and beyond and it made me smile. he was that cute. i love tea and have never had a cup of coffee. my butt is slowly disappearing. i don't like having my hair cut or colored. i haven't had a manicure in forever. i love books and used bookstores. i talk to complete strangers often. i love face creams. i'm getting used to the fact that those creams aren't doing anything to soften my crow's feet and laugh lines.

my husband laughs at me all the time. so do my kids.

i've been to hong kong. i haven't been to idaho or oklahoma. i think sunsets at the beach are exquisite. i will cry easily if you touch my shoulder and ask if everything is okay when i've had a bad day. i love the outdoors. i don't sleep in anymore. i love farmer's markets. i don't know what to do with a tomatillo. i think some dogs aren't as cute as their owners think they are.

~

i don't like holiday parties. i love watching old couples walk together hand in hand. i don't really get along with glitter. i cut out words and sayings from magazines for my journals. i think having to pay for my suitcase on a plane is ridiculous. i have never traveled by train. i get cold quickly. fingerless gloves are my favorite accessory in the winter. i have 12 pairs of boots in the closet. i think balloons should be used for any occasion. i can't say a poetic line and then tell you who wrote it. i wish i could. i don't understand algebra. i read lots of blogs but don't always have time to comment and truly believe you all inspire me. i know all my neighbors and their kids by name. i love when people who i don't see that often remember me.

~

i don't like to grocery shop. i love target. i have jeans that are 10 years old. i have an ugly shirt that i still wear that is 14 years old. i have rock climbed. i don't skate or ski. i think hummingbirds are little miracles. my nose was broken and never fixed. i have had acupuncture.

i can be a very impatient driver. i wish all the kids in foster care could be adopted. i wish i lived next door to ellen and portia. i want to go horseback riding next year.

on a beach.

~

i could go on and on. but i think i've written enough for what i believe this prompt expected out of me

and

i pray that i didn't bore you all to tears.

*

thank you adam for these photos. you caught me at my best.

into the sun....

before the snow came.

i played in the dried grasses at the pond and chased the sun. it's one of my favorite things to do. i've always been pretty good at hide and seek.

can you believe a few years ago i used to delete the photos that had sun spots on them.

i didn't know much then.

i'm participating in reverb 10 and i haven't played well with them these past few days.

i was kind of busy and weekends fill me up.

i know they do the same to you, too.

their most recent prompt was "what do you make" and i kind of laughed. i really don't cook {just like debi} or even bake christmas cookies. i haven't sewn anything all year. i've doodled a few things on my calendar while talking to my friends on the phone and i painted a few faces in an art class with misty. but heck i can't even make my hair do what i want it to do.

so

what do i make

~

hmmm

~

i guess

i make people smile

usually because i'm taking their photo

and

sometimes just because i'm a goofball who laughs at herself

~

so if smiles are what i make

i'm good with that

and

it's much less messier than anything made with glue

*

nothing special....

actually

my nothing special is more like whining

since this photo was taken just over a week ago while i was standing in sand

at the beachy area behind our zoo

~

and

then this past weekend i was standing in snow

~of which there are no photos~

~

hmmm

sand::snow::sand::snow

~

i pick sand every single time

how about you

what's your pleasure

*

and

in case you missed yesterday's post

~which i hope you didn't....it's a special one for me~

this is really the better photo of all of us

*

it was magical....

by the end of the day

we were the last ones standing

~unfortunately not all of our volunteers were able to be part of the group shot~

we were "tweeted" and "facebooked" all day thanks to danny

yes

photographers

after the set up is almost done and the first families are minutes away from arriving

are dorks

our youngest volunteer

due to confidentiality, the families having their portraits taken are not made public, except by those who agree to be in the newspaper. this young couple though, who dressed up for the occasion, gave me permission to use their photo on my blog.

we called them "the rock stars" and they truly were.

this is milt.

he's in his nineties and still drives to the pantry 3 times a week to volunteer.

he came by yesterday to take photos of us.

so of course i took a few photos of him

it took a village to prepare for the last family of the day. there were 18 of them and we set up a special studio area just for them. it meant moving the lights and lots of "you here and you over this way and you need to put your shoulders back and you look marvelous"

and

then andy captured them beautifully

so

in a matter of 5 hours

we were able to bring smiles and laughter to 183 people

who came to the river food pantry yesterday

for their help-portrait photos

~

after hours of planning

the whole day came together perfectly

and

as a team

i have to say

everyone was simply amazing

~

the river food pantry

just last month

fed a record 2,424 households

and

for all of us

to be able to give the gift of free portraits to those who wanted them

was the best christmas gift

we could give to them

and

to

ourselves

~

we had 32 volunteers. some stayed the whole day. others came in and out. 15 photographers took the portraits. laughs echoed in the warehouse. smiles were everywhere. "thank you" was heard over and over again. and in case you don't believe in magical days.

they really do happen. here's the proof.