not necessarily anywhere particular...

I'm guilty

of watching people

and

I do it all the time

everywhere I go

and

always walk away

having learned something

about

who I am

::

this year I'm making a promise to myself

to try to photograph

these people I watch

even more

than I did this past year

::

a project of sorts

I guess

even though I don't have a name for it yet

or

a vision for exactly how I want to do it

or

what I want to do with it

::

but

strangers intrigue me

and

make me smile

and

for some reason they seem to be completely at ease with me

when I start a conversation with them

and

almost always say

"of course"

when I ask them if I can take their picture

::

so

with my camera in my hand

and

patience riding along with my curious

~stranger loving~

heart

I hope to fill a number of my posts this year

with

the faces

and

hopefully some amazing stories

of those I meet

in the middle of

nowhere in particular

~

the little boy playing in the sand at sunset

was who I was photographing

and

whose father I had already talked to about pictures

but

when the other little boy ran into the photo

wide eyed

with a look of

"that's what I want to do when I'm grow up"

well

I couldn't resist

~

have a seat, the doctor will be with you in about a day or so

I had my word for

2010

already chosen

~months ago actually~

and

just like that

I changed my mind

::

last year my word was

focus

and

the year before that it was

see

and

now

~drum roll please~

my word for 2010

which should be on a sticky note and stuck to my forehead is

patience

because

I have none

::

okay

I have some

but

most days

it's so minuscule in size that you'll never see it

::

traffic

waiting rooms

lines for anything

being put on hold while on the phone

food that takes days to reach my table while eating in a restaurant

::

nothing ever seems to move fast enough for me

well actually

it's people

that never seem to move fast enough for me

and

I've decided

this is my year

to relax a bit more

and

to be more understanding

::

now

let me explain one thing though

before you decide I'm a bit crazy

~

if I'm prepared to wait

my patience wears a cape and a tiara and is ready to save the world

::

if I've been told my car will take 2 hours to be fixed

and

I have my ipod and journal and a good book with me

well then

I love sitting in the cozy waiting room at the garage

::

if my flight is delayed

you know I have the same above mentioned items with me

and

my laptop

so life is good and since I love to watch people

I welcome the visual stimulation

::

but

if the moron in front of me is driving 15 miles an hour

~on a 2 lane road with nowhere to pass~

in a 25 mile per hour zone

and

I can't move at the speed my body requires necessary to process

the oxygen I breathe

well

you can be pretty much guaranteed that my blood pressure will rise

and

a horn will be honked

and

if I get close enough to see the driver face to face

and

they aren't elderly or have any medical conditions

but

instead they have a cell phone in their hand and they're texting

and

smoking a cigarette

well

let's just say

~

wait

NO

let's not say anything at all

let me just get my sticky pad

and

write

you are a flippin idiot

patience

in big bold letters

on it

and

attach it to my dashboard

::

which somehow will make me feel better

when I flip them off

~with my eyes of course~

::

choosing a word for the year

has gotten to be something that many of us are doing

if you want to join

please do and jump in with both feet

dani

is linking some of us up

if you need a starting place

minus one bag...{updated}

we made it back home last night

but

our bag decided to keep traveling

::

the girl behind the counter

who really didn't know anything

mumbled something about atlanta and detroit

even though we traveled through memphis

::

I hope our old black bag that looks like every other black bag

between here and tokyo

is okay

and

if it's not

my heart will go on

but

I'll sure miss my favorite pair of gap jeans

and

my north face sweat pants

that were inside

as

they were both at that perfect stage

of

yumminess

::

and

somehow

I know you know

exactly what kind of yumminess I mean

::

anyhow

maybe this happened as a test

::

a test of my patience

on this first day

of

2010

::

or maybe

just maybe

it's a test of my strength

to see if I'm strong enough to let go of things

that are just things

::

my

favorite

t-shirts~flip flops~panties~capris~

and

the above mentioned

jeans and sweat pants

::

well

guess what

I can't

::

I love my things

I need my things

I want my things

back

and

now

more than ever

I hate the airlines

and

because of them

my heart feels all cracky

::

somehow

this just isn't how I wanted to welcome in

2010

because

I really suck at tests

::

they just called from the airport

::

our bag was found playing in the detroit airport earlier today

unaccompanied

and

they don't allow that

you know

so they shipped it back to wisconsin

with a scolding

::

silly bag

it just looks like a dead animal.....

but

it keeps my head really warm

when we're out walking in the park

and

it makes my hubby laugh at me

which sometimes feels like the best reason to do just about anything

~~

ANYHOW

by the time you read this

my packed bags and totally vacationed self

will be on a plane

heading back to wisconsin

where I'll be ready to jump into

2010

with both feet

~~

some past years

have come along all prickly or crooked or a few sizes too small or just kind of smelly

and

it was easy to get lost at the crossroads

where I felt the need to look both ways

and

question so many things before me

but

not this year

~~

this year

there's no way I'm turning my back

on what's in front of me

or

even sticking my finger cautiously into it

just to take a taste of it

like frosting on a cupcake

~~

nope

this year

I'm eating the whole thing

wrapper and all

::

I'm not a silver kind of girl...

or paper

or leather

or crystal

but

give me sand to play in

for

an anniversary gift

~even if I have to wear extra layers to keep warm as the sun goes down~

and

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world

*

love you more

always

thanks for 25 amazing years

~

and

thanks to all of you for the amazing anniversary wishes

you sent

to us

~~

talk about making us feel special

::

I got married today...

well

today

25

years ago

~~

and

maybe these heart shaped vines have always been growing down here

in our favorite little vacation spot

where the sunsets melt our hearts

and

I've never noticed them

or

maybe

just maybe

my hubby asked the heart fairies to do their magic

just for me

just this time

yep

I know without a doubt

it was the fairies

*

I flew away with my lover...

to the panhandle

~~

granted

it's a bit chilly right now

but

this is one of the places

where our hearts feel at home

~~

we'll be back in the snow before you know it

but

in the meantime

birds with personalities

and

baby fine white sand

and

skies dancing with color

are

the beautiful things

warming me up

while

I walk hand in hand

with the only person in the world

who understands my need

to take 200 photographs of the pelicans

without asking why

*