A visitor !

My photo session has been postponed, but a little someone came to visit ....

My mom put this thing on him, and I obliged to take a pic ... I have to admit, he looks pretty stinkin' cute ...

New for you, old for me

Weeding out pictures again ... and came across one I took about a week ago - didn't like it at the time, but today it intrigued me. :)

I didn't keep my promise to myself about taking pictures yesterday - but I do have a session scheduled for this evening !!! woo hoo.... should hopefully be sharing some tomorrow.

Happy Saturday to you ... I call this one happy light.

Blech

I'm a bit bummed that my new job is sort of draining me of energy to create .... I haven't taken any pictures in two days.

May not seem like a big deal, but two days could turn into three, or four ...

I'm making a commitment to myself to go out and shoot some photos tomorrow. For sure.

In the meantime - a good Story People quote I came across today:

"
I always imagine the worst possible thing that can happen, she told me. It gives me a great excuse to stay home & have tea.

-Brian Andreas

Inspiration

I've had this idea in my head for awhile to share with you some sources of inspiration. Lovely women who inspire me, intrigue me, and impress me, sometimes with their photographs and imagery, sometimes with their words and actions. Women I aspire to be like. Women who follow their dreams ...

Maggie Doyne. This girl .... wow, this girl. She's basically just amazing. I've written about her before, but she continues to intrigue me with her blog and updates. I hope to meet her one day. She's only 22 years old and has built a home for children in Nepal from the ground up. Check her out, and if you can, make a contribution.

Boho Girl. She's an artist who photographs artists. And currently her baby, lots of pics of her little one. Her blog is always inspiring, and her honesty and openness and genuinity are just beautiful. (Not to mention, she takes bee-yoo-ti-full pictures).

Deb Schwedhelm. The photographer who has led me to many of the other women who inspire me - I should have listed her first! Her blog posts are always thought-provoking, she touches on things that are important to think about. And her photographs .... ohhhhhh .... I'd love to be a fly on the wall during one of her sessions, because I haven't a clue how she does it.

Shannon. This girl is a friend of a friend of mine - she probably doesn't have a clue that some random girl like me obsessively reads her blog. She left Austin, TX to study in Glasgow, and she writes about her experiences abroad. She's very witty, I love her photo captions. And I'm just so impressed with her ability to pick up and move off to another country .... she reminds me that possibilities are endless.

(There are more ... but I will continue on another day ...)


I keep up with these blogs on an almost daily basis, they guide me, they comfort me, they give me hope. They push me to strive for what I truly want, to find my true calling. Thank you dear ladies for your inspiration.

I will leave you with another little source of inspiration - lovely orange flowers growing through the fence in the backyard ...

Nieces :)

Fun at the park yesterday!!

This was a pose, she wasn't really pouting :)

Posing again ...

... and again ....



Goofy girls



So serious.



And not so serious.



And cheesin!

Awwww

I just had to share this photo ... Shawn taking a nap with his Pops.

Cheesy flower pics

This morning I went on a walk by myself, without the dogs - not quite sure how I managed to pull it off, but oh it was lovely. Liberation! Saw some lovely flowers, so I had to come back home and grab my camera ...

The land of daisies

Check out this photo ... I love it, of course.

2 Happy Things

(1) I have just now discovered comments on my blog postings! Wahoo! Much love, my friends, much love!! Since I made the switch to blogspot, I don't receive e-mail updates on comments .... so hopefully I'll figure all that out ...

anyway, on to happy thing numero dos -

(2) The tree in the front yard was trimmed yesterday, which has flooded my room with natural light! YESSSSS!! So I made Rico pose for me - he was a bit sleepy and not all that up to it, so my lofty ideas of a fancy dog portrait didn't quite work out. Ah well.

Happy Hump Day! Have a nap, like Rico rama here ...

I was going for something like this - a photo you might recall from awhile back !

Great words

"
That is perfect. This is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect.

May peace and peace and peace be everywhere.

The Self is everywhere, without a body, without a shape, whole, pure, wise, all knowing, far shining, self-depending, all transcending; in the eternal procession assigning to every period its proper duty.

-Upanishads, translated by W.B. Yeats

Reels

Trying to take some pics for things I'm going to sell on ebay, and I'm getting distracted by making them too artsy ...

(film reels)

Playing with the gals

Had a lovely evening with friends and kiddos - couldn't wait to share so I'm posting before I go to bed !

Some little thoughts of Mexico...

Lately I have been getting lost in thoughts of Mexico. Thoughts of traveling. Thoughts of exploring.

My curiousity about Hispanic culture and Latin America began quite awhile ago. Right out of high school, I made a week-long trip to Cancun, with other graduating seniors. Okay, I know what you might be thinking, Cancun is a bit cheesy. But it was a first step for me, a small step that would make an impression for years to come. I remember spending one afternoon exploring outside the typical touristy area - I hopped on a bus by myself and didn't get off until it was clear there were no more cheesy vacation resorts in sight. I wandered among city streets without the clutter of tourists. I recall being fascinated with the way the houses looked. The way the kids looked at me. The way everyone seemed to be waiting on a bus, on every block. The way every building was painted a different color. It was all just so different from any place I'd experienced before. It had energy and vibrance. I was immediately in love.

Many many years down the line (about 10, to be exact) - I would hop on another form of transport - this time a plane, to spend two months in Guatemala by myself. Again, I was in love. Maybe terrified at moments, but in love. (Isn't that how love can be, anyhow?) My Spanish began to flow. I overcame many doubts about myself. Oh, the colors, the chicken busses, the lush growth of nature, the fascinating people.....

The last trip I made outside the U.S. was almost two years ago - I made a short trip across the border with some co-workers and spent an afternoon in Reynosa, Mexico. I've never had so many people beg me for an interest in their clothing/manicures/dental services ....



So here's a photo to express my dreams of traveling again to Mexico: a little knick-knack that my mom gave me recently. It is supposed to represent Mexico, some little collection from Hallmark or something .... anyway, this is my way of putting this little dream into the universe, and having faith that if I am supposed to go again, I will go.


For now, here I sit, having taken on another semester of school and a seasonal job lasting until November. And my dad is not in the greatest health, so it's important to me to be here for now.
So Mexico will have to simply remain in my thoughts for now ....

When in doubt ...

... take pictures of shoes. that's what I do. (either shoes or fake fruit, and the fake fruit was lookin pretty dusty today).

I am a sucker

Every time I put on my shoes to leave the house, the dogs assume I'm taking them for a walk. They get all riled up and excited and give me these exact stares ....

"Where are we goin??!!"
(try to ignore the dirty carpet, if you can...)

"I'm ready, whenever you are!!"


I am such a sucker, and I think they know this. How do you say no to these faces, even if it is the middle of the day in the blistering Texas heat?

A new paint cup image!

Haven't done one of these in awhile ... decided I should push myself to try and come up with another one. I'm not completely sure I like it .... perhaps more later.

New week

This week I'm determined to take lots of pictures!!

A little bit of playing in the front yard yesterday ....

Red Dress

The past week has been nuts. My apologies for slacking on new posts and images. Finally had some time today to explore a few new red dress ideas - here's my favorite.

Human Castles ?!

Today I was exploring another photojournalist's website - Jacquelyn Martin - and I came across a photo of hers from a festival in Spain, where teams compete to build the highest human castle (or "tower") !!! How cool is that?!

So I did some exploring on youtube - check this out!!!

Oh wait !

I do have an image or two that I can share today. Forgot about these. Happy baby Shawn ... his personality is really beginning to shine through. The other day he climbed the stairs a million times, and I pretended to be chasing him, and he was just hysterical. Gotta love it. :)