Monday, March 29, 2010

growth & doodles

    this past weekend i stayed in ardmore for the Professional Photographers of Oklahoma Spring Seminar. it was a super fun time and i got an overload of creative stimulation! since i've been going to PPO seminars i've always hung around in the back by myself. or the front by myself. really just wherever, but usually by myself.
    i know some people there and we talk every once in a while but usually my attendance is kinda sporadic so i think most people forget me. i decided on saturday that i was going to change all this. i was going to be proactive. i recognized a photographer i've met before when she waved at me from a table. she was sitting with a couple other photographers i really admire, so i decided it was my chance. i'll meet them.
    i was brave enough to invite myself to sit with them and before i knew it we were all acquainted, drinking wine, and our group grew. in addition to the women at the table i also talked with a couple of the speakers at the conference, who were both super sweet and fun! from the group was born a project that i will be participating in (excited and nervous!).
    THEN, i went to the two frogs grill and got a table just for myself and enjoyed a lovely lunch while pouring over my photo notes & dreaming up new shoot ideas. sounds stupid, i know. but i don't think i could have confidently gotten myself a "table for one" a few years ago!
   i could float away with excitement for all the new photographer friends i made and the inspiration that i'm finding within.
but alas....

Thursday, March 25, 2010

its time to be outside

as much as i hate these trees i do have to admit i love the way they look in early spring.

 i love trees
can you tell?


look at this heart i found!
 

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

for an inspiration-less day

yesterday i was feeling particularly flat. i left work at noon to surrender my afternoon to this yucky head/sinus thing (that's still lingering.) i slept for hours and woke in a cloud of gray. i needed to go outside. i needed to take a photo.  lucky for me, amy came to rescue me from the apartment and i did something that i haven't done in a while...i inspired myself from nothing.


i go so many days a week feeling slow and tired, lacking of anything resembling creativity. my weekends overflow with photographs but my midweeks pass by, empty and lonely.

i'm hoping to get better about this. i've been considering the photo-a-day-for-a-year project that so many people have been doing but never commit to it because of all the obvious reasons. the main one really being that i can see myself taking merely satisfactory photos if my time is short or creativity lacking. i don't want a project about mass. i need a project about meaning.

its developing in my brain so i'll let you know what comes out. or give me suggestions if you have them! or let me know if you want to join me in a little quest of heart meets camera!

love!


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

flickr

as usual i am way behind on utilizing some helpful (?) tools for posting & sharing photos. flickr is really just a mystery to me, other than when i click on someone's link to view a photo.

so, help me out....do you use it? what do you use it for? just to share photos? do you like it & is it worth the extra time?

call be oblivious and old.

Monday, March 22, 2010

under the weather

one those rare days i have to call into work because i feel my head could explode in a second (like today) and my whole body aches with hot/cold chills i still somehow manage to convince myself that i can take the opportunity to accomplish some things at home.

yeah right.

after crawling out of bed near noon i have done a total of 3 things:
vacuum (although i had to take a break after b/c i was so tired)
work on friends blog banner (which really didn't take long but i kept getting distracted)
heat up some steamed rice for lunch

i consider that a productive sick day, don't you?

~

i don't think i've blogged about this yet, but my husband is a chef at a local thai restaurant and we're both very passionate about natural eating & cooking. we're in the process of making a blog & website for recipes, cooking methods, helpful hints & resources for unleashing your inner cooking genius (whether you think you have one or not).
the problemo is that we can't think of a name! if you have any suggestion we're more than open to hear what you have!

and i wish he were home to make me this right now

Sunday, March 21, 2010

blue eyes & smiles

we had an amazing weekend bumming around our friend's house and being perfectly lazy. wouldn't have done anything else! it was wonderful


we also got to soak in some sweetness from a tiny girlie. little blue eyes here is the spawn of my lovely friend rashel and her man. they live a crazy beautiful life and we love them! (and its funny i described it as crazy beautiful, because rashel used that as her blog tagline and i had no idea)

cheese girl, so funny!

Friday, March 19, 2010

what's your word?

about a year ago i read a book you've probably heard of, if not read yourself: Eat, Pray, Love.


i didn't expect to like it as much as i did, but found it refreshingly raw and beautiful. (just noticed there's a movie trailer too, so i'm super excited to see that! i think it will do the book justice. i mean, i hope it does.)

anyway, there are so many things i love about elizabeth gilbert's book, but one thing that has always kept a hold in my brain is when she was talking about the 'word.'
here's a discussion question i found that explains it (because i'm terrible at describing ideas):

"Sitting in an outdoor café in Rome, Gilbert’s friend declares that every city—and every person—has a word. Rome’s is “sex,” the Vatican’s “power”; Gilbert declares New York’s to be “achieve,” but only later stumbles upon her own word, antevasin, Sanskrit for “one who lives at the border.” What is your word?"

if you've read the book you know that gilbert describes the balinese as identifying themselves by family order, age & class. who you are, where you've come from and where you're going.
i identify with this idea more than i'd like to admit. i'm a perfectionist, anal, type A to the max. i feel calm and safe when i know where i'm at in life, where my relationships stand & what my ultimate goals are. that's probably why this 'word' has been so intriguing to me. i thought about it again today and decided to reevaluate, as i my word has changed since last i pinpointed it.

but i just can't think of it right now......i'm still searching for the right one.
my heart moves forward while my feet stay in place.
nearly 6years married but less domestic every day
growing older and younger at the same time
unsettled
but in a good way
there must be a word for that

so what's yours?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

tinkering

i've fallen in love with dainty chain necklaces, and since i have tons of chain for my bc necklaces i have started tinkering!
i made this one for myself this weekend



simple + vintage = love


 i decided to make this next set to put on my etsy shop. but its not up yet so you're seeing it first!!
i'll make more of these for those girlies here in stillville who buy all things orange. its not really my style but surely someone will want to wear it out


and keep in mind...i do custom pieces if you're interested!
just email me!

Monday, March 15, 2010

i love getting mail

especially packages!!!


my mommy crocheted me a hat & scarf! and in my faaaaavorite color too!!!
i actually got this a few weeks ago but kept forgetting to show you. one of these day's i'll learn to crochet again.
it will be hobby #56.
not really, but close.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

longing

dear readers,
   just a warning, if you haven't heard me gush about ireland yet then you're in for a realization. i'm obsessed.

it all started when preston was there for two weeks before we were married. just two weeks, its nothing really. but we hadn't been apart for more than a day since we had started dating and i was missing him like crazy. i only cried twice, but the rest of my time was spent obsessing about the land i wanted to visit, the land my love was seeing. i bought an irish rovers tape for my car, stole my mom's dvd copy of The Matchmaker and watched it daily, let the music sink into my soul and memorized the landscape.

preston and i visited ireland & england in the fall of 2008 and i'll never be the same. its in me so deep i can feel it every day. its my soul country. i won't even try to explain it all, i'm sure you understand and have felt the same way about something in your life. some days the ache is deeper than others. its pretty deep today.

driving in Co. Tipperary
Cahir, Co Tipperary
view from our b&b in Ennis, Co. Clare
horsies at our b&b in Ennis
Doolin, Co. Clare
we had irish stew, shrimp cocktail & a couple pints here
 
Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare
 
ahh the grass in Roundstone (where The Matchmaker was filmed we found out later!!!)
 
sitting on the cliffs on Inishmore, Aran Islands, Co. Galway
Guinness in Dublin, perfect way to start the day
our hostel in Dublin
the Liffey!
ever watched Once? this is where the opening scene takes place. watch it now!
taps in Dublin at a lovely pub
just got off a fun ride w/cat in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
i just love this sign, you'll be able to find it soon on my etsy shop
street art

*sigh*

what is it that your heart aches for?