Wild Ride

Seems like there are a lot of people close to me that are struggling these days. Whether it be with a job, offspring, finding their place, or just "making it"; it seems to me that that appears to be the norm these days... and I'm not really sure why that is. Is it the economy? Is it the age group? Is it the uncertainty of The Future?

It sorta makes my stomach flip...

...and we're back.

How is it possible that a month can fly by so quickly... Oh, wait. I know.
A certain Dude has me busy as all get out.

Summer is in full swing. We've gone to 4th of July BBQ's, to the beach, to the river, to the farm to pick berries, to the local public pool. I haven't been bothered with work to do, and selfishly - that's ok with me.

What I need to work on though, is some ME time. For 9 months I have been entrenched in everything baby, and I'm starting to feel a little crunchy around the edges. I'll start small... an hour a week for me. The problem is asking for help to make it happen.

C'mon pride - step aside.

Happy Birthday RT!

To my Sweet Prince,

Happy Birthday! It's been a crazy year, eh? We've become homeowners, parents, gardeners, soon-to-be landscape designers, and responsible adults.
I couldn't imagine doing any of it without you.
Thanks for being my rock.
I love you.

Teaser...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a new project that I've been working on... I'm not giving up the goods just yet, but here's a teaser photo from the pile.

rain, rain, go away

It's that time of year when the weather likes to tease us. We'll get a glimpse of "summertime" days, then a week of rain. Guess it's good for the gardens, and the flowers. And at least it's not too cold... walks in the rain aren't that miserable, as long as you've got your rain boots on.

Speaking of flowers, I've been secretly working on a new photo project. Details to be released soon, but I'm super excited about it. I haven't had the time to be a part of Shutter Sisters (or the SuperHero Challenges), let alone read the blog on a regular basis - but I have been shooting. And thinking creatively.
Which, these days, is a huge feat.

It's Penny's Birthday!

Happy birthday to my first baby... Penny!

Today she turns 2 and is (still) the apple of my eye. Despite the competition she's had lately, she is just as sweet as ever and is such a good girl.

We love you Penny Dog.

Rollercoaster Week

There have been a lot of dramatic highs and lows in our little family as of late.

Celebrating my first mother's day was definitely in the "high" category... it's weird to think that I will now get to celebrate that holiday for the rest of my life (and not necessarily just on a Sunday in May - but every day). I can't begin to put into words how blessed I feel, and how comfortable Motherhood has become.

One of the "lows" came the day before Mother's Day. A very dear friend was taken too soon. A tragedy for all that loved and knew him well. It's been scary for me to think about how quickly life can change. I've been thinking a lot about his wife and how she has to now pick up the pieces and start life again without her husband. Where do you start? It's a huge hole to fill. I can't imagine what that would be like, and it makes me grateful that Ryan's accident wasn't any worse than it was. Such is life, I suppose, when you fall in love with someone who loves two-wheel sports.

Summer has come early here in P-Town. Record high temperatures and sun, sun, sun. All the pasty white skin has been exposed and folks are getting burnt. The local nursery was a mad house the other day with everyone stocking up on supplies for getting into summer gardening mode. Ryan built us some beautiful raised beds in our front yard last weekend, though they are yet to be filled with dirt. We look forward to filling them, stuffing them with plants and seeds and seeing what will happen. Hopefully good tomatoes and some much needed fresh air for all of us will be the end result.

Despite the awesome weather, The Dude and I have a cold. His first - poor little guy. All stuffy and snoty. He's in relatively good spirits though, still smiling and being sweet, like always. Nothing can get that kid down... As for me - I hate not feeling good. ESPECIALLY when the weather is nice and I feel that urge to do some spring cleaning or getting the back deck in shape for BBQing, or what-have-you. I feel like it's wasted good weather because I can't enjoy it... on the flipside, it's been too hot to do much outside anyways, so we might as well stay inside where it's cool. Next week it's supposed to rain again anyways....

Emily's Tulips

I'm not really sure if it's spring yet... we've had some pretty psycho weather lately - sun, hail, rain, wind, freezing temps, sun, etc - but I've got spring fever. I've got the urge to clean all the windows, wash the curtains, break up the cobwebs and air out the house. But it's freekin' cold outside.

This shot was taken at my friend's house just last weekend when it was 80 degrees. It gives me hope...

I heart the internet... Part Two

Little things like this make me so freekin' happy...

Friday Night

Well, here it is. In a nutshell... my new life.

Hubby is out with friends, viewing a slide show of photos from their recent trek on motorcycles to South America. Cool (unmarried, kidless) guys doing cool motorcycle things.

And what am I doing? Drinking a glass of wine, watching Romancing The Stone and popping the binky back in The Dude's mouth when he discovers it missing.

Long gone are the days of hangin' with all my cool kidless friends, dancing the night away to 80's tunes, drinking too much tequila and having dinner at the hip newest eateries.

Say hello to HD Cable (and a DVR - WHOOHOO!), free movies on On Demand, the occasional glass of wine and thinking I just heard something come from the baby monitor.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I just think it's all pretty funny. I'll take the spit-up stained shirt over the sexy black sequined thing at the back of my closet any day.

Falling in Love Again

My SIL (sister-in-law, a crude acronym for someone so near and dear) asked me tonight if I have fallen head over heels in love with The Dude yet. Of course the answer is a huge YES, but you don't understand... that is, unless you have a child.
We talked about how people tell you that this will happen when you are pregnant, but you don't really believe them. Then, BOOM - it hits you. You look at this little person that is half of you and the other half the first love of your life... and perhaps he/she will smile or do something cute... and man, your heart just swells.

No - it aches. It almost hurts.

I've felt something similar before. That day almost two years ago(!) that I stood in front of the man of my dreams and balled my eyes out and said, "I do". I never thought that I could possibly love that fiercely again.

But c'mon... tell me you wouldn't fall for this guy too...

Superhero Challenge : Shoot into the Sun

Finally, I've gotten up the courage to put myself into the mix of a whole bunch of talent. Shutter Sisters is an amazing site created by a group of talented photographers. Each have their own little challenges that they throw out every week.
The Superhero Challenges are particularly my favorite because I've been a HUGE fan of Andrea since I found her blog over a year ago.
Funny how you can be so inspired (to be a better photographer, mother, etc) by someone you've never met.

(Thanks Sis for surprising me today with the gorgeous flowers! Now that's love...)

Hangin' with The Dude

I realized the other day that I really haven't posted any photos of Owen here... guess since I have his blog to update I don't think to post anything about him here. How silly is that? He's not only my favorite photographic subject, but also the apple of my eye, my biggest fan and the one I spend the most time with these days.

I also really haven't talked too much about motherhood either. Well, I must admit there is some intimidation factors with this one. I spend a lot of time reading other mother's blogs (women I don't know personally, mind you) like this one and this one, and I keep coming up against this mental brick wall whenever I go to post about motherhood. Perhaps I feel like I have to say something poignant or awe-inspiring... and let's be honest, my life is just not that fabulous. Granted, I get it - these women are just normal women who live just like I do day in and day out... but when it comes to something so personal and new to me, I'd just rather post a photo or tell a funny meaningless story. I have a hard time actually putting words to match the emotion.

Who's to say that it has to be all touchy-feely all the time? It doesn't. But as I embark upon the most scary, fulfilling, and important job I've ever had - things are bound to get emotional.

Just wanted to warn ya.

Playing

Remember when you had to make every shot count (in the days of film)?

Oh, how I love my dear D40...

My most recent experiment in low light:




and another:

beans!

Mom brought me these beautiful beans.... they made for yummy eats too, all spicy and wholesome.

I heart the internet...

I know that I've said this before, but man! I love the internet. I love that you can get lost in a long chain of sites, and not remember how you got there.

For instance, I stumbled upon this site last night and it quickly became my new favorite.

Be sure to check out her other site, Simply Breakfast. Brilliant!

Wish List Explanation

To your right, I've started a new link list called "Wish List". I figured this could use an explanation since it's not necessarily obvious.

The Wish List will contain websites that have things that I covet. For me. And me alone. No clothes for the babe, or toys... but things that I love. If someone were to need help in thinking of a gift for me, for example (wink wink), anything from these sites would do just fine.

But that isn't my motivation for creating the List. My motivation is an exercise in selfishness. Something that I've never been particularly good at. And also so that you, dear reader, can get to know me a bit better and see what makes me swoon. For instance, the first link on the list for this month is "Anthropologie", a clothing and home goods store. BUT, not only do I want one of every item for my wardrobe, their catalogs (and the website) are visually stunning. I love the set design and photography.

The second link is for a woman that makes jewelry. Not only would I LOVE to wear one of her pieces, but I also look to her site for inspiration in my own creations.

As I find things that excite me, the list will change. So - when you have a moment, check out what I'm checking out. It'll be fun, I promise.

New Year - New Me?

Again, another month has passed since my last post (sorta sounds like the beginning to confession, doesn't it?) AND a new year has come onto the calendar. Like everyone else, as the last digit turns over I start to get reflective of the year past and look forward to the clean slate of the year ahead.

I don't usually make huge life shattering resolutions, but try to think of small things that are actually attainable. I've learned that by doing it this way I don't hate myself come February if I haven't stuck to the diet, or gone running three times a week or stopped eating ice cream (do I really think I have a chance at that one?).

For example, 2007's resolution was to sing more. Did I keep it? Yeah, I actually did. Did my singing voice improve? No.... but I don't give a rat's behind if the guy in the car next to me is laughing because I'm belting out "We Are Family". Guess that was a confidence boosting thing - double bonus points.

For 2008 I've come up with a couple (and if I succeed at just one I'll be happy):
-Wear more skirts/dresses
-Blog more
-Take more photos (and not necessarily of The Dude, but really explore my artistic side)

See? Attainable. Life altering? Probably not. But there is a chance that at the end of the year I'll have a lot of new clothes and a pretty good portfolio!