{ just me thinking }

stay-cation picture group {2}

It is funny how

if you open your eyes

and look

at where you are

even the most

ordinary of places

can become

more than they were

when your eyes

were closed.

 

just a simple hotel

5 minutes

from my house

in the middle of nowhere.

stay-cation picture group {1}

So,  one of the reasons

I love the little

place we stayed

is the gorgeous white linens

which are framed perfectly

by  a simple black headboard.

I find black & white surroundings

to be very inspiring.

 

This set of pictures I took

using the calmness of the

black and white

as my inspiration.

 

 1. New Shoes, love them and love the contrast against the white. Taken with the  timer function.

2. My black glasses, laying on stack of white pillows.

3. A black and white awning over a window by the pool.

4. A total reflection. .. this one was taken outside looking at a window with curtains that was reflecting          the black awnings.

the stay-cation weekend

The term “Stay-cation” has always irritated me a little.

As do most cheesy phrases the media latches on to (and won’t let go)

 

So when I decided on Saturday morning to rent a room at one of my favorite local  (as in 2 miles from house local) hotels … My family, blessed with lethal amounts of wit and humor (nice way of saying a bunch of smart asses) decided we were going to call this the “stay-cation” weekend.

Like it or not my stay-cation gave me a chance to rest, relax, write, reflect, unravel, and take tons of photo’s.

 

Right now they are all in a BIG pile

This week I hope to slice them out in sections and write a bit about some of my favorites.

How I took them

Why I took them

What inspired me to take them.

 

Have a great Monday!

the middleman

My first child wasn’t really ONE child at all, it was two… twin boys

I learned very early in my Mothering gig that being in the middle of a twin relationship isn’t always easy.

 

You have to ignore their fights because the second you get involved they are fine with each other and will redirect any remaining anger at you.

 

You also have to accept that they don’t necessarily need you…

they have each other.

Kind of that “third wheel” theory in action.

 

All of that to explain why I fell in love with the snap I took at the lake…

C&C on either side of their friend Alec.

Alec has been the middleman for years now. He has found that elusive balance of being in the middle of twins.

Ignore them or quietly laugh when they fight.

Knowing that you are important to them just in a different way than they are with each other.

A tricky friendship that has survived elementary school, middle school and 3 years of high school.

My guys and their friend off to tackle the world, or just check their phones to see if their girlfriends called.

enjoying the process

Reflections is the theme for this weeks unravelling assignment.

Yesterday I got home from work, grabbed the camera & tripod and got busy.

I took a ton of pictures, of myself, using mirrors and the 10 second self timer on my camera.

At first it was a mess

Then it got better, got easier

I started having fun

Trying new things

I relaxed and enjoyed the process

a few of my favorites

 

Lessons learned:

10 seconds is not very long

to push a button

run to a spot

and try to look natural.

All that running makes you hot and sweaty

If you run too fast you might hit the tripod

knock the camera over

and have to set it all up again.

a few more to share

 

I had fun, I ventured outside my comfort zone, and I love my new yellow skirt.

love, lessons and 4 months

Exactly four months ago I was sitting in a hotel room in Florida trying to assure Cale that there is life after a knee injury.

Calling doctors in Florida, calling doctors in Oklahoma.

Opening the door for player after player who made their way to my room that night.

All of them almost grown men, but still young.

All of them sad, worried and disappointed that so early in the season something could go so wrong.

 

Tonight after surgery and 4 months of rehab my kid has been cleared to play the game again.

Tomorrow he will lace up his cleats, pull his hat down and step across that sacred foul line that separates the players from the spectators, that embodies his hopes and dreams for the future.

 

His expectations are high.

I will just be happy to see him playing the game he loves once again.

 

Until tomorrow…

self reflection take {1}

My unravelling photo assignment this week is self reflection. As the girl who takes the pictures I luckily rarely find my face in the frame of my photo’s, but this week that will come screeching to a halt….should’ve got my hair colored last week….hahaha.

The drive home from the office everyday is usually a reflective time for me, kind of time to get out of accounting mode and get the other side of my brain thinking.

It occurred to me while driving home today, that I probably check my flip down mirror in my car at least 3 times a day, to make sure my shit is together and I actually got lunch off of my face and the lip gloss is reapplied in the right area. So while I was driving, please remember it was rush hour so I had lots of down time behind the wheel… I snapped three quick shots just to see what the result would be.

Have to say it does inspire me to keep trying, not totally crazy about them but it is something to build on.

 

View Full Album

 

Also did some surfing on Flickr just to see what is out there and found THIS fabulous photo….totally inspired by it and by Amadika’s photo stream.

Until tomorrow.

friend time & sophie lovin’

Once a year I clear my schedule, my friend Melissa clears her schedule and we just hang out uninterrupted for a couple of days.  It seems ridiculous that grown adults have to make such an effort for 2 simple days of friend time, but with careers, families and the distance between us it almost takes each of our assistants at work to make this all go smoothly.

But it is worth it.

She is my “no matter what” friend. No matter what I say or do she is still my friend.

I am that friend to her as well, have and will continue to support her and her life decisions regardless of what others may think.

We are the kind of friends who when something bad happens you want that person there. Not because they know what to say but simply because they know they don’t “have” to say anything.  

I am 42 years old, Mel is just a tad older………………

This is a picture of her and I at MY 1st birthday party… I am the little chunky one on the left….hahaha

So anyway I made my trek to girls weekend on Friday and got home this evening.

It was the weekend as we had planned it,  a lot of nothing … but nothing is perfect for two busy “girls” who just want to catch up and find that relaxing calm feeling that only old friends and familiarity can give. 

I also fell IN LOVE with her new puppy Sophie, who is adorable and I seriously considered sticking in my bag as I left.

Mel is much better on the homefront than me, her flowers are actually living and beautiful and she managed to put together the most fabulous dinner (crablegs & bread.. we didn’t want the extra’s except melted butter of course) with what seemed to be no effort at all. I could work all day, look like shit when I was done and still not achieve that culinary feat.

A few pictures from the weekend….millions more of precious Sophie but I restrained myself for this post.

Thanks Mel, I had a great time as always!

Feet – Life

Probably the oddest post title I’ve done to date.

If you’ve been reading for a while you know that this past year has been one bad thing after another…if you’re a new reader here is the really short version.

May 08: My son was in a terrible car accident. June thru October 08: personal relationship issues. November 08: Mom diagnosed with terminal cancer. March 09: son had to have surgery for knee and missed all of his Junior year of baseball and this summer.

I slowly have started to rediscover ME. Then I happened upon Susannah’s blog Ink on My Fingers. After being mesmerized for a few days I realized she was offering a photography course for late summer called Unravelling.  I enrolled and the class started this week.

 

Here are my four photo’s for our first assignment.

 

 

Individual images with descriptions are in my flickr account, feel free to click and check them there.

Goodnight!

signage {1}

I put a one after the title because i suspect there will be subsequent “signage” posts.

While in Tulsa over the weekend for a baseball tournament I drove by this old donut shop sign. I desperately wanted to photograph it but the sun was going down, traffic was terrible and I had a car full of teenagers so I passed on but made  a mental note of where exactly it was located.

The next morning I got up and dressed quickly, told the crew I had to run an errand and wound my way back to the sign that had spoken to me the night before.

I was almost finished when an older gentleman, who had been watching me from a distance, pulled his car very close to me.

The following dialogue ensued:

Gent: So when you are done taking these pictures are you going to try and tear this old sign down too?

Me: Oh no, why would someone do that? I was just driving by last night, I’m from out of town and just had to come back to get some pictures.

Gent: Well lots of people want to tear it down you know, I thought you might have been one of them.

Me: No I actually Love old signs like this, in fact my family thinks I am a little nuts because we go to really beautiful places and I always photograph the old original stuff, not sure why but it makes me happy.

Gent: Ahh your just an old soul, enjoy your visit and I hope your pictures turn out like you hope.

The sign in the bottom left is the one referred to in this discussion.