cue the sympathy strings

My dearest blogger friends,
I am sad sad sad, wandering around my life like a child who has lost her cherished teddy bear. Monday, at approximately 1:30pm I sent my camera off to the camera doctor. I wrapped it up in soft bubble wrap, wrote a letter to the fix-it doctor and told him about my camera's woes in hopes that it could be cured from its malfunctioning ways. I thought I would be okay in its absence. My rational was that I had my old camera that I could pull it out and use it because at least I had my nice lens. Who was I kidding?
I just pulled out that old camera to snap a picture of my son's homemade strawberry pie, put my eye to the view finder and found myself breathe in an air of shock. My old camera...is...pathetic. The shutter coughs, the white balance is screwy, and it doesn't have a full frame sensor. I even forgot how to use it. I did not realize how spoiled blessed I was to have such a nice camera. I know, I know...
So I shut off the camera, sat down to my computer and pulled up some pictures I have not yet shared. I have a little back log of them so I can blog here and there. But know that I will be doing so while I have an empty corner in my heart, waiting for my friend to come back to me, whole and in one piece.

Until then (sniff), here are some pictures I snapped on my birthday of my most beautiful "niece". I followed her all evening trying to catch those curls. She had just come from her dance recital and the remnants of her Parisian costume were still lingering: the side pony tail and the black velvet choker. She was adorable. Those curls!

Is she just not the most cutest thing?

Almost makes me forget about my camera woes...for a few seconds.

Look out Hollywood, you ain't seen nothin' yet

Watch out Hollywood...this kid is gonna bust down your door.

He's aiming to be a big box office king.

No, seriously.

He's on his way there.

(Tom Cruise who?)

I'm tellin' ya, he's got Hollywood visions...

...and with a face like that, and a heart to match, I think he might just get there.

It was super fun getting to know this young man and his mom Sunday evening. We roamed the city in the summer heat, and I had the chance to discover that he loves history, Greek and Renaissance, is a Lego mastermind, is super close with his mom, is a great impersonator (though for some reason he didn't want to show me his Napoleon Dynamite moves with complete strangers walking by) and loves a good movie.  Though I have to say we completely differed on our reviews of last summer's District 9.  It's one of his top five?! No way. I put it in my bottom five. Could there have been a more awful movie? (Please say someone agrees with me?) But, I must say, he redeemed himself when he revealed he loved Will Farrell in Elf. Now that is a movie worth watching repeatedly. If he's got Will Farrell's Elf skills then I think he will have noooooooo problem taking Hollywood by storm. (And I will get to say, "I knew him when...")

More photos of him and his mother to follow.  They were a beautiful pair and I enjoyed every easy moment with them.

laundry: sometimes it just feels like a circus act

Lion tamer...

Trapeze artist and a juggler on a unicycle...

One teenie tiny mouse and her precious piece of cheese...

And one kid home from summer camp with the announcement that he did not take a shower all week.
That is, if you did not include rinsing off after the beach or going on the super sudsy slip and slide.
(Is it me or is his smile just a little too smiley?)

One very good symbolic representation of how his mother feels facing the duffel bag
of dirty clothes in the laundry room...

Welcome to Monday. What's yours like?

award winning birthday lunch

So this photo won't be winning any photo awards for its composition or creativity, but I had to post it because it did win a major award in my heart for "the best bday lunch ever made by a seven year old girl". She planned it out, gave directions to Grammy, assembled it herself, and would not let me peek until I was seated at the table and ready to eat. Her labor of love, it was.  (Do you see why I love her so much? Her little thoughtful heart just kills me.)

Labor of love bday lunch included:

One mound of egg salad
One mound of tuna salad
One puddle of guacamole surrounded by a border of classic Lays potato chips
Two islands of fresh picked berries
One small protruding piece of cantaloupe
Garnished with three wedges of Ghiradelli chocolate mint cream squares

All on a purple plate.

It was the best birthday lunch I have ever had. Not kidding! (But then again, put guacamole and chips in front of me and I will sing your praises 'till the cows come home.)

Thanks for making my day Bean!

A little funny for your Friday

While quickly passing through a set of photos from a recent concert in the park, I took a long pause to absorb the scene in this particular one and found it quite comical. I have added some "context" to it for your sake, so you can receive the fullness of the moment caught...

More info: those "chairs" the girls in are cheapies from Target and require some ab skills to sit in them. Bean's "smile" is a new one she has been trying on in a lot of photos. Drives me nuts. As for my hubby's quick wine reflexes? He had been sitting in his blue chair huddled in his jacket, texting on his Blackberry, with one ear on the semi-good country singer crooning on the stage. He had placed his chair away from the group of us chatty gals because the two guy friends he was looking forward to hanging with were not able to come and thus the reason for hanging with his Blackberry. And thus the reason for his quick reflexes when offered a glass of wine. (I don't know why he didn't want to hang out with some chatty females?)

And here's some more goofiness from the evening...

Behold an upside down pretzel smile complete with a days old manicure in need of a touch up.

And one girl who thought it funny to hide in her hood...

But ah ha! Mrs. Camera Lady was quick on the draw!  (I've got skills.)

And to end on a beautiful note, here are two beautiful girls caught in the soft fading light of the evening. (One of my favorite times of day.)

Here's to your own Funny Friday!
xoxo

A very cool and funky welcome...

I have been wanting to share this AWESOME door that was the entrance to the beach house we stayed at in San Diego. The house was set back on the property (towards the beach) with a courtyard (and pool and guest house) leading up to this funky, old, custom built door. They slid open to create an expansive entry to the house so that upon entry you were greeted with the site and sound of the ocean. We left our flip flops at the entrance and walked in barefoot. It was all just so beachy. (Did I tell you that Jenny Craig lived next door? Yep. Greeted her every day as she took her beach walk.)

And here are some crazy, hysterical kids who humored me with a line up at the door. Apparently they did not appreciate the door like I did. What-ev.

And don't ask me what my son is doing.
I'm just his mother. I often don't know what's going on in that brain of his.

Happy Thursday!
It's my bday today, and I'm usually pretty shy about announcing my bday but I just had three and a half days to myself, in my house, alone, with no one to bug me or interrupt me, and I'm in a happy happy place. It's a good day!

5 Seconds: Street Time

Though I have many other pictures to share, I realized a few days ago that with the craziness at the end of the school year and summer running out the door so fast I forgot to end the 5 Second series of this beautiful family. If you are visiting for the first time and have no clue as to what I am talking about (don't worry, I'm often in this boat) then click here for a look back.

For all others who are totally "with it" and remember everything then enjoy the following pictures. I enjoyed coming back to them and was reminded how blessed we are to be given those 5 second moments. Like this one, that lasted probably 2 seconds. (You try getting a two busy kids to sit down for a second with their parents!)

Moments at the cafe table, grabbing a bite to eat...

When you cannot find your smile...please use a bagel...

After dinner there was just a little bit of running around...

And a little conversation...

And some training....

(it starts young people)

Ending it all with a 5 second moment together...

What love. :) What a great experience to capture their 5 seconds.

I enjoyed every moment.

***********

(A little self reflection here. Read on if you are interested, have the time, give a hoot.)

As I looked back in on the experience...

...I discovered that it was a watershed moment for me. I learned quite a bit about myself and how I like to use my camera when I pick it up for other people.  I have always known that I like to document, but the struggle to incorporate and communicate that philosophy into a photo shoot is something that I have begun to take strides in and this photo shoot was a great experience. Over the last six months since my blog birthday, I have taken a lot of time to really work out what I feel my photo philosophy is and how I want to approach this business. I never wanted to just slap a business license on myself, pick up my camera, and just start running. I know there are those that wonder just. how. slooooooow. I. can. go. in starting an official business, but for me, I can't go slow enough.  (Some people move faster through these things--lucky ones--I need to let it marinate. ) To listen to myself and allow my philosophy to develop has been more valuable to me than any dollar amount I receive from taking pictures. Additionally,  I have also had two major parts of my life come to a close in the last few months. They were responsibilities and commitments that took top priority in my mental and emotional space for the last two years. It is no coincidence that I am now standing on a precipice quite literally in my life and a wide open space as been gifted to me. I am excited to walk into the next chapter. Self discovery unfolds through time and experience and I have enjoyed submitting to the process of "everything is made beautiful in its time". 

I am off to another 5 second photo shoot this Sunday in a big city downtown with a mother and her teenage son. I am super excited to be with them and capture their moments together. And I look forward to sharing their 5 seconds with you. 

it really should be an Olympic sport

Here is Bean on a swing. 

She's a certified Swingbean.

Rockin' it with her smile...

And rockin' it with her toes...

Even her shadow has got some skills.

But heaven forbid if these two nuts could get their swing together.
They will not be winning any Olympic medals when synchronized swinging makes its debut.

Okay, maybe they have a fighting chance.