My dad once said...

Chose your future wisely. Life is, at absolute best, 80% mundane. That's what my dad said to me when I was teaching middle school freshly out of college & not too happy about it. The chores & obligations of daily life don't change just because you are doing one thing rather than another. You still have laundry, bills to pay, a floor to clean & groceries to get.

I realize of course that many people have the privilege of getting others to do these things for them, but let's face it, most do it themselves. I am one of those. If I am lucky I can get out of the house alone, leaving the boy with my husband & getting some ME time while I do the errands. But then there is that 80% that kicks in. On those occassions I take my son with me because he wants to go. This means we spend much more time at the stores, I'm constantly saying no, & convincing him that he does not really NEED that package of cookies or ice cream, and we need to say goodbye to the fish now so we can finish our shopping.

 The bribery (yes, I do that) of one toy at the end of the shopping if he behaves is in full throttle the entire time. Today we started at the shoe store. I need a new pair for the new school year. He was happy to help me choose which pair.

I walked out with nothing. 80% mundane, but that other 20% was sure fun watching David play! Then we headed to Hobby Lobby for some school supplies. I love that store just for the cool stuff they display.

So does David. Especially the mirror isle.

Another 20% excitement added to the total. Ultimately we ended up at Wal-Mart. Groceries, toys, & more 20% excitement.

Total for the day? When you add in the 20% of fun conversations I shared with my four year old I'd say it's more like 80% fun. If you choose wisely, like I did.

Saying goodbye to Summer

Today I am officially closing out my last few days of summer. With loads of stuff I never got done, I can still say I had a good summer. I had quality time with those who are most dear to me. This week I spent a few hours at the local pool w/ a friend & her son.

Zina was a drama student of mine during her four years of High School. I have enjoyed her continued friendship over the years (14 & counting) and I think it's safe to say I had another wonderful day wit da sistas in da hood!

Our boys are close in age so it was fun for them and a break for us. They enjoyed each others companionship, sometimes sharing,

sometimes not,

 sometimes laughing,

 sometimes not. 

It was a good day and refreshing charge for me before going to work next week.

Today, like most Tuesdays & Thursdays this summer I spent a few hours at rehearsals for the 1st show of the new school year. We are doing Les Miserables. What a beautiful and inspiring story! I have yet to hear the music or see an image without being moved to my very soul. 

Our cast is young, but wow what voices! It blows my mind. 

I look forward to capturing some beautiful moments in my camera to share with everyone. These are my first set of rehearsal shots. They are going over the songs they've learned. 

John Branch & his wonderful assistant Anita, are working wonders. 

Soon it will be my turn to contribute. I hope I do as well as they have! 

If you are in the Houston area the first of October, or the next weekend, come see the show! I might even offer a discount to those who are following my blog so keep your eyes out for info on that!

And now I shall close with an image I photographed at the pool. It reminds me of the school year & ever-mounting work loads creeping up on me as I try to enjoy these last days of summer.

Happy 8-9-10!

So all day today I was sitting around, relishing in the laziness (otherwise known as boredom, & no, I was NOT really relishing in it) trying to think how I might find a way to document this one-of-a-kind day. It's 8-9-10. This only happens once in a century & similar sequences only 12 times in a century. I'm not a mathematical kinda person, but I am a person who believes everything happens for a reason. There is order in the universe. So I celebrate days like today.

I was also sitting around thinking it's Monday. Bench Monday. ...and my last Monday off for the summer. I go back to work next week, though I've actually been going twice a week for some time now. What could I come up with for the Bench Monday shot? I have time to think, unlike the next many Mondays when I will be rushed to get a shot up before midnight.

I knew pretty early on it would be an 8-9-10 shot. D2 wanted to go outside in the 90+ degree heat & play, so I grabbed my camera thinking I'd be lucky to get anything worth using. Thank God for Photoshop! I got some shots in, and some training time on my CS5 software, and something unique for 8-9-10 Bench Monday.

The Importance of Sisterhood

Yesterday I spent my day getting my batteries recharged. I knew I was scheduled for a dinner date w/ a couple girl friends, Huli & Shelly, but first I took my son to the pool. We do this (the pool run) once or twice a week, but today I noticed so many girl groups. Usually we have the pool to ourselves since it's SO HOT these days & no one wants to go out, not even to the pool. With summer coming to a close very soon I guess everyone wants to get in those last precious days. I could not help but approach these great groups of the sisterhood, & get permission to take their pictures. Women come in all shapes, sizes, & colors but we are all sisters.

 Girls are the women of the future. What does that mean you ask? Well, simply put, (& I paraphrase a well known quote) when a man finds himself basking in the glories of success there is always a woman sitting behind him quietly smiling & leaving it at that. Women know this, girls are learning it. Watching the younger group run & play, bonding in sisterhood, discovering that they have friends who understand no matter what, reminded me of years (OK, decades) gone by & my own wonderful young friends.

When the older group of girls arrived, then later joined by a couple more, I watched as they sat in the pool quietly chatting about college registration, getting ready to move out on their own, and other topics. Again, this took me to those days when I said goodbye to my own sisters in friendship, and only later did I come to understand that parting does not mean leaving. 

My friends & I are now women in our upper 40's & older, & we now know that we are never too far away to recharge the batteries for each other. Meeting for drinks is just an excuse to do this.

It might be a phone call, a Facebook post, or a dinner date, but we sit, chat, laugh, comfort, and support each other. Until we are ready to get back to our daily lives and face the challenges that come with being a woman.

 Then we part, this time knowing that we are not leaving.

Show me your pictures of your sisterhood groups! Post them in your comments here or link them here.

Lonely Lenses & Lonely Toys

I have a bad habit of collecting things that I think are cool then not using them very much. I get lazy. I borrowed these old toy trucks from my sister-in-law and they sat for a week. Waiting. Lonely. Knowing there was a boy in the house but confused as why he was not playing with them.

Meanwhile, I was there, hiding the trucks from his sight in fear that he would break them. All the while I knew he would find them eventually. I was going to photograph them first, but could not think what I wanted to do. Then I knew.

Lenses. Lonely. Waiting for someone to play with them. Hidden from sight so my son would not get them and out of reach for my lazy bum to use. Eventually the two lonely groups found each other, in my hands. Now they are happy, my son is busy discovering new ways to play with old toys...and so am I.

I love my macro, my lensbaby optics, & all the cute moments they capture!

My new Blog design!!!!

WOW! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new blog design! Thanks to Rita of Coffee Shop Designs for such a FABULOUS job! If you want her to done for you go here and you will be so happy you did! Rita knew exactly how to create what defines me. Want proof? Check out these images I recently shot & you'll get the idea. I love clean & simple, but with a touch of elegant old world too.

Thanks, again, Rita! YOU ROCK!!!!!

Tuesday's Toys

David got this great gift for a late birthday present. It's way more demanding than it looks, but it's great to challenge the brain for higher thinking, and engineering concepts. He just likes watching the marbles go through it!

As I was building it for the (insert number here) time, I began thinking what a great analogy for life it is. We start at the bottom, figuring things out as we go.

We occasionally run into problems that have to be dealt with but those same problems send us on a different path, often way more interesting & exciting.

In the end, it's just another building, but it's OUR building. It's created with our own hands, and some guidance from above, and very much loved by those for whom we built it.