Duct Tape & WD-40

Favorite Photo Friday - Scott Kelby Photowalk 2010

I love this shot because the sign says "Happy Hour" and this girl looks anything but happy. Want to know why she is so unhappy???? Because it is 100 degrees at 6:30 in the evening and she has to stand OUTSIDE in a dress! You know she is thinking "I hate this place and I hate you, too. Happy hour this!"

Decisions! Decisions!

I spent my second night of my vacation from motherhood (the boys are with their dad and granddaddy on an RV trip) participating in the 3rd annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. The photowalk is a specific day where photographers all over the world meet in groups of no more than 50 and, well... like it says, walk around and take pictures. It is a chance to meet other people with similar interests and learn from one another. At the end of the walk, you upload your favorite photo to your group leader who picks one image from the group to send to Scott Kelby. Scott Kelby then awards prizes for the top photos. This year, there were over 1100 photowalks with over 33,000 participants from all over the world.

I participated in a photowalk that took place in Sanford, Florida in the early evening. I prefer a more solitary experience when taking photos, but I still met a couple of wonderful women. The best part was seeing the downtown area of Sanford through my lens. They say the God is in the details and photography forces me to see the details. It felt somewhat like my travels alone in Europe and the US. I was able to focus on the things I wanted to see.

So, it's a contest. While I have no illusion of capturing the winning shot out of 33,000 images, I still want to upload my best work of that day. My problem is that my favorite images are very different from one another. Some are a study of lines and design and some are snapshots of a moment in someone's life. There are no entry guidelines. As of right now, I still haven't chosen my favorite and the deadline is tomorrow!

If you would like to see the 10 images I have narrowed down from 450 shots click here. If you would like to see some of the images submitted from all over the world, click here.

Favorite Photo Friday - Grooming The Next Bruce Springsteen

Jack went to Camp Jam Summer Rock 'n Roll Camp (slogan: no canoes - lots of rock) this week and had a blast! There he formed a band with two other boys (ages 8-10) called Blue Thunder. He got to play keyboards, drums and bass.

The big concert was today and it was surprisingly good!

Unfortunately, it revealed a well kept secret in the business. You don't really have to know how to play an instrument to play in a rock band. Seriously, they learned three chords and were doing AC/DC's Back in Black like pros. Okay, maybe not pros, but really well. Okay, maybe not really well, but well. Imagine what they could have done if the camp was two weeks long. I'm talking Grammy Award here.

I did a great job playing the part of band groupie. I hollered and screamed and threw my underwear on stage. Blue Thunder's eight year old lead singer picked them up and asked "Whose granny panties are these?" Then he put them over his head pretended to be a superhero. Not really. But I did throw my underwear. No. I didn't do that either.

After the concert, we partied like rock stars... at Bruster's eating ice cream cones.

Jack is begging to go back to Camp Jam next year year and to take drum and bass lessons. I say yes to all of it. Of course, it is going to take him YEARS to become the perfection that is Bruce. That's okay. The Boss may be ready to retire by then and Jack can just step into his place with the E Street Band.

Favorite Photo Friday - He's 13 Today

It's official, I have a teenager.

• He's 5'7" - almost as tall as me. Taller than most kids in his class

• He's interested in girls, but is still embarrassed about it.

• He doesn't care much about his grooming.

• He still loves cars

• He loves to tinker and take things apart.

• He wants to see how things work.

• He can talk all day about an engine.

• He gets good grades.

• He would rather be playing video games.

• He is a Boy Scouts and loves camping, fishing and boating.

• He loves to read.

• He is a great big brother - most of the time.

• He is very polite and gets along well with adults.

• He works hard to overcome his difficulties.

• He would still rather eat macaroni and cheese three meals a day, but has expanded his menu a great deal.

• He is constantly changing and every now and then I get a glimpse of the awesome man that he is becoming.

• I am so very proud of him and what he has accomplished.

Happy 13th birthday, Cole. Just 5 more years until you go to college and I get to put my treadmill in your bedroom or make it a second art studio or make it a sewing room or an extra guest bedroom or...

FPF - The Frozen Concoctions that Helped Us Hang On

Gary and I just returned from our trip to Secrets Wild Orchid in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It is an all-inclusive resort. It goes without saying that we spent the majority of our time with a drink in both hands.

The pina coladas were my absolute favorite. I heart pina coladas, but they are a treat in which I don't usually indulge. Soooo many calories... coconut, rum... full of sugar. Each large glass probably had 4,000 calories rushing to attach themselves to my thighs. Let's see: 4,000 calories times roughly 42 drinks a day (give or take)... carry the 2... subtract 15.... remainder of 6.... something like 256,987 calories a day. Yeah, math is not my best subject. Besides, they are on the metric system.

But "no worries, mon." we were on vacation.

Favorite Photo Friday - Surfer Jack

 

 

 

 

Yes it is more than one photo. It is like a triptych only with 5 photos so you can see his progression. A couple of weeks ago, Jack went to surf school with his friend Logan. I knew he would do a great. He is just a fish in the water and not afraid of anything.

The verdict - he really liked it, but he got a blister on his toe!

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Mind if I rant a little? My newest peeve is this: TV shows and magazines with stories about swim suits that will hide your figure flaws.

They have categories like large thighs or no waist or small boobs. Then they parade a PERFECT model out to demonstrate the look. If that girl is an example large thighs then I must have super duper gargantuan thighs!

What are they trying to say to us women? They show you perfection and then say that she is not good enough and this is how to "fix" her. If there is something wrong with that, how can I (or any other normal woman) dare to show my face in public?

What do our teenage girls think when they see this? It leads to more and more poor self esteem, eating disorders and worse.

I'm all for finding a more flattering swim suit, but show me real women that really have larger thighs or non existent boobs, and deliver the message with a more positive approach. There are no figure "flaws", just different types of bodies. 

 
 There. I am done with my rant. Thanks for reading.
 
 

 

Favorite Photo Friday - 20 Years Ago

This week was the 20th anniversary of the Poll Tax Riots in England. The news of this somewhat shocked me - mostly because it seems like it was just a couple years ago. I was living in London at the time and I found it all quite exciting. Civil unrest is something I had never witnessed and I sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time period. Certainly I was meant to be a flower child of the sixties and early seventies. I always believed in peace and love and that my voice and a hand painted sign could change the world.

I actually missed most of the riots and got to Trafalgar Square only after everyone was dispersing. All I really got to see was a couple of burnt-out cars (one a Porsche 911), some broken windows and lots of trash. I thought I might be witnessing history. It really turned out to be nothing much at all.

Sometimes you know that you are a part of something big; like watching the Twin Towers fall or the election of the first African American President. Other times, you don't know that you are at a life changing moment until many years later.

Almost 20 years ago, I got on a bus that took me to Heathrow airport. There I would board a plane that would take me home to my boyfriend, Gary, whom I hoped would become my husband. I remember resting my head against the window and watching the passing rooftops of the London suburbs. I was so excited to get home to Florida. I was going to graduate from college. I was going to start my career. I was hoping to get engaged.

I remember what was playing on my Sony Walkman tuned to Capitol Radio, "Back to Life" by Soul II Soul.

I remember a little tiny voice inside of me that said "You don't have to go. You could just stay."

I squashed that little voice with logic. "Where would you stay? You're not allowed to work here. Besides, you WANT to go home and marry Gary."

And I did. At 21 years old, that is exactly what I wanted and exactly what I did. At 21 years old.

And so in a bit of melancholy, I think of this:

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler

long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.
 

Favorite Photo Friday - Variation On A Theme

Last post, I wrote about my upcoming trip to Port Townsend, Washington to attend ArtFest. I'm a member of a Yahoo group dedicated to the event and all the chatter is getting me pretty excited to go. I learned from the group that everyone brings lots of things to trade. They trade Artist Trading Cards, charms, fibers, pins, stickers, ephemera, paper...etc. It sounds like you are only limited by your imagination. I'm planning on bringing lots of different things.

The theme for this year is fairies or fairy tales. Well, I'm not really into to fairies or fairy tales, so I was a bit disappointed and challenged. Luckily, I have had six months to think of something. I'm pretty proud of what I've come up with.

The first thing is a set of Moo Cards that I am going to have printed. The front will have one of the above photos and the back will have my contact information.

I was just driving down the road one day when I passed the 1 star Fairy Lake Motel. I didn't even know I lived anywhere near a fairy lake! I saw this retro sign and thought, "what if I photograph it and Photoshop it to say Fairy Motel?"

So today, I pulled out the camera (oh camera, I miss you. I'm sorry I have been neglecting you) and drove back to the sign. I snapped some photos as I got cat called from an old man sitting in a lawn chair on the second floor of the motel. Oh yeah, old men want me bad.

Mission accomplished. I Photoshopped one shot to say Fairy Motel and then ran some actions on it to make it look old and grainy. I also liked another shot of the sign from a different angle. The sun was setting behind it and I got this great sun burst and lens flare.

I couldn't decide which one to use, so I will just use them both. I can do that you know. It's my project. I call the shots. Love that.

  

Favorite Photo Friday - Facing Your Fears

 
 This is what is on my mind lately. I'm going to ArtFest at the end of March. I have been so busy with the "stuff I have to do that sucks" list that I haven't really been thinking about it. But, it is right around the corner, so I have to start getting my act together.

I read about ArtFest a couple of years back on Ali's blog. It sounded wonderful and life changing. I vowed to go one day. To get accepted into the fun, you have to snail mail your application by a certain date in September. Then it is first come, first served. So you wait to find out if you got in and if you got the classes you wanted.

A bright spot in my mental breakdown of 2009 is that I got accepted into ArtFest.

I find it strange, but it has brought up several issues for me. The first of which is that it is in Port Townsend, Washington. I fly into the Seattle/Tacoma airport. That is the Pacific Northwest people! The closest I have been to there is San Francisco. Flying out there is long and expensive.

I'm going to be way too open with you here internet and tell you that I am nervous about going all the way out there. What is up with that???

Last year when I went to London alone, I didn't think twice about it. Actually, I don't recall ever being nervous about visiting a new place. This isn't a strange foreign country. It is the USA for goodness sake. I live here. I speak the language (mostly). I know the currency. I know how to use the dang phone!

I've really been exploring these feelings of anxiety and I think I have finally come up with an answer.

It's Bigfoot. Yes, I mean Sasquatch. Everybody knows that Bigfoot lives in the Pacific Northwest. Heck, they even have a big music festival named after him. I have been afraid of Bigfoot since I was a little girl. Remember that grainy video that they used to show of him walking away from the camera? I do. The above photo is a still shot from that video.

I remember that I never wanted to sleep next to the window in my room because I knew that Bigfoot was going to come in, swoop me up and take me away. Of course, I also thought (after seeing the movie) that Jaws was under my bed. I used to have to run from my doorway and leap into my bed so that my feet didn't get close to under the bed. Jaws would have bitten them off, you see.

Not such a funny commercial to me! 

You know what internet? I think I may be sharing too much information (like you used to just think I was crazy in a funny way, but now you think I am really crazy). So I am going to stop writing about my childhood fears that have resurfaced in my adulthood.

There are other things I am nervous about when it comes to ArtFest. I'll share them all at some point. This post is getting pretty long already.

P.S. You know what also lives in the Pacific Northwest?? Vampires! Didn't you see Twilight? I know I won't encounter a good looking vampire like Edward Cullen. I will run into one of the scary ones that will suck out all my blood and leave me for dead in the middle of a giant forest.

Favorite Photo Friday - It's Like Riding a Bicycle, Sort Of

Luke recently turned nine years old. He had a skating birthday party with all of his friends. Since all of the kids are fairly young and inexperienced skaters, we always rent the entire rink. That way, there are no little kids getting run over by big kids.

Having all of that room often encourages the parents to put on some skates. There were almost as many parents in the skating races as kids. So fun to watch. We even played some '80s music to put us in the mood.

Some parents put on skate to help their youngsters roll around the rink. Others do it to relive the glory days. The days when weekend nights were spent at the skating rink. Ah teenage angst...

Will he ask me to couples skate?

If so, who will be the one to skate backwards? Should we just hold hands and skate side by side? I know I am going to fall.

He said he was coming tonight but he is not here!!

Valerie told Mariam who is best friends with Karen that he said he likes ME. Why is he skating with Valerie??

Now he is holding hands with Stephanie behind the wall. I want to die!

Maybe if I tie these big blue puffs to my skates he will notice and think I am cool.

His mom is picking him up early!

Well maybe that was just my experience.

Some of these parents had some pretty good moves on wheels. They were the ones I envied or lusted after on those adolescent nights.

Of course now, a different dialogue runs through my head when I roller skate.

I'm out of breath after one time around the rink!

I don't remember it hurting so much when I fell.

If I break my leg, I won't be able to drive the kids around. That would be awful.

If I break my leg, I won't be able to drive the kids around. That would be awesome!

I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

I look like an idiot out here. Some things should stay in the past.

 

Favorite Photo Friday - Before

Sorry about the crappy photo, but who wants to take terrific "before" photos? I mean I'm showing it now with the hopes that the "after" photo will be so much better. So, in theory, the worse the before photo, the better the after photo. 

So this is my FPF picture for today. I almost forgot FPF because it doesn't really feel like Friday. It feels like Saturday because the boys are home and Gary is off from work. But I digress. 

I have finally begun working on my studio. While it is a lot of work, it is a labor of love. I can't wait to have it set up and organized. I can't wait to get working in it. With Christmas right around the corner, I NEED to get working in it.

So today, I started unpacking boxes labeled arts and crafts. The funny thing about it is that there are at least 40 boxes labeled arts and crafts. No! They are not all filled with art supplies. I think when the movers packed us, they got tired in the end and just labeled everything with that name. You never know what you are going to find when you open a box labeled arts and crafts.

We have pretty much unpacked all of the essential boxes. Sure there are a few things that we still can't find (that's because they are in a box labeled arts and crafts), but we have got most everything we need to set up housekeeping. We are left with my studio stuff, Gary's garage stuff and lots of other things that fall under the heading of not so important. I have a feeling it is those boxes that will still be unpacked two years from now.

I have learned that from my move. It seems everyone that has moved within the last 5 years still has some boxes that are not unpacked. I say if you have gone that long without needing it, you should just be brave and carry that sucker to the curb for the garbage truck. For God's sake, don't open it! If you do, you will be faced with things you can't live without but have no idea where to put. You'll just close it back up and leave it there for another 5 years. Trust me. Drag it to the curb.

So the FPF is the before of my studio and my dining room. My dining room has become the resting place of all the arts and crafts boxes. That is because it has no furniture. My goal is to set up my studio and empty out the dining room. I'll post photos from time to time. I know, I will make a short time lapse style video. It will be nice to see how far I have come.