Tomorrow

Day 5 - Luke and Sandy - June, 2008, originally uploaded by BrownPolyester.

... this will be us :D

..um, but we'll have a newer jetta.

House Guest

We are dog sitting for Crystal's parents' dog, Whiskey. It is only one night but seriously, I could adopt him! He's a fabulous dog. The three boys get along splendidly and did I mention he's an AWESOME house guest?

oh, and he LOVES the camera. Good Boy Whiskey!

Thor was impressed with Whiskey's REAL LIFE nuts... he had to do a double take to make sure they weren't Neuticles

Finny doesn't really know what to think about balls.



The three of them together... you have no idea how many treats this took! ... too bad it is blurry :(

Vibrant Colors!

I took my Exposaroonie challenge picture the other day. Actually, it was my "backup" picture in case my original idea fell through - which it did. 

My original idea? Well it was a fabulous one... in my head anyway. I want to go down town and photography some of the awesome colors in the many different casino signs that line our streets. Unfortunately, the smoke didn't inspire me. 

So, here it is, my Exposaroonie Photo Challenge for Vibrant Colors.... 

Actually, I have a similar photo that I posted a while ago. I had forgotten about it until I actually started taking pictures of this similar color chart. Eh. Who cares if my original one is better.... heh. 

I'm Not Back!

Kudos to you if you know where I pulled that (vague, I know) quote from.


No, I'm not "officially" back from blogcation. Mentally, it is best for me to thing of this a "guest post" on my own blog or something.... less stress involved this way.

But, I did want to share a few things with you folks ...

First,

Sun in Forest Fire Smoke, originally uploaded by Charles Soper.

There are hundreds of forrest fires in California right now... and guess where their smoke has settled? OK, I'm sure the central valley folks are getting their fair share too ... but damn do we have a lot of smoke right now. It is serioulsy wrose than L.A. smog.... on a BAD day. Yesterday, visibility was only THREE MILES. Three. Today, i think it is three to five. We are being told to stay inside, close the windows and use the a/c. Schools aren't letting kids play outside at recess and pools are closing to keep people from being out in this. However, it does make for pretty sunsets and sunrises!

-------------------

Ok.... 

more cat pictures

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

So, maybe I couldn't stay away for so long .... 

TTFN

I've been trying to get back into the groove of things. BUT, unfortunately, I just can't. I can't seem to find time to read everyone's blogs... I can't find time to comment. I've become a horrible blogger and even a horrible exposaroonie-coperson. (I missed last week's entry)

You know how Dooce is doing a cleanse right now? Yeah, well I could never give up sugary foods or meat ... but I am going to do a different kind of cleanse this week... a blog cleanse. My goal... to have a GUILT FREE week. I want to work out my nightly schedule.... try and get used to including some more normal things into our lives at home, i.e. DINNER. I have been so overwhelmed lately. I have pictures to edit, pictures to get ready for my (coming soon) photography website, people to email, business cards to design (whoops, I dropped that ball), exposaroonie challenges to write, should write an article too .. but .... how about looking at inspiring pictures and creating that shot list I wanted? Ugh. And more blogs, and my blog... I neglected to create my banner this month. Instead, I've just been overwhelmed and have ended up just looking at pretty pictures of new cars (because, let's be honest, I kind of have a one-track mind. When I want something, I don't stop thinking about it until i get it!.. hopefully in a few weeks.)

If I step away... completely (not counting my exposaroonie challenge this week)... then maybe I can start fresh with a clean google reader, finished picture projects & business cards, and a sane head. 

So...I'm off on blogcation for this week (and "weekend" too, since we'll be out of town in Fresno... again. Never in my life did I think I'd end up in Fresno TWICE in one month! Fresno... a city I had only been to ONCE for a few hours before this month. Crazy.).

I hope to see you next Monday.. or maybe the week after, depending on how much I like this no blogging thing. 

PS... I will still do my exposaroonie challenge this week.. because there are loads of colorful things in Reno to photograph.... I was just hoping to wait until the smoke from all those wildfires had cleared out... but I don't think that is happening anytime soon. 

A Fine Piece of .....

So, way back during Tacoroonie, Ashley, Colleen and I were supposed to be taking pictures of the Tracy Joy Joey bag so she could use them on her website and what not.

Well, I want to say that we succeeded in taking some pretty cool pictures. She even has one of our pictures, Ashely's, up on her website. Ashley took this picture, My butt is in the front and Colleen is the beautiful bride in the background. I kind of feel like a superstar. If you'd like, I can get you autographed prints! :D (kidding... sort of.)

In Case You Missed It

Last night, we met up with some friends for pizza. We ended up out on the patio at Blind Onion for several hours with pitcher of beer after pitcher of beer.



My tweets/twitters were slightly embarrassing to reread this morning... though, possibly mildly entertaining. Here is a recap... you may want to start at the bottom as the newer ones are on top. (cast and characters ashaligh is Ashley and csherm is Colleen)

aw. Up at 3:40 am to pee and neurotically check my twitter! Thanks guys. about 7 hours ago from web

still nothing. *sigh* guess i'll go to sleep. about 12 hours ago from web

seriously ya'll ? I'm going to bed with out any love? I guess that is better than an @emilypie SHUTUP! about 12 hours ago from web

@internet ... don't answer that. about 12 hours ago from web in reply to internet

la la la la .. i called my mom a few times this week\, no call back. @ashaligh isn't sending the love, and now @csherm isnt. am I too needy? about 12 hours ago from web


am so ashamed that you all have had to wittness my drunken attempt to make friends... which is apparently not working about 12 hours ago from web

FYI... when your friends are dunkish... don't avoid them on twitter, text messages or email.. and then not sign into aim that freaks us out about 12 hours ago from web

@ashaligh still ain't showing me any love about 13 hours ago from web in reply to Ashaligh

@ashaligh must be slightly annoyed by my non blogging self. So sorry! Iamwoeking ongetting better. Just need to get through the next week about 14 hours ago from web in reply to Ashaligh

@csherm suh-weet! about 14 hours ago from web in reply to Csherm

(colleen reluctantly gave me a "Tacos Unite")

because now, I totally feel that way about 14 hours ago from web

ahem @csherm @ashaligh ... Tacos... Done let me down and make ne feel like the last one chosen in dodgeball about 14 hours ago from web

@ashaligh @csherm tacos.... Unite! about 14 hours ago from web in reply to Ashaligh

Slacker

Come August, you guys will be begging for me to get a life already ... I promise! Until then... hello busy .. STILL. But mostly with real life stuff these days and not so much photography. Oh well. 

Anyway, I swore that this week I'd have my Exposaroonie Challenge submission posted by Sunday night. Um yeah. That didn't happen. BUT.. have no fear... we have until midnight (west coast time!) tonight to post! Soooo.. come sunset this evening, I'll be out hunting silhouettes. 

How about you? Are you going to enter this week's challenge? 

Persuasion Dissuasion

Brandon and I decided to go and just look at cars last night. We had done a fair amount of comparing online... reading various reviews and side by side comparisons. We have short-ish list of the different cars we want to look at and test drive. Hopefully, we can get it narrowed down to just one or two.

We still don't know the final amount we'll be getting the other car, so we thought it was safe to just go out and start looking last night. It was.

Actually, we learned a thing a two last night. Apparently, all the smaller, fuel efficient cars are in HIGH DEMAND right now. Honda Civics for example... they aren't able to keep the 4-doors in stock! There is like a 3 month waiting list for them. AND ... because there is such a high demand, the salesman actually said to us, “I'm not going to beat around the bush here, we are selling these for $2000 ABOVE MSRP... and aren't budging. We just don't have to.”

There was no sales pitch, no slimy salesman. Instead, we were met with an “Oh. Ha. Yeah, you and everybody else” attitude. It was kind of a set back at first. As we spent more time, and maybe even wandered over to the Accord section (because apparently, those are not as hot an item and they ARE willing to budge on those prices... which means you can get a decent Accord for the price of a nicer Civic. Unreal.) the salesman opened up a bit. He stuck around with us and answered all of our questions. He even shared some of the used car prices with us.... again, based on the type of car we are looking for... the used car prices aren't much better than the new, and the new financing options are much better.

After Honda, we meandered over to the Volkswagen dealership... or home of the super pretty and affordable cars, with all sorts of bells and whistles... just not quite as practical as say, Honda or Toyota. Again, we were met with kind of an I-Really-Could-Care-Less attitude. What happened to the sleazy car salesmen? Did they just go the complete opposite direction? Sheesh. I want you tell me how much I need THIS car. Especially when I tell you about the other cars I'm looking at. And when I get all excited about the fancy chrome or heated seats... ROLL WITH IT. Start working on my husband because you know Mr. Practical likes the idea of free tires for life at Honda.... where I'm all, “Hello moon roof!”

Bottom line... we still have lots of looking and test driving to do. We know we want a quiet, smooth ride, at least 30 mpg hwy, four doors, automatic transmission, and of course.. auxiliary input or other iPod hook up! So far, the Jetta and the Accord offer all of that.

Next stop... Toyota and Subaru.  

Loss

The Camry has been officially totaled.


... sad.


Before, I was kind of hoping that it would be totaled. I was secretly wishing for a new car. Then, we were told yesterday that it *might* not be totaled. I was thinking of other accidents and their damage totals... Crystal's & Ashley's. Close .. but not totaled. I was starting to realize that fixing the car would be a better option. We could hang out for a while with the Camry and then sell it when we were READY to purchase a new car.

Now, after hearing the news.... I'm shocked and sad all over again. I like the idea of a new car.. but not the reality of it.

Ugh. 

(comments are closed BTW)

Tulelake In Pictures

photo of yours truly, taken by my brother-in-law, Larry

...and of course, there are more on my flickr site... and Aunt Kathy, I'm sorry, I haven't edited the family shots yet. Maybe by tomorrow... 

Deer Jerky, Anyone?

Any suggestions on how to cap off an already  pretty crappy week? I have one... why not have a deer barge into the Entire. Driver's Side. of you car? 

On our drive to Tulelake, CA to visit Brandon's family, I had my deer-hunter-eyeballs on. I was sitting in the front seat and we were both picking deer out left & right. "This is easy!" I thought. We were totally spotting the deer ahead of us and there was no one else on the road... which made for plenty of time to break if need be. 

BOOM! 

A deer jumped out of the left hand side and leaped head on into the driver's side of our car... shattering the windshield, sending little glass bits flying all over Brandon, and taking our mirror with him. 

We didn't stop. We were in the middle of no where with out any cell phone service ... and the car was still drivable. Plus, we were like 45 minutes from our destination. So, we made the executive decision to keep driving... at least until we got cell service.... which ended up being not until Tulelake. 

Brandon and I were thinking that we'd have some minor cosmetic dents, and have to replace the windshield and the mirror.... no biggie. Sucks, yes... but we could do it and maybe even get away with out filing an insurance claim and messing with our rates. 

Hahaha. How naive we were! When we finally got out to assess the damage, we saw that the entire driver's side was crunched up. Brandon couldn't even open the drivers door to get out. From the top of the hood, to the blinkers on both ends.... our poor 1997 Toyota Camry took a giant blow. That deer left fur chunks and bloody bits in various spots ... and did quite the damage. 

We called the insurance company, and are towing the car 30 miles away to the nearest body shop. The claims adjuster is supposed to get back to us on Monday by noon... and from there we'll see if our car is totaled or not (hell, it is only blue booked at $3500... in "good" condition). For the time being, we are headed home later today in Brandon's Grandpa's car.

I'll post more tonight... things have gotten better since Friday... even if we are down a car and Thor rolled around in outdoor carpet glue. We are happy and safe. All is well. 

This picture was taken by my brother-in-law, Larry. 

So Long, Farewell

(So I'm totally stealing a post idea from Katelin at Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand. Deal with it. My brain is fried this week.)

Guess who isn't going to be on the computer this weekend? huh? 

OK. I lied. I'll probably be ON the computer at some point, but it wont be connected to the internet. AND... to be fair, I'll have my iPhone (service may be questionable though) so I might twitter here or there...

This weekend, instead of doing my (as of late) typical....

and then of course, this...




Tonight, I'll be doing this...


with ...



and these little boogers too...



Our final destination? ...the sprawling metropolis that it is..



Where we will get to spend time with ...



and...



and ...



Hopefully, there wont be any of this..



or this ...


Would you believe me if I told you I was completely sober in those pictures? Yeah, I wouldn't either. But I was. Pinky promise.

Or this ..




ok.. maybe a little of that.. but hopefully none of this ...



See you Monday! 
OK, maybe Sunday night... and there is always Twitter! 

Location Location Location

Tonight... was all about location! ... well... location AND relaxing with friends. Something that was LONG overdue! 

Crystal, Mario and the Squidge met up with us at UNR for a picnic on campus. Crystal was itching to show me around because (rightly so) she thought I might really enjoy the location .. for photography purposes and all! So, they brought the food and wine (which I gladly devoured!)... and then we were off to take pictures! Because come on... do you hang out with ME with out having your picture taken? 

Ever wonder what happened to the camera I had before I got my new one?

Haha! Look who has a photographer friend in Reno now! Woot woot! 

(I apologize tremendously for the use of "woot! woot!", but it needed to be used... in this one instance only.. I promise.)

Scarlett was on her best behavior.. and may I add, looking cuter than ever! Can you believe she is almost FIVE months old! Oh my. 

As we were leaving... I found the perfect photo opp. for this week's Exposaroonie challenge, location....

By the way, it is Ne-VAA-duh, not Ne-VAH-duh. Just saying. 

And of course... there was another one which is going to receive honorable mention .... 

I think you still have 1.5 hours to submit your submission! Have you submitted a photo yet?

Feelings

So, I posted yesterday about feeling overwhelmed... and now... now I'm feeling left out. Feeling left out of certain circles. Not just one, but a few. I know some of the reasons are because I've been too busy lately. But I still can't help but think that some reasons are more personal. Who knows, maybe it is just my insecurities? I don't know. I do know that there is something I haven't been able to successfully accomplish in the past.. for certain reasons... and this time, this time I thought it might be different. I guess not. 

I'm trying not to be whiney, but it isn't working. I've decided, it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to! And again, I'm sure these feelings of being left out are just based on my own insecurities, but I couldn't help voicing my concerns on a space that wont talk back. That wont tell me I'm dumb... cheer up.. it is all in my head. I don't keep a diary, this blog is the closest thing to a diary I have. But... everyone reads it. So I can't really say anything that is on my mind with out hurting feelings or being misunderstood.  I like this vague way of blogging. I might do it more often. I think it may make me feel better. So much better, in fact, that I might just turn the comments off on this post. You know, just throwing it out there to the universe. 

A Post Without Pictures

I'm so tired. I'm so stressed. I'm starting to think I'm not capable of working two jobs (which is basically what this photography thing has turned into) at one time on top of having a fabulous hubby that I want to spend time with. Unfortunately for me, photography doesn't pay the bills... so it will need to take a backseat for a little while. I don't have any more jobs lined up, besides a few wedding inquires for late summer and fall. Thank Goodness. Because seriously, I'm spent.

Do you know how much time it takes to go through 1400 pictures just to find 475 that you want to keep? (I hate batch editing.. just so you know) How about editing 475 pictures? ... and not just editing for the client.. then there is the part of me that wants to share them with everyone! That means resizing for the web and putting signatures on them. Throw that on top of driving 1.5 hours EACH way just to meet with the bride and groom, then for the wedding the next day and then again for a family session on Monday. All while working 8-5, Monday through Friday. That doesn't leave much extra time, believe me. 

How about a blog that I've been neglecting... and even my non-blogging husband noticed that I  haven't been leaving people comments on THEIR blogs. He even asked when I was going to blog about something other than photography. I was like, seriously? Come on. I don't need to stress out about THAT too. But when my husband is the one mentioning it, it makes me think that it must be so incredibly obvious that I've been neglecting your blogs and boring you to death with my photography. Ugh. I'm sorry.

How about that thing some people call dinner? You know, usually the time your family gets together and sits around a table. Table!? What is that? Oh, you mean that thing that is covered with camera equipment and mail? Oh yeah. 

The question I hate the most.. "What do you want for dinner?" I don't know. I really don't care. When I'm editing, I could really just eat beef jerky all night long and be fine (heck, I don't even like to take bathroom breaks) but I know that isn't fair to my husband. He's been such a good sport during all of this. He has been making dinner for me and bringing it to me in the office. And then taking his plate to the living room where he can occupy himself with the PS3 for the evening, before going to bed alone.  On Saturday, I woke up alone in a room with no dogs and no hubby. He was kind enough to not only take the dogs outside with out even seeing if I would do it first, but he also started the coffee and made me an omelet  while I rushed around in a frantic blur getting showered and packed up for the wedding.

Unfortunately, I'm busy all this week and weekend.... have exposaroonie stuff tonight (which I usually do Thursday... but I have plans Thursday), picnic with friends I've been neglecting tomorrow night, and then out of town all weekend to visit the in-laws. 

Things are supposed to slow down next week though. I hope anyway. My plan for next week.... go to the store, clean my bathroom, do some laundry, make a dinner or two and maybe.. .maybe even watch a movie at home! Next week, baby ... I promise I'll be all yours. Well... yours and Mr. Clean's .. because no offense, but the house is in need of a woman's touch. :D  (No jokes about how you are the "clean one" please. We all know that. But we also know I'm the one who does a better job of the actual cleaning part!)

**Edit** I already feel less stressed. Hello, "Mark All as Read" in my google reader! Take that 500 unread posts! Much easier to start with a clean slate. Whew. 

South Lake

Last night, I had to head up to South Lake Tahoe for like the third time in 4 days. This time, I asked Brandon to come along so I could have some company on the way there and back. Also, to be honest, I kind of miss him. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to have a proper meal with him let alone some fun together time.

After my duties were finished, we opted for some Chinese take-out, a little friendly conversation in Chinese with the owners, and beautiful sunset over the lake.








We may have also had a little treat before we hit the road for the long drive back to Reno...

It was very much needed. Tonight, I shall do some dishes and relax and hopefully be in bed by 9pm .... at the latest! 

And They Lived Happily Ever After

I photographed a wedding today. It was one of those shoots where I left thinking... "Why in the world did I think I could do that!?" ... I still have lots to learn. Good news... I see that I HAVE improved and I know what I need to improve on still.

Friendship is ...

My challenge submission for this week's Exposaroonie photo challenge, Friendship is, wasn't actually taken with MY camera.. but it was taken by me.

Go figure, it was taken this past weekend in Fresno hanging out with (my REAL LIFE friends) Ashley and Colleen (seriously, why don't we have another trip planned already!?).

This picture was taken with Colleen's camera while Ashley was off photographing Colleen. I thought it was fun because even though I am the main focus (because.. really, why shouldn't I be? "WHO HAS SELF-ESTEEM?!"), you see Ashley & Colleen in the background. We are all in our wedding dresses and photographing each other like a couple of loonies in the middle of a field next to a motel in Fresno off of Clinton Ave. (which, FYI, isn't the nicest area.... just saying)

That is friendship. Sharing a passion...learning from each other... and getting together for a silly girl's weekend to help the process along. How cheesy would it sound if I said.... I feel like I've found a little piece of myself that was missing? I really connected with these two. I am not going to touch on it anymore than I already have, I just want to say that I'm so happy to have these girls as really good friends. 

How about you? Have you shared what friendship is to you?

The Shoe is on the Other Foot

While I was away with girlies on a photographer-extravaganza in the oh so classy Fresno..... my husband thought THAT was the perfect time to buy himself a toy ... a PS3. He's been wanting one for quite sometime now... but unfortunately, all our money goes to my toys. However, the PS3 has slowly crept its way closer to the top of our list of things to buy... I just thought we could put it off for a little while longer. 

Nope. Last weekend was the perfect time apparently. So now when we are at home, this is what I live with ...

Last night, he stayed up until 11pm playing this stupid thing... this is he who goes to bed at 9:30pm I'm talking about! But you know what... I didn't hear a peep from him all night about how much time I spent on the internet :D 

But the poor pooches are confused .... they are a tad bit upset that NEITHER of us is playing with them all the time now ...

OK, Thor is upset. Finny is just pissed...

I think we are going to have to work out a schedule ;)

I Can Has Friendz?

Have you ever gone out of town with a friend? When you guys all go back home, is there that moment of silence... where no one emails, calls, or chats for a while? It is like you had enough of each other that weekend ... so you have taken a break. It isn't always intentional... there are things to do.. laundry, husband smooches, puppy smooches, and a 9pm run to Chili's for take-out (mmm... soggy grilled cheese and fries!). I still can't help but think ... OMG. Do you think they don't like me now? Was I too much my normal self? Did I end up talking about religion too much that last day? Did I blab and blab and blab ? Did I forget to say thank you?

This is how my irrational brain functions. Usually, these thought processes are communicated out loud too. I like to think of myself as unique. the rational part of me is telling me, hang in there. Relax. You guys had fun.. no A BLAST! People are busy.

And you know what? We did have a blast.  I can honestly say, that was the most fun I've had with a couple of girls in a very long time. These girls inspire me... we inspire each other. We have similar goals and dreams. Our husbands are all supportive of our endeavors. Our sense of humors are alike though our liquor tolerances vary tremendously - let me just say I'm somewhere in the middle :D.  Some of us know have more experience with this or that, but for the most part... we are in the same place photography wise. It is nice to be able to ask questions and help each other out with out feeling stupid  others thinking you are dumb. 

In my eyes, Tacoroonie was a success. I walked away (or drove 300 miles home.. whatever) feeling inspired, with  knowledge to help improve on my skills...and hopefully, with some lasting friendships.

Tacos ..... Unite!

Townies

While in Fresno..... we were able to meet up with Fresno's own... Sarah from Sarah Said. She was stylish and cute... giggly and friendly. She picked out the most tasty little breakfast nook in Frezzie, and we chatted it up like a couple of old friends.

And of course.... there was a mini-photo session involved!

Tacoroonie ... The Wedding

I'm home now. Tired. Cranky. Starving. And in desperate need of cuddle time. BUT ... I wanted to share some of the other pics from yesterday first...