waiting is the hardest part

Right now my life filled with waiting.  It's so hard to be at this point where all I can do is wait, but I want to be doing not waiting.  In the immediate future I am waiting for 5 o'clock to come to see friends from grad school.  This will be the fun part of having to drive down to L.A.  The not fun parts of this trip - the traffic and court date.  First, traffic, it stinks and I can't believe I'd forgotten about it.  Just a few short months and it had totally fallen out off my radar.  Ok... now enough complaining, no one wants to hear whining and those of you still reading might just stop.  

Without going into the "juicy" details, I'm glad my court date is over.  I think I presented a good case and it was slightly interesting to hear the other cases go before I went up there.  And now... keeping with the theme, I get to wait for my judgement.  I hope I win, but even if I don't I've done the best I could and am proud of my adult self.  It's hard to grow up, but I'm working on it.  

The third thing I'm waiting for is to hear back about a job opportunity.  Interviews went well and my fingers are crossed.  It's hard not to count my chickens before they hatch and I'm trying not to get too excited about it, if I don't get the position.  Job searching is a long process and not the most fun.  I'm staying position though - the right job is out there and someone will want to hire me.  

So, just a few more hours now till I get to hang out with some great people.  For now I'll hang out at the Santa Monica Library.  By the way, this is an exceptionally nice library.  If you've ever got time to burn while in Santa Monica I highly recommend that you check this place out.  

Yellow

Isn't yellow such a happy color?  Yellow means spring.  The other day I was jogging {yep, jogging} along this country road.  It follows a creek that has been gushing lately due to late winter rains.  The creek is down a steep ravine from the road.  Poking up between the bright green grass in the 1 foot patch of land before the drop-off was a set of new daffodils.  They stood out like little spotlights announcing spring.  Also on my run I saw new green buds on the trees - more signs of spring.  Yellow is happy.

{picture above is a sneak peak of a post coming next Friday}

SPT - I am saying "I love you" when I...

get all bundled up on a freezing cold morning before the sun comes up to go take pictures with you.  Mostly I'll hold your filters for you and hand you fresh batteries.  I do my best not to drop anything and mostly I'm successful.  Sure I take a few pictures too, but this is your passion!  

I love seeing you doing something you really enjoy.  And... you're really good at it - getting better all the time.

{picture - sunrise @ Badwater, Death Valley NP}

X-plore

There is a cabinet in the hallway filled with linens and blankets.  Normally the doors are held shut with chopsticks.  They don't hold the doors completely closed and the little gap is quite enticing.  

Duchess is the epitome of curious cat.  She will go exploring and wants to check everything out.  Cupboards are especially fascinating to her and this hallway one is her favorite.  Duchy will sit in the hallway meowing to be let into the cupboard.  

The other day Duchy was at it again so Lukas opened the doors and pulled out the drawers below the cabinet.  He set them up as a little staircase and up the kitty cat went.  She climbed to the edge of the blankets and checked things out.  We left her alone for about 5 minutes and then Lukas went to check on her.

She wasn't there.  "Did Duchy jump down?" Lukas asked me.  "I dunno.  I didn't see her leave, but I guess she must've," I replied.  The next thing I heard was Lukas laughing out loud.  The grey blanket at the front had just suddenly moved forward.  With a careful look deep in the cupboard Lukas saw a little blinking cat eye.  Somehow she had climbed all the way to the back and forced her way between the tightly packed blankets.  All on her own - what an explorer!

SPT - the fist thing that attracted me to you was...

I had the biggest crush on you.  At Mike's birthday dinner I purposely sat next to you.  We ordered the same thing on the menu and you didn't even notice me.  But some how you finally figured it out.  

{I tried doing these SPT prompts a while back and thought I'd give them another go.}

Wonder

For most of my life I haven't lived in a big city.  I've lived in a little rural town in northern California.  We don't have big city lights, crowds or traffic.  Instead, the things that make living away from the hustle and bustle of a big city I have taken for granted.  And they had lost some of their wonder.  Seeing cows in a green pasture - no big deal.  But it was for my cousin who came to visit for a week from Long Beach when he was about 10 years old.  "Wow, there's so many cows," I can remember him saying.  Seeing the star filled night sky - common place.  But, then living in L.A. for two years showed me that they just disappear, lost in the light pollution.  Our trip to Death Valley this past week brought back my sense of wonder when looking at the night sky.  Even little town nights hold nothing against the amazing spectacle that is the night sky above an unpopulated desert.  Live in the city your entire life, or even in a little city and you'll never realize just how many stars there are.  I couldn't help but feel amazed when I looked up on our first night in Death Valley.  I just kept looking up and feeling that sense of wonder.  And the same thing followed the next two nights.  It is nice to be reminded of this amazing world we live in - to be reminded of the wonder we can feel.

What gives you a sense of wonder?

{The picture above is a long exposure night picture of Camel Rock.  I love the star trails}

  

Vroooooom

The little black sports-car.  Porsche on the outside, VW on the inside and cute all the way.  The cherry red was the star against the black.  Cute little windshield and rear-view mirror.  I opened the door and slid across the seat.  Gripped the steering wheel firmly in my hands.

Vrooooom...

Too bad I wasn't actually going anywhere, but I can imagine.  

{happy valentine's day!}

Umbrella

For the first 9 years of my life we lived right next door to the neighborhood park.  This was a great park - grassy, with a tall slide, jungle gym, prefect swings and a merry-go-round.  I would ask to be pushed higher and higher on the swings.  I loved them.  

The Arcata Bottoms had the prefect geography to whip up some very windy days.  I can remember when I was small enough for the wind to "support" me.  Just enough of a push to make it feel like it was holding me up.  

In the park there was also a picnic table.  We would climb to the top holding onto an umbrella on especially windy days.  Holding the umbrella up as high as our little arms would let us we would leap off the top of the table.  For a split second we would fall like normal and then the wind would catch in the umbrella.  In my minds eye I would be floating on the wind - Marry Poppins style.  I could picture myself gently landing back on the ground while in reality the hard ground shook my knobby knees and I'm sure I ended up with a few grass stains from stumbled landings.  

And up again I'd go to do it all over again.

Travel

When I looked back at the past year, it struck me how much we traveled.  Nothing huge like our trip to Europe two summers ago, but nevertheless we did get out and go a bunch of places.  Mostly, our travels have been fueled by Lukas's itch to take pictures.  We plan our trips around places he'd like to photograph with me weighing in once in awhile.  Here's a little recap of our 2008 adventures...

Camping camping camping...

We camped in Big Basin Redwoods, Samuel P. Taylor, Morro Bay, San Simeon, Russian Gulch State Parks, and Yosemite National Park.  We camped with my family and we camped with raccoons (not one in the same).  We hiked and took pictures and ate many meals of hot dogs and beans.  I love camping!

Our "big" trip (meaning we didn't sleep on the ground) - Sedona, Arizon and the Grand Canyon.

We took a weekend get-away to San Francisco.  Pictures and baseball games... Lukas was pretty much in heaven.  I had a blast too.  

Several little trips up to Humboldt to visit my parents.  

Oh and I almost forgot my trip to D.C. for a conference.  It was super cool to watch the inauguration and recognize the places they were showing on t.v.  I kept say, "hey, I've been there".  I think I started driving Lukas a bit bonkers.  

Looking ahead...

Next week we're going camping in Death Valley.  Forecast - showers!  Yikes, but we'll just go prepared.  Photographically speaking Lukas is hoping this means great clouds.  I'm just hoping we don't get too wet.  

Who knows where else we'll end up this year.  Our list is long and growing longer all the time.  Now we just need the money to finance all these adventures.  Any one know someone that would pay us to travel?  Lukas would take assume pictures and I could attempt to write witty stories of our travels.  Just a thought... a daydream.

rainy day craft

Today, instead of preping for an interview, I got out my clear stamps.  Since making my scrapbook I've been itching for a chance to use them again.  I decided what better to make than valentines... made me feel like a kid again.  Hand-made cards are so much more fun than store bought.  

For these I started with 4x6 note cards, left-over from my days as a student.  Cute cards are a much better way to fill them up than boring notes.  I've kinda go a thing for cards that don't open - postcard style I guess you'd call it.  So, no folding here.  

While buying envelopes to the fit the 4x6 note cards (*side note: there isn't a good option for fitting 4x6 note cards, so I had to go with a 5x7 envelope... a bit big) I took a little side trip down the isle with clear stamps.  I'm bad I know, but they were on sale.  I ended up going home with another set of letters.  Smaller than my first set and had both upper and lower case, plus a few fun birdie and flowery ones.  

I kinda kept with the style I used on my scrapbook for these valentines.  I'm really liking the clean lines and blockiness that I've got going.  To add to the collage-y-ness I used some pages out of old issues of Lukas's photo magazines.  Each valentine was different and that made this project all the more fun.  It's fun to use what you have on had to create something new.  I was over-all very pleased with how these came out.  That's even more fun.  

I bundled up - raincoat and boots - to take them down to the mailbox.  Hopefully they didn't get too wet when I put them through the mail slot.  It was nice to do a little self-contained project like this.  Just a few hours creating, stuffed in envelopes and mailed away.  Nothing left for me to keep and try to figure out what to do with.  I get to share some love with friends and I had fun on a rainy day.

Smile

Lukas and I were walking in downtown SLO a couple years ago when we walked past a man.  This man had the appearance of a homeless guy.  On the dirty side of clean and the air of a drifter.  I happened to make eye contact with him and he said something that's stuck with me.  

"You've dropped your smile."  

At first I was confused.  What did he mean by this?  And in my confusion a smile spread across my face.  It was a smile of confusion, but as the words began to sink in, you dropped your smile, I really began to smile.  By then we had walked past the guy.  As I turned around to see him I saw he was smiling too.  

So, maybe at the moment we passed each other I wasn't smiling.  This stranger said something a little goofy to make me think and put a smile on my face.  He helped me find my smile.  

Just a few days ago when Lukas and I were out taking pictures I found the word 'smile' carved into the railing over-looking the ocean.  The full saying that was carved there said, "smile now, cry later".  That reminded me of this story and made me smile.  

Have you dropped your smile?

{this cool download is what I used to make the picture polaroid-like}

Rain boots

{ok, I wont cheat.  Here's my post for "R"}

I love rain boots!  They keep my feet dry in the rain.  I trudge through mud and puddles in them.  I wear them to the beach or just around town.  I love rain boots!  And what's better than cute rain boots?  

My previous pair of rain boots were bright pink with deep purple soles.  They matched my bright pink raincoat, not on purpose, but they did.  I had them for years - I think maybe since 8th grade.  Wow, how could they have fit my feet for so long?  But the more I think about it the more I am convinced that was when I got them.  

When we were in Arcata this past week Lukas wanted to get some rain boots.  I think I convinced him of the great merits of rain boots.  And... who would know it, but at the store they had these cute lady's version of the boots Lukas wanted to get.  So, I just had to try them on and fell in love.  With a little convincing (I was surprised at how little it too) I talked my mom in buying them for me as an early birthday present.  Boy, they sure came in handy last week.  We went out picture taking a bunch and I think I wore these new boots just about every day.  

These are cool because they're super duper comfortable.  You can see the top part is made of the same material as a wetsuit and the bottom is rubber like a normal rain boot.  Inside is cushy neoprene was well, giving the boot nice padding and a high comfort level.  Water doesn't go in through the top part (I've "tested" this personally).  Plus, these keep your feet super warm.  

So, I highly advise getting yourself some rain boots if you don't have a pair already.  There are so many cute options out there.  If I could justify having more than one pair, I think I'd have at least 20.   

"Quick... Run!!"

{an attempt to knock out 2 letters at one time}

Lukas has been wanting to take some moon-light pictures, so we made use of the this past full moon and being in Humboldt to do just that.  We went to Camel Rock Beach.  This beach has two sides to it - both reached by long, steep stairs.  The left side doesn't have much of a beach to it during high tide while the right side has much more beach and when the tide is out you can walk between the two.  Since the tide was coming in and there didn't look to be much beach to the left, we went right.  The moon was amazingly bright.  If you've never spent any time away from city lights on a full moon night you would be surprised at how light out it is.  

To find the best angle for a shot of camel rock we began walking towards the left beach along the water line.  The water wasn't in quite as far as it looked from up above.  We took our time walking to the left, checking the angle on the rock as we went.  The water began to come in around our feet, but with our rubber boots on we didn't pay it any mind at first.  But the water came in at a deceptively fast speed across gentle slope of the sand.  We picked up our pace to a trot and then we were running.  The water splashed up around our feet, wetting our knees as we raced to the beach on the left side.  We laughed as we ran to get out of the water and ended up only a little bit wet for our troubles.

After several long exposure pictures later we were ready to leave the shrinking left beach.  Our choices were either brave the water and run again or go up the very sketchy stairs.  Well, two steps up the sketchy stairs made us decide to give the run a try.  Wet boots on round logs don't make for an easy climb.  We took our time waiting for the waves to recede and then gave our first try between sets.  But our timing was off and we had to run back.  The second try we made it.  The water did come in around our ankles, but with some fast walking and a little running we stayed dry.