counting crows 2015

wednesday i went to moncton
with my 2 childhood best friends
to see the counting crows...

a day spent shopping,
eating New York Fries (which we don't have on PEI)
and giggling...
followed by the main event
the concert at the casino
which is a great venue...

they opened with round here
and, although they didn't play sullivan street,
it was fantastic...
he sounds so good live...the exact same as you would imagine he would sound...

and the guy behind us
who sang enthusiastically to every song
totally made my night.

photos & video were taken with my phone so grainy
but still couldn't resist...momentos of a great night with best friends.
 

long weekends...

i love a long weekend.

especially a long weekend with sunshine...
and small epiphanies

saturday morning, i got up early to go for a walk.
as i walked our local boardwalk by the water
i started thinking about how i used to walk all the time
i used to love walking.
i walked for fun, for relaxation, to think and to check out my town...
i people-watched...i studied houses...i watched the progression of gardens...
i problem-solved and let things go...

when did that stop.
and why.

when did it start being that i had to walk fast
with headphones on and track every step
so i could count it against every calorie i ate?

so saturday i decided that i am not going to do that anymore.
but i am going to try to walk more....
once a day in fact....with my camera more and my headphones less...
i am going to try different routes, in my town and outside of it...
i am going to listen to birds and the water lapping against the rocks,
i am going to turn randomly and take roads i haven't gone down before.
i am going to walk slowly and stop to take photos of the
budding trees, the blue sky, the reflection of the clouds in a mud puddle.

and maybe i will make a pact with myself...
maybe i will try to walk everyday, even just a little walk,
every
day.
for 100 days...which will take me through summer and into
the start of fall.
and maybe
i will take a photo while while i'm walking
and call it #100daysofzenwalking


 

baby steps...

yesterday i worked on my wedding questionnaire
which i talked about a little in yesterday's blog post
as i gushed about google forms...
but this was a step forward for me,
something i had been intending to do for a long time...
previously, i had done this as part of my contract
but i realized that, because of that, it was not getting done.
the timing was wrong.
the contract sometimes goes out two years in advance
and the information i wanted to gather on the questionnaire
was going to decided much closer to the wedding date.

so i felt like this was a big thing crossed off my list.

today i decided to figure out something else that has been on countless to do lists,
just never very close to the top.
people are always asking me about purchasing prints...not wedding prints, not family prints,
but some of the other work that I do...
(the other work that i realize i don't do nearly as much as i would like to, by the way)
so today, i looked at some options for offering my prints up for sale.

in the end, i decided to create an account with Fine Art America...
and so far...I AM LOVING IT.
when i first started taking photos, i used the website "flickr" so share my photos
and really, that was a huge help for me.
it let me see which photos i posted got the most attention,
it allowed me to participate in groups and both offer and accept feedback.
there were so many people that were better than me
but there were many people that were just starting out, like me...
it was a very friendly, welcoming, positive experience for me.

and i kind of feel like Fine Art America is similar...
not only can you share your art on their site but you can join groups,
you can favorite & like & comment other artists...and i like this...i like this a lot

so feel free to drop by my page at Fine Art America
and check things out.  No pressure to purchase.  I am really just looking to
find a new way to connect with others and to offer the possibility of purchase
to those who had asked for it.  :)

friday i'm in love....

sweet, sunny friday...
i'm still a little uneasy about my little girl who has gone away
but she has been awesome
about texting me frequently, which makes it so much easier for me
she knows what i'm like...

this is what it is like to live in my head.
she texted me when they called them to board the plane,
she texted me when they landed,
she texted me when she found her luggage,
she texted me that she was at swiss chalet drinking long island iced tea,
she texted me when her friend found her,
she texted me when they got to her friend's house.

the next morning, i texted her to ask her if things were good
she replied yep...

i start thinking...that was a short answer.
how do i know it was her...and come to think of it,
the last text she sent me last night was pretty short...
what if it isn't her...what if someone abducted her...and now they
are just answering her phone to buy more time,
to not raise suspicion...


see for yourself....proof of my jump-to-conclusions-brain

so now...that i know that she is all right...ordering from pizza pizza and hanging out


friday i'm in love...

MINIONS!
Inside Out::PIXAR
ladies and gentleman, it's the MUPPETS!!!!!!
these crispy salt & pepper-y chips...i'm addicted...weight loss plan be damned!
catching up on grey's anatomy...sigh
google forms...how did i not know about this!  seriously, so awesome...and seriously, i am such a geek.  I used this to create a new questionnaire for my wedding clients...and it was so sweet! 
seriously, seriously contemplating letting my formerly black hair go silver...this pinterest board is enough to make me commit
and on the same note, if i can be just like her when i grow up, i am totally looking forward to it!
 

Happy Friday!!!!!

leavin' on a jet plane...

when my girl was little,
she used to cry when that song would play.

yesterday,
i cried in the airport parking lot...
not even cried...i sobbed...
loudly
and somewhat out of control
after dropping my girl off at our tiny little island airport
so she could board a big plane
and fly off to toronto.

alone.
by herself.
first time big adventure.
for two whole weeks.

when it was time to say goodbye
i couldn't speak.
my throat closed over, if i tried to talk
it would have come out as a howl of
please don't go...just stay here...we can have fun...
i'll buy you ice cream!

but i knew that she had to go...
i knew that she was ready, i knew that i was over reacting
i knew that people go on vacations every day,
they take train, planes and automobiles.
they have fun, they learn about new places,
they learn about themselves.

they come back.
they come back.

she'll come back.

but my heart still hurts.
being a parent is hard.