Winter Wonderland

we had our first snowfall!

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these were all taken with my cell phone
while wearing very fuzzy purple pajama pants
with a red hoodie
and pink & purple striped rubber boots...
because I have zero pride.  
I have not brushed my hair since Thursday.  
I am on an editing mission.  
Which I have been doing with one cat on my knee,
a pug under my feet
and one cat trying to catch the cursor.  :)

i need a jeep #nablopomo

i had a grad photo session this morning
with the cutest grad ever...
{of course, she won my heart immediately by asking me about Pugsley}

blue sky, tank full of gas, grad photos done, cold can of diet coke, loud music, favorite orange hat, camera, going to try to get lost somewhere pretty on the way home

and since it was a beautiful, mild fall day
i filled up my gas tank
bought a cold can of diet coke
and began my plan to "get lost somewhere pretty"
by just driving randomly
turning right or left, depending on the name of the road
watching for where the sun might take me.

So.  I really have no idea where I am.  But...it's very pretty!  :)

i ended up on a dirt road which was off a dirt road
and at some point...there was an actual dirt road intersection.
at first, i was ecstatic...and a little lost...

but i kept driving and stopping to shoot leaves and pine branches...
and then i noticed the road getting narrower...while the sides got higher...
i kept driving, figuring i would come to the end at some point...

i got out in one spot but could have sworn that i heard gunshots.
which made me panicky, a little, thinking...is it still hunting season?
should i be out of my car?  and then i drove by a little metal barn
with a number of pickup trucks and guys sitting in the back of them...
which normally would not bother me a bit (cause chances are...i knew at least one of them)
but my imagination was starting to run a little amok
and i start thinking this is how the bad parts of movies start
and suddenly my radio cut out...
which makes me think...i may not have cell phone reception anymore.

i keep driving...not stopping any more for photo ops...
scared i might get mistakenly shot (and really...why would i get shot...
i don't even know what gets hunted on the island but i assume it's birds...)
and then i get to a HUGE muddy patch with a big puddle on one side
and ruts in the middle....i don't know if you know or not, but
i drive a hyundai accent...not really off road material....

so i debate.
i can't turn around...there is no room even for my usual 15 point turns.
i can't back up...cause literally, i suck at backing up.
but if i get stuck, i am in the middle of nowhere with possibly no cell phone reception.

i take a deep breath
and drive through the mud.

i slide a little but get through...once i get on the other side,
i actually might have yelled a little
and said (out loud) (by myself) "ok!  NOW i will go home!"

the other great thing about this drive,
the thing that really, really, really made my day...
was this...
i mean...it's not this...or this...but it still
made me incredibly happy
(as did the homemade sugar doughnuts I found at a little store in town).
also,
please note...i am not a videographer or a video editor...
as proven by the offering below...
:)
 

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.  :)