whatcha readin'? {2016::book 18 - goal 12}

January 9, 2017 Arlene Giddings

i wanted to love this book
as much as i loved the Book of Negroes
but i found it difficult...
it might have nothing to do with the book itself
and more to do with the fact
that i was trying to fit it in over
work, Christmas, wedding photo editing, emails
and multiple trips to Moncton
to pick up and take back my girl.

maybe a period of undivided time
would have suited this book better.

regardless, it was still a very good book...
the dialogue felt a little stiff/not fully believable
in places but again...i just dropping in and out of the book
and not giving it my full attention.
i would still totally recommend this...

and that brings me to the last of my books for 2016!
i had set a meager goal of 12 because the year before
i think i had only read 8
(i am literally hanging my head in shame as i type that...
8...8 books....what happened to me???)
so this year i beat my goal of 12.

for 2017, i am aiming for 24 but am hoping that because i
will be done of weddings soon...i will have SO much more time
to indulge in books...any recommendations?

3.5 out of 5 ♥♥♥1/2

NEXT UP: BOYS IN THE TREES - CARLY SIMON

endings & beginnings...

October 23, 2016 Arlene Giddings

yesterday, i shot my very last wedding
for a very long time.

it was a bittersweet day for me.

i remember the first wedding i shot...
i charged 60.00 for it because
i was terrified that i
was going to suck.

i drove to the church probably 6 times
before the big day at different times, in different weather
so that i could gauge the light...
as if i could prepare for that.
i knew nothing about shooting a wedding,
i barely knew anything about weddings.

back then, i didn't even have a camera bag.
i had a backpack...and i kept my one extra lens in a winter hat
inside the backpack for protection.
no external flash.
no extra batteries.
just a wing and prayer and a gut full of passion
and fear....a lot of fear.

that was in 2009.
i have shot roughly 100 weddings since then.
i have cried during the father of the bride speeches
(and most recently a mother of the bride almost brought
me to a sobbing cry as she talked about her little girl
always saying she was going to leave home sometime but never did...
until the day, of course,
that she actually did...
and my girl's move was still very fresh),
i have shot in churches and gardens, on beaches and decks,
in apple orchards, on golf courses, in hot sunshine and in rain...
i have said the phrases -
"just one more...well...i lie when i say just one more...it's always at least 3 more"
"get nice & close, like you like each other"
"one, two, three - JUMP...that was a good practice run...now lets do it again"
"perfect! that is perfect!"
countless countless COUNTLESS times...

i love when i feel like a relationship has been built between us,
when i don't just feel like the photographer paid to do a job
at the end of the day, but as a friend.
and i especially love the weddings that connect to a past wedding...
the family with 3 sisters that i was lucky enough to
shoot weddings for...and best friends of theirs...
so many times a couple that i shot for will be in the wedding party
of a new wedding...and seeing them there automatically feels less scary.

because yes, even after 100 weddings
it was still as scary as hell.

it is huge responsibility that i take very seriously...
to capture that once in a lifetime day for a couple.
that's worth a stomach full of butterflies &
checking & double checking that batteries are charged
and the bag is packed and ready to go.

but now...i know that i need a break.
i am sad to let go of this part of my life
but i am also very excited to see what comes next.

a huge thanks again to everyone
that has taken a chance on me
over the years...i can't tell you
what that has meant to me.
i do have a wedding booked for 2020
so it's not goodbye forever...
just a "so long for now".
♥ ♥ ♥

(& you'll still see me posting on the FB page for the next couple of months
as i catch up on my editing!!)

17

October 16, 2016 Arlene Giddings

on saturday,
my boy turned 17.

17.
how can that be.
seventeen.

and on friday, he got his driver's license...

i feel like time
is playing tricks on me...
it is speeding down a highway
with the windows wide open
and the radio blaring
and the trees & the mailboxes
are flying past
in a blur.

i would like it to slow down a little...
you know...maybe do 40 kms for a bit,
on a quiet country road
with a warm breeze
and the sound of crickets and frogs...

i want to pump the brakes a little.

my little big-headed boy with the dark brown eyes
and messy hair...now taller than his dad
(but still with messy hair)
cars, music, gaming, future plans (a and b)...
always so sweet and funny and thoughtful ♥

happy birthday, bighead.
it's gonna be a great year.

random gratefulness...

October 11, 2016 Arlene Giddings

thanksgiving is over...
but in the spirit of thanksgiving,
here is a very random list of things
that i have recently been
thankful for...

my family and friends
a warm cozy orange house
fall leaves
dirt roads
marshmellow bananas
3 day old chicken fricot
tylenol
youtube yoga videos (especially those specific to calming raging headaches)
hot apple cider
pjs with feet
maple french toast bagels
trips to moncton to see my girl
jasmine thomspon
hazelnut cream candles
secret weddings

tragically hip
a huge flock of geese that flew right towards my window at work
pigs
judge judy
tomato soup with basil

getting lost on dirt roads and finding my way out of trails in the woods

sugar doughnuts
forehead kisses
the song emma wrote

polka dot rain boots
people so sweet and supportive at the bullet journal session i did
watching almost famous again
that campbell knows all the words to tiny dancer
talking to my mom on the phone
bonecrushing hugs
early morning mist in the fields

friday i'm in love... (& where i pause for a short station identification break)

September 30, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i have not been here in a while...
life
has been busy...
hectic...
a little downright crazy
between work and weddings,
editing and driver's licenses and signing forms...
planning for thanksgiving
and birthday parties for an almost 17 year old
grad photos
and answering emails...
life has been
busy.

but fall is here
and with it,
i always feel a renewed sense
of creativity mixed with a strong need for
some very serious
down time...
i'm almost at the end of
my wedding season
(my last wedding season, though that
still seems weird to say)
and the chill in the air
makes me want to curl up with books and movies and new music
hot chocolate
and fuzzy slippers
and hibernate
for a bit.

{winter is my true introvert season
but it starts off gradually in the fall...
there are signs...and symptoms...}

but it's friday and i'm in love with all of these good things -

a beginner's guide to meditation
♥ oh so pretty...i can't stop watching
yoga for my poor aching PMS-y back
i ordered this today from zulilly! :)
♥ i cannot wait to see this!!!!