Da Goddess

Didn’t sleep a wink last night. Keep trying to work that into my day somehow. Had to reschedule my P.T. even because I’m starting to fall asleep while blinking. Not good. Definitely not conducive to driving.

So what have I been doing? Well, last night, I was working on photos and time got away from me. Always happens when I get in the zone.

In the last hour, I have booked an appointment to meet with a restauranteur. If that meeting goes well, I’ll be doing a fun shoot for them, complete with my own hired lighting director (seriously!). And then I booked three sessions for Operation: Love Reunited. Yay!

And now, I’m taking a nap. Because I’m getting loopy and can’t even follow my own thoughts. I think I’ve earned it.

I’ll be back. I always am.

From the same Ren Faire, I bring you The Boy

Don’t forget to check out the Kids entries!

Normally I don’t do straight sepia, preferring to adjust color, brightness, and then placing a sepia overlay at a reduced opacity to add to the “aged” look of the image. But this week, iHeartFaces is asking for sepia. So, I’m going to try a couple different approaches. I’m also going to bring back my favorite sepia toned print.

My favorite Ren Faire couple:

Check out what have done!

Today, we celebrate the adoption of the United States’ flag as our national symbol of freedom. Most of us understand the importance of our flag and are working every day to honor the men and women who bravely fight to protect the freedoms and principles that it represents.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution establishing our national flag, and June 14 was officially designated as a national holiday in 1949 through an Act of Congress. Though there have been many versions of the American Flag through the years, its symbolism is ever-present.

Families United is doing something special with photos of flags this year:

Here at Families United, we’re doing something special this year to celebrate Old Glory, and we need your help! Take a few pictures of flags on Flag Day and send them to Families United. Your flag, your city’s flag, with people, without people…whatever strikes you, snap a photo. If you wish to add a few words also, feel free to do so. Then, send your flag picture to

We will use these photos for a special section on our website and in our newsletter on the Fourth of July to honor our troops who bravely serve this country by defending our freedom.

Tonight was our OpLove shoot at the luau for the Marines and it was quite fun.

The other photographers? AMAZING! The Marines and their lovely ladies? Fantastic!

I have many photos to sort through and can honestly say this was a great way to spend a Saturday evening. Add to that the fact that I’ll be editing while Lonesome Dove plays in the background and I’m a happy camper (though I think I’ll opt to pop in the DVD version because I cannot abide all these blasted commercial interruptions).

My new physical therapist is sooo much better than the last one. She communicates better. She’s working me in a better manner. And she cracks me up.

As we were getting started yesterday afternoon, she had me roll over onto my side so she could work on the left side of my lower back where I tend to have the most trouble. The massage was awesome. While the therapist was working on the area, she commented that the doctor must have a magic touch because, “I can’t even see the scar!” I started laughing and told her I most definitely have a scar…on my belly. “Wow! I haven’t seen an anterior approach in ages,” she said. Well, she wasn’t going to see mine right then and there because we were in the big room, surrounded by other patients and therapists. I told her is she really wanted to see my scar, she could, but we’d have to go in the back. Honestly, the incision isn’t a problem for me. It’s noticeable, but it’s less so than I expected. And it’s gotten smaller over the last few months.

This session was all about adding weights and working core muscles. It’s harder than you’d think if you were standing there watching. It was also surprising in that the areas that gave me the most trouble weren’t where I thought they’d be.

Little Dude ended up not going to P.T. with me as I’d originally planned. After school, his grandmother picked him up so I could get a couple hours of sleep (it just wasn’t happening the night before). I did swing by on my way home from P.T. though and got to hear all about the last day, the trip to the pool, the squirrels named “Brownie”, “Chocolate”, and “Pizza” (no worries, I didn’t get it either), and the phone number in his pocket. Of all his “girlfriends” at school, he chose to ask just one for her number (which she gave, wrapped in a heart) so they could get together over summer. “I have back-ups, though, Mom. Always have to have a reserve…just in case,” he tells me. Good God. Perhaps I should stop letting him watch Friends — he thinks Joey’s the coolest.

As we headed home, Ramones blasting on the stereo, I thought about the two months that lie in front of us. He’ll have camping, a glider flight (with his sister, courtesy of my dad), maybe a date or two, and lots of time to run around and be a kid. LD’s also been trying to come up with ways to earn money, but I want him to wait until next year for entirely selfish reasons. This is likely our last summer of being able to hang out and goof off. I don’t know where the time goes! It seems as though it was just yesterday he was little enough to hike up onto my hip and put in a shopping cart. Now he’s talking girlfriends and jobs and… Arrrgh! It’s not possible. But it is. That in itself is a little like another scar, but one that’s more emotional than physical. It’s a mommy scar, if you will. You can’t really see this one, either.

Today, we’re off to see the Very Cute Doctor. It’s an early appointment that will run long, despite the fact that I’ll likely only see the doc for a few minutes, at which point he’ll write me a couple new prescriptions, tell me to keep walking, work harder at P.T., and “see you in six weeks.” If I’m lucky, I’ll get to ask him a few questions. After that, I’m hoping for a quiet-ish day. Seems like this week has been nothing but craziness. I think a little quiet would go a long way. LD wants to go see Up. If I can squeeze it out of the budget, maybe we’ll do that.

Hope y’all have a good start to your weekend!

I’ve posted about Syl Arena before (it’s there, it’s there; don’t make me go look, though) and I’m posting about him again because he seems to know exactly what I need to learn at the moment. The dude rocks!

You know, there are times when you take chances for personal reasons. There are times when you take chances for professional reasons. And there are times when you take chances just because your gut says, “GO!” And so we do. Every single one of Syl’s lessons has a brilliant combination of personal, professional, and instinctive heft. Reading him, I feel like anything’s possible.

Here’s a brief excerpt from lessons 66-70:

As you venture on, when you’re tempted to chase someone else’s success, remind yourself that if you follow their path too long, you’ll lose track of where you left yours.

Sometimes “good enough” is better than “the best”. …Having the best (aka: most expensive) gear or producing the best (aka: most technically complex) photo is not always the best (aka: most beneficial) way to go. …“Good enough” does not always come in second behind “the best”.

It takes guts to open yourself to the criticism of others. “I may be good, but I’m not as good as I can be” is a hard thing to say with confidence and enthusiasm. The more you are able to open yourself to commentary, the better you’ll become. Actors have directors. Writers have editors. Athletes have coaches. Pro and amateur alike – we all need to make ourselves vulnerable to the criticism of qualified observers. Doing so is a sign of strength. Not doing so allows fear to win.

I highly recommend you read Lessons I Didn’t Learn in Photo School, non-photographers included (see the third paragraph in the blockquote). There’s something for everyone. There is. Really. Oh, and do yourself a favor and subscribe to his feed.

Today is the last day Little Dude will be a sixth grader, until 12:40pm, that is. It seems like the school year just started!

Sigh.

At 12:41pm, it’s a whole new ballgame.

Whimper.

He’s practically a man now.

Sob!

Oh well, at least he’s not sick as a dog this year. And little does he know, he gets to go to physical therapy with me today! Woo hoo! And there’s an appointment with Very Cute Doc tomorrow. Yeehaw! This summer is really starting off with a bang, isn’t it?

P.S. Those gray skies? Yeah. Those. They can officially go away now. Thank you.

One of my goals in the next two weeks is to finish posting the Death Valley photos. What don’t make it to the site will go to Flickr. And then I have the Doheny Blues Fest photos to clear out. Two portrait sessions to finish for my dear friends. And finally, I’ll have 10-20 or more sittings from the OpLove session on the beach this Saturday to edit. All that in two weeks. Before I head off to Alaska and return home with another couple thousands of photos. (I’ll just let that sink in for a minute or ten.*)

In the meantime, here’s more of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America. From Wikipedia:

Badwater is a basin in California’s Death Valley, noted as the lowest point in North America, with an elevation of 282 feet (86.0 m) below sea level.

The site itself consists of a small spring-fed pool of water next to the road; however, the accumulated salts of the surrounding basin make it undrinkable, thus the name “Badwater”. The pool does have animal and plant life, including pickleweed, aquatic insects, and the Badwater snail.

Adjacent to the pool, where water is not always present at the surface, repeated freeze-thaw and evaporation cycles gradually pushed the thin salt crust into curiously hexagonal honeycomb shape.

The pool itself is not actually the lowest point of the basin: the lowest point is several miles to the west and varies in position. However, the salt flats are hazardous to traverse (in many cases being only a thin white crust over mud), and so the sign is at the pool.

Those hexagonal honeycomb shapes were hard to capture adequately when we were there. Much of the dirt and sand was mixed in. Still, it was a fascinating place to which I will return again.

* Yes, I’m really going to Alaska and no I won’t tell you who’s taking me. A girl has to have some secrets, doesn’t she? Unfortunately, I’m only going for four days, with two of those travel days. Still, doesn’t matter. We’ll have 20+ hours of sun each day. I’m going to make the most of every single one of those hours if it kills me. I’m going to be shooting a great deal, I’ll be with wonderful people, having much fun, and will have many stories and photos to share when I return. And no. None of this has anything to do with Deadliest Catch or Discovery Channel.

I absolutely Debbie for being on her tippy toes and working toward a huge decision. It’s daunting and exciting all at the same time. I know this because I’ve been there. More than once. And let me tell you…

Back in Early 1990, I decided to uproot myself and haul my still-cute-ass to Colorado. I had a friend who’d just moved there and whom I’d just visited for a week. I decided I could and should take a chance and move. I had no kids, no spouse, no house, nothing really to hold me back. And you know what? I did it! I totally loaded up my truck and moved to Colorado.

My little sister was my co-pilot. We had an interesting drive from San Diego to Phoenix. We had an even more interesting drive from Phoenix to Scottsdale Flagstaff (which included almost flying off the snowy road into a ravine, but we never told my mom about that). At one point, we were in Winslow, Arizona. Despite freezing sleet, I got out of the truck and went and stood on a corner for 2 minutes. That’s all I could handle. Back in the car, we headed into the white out. The freeway closed right behind us.

Somehow or another, we made it into New Mexico and witnessed one of the most breathtaking sunrises I’ve ever seen. Our drive through New Mexico was quick and uneventful. We entered Colorado just as our nerves were fraying and we were lapsing into old childhood squabbles — over music, over smoking in the truck, over windows cracked open or not, etc.

When we pulled into Boulder, it was as if we could both breathe again. Off to the airport my sister went. She didn’t want to stick around any longer than she had to. I kind of don’t blame her. Oh, to have those moments back! I wish the trip had gone a bit differently, but it was what it was at the time. Anyhow, I was in Colorado.

I didn’t know what awaited me exactly, and for that, I’m glad. Not knowing made the surprise of my daughter that much more precious when she came a long a couple years later.

I didn’t know that my heart would break, but then be filled with even more love than I thought possible.

I didn’t know that I would discover just how much I loved and missed my family.

I didn’t know that I could handle the winters. I could and I did. Even with a newborn. Me! I did it! Crazy, but true. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.

Moving back to California was another big decision, but one that made sense at the time. And, if I hadn’t, my life would have been radically different. Just like if I hadn’t moved to Colorado.

So, Deb, take the chance! Embrace the new opportunities that await you in the suburbs or wherever. It’ll be different, but good. And just remember, inland doesn’t mean the ocean has disappeared.

Guess what Little Dude wants to do this week? Aside from making the next two days of school disappear.

He wants to the guys from Deadliest Catch.

LD got caught up on the show tonight. He’d missed last week’s episode. And tonight, we both sat on the edge of our seats as we waited to see what happened with the Wizard crew. Can I just say “ouch!” and leave it at that? Yeah. Um. No. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll stick with back surgery and child birth, thank you very much. I’ve done the broken rib thing, so I feel for Monte. (Mine? Get this: I was recovering from my hysterectomy when my dog and the neighbor’s kitten decided to play tag. Kitten ran between my legs and then up a tree. The dog followed suit and I didn’t move quickly enough. I went face first toward the driveway, which was a good five inches higher than the yard in that section. Thankfully my ribs took the hit. I had ample time to recover. Not like being out in the middle of the Bering Sea.) Oh, and the other two and their injuries? OUCH! Especially the eye. I don’t do eye anything. Nope. No. Just…noooooo.

Anyhow, LD was thrilled to see Captain Phil on the Cornelia Marie again. That’s his #1 captain. Major hero worship going on. Kinda sweet, if you ask me.

Also, we both liked getting our first look at the Incentive and her crew. Captain Harry Lewis sports the best moustache on TV, easily beating Paul Teutul, Sr., by a mile.

There’s a lot going on with DC and if you’re not watching, I just don’t know what to say to you. I could offer you a hotline to call for help (it’s called “your local cable company”) or perhaps I should be more prolific in my blogging the show. But, frankly, I’m not prolific in much at the moment. It’s the last week of school, there’s physical therapy, an appointment with the Very Cute Doctor, and a million other things. I can’t help you if you aren’t willing to help yourself. Deadliest Catch, folks. Seriously. It’s the best show on television.

I’ll be here waiting if you decide to play along. Dave, I know you’re watching. P2, I know you were trying to keep your eyes open long enough tonight. Kaknockers and Deb, well, that goes without saying.

Oh, and a little P.S. here: A lot of people have come here looking for info on why Murray Gamrath left the Cornelia Marie after king crab season. From what I’ve read, he’s not gone gone. That’s all I know, folks.

In what seemed like a rather typical, post about an unfortunate boob and an even more unfortunate bow, I ended up here.

I don’t need to go there. Or there. Or even there. I just don’t.

Driver was the winner of the Creative Memories giveaway. I will now hook Leslie up with the info she needs to claim her prize.

Thanks to all who contributed to helping me help the amazing OpLove. Our shoot for Saturday looks to be a busy one. I couldn’t do it without y’all!

In the comments section, there were 15 comments/trackbacks. Based on that number, Random.org chose #8, which was Leslie. Then I thought, hmm, should I have based that on comments alone? So I ran the 10 comments through Random.org and it came up with #6, which, if you count only comments, Leslie won again. How’s that for freaky and fair?

Congratulations, Leslie! Thank you so much for your support and friendship!

Again, a big thank you to Tonie for the Creative Memories album, and to all of you for having heart and compassion. I couldn’t ask for better friends.

I keep finding referral links in my stats from Twitter (the lastest from Medieval Times — thanks, guys!). I’m always surprised by this, but I guess I shouldn’t be. I mean, I understand that Twitter is the latest and greatest PR tool in the world, possibly the entire universe, but I still can’t bring myself to jump on board.

Then there are all the links I get from Facebook. Considering I don’t link the blog to my Facebook account, it’s kind of weird. Somebody’s linking, but it ain’t me. Since FB is the second greatest PR tool in the world, possibly the entire universe, am I doing myself a disservice by not connecting the two?

Am I limiting myself? Or am I staying focused? I prefer to think I’m staying focused. I could be wrong, though. I don’t think I am. It’s just possible. I don’t see how I can maintain everything. If I had an ace team of people to do this for me, perhaps. As long as it’s just me, there’s no chance in hell that I could keep up with it all.

So…am I missing a golden opportunity, lazy, or perfectly content to be an obscure blogger? Go ahead. Comment. Place your vote. I won’t be offended.