Da Goddess

Here’s a pair of tunes by the incredibly awesome Colin Hay (of Men at Work fame). Listen to the lyrics on the first tune. His phrasing makes me smile. And the second song is just amazing.

Now, please go have a great day!

For the life of me, I can’t remember what band it was with the album where they were all naked and sitting on bales of hay. From the 70s. Long hair. Help!

And saves the day! Thank you, sweetie! Grand Funk Railroad. D’oh! (Since I have the old computer for today, I can actually post the image! I totally need to update to WP 2.9 so I can post photos again on my real computer.)

Finally got all my photos done and uploaded for my friend’s band. I uploaded last week, but failed to post about it.

Let me know what you think.

This week’s prompt asks, “What was one of your life’s turning points?”

Oh my. As if all of you hadn’t been following along all these years…seems like my entire existence has been about turning points.

The big one, though, when I think of it, was my back injury on January 17, 2005. What was thought to be a 12 week recovery period has turned into a 5 1/2 year plus ordeal. I lost a career that I loved. I lost hope for quite a while. I lost my mind. I lost a car. I lost just about everything. You know what I got out of it besides a couple scars? I got time with my kids. I got time to rest. I got time to discover that photography and writing were really where I felt most comfortable. I got the opportunity to redefine myself and my life.

It’s been a hell of a ride, but I’m feeling much better about everything than I have in a long time.

I don’t know what’s around the corner and I think that works in my favor. It’s a little like Groundhog Day in that I get to decide each and every day how I’m going to react to the world around me. Oh, and I don’t have to look like Bill Murray to do it either.

This is my session from last Monday. She’d called while I was out of town and we scheduled for the first full, non-recovery day after my trip. We knocked out about 75 shots in 30 minutes. Wonderful lady; funny, bright, and not at all stuffy. She wanted something a little less formal for an upcoming presentation she had to give. Needless to say, she brought the fun and I got the shots.

I swear, some songs are damn near impossible to find for downloading. Or you find them and then the file ends up corrupted. I hate that!

I’m looking for the following:

1) Acoustic version of “Throw Your Arms Around Me” as sung by Neil Finn.

2) Rosemary Clooney’s version of “For All We Know”*. (Not to be confused with The Carpenters song.) I’d also like the version that Rupert Friend sings in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, but I’m not holding my breath for that one. Rod Stewart does a good job, though it’s still not Rupert Friend or Rosemary.

3) The entire soundtrack for A Mighty Wind. That was a brilliant freakin’ movie.

4) The audio only for Cheap Trick’s “Loser”, which I’ve fallen head over heels in love with.

5) Soundtrack for the movie Crazy Heart. I know, I know, iTunes has it, but I’m not on iTunes. Hence my big dilemma.

6) Every song I’ve ever loved and ever will love. I want the magically delivered onto my doorstep.

7) And a kite. (Blame Ray Romano for that one)

And this concludes our musical portion of our Monday. Feel free to play alog. If you can think of a song I really, REALLY need in my library, please do tell.

* For all we know
We may never meet again
Before you go
Make this moment sweet again

So love me, tonight
Tomorrow was made for some
Tomorrow may never come
For all we know
Tomorrow may never come
For all we know

I have no smart songs or videos to which I’ll link. I have no photos to post.

I only have a sincere wish that each and every mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, and anyone who serves in a maternal role has the loveliest day possible. You are loved!

I’m down to just about 950 images to edit. I know as soon as I dig in deeper, I’ll find images that just can’t be salvaged no matter what I do. I’m okay with that. I way over-shot, but I figured it would be best to have too many to choose from rather than not enough.

I’m going to take a little break, eat some popcorn (caramel corn, actually, from a local store I may be working with soon), maybe even watch when I start back to the editing. I was supposed to go see a band tonight, but I’m too pooped to party. Plus, I want to get these images done and out to the event coordinators.

Sigh.

I’m still trying to wipe this silly grin off my face.

Almost 1,400 photos in about four or five hours. Smiles, laughter, cheers, a purple carpet… I couldn’t stop smiling. Even when it felt as though my heart were about to burst and the tears welled up in my eyes, I couldn’t get that smile off my face.

Joy Prom was the most amazing event you could ever imagine. Special needs teens and adults were the stars and we photographers were there to capture it all.

A lot of people might be surprised this the big event in Vegas, but I wasn’t. To be very honest, I’ve met some of the most sincere and kind people since moving here and this event is just one of the many extraordinary moments I’ve experienced because of the friends I’ve made.

If your city or town doesn’t have a Joy Prom of their own (Google “Joy Prom” and find out), it’s definitely something you should look into helping get started.

Sometimes you a little story, set it free for the world to see, and then you wish you’d written something else. You could go back and do a rewrite, but then you decide to let it go and just get on with your life.

If you’re really lucky, the person who talked you into writing said story will revisit the prompt for the story and give you another chance. That, my friends, is exactly what Miss San Diego Momma has done this week.

___
“Wait!” I screamed after her. “Your hat!”

She ignored me, which was to be expected. We hadn’t talked, not really anyway, in more than 10 years. I scooped up her black hat. The mesh veil fluttered beneath my fingers…

The fabric felt rougher than it ought to, I thought. Perhaps it was just because my fingers were still cut and bleeding from where they’d been rubbed raw just days ago as I had run them across the pavement in the dark, praying our driver wouldn’t accidentally take us over a clff.

Lights out. That was the rule. Once darkness hit, we had to draw the blackout curtains or extinguish all lights. Driving was impossible with out headlights, especially on the twisting and turning road that ran up the very steep mountainside. But for my family, traveling at night was our only option. If we attempted to travel during the day, surely we’d be caught. And so it came to be that I had to hang out of the slow-moving car using my hand to feel for the edge of the road. One little mistake and the children I’d managed to keep from the death squads and the bombs would be gone in an instant. Pain no longer mattered. I didn’t care if I pulled back bloody stumps for hands, I was going to get my babies home.

Home. It seemed so very far away as I held that hat in my hands. I’d left the warmth of my parents’ home ten years ago, following a man — my man — into a world that frightened them. They knew danger awaited me. I knew it, too. I had to go, though, because I loved him with all my heart and I believe his cause was just. I could have stayed with my mother and father and simply waited for his return, but my heart insisted that I go with him.

Now he was gone, a victim of the violence wrought by a heartless and cowardly man. A man who sent killers to the doorsteps of the families of the men he killed. A man who tortured women and children for sport. My husband was gone. The loving, kind, and thoughtful man who would pick wildflowers for me each day they were in bloom. The man who wrote heartfelt songs and funny poetry as we grew our family. The man my parents hated almost as much as they hated the one who had him murdered.

And yet, my mother had appeared graveside. She raced off before I could discover her reason for coming to his funeral. After all, the funeral was being watched by evil men. Anyone in attendance was in danger. Was she hoping to get a glimpse of her grandchildren? Was she hoping to remind me that my rash decision all those years ago had been destined to end in pain and misery? I looked up from the black hat and the mesh and she was gone, taking my unanswered questions with her.

Best line ever spoken by Tim Gunn as he discusses the Black Canary’s loss of fishnet stockings. PRICELESS!

I want Tim Gunn to be my stylist best friend stylist and best friend.

“Tingalayo” will make more sense when you watch this video. (Photos are still in the works)

The drive from Kingman to Oatman is really breathtaking. Route 66 becomes twisty and turny and is absolutely a blast! Can’t imagine traveling the road in a car with bad brakes or other car trouble, so make sure everything’s in working order before you go.

I heard this one, so you have to hear it, too. It’ll all make sense later. I swear.