Images of the year 2011 ~ The Stories Behind The Images

The Funeral

December 10

I was going to be a guest at this funeral and was asked by the family if I would mind bringing my camera along for some photographs.  They were very happy with the way everything looked, and wanted to have some remembrances of the day.  It was a new one on me and I wasn't quite sure how to go about it.  It felt like something I should really remain in the background of.  I was careful not to use my flash during any part of it, and tried not to be obvious about taking images of the family's more vulnerable moments.  They gave me permission to use the images that I had gotten in any way that I wanted to professionally, but it just felt too intimate and personal, so I chose not to do so.  This image, however, was one that I took because I had seen something similar during the opening credits of a television show once, and thought it would be interesting to try, but, you know, when would I ever have that opportunity?  In the moment, I wanted to ask the funeral director to step out of the way so I could get a clear shot of the coffin, but it wasn't a wedding.  It wasn't a photo shoot.  I didn't want to be posing anyone, so I just shot it to tell the story as it was unfolding.

The Swings

February 3

We'd been planning on taking my daughter to Disneyland for her 5th birthday since she was born.  As the years went by, we kept talking about it.  When she turned 4, the countdown really began.  We looked at maps.  Watched park videos.  Made sure she knew who all the characters were.  As we rapidly approached the trip, she planned out exactly which rides she would go on first.  It was going to be "Finding Nemo", then "Dumbo", then "Toontown".  A week before we left, my daughter, this child who has hardly been sick a day in her life, came down with absolutely the worst case of influenza that I'd ever seen.  Even the nurses in the pediatrician's office were shocked by her condition.  It was bad.  What would we do?  The trip had been paid for and was non-refundable, so we went anyway.  The day that we arrived, Daddy took the other two kids over to the park, while my daughter and I stayed behind in the hotel so she could rest.  I shot this image from the window of the Paradise Pier hotel looking across the street into California Adventure.  I love the whimsy of it, but at the same time, it makes me sad to remember how sick she was and how she missed out on most of that trip.

First Game

September 3

I had an amazing opportunity to photograph a high school varsity football game in an NFL stadium last fall.  It was the first game of the season for this team and they were all excited to be playing it on a professional field.  I was in the locker room for their pre-game pep talk, and then they all headed out to the field for warm ups.  I was behind them getting a few more shots, and when I went to make my way out, I kind of got lost in the tunnels underneath the stadium.  I came upon this very nice young man, all dressed in his gear.  I asked him if I was going the right way.  "I don't know, " he said.  "I was going to follow you."  So we found our way out together.  As we rounded the last corner, I told him I was going to take his picture walking out, so could he please walk slowly.  He said yes, and then starting wwwwwaaaaalllllllkkkkkkkiiiiiinnnnnnggggggg lllllliiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkeeeeeee a sssssssssllllllllluuuuuuuuuugggggggggg.  "Um, you can go a little faster than that," I told him.  And I got this shot of him, in his varsity gear for the first time, going out to warm up for his first varsity game, playing it on an NFL field.

View From The Dunes

July 4

One of the great things about having a beach house is that you always have someplace to go on holidays, the price is always right and you never need a reservation.  We had gone out to the sand to set off some fireworks in the early evening.  The plan was to stay and watch the fireworks go off up and down the shore, but as the night went on, it just got too cold to sit out there.  As we were heading back to the house, a huge firework went off out on the beach.  My daughter turned around to see it and I got this shot of her standing there in the dunes, silhouetted in the sunset.

The Eyes Have It

September 18

I have several mottos that I choose to live by, two of which also apply to my photography work.  They are:

1.  Do it until they tell you not to
2.  Walk in like you own the place

That and a nice looking camera will get you in just about anywhere.  Case in point.  I was not supposed to be on the field during this game.  I had not yet been cleared by the league to be past the fence onto the grass where the kids were playing.  I didn't have a badge.  I didn't have a team shirt or jacket or hat.  I didn't have anything except my camera, but my kid was out there and I wasn't going to settle for some chintzy little shot from the stands.  So, I walked out there and kept going around the end zone until I got close enough.  I wish I could tell you that I worked hard to get this.  That I set it up, composed it, worked it, made it, created it.  Something magical.  But the truth is, once they snapped the ball I fired off seven shots in a second and got the luck of the draw with this one.  I've posted it everywhere.  I've written about it a hundred times.  And it still just cracks me up. 

The Kids

March 23

One of the greatest things I did for my camera this year was learn how to use it expressively.  Expressive Photography is the idea of conveying a story or evoking emotions through a single image.  That image can contain all the details, or it may just be a piece of the puzzle.  It is artistic.  Dramatic.  Beautiful.  Strange.  Disturbing.  Simple.  Confusing.  Or any combination thereof that allows the heart of what the photographer felt as they captured the image to come through the lens to the viewer.  I bought a book on the subject and studied it fiercely throughout the year.  One of the more interesting ideas that I have so often tried to avoid in my work, seeing it more as a mark of a rookie, is distortion.  But once I understood the concept of expressive photography and how distortion fit into it, I was able to see it and apply it to my images in a way that worked for me and what I was trying to create.  The kids were playing at a park.  I asked them to come over so I could take their picture.  This is what they did, and how my attempt at distortion was able to capture it.

Through The Bubble

June 4

One of the things I try to remember when I'm creating images is to look at it in a way that no one else does.  Anyone can take a picture of their kid blowing bubbles.  Anyone can grab their point and shoot, or their Soccer Mom camera, or their iPhone and take a picture.  So, if anyone can do it, what makes my work different?  That's the question that I'm constantly struggling with.  How can I do it differently so that it doesn't necessarily stand out as much as it just doesn't blend in?  We had to blow that bubble a number of times so I could get the focus and composition just right.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is to blow a bubble slowly so that it gets big but doesn't detach from the wand?  This guy does.

Seashore Superheros

March 18

Once again using my new expressive photography skills, I played around with these two on the shoreline.  The idea of putting a small subject right smack in the middle of a large background goes against everything I thought I knew about making images.  The Rule of Thirds alone shoots that all to smithereens.  But expressive photography says Do It.  So I did.  We were out at sunset.  I metered the light for the sky and told them to run straight at me.  I just wish I could have had Photoshopped in capes or something...Incidentally, this image is poster-size on the wall of our beach house.

The Leaf

October 17

Okay...so this is a funny story.  I had been doing a lot of football work, and was really feeling kind of disconnected from my lens a bit.  I really wanted to get back in touch with the art of it.  I hadn't done too much work with all of the gorgeous fall color that was exploding off the trees, so I decided one morning, after dropping the kids at school, that I would go in search of some.  I found this great tree not far from where I live.  I parked in a lot across the street, and walked to it.  I shot it several different ways.  Up the trunk, across the branches, near, far, big picture, small cross-section.  It was glorious in the morning sun.  Finally, I got down on the ground and started working with the leaves on the sidewalk.  My camera has this little flip screen that I can pull out so I don't have to actually get on the ground to shoot.  I can just hold the camera down to the ground and I can still see from my sitting/kneeling/bending over position.  But, this particular shot just wasn't happening for me that way.  I needed to be there with it.  So, stomach on the ground, I put the camera to my eye, and started my manual focus and composition adjustments.

"Uh...excuse me.  Are you alright?"

"What?"

"I saw you laying there and wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Me!?  Oh, yeah.  I'm fine.  I'm just taking a picture."

"Ohhh!!  I thought maybe you had a heart attack or something.  I was wondering if maybe I should call 911."

The kindness of strangers and all that.......

Backstage At The Recital

June 3

I volunteered to be the Stage Mom for my daughter's ballet class during their recital last spring.  I did this because 1.)  No one else was signing up to do it, 2.)  I wanted my daughter to be happy with me and 3.) I thought it would afford me some really interesting backstage dancer shots.  New stuff that I'd never seen before.  Of course, during the performance, I couldn't use my flash, and despite the stage lights, it was pretty dark where I was standing.  This image is blurred and grainy because of that, but I love the dreamy effect that it gives.  I love the bright colors in their marshmallow peep tutus.  The gloves.  The look on her little face as she turns to her fellow dancer.  It's one of those views that you wouldn't get sitting in the audience, and that's what makes these kind of images satisfying for me.

Here's to more expression, more creativity, more art, more drama, and more capture in the new year.

Happy Clickin' in 2012!!

I'm lovin' you through the lens!!!!!

~Lisa

I Just Want To Make Photographs

It Started Like This....

We used to be a two income household.  Prince Charming worked hard running his own company and I made a ridiculous amount of money answering phones and entering data at Nordstrom.  It was a great job.  It got me out of the house and into the hustle and bustle of the real world.  I loved being downtown everyday, being in the thick of things.  I saw Apollo Ono once across the street from my office.  There were about 1,000 people in front of me, so he was really just a speck of hair and bandana up on a stage 100 feet away, but he was there and so was I...right across the street from my office.

And, of course, I can't forget the absolute primo advantage of the job.  Two words.

Employee.  Discount.

It was sweet.

And yet, phenomenally unsatisfying.  Doesn't take a lot of skill to answer phones and enter data.  It does, however, take quite a lot of skill to deal with obnoxious bosses and their whiny buying teams who can't do anything for themselves and constantly feel the need to question and complain and bitch and moan about all the crap they need you to do for them and all things that aren't right and where do they get this and why don't they have that and....I'm getting off task here.....

The point it, it was an unsatisfying job that was taking all of my time.  Between the commute and the actual working hours, I was gone from the house 12 hours a day.

Obscene.

I mean, if I was going to be gone from my kid for that much time, I wanted it to be doing something that I gave a rip about.  So, I left and went back to my original career.


Then It Was This....

Now, Prince Charming was working hard running his company and bringing in all of the money, and I was a teacher.

And it was great.  I loved it.  I could do it.  I could do it without thinking about it.  It just made sense to me.  It was absolutely the best way I could think of to spend my time away from my family.  To give something back.

Right up until the moment that I started to realized that I was spending all this time taking care of other people's children, and my own were being left behind to fend for themselves in dirty clothes and a filthy house.

That's the thing about being a working mother.  You're trying to do two jobs as best as you can.  If one is done well, the other is falling off.  If you try to even it out, neither one gets the attention it needs or deserves.  So, after some deliberation and discussion, I left my place in the work world and become what I never thought I would want to be, but now desperately needed to become ~ a full time mother.

"Fine.  Now, figure out a way to bring in a little money."

How am I supposed to do that?

According to Prince Charming, the plan was to bake cookies and muffins and scones and stuff and wrap them up in cute cellophane packages to sell at the wildly busy espresso stand he was going to put  up in front of his office.

Whoopee...

I mean, I like baking and all that, but enough to want to make an espresso stand full of crap every day?

Like....no.

Not to mention the expense of ingredients.  Having to make and remake and rework and redo until you get it just right.

And the equipment.

And the packaging supplies.

And the health codes!

And....excuse me for mentioning this, but you don't actually have an espresso stand in front of your office, nor do you have any plans to build one, own one, run one or stop by one on your way to work.

"Alright.  Alright!  It was just an idea.  I'd just really like it if you could figure out a way that you can make some extra money, okay?"

Oh!  Look!  A camera!  Well, what do you know about that?

And Now It's This....

I've been at home for four years now, and I can tell you, absolutely, positively, unequivocally, and without a doubt, that my worst day at home is better than my best day at work.  Unequivocally.  There have been a few moments in the past four years that I thought he was going to maybe want me to go back to the real world.  Do something that actually pays in money and not just in loves and snuggles and that satisfying feeling of feeding my family a well-cooked meal.

Like an actual job.

I'd start getting that feeling from him and the hyperventilation would begin.

I can't do it.  I can't go back out there.  It's gross out there.

They make you start and stop at a certain time.  Don't be late.  Don't work overtime.  Be nice to the customers, even when they're being annoying and stupid.  Work your ass off making money for someone else so they can drive the nice car and take the fabulous vacations and have everything your work can afford.

My head would swoon and I would pass out just from the thought of it.  No.  Not gonna' happen.  Not going back out there.  Forget it.
 
How about an apple pie instead?  How about a pot roast?  How about if I cook it naked?

Being able to work from my home, in my pajamas, with my comfy sweater slippers and a cup of coffee cannot be beat.  I can edit when I want.  6:00 in the morning.  9:00 at night.  Or...not at all.  Take the day off and go shopping.  My business, my rules.

The challenge is that the moment you decide to accept someone's money for the product or service you are selling, you work for them.  And I'm essentially right back where I started.

I'm spending all this time taking pictures of other people's kids, and I'm not photographing my own.  Halloween came and went, and I took zero pics.  None.  A big, fat doughnut hole...and it makes me feel a little Lloyd Dobler about the whole thing.


My Lloyd Dobler Moment


Here's what I've come to know.

I don't want to market anything.

I don't want to work anything.

I don't want to be forced to create anything.

I don't want to market anything worked or forced.

I don't want to work anything marketed or forced.

And I don't want to force anything marketed, worked or forced.

Art is supposed to be fun.

My real work lies within the four wall of the home I share with my family.  If I can do everything I need to give them the beautiful, delicious, wonderful smelling, clean, and magical upbringing that I had and still have enough energy and inclination to read bedtime stories to my daughter and help my son with his homework and share a cuddle with my beloved and then be able to give some time back to me, then I will feel fulfilled  

I gave up on the dream of being famous a long time ago.  I can make a great image, but it isn't going to be amazed by my ability to make it.  It can, however, give me some excitement, and a creative outlet and some insight into myself.

And that's the role I want photography to play in my life in the coming year.

Project 52 ~ Week 52 {What Life Is All About}

Yeah!  The last Project 52 post of 2011!!

The fact that it's being posted five days into 2012 is complete irrelevant.  In fact, I may just recalculate the date on this so that it posts somewhere back at the end of December, which is when I started working all of this through my mind.

My brother always puts these great slideshows together for his kids' birthdays showing all of the pictures that he's taken of them over the past year of their lives.  I love watching them and here's why:

They're not about the art of the moment.  The images that he captures of his kids and his wife and their life together are just that.  Life.  They're not posed.  They're not created.  It's just the day to day business of living.

I have those images of my kids and my beloved, but I tend not to share them because what I want to put out there in the universe is art.

I don't want life to imitate art.  I want life to be art.

Meryl Streep said that in a movie once, and I totally believed it.  That's why I totally love making images.  It's art.  But, my life is not about art.  As much as I try to shove it and push it and cram it into an artistic space, it always pops back out again like one of those snakes in a peanut brittle can.

So...

What is life all about?

Well, gosh....let's see....

To me, life is about Beauty.

In mind, body and spirit.  Living beautifully and being of beautiful heart.  Being able to recognize beauty and admire it and accept it.  Be gracious for the gift of it in your life and do what you can to preserve it.

Life is about Magic.

Feeling the wonder and excitement in special moments and continuing to create it in your every day life.  Being open to all that life has to offer.  Welcoming it with open arms and eyes and heart.  Jumping into the joy of the adventures that come your way.

Life is about Sharing.

Living your life with those whom you love and with whom you truly share all of yourself.  Sinking deep into the experiences of your life together and being present in mind, body and spirit for every single solitary second of it. 

Life is about Love.

Loving the people around you.  Loving what you bring to each other.  Loving yourself most of all.  Being available to the feeling of love.  From yourself, from others, from the universe, from God, from where ever it comes from into your life.

Above all, be open to life.  It's going to happen.  Everyday.  All around you.  There's just no getting around it.

Enjoy it.

Live every moment of it the best way you can. 

Give to yourself in the best way you can.

Give to others in the best way you can.

Life is a gift.  Let us respond with grace and courtesy.

~ Maya Angelou ~

Project 52 ~ Week 50 {Festive Colors} and Other Crappy Mom Stories

I was going to go in a whole other direction with this.

Talk about how things are not always what they seem because I manipulated this image a bit to get it to look like it does.  Stuff along the lines of the eye sees and the mind believes.

You know.  All that deep stuff for the holidays.  (I really want to say 'shit', but I feel like I've been swearing on here a lot, and that's not super Christmas-y of me, so...you know....)

And then I went to help out in my daughter's class.  They were making gingerbread men and the teacher asked if I would come in and take a few pics.

Sure.  The Art Of Gingerbread.  I can see that.  No prob.

So, I'm standing there talking to these two other moms, which is always a dangerous proposition, because other moms have a knack for making me feel like I'm doing a crappy job with my kids because they have holes in their pants, flippy hair, no outside activities, no pets, no grandiose experiences, and really don't even know what the word grandiose means.  Generally speaking, I try to avoid conversing with other moms at all costs, but when you're trapped in a Kindergarten classroom, even the lens can't hide your face from the battle.

Anyway, this one mom starts talking about how her 5th grade son has totally convinced her Kindergartener that there is no Santa, and that now her 5 year-old is telling anyone who will listen that Santa isn't real, and she (the mom) is getting all kinds of dirty reactions from the cookie counter people at the grocery store for letting the cat out of the bag to her kid.

And I'm thinking, Wow.  You take your kids to the cookie counter?

Then the other mom starts talking about how she doesn't know how she would deal with that and she's just so glad that both of her kids are so close in age, and they both still believe in Santa, and how she explains to them that non-believers are people who have forgotten the magic like the little boy in Polar Express, and how they sit around every night singing carols and drinking cocoa and trying to guess what's in every present that's wrapped under the tree, and then they make it snow inside their house and it's just a big warm, fuzzy, winter wonderland extravaganza!@#!

Bleahhhh......

And now I'm thinking....shit.

I don't do Elf on the Shelf.

I haven't watched Polar Express with my kids in...like....since it came out on DVD.

I take them to see Santa on a weekday after school because it's totally not crowded then, and I don't have their pictures taken, because why should I pay someone else to take pictures of them?  That's stupid, but the Santa House people won't let me bring in my own camera.

I only let them have half a piece of fudge as a snack because if they eat too much there won't be enough left for my breakfast.

I've never even really told them the true story of Christmas.  In fact, the other night when I was reading a book to my daughter, the snowmen were singing a song about the birth of a king, and she wanted to know who the king was, and I said "Jesus", and she said, "Who's she?"

And now my son is in 4th grade in one of those 4th/5th split classes, so he's probably finding out from all of these other punks that the notes left behind from Santa each year have really been written by me in my left hand so it doesn't look like my handwriting.

It's over.  The magic of Christmas is gone for him and it will never come back.

And he's probably going to spill it to his sister, and then I'll be the crappy mom at the cookie counter with a 5 year-old who knows that I'm the one who eats all the treats left by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

I'm devastated. 

But, I took them to see Santa anyway.  I figured if it is his last year, I should probably do it up right.

So, we're standing outside the Santa House on Thursday afternoon.  We had about an 8 minute wait, so we had time to chat, and my son says,

"Mom, do you know that no one in my class believes in Santa anymore."

Great.  Here it comes.

"They all think it's their parents.  Can you believe that?"

Can I.  Believe.  That?  Where do I go here?

Maybe I can stall.

"Well," I said.  "What do you think about that?"

"I think it's amazing that Santa still brings them presents even when they don't believe in him.  He's a good guy."

What?

"Even when I grow up, I'm still going to believe in Santa."

Huh?

"I'm never going to stop believing in him."

YAY!!!  The Grinch's heart grew three sizes!  An angel got her wings!  Santa made it all the way around the world in one night and still had time for a nap and a round of golf with the Easter Bunny.

The Christmas magic is still rockin' the party.

"He's the best."

No, my little love bundle.  You are.

But, I'm still not letting you play German rescue hero games on my computer.  I'm not that Not-Crappy....

And P.S.

The Art of Gingerbread

Love and Festive Colors and Winter Wonderland Extravaganza wishes and dreams to you all!!!

Me.

$140

Nothing good ever starts with

Mom, can I see in your wallet for a second?

And I should have known that something was up when I logged on to my computer Saturday morning and my kid was shifting on his feet back and forth behind me.

Mom, what do you use PayPal for?

Huh?

You don't use a credit card, right?

I mean, how could I not have known?

And then I see it.  The email receipt.

Thank you for your recent purchase from Flight One Software.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing.  I didn't do anything.  I swear."

And then I see the next receipt.  And the next one.  And the next one.

"What did you do!?!"

"I didn't know it was going to buy it!"

I have five basic rules to regulate my son's computer experience because I think that if you need more than five rules for anything, you're not managing it well. 

My 5 Basic Rules To Regulate My Son's Computer Experience

1.  No social communication (so if I ever start posting pictures of airplanes on Facebook, send me a private message right away...)

2.  Nothing with guns

3.  Nothing in a foreign language (which completely sucks for him because evidently only the Germans know how to build really cool Rescue Hero games)

4.  No downloads

5.  DON'T BUY ANYTHING!!!

$140 dollars.  I'll say it again ~ $140 dollars.  

Charged to my bank account for flight simulator software the he bought and downloaded onto my machine off the internet.

Do you remember this scene in Die Hard?

It was like that....except that it wasn't Bruce Willis, there was no fire hose and no one was jumping.  Definitely running for his life from the massive, exploding wall of fire that was about to engulf his entire body and shrivel him into a burnt pile of ash from which he would never recover maybe, but I wouldn't necessarily say jumping.

Although, he did jump up onto to the top of his bunk bed before I could get to him because he knows that I don't climb up there because it freaks me out.  I always think it's going to collapse, which Prince Charming has assured me would never happen because I don't weigh 250 pounds.  But it shakes and wobbles and I just don't like getting up there...and the kid knows that.

I got pretty close though.  Closer than he thought I would.  I could tell.

I immediately got on the phone to the bank.  Then I sent rapid fire emails to both PayPal and this Flight One Software company.  

Dear People,

These transactions were made by my 9 year old son and are not anything that I need or would want...EVER!  GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!!!!!

Thank you.

And I'll just tell you that if this does ever happen to you, Steve at Flight One Software is a very understanding guy who refunds money extremely quickly.  

But, for the rest of the weekend, anytime my son wanted anything all I had to do was say, "$140," and it was over.

"Mom, can I have some ice cream?"

"No.  It's past your bedtime."

"Come on!  It's Saturday.  I can stay up a little later.  Can't I just have a small dish of it?"

"$140!"

"Alright!  You don't have to keep saying that."

Ohhhh, but I do.  From now on, $140 is going to replace 19 hours of labor as my excuse and/or reason for everything. 

For instance:

"I need you to take out the trash."

"Do I have to do that now?"

"$140!"

Or

"I need you to come over and help me lift these boxes."

"Isn't Dad there to help you?"

"$140!"

Or

"I need to move in with you."

"Really?"

"$140!"

Of course, I told my mother about all of this, expecting some kind of sympathy.  Something along the lines of

"Can you believe what this rotten kid did to me and my bank account?" and she would say,  

"Oh!  I can't believe it.  What a little shit.  Here, let me make you a latte and build you a fortress of solitude so you don't ever have to deal with that again."...you know...something like that...

You know what she said?

"Well, you're the one who taught him how to use the computer."

I said, "What!?  What kind of thing is that to say?"

And she said, "22 hours of labor!"

I did learn from the best.....

Simple Math and Other Birthday Doings

This is Prince Charming.

This is a birthday cake.

This is Prince Charming with a birthday cake.

This

Plus this

Equals this

And this

And this

Okay, that last one only happened once on Halloween, but it's still why I'm a vampire girl and not a werewolf freakazoid.

In conclusion,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my best friend

the one I tell everything to

the one I laugh with
laugh at
laugh near

the one I love deeply
love truly
love always

the one I can't live without

and the hottest guy I've ever laid eyes on.

I love you, man!!

Project 52 ~ Week 49 {Traditions}....with The Prince

It's his own fault.  He's the one who bought me the first camera and the lenses to go with it.

So, really...he only has himself to thank....

Tradition #1:  The Lights

HIM:

What are you doing?  I thought you were going to help me.

ME:  

(On the ground, under the ladder)

I'm right here.  I'm helping.  Okay...that's good....Wait.  Stop.  Don't move.  Great.  Now, just a pull them up a bit...

HIM:

You know, it would be a lot more helpful if you actually held the string instead of just photographed it.

*End Scene*

Tradition #2:  Christmas Blend

I bought some Christmas Blend coffee at the grocery store the other day.  Before I bought it I had to call Prince Charming and make sure he was okay with me selling one of the kids for a 10oz bag of whole bean.

He was.

When I got up Saturday morning, I raced for the coffee pot and started brewing.  I could hardly wait for it to finish and was tempted to pull the pot out mid-drip and pour myself a cup.  

I'm impatient like that.

But, in the spirit of Christmas and that delicious first cup, I decided not to rush into anything and savor every glorious Christmas Blend moment of perfect brewing.

I pulled out my Christmas mug, poured a cup, added in the cream and slowly took a sip.

Aaaahhhhhh.....Not gonna' lie.  I may have had a little orgasm there.  

Except that my mother reads this, so forget that part....

So, he comes walking into the kitchen, pulls out his Disneyland mug and pours some for himself.  And then he does this:

He takes a sip.

He looks at the coffee in the cup.

He looks at the coffee in the pot.

He looks back at the coffee in the cup.

He takes another sip.

He kinda' scrunches up his face and says, "Is this the Christmas Blend?"

"Yes!"  Big, orgamsic smile.

"I mean, you actually put the Christmas Blend in the coffee pot this morning?"

"What?"  Eyes narrow.

"It tastes like the regular coffee we always have."

"Give it to me."  Snatch the cup out of his hand.

"Wha...What are you doing?"

"I'm not wasting it on you."

"Come on.  Give me the coffee."

"No.  If you think this tastes like the regular stuff you get from Costco, forget it.  It's too important to me.  It's like why I don't eat lobster."

"You don't eat lobster because it grosses you out.  And the coffee from Costco costs $16 for a four pound bag.  This was $10 for 10 ounces.  That's $1 an ounce.  $16 for a pound.  That's four times the price and it tastes exactly the same."

"It does not taste the same.  It's rich and spicy and bold and aromatic and full of Christmas gold....and Smarty-Man math first thing in the morning is really not attractive on you."

"Whatever.  I'm making a Bloody Mary."

Tradition #3:  Candy Cane Martini

"Look at that!  That's a beautiful thing!  I should make that my Traditions picture this week."

"Yep.  Looks good."

"Yeah...except that I already used that picture of you with the lights."

"And you can't change it?"

"Well, yeah, I could.  But, I like that picture of you with the lights."

"And you think that's a better picture?  You think that's a feature-worthy shot?"

"Wha...I don't know.  I like it.  It tells a story.  There's a guy.  Holding up lights as they're going on the house.  You can't really see his face, but you can tell what he's doing.  It's a story.  I like it.  What is this?  This is just a glass.  You think this looks better?

"I think it looks like you getting drunk."

 

"I'm writing that you said that on my blog.  I'm going to have a lot to write about you after this weekend."

"Like what?"

"The lights thing....The coffee thing....This...."

"So...three things.  A lot becomes three."

He actually held up three fingers to emphasize the point.  Whatever.....

Traditional Prince-y Punk.

Project 52 ~ Week 48 {Twinkle Twinkle}

I have a daughter.  She only five, but she's really good at being 14. 

When I'm standing at the sink doing dishes, she says,

Go sit down, Mom.  I got this under control.

When I tell her that she can't have a piece of candy after she just had caramel apples, she rolls her eyes and says,

I don't know why I even talk to you.

When I ask why she hasn't cleaned her room like I wanted her to, she offers the reminder that

It's not always about what you want, Mom.

When her older sister and cousins dress her up to take her to the mall, she taunts her brother with

You have to stay here because it's only for college girls

When I return from shopping, she comes racing out of the bedroom with two handfuls of leftover Halloween candy, scoffing

I don't how these got in my room, but I'm putting them back right now.

When she asks me if croutons are finger food, and I tell her that no, nothing on her plate is finger food, she says

No, I mean croutons.

When I repeat my answer of no, croutons are not finger food, she holds one up to my face and says,

No.  Look.  I mean these.

When I relent and say yes because I don't want to argue about it.  I mean I just want to eat my dinner already, she pops said crouton into her mouth with her fingers and says,

Yeah, that's what I thought.

When I ask her to help me with my picture, and I tell her where to go and what to do, she says,

Of course I'll help you.  You're the best catographer in the world.

When she tells me that I am the queen of the family and Daddy is the king, and I ask what that makes her, she says

That makes me happy.

And I'm reminded why she's my favorite girlie ever....

The Last 4 Days

Wednesday

On Wednesday I amazed myself by brining my first turkey ever.  It took a week to prepare for.  Gather all the ingredients, make sure I had everything I needed to make it the moistest and most flavorful Thanksgiving turkey in the world.

It was beautiful.  I loved it. 

It was so heavy that Prince Charming had to move it to the fridge for me.  Not that I couldn't have moved it myself...you know...but, his biceps ripple in the most delicious way when he lifts something heavy.

I also made a pumpkin cheesecake.  It looked like this.

It was full of cream cheesey, ginger snappy, pumpkin spicey grooviness.  I wanted to marry it.  I wanted to live happily ever after with it.  I wanted to be photographed naked with it.

The rest of Wednesday kind of flew by as I worked in the kitchen with my MIL prepping all of the food that we would stuff ourselves with on Thursday.

PC helped out by keeping the kids at bay and full of food and pool throws so they wouldn't bug me.  He's good that way.

Thursday

My day began at 5:30, when I woke up and briefly considered getting out of bed to get things started, but then slapped myself upside the head and told myself to knock that shit off and remember all of the crap I'd done the day before so I wouldn't have to get up so early and get so much done.

Oh, right.  And I went back to sleep.

Then I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:15 so I could get everything started.  I mean...there was still a lot to do.  It was Thanksgiving, you know.

I hauled the brining turkey into the house, and made the magic happen on the stove with the onions and celery for the dressing.  The smell of onions and celery sauting in butter and wine at 6:45 in the morning always says Thanksgiving to me.  I don't know why....

And then it was

Dressing

Kids (It's too early for you to be up.  Go back to bed and don't come out until there's an '8' on your clock.)

Turkey

Kids (Is it 8:00 already?  I don't care if it has an '8' in it, 7:08 doesn't count.)

Coffee, coffee, coffee

More turkey

More kids (Fine.  7:58 is close enough.)

Clean up the kitchen

Clean up myself

Guests start arriving

Santa arrived!

Eating

Basting

Drinking

Snacking

Basting

Drinking

Basting

Drinking

Maybe I should switch to water for a while

Pool

After all was said and done, what I learned was that brining a turkey is completely unncessary and a collasel waste of time and ingredients if you know how to cook your turkey correctly. 

I knew I should have listened to Bobby Flay.


Black Friday

Shyaaahhh....as if. 

There is just nothing in the world that I want badly enough to stand in line at midnight to buy. 

Nothing.


Friday

We took a lovely little field trip to a very Radiator Springs kind of town.  They had the best signs ever.

There was this one:

And these:

And this:

Okay, that last one wasn't so much a sign as it was just a bottle label. 

But it still killed me.

BA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Fine.  Could you pass me that water?

What I'm saying is, it was a very cool place. 

Fun.

Very Cars.

See.

We had lunch at a great Mexican joint. 

I guess what I should say is...

We had margaritas at a great mexican joint, and there was food there, too.

And ducks.

Now, I understand why I was seeing two of them.  It wasn't the margaritas. 

Prince Charming was trying to trick me.


Saturday

Saturday was Portrait Day.

And Deep-Fried Turkey day

I wanted to try the brine, he wanted to try the deep fry.

It looked hot. 

And the turkey looked good, too.

And Ending Four Busy Days With A Beautiful Sunset day.

I'm {hearting} you from the desert!

Double L.

Happy Thanksgiving! {or What I've Been Doing In The Desert}

It's been very busy here in the desert.  We've had a lot going on, actually.  I know that vacation is slowing down, but our trips here always seem to speed things up.

Let's see...we've been:

1.  Swimming

2.  Drying towels from swimming so they can be used again for more swimming

3.  Night swimming

4.  Afternoon swimming

5.  Morning swimming

There's been more than just swimming, though.  We've also:

1.  Taken portraits

2.  Talked about where we're going to take more portraits

3.  Planned what we're going to wear when we take more portraits

4.  Gathered a few props and supplies for taking portraits

5.  Decided that, as much as I'd like to show you some of the portraits that we've taken, at the request of the subject, I'm going to wait.  Sorry, Charlie....


Okay, okay....I've been doing a few, like, actual Thanksgiving things, too.  Fine.

1.  I braved both Costco and Safeway with my MIL in search of the perfect Thanksgiving ingredients.

2.  Kroger has the best price on French Fried Onion Strips....just sayin'.

3.  A wonderful store called BevMo! has more flavors of vodka than I've ever seen in my life, absolutely none of which are appropriate for Thanksgiving, except for one, which, when mixed with Peppermint Mocha Kahlua, is just a Christmas party in my mouth....but that's another story.

4.  Baked a pumpkin cheesecake

5.  Gathered and labeled all of the serving dishes

6.  Cut and dried all of the bread cubes for dressing, and pre-cut the onion and celery that I'll be up cooking at 0'Dark 30 Thursday morning...anything I can do now, and all that....

So now, I'm sipping my coffee and preparing for the onslaught today which will include:

1.  Brining a turkey (which I've never done before, but always wanted to try...wish me luck..)

2.  Baking an apple pie...with a store bought crust.  Don't tell Martha.  But, in my defense, I am on vacation.  So...you know...and I did make the pumpkin cheesecake from scratch, and I'm making cranberry sauce from scratch, and the dressing is from scratch.  Just stop looking at me like that.  It's just a crust, for pete's sake!

3.  Making cranberry sauce with my lovely sister-in-law's receipe.  Hers is always the best, though. (Love you, Les!)

4.  Making the Barefoot Contessa's onion dip, which is WAAAYYYY better than that powder crap you mix into sour cream.  (Love you, Contessa!)

5.  Supervising Prince Charming while he makes Artichoke Jalapeno dip so he doesn't make it too spicy, which he will anyway, and then I won't be able to eat it which is fine because I have the Contessa's onion dip.  So there.  (Love you, PC!)

6.  Supervising Prince Charming while he cleans off and sets up the tables on the patio so we can eat our Thanksgiving dinner outside in the desert sun, and so he doesn't put them in the wrong place, which he will anyway and then I'll have to make him get out of the pool and redo it, so it looks better.  It is Thanksgiving, you know.

7.  Fending off Prince Charming because I want to finish this Thanksgiving Love Letter to you, and he just wants to get the list going already.

8.  Telling you how much I love Thanksgiving, even in the desert, even with all the work, even with a store bought crust.  It's still just the best meal of the year.

And last, but not least,

9.  Telling you how much I love you and wish you a wonderful holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Love,

L.

Project 52 ~ Week 46 {Over The Top}

I've been waiting for this one all week.  I knew it was coming. 

Couple more days.  Couple more hours.   

I almost ruined it because I couldn't wait. 

I was over the top of somthing and that had to count, right?

But, then....there is was.

The goddamn Grand Canyon.

I've flown over this thing a hundred times and it just never ceases to blow my doors off when I see those rugged peaks of red rock reaching up from the ground. 

Thelma and Louise are no where in sight...Doesn't mean I won't stop looking for them, though.....

(SOOC, by the way, since I'm on vacation and away from my computer and I'm not supposed to be doing pictures....

....but...you know...whatever...)

Happy Desert!

Love,

LL.