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.

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....

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.

Project 52 ~ Week 45...My Life In {Book Titles}

Once again, I look at this theme and think it's so random and ridiculous that I don't feel at all random or ridiculous by responding with

"Are you being cereal?"

So often during these past 45 weeks, I've recreated something that I've already done just for the sake of this project.

Or tried to create something stupid for the sake of this project.

Or manipulated something that I love so that it fit in for the sake of this project.

Or pulled something out of my ass for the sake of this project.

Because what I really want to create is not workable for this project. 

And this week is no exception.

I've photographed books before.  I love reading them, but not necessarily photographing them.  It just doesn't inspire me.  I suppose I could have taken a more creative approach.  Staged a live image of a book title.

Taken a picture at Twilight.  Or of the Breaking Dawn. 

I could have stuck a fake bird into the decorative cage I keep on a shelf in my living room and told you that I know why it sings.

I could have even taken one of the million little sticky notes that my daughter has written messages on and stuck around our house, added it to one of the million empty wine bottles that I have laying around my kitchen and what would it have made?  Come on, you know....

Message in a Bottle.

Get it?  James Patterson?  Kevin Costner?  Sappy love story that takes about a minute and half to read but that I sobbed my eyes out watching because I think Kevin Costner is super sexy awesome?

The problem is, I don't have time for that.  I don't have the inspiration for that.

So, I was rolling this whole Book Title thing around in my head, and as I was climbing into bed the other night, I saw it.  The book sitting on the shelf above my head.

I Don't Know How She Does It and I thought, "You got that one right, sister."


And next to that?  Sleepless in America and I thought, "Totally."


And next to that?  The Help and I thought, "Yeah.  I definitely need some of that."


And next to that?  Lipstick Jungle and I thought, "Lions, tigers and bears are nothing.  Try the PTA."


And next to that?  Raising Your Spirited Child and I thought, "For the rest of my life....."

And as I read them over, I realized that my entire life was spelled out on that shelf in those titles.  Each one pointing to a different aspect of my daily existence that I'm trying to reconcile.

The irony is that I'm not actually reading any of those books.  I've only read one of them.  Well, one and half, really.  The photography one I keep going back to in reference.

And it kind of depressed me.  My book stack keeps growing and the time I dedicate to it keeps shrinking.  But, then, someone else who's in this project group with me said that the titles aren't being read because they're being lived.

That kind of made me feel better about things.

And about myself.

And this project.

Project 52 ~ Week 44 {Muted Tones} OR The Last Time I'll Use A Football Pic For This Project, I Promise

Sometimes football is about action. 

Gut pounding, kick you in the crotch, step on your neck action. 

And sometimes, football is about emotion.

Gut pounding, kick you in the crotch, step on your neck emotion. 

This moment of loss wasn't about the action.

And because it's the last time I'll use a football pic for this project,

and because I haven't posted anything in over two weeks,

and becaue I love ya',

here's a few more muted tones football pics that are blowin' my skirt up...

And that's about all I have to say about football for this year.....

Oh!  And one more thing~

I was so inunndated with football last week, that I didn't get a chance to edit or post my picture from Week 43 {Shadows}...so here it is:

Of course, because it's late the Project 52 people won't take it now.  They like it, but they won't take it.

Whatever. 

This is why I'm glad I'm not in school anymore.  Miss a deadline, who cares?  I still have the shot.  It's still in my collection.  Who cares about a bunch of international photographic judges anyway?....Yeah.  Not me, that's for sure.  Totally.....But, come on!!  I missed it by two days!!  Just two, measly little days.  Put it in the pool already!

Please?....

Well, to hell with them....

And I'm done.

Love,

L.

Project 52 ~ Week 42 {True Beauty}

I really wanted to avoid the cliche this week.  Truly, I did.

I hate cliches.  They irritate me, and I don't like being irritated with myself.  It puts me in a bad mood and makes me unhappy, and everyone knows that when Mama's not happy....you know....so I really wanted to avoid the cliche.

The cliche being that as a mom, when I hear the words True Beauty, I immediately think,

 "Oh.  My kids." 

The beauty of a child.  They beauty of a child's laugh.  The beauty of a child's innocence. 

Yadda Yadda Yadda.

And I reeaaally wanted to avoid that. 

I had several other options for my image this week. 

The true beauty of a woman's face.

 

The true beauty of nature.

The true beauty of a colorful harvest.

Ultimately, though...what I found beautiful about these two is not just that they're my kids.

 
The beauty is in their relationship.  That face to face, heart to heart, lean close to me and I'll tell you something wonderful that I won't tell anyone else because you're my sister and I know I'll love you forever kind of thing.

I just always want to remember them this way.

I want them to remember themselves this way.

Maybe it's because I'm recovering from a blow-up with my own brother.  And it wasn't so much a blow-up as it was a misunderstanding. 

I said something and he misunderstood it...and blew up. 

In my analysis of the misunderstanding, I can see that we have grown so far apart from this moment of connection, that the playfulness is gone from us.  We are adults.  We are parents.  We are protectors of our families.  We're not little kids sharing secrets on a park bench anymore. 

And that makes me sad. 

He'll always be my brother.  He'll always be the first love of my life.  He'll always be the first best friend that I ever had. 

But, it's not the same.  It's careful.  It's politically correct.  It's grown up. 

And no matter how great being a grown up can be, it's just never as beautiful as when your best friend, the love of your life, pulls you close and whispers something wonderful in your ear and you know you'll love him forever.

Truly.

Project 52 ~ Week 41 {Architecture}

I've been down for the count this week, recovering from my massive date with the Nyquil aisle.  I haven't really had a head for Architecture or whatever.

I had the opportunity yesterday to take this shot, so I took it.  And all I have to say about it is this:

Isn't it funny that something so big can look so small next to something so naturally huge?

That's all.

I'm moving over to the Theraflu aisle.  If you need me or anything.....

Project 52 ~ Week 39 {Man vs. Nature}

I was at football last night.  I'm at football every night.

And, if I'm not at football, I'm watching football....or listening to football....or sitting next to someone who's watching and listening and discussing football.

Football has become my life.

In fact, 3 out of the last 5 pictures that I've done for this project have been about football.

Make that 4 out of 6.

This little guy was giving us the smiley eyes all evening long, and then...just like that...he was zonked.

Rain?  Wind?  Cold?  Dark?

Who cares?!

None of that matters when you've got dad's lap and an umbrella over your head.

Kid - 1, Nature - 0.

Project 52 ~ Week 38 {The Eyes Have It}

I had such a plan for my images this week. 

All about eyes.

It's in the eyes.

The eyes have it.

Great theme.  Amazing potential.

I worked with my niece on it over the weekend.  She has beautiful eyes. 

Long, delicious lashes.  And she was lovely to help me out, because, really....she just wanted to, like, play and stuff.

And, as much as I found these to be divine and everything this week's theme was about, I still took a look around the game yesterday, just to see what else was out there staring me in the face.

I found these guys.....awesome.

And these guys.....great.

But, when this kid jumped in front of my lens, I just put it down and walked away.

Got it.

It's not expressive. 

There is absolutely no artistic vision in it what so ever. 

I didn't line it up or use any kind of selective focus. 

No creation went into it other than firing off 7 shots in a second.

And....

It.

Cracks.

Me.

Up.....

All night long I was sitting on the couch just giggling.

"What?  What are you laughing at?"....because Sunday Night Football just isn't that funny.

"I just keep thinking about that picture.  It's...so....BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

So, to that wonderful kid with the great big, blue eyes.....I love, love, love you for helping me out with my project this week.

Your eyes ROCK!

Project 52 ~ Week 37 {Momentous Moments} or My Weekend In Numbers

Days in my weekend:  2 1/2

Football games I wanted to attend:  2

Football games I actually attended:  3

Football games that I attended that I actually watched because my kid was playing:  1

Pictures taken during the game:  289

Kids on the team who smiled or gave me their best football face for the camera:  6

Times my kid smiled or gave me his best football face for the camera:  Ha!...as if....

Pictures it took to make this compilation:  4

Kids I know in this compilation:  0

Football games we watched on TV:  8

Times that Prince Charming flipped from the actual game to the NFL Red Zone so that he wouldn't miss anything important going on with the other 132 games being played around the league:  55 (I really can't confirm that, however.  It was happening way too fast to count....)

Times I cried during the 9/11 tribute commercials during the football games on TV:  4 (Robert DeNiro, man....he got me every time.)

Baths or Showers taken by my two kids:  5

Baths or Showers taken by me:  1

Jars of pickles made:  24

Quarts of Marinara Sauce made:  5

Loaves of bread used making Prince Charming his first batch of Sunday Football Bruschetta:  2

Eggs laid by the chicks:  8

Bottles of Hornsby Amber Draft I consumed:  6 (2 a day...only in the fall and only when I watch football...not too bad.)

Normal TV decibel while watching Sunday Football:  40

TV Decibel we turned it to when the Sunday Night Football song came on:  17 (Faith Hill rocks the party for the third season in a row....)

Images edited:  71

Images left to tag & edit: 1,146

Times I wished that Monday morning would just hurry up and get here so everyone would go back to work and school and leave me some peace and quiet already:  47

How grateful I am for you sticking through this 'till the end:  Immeasurable 

XOXO!

Project 52 ~ Week 36 {Thirst for Knowledge}

One of the major rules of engagement for this whole Project 52 thing that I'm doing, is that the images we submit to the group have to be taken within the week of the theme.  You can't use something out of your archives.  You have to do it that week.

They check.  Metadata and all that....They're sticky that way.

We started back to school last week, which means that all of my great "Back to School-I need to learn-I'm hungry for life and thirsty for knowledge" images are set with the wrong date. 

I could cheat and change it,

but it's a lot more fun to make my kids leave the house early and hoof it school really fast so I can take more pics for my project.

"Mom!  You're going too fast!  I can't run that fast!!"

"Come on!  We're going to miss it!!  I gotta' get this shot before the bell rings!"

"Do all the other moms have to take pictures like this or is it just you?"

"It's just me.  Lucky you.....Now get those feet movin', boy.   We got work to do.  I gotta' thirst, kid!"

"Can't we just drive?"

"No.  This is fun.  Fresh air.  Sun on my face.  It's good exercise."

"I'm a kid, mom.  I don't need that like you do."

I thought about that for a moment......then I had to pick up the pace.

"Mooooooommmmmmm!!!!!  WAAAIIIITTTTTTTTT!!!"

Punk.

Project 52 ~ Week 35 {Lazy}

In the true spirit of the theme this week, I've waited until the very last minute to post this.  I've had it on my To Do list all week, but have put it off until today.  Just because.  I felt like being lazy that way.

I haven't felt very lazy this summer, though.  I've been going Mach 2 with my hair on fire for two and half months.

(And P.S..."Mach 2 with your hair on fire"....Can anyone name that movie?)

Anyway....I don't feel like I've been lazy, but on the flip side, my entire house if covered in a furry layer of dust.  I can't see the floor in my daughter's room.  Our playroom looks like the toy section exploded.  No one has pressed clothing.  Our linen closet is completely bare.  And all of my plants are wilting...even the front pots that Prince Charming chopped off his arm to pay for.  That was a fun discovery...

"What happened to these!?!  When was the last time you watered them!?!"

"Ummmm.....yesterday?"

"No."

"A couple of days ago?"

"I don't think so.  This dirt is cracking."

"I know I watered them when I planted them."

"That was like two months ago."

"Wow...they've held up pretty well, then."

"No more plants for you."

You know, like he's the Soup Nazi or something.   Except with geraniums.

Where was I?  Oh right, lazy......

In fact, before I started writing this, I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom.  So far, I've wiped off the light bulbs and bleached the plunger.  Then I got bored and had to stop.

I might go to Costco.  I'm supposed to make a pie.  I have to pack for the beach.

But....whatever.

Lay--to the--ZY!!  You know what?  This already feels like too much work.......

Later, Gators.

L.

Project 52 ~ Week 34 {Connections}

Okay, so....funny story. 

I saw the theme last weekend and thought,

"HEY!  Finally something I can actually work into my stuff this week!"

I've been having a bit of a time the last few weeks, just kind of twisting my images (and my logic) so that they fit into the theme.  But "Connections" immediately spoke of to me of football, which I've been working on like a mad woman the past few days since Fall Camp started.

As I made my way out to the field, I told my son that I was excited to get some shots for my project this week.

"I've got to get a connection shot," I told him.  

He just kind of looked at me, so I kept talking. 

"You know...like, pads hitting together.  BAM!  Connection."

I had to clap my hands really loudly for emphasis on the "BAM!" part because he still didn't look like he was getting it.  He kept just looking at me and then he said,

"Ooooorrr...it could be like a connection of love between friends or family."

I kind of shuffled my feet and said,  

"Oh...well...yeah.  Totally.....I mean...I was going say that, too...you know....I just thought it was kind of....obvious...you know....and I just....wanted to do something different with it.  You know....but....I mean, I thought of that, too."

Forget it.  He got me.

So, for my son with the wonderful heart and the eyes that see right through me to my back collar button, I offer this connection:

Might be time for me to take a break from football....

Project 52 ~ Week 33 {Slow Down and Look Back}

School starts in 14 days.  Seems like just yesterday it was 15 days. 

We were supposed to spend a good deal of this summer at the beach.  That was the plan.  All of July and every weekend in August was the plan, but family and football kind of redirected our attention.  We've spent more time in a motor home and on the sidelines than walking the shore these past eight weeks.

We did get there last weekend and we will again next weekend.

But, then we'll be back in our fall routine, full of football and school and football and school.

And the lazy, beachy, sand throwing, agate hunting, seagull flying, wave crashing days of summer will be behind us once more. 

But...did I mention that school starts in 14 days? 

School.  Starts.  14 Days.

That's two weeks. 

Two. Weeks.  School.  Starts.

Tomorrow it will be 13 days.

I'm just saying.....

Project 52 ~ Week 32 {My Favorite Time Of Day}

My favorite time of day is....

...just after I've had my enormous mental breakdown

during which I used the phrase, "Loser Weak Pansy"

which wasn't a reference to myself or my flower garden,

followed by a storm out, a door slam and a mad car drive to pick up my library book,

because there was really no where else to go,

then a reading of the first chapter in the car in the parking lot,

then home to make a calm down cocktail,

which I drank on the deck, trying to ignore EVERYONE waiting for it to take effect,

while my husband said things like, "Whatever you want..." and "That's perfectly okay...." and "Please don't point that at me...."

Yeah, that time of day always gets me.....

Project 52 ~ Week 28 {Sweet Relief}

 
I don't really think this is what anyone had in mind when they decided on "Sweet Relief" as this week's theme, but in my defense, can I just explain something?

I usually start taking these pictures before I know what the theme is.  We're most often at the beach and have no internet there, so I really can't find out what I'm looking for until I get home a few days later.  At that point, I've usually logged several images that I really love, and which, more often than not, do not, in any way, shape or form, fit into these weekly themes.  So....You know....

I can tell you that I was working really hard to get a picture of the ridiculous bees that were buzzing along our trail.  Every time I was about to get one, it would fly away.  I had to get low enough, focus tight enough, make it sharp and blah, blah, blah, then I'd take the pic and forget that I was metering and it was all too damn dark...AGH!!!!

Finally, I clicked the shutter on this little baby just as it took off.  It was such a relief, that I stood up and went, "SWEET!"

And there you have it...That works right?  Yeah....it does.

Project 52 ~ Week 26 {Hidden Objects}

I've been sitting with this image for about five days now trying to come up with something magical to say about it. I always like to talk about the pictures when I post them. Tell the story of how it came to be. Muse about the different ideas that its theme has brought to mind. Craft a tale full of wit and poetry.

And as I look at this image now, the red hen hiding behind the opening of her little red house, I am struck with

 .....absolutely nothing.

Zip.

Zero.

Zilch.

Nada.

A big friggin' doughnut hole.

In fact, I can think of more ways to say "nothing" than I can things to say about this picture. It just doesn't inspire me. I have a theory on why.

Why, of course I'll tell you. Thank you for asking.

The reason for the lull in my creative flow, I believe, is due to this utterly ridiculous theme. And possibly the fact that the project sponsor's nine-year-old daughter picked it.

Really?

Seriously?

Are you kidding me?

You're joking right?

Is this for real?

See. I can come up with more ways to roll my eyes than I can things to say about this picture.

I can tell you three things about this picture:

1. It was taken during my Date Night with the Prince.
2. I had to wait a really looooonnnnnnnggggggg time for her to turn around poke her head out.
3. Sorry. Thought I could come up with three. I've only got two.

I briefly thought about taking this Hidden Objects theme to another level and really pouring out all of the feelings that I have about hiding my true self. That I feel so often lately that I'm wearing a mask and not allowing the real me to show through. Why do we feel the need to wear masks? What are we hiding from? Is it fear or low self-esteem or are we just obsessed with Halloween?

But....I don't know. That just seemed a little....what? Cliche and deep and self-indulgent? Yeah, pretty much.  I'm just not in the mood to go there.  I've got laundry to fold and errands to run and kids to clean up after and a bunch of other crap I've got to do.  I don't have time to think about the business of hiding any more.  You, however, are more than welcome to roll it around if you'd like.  Think about your own mask and why you wear it and what you're hiding from and what you're thinking about dressing up as for Halloween.

And if you can come up with something full of magic, wit and poetry to say about this chick, please don't hesitate to share.  My screen is always open.

So...I guess that's it.

That's all I've got.

I'm tapped out.

This is me....signing off.

Over and out.

That's all she wrote.

The End.

Project 52 ~ Week 25 {Crave}

My own life journey took me away from this project last week.  And even it hadn't, I just don't know that I would have been able to muster any kind of enthusiasm for Make It Tasty.

Seriously?....

This week, however, I am back on track.  It's one of those weeks where I was immediately inspired.

Crave.

Aside from the obvious I crave chocolate, I crave coffee, schtick, I really wanted to delve deeper into this concept.  Explore the intense desire behind the meaning of the word.

I don't think I really need to explain anymore.

She pretty much covered it.

Don't you think?