Four Times The Fun

Is Anyone Out There?

Anyone still checking this lonely blog?
I still don't know when I'll get my computer back. It feels like forever! Will she ever come back? What's wrong with her? Does she miss me? Maybe she's happy for the vacation? Maybe it's a computer that doesn't think and feel and I'm the one that needs to go and get fixed.
Whatever!
After today I'll be minus a computer and camera. What to do! Pretty spring days and no camera... That is just too sad.
So, to cheer myself up I play on my phone! And give my girls iStyle makeovers!
Hopefully I'll have my computer back so I can really blog!

Feb 26, 2009

I want my computer back.

No Computer.

My computer is gone. The house seems empty...
I just kidding! I am surviving without it! I thought it would be harder then it is. The girls and I are having fun. Well, Maggie seems a bit more needy and won't leave my side today, but other then that I'm fine!
The down side is it takes WAY too long to check blogs on my phone! Let's pray they can fix our baby today and I won't miss out on too much!

Playin' it Safe.

Vegas might take a few posts... just to warn ya!

So, Jeramy and I have been talking on and off about what we learned in Vegas... It's hard for me to sum it all up. I still feel like I'm processing it all.

That also might have something to do with the sleeping baby drooling on my shoulder and the one-handed typing, I'm not sure. Anyhow...

Confidence.

I lack confidence. I play it safe. 

My whole life I have always played it safe. Never wanting to "mess up" always fearing what others thought and not wanting to let people down. 

Letting people down is the worst!

So... I play it safe.

But, when we mess up we learn. Sometimes when we think we've messed up... it actually turns out that it's a good thing! You never know if you don't try! Right?

That is so much easier to type! Even one-handed!

What has playing is safe done for me?

Not much.

I stay in my little safe box and I don't learn much. You don't grow stuffed in a box.

It works like that with plants, right? They only grow as large as their container? 

I don't want to play it safe anymore. I don't want to be afraid anymore.

I want to trust. I want to hope and I want to grow.

Jeramy always says, if I had the confidence in myself, that he has in me... there would be no stopping me.

Homegrown Photography has so many meanings behind its name....

So here are a few from the Vegas shoot that I felt afraid to share...

So there you go! A few more... 

This might be it for a while. Jeramy is taking our computer baby in... Thank God for my iPhone! It's my saving grace! I am so not kidding! I'm going to be without my camera AND computer!! 

I'll make it!  Right? 

Jane and I will bake! Thats it! Then, I'll gain weight and Elsa (my fitness coach/boot camp drill Sergeant who can't seem to count right!) will have me adding weight to that blasted bar!!! I don't like that bar!

OH! This is no good! 

I'll be fine! I'm able to check my blogs and Facebook from my phone... I will survive!

See ya in a few!

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses.

I think I'm going to have to do Vegas in two posts... I don't think I can get it in one. 

We will start with Photography.

WPPI was something else! I so want to go next year, and for sure stay longer and make it to the platforms. I'm not sure I worked the Trade Show like I was supposed to. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. I am so glad Jeramy was with me! At the Trade Show I even texted Me Ra telling her I was so overwhelmed! I should have introduced myself and really talked to venders... I couldn't think! My mind went blank and I just grabbed the free stuff and left.

There were so many booths! Just tons and tons of stuff! I lost count of all the album companies! Good grief! So many new and innovative things on the market for photographers! Great things that we can pass to our clients! 

We watched on guy speaking about the 5D MARKII! If I wasn't sold before, I am now!

Later that night as I was in my jammies and nursing Maggie, Jeramy had just popped open a bottle of wine, and  Me Ra calls. They finally had a minute in their day to check up on us and wanted to grab some dessert/drinks with us. So, we got changed, I threw on some make-up and we met up with them. Jeramy and Brian together... way too much! (Ladies going to the Discovery Workshop... Depends. They will both be together for the kick off "Meet and Greet" and you are going to need Depends.) Then just when Brian and Jeramy were at the top of their game here come the cutest couple EVER! Katie and Chris. Add Chris to Jeramy and Brian and it's about all you can take! 

Even though we know we had to get up early the next morning to shoot with J* we couldn't pull ourselves away. We were having a blast! 

So, now we come to Jasmine and my excuses.

We wake up super early and get ready to meet Jasmine and the other photogs. On the way we debated which front of the hotel Jasmine was talking about... I was getting so super excited!

Right as we entered the MASSIVE lobby of the MGM hotel we spotted a group of photographers. I was so thankful I dressed comfortable! All I saw were 5D's. Once again I felt like a little fish in a big pond! But, I was not gonna let it phase me. I was going to rock my 30D like nobodies business!

My camera had other ideas. Here come the excuses...

I've been needing to send my camera in for a while now. I was just about to send it in before we found out that we were going to shoot with Jasmine. I just had to hope and pray that my camera will hold on for one more shoot.

It didn't. 

I was so proud of myself. I was happy to be there and I chose to not let my camera ruin my experience. Not easy when you are there to learn about photography! The camera would work on and off. I got a few good shots, but mostly I learned from watching Jasmine. What an experience! It was neat to see a photographer like her work! Standing in the middle of the street not caring who's around and just going for it! It was great to see Jasmine fiddling with her settings and not getting deterred if an idea didn't work. Knowing that not every picture she takes comes out perfectly! Just so much! It was amazing!

Wanna see some pictures?

J* talking to the "Clients" They were actually winners of a contest. They didn't have any pictures of them together! AND she's a photographer! Can you believe it! They were the cutest people EVER! Can you see my wonky camera! That darn shutter!

J* and hubby JD at work!

We had to watch for cars here! Jasmine would be talking to us and you'd hear "Car!" in the middle of the sentence. It was funny! But, she didn't miss a beat!

She talking about finding natural reflectors and defusers here. She doesn't have big bulky reflectors... YES! 

Look at JD getting in my shot! ;-)

Now there's Jasmine! Man! ;-) I had put my 85mm lens on so I could be cool and shoot with a prime lens like J* but I was too short to make it work. So, many photographers it was hard to get in. My 24-70 isn't a shabby lens by any means! 

Jeramy and JD chatting it up!

J* loves her a big red dumpster!

Are you over loaded with pictures yet?

And of course you can't pass up stairs!

After the shoot J* answered questions... My mind went blank! She truly is a doll!

I felt like a dork handing JD my broken camera! Although it did make me feel better that he couldn't get it to work either!

More later...

We Are Back!

Vegas was FUN! FUN! F-U-N... FUN!

I really do have so much to blog about! I have lots of pictures to show, but... my computer is having fits and I'm having a hard time dealing. I'm super tired and dealing with two tired girls and babysitting one sweet girl... pictures will just have to wait.

Maybe during LOST tonight I'll work on them...

I got to hang out with some awesome photographers and see tons of neat new photography products!

I can't wait to tell you guys everything!

Happy Valentines Day!

I know... it's tomorrow, but I'm not sure I'm going to have time to blog tomorrow. I'll be working out, hanging with the fam, Mary Rose has a birthday party, we'll be getting ready for Vegas!!! and hopefully somehow I'll get a few moments alone with my Valentine!

And on top of that... I feel like my head is going to burst open! The pressure!!!

Are you wondering why I'm going to Vegas? Do you not already know? OH!!!

I'll tell you really quick!

There is there is this most awesom-est photographer, named Jasmine Star! I can't remember how I found her. Maybe it was through David Jay... I'm not sure. Anyhow, Jeramy and I got an awesome opportunity to see her and David Jay last year- thanks to Michelle R and Picky. I'd been following her for a while and after we saw her and David Jay, Jeramy started following her blog. She's not only an amazing photographer, but she is very giving.

That's where Vegas comes in.

A photography conference in Vegas called WPPI is happening next week and it is a pretty big deal. Well, Jasmine announced on her blog that she will be doing a photo shoot on the strip at sunset, to a couple that needed pictures. AND that she's pick 20 photographers to shoot with her. Walking through how she runs a shoot, and how and where she looks for light. That kind of stuff. Getting to see how a photographer works, is such an awesome learning experience. 

Well, somehow... Jeramy and I got picked to shoot with her! We did! Can you believe it? I am so excited! It was God. That is the only way I can explain it. Jeramy has another explanation... you can ask him his. Its pretty funny!

The list of insanely great photographers I've gotten to learn from is growing, and just so amazing! I can't believe it!! Last year with Me Ra and Brian, Garrett and Rick... And this year I get to work with those four again and Jasmine Star! If I meet Tara too... I'll... I don't know. I just don't know. I can't even think about that.

So, We get to go to Vegas and we are bringing all our kids and a sitter! Whoo hoo! So, hopefully we'll be able to go to Scarlett Lillian's after party and meet her! AND I heard Mary Marantz will be there! Freak OUT!!! 

We are staying at a super cool hotel and Kimmi already has plans... I hope we can fit it all in! The shoot... the trade show... an after party, the kids want to swim and we have a few stops our sitter requested! I hope we can fit it all in! Vegas is the city that never sleeps... Right?

Alright! Still here? Jeramy doesn't like long blog posts and I always think about that when I start babbling...

Back to Valentine's Day!

Brady's card....

All his idea... I just executed it. 

Mary Rose's card. She just wanted it to be cool. 

Jane's card. She had nothing to say about what she wanted.

Maggie's card. She didn't care either. 

They were so excited to pass out their cards today! 

OH! And speaking of Me Ra! She has such an awesome blog and a super awesome contest! Click Here and you can enter to win a WAY cool Sony camera!

Crazy!

I've got to get pictures of the other two scanned! 

Can you tell they are sisters?

Brady Boy!

Brady. I love that boy. He's the coolest! Simply the coolest. 

He's growing up so fast! It makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I'm so sad to see the little boy grow up, but I'm also super excited to see who he's becoming. I love that he has his own style and doesn't care what the "in crowd" thinks. And I love that he surrounds himself with people that love him for who he is.

here's a bit of our conversation last night...

Have you noticed that you don't get into trouble as much any more?

I DID! I was just thinking that! and wondering why?

I kept trying to make better choices and then pretty soon I didn't have to try so hard...

I was just doing it.

That's because you are growing up.

Then he said...

You know I try... I try to work on being a good boy and just when I think I've got it... 

I have something else to work on.

He looked at me funny when I said...

I know exactly how you feel! EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL!

My boy is growing up and I so love who he is!

So does Jane...

Spiderwebs.

Long ago when I was about 10, I got a book of little poems and sayings. I loved it. A friend of my Gramma's bought it for me from a store called All Heart in Mill Valley.

Man! I loved that store!

Anyhow... the book is probably in a box somewhere, but I have never forgotten the poem that stuck. I'm reminded of it ever time I see a beautiful spiderweb. 

I wish I could remember who wrote it... I'll look for her.

I saw a spiderweb this morning

Resplendent, with the suns light glistening through it patterns.

It reminded me of the elegance of life...

If a tiny spider could make such a beautiful and intricate web,

Just think of what we could do with our lives.

(and one day I will get the perfect spiderweb picture to go with the poem!)