365 Project: Day 128

Today I let go...I just let it all go. The frustration, the mental block, the obsessing...I let it go. I spent the afternoon with myself at the park. I was there for hours. I'm not sure people know I do this. The park is one of those places that I sneak away to when I need to think and just be alone for awhile. I love the park. I love grass and trees and being outside. I spent hours in the shade of a big old tree, laying in the grass listening to my iPod and clearing my head. I napped for almost an hour and a half. Apparently I have no problem sleeping in public like a bum. I opened my eyes to a view of the canopy above me swaying in the breeze. I awoke feeling rested, recharged, and peaceful. 

There is something about laying on the grass that quiets my mind. The calmness that my body feels when I'm laying against the earth is hard to explain. The smell of the grass and the dirt, the coolness of it against my skin is comforting and relaxing. I ran my hands through the blades of grass along side of me, letting them tickle my palms and tangle in my fingers. I laid there for a long time and stared up into the trees stretching over me. I watched the sunlight flicker through the leaves as they twirled. These are the moments that ease my mind. I took a deep breath, inhaling the damp earthy smell and just like that...I let it all go.

365 Project: Day 28

The pest control company that my landlord hired came by this morning shortly after I got out of bed and sprayed outside our house. Within just a few minutes, the entire house was filled with the terrible smell of menthol. Like Vapor Rub. Before long my eyes were watering, my voice was hoarse, my nose all stuffed up and I had a terrible headache. I had to leave the house it was so strong. So I opened up the windows, turned on the swamp cooler and went to the park for a little while to read, people watch and listen to my iPod.

I love to read. I always have, even as a kid. When I get a hold of a book I am interested in, I devour every word of it. Biographies are my favorite. I love to read about how other people have lived their lives. There are so many different paths a person can take and I love hearing about the experiences people have once they choose their path.

Right now I'm reading a biography about Sylvia Plath and I can hardly put it down. She fascinates me. Plath was such a beautiful writer. She was very insightful and understood herself in a way that no one else could even though she was full of self-doubt. I find her observations about herself and the world around her to be really interesting.

In case you can't read the quote on the picture:

"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited." --Sylvia Plath

Welcome to 2009 baby!

The New Year has finally arrived in all of its balloon dropping, confetti tossing, champagne toasting, kissing at midnight glory!  I love when the new year arrives.  It brings a feeling of a new beginning, a fresh start to another year of your life.  For me its a time reflect on the last year and make the appropriate changes in my life. Its a time to make new resolutions and re-commit to the old ones.  I look at the upcoming year as a blank slate.  Anything can happen and the idea of that is very exciting to me!

This year I decided that the best way to kick off 2009 was with a road trip!  I had everything all planned out, then I found out that it was supposed to rain the WHOLE TIME!  I was bummed, but plans were adjusted and John and I set out on our journey anyway.

We finally arrived at the Sheraton in Petaluma, CA. Which, by the way, was FABULOUS! Its right on the river.  I would highly recommend staying there if you are ever in Petaluma.

After dinner we arrived at the Mystic Theater in downtown Petaluma to see the Tommy Castro Band.  They are an awesome blues band.  If you are in to the blues, you should check them out.

The Tommy Castro Band.

Tommy jammin'

We headed up Highway 101 and stopped in the most adorable historic towns. We took a break in this park next to a river along the way.  It had the most beautiful, fall-colored trees.

This was the bridge over the river.  Then we headed through the woods and to the coast.

The beginning of day 3. It was MUCH colder on the coast.

We went to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, CA.  The beach is covered in sea glass. It really is an amazing site to see.

We made a pit stop in Elk, CA.  This was the coolest toilet.  It even had skylights.  I was impressed.

We decided about 1/4 of the way down the hill just to take a look over the edge instead.

Luckily it didn't rain nearly as much as we thought it would and we had a great time!  I really want to post all of the pictures we took along the way, so maybe I'll throw some more in another post soon.  Of course I took TONS of pictures along the way!  Keep your eyes peeled, many of the new prints will be available in my Etsy shop soon.  I have a lot of new products in the works that will be for sale throughout 2009.

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that 2009 brings you all hope, happiness, and all of the great things that you want in your lives.

Quote for the day:

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

- Oprah Winfrey

Sisters

These are two really sweet little girls!  They brought a kite to fly at the park, but the wind died down not long after we arrived. So we abandoned the kite and blew bubbles instead. They had a great time chasing and popping the bubbles.

As the sun was going down, the day ended with them making a "cake" with "sugar" on top in the sand.

Thank you girls for letting me take your pictures! I had a great time!

Quote for the Day:

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

- Marion C. Garretty

Pretty in Pink

Not long ago I spent a great afternoon playing with Sadie's big sister.  (Sadie is the Great Dane that I photographed not long ago.)

I loved her pink patchwork dress and UGG boots! I didn't realize that they made UGGs that small!

She started off a little shy, but before I knew it she was running around and having a great time at the playground. 

Thank you guys so much for letting me play with you!

I'm starting to work on getting a website soon!  I'm so excited!  I have been working so hard on building my portfolio and creating marketing materials.  I feel like I'm finally making progress in the right direction.

I'll keep everyone updated on the website progress and hopefully it will be ready to go really soon!

Quote for the day:

" Don't wait until everything is just right.  It will never be perfect.  There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions.  So what.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful."

- Mark Victor Hansen

A day in the park

I had the best picnic in the park with this adorable little girl and her family. I can't wait to photograph her with her twin little brothers!

Thanks for the great lunch!

Check out Giani!

Giani is the cutest little Maltese! What a personality! 

He was so much fun to photograph. Even when he was totally distracted by the other dogs at the dog park we were still able to get some really great images of this little cutie.