8

Eight years ago today, I married a man who:
*makes me laugh every day
*makes me feel like I can do anything and succeed
*makes me feel alive
*makes me feel beautiful
*works his ass off to make sure I'm happy
*loves good music
*loves his family and his momma especially
*does not believe in giving up
*would run off with Eddie Vedder if given the chance (man crush!)
*loves lazy weekend nights at home
*makes a mean burger on the grill
*has the funniest laugh
*is filled with integrity and honesty
*doesn't watch/participate in organized sports
*thinks Frisbee in a parking lot at a concert is the best sport
*has the best childhood stories about neighborhood kids
*hates the word "nougat" and thinks "loaf" is the funniest word in the dictionary
*hates having his picture taken and won't smile if there's a camera on him
*whips up a tasty fuzzy navel
*loves to dance with me in a clockwise motion
*prefers homemade dinners over going out
*is never afraid to try anything new
*is an endless romantic
*puts up with my camera/photography obsessions
*is a human blast furnace
*had Jewel's "My hands are small I know..." stuck in his head for over a year
*wants to learn to play the banjo
*loves Taylor Swift for some reason and justifies it with "She sings from the heart."
*I love more and more every passing day

Happy Anniversary dude.

12/24/1990

Isn't she beautiful?! I know you're thinking, "Seriously? Do you really need another camera?" Here's my reasoning. I sent my Sears Special SX-70 to Tracy of Prickly Pear Bloom a couple weeks ago, so since I subtracted one camera from my collection, that meant I could add another! I've always wanted a white Model 2, and now I've got one. I found her on ebay for quite a good deal and she's without a scratch, and smells of vanilla, but not just "of vanilla", I think she was made of vanilla. It's the loveliest vanilla smell, but it's heavy. My camera closet smells like vanilla now. (Yes, I have a closet.) But wait. There's more.

She arrived last Saturday. I tore into the package and beneath all the pastel pink and blue packing peanuts, there she was, stowed in an old Ziploc bag. I pulled her out, smelled the vanilla, took a big whiff and ran into the other room to show my husband who pretended to care - he really did - and then I opened her up and admired. About a half hour later, I went back into the kitchen to take care of the packing detritus, and that's when I noticed the old Ziploc bag had black writing on it. I held it up and the crinkled plastic read, "Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 12/24/1990". I stared at it for probably too long and then realized two things: #1 This bag was 19 years old! I was in 7th grade when this bag began its life. #2: My lovely new camera was just transported in a chicken sack. I kind of gagged. I hate raw chicken, and I'm not a big fan of it cooked, and my precious white SX-70 began its life with me in a 19-year old chicken sack. I began to realize a lot of things at this moment, like the fact that I just bought a camera from someone who reused a plastic bag that had raw chicken in it. Gross. The good thing is that it has already made me think twice about throwing away a Ziploc. Everyone always says that plastic bags last forever in landfills, but now I really get it. This bag was 19 years old and still in ok shape. Ironically, we always made fun of my mom when she would wash and reuse Ziplocs. Unfortunately, I am not to the point where I will start washing out Ziplocs, but I am reusing ones that I put cheese or bread in. That being said, I'm sure you have already guessed the fate of "Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 12/24/1990" bag. I tossed it after I showed it to my husband. I was not about to reuse a raw chicken bag from 1990.

To make up for my new camera being stored in the chicken bag, she is now wrapped up in this pretty fall-like fabric and sitting on the top of my camera shelf. She's much happier this way.

Light

Our newest word - light - is now up over Words to Shoot By. These images are such a complete deviation from my usual stuff, but I had so much fun with them and hope to make more.
Words to Shoot By was an idea I got in my head back in February after a trip to Moab with the Take a picture, it'll last longer! crew. I worked on a project for a few months with Elizabeth that we kind of just let slide unfortunately. It was a lot of fun and a good challenge, but quite time-consuming. Maybe we'll reinvent it at some point. Anyway, I had gotten into "project mode" and wanted to try something collaborative again, so I asked a few friends to join me, and voila! Words to Shoot By came to be. It's been just over five months since we started and I'm still having such a great time with it. I just love how creative everyone is, yet how different our styles all are, which is why it's so exciting for me to announce that we're inviting guest contributors to the project beginning September 28. More creativity! More diversity! Hooray for words! And thunder. That's what I'm listening to as I type.

Last Day

My big BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Polaroid sale ends today in my Etsy shop!

#24

I had a very successful trip to Ikea over the weekend, which for me is rare. The last time I was there, I bought a chair, some planters, and a photo frame, and ended up taking all of it back. $250 worth of stuff. Returned. Most other times I've driven all the way there only to leave with something like a $1.50 dish scrubber. I did end up bringing home another $1.50 dish scrubber this past weekend, but I also bought this awesome Karlstad chair in brown, lamps for my front room (#24 on my list), and a bunch of white frames for my kitchen. I was so pleased with myself. Usually I don't make unsupervised trips to Ikea. Not because I'm afraid of spending too much money, but because I have absolutely no design sense. I just kind of buy whatever, with no thought given to how it will look with other things. Take what I'm wearing today, for example. I'll start from the ground up: grass green Chacos, jeans, a worn-out heathered red/pink t-shirt, and an olive green military-style cap. I don't even come close to matching. But this is me. So, going to Ikea alone was a risk -- especially because I don't even have cell service in there -- but I did it! I'm so proud of myself.

My front room is now completely decorated. We moved in almost a year and a half ago. It took me that long. It looks amazing, if I do say so myself. And my kitchen, although I had always thought of it as being done, I had a massive blank wall. When I saw these two tomato photos from Tracy at Prickly Pear Bloom, I knew I had to have them on my blank wall. We arranged a trade and now they are looking beautiful in my kitchen. I added some of my prints to the mix as well, but I'm really hoping to make a few more trades with some Flickr friends for their food photos. It will be my visiting artist wall, because honestly, sometimes I get sick of looking at my own stuff. So, if you have a lovely food photo you'd like to trade with me, give me a shout. I'm looking for squares or horizontal rectangles.

PS: The big Buy One Get One free Polaroid sale in my Etsy shop ends tomorrow!

+Fireweed

A couple more from the offices of my summer job. These are both from my digital SLR and then applied a faux x-pro dealio in Photoshop. I kinda like 'em.

Etsy Shop Update!

I finally set aside some time last night to pay attention to my Etsy shop. I added 17 new prints to my shop, all things I've shot this summer, including Polaroids, images from my K1000, Kodak Duaflex III, and my lovely little Banner. This mosaic above is just a sampling of what I've added, and to add a little icing on the top, I'm having a Polaroid sale! Purchase any one listing in my Polaroid prints section and you'll receive a FREE 5x5" Polaroid print of your choice! Sale ends Saturday, September 12. As always, if you see something in my Flickr photostream that you like, but it's not in my shop, just shoot me an e-mail and I can make it happen.

Balloons

A couple weekends ago, some friends invited us to join them at the Ogden Valley Balloon Festival, and I jumped at the chance. My husband and I had gone before, but it was years ago and ironically, no balloons were up, but I've learned now that they only launch in the mornings. Anyway, we turned the invite into an overnight thing and stayed up at my family's cabin. We went to the festival that Saturday night when three balloons were inflated, so we walked around, snapped a few photos, and listened to some local band on stage. The next morning, Kristy and I rolled out of bed at 5:15 and were stationed, cameras in hand, on the field at 6AM when the balloons were rolled out of their trailers and the task of readying them for launch began. It was amazing to say the very least. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I shot almost two 36-exposure rolls in my K1000, finished off a roll in my Banner, and shot 11 Polaroids. I can't wait for next year!