studio

this morning i've been working on getting a dvd of images ready for some of my clients. i have this nice little set up in my room, and as i was looking at it i suddenly had a feeling of fondness for it. i decided that it's worthy of note on my blog because it is my first official office space, although it's more like a work station in a bedroom than an office:) maybe someday i'll be situated in a nice loft with large windows in some big city, huge gallery canvas wraps on the wall, a gorgeous mac computer to work on, and beautiful rugs and couches. maybe i'll have a huge flat screen TV on which to show clients their images while they are making print purchases.

for now, i'm happy when i look at this humble beginning:

do you enjoy the way my cords are wrapped around the desk legs? apparently i don't pay attention to detail when i'm constantly plugging and unplugging cords:)

fate

“Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.”-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

i'm hoping.. i'm waiting....

marian the photographer..

took these photos of me (my edits). it makes me SO happy that she loves photography!! she already has a good eye, don't you think? by the way, she is only 7 years old. when she's older and knows how to manually set a camera maybe i'll hire her;) she's been asking me to teach her how to use photoshop for several months and i think it's about time. so look for a post in the near future, i'm going to help her through an entire shoot from planning, shooting, and post processing. click here, here, here, and here to see a few posts on my photog blog from photo walks we've gone on in the past:)

Alis Volat Propriis

"she flies with her own wings."

^the motto of the state of oregon, and my personal motto for 2011.

word for the year: cautious

“Every man dies - Not every man really lives.” - William Ross Wallace
i want to live this year.

i take back some of what i said in my last post. i do have a few tentative desires for 2011:
PHOTOGRAPHY:
spend a day with artist sean flanigan

(image by sean flanigan)

HEALTH:
move my body every day; dance, run, play with kids, yoga classes at the gym.
SPIRITUALITY:
find a few more answers. connect.
SERVICE:
perhaps go on a humanitarian project this summer. haiti?

(image by amelia lyon)

i need to learn how to live, and how to love again.

2011

i'm tired from 2010.
this year i'm not really setting goals. i have a few things that would be nice to accomplish but my attitude is pretty cautious. new year's  day came and went without the lists and renewed motivation to succeed at unrealistic pursuits. i had no desire to start the year with the traditional vigor that quickly ends in laziness or disappointment. i think a lot of people are happy to see 2010 end. since october i've itched to write 2011 every time i signed a date. i've been over 2010 for a while now.

the weather lately, photo taken with my iphone:

and on a happier note, i've decided to start going to church with kids my age rather than families- i'm finally ready to stop hibernating. yesterday was my first day back to church with all the other single people. it wasn't annoying, surprisingly. i met a couple of cool girls who from what little conversation we shared seem to be my music soul mates.

hair

today i bought hair scissors and thinning scissors. i realized this morning that since i've been cutting my own bangs for years and probably always will, it would be smart to buy proper sheers. these aren't the best, but they are decent! the other reason i bought them was because i have been in need of a hair cut and last night i stumbled upon some youtube tutorial videos demonstrating how to cut your own long hair in layers. i haven't EVER cut my hair (besides bangs) before and was terrified for the first 30 seconds.. then i attacked and this is the aftermath, on a bag in the sink:

guess what? it wasn't the biggest mistake of my life! here are the results:

i don't look that different and am still amazed by how much hair i chopped off, making layers and thinning it out! this feels amazing.. like learning to drive stick. i can cut my own hair (thank goodness, because the only person i currently trust with my hair is more $$ than i can afford right now)!!!!

also, on an unrelated note, my computer officially SUCKS. it's looked like this most of today:

time for an upgrade so i can continue to work. fyi i made this blog post in the 2.5 inches of screen there at the top. this is the view i have this very second, on my computer in this quiet house, on the couch. :)

potty

me: sophia, do you need to go potty?
sophia: no
me: can you stop for a minute and think about it? listen to your body and see if tells you that you need to go potty.
*silence for a minute*
sophia: i don't need to, my heart said no. i listened and my heart said not yet.

*2 minutes later*
sophia: it said yes, it said yes, header! my heart say i need to go potty!

subsequent rush to the toilet.

i'm mean. i've been making her to go on the toilet this week. she's been totally capable for a while, and sometimes does, but i realized she just doesn't have the motivation- pull ups are so much more convenient! i totally and personally understand that sentiment (laziness no, efficiency yes! i'm all about.. efficiency..) but i'm in charge of the house this week and don't want to change pull ups anymore. today i made a list of things to  use as motivation: chocolate, dora the explorer, "delego go" (go diago, go), and clementines- she's been going through clementines like a madwoman. i'm still in the "hope this works, may still give up out for convenience's sake" phase.

i want to live here:

tacoma, WA.

sophia getting ready for bed

so freaking cute.

san fran

we spent yesterday in san francisco on pier 39. on the way home we stopped at the oakland temple on the way back to modesto. here are a few frames from our day vaca:


i'm usually pretty good about making sure things in the background aren't growing out of heads, but i somehow missed this one. i still like the picture though. haha: