Late night ramblings....

    I can't believe that I'm up this late, but it really has been a while since i stayed up this late and did work on my computer.  I've kind of been in a rut since about the end of wedding season.  Didn't matter how fast I was processing to some brides it just wasn't fast enough, and kind of made me feel bad that I couldn't please them.  Then personal life - things started piling on one by one.  My relationship with Brian was being tested  - His dad was diagnosed with cancer and Brian was diagnosed with Celiac.  This made him depressed and I did all I could to keep his spirits up and encourage him.  I was internalizing everything and thinking it had something to do with me - which it didn't.  He just needed lots of hugs.  The Celiac is getting better.  We went from "I'm going to have to cook everything from scratch for the rest of my life" to "Brian, you can eat at Swiss Chalet!!" It's getting better everyday as we discover food that is gluten free. And I love being able to tell him my new discoveries. 

     I made gluten free pizza tonight and I think I just might like making gluten free pizza crust better than pizza dough because there is so much mess with bread - kneading, flour everywhere, waiting 1 hr for the bread to rise.  Well gluten free pizza crust is basically a batter and you spread it on a pizza plate and cook it first for 15 minutes take it out put on the toppings and then cook it for another 15-20 minutes - EASY!!

   Things will be a little different in a few weeks though.  My youngest Allison has to get a endoscopy which will prove if she has Celiac.  I really hope she doesn't.  If it's just one person, I can have a hybrid kitchen - one with both gluten and gluten free products.  But if its Brian and Allison, I'm thinking that I might as well do the switch and make everything gluten free right across the board so she doesn't have to worry.  As it is, our dinners are gluten free - so brian can take leftovers for work.

  So I've been feeling like I'm starting to want to get back in photography more and more lately.  I had coffee with my friend Teresa and it seemed that alot of what we talked about was our two main interests - photography and singing.  (she was a second shooter for a couple weddings last summer).  The more I talked about it, the more excited I got, and realized that I really do love doing it and should do it for myself - even if business is a little slow.  Well, I had a photoshoot today, and it went...Ok.  I at least got one shot that I thought was incredible - to me that's a success, because I'm very critical of my work.

  Next week I decided that I'm going to go out and just take pictures.  I posted on Facebook to see who might want to tag along.  I love showing people tricks and cool things they can do with their camera. I also love seeing how other people see the world by the pictures they take.  It really says alot about them and what they value creatively. I only have one taker so far and its a guy from church who talks to me regularly about photography.  I'm hoping to have a girl come so were not alone- which I'm sure I can find one of my girlfriends who would be interested.

  For a while I've been wanting to go downtown, but have been too scared to go alone.  I did a photoshoot at night with this Artist/Musician last fall and we went to Whyte Ave which is right by the University and has old brick buildings, graffiti walls- i've used it quite a bit for my photography.  Anyways, I felt safe and mainly worried about how cold it was! But I'm going to stick to downtown during the day this time.  So something to look forward to.

Quote for the day....

Start by doing what's necessary,

 then what's possible, 

and suddenly you're doing the 

impossible 

- Francis of Assisi - 

Fire-damaged Ethiopian eatery to reopen on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue

Fire-damaged Ethiopian eatery to reopen on Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue

Elizabeth one of my friends from church! I'm so glad that their restaurant will open soon!

Stepping out of our Comfort Zone

Liz Longley - I love you!!

Ok..I think I have a new favorite artist....sigh.  Liz Longley!!

I heard her on coffeehouse and can't get her songs out of my head!

Just had to share...

What do you love?

I kind of stumbled on this fun searching service by Google.

What do you love?

It's kind of fun and VERY addicting - well for me anyway.

I searched...

  friends names,

Jesus,
My name,
sex 

(I couldn't help myself! try it! seriously it's funny)
rainbow,
double rainbow,
Israel (very intersting)

Check it out...  www.wdyl.com 

Why do I waste my time blogging?

       Tonight I just read this article... Why on Earth would you waste your time writing a blog? Well, I personally don't think I'm wasting time, but I know a few people who do, and I have to admit I don't have too many friends that write one just because.  I mean I have my photography blog and that has a purpose to draw more clients and build rapport, but using my blog as an online diary?  Is that cool?  I was seriously starting to doubt, but that article made me feel like I'm not alone and there are probably other people who have a lot to say, and nobody to say it to.

        I can't imagine this being my job, I would love it, because I always seem to have something to write about, and I pride myself on being able to tackle any subject.  (In fact I did a newspaper article in college about this race that was run naked!  I loved  the challenge of trying to put a politically polite spin on such a racy subject.)

     I think what draws me to it is that I've always had pen pals growing up, someone to share my heart to.  People still tell me years later how much they enjoyed reading my letters, that they were so long and full of detail and that they were never boring.  I can't imagine writing a letter anymore.  I think the last REAL letter I wrote (handwritten on girly paper, where I obsessed over my handwriting) was six years ago!  Actually no, I had a sponsor child in Africa for a while and her and I wrote back and forth for a whole year.  I was really sad to give her up, she had so much potential I loved encouraging her and sending her stickers.  :(

     I've written to people from all over the world, penpal in Brazil, Ireland, Missionary in Mongolia who moved to Malaysia, and then just friends that I met at youth conferences or on my trip to mongolia.  I still have all my letters from when I was in Bible school from my friend Bridget.  Even when we were apart, we still kept in touch and I couldn't wait for her envelope to arrive. I guess it's been my way of processing the world. I'd be on my way home from a trip, immediately I'd start writing a letter to someone, then someone else till I had a stack of letters for the post office.

      I always tried to think of something new that was small that could fit in the envelope.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  One time I put different colored fall leaves in and they apparently crumbled and when my friend opened them they looked nothing like leaves.  My favorite was the skinny sticks of Juicy Fruit gum (love that gum!).

      I've been thinking about writing another blog about the daily events of my totally fictitious life.  I would have in mind from the very beginning where things were going - like in a book, but I would do it all online.  I meet people all the time who I think would be great characters for a story and I wish I could use them somehow, bring them to life in my vivid imagination.  I don't know if I would tell anybody about it, because it would not be censored and it would might offend some people - which is one thing that keeps me from writing an actual book.  I totally get it when Anna Nalick sings in her song "Breathe (2 am)"

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

Christians aren't kind to each other - especially of someone's interpretation of life.  Alot feel like they have analyze and judge it to death.  Makes me sad and sick at the same time. But i have to admit that Christians are getting better, and getting more real - we have to.  I think because we're seeing how we're being portrayed on T.V and we feel embarrassed and want to change that.  I know I do.

    

Cool music videos that I love....

These are some music videos that I love. 

 Not only do I love the song, I love how creative and unique the video concept is.  

I'll tell you why I love each video...

I love the acoustic sound of Jack Johnson and how soothing his voice is.
I love this video because it gets you from the beginning,
you HAVE to find out how that big mess started!
I don't know about you, but that's what got me the first time.
I didn't really like the song, but I had to watch the video over and over again.

This guy...I don't really know his music,
but someone shared this video on facebook and I love it!
Like who would of thought of making fish out of socks and clouds out of pillows!
Genius!



Pomplamoose is made up of only a guy (Jack) and a girl (Nataly).  
They make incredible full band sounds -
 just the two of them by recording each instrument one by one.
Very cool.  I love their version of Telephone, because I love watching Jack play the drums.
Reminds me of Animal from the Muppets.  
There are so many of their songs that I like, but I thought I would limit it to one.




Well...1) LOVE Kirk Franklin.
 He's cute, he's hot and he can dance.
(I mean that with all due respect! facts are facts.)
2) This song makes me happy.
 Everyone is happy, their dancing (WAY better than I ever could),
and you HAVE to check out that sound board?!
Looks like a nice place to hang out and dance.



I kind of stumbled upon this song,
and it's one of my favorite (if not my favorite) winter song.
The animation is so cute with the hearts
and I like that though the song starts off a little sad sounding,
it ends positive (which I think all songs should - at least the ones that I write do).

"Is love alive..is love alive...is love alive!!"

Ok that's all for now.  I have to get back to work.