Steaks, Wine & Nature
A while back when I was blogging more regularly I used to write up weekend re-caps. I think I’ll start those back up!
Friday: Kenny & I went on a nice date night to Sullivan’s Steakhouse. He had recently gone here on a business dinner and wanted to introduce me to it. Yum! We had the filet mignon and I tried their signature cocktail “The Knowckout”.
We wrapped up the evening with some gelato at Paciugo. I had a great time catching up with him. My schedule has been so hectic this month that it was good to get some time to just talk.
Saturday:
I had a table at the Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center‘s March Artisan Market where I sold my photographic prints. The weather cooperated and I did better than I had expected! Yay me!
Saturday night:
Kenny & I have joined 22 other friends and friends of friends in purchasing our own half-barrel of custom-made Merlot wine at a local winemaking facility called Vinters Own. Part of the process is to gather as a group for a wine profiling and that is just what we did! We got to taste how our wine currently tastes (not bad at all) and discuss what we want it to be. Very educational to say the least!
Sunday:
Kenny & I headed south to Armand Bayou Nature Center which is this month’s assignment for the Flickr group Assignment Houston. We weren’t there for very long but we enjoyed what we saw. Thanks so much for coming with me Kenny and keeping me company!
I’ll leave you with a slide show of some of the shots I took Sunday at Armand Bayou…
Book Review: The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Interesting concept but I struggled with the idea that the narrator, a murdered 14 year old girl, could be so seemingly nonchalant about her murder. I would have liked to see more dimensionality in her character, more anger, less acceptance. A good idea and relatively well written but it lacked something. The story did not leave me hanging but some of the "resolutions" seem hurried and just too neatly wrapped up at the end.
Ginger 1993 – 2010
Hello – for many of my longtime readers you may remember that we use to have a beautiful red dachshund named Ginger. She was Kenny’s dog from before I met him – he got her as a 6 week puppy and I met her when she was about 3 years old.
It doesn’t seem that long ago…
Well, after a full 17 years, we said goodbye to Ginger a couple of days before Christmas. Her health had been steadily declining over the last year and the fight was out of this beautiful girl. It was hard to say goodbye but we also know she is finally resting, something she had struggled to do recently.
For those of you who knew her in person, thanks for giving her that pat, hug or kiss. She never met a stranger – she loved everyone she met.
Rest in Peace Ginger: November 1993 – December 2010
Review: Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited
Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fascinating true-story recounted by the twins themselves. Separated at birth and adopted by separate families who were not aware they were adopting one half of a set of twins, Paula & Elyse find each other in their early 30’s. This is their story as they discover each other and research their shared origin and the circumstances behind their separation.
The book is well written. The story switches between Paula & Elyse, as each tells their story and their account of key events in their initial 2 1/2 years of meeting. It is a compelling read. My only gripe – and it is nothing than can be remedied by the writing so I don’t count it as part of my rating – is that one of the sister’s personalities is a little more grating to me personally, LOL.
A good book if you are looking for some non-fiction to read.
Goodreads.com & some book reviews
So I gave up my People magazine subscription once again and received my husband’s 2nd hand Kindle reader (he upgraded to the latest). I was hesitant at first about switching to the Kindle but it has won me over in one major way… it’s so slim and compact that it fits in my purse better than a paperwork ever would.
I now can always have a book with me & won’t accidentally leave it at home or in the car. Bonus – I can sync it and also read my book on my Android phone. Bonus #2 – if I finish a book while I am out I can download a new one in less than a minute.
With the desire to read more, I signed up for a Goodreads account, set up some lists and have made a point to keep that up-to-date. It’s a good place too to keep of list of books I want to read.
I’ve entered a few short book reviews since signing up that you can read after the jump…
Read more…
Reviving this blog!
So I refuse to give up on this blog (I’ve had a blog since July 2001!) and I am devising a plan to at least pop in here more regularly with shorter posts that aren’t as general as this one. I’ve got a few in my head that I am going to start posting in my draft folder so they’ll be ready. I think that will help (update – already wrote up drafts for seven more entries so there will be some more updates coming soon!)
In the meantime, yet another update! What has happened since the last post? I think a bullet list is easier:
> I went on an amazing trip to Caye Caulker, Belize with Christine to shoot a destination wedding. Wow. I fell in love & can’t wait to take Kenny (I’ll post details & photos in a separate post).
> I also went to New Orleans with several other photographers (Christine, Kelly & Kari) for an informal wedding photographers gathering. Another great trip! (again, I’ll post details & photos in a separate post)
> I had another solo photo exhibit with 25 of my TTV prints at the Caroline Collective in the month of August.
> Immediately after that show, a dozen TTVs from my New Orleans trip were up at the Te House of Tea in the Montrose.
> I bought a slightly used scooter (red Buddy 125cc) mid-summer for commuting to work & weekend fun.
> In mid-September I had an accident on my 1st day out on the road with the scooter (despite taking the weekend safety course & passing the written test with no wrong answers). Suffice to say I simply got spooked and I did not hit anyone else – thank goodness – and merely hurt myself. Heck, the scooter didn’t even get that banged up – it’s already been mostly repaired. I, on the other hand, broke my right shoulder blade near the shoulder socket & got a nice case of road rash on my foot. Two months later with a month of physical therapy (3x/week) and I am much much better. I was unable to shoot any weddings or portrait sessions during this time but can finally pick up the camera once more. I still have not recovered all of my mobility and some movements are painful but I see improvements every day.
> On the day of my scooter accident, Kenny started his new job with Chevron.
> We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in October.
> I had three photos selected for this year’s 600 sq mi Group Show. The opening reception was awesome. My photos were hanging among many other amazing images!
> Just a week ago I sprained my right ankle. I know, another injury! It’s a moderate sprain though and I am mobile so no worries there. Ankle brace is helping and I am not in pain.
That should do it – my life since July. Eventful, isn’t it? Stay tuned for the upcoming posts – I am going to start time-stamping them for future dates so they’ll appear on their own over the next few weeks…
Crap! It’s already mid-June??
OK, so blogging isn’t my thing anymore! So sorry to the one or two readers out there! LOL Well, to be honest, composing a blog post takes a little bit more time than quickly posting an update on Facebook or through Twitter. It’s simply the truth. So if you really want to keep track of me, follow me over at those sites: me on Twitter and me on Facebook.
Still, I don’t want to inactivate this blog so here I am! I just can’t believe that it has been almost six months since I last posted. Wow! I knew I wouldn’t be a very regular poster anymore but I didn’t think I only post a handful of times a year! I am so sorry for that!
So what has kept me so busy? You can probably guess that it has been my photography. My “hobby” has blossomed nicely into a side business. Without much work on my part except through some wonderful word of mouth of referrals I am being kept extremely business shooting everything from weddings (still with Christine Tremoulet) to portraits (maternity, newborns, kids, engagements, family) to events (conferences, receptions, galas). In just the past 6 months – since January – I have photographed the following: 8 weddings (including an all day Chinese wedding, a 3-day Indian Muslim wedding & a commitment ceremony), 5 newborns, 2 maternity sessions, 2 toddler sessions, 1 engagement session, 1 family portrait, 2 social events and 1 two-day summit. Mind you these have been done mostly on the weekends or after my 9-5 job (where I celebrated 3 years this month). Squeeze in between those lots of time with Kenny & friends, puppy training classes and my own personal photo excursions and you have a very busy woman.
Oh – and how could I forgot! I even had my own solo show at the wonderful local coffee shop, Taft Street Coffee? They hosted a show of 25 of my TTV images earlier this year. You can see more pictures here and a mock postcard I created for the show below!
So I am busy but happy. I went ahead and registered a DBA for my photography business, EMG Images (website re-vamp coming), and even opened it its own bank account. I’m so grown-up now!
I won’t bore you with anymore photography to say, suffice it to say my camera is slung around my neck a lot! 🙂
Welcome to 2009!
Hello everyone – hope everyone made it safely into the new year! Kenny & I took it easy and stayed in town for the holidays, visiting with various friends. New Year’s was low-key as well. I didn’t take many pictures but other partygoers did. As you can see, we “jumped into” the new year after telling 2008 to “suck it“!
It was hard to return to work after essentially being off for over 2 weeks (with a couple of distracted days of work thrown in there). The pups sure enjoyed having us home! Wonky weather (75 F one day, 45 F the next, repeat a couple of times) also made this a weird holiday season.
But here we are, already January 6th! No resolutions from me but I did re-start my diet blog & I am back to counting “points” (Weight Watchers). I shoot my first wedding of the year with Christine & Kelly this coming weekend in Corpus Christi and I’ve got some interesting & fun potential photography projects in the works. I’ll keep you posted as it all unfolds…
Giving Thanks
As the Thanksgiving holidays approach and I thought about what to post here on my newly re-vamped blog, I decided to write a post on why I am thankful that will also fill you in on what’s been going on the past few months.
I am thankful for…
My job: I have seen several friends laid off and our own company has had to do it. The economy simply sucks right now and no one is safe as companies struggle to stay alive. I am fortunate to still be employed.
My husband: Kenny and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past October and he is an amazing husband. He supports my wacky adventures, puts up with my Twitter addiction, cooks me the most fabulous dinners, supports my photography as more than just a hobby and just loves me for all my craziness. Thanks for 10 wonderful years!
My pups: As you may or may not know, we lost Heidi, our cocakpoo, back in August after a short illness. She was almost 15 years old so we were not surprised & she went peacefully but it was still hard of course. I am grateful for the years we had with her, am grateful Ginger is still with us and am grateful for our new chiweenie puppy, Pascal. He is a handful but is growing up to be a very good dog.
Friends: Life would be pretty boring without good friends to accompany you along the way! Thank you to all of our old friends as well as to our many new & re-found friends.
Social media: Yeah, I know I’ve become addicted to Twitter but it has also opened so many new doors for me! I have met so many wonderfully creative, intelligent people through the service. Although I use it less, Facebook has also reconnected me with friends from way back when! In addition to meeting people, I have been able to experience more of the Houston arts & social scene. I am grateful for all these new adventures & connections.
Our home: We have been in our home for over 6 years now and I still love it. I am thankful we have weathered the mortgage crisis without issues and that we are still able to stay in our home. I am also thankful that Hurricane Ike spared us any real damage.
Christine: Christine is in this list as my boss. Without her encouragement I would never have shot weddings nor would I have gained as much experience, knowledge & confidence in my portraiture skills. Thanks so much for all you’ve done & for your support in my freelance endeavors.
Finally, I’ll leave you with the wish that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving… and a picture that to me represents fall here in Houston: still green with a touch of color and beautiful weather! Another thing I am grateful for – autumn in Houston!
I finally updated www.cybertoad.us!
This may not seem like much but I finally updated my splash page. I hadn’t touched it for a couple of years and hated the design so I just kept ignoring it. I found a usable template for free from Elated Pagekits. I completely customized it with my links & my image but I couldn’t have done it with the basic code. Anyway, here it is, the entryway to my corner of the internet…
find me here too
