Monday Magic

... because everyone needs to find a little something that's amazing to make it through the rest of the week.

My Punk Rock Girl

 Happy Halloween!!  Not having any kids to deck out and tote around to pillage candy bowls all over the neighborhood, the Halloween attention usually gets shifted to the dog.  Fortunately, Olivia is usually a fairly willing participant and LOVES all of the attention she gets.  I hope you enjoy Olivia's Halloween 2011 costume video premier below (note that she's not bucking the costume, she's just really excited to go for a walk), and have a safe and happy halloween!

                                                                             

PhotoHunt 286: ... Waiting ...

Waiting for the green line train in the DC Metro U Street Station.

This week's PhotoHunt theme, 'Waiting', was a difficult one for me.  Though most of us spend oodles of time waiting on so many things, I couldn't really locate a photo that expressed the seemingly eternal essence of it very well.  The above shot made the cut because I've always liked the way it seems to show the movement of the trains, even though there aren't any there. (Hence, the waiting).  So, until I can manage to come up with a better way to capture it, I suppose you'll just have to ... well, wait. 

PhotoHunt 284: Yellow, Ushering in Autumn

Autumn has officially arrived here in the northern hemisphere, and I couldn't think of a more perfect way to welcome it than to appreciate all of the beautifully changing color outside!  Fortunately, this week's PhotoHunt fits right into the now, and a lovely, though slightly damp, stroll through the neighborhood with Olivia (seen in the 3rd photo below) helped to capture some of the many wonderful shades of yellow to be found all around.  Happy autumn!

Pow, Right in the Kisser! - A Visit from Irene

What a weekend!  First it's a category three storm headed straight towards the east coast, then it's a one, then it's a tropical storm, then it's just heavy rain?!?  Though there is no doubt that Irene packed a good one-two punch to some areas, thank goodness she was a fickle beast and managed to spare others.  


Somehow in my corner of the world, in the visit of what we will call 'Hurricane Irene', the power along the eastern shores of Virginia miraculously remained intact while 2 hours inland, we were sitting in the dark with a mess of candles lit as century old monster trees fell all around us taking a spider web of power lines with them.  Though we were not as lucky as some who didn't lose power at all, we are of the fortunate ones in the 5 million houses without power, that had only 33 hours in the dark.  I say ONLY 33 hours, but for me it really felt like it might as well have been 33 days at certain points.  I do not usually do any type of camping very gracefully ... even the urban kind, and this was no exception.  Thanks to all of the windows in our house being painted shut by the previous owners, and a sink clogged with food we were trying to get down the garbage disposal right as the power went out, our house quickly began to smell much like a rotten gym locker room.  This sent even the most timid (me) to sit on the porch, while the more adventurous (Jay) took it upon himself to grill brownies for everyone in the middle of a hurricane.  


While I wasn't out grilling brownies, I was inspired to come up with some future 'Drink of the Moment' ideas for all of you fun folks out there while waiting out the storm (yay!), and the next day, there was nothing more inspiring than wanting to get out of the house and find someplace that offered the modern amenities we have come so fond of having on a daily basis.  Here is what we saw around our historic neighborhood in Richmond's 'Fan District' on our quest for creature comforts.

There were a lot of damaged vehicles due to street parking.  This Jeep actually got off pretty lucky compared to some others I saw.

Monument Avenue

Those houses on Monument Avenue are not small by any stretch.  That tree is just huge.

Monument Avenue

Westbound Monument Avenue

Neighborhood  intersection

Neighborhood intersection across the street from the above shot.

You can see most of the tree that did the damage has been moved to the back right with the top pieces in the foreground.

While things are back up and running at my house, there are still so many folks around the Richmond Metro area, and the entire east coast who are looking at up to another 1-2 weeks before their power/life is restored. Yikes.  Of course, my thoughts especially go out to those who have lost far more than just power, and are still dealing with more flooding to come.  I believe that almost requires a moment of silence, as I could in no way imagine enduring that without thinking that it might be the apocalypse.  Of course, given the events over the past few weeks (swamp fires, east coast earthquakes, and hurricanes in the northeastern US), don't think that hasn't crossed my mind.  


Make sure to enjoy your electricity today!!

Photohunt 280: 'Symbolic' Lawn Decor

After not doing a PhotoHunt for a number of months now, I figured I should throw one in just to keep me on my toes.  This week's theme, "Symbolic", could go in so many different directions, but I figured I would just keep it nice and simple since I'm a bit rusty after all of this 'time off'.  

Above, is a shot of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom on the gates of Buckingham Palace.  The three lions in two of the the quartered panels of the shield are the guardant lions of England, the rampant lion panel is symbolic of Scotland, and the harp panel is for Northern Ireland.  The crest and the left supporter are royal English lions wearing the imperial crown, and the right supporter is a chained unicorn for Scotland.  (For all of you unicorn novices out there, apparently an 'unchained unicorn' is far more dangerous than a chained one.  Though this might at first seem like a jab at Scotland, the symbol is pulled directly from the Scottish Royal Coat of Arms that depicts two chained unicorns).     

Stunning, aren't they?  After our visit, I wanted a matching set for our front door, but was informed that these could only be used by the Queen herself.  Though Jay insisted that we could find far better ones, I have yet to find them at the local Target store, and feel that I might be better off finding myself a unicorn for the front yard - chained, of course.    

Flying Pigs & Fairy Godmothers

After SIX WHOLE DAYS away from work, and my computer, I am finally back here sitting at my keyboard.  Not that I really missed all of the time I usually spend sitting in front of the computer on a daily and weekly basis, but compared to what I have been doing over the past week, it's almost like a walk in the park.  So, what was I doing on my 'time off'?  Vacationing?  Relaxing?  Spending quality time with my thoughts?


Nope.  I was in the throws of turning what looked like this ...

My Aunt Linda standing in the middle of my unnecessary stack of clutter looking skeptical.

... into this,

BAM, all pretty!

and this ...

The mountains of ridiculousness in the bedroom.

... into this.

Hi Olivia, I can see you there now!

I do not usually keep a perfect house, or anything close to it.  I am lucky to keep one or two 'high traffic' areas of the house mostly tidy at any given point, and I would have told you pigs would probably fly before I could get my entire household space to this level of being clean and pulled together without some outside forces of evil condemning me to hours upon hours of cleaning purgatory.  Well, I suppose the outside forces of evil decided to play some horrible joke on me, so I did the only thing I knew to do when in need of some serious house help, and called in the big gun - my Aunt Linda.  Aunt Linda has helped me previously in trying to attain some visual appeal, sense of sanity, & beautiful decor in my first house, which you can revisit here.  For me, the whole process of working with her to arrive at this level of household transformation is kind of like asking your Fairy Godmother for help, and having her figuratively kick your ass for a concentrated period of time in order to achieve the results you asked for.  Fortunately, this approach works exceptionally well for me when it comes to getting things done around the house, and might be about the only approach that does work.  For those of you that know me well, it shouldn't surprise you that I had to un-ass myself from my typical approach toward household chores quite a bit, and shave what I'm sure are years off of my life in order to achieve these results - even with the help of the best 'household chore un-asser' I know.


I do LOVE the final outcome though, and am so appreciative that I have such an 'expert' that I can consult for some decorating advice, as well as the kick in the pants I need in order to get it done.  Oh, and to commemorate this household makeover (and remind me that I can keep it this way) ...

Can you help me with a name?

... I now have a flying pig (who, btw, is nameless at this point and taking suggestions). 


So, why did I institute the need for hard liquor and and a head check by almost completely re-doing my entire house in a matter of days?  Dark forces at work?  Maybe.  Temporary insanity?  Probably.  Anyway,  I'll have more to come on that in my next post.  Tah-tah till then!

Waves of Hawaii

Sometimes you get email forwards from special people that you just can't help but share.  This one in particular almost made me feel like I was somewhere else for a minute, and helped reset my perspective a bit.  I couldn't help but continue the share on this, even though it's not in email form.  I do hope you enjoy!

Photographer Clark Little stands in the water and waits until the very last second to snap his camera shutter, and then takes a beating when the wave collapses over him.

Waimea Bay shore-break surfing pioneer, husband, and father of two, Little has gained nationwide recognition for his photography on National Television..

It all started in 2007 when Clark 's wife wanted a nice piece of art to decorate a wall.

Voluntarily, Clark grabbed a camera, jumped in the water, and starting snapping away capturing the beauty and power of monstrous Hawaiian waves from the inside out.

Clark 's "view" is a unique view of the ocean that most will only
be able to experience safely on land while studying one of Clark 's photos. 

Now with a camera upgrade and an itch to get that better shot, Clark has taken this on full time and
has moved his office from land, to the inside of a barrel.

Since the recent stir of Clark's work, his images have been run on the Today Show, ABC World News Now, Nature's Best Photography, Paris Match(France), La Vie ( France ), Hana Hou (Hawaiian Airlines) magazine, Surfer magazine, Surfer's Journal as well as multiple publishers and newspapers in the U.S. and overseas.

He is dedicated to photographing the waves and has published a selection of his best.  


These incredible images of waves in the Hawaiian Islands were taken by Clark Little, the number one photographer of surf.

Sun Glints Off Wave
Clark Little/SWNS

Sand in Surf
Clark Little/SWNS

This shot captures sand from the ocean's floor being swept up by a monstrous wave and resembles a sandstorm. 

Little calls it the Sand monster. 

"There were clouds of sand ten feet high and I'm standing there.  I'm holding on to my camera and my trigger as long as I can.
Then I have to jump into the cloud of sand to try to get out of danger's way". 


His fans pay as much as $4,000 for his gorgeous photos.

Tubular Shining
Clark Little/SWNS

Beach - Surf Crashes Down
Clark Little/SWNS

Molton Liquid Gold
Clark Little/SWNS

White Tumultuous Water
Clark Little/SWNS

Splash
Clark Little/SWNS

Red Mysterious Shot
Clark Little/SWNS

Break - Wave Crashes Down
Clark Little/SWNS

Beauty - Water Drops
Clark Little/SWNS

This shot is his favorite.  With a high shutter speed he caught the brilliant fanned effect of two waves intersecting each other and throwing out this beautiful fan of water.    

"Faith is not about everything turning out OK; Faith is about being OK no matter how things turn out."

Time Out

After several attempts at starting to write, and then stopping abruptly because of outside influences, I figure I should just cut to the chase and get this going.  As I mentioned in my last post, you know that things have been a little shaken up around these parts, so after a few less than relaxing days this weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered.


Thanks to some wonderful friends who just bought a new boat, Jay and I were lucky enough, and extremely grateful to spend a large part of Saturday cruising the James River.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to be on the water.  Starting from just below the City of Richmond we got to take in a lot of sites, including the estate of Jimmy Dean (as in the country music star and more importantly the king of sausage - not the rebel without a cause), and the recreations of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, on the way to our Jamestown destination to have some lunch then head back to Richmond.  

The late, great Jimmy Dean's estate.  

View down the James.

Jay couldn't wait to break out the brownie bites - his favorite.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.

Look close (or enlarge the shot) and you'll see replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

All smiles.

I can't think of a more fabulous way to kick off the summer and forget about all of the daily noise for a second.  Thank goodness for friends who are there to help us take a 'time-out' in life when we most need it ... especially the ones with boats!  ;)  

Making it to the End Game

I don't know why, but even if I have a good idea that something will turn out alright, I typically have a problem outwardly living that reality on a day-to-day basis.  I know this is due to a total disconnect between my flucuating emotional microscope, and the reality of it all, but that really doesn't make things any easier to grapple with.  Sometimes I feel like a heavy rollercoaster that tries to make it over that last big hill in order to get the momentum to spin through the fun loop-de-loops, but instead of a steady and positive movement forward, I seem to stall out somewhere in-between, and those loops seem so much farther away than they really are.

The other day, while feeling like I was in the middle of a pretty big 'life stall', I was searching for an image to accommodate last week's PhotoHunt (which had a topic of 'Digital' - not sure what I was supposed to do with that one), and instead found this.  

This shot was taken almost exactly two years ago today, and is the only photo that exists from that time period as far as I know.  It was taken while on a frantic quest for a 2nd home/apartment in the DC area to accommodate a job shift ... and then what turned out to be two job shifts, a move, a financial crisis, and a total personal meltdown.  In that one frozen instant above though, you would have never known that anything was even amiss.  I look happy, relaxed, and optimistic.  Though I remember feeling the overwhelming stress anyone would feel from any type of sudden life change, I also remember being kind of excited about it.  Things were moving so fast, and held so much possibility (even in the face of a challenge) that I had no way of knowing that I was standing at the starting line of a difficult long distance marathon instead of a short sprint.  I was nowhere even close to even seeing the end game. 


Initially, this mental stroll down memory lane churned up a lot of ugly memories, but the funny & more unexpected thing that it did was to inspire me to remember where it was that I thought I was headed at that time.  Seeing that image of myself, I can recall the ways in which I had been looking at the bigger picture, and trying to put the pieces together in the best way possible to get through to the end game. Though the costs of getting there were sorely underestimated at that time (financial, physical, and emotional), it was exciting, surprising, frantic, and everything that goes with that.  It was also necessary I suppose.


It's actually taken me a lot to rebound from the past two years, and I still feel like I'm cleaning up some loose ends from the fallout.  If someone had told me a year ago that things wouldn't be 'better' by this point I think I may have actually imploded.  Now though, I'm fortunately still in one piece, and coping with everything as it comes along - trying not to let the big things overwhelm (thank you Xanax), and taking time out to enjoy the little things.  At this point, I can actually take a look back at that photo above and begin to see the bigger picture again.  I can feel a little bit of what I was feeling there two years ago - anticipation for the next step, and excitement for the final outcome of this long journey.  I now know that the 'next step' might be more uncomfortable than I would like, and that there may be more hurdles before the final outcome.  I also know more about myself and in that, am (fingers crossed) better equipped to respond to whatever may come my way.  

I think sometimes in order to keep going forward without stalling out, you sometimes have to look back to see where you've been and how you got to where you are now.  In my case, an unexpected look back to two years ago has helped me to remember just where it was I was originally headed, and why I was (and should still be) excited about it.  For me, it seems to be exactly what I needed in order to to keep moving forward.  Given everything that has brought me to where I am now, I can only know that everything really will turn out alright.  I think I knew that in that photo two years ago, though at some point lost sight of the bigger picture in the midst of all the change.  I'm sure there will be more hills to climb and hurdles to jump regardless of time or place, and I'm sure they won't be easy or infrequent. I just hope that with practice I'll eventually continue to get better at responding to them all and keep up the momentum needed to make it to the end game.

Photohunt 263: Square, Aruban Excursion

It's been a while since my last PhotoHunt, but when I saw the subject for this week my mind went straight to one place -- Aruba.  This photo, taken from inside of the Bushiribana ruins, is one of my favorite shots from a trek up the northern coast on our first visit to the island.  Obviously evident is the square 'window' overlooking the beach and the vivid blue of the Atlantic Ocean.  Less obvious is the journey it took to get to that spot.

Bushiribana at a distance.

Rock stacks along the beach at Bushiribana.

The fierce waves against the rocky northeastern coast of Aruba.

Aruba is a very interesting island to me.  So sparse is it on the northeastern shore that our map was blank except for a few landmarks and, what I suppose were considered frequently traveled routes that had finally given way to a path.  You may or may not see another tourist playing adventurer for the day -- most of the time it's just you and your travel companion(s) all alone your little rental jeep battling together to cross a vast expanse of dry sand and rock.  Just about as soon as you think you can't take another view of dusty terrain, or you get tired of driving endless stretches of sand and rock, you catch a glimpse over the horizon and realize that there is the most serenely beautiful beach just across they way that keeps you going.  I suppose in that way, the island can be a lot like life.

The climate is so arid and the vegetation so sparse that everything is a dusty sandy beige contrasted directly by the most gorgeous blue everywhere you look along the coast.  Driving along the rocky dirt "roads", you almost feel a bit depressed by the endlessly dry, sparse terrain, and very unsure of exactly where it is that your path will lead (or even if you're on a path at all).  After Jay decided to drive us through a live military firing range (imagine how thrilled I was), we actually ended up getting our rental jeep quite stuck at a certain point in a particularly severe part of the "road"  (which might be more aptly deemed a chasm).  I was almost in a full-out panic thinking that we were going to be stuck there forever - just us and the occasional goat that wandered by.

Fortunately for us, we did not get eternally lost, shot, or end up getting stuck long enough to spend the night with the goats.  We were wonderfully able to trek ahead through the disparaging landscape back towards our little slice of resort heaven to indulge for a bit in some of the gloriously clear water, pink sands, and fruity drinks.  I think because of the earlier events of the day, we were actually able to enjoy the comforts and ease of our surroundings that much more.  We didn't make that same explorative trek on our subsequent visit (once was enough for me), though I would no doubt recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet struck out on their own to explore.  Had we not ever felt lost on our map, gotten stuck in the rough and rocky terrain or taken the risk of crossing the firing range, we never would have seen the beauty of the island in it's entirety to really know where we were, or appreciated the comfort and luxury of the resort quite as much as we did for the rest of our visit - a lesson I, for one, would be wise to remember more often.