Mini Breaks

New Website!

2010-11-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I am super excited to direct you over to my new website: www.lostintheecotone.com

I'm still working on it and as of right now it's really only my blog but the format is great, the pictures are huge..and well, I love it! I will be keeping this blog, but mostly for personal writing, and will be linking back and forth if need be.

So pleeeease check out my new site, my new photos and all the stuff you've been missing in the last couple months that I haven't posted :)

Cheers!

hi!

2010-08-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Remember me? I used to blog here, almost every day! Then I met the most awesomest boy in the whole wide world and he showed me all the things I was missing with my face always buried behind a camera. Then he asked me to marry him, then I quit my job and then...well, now here I am!

I had mentioned that there was some big things coming up that I wasn't able to talk about just yet, but now I am! If you are patient with me in the next few months you will be shown the world through my eyes. After our wedding at Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park we will be leaving for a month long trip to Europe. We will be visiting Prague, Munich for the 200th celebration of Oktoberfest, Venice (!!!), Croatia and the Plitvice Lakes, Vienna, Budapest and finally Istanbul.

I am going to be tied up in wedding plans and such until then but I will try to blog before we leave and also try to put up a "leading up to the wedding" post as I've been taking pictures of the process for the last month or so.

I purchased a netbook specifically for this trip and many of our hotels will have wifi so I fully plan on updating everyone while away but also will be spending quite some time when we get back editing photos and putting together informative posts about the different countries we visited.

I hope you stick with me on this! Wish us luck!

Oh, and....a lovely picture of paintbrush from a recent trip to Paradise. The wildflowers are beautiful right now.

PRIDE!!

2010-06-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

My second annual Big Gay Weekend was not as action packed as the inaugural, but we did make it out to the parade on Sunday. We woke up late and ran to the bus heading for downtown and walked the 6 or so blocks to meet up with friends on the parade route. We did not eat any breakfast, and in fact didn't eat anything until hours later...but it was Pride, so there was vodka and orange juice. Turns out one can live on booze alone...at least for a few hours.

...ah yes, the last is the man I'm going to marry :)

HAPPY PRIDE!

the story of the gnome

2010-06-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

One afternoon the tall one and I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. We wandered towards Greenlake and I don't remember now which route we took but suddenly the skies opened up and rain began to pour down on us. We made it to Tangle Town for some dinner and yummy beer and on the way back home passed a cute little house that had many little garden gnomes outside on the patio.

We had been discussing our Europe trip over dinner and all the sudden the idea came to me:

"Let's Amelie someone!"

If you've never seen the french film Amelie...well, then you need to run out right now to your local video store (do they still have those?), download from your favorite bit torrent site, or whatever it is that you do to watch movies these days and WATCH IT! Go ahead, I'll wait.

Now for those of you who have seen it you know that the main character Amelie Poulain steals her father's garden gnome and hands it off to her friend who is a stewardess. Her friend takes pictures of the gnome in all the world cities she visits and then sends the polaroid back in the mail addressed to Amelie's father. The point is to get her father to follow his life long dream of travel.

The tall one and I were giddy over the idea and decided that we would give it a trial run with our trip to Hawaii. We went back and forth on deciding if we wanted to borrow a gnome from someone we knew or if we wanted to go back to the original house that gave us the idea and take one of theirs. In the end we decided to go back to the house.

Our idea was this:
*Steal a gnome from a stranger
*Pack it up tightly and take it to Hawaii
*Photograph the gnome with us where ever we go; snorkeling, hiking, etc.
*Send a postcard to the owners, writing as the gnome, with a picture saying "be home soon"
*Return the gnome after a couple weeks, so the postcard has time to get there, and leave pictures of the trip next to him.

For me the idea of doing this to a stranger was very appealing because we would never know how it affected them. I imagined them stepping out onto their porch and noticing the gnome was gone, thinking it's gone for ever, then receiving a postcard in the mail from the gnome postmarked Hawaii, then going crazy asking all their friends if they knew anyone who had traveled there and then suddenly they walk out onto their patio one morning and there the gnome is. It's just such a beautiful thing to do to someone. It brings a sense of adventure to their lives, breaks up the monotony of life, and creates a great story to tell. And the best part is they get to have all of that and we don't share in it. It's all theirs.

A couple days before our trip to Hawaii we still had not retrieved the gnome and we were slightly worried that we may have misjudged it's size. Finally the tall one headed out after work, dressed in dark clothing and humming special agent music, to grab the gnome. Luckily the little guy was the perfect size, unfortunately he was cracked quite a bit and fragile so we knew right away we couldn't take him on our Europe trip and most likely he wouldn't get out of our hotel room in Hawaii.

Nonetheless we wrapped him in towels, put him in my suitcase and took the journey to Hawaii. He made it just fine and in true island style we got him leid. He decided to hang out on the patio of the hotel with his bottle of Jack and watch the sun set over Diamond Head or ogle the surfer girls on the beach for the remainder of his vacation.

I had purchased a POGO printer for my camera and the little prints are actually stickers so we took one of the gnome from the balcony and mailed it off to the owners with a note that said "Couldn't take the rain anymore. Be home soon, aloha!"

We enjoyed the rest of our trip and as the day neared for us to go home we decided that the gnome needed a companion. He needed a hula girl.

Unfortunately we didn't have the time to get him one before we left so we headed home empty handed. The gnome had nothing to show for his trip except a pretty bad hangover and a bunch of pictures of places he couldn't go because he was so fragile. The tall one knew that wouldn't do so he visited the Hawaii store in Wallingford and selected a lovely girl for the gnome. We weren't sure if they would hit it off...but once we introduced them it was love at first sight.

We finally returned the gnome and his new girl a few weeks after we returned from our trip. I went with him this time, both of us humming secret agent music, and bid farewell to our new friend and his love.

After telling everyone the story of the gnome we were asked if we had driven by the house after we dropped them off to see what had happened to them. We actually hadn't so one evening we drove by and did not see the gnome. The hula girl was where the tall one had left her, but the gnome was no where to be found.

I was a little sad. Had we gone through all of that for someone who didn't appreciate it? Didn't have a sense of humor? Did we piss them off? Did they think we had put a camera in the gnome? Gah, I didn't know!

I've put off telling this story specifically for those reasons. Because I just didn't know the outcome of the gnome. But then again, wasn't that the point of taking the gnome from a stranger? For it to be their story?

Then today...the tall one sent me this picture:

And if you look close you will see the gnome, still wearing his lei, with his love flanking one side of the patio and he on the other. This made my week :) Thank you, tall one, for sharing in my adventurous nature and of course; thank you gnome for giving us our own story to tell.

the reluctant bride

2010-06-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

I downloaded the first of the Sookie Stackhouse novels last week. Lately I've been having trouble sleeping so I've downloaded the Kindle app for my iphone and will lay in bed with the lights out so I don't disturb the tall one as I read. My first downloaded novel was "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (or Men Who Hate Women if you want to literally translate it from Swedish) and although I was still on the fence about not having the actual book in my hands I liked that I could pick up my phone anywhere and lose myself in Mikael Blomkvist's investigation. After finishing the book I laid in bed for a few nights, staring at the ceiling that would be slightly illuminated by the lights from the external hard drive connected next to the bed. I decided to download another book.

I'm a fan of True Blood so as I looked through the top sellers on the Kindle website I noticed the first Sookie Stackhouse novel and decided that would be my next distraction. So far the book has followed the series quite nicely and as I read the words I can hear the strong southern drawl of Anna Paquin and as Sookie describes Bill running his fingers through her hair I can see the strong jaw cut by long stylish sideburns of Stephen Moyer. It's definitely been quieting the craziness that has been swirling around in my head. Why is there craziness, you ask?

Well, you see my friends, I am engaged. A beautiful, wonderful, never thought it would happen to me kind of thing that has blown my mind wide open and created a hole that, no matter how much wedding porn I throw into it, won't close. My mind flutters back and forth between the feelings of being totally loved to being totally ignored, to being totally grateful, to being totally annoyed. It's no wonder girls go crazy when the ring is put on their finger. Between friends, family, obligation, tradition, money, time, location, colors, flowers, honeymoon GAH!!!

*breathe*

You get the point.

I'm lucky that the man who put the ring on my finger (well, not exactly just yet...we're having them made specially for us) understands that I get overwhelmed easily, that I did NOT inherit the bride gene and that his family is expecting to be present at any sort of ceremony that occurs, meaning we can't just sign the papers here and get married in Europe...or Vegas...without them being there. At first he wanted a small wedding, one at the courthouse so we could use our trip to Europe as our honeymoon. Then I got the idea of being married outdoors, on a trail or something somewhere...then I started looking at elopement locations...then I started looking at small wedding packages as the guest list grew from all the people finding out about the small wedding...you see where this is going. The blow-off valve broke and we've had to cap it. I think we're at 14 right now, not including me and the tall one.

Our goal is to keep this wedding (including rings) under $2000. Dodi has graciously offered to make my dress, our flowers will be simple daisies from the grocery store, the ceremony will take place (hopefully) at Alexander's Country Inn who will include in the price lodging, dinner for two, a small cake, champagne and a wedding coordinator (the owner of the inn) who will help to pull everything together. My one big sad face in all of this is I want pictures to be taken, and I have a photographer in mind, but I don't think I'll be able to talk her down to our budget.

Ok, maybe that's not the only sad face. I'm totally being selfish and girly..I know...but I kinda expected to be showered with..um...happiness? Like everyone I know would be totally wanting to help and jumping in to...oh I don't know, play with my hair? Is that what girls do? Oh man, I'm hopeless. I'm disappointed in what I don't even know I want?! How is that possible? It doesn't even make sense! Funny thing is the whole situation reminds me of when I lost all my weight. Everyone wants you to get thin when you are fat, they all want you to be "healthy", but once you become thin there is no big YAY YOU party, it's snide looks and comments like "well, yeah, I mean I'm exercising too. What size are you now? Well, I'm a size blah so I guess I'm still one up on you". I mean REALLY?

I've noticed lots of comments from friends after the engagement that border on the "you guys are sickly happy, go get a room". You'd think they'd be jumping for joy! Yet I've actually had people say to me "well, I've seen you go through a lot of guys so I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened."

Again...I MEAN REALLY??

It's so strange. The whole world wants you to be happy but then once you are it's like "ew, get a room, I'm gonna barf".

Sigh. And don't even get me started on my mother...she spends the one day I tell her that I'm getting married crying and calling the whole world to let them know that "her daughter is engaged" and then I don't hear from her again until I call her to tell her the date...and THEN she asks me if I'll give her "me time" when she comes up for the wedding....not "oh, I'll be there to help you with whatever, only daughter that I love" oooooh no... me time. Whatev.

I'm rambling now.

I know I'm going to offend people and I know that there will be feelings hurt, but I wish people would understand that and know that I'm under a lot of pressure to make a lot of people happy when really I just want to smile more than once during this process. Does that make sense? I'm using a lot of run on, poor me sentences aren't I?

If you lasted with me this long you deserve pictures.

Every Tuesday night for seven years Dodi's mom Autumn hosted Pizza Night. It was an open door party for anyone to show up, eat pizza, drink wine/beer/shots, and meet new people. After the 7th year Autumn became tired and asked if anyone would like to take it over. We decided on a few different locations and pizza night is now a roaming event that occurs every Sunday evening. We had the honor of hosting it for the first time a couple weeks ago and I took these pictures of our lovely friends.

still alive

2010-06-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

my apologies for not being around much lately. some fun things have happened in the last couple weeks that I can't wait to share with you, so stay tuned! a post will be coming next week, I promise!

Barclay Lake, SIFF, Folklife...oh my!

2010-06-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted and although there is a good reason as to why I haven't been posting lately I can't really mention it for a couple months. As for today's posting it will be short because I'm injured. I've got a stress injury from work that is making life a bit frustrating so typing is not any fun...

BUT speaking of FUN the tall one and I spend a lovely weekend exploring all that this beautiful state has to offer and like true Seattleites we weren't deterred by a little rain!

This was a special weekend for the tall one and I and he had lofty goals for us over the three day holiday. We began early on Saturday morning with breakfast in bed and then a quick drive over to Pacific Place for the SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) film Turtle: The Incredible Journey. My thoughts: "AWWW TURTLES!!" and the tall one: "I liked it, but the narration was geared a little too much towards children".

We had planned on doing some shoe shopping but hunger stopped us from going any further than the Dr. Marten's store on 2nd. We went on a search for food and decided on Fado as neither of us had ever eaten there and yay irish fare. We passed the SAM (Seattle Art Museum) on the way to the pub and almost stopped in for the Kurt exhibit that is going on, but decided on food first. After what I thought was yummy and the tall one thought was a bit mediocre meal (and my first guiness!! YUM!) we decided that a nap sounded better than the museum so off to home we went. That night the tall one had the boys over for a poker game and I caught up on Top Chef Masters.

We wanted to get a hike in and Sunday looked to be the best day. I originally wanted to head out to Ingallis Creek because the wildflowers are blooming but I was a bit worried about the long drive and we had friends coming over that night so I consulted the books before deciding on Barclay Lake off Highway 2.

Barclay Lake hike is a gentle 4 1/2 mile roundtrip hike to a long, deep lake with Baring Mountain towering overhead. It's a nice and easy hike, with lots of kids and puppies running around, but if you're looking for a something a little more challenging this hike can provide. After reaching the north end of the lake look for the flags right after the "toilet" and then proceed directly up..up..UP 1500 feet in less than 2 miles to Eagle Lake. After passing a meadow you come upon the small lake that is accompanied by a small lakeside cabin.

Or so I've been told. I made it half way up the mountain before I told the tall one we had to stop. I just couldn't make it. My legs were shaking from the effort and I was worried about getting back down. In tearful defeat he led me back down the Eagle Lake trail to the much flatter Barclay Lake trail and we began the 2 1/2 mile trek back to the car.

I lead the way and in a break in the conversation I looked up and noticed that I didn't recognize anything. I had missed a turn somewhere. The tall one headed towards the creek to see if he could determine our whereabouts and I went just a little bit further down the trail and noticed someone down by the water bushwacking their way through what was left of the trail. I called to her and relieved she said "Oh thank God! I lost my way and I don't know where I am!" in the most adorable Scottish brogue that we later learned had faded much after having lived in the states for 13 years. Apparently her party was split up and she missed the turn like we did. Luckily I had the boy scout with me and he was able to determine where we missed the main trail (a blatant bridge over the river which I completely missed). The tall one and I, yet again saving a damsel in distress! I'm going to make him a cape, I swear.

Making it home in time to rest and clean up before Dodi, Michael and Michael's friends joined us for dinner, we eagerly awaited their arrival as I had heard that Michael's cooking was not something to be missed. On the menu was lobster, home made gnocchi, home made crab cakes and a yummy salad with fresh squid, which the tall one learned how to clean. Michael out did himself with this meal and I'll never feel comfortable cooking for him again! I swear to you it was one of the best meals I've ever had. I'm going to need to watch a lot more Food Network :)

My hand is starting to hurt and I've already written more than I thought I would so let me close this out with Folklife. After dim sum we met some friends over at the Seattle Center for the last day of the Folklife festival. We wandered, we listened, we watched a crazy guy dance like no one was watching him, we chatted, we hung out at the Fun House for a birthday party, we ate at Zeeks, we chatted more, we walked more, we went home and watched Brotherhood until we passed out.

This weekend will always be a special time for the tall one and I and I'm glad we got to spend it with friends.

Lake 22

2010-05-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

A view of the other side of Mt.Pilchuck reflected into an ice cold lake reached by a nice gently graded hike was exactly what we were looking for on last weekend's beautiful Saturday afternoon. We began around 2:30 and although full, the trail head parking lot wasn't overflowing so we figured it wouldn't be too crowded on the trail.

The first thing I noticed was the overwhelming color green just everywhere. It made me so giddy, I've been waiting for spring for what seems like forever. The second was the water. It was flowing every where. Under the walk ways, sometimes over the trail, and the waterfalls were just running out of control. Quite a few times we ventured off the main trail to catch a look at the multiple waterfalls that we could hear from the trail.

As we reached the lake, just before I stepped onto the wooden walkway that surrounds the lake I dunked my entire foot in a large pool of melting snow and mud. My foot was soaked, so we picked a spot on the board walk to sit and eat lunch while my sock dried out.

The lake still had a sheet of ice on the far end and as we were hiking up we passed a group of four young men who had ski's strapped to their backs, with the exception of one who had an inflatable orca whale attached to a snowboard. Apparently they had hiked to the other side of the lake and skied down the snow into the water and went swimming.

yikes...between the avalanches and the freezing cold water...well, they were nuts.

Slightly dryer, we decided to head back down. We passed a group of some hipsters (one of which had hiked up in a dress and flip flops) who were digging up a lone skunk cabbage flower. I didn't bother to tell them about the plant they were digging up. Better to let them experience the smell.

At the beginning of the talus field we noticed a man carrying a teenaged girl on his back. We lost them on one switchback, but quickly caught up to them and noticed that the girl had her ankle wrapped and elevated. The tall one asked what happened and apparently she twisted her ankle at the top and re-injured it. (she had surgery on it last year). We asked if there was anything we could do to help, but the gentleman (who we found out was the father) told us that some people had stopped (who also had a wrap for his daughters ankle) and went ahead to notify Search and Rescue.

We insisted that we stay to help them, although the dad said he didn't feel comfortable with a stranger carrying his daughter down the mountain. I reassured him that though tall and skinny, my boyfriend is a UPS driver and could probably carry both me and his daughter down the mountain. But he wouldn't budge so we followed them down. After having to stop a few times, and some encouragement from his daughter, he finally let my boyfriend take her on his back and carry her down. The tall one proceeded to book it down the mountain. I'm not kidding, I had to run after the guy and he was carrying someone on his back.

SAR never came, so we're not sure what happened with that, and we were passed by the group of hipsters who did not offer to help, but other than that we didn't see another person on the trail. Strangely enough though, it was a lovely hike and the father and daughter (who is graduating high school this year) were a great team and kept things light and cheerful in the midst of what could have been a scary situation. I'm glad we were able to help them.

I highly recommend heading out there and stepping of the beaten path to check out these beautiful waterfalls.

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

2010-05-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have finally received my developed underwater pictures so I can now continue on with Day Three of the Hawaii trip!

Hanauma Bay was once a volcano, long dormant the crater caved on the ocean side letting in the sea water and created a protected reef. There are more than 450 species of fish along with octopus, crabs, eels and honu, also know as sea turtles. We arrived at 7:15 am, low tide, and after watching the mandatory video for how to treat the reef (ti's now a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District and they take the preservation of the reef very seriously, it's even closed every Tuesday so it's not over used) we sought out shade on the sand and prepared our snorkel gear.

I had never snorkeled before so the first time we went out I was sans camera. I just wanted to get the feel of it. We wandered out into the shallow water and put our faces down and I instantly felt as though I'd just swam into a large fish tank. There were fish EVERYWHERE!! It was amazing.

I did not have my Nikon with me for the trip, instead I brought two underwater cameras. I was very nervous about the kind of pictures that the cameras would take, seeing as they were 800 speed I at least knew they were going to be pretty noisy, but I'm pleasantly surprised at the gritty, 1970's feel of them. I love shooting with film, it's the waiting around to develop them that I don't like. I still have 5 rolls of film from my Holga that I haven't taken in yet.

The second time out I brought my camera and started shooting away. I didn't even look through the viewfinder, I would just chase around a fish with my arms stretched towards it hoping that I actually framed the shot correctly (ah hell, I didn't even care about that. I just wanted to capture some fishys!).

We started snorkeling at low tide, which was around 7:30 am, so the inland portion of the reef was still exposed and there were many times where our belles were dragging along the coral. Passing the break was not an option so we stayed inside the reef and would every once and a while stand up (carefully so as to not actually step on the coral) and look for a turquoise section of water and then crawl over the reef to that area. (The turquoise meant that it was slightly deeper water).

The tide started to come in and we were joined by Sherie, Eric, Cirrus and Sherie's friend (who's name I can't recall at the moment). Cirrus is an experienced snorkeler and by this point the tall one and I had it down. We swam around a bit until the tide had risen high enough for us to pass the break and swim out into deeper water.

Now the fun really started! All the cool fishys were hanging out past the break where the hundreds of flapping feet couldn't touch them. Swimming in the expanse of turquoise water and seeing actual schools of fish has prompted the tall one and I to start researching scuba diving and, as Cirrus was so kind to offer us a place to stay, a trip to the Bahamas next year. We even saw some scuba divers past the break where we were snorkeling. They actually startled me, and at first I didn't know why they would be snorkeling so close to the inside of the reef...but after this set of pictures you'll see why:

Quick break: this cute little polka dot fishy was my favorite. He was probably about as long as my thumb so I had to get up on him pretty close to get a decent shot...and he was fast! I followed quite a few of them before I was finally able to get a shot. Sooooo cute!

SEA TURTLE!!!

I felt a tug on my fin and I looked back to see the the tall one emphatically pointing towards the ground, and there we saw our first sea turtle. I can't even begin to explain to you the feeling. You really have to see one for yourself. I would say the water was about 15 to 20 feet deep and the big guy was just swimming along, his cute little flappers gently pushing his large body.

I do a great impression if you're ever interested...

Every once in a while I'd put my head up to find Cirrus, who would see a fish that he liked and just keep following it. The tall one stayed with me and we saw two more sea turtles, one that was halfway under the coral and the last one...sigh. It was so beautiful. There was no coral around, just a long expansion of white sand and blue water, and a majestic sea turtle swimming quietly alone, slowly fading away into the deep ocean.

At this point we had been snorkeling for 6 hours. I was feeling the exhaustion and needed to head in. I felt like the turtles were a good stopping point for me. It couldn't get any better than that. I laid on the beach while the tall one headed back out for one last swim, covering myself from the sun and yet still feeling the heat burning my already scorched skin. As we left the bay, I looked back and took one last picture. This day was one of the best I've ever had in my whole life and I didn't want to forget it.

Best Monday Ever.

day one
day two
day three
day four
day five

Oahu, Hawaii...day five

2010-05-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

This was our last day, but we didn't let an early afternoon flight stop us from enjoying the last bits of our vacation. We awoke early and headed over to Diamond Head (in Hawaiian: Le'ahi, meaning brow of the tuna) just as the sun was peaking over the mountains. Surprisingly there were already tour buses pulling in at 6:00 am so we quickly headed up the trail towards the top of the crater.

I'm quoting now from the Hawaii State parks website, but the history is so fascinating that it bears reading: The trail to the summit of Le'ahi was built in 1908 as part of O'ahu's coastal defense system. The 0.8 mile hike from trailhead to the summit is steep and strenuous, gaining 560 feet as it ascends from the crater floor. The walk is a glimpse into the geological and military history of Diamond Head. A concrete walkway built to reduce erosion shifts to a natural tuff surface about 0.2 mile up the trail with many switchbacks traversing the steep slope of the crater interior. The ascent continues up steep stairs and through a lighted 225-foot tunnel to enter the Fire Control Station completed in 1911. Built on the summit, the station directed artillery fire from batteries in Waikiki and Fort Ruger outside Diamond Head crater. At the summit, you'll see bunkers and a huge navigational lighthouse built in 1917.

The current name came was given to the crater by British sailors in the 1800's. When they first saw the crater at a great distance, the calcite crystals in the lava rock appeared to glimmer in the sunlight. The sailors mistakenly thought there must be diamonds in the soil.

Diamond Head is a crater that has been extinct for 150,000 years. The crater is 3,520 feet in diameter with a 760-foot summit. When the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898, harbor defense became a main responsibility. One of the major defense forts, Fort Ruger, occupied the Diamond Head Crater. A battery of canons was located within the crater providing complete concealment and protection from invading enemies. An observation deck was constructed at the summit in 1910 to provide target sighting and a four level underground complex was built within the walls of the crater as a command post. A 580-foot tunnel was dug through the crater wall to provide easier access to the Fort.

We made it to the top in pretty good time and I was able to grab some photos even though my legs were shaking from that last burst of steps to the summit. As the sun was casting some interesting shadows over the city I decided to create HDR's out of the pictures I did take. Some people don't like this type of photography, and that's cool. I don't mind if you don't really dig it...but I have to say the "Keep Out" photo is probably one of my favorites I've ever done. The sunbeams make me sooo happy. For the detail it's worth check out that picture in a larger size.

While hiking up the trail we heard this click click click sound from the passing hoard of tourists. Turns out one of the girls had worn heels. She made it all the way to the summit and although she was speaking Japanese it didn't really seem as though they bothered her, but it was a first for me. I've seen flip flops on a trail, but never heels.

The views were stunning and the rising sun cast a beautiful orange glow over Honolulu. We decided to head back down and made it to the car by 7:15. Not a bad time for a two mile hike. Next on our list was boogie boarding and since we'd made such good time I was excited that we would not only be able to get out in the water for a while but also shower before check out at noon.

Our hotel was right on the beach so all we had to do was cross the street and there was a vendor there who rented us the boards. Unfortunately low tide was at 7:30 am so the water was very shallow and the coral was poking up above the surf. The tall one was able to paddle right out to the break, but I struggled. And I'm a strong swimmer. I just couldn't get past the tide. I drug myself across the coral to the beach and sat there for a minute, defeated. Finally I realized I could either sit there and pout, or I could go rent some flippers and surf the waters of Hawaii. So I went back to the rental place, got myself some flippers and finally joined the tall one out at the break.

Ok seriously, catching a wave is hard. The tall one had surfed in Costa Rica so he was giving me pointers but I was drinking a lot of salt water. Even so, sitting out in the water waiting for a wave was probably my second favorite thing of the trip. I finally saw a big one coming and I turned towards the shore while the tall one was yelling "paddle, PADDLE!!" and I caught it! I was so used to not catching the wave and instead swallowing a mouthful of sea water so I closed my eyes and braced myself for the fall. But this time I didn't fall! It took me a minute to realize that I was being carried by the wave and finally I opened my eyes to see my board heading right for the pier. Luckily the wave ran out just before. I'm also pretty sure I made the most interesting "YIPPEE" / "WOOO" sound you've ever heard.

There was also another time that I sorta caught a wave and landed on the tall one's head. I'm still sorry, cuteness.

The tall one wasn't having much luck and his poor legs were being raked over the coral, so we called it a morning and headed back to shore. After a nice shower and some other activities we laid down for a minute before heading down to check out. On the way to the airport we decided to stop at Leonards, a place we had passed by before that had a crazy line out the door. Luckily this time it was empty and although we had no idea what the line had been for when we walked in and saw that it was a bakery and noticed the fresh malasadas sign on the counter I remembered that I had been told I needed to eat one of these things.

Malasadas are a kind of doughnut, and was brought by the Portuguese to Hawaii when they came to work in the plantations. Fun fact from Wiki: Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), the day before Lent, is also known as Malasada Day in Hawaii. Being predominantly Catholic, Portuguese immigrants would need to use up all of their butter and sugar prior to Lent. They did so by making large batches of malasadas, which they would subsequently share with friends from all the other ethnic groups in the plantation camps. This led to the popularity of the malasada in Hawaii.

And they are FUCKING AMAZING. Thank GOODNESS I have no idea where they make these things in Seattle or I would be screwed.

So that's it kids...that was our trip to Hawaii. I'll be posting some closing thoughts in an upcoming post and will be adding pictures from the snorkeling adventure soon. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and mahalo for reading!

Me ke aloha pumehana!

day one
day two
day three
day four

Oahu, Hawaii...day four

2010-05-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Another early morning pointed us inland. We had wanted to hike, but the small amount of sun we felt on our skin walking from the hotel to the car made me decide that we'd forgo the 5 mile hike on the beach in direct sunlight for a tropical hike shaded by large palm trees and ferns. Monoa Falls was our destination and, just like everything else in Hawaii, it cost $5 to park the car at the trailhead.

And boy were there some big ferns! The hike, an easy 2 miles round trip that ends at a 150 foot waterfall, is just outside of town so it's a big tourist destination. Luckily we were there on a Tuesday so we didn't pass too many people on the trail, although there was a screaming child at the waterfall who got a big stink eye from me. The little fucker. I was so excited to be surrounded by the tropical forest that every little flower and bush was interesting to me.

Marica Iris

Banana flower

Red Ginger

After a million pictures taken of him, the tall one will typically grab my camera and start shooting away in my direction. Luckily I have the editing power. I was soaked with sweat after this little hike. Not from exertion, but from the crazy humidity. After the quick hike we hopped in the car, air conditioning at full blast and pondered what to do next. Driving down the road, the ever present reggae music playing softly in the background, the tall one said "I'm perfectly content doing this for the rest of the day". So that's what we did!

We followed the H1 south until it ended and turned into the 70. Passing Hanauma Bay I remembered that the Halona Blowhole was just off the highway so we pulled to a stop behind the tour buses and wandered out to the lookout point and saw...nothing. The tide was coming in but the surf also needs to be rough to get the hole to blow, so to speak. The picture to the left is how it's supposed to look. Seeing as my photo was lacking a little...spray, I added a flower. Because it's pretty.

We stopped at a roadside fruit stand and had the lady cut open a coconut so we could drink the "milk" inside. It was soo yummy, but it's a young coconut. The tall one told me as the coconut matures it absorbs the milk and the meat turns into what I'm used to, not the crazy slimy stuff that was in the young one that I hated but the tall one scooped up like it was the best thing in the world. Bleh. We stood at the stand for a bit and the lady's little boy came out and was playing around in the dirt. As we walked away the little boy (he must have been about a year and a half old) started yelling something. I turned around just as he started taking off his pants to show me his wee.

Time to hit the road!

These flowing fishes outside of Kualoa Ranch caught my eye so I asked the tall one to pull over so I could grab a couple frames. Lost fans may recognize this area as Hurley's golf course, but the ranch also was used for many different films, and there is still a big paw print from the Godzilla filming (which they filled in for the Lost shoot). You can spend the day here taking tours and riding horses but, big surprise, it's kinda spendy so off we drove.

After rounding the island we stopped to have shaved ice at Matsumoto's Shave Ice in North Shore. It wasn't as yummy as I thought it would be, but it did turn my tongue purple. It started to lightly rain and the smell of the precipitation hitting the warm concrete was a familiar aroma. It always reminds me of summers in Arizona and it made me think of my mom. We stopped at the Dole plantation to grab some pineapples and I got her a gift that I think she'll like.

By the way, did you know pineapples don't grow on trees? They grown on a bush, on the ground!

I know, it blew my mind too.

We went back to the hotel to enjoy our view and to drink with the gnome. The tall one discovered two amazing things on that evening: one, a bottle of Jack and a bottle of Stoli plus mixers only cost $50 at the ABC store in the lobby and two, if you bring all the mixers and alcohol outside along with the ice you don't have to get up to make a drink. He was very excited about these two discoveries and we celebrated with a toast. We chatted and he learned a new thing about me and we watched the sunset colors move across Diamond Head as the full moon rose above the crater. It was a great end to a lovely day.

to be continued...

day one
day two
day three

Oahu, Hawaii...day three

2010-05-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

I had read about Hanauma Bay and there were TONS of travel sites that offered tours and packages, but as I read the fine print I realized we'd still have to pay for the entrance fee to the bay on top of all the fee's for the tour. Apparently there are 300 public parking spaces that usually go pretty fast so most people opt for the tours. We decided to take our chances and head over to the bay early on our own.

Hanauma Bay was once a volcano, long dormant the crater caved on the ocean side letting in the sea water and created a protected reef. There are more than 450 species of fish along with octopus, crabs, eels and honu, also know as sea turtles. We arrived at 7:15 am, low tide, and after watching the mandatory video for how to treat the reef (ti's now a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District and they take the preservation of the reef very seriously, it's even closed every Tuesday so it's not over used) we sought out shade on the sand and prepared our snorkel gear.

I had never snorkeled before so the first time we went out I was sans camera. I just wanted to get the feel of it. We wandered out into the shallow water and put our faces down and I instantly felt as though I'd just swam into a large fish tank. There were fish EVERYWHERE!! It was amazing.

I did not have my Nikon with me for the trip, instead I brought two underwater cameras. When the film is developed I will continue this story...but for now on to:

There is a Dukes in Malibu that I used to love going to at sunset. The happy hour was great and during sunset I could sit at the bar and look out into the ocean and watch the dolphins dive in and out of the water. The original Dukes is in Waikiki and I just had to check it out. Named for Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic gold medalist swimmer, surfer, actor and Hawaii's Ambassador of Aloha. There are statues of him on Waikiki Beach and there is even a street named after him.

We waited for the tall one's friends at the Barefoot Bar, which unfortunately no longer has sand, drank mai tai's and watched the colors of the sunset dance across Diamond Head. A couple catamarans came up on shore and that was a pretty cool sight to see. They just push full steam towards the beach, surfers be damned.

I had started to feel the sunburn after we got back to the hotel from snorkeling, seven hours in the water will do some damage, but honestly I had thought that we applied enough sunscreen to be safe. Like an entire bottle of waterproof SPF 50 safe, reapplied every couple hours safe...but no. My entire back side was fried. The pain from sitting (as I had been badly burned on the backs of my thighs) was not relieved by the alcohol. The tall one's friends arrived and we went up to wait for our table, at which point I almost passed out from...oh, I have no idea. The pain from the sunburn? The dehydration? Exhaustion? All I can remember from that moment is ow.

The dinner was great though! I continued my exploration of seafood by ordering a sauteed macadamia nut and herb crusted manchong. It's a cute little fishy. I had to call the restaurant today and ask how to spell it because I kept pronouncing it mah jong, which is a game, not a fish. That wasn't the only seafood I'd eaten for the first time; in addition to ripping the heads off shrimp and prawns I also had smoked marlin and mahi mahi! I was pretty proud of myself because I've never really been adventurous seafood wise.

We headed back to the hotel, quickly fell asleep and dreamed of floating sea turtles in a deep turquoise sea.

to be continued...

Oahu, Hawaii...day two

2010-05-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

I awoke surprisingly early (well, there is a three hour time difference so not too surprising) and decided to take advantage of the early time and the perfect blue skies. I headed down the elevator to a familiar place, but before I did I grabbed my camera to capture a few of our early morning visitors.

Don't jump, birdy!!

Our hotel looked out over the Honolulu Zoo so I'm not sure if these little guys were just regular birds or part of the zoo below (at which, btw, we could watch the flamingos from our balcony) but I'd never seen these kind of birds before.

One, and there were many, of the things I loved about Hawaii is that the second language was Japanese. Everything was in English and Japanese, even the suggestion for the dark cherry mocha at Starbucks (conveniently located on the first floor of our hotel).

After the tall one woke up and showered, we decided to head east towards Kailua on the H3. Dropping down over the Ko'olau Mountains was an amazing sight. The razor sharp cliffs and giant drop offs all covered in a lush green forest is something that everyone should see in their lifetime. I kept thinking that a T-Rex would just hop out on to the freeway. The dinosaur, not the musical artist...although one could make the argument...oh never mind.

We came upon the Valley of the Temples at the base of the Ko'olau Mountains and drove into through the cemetery to find the Byodo-in Temple. The TV series Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, P.I. featured several episodes where the temple is incorporated into the plot. The temple and its gardens also appeared in an episode of the series Lost, "House of the Rising Sun" in season one as the home of Sun's father. It was beautiful and peaceful.. Koi ponds circled the temple, peacocks and their offspring wandered the grounds and the faint sound of a large bell rung every so often.

A baby peacock caught me taking his picture.

After wandering the grounds we asked the guards where the best place to get some food was. Luckily the pointed us right across the street, unluckily the restaurants were closed until 11. The tall one asked if we could hang out inside Ninja Sushi and they obliged. The food, unfortunately, was not as kind. Afterward we headed off in search of a hat. A Chinaman's hat.

Mokolii, an island in Kāne'ohe Bay.as seen from Kualoa Park Beach, is also known as the Chinaman's Hat. It is said that Chinaman's Hat is the remains of a giant mo'o (lizard god). I've recently (today) learned that there is a hiking trail to the top of the hat that is reachable by foot at low tide or by boat/kayak/swimming.

A word about Romy's. Ok, lots of words. This shit is good. So good we ate it twice; and it's on the completely opposite side of the island. The first time we stopped we were lucky to run into almost the entire wedding party, who had brought some taro bread, and schooled me a bit on the island (as they were mostly Filipino). I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to seafood, or really any food where after it's cooked it still looks like the animal, but these little shrimp came out and I ripped their heads off, pulled apart the shell, complete with the tail, and I ate that fucker. And it was good.

The second time around we tried the prawns and after I saw a little bit of the "butter" coming out of the head, I was done. Prawns are NOT for me. Especially after witnessing the tall one suck the brains out. OOOOH hells no.

We left the newlyweds to wait for their shrimp and we headed towards North Shore with the idea of hiking Maunawili Falls, which we never found, but on the way to Waimea Valley we saw this burned out building.

Kind of HDR'rific, I know, but I didn't know how else to capture this cool site. Apparently it was an old theater for a convalescent home that burned a year ago, they just never torn it down.

Can you spot the tall one?

Like I said before, as we were unable to find Maunawili Falls we headed towards Waimea Valley to check out Waimea Falls (which again has significance to Lost fans as it's where apparently Kate finds the briefcase...whatever that means), but the admission to the park was expensive. I was so tired of spending money to see something pretty. So we parked and wandered around. I took the above picture and didn't edit it at all. It was so perfect; blue sky, white clouds, green forest, pink, red and blue flowers. Perfection.

We did see a couple peacocks. This one was wandering around the parking lot. A couple with their child was chasing it...and it wasn't happy. Poor thing.

After passing Sunset Beach and the Bonzai Pipeline we finally reached North Shore. I expected hammocks on the beach and surfers bringing me mai tai's, but alas no. Instead there were bus loads of tourists. We stopped at a little cafe and he ate Mahi Mahi fish and chips and I ate a macadamia nut crusted chicken sandwich. I think our waitress got most of the attention, though. She was a surfer chick, perpetually mellow, and completely comfortable in her own skin.

As we sat there, I mentioned to the tall one that I felt different. Like I finally realized that I was in Hawaii and I was extremely comfortable with myself. I didn't feel chubby in my little sundress like I thought I would, my hair was a mess and I didn't give a shit. I didn't know how to explain it and he said to me "this is how you were before work broke you". Those words made me tear up a bit. It was hard for me to realize that a job had completely broken me. That I wasn't the same girl that I was when he fell in love with me. But honestly, it was good to hear. It meant that I could be that person again. I could be me. I could be the person who came back from Los Angeles with all the confidence in the world because it didn't matter what I did or what I looked like, because I was awesome! It was a good feeling, and it's actually stayed with me since I've been home. I hope I can hold on to it. This is a silly little foot note, but it was pretty important to me.

Anyway, I had mentioned to the tall one a hike that I thought we could do while we were in Hawaii and since we were up that way we decided to check it out. On our way we passed Mokuleia Beach park where there were tons of these windsurfers, and it was across from an airfield that took people on glider rides and parachuters up to drop over the ocean.

The sun was starting to set as we arrived at Kaena Point state park, located at the western most tip of Oahu. The tall one searched through the tidepools and I sat watching the ocean flow in and out over the volcanic rocks. Also called "The Heat", Kaena Point was the "jumping off" place for souls leaving this life according to Hawaiian folklore.

As the sun started to fall into the water the tall one joined me for a nice little moment. He even posed for some pictures, but I won't share them. They are all mine!

to be continued...

Oahu, Hawaii...day one

2010-05-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's the post you've all been waiting for! Let's dive in, shall we?

We arrived at the airport bright and early for our 8:30 am flight. The tall one was a bit nervous as he's missed flights before and the whole reason we were going to Hawaii was for his friend Eric's wedding...which was that day. So if we missed the flight...well, you get the point. However we caught the flight fine and we even had the row of seats to ourselves, on a full flight! It was great, especially since I had never flown over the Pacific Ocean, never had that long of a flight; hell, I'd never even been off the continental United States!

To make the 5 1/2 hour flight go faster I decided to rent one of the players that Alaska offers. To my EXTREME delight, the Buffy musical was one of the TV shows offered! This was already turning out to be the best trip ever! While listening to "the battles done, and we kinda won so we'll sound our victory cheer...TELL MEEE!" I peeked out the window and noticed the clouds. I poked the tall one and he looked out and mentioned that it looked a little like a field of ice. I told him when we got home I'd add some marine life to the shot.

When we landed and walked out into the humid air my mouth dropped open. Leaving the first concourse you walk onto a bridge that overlooks a beautiful tropical pond. I'd never seen plants like that. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so perfect it reminded me of a movie set. It was hard for me to believe that these plants and flowers actually existed in nature, but boy did they ever. It was a gorgeous site. Hibiscus everywhere, huge ferns and palm trees...with freakin' coconuts on them. Amazing. .

We rented the car and headed towards the hotel. Unfortunately we arrived before check in so we left the luggage in the car and headed out to get me something to eat. Now, I don't know if you've ever been around me when I'm starving...but I'm not a peach. I complained and whined the whole way over to the Japanese steak house the tall one had chosen for our lunch. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that the tall one is a SAINT for not killing me and leaving me dead on the side of the road so he could enjoy the rest of his vacation in peace.

After yummy miso soup and an amazing bento box we headed back to the hotel to check in. I grumpily sauntered up to the desk, mumbled things under my breath about the upgrade charge to our room and angrily signed my credit card slip. The desk clerk asked me what was wrong, I told him "I've basically pulled out my credit card for every single move I've made since I touched down this morning"

He said "Yup...Welcome to Honolulu".

I pushed the button in the elevator for the 17th floor (one floor away from the top) and sighed. Then, as the doors opened and I walked down the hallway I opened the door to 1709 and the sight above opened up before me. This was our freaking view! I MEAN MY GOLLY!! It finally dawned on me...I'm in Hawaii.

Honestly though, I still felt strange. Like I wasn't in Hawaii, like I wasn't me. I couldn't put my finger on it...but luckily the next day, with the help of the tall one, it finally hit me. More on that later.

We closed our eyes for a moment and then quickly got dressed and headed over to the beach for Eric and Sherie's wedding. I'm pretty sure it was a traditional Hawaiian wedding, not like I would know, but it was perfect. The sun was setting, the wedding party was beautiful (I keep using that darn word) and almost all of the wedding goers were so nice. It was the first time meeting the tall one's old friends and they couldn't have been more kind.

After the quick ceremony we spent quite a bit of time taking pictures. I loved watching the wedding photographer. He was enjoying shooting on the beach and it made for some fun shots. I was called over more than a few times to be in the official photos. It made me feel like I was a part of the group which was so welcome in a place that was so foreign to me.

best...picture...ever!

The tall one stole my camera....and wouldn't give it back. Meanie. He and his...long arms!

Anyway, we headed over to the Hilton where the reception was being held and also where Sherie and Eric were staying. Apparently the hotel had all sorts of animals running around; penguins, flamingos, peacocks and such. We saw a peacock on our way across the property, but that was about it. Once dinner was out of the way, and the tall one was sufficiently hammered thanks to a bit of a contest with another wedding guest, the music started and that's when the reception really started to take off.

The last picture was added for the tall one, so he doesn't have to be the only one embarrassed by pictures. I'm not sure how I ended up dancing with the groom, what we were dancing to or how the tall one got a picture of it...but there you go.

to be continued....

rain, hookers and herbs

2010-04-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Frank: I told my wife I wouldn't drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time.
College Student: A big day? Doing what?
Frank: Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

Oh yeah...that was us this weekend. It was two days of errand running, hair cuts, dentist appointments, rain, napping, a trip to the nursery and then dinner at the parent's house. I did get a few pictures in and, while anxiously waiting for the tall one to return in the pouring rain with my Chipotle burrito bowl, I even took some video.

falling rain from stacy davis on Vimeo.

I love Aurora Ave. Between the strip malls, hookers, bikini barista stands, strip clubs and casino's there's always something to do!

I kid...I kid...

and my all time favorite flower:

Well, that's it kids. We'll be flying off on Saturday so I doubt I'll have any time to post until next weekend. Keep up with my travels by becoming my friend on Facebook! Mahalo!

pogo...pogo...POGO!!!

2010-04-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

For our upcoming trips we have a plan...a devious plan...but a totally adorably awesome plan and part of it came in the mail today!!

I went through 10 sheets of paper before I finally got the dimensions right. It prints a 2x3 print that is also...A STICKER!! I'm like a little girl with this thing. I might as well have just bought the pink one and stuck a Hello Kitty sticker on it.

It prints via bluetooth, so of course my iphone won't sync with it. Heaven forbid Apple actually make a product that works with non-apple hardware. However it's easy to get around if you've got a computer. I just e-mailed the pics to myself and actually I'm glad I did because it took a little editing in photoshop to get the shots to print out in full.

The coolest part is I can hook up my Nikon to the printer, do some in camera editing, and print straight from the D90. This will not only be great for our little devious travel plan but also when traveling in Europe. Most people in other countries will allow you to take their picture, but it's best to have a printer on hand to give them a copy.

soooo excited!! you shall see the results of trial run of the plan after we return from Hawaii.

YAY HAWAII!!

....pogo

brunch and a snowball fight

2010-04-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

After driving all the way to Mt. Vernon on Saturday you'd think I'd want to lay in bed all day watching Mad Men...and actually, I did want to. Unfortunately I woke up hours before the tall one did and while waiting for him to awake I became starving...star.ving.

Luckily he knows to shuttle me to food as soon as possible when I'm grumpy face. We threw on some clothes and wandered the couple blocks to Blue Dog Kitchen on the Ave.

We attempted another cafe first after seeing it a few evenings ago and noticing they had brunch. However their selections were mostly quiches and biscuits and gravy. Not even Bon Iver playing on the radio could get us to stay, we were in the mood for a big breakfast, so over to Blue Dog we went.

I got a little buzz from the coffee while waiting for breakfast to arrive. We also played peek-a-boo with a little boy sitting at the next table.

pancakes = yummy

Now in food coma mode our previous idea to drive up to see snow seemed daunting, but we pushed on...and I'm glad we did. Even if I did get pushed face first into the snow by my lovely boyfriend.

two lips

2010-04-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

The end!

seattle rain

2010-04-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

hawaii...hawaii...hawaii...

oahu

2010-04-01T15:54:00.001-07:00

It's just so....blue!

a unicorn and a butte

2010-03-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Since I heard good things about my Vancouver post I thought I'd continue on with the format for a bit. This weekend was a busy one, but I still found time to spend an evening with Casey and get in a hike at Cedar Butte. If you'd like to know more about either one of these places just drop me a line!

Friday Night

Saturday Afternoon

The End

vancouver, bc

2010-03-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

The original plan was Lake 22. I talked the tall one into rescheduling his root canal (that took some arm twisting, let me tell you) and as we were almost to the exit for Highway 2 I asked: "sooo...want to go to Canada instead?"

We were decked out in hiking gear, prepared to take on the trails but the call for the border won out in the end and we headed north. In honor of taking an unexpected turn, I've decided to make this blog post a little different. I hope you enjoy it!

The End

guest photographers

2010-03-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday evening I sat in a quiet house that smelled of lemon and melons after hours of cleaning. As the tall one slept off his vicodin from the root canal he'd endured for 3 boring hours, I pondered the upcoming evening. I wondered who would come, would we have enough food, would Justin show up or would I have to send him a grumpy text, would people be ok with me taking pictures, would everyone have fun??

I lit a fire, opened the door to Sharon who arrived early to help me put the finishing touches on the house, gently woke up the tall one, the birthday boy arrived...and then everyone else. It was so much fun, there was so much alcohol, and Justin did show up with Amanda so no text necessary. And best of all? My camera passed through the hands of many that evening, here are a few fun shots. I have no idea who took what!

GAH! This picture kills me every time. Cutest pouters ever!

We had about 30 people in the house, which was a great turn out. Birthday candles had been forgotten, so we used a tea light.

I WILL EAT YOUR FACE!!!

He's so cute!!

....he'll light you on fire....but he's sooo cute!!

I have no idea what I'm doing...

Justin and Amanda brought a housewarming gift for us: a grocery bag filled with Cosmo, Nerds, Gobstoppers, condoms and B vitamins...for stamina. Best. Gift. Ever....weirdos.

I think Michael had a nice birthday, and the party went really well. Totally worthy of a birthday squish.

The tall one will once again be in the dentist chair this weekend so Saturday I'll be all by my lonesome. I've decided to hike the Lake 22 trail, with hopefully a stop at Heather Lake. Keep an eye out for the trip report!

blossoms

2010-03-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was a beautiful day and like I mentioned in a previous post I wandered a bit, with my camera accidentally set to ISO 600, taking pictures of the neighborhood. I thought the shots were a wash, but it was only the closeups that were really noisy. The above shot is straight from the camera, only cropped up a bit. That sky color was out of control, yes?

An old friend is living in New York City and she recently put up some pictures of Daido Moriyama' show. I was really inspired by his style and it influenced me a lot when I was processing the above shot. I just love the sparkly leaves and shadows.

The day is calling, I had better get up and get out there. Party tonight for Michael's birthday, should be fun with a drugged up tall one and a house full of people that I don't exactly know :-) I can't wait!

breakfast companion

2010-03-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

As I was blankly staring out the window this morning, snacking mindlessly on turkey jurkey, I noticed this little guy sitting on the roof of the garage spitting out seeds like a guy chewing on sunflower seeds would. It was kinda cute to watch. I broke out of my haze long enough to go get my camera and he graciously preened back and forth so I could get his good side before heading down the other side of the roof and then flying away.

BIRDY!!

can't make up my mind...

2010-03-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

The tall one mentioned that he liked the new look, but also enjoyed having one of my pictures as the header to the blog. Since I don't have the time to fix the other blog template, it's back to the old...but with new colors because it's ALMOST SPRING!!

Saturday while wandering back to the house after dropping Sophie off to have her back struts replaced (yay dirt roads!!) I took quite a few pictures of the cherry blossoms in the neighborhood with the background dominated by the beautiful bright blue sky. Unfortunately since I don't go shooting as much anymore I forget the little things like..oh, I don't know, adjusting the ISO. der. So as I'm scrolling through the shots I'm thinking to myself "man, these shots are NOISY!" I'm such an idiot. I guess that's one thing about lomophotography. Seeing as you just shoot from the hip and don't worry about what comes out until later I guess it's made me forget the technical parts of my DSLR. Oh well.

On my way back to pick Sophie up, my back started to spasm. Each step I took made pain shoot down my left leg and it was all I could do to walk the 6 or so blocks to the auto repair shop. I played with a new photography iPhone app to keep my mind off of the pain, and you can see the finished product above.

Luckily the tall one had gone to the doctor earlier in the day (well, not so lucky for him...poor thing) and had been given a prescription for vicodin, which kept me in a happy haze for the rest of the weekend.

We did venture out on Saturday to see Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D...at Northgate. Who knew they had an IMAX theater there? I sure didn't.

I have to give another shout out to my lovely tall one for taking care of me when I was yet again broken. The last time this happened was when I drove up to Seattle from LA. My back hurt so bad that I couldn't move from the couch. It was horrible...and I had to deal with it alone in a strange city with no one to help me. I can't tell you how great it was to have someone there, even if just to say "my baby is ow. sad face."

ooh yay! a new look!

2010-03-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've loved this template for the longest time but it was only available through wordpress, but a recent edit made it available for blogger html use. Be sure to pull on the tab on the top right hand corner!

This weekend was spent in bed. Literally. We finally left bed on Saturday at around 7:30 pm to meet up with Dodi for dinner. Obasan is an ellusive little Japanese restaurant on lower Queen Anne that Dodi and Michael took us to once but after that the tall one and I have had a hell of a time getting back there at a time when it was open. We had luck on our side Saturday night and after a huge bento box filled with katsu I rolled myself back into bed.

Sunday we spent more time in bed, ate an amazing breakfast at Pesos where, after a bad case of the hungry grumps, we (well, he) budgeted out our trips for the year. I'm still scared, but he's helping me to work through all the planning and I'm trying not to freak out on him.

After a lovely dinner and games at his parents house that evening we retreated to...you guessed it...bed. Needless to say no picture taking or hiking was done over the last two days.

what the momma tomato said to the baby tomato

2010-02-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

I'm attempting to "ketchup" with some of my photos because I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. I realized that most of my posts used to be done in the evening, with a glass of wine in hand, away from the pressures of work and completely alone with my thoughts. However now my posts are mostly thrown together at work so that I have time at the end of the day to cook a lovely meal and snuggle in the arms of an adorable man while watching Top Gear. And I'm perfectly happy with that, so dear readers I hope you don't mind fewer words and more pictures. The days of my long winded posts may be over!

Otter Falls

After their trip to Hawaii and hiking on one of the island we were finally able to talk Dodi and Michael into hiking with us...although I do believe it'll be the last long hike they do, sadly. I was really excited to have another couple to hike with and I love spending time with them, but I think we will be regulated to camping trips from now on.

There was still fun to be had. Along the trail Michael continued to upgrade his walking stick until he was basically carrying a small tree up the trail. Dodi put the kabosh on that and insisted the tree be put down. So he threw it down a ravine...a few times with a few different sticks :)

Otter Falls from stacy davis on Vimeo.

There is this scene in Pretty Woman where Richard Gere is trying to explain opera to Julia Roberts and he said "People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul."

That's how I feel about hiking. I feel like I'm not complete if I'm not in the mountains and no matter how hard the trail is, how much I hate it when I'm doing it, how hurt I feel on that last gosh darn mile of hell before I finally return to the trailhead, I'm always glad I did it. Some people don't feel that way and I think Dodi may be one of them. But I'm super duper glad she loves camping so I'm hoping to drag them up to Mowitch Lake for some camping and hiking. We'll see...

Carrie Rodriguez

Yesterday Carrie Rodriguez and her guitar player (can't remember his name, sigh) came in to the office to do a quick interview and performance. Since I usually take stills for our website one of the editors asked me if I could film some b-roll for the interview so I switched my camera to live view and proceeded to learn a new aspect of my camera....and boy do I suck at it.

Carrie Rodriguez from stacy davis on Vimeo.

Traveling

Speaking of Hawaii...the tall one and I are planning a trip to Oahu at the end of April for a wedding. Not ours, even though his family and friends would love for it to be. The amount of marriage talk we've been getting lately is out of control.

And...also...well...EUROPE!! YAY EUROPE!! We are planning a trip overseas to many different countries, so many that it's freaking me out. I've never been off the continental US and now I'm not only going to Hawaii but I'm going to be on two different continents, Europe and Asia!!

I. Can't. Wait!!!

Boy is this going to be a busy year :-)

greenlake

2010-02-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

We are reluctant to venture in our new neighborhood. We miss the Hill. We would rather stay cuddled up in bed then to put on clothes and go outside no matter how pretty the weather...but we still pulled ourselves out of bed on Saturday to wander around Greenlake. We've discovered that it's only a short walk over to this urban oasis and although I'd hoped it would be a nice substitution for Cal Anderson Park I've been disappointed to see only Seattle suburbanites running the path and walking their puppies (who admittedly are adorable, the puppies not the people), massive amounts of children and one strange man playing guitar who likes to yell at old ladies. Granted, he knows them...but still, he's loud.

We walked the path, stopping at a bench so I could pick his brain about our first month of living together and although we haven't fully finished talking about everything I'm hoping he knows that if there is anything he's going through that we can go through it together now. I think that's one of the cool things about being a couple, you don't have to deal with anything alone anymore unless you want to.

if only i could write so well...

2010-02-16T13:58:00.000-08:00

This time, the anger lasts long enough for Ebert to write it down. He opens a new page in his text-to-speech program, a blank white sheet. He types in capital letters, stabbing at the keys with his delicate, trembling hands: MY TRIBUTE, appears behind the cursor in the top left corner. ON THE FIRST SHOW AFTER HIS DEATH. But Ebert doesn't press the button that fires up the speakers. He presses a different button, a button that makes the words bigger. He presses the button again and again and again, the words growing bigger and bigger and bigger until they become too big to fit the screen, now they're just letters, but he keeps hitting the button, bigger and bigger still, now just shapes and angles, just geometry filling the white screen with black like the three squares. Roger Ebert is shaking, his entire body is shaking, and he's still hitting the button, bang, bang, bang, and he's shouting now. He's standing outside on the street corner and he's arching his back and he's shouting at the top of his lungs.

read the entire story here

dirty harry's truck

2010-02-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've been here three times before, yes with the tall one's help I was finally able to locate the truck, however there were two reasons we decided to head back up that rocky and steep trail: I had heard that there was a hiking register in the glove compartment and also I'd been working out for two months now and the tall one thought this hike would be a good test of my endurance.

It was a drizzly afternoon and after breakfast we headed up to the trailhead and were one of only two cars in the lot. We started the long trek up the mountain and I quickly realized I was hung over from the night before. No good. I was supposed to be judging my endurance! I was supposed to be running up this stupid hill by now, but ooooh no. Stupid alcohol.

We actually made good time up to the balcony and instead of taking the spur out to it we decided to keep on going to the truck. Once we passed Museum Creek we pushed our way into the woods to find that someone had actually flagged out the route on the spur road! Big cheaters! Of course, it's hard to find that first yellow ribbon but once you do pink ribbons pick up the trail and eventually after some pretty heavy bush wacking the truck eventually comes into view.

We carefully climbed onto the truck just as the skies opened up and began to dump rain on us by the buckets full. I took a few shots perched on my little ledge but once the rain let up for a second I headed over to the trail to take some shots of the whole thing.

The rain began falling harder again so we decided to pack it up and head back down. I was in slightly good spirits since I had actually made it up the truck without too much complaining and with energy to spare, but pushing my way back through the brush and then navigating the massive amounts of now slippery rocks took a tole on my merry mood. I wasn't the only one, the tall one began to quicken his stride and quickly gained a big lead on me.

Luckily we made good time and were off the mountain in about an hour. We attempted to dry off in the car but my undershirt was so soaked that I was still shaking while we waited for dinner at Cedars, just a few short blocks from home.

Rain and exhaustion aside, I'm glad we did this hike. I got some great shots of the truck that not many people can find, I spent a lovely afternoon with the cutest boyfriend ever and bestest hiking partner in the world, and am able to finally say that the gym is not evil, it really is helping me to conquer these trails and hopefully this summer I'll produce some really excellent photos.

shoot from the hip

2010-02-10T09:24:00.001-08:00

yay! anniversary post!

2010-02-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

To celebrate our one year anniversary I decided to have my ex-boyfriend come and stay with us for a weekend. Because, you know, if we can make it through that...

Actually, Bill had this weekend planned for about 5 months and had asked if he and his friends could stay in my apartment for the weekend. I agreed, but then the tall one and I began to cohabitate. Luckily he's awesome and told me to invite the group to come stay at our house. YAY! Our first visitors!

They arrived Thursday night and after drinks and a quick dinner at Flowers on the Ave we headed to bed so we could get an early start the next day. Unfortunately the tall one had to work, but I took the day off. Bill and I had coffee at Cafe Racer (a place right down the street that I've been wanting to check out...and it was awesome) while waiting for Matt and Van to wake up. Once they were up and going it was off to the Seattle Center.

The day was SUPER DUPER beautiful so we decided to head up to the top of the Space Needle. All three had never been and since Van is a shutterbug like me I thought she'd love the view. We then went over to the Sculpture Park before heading up to Quinns on Capitol Hill to meet an old friend of Bill's. Apparently she was his very first love when he was like 6 years old but then she moved away. He said this was the girl that he subsequently compared all other girls to....and it turns out she's gay :) I had invited Casey out since we were on the Hill and so he and I chatted while Van and Matt looked at pictures and Bill and his friend reminisced. Eventually the tall one joined us as well and we finished up drinks and then headed back to the house as Bill wanted to cook us dinner as a thank you for letting them stay.

I invited Zach over for dinner and another one of Bill's friends joined us. I can't remember her name, but oh my goodness was she loud. Dinner was yummy and the conversation was good, but the tall one tired easily after a long day at work so we bid everyone good night after a while and let them go off to do their own thing.

I do believe Bill came back late and sat in the living room watching the fire go out. It felt nice that we had made a home so comfortable that even he could sit and be calm in it.

For the life of me I can not remember what the hell we did on Saturday except for seeing Seawolf and the Album Leaf at Nuemos and then finishing the night at the Central where I became very drunk and ate a hot dog.

The next day continued the tour of Seattle with dim sum, a ferry ride, fish and chips at the Owl and Thistle and then wandering around Pioneer Square...at least I think that's all we did, I mean seriously we shoved so much crap into three days that by the time they left on Sunday we were so wired that sleep didn't even come and we both got a little sick. Both of us ended up calling in to work on Monday so we could actually sleep since that didn't happen at all on Sunday night.

I brought my film camera with me everywhere so I'm hoping to get some fun shots put up on the blog once I get them developed. I think I have like 5 rolls, I'm really excited to see how they turned out.

..and happy anniversary tall one, I love you and am eternally grateful for you!

best anniversary pic ever!! ------>

Debi Nova

2010-02-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Debi Nova stopped by the offices for a quick interview today and word is coming down that she may be one of our last interviews for quite some time. She didn't perform, just dazzled us with her big smile, lovely accent and attentive makeup artist. No kidding the woman did not leave Debi alone.

First it was the lipstick, then a quick touch up to the eyes, then the hairspray came out...and that was just when they arrived! (to note she was already made up from an interview just before ours) Then once the interview was under way the makeup artist would jump in every other take to fix Debi's hair or add powder, it was nuts. At one point asking "Do you need more hair? I brought more hair." Goodness.

I'm...

not...

kidding...

She was a tiny little thing, but very sweet. She's a latin artist so she's played with Sergio Mendez and Ricky Martin, but I believe is only now working on her first album

She seemed very eager to get that rolling. I can imagine it must be very frustrating performing with all these artists (not only the two I listed but also Q tip and wil.i.am.) and not have a finished product.

She spoke spanish fluently and Andrew (who was interviewing her) was worried that she might ask him about his heritage (he's hispanic, last name Trujillo...but he doesn't speak a word of spanish) and I told him that if she asked just laugh and say you can hardly pronounce your own last name...which is true.

Just kidding, he can say his last name...but I think it had to be phonetically spelled out for him.

By the way I'm SUPER duper excited as I bought a new toy for my Holga which I hope to exploit the heck out of this weekend when Billy and his friends converge on the city of Seattle. The picture above is a slight preview. I hope to get some shots up soon...but you know how it goes with film.

In any case, check out Debi Nova's music here en inglés o español.

Wallace Falls

2010-02-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

FIRST HIKE OF 2010!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

What a weekend! I can't believe all the stuff we crammed into two days, but man did we get a lot done...and still went HIKING!! YAYAYAYAYAYA!!!

Ok, sorry...where was I?

Oh yeah...HIKING!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYA!!!!

...I swear that's the last time.

We were picked to host the January family birthday dinner and was told it would be on Sunday, however the tall one texted me Friday with a note saying "don't freak out, but they are coming over tomorrow".

Don't freak out? The house was a MESS! My things were still not unpacked and the living room was covered in boxes. He quickly rallied the troops, assigning food tasks to the family so that I would have the day free to clean. And clean we did! The house was done JUST IN TIME for the family to arrive fashionably late. I made homemade bruschetta and got a little help from Trader Joes Artichoke dip and made a super yummy salad which went well with the pot roast the tall one's mom made (for her own birthday, no less, but I was so grateful to not have to make it).

I think the best compliment we got that night was "your home just feels so inviting".

Sunday morning around 8:30 I slowly woke up in the tall one's arms and quietly said "ok, let's go hiking" to which he exclaimed "OK!" and pushed me out of bed. That's the last time I do that! He made breakfast and we were out the door with packs in hand (after a slightly frustrating search for my camera's battery charger) and in the car an hour and a half later.

The weather forecast had said that Sunday was supposed to be a clear day but as we drove further and further down Highway 2 it was obvious that the rain wasn't going to let up. It didn't dampen our spirits any, we were ready for a hike rain be damned.

Wallace Falls State Park has been on my list of hikes for a while. I don't mind the cliche waterfall shots, they are pretty and fun for me to practice my landscape photo skills on. With three large waterfalls within less than 3 miles, this was a great trail to get back in the swing of things. I had promised myself that this year I wouldn't be huffing it up the mountain, too weak by the time I made it to the top to really appreciate the view, let alone photograph it so I've spent the last month at the gym prepping for the upcoming season. This hike (at almost 6 miles round trip) was a good test of my endurance.

The rain was coming down in big droplets and since my lens does not have a hood (for some reason it didn't come with it, which I thought strange) my lens got quite a bit of moisture on it, ruining some shots unfortunately. The tall one even fashioned a makeshift shelter with his hood at one point, which helped later on the trail as the rain let up a bit and the only thing pelting us was the drippings from the trees.

The slight elevation gain to get to the middle falls left me breathless, but my energy level stayed nice and high the entire hike. When we reached upper Wallace Falls both of us looked at each other and said "is that it?". We were ready for more! WHICH WAS AWESOME! I can't even begin to explain how happy that made me, and I finally felt like all that work at the gym was paying off.

Mind you, I used the tall one as a pack mule for most of the trip and only had my camera backpack on for 3/4 of the hike so I was running light, he didn't mind however and I was able to keep up with his fast pace. Yet another thing that made me so freaking happy as last year I had to continuously tell him to slow down.

OH! AND! Even though Wallace Falls State Park is a good hour and a half from our house, the tall one arrived at the trailhead refreshed and ready to go instead of exhausted from a cramped car ride in my little Acura. YAY CRV!

We arrived home around 4:30 and after a nice warm shower the tall one was treated to me yelling insults at the Grammy Award show:

"Why is Beyonce singing a ballad surrounded by storm troopers?"
"OH GOD STEVIE NICKS WHY??! Taylor Swift? The world is ending as I know it."

It was a lovely weekend and I can't wait until we hit the trail again!

something wicked this way comes

2010-01-29T12:04:00.001-08:00

now the fun part begins!

2010-01-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

Last night while standing amongst a huge pile of clothes, sandwiched in between my newly moved couch, 5 boxes and the bed in the living room, tears sprang to my eyes. Not like it's much of a stretch to get me to cry, but it was a bit of an emotional day after moving the last bits of belongings from the apartment I had lived in for over a year in a neighborhood that I loved, round the corner from my favorite restaurants and my best friend to a new place that I didn't own and I had to share (only child syndrome), that was in a neighborhood still foreign to me and filled with residents that will perpetually stay the same age while I get older and fatter.

Overwhelmed as I was, the tears weren't just about the massive amount of shit that needed to be done nor where the hell was I going to shove all this stuff that I had packed up from the old place, but mostly they were about the transition. I've done this before, it's nothing new, but going through it with someone while I work through my emotions and fears and while I let go of an old life and embrace a new one scares the shite out of me. When I moved up to Seattle from LA I went through the worst experience EVER in trying to transition from a life in fast paced Los Angeles to a small suburb apartment in Bellevue, Washington. It was HORRID and I was freaking out and unfortunately the man I was moving in with was so concerned about how he is perceived by the world and by me that he took my freak out to be all about him instead of helping me to transition.

I won't say I was a peach during that time, and trust me I learned a lot from that experience and it's the only thing that stops me from currently running through the streets of the U-District shouting "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" in regards to my current love. I learned to communicate better, but it helps to have someone who will also talk instead of retreating into a "cave".

Fuck I hated that phrase.

So as I stood there last night, tears streaming down my face, wearing my frustration, weariness and fear on my sleeve my adorable tall one stepped over the mess and pulled my slobbering face to his and told me he loved me and that he was so happy I was moving in.

Because he's awesome.

He's a model for all boyfriends. I want to bottle his awesomeness and sell it to women everywhere...or should I sell it to men so they too can be awesome? Seriously we could create world peace with that shit. You don't even know.

/ daily tall one awesomeness affirmation

Seeing as I haven't picked up my camera in exactly a month now (again, have you LOOKED outside? booo grey winter) I figured I'd give you a little update on one of my NYE resolutions. I joined a gym on December 31st and have been going 4 days a week and today is the beginning of my forth week. Since scales are the DEVIL I have no clue if I've lost any weight, but I can walk up the stairs without wanting to fall over and I can run 2 miles straight without stopping (unless the treadmill loses power...which totally happened! I think it was because I was running so awesomely fast, but the gym thinks it had something to do with the wiring...whatev). LOOK OUT MOUNTAINS!! HERE I COME!!

Once it gets a little sunnier out, that is.

Also, in honor of one my favorite comedian/baker/actor/freaking amazing person Mandi (her blog to be found here) who has embarked on a similar journey to mine, except she moved to FREAKIN CHICAGO! for her SLM (sweet lovin' man) and has also made it a point to get on the healthy bandwagon, I wanted to post my and the tall one's favorite low fat and easy recipe.

Chicken Tacos
makes 4 to 6 tacos

Ingredients:
4 or 6 10" tortillas (low carb if you want to be really good)
1 pre-cooked chicken from the deli of your local grocery store
2 tbls Dean and Deluca Chili Powder Blend which should be available at your local grocery store and is SUPER versatile and has a fraction of the salt of other blends, but you can substitute another (but don't! trust me on this)
1/4 cup of cheese
1 tomato, diced
handful of mixed greens or whatever lettuce you have in the fridge, chopped
1/4 cup of onion, diced
hot sauce of your choice

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350
Shred approximately 1 to 1/2 cups of the pre-made chicken breast and set aside. To a non-stick skillet on medium heat add the diced onion and let them sweat it out for about 4 minutes before adding the chicken to the skillet along with the chili powder and about a 1/4 cup of water, or enough to mix the chili powder evenly amongst the chicken and onions. Cover and let simmer for about 4 minutes, then uncover and allow for the water to evaporate before removing the skillet from the heat.
Place the tortillas into the oven, directly onto the rack, and allow to heat for 45 seconds to a minute then remove to a paper towel or extra plate and begin to assemble the tacos!
I put the chicken in first, then the cheese, then a few dashes of hot sauce, then lettuce, then tomatoes.

Then eat!!

No pictures because I was so starving last time I made them that I completely forgot.

A few notes:
If you'd like to have side dishes, may I suggest Trader Joes Organic Black Beans with a little shredded parmesan over the top. You can also use your new super yummy chili powder to make a "spanish rice" by adding a couple teaspoons of the powder to white rice before adding the water and then cook in a rice cooker or on the stove top. By using the non-stick skillet you don't need oil to brown up your onions so you save on calories there, and the left over pre-made chicken can be used in MULTIPLE dishes and is so great to have on hand for the nights that you just don't want to make anything. We use it in enchiladas, chicken salads, or just warm up a few pieces of the breast and pair it with small red baked potato and some steamed broccoli.

YUMMY!!

YAY FOOD!! YAY GYM!! YAY TALL ONE!! YAY SUN!!

*runs around waving hands in the air reminiscent of kermit the frog*

changes

2010-01-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

January is shaping up to be a busy month so my apologies for the absence of posts. I realized yesterday that I haven't picked up my camera since Christmas, but honestly when you look outside at the dark and dreary weather it's easy to understand why. The things going on in my life are much more interesting to me than the view I'm seeing out the window of my office.

Big changes for Stacy this month, for one:

I have a new car!! I can't even tell you how freakin' excited I am. The tall one bought it for us to travel in, to hike in, to camp in, to FIND PRETTY IN!! Then he up and gives it to me, because he's awesome and knows I'd die in the city without a car.

Also this month I shall be moving from the apartment that I haven't slept in since I got my appendix out in October to the house that I've been staying at instead of said apartment. We both figure that since we haven't killed each other in the last three months, we can cook together and not want to tear each others throats out, and we can't even spend a night apart without stupidly missing each other that we should probably just make it official. Plus, I love him and he loves me and we love each other and life is AWESOME together...you know, I mean, there is that.

Edit: How could I forget!! My passport came!! I opened up that package and started crying, really I did. I feel like finally the world is open to me. I can go anywhere, and I will be soon. Our first big trip is being planned and it will include Istanbul, Prague and German during Oktoberfest. First I do believe we'll test out the passport in Vancouver, BC...just in case.

So stay tuned kiddies, life is getting very interesting!

one day a good new years...

2010-01-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

New years eve hasn't been the best evening for me. It's been a while since I enjoyed a nice one with no drama and unfortunately this year was no different.

Gah. I swear...one of these days.

It started out great, like it always does. My adorable boyfriend and I went to a party held at his friends house on The Hill. If you step outside her door you get a great view of the space needle so it was a perfect place to watch the fireworks. Once we arrived all his friends were there and it was nice to just sit in the big couch surrounded by good people, drinking and having fun. I was directed towards the gin and began sipping on my favorite libation.

However, as I sat down next to the tall one's friend Sharon she whispered in my ear "you know (the tall one's ex) will be showing up this evening, right?"

sigh.

Well, it was a good evening. I don't know why I can't get over this girl who shows up everywhere and is increasingly childish in her demeanor. At first it wasn't so bad. We ended up at a concert together and a couple tuesday night dinners...but then all the sudden she became a jealous little girl. Perhaps she had been like that all along, I don't know, but I've noticed it more and more now and it's completely uncomfortable. But the thing that bothers me most is that I compare myself to her. I hate it. It's completely my doing, but I can't freaking stop.

So I continue drinking and smiling, hoping that she doesn't show up, hoping that perhaps she will end up somewhere else and I'll have a nice quiet new years with my friends and my tall one...and then a tiny little asian girl in an equally tiny red dress and uncomfortably tall heels arrives. And lets everyone know it.

again...le sigh.

Things become blurry at this point. The time for midnight had come so we wandered outside with Sharon and played with noise makers (which I do remember throwing hers into a bush...sorry love) and then when the fireworks went off there were kisses all around and I actually got to see the fireworks this year instead of watching the sky light up beneath the E.E. Robbins sign.

We wandered back to the house and drank a little more. After about an hour and half of watching the ex flirt with the tall one, throw dirty looks in my direction and generally piss me off, I lost it. I got up and walked past her and muttered something under my breath. It was at that point I walked out because I knew I would start something if I didn't. His friend Michael saw this and followed me and I sat outside in the drizzling rain and just started crying.

I was crying for many reasons. I knew I'd never be like this little girl. I care about clothing and dressing up, but I've never had the money to do it so I've become accustomed to being causal and not wearing shoes that I have to take off after 15 minutes because they hurt so bad. I'll always be chubby because I love food and drink. I'll never need to be the center of attention because I just really don't give a shit. I know my boyfriend knows all this and loves me just the way I am.

And yet I still cried that I'll "never be a tiny little asian girl (no shit stacy) that can wear a little red dress". I cried that I'm not enough for him, that he'll want something else...I cried and blubbered into Micheal's chest until the tall one came out and took over the duty of wiping my eyes.

The stupid thing is that all of this was a complete insult not only to me, but to the tall one as well. If he wanted that he'd still be with her, if he wanted that he sure as hell wouldn't be with me and if he wanted that I wouldn't be moving in with him. Plus, why compare myself to something I could never be? It's like comparing myself to a 6 foot tall black model. I'll never be black, I'll never be 6 feet tall so why compare myself to that?

Funny thing is, I like me. I like my body in all it's forms; thin, chubby, in between. It's all me and I can always find something that I like about myself. But when it comes to other people I put myself up to these crazy standards and assume that's what they want when really if they wanted that they'd be with that. I'm not a consolation prize, people aren't settling for me, the tall one didn't settle for me because he can't have something else. He chose me. I need to stop disrespecting myself so much and remember that.

I keep thinking of this comment that Bill used to always say "If I don't like someone, they don't exist to me anymore. I don't use the word hate because if I do hate someone it's like saying they still mean something to me for them to create such an emotion.". I'd like to try and put that into action...but I know that by even writing this she still wins because she pissed me off so much that I'm still thinking about it, about her.

Grrr.

Although I'd like to say that my NYE sucked (and I did say that earlier didn't I?) besides letting a little girl get under my skin, I still kissed the boy of my dreams under a drizzly sky with fireworks pounding away in our ears...and I know next year I'll do it again.

I learn so much every year. I don't think a moment has gone by that hasn't made me contemplative and 2009 was no different. It's odd having someone around me who is so super supportive of me that I really hope I don't push him away because I talk about every, tiny little detail...but there I go again. That's what I do, and he knows this is how I am and if he didn't like it he wouldn't be here. So there.

Take that negative Stacy! :-P

2009 Adventures

2009-12-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

Just as I did in 2008, I'm archiving my 2009 adventures and presenting my favorite shots of the year. I actually put together another website called "lost in the ecotone" where I will be putting my favorite shots from this year and the coming years. I love having my blog to write the stories, but that site will eventually be my main photography site and will link to this blog.

eventually...

2009 Adventures

Westport
Fort Flagler
Magnuson Park
Dirty Harry 1st Attempt
Dirty Harry Strike Two
Dirty Harry's Museum Found!
Mt. Saint Helens
Lake Serene / Bridal Veil Falls
Granite Mountain
Isabelle Ides / Shi Shi / Forks / Ocean Shores
My Big Gay Weekend
Spray Falls / Spray Park
Los Angeles
Stephie's Wedding Weekend
DMB at the Gorge
Blue Lake

Favorite Photos Of 2009

christmas in LA

2009-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

I love my cousins. I can't think of a better christmas present than to be with them, and I was lucky enough to do just that this holiday. I was sick, I still am actually, but it didn't matter. We stayed up late every night talking and laughing and playing and taking pictures. Strangely enough I only took out my camera on Christmas day. The rest of the time it sat neatly in my camera bag while I enjoyed the scenery with my own two eyes. I let Carolyn be the photographer this time around.

We didn't give each other much this christmas, which was great because I didn't have much to give, but I did make a book for the family with pictures from their trip up to Seattle that made Carolyn quietly tear up and that made me feel really good. I'm surprised at how well my pictures are translating as gifts. Everyone seems really excited to get them and it makes me feel like I'm giving people not only something that I've created but also a little piece of me. It's kinda cool.

The tall one came down on Saturday and after hanging out with the family for a little while we had dinner in Burbank with Jen, who I love and miss, and had so much fun before heading back to Manhattan Beach to stay at his Grandpa's house. The next morning we drove over to The Kettle, my favorite breakfast place, and had yummy food and mimosas. It was so great being back in the neighborhood I spent so much time in and it was very, very hard to leave it.

As I flew into Seattle the sun was setting, casting a pink glow on the buildings of downtown. The scene is typically my favorite and always feels like the city is welcoming me home...but this time, knowing the tall one was not there and my friends and family were so far away, it just felt lonely.

resolutions

2009-12-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

Oh so cliche...but after 2009 I'm kinda finding it necessary to create a list of them. Not that this year was terrible, I met and fell in love with an amazing man who showed me dim sum and pho and shared with me a love of beer, together we went to festivals and spent weekends in bed watching BSG and The Wire. However, I became rolly polly, but not in a "I'm comfortable in my relationship and don't have to work at it" kind of way, but more "my boyfriend keeps feeding me all this awesome food and there's so much to do that I have zero time to exercise".

When I don't exercise, no matter how well I eat, I blow up like a Macy's thanksgiving day balloon.

mmmm...turkey.

Anyhoo, since I love hiking so much and I'd prefer being able to climb up a mountain without my boyfriend a 1/2 a mile ahead of me skipping up the trail carrying all our gear because I can hardly make it up the swtichbacks then I better join a damn gym. Since the tall one's friend Dodi has a membership at a small gym on Queen Anne, I'm going to join her there and hopefully will have someone to hold me accountable to get my ass up and going when I just want to stay in bed and snuggle.

Resolution #1: Join a gym and exercise at least 4 times a week. One of those days will include one weekend day unless a hiking outing is planned. Yoga will be in addition to and will not be counted as a day of exercise.

I know it's on everyone's list, but I actually f'ing mean it. I'm doing it and I don't care how cliche it is. Also, I put it as number one because being in shape gives me the energy to hike, to explore, and to do more than just work and sleep which is essential for the rest of my resolutions.

Another thing that took a backseat this year to my exploration of Seattle funtivities and my love of snuggles was my photography. It was a bit of a milestone year as I decided to fully invest in my new passion and purchased a Nikon D90: a thousand dollar camera, and then kept the spending going on two lenses and the most expensive filter I've bought to date. Funny thing about not having a boyfriend is that you have a lot of time to yourself. In 2008 I worked so hard on learning photography not only because I had a love for it but also because I didn't have much else...it was a good way to fill my time. However my time in 2009 was filled with the cutest boyfriend ever!

Resolution #2: Enroll in the photography program at the University of Washington.
The fall courses begin in August which will give me more than enough time to do:

Resolution #3: Leave the country at least once this year.

I have a feeling that since the tall one purchased a new house this year our travels will only be to Canada or perhaps Mexico, but it's still another country, and I will still get to use my new passport.

Speaking of the tall one (when am I not, though...seriously) I'm saving a particularly scary resolution for him. I keep coming back and re-writing this paragraph because I don't know how to word it. I know how I feel which is I love him, I want to spend the rest of my life with him, married with babies, traveling the world and enjoying this life with the the enthusiasm of youth for the rest of our days...but I feel like I'm not supposed to say that. Because...well, I don't know why. It's dumb. I can think up all these reasons: I don't want to end up like my mother who goes from one man to another, I don't want to move in for financial reasons, I don't want to be taken care of, I don't want to be afraid that he'll cheat because he needs outside validation from someone he doesn't see every single freaking day...

...but I'm not my mother, and I've proven that I can take care of myself in both Seattle and the big scary Los Angeles, I don't need to move with him because I can still pay my rent and live, sparingly, but I can still do it just fine. As for seeking outside validation, well, the jury is still out on that and it's a sticking point for me. I'm still afraid I'll never be enough. But that's life. I can't stop doing things because I'm afraid. I never have, I've jumped into every situation knowing that it could all blow up in my face but if I hadn't done it I would have never known and I would have always wondered.

I have never said "what if I had..." so:

Resolution #4: Happily and successfully move in with my boyfriend and refrain from bringing in the baggage from previous attempts with other ill fated relationships and all my mother issues along with me.

There are other little things I'd like to do: run a marathon, buy a new car, finally get a computer set up so I can start editing my photos correctly, get an xbox so I can obliterate friends on Gears of War, spend more time with Casey, make his house our home, get more of my LA friends to visit me up here...but I believe these four things are essential for the project that is "Stacy".

It's an ongoing project, but it's showing a lot of promise :)

I'm pretty sure it's christmas...

2009-12-24T09:30:00.001-08:00

merry...and stuff :)

one eskimo

2009-12-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

I woke up to the grumpiest of moods. The grey Seattle skies did nothing to pull me out of my hormone induced melancholy. Work was one annoying request after another. Then 4:00 rolled around and four adorable boys from London walked into the office with instruments in hand. Their charm was disarming, their sound was calming, their accents were so adorable that I could have listened to them all day. They were One eskimO.

I have a little crush on Adam. I think it's his hair, but his smile was so warm...and plus I think I have a little bit of a thing for drummers.

or scarfy European guys :)

sorry tall one...

cuuuuuute.

this one is straight from the camera with only a cropping done in photoshop. I love lighting. It's nice to have a person so perfectly lit that there is no need to do any post processing. I hope to spend some time learning about off camera lighting next year.

The skies were dark and we could see the traffic stretching far, backed up from the bridge. If they were going to make it to their show at the Crocodile in an hour we would have to cut the interview short, which we ended up doing. Still, it was a nice end to a day that began with a grump.

RUM BALLS!!!

2009-12-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

one word...yum.

I was sick....

.....and then we made rum balls!!

oooooh, and then my boyfriend made me veeeeery happy, and then we had lunch with his family, and then we slept, and then he made me breakfast in bed, and then we went to Costco, and did I already mention the rum balls? and then we watched the Wire and then Dodi and Michael came over and to eat the rum balls...YUM!! RUM BALLS!!!

The year is winding down and since I'll be in LA for the holidays I may save my end of the year post for after Christmas, but I've been spending a lot of time putting together my favorite photos from the last year. I actually am giving my photos for gifts this year, the first time I think I have a decent enough collection to print up. I hope people like them...because I'm too broke to buy anyone anything :)

now witness the power

2009-12-10T14:17:00.001-08:00

Kerry Park

2009-12-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

After the heartbreaking exclamation "come on, let's go!" the tall one and I ventured, reluctantly on his part, out of the house on Saturday. I mostly wanted to catch the sunset from Kerry Park but I had also heard of a vendor fair that I knew the tall one would like. After wandering through and purchasing a fun new toy, he suggested heading over to The Counter for lunch. I had heard about two burger joints in Ballard that were model after the "Father's Office" style of burgers and The Counter was one of them. It was yummy, but there were many options to choose from and for a first timer it can be a bit overwhelming.

The sun was setting fast so after grabbing some caffeine at Peet's we headed up to Queen Anne. The park was very crowded when we arrived and I ran over to stake my claim on some real estate and left the tall one to guard the flag while I took photos of the sky.

I was focusing on the skyline and the tall one said "nothing against my city, because I do think it's beautiful, but the sky is putting on quite a show". Sure enough when I turned to face the setting sun the sky had turned an amazing red.

Check this one out all big and on black

Mostly I was focused on getting bracketed shots so I could experiment with HDR. I was becoming very frustrated with the process and I didn't understand why I couldn't figure out the processing once I uploaded all my photos. I'm not sure if I just wasn't taking the correct exposures or if I wasn't composing my shots well...but darn it if I didn't make some pretty HDR shots from what I took on Saturday. The main issue is that my monitor over saturates all the colors so I have no idea what the true color looks like until I upload it to flickr and then check it on my iphone. It's quite the process, however I'm pretty darn happy to finally have figured it out. (can I say process one more time? geesh stacy, thesaurus much?)

Speaking of happy :)

setting sun

2009-12-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

I was going to do a whole post on Kerry Park, and I will, but this photo deserves it's own post.

see this one large and on black

Thanks for checking out my site, Dane :) Seattle misses you

It's that time of year again...

2009-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

ZOOOOOOOM BUUUUUUURST!!!!

hehe :)

thanksgiving weekend

2009-12-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

The tall one enjoys cooking with me and downloaded the Epicurious app for the iPhone with which he located this yummy strata recipe. We went shopping for all the ingredients and then put together everything that evening to let the dish set overnight, which was a big mistake because in the morning the bread on the bottom had become all soggy...but the top sure did look pretty!

We arrived on time to his parents house, much to the surprise of the family, on Thanksgiving day to the smell of turkey cooking in the oven. The table was festively set by his aunt Melody, complete with the menu for the evening. As I shot the table I noticed my frames were coming out very dark. I went to the on camera editing for one shot and I realized that I could use the active d-lighting setting to balance out the light. I got so excited I almost yelled "yay!!" out loud, but I realized that I'd sound like a big nerd when I explained why I had yelled, so I didn't.

While I sat chit chatting with his family, the tall one made his way back to the computer. After a while we found him and demanded he come and stir some shit, which he did, and I took his picture, which he hated...but I love this shot of him. The shadows on his face are so menacing and bring out his little smirk.

Even if I had nerded out Charlie, the tall one's uncle, would have totally understood. He's a nature photographer and I'm in awe of him. I still haven't worked up the nerve to talk shop with him, mostly because I don't think I'm that great. I've been in a slump lately when it comes to my photography after a bad experience with a local photographer but mostly because I don't have anyone to really talk with about it...I should join a club or something.

After dinner with the fam we headed over to Dodi and Michael's house for drinks. The Apples to Apples game was brought out again but I only played a little bit before heading for the couch. The combination of food, drink and having to keep up small talk the entire day had taken it's toll.

I almost didn't get Friday off, but luckily I guilted my boss into letting me stay home. Instead of braving the shopping crowds we decided to lay in bed for a bit watching The Wire, but the allure of the sunset was too much for me and we jumped in the car and I pointed it south. I had an idea to go to Dash Point State Park but we were hungry so I had the tall one do a search for food in the area (at first he asked if there were any restaurants that held any nostalgia for me in the south end and I said "um...the Olive Garden?" oy suburbia) and came up with Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse.

I want to go to there.

They had peanuts on the floor, bud light on tap, and served burgers on a hubcap. We were so ironically enjoying it that for a second we began to actually enjoy it. But soon the country music became too much and we decided to head over to Costco and check out their beer selection. I typically try not to spend too much time in the south end because it reminds me of how my life could have been had I not moved and being in Costco surrounded by the very same people that I didn't want to become was a bit overwhelming. Interesting too was that each Costco carries regional products and this particular one was filled with so much...well, crap. Toys, clothes, knick knacks, electronics, and a big display with Sarah Palin's book prominently displayed. The one in Seattle is filled with food, food, more food, tires, drugs and underwear. You know, the essentials.

We finally made it down to Dash Point at dusk, but all my shots suck so I'm not posting them.

Saturday was a very strange day. Everywhere we went something went wrong, but we got our passport photos (YAY!!), a warm jacket for me to celebrate John Lennon, a jacket for him that his mother will not approve of and windshield wipers for my car that I was strangely excited to use. I can't remember if he found this little buggy on Saturday or Sunday while raking leaves in his front yard, but it's a cool little thing.

Sunday...bed. The Wire. snuggles. kisses. heaven.

fall

2009-12-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

there was a big pile of leaves next to my apartment and I couldn't help but photograph them. I stayed out there arranging leaves until it was almost dark.

i heart bokeh

2009-11-25T10:15:00.001-08:00

tis the season for bokeh balls!

oh to be young again

2009-11-23T14:19:00.000-08:00

My poor little cousin Levi had his heart broken a couple weeks ago and to take his mind off of it my Aunt suggested he come stay the weekend with me. I was immediately excited, then I panicked.

What the heck am I going to do with a 16 year old?

I can't take him out drinking, most of the shows are 21 and older, he lives in Washington so I didn't want to take him to the touristy spots, but mostly I had no clue how to balance being the cool older cousin while still touting the importance of enjoying his youth without being totally lame.

He arrived on friday evening and I took my Aunt and him to Dicks as neither had ever been. It was cold but we still stood outside on the long metal counter set up under the iconic sign. There is an art installation in the empty lot where the light rail will soon be and we watched the laser lights run up and down the space while eating and chatting. At one point Levi's napkins flew out from under his burger. I didn't hesitate to run and grab them as they flew down Broadway but I heard my aunt say behind me "they recycle everything up here". It was the first of many comments throughout the weekend that reminded me how the Middle American mentality is still prevalent in my family.

I took Levi over to the tall one's house and we waited for him to get home before heading over to Dodi and Michael's for another fun round of Apples to Apples. It was a small, slightly impromptu, get together and I was grateful for it as I still had no idea what to do with the kid. However after chatting with him I heard things from him that, shockingly, reminded me of myself when I was his age. There were times when I wanted to bestow my wisdom upon him, explain that he doesn't have to be angry and yes it's hard living with your parents but suck it up because soon you'll be gone and you'll hardly ever remember that time...but I mostly just kept quiet. Same thing when talking about his ex-girlfriemd, I remembered how much it sucked to have adults trivialize the pain I was feeling when I broke up with boy who's name I can't remember right now but was the LOVE OF MY LIFE!!! OMG!!!! I WILL DIE NOW FROM A BROKEN HEART!!! I'M GOING TO PLAY SKID ROW UNTIL I CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP!!!

Yeah, Skid Row. What? I grew up in the era of hair bands, so sue me.

Saturday Levi had a few places he wanted to go so we began the longest day ever known to man at a Ski and Snowboard expo at the Convention Center where we just happened to run into the tall one's ex. Ugh, that girl is everywhere. I feel lucky that he and I never run into any of mine, but even if we did I'm positive they would be civil. I hate the awkwardness. I was eager to leave after that so we did some quick searching for the local ski resorts before heading out to REI.

Oh, the downtown REI. I hate it because I covet most of the crap that they sell there and I loathe all the fleece wearing eastsiders who walk out with massive amounts of gear when I can hardly afford a hat. Spending anymore than 20 minutes there gives me a headache, but we spent a good three hours in the surrounding area. The entire time looking at things that I will never be able to afford. It sucked, but Levi was enjoying himself and that's all that matters. He decided to get a membership as he wanted to climb the rock wall so we wandered around to Feathered Friends and another ski shop to wait until his appointment with the wall. He climbed up that thing like a monkey and when he got down he was shaking like a leaf.

I'm thinking the shaking was from not consuming anything other than a Monster energy drink all day...but that's just me.

Shopping for that long always makes me exhausted so we headed back to my apartment and the old ones took a nap while Levi played Wii. I really wanted to get a show in while Levi was here and I remembered an article I had read in the Stranger about a band called Fences and they just happened to be playing at the Vera Project which is all ages. Yay! After nap we headed over and grabbed tickets and then killed time before the show at Easy Street.

The bands were incrementally alright. The first guy made me want to gouge my eyes out, Fences was decent but didn't meet my expectations and the headliner Hey Marseilles was fun, but didn't blow me away. Still, for $10 it was worth it to see the smile of Levi's face. I think he enjoyed himself and that was the point.

We wrapped up the weekend at Dim Sum and then drove down to Southcenter to meet up with my Aunt so I didn't have to drive him all the way to Orting.

Other than a few funny/odd moments...
Me to Dodi: "This is the first time his Mom let him hang out with me. She thought I was a bad influence."
Dodi to me: "I can see why!"
I turn around to see him in the kitchen with a shot glass full of whiskey
...and an interesting conversation about Jesus being black that may have blown his small town mind, I think he had fun.

re-edit

2009-11-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

ok so it wasn't the next day...and they are not shots that I did yesterday...but whatever. It's pictures :)

vices

2009-11-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

I had a ton of things to write about last night. I grabbed my camera from home, brought it over to the tall one's house and while I waited for him to get home I took random pictures and video and thought up the rant that I was going to post.

Then a funny thing happened, he came home and over dinner I just unleashed all the crap that had been building up in my head. It felt great to release it, but even more so to have someone to tell it to. Perhaps that's why I haven't been updating my blog so often. The first year I was here I didn't get to really say what was on my mind but now...oh golly now...I have someone to listen to me! It's kinda awesome, and I'm sappily in love.

The above picture has a funny story, ask me about it sometime :)

I'm so thankful I'm able to drink. If I didn't have that option I have no idea how I'd be able to block out how horrible my work days are so they don't interfere with my awesome home life. I don't think it's possible to explain how hypocritical and back-stabbing my work environment is. I think it's time to buy a lotto ticket. It's even harder to be creative here, which is odd since it's an office filled with producers and editors and tons and tons of CD's/DVD's/content. It sucks, literally; it actually sucks the creativity out of me.

See...this is why I'm not posting. I either get all sappy about the tall one or complain about my job.

That's it. I'm taking pictures tonight and tomorrow that's all you'll see here.

so there!

you're going to take out my what now?

2009-11-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

Google: lower right abdominal pain

Causes: appendix

No..that can't be right. It's not my appendix.

"Tall one, what is in my lower right abdominal that would be hurting right now?"
He replies "You probably pulled a muscle".

Yeah...that sounds right, because it couldn't be my appendix. No way. That's crazy talk!

The tall one had a three week vacation from work and he stayed with me pretty much the entire time as he was in transition from apartment to new house. I loved being ambushed by baked goods, kisses when I walked in the door and the free flowing beer. However due to lack of hiking, well actually any type of physical activity that was not bedroom related, I became rolly polly and out of shape. Determined to get back on the wagon once the tall one returned to work, the first monday that was boyless I kicked myself into gear with a strict and intense work out routine.

Two days into it I was already feeling the soreness in my muscles, however that lower right hand pain had come back in a big way. 3:00 pm Wednesday afternoon as I was sitting at my desk it became sharp and very uncomfortable. I wandered around the office trying to work it out, but it persisted...and I googled: lower right abdominal pain. I didn't feel nauseous, I had no pain around my bellybutton (odd place for pain I thought at the time). I remembered the conversation with the tall one a couple weeks ago when he mentioned it may be a pulled muscle and I just assumed that the muscle was aggravated by my recent activity.

As it was the tall one's birthday and we have to give each other the most romantic gifts EVER, I reciprocated his touching gift of a car battery for my birthday with cleaning his apartment after he moved into the new house for his. I still had the pain, but only if I sat down. So I cleaned, drank the leftover champagne in the fridge and didn't sit down for a couple hours.

He finally got off work and, dirty and exhausted as both of us were, we headed down to Deluxe for $4.99 burger night. I slipped a candle in his burger and sang happy birthday to him over the ruckus crowd and we chatted about nothing...and everything. After sitting for 20 minutes the pain had become ouch and I was ready to go home and lay down. It was a slow walk back and when I finally did get to bed it was a struggle to find a way to lay down that wasn't excruciating.

The morning came quickly and the tall one and I hurriedly dressed for work. I bent down to put a sock on my right foot and tears sprang to my eyes.

"Go. To. The. Doctor. Yay insurance" the tall one said.

Fine...

I had a meeting scheduled for 9 am that morning so I had to run into work to grab the number of the gentleman to reschedule for the next day. Overlake Hospital has an urgent care facility in Issaquah and as I seriously thought it was going to be something easy I went there first. I was there for 5 minutes before they said told me to go to the emergency room right away. I went to the closest ER, Swedish, in Issaquah and told the admitting nurse that I had severe right hand abdominal pain. Another nurse came out immediately, brought me into the first room where instantly there were like a hundred nurses in there. One held up a drape for me to undress behind, another took my blood pressure, my temperature, an IV was stuck in my arm before I could even say "OUCH!" and I was being told that I had to get a CAT Scan to find out what was going on.

Everything happened very quickly and within 20 minutes (after talking them out of trying to give me an enema for the CAT Scan. Them: "but it helps to illuminate the organs in really thin people. Me: "DO I LOOK LIKE A THIN PERSON TO YOU? THAT IS NOT GOING UP IN ME".) a nurse came in and told me I was going to be transported to Swedish downtown to have my appendix out.

I can't tell you I wasn't scared, but I'm a strong gal and I refused the ambulance ride and said I'd drive myself. However they refused to let me go since they had given me a nice dose of a narcotic through the IV...damn...so I called the tall one's mother and blubbered "I, um (sob) have to um (sob) get my appendix out (sniff sniff). Can you take me downtown (SOOOOOOOBBB)".

As I was waiting for her the security guard for the building came over to ask where my car was so he could look after it until I could have someone retrieve it. I pointed to it's location and was informed that it was actually parked in Costco's parking lot and needed to be moved. Which would have been fine, but they wouldn't let me drive. So I gave my keys to the security guard and hoped for the best. He came in a couple minutes later and said it wouldn't start. My heart raced for a moment and I thought Oh Great, on top of surgery now I have to worry about my car?! Then I remembered something and said to the gentleman "you know you have to push the clutch in to start the car, right?"

uh huh...

The tall one's amazing mother arrived after a harrowing ride through the hedge trimming on I-90 and drove me to Swedish Medical Center in downtown Seattle. Just as stubborn as her son she refused to leave me alone. She came up to the room with me and waited as I got situated, met my surgeon and learned of my surgery time. Apparently during this time the tall one had called Casey and my best friend appeared from behind the drawn curtain. I can't tell you how grateful I am to all three of those wonderful people.

The time came and they wheeled me over to the pre-op location. I met the guy who was going to knock me out (he kept calling the concoction 'champagne') and then was left alone to listen to the chatter of the nurses station. I heard one doctor come in and say "what's on the board" and one of the nurses said "appendectomy". The doc said "oh, well I can do one of those" and I peaked my head around the curtain and said "oh no you won't!" to the great delight of the nurses.

They came to take me to the surgery wing and wheeled me down a long corridor that had floor to ceiling windows with a gorgeous view of downtown. The nurse said it was the best view in the whole hospital and I said it better be, it's the last that some people will ever see.

The surgery rooms reminded me of what I had seen on TV shows when they show the hospital morgues, which was not a good sign, and as I moved from the gurney to the operating table I saw the massive amount of instruments used to slice into people and I remember thinking "I can't believe I can see all these things! Don't they think it will scare people? Where is my zzzzzzzzzzz"

Next thing I know I'm sputtering awake. It's a rude awaking when you come out of surgery and I was not a happy camper. Eventually they calmed me down and after a bit they moved me back to my room. The tall one's mom was waiting for me, and even Casey came back to check on me. I was in pain though, so the stay was brief. The tall one's mom stayed with me however, again can't stress the stubbornness of this family, but I'm so glad that she did. There was not one moment where I felt alone, where I didn't feel loved and for that I'm so grateful. As I laid there in a drugged haze she softly spoke to me about her life to fill the silence of the room. I learned a lot...

The tall one made it to me after work and after retrieving my car he relieved his mother and took over watch. I didn't want him to stay the night, but he sat with me for a few hours holding my hand while we both read. He returned in the early morning with the little things I might need to keep me comfortable. He held my hand, helped me to dress and move around and generally did the things that a man does for a woman he loves. Again...I can't thank him enough.

Once I was released he took me straight to his house where I spent the next 5 days in bed, being waited on, cooked for and taken care of. His friends would come into the bedroom to keep me company, his mother brought over dinner so we could eat and he didn't once complain about me being there. He wouldn't hear of me leaving.

I feel so freaking lucky that I have such a great support system around me, that my insurance provided me the care that I needed, that my doctors took care of me without even a second thought, that friends and family sprang to action when they heard I was going to the hospital and that I have an amazing boyfriend who nursed me during my recovery.

Seriously lucky. So. Freaking. Lucky.

David Gray and a lost organ

2009-11-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hello my 10 followers. I know you've missed me! Most of you follow me on facebook so you are well aware of my recent surgery and have no doubt already been told the harrowing story. I should probably write it down for future reading, but my first post after my hiatus will not be dedicated to my missing appendix. Instead, it shall be for the one and only David Gray.

From my random blogging while drinking wine (wogging?) I've expressed my love of Mr. Gray and my wish to meet him. The only great thing about my job currently is the opportunity to be able to say I'd like to meet someone and most of the time it will actually happen. Luckily this was one of those times.

Unlike most artists he arrived on time and was eager to answer questions. Unfortunately when he sat down the zipper gave out on his pants and he had to run back to the bus and change. When he returned he was dressed in the suit he was going to wear that night for the performance.

He was an amazingly intense person and when asked each question he would look down, think it over and then answer in a stream of words that I'm sure contained a period or two but you wouldn't know it. And the accent...oooh the accent. For a moment I forgot that I was supposed to be taking pictures and I closed my eyes and listen to him speak. I'm so silly when it comes to my favorite artists.

Andrew, my co-worker, is not the best interviewer. He was not familiar with David Gray and I had to fill him in on his history and music, what he's doing now, what his new album sounds like and it showed in his interview style. David became a little bored and finally just sat back and looked at Andrew like "really kid?".

After the interview I asked David to sign an old copy of my Live at the Point DVD that I've played so much over the years that it's surprising it will still show a picture on the screen and of course my pen didn't work. He took it down with him to his tour bus to find a sharpee and sent his tour manager back with the signed copy in hand.

I had asked if perhaps the band could put me on their list for the show that night so after the interview I wandered around downtown, having dinner at that silly FOX restaurant downtown and chatting with a lovely gentleman from Houston who was in town on business before going back over to the venue. I grabbed my tickets from will call and headed into the theater. I gave my ticket to the usher and he took me all the way to the front row and sat me down in the center....oh yeah, front row center. The lady sitting next to me said she wished she had a camera to capture the look of amazement on my face when I sat down.

The show was amazing, and the crowd was very energetic. David really played off of the energy and his new band was just on. Each song choice had me singing along at the top of my lungs and even though I had had surgery less than a week ago I couldn't help but get up at the end of the show and clap along with everyone to "Please Forgive Me". What a great experience, an amazing show and as this may be my last artist interview for this company, a great end. I wasn't even put off by the opening act...who was my ex-boyfriend's girlfriend :) Small world.

Happy Birthday

2009-10-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

I love that your birthday is in October. Your adoration for costumes and parties are accentuated during this time of year and with the leaves changing from the bright green of summer to the deep yellows of fall I couldn't think of a better time for you to celebrate your transition into a new year. A lot has happened to you this month; you've taken on a new responsibility which I couldn't be more proud of you for, you've watched your best friend get married and you've changed my life in ways that I couldn't even begin to explain.

There is a reason you are listed as a personal hero to many people in your circle of friends. They all look to you with a respect and admiration that amazes me. Your family, as rambunctious as their personalities can be, are amazingly stable and shockingly normal. When we spend time with them I'm always amazed at how you reflect each personality. Your aunt says you hand picked all the obnoxious traits, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I find all your quirks to be totally endearing. Even when you attack my belly button...which is now in writing so I'll never be able to complain again :)

Thank you for your continued support of me and for sharing your amazing life with me. I'm more than happy to give up the entire month of October in celebration of you!

(ok...I still want my day...but other than that...)

Happy Birthday, tall one. I hope your day(s) is/are as amazing as you are!

starfishy

2009-10-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

fall colors

2009-10-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before I ventured out to take shots of the beautiful colors of fall. The Arboretum was too full for me, but I saw a side street in Madison Park that was full of leaves and huge trees with multitudes of leaves in the process of changing from green to yellow.

The houses in the area are large, beautiful and expensive, but true to Seattle the cars in the area are run down Subaru's and Honda's. There was an Accord parked on the street that was so covered in leaves you could hardly see the color of the car. I had planned on getting some shots of the water on the leaves but it was wet on the ground. Luckily this car had quite a few of them for me to shoot so I didn't have to kneel down on the wet ground.

I took quite a few more pictures that I'm posting here, which I alluded to in my last post, but I'm feeling like I need to go out again and capture more of the fall. Maybe I'll take my camera to work with me this week.

The last few weeks have been hard on me, I was all hopped up on hormones that are luckily subsiding and mellowing out so I'm starting to feel more like me. I was starting to worry there for a minute, but I'm pretty lucky to have some great people around me to get me through it. A big thank you to the tall one. I can't believe that he puts up with my shit. He's like a freakin' saint :)

Also, hello to my 10th follower...I see you, sir! Even if you are all the way down there in paradise. Watch out for sharks!

volunteer park greenhouse

2009-10-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

After a lovely, although sleepless for him, first night sleeping in the tall one's new house I dropped him off in Seatac so he could join his friends at Steamcon. With a whole day ahead of me I looked to the sky and it's periods of sunshine and thought I would take a drive over to The Arboretum. However, everyone else in Seattle thought that would also be a good idea so I scrapped it for a nearby street (those pictures coming in the next post) and Volunteer Park. It had been forever since I'd been over there during a time where the greenhouse would actually be open so when I saw people walking in the doors I was pleasantly surprised.

When I'm shooting I don't take the time to look at the signs around me so I have no idea what this cactus was or what the sign said in the other room, but once I processed these two shots I knew they had to go together. This pairing reminds me of something the tall one once said to me about how I see the world. It's a strange shot for a greenhouse series, but it's what I saw.

This was actually inspired by my mentor and a series he did, which I totally Sylar'ed from him but I won't post because it's a little like plagiarism...but it was a really fun project to do. He doesn't read this anyway so maybe one day I'll put them up here.

There was a group of guys with some camera gear that were getting kicked out when I pulled up to the park. I passed them putting their things in the car and overheard one of them saying "I guess that does look like a professional rig, no wonder we got kicked out". The gentleman saying this was carrying all his gear in a small child's pink hello kitty suitcase. Not that professional :)

I shot almost entirely with my 50mm, intermittently screwing on and off my close-up filters. I know a macro lens would be a fun piece of glass to own, but honestly I get so many shots with my cheap little set up that I can't justify the extra expense.

It felt really good to take the camera out today. It's been a while.

pumpkins!!

2009-10-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

yay fall!! and also burrrrrrrrrr

putting up walls

2009-10-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

For once, I don't mean that in a metaphorical way! The tall one worked on his house this weekend and I sneaked my camera in for a few shots of the manliness.

The tools were laid out and the supplies were bought. The boys hammered away downstairs while I laid upstairs listening to the heavy metal rising up through the floorboards.

They worked for two days and both Dodi and I marveled at the idea of us ending up with such manly men. The first evening we had dinner at an Indian restaurant close to the Ave. It was super yummy and it made me excited at the prospect of a new area of Seattle to explore. Once I get over the idea of my boyfriend not being 8 blocks away from me I think I'll really love this neighborhood.

While waiting for them on Saturday the tall one brought me a log to light in the fireplace. It made the entire room warm and inviting. I can't wait to spend the cold winter nights snuggled up in front of it.

rainy day shooting

2009-10-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

thank you for the flowers :)

photobooth fun

2009-10-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Amy and Andrew are in town...yay! I didn't think I'd get to spend much time with them as today is Casey's birthday...yay!!...and we're having dinner tonight with him and a few other friends but luckily Amy was craving Bimbo's so the tall one, Casey and I met up with her and Andrew last night.

Today I'm feeling slightly happier. Not sure how long that's going to last, but luckily there is a well rested, and hopefully drunk, adorable tall boy in my future. Perhaps I can sneak my camera into his new house this weekend and catch him doing man things...like nailing sheetrock...in a wife beater...with a beer in his hand.

That would be all kinds of awesome.

To be honest I've actually been exploiting his house buying ways. I'm not to proud of it, and the damn thing isn't mine, but he's just been so great with involving me in the process and helping me through my freakouts when I think he isn't including me, that I'm feeling a little guilty about having used his fortunes for my own gain. Funny thing is I've never been much of a gossip and I loathe talking behind someone's back, and I still played a part in it last night. Must remember to be adult. Bad Stacy.

my birthday

2009-10-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

If you were born with Saturn in Leo, the issues during your Saturn Return will be about being "chosen" or "special", melodrama, the heroic myth, relationship to the Creator, children, creativity and love affairs.

I've been acutely aware of that planet Saturn and it's return after being blissfully absent in my life for 28 or so years. Not that those 28 years were a cake walk, but I had a feeling that true to it's harvesty roots, I would be reaping what I sowed during my Saturn Return. I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case.

I looked up where Saturn was when I was born and laughed when I read the quote I posted here. Being "special" is a central theme to my only child, fatherless, childlike mother and irrationally selfish issues. I hate to share; I hate sharing people, I hate sharing traditions and I hate sharing moments. It's so ridiculous and yet I'm constantly pushing that to all who are around me. It dissipated quite a bit when I hit thirty, but it's rearing it's ugly head again and I can only assume it's because of my intense infatuation with a very tall man.

Melodrama is a given. I was born in the week of the theater. It's hard to think back to some of the childish, immature and bullshit things I would do just to get attention. I would throw fits, I would start fights, I would act like a little 4 year old that didn't have words to express what she was feeling so she would just lay down and scream in the middle of a crowded store. Oh yeah...that was me.

Love affairs is easy. In the last 4 years I have been with three men who drastically changed the way I think, the way I see the world and the way I see people. Bill pulled the little girl right out of me and made me grow up. Del gave me my eye and my outlet for the creativity I've always had inside me but had no idea how to let out. Lucas has given me forgiveness, acceptance and communication. Something only my Uncle George and Carolyn ever gave me. To have a man who I am dating give me that is so mind blowing that I still try to sabotage it because I don't think I deserve it.

Relationship to the creator and creativity go hand in hand for me. Last year I would wake up every sunday morning and climb the highest mountain I could reach and look out over the beautiful view and cry. Not because I was sad, but because I felt so lucky to live in a world so breathtakingly stunning. Those moments I felt closer to the spiritual world than I ever had in a church. Plus, finally I had a way to capture it. My photography, even if it's not the best in the world, has been such an outlet for me that I see the world different now. I feel like every blink of my eye is a shutter click. My eyes see the light in a way that I've never known.

Casey asked me what it's like going through the Return as a woman and I really couldn't find the right words to be able to explain it. I'm glad that I've kept a journal since I moved to Washington as I think it's the best way for me to really remember that I've come along way and to not go back. I was laying in bed with the tall one on Sunday crying because I feel like I have no idea how to be in a relationship. I've never had the tools given to me, I've never been in a stable and healthy enough one to really be ok with myself and my partner, the only one I ever did witness was George and Carolyn and thank god for them or else I would have given up a long time ago. I still have no idea how to tell the boy I'm in love with him. One day I'll stop being so guarded and let myself say it but I still have no clue how.

It's weird, my Saturn Return was way easier than actually putting the lessons I learned into practice. Being a grown up is hard.

My 32 year was very different from my 31'st. I haven't really settled on a pattern yet here. My first year was hiking, mountains, drinking rum on saturday nights and playing video games. My second year was exploring all that the city of Seattle had to offer, new friends, concerts, finally being able to hold the hand of the man next to me and kiss him whenever I wanted...and boy did I ever! Perhaps it's the constant change, the fact that I haven't settled that's making me panic. I'm a creature of habit and I'm shaking that up. I need to appreciate that instead of resenting it. Embrace the change instead of fearing it. Don't fall into the complacency I so hated in the personalities of the people I left behind in Washington when I moved to LA. Be proactive instead of reactive.

My list of resolutions is growing...

So it's my birthday, and I'm grateful to still have my mom on this earth, to have the amazing friends that I have, to have met an adorable and wonderful boyfriend, to have been included in his circle of friends, to have a best friend that calls me almost every day to chat, to have my health, to have my family....and to just be.

Thanks all.

Also to note: I just rambled on this post...please excuse run on sentences and misspellings :)

Dodi and Michael's Wedding

2009-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

A zombie / rockabilly wedding where the bride was sewing her own dress, the ceremony was officiated by a skeleton, two different venues and under $2500 dollars to do....in two weeks. Oh yeah, they pulled it off.

I quickly found out that there was no way I was getting good pictures at this thing. It was completely at night, the entire wedding party was in black and red, the only light at the ceremony was from a campfire and the lighting at the reception wasn't much better.

Flashbulbs were abound at this wedding so I figured it was well documented. I sat back and observed. Hanging out with the tall one's parents, eating the yummy sushi that was provided and the eyeball cupcakes for desert.

The tall one was mucho grumpy for most of evening and I had no idea it was because he was super scared to give his speech. Dodi is one of his best friends and of course she had him in her wedding. I joked throughout the evening that he was a bridesmaid, but we eventually settled on bridesman. His speech went well and he was able to calm down a little and enjoy the wedding.

I swear to you I didn't get one shot with Dodi's eye's open. I suck as a wedding photographer. If I'd had the speedlight I'm pretty sure I would have done a lot better, but I just couldn't swing the purchase. Oh well, I learned a lot on this one and was able to enjoy the wedding without a camera in the way for once.

Dodi wanted a picture of her excellent makeup so they could recreate it for a photo shoot they will be having in a couple months. She looked down so I could get the length of her eyelashes and I ended up with my favorite photo of the evening. They say if you only get one... :)

I felt really lucky to be with this beautiful couple the whole way through this process. From Dodi's frantic text messages to me because her maid of honor was out of town, to shopping for the perfect tie and dress, to watching the tall one nervously write out his speech for his best friend's wedding, to helping the bride get ready, to driving with her to the ceremony...it's been an interesting October!

blue lake

2009-10-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Last year I was on a mission to find the beautiful yellow larch tree. They pop out around this time of the year and are notoriously high in the alpine wilderness. Most of the time people hike up to the Enchantments to really get the alpine larch experience but I didn't have the time nor the stamina to hike the 'chants so I asked the tall one to accompany me on what is becoming my annual trip to Blue Lake. Always up for adventure, he agreed to come along.

Unfortunately for him this trip marked the day where we discovered his threshold for car trips in my tiny little Acura. It's about 150 miles out to the trail head and since I was doubting my directional abilities, plus we got stuck behind an unyielding semi truck, the drive seemed like it took forever.

Soon the surrounding peaks became familiar and I saw Liberty Bell through the trees. Moments later we were at the trail. I added the above picture to show how clear and perfect the day was. The sky was such an amazing blue that every time I took a picture of it I would show the LCD screen to the tall one and exclaim "it's just so blue!".

The trail is nice and easy at about 4.4 miles round trip, which is welcome after a two hour drive. About 1/4 mile away from the lake we hit snow, but luckily it was just a light dusting and the trail was more muddy than slippery. It was chilly, that's for sure, and as we sat down to eat pinwheel sandwiches we both put on our hoods to keep the body heat in.

Finally, a shot the tall one will pose for! After eating we wandered a bit around the rim of the lake and then hiked over to the ridgeline east of the lake to look down towards the direction of the freeway. There was a small pond there with larches surrounding it in varying shades of fall. I was aching for a wide angle lens to really capture the scene. At least I'm starting to justify the need for additional lenses.

We noticed the lake settling and eventually becoming still enough to reflect. I was very excited to get the above shot. I think it may be my favorite landscape shot to date....to my untrained eye. There is a lot of good detail in this photo. I can't wait to print it out large.

Vertical shots were abundant so I figured I'd try my hand at a horizontal. I loved the green of the trees, the yellow larches, the white snow, the blue sky. It was such a perfect hike. I love taking the tall one up to the mountains. He goes on and on about traveling the world, camping, hiking, photography, how we'll make money off the home he just bought so we'll be able to live without working. It's awesome, but it fades once we get back to town. However if he gets to feel for even a moment what I feel every single day it's totally worth it. Work is getting harder every day. I wish that I was doing something I loved. I wish I didn't have to worry about money. I wish I didn't have to answer to anyone who isn't my friend or family.

I guess that's the nice thing about hiking. When I'm huffing it up a mountain the only things that are on my mind are how beautiful it is, how lucky I am and my next photo. Other than appreciating the adorable boy by my side, my mind is typically blissfully blank.

When we got back to the trail head I realized that I had left my lights on and my car battery had died. We tried to push it to pop the clutch in the parking lot, but we didn't have enough hill. After flagging down a truck who attempted to jump the car but failed we all pushed my car down the road. Luckily we were on a very large mountain! Finally after coasting for a bit I popped it down into second and YIPEE!! I was worried there for a second. Unfortunately the battery is done and the tall one was kind enough to get one for me on his trip to Costco with his friend Dodi, who will be getting married in just a couple days! Yet another photo opportunity that I'm not going to waste! I can't wait.

My apologies for the sporadic posts. I'm in the midst of a bit of a funk. I can't put my finger on one particular event, but I think an accumulation of stuff has surrounded me and I'm in a bit of a cave. Claustrophobic and anxious, I've tried to keep my mouth shut. My emotions are coming out in tears which I can usually laugh off but sometimes need to close myself away for 10 minutes to compose myself. It sucks. I'm ready for it to be done now, but in the meantime please be patient :)

my weekend, in pictures!

2009-09-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

The tall one woke me up early with kisses Saturday morning. Full of energy he suggested a walk down to dim sum. We threw on some clothes and headed outside. We quickly realized that the AIDS Walk was going on in about an hour so we wandered over to Volunteer Park to see the festivities and check for interesting photo opportunities.

I immediately spied this cute little boy chasing after a squirrel. Once I converted it to black and white his dirty little face really came out, but it's adorable. His family were all wearing shirts that were a variation of his that said "for my uncle Brian". What a loving and accepting family!

The tall one suggested just walking with the crowd since they were heading down 12th anyway. I thought it'd be fun to get a shot of the crowd so I lifted the camera over my head and took a shot, which ended up being the tall one's eye level exactly. It's amazing that he's able to see the above view when all I see is the back of people's heads!

We walked, saw the cutest puppies ever, a shirtless DJ who had set up his turntables on his front porch with speakers blaring (I'm sure his neighbors loved that), and enthusiastic participants with orange pom pom's that I contemplated stealing before breaking off from the group at Madison to continue on to dim sum.

I'm not sure why but other than the hum bao and the yummy honey prawns I didn't want to eat much. We walked back through downtown, checking out the library (mostly because as we passed I mentioned I'd never been in there without a hangover) and then stopping off at his place before heading out to meet his friends.

The tall one's friend is throwing together a last minute wedding and asked him, me and her bridesmaid to go with her to scout outdoor locations. We went from park to park, finally deciding on Carkeek Park because of their fire circle. I spent most of my time taking pictures and trying to compose shots in my head while not freaking out about shooting a wedding at night...lit by candles and a camp fire....and all the participants will be wearing black. yikes. The above shot is actually at Golden Gardens and was taken with my iPhone.

After dinner at CPK the tall one's friends tortured him with a trip through the mall. As much as I loathe the mall it was kinda fun to go shopping with girls, and especially these two girls. Both are very opinionated and tell it like it is. I was given dresses to try on and my opinion was asked for on things they were trying on. I know it's silly, but I so rarely do girley things so it was nice. Plus I'm really honored that in just a few short months they've taken such a liking to me.

We passed out exhausted early on Saturday night and awoke to a lovely Sunday morning. I wanted to go hiking, but I honestly haven't been in quite sometime and I'm not working out at all so I knew it was going to be a struggle. I picked Rattlesnake Ridge because the tall one had never been up there and it's only 4 miles round trip. I still was huffing it and my legs were jelly like by the time we got up to the top. Ugh, I'm a shell of my former hiking self.

Of course the ledge was crowded, and there were quite a few teenagers up there so it was loud. One of the kids even had music playing out of his cell phone, which I nicely asked for him to turn off. I don't do well with crowds when I'm on the trail. I get judgmental, grumpy and sometimes a little disgusted. I knew there was going to be a lot of people up there so it was silly of me to be feeling those things when I was the one who chose a very popular hike, so I tried to keep it in check. I hope it worked...the tall one is very accepting of my grump so I never really can tell. I loved this shot though. It's almost like he's superimposed on the image. I am Giant Man! I will eat your babies! I can squish you like bug!

I was super duper sleepy after getting home from the hike and making dinner so I called it an early night and he went home to do laundry. After a 45 minute nap I sat up wide awake and realized it was 8:45 and I wasn't tired at all. I texted the tall one who had realized as he was walking home that he had monday off and suggested we go night shooting. YAY night shooting!

We drove over to Discovery Park so I could practice shooting in the dark. We painted the trees with light, sat in the big field, he helped me time the shots, we chatted about nothing and there were kisses and big warm hugs. He's fun to go on outings with.

I learned a little more on this outing and I've found it's nice to shoot close to the city. The ambient light is helping me to learn as it allows me to do shorter exposures. We were doing 5 minute shots so if the light was too much, too little or in one case you could actually see me painting with the light, then I could adjust it and try again without too much of a wait. I'm still learning though, I'm noticing a lot has to be done in the post processing stage so it's neat learning that as well.

And, um...well, yeah. That was our weekend :-) I told you it was in pictures. Me not so good with the writing, yes?

edit:

Also, the same photo in black and white...which do you like? Do you like either? What makes you like it or not like it. Help me out here kids!

theatro zinzani

2009-09-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

Flustered with not being able to shoot Alice and Chains and instead forced to go on a location scouting mission, I texted the tall one that my job sucks. He of the always positive attitude told me to make lemonade from my lemons, or something to that effect...maybe it was make beer from my hops, or make gin from my juniper bushes...in any case he challenged me: artists can make art out of anything. get busy!

Yes sir! I adore you, bee tee dub :)

The first thing I noticed was the employee entrance at the back of the building. There was a window in plain view of the passing cars and pedestrians of the wonderful costumes the entertainers wear. All labeled, and yet it still looks like a chaotic mess. I almost ran back to grab my polarizer from the car to take away the reflection but in the end I like it. It shows the entire scene in all it's glorious disarray.

I was able to sneak my camera inside but immediately was told that I couldn't take any pictures unless I was with a group and we were taking pictures in the bar. I was able to fire off one frame before I switched to iPhone shots so I could at least bring something back for my boss.

This shot is of the gift shop. The masks are creepy. That is all :-)

HDR

2009-09-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm terrible at explaining photography terminology. The tall one has occasionally asked me to define certain terms and I have to look them up because I have no clue. When it comes to HDR, I'm no different. I'm aware that it means High Dynamic Range, but I'd like to refer you to this page for a full definition...because I can. Yay internets.

I've tried HDR before (which is the blending of multiple shots together of different exposures with photo manipulation software to bring out the highlights and shadows in a balanced way, in case you didn't bother to click on the link I gave you. OOH! There it is again!) but the results weren't exactly what I was looking for.

The first time I tried it was on an alley in my neighborhood. The shadows on the right side of the photo really obscured the detail and color in the building so I merged three shots together to create the above photo. It was also taken with my little Canon A510 point and shoot so I was pretty excited that I was able to make it. Not the most exciting photo though.

My second try was with my Canon XT. I merged 6 shots to create the above photo. I was still learning and with the correct exposure and perhaps the help of a filter I probably could have made that shot without merging multiple exposures, but what did I know. I was figuring this all out as I went, and that's the fun in learning! However, I still wasn't creating the fun HDR shots I'd see on other sites. I kept thinking "how the heck did they do that?" even though I read a million tutorials on the subject.

Finally I get my new Nikon D90 and I'm thinking, YES! I can try this now! I can get nice crisp shots! I'll blow them all away! (ok, I really didn't think that last part, but I was excited nonetheless). However, I still didn't understand how to work with curves and tonal contrasts in Photoshop so when attempted I would get pastel like saturated colors and strange bands of light across the screen.

I went out to Discovery Park with Casey the evening before to show him the place, take a sunset walk and hear about his first day at Seattle U. I took a few frames, but I knew I needed to hang out for a while to really get what I wanted. The next night I headed out at sunset and parked myself on a bench with my manual in hand and proceeded to teach myself about bracketing and night shooting. When I got back I put the first set of frames into photoshop and proceeded to manipulate the colors to achieve the effect I was looking for. Yet again I got the pastel over saturation. GRRRR!! Although I like the color of the grass and tree, the sunset still wasn't the look I wanted to achieve.

Honestly I'm not the biggest fan of the overdone HDR photography that is seen on the web now. It's fun to look at, but really I'm looking for something realistic. To bring out the entire dynamic range of a photo without the surreal look. I decided to go at it a different way, and achieved the above photo. Much, much better. I wish that I had a better composed shot, but the point of today was learning so that when I'm out in the field I can spend more time on composition. I've even learned more about what I've done wrong in the above photo but I'm still yay about it.

So can I do it at twilight? Me thinks I can! I like this one, I really like the color of the moon on the water and when viewed big you can actually see some star trails of the constellation Sagittarius! Which is awesome considering I'm basically shooting from about 5 miles outside a major city.

I learned, I grew, I ran, I got scared, I got cold, I saw stars. Can't wait to try this again!

my job

2009-09-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

(rant)

I'm so thankful to have a job. Really, I am. I know there are people all over this country that could only wish to have a well paying job that gives them great benefits and allows them to sometimes do nothing but blog on a computer all day. I shouldn't complain, I'm not treated horribly at all, in fact I'm treated very well by my two bosses. Occasionally I even get to shoot an artist interview or two...but I'm not satisfied creatively.

Yesterday I did not get the chance to shoot Alice and Chains. I was a bit bummed by it, but not entirely because they are a shell of their former selves. I have no problem with a band staying together after a member has died, but they shouldn't get two new members and then tour under the same name. They aren't the same band, they should change their name. Even though Roger Waters toured playing the entire Dark Side of the Moon album he didn't put the billing as Pink Floyd, because it wasn't! You don't see Chris Cornell playing "Hunger Strike" and billing it as Temple of the Dog. In fact when he joined up with Tom Morrello they didn't call it Rage Against the Machine or Soundgarden, they went by Audioslave. Because HELLO! They were a new band!! Even when they played "Killing in the Name" at their historic show in Cuba!!!

The Who, are you listening?

But I digress...

In any case I missed out on shooting Alice and Chains because my boss wanted to go. We only had permission for three people to shoot and although it would have been great to add the photos to our website he went in my place just to "hang out". My conversation with the kid we hired to do interviews made me even more frustrated. He said "yeah, they were ok. That Jerry guy was kind of a jerk and then some girl named Susan was there". I was like "Susan Silver" and he's like, "yeah, I guess". This kid is meeting Jerry Cantrell and Susan Silver, two influential people in Seattle music history and he's like "eh, whatever".

Again...ARGH!

I get frustrated because I feel like these are influential people who created a lot of the sounds that we hear today, that broke a mold during the hair band craziness of the 90's, that defined the sound of my teenage years growing up in Seattle. I feel like these people should be a little respected, and I'd love the opportunity to meet them. I took this job because I felt like I would be able to have those chances. I could be an executive assistant at a major corporation, but I wanted to be close to music. It was my one stipulation for moving back to Seattle. Now I feel like it's so close but I can't touch it. Like it's there...if. I. could. only. reach. a. little. farther...sigh.

So I try to lose myself in my photography and try to be grateful for what I do have. A job, a home, a car, a kick ass camera, a great best friend and a supportive boyfriend. The last of which gave me the sweetest push yesterday that made me get out and start learning my camera more. Which will be my next post. A learning post, if you will.

(/rant)

random bits

2009-09-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

As I was drunkenly writing about one of my favorite artists, they were writing about theirs.

Then, if you are a linguistic nerd, someone wrote an interesting article on the only sentence the shy Van Morrison said at one of his concerts: fucking shut the fuck up.

The Garden of Eden has withered and died.

I may actually get to shoot Alice in Chains today. Sans Canon.

Congrats to Casey on his first day of school. I'm so proud of you.

I'm also proud of my boyfriend his recent purchase. Can't wait to have a picture with you next to the sold sign.

I may have another wedding to shoot. At night! Yikes!

I want to go hiking.

I need to post more pictures.

I'm just rambling now :)

drunken bloging is fun!

2009-09-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

please forgive the rambling and misspellings in my previous post. sometimes I like to drink and listen to music, sometimes I write about it. it's my blog and I can do what I want to.

so there! :-)

lately...

2009-09-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

I was having a conversation with the tall one this evening...a stupid girl conversation. He's so great with them, in fact he's so great with all my little girl faults. Every pout, frustration, anger, sickness and grumpiness is met with an "aww, you're so cute" from him. It's un-nerving...and I love it. I can't break him, he takes everything I dish out and then hugs me and gives me kisses at the end. I never met anyone like him and I can't thank him enough.

I checked facebook this evening and I noticed Casey had made a mention of a Wings song and for some reason it linked a David Gray song. I'm assuming it's because it was recorded at Abbey Road but nonetheless it began an evening of listening to his music so loud that I received a knock on my door just a minute ago telling me to turn it down. Although she said "can you turn down the Van Morrison" which I thought was kinda cute because David Gray really is the Van Morrison for my generation, just not as recognized, which is so frustrating to me.

I made a quick mention to the tall one while we were having dinner tonight about Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog receiving an Emmy. Which is cool because it's Joss Whedon, who hasn't won an Emmy ever, and it was completely viral: not released on television at all, only online. He wasn't impressed. In fact he made an infuriating argument about how the Emmy voters are older and don't spend time on caring about story when it comes to voting, thus something like Buffy never won. He's not a fan anyway, and I'm going to save a blog post on why I love Buffy, Angel and Whedon and why they are completely relevant for another time. Instead I'm going to devote this time to David Gray, which perhaps sounds totally irrelevant but for me makes sense as there is so much music and pop culture that I totally adore but he doesn't like at all so I'm hoping I can have a series of posts that explain why I love these things and he can either take it or leave it. But hopefully he'll come out of it with a bit of knowledge on why it moves me so much.

About a month ago David Gray played at Marymoor Park for The Mountain's music fest. Last year for the Flight of the Concords I had my good friend at the time drive me out to the parking lot at Marymoor and sit there in his convertible listening to the music float over us on the breeze. It reminded me of the time I would drag Bill up to the parking lot at the Greek Theater in LA to listen to the bands I loved but couldn't afford to go in and see. I was so excited to try it up here and when the day came I ended up sleeping it away. I was angry at myself, to say the least.

I had an argument with Bill about music lyrics being poetry. I had never thought about them as such until I saw a documentary on David Gray's "Live at the Point" DVD. David Gray is Welsh, but the Irish community has embraced him as one of their own. His shows in Dublin sell out, he can't walk the streets he's such a celebrity. But still he was dropped from his label after 3 albums. His forth album was picked up by ATO records (which yes is owned by Dave Matthews but has nothing to do with my love for David Gray) and the released "Babylon" which was his one and only major hit. In any case there was a section of the documentary devoted to David Gray's lyrics as poetry from a local poet in Dublin and when you read his lyrics it's hard to argue:

I know it would be outrageous
To come on all courageous
And offer you my hand
To pull you up on to dry land
When all I got is sinking sand
The trick aint worth the time it buys
Im sick of hearing my own lies
And loves a raven when it flies

For all that we struggle
For all we pretend
It dont come down to nothing
Except love in the end
And ours is a road
That is strewn with goodbyes
But as it unfolds
As it all unwinds
Remember your soul is the one thing
You cant compromise
Take my hand
Were gonna go where we can shine

oh my golly I love "Shine"

Drag a salted kiss
From this cup of bliss
Watch a new lie twist on the breeze
You can paint it red
Or Leave it all for dead
But it’s in my head always

Feel the touch of grief
You stand in disbelief
Can steal the earth from right beneath you
And falling in so far
They know just where you are
Yeah but there ain't no way to reach you
Time out on the running boards
We're running
Through a world that lost it's meaning
Trying to find a way to love
This running
Ain't no kind of freedom

Moon and stars above me
Mingle with the blood
Inside my vein
These empty arms
That should be
Holding you close
Through nights of winter rain
I'm trying to spell
What only the wind can explain
It's colder than ever
Coming down

Ah, coming down kills me every time...

Not much is known about his personal life, but he's gone through a lot and this year completely replaced his band which is a huge change for an artist. The latest music that I've heard is so fresh and open that I think it was the right move for him.

I can't fully explain in words what I love so much about this artist. I think the best way I can explain it is in lyrics and music. Tall one, I don't know if I've helped you to like him or to appreciate him but I hope at least you'll come with me to see him so you can at least appropriate the smile on my face.

Oktoberfest

2009-09-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

On the plus side, I dressed up. Ah, hells yeah I dressed up.

also, others dressed up and I took pictures with them!

and there was beer!!

And good friends and tall boys!

Buuuuut, and this is a big but, it was lame on multiple levels. First, we took a bus down to Fremont. The people up on the Hill were smiley and saying hi and not at all judgmental. Then we switched buses and although there were still many people smiling and talking to me, there was a couple of German girls on the bus that were not too amused. I'm pretty sure they called me a stupid American, but nonetheless I kept smiling and remained excited to see others dressed up.

However, once we arrived I realized there were maybe 7 other people in the entire fest was in costume. Which would have been fine if people were really in the festive Oktoberfest mood, but they weren't. It was basically a bunch of people drinking microbrews and listening to live indie music. We might as well have been at bumbershoot. Where was the polka? The chicken dance? The accordion for goodness sake?! AAAND the food court was outside so if you were hungry you had to leave the event and possibly risk not being able to get back in if they were sold out. It was silly planning on their part and I'm really surprised that Torrance, CA was able to hold a better Oktoberfest than Fremont. I'm holding out hope for Leavenworth, but I'm guessing it's going to be Munich or bust next year.

Yet still I was pretty proud of myself for dressing up, I had a blast with the tall one and even Melissa joined us! I guess any day with friends, beer and costumes can't be all that bad :)

p.s. got some love from the henchbot too.

comfort zone

2009-09-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I dragged my then boyfriend to the Oktoberfest at Alpine Village down in Torrance, CA. We didn't get a stein with the price of admission but they served draft beer in these giant cups that succeeded in getting me totally hammered. I was having a BLAST but Bill sat there all "I'm too cool for this crap" like while I stood up and did the chicken dance. It was great, awesome, soooo much fun and it was the first time I really did silly things in public without worrying too much about what anyone else though.

Time to put really put that resolve to test this weekend. Will I go to the Fremont Oktoberfest in costume? Will I chicken out? Can I talk the tall one into wearing lederhosen? Did I really just post a picture of myself in a beer wench costume on the internet? Oy...

Wish me luck!

p.s. that's not the costume...it will be even more awesomer.

p.p.s. that's right, I said awesomer.

Passion / Inspiration

2009-09-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

I write a lot about passion. I feel like it's something I have and feel so much that I can't help but share it with everyone around me. Sometimes it comes out as giddiness, sometimes it comes out in tears, but it's always there.

Over the last couple weeks I've seen multiple concerts and luckily they've all been of my favorite artists. The Dave Matthews Band was one night and, although I sat under the stars in one of the most beautiful venues on earth watching my favorite band, the only thing that really moved me was the look on my cousin's face as he stared in wonder at the drum works of Mr. Carter Beauford: our voices becoming one as we sang "Why I Am" at the deep blue sky. The Long Winters at Bumbershoot also comes to mind. I love this band and am enamored with John Roderick's voice, however I grew bored during the set and suggested we go. Once we got outside and I heard the music flowing over the night air mixed with the sounds of the city around me I made the tall one stop and sit on a bench to listen, I was so blown away by the scene. Even the Australian Pink Floyd show didn't really floor me. I was more interested in the way the light played with the performers than I was with the actual performance.

It made me wonder if my passion has a new focus. I pour over photo blogs with a fury every single day. I have at least 50 that I check on a regular basis and even more that I glance at once a week or so. I don't visit music sites, I don't ask my friends for new bands to listen to, hell I don't even know when my favorite artists are coming to town. Have I lost my passion for music? Have I been so immersed in photography that I've forgotten what it's like to really feel a piece of music, to watch a band and feel the crowd swell with happiness around me and think there isn't a place in the world I'd rather be than right there, right then?

Then I watched this video:

Listen to it loud and preferably with a glass of wine.

My heart swooned, I was pushed back in my chair by the sound of the choir and my eyes welled up in tears. I haven't forgot, I just have another thing that not only am I as equally passionate about but has opened up my world to help me to appreciate things more broadly. Instead of just the music moving me, it's the surroundings that I'm in, the company that I'm keeping, the lighting, the time of day, the venue, everything. Which is fine by me, I guess I just need to remind myself every now and then :)

Sooooo since I occasionally post songs, like the one above, that move me I thought I'd share some photographers that inspire me.

Wedding Photography
Since I had the chance to photograph my cousin's wedding I spent quite some time looking at wedding photos and both Heather Gilson of One Love Photo and Caroline Tran have stayed in my blog list even now that the wedding is over. Heather uses a combination of homemade lenses and film cameras to achieve her pastel colored and blurred shots. Caroline's use of negative space and the way she connects on such an intimate level with her subjects makes her photography an inspiration. As Heather's blog says "the photos alone are reason enough to get married".

Light Painting / Night Shooting
Long exposures are my favorite thing to do. I love the dreaminess of the colors, the fogginess of the waves as they crash to the shore, the streaks of light either created by the stars or by a friend who's joined you on the outing who's been outfitted with different light sources or even just a single red headlamp.

I was first introduced to BURNBLUE, aka Toby Keller, via flickr and I followed a link to his blog. His long exposures and seascapes along the Northern California coast are so fun and helped me to understand exposure when playing with a light source.
Stu Jenks is doing some amazing things with his pinhole camera and I can browse through his series called Circles, Hoops & Spirals for hours.
Another photographer who I think is amazing and who also uses toy cameras is Susanne Friedrich. The star trails that she achieves using long exposures with her Holga camera are wonderful. When shooting long exposures with film there is not a lot of room for error. You've got to meter the light, compose correctly, wait endlessly and then hope to whatever God you pray to that the damn thing came out. She's nailed that process and I love to look at her photos.
Brent Pearson has a great blog for tips on light painting that is pretty fun to read and his photos are out of control.

Textures / Abstract / Polaroid
Irene's blog is indeed Eye Poetry. I was first drawn to her bokeh hearts and shots of Paris and she just keeps pulling me in with soft colored shots of her surroundings. Her photos are so peaceful.
The Hymn For The Cigarettes is shot entirely with film and each one is thought provoking.
xxhxxm is described as such: We do not live or work together, and yet we wanted to share a common area around some photographies. Share time, even a few milliseconds, despite the distance that can separate us (589 km at the beginning of the project). At the same time, our eyes look at two different spaces, to finally form one single picture. The rule is simple: each day, a time and a picture ratio are given. The next day, when that moment comes, we trigger no matter where we are. Later, the pictures are put next to each other to finally be published on this blog exactly (to the very minute) two weeks after their capture.

Brilliant.

Photojournalists
Love them all:
Zoriah
Boogie
Mr. Toledano
Nick Campbell

Nature
My mentor, who is an inspiration still, and I check his site at least once a day.
I have no idea who this guy is. I stumbled upon his photos and put him on my bookmarks and have been following him ever since.
Trevor Anderson is a friend of a friend and a fellow hiker. Although I haven't approved of the borders he's been putting around his photos as of late, the way he captures the northwest is awe inspiring and makes me incredibly jealous! :)
Bill Hinton is another northwest photographer and hiker that loves to shoot during the magic hour. I just love looking through his photostream. It seems as though I see something new every time and reminds me what a beautiful state I live in.

I'll leave you with one more Elbow song from the session with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Perhaps enjoy it while browsing through the links I've overloaded you with.

night shooting

2009-09-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying a new photoblog from the NY Times called Lens. I was taken there by a link from a friend about a photojournalist I've been following for quite some time who is a New Yorker now, but is originally from Belgrade named Boogie. He does his documentation of the human condition in black and white but has begun shooting in color because he "was tired of the gray skies" around him. He had a quote that so resonated with me that I wanted to share it:

“If I left my house without my camera, my heart would probably start pounding and I would get all tense,” Boogie said. “That thought freaks me out. I wouldn’t be able to take it. Maybe it sounds cliché, but I really do feel like I am one with my camera. I like to compare it to martial arts, when you practice some moves so many times that — when you need to use them — you don’t think, you just react. Thinking is the enemy.”

I went to a show with a very old friend the other day. I hadn't seen him in quite some time (12 years, in fact) but we didn't really chat during the show, instead we connected through the music. Smiling at each other when a song that we hadn't heard in forever began to play. I saw his chest rise and fall at the same time as mine as we belted out "Comfortably Numb" over the loud guitar that resonated throughout the venue. Yet the whole time my mind was racing. If you've ever had the feeling that you needed to go to the restroom during a movie and you're sitting in the middle of the isle and a pivotal scene has just come on the screen, then you know what I was feeling. Do I get up and just go? Do I wait it out until the end? Is now a good time to go? Will I step on anyone? Where is the restroom in this place anyway? Will I be able to see where I was sitting when I get back? How many rows up am I? 1, 2, 3, 4....ARGH HOW LONG IS THIS MOVIE!?

My mind was racing like that, but it was about pulling out my camera. The stage was lit perfectly. The band was backlit by huge spotlights that would change from white to blue to green. The background singers would raise their arms up in unison and it would break up the light so amazingly. I kept going through all the shots in my head wanting to pull out my camera so badly, but I didn't. I was nervous. I didn't want to look silly, would the light bother the people around me, I should just enjoy the moment with my friend, what if the picture turns out bad just as someone is looking over my shoulder and thinks "man, she sucks". ARRGH HOW LONG IS THIS SHOW!?

This is actually a constant running dialog in my head. I see shots all. the. time. but I hesitate to pull out my camera. I feel like I'm one with it, but it's like a long distance relationship. I want to see it every day but I can't, however once I'm reunited with it it's almost like we were never apart.

I'm mixing my metaphors here, but I want to convey how hard it is to be away from it. I wish that I could have it by my side every day. I wish that I couldn't leave the house without it. I wish that every day was filled with beautiful moments captured on film. For now I'm enjoying the beautiful moments, I just need to have the guts to pull out the damn camera and capture them. What other people think be damned.

When the tall one suggested night shooting last night I jumped up and down, I was so excited. We had both had a terrible day, and his was amazingly long, and yet both of us were still down for an adventure. Ah, old Stacy how I missed you. It's been a while since I've just up and done something without boohooing about it. I picked him up at work, put my gear together while he showered and off we went to Alki Beach for my first evening of night shooting with my D90.

We had a quick bite to eat at the Celtic Swell amidst a game of pop culture trivia and then headed out to the pleasantly cool beach. I was exhausted, but wandered around the old Luna Beach pier looking for a shot, finally talking the tall one into walking down the rocks to get the shot I was looking for. While waiting for the waves to hit from the passing ferry we kissed, laughed, swigged from the flask and I practiced shooting on the old pier. One thing I've noticed is the massive amount of noise from the D90 on the long exposures. I'm sure it's something I'm doing, but that's what this evening was about; testing the camera so I can learn.

Finally a ferry floated by and the waves crashed to the shore. I was able to fire only one frame off before the waves died down. Between the long exposure and the time it took to write to my card the waves were already a memory. I learned another thing: I need a faster SD card :)

I was so grateful to the tall one for pushing me to go out last night. I've been nervous to bring my camera with us because sometimes getting the right shot takes time. I don't want to burden him, or anyone else I spend time with, with waiting on me getting the perfect shot...but maybe I need to. It's the only way to continue to learn and maybe if they get used to me always having it around then perhaps I won't be so nervous all the time.

dmb @ the gorge

2009-09-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus, but it's been a busy month!

As I mentioned before, my cousin Levi invited me to the Dave Matthews Band show at the Gorge and I took a half day on Friday to drive over and meet him along with my Aunt Shirley and her husband Tod. I got there pretty early and was able to secure a spot at the front of the line. I had no idea that this was Levi's first ever concert and also Aunt Shirley's first time ever at the Gorge, so I felt really lucky to be there to share it with them.

As is the ritual at any Gorge show we needed one person to run ahead to grab our spot on the lawn and Levi was tasked. He did a GREAT job and landed us a sweet spot on the second stair up. We laid out the blanket and I went wandering for shots of the crowd. I took quite a few and since I brought the D90 in with me I think people assumed I was with the band and anytime I tried to get shots people would jump in front of the camera.

The sun began to set as G Love and Special Sauce took the stage. I noticed everyone on the top of the hill watching the setting sun and I just had to run up and grab a shot. Although many people were quite intoxicated the majority of the people there were enjoying the beautiful venue and it was cool to chat with the random people who were just so happy to be there. I think that was probably my favorite thing, talking with not only the concert goers, but also my Aunt and Tod who were in such great spirits.

This being my 26th (or so) show I had high expectations for the band. They had canceled their last show due to Dave's voice and so I was hoping that a week of rest would have him in better shape. Turns out it was fine, and he hit the high notes of Proudest Monkey (the opener) perfectly, but he played it safe and had Danny Barnes sing a couple of songs later on in the set. I've definitely seen better shows and although I shouldn't have done it I took a look at Saturday's set list and it was infinitely better than Friday's. It's been so long since I'd been to the gorge that I forgot which are the best days. I guess next time I'll just have to go to all three!

I think the best part of the show was singing along with Levi. He and I were singing the new stuff at the top of our lungs. Aunt Shirley said she looked over at us and saw so much happiness in our faces that she wished she had a camera to capture the moment. Levi and I were calling songs and he even called "Gravedigger", which was a big surprise to me!

I ended up driving back that night and was exhausted by the time I got home. The weekend was busy and I didn't end up capturing most of it with my camera. Bumbershoot on Saturday was fun and tiring as I caught a bit of a cold the night before but we still got to see a comedy show, Otep (yikes) and the band I really wanted to check out, The Long Winters. I'm sure I would have enjoyed them a bit more if I wasn't so tired. We wandered out of the park before their set was over and I kept making the tall one stop because I wanted to hear what the next song was. He ended up dragging me into a taxi for home so I could finally get some rest.

Sunday the tall one took me to PAX as he had free passes. It's a gamer convention, and it was the last day so these guys were pretty ripe. It was interesting wandering around the convention floor and we saw a preview of the new Avatar game...in 3D which was pretty fun. My favorite part though was playing Guillotine. They had a big game room where you could rent out any board game and that was our choice. Plus, it was nice to sit. My cold was getting worse and being in a convention center with a bunch of smelly nerds was not helping my spirits in the least bit. I'm pretty lucky that the tall one thinks my grumpiness is cute, but I'm sure even that has it's limits and after the finale game of the Omegathon we headed home.

This month has been a long one for me. I haven't had much time to process it all and now that it's over I'm kinda in a funk. I'm grateful for the time to be quiet and rest now, but it's going to take a little bit for me to get back to normal I think. As the days get shorter and the weather turns cold I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to really experience a Seattle summer. The tall one has shown me so much of my own city that it makes me feel like an outsider...I guess the jury is still out on me being a Seattlite anyway. Still, I'm happy to be here and thankful for the adorable boy who guides me around and never lets me miss an opportunity to explore.

los angeles

2009-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Friday

I flew in Friday morning and was greeted by a large fire in the forest and smoke in the valley. I was overwhelmed, to say the least, and since I was alone and at LAX I decided to go to where I was most comfortable: I drove to Target. I wanted to buy a few dresses and most of the pickings are slim in Seattle. After shopping I headed over to Venice for a quick photo shoot.

My rental car had great air conditioning, but the moment I stepped out of the cool interior I was blasted with heat and humidity. I parked in the exact same place that I had been almost one year earlier and wandered over to the boardwalk. It was so muggy and my hair was plastered to my head. It sucked, but I was determined to get some shots.

I wandered down the boardwalk, walked on the beach and then headed over to the Sidewalk Cafe where I had a quick beer at the bar. It tasted better than the water she handed me and I gulped it down pretty quickly. There were a lot of tourists there and I just didn't have the patience for them.

Walking back to my car I saw this awesome house and just had to grab a shot of it. If you zoom in close you can see all the interesting sculptures that hung off the sides. I love Venice. Such an interesting mix of people.

I drove towards Hollywood to meet up with Dane, but I had a little time to kill so I walked into Amoeba, but then wandered out after about 10 minutes when I realized there wasn't anything currently that I wanted to purchase. Sad that I couldn't think of a single CD that I wanted a hard copy of.

I grabbed Dane and we went to the Formosa Cafe before heading over to one of my favorite restaurants, Jones, and then we spent some time at his place (well, really Gena's) and chatted. I was staying at my families house so I took the drive out after visiting with Dane and to my surprise Jolie and Carolyn were still awake so we had time to chat a bit before I passed out.

Saturday - The Wedding

The tall one flew in Saturday morning and I went to pick him up at the airport. I hadn't really experienced any smoke on Friday but driving into Burbank I could taste it in the air and my eyes were burning. We quickly headed south to Torrance where we had lunch with his adorable Grandpa. He recently moved to a retirement facility down there and was proud to show off his new home to his Grandson. We chatted about Yosemite a great deal and he had some excellent black and white infrared shots on his wall. He was a character and I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get to take him to a strip club :)

He was kind enough to let us stay in his home in Manhattan Beach. We walked in and was instantly greeted with a 180 degree view of the sea. It was amazing and I felt sooo lucky. I was a tad bit bummed that the tall one wanted to immediately take a nap, but I forget sometimes how exhausted his work makes him and I quickly turned my mood around and bid him a lovely sleep. I poured myself a glass of wine, kicked off my shoes and enjoyed staring down at the Strand. I used to run along it everyday and always wished I could be one of those people I saw sitting on their balcony on a beautiful day enjoying a glass of wine or dinner with friends or just the view...and finally I was one.

We made our way over to Jen and Travis's house in the Valley and hung out a bit before heading to Union Station, where the wedding was taking place. The above shot was after the ceremony. We did a little impromptu photo shoot as the lighting was so excellent in the station, plus it's beautiful in there. My nifty fifty caught a lot of flare from the lights so I changed this shot to black and white to mask some of it...hopefully. I adore Jen and Travis. He's an actor and also does quite a bit of voice over work, she's an excellent chef and just got a new job managing a huge staff at a very popular bakery in the Valley. Their house was so cute, and so them!

The wedding was so beautiful. I knew the ceremony would reflect this amazing couple and I wasn't wrong. Amy was in a stunning cream dress and there were little personal touches all through out the tables. Alcohol was flowing and they even imported down Rainier beer as it's hard to come by in LA. Amy and Andrew met at UW in the Geology department, and strangely enough I didn't even know her up there, we met in LA and hit it off almost immediately. I was really glad to be there and celebrate their marriage...even if they had already done the legal bits up in SF couple months before.

I was over by the bar (big surprise) when the couple cut the cake so Jen grabbed my camera and dropped a few frames. The light was low, and the shutter speed was very slow, but like I said to her if you only get one usable one out of a hundred you still got your shot. I love how people always want to play with my camera. So far there hasn't been one time where I've said no and I've always had great results with what they capture on accident...or even sometimes on purpose!

After quite a few drinks, dancing and toasts we said goodnight to Amy and headed home. The beach house was empty, but not quiet for very long :) It was a very good night indeed.

Sunday

I woke up early in the morning to enjoy the morning sea air and took a quick picture of the sea before getting ready to meet up with some friends at Hugo's in the valley. Rebecca, Mandi, Jen, Jen and her boyfriend Leslie, Lucas and I had a lovely lunch filled with laughs and catching up. They loved my boyfriend, as I knew they would, and I sat back and watched as they all chatted with each other. Rebecca was in a pretty terrible car accident a few months ago and we were all so grateful that she was able to join us. I forgot how much I adored that girl.

I had to drop the tall one off at the airport around 6ish so we bid the group farewell and headed out to explore a little of the city. The observatory was open and I had yet to visit it as the whole time I lived in LA it was closed for restorations. The Station fire was looming in the background and I caught a couple frames of it with one of the telescopes for scale.

I was surprised to see the colors of the trees already turning to fall, and it made for a nice contrast on the above shot. Doesn't it look like a volcano erupting? It was pretty eerie. You could see the cloud everywhere you went in the city and yet we were going about our day like nothing was different.

After grabbing Casey's Oscar and driving down Hollywood Blvd. I took the tall one to the airport. Airport kisses are awesome. Jen had invited the girls over for dinner so I headed her way and since I was the first one there we got to chat a bit before the other girls got there.

She made two dishes, pork tenderloin on a bed of garbanzo bean puree and three pepper relish meatloaf with a sauce to die for. She went to CIA, and geesh can that girl cook. The meal was excellent and she even made a lactose free (kinda) desert for us as Rebecca can't have dairy. The other Jen loved hers and it spun her into a
sugar induced haze. She's nuts anyway so it was kinda fun to watch her. Never a dull moment with my girls.

I drove out to my families house that night and the minute I walked in my Uncle asked me "red, white or a beer?". I gratefully took a glass of red wine and sat chatting with them for a couple hours. My cousin Blake had scored the winning goal at his hockey championship so we toasted to him before we all turned in for the night. I took a quick moment to thank my Uncle for all he's done for me and it was nice sitting with him alone for a second. It's so important to me that he knows how much I appreciate him, I hope that came across when we chatted.

Monday

Monday morning I finally got to sleep in, although I did have a Winnie puppy and cousins to contend with for a little bit, but eventually the house grew quiet and I fell back asleep. Carolyn and I went to lunch together and then I packed up and drove out to Santa Monica to look at the pier and to buy a CD at my old yoga studio. Before I had to drop my rental off I drove out to the old house and chatted with Bill for a quick moment. He wanted to take me to the airport so I followed him over to the Hertz dealer and then hopped in the car for the quick ride over to the terminal. It was nice to see him and although per usual we had a tiff it reminded me how far I've come since I first moved to that city.

I was thankfully picked up by Melissa at the airport and I stumbled into my apartment ready to drop dead on the bed. Not more than 5 minutes had passed when I got a knock on the door and opened it to see Casey standing there. I gave him his Oscar and then we chatted for a minute about my trip while sipping on some Jack over ice. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer so he hugged me goodnight and I collapsed onto my bed for a blissful sleep.

I can't even begin to say how awesome this trip was. It was so great to see my friends, to hang out in my town, to show my boyfriend around and to spend time with my family. However, it was also great to come home to a boyfriend who missed me, a friend who was more than happy to pick me up at the airport and my best friend who couldn't wait to hear all about my trip.

Have I mentioned yet how lucky I am?

mr. kool

2009-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I had been living in Seattle for a few months, and although I was happy to be home I was in the midst of a depression. The man I had moved up here to be with, and who was pretty much my only friend in the city besides Casey, had decided that he didn't want to be with me. We tried to make a friendship work, but it just wasn't happening. I was heartbroken and missed my friends in LA more and more each day. Out of desperation to find a friend I made my way over to Craigslist's strictly platonic section. Let me tell you, 99.9% of those guys are NOT looking for something platonic. I was on the verge of giving up when I got an e-mail from Mr. Kool.

We e-mailed back and forth a couple times, but I wasn't feeling it and told him that I was really just looking for someone to make me laugh and that I don't think I want to be friends, but thanks. I expected some sort of angry response back or not even to hear from him again, but a few minutes later he sent me an e-mail with a joke which made me crack up laughing. Thus began the friendship of Mr. Kool and Ms. Davis.

Since I've known him he's moved from Florida to Seattle, back to Florida, back to Seattle, married a beautiful girl and now he's moving to Panama! Like I told him last night, I didn't get to see him as often as I would have liked but it gave me comfort to know he was in the same city. I'm going to miss him, but it'll be great to come visit him down there! At the very least, my Wii character will have a blast in Boca Del Toro.

Thanks Mr. Kool :)

Dodgeball on Tuesday!!

my favorites

2009-08-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Now that the formalities have died down and I'm home and quiet and alone for the first time in a few weeks, I wanted to share my favorite photos from the weekend. The other posts were to share in the memories with my family, but if I wanted to show someone the photos I was really most proud of, these would be it.

This one may be because I love all of them so much, but I think this shot is great. This whole weekend was a lesson on shooting people and I think it helped that I adored my subjects. I really hope that I've captured their different personalities so well that the casual observer would notice it. If not...oh well, I like it!

I love these moments. I took a lot of pictures from the sidelines while other people were taking posed shots, and it would make for great moments like this one.

Lauren was the only one of the cousins who wanted to go up in the Space Needle, and believe me we tried our hardest to get the others up there. Originally it was just going to be me and Lauren, but as George walked us over to the booth to pay, a little bummed that Blake and Jolie couldn't get over their fear, I said "You should just come with us." And I'm so glad he did! I loved the look of wonder on her face as we went up the elevator and you can tell that George was glad to share the moment with his daughter.

I can't stop looking at this one, I love it so much.

The girls had the idea of squishing the needle and we had a blast putting them into the right position. Lauren was so adorable, her face reflected perfectly in the sculpture behind her. I just love this shot. I guess I'm going to say I love everyone of them, but that's what this post is all about!

She has such amazing character that I didn't even notice until I saw the pictures of her. She really shines. I can't wait to see the woman she grows up to be.

I was across the room and saw Jolie about to poke the tall one. He saw me at the last minute and scrunched up his face, he haaaates the camera. But I loooooove the resulting shot! It's these unscripted moments that really make me love being a photographer.

I had a hard time picking between this one and another one, but in the end I decided I loved this moment. He was playing around with the kids on the lawn and when they all stopped, it was the kids who were out of breath. He was so great with them, but how could he not be. I have the best cousins ever!

The lighting, the look, the lens, the cousin...whatever it was, this shot turned out awesome. I keep coming back to it because it's so great. He's an excellent subject and a great kid. He really surprised me.

I feel like every wedding photographer should shoot a close family member's wedding at least once. Each shot felt so intimate. I look at this one and I can feel the emotions just bleeding out of it. Aesthetically it's not that great of a shot, but then again it conveys the emotion of the moment...so maybe it is.

I just love the way he's looking at her. They were both in tears the entire dance.

The lighting...oooh the lighting. So great!

I think this maybe in the top 5 of my favorite pictures I've ever taken. I can't think of a better one to finish this post off with.

I learned a lot about photographing people over the last few days, about what they like, about how they fear the camera, how most of them really just want to be captured beautifully but they don't trust the person on the other end. Mostly, I was so glad that every time I showed my Aunt a picture I had taken, she immediately teared up. It made me feel like I was able to capture people at their best, and that's all I was looking to do.

Please let me know how you like them. I'm aching for feedback and ways to improve.

Stephanie's Wedding Weekend

2009-08-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

I've divided up the pictures from this wonderful four day weekend and to make things easier I figured I'd just make one post for everyone!

The entire collection of photos can be found here.

The bbq at Stephie and Judah's house Thursday night can be found here.

The trip to the Space Needle with Cousin, Jolie, Lauren, Blakey, George and Carolyn can be found here.

The trip with Cousin, Jolie, Lauren and Blakey to Black Hole Sun can be found here.

A tribute to my adorable boyfriend who hates having his picture taken but looked so freakin' cute with Jolie I just couldn't help taking their photos and posting them here.

My point of view of the actual wedding day can be found here.

My thank you to George and Carolyn can be found here, along with their pictures that are oooh so cute!

And lastly a few snapshots from the day of the wedding can be found here.

Thank you again to everyone. What a great few days. I'm still buzzing with happy!

snapshots

2009-08-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

I had a few photos that artistically weren't that great, but I wanted to add them to the blog and flickr for the family to see. I named this post snapshots, as that's exactly what these are!

Aunt Shirley and my cousin Levi

Aunt Shirley's hair was so beautiful!

Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Bud and his wife Nancy.

Grandma and Grandpa with Stephie and Judah.

Lauren, Stephie and Jolie. Yay cousins!

Grandma and Grandpa with Grandma's mountain.

Aunt Shirley with her best friend from high school, Elaine. I was sitting in the dinning area before the wedding and Elaine walked by me and asked if I was George's wife. I said "no, I'm his neice" and she went "wow! you're Stacy, Peg's daughter! I knew you when you were tiny!". Strangely enough, that's actually the first time I've ever heard that in my adult life. It was kinda cool!

This was the last look photo. The evening was winding down and we were all exhausted. Aunt Shirley wanted a quick photo with the family so I snapped it with my flash, and I was surprised it turned out pretty well!

And that's it folks! I may still go through a few of them, and I have the color versions of many of the black and white shots if anyone would like them.

Thank you to Stephanie for a beautiful wedding, to my Aunt Shirley and Tod for putting together such a lovely event, for Grandma and Grandpa along with George, Carolyn and the kids for coming up to our fair city and to Judah's family who were so kind. I welcome you to our family!

George and Carolyn

2009-08-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

When I was 25 I was laid off from my job in Seattle. I left my office for the last time at 9:30 am and by noon that day I had already negotiated out of my apartment lease, rented a truck, canceled all my utilities and was ready to move. I called my Uncle George in California and said "Hey, I just got laid off. Can I come stay with you for a little while?"

That little while turned into months and never have I learned as much as I did while living with this amazing couple. Their three children, my cousins Jolie, Lauren and Blake, are the most amazingly smart and well adjusted children I've ever known. Their relationship is what gives me hope that marriages really do work.

Like any couple they've been through a lot, however it seems as though each situation only gives them more strength. After all these years of marriage they still look at each other with so much love. I will share one fun little embarrassing story: One morning while staying with them I was watching tv, kinda scrunched down in the couch so I wasn't really noticeable. I heard them talking behind me in the kitchen and Carolyn mentioned to George something about their activities in the bedroom the evening before. I popped my head up to see them kissing and Carolyn giggling, and when they realized I had heard them her face turned as red as her hair! I loved it, and although it was a silly moment it showed me that a marriage doesn't have to be the end of romance. They shattered a lot of misconceptions I had of two people sharing their lives together. I can't thank them enough.

I am so grateful to these two people. They helped me to grow up, they both listen to me when I need someone to talk to, they both support me when I'm down, they both trust me with their children, and they both love me unconditionally. And not because they have to :-)

Thank you George and Carolyn, I love you!

the wedding

2009-08-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!

You can find the entire set here, and I'm adding new ones every day. I took around 200 photos, so there are a lot to go through. I think the other photographers took around 800, and then Carolyn took quite a few with her Canon and Mamiya so I'm sure this wedding is pretty well documented. I'm only going to add the few that I really liked here and hopefully I'll have a couple follow up posts with more. Editing these pictures was so much fun!!

Of course I had to grab a shot of the cake with my nifty fifty. That little lens came in handy so many times that I actually just ended up leaving it on. The cake was so yummy and I kept stealing bites from my cousins and the tall one. It's fat free if it's off someone else's fork, right?

Stephie's colors were brown and this lovely green color. The bridesmaids held gerber daisies and this one couldn't stop smiling! She was glowing, and I later found out why: she's 4 months pregnant!

My cousin Levi. See how awesome my lens is? I loooove this shot. The lighting, his red hair, his personality! Just great. I can't wait to hang out with him at DMB.

Aunt Shirley was in tears all day. She was so overwhelmed with love and happiness it was literally flowing out of her. I've never seen the family so happy. Everyone had a smile, laughter was constant and spirits were so high that nothing could damper it. Really, it was a perfect day.

The ceremony lasted approximately 20 minutes (apparently the time is debatable) and was very lovely. They did a traditional Catholic wedding complete with the pouring of the sand and communion. I'll admit, I got a little teary but luckily I had my camera to block the sentimentality.

We moved inside to the dining area that had taken two days to decorate, and they did a lovely job. The dances commenced and I was able to grab this shot of Stephie and her dad Lane. I may re-do this one, but it's such a lovely moment I really wanted to add it to the post.

Not only did they have a DJ but a Mariachi band also came in to play during dinner. Judah's grandpa loved it and had the biggest smile on his face. Such a cute little old man. I wish I had a few shots of him. The time came for the cake and what luck, the lighting was awesome and Judah's shirt was acting like a reflector and lit up Stephi's face just perfect! I love this shot.

The groomsmen were all given giant beer steins as their wedding gifts and they were filled constantly through out the evening, however that didn't stop the tequila shots!

When the time came I grudgingly stood with the other single ladies, Jolie and Lauren strategically placed in front of me, a bridesmaid next to me who was reassured that the toss was designated for her. I watched as Stephie turned her back and sent the bouquet flying...directly at me. There was no way to let it go, it would drop to the floor. I reached out and caught it, and I'm sure the look on my face was priceless. But truth be told, I secretly smiled inside. Not that I want it right now, but I'd like to one day have someone to spend the rest of my life with.

We went outside to capture the entire Hall family, except for Zach and my mother.I don't know how it would have been if either one of them had come, maybe it would have been great...we'll never know. My Uncle Bud and his wife Nancy also left early so we didn't get them in the shot, but this crew had a great time. I've never seen my family so happy, so loving, so funny! I'll never forget this day.

...to be continued.