Picture Summer Day 3: Getting Centered

Summertime just beckons me outdoors. I feel a pull, a call to enjoy the sunshine, the beach, the endless possibilities of activities. I feel incredibly spoiled living where I do because there is barely any humidity and it doesn't get overwhelmingly hot, but therein lies the problem. How can we be expected to stay inside & be productive with the temptation of all that summer has to offer? By getting centered. Finding that balance between much needed enjoyment & being a responsible adult. For me, a walk to the beach and back will satisfy that craving for summer temptation. Summer will be gone before we know it, so soak it up & allow yourself to have a bit of fun - you deserve it! ♥

Picture Summer Day 2: Splashy

The ocean, the pool, the sprinklers in your backyard...

There is nothing like cool refreshing water to beat the heat on a hot summer day.

Even the animals need a little cooling off!

Picture Summer Day 1 : Here Comes the Sun!

With one month left of Summer 2011, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate & chronicle the season than with 30 photos of the essentials with Tracey Clark's Picture Summer class.

My quintessential summer day? The beach.

Fun in the Sun

I like that even though summer is not quite the same when you are a kid, you seem to value those summer escapes that much more. An early morning walk on the beach, the county fair, cooling down with frozen yogurt, bike rides around town, and nice weather. Here are the last few weeks of photo taken with my iPhone. With 5 weeks of summer left, I hope you soak up every ounce of your very parts!

Simple Pleasures Saturday #7

Can you believe it is already the second weekend of August? Our weekends are booked up this entire month which always makes the time fly by at lightening-quick speed. I hope you are having a great weekend so far!

After a restless night of about 4 hours of sleep, I got up at 6 AM, went to an all day 8:30-4:30 photography workshop in Huntington Beach, then met Brent at 4:45 and we drove up to the Orange County fair, and it is now 9:30 PM, just got home, and I feel like my feet, ankles, knees and back are all going to break off my body. Ahh did you like that nice run-on sentence? That's pretty much how my day felt. But in a wonderful kind of way!!!

My simple pleasures from today:
• Winning a raffle drawing for a flash diffuser at the workshop.. I never win stuff!
• Having a photography concept that always stumped me finally click (pun intended)
• Having a beginner photographer ask me for help
• Seeing a beautiful dragonfly float right in front of me
• Finding a desperately needed seat after too much walking
• Silliness in a photo booth picture
• Watching a pie eating contest
• Sensory overload at the fair
• Indulging in ridiculous fried food
• Pajamas + ice pack + couch

It was long day but really wonderful. Tell me...what little, simple joys filled your Saturday?

xo

Just the Two of Us - Version 2

Please stop by at Mortal Muses to see my guest post!!

Hand-in-Hand

Side-by-Side

You & Me

10 on 10 - August 2011

10 on 10. 1 photo every hour for 10 consecutive hours on the 10th of the month. Hooray! Here is what my day looked like...

8:00 - 2 mile walk

9:00 - Cup o' tea w/ my new rubber ducky tea infuser

10:00 - Work was a blur

11:00 - Quick walk to the mailbox to mail a letter to Grandma

12:00 - Comfy in my flannel

1:00 - Boiling water for a pick me up afternoon cup of tea

2:00 - Ella back from the groomer

3:00 - Picking out some tea for a friend's birthday

4:00 - A much needed frozen yogurt after today's workday

5:00 - Home safe.

To catch a glimpse into some other 10 on 10 projects, click below

To see my past 10 on 10 projects, click HERE!

Baby Steps

I feel I am on the verge of a new and better me. I have tackled some major obstacles lately, my back feels better, I have the new job and I am working hard to learn and grow with my photography. But I still feel a little stuck. A little unsure of where it is all headed, and a little frazzled as to where to take it. However, I remind myself daily of how far I have come, even in the last year. I am no longer 100% focused on pain or convinced I will be confined to a life of chronic pain. I am doing things for myself, and I am staying positive along the way.

Like anything new, I am working to get rid of the kinks. What I want and don't want, like and don't like, need and don't need. Who I want to be. And a note to self:

One step at time. Little, measured, careful baby steps. You will get there, you have your whole life ahead. Don't rush. Stop worrying so much about the future and enjoy today.

In the words of Tracey Clark: "I don't know what it's going to be, but it's going to be awesome."

Scavenger Hunt Sunday, er... Tuesday

Remember when summer meant being lazy and lounging around with no obligations when you were a kid? Not the case anymore. So far summer has been the busiest part of the year for me. I didn't get a chance to post my Scavenger Hunt photos on Sunday, so here there are...Scavenger Hunt Tuesday eh? Here were my finds for the week:

::Walking Empty Streets::

::Repeating Patterns::

::Floor::

::Then and Now::

::Fingertips::

Hope you are having a great beginning of the week! ♥

A Week in the Life: Day 7 - The End

What a way to end the week. Brent's parents bought the family tickets to see Shrek the Musical at the Pantages theater in Los Angeles as a Christmas present. We marked it on the calendar back in December and here we are - half a year later! All of my pictures today were taken on my phone so I wouldn't kicked out of the theater with my big girl camera, and decided to keep things cohesive. We awoke to unexpected yet welcomed rain and by 9:00 we left the house and all drove up to L.A.

Took some photos along the way which I immediately regretted due to the fact that I get motion sick very easily...just looking down for a minute will make me nauseous. No bueno.

We had reservations for a cute little restaurant called Off Vine just a block off of Sunset Blvd.

It was a really cute house-turned-restaurant with a nice outside patio and good food.

Bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys,

Cinnamon bunletts (yes bunletts)

and a wide variety of brunch yumminess to fit everyone's taste buds. Twist my arm why don't ya!

Kind of funny, I have lived in California my entire life, never more than a few hours from L.A. but have never once been to Hollywood! We didn't spend really any time exploring, but someday I will - someday.

Shrek was a great show. It was so light and fun with incredibly impressive makeup, costumes, singing and acting. The Pantages was a beautiful theater, so ornate and sparkly on the inside.

We finally got back to town around 6:00 and made a quick stop at the store to pick up dinner.

A nice summery meal, grilled pesto chicken sandwiches and potato salad.

A few hours to relax, then bed.

♥ ♥ ♥

It is amazing how fast one week can go by. I took on this Week in the Life Project very last minute, knowing that I already had way too much on my plate but something told me to go for it. And even though the process was a bit time consuming, it almost slowed things down. It unintentionally turned into a week of reflection through focusing on every moment and feeling, learning some things about myself and feeling so lucky to have what I have. It will be interesting to do this project again and see what, if anything has changed. One thing I really thought about was priorities and what long-term goals I am striving toward in my life, many of which are already a reality:

♥To be happy

♥To enjoy my profession

♥To be in a loving relationship

♥To have passions and incorporate them in my life

♥Stay in touch with friends

♥Document it all

♥Finish my college degree

♥See my family often

♥Make a difference

♥Help others

♥Share my story

♥Find beauty and share it

♥Laugh and smile often

♥Live in the moment and not worry so much about the future

I am so glad I chose to participate, but I am happy to have one less thing to do each day!

To see what you missed, here was the rest of my week:

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6