Breaking The Norm...

This is gonna be deep..so watch out!

Since four wonderful, amazing and talented friends have posted their "1 million reasons I love summer" blogs...I'm gonna deviate. I am going to break the norm..I am going to say the 10 things I hate about summer...

1) bugs and their bug bites

2)spiders and the way they think they can just hang out in the corners and you'll never see them.

3)people who try to convince me camping is fun

4)getting thrown into various bodies of water

5)blisters on my toes from sandals I haven't worn in 10 months

6)sweaty armpits...

7)bee stings

8)pretending I am going to start some sort of garden type thing

9) Rainy days when the weatherman said it was supposed to be 85 and sunny

10) I don't think I have 10...cuz ..um....I am a HUGE summer fan ;)

there.

Camp fires, counter tops and kitchen tables....

The three best places for conversations :) The past two weeks have been gifts for fantastic people and intriguing conversation and well, they all took place out at our camp fire, at the counter or at my kitchen table. I am not sure there is just one element that allows conversation to unfold and even allow some of my friends to peel back some layers and be a little more exposed. I am certainly surrounded by fascinating people. It may be the ambiance of a crackling fire late at night or the calming of the dim lights at the counter top or the relaxing consumption of food that can turn dinner conversation into debates, story telling and lots of laughter. Whatever the trigger may be, it's always fun for me to dig a little deeper into the people I am around just about every day!

I DID learn that ONE of my friends has the gift of guitar and from what I hear, rumor has it that his voice is pretty good....so...I'm thinking....a camp fire might just be the place to unravel this little bit of talent. See, I am safe knowing he won't read this...but those who know him will..and I say...pass the news on..it's out there. I even have the song picked out...so if you are around in late August...that's his deadline. :D


PS: maybe after today - I can add picnic table. ya just neva know.

Anyway- its been an interesting couple of weeks and I say, my kitchen table, counter, and camp fires are always open. :)

connections

I set a goal for this week, it was small...but I did it. I touched base with three photographers far better and more experienced than myself and I'm really excited about it. I don't know all of them personally, but I feel like I do now! The process of growing in this field is ongoing and the learning never ending. I'll list them here in a bit because if I think they are fantastic and definitely top notch. So, here's to garnering as much as I can and improving as much as possible.

Pics and thoughts.

I ALMOST forgot to post my pic for the week. Actually, there wasn't a lot because THE picture of the week will forever be in my mind as I didn't have my camera with me. Lesson learned. Well, maybe.

I read that if you have to explain a photograph or a picture, it probably isn't that good. :) haha. But I will enumerate regardless. Have ever gone to a venue that is usually busy and active, but returned when its empty and quiet? I've walked onto a soccer field before a huge game before anyone else has come. It's silence is very unique and calming. Recently after a championship softball game I was covering, this bag was accidently left behind (eventually recovered).

The field had just been vacated after the well attended competition and it was ironic that the main ingredient of the game itself remained. So, perhaps not explaining the photograph, but explaining why it was taken!

Also ironic because I think we all have our moments where we feel we are really important, perhaps to someone or to some event, but once that time is over we feel left behind or cast aside. It's like we make an investment and then...well...in the very place we were cheered on....we are somewhat forgotten. But, then again if we are sticking with sports metaphors...I guess you have to ask if you always play to win or you simply play for the love.

Summer is for....

so many things I can hardly list...reading, concerts, bonfires, swimming, birthdays! oh and tons of family and friend time. However, my summer reading list is daunting...I wanna read everything. It all started with a friend giving me four books ( two of which are Nicholas Sparks) and then I walked into Barnes and Noble with my friend Stacey - with the idea to "browse". I was not successful. I bought my latest James Patterson fix (for $6!!) I blame stace. ;)
THEN.. my mom suggested Outrageous Grace - written by Grace Fabian - a missionary tied to the church I grew up in whose husband was killed while translating the Bible into the Nabak language in Papua New Guinea. I actually remember that happening, but I was really young, so if you are game for a pretty raw story - check it out here.
And finally I really want to read The Wednesday Letters... my list continues, but those are a few calling out to me on the book shelf ;)
Concerts - yup. 2 so far!
and hopefully a little theater at the end of August :D
This summer is going to fly.

Dear Price Chopper Lady...

My sincerest apologies for my actions Monday afternoon. I was one of those people I would blog about, you know, the kind that seems like they are in a rush and they don't take the time to appreciate what is around them. I was the one wielding the cart like a NASCAR driver through the produce aisle with reckless abandon. You see, I was trying to get to a friend's house before 2! I was trying desperately to get to the strawberries and then whip around to the corn, but you see you somehow stopped your cart on one side and were browsing the produce on the other...I couldn't squeeze through...and then someone was behind me... I was stuck. Stuck in the produce section with the clock ticking away...waiting for another text message to pick up something ;) It was a pressure cooker situation! I tried to say excuse me, but you weren't really listening...so I merely nudged your cart and tried to slip past you without notice. I MAY have brushed by you slightly causing you to give me a dirty look, which I probably deserved, but I was on a mission. I was on mission for corn, chips and strawberries and I had only so much time to get there.

So, perhaps we both lack in supermarket etiquette. I should be more patient and plan my route better and well maybe none of us should park our cart on one side of the aisle and shop in the other...it's just not aisle savvy.

Perhaps when you are browsing the Internet and I am sure you do, you seem like the browsing type...you could accept my apology.

I won't ramble on about lawn sale etiquette (tag sale, yard sale, garage sale whatever you call em.) Sometimes, really...junk is really junk...it's not a treasure for ANYONE. Ok, I'm done. phew.

Do you have.....

somone you trust? I mean, REALLY trust. I hope everyone has at least one. I ask, because it's an easy word to say. It is not an easy word to FEEL. There are plenty of people I like, plenty of people I enjoy, but few I can really, really trust.

Whether it be one person or several or different people for different things, everyone should have at least one person they can go to and be able to breathe. That one person you feel you can confess anything too and they would still wrap you up in a hug, that one person you can admit your faults to and they still can say they love you, the one person who sees the ugly side and makes you feel more beautiful because of it.

It seems like a simple question until you really start to dig around inside yourself and you kind grimace at your blemishes or squirm under your secrets - but somehow- it is easier to breathe when you have someone who knows all that too and confirms...that you are somehow still huggable ;)

Sometimes, I think trust is bigger than love itself, but that's just me :) So, I hope you have that, I do.