9.30.09 - September's last day!

I had a wonderful day off today! It as the last day of September; cool, but sunny and clear. It was great! I spent some time with Scott in the morning, we watched "We Are Marshall", which I must say is one of the best movies I have ever seen! And I am a movie-lover.... it was so touching and deep, but fun, too. Then we had dinner for lunch, since we rarely ever get to have lunch together. YUM Shake N Bake!

We also sold our old car today, Hooray!!

When it was time for him to leave, I also headed out to Nashville to hang out with my sister and see my parents for a bit. Katie and I don't always have the best time together, but today we had a spectacular day: no fights or grumbling, lots of laughing and fun for a change! I took her to visit her old friend's grave site (no, this isn't morbid!) A guy she dated and was friends with back in high school passed away about two weeks ago, and since she isn't as connected to that part of her life anymore did not go to the funeral, but did want to pay her respects. It was good for her, I feel like she gained some closure.

After that, we headed to her boyfriend's house to take some pictures. She loves have mini-photo shoots, and I never say no to taking photos, so it's always a good match :-) I spent some time with my dad and a little with my mom in the evening, but it was their friend's birthday, so we headed to Cinco de Mayo for some mingling and margaritas. It was fun, but I would have rather just spent some time with them, but I only have a certain day off, so I took what I could get. I'll see them very soon, 2 weekends back to back coming up.

Oh! And I got to see my sister's friend from back in the day... he is in the Air Force, and is home on leave. We talk on facebook quite a bit, but I wasn't even sure if we would see other during this leave, but I did!

Ben & I

It was a full day, I often feel at the end of my day off that I should have been lazy and relaxed because I feel like I am always going with work, etc, but today was well worth all the driving.

If you could have seen what happened next...

I like this one of her a lot! She's not posing, it's just...her.

Had to sneak one in of me :-)

Katie - 5.23

A sentence I have never uttered before - my sister is such a pleasure. :-) She can be for sure. In any case, she will always let me photograph her, no matter what. I enjoy that, because I am still learning techniques and still training my eye. She's a great sport. Any pretty cute. I'm looking forward to photographing her and her boyfriend.

Anyways, I was playing around with her during the BBQ we had at my apartment. I shot a few.










These are some that I staged, obviously didn't shoot. Thanks mom!

Memorial Day 2009

So one of that greatest things about today, besides the time and half pay and holiday pay (yep, I get both!) was the Healing Field across from the Avenue. There was this field that has been blocked off since Friday, and there were hundreds of flags posted into ground. This evening, there was a gathering of people and I'm sure there was some significant events going on, but this afternoon on my lunch break I went over and there were hardly any people there. I went over with my trusty camera to capture some of the remembrance and patriotism. It was amazing. I took a few seconds to pay my respects. Aren't we blessed? We are still a free country, and we are still protected by our own family and friends. That's pretty awesome if you think about it. Someones brother, husband, wife, daughter, son, cousin has given everything for you and me. They have given their life.

Thistle

I love photographing elements of the corn field behind my apartment. In the past, I had a field day snapping shots of this dead sunflower... anyways, there is a short story behind today's post. I like thistles. They are a rough and ragged weed. They are covered in spines. But I love the blossoms! A few years ago, Scott and I were at the Nashville Zoo, and there was a single thistle blossom on the fence of the elephant exhibit. I was taking pictures of it, and when I snapped one, a butterfly had just landed on it and I caught it! It's one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken! So, a few days ago when I was leaving work, I spotted a thistle in the field next to Romano's. It reminded me about that day at the zoo, and seriously, if I had had my camera in the car, I may have pulled into a parking lot and snapped a few.

Today, as I was rounding the corner to my door, I looked up into the corn field, and I saw... thistles!!! I couldn't wait to come in and grab the camera. Here are some highlights.

Backtrack - 4.25.09

I spent a great day back in April with some great people that Scott and I are blessed to have in our lives. Another reason why they are great is because they tolerated my hand attachment for awhile :-) It was a great night. Good food, good wine, good friends, good music, good times.

JP, April 25

JP, Alli, me, Scott - April 25th

Bromance :-) Just kidding guys!