Monday, February 28, 2005

Running Elvis

Running Elvis

Me and Q Fall 2004

IMG_3264 copy

Good weekend

It was a good weekend. Good food, good wine and great family. That really says it all. I think Mom really enjoyed herself. The French Joint did not disappoint. And I don't know how it's possible, but Q&W just get cuter and cuter. My friend rode up with me and he and I and the kids enjoyed a great snowball fight. Yes, it was a good weekend.

There is about 6-7 inches of snow on the ground and it's still dumping. It's gorgeous out.
I probably should have picked up a few things at the store yesterday, but to be quite frank, I just didn't believe we would actually get any significant accumulation. Lately here, my guess has been as good as the weatherman's. Luckily, I have venison in the freezer and am stocked up on t.p. I'll survive. Besides that, my vehicle has AWD and it always makes me feel adventurous and independent to drive when the roads are"bad".

I'm trying to hook up with my friend T for this weekend. She is a Stayathomemom for 2 toddlers and doesn't get much chance to get out of the house by herself. When she comes down, we always have a great time--laughing,talking, watching silly movies, drinking wine, listening to music, eating take-out,etc. Hopefully we can work it out for this weekend. We try all year long to get together and seem to manage it about every 6 months.

I found a bulletin board-worthy quote today:

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."


That's a good one! I needed to hear that right now since it looks like my funds are not going to be such that I can afford to do much in the way of further redecorating.*SIGH*

Well, the guy who has been working as my assistant photographer for weddings for the last few years has not returned my call about my upcoming weddings. I'm going to leave another message, but he has me worried. Apparently, he has moved in with some chick (according to the answering machine). I hope this doesn't throw a wrench into our arrangement. He and I work very well together and I've always paid him well. Man, I hope he calls me back. I have a few other people that I could call to help me, but one is in NoVa and the other I've never worked with before on a wedding (he's what I would consider an amateur) and the last guy I just don't know all that well. I have a couple of other folks who could be trained, but reliability and proper equipment might be an issue. And with wedding photography reliability is paramount.
I wish he'd just call me back!

Well, I guess I need to get back to work. Have a good day, everyone!

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Uruk Hai copy

IMG_3292
Could that look any more like Em????

A Brand New Kitchen

Whew, I'm bushed. Much was accomplished today including two loads of laundry, sundry business matters and new paint in my kitchen--I'm especially pleased about that last bit. I started and finished the whole painting project in one day and am very happy with the results. Tomorrow, I'm going to put up my shelves(try to anyway) and a rack for my pots and pans.
I also have some gorgeous anitque(I think) plates that I would like to hang on the walls. Curtains will be the finishing touch, but I think that'll have to wait until next week. I'm planning to make them myself and there won't be time for that tomorrow.

I still have a few things I'd like to accomplish this evening before I hit the sack, just to take the pressure off tomorrow--burn an Image DVD, get a reprint order ready to be shipped, mail the contract for the bridal show, frame a 16x20 image. If I can finish all of that, I can concentrate on finishing my kitchen and packing my stuff for the weekend at Mom&Dad's.

I'm looking forward to the celebratory b-day dinner for Mom on Saturday night. It's awesome when all of the family can be together. It's always amazing to see what a big bevy of young'uns that this family has, now. How and when did that happen? Suddenly there's just a whole bunch of us. I love it. In any restaurant setting, we are now a force to be reckoned with.

Well, I'd better get off of here and get to work. Lots to do, yet. And the bed is drawing me to it like the Dark side of the Force. Must...resist....little longer...must not...give in...
Who am I kidding, I could never have been a Jedi.

'Night all.

Photographybythomasina.com

Elvis at the Pond
Elvis at the Pond

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Nothing much going on

Pretty uneventful day. I didn't get much sleep last night and got up late this morning. I stayed in the office for most of the day, working (anything that didn't take me too far from the heating pad and ibuprofen bottle).
I actually accomplished a lot, despite the situation: booked a booth at a Lexington bridal show (good area, I think!), got an incredible deal on pens engraved with my business info, sent information packets and letters to a couple of clients, returned business emails and phone calls, got deposits ready for the bank, worked on some framing, reorganized my client digital database, created new business letterhead and updated my week's ever-growing to-do list.
Not a bad work day, really. Although the to-do list is still daunting.

I ventured out in the early evening and hit Michael's (for art and framing supplies), Barnes and Noble (Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen) and Target (misc. stuff, including curtains for my living room-ON SALE! :O). I saw tons of stuff I really wanted in all 3 stores, but my budget is not such that I can be spending very freely on non-necessities. I splurged with the curtains and I may yet go back for a bedspread--I'll have to pay my bills and see what's left!

It did inspire me, decoratively speaking, to walk through Target and Michael's. I hope I'm back up to speed tomorrow because I'm dying to get some new paint on my kitchen and bathroom walls.

Hope everyone has a good night.

Chow.

A Pretty Good Day

It was a pretty good one.

*I found a website that pops up prominently on Google and AOL searches which lists my business' information for free
and links to my website. Awesome.
*A photo lab order that I've been waiting on finally arrived. Good.
*I recieved a check in the mail from a customer that I billed some time ago. Nice.
* Got a spot of house cleaning done. Great.
*SR's art lesson went wonderfully. She is really progressing quickly. I'm so impressed. Superb.

It was a little distracting at first to have JL there joyfully scavenging about my house for "treasures" (cool rocks, misc. coins, a couple of pieces of fishing lures,etc.), while instructing SR on the finer points of shading. However, he eventually settled into the task of modeling clay. He's such a cool little guy--boundless energy and an unquenchable spirit. His presence added a little zip and humor to our lesson.
I prepped supper and then took the kids out into the field and then the woods to explore and climb trees. Elvis got to run free, too. I had supper almost finished when Mel arrrived with AT. Roasted quail with apple-curry sauce, baked potato, salad with fresh Ranch dressing and biscuits. Mel brought some good Chenin Blanc and Mug root beer for the kids. YUM.

AT once again bore the marks of a rough Ju-Jitsu lesson. Once again, no complaints from him. Cool kid.

One bad experience today: I attempted to find a chat room or message board for professional photographers which is informative, open-minded and frequented by non-jerks. No luck, so far.
I will continue this quest tomorrow.

No workout today--too,too crampy. Hopefully that will be better tomorrow. I'm really itching to try out my new membership at the Y.

G'night folks!

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Morning thoughts

The cardinals have found my bird feeder. They sit on the bush outside my office window and eyeball me for a while before braving the feeder. Any sudden move on my part and they're gone. But, they are slowly getting used to me. They are such a gorgeous bird. When they become a little less skiddish, I'm going to have SR start doing sketches and pastel drawings of them for art class. I think she would like that. I know I would.
I give SR(11yo neice) art lessons on Tuesdays while the boys (her brothers) are at Karate. Then everyone comes over and we enjoy supper together.
I need to get on the ball and prepare an art lesson for today. I am finding that my own artistic abilities are being stretched and improved by going back to the basics with SR. We will once again tackle sketching, contour drawing and the beginnings of shadows and shading today.

I'm a little sore today from my first martial arts lesson with AT, last night. He taught me the very basic punches and kicks and a couple of arm bars and grappling moves as well as routine stretches. He's a good teacher and I have always enjoyed learning self defense techniques. I'm hoping to sign up for some "official" lessons next month, at a local martial arts studio.

Now, I need to get busy and accomplish something.

Monday, February 21, 2005

WOW. Just got some good news from Mom. This news represents the culmination of dozens of years of work by Dad. It's something the whole fam has been hoping for for the last few years. I'm SO pleased. Today is Mom's b-day, so it's especially good timing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Both of my sisters have sick young'uns today. I just heard about Q's night at the ER. Poor little guy(and poor Em and TL!). I just heard that he's up and about and feeling pretty good this morning-that's excellent news. Mel called Sun morn to ask if I could watch the kids while she took her DH to the airport. JL(7yo nephew) was sick so the planned trip to Mam-maw and Pap-paw's house had to be postponed. I went over around noon and stayed until about 8:30. I brought a whole sack of things for the kids to do that would not involve running and jumping. We spent the day drawing, painting, modeling clay and fashioning clay coins and coating them with metallic gold paint.

*metallic gold paint-.99CENTS

*transforming ordinary clay objects into shiny golden treasures - priceless

We all had a great time. JL's fever stayed down and he stayed pretty upbeat the whole day, but he looked very wan (am I using that word correctly?). Apparently he has a full blown head cold and fever today. Buck up little trooper.

Friday night I tried a new restaurant. It was disappointing. We had to sit at a tiny, high table on barstools which makes one feel quite on display. The wine recommended by our server was overpriced and too bitter and vinegary to be sipped as an apertif. Our "knowledgeable" server than began to sing the praises of their "prime" angus beef and how the Ribeye was by far the finest cut.

I would like to pause here for brief rant on beef. As an avowed carnivore, I very much appreciate and enjoy a good steak. No. That's an understatement. I revel in the glory of a high quality piece of meat, well seasoned and prepared to my specifications(medium rare). That's more accurate. I don't know who is going around and telling these restaurants that the Ribeye is the " very best cut", but they are obviously not true meat lovers. The New York Strip, The Porterhouse and the Filet are incredibly delicious cuts of meat. The alleged "marbling" of the Ribeye is it's claim to fame. Folks, that's fat. And while I am a connoiseur of fats, steak fat is to be trimmed. Unless it is marbling. True marbling, consists of VERY thin veins of fat in the meat which pretty much melt when the meat is cooked, thereby adding flavor, texture and succulence to each bite. The ribeyes tend to have thick veins of fat that require constant trimming because they do not melt in the cooking process. A truly "choice" piece of any of my aforemetioned favorite cuts will have a decent amount of marbling. One more thing. I was raised on a beef farm. We raised Hereford and the now infamous Black Angus beef. People, I am here to tell you. You can't taste the difference between them. If it's fed on the right stuff and buthchered at the right time and cooked fresh--it's gonna be GOOD!

Okay, back to business. The blue cheese and crab quesidilla was just a bad idea. Blue cheese totally overpowers the delicate sweetness of the crab and the mozzerella (how DO you spell that?) added to much "gooiness" to the texture. The "warm bacon dressing" on the spinach salad was creamy and lacked the tart goodness of vinegar--I suspect some smarty pants in the kitchen decided to throw some mayo in there-who knows why. The New York Strip was dry and and flavorless, despite an attempt at a creamy peppercorn dressing. My friend's baked potato was not cooked through. We opted for no dessert. The bill was still way too much. The only positive thing about the place was the service. The young lady was ill-informed about beef and wine, but was very attentive. So, of course left a nice tip. We will not, however, be rejoining them for dinner anytime soon.
That was fun. I could SO be a food critic.

I am sitting here looking out my office window as the clouds slowly spread over the mountains. I must be the most blessed person alive. A year ago, I was so unhappy and filled with uncertainty and heartache. Today, I'm standing on my own two feet (while God holds my hand) and have great hopes for the future. I find myself wanting to grow my business and earn more money, but not solely for myself, anymore. I want to have the ability to give to people who really need it-to make a difference in peoples lives. You know, sponsoring children overseas and giving to specific Christian charities. I want to give more of my time and focus more on ways that I can be of service to others--thereby serving God. Paul says that being single is a blessing and I want to make better use of the freedoms that I have as a single person. I have various quotes on my bulletin board. Here are two that really hit home for me:

" Fulfillment is not a goal to achieve, but always the by-product of sacrifice"

"..to whomsoever much is given, much is required..."

The old saying about counting your blessings is SO true. I AM so blessed in so many ways. I have a job that I like, good friends and an awesome family (and, of course, Elvis). :o)
I am finding that this blog is a good way to review my actions and stay accountable to myself about how I'm spending my time on this earth. Have a great day, folks!
Sick kids, feel better soon!
Chow.

Friday, February 18, 2005

A nice trip

A ladybug(my house has been infested with them since Fall) has decided to hibernate between the F4 and F5 buttons of my keyboard. It's cute, so I'm leaving her there. I don't know why I shared that.

Well, I made it to the studio in Stafford in time to get set up for my appointments and they both went fairly smooth. Left with some cash and a check in my pocket, so I'm not complaining. The folks invited me to lunch at Applebees and it was very pleasant. I took advantage of the low-cal menu and left quite satisfied. Later I took a long walk with Elvis around the farm. It's always great to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the old homeplace. I then did some computer work and updated my website a bit (shameless plug----- Photographybythomasina.com).
Take-out Mexican for supper. Pancho Villa's (local mex restaurant) is so tasty!
I did some reading before bed, as is my habit (obsession, really). I read a very informative article about wines that pair well with chocolates. I will be trying this the minute I have the $$ to do so. Having forgotten to pack my current political book, I was reduced to reading a Nancy Drew mystery from the headboard nightstand. That Nancy is so saucy!
I went for a run with Elvis the next morning and then to lunch with Mom,Dad, Em, Q(4yro nephew)&W(18mo nephew). It was great to see Em and the boys. Those little guys are growing like weeds. I miss them alot.
Me and E hit the road soon after and made it into town in time to grab SR (11yro niece) from her ballet lesson. We came back to my place and did an art lesson (we're starting to learn about shadows and shading). Mel brought the boys to my place after karate lessons, Subway sandwiches in tow. We enjoyed supper and conversation and they all headed home.
As an aside, I would like to comment on the fact that AT (13yro nephew) apparently took a blow to the nose at Ju-Jitsu and hadn't even realized that his honker was bright red. When I mentioned it to him, he seemed to remember taking one to the schnoz, but thought little of it. He just takes everything in stride.What a cool kid.
I worked on a printer problem and called my good friend T. We had a good conversation filled with tons of laughter. I love that.
I hit the sack soon after. Printer problem has to wait--I'm bushed.
Chow!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Today sucked

Today sucked, for many reasons. I will try to relate them here.

* 3 week-old, enormously expensive photo printer developed a glitch.

* B&W headshots wouldn't print in the correct tones (this happened earlier in the day-back when the printer was still functioning)

* About an hour's worth of work erased by my program unexpectedly quitting (I think this is the Mac equivalent of the "your computer has performed an illegal operation" thing on Windows).

* Unable to complete 2 orders which were due today, because of the printer trouble.

* Had to pay $90.00 for something that I was expecting to receive at no charge.

*I have a mysterious pain in my left shoulder that appeared out of nowhere sometime during the day and threatens to derail all of my plans for swimming/weightlifting at the Y later in the week

*No time to workout. Feelin way fat.

*No time to clean my car--will have to drive to Stafford in a rotten vehicle.

*Elvis has gas.

I know, I know, I'm whining. I'll shut it.

There were some good things today,too.

*I got to have supper with Mel and the kids
*I did go ahead and join the Y.
*A guy from Martial Arts is coming to use my studio next week and I have plans to extract free karate lessons from him as payment for the generous loaning of my
studio (maniacal laughter).
* A wedding client finally sent me the check she's been promising to send.
* I recieved a check from the IRS for last year's taxes (covered the $90.00)
* I learned that Q and W recieved their V-day gifts on time and enjoyed a lengthy sugar high as a direct result.
* I am alive and healthy; as are my family and friends.

Alright, no more complaints from me. I mean, not today.

I've got to get back to work on this proof album and get packed for my pre-dawn journey tomorrow morning. Looking forward to seeing the Fam.
G'night!

Monday, February 14, 2005

Later, that same day...

Elvis is happily shredding a Sonic carton on the floor beside me while I type. It makes a big mess that I will have to take time to clean up, but it just gives him such pure joy.
Well, I hope Em's boys got their V
-day gifts today. I gave SR hers and entrusted her with delivering the other two to her brothers when they get home from the basketball game. SR and I had a nice time this evening. I watched her at her modern dance class and was impressed with how uninhibited that she was. She really tries hard and I think that it has given her more confidence. I forgot to tell Mel that after the class she went, of her own accord, back into the studio to talk to Mr. Lee about an assignment that he forgot. That was so very brave of her. He is a large, loud man (who loves the kids and they love him) whom I would definitely have been afraid of at her age. She was completely undaunted. She is also developing a cute little sense of humor. I love that. We went to Sonic and then back to her house and watched Aladdin(that Genie is just too freaking funny) and played with Scout and Herriot (chocolate lab and cat).

I didn't get by the Y today, as I had planned, and it's unlikely that I will have time tomorrow. It'll just have to wait until later in the week.*sigh*
What a day tomorrow will be. (2) 11x14 collages to design and print, (2)8x10 headshots to retouch and print, a wedding proof album to put together, a bridal portrait presentation to assemble, the car still needs cleaning, and packing for a trip to Stafford. I may need to actually go to Stafford tomorrow. Oh, and Savannah's art lesson, too (doesn't count--labor of love). And on top of it all, I feel the strong need to do some serious creative cooking ( happens every time I watch Iron Chef).
So, I guess I need to hit the ole sackaroo and start bright and early(sorta) in the morning.
Night-night, all.

Weekend happenings

Decent weekend. Nothing very exciting. My friend and I took Elvis to a favorite National Forest trail and he walked while Elvis and I ran. The trail is really gorgeous, secluded, rarely traveled and only about 3-4 miles from my house. I can let Elvis off his leash and don't have to worry about running into anyone else. There are a number of trails like that around--which is especially nice right now since the fields across from my house where I usually workout are currently covered with "fertilizer"(cow poo).
Anyhow. Later, my friend B picked me up and we had an excellent supper at the Bistro. They have such lovely wines and desserts. I didn't go to wild, though--2 glasses of wine and a shared Napoleon. B gave me a nice V-day gift after dessert. A 3 month membership to the YMCA. I'd been fretting about how I was going to afford joining and how much I LOVE to swim. I was pretty pleased.

Saturday was breakfast out, a little bit of photo work, then shopping for and shipping a V-day gift for EM's boys ( a little excitement down to the Eckerd--some guy walked out of the store with an armful of stuff, unpaid for, and apparently made his getaway on a Greyhound bus). It's just candy and a card, but at their ages I think it will go over well. I dared not send a card only. My nephews and niece have come to expect a certain amount of sugar from all gifts which their Aunt Thom gives to them. That's just the way things are and I'm happy with that.

Later that day, in preparation for my Y excursions, I happily went bathing suit shopping (my friend came,too, but he was forbidden to be anywhere near while I was modeling the suits). What was I thinking? That I would have a "nice time" shopping for a swimsuit? I was ready to go home and get in bed and never ever be seen by the outside world ever, ever again. It just felt like the right thing to do, really. Of course, I didn't. I settled on a fairly plain CK suit and some shorts which at least made me feel that my ample behind wouldn't be quite so hideously on display.
I mean it's just the Y, after all. The mean age of my fellow swimmers will probably be like, 80, right? Nobody will notice my but and snicker, right?RIGHT!?

Sunday started with a fairly low calorie breakfast, as I was still smarting from the whole swimsuit trauma. Later in the afternoon, I plunked some targets with my .45 (my friend has a shooting range in the field behind his house) and made the disconcerting discovery that my weapon needs some work. It's still good for close range self-defense, though. And I was pleased to realize that I'm still quite comfortable and accurate in the handling of my gun.
We then took a long hike in the National Forest with Elvis. It was a pretty good workout-lotsa hills. I then came back, showered and burned a CD.

Geez, I look back at my weekend and see a very self-consumed person evolving, here.
I have got to find a good outlet for doing my Christian good works. Serving others, helping in the community--something. I suppose I could get involved with local politics, like I was in Stafford. But there's my work to think about. I can't do anything that's going to conflict with weekend weddings, sports shoots, etc., as that season is fast approaching. Hmmm. And a church. I need to find a chuch to join. I've slacked off on my search in recent weeks, so I've got to recommit to that effort, as well.
Well, I'm off to SR's dance lesson. Mel and her DH are are getting some time to themselves this evening (the boys are at a Basketball game). I'm picking SR up and taking her back to their house for the evening. I may try to squeeze in an art lesson with her, as well, to save time tomorrow. We'll see.
Hope everyone had a spectacular Valentine's Day!
Chow.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: Be aware, all who read my blog. It will likely bore you to tears. Just so you know.

Alrighty then. Well, I don't know that I shall have anything of interest to say, but I suppose it will be nice to have a little record of the little happenins in my little life.
The day started with a phone call from Bill letting me know that he had found the dry cider that Mel was searching for to give her DH for Vday--that was excellent news, for her and I, since I am dying to try the stuff. Then working on image collages (ie, sitting on my ever-growin tail in front of the computer), scrambled eggs with feta and spinach,coffee and putting on the workout clothes. And now I'm still on my tail in front of the computer. Must... work..out...MMMUUUST!! (read last as Capt. Kirk, for full effect)
You know, I should probably use this blog to practice my grammar and proper punctuation, whilst writing. Nah. Maybe I'll just concentrate on that on days that I feel like doing it. Otherwise, it will probably impede the flow of my thoughts(trickle that it is) into blogdom. Anyhoo. I'll be back later. Have to clean house, look through a zillion negatives, make some business calls, work on reprints, clean my car( the air freshner "leaf" is no longer cutting it), download some stuff from the internet, and a whole bunch of other hooey to complete. Chow.