Politics

In this city where I live my opinions on politics have to stay hidden. If you have the wrong opinion (which I do) they will boycott your business. If anyone knows me then they know just how hard it is to bite my tongue, but I digress. I will let the image below speak for me;

The Week So Far In Review

It's already Wednesday! Feels like it should be Monday for some wild reason. Last weekend I spent it alone as The Lover had traveled back home. I'm kind of used to it now though it doesn't suck any less because of it. I just have a super hard time falling asleep without him. I can try to convince myself of all the positives, like taking the whole bed, using lots more pillows to make my fort, no noise, but instead I toss and turn and wish he was home. I am so lame.

Saturday was uneventful, I slept in pretty late and then tried to convince myself to clean the place up. It was hard because I wanted no part of it! So I would clean something for 30 to 45 minutes then sit down for 20 minutes. Ha, lazy cleaning at it's finest!

Sunday I felt like poo because I didn't get much sleep. I tried cleaning the rest of the place before a few photo shoots happened. The last photo shoot I did was a lot of fun. I stuck this awesome lady in a thick hill of wildflowers and it actually came up with some awesome results! Then later on The Lover came home and life was merry.

Monday was a drag. I don't even remember much of it except for a crazy photoshoot at 5. I didn't know if I could stay awake until then but somehow managed. I had 4 people come in at once for a shoot. It was fun because they were from the theater so we had a good time.

Tuesday, yesterday? The Lover and I went to a business class that was pretty good for networking and learning about some resources available to us. How boring did that just sound? haha Oh well.

Today Obama is coming to town. It's funny because we are a small town so I'd never expect to see a president hit this area but he is. It's the talk of the town from hatred, to confusion, to curiosity, to excitement. Crowds are gathering already and he isn't due until later. Too bad I'm stuck here, not like I'd get to see him. HA!

So that's the week in review. Boring? Yes, maybe but sometimes my life is boring.

My favorite photo from the shoot on Saturday;

Just Wow

Being a woman I know exactly what it's like to want to look thinner. I know! I just think there are good ways to go about it and bad.

This is one of the bad.

Hmmmm...

This gives me an idea....

Dig It

I dig this chick. I've been following her blog for roughly six months now and loving it. Usually I stick to my handy Google Reader to get through the blog roll, especially since I usually have 100 posts to read a day. Not complaining since the information is always useful but I like making it efficient. When I notice that this awesome chikita has written something new I take the time to click and read straight from her blog. It might be the bolding, and italics made for certain emphasis that draws me but alas I follow like a dog waiting for a good pet. She rocks and you should check her out. Her latest post on SHINING has my ears ringing with joy. A conveniently nice reminder to live life for NOW for ME because it is beautiful.

Click it.

I Believe

I believe in networking more now than ever before. Being in this downtown location I have the opportunity to meet all the important "big wigs" that keep this city rotating. I know someone who knows someone who knows the director of this someone, let me call them right now to get this set up.

Let me tell you how important networking is. I went from a new unknown to a helping hand in the community and I know it will trickle down to me. Now I have exclusive press passes to important events, I'm the go to gal for the community. Slowly but surely I'm getting there.

The calendar is starting to fill up. It may not be what some people were hoping for (The Lover ahem) but it's what I expected and am happy to meet. Let's keep the ball rolling please!

Interesting

More Awesomeness

I love pictures. I love space. Put the two together and you have pure awesome at it's finest.

Check this link to see 21 of the greatest space photos ever as decided by Life.

I like the stories that go with the photos. Awesome.

Aquarium Fun

I've always loved the Aquariums at museums and such. They are an awesome way to see the world under the sea without the danger and the bulky air tank.




Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world (via soupsoup)

The main tank called the ‘Kuroshio Sea’ holds 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water and features the world’s second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank.

Self Promotion

If you guys have Facebook you can join my fan page! How cool is that?

So I shamelessly plug, click it!

The Wordless Way

After being a mute for a week I feel like I have nothing to say at all. Least not anything important. I realized how much breath I waste on meaningless topics and useless drivel. It sort of goes on and on until it's just a buzz in my head. Maybe I need to be looked at.

Maybe without the buzz the empty spaces in my mind lead to a scary hollow silence that fiercely echoes pin drop noises. With all that room filled with nothing how could I possibly think of something to say? Time to turn the buzz back on I suppose. Swirl the words into a big enough concoction to convince the world I am me and should be heard. Maybe I'm trying too hard.

I definitely feel that pull. The need to be the number one, the best, in your face lest you forget. I am here, I am loud, I won't go away until you appease me oh please be the answer I am looking for! Instead of the pull it turns to a push, a sort of nagging hush, my force to be reckoned with. Yet it's easily ignored and the ticking tock of the pressure builds behind my eyes to be something, to be number one.

What really needs to happen is a planting of seeds along a very fertile road leading to greatness and a shiny crown. No need to rush or for the pressure behind the scenes to push. In due time the curtains will blow back and the play will commence so no need to worry, or fret, or push the me, the who, the what I am. Human nature is not so forgiving.

Buzz, buzzing, buzzed.

I Never Knew

I can't believe I didn't know these existed until just now but now that I do know, it's on like Donkey Kong.

Or maybe it's just on my To Do List. We're talking National Geographic Expeditions! They have all kinds but one that stuck out was the Photography one! Particularly the one that goes to the Galapagos! Wow. You travel with a NG photographer and go to all these exclusive places to see all the awesome creatures.

It sounds incredible and I'm pretty sure that's why the price tag is at $7,000 not including air fare per person. haha A girl can dream or just save up same moola, or win the lottery. Think of it this way though, it's actually pretty cheap compared to the African 23 day Expedition going at a mere $63,000!

Check them out here.

What A Difference A Week Makes

Wow! This week has been nothing short of fantastic! Things are rolling really well for the business. I might get to be on tv plugging it too! How cool is that my friends?

I feel like Cloud Nine has returned. My goal is to remember these days when the gray clouds come rolling in. Because they will, that's life!

Pandora has been a life saver lately. I need the music to keep me moving throughout the day and having this handy dandy online free radio with maybe one commercial every 5 hours is great!

The Lover is still so darn sick. I think he got it worse than me. He tried to go to Walgreen's for some meds and they wouldn't accept his driver's license so he had to talk to the pharmacist. I mean he looks and sounds like crap, like a sick person not a meth head. The pharmacist may be a liar, I don't know yet, but they recommended Claritin D for his cold. I was like WHAT? My logic was for him to buy Dayquil since the NyQuil was working so well for him. I also thought it takes about 24 hours for Claritin to even get into your system. I guess I am wrong!

That's all for now. Hope everyone else is having a good week too!

Regina Spektor

A newly discovered artist I am beginning to love!

A Few Randoms

Just some scattered thoughts to mark the day.

-Kids are fidgety. You will only get two good shots of them before they squirm so you better be prepared.

-I love photography. Even if it means I'm the babysitter, director, stylist, host, AND photographer. Taking pictures is my thing and I feel so in tune.

-My voice is back in full! Still coughing up yucky goop but I'm getting better! Yay!

-The Lover is sick as a dog. He said we are not allowed to kiss anymore when if I recall correctly, he was the one demanding the smooch after I told him I was diseased!

-Someone with a $160k degree in photography just told me they like my work and would love to shoot with me. HAH! Ego boosted.

-We have a full schedule ahead of us in the upcoming weeks and months. Can't wait for all of it!

Awwwwww

This is adorable;



Found here.

PSA

I post this because The Lover is a huge expiration date freak. He throws food out if it hits the date marked on the package and I have to tell him that the food is still good. So then he does it when I'm not looking. Then I go into the fridge to eat something I was craving only to find out it is missing! He never believes me about eating things after they pass their due date so I'm hoping this video will do some good! The more you know!

Communication

Let me just say that I miss this place! I hate that I haven't posted in so long! I do have a good reason though. I was sick! I think it was the preschoolers that gave it to me because a few days after they left my throat started hurting. Something in me believes that those who do not spend a lot of time with children are more susceptible to the little bugs they carry around. Who knows if I'm actually right on this.

Anyway, the throat started getting scratchy Tuesday evening and I kept clearing my throat hoping it was nothing. Growing up I would get really bad cases of strep throat every winter without fail. It actually caused me to be allergic to penicillin. Thankfully I don't get it anymore but I have scars. My tonsils remain swollen and pock marked. My voice sounds like I swallowed a golf ball because I actually have two gold balls in my throat. I want them out because I don't think they do any good anymore but I've heard that the surgery is so painful as an adult and really, I'm a freaking wuss. When I bit through my tongue it was the worst pain ever, especially the MONTH afterward where I couldn't eat ANYTHING really. No thanks to mouth pain.

I woke up Wednesday morning with tonsils on fire. I could barely swallow without wincing, a side effect that brings flashbacks of my strep throat days right to the forefront. I hoped to God it wasn't strep. I checked in the mirror for telltale signs but didn't find any. My muscles started to ache pretty bad so I closed up shop and fell right into bed.

Thursday morning I was awakened by snot (mmmm) trying to choke me. I hate that urgent slap in the face that warns you of some imminent danger, like not being able to breathe. From then on I had congestion on top of a sore throat. This caused me to lose my voice. The Lover was probably grateful (haha) but it was difficult to communicate anything! I just couldn't go on with my day. I had some appointments that needed to be canceled because no one could understand me. Really whispering was louder than the scratchy words I tried to spit out in between coughs and throat clearings.

I just didn't realize how important speech is to regular communication until it was taken away. I found myself getting frustrated because the only thing holding me back from doing everyday things was the fact that I couldn't get myself heard. We went to a restaraunt and without thinking I went up to the Wait List lady to give our information. I had to repeat my name ten times before she understood me. I was embarassed by my soft ragged voice and the fact that I couldn't just TALK. I gave up on holding normal conversations with The Lover and resorted to short answers which really weren't good enough. Apparently, I talk a lot.

This went on for a few days and I was getting sick of it. I just wanted my voice back. I wanted to be understood the way I was used to. I wanted to vocalize my existence. Last night as I lay in bed I worried about the upcoming week. My voice hadn't returned and I feared that maybe it wouldn't. I have a lot scheduled next week that requires a voice and I didn't want to cancel. These are make or break sort of things happening. I sat there wondering why I had even lost my voice to begin with. I've had congestion and sore throat before but I don't ever remember losing my voice, ever. Then I wondered if I was being taught a lesson. Maybe lately I've been a little too free with my speech to the point of being rather crass. Harsh even. Maybe I lost it to return to the inner monologue and realize the patterns I've been displaying lately. It was an epiphany sort of. Now I have in sight some things I want to change. Some not so nice things I've let slip through the cracks lately that can't be tolerated. If you have nothing nice to say....

I woke up this morning and my voice had returned.

I Can't Help It

:(

Birth Control

Oh let me tell you a little secret! If you are dripping from sweat in the mornings because you just experienced ANOTHER dream full of babies and it sort of made you happy but you KNOW you are crazy because now is NOT the right time just relax for I have found the solution.

The thing that will prevent you from crying while watching 16 and Pregnant because while yes they ARE too young to be parents and yes they show pregnancy in the NOT so glamorous light and even portray the AWFUL painful labor you just can't help but weep a little (ok a lot) when that itty bitty baby pops right out, the thing that will turn you dry and reverse that natural clock is..........

spending the weekend with three toddlers! Energetic toddlers! Energetic, whiny toddlers! Especially if you aren't used to kids this is the PERFECT thing to put yourself in. Jump right into the middle of the pack and just TRY to get them to listen to your demands. By the end of it your uterus will be apologizing to you and asking if you'd like it to remove your very own eggs forever!

It was fun to see them have fun and sort of act like a kid again but it was tiring! It made me realize I am not so ready for that juuuuuuuuust yet which makes me happy as a clam because I was seriously over crying at cute baby pudgy-ness. HAH! I win! (for now)

It's Monday

What a weekend! It was a whirlwind and I am still a little tired from it all. We were so busy we didn't even get a chance to go to a fireworks show though we saw some explode in the neighborhood. The fun began Friday and didn't end until late last night. I spent all day Saturday with my camera in my hand, this town was so busy with event going on around everywhere I almost felt like a lost chicken running around!

Then this Monday morning I get a few whammy's nearly sending me into a full fledged panic attack only to calm down 30 minutes later and realize I'll find a solution somehow, I always do. Still, what the heck is with the hurdles?

Basically, I couldn't believe that today is Monday. I kept checking the calendar to make sure it wasn't Sunday, a welcome chance to relax a minute. No luck. Back to work.

"Up" In Real Life

Cute.

Best MasterCard Commercial Parody

Repost: Let The Mayhem Begin

I rarely do re-posts, but each time the new round of residents shows up in their brand new lab coats, it makes me think of this story. Today I was grinning on the inside yet again.

—–

Medical studies prove it. Interns are more error prone during the first month of their first year in training. July 1 is the “changing of the guard,” so doctors and patients alike – be careful out there.

In honor of the graduating students and the residents graduating to their new PGY year, below is my version of a MasterCard commercial for the best story I heard about a new resident on an OB service. First a bit of an explanation.

When a woman is in labor, doctors will periodically do a gyne exam to determine how dilated the cervix has become. When the cervix is only 1 or 2 cm dilated (sometimes called “fingertip” dilated because all you can get in there is a fingertip), delivery usually isn’t imminent. As the cervix dilates, you can begin to feel the baby’s head (unless there is a breech presentation and you feel a foot or the baby’s buttocks). When the patient hits 8 or 9 cm, the patient usually starts feeling a need to push the baby out. Grab your catcher’s mitt, because the baby is coming. A little more information about cervical dilation in pregnancy is here.

Getting back to the story … mind you that this story is hearsay, but it comes from a friend of mine who worked as a secretary on an OB floor, so I consider her a pretty reliable source. I also did an internet search to make sure that I’m not perpetuating some urban legend and I couldn’t find anything. So here goes:

Medical school education: $240,000
Brand new white lab jacket with embroidered name: $37.50
Four pack of Red Bull to keep you up all night during your first call: $9.00
Obstetrical textbook to learn about the stages of labor: $219
Three one-minute cell phone calls to the chief resident to update him on the patient who is pushing but whose cervix remains “fingertip” dilated: $1.20
Spanish-English dictionary to find out why the patient keeps saying something sounding like “debo empujar” (”I have to push”) and keeps calling you “pendejo“: $16.95
Watching the OB nurse double check the patient’s cervix, flip out, and call for a STAT c-section because the patient’s cervix is fully dilated, the newborn is in a breech presentation, and you’ve been sticking your finger in the kid’s anus instead of the mom’s cervix for the past 30 minutes: priceless

P.S.

Oh Charleston let me fill you in on The Lover's story. When he was young he lived in your great city (we think it was around the time I was waddling on your beach). It was a good time for him and one he still remembers dearly though eventually his family moved on and away you remained engraved in his head.

Once at adulthood The Lover would take yearly trips to Fripp Island often passing through Charleston. One day he wanted to live in your city and decided to make it a goal before he even met me.

Well, as life would have it The Lover became ensnared in the daily repetition of being stuck in one place and on one path. His strong desire becoming a distant fuzzy memory as it looked like life had tied his journey down to a one way road. That is, until he met me and his life burst at the seams and became an unwritten book once again.

We visited you last year during a difficult time when our hearts were cold and barely beating and our shoulders were heavy with the weight of our problems. We ran to you, dear Charleston, for some relief and you amazed us. You pumped life right through our veins with your scenery brighter than anything I can remember. You helped us skip through the sand and remember what the warmth of the world felt like. You captivated us once again.

I took so many pictures during that short stay that I still glance at to remind myself of the oasis you provided during a cloudy moment in our lives. We can't wait to go back.

See you soon,
Us

Dear Charleston

You had me at hello, you really did. According to my parents I knew you when I was too young to remember setting my first little steps in the sand of Folly Beach. Before I got a chance to burn your Southern beauty into my mind we headed North to the cold.

I didn't get to see you again until July of last year. We were traveling to Fripp Island for a weekend getaway and passed through. Though I didn't know it at the time you managed to leave a mark in my heart. This past February when we had to decide where we were planning to live next you immediately came to my mind. The big Southern city right on the ocean with the beautiful buildings and nice people.

We went to search you out and even though you did not have anything to give us at the time we made a promise with each other to return again one day. Now you are our goal for the future and our plans to visit you in the future now have agendas of finding a home, some great places to dine, to meet the people, and just generally get to know the area.

You stole our hearts with your beautiful beaches and captured it forever within the walls of your breathtaking city wrapped in Spanish moss. We will see you in the future.

With Love,
Us