Not Possible

For the past month, I've been randomly grabbing my stomach flab. I've hoped that gaging the size of my waistline would result in more trips to the gym. You see, I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress this weekend - a bridesmaid dress I was measured for in March. I don't think my weight has changed but I also know I didn't work out nearly as much as I'd planned to. I am second guessing how well this dress will fit. I just hope the poor woman who made it doesn't have to spend any serious amount of time altering it.

I went to gym yesterday and hoped on the scale. It had been a while since I'd done this,so I was fully expecting to weigh in at "why did you eat so much cheesecake this past month." Much to my surprise the scale said I'd weighed five pounds less. So in the past month of sporadic gym visits and no serious change in my diet I've lost five pounds. Huh? I don't trust it. And I think I'll let my dress fitting on Wednesday be the determining factor of my weight gain or loss.

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

I dream in photos now. I woke up Saturday morning to remember the tail end of a dream where I was shooting with one of my favorite photographers. I don't remember much of the dream now, just the fact that I was shooting with someone who's style and clarity I hope to emulate some day.

It must have helped though because I had my second paying photo gig this morning. And if do say so myself, I think it went really well. This photo shoot was the result of the first maternity shoot I did, the one that I can pretty much now say started it all.

We went to the same location, but this park never ceases to amaze me. There are just so many good back drops, and the couple I shot was willing to wander all over it and pose for me. They are an adorable couple and were incredibly good sports, even though at one point I asked them to lay on the ground and then changed my mind.

I have to confess at points during the shoot, I was having trouble getting my camera to meter the light correctly. This was my first shoot under sunny skies and that sun at points was really playing tricks on my camera. I kept looking down to see my shots were completely underexposed (too dark, for the non-photo nerds). So I'd correct my camera settings until they looked right on my screen. It wasn't until I got home that I learned I can't always trust my camera's screen. It will almost always make my photos look darker than they appear, especially on incredibly sunny days like today. Sure some of my shots were underexposed but not to the degree my camera's screen showed.

I am heading back to Michigan on Tuesday for my best friend's wedding, so I began to tell the couple I'd edit all the photos today and get them a CD tomorrow. They thought that was absurd given how nice of a day it was. They said they could wait a week or so for the photos. Um, did I mention how awesome they are? They are awesome. I did promise to send them five pictures just to hold them over. But once I started editing, I had a hard time stopping myself.

These are some of the ones I sent them.

Can I just say this photo was their idea, and it may be my favorite of the bunch.

This was my attempt to make the sun work with me. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I like the effect nonetheless.
And these photos folks are the stuff my dreams are made of.

City Girl In The Country

I really am a city girl now. That's what living in Chicago for five years will do. It's not that I've forgotten everything I learned in Girl Scouts. I'm sure if necessary I can still read a compass, build a proper fire and make a mean hobo stew. But I don't really have an occasion or reason to do any of those things. I live in a city. I work in a city and when I travel it's usually to visit other cities.

But man I do love nature. So when I finally get out of my urban jungle it's so relaxing to just sit and watch nature and be. I feel like this every time we go to Mike's sister's place in Wisconsin. She and her family live in what can only be described as the middle of nowhere. They have corn and rolling pastures and more cows for neighbors than people. When Mike and I head up there it's to be as outdoorsy as possible. We always bring our bikes, provided it's not winter.

We biked a little bit last weekend while we were there. The Wisconsin "400" State trail isn't far from their place. We drove to the trail head and biked for a bit, stopping of course so I could take photos here and there.

The trail is a set of train tracks that was converted over to trails. Along the route are old tunnel passages. This particular one that we went through was close to a mile long. We had to walk our bike's through because it's pitch black on the inside. We had nothing but my little light on my bike to illuminate our path. And Mike, at request of his nephew, discovered the openings were good for climbing.


The weather actually wasn't the greatest on Saturday (60s and rainy), but Sunday was beautiful. In between rounds of baseball, I grabbed my camera and snapped shots of the views.

You certainly can't get photos like that in the city.

Whole Lotta Love

I live in a musical house. I have my violin. Mike has his guitar. One of us is usually playing our respective instrument at some point on any given evening. And some nights, we'll play together. Not actually together, not as in we know and rehearse songs together. We will each play our own instrument and our own music in a different room. It's a real treat for our neighbors. Bach and Led Zeppelin at the same time!

Mike is a lot better about just picking up his guitar and playing than I am with my violin. His instrument is always sitting in the open in our second bedroom/computer room, whereas mine lives tucked away under our bed. I am not usually surprised when I'm watching TV, brushing my teeth or loading the dishwasher to hear his strumming a room away.

I know most of the songs in his repertoire, but every once in a while he'll surprise me. A few months ago I was vacuuming in the living room and could see him strumming away and singing in the bedroom. I turned off the vacuum and heard he was singing a little ditty called "Amy is Vacuuming." You may not have heard it before so let me tell you how it goes.

Amy is vacuuming. (high chord)
Amy is vacuuming. (low chord)
Amy is vacuuming. (high chord)
Amy is vacuuming. (low chord)

Catchy. I'm sure you'll be singing it all day.

I often try to make jokes at Mike's expense for having grown up in Texas because really, that's all I've got. He constantly makes fun of Michigan knowing by doing so he's demeaning where I'm from. Since Mike was quite the nomad in his youth, I gravitate to Texas being it was the place he spent a considerable amount of his formative years.

Tonight as we were squabbling over some little insignificant nothing, I went to my old throwback and called him a hick from Texas. "Oh yeah," he said. "Well Texas is doing better than any other state these days. Unlike that Michigan."

And then he proceeded to sing me a song called "Shitter Michigan."

When his song was over, I complained the he's always mean, and he's the meanest of the mean meanies and why does he have to be so mean. So he said he'd sing a song about whatever I wanted. I requested a song about how I'm so pretty and how much he loves Oscar. Then he very sweetly sang me a song about how my eyes are so blue and how I'm the girl for him, but I have this cat, and he's oh so fat. And his name is Oscar. But he never once mentioned how much he loved Oscar.

Songwriting may not be his greatest talent, but at least he's honest.