Karen Shinkins

Its BIG Announcement Day

2010-05-17T12:21:00.006-04:00

Pack your bags everyone.........

.........WE ARE MOVING. No joke. I have a brand new blog and not only that, I have a band new website too. So hurry up, click on the link below to be transported to a spanking new blog and a spanking new website.

www.karenshinkinsblog.com

Photo-booth Fun

2010-05-15T22:45:00.003-04:00

The photo below might have you believe that its Mardi Gras again or maybe Halloween but you'd be wrong on both counts. These were the props used for a little photo-booth fun at wedding this evening. Yep, tonight for a couple of hours I help a photographer friend of mine put a little crazy into the wedding celebrations of a very cute couple.

It was so much fun and the guests enthusiasm to play took an already enjoyable day to a whole new level.

Big Announcement Coming

2010-05-14T18:46:00.005-04:00

Hold on to your pants everyone, there is a big announcement coming early next week. I'm so excited and I can't wait to share. But for now you have to be patient and let your imaginations go crazy.

Ok, and in this shot I was suppose to be fabulously cute, clever and coy, but sometimes things don't turn out exactly how you expected. It was a solo project and trust me when I tell you, this was the best of a very bad bunch, sad, I know.

Have a Happy Friday Everyone! Its been a tough week and I'm off to meet some friends for a cocktail.

Just A Photo, Nothing More

2010-05-13T23:53:00.000-04:00

Left V's Right

2010-05-12T21:19:00.003-04:00

Something happened early in the morning, something small, but for some unknown reason it p*#%ed me off bad and consumed all of my emotional energy for the rest of the day. I couldn't push past it. As a result I almost got into a confrontation with the lady at the sandwich shop cos I was convinced her tone was condescending. Or how about yelling at my GPS, Maggs, cos she kept changing the estimated time of arrival at my destination. "Seriously Maggs, I'm not in the mood for mind games."

The left size of my brain, if that's the rational side, knew I was acting completely irrational. Yet the right side of my brain, if that's the emotional side, overpowered all reason. As a result I sit on my couch this evening depleted, drained, pondering my lack of ability to shake things off and move on. I guess that's why I married Husband. He appears to have this ability in abundance. Its so annoying.

Anyway, todays Photo of the Day I wanted to be of my amazing friend Rupa, but Rupa was not feeling her most fabulous, so instead she offered up a gift her husband had purchased for her as my subject. Why? Cos it was hugely expensive and hugely expensive gifts deserve to be visually documented. And I agree. So Voila

Oncoming Traffic

2010-05-11T22:17:00.002-04:00

Boredom in the car and yet another red light lead to more camera play. However I'm sometimes a bit paranoid when I shoot randomly in public. I know I don't fit the stereo typical profile of a terrorist, but who knows these days. So I did my best while hanging out of my car window and aiming my lens at the oncoming traffic, to do it in complete style. Therefore looking less suspicious and more fabulous.

Shopping List, Man Style

2010-05-10T21:11:00.004-04:00

I don't love Home Depot, not like Husband loves Home Depot. On a day off he would choose to hang out there all day, but not I. Going to Home Depot gives me anxiety. Usually I'm being sent there under Husband's orders for some very specific things and usually I mess it up. Why? Cos I'm a girl and girls don't speak man and if you hand me a list that says 5 x 2 x 10 x 12 then my instinct is to whip out my calculate and start doing the math or I'll just break down and cry cos how the hell am I suppose to know that that is code for a particular plank of wood? Seriously.

Or what about 3/8 of an inch x 10 inch 50lb spike nails? I'm smart enough to see the clue in this one, "spike nails" so obviously we are talking nails here. But have you ever gone to the nail section at Home Depot? It's (insert Irish girl profanity) huge. Rows and rows, ceiling to floor of nothing but nails, in all shapes and sizes on both sides of the aisle. Its completely overwhelming and what is a girl to do when overwhelmed? Why breakdown and cry of course. That or call the Husband and yell at him for setting you up to fail, cos trust me, in this situation failure is guaranteed.

However, numerous failures at the Home Depot have allowed me to acknowledge my weaknesses and adapt a new technique of delegation. Now when I'm sent on a mission of lumber, nails or tools, I simply hand my list over to a very friendly Home Depot helper and ask them in a manner of Tim Gunn, a la Project Runway, to "make it work". Thus avoiding all kinds of stress and increasing the chances of a successful outcome.

All this is bringing me to my Photo of the Day. Today I accompanied Husband on a shopping spree to Home Depot. A stress free trip cos today he was with me. Today he would know exactly what to get and where to find it and all I needed to do was play a supporting roll. Easy. Before we left he handed me his shopping list, not on a post-it, not on a scrappy piece of envelope or the corner of an old newspaper, no, he handed me a piece of wood. Shopping list, man style.

Night Light

2010-05-09T23:25:00.006-04:00

Tonight we took the camera out for some night time fun. Husband's business partner, Piotrek popped into town for a 24 hour visit and for the evenings entertainment we headed out into the darkness with a camera, tripod and a couple of torches in tow.

Long exposures and painting with light was the theme of the evening and by leaving the camera shutter open for 30 seconds, it gave us all enough time to write our various messages into the darkness.

My message was of a personal nature.

Husband tapped into his marketing skills to promote my brand, but got the "S" a little ass backwards. I still love the effort and I like his thinking.

Here the goal was to light up Piotrek and I think we did pretty well.

Natural Backdrop

2010-05-08T23:38:00.003-04:00

Let me give you a little inside knowledge, photographers love long grass. Now if that long grass can also pull off some tall yellow flowers, then whooo, Hello, a photographers Christmas. And this evening I found my own mini Christmas.

What would have been even better? Having family and friends show up so I could have used this amazing backdrop to shoot some killer photos. But the next best thing was my trusted side kick and some times assistant, Dexter. I can't say he was particularly happy with my request to snap a couple of photos, he would rather I let him loose to run and explore, but he obliged for a good 30 seconds before a bumble bee grabbed his attention, then he was off in hot pursuit.

And just for the curious, here is today's progress on the carriage house.

Hooked Up

2010-05-07T22:59:00.005-04:00

This evening Dexter and I were on our way to the forrest to run some trails. We were in high spirits, bouncing and singing along to the radio. Its Friday and both of us are excited cos the weekend is finally here.

At one point I look in my rear view mirror and there behind me are the evil blue flashing lights. Seriously? What did I do? I know my singing skills are not excellent, but getting pulled over because of if? Surly not. But I pull over. I roll down the window as the officer lady approaches and Dexter being the social puppy he is, sticks his head out hoping to get a "Hello".

Officer lady asks me for my license and insurance. Then she asks my dogs name. Thinking nothing of it I say, "Dexter" and I hand her my license. "Do you remember me?" is her next questions. I stare at her for a second. My head is racing, oh no, have we met before and if so what were the circumstance? Please, please let the circumstances have been pleasant. "The dog park she says". Then it all clicks. She and I had bonded at the dog park last week when her dog and my dog had become quite smitten with each other, but I had no idea she was a cop. This is awesome. I'm feeling confident that she may let me of the hook. The hook I'm currently dangling from says I was going too fast through a school zone. Not a good thing.

She goes back to her car, plays with her computer for a few minutes, comes back a lets me off with a warning. Waaahooo. High fives and chest bumps all around. Dexter saves the day and now I have a connection with the law enforcement, which means I can speed all I want, run a few red lights, maybe rob a bank or 2 and my new friend will do nothing more than slap my wrist and ask me what time and day Dexter will next be at the park. Talk about hooked up.

As far as the carriage house goes, things are starting to take shape.

And are moving along fast.

Its a little airy and spacious right now, but soon it will all start to make sense.

Unrelated photo, this is me, Mike and Fanz, playing with a little self-timer after dinner and vino at a downtown Atlanta restaurant.

Under Construction

2010-05-06T23:35:00.003-04:00

Big things happened today. The walls on the first phase of our home went up. So exciting. Husband and some helpers, under the supervision, guidance and assistance of a more experienced builder, worked their tails off all day in the blazing heat to build the shell of what will be our carriage house. The carriage house will serve as our residence until we get the plans drawn up and finalized for the construction of the main house. Its a serious project and one with quite a long timeline, but seeing things start to happen, makes me giddy like a child waiting for Santa.

I just can't wait for all this unglamorous man stuff to be done so I can get cracking on what's really important, pretty kitchen appliances and layout, pretty wall colors, pretty furniture, pretty bedroom and bathroom designs, pretty much everything that will complement all the practical stuff that Husband is working on, like walls, a roof, running water and electricity.

The first wall goes up.

There were supervisors a plenty on site today. Supervisors to supervise the supervisors.

Later in the evening I hit up an Atlanta photographers meeting.

Where they served cupcakes. Really, you can't get much better than that. A new home in the works and cupcakes for the masses.

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T22:30:00.006-04:00

Today is Cinco de Mayo, Olé. For those not in the know, its Mexico's equivalent to St. Patrick's day. And since there is a huge hispanic community here in Georgia, its a pretty big deal. So where should one be on a day of celebration such as this? Why a mexican restuaurant/bar shakin her maracas of course. But where was I really? Shakin the lactic from my calves, hamstrings and butt after several 500m beat downs on the track, Olé.

For me, sometimes the line between a competitive athlete and retired athlete feels kinda blurred. In order to pace-make I still have to retain a pretty high level of fitness and endurance, which means sucking up some tough workouts and pushing through the physical pain barriers I was sure I left behind when I announced to the world "Yo, world, I'm Retired, no more lactic, pukey, track beat downs for me. Peace out suckers" Yet here I am, still pounding it out. Who's the sucker now? The sick thing is, I love it. I'm addicted. For most of my life, its all I knew. If I can't find ways to challenge myself physically, then I feel lost and out of balance. Twisted, right?

Anyway, here's my view of the track today. You'll notice its very close to ground level, cos thats where I was, laid out, all over the ground, waiting for booty lock to pass.

And there were no Corona's for me today either. It was smoothies all the way. Healthy, well balanced and perfect post workout.

Down on the Farm

2010-05-04T21:57:00.003-04:00

We live on 12 acres but the only animals we have are a cat and a dog. The only things we grow beside grass and trees, are grapes, yet Husband insists on calling himself a farmer. We do have a barn though, so I guess that counts for something.

This evening Husband got busy on the farm and I tagged along to capture the moment. See how pretty our grass now looks cos of all his hard farming.

Sick Day

2010-05-03T21:18:00.005-04:00

Something felt off as I went to bed last night and this morning when I woke up, I was full blown sick and absolutely miserable. I'll spare the gory details of my emergency sprints to the bathroom, but honey, it wasn't pretty.

I tired snacking on some grapes. For some reason grapes felt like the solution, but I was wrong, grapes were actually a trigger for violent stomach reactions that left me on my knees getting better equated with the toilet. Misery.

And for the record I would like to officially say that I'm blaming my Dad for this. Why? because he saw it coming. Last week while we were chatting to told to me slow down "you'd want to be careful Ka, if you don't slow down you'll make yourself sick". My reaction, "Da, stop worrying, I'm fine, I like to keep busy". Well I wasn't fine and don't you just hate when your parents are right? But the good news is I'm mending.

But I didn't mend enough to pick up my camera and shoot today, it just wasn't in me, so I'm sorry but todays photos are a bit of "Here's one I made earlier" situation.

These particular photos I took of a church in Southborough, Massachusetts, a town close to where my mother-in-law lives "Hi Diane" and I promise I'll have my camera back in hand tomorrow.

Sleepy Time

2010-05-02T21:52:00.004-04:00

We arrived back from Jamaica late this evening so I was kinda pushed for a photo to shoot and post. That was until I walked into Husband's office and spotted Fintan sleeping hard in his favorite bed on one of his favorite spots, Husband's bookshelf.

How cozy does he look?

And since we're on the topic of sleep and I'm finding myself too tired to type, its off to bed for me too. I've reached a very intense part of the book I started reading, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and I'm anxious to see what happens next.

But let me leave you with one more shot, a close up, of the sleeping Fintan. Come on, you know he's adorable. Even you non-cat lovers have to agree.

De Feet

2010-05-02T00:36:00.006-04:00

Its after midnight and we are just back from the stadium. I'm sweaty, tired, hungry and thirsty. Everything you'd expect to be after a long evening at the track, but thankfully all went well. I paced my ass off and then sat back to watch and support my fellow athletes in their respective events.

The highlight of the evening was Usain Bolt. For those not in the know, Usain is the Olympic Champion and World Record holder for the men's 100m & 200m and tonight he proved once again why he's the best in the world when he sreaked to a comfortable victory in the 200m.

Because I was using the old point n' shoot I tried to position myself as close to the finish line as possible to snap a photo of Mr Bolt and I did get a couple.

These are some of the photographers waiting to capture the worlds fastest man.

This is my snap shot of the word's fastest man.

And just for you Don, here are De Feet of the worlds fastest man. It was almost De Legs, De Torso and De Head too, but some random dude threw his backpack into my shot at the last second. Sorry.

And So It Continues

2010-04-30T21:57:00.007-04:00

100% of the comments to my last post said "Yes" to going another 28 Days of my photo challenge. And far be it from me to ague with the masses, all 3 of them. So I'll power on for the next 4 weeks and see what I can muster up.

However, I've arrived in Jamaica sans lap-top and sans camera. My plan was to detached from both for a couple of days in an effort to recharge, but I do have my sometimes trustworthy point n'shoot and Husband's lap-top which I've hijacked for a few minutes, so pardon the rough appearance of my photos for the remainder of the weekend, I believe I am the proud owner of the worst point n'shoot in the history of point n'shoot's.

I also wanted today's photo to be a shot of Jamaica, but right now its dark outside and something tells me that roaming the streets of Kingston in darkness would not be a smart move, so instead I've posted a picture of my racing spike cos they are kick-ass.

First of all, they were designed in the Irish colors.
Second of all, my name is stitched on the side.
And third of all, there's a little Shamrock stitched onto the heel, along with my country, Ireland.
How cool is that? New Balance designed them for me a few years ago for the Olympics and I still wear them now when I pace-make. I love em. They make me feel special and who doesn't like to feel special sometimes?

I Made It

2010-04-29T21:28:00.003-04:00

I just realized that today is the last day of my 28 Day Challenge. I made it. I can't believe it.

It was actually more challenging than I thought, which would explain the word "challenge" I guess. Trying to come up with different things to shoot and some days finding the time to shoot and post was more than I was able to handle, but I still did it.

Now I guess the next question is, do I continue? Do I dare take on another 28 Days? Did anyone out there find it interesting or just straight up boring? Feel free to share, positive or otherwise.

And while you ponder here is today's photo, its my laptop keyboard for a couple of reasons.

1. because of how obvious and genius it was of Apple to think if putting those little lights under each key?? And 2. because I really have been spending waaaay too much time with my laptop these days, working hard on an couple of things that I'm almost ready to share.

But like all relationships, not matter how much you like each other or how well you get along, everyone needs a break. As a result I will be leaving my laptop behind as I head off to Jamaica for the weekend. Don't be jealous, its not what you think, some grandiose vacation. I'm actually stepping back into my booty-shorts and spikes and pacing the women's 800m at the Kingston International. Should be a fun weekend.

Surprise!

2010-04-28T21:17:00.004-04:00

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD"

Today is your birthday and in honor of your BIG day Paul & I, Fintan & Dexter wanted to send you special wishes.

To be honest, Fintan was not a willing participant and at the first opportunity he made a break for it.

We also got you a cake. Chocolate, your favorite. Oh wait, thats my favorite.

And Fintan's too by the look of it.

Have a great day Dad, I'll talk to you later.

All The Bambi Lovers Should Look Away

2010-04-27T22:33:00.002-04:00

All the Bambi fans out there should look away, now. Cos tonight as Husband and I took a stroll around the lake we came across the bits and pieces of a very broken up Bambi. Outside of the Disneyland compound, there were no happy endings for this little deer.

I'm an animal person, so I did my best to detach from the reality of what might have happened for this little guy to end up the way he did, scattered all over our property. But it's hard when your Husband, walking a few meters ahead keeps yelling "Oh Shinks look, his vertebra. And over here, his ribcage. These should be your photos today." Everyone, please let me introduce you to my Husband, the barbarian.

And in the absence of anything else to post today, here is the carnage. Sorry : (

The skull.

Some leg or hip bone.

The vertebra.

The ribcage.

Someone To Throw Up On

2010-04-26T21:23:00.009-04:00

There is no denying we women are emotional creatures, f'real and I am absolutely no exception. In fact I am the most dramatic, emotional person I know and I don't do things by half. If I'm crying then I'm all in. Tears, runny buggers, inability to breath. If I'm happy then I'm all in. Laughing loud and hard, ferocious hand gestures and hyperactive tendencies. And if I'm mad, wow am I all in there too.

Tonight Husband arrived home from a weekend in Africa and was barely in the door when I was throwing my anger, frustration, stress and worry up all over him. Projectile emotion, that was his welcome home gift. I'm know, you don't have to say it, I'm a total sweetheart. Honestly I didn't mean for it to happen. But something about the person who knows you best, showing up when your at a low point is enough to open the flood gates on all emotion and I just couldn't help myself. Its a tough job no doubt, but like it or not, Husband has signed on to be the person I will forever throw up on, or at least until death do us part.

In a separate but related issue, todays Photo of the Day comes from an engagement session I helped my friend Tessa with. I use the word "Helped" loosely, cos truth be told I was only there for about 30 minutes before I had to dash off. But my ego likes to think that I was completely invaluable for the short time I was there.

We shot at Paschal's Restaurant cos this is where the couple had their first date.

The groom-to-be was rockin this fine pair of aviators which almost accidently on purpose slipped into my camera bag, ooopsie (said with coy smile)

Our bride-to-be was sporting some fine ice on that left hand too.

Be Positive

2010-04-25T20:17:00.003-04:00

Have you ever had one of those weekends that you swear if one more thing goes wrong, you may not be responsible for your reactions? Well, welcome to my weekend.

It was a series upon series of unfortunate events with oh so many highlights that its hard to choose one. But if I had to, I would say its a toss up between the State of Alabama trying to kill me and the receiving of a speeding ticket just as I pulled into my own driveway.

The only positive thing to come out of the weekend was this:

I passed this gentleman as I drove from the grooms hotel (where I shot the boys getting ready), en route to the bride's house (where the ceremony was taking place). And even though I was in a mad hurry, I still pulled over. How could I not? The man was carrying a message for me.

I have no idea what was in his cart, but I know each item had a story and meant something to him.

Road Trip Prep

2010-04-23T16:04:00.009-04:00

I popped the hood and looked for the dip-stick. Pulled it out to get a visual. Does my car need oil?? Hmmmm, hard to tell. What exactly is low and what is just right?? No clue, so I figured putting in a quart wouldn't hurt. But hang on a second, where does the oil go? I see loads of caps and knobs but nothing with a little oil can symbol on top. This is what Husband has trained me to look for, "look for a cap with the picture of a little oil can". But there's nothing. This car was obviously designed for a target market that does not include women. How am I suppose to know where the oil goes now?

I whipped out my camera phone, snap a picture of my exposed engine and send it to Husband with a coy message "there's no oil can symbol. Where does the oil go?" Within minutes, in a discussion over text with attached pictures, the problem was solved. God I love technology sometimes and now I'm set of my road trip. Where am I off to? Florida baby. Yes, I'm second shooting a wedding on Saturday and I'm so excited. I'm all packed, (see below) and ready for my long drive. But I'm going to need a pass on my Photo A Day Challenge tomorrow due to the fact that I'll be flat out at the wedding all day. But I'll be back on track Sunday.

Clothes, equipment, hydration and snacks (healthy & otherwise), everything a girl needs for a long drive and a day of shooting.

I know y'all are probably tired seeing photos of my puppy and kitty, sorry but this weekend Dexter is going to stay with a pet sitter for the first time ever and I'm so nervous and anxious. I'm afraid he's going to feel abandoned and unwanted. I've explained the situation to him over and over again, both to reassure him, and me that everything will be alright. But I not sure he really gets it.

Sorry Dexter, I'll be back as early as I can on Sunday, promise.

Theme Thursday - Rust

2010-04-22T19:10:00.002-04:00

For today's Theme Thursday we are photographing "Rust" and as I drove home this evening a particular yard caught my eye, not for its well manicured lawns, flowing fountain center-piece or blossoming spring flowers but because of the complete opposite. We're talking old cars and lawn-mowers, filing cabinets and washing machines and lord knows what else. Now normally a scene like this would leave me baffled and confused, but this time, with my theme in the back of my head I basically gave myself a high-five and chest-bump. If ever there was a place to find rust, this is where was it. And I wasn't wrong.

This is the not so pretty side of rust.

And to keep things balanced and offer a little yang to the ying, here is the prettier side to rust. The infamous Georgia clay.

Which I thought looked fabulous as a black & white too.

Part of My Day- In Photos

2010-04-21T20:51:00.004-04:00

I'm a road rager, which is not a good thing to be if you live in Atlanta cos traffic is ALWAYS a nightmare. But today for some reason, I didn't feel like dealing with it. So instead I chose calmness, serenity and green tea over white knuckles, fowl language and elevated blood pressure.

Then I used my secret weapon Maggs, to find me an alternative route home, away from the congested highways.

After dinner Husband and I took Dexter on a walk around our property.

But something caught his attention. Something following close behind.

It was Fintan. Fintan didn't want to be left out, so he trotted along behind us.

The boys taking a pit-stop.

Fintan got distracted climbing some trees, so Dexter and I waited for him to catch up. No man gets left behind.

Boys And Their Toys

2010-04-20T23:17:00.003-04:00

Its been an exhaustingly busy day and I want nothing more than to shut my computer down and crawl into bed. But I need to get my photo for today posted. After getting this far, wait, how far am I? Seriously, I don't even know what day I'm on anymore, and I'm waaay to tired to do the math. All I know is that I haven't dropped the ball yet, so lets just keep on keepin on (quote from Frank the Tank, Old School movie)

Anyway, todays photo's are a bit repetitive and random. I set back-button focus up on my camera and was practicing to make sure I was proficient in its usage. Husband's ~~toy~~ antique truck was my subject and I know he's super excited and proud to have this representation of himself out there for all of cyber world to enjoy.

"These photo's are all for you honey. And now you can see that I truly do appreciate how awesome your wee truck is, truly. This was not about me and my back-button exercise. It was about you and your crush on all things pick-up : )"

Greedy Mitts

2010-04-19T22:43:00.003-04:00

Last week I mentioned that my friend & photographer, Laura was shooting an engagement session that she allowed me to tag along on. Completely awesome. Not only that, but knowing that I'm close to making a new lens purchase (totally excited), Laura allowed me to hijack and play with a bunch of her very expensive lenses to help with my decision of which lens to get. Can you say kid in a candy shop?? Unfortunately though, now I want them all. All of the lenses. Boxed and shipped with a huge red bow. So come on Mega Millions Lottery, spit out my number why don't ya?

But while we wait for that to happen, here are some photos I shot of Katie and Billy, an adorable couple getting married in July.

The low sun provided some really good shadow for us to get creative with.

Look at this tree-house. Seriously. I want to live in it. Total penthouse.

Loved these little lanterns that ran the length of the walkway to the tree-house.

A little lake reflect.

And last but not least, Ms. Laura herself. Thanks so much Laura for letting me join you on this shoot AND for trusting your lenses in my very excited, greedy little mitts. You rock!

Out of Focus

2010-04-18T22:06:00.005-04:00

Todays photo of the day is out of focus, I know, but I don't mind cos its a photo of myself and my good friend Tessa. Tessa is an awesome photographer and today we got to hangout for a few hours cos she is helping me with a little project. Hopefully I can share more about my project over the coming weeks, but for now here is myself and Tessa, sorta.

We took the shot using self-timer and out of habit left the camera set to manual, hence the struggle with focus, oopsie. Which is a shame, cos now the world can't fully appreciate how fierce my boots are.

Tessa, thank you soooo much for your help today. It really was greatly appreciated. And thanks too for being as funny and open as you are, it made things so much easier.

Doggie Park

2010-04-17T14:15:00.009-04:00

Big day for little Dexter today. He had his first trip to the Dog Park. For a long time now I've been wanting to take him to the Dog Park, but due to the fact that he can be such a handful at home, I was sure once we got to the park he'd be a handful x 100. Being around all those other dogs would surly drive his already hyperactive tendencies to levels not registered on any chart. And truth be told, I wasn't fully confident in my own abilities to take control should the need arise. Can you tell I haven't been around dogs much? Well there was absolutely no need to worry. Dexter was the perfect dog. He did me proud.

He was actually quite shy when we first arrived. Not sure what to make of the whole situation.

But slowly he started to make friends.

Then it was play time. Dexter is on the right but by the looks of it, that could be a long lost cousin on the left.

He even made some special connections.

By the time we got home, he was spent. Play time can be so very draining.

In other news, Fintan is having quite a day of hunting. He's shown up twice today with 2 lizards, and once again due to the absence of some male muscle, I've had to quieten my inner squealy girl and step up to deal with the rescue and removal.

This little guy I believe will survive. The other guy may not have been so lucky. Lets just say there was blood.

Entrapment

2010-04-16T20:41:00.008-04:00

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS IRISH GIRL PROFANITY .

Its no secret that we women like to test our men every now and then. We ask silly little questions. Play silly little games. Make silly little statements. But men everywhere should be warned, these questions, games and statements, are ALL loaded. Your are being tested. You are being judged. And you better not fail or we will cry.

Today I was guilty of dabbling in a little spousal entrapment. Husband is a big Christina Aguilera fan and this morning on the radio it was mentioned that her marriage may be on the rocks, so I decided to text Husband the news and see his reaction. Here's how it played out:

My text: I just heard Christina Aguilera's marriage is on the rocks.

Husband's text: Nice!

Ladies, you can see that right out of the gate Husband has FAILED his test. That was the wrong answer. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

My text: (loaded with attitude) Yeah, it is nice cos now your marriage is on the rocks too. (insert Irish girl profanity here) #*%^ You.

Husband's Text: Okay okay. I'm just kidding. You're the only girl for me. But could you maybe take some singing lessons?

Oh the bare faced cheek of him.

My text: (insert Irish girl profanity here) *%#^ You.

As a result and for today's photo of the day, I decided to take a shot of my weight room. Yes Ms. Aguilera, I work out. And my workout's include regular weight lifting. Just thought you might want to know that.

Theme Thursday

2010-04-15T14:40:00.006-04:00

If you thought my 28 Day Photo-A-Day-Challenge was tough (or maybe I'm the only one who thinks it is) a fellow photographer and friend, Tasra Dawson is smack in the middle of a 365 Day Challenge. Yes ma'am, Ms Tasra does not play. She is shooting and posting a photo a day for 365 days/1 year and I believe she is well past day 200 at this point. Scary. I'm about 12 days into my own and honestly I'm finding that its not always easy coming up with ideas of what to shot and post day after day. Imagine if you were doing it for 365 days, how would you keep yourself motivated and inspired??

So the other day I stopped by Tasra's blog to see how she keeps the creative juices flowing and came across one tool which she uses and that is "Theme Thursday". Each Thursday a theme is suggested and then its up to you (me) to go out and shoot a photo related to that theme. Sweet, the topic is picked and I simply have to go out and capture it.

This Thursday the theme was negative space and as I parked the car at Target this morning, this sign, riddled with negative space caught my eye. Lucky for me, I had my camera on board and so the image was captured.

Semi-Confession

2010-04-14T19:17:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I confessed to the fact that some where deep inside me lies a girlie girl. A girl who's favorite color is pink. Can't get more girlie than that, can you? Well since my confession I've had some time to think and explore. This thinking and exploring was brought on by a comment my friend Silja left "I don't remember seeing you in pink though" and upon reflection, Silja had a point. I don't actually wear a lot of pink. Hmmm, could it be that pink is NOT my favorite color after all? Then it hit me, WHITE is my favorite color. White and sometimes white's sister, cream/ivory. This is what I'm drawn towards. The simplicity, the purity, the cleanness and freshness is what I really like. It was so obvious I couldn't even see it. For some reason I guess I never ranked white as a real color. Its just white and white is more of a base to build on, right? Wrong. White is actually a color, who knew?

But this is just a semi-confession. I really wasn't lying when I declared pink to be the favorite color because apparently this is my favorite color to accessorize with. Just look at my laptop protector, pink.

Or my Blackberry cover, again, pink. And I've come across more than a couple of scarves in my wardrobe in the pretty shades of pink.

The Down Side of Spring

2010-04-13T21:05:00.007-04:00

Pollen! One word is all that's needed to describe Spring in Georgia. Big dusty clouds of pollen moving through the air, covering every one and everything in a layer of yellow. Its unbelievable. My dog is yellow. My car is yellow. My workout clothes, post run in the the forrest are completely covered in yellow. My cat maybe yellow too, its just harder to tell cos of his ginger color.

So for today's photo of the day I decided to post one picture emphasizing the prettiness of Spring............

.........and a second emphasizing the pollen'ness of Spring. No joke, that is the hood of our car covered in pollen. Just looking at it makes me want to cough and sneeze. If it doesn't rain soon I may have to take matters into my own hands and bust out a 2010 version of The Rain Dance. Heeeey.

Kathryn & Kyle

2010-04-12T21:52:00.006-04:00

They were in the same class at the same college, Georgia Perimeter, for almost a year before they exchanged anything more than shy smiles, side glances or awkward "Hello's". Kathryn thought Kyle was cute, Kyle thought likewise, but timing wasn't right. So for a year they observed each other from a distance. Eventually, at a party the ice was broken, numbers were exchanged and a friendship began. That friendship become something more and now Kathryn and Kyle are engaged and planning their wedding for 2011.

I had only met Kathryn once, briefly before the engagement shoot, but even in those brief moments she radiated a positivity and happiness that was contagious and straight away I knew I was going to love shooting her. Then I met Kyle, tall, handsome, golf fanatic Kyle and I could see straight away why these two were the perfect match.
We had so much fun on this shoot I can't even tell you. It honestly felt like the 3 of us had hung-out on numerous occasions before. They understood my accent, mostly because Kyle has listened to many a Padraig Harington (Irish golfer) interview and laughed at my unique sense of humor, so straight away I loved them. They are such an open and genuine couple and are over the moon excited about planning their wedding and life together and I was beyond happy that I was the one who got to document their engagement.

We shot at Atlanta's Lullwater Park and a little bit on the Emory University campus. It was too hard to choose just a couple of photos to share on the blog cos I had so many favorites, so I've pulled together a slideshow. Click below to check it out.

I'm not going to tell you the secret word I used to get this reaction from Kyle, but it was funn-y.

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW

Sunset

2010-04-11T23:35:00.002-04:00

Today I got to shoot an engagement session with my good friend and amazing photographer, Laura Stone. We shot late into the evening, giving us the opportunity to play around with some amazingly different light. I'm excited to share some of the photos once I get them uploaded, but now its bed time, so this one little teaser from today's session will have to suffice.

Itsy Bitsy

2010-04-10T18:03:00.004-04:00

I packed in a hurry Sunday night. I packed on auto pilot. I pulled together what I normally pull together for my trips with very little thought or consideration for my actual destination or expected climate. It was only as I drove to the airport that my pilot switched from auto to manual and I realized sh*t, I didn't pack a bikini. How does a girl headed to California NOT pack a bikini? Seriously. Its California after all, hot and sunny all year round, right?

So I made an emergency stop at Target en route to the airport and in record time purchased, without trying on, a bikini. Phew, now I felt ready for the trip.

However, upon arrival I discovered that you know what? It actually does get cold in California and IS currently, not very hot. Damn it. Why didn't I just check the weather channel? I promise you, at least 4 times out of 10, I'm a very smart girl.

So my new bikini went all the way to Orange County and never saw the light of day, until I unpacked this afternoon (yes I got back Wednesday, but I've been busy, stop judging). And so it was with good reason that I made it my subject for today's photo of the day.

Workshop Shoot

2010-04-09T15:23:00.004-04:00

Finally, I have my photos from the Jessica Claire shoot sorted and ready to go. I put them together in a slideshow, just cos its a little cuter than packing the blog full of images. But you'll see from the photos that a lot of time and energy went into making this shoot as fabulous as it was, so I want to give a shout out to all the people involved in giving us photographers something so stunning and amazing to capture. The list of all the talent is included below.

TO SEE THE FULL SLIDESHOW OF MY IMAGES CLICK HERE

List of talent. Thank you so much everyone who worked so hard putting together this amazing workshop and shoot.

*Workshop Instructor: Jessica Claire (http://www.jessicaclaire.net)

*Design & Coordination: Joyful Weddings & Events (www.joyfulweddingsandevents.com)

*Design & Floral Design: JL Designs (www.jldesignsandevents.com)

*Hair & Makeup: Erica L. Beukelman 1011Makeup.com

*Paper Goods: Posh Paperie (www.posh-paperie.com)

*Cake & Desserts: Sweet and Saucy Shop (www.sweetandsaucyshop.com)

*Furniture Rentals: Luxe Event Rentals (www.luxeeventrentals.com)

*Linens: Wildflower Linen (www.wildflowerlinens.com) & Fusion Linens (www.fusionlinens.com)

*Ceremony Chairs and Placesetting Rentals: Classic Party Rentals (www.classicpartyrentals.com)

*Veil/Hair pieces: Lo Boheme (www.loboheme.com)

*Sashes: The Treasured Petal (http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetreasuredpetal) & Heart of Light (http://www.etsy.com/shop/heartofligh t)

*Necklaces: RachelleD (h ttp://www.etsy.com/shop/RachelleD)

*Shoe clips: To the Nines (h ttp://www.etsy.com/shop/2the9sshop) & toii (h ttp://www.etsy.com/shop/to ii)

*Bridesmaid Necklaces & Quote Heart: Lisa Leonard (www.lisaleonardonline.com)

*Ties: Tux and Tulle (http://www.etsy.com/shop/tuxandtulle)

*Banner, ring pillow & paper penant: Joyful Joyful (http://www.etsy.com/shop/joyfuljoyful)

In The Works

2010-04-08T18:30:00.003-04:00

I'm working hard to get these posted, the photos from my Jessica Claire workshop that is, but finding available time has not been easy. Stuff just keeps popping up and its affecting my workflow, or lack there of. Also there are so many great photos from this shoot that I think I'm just gonna work on putting together a slide show, we'll see if I can bang that out by tomorrow. Wish a time challenged, not to mention technically challenged girl luck.

Until then here is something to wet your appetite.

I told you this couple was stunning.

And just for fun, here is what was in the face of our bride and groom, a little puddle (not a sea) of photographers. What great sports this couple was.

Stuck In The Middle

2010-04-07T23:16:00.004-04:00

Please allow me to vent. I'm tired and grumpy and I want nothing more than to bitch for a minute. I've just arrived back from California on a 5 hour flight where I was the proud occupant of a middle seat. Gross. Is there anyone out there who enjoys the middle seat?? I didn't think so. Throw 2 burly men with 10 ft long legs in the seats either side of me into the mix and its even more miserable. Not only that but both men were spilling over into my seat, invading my personal space and refusing to give me any elbow room on the arm-rest. So rude and very unattractive I have to say.

Anyway, I'm home now. I'm exhausted and I just want to go to bed. But I need to get my photo posted. Am not sure if this is cheating, but I used my point n' shoot for these particular pics cos I was too lazy to dig my camera gear out of the bag.

Fintan, my cat, is today's subject. Cos he displayed such excitement when I got home tonight. He was so pumped he ran laps around the house and kept lying down at my feet for belly tickles. However, Fintan doesn't love getting his photo taken, at least not at close range. He gets very shy and will avoid eye contact at all costs. So what we got instead was a side profile and sleepy looking head-shot. But I'll take it. Fatigue won't allow me look for an alternative.

Orange County Highlights

2010-04-07T01:38:00.003-04:00

Today's photo challenge was easy, cos today along with 16 other photographers I attend a workshop hosted by Jessica Claire. I've been a fan of Jessica's for a long time and it was awesome to sit and listen to her words of wisdom on all things photo. We even got the opportunity to do an on location shoot with a stunning bride and groom and I can't wait to share the photos on the blog over the next few days. For now here are a few behind the scenes shots of the day.

This is the class getting its baring first thing this morning. And that is a room in Jessica's house. How cool is the wall in the background? Mmm Very.

Here everyone is getting ready to shoot the stunning bride and groom.

Myself and the wonderful Jessica

Jessica's husband, Jeff cooked dinner for everyone, very impressive.

And that's Jeff waaay in the background.

LA LA Land

2010-04-05T23:36:00.006-04:00

Today's post comes all the way from LA LA Land. Ok, I'm not really in LA, I just like that phrase, it makes me giggle. But I am in California, Orange County to be exact and its just a flying visit. A couple of days away from the norm. And I'm going to be honest for a second and tell you today, I had minimum interest in partaking in my Photo A Day Challenge. I've been feeling like crap for the past few days and today it got progressively worse. When the plane landed all I wanted to do was find the hotel and lay down. So I did. And after a quick power-nap I wandered the area surrounding the hotel with camera in tow, determined to capture and post something. I'm a competitor by nature so going to sleep tonight knowing I had not posted a photo, would have kept me wide awake. So here it goes.

A self portrait with a wave for all my friends. Would you look at how long my legs look. Vicious. Love it.

Some of the hills surrounding the hotel.

Not sure if this is a lake or a reservoir, but who cares, water is always a good addition to any scenery shot.

I know this is a little weird but that road reminded me of being inside my own head sometimes. Look at all those signs. Busy, busy. Lots of informations. Too much information. Total confusion. I'm overwhelmed just looking at it.

P.S I'm 3 hours behind my usual time zone, so I may or may not need a little lenience with the time difference.

Happy Easter Y'all

2010-04-04T19:28:00.004-04:00

For today's photo I wanted to do something to reflect the day that's in it. It, being Easter. So I took a walk into Marietta Square on the hunt for some fluffy bunny rabbits and pastel colored eggs in baskets. But you know what I found? Nothing. Seriously. No window displays, no signs saying "Happy Easter" nothing. For a minute I thought I was mistaken, but no, its definitely Easter.

Then I came across a Church who's garden had been decorated with handmade butterflies in fantastic spring colors by one of the local schools. Now we're talkin. And the message on each butterfly was much more deep and meaningful than any fluffy bunny or pastel colored eggs in baskets that I was unable to find.

"Happy Easter Everyone"

Bonus photo. I have to give a shout out to my dog Dexter, who was such a key part of todays Easter themed photo hunt.

Oh The Pain

2010-04-03T21:12:00.006-04:00

Today's photo is of a pair of my shoes. Why? Well because right now I'm hostile toward these shoes.

I bought them for a couple of reasons, but mainly because of their flat ballet like style which lead me to believe that if one was going to spend a very long time on ones feet, say for arguments sake a 2 and a half hour engagement shoot, then these would be the shoes for the job. Well think again. I took them for a test drive yesterday, during my 2 and a half hour shoot and wouldn't you know they tore the heels off me. No joke. Multiple layers of my outer epidermis have been shaved off and today I have deep, deep blisters. So deep I'm unable to wear shoes of any other kind right now. Its flip-flops or nothing. Grrrr, I want to feed these shoes to Dexter (my dog) I'm that hostile. The only good thing they've done is given me a subject for Day 2 of my Challenge.

28 Day Challenge

2010-04-02T23:24:00.005-04:00

I don't have a lot of time to expand right now, the clock is ticking. But this week I got the opportunity to learn and work alongside a group of the most amazing photographers and people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting . As individuals, we could not have been more different, but as a group, we were guided and gutted open by workshop leader, Dane Sanders in a way that took each of us down to our core, and at that level we discovered you know what? We're all not that different after all. Each of us are working towards the same goals. We struggle with similar issues and carry burdens that hold us back. But if your willing to share, be honest and ask, someone, if not everyone, is there and wants to help.

But to push on a bit, cos again, the clock is ticking, at the workshop one of the things I decided to challenge myself with was to take a picture a day for the next 28 days and post that picture on my blog, starting today. And because its close to mid-night and I don't want to fall off the wagon on the very first day I need to get my ass in gear and post my first photo.

So for your viewing pleasure here is today's photo. It's from an Engagement session I shot this evening with the most adorable couple. I'll be posting more photo's next week, but for now here is a sneak peak. Enjoy and wish me luck with my 28 Day Challenge.

Who Does That?

2010-03-31T22:31:00.006-04:00

Who shows up to photography class with no camera? If there was a world record for raising ones hand in the air, then I just smashed it. GUILTY, "I" show up to photography class with no camera. Don't ask me what I was thinking, cos clearly, I wasn't. And having to borrow the teachers camera of one of the assignments, meant having to say out loud, to the whole class, "Hi my name is Karen and I show up to photography class without a camera". "Hi Karen". Oh the shame, and you call yourself a professional??

Who hears a simple question like "What's your favorite color?" and immediately goes into panic mode? Once again, GUILTY.

Its a simple question right? But for some reason it triggered a very stressful and unnecessary internal dialogue with oneself. Its pink, my favorite color is pink, so why couldn't I just say it and own it without all the drama. For some reason it felt like a trick question, like the answer was somehow suppose to reflect something deeper. So instead of announcing loud and proud, I tried to figure out where this was going. Why do they want to know? What is the right answer? If I say pink will I be perceived as feeble and girlie? So maybe I should go with black, I do wear a lot of black and black feels tougher, stronger and more independent, right? OMG! what to say, what to say? What's wrong with being girlie anyway? I am a girl after all. Eff it, here I go "Hi my name is Karen and I like pink". "Hi Karen".

I Blame The Lucky Charms

2010-03-29T22:45:00.003-04:00

“Its ok to sound Irish”, was what Husband said to me the other day when I hung up the phone. He’d been listening to me chatting and noted my effort in trying to sound less Irish. And its true, when I’m talking to new people, people who don’t yet know me very well, I work hard at toning down the accent. Not because I’m embarrassed, ashamed or don’t want to stand out, but because I’m trying desperately to avoid “The Lucky Charms” experience.

True story, when I first moved to the US I found myself in a conversation with someone who’d just been introduced to me. We were doing the usual small talk and chit-chat stuff you do with someone you just met, when all of a sudden dude discovers I’m Irish and right out of nowhere yells “Where’s me Lucky Charms?” It scared the bejaysus out of me and with a nervous laugh I began scanning the room for a couple of guys in white coats to tackle this man to the floor and have him readmitted to the crazy ward.

Later Husband, who was Boyfriend at the time, explained that Lucky Charms was in fact a popular American cereal who’s branding was based largely around a jolly Leprechaun famous for uttering the catch phrase “Where’s me Lucky Charms?”. Oooh, well that explains it. Dude wasn’t crazy, he was just trying to be funny. And now I knew.

The second time it happened, the second time the infamous Leprechaun words were yelled (don’t ask me why people feel the need to yell) at me I was ready. This time I laughed knowingly. I was in the loop. I got it. However, the joke gets old very quickly and when you’ve been yelled at for the 500,078th time “Where’s me Lucky Charms?” it ceases to be funny. But I try not to be rude. Every new person who yells it truly believes that they are being completely original. That no one else has had the wit or wisdom to come up with such a funny Irish connection before now. So I laugh politely to avoid any hurt feelings but make a note to work on toning down the Irishness next time I’m introduced to someone. Just until we get over that initial bump and any urge they may have to yell cereal catch phrases my way.

Here is an image of the Leprechaun who is causing all the problems. This little guy really has some explaining to do.

The Love-Hate Stuff

2010-03-27T13:37:00.005-04:00

Technology: Love it because it keeps me connected, organized, efficient?? (when I'm not getting side tracked by Facebook, blogs, You Tubes etc, I guess I'm efficient), it now comes in pretty girlie colors and for the most part, its small enough to fit in my purse.

Hate it because I am not by nature a technical person. Technology puts the fear of God in me. I will resist it until I can resist no more. I am stone-age. I am give me a pen and a piece of paper age. I am let me read a book I can smell, feel and add to my bookshelves age. The adding to the shelves is very important. It makes one feel smarter than a 5th grader.

But this week technology has pushed me all the way to the edge. I'm tittering and my new Blackberry almost pushed me over. It arrived at a time when HTML, RSS, Layers and mouse over effects were literally kicking my ass. I had all the technology I could handle and now the new Blackberry shows up in a box full of little cables, booklets, CD's and SIM cards. I wanted to cry. So I did what any sane girl would do, I had a 20 second breakdown (angry words accompanied by almost tears) stuffed new Blackberry in a drawer and pretended it never existed. And now I'm begging and bartering with Husband to take this one technical task off my hands. To remove the phone from my sight and just hand it to me when its set up and ready for action. So far no joy, but I'm not done begging and I can be very annoying when I want to be.

Solace Sabotage

2010-03-23T20:33:00.013-04:00

I know its not a library, the bookstore that is, but for some reason, and I believe I'm not alone, when I go to the bookstore I immediately adapt the behavior of a library. My phone goes on silent and I become very aware of the tone and volume of my voice. So imagine my horror last night when I rocked up to the bookstore with the goal of seeking solace in some literature and a green tea and instead found myself with a ringside seat to the cellphone conversation of a teenage girl in the midst of some BFF drama. And we are talkin some major drama. The elevated voice, the waving of the hands and the slapping of the thighs were all tell tale signs that things between these teenage girls, were very serious indeed. "Do you know what she had said?" "....and then I was like" "....Oh no, you don't do me like that" ".....who she think she is?" "and then she was be'in all emotional and I was like, "girl, why you bin all emotional?""

On and on teenage girl went. Saying the same stuff. Going over the same issues at a volume best suited for a crowed night club and not the tranquility of a bookstore. Myself and my fellow bookstore'ers (new word, not yet in dictionary but is used in reference to people who hang out in bookstores. No I didn't just make it up, how dare you) exchanged knowing and supportive glances. Supportive in the hope that 1. teenage girl would wear herself out 2. lose her voice 3. her phone battery would die. Things were looking up when teenage girl uttered the words "hold on hold on, girl wait. My battery's about to die. No, no, I got it right here. Hold on" Are ya kidding me? Teenage girl had her phone charger with her, in her purse and the cheeky little thing starts dragging her chair (more noise) over to the nearest outlet, plugs herself in and without missing a beat is off and running her mouth again. I couldn't take it anymore. This attack on my solace, my me and quiet time was totally premeditated. How rude and I try my best to communicate this to her telepathically and with aggressive, disapproving facial expressions. But she's oblivious and can only think about how she is gonna handle herself once she gets to school tomorrow, "I'ma wait and see what she has to say". And with that, I was out.

However, I hate to end my blog/rant on an aggressive note, so I thought I'd include this silhouette of Husband & Dexter, taken just before sun-set this evening and I believe this is the waltz they're practicing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, it was that time of year again, the time when it's great to be Irish, although it wasn't so great trying to get into an Irish pub yesterday and believe me, we tried 3. Wall to wall and ceiling to floor packed full of people, Irish and otherwise. We couldn't get in the door, never mind finding our way to the bar for a green beer and some chicken tenders, so we left. We left and made our way to a traditional American Sports bar where there was just as much craic but also the ability to grab a seat and order a beverage with some food. Wait a second, I just re-read my last sentence, wow do I sound ~~old~~ mature. Gone are the days when I would see a packed out pub and think "sweet, this place is jumpin, better hurry up and get inside". Now I see the same packed out pub and think "No, this place is jammers. They'll be no seats, no hope of getting to the bar, a queue out the door for the toilet and I won't be able to hear myself think let alone talk". Maturity really does sneak up on a girl when she least expects it.

Anyway, here are a few snaps from our very "mature" St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Chief of Shamrock Police for the evenings festivities was of course my good self. There's me flashing my badge to prove it. Among my many duties was to maintain a very high level of craic and to make sure nobody's beer ever ran empty.

I don't know what Fanz was drinkin but it appears to have taken her head to a place far far away. A place of leprechauns and shillelaghs

This is Nikki and Cuppy. Nikki is Jamaican but this day she went all out flying the green of Ireland. Here we have her fabulous ear-rings.

Which also went well with her green shoes and high-end green and white Coach purse. "Dang Nikki, you went all Atlanta Housewives on us"

I know Me So Well

2010-03-15T06:41:00.002-04:00

I've been working on a project most of last week. A project that is focused on an area which is not a big strength of mine. An area I find challenging, frustrating and emotional. But I'm near the end, maybe one more days effort and it could be complete. I say "could be complete" cos lets be honest here, when something is that challenging for an individual such as myself, I will work hard filling my available time up with anything and everything possible just to avoid going the rounds with my computer. All of a sudden my house needs to be cleaned from top to bottom. And those gutters, well Lord knows when they were last cleared. And while I'm at it I may as well pour the foundation of the new house we're planning on building. You see, so many things need my attention, how could I possibly find the time to put into my project?

Oh the games we play. Luckily I know myself well enough to realize that all I'm doing in participating in a game of avoidance. If it was a yoga pose, I would call it "The Ostrich Pose" because of its head in the sand style reaction to any and all signs of challenge and danger. So with this valuable insight into all things "me", I'm able to push on and force the tantrum throwing kid inside me to sit her ass down and get focused. Its not easy I can tell you, I'm very stubborn when I want to be.

Last week I also forgot to write a fair-well to Peter and Michaela. Peter is a 1500m runner from South African and he and his adorable wife had been staying with us for the past 6 weeks and when I tell you they were the perfect house guests, I am not lying. Every day I came home from work they had a hot meal waiting for me. They baby-sat Dexter (which believe me is a serious challenge I would hesitate to wish on anyone) and Fintan when we needed to duck out of town and they scoured the forrest for firewood when the snowy evening was upon us. They were just a big fat pleasure to have around and the house is not the same without them right now.

This photo was taken at the local supermarket. Why? Why not. We just happened to have a camera. In it we have Peter, Michaela (told you she was adorable), Myself & Cuppy (short for Cupcake)

Hell Ya I'm Fabulous

2010-03-10T18:31:00.001-05:00

Today it rained. Today it rained in a way that could only be best described by those who wrote The Bible. Rain of biblical proportions. Noah's Ark ain't got nothin on us today. Its still raining as I type. It many never stop.

I've been indoors most of the day. There was no real reason for me to venture outside getting my hair all messed up and what not, or so I thought. Dexter had other ideas. Dexter is a dog with lots of energy. He needs space, he needs to be free, he needs to run. Rain keeps Dexter inside and Dexter does not like this. Having reached my breaking point with his chewing up of half the house and basic terrorizing of Fintan, I decided it was time for some drastic action. Both of us were going to have to go for a walk in the Biblical rain. Lord save us.

But rain or not, there is absolutely no reason for a girl such as myself, not to look her most fabulous as she miserably walks her dog in the continuous downpour with the odd flash of lighting and clap of thunder. No reason what so ever. So I put on my most fabulous wet suit, over the cutest little wellies (goulashes I believe is the American word) and hooded it up over a baseball cap. God I can be so trendy it hurts. I have a strong feeling my look will be picked up by many a high end fashion house and debuted as early as Fall/Winter 2011. Seriously, keep an eye out for it.

Here are my cute little wellies. A gift from my very fashion forward parents and perfect for the weather we're having right now.

That is one wet dog but one fabulous dog owner.

This is Dexter's way of thanking me for taking him out. But honestly, no thanks were needed, especially the slobbery, wet kind.

Growing Like A Weed

2010-03-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

He's cute as a button and I'm not just saying that cos I'm his aunt, my whole family agrees that my nephew is adorable. Its been 6 months since I've seen the little guy and let me just say, 6 months in baby terms, is a long time. On our last meeting Evan was, for want of a better word, follicle(y) challenged, think Marlon Brando in his later years and food was still being served a la liquidation (yes, I believe I'm making up words here, so just go with it, its what I do). Now however he has cultivated himself a very fine head of hair and everything, I mean everything, edible of otherwise goes straight into his mouth full of new teeth. He's building an extensive vocabulary in a language designed by himself and working tirelessly on his walking/sprinting skills. All in all while my back was turned, my nephew has been growing like a weed and it was really cool to hang with him all weekend and celebrate the milestone of his 1st birthday.

Evan was cool enough to allow me tag along to one of his daily trips to the Fun Factory and of course I was that annoying aunt with the camera in his face for a small part of the fun, but he didn't seem to mind, actually he thought it was quite funny.

This is the face of a baby post trip down the slide.

Everything in his opinion, looks good enough to eat.

When you ask him to smile, this is what you get. Cutie

Evan's beverage of choice. What a sophisticated little boy. Maybe he's part french.

This is him ordering me to get him a glass.

Bring On The Bouncy Castle

2010-03-04T19:32:00.005-05:00

I'm back in the homeland for a big party. This weekend my nephew turns 1 year old and never one to miss a good party, I've flown to Ireland to help him celebrate. Rumor has it there will be cup-cakes, chocolate as far as the eye can see and drinks of the fizzy, artificial coloring kind normally reserved for the banned list due to its hyper-active properties. But on Saturday, all bets are off. Toddlers and grown-ups alike will be pumped full of sugar and things may very well teeter on the side of "out of control". Throw a big old bouncy castle into the mix and all I can say is "look out kids, Shinks is not afraid to use her elbows in an effort to get on that bouncy castle first". Bring your A-Game children and bring on the bouncy castle.

All My Children

2010-03-01T13:25:00.014-05:00

When you've gone from having 1 pet to now having 2, there is low level desire of wanting to keep the attention showered on both as evenly divided as possible. However, when you have a dog thats still very much a puppy in his mannerisms, is a complete loose cannon and resembles the proverbial bull in a china shop, then your focus tends to be hijackred in one particular direction. Taking your eyes off him is not an option. It can lead to disasters of an enormous kind. As a result the kitty cat, who is the absolute perfect pet, gets lost in the drama.

So having spent a bit of time snapping a few photos of Dexter this past weekend, I felt it only fair to also grab some of little Fintan. Fintan is definitely much calmer than Dexter but a little more challenging to shoot. He prefers to do his own thing and if you want to take some photos, then by all means go for it, just don't expect him to do any kind of sitting, staying or posing. He's all about the candid.

This morning he found his way into, onto and next to the car, so I followed along as inconspicuously as possible and tried to capture the candid.

But guess who showed up wondering what was going on? Yep, our little bull, Dexter. And since I didn't have the heart not to, I took a few more of him too but changed things up with a little Black & White action.

"Honey, You Married MacGyver"

2010-02-27T11:09:00.013-05:00

Right before Husband left to fly to US Indoor Championships this weekend the strap on Dexter's detection collar broke. What is a detection collar I hear you ask. Well, we have an underground wire that runs the perimeter of our property and it sends out a radio signal. If Dexter gets too close to the wire, the signal is picked up by his detection collar and warns him, via a Beep, that he is getting too close to his boundary. If he pushes his luck, which he does often, it will then issue a small shock which he should instantly back away from. I say should, cos little Dexter has been known to hear his Beep but think "f*#k it, I'm goin for it anyway" (yes, my dog has an Irish accent too) and he belts it across the boundary wire leaving his owners (Husband and I, but mostly Husband) in angry, hot pursuit, on foot. Its seriously funny to watch and I wish I had some video footage of the whole fiasco to share.

Anyway, with the strap of the detection collar broken this meant that if left outside, Dexter would be a high flight risk. But staying inside was not a option either, he's way too hyper and Fintan is not a fully fledged fan of his company just yet. So this left me with a few options.

1. Buy a new collar, which would entail sitting down with a booklet full of instructions, in a variety of languages, in an effort to get it programmed. Hmmm? I'm thinking "No" on this one.

2. Wait until Husband gets back on Monday and have him deal with it. Again, "No". We are not what you would call the perfect TV family. We (Fintan, Dexter and I) would go nuts if stuck in the house together all weekend. Someone would not get out of it alive.

3. See if I could find a temporary solution by pulling a MacGyver (popular 1980's TV show).

I went with option 3.

While on a hunt for some safety pins strong enough to withstand the wrath of Dexter I came across one of Husbands old rock-climbing grippy things and straight away I knew this was the answer. And it was. I immediately went to work on the collar and in less than a minute the problem was resolved. OMG, I was so happy for myself. I even went so far as to announce to the world, which is to say I made a phone call to Husband, telling him that he was the proud owner of a very smart wife indeed. Up to this point, I swear he had zero idea. Now thank goodness, he knows.

And of course such intelligence needs to be documented/photographed cos Lord knows when my brain will fire on all cylinders like this again.

I'm not 100% sure but is my dog looking at me with pity? Does Dexter think I'm sad?

After 3 hours of obedience school this week my dog now finally sits and stays on command.

Look, Dexter is morphing into a good dog right before my eyes. So proud.

Its All About The Small Things

2010-02-25T22:27:00.008-05:00

Its the small things that matter, thats what I tell Husband all the time. Its not always about the expensive gifts, the oversized bouquet of flowers or the big shiny diamonds, although once in a while would be nice (wink, wink Honey), but more often than not, its all about the small things. The texts messages. The hidden notes. The little gifts brought home just cos it made you think of me. These are the things that matter. The things that make me smile.

A couple of weeks ago one of my best friends, Jennifer was getting ready to design her new business card. Jennifer is a rockin make-up artist working hard on getting her own business started, so she asked if I would take her head-shots.

We got together on a chilly but dry Sunday morning, set up a mini studio and had a blast working a variety of different looks. Some even had the added touch of lipstick on the teeth, a new and edgy trend both of us felt would never catch on, so we opted to not include these particular photos in the final cut. Instead we went for the shot that Jennifer looked most like herself, natural, fresh and honest.

And can I tell you, when the cards arrived from the printers, I was blown away. The text and layout was simple, yet professional and when I flipped it over, there was Jennifer, my photo, looking stunning and amazing. My smile was as wide as the grand canyon. I was so excited for her and extremely honored to have helped, even in a small way, put together the type of business card she was proud of and one that I know will lead Jennifer towards a thriving and successful business.

Jennifer, you are a smart and driven women. You have a huge heart and even huge’er (yeah, I said that) personality. While my part in your venture is small, I hope it contributes to something much bigger down the line.

And just in case your curious, here is the final result, Jennifer’s business card, front and back.

World Record? Not This Time

2010-02-23T15:01:00.006-05:00

Its true I haven't been very efficient with my updates, apologies for that, life sometimes gets in the way of one's blogging. But I'm happy to report that the pacing went well and if we're going to take it a step further and focus on honesty, well I have to say, honestly, before this race I was terrified.

This was a World Record attempt. The athletes in this race were going to be running hard. They would be following the pace set, trusting it to be exactly what they needed in order to stay on course for a World Record. When I tell you I was feeling the pressure, I was in fact, feeling the pressure. Not to mention that as we were being led towards the stadium for the race, a friend of mine wished me luck and told me "remember, if your not running fast enough, these Ethiopians will just push you out of the way". OMG, like I wasn't nervous enough.

Once in the stadium I started to find some calmness. My head switched into competition mode and my focus began to settle on the job at hand. When the gun went off I got out hard to ensure my position at the front of the pack and to take control of the pace. I was about a half a second too fast on lap one, but with a little tweaking I was spot on for the next series of laps. At this point there were no sign of Ms. Burka clipping at my heels or throwing me aggressive elbows in a effort to get me out of her way. So I took that as a sign of encouragement and powered on with a sense of things going as planned. Once I reached the point where it was time to step aside, I did so as efficiently as possible and then took a place in the in-field so I could watch and cheer the rest of the athletes on towards the World Record.

Sadly, the result was not a World Record, but Burka did manage to set a new Stadium Record and the rest of the field followed with a string of SB's (season's best), PB's (personal best's) and NR (National Records). As a pace-maker seeing results like that, makes you feel like a proud mom. Like you somehow had a hand to play in the successful outcomes of these athletes. You set them up, you gave them the tools and when it was time to let them go, they exceeded your expectations. Ok, thats probably taking it a tad too far but you get the idea. Basically I was happy with my job and I was happy with the results achieved by all the athletes.

And here is a copy of the results achieved. And there is that awful "DNF" next to my name. Ahhhh, I swear I'll never be comfortable seeing that. Its my personal and egotistical belief that that, is completely unnecessary.

15:25 - ONE MILE - Women OFFICIAL RESULTS
1 Gelete BURKA ETH 4:23.53 SR
2 Kakedan GEZAHEGN ETH 4:24.10 PB
3 Maryam JAMAL BRN 4:24.71 PB
4 Sylwia EJDYS POL 4:27.75 PB
5 Ingvill MAKESTAD NOR 4:28.49 NR
6 Wioletta FRANKIEWICZ POL 4:29.27 PB
7 Helen CLITHEROE GBR 4:29.46 PB
8 Hilary STELLINGWERFF CAN 4:30.89 PB
9 Charlotte BEST GBR 4:32.29 PB
Karen SHINKINS IRL DNF

Global Pacing

2010-02-17T22:41:00.007-05:00

This weekend I'm on the pace-making trail again, but this time we're not going local, we're going global. Yes, I'm off to Birmingham, England where I'll be pacing the women's mile at the Aviva Grand Prix and I'm pretty excited/nervous about the whole affair. Why? Well, the nerves were triggered last night when Husband read an article from the IAAF website (which is the International track federation website) saying that 1500m athlete Burka was making an attempt at breaking the world record for the mile in Birmingham this weekend.

Initially I thought he said "Bertha" was making an attempt at the record and honestly, in my twisted mind, Bertha did not sound like someone who could break a world record for the mile. Bertha sounded, for want of a better word, well, bigger. A buxom type girl if you will, who might be more comfortable power cleaning 4 Mini Coopers at the World Weight-Lifting Championships in Latvia or some other Eastern European country instead of trying to run 8 laps of a track. So I told him not to worry, I could handle old Bertha. But her name was not Bertha, her name is Burka, as in Gelete Burka, World Indoor Champion from Ethiopia. Now this changes everything. When it comes to distance these Ethiopian's do not play. They are hardcore and have endurance for days. I will definitely have to be on my A game this weekend if I'm to help pace Burka to her World Record. There are serious times to be hit at every point of the race and no room for error what so ever. But I believe I'm ready. Training went well this week, so all thats left to do is show up, wish myself and Ms. Burka luck and haul ass right from the gun.

I'll be leaving my laptop behind in Atlanta, all in the name of traveling light, but I'll be back in the US Sunday evening and if there is anything big to report in the mean time, then I'll hijack someone else's computer in an effort to share.

Our Very Own Winter Olympics

2010-02-14T20:59:00.009-05:00

We just can't get a break here in Atlanta. This has been the coldest, wettest Winter in many many decades. Mother Nature is mad and she just wont let up. This past weekend saw yet another round of dropped temperatures and several inches of snow-fall. And while its cold and inconvenient, it sure is pretty. Our little property was transformed into a Winter wonderland and I couldn't resist whipping out the camera to capture this totally lick-able scene.

If you look closely, you can just about make out our driveway.

This picture makes me want Christmas back, bad.

Saturday morning I was up early enough to capture the magical light from the sunrise.

The lake is in the right-hand corner of this shot, but its hard to see cos its covered with a film of ice. Not thick enough to skate on this time round, thank god.

Dexter couldn't get enough of the snow. He ran, rolled and ate so much that he threw up a big glob of clear, icy liquid.

Fintan had a blast too but was confused about where the earth had disappeared to, so he kept burrowing and burrowing until he reached a surface he recognized.

Struck Down

2010-02-09T20:31:00.005-05:00

I made it to Boston. In the face of record breaking snow storms that threatened to ground all flights in or out of the East Coast, I made it. The snow-storm decided last second to skip the Boston, New York area and dump mostly on the nations capital of Washington. Good for me, bad for the people of Washington.

However, upon arrival in Boston, not long after I checked into my hotel, I had a surprise gift waiting for me in my room. The gift? The flu. Yep, we're talking full on body ache, head ache, sore throat and temperatures ranging from hot and sweaty, get these covers off me, to cold and shivery and please page reception for some extra blankets. It was a disaster. Luckily I didn't race until late Saturday evening, so I stayed in bed all day. Drinking fluids and popping flu pills. I got up a couple of hours before the race, convinced I wouldn't be able to run. But I decided to take it one step at a time starting with the first step of actually getting out of bed and seeing how things go from there.

Once I started my warm-up I'd made the decision that I would be pacing this race. So now all I had to do was stop thinking like a sick person for the next hour so I could get the job done. And I did get it done. I ran well, hit the targets set for each point of the race, stepped aside when it was time and let the rest of the field battle it out to the finish. 20 minutes after the race, I was a struggling patient again. 1 hour after the race, I'm grumpy, needy and begging to be brought back to the hotel so I can lay down. I'm a childish mess and all I want is my bed and someone to take care of me. Luckily I got both, Husband saw to that. One thing I will say about my illness, it has given me quite a deep and husky voice, compliments of a sore throat and cough and I swear my singing skills have improved to the level of Toni Braxton or Bonnie Tyler as a result. Were I to audition for American Idol right now, I feel confident Simon Cowell would be handing me a ticket to head straight for Hollywood, my voice is that good. I just need to get these minute long coughing fits under control and we should be in business. Coughing fits are not sexy I hear.

In the mean time, here is a photo of pace-maker extrodinare, me. Taken this very weekend in Boston. Thanks Photo Run for forwarding this.

Girl Interrupted

2010-02-04T20:44:00.005-05:00

To say its been one of those weeks is a complete understatement. If I was a man, I think I'd be working a comb-over right now. Stress affects us all in different ways, for some reason men loose their hair, or so my dad's been telling me for years. I however appear to have walked onto the set of some 1920's movie, you know, where motion is captured unrealistically fast. Where the cops are chasing the bad guys, or the cowboys are chasing the Indians in that jerky, fast-forward, wobbly style of film making of the time? I am the classic chicken with her head cut off. So much to do. No idea where to begin. Nothing is getting done. Solutions are nowhere to be found. Can't focus. Can't focus. Stress levels are ballooning. Emotions are high. I want to cry. No, I think I want to laugh. No, wait, I definitely want to cry. Hold on, where's Husband? Maybe if I yell at him? Yes, I know its not fair, but do I need to remind you "FOR BETTER OR WORSE". "FOR BETTER OR WORSE I TELL YOU". Well welcome to worse.

I am a classic Girl Interrupted right now and its exhausting. Living inside my brain this week has been nothing but draining. I'm so ready for the weekend. I'll be flying up to Boston Friday after work where I'll be pacing the women's 1 km at the Boston Indoor Games. Really looking forward to that. The change of scenery. The opportunity to burn off some nervous energy on the track is probably just what I need right now. That or a fruity girlie cocktail complete with mini umbrella, preferably pool side on some tropical Island. Hmm, maybe that can be the plan B.

I'm A Horrible Person Me

2010-02-01T21:14:00.008-05:00

One thing I noticed about us Irish people, and it took a move across the ocean before I realized this about myself and my peeps, but we love our "Double Singular". What do I mean by that? Well, we appear to be in the habit of referring to ourselves twice in any given sentence. For example: "I love pizza me". Note the "I" at the beginning of the statement and then the perfectly placed "me" at the very end? Don't ask me why we do this. Don't ask me how it started. I have no idea. My guess is that we want to leave the listener with absolutely no doubt whatsoever that we are in fact talking about ourselves.

Having said that, I now have to confess, "I'm a horrible person me". Today I did something I'm not comfortable or happy about. Today I reacted in anger and frustration to a situation that could have been handled for want of a better word, well, better. But I allowed the red mist impair my vision and cloud my mind and in the moment I lost all reason and logic. As a result someone I care about was hurt, not physically but emotionally and let me tell you, it does not feel good. Quite frankly, it makes me feel like poo. But I couldn't take back. It was already out there and no fancy DeLorean time machine with built in flux capacitor could bring me back to the point where I still had a chance, a chance at handling it differently. It was too late for that. Eventually my friend and I did get the opportunity to talk and I was able to take full ownership of my less than savvy reactions and apologize, which has helped a little. The rest I will just have to learn from and move on.

But in a effort to pick the mood up a little and not end the blog on such a somber note, I'd like to mention a few positive things that have happened over the past few days.

- My pace making job in New York went well and I even managed to get 135 seconds of fame on ESPN's TV coverage of the meet.

- The car in front of me at the toll bridge today decided to pay my toll too. Good people still exist.

- The coffee shop in our office building finally fixed their cappuccino machine.

- Finally thank you to Peter and Mikala for forcing me to try the homemade Moroccan soup with peanut butter, which I was adamant I would hate due to the presents of peanut butter. As it turns out, you were right, that stuff was soooo good.

Track & The City

2010-01-29T13:58:00.003-05:00

I'm in New York City, don't hate. I'm here for the weekend competing at the Melrose Games. Well, I use the word "compete" loosely, my real job here is to pace-make the women's mile and I'm super excited. I love to pace-make. Pace-making gives me a good reason to stay fit & in shape and allows me to remain a competitor in the world of Track & Field without being a competitor, if that makes sense. Aaaand I get to spend the weekend in New York.

Our hotel is on 7th Avenue, aka Fashion Avenue, aka Shopping Heaven for Women. Sweeeeet, and I'm just back from strolling the icy cold, deliciously busy, over crowded streets of New York and of course I have some shopping bags in tow. Honestly, I tried not to get sucked in. I tried hard not to be a New York shopping cliche, but I failed. Oh well, at least I tired, right?? (Don't worry, I'm not buying my bull either).

But one place I did find myself unexpectedly, Parsons New School of Design. OMG, I was internally screaming like a little girl at a Jonas Brothers concert. Unless your a Project Runway fan, this will make zero sense and have absolutely no impact on your day whatsoever. However, I am a fan. Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum are my total celebrity BFF's. True they have no idea, but they just haven't had the opportunity to meet me yet. Given time, the 3 if us will be inseparable.

As I strolled passed the entrance I saw a small group of what I can only assume are some of next season's designer hopefuls. The nervous chain-smoking. The aggressive caffeine consumption were all telltale signs. These people were under intense pressure and stress, possibly sewing for their lives within the design rooms at Parsons. So very exciting. I tried to take a mental photo of the faces I saw, just so I can look out for them next season.

Now I'm back in my hotel room, chilling and surfing and saving my energy for a night of fantastic track performances at Madison Square Garden. I wish myself a good solid job as pace-maker.

"And the Award for Best Performance in a Pet-Sitting Role Does NOT Go To..."

2010-01-23T19:00:00.007-05:00

My intents were good. That’s all I’ll say, but I’ve never babysat another persons pet before and my inexperience landed me in some major doo-doo today, literally.

One of Husband’s athlete’s was competing in Arkansas this weekend and while she was out of town, I offered to swing by her house a couple of times a day to make sure Alex (that’s the dog) was fed and walked.

My first visit was yesterday evening. I arrived to find little Alex sitting obediently in her carry crate just as Nikki (that’s Husband’s athlete) had said. Alex was pumped to have some company and when I opened the door to her tiny crate, she bounced out of it like some sort of wind-up toy on speed. We played and chased for a while and when it came time to put her back into her crate and leave, I couldn’t do it. The idea of her being home alone in her little cell was too much, so I packed up her bed, some toys, a leash her food bowl with food and took her back to my house. This is where things started to go bad.

Upon arrival at my house, I set Alex up in the spare room. I placed her bed in what I deemed to be the coziest corner of the room. Her food and water bowl were close by and her toys weren’t too far away either. I let Alex out of her crate expecting her to prance right over to her bed, climb in and settle down for the night. Mmmm, that never happened. She was very stressed out in her new environment. She paced and yelped and gave me looks that fluctuated between anger and pleading, “how could you do this to me? Where the hell am I?” “Pleeease, get me out of here. Take me home.” This was starting to feel like not such a good idea, but I left the room thinking she would settle. Even with her constant scrapping at the door. Even when the scraping turned to jumping. Even when the yelping never stopped, I truly believed she would settle. But she didn’t, so I decided she might feel a little safer and more secure if I put her back into her crate. But no, that did not work either and she continued through the night in cycles of yelping and silence.

At 7am I decided the best thing to do was take her back to her own house. I walked into the room she was staying in and was instantly slapped in the face with the ripe, fresh smell of poo. Oh God, this is bad. I went over to the crate and looked inside. Not only had Alex pooped in her crate but she had also been twisting and turning in it for God knows how long. This was gross to the max. Times a hundred billion. Bad, bad, bad all the way to the bone. I immediately open the crate door and when I tell you she couldn’t get out of there fast enough, she-could-not-get-out-of-there-fast enough and who could blame her. But now she was belting it around the room with her tiny poo paws, putting poo everywhere. I scooped fecal Alex up in one hand and the fecal crate in the other. The crate went outside the door and Alex when straight into the bathtub where I spent 20 minutes or so apologizing and scrubbing poo off her head, paws, back and belly. It was gross. Once Alex was clean and dry, thank you my trusted hair-dryer, I went outside to deal with the crate. And honestly the less said about that the better. Lets just say there was gagging.

Once all the poo had been washed away, I decided it would be best to walk Alex before we left, just in case she wasn’t completely done with her bathroom situation. But even that was no fun. Dexter was so excited to see our little guest that he couldn’t stop himself from dive-bombing her ever time she tried to walk. He would sprint towards us hard & fast and right at the last second, right when you feared impact of the worst kind, he would bail off to the left or right and circle around for another go. It was a disaster. The whole thing was a complete disaster. And rather than put this poor little poochie through any more misery, I loaded her up and took her home.

I don’t imagine Nikki will ever let me pet-sit for her again. But can I just say, in my defense and as a closing statement, my goal heading into this was not for Alex to end up rolling around in a tiny space with her own feces, but was for her to spend the weekend hanging and bonding with some new friends and not sad and lonely at home, waiting and pining for Nikki. That and I did pick up her mail too. I rest my case.

Here are some photos of little Alex. Taken upon her clean and safe return home.

Gluttony - Check

2010-01-21T20:31:00.005-05:00

One of the 7 Deadly Sins, "Gluttony". Tonight I am a walking/slow moving/rolling example of that. Waaaay too much Chinese food, its true. What can I say? When I like something I have no self control. Its all or nothing. Sadly, tonight it was all and now I CAN-NOT move. Oh well, opportunity to catch up on some trashy TV, that's what I say. Jersey Shore anyone?? Maybe A la Mode? There's always room for ice-cream, right?

The Dobrasz Family

2010-01-17T19:49:00.017-05:00

Last week I was thrilled and excited to get the opportunity to shot my co-worker and friend, Gina’s adorable little family. Gina and I had been trying to hook up this shot since before Christmas but between one thing and another, it never happened. Last weekend however, it did and wouldn’t you know that was the week Georgia faced its coldest temperatures in something like 80 years. Remember our frozen lake, yeah, it was that cold. But neither of us was prepared to cancel and with hypothermia nipping closely at our heels, we kept it movin and shot as fast as we could.

As miserably cold as it was, the Dobrasz family showed up smiling and giddy. Gina brought her larger than life personality which kept us both laughing like a bunch of disobedient school girls. John brought sophistication and maturity and kept things moving at a good pace, least any of us get stricken down with the frost bite. Baby Oliver was a complete trooper. So easy-going and mellow, for all he knew, we could have been shooting on a beach in Miami. The only time he came even close to complaining was when hunger started to kick in.

Gina and John, thank you so much for letting me shoot your yummy little family. You are both the perfect ying, to each others yang and little Oliver, well he’s displaying the best of both worlds. The only thing I ask is that next time we shoot, lets try giving Spring, Summer or Fall a go. Just an idea ; )

How cute is this family?

No cold is gonna keep this little guy from gettin down and dirty.

Is it wrong to say how much I want Gina's coat. Love it.

Oliver's pink nose is the only clue to how cold it really was.

Love'in this shot.

Look at those teeth.

Oliver is coming up to his 1st birthday, so he's anxious to get his walking skills up to par for the big day.

The Music Doesn't Lie

2010-01-16T15:01:00.017-05:00

I've always proclaimed that I'm a child of the '90's, and by that I don't mean I believe I was born in the the '90's, I know thats not true, sadly. I was definitely born in the 70's, the higher end of the decade thank you very much, but my whole adult life I believed that during the 80's I was too young and very uninterested in anything to do with music or fashion. My biggest concerns during that time were do I ask Santa for a bike this year or is that just too much? Will my new trainers make me run faster than my old trainers. Why won't my brother let me play football with him and his friends? "Cos your a girl" he told me. What?? That doesn't make sense. If I get a My Little Pony it has to come with a hairbrush ("Daaaaad (tears streaming down my face) it doesn't have a hairbrush. Its no good without a hairbrush, how am I suppose to brush his tail?? No I can't use my own one, its too big").

As far as music and fashion went, I had little or no interest, or so I thought.

Yesterday as I'm creeping my way along the soul destroying Friday evening traffic here in Atlanta, I'm listening to a radio station that's doing an "80's Weekend" and there I am, movin, shakin and singin at the top of my lungs to Wham "....I don't want your freeeeeedom, I don't want to play around, I don't want nobody baby......lalalalalala....girl-all- I-want-right-now-is you, do-do-do-do000h".

The Madonna classics like Material Girl. Then there was the "Its Raining Men" song by a group I can't remember and honestly thought was circa 1970 something anyway. Either way I'm well impressed with song word recalling abilities until a thought stops me dead in my mental tracks. Wait a second, am I in fact a child of the 80's and not the 90's as previously thought?? Noooo, surly not. Come to think of it I do remember back-combing my hair, stacking jelly-bracelets from wrist to elbow and teaming my little black ankle boots up with leg-warmers, but I could have sworn that was the early 90"s, was it not??? I don't suppose the radio station was confusing their 1980's and early 90's music were they?? This is a real blow I have to say. The radio station has thrown a complete spanner in the works. I now have to re-think my personal history timeline and try and figure out who it is I really am. I just don't now anymore. Thanks alot George Michael, Madonna and all your other 1985 buddies. You've succeeded in making me feel, of all things, OLD. Rude!

Hook, Line and Sinker

2010-01-12T20:20:00.008-05:00

Finally I had some downtime. A block of about 30 minutes where I had nothing that needed doing, nothing urgent anyway. Nowhere I had to be. No one I needed to meet. Nothing that needed cooking, cleaning or folding. I had this 30 minute window where I could switch my brain off from a very intense day at work and a draining commute home in the miserable Atlanta rush-hour traffic. Finally, I had an opportunity to watch me some trashy, mind-numbing but completely addictive reality TV.

True I could have used that 30 minutes to find out how many points up or down the DOW and NASDAQ had closed at today. To brush up on my world history compliments of the History Channel or help figure out the current condition of the earth's permanent eco-system courtesy of National Geographic. But seriously, where's the fun in that? And it's a rhetorical question, cos y'all know the answer, if your honest. I refuse to believe I'm the only rubber-necker of train wreck TV. Refuse.

Anyway, there I was comfortable and ready. Remote in hand. Moving up and down and up and down the current TV listings. But there was nothing on. I continue "paging up" and "paging down". I must be missing something, there can't be NOTHING on. Not a Kardashian, not a cat-fighting model wannabe, not a celebrity refusing to believe they really do belong in rehab. Nothing. I'm mad, but I have to watch something. I promised myself 30 minutes of trashy TV and I'll be damned if I'm not going to get it.

Enter Cindy Crawford and her "Meaningful Beauty". Oh yes, I was desperate, I went down the infomercial route. Don't judge, at least I didn't settle on Vince (of the ShamWow fame) and his headset, blatantly stolen from Madonna's 1990 "Blond Ambition Tour". I have more class than that. Instead I allowed Cindy, who lets face it, looks amazing for a 40-something year old, convince me that her melon, enzyme, antioxidant extract beauty products will be the answer to all my ageless skin needs. She threw out all the key words, "increased collagen production", "removal of crows feet and dark circles", "radiant", "firm", "glowing", oh Cindy stop, you had me at "crows feet". Where is my phone and where the hell is my wallet? I need to be one of the first 500 callers, if I want to double my purchase for half the price. "Damn it phone, where are you?". "Hurry, there are only 8 minutes left to take advantage of this once in a lifetime offer". "Shut up, I can't find my phone". "There you are phone, now what's that number?"

Sitting there waiting for the phone number to reappear on screen gave me just enough time to take hold of my senses. Was I seriously on the verge of buying something from an infomercial? You've got to be kidding me. Who am I right now? I don't recognize myself. I am the mocker of all things infomercial, not a willing participant. How did Cindy rope me in like this? Obviously when I switched off my brain in preparation for some mindless TV, I'd switched off my common sense too, as a result I almost fell for it, hook, line and sinker. See how dangerous an emotionally drained girl with cell phone and wallet at only an arms length away can be?

The Big Freeze Hits Georgia

2010-01-09T23:04:00.000-05:00

This has been the coldest week Atlanta has seen in something like 84 years. Snow and ice as far as the eye can see right now. The roads are like glass and the news is full of stories of cars skimming across surfaces in somewhat of an automobile Ice Capades fiasco. Its a complete disaster and I'm doing my best to drive as little as possible, least I end up in a unwanted waltz with fellow drivers.

The exciting part of all this is that our lake is frozen, nice and thick. Not thick enough for yours truly to attempt a walk on it, I ain't crazy, but enough for Husband to risk life and hyperthermia to get out there and skate, he is crazy. I was not a big supporter of this adventure, not one bit and I watched on with my stomach in my mouth, my heart racing and my cell phone close at hand as I tried to plan out what the rescue attempt would look like should Husband go plummeting through the ice. Nerve wrecking. But it got worse. Dexter and Fintan also wanted in on the action. For some reason they were loving the frozen lake. Late last night Fintan made a break for it and headed straight for the lake where he proceeded to do sprints up and down the lake surface in a very surreal, very Disney like manner. Dexter joined Husband for a bit of a glide around this morning and Fintan just opted for a wee stroll this time around.

The good news, besides the fact that everyone survived the experience, is that we captured some of this craziness on camera, photo and video. So check it out.

Fintan is a little shy at first.

But soon he's off and running.

The lake, frozen.

The Husband, actin crazy.

Not sure why he has his hockey stick. Maybe to pull himself out should it all go wrong.

To see a video of Husband and Dexter get all Ice Capadey, click HERE

To see a video of Fintan take a stroll, click HERE

Bikini's? Now? Are You Serious?

2010-01-06T21:27:00.005-05:00

As soon as I walked into Target I saw them. Bikini's, in all colors and styles imaginable. Horror of all horrors. It just can't be bikini season already, it just can't. I'm still in the throws of dealing with the repercussions of a very over indulgent Christmas. Vegetables be damned. Workouts be damned, its Christmas and I WILL eat carbs layered with fat.

But now the party is officially over, the bikini's have seen to that. Yet, instead of me lunging my way towards the aisles filled with fruit & vegetables and lean proteins, the good stuff that would kick-start my detox and re-toning, I feel more inclined to lunge towards the potato chips and refined sugars. I blame the stress. I blame the pressure. I blame the bikini. How dare you guilt me so early into the year. I'm still wearing a hat, scarf and gloves for goodness sake. Its too soon. Sit tight, lay low and wait for your moment.

Kim - Life In Between

2010-01-04T20:38:00.001-05:00

Right before Christmas we had our good friend Kim come visit us all the way from Belgium. Kim has been part of our lives for almost 4 years now. She and her good friend Helena first showed up on our doorstep as interns looking for 3 months work experience in the world of sports management as part of their college courses. Now having worked hard and impressed Husband so much, Kim has remained part of Doyle Management Group (Husband's company), helping co-ordinate athlete logistics once they arrive in Europe each summer.

Husband is now working on updating his company's information package and while Kim was here he hired me to get some up-to-date headshots. However, Kim and I decided to take it one step further and went for a full on shoot.

We did this for a number of reasons; cos Kim is uber fabulous of course. She has finally finished her college studies and is ready to start her life. But she's not quite sure what it is she wants to do. Or, she is but can't quite figure out the best way to get there. She is in that "In-Between" phase and we all know that can be a very frustrating place to be, but at least she has a bunch of photos documenting her life right now, something to reflect on in a few years when she is wildly successful and happy.

Kim, thank you so much for being a great model. You look fabulous in every photo. You are destine for great things and in time you will figure it all out. No rush. Enjoy the ride.

This was the very first shot I took of Kim. Headshot sorted in the first take, now we could have some fun.

We shot in a small part of Atlanta known as Cabbagetown. This place is unique and has tons of character.

This is one of my favorite shots from the session.

Kim is a big reader and deep thinker.

She also loves fabulous shoes. Smart girl. Must be all that reading.

Up for the challenge of walking across skinny beams in her fabulous shoes.

Oops, going.....

.......going

Oh, almost gone. Nice save.

Tapping into a little childish action.

Loved the different wall types here.

The wall says it all.

Kim saw this old VW Bug and really wanted to get a shot with it. This shot turned out to be another one of my favorites. Very urban decay.

This one we took as a gift for Husband. He loves him some pick-ups.

Holiday Catch-Up

2010-01-02T13:29:00.010-05:00

“Sweetheart, I promise to try and not to get too white-trash. Living here is gonna make it hard, but I’ll do my best”.

Husband - Jan 1st, 2010

Not really the New Years Resolution I was expecting to hear out of Husband’s mouth and after the initial shock and horror of discovering that being nonwhite-trash is a constant, daily struggle for him, I was grateful for his honestly & trust and I promise, with all my heart, to be the perfect sponsor and work tirelessly to keep him on a path NOT bound for 8 Mile.

But lets deal with the obvious, my lack of blog presence this Festive Season. It really has been a jam packed Christmas with very little downtime. But I’m not complaining, not in the least. I got to catch up with my extended family in Boston, then my parents and younger brother flew over from Ireland for a week to hang with us at our new home. Time with family, no complaints there.

If I was one of those annoying voice-over disclaimer people you hear at the end of radio ads for new cars and bank loans, my Christmas would sound a little something like this (please imagine it read at high-speed, ala disclaimer dude)

Day before Christmas Eve, leave work, fly to Boston.
Christmas Eve start the morning off with a little cross-country skiing, cos least we forget, it snows in Boston at Christmas. Last minute shopping. Dinner with all my Boston in-laws. Meet newest nephew, 6 week old James and play lots of basketball with other nephew, almost 2 yr old, Paul.
Breakfast at brother and sister in-laws. Opening of gifts. Play a little more basketball with almost 2 yr old, Paul. Power walk before big Christmas Day feast. Relax the rest of the evening on the couch with mother-in-law watching marathon “Law and Order” episodes, perfect.
Day after Christmas Day, also known as St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland, fly back to Atlanta and wait the arrival of my parents flight from Ireland. But alas, delayed, delayed, delayed. Final arrival time, 1.30am, yes, the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Later, as in a much more reasonable Sunday morning hour, parents and brother meet Dexter, and re-met Fintan. Stroll around the house and surrounding areas. Power breakfast of eggs and bacon, then boat tip on the lake.
Monday & Tuesday Shinks had to work, but Wednesday I took my parents and brother to “Dialog in the Dark” exhibition. If this exhibition should come to a town near you, go, its amazing. The premise behind the exhibition is to experience life as a blind person. You are in total darkness with nothing but your cane, your 4 remaining senses and your guide, who by the way is an actual blind person, to help you navigate your way from room to room. It really is amazing and a big eye opener if you will, to the daily challenges of being blind. After that we drove to Chateau Elan for some lunch and a tour of the winery, complete with wine tasting, yummy.
Thursday, plenty of shopping and dinner to bring in the New Year.
Friday, parents and brother fly back to Ireland.

And there it is. The Christmas catch-up. Hopefully that explains my serious lack of blogging and my efforts to get back on track. It really was a great Christmas and I got to spend plenty of time with some of the most important people in my life. Now I’m looking forward to a New Year full of possibilities and challenges. My big wishes for myself heading into 2010 is to step outside my comfort zone more. To do things that scare and intimidate me. To take a few more risks. I believe I’m risk avert by nature so I’m working on dipping my toe in the water of risk a little bit more in 2010. I also want to be more positive. Believe it or not, most who know me will probably believe, but I am prone to a little skepticism and negativity. So this year I will be challenging myself to view things in a more positive way.

I wish myself luck and lets see how it goes.

Here are a bunch of snaps from my parents visit.

My brother, Dad & Husband prepare the boat for lake launch.

There they all go, happy out.

There was no way Dexter was getting left out of the action.

Lovin every minute of it.

This is Chateau Elan where I took my parents for some lunch and a tour of the winery.

This is the part of the tour when we got to taste plenty of wine.

Bottoms up!

Alfa Shinks

2009-12-20T18:07:00.004-05:00

The arrival of Dexter really has me working on my alfa skills. Never have I used the word "No" so much.

"No" - to overly excited leaps at our torso's

"No" - to tearing up his new bed

"No" - to licking my jeans

"No" - to licking sawdust

"No" - to eating planks of wood

"No" - to ferocious leaps at the door when we leave the room

"No" - to eating paper

"No" - to dragging me off course into random wooded areas when I'm suppose to be taking you for a walk.

Basically everything he does right now is a big fat "NO". This guy has so much learning to do. Husband believes I have a lot of learning to be myself. Apparently when I tell Dexter "No" my tone is not aggressive enough and he can see, smell or hear my lack of conviction. However when a girl is all dressed in her finest for dinner and poochy does his signature lunge and lick, complete with muddy paws, then does a girl tap into the aggression needed to convince Dexter that you know what, "No", does actually mean "No".

We have a ways to go, Dexter and I and if we don't start showing improvement soon, both of us are headed for obedience school in the New Year. We've been warned.

Room For One More

2009-12-18T18:57:00.007-05:00

I wanted to write a creative, witty intro. A verbal drumroll if you will. Something that would've had you on the edge of your seat, waiting, reading, wondering what in the world I was going to come out with next, but alas, the creative juices are not flowing tonight, so I think I'm just gonna have to come right out and say it.

Today, well yesterday really, Husband and I welcomed the arrival of Dexter Bruin Shinkins-Doyle to our family. Yes, we got a dog. No, it was not planned. Well, not planned to happen yesterday, but we had talked about getting a dog eventually. How can you live on 12 acres and not at the least get a dog? It would be a sin of some sort somewhere to not let someone, other than ourselves enjoy it. So yesterday was the day. Husband text me early in the morning telling me he was at the animal shelter. Straight away I knew we were in trouble. If you've ever been to one of these shelters you know how heart wrenching and emotional it can be seeing all these abandoned dogs and kitty's. Unless you have a heart of stone, which contrary to popular belief, I don't, there is no way you are leaving without something. So all day at work, I prepared myself for the fact that we would be getting a dog that very day. And we did.

Dexter is almost a year old. He's an Australian Collie with a dash of something else and when I tell you he is hyper, he is HY-PER. Jumping, licking, running and basically energy for days. We really have our work cut out for us in training this little fella and I can tell you right now, I'm not going to be an excellent trainer. When Husband started talking about snap-collars and hitting on noses, I almost cried. I am completely incapable of dishing out harsh training tactics. Husband is going to have step up and be the bad guy here.

Little Dexter Bruin Shinkins-Doyle

I'll tell you who's not impressed with the new addition, little Fintan Alabaster Shinkins-Doyle. So far we've managed to keep them separated. Supervised visits on opposite sides of the window is as close as they've gotten for now. Dexter resides in the laundry room or barn until we can figure out the best way for them to co-habit, peacefully.

That Time of Year

2009-12-15T18:48:00.007-05:00

In no particular order, I love Christmas. I love that it forces us all to make the effort to see friends and family that we just don't see enough of throughout the year. I love Christmas morning and the gift giving, especially if I know I've got someone something they were not expecting and they LOVED IT. I love the Christmas movies and tv specials. I love having a fire place and arging with the family over board games. I love having chocolate for breakfast, guilt free. I love not having to get up for work. I love to take long walks/runs in the cold. I love that I live somewhere it actually gets cold for Christmas. I LOVE to dance, not exaclty Christmas specific, but just something random about myself. Not that I'm and excellent dancer by any means but that never seems to stop me.

I dislike dealing with crowded malls and lines, lines for everything. I dislike, nay, I HATE the parking lot and how it forces people to act like wild animals definding their young. I dislike Christmas song burnout. I dislike not knowing what to get people, then figuring it out last minute but not having enough time to pull it off. I HATE leaving Fintan behind when we travel, HATE it. I dislike when co-workers record me bustin my very unique moves on the dancefloor then play it on the office tv for all to enjoy. Not cool. Bad co-wokers.

Good Things Gone Bad This Week

2009-12-12T16:43:00.016-05:00

Lets start with -

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte’s: Right before Thanksgiving my BFF at work, Jennifer turned me on to this seasonal favorite at Starbucks. While on paper this beverage may sound like a very bad idea, pumpkin and coffee, heeellll noo, I was open enough to give it a go and surprise surprise, was instantly hooked. The stuff was so yummy. This week we have our good friend Kim visiting us from Belgium and not long after she landed, knowing she is a Starbucks fan, I told her she would definitely have to test drive this latte. We went there a few nights ago where I confidently ordered for both of us. We collect our beverages from the not so friendly Starbucks employee and grabbed a seat. And cos I'm waaay too excited about Kim tasting this, I take a sip of my own just to makes sure its up to par. But upon first sip somethings not right. I take another to be sure I haven’t mis-tasted, but I haven’t. This Pumpkin Spice latte tastes more like a Celery Spice latte with a dash of pumpkin. Its awful. I’m gutted and I apologize to Kim. Effing Starbucks. You made both of us look foolish in front of our foreign guest. I hope your happy.

Turtlenecks: Nothing says classy and sophisticated like a black turtleneck. And one day this week for some unknown reason I woke up feeling very classy and sophisticated. So deciding what to wear to the office was a complete no-bainer. However, as the day progressed and things got busier and the outside temperature increased, as did my own body temperature, due to repeated consumption of hot beverages, my classy black turtleneck began to strangle me. Tighter and tighter it felt like it was getting. I tugged at it repeatedly in an effort to get some relief. I had my co-worker on “face watch” least I start to turn blue. At one point I almost grabbed a pair of scissors and turned my turtle into a deep V-neck sweater, it was that bad.

Office Christmas Party: This week we also had our Office Christmas Party and honestly, it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. The down side to having such an amazing Christmas Party? The mother of all hangovers the following day.

Now I know my Dad reads my blog and in his eyes I am the most perfect little girl who can absolutely do no wrong, and he’s right, I am. But Dad, I ain’t gonna lie, I was wasted. Sorry!

But fear not, I belted out a very unique karaoke performance of the classic K.C. and The Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight”, complete with Running-Man dance moves. Let your pride be restored dear Dad.

Hello!?! Who's ready for a party??

My date for the evening Mike (aka, Cupcake), Me, co-worker Allyson and co-worker BFF Jennifer.

The whole office staff. Its hard to tell but we are a fabulous bunch.

Gianne & Dominic

2009-12-09T20:40:00.007-05:00

I'm finally getting to post the photos from Gianne and Dominic's wedding, which I shot last month. Wondering what took me so long? Well, join the club. I've spent the best part of a week, driving myself insane, pulling my hair out and tittering on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to figure out a new and hopefully improved slideshow format. It was so stressful and I can't tell you how many times I yelled at myself for being so technically challenged. It was so frustrating. Turns out it wasn't all my bad. The software company had actually given me the wrong software. What a relief. Looks like I'm a smart girl after all.

But back to the important stuff, Gianne & Dominic. This couple holds a special place for me. They were my first real clients and I absolutely adored shooting them. They are grossly attractive and even though Dominic had expressed to me a number of times in the lead up to the wedding how uncomfortable he was having his picture taken, somehow once he was standing next to his stunning bride, he almost forgot I was even there.

Gianne and Dominic married on a sunny Fall morning at Primrose Cottage in Roswell, GA in front of their close friends and family, most of who flew from their home country of the Bahamas to share in their special day.

The bride co-ordinated the day perfectly with her favorite color, hot pink.

But she didn't overlook her husband's passion for North Carolina.

How grossly attractive are these two?

Gianne & Dominic, thank you so much for allowing me to document your wedding. You are both such warm, open and trusting people and I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and joy.

To see more images from the wedding - Click HERE

Tis the Season

2009-12-07T22:54:00.006-05:00

This past weekend I high-kicked my way into the Holiday Season with the NYC Rockettes. The show was in town for 5 days and as luck, or the gifts of good friends would have it, I got a ticket.

The show was amazing. The music, the energy, the costumes, the flexibility and precession of each Rockette had me so absorbed and so entranced, I actually caught myself dreaming and wishing to one day, when I'm all grown up, be a NYC Rockette. What? It could still happen. Dream big, thats what I say. Will definitely need to make stretching a bigger part of my fitness regime. Lets just say when it comes to all things elastic, I'm no Nadia Comaneci but more of a rusted Tin-man.

Continuing with the Holiday vibe, our Christmas tree is now up and later this week I have my office Christmas party, whaahooo. Look out photocopier.

Having a Kitty Changes Everything

2009-12-04T11:20:00.009-05:00

"Seriously, I can't be dealing with poo, its gives me the worst gag-reflex. If we're going to get a cat, then your gonna have to handle the litter box and all that comes with it, deal?" And that was the agreement Husband and I made when we decided to give a home to an abandoned kitty.

Fast forward almost 2 years and you could count the number of times on one hand that Husband has actually dealt with the poo. On top of that, yesterday morning I find myself combing my way through Fintan's litter box, in search of the perfect poo. A poo that was nice and fresh, not to big and not to small. A sample that was good enough to be scooped and bagged and given to the vet for Fintan's annual check-up.

Who knew that I, Ms. Avoider of All Things Poo Related, Ms. Gag-Reflex, would end up starting her day getting up close and personal with a box of poo?? But there I was, performing the task in a very matter-of-fact manner and like a complete pro. Go me! My little kitty's health and happiness was so important, I barely even noticed how completely gross the project at hand was. Having a kitty truly changes everything.

Just look at that happy healthy bundle of little kitty-cat. All thanks to me and my new iron stomach.

Rachel Yurkovich- Steamy Alert

2009-11-30T20:47:00.017-05:00

She's the No. 1 javelin thrower in the US. She's talented, she's athletic and oh yeah, did I mention that she's smokin hot?

Rachel Yurkovich is one of the newest athletes working with Husband's Management Agency, Doyle Management and a couple of weeks ago we got together for a fun and experimental photo shoot to help build her portfolio and media packet.

We wanted to do something with a little edge and attitude. Something to show that she is a serious competitor, with a rockin athletic body (intense training will do that to a girl) and a lot of attitude. But bare in mind that we are not your Sports Illustrated, your Cosmopolitan or your Vogue, so there were no fancy stages, props or lighting. No celeb hair and make-up. It was just Rachel and I, a simple black backdrop, a bit of creative lighting, a lot of imagination and fun. And shooting Rachel really was fun. If memory serves me right, she said "No" to nothing. Not when I had her hanging out of her javelin. Or when I made her arch back into a crab and hold it way past her pain threshold so I could adjust my lighting and camera settings in an effort to get the shot. Not when I made her balance on one leg or when I eventually asked her to remove her top. This girl is confident, comfortable in her own skin and has such a fun and positive outlook, thats what makes her successful. Hanging out with Rachel was definitely not dull.

Here are the results of our photo shoot. I think we both did pretty good. I may blog some of the "Out Take" photos from our session in the future, just to show you how weird things got and what a sport Rachel was, but until then you'll just have to enjoy these tastier shots.

A women with a weapon.

There she is, hangin out of that javelin.

Her balancing act.

Oh yes she did.

Disturbin The Peace

2009-11-29T11:36:00.011-05:00

Question: You have a commitment free Sunday. You live on 12 plus acres. What do you do?

Answer: Obviously you hire yourself a BobCat and build yourself a running trail, duh!

And thats exactly what we're doing. Shortly after the crack of dawn this morning, Husband fired up his new, hired toy and got working on a walking/running trail we're designing to run the full perimeter of the property.

Now I'll be the first to admit I'm not always on board with many of Husband's plans and ideas, but this project gets my full support, for selfish reasons mostly. As we all know, I like to run, always have, so the fact that soon I will be able to step out my door and go running on my very own trail, taking in all corners of our property, including the lake, forest and open areas is going to be the best, nay, its going to be amazing. I can hardly wait.

The goal is to design the trail so that one full lap of the property will = 1 mile. We've spent the past 3 days, walking it out, measuring, mapping and remapping to the point that we think we have it nailed. Its going to be awesome. The work is definitely not easy, but for some reason, you through a Husband behind the controls of a machine of mini destruction and all of a sudden he's the happiest Husband in the world. What is it with men and machinery? I just don't get it.

Regardless, here is the happy man himself in action.

A happy man.

Our trail in the making.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T22:09:00.011-05:00

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US and for the 3rd year in a row myself and my good friend Mike, kick started the days celebrations by participating in the annual Gobble Jog. Yes, this 5k has become a Thanksgiving ritual for both f us. Its a great way to get not just the blood flowing but the appetite prepped for a day of guilt free feasting. So for that, I am Thankful. That and the fact that I got to spend the day feasting with my good friends.

Oh and just so you know, the photographer for the day's Gobble Jog was Husband. And although I was nervous to see my expensive camera in his grip, I think he did a good job.

The sea of runners.

Yours truly getting into her stride.

Look at this little guy, working hard to keep them legs turning. I think my Fintan is bigger.

There I am, 2nd women home and a 30 second PB.

I'm not gonna lie, it did hurt a little, a lot once both calves started cramping.

Mike taking it home, also in a new PB.

Bootcamp Photoshoot

2009-11-22T16:19:00.016-05:00

Lauren and Ben were our models for the mock wedding shoot we did in Oregon last week and they were nothing short of amazing. They braved the freezing temperatures, moved around and interacted like complete pros. It was hard to not get an amazing shot of these two. I loved every second of this session. And the fact that they were so obliging, gave us photographers, all 20 of us, the opportunity to try new things. That and we had Kevin schooling us on various camera settings and suggestions so we could try new ways of getting shots that were a bit more edgy and not our norm. It was fantastic.

I’ve probably posted waaaay too many photos from the shoot here, but I couldn’t help myself, Lauren and Ben gave us so much to work with it was hard to stop clicking.

Oh, just so you know, Lauren and Ben are really married, to each other, so that should explain the smokin chemistry between them.

Love this one cos of Lauren's simple glance back.

Another one of my favs.

Workin the dress.

Stunning.

Cool and sophisticated.

This is Bootcamp guru Kevin, coaching Lauren on a little hip action.

A fellow photog friend, Bryan Mikota (s'up Bryan) snapped this shot of me trying to work my angles. Don't you love my boots? I do. Am a boot girl by nature and these are a favorite pair, so warm and cozy.

You Know Your Getting Old When.....

2009-11-20T20:12:00.005-05:00

You know your getting old when you get crazy excited about a new washer and dryer and I mean CRAZY excited. We are talking jumping up and down excited. Swinging out of Husband’s neck excited. I seriously could not contain myself when I came home from work yesterday to find these new appliances, big, blue and shiny new. It felt like Christmas.

I can’t wait to go shopping for some detergent so I can let these babies rip. Honestly, I may even crank open a bottle of wine, pull up a chair and watch them work their laundry magic. Sad? Maybe, but I don’t care. I love my new washer and dryer and I feel like celebrating.

Go on, admit it, your jealous.

Even Fintan is impressed.

Boot to the Head

2009-11-18T21:38:00.002-05:00

Last week in Oregon I went to camp, Bootcamp that is. Myself and 20 other amazing photographers (Hey y'all) from all over the US and Canada (Hi Rachel) spent most of the week being drilled, bombarded and basted by photographer extraordinaire, Kevin Kubota.

When I tell you this camp was challenging and intense, it was challenging and intense. Never have I felt more tired, more overwhelmed, defeated or elated all at once. This was Bootcamp in every sense of the word. But I learned so much. Kevin is nothing short of amazing and every day he and his team, Kecia, Mike, Eryn and Courtney (who by the way are all going to be sainted in the next life due to the amount of times they had to jump in and rescue me from the pits of confusion) worked us hard, pushed us to find better ways, forced us to think outside the box and to get more organized. In short, they hit us hard. Some days my brain hurt so bad I had to pop a migraine pill. No joke. By the end of the week, I had "Boot to the Head". I had reached the point of complete mental saturation. My cupp'ith did run over'ith, or whatever the posh Shakespearian type saying is and I just couldn't take in another ounce of information. Nothing. But I would do it all again, in a heart beat. It was that good.

We did a few photo shoots during the week too and even had a couple posing as a bride & groom so we could work on our camera skills. Hoping to share some of those shots along with tons more soon. The problem is we still don't have internet at our new house yet, which is affecting my ability to stay connected with all things cyber. Its beyond the joke at this point. They're telling us next Wednesday and we should be hooked up. I'm telling them "Hell No, completely unacceptable. Do it and do it yesterday, thank you".

Anyway, while I wait patiently for 2009 technology to arrive at my house, here are some photos I should have shared last week of our little cabin in the Oregon mountains. They were taken with my new Lensbaby Fisheye, pretty cool eah?

Our little cabin, compete with a snow flurry.

A shot of the inside, toasty.

This is where Bootcamp took place.

This is where I got Boot to the Head.

Dear New Home

2009-11-15T21:40:00.001-05:00

Dear New Home,

I've been gone for a full week. Gone to the chilly, fresh, snowy mountains of Oregon. Gone to get a break. Gone to focus. Gone to meet up with an amazing group of photographers. And gone to learn. And it appears that while I was gone, you did nothing. NOTHING.

All of my boxes remain sealed and piled high in corners. Clothes, shoes and accessories still find themselves beaten, squashed and pounded into bags and suitcases that look fit to explode. You haven't finished vacuuming or dusting and you promised to open all your windows and doors each and everyday to allow the fresh smells of Fall to circulate. Yet I come home this evening, tired and drain and there you sit, unapologetically with not a thing done. It makes me sad. It makes me emotional. Seriously New Home, what the hell were you doing while I gone??What??

I am pretty disappointed I have to say, but I'm too tired to deal with you tonight. I need to get ready for my return to work tomorrow and a busy week ahead doing all the things YOU were suppose to do in my absence. I hope you fell guilty.

Shinks

(Boot to the Head blog coming. I haven't forgotten.)

The Laying Down Game

2009-11-11T01:26:00.007-05:00

EDIT: Hmmm, I notice the photos of my fellow photographers refused to reveal themselves, so I recollected and have re-posted. Check them out below.

Don't ask me why. Don't ask me how all this started but a group of photographer friends have been doing this crazy thing they are calling "The Laying Down Game". The premiss is basically to capture yourself lying face down randomly, in places you would never expect to see a person lying down. Its hilarious and some of the things people have done are everything from imaginative and freaky to downright gross and weird.

This morning after a workout at the gym I got Husband to capture me doing my bit for "The Laying Down Game". I dashed into the cardio-room and threw myself down on a treadmill. The lady next to me was in the middle of a serious workout and was not at all impressed with my childish display and let me know by giving those disapproving mother looks.

On the way back to our cabin I couldn't resist the opportunity to lay down on this sign. It was too obvious to pass up. Oh and just so you know, technique is hugely important. Your face must be touching the surface your lying on. Your hands must be straight and locked by your side and your toes pointed straight into the ground. Many's an amazing and creative capture has been disqualified because of failure to observe the technique.

Here are some of what our other photographer friends have been doing.

1	Gelete BURKA	ETH	4:23.53	SR
2	Kakedan GEZAHEGN	ETH	4:24.10	PB
3	Maryam JAMAL	BRN	4:24.71	PB
4	Sylwia EJDYS	POL	4:27.75	PB
5	Ingvill MAKESTAD	NOR	4:28.49	NR
6	Wioletta FRANKIEWICZ	POL	4:29.27	PB
7	Helen CLITHEROE	GBR	4:29.46	PB
8	Hilary STELLINGWERFF	CAN	4:30.89	PB
9	Charlotte BEST	GBR	4:32.29	PB
	Karen SHINKINS	IRL	DNF