Notes from vacation

Look good on the outside, feel good on the inside Part II
Last week while visiting Phoenix, Mom took me shopping for some new work clothes. We thought we’d hit a couple of stores and maybe come away with a few things. But the first place we went into was like a gold mine. Five pair of slacks and so many shirts I didn’t even count! Then a quick trip to the mall for two new bras (my band size went down four inches!!) and the shoe store. This morning when I walked into the sitter, she complimented my new shirt. And before I even made it up the stairs in my office, someone woohoo’d me from upstairs. Talk about an ego kick.

On the hunt for an insulin pump
Although I have seen numerous pictures of insulin pumps both on and off people, I’ve never seen one on a person in real life. I’m not sure why I need to see this, but it seemed like something interesting to be on the hunt for. Like a car game. Mom and I took the kids to a ginormous park near my parents’ house and while we sat back and watched the kids play, I started looking for the reclusive pump. One woman I saw had a pouch clipped to her belt loops. I looked as closely as I could without being conspicuous. She passed by several times and after “close” inspection, I decided it was a cell phone case. No tubing. Hmph. The hunt goes on.

Inspiring photos from our week out west

This is the Salt River Canyon in Arizona. In the lower left corner area, there's a small spec that looks just a little different than the grass, rock and river. That's a red car.

No. 1 and No. 2 standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Nope, there's no fence on this part. If you're afraid of heights, you probably shouldn't look at this picture too long!

And just before vacation
I photographed my first wedding in ten years. I really felt pretty prepared and then almost as soon as I got there I felt like I had stage fright. It seemed that I had forgotten so many things. I felt so underprepared. My biggest problem is lighting, as I may or may not have said in the past. Although I was pretty disappointed in my shots, I feel like I got a few good ones. And a deeper passion (yes, I said passion!) for wanting to continue on my trek to being a better photographer. I did, however, feel my heart sink when the bride, bridesmaids and I were sitting in the bride’s room between photo sessions and the ceremony when one of her relatives walked in. I immediately spotted the Canon camera case. This was no point and shoot digital, either. With that bag, I knew she meant business. Oh, man, I thought, someone better than me. I had to really talk myself out of letting someone who might possibly be better than me get to me and affect my abilities. I got up the nerve later to ask the bride about this aunt. “Oh, she does what you do…takes pictures sort of on the side.” Oh, whew, I thought. But I still felt her judging me at every corner. Fortunately, she didn’t offer any advice. That’s not to say others didn’t.