alternate spellings.

more fun:

YAY for bonus time at clinique! this bag is CUTE. and I love the stuff in it, too. I went to buy eyeliner (mine from them is LOW. like, it is one of the dual pencils and in order to sharpen one side I have to take the lid off the other and hold the pencil end) and ended up getting some eyeshadow too. And a cute bag! they actually let me pick my own (they are all similar but different)

new mascara, new lotion, yay! and I LOVE the blush! I mean, I blush naturally, like, all the time, but I love to wear it too.



annoyance however: so, one of the eye pencils I got was brown sugar, and the other is called chocolate lustre. and the woman kept calling it "lus-trey." except it's like theatre and theater. they are pronounced the SAME, right? (different southern proununciation modifications notwithstanding). luster. lustre. grr.

this weekend is gonna be photo-tastic. we're heading to the mountains for another wedding--but this time we're the photographers. :) the lodge is BEAUTIFUL, there's a waterfall and great scenery. and the bride is a redhead. I. Can't. Wait. !!! Matt is going to be my fabulous assistant, and I think he's secretly looking forward to it. He's kind of awesome, you know.

and then on Sunday we're going to do a HUGE family shoot. there are 20 people, and then there are six different groupings after that. it's a 50th anniversary present for the parents, and it is going to be fun! And, this shoot will be taking place the exact geographical center of the state of North Carolina. As a matter of fact, I'm going to give a prize to the first person who can tell me where the heck that is. :)

sterling, turner and karen rock my socks.

last week I got THREE awesome pieces of mail from three very different people living in three very different places. they make me smile. both the items AND the people. :)

getting mail is on my top ten list of awesome things in life (strawberries, laughing, punny jokes, being green, flowers and sunshine: also on that list. et al.)

first up: this amazing shirt.
turner bought it for me when I was having a rough go of it a few weeks ago. and I LOVE it. I have yet to get to wear it (I get to wear relatively casual clothes to work so I don't change when I get home) but I WILL be wearing it this weekend. :) It's nerdy and I heart it.

next: a gift from across the pond.
I LOVE ALICE IN WONDERLAND. ahem. Like you didn't already know. So the fact that Karen saw this and thought of me? LOVE it. I am so excited! I have decided that I'm actually going to *use* this (I have been known to hoard paper and stationery and all things that write or you write on...).

thirdly: from the gift fairy.
the gift fairy in california. who I still owe a bday present (I have it I just keep not managing to SEND it) I am going to have to find somewhere fun to put those stickers. and I already know where two of the buttons will go. perhaps the third will grace my bulletin board in my office. :)

thank you, oh fabulous ones. I am a lucky, lucky girl to have friends like you! AND I think that juuuuuust maybe I will get to see ALL THREE of you during the month of july. possibly. potentially. maybe. :)

this wbw brought to you by the blurry iphone.

okay, okay, I know people LOVE the iphone camera. and honestly it is pretty schnazzy. but not if you're a professional photographer, I'm just saying...

so, this is me and two of my besties, renee and jessica. you've heard me mention them a hundred thousand million times. they have been a part of my life for more than half of it, and I kinda heart them a whole whole lot. we go through our ups and downs, but we know that in the end we'll still be a part of one another's lives.


this is at my grandparent's old house. that purple loveseat was supposed to be mine, but I "traded up" for the pink couch that will some day grace my house. hot pink velvet. it is amazing. should I ever have a photography studio, or a room that doubles as one? that will SO be a part of it.

I am guessing this might be my sophomore year? because Renee is wearing an SMU shirt? Maybe? It might be later. It's definitely not my senior year...but anyway. Maybe when I have my point and shoot handy I'll upload a better one. :)

what's on my mind...

is my hair.

I am calling the place today to see what can be done. I like them and will totally go back and have it cut there again, but....the cut isn't really what I asked for and the color isn't either. I asked for anything but darker (it's darker) and I looked at the pictures I showed her and what I ended up with and the difference is, well, noticeable.

it's not that the cut isn't cute--it is. and thanks for all the positive comments, folks, because I needed it.

but this cut is not functional.
and I don't love it.
and most importantly? it doesn't feel like "me." I don't look like me. I look like someone else.
and that is the most upsetting of all.

also, having short hair confirmed my theory (and this is for you, gurdas) it seems that ~90% of males are opposed to the idea of women having shortshort hair. they may not be aware of it, and they may not be willing to admit it, BUT--it seems to be an automatic reaction. I'm just saying.

so, I'm not going to research things to eat that make your hair grow faster (okay, maybe I will a little, but no crazy stuff, promise), and I'm going to buy some cute headbands (suggestions?), and I'm going to try not to be frustrated. I have to admit I'd probably be quite a bit less rash about this if my bangs weren't stupidly ugly and short, but such is life. I still can't believe people cut their bangs that short. On purpose. She's the third stylist to try and do that for me. I mean, there are just a few people who look good with bangs that short, and if you're one of them count your lucky stars. But seriously?

ps: you don't get any kind of an idea that they're too short in the picture. but they really, really are. anyway.

think "grow quickly" thoughts towards my hair. I just want longer layers and the ability to put more than 1/4 of my hair back. and longer bangs. and for it to not be so damn DARK.

I know they can't magically lengthen my hair (well not in a way I'm going to agree to, anyway) but maybe they can do something about the color. And then maybe that will help.

Carrie=still frustrated. not crying anymore, but still frustrated.

and? also frustrated that I'm spending this much time and emotion thinking about my damn HAIR. I am not a think-about-my-hair-a-lot kind of girl, so this is extra n.o.f.u.n. for me. :(

it is never too late in the day to have breakfast.

the universe told me so.

I am terribly behind in blogging. I got TWO fantastic pieces of mail last week, and I've yet to share them. I also cut off all of my hair (which I'm warming up to, by the way--please think "grow quickly" thoughts in the general direction of my bangs). And I had a good LONG weekend.

friday matt and I went on a little date. we drove downtown to a place called bull mccabe's that I'd found out about online. on our way the sun was setting, so we took a 15 minute detour on 147 to watch it set. SO pretty.

when we parked in the first parking lot we found nearby, I saw people drinking wine at a salon. it's called Posh and it's in downtown Durham. Reasonable prices and nice people. AND they serve you wine and beer for free. :) They weren't open at the time, but we did get a tour of their place and I made an appointment for the next day.

Bull McCabe's was okay. We had their wings and I got hot sauce in my eye. While eating it. that was embarrassing. and pretty painful, I don't recommend it. and I had a reuben which was actually quite good. and they had garlic fries. mmmmmmmm garlic fries.

and then we went home and watched the departed. which is quite good, but I don't recommend starting it at 11pm. 'cause, uh, it's two and a half hours long.

Saturday morning was STRAWBERRY PICKING! Megan, Nicole and her son Luke and I went together. And it was FUN! I actually stayed after they left (Luke was ready to go!) and picked some more. I've been freezing them, giving them away, and of course, EATING them. They were SO good. Mmm fresh picked strawberries! The season is getting close to over, so if you have a chance I highly recommend going. Especially because they are SO cheap! and, here are some pics I took w/ my iphone and nicole's camera!

also, hazel thought the strawberries were the best thing EVER. she wanted to play with them. and it was so adorable I let her have one. she thought the stem was the awesome part, of course. and in that last picture you can see that she's licking her lips!

and then it was haircut time. I must admit, when I first got it I was NOT happy. The bangs are way too short. And it is frustrating how it's rather impossible to get my hair off of my neck. And it's too boxy. And it's redder, which I wanted, but darker, which I really didn't want. And when I first tried to style it, I cried. Like, a lot. However, now I am liking it more. I already know I'm growing out the layers and for the love of God telling every stylist EVER that short bangs are the ugliest thing ever in the whole world on my face. But it'll be okay. at least I'm not freaking out like I was on Sunday. :)

[ps? only TWO people at work have noticed my hair. not that I care, because, whatever, they notice or they don't, but I think it means people are overworked if their keen observation skills can't see this big of a change!]

also, this isn't the most flattering picture ever. BUT it'll do, it'll do...

And thanks mucho to everyone who told me how much they like it. Even though it wasn't what I had in mind, the positive reinforcement helped a lot. :) Special props to Jackie for her hair styling email--can't tell you how helpful that was, and to know I wasn't alone, ha!

also this weekend we got to see baaaaabies. Little Reid is so tiny and adorable, and Ryne is super precious. We brought both familes botanas (thanks again Patty, I LOVE them, and so does everyone else!) At Elizabeth and Dave's we also had the hottest stuffed jalepenos ever and enjoyed some skinny dip and landshark--mmm!

Sunday I had church and two FUN photo shoots, I'm looking forward to editing those! And then after a long nap we enjoyed some sushi and went to see Wolverine. Matt was thrilled--he got to see another movie! But, the movie was good not great. A bit too much drama for an X-Men movie. Still pretty cool though, overall I give it a 3.75/5. :)

And then Monday I sleeeeeept in, froze more strawberries, we had Brig's for lunch (if you live in the Triangle area and have not been, you must go!). MMM breakfast for lunch. I kind of regret not having the "Barcelona" eggs benedict again. I am totally going to learn how to make eggs benedict well. It's poached eggs, toasted english muffin, hollandaise sauce and other items, right? Should be easy. and SO good, I bet!

That afternoon after cooking we stopped by Dana and Jonathan's to see baby Ryne before going to Nicole's birthday party. Matt and I brought 40s. We forgot to get a picture though. But the party was fun! And Nicole drank the champagne I brought her almost immediately. :) It was a good end to the weekend--and we went home, watched the hotness that is Ocean's 11 while we both got stuff done, and then I went to bed at 11pm. Yay.

I am inspired by paris hilton.

I also considered calling this post: channeling my inner Jackie. You know, W*lls, not Onassis. :)

And, I never ever expected that thought to come into my head. Inspired by Paris Hilton. Damn.

But, um, it did.

So, I've been thinking about cutting my hair off shorter. Something with a shape to it, not a plain old bob. And with bangs. And I REALLY like her haircut in the top left. isn't that embarrasing?

I actually like them all (though I don't think I'm gutsy enough to go suuuuper short). I also noticed that most of these people have blonde hair, and blonde hair is not in my future. I have decided to bring back some of the red though--I've kind of been hiding the natural red tones in my hair, and I want them to return. :)


anyone have an opinion? my hair is getting loooooong and boring and annoying, and I think it's time for a change.

ps, this is a continuation of this post, thanks for your candor. :)

and then hell froze over.

um, sort of. ;)

so, we went to that wedding last weekend, right? for my dear friends courtney and derek. I put up a handful of pictures here, but there are quite a few more. I will show you soon! or, if you ask nicely, I will happily share my secret link to the photos I've edited so far. :)

well, the wedding was PRETTY! We'd had a long day--I gardened at my church in the AM and Matt played soccer. Then we went to a graduation party for our AMAZING friend Lisa (way to go!). And then we came home, got ready and went to Chapel Hill.

It rained and sprinkled and rained on Saturday, and her ceremony was outside. But fortunately, an hour and change beforehand it stopped raining, and the ceremony went on as planned. There were a few drops falling from the trees above, but other than that, nothing exciting.

It was a beautiful ceremony, and so pretty, and their expressions were amazing, and anyway, loved it! Here we are during the cocktail hour. Our loverly friend and driver, Gina, took this for us.. She did a great job! Especially since I think she thought my big heavy camera was a little crazy!

So, I could regale you about this or that or the other, but there are two things that were extra fun. :) 1. Their favors. Did you go look at that link? If not, go do it! See the favors? The soda bottles? *I* took the pictures!

And funny, thing...their photographer? SO talented. But kind of an ass. He's one of the top in the area though, according to theknot.com. Well, so when we got inside I went around and took a couple of pictures, and when I walked up to the table of favors, her photographer was there. I said he hoped he didn't mind if I took pictures (this is when he said that he didn't care what I did as long as I wasn't in his way, in a very rude british tone!) and then I noticed that *my* pictures were on the bottles. I didn't mean to tell him that, but when I noticed it I said "holy cow, how cool! I took those!"

He said "you took their engagement photos?" I said yes. He said "yeah, I looked through those. some of those were really quite good." Which, coming from him, was probably as nice as he knows how to be. Made me feel pretty awesome to have an established, well-known, talented photographer compliment my work. :)

So, thing 2: during the reception I *think* hell froze over.

It was time for the lovely tradition that is the bouquet toss. There were literally like six single gals at the wedding. At least four of them said "no way I'm catching it!" And then someone said "let Carrie catch it!" And once they all agreed, before I could say anything, Courtney threw the bouquet and guess what--it fell on the floor. And no one picked it up.

So, she threw it again--right at me. And of course I caught it. To be fair, I would have caught it the first time if I could, but it would have required leaping and reaching, and I wasn't doing that in my tall pink shoes.

Next up came the guys. There were probably just as many. I was commenting to the girls that it was fun that I caught the bouquet, but there was no way in hell Matt would catch the garter. His usual response is: if it rings the bottle of beer in my hand then maybe I'll claim it. maybe. And then, Derek did this. Turned around and pretty much bowled it right at Matt. Apparently they exchanged a little glance when this happened, but you can't see it here. It landed squarely on the tops of Matt's shoes. and he picked it up.

and I think that's when hell froze over. I'm just saying.

this is what I looked like.

So, we did the whole put on the garter thing. And it was cute. And I liked it.

Apparently the higher you put it on the happier the couple will be. Ha!

So, that was fun. I was glad he caught it. Oh and when the groom (Derek) came and grabbed me to have Matt put the garter on, he took my bouquet away! :( Let me tell you what, I definitely went and got that back so I could take it home. I was SUPER thrilled that it happened to contain my veryvery favorite flower (the ranunculus!) and pink ones at that!

Also, as everyone and their dog informed us, this garter has a tradition. I'm pretty dang certain Matt's going to break it, but I'll share anyway...apparently the Matron of Honor wore this garter at her wedding--and Courtney caught it, and Derek caught the bouquet. Within two weeks, they were engaged. I think you all get what they were getting at with this story, hmm?

:)

Then there was dancing and drinking and cake and fun and pictures and poppers and WOW! Very fun wedding! And I'm super excited that I'll be shooting another wedding there in July!!

and now, the garter and bouquet are at home. I am drying the bouquet, and the garter is hanging from our dining room light. Matt put it there. :) I relocated it for some pictures, but it's now back in its place. :D

I'll let you know when I finish with the wedding photos (only three more mini photo shoots, an hour shoot and then del and betsy's weddings to go!) but soon, soon. Thanks for reading our little tale. (and ps: thanks, Nicole, for being such a shutterbug and capturing so many pictures!)

giving up on the devil

that devil, by the way, is high fructose corn syrup.

I have posted about it before, and I have tried before, and I have decided I'm going to try again: to further reduce my intake of hfcs. Some of this is gonna be EASY--I participate in the CSA and I have a love affair with fruits and vegetables.

but most days I drink soda at lunch.

and I like candy. and granola bars. and the like.

step 1: switching to iced tea. sweetened with local honey. trying that at lunch today, wish me luck.

oh no! I think I might be a grown-up.

so, I'm in that group of twenty-somethings at my church, right? I mean, I'm sort of in the group. I basically help with the community garden and attend when I feel so inclined.

on saturday the girl who sortakinda heads it up asked me to please try to come to our meeting today because we are going to talk about the new worship service they're thinking about adding. at 930. geared toward the same group, which is pretty much the twenty-somethings without children.

now, if you know me, I am not a morning person. I would argue that a significant percentage of twenty-somethings without children would rather sleep in until 930 and get up for an 11 oclock service than wake up earlier.

couple this with that fact that our email distribution list is like fifteen people, and you have a problem. obviously they don't expect us to be the only people there, but they do want us to kind of help mold the service and they plan on catering it to us.

which is nice and all. except it's at 930 in the morning.

now, I'm sure some of you are thinking "but 930 is late!" Or "Carrie, it's just you." but I am definitely not the only one, and I'm not in the minority. Plus, they tried to start a Sunday school class (at 930) for the same group, and no one attended. And most said? Because of the time.

and yes, plenty of churches have successful 930 services. however, currently my church has like 2% of its membership in the twenty-something range. For the longest time I thought there were only FOUR of us. Yes, really. We have a HUGE number of children (~35% of our congregation is under the age of 18, and most are like 6th grade or under, I believe) and a lot of very established members who won't be attending a "contemporary" service.

so, the part where I felt like an adult?--was when I said "okay, so I have ZERO intention of being a part of a 930 service (except at Easter and Christmas since I'm already there for choir). I want to tell them I think this is a mistake, BUT...I am afraid it might be a done deal already, and they're only asking for our input about the content, not the time. also, I realize we have a space issue, and this is their attempt to rectify it."

so. I called the person in charge of our group and chit-chatted with her about it. She isn't really sure what is and isn't decided, if this is just an idea or concept or a plan or what. And she is one who agrees with me about the 930, but I already knew that.

and now, I have a call in for someone "in the know" to give me a call back about the service. If the 930 part of it is a done deal, I won't be attending the meeting tonight. I don't want to be a negative nelly, and I know that my feedback will all be negative because I believe the service will be poorly attended and will not cater to the target group. I also know that if I go, there's no way I'm keeping my mouth shut.

so: if the 930 is a done deal? I'm not going. I'm not going to be a source of negativity, and I'm also choosing not to be a part of something that I will find upsetting. (eg, if I go, even if I say I don't think it's a good idea, if the 930 happens, they will want our group to be a part of it, and then I will feel bad if I'm not supportive, blah blah. this way I can just keep away from it entirely)

anyway. this is my morning. yeesh.

"it's good....good...guinness!"

~me!

Jennifer and I went to this AMAZING wine bar in Durham last Thursday. AMAZING. It is called SIX PLATES, and it rocks my socks. The food was so so so good, on my list of top ten meals I've ever had in my whole entire life, and the atmosphere and bartenders and decor and everything were top notch. It was trendy but mellow and funky and fun. We LOVED it. We even spent way more money than we meant to, I mean WAY, and we did not regret it even a little bit.

We each had a tuna tower, which was practically a meal in itself. And the we shared scallops and this melt-in-your-mouth sirloin over little asparagus bits and potatoes. They were so fantastic I didn't even remember to take pictures. And then had strawberry shortcake, a cheese plate (mmmm cheese) and splurged on some gelato. the flavors were crazy, and we picked mora, thai basil and guinness, and we could not have been more pleased with the outcome.

see: yummy.

i woke up crying in my sleep last night

I had a dream last night that Matt and I were going on a trip. We were in a foreign country somewhere, and I think maybe it was a flight connection. For some reason we were up a counter, and the people told me "you can only have on carry-on."

I had my backpack and my camera bag.

I told them I'd put the camera bag in Matt's duffel bag, and as I went to clear room they took my camera off of the counter and set it where I could not reach it.

and refused to give it back to me.

and by then, Matt wasn't there anymore. I'm not sure where he went, but wherever it was he couldn't get back to me. (when I told him about this, he said he must've been taken by security, or he wouldn't've left me like that!)

So, I asked for my camera bag.
I begged.
I pleaded.
I tried to sneak around the side and grab it.
I never yelled though.

And I wanted to go get a security guard, but knew that if I did, by the time I came back my camera would be long gone.

As the time of my flight approached, I got more and more agitated. I couldn't afford to buy another ticket if I missed it. But I was taking my camera to do a job, so I couldn't show up without one. I asked if I could take my camera bag instead of my backpack. No. Could I please have it? No. Why not? No. You have no right to hold it, I've done nothing wrong. No.

It was out of control. And I was so upset. Missing my flight, my camera sitting right there but too far for me to reach, and strange men taking perverse delight in torturing me by taking it away.

I was NOT happy.

and when I woke up, I realized where I was and that everything was okay, but I also realized I was crying. like, a LOT.

it was so, so bizarre.

and vivid.

I think I prefer not dreaming to dreams like this. Oh and? In my bad dreams I am ALWAYS taking a trip. Always. Always.

yeesh.

"[gree-ee-ee-eee-een, green green green green]"

hi. this is me talking about green stuff. whew!

so, I kind of want to apply to be a part of The Green Effect. It's a partnership between Sunchips (who are coming up with a compostable bag to be used in 2010!) and National Geographic. It's a contest for 20k to help green your community.

but if I could green my community, what would I do? recycling bins in all city parks? promote graywater usages for irrigation on public lands? change city lights to being solar powered? provide 20k worth of baggus to people who promise to use that bag instead of getting them at the grocery store? Outlaw putting batteries in watches on the shelves?

It's gotta be something attention getting. And Raleighwood appropriate. Suggestions welcome. And you should apply too!

Also, Aveda is doing something awesome! They did a test run last year, but now they're doing it all the time-recycling plastic bottle caps! They will be repurposed into Aveda packaging, and kept out of the landfill (if you didn't know, they cannot be recycled in conventional recycling facilities as they usually contain more than one type of plastic). TOO COOL.

That plus Origins taking their cosmetic containers? And Payless releasing an eco-friendly line? AMAZING! High fives all around. :)

Support these businesses, bring your own bag and go visit your farmer's market, k? And then give yourself a pat on the back from yours truly. :D

wbw: once upon a time

I was a littlelittle ballet dancing girl. I think I was threeish. (yes really) We learned to do a kick called "the donkey" and anna and I got to be angels in the nutcracker, and anyway, adorableness, see?

"and this long line of cars is all because of me."

~cake

There are no pictures in this post so you'll have to use your imagination.

short version:
hit piece of wood in middle of highway. BIG piece.
goodbye, air in tire.
phone dies while calling for help.
taylor and katie save the day.
cause traffic backup while traveling at rapid clip of 40mph on I-40.
consume alcohol at wine tasting.
take car to shop in AM.
can't get tire to replace until FRIDAY.
cry. insert a few more crying episodes in there, for good measure.

long version:

Yesterday: It is ~610pm. I have gone to get my spider bite antibiotics and another medicine that you don't want to know about, and things for the TAP Wine Tasting (PS, I'm President again). I check out, get a call from my dear friend Jennifer who needs me to bring a knife, and I return to target, purchase it, and leave.

I head on 540, and see something in the road. It is a piece of wood. In the split second I realize I cannot avoid it and I cannot get over a lane, and I end up hitting it. I pull over "just to check" and find my right front tire completely flat. (which also make me think of "his tires were bald, they went flat, so did our love and that was that"--name the movie?)

I call Jennifer, who calms me down a bit.
I begin to call EVERYONE I can think of that might have a boy at their house. I know how to change a tire, but there's no way I could generate enough torque to get it off and on again. I probably called, oh seven people, maybe? Including my friends who had a baby last Thursday. Yes, really.

And I couldn't call Matt because he was at a soccer banquet. I knew he wouldn't be able to answer the phone until he was done, and even if he did, he couldn't leave.

Also, while calling people? My phone died.

yes, really.

thankfully I have a car charger, so I plugged it in and turned the accessory on. and Taylor and Katie came to save the day. thank goodness.

It happened to someone else too (stupid piece of wood!) and we are both fortunate--he didn't have a jack, so I loaned him mine, and I needed a wrench to get the spare tire out since it was still factory installed.

Did I mention I've never had a flat before?

So, once it was on I sloooooowly drove to the TAP thing. And sang this Cake song in my head, as I went 45 in a 75. Rock on.

This morning, when I took it into the shop they told me it would be FRIDAY before they could get me a tire. FRIDAY. Did I mention I bought these tires in February? EXACTLY three months ago? Or how they didn't ask me if I wanted hazard insurance when I bought them, and that would've gotten me a whole new tire?

oh and I forgot my badge this morning. I'm feeling a little like a train wreck. you probably don't want to sit next to me, ride in my car, or anything else, I'm just saying...

i like.

blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.

~camille pissarro

yeah, hey, about that blogging thing.

oh right. I'm supposed to type on this. like, regularly. oopsie.

I had a busy weekend, alright? six mini shoots and one hour shoot, and OMG they were aaaaaaah-maaaaaa-zzzzing. Such awesome, fun, enthusiastic people, love it. AND a repeat customer. AND someone who said at the end that they really liked working with me and could I please just tell them how much it would cost for me to do the rest of their photos while their little one grows up because they will just pay it.

and I booked a big family shoot. (20 people, three or four generations not sure)
and a wedding.

and yeah.

Also, I am sorry I have been talking about photography a lot. I kind of feel like a mommy blogger. Except about photos. :) [no offense mommy bloggers. or kat.] It's kind of my baby though, and I have put a lot of effort into it. I had one of those moments of clarity yesterday where I KNEW I was doing the right things, and that's helpful.

I mean, you expect me to talk about being green too, right? Well I'm working on that post, and it will be up shortly. Additionally, I've got some other ideas cooking, and I'll let you know when I have 'em for sure. EXCITING.

okay, time for lunch. and then I shall go to the doctor for my spider bite. rock. you should be so lucky.

oh AND speaking of lucky? on saturday I got hives ALL OVER MY STOMACH. little baby, blotchy, red, random, raised spots. stupid hives. from the sun. I've never gotten them somewhere the sun didn't even TOUCH before. this does not bode well. and yes, I wore sunblock. and yes, I got a little burned. and no, I'm not going to stop taking photos because of it, I'll figure it out. :)

greenness soon. now time to quell the hunger.

"why would you lie about how much coal you have? why would you lie about something dumb like that? why would you lie about anything at all?"

~vampire weekend

The song is called oxford comma. And as you may know, I kind of detest the oxford comma. If you didn't know, now you do!

So, yesterday wasn't a very good day. I was grumpy. People were bad drivers. And I got water in my purse and sat at a cursed table. I felt MUCH better after I laughed so hard I cried, though.

And my fortune was something about finding the silly in the serious and how that would get me far. I like.

yesterday I was actually in such a bad mood that when I went home before dinner I had a summer shandy (they're baaaaack!) and took photos of my flowers with my new camera because I knew it would cheer me up. it did.

I took pictures o' the beer which matt had so kindly purchased for me, and then I noticed the light on my curtains. these puppies are from france. my granny had them just hanging in her house and gave them to me when we were on our roadtrip. they aren't what I originally had in mind, but I LOVE them.

and then I went outside and took pictures of the pretty pretty flowers. and I liked it. see?

tomorrow: mini photo shoots. six of 'em. at duke gardens. they assured me that graduation won't interfere with parking there. I hope they are right.

and sunday I have two shoots.

and then I am taking a little photography break. don't get me wrong, this is AMAZING, but I need some Carrie time.

and today I thought of this bear. it make me happy. it's still at my granny's, but I love the picture. I miss my grandparents, and I am looking forward to seeing my granny in July.

aaaand...time to work for another half an hour and then I'm leaving to go to the fabric store near crabtree. anybody wanna go with? :)

tonight I catch up on grey's and private practice. stupid DVR didn't record it. THANKFULLY, the internets are magical, and can bring them to my laptop. and since I have a Carrie laptop and a work laptop, I can watch and edit at the SAME time!

the good, the bad and the matt. (who, by the by, is not ugly)

I swear this is the last post o' the day.

the good:
-yesterday, matt cleaned the kitchen. it desperately needed it. it and the half bath are now the only "clean" parts of the house. he unloaded the dishwasher, did the dishes in the sink and cleaned the counters off and then actually cleaned them. :)
-matt always gives me a kiss when he's leaving or arriving or I'm doing one of those. I kind of love it.

the bad:
-matt is at ANOTHER bachelor party. oh. em. gee.
-matt called me a cat lady last night. and he meant it.
-matt seriously considered murdering both gobi and hazel this week. hazel I am not surprised. gobi was surprising. but when he knocked a whole bowl of jellybeans off the counter, well...what did you expect?
-matt has been having fun with my new camera. what that really means is: "matt has taken it upon himself to pick up my new expensive camera with its new expensive lens and pretend like he's dropped it. he has also held it upside down with two fingers only on the new expensive battery grip."
-last night matt did a "test." the cats were sitting near me on the couch--gobi right behind my head and hazel on the arm, both sleeping. he made me say "ouch." and pretend to cry. and pretend to be startled. just to see what the cats could do. we concluded that gobi is worried about my health and hazel just wants to know what the fuss is all about.

the matt:
is overall fantastic. ridiculous and silly and all sorts of other things, but also fantastic. just fyi.

totally a long time ago thursday?

er, um, or my late wbw.

this is my, eh, probably junior year I'm guessing. it might could be sophomore, but I think junior. that's my awesome miniscule, adrienne in the middle (we refuse to call each other "big" and "little" except we did in a skit, but that's IT) and then the fabulous del.

ABSOLUTELY two of my favorite people from college, hands down. (others of my favorites from college are reading, I know. I love you too. you just aren't in the picture!)

I have no idea how I would've made it without them. No idea. Especially 'cause they did things like help me celebrate my birthday, and we took a cool roadtrip to chicago/crystal lake, and we hung out and anyway. fantastic folks, I tell you.

Here we are at Adrienne's parents house. We are are getting ready to carve pumpkins. It was a splendid break from the daily grind, let me tell you.

I don't want to go back to college like some people do, but DAMN I missing seeing my friends every single day. It's hard having to actually schedule time to see people instead of just being near the. The three of us lived in the same suite for a bit, and anyway. Oh, college.

Oh, the stories I'm thinking of right now.

Oh, how I am so not going to post them on a public forum.

but oh, how they would make you giggle. or perhaps shock you. one or the other. :)

this is what actions can do.

you might've noticed recently I've been mentioning the term "actions." and you might've been wondering what the heck that means.

actions are used in photoshop. they're a specific series of instructions that manipulate a photo in photoshop. you can make your own, there are free ones on the internet, and you can also purchase them.

I have yet to make one of my own (I tried, but I realized what I was trying to do was way too photo-specific) but I have some free ones and some I've purchased. Some people are WAY against purchasing. some think it makes sense. I'm inclined to agree with them. There are some awesome freebies out there, but it's kind of like anti-virus software--if you want the good stuff that covers everything, it's probably worth shelling out for it.

But, something better? Is getting those actions for free. And IHeartFaces is doing just that. There are a couple of examples on their post of what actions can do. And I really like the one of the model! And here are some things I've done with actions, just to show you how fun they can be. :)

actions don't make you a better photographer by any means, but they make it so much faster to bring pop to your photos, and give you edgy elements that most people (myself included) either couldn't accomplish by themselves, or that would take them ten times as long. :)