So you wanna see what I did in Tucson....

I'm finally feeling up enough to actually look at my photos and fix the ones that are "fixable."  I had an interesting issue this trip that I don't usually have too often in the great Northwest. I had harsh sun.  That's right.  Too much sun does a bad photo make.  I have horrible, distracting shadows everywhere...but it was still better (despite getting sick) than being at home in the rain.

As I no doubt mentioned in my sick haze of a post the other day, the MomUnit and I took off to see the memorials of the Tucson shootings.  It was humbling to be amongst so many well wishes and prayers for the families for the one's who passed, as well as for the survivors.

The front lawn area of UMC.  This is about two weeks after the shootings. They had already removed over 500 stuffed animals and donated them. As I shot these photos, there were still people bring flowers and signs.

The patriotism that comes out of these horrific events almost always moves me.

Even the young at heart get involved.

This one was taken at the Safeway where this event transpired.  I've always loved the song "Imagine", and only in an environment like this one do the lyrics really hit home to me.

Now let the healing begin...

I’m Not Sure Where to Begin

There seems to be so much that needs to said that I’m not sure where to even begin. So let’s begin with last week.

Friday I was off to Tucson. Early flight got me into Tucson in time for a quick lunch at In N’ Out. They never disappoint. The ParentalUnits and I just kinda hung around on Friday getting caught up on this and that.

Friday night about 2am I had excruciating pain in my back – shoulder blades. These muscle spasms have happened before and it just takes a couple of ibuprofen and I’m okay. This time, things were going to be different. On top of the back pain I had this sharp pain in my chest just below my breast bone. It hurt like the dickin’s (which I have no idea where that phrase came from). It kept me up most the night.

By Saturday the pain would come and go, I was tired from lack of sleep, but felt pretty good.

Mom and I took off to see the Memorials at the UMC hospital and the one at Safeway where the shootings happened. The UMC Memorial was huge, and they had already taken out 500+ stuffed animals. Tucson as a community had been devastated, but they clearly came together in a wreath of support.

After that we went home, we were having the entire Arizona Based Wraspir clan over for BBQ ribs. Now, you all know that BBQ ribs, particularly Dad’s ribs, are my favorite, so I was looking forward to this meal. We had 15 Wraspir family or friends there and I swear mom cooked 5 cows worth of ribs. I ate only 2. I had no appetite and wasn’t interested in eating. Bummer. Though for dessert Cousin Jeannette brought her famous white cake with peanut butter frosting … I had to have some of that. Interested or not, I was eating some of that cake.

Sunday we were heading to Tubac. Tubac is a small town that’s full of stores, and fun shops to wonder in and out of. I was looking forward to going since in all the years I’ve been going down to Tucson, we talk about it but we never make it. So mom and I hop in the car at/around 10 and head south. I think we were only a couple miles from the border by the time we got there. We picked up Cousin Jeannette on our way and met family friend Suzi down there. I was so tired, and was feeling pretty much like crap. I took all of 3 photos…which anyone who knows me knows that 3 photos is child’s play for me. As the day progressed, I’d find a place to sit and let the other gals wonder in and out. I just had no energy.

We headed home, mom took my temp and turned out I had a 100.6 temp. That coupled with the chest pain and lack of sleep and eating was starting to catch up with me. I had a half of piece of toast for dinner and was in bed by 8pm.

I was promptly awaken out of my slumber at 9pm. Dad had fallen again. I came out and he was lying on the floor asking me to help get him up. I sure wish I could have. Dad broke his shoulder a couple weeks back, then needed another surgery to fix a bone fragment that had dislodged. He was still stapled together and in a sling, no way I could get him up from the floor. Mom called 9-1-1 and the cavalry showed up. All very familiar with dad and his falling. His blood pressure was super low so the EMTs (which by the way, I looked and felt like crap and every single one of them were gorgeous…figures) thought it best he be transported to the ER.

Great! Here I feel like crap, and I can’t let mom go alone. So I go with mom to the hospital. I wasn’t there very long before she called a family friend to come and get me.

They released dad about 3:30 and they all got home around 4am. We had to be up and out of the house by 8:30 to make it to Phoenix to drop me off at the airport. We were all exhausted.

So the weekend in Tucson wasn’t nearly as much fun as I had hoped. It was good to see the folks and the rest of the entourage. There are some good people down there watching out for mom and dad.

Tuesday I woke with the worst pain in my chest since the Friday before. I could barely breath, it hurt to breath and I felt overall like crap. I finally decided to drive myself to Urgent Care. Now you all know I won’t go to the doctors unless its necessary, so we all knew this was bad.

Urgent Care checked me out, ordered up a chest x-ray and I waited for the results. When they came in there was a spot on the top of my right lung. The doctor wasn’t sure if it was a clot or not so ordered a vq scan – which turns out to be a lung ventilation/perfusion scan, which is a test that measures air and blood flow in your lungs. Right.

So before the scan the doctor gave me a breathing treatment that made me very woozy and shaky. I needed to get to Evergreen Hospital in about 30 minutes for the VQ scan but it didn’t look like I was in any shape to drive. She called 9-1-1 and the cavalry came to pick me up. My turn to ride in an ambulance.

I’ve never been in an ambulance, and frankly would gladly pass it up again. The EMTs were, naturally, attractive, and very friendly guys. The got me all checked out and off to the hospital.

After the VQ scan, the radiologist determined it wasn’t a clot and I was free to go home.

It didn’t explain what it was or why the pain, but I was headed home. Seattle Sister-in-Law, bless her, came and picked me up.

The doc called today because I was still concerned with what exactly this was. Turns out that a blood vessel had ruptured and that was the pain I was feeling. It would repair itself, if it hadn’t already.

As for the fever, shortness of breath and lethargy she suspect it might be some type of flu bug and to watch it. The tiredness she thinks is because I haven’t been eating anything so there are no calories in my system. And in the meantime, I get to take a few hits from my new snazzy inhaler.

I managed to make it to work today – barely – and made it home for a quick nap. Hoping tomorrow is a better day. I'm off to bed.

I'm Published...

I'm so excited, I can barely contain myself ...

So, you know how every year I get involved with this little thing called the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 day! And every year I go out and shoot photos to send them to maybe - someday - if they feel like it - use a photo in marketing.

Well today was that day!

I waltzed into the Getting Started meeting and the official PowerPoint opening slide is this photo.

My favorite photo of all times...it gets me all teary-eyed every time I see it.

My photo...on the official PowerPoint!

Look! That's me in a dark room doing my very best Vanna White.

But wait, it gets better.

Then, they start playing the marketing video that plays and runs through photos prior to the meeting getting started.  THREE of my photos are in that video!

THREE!

I can barely contain my excitement at seeing MY PHOTOs being used. 

Which three? Thanks for asking...

I'm famous! I'll sign autographs in the sitting room after my viewing!

Did I mention I'm so excited to have MY PHOTOs being used?

The Great Search for the Other Half of the Orange (OHO)

When in Mexico, the host family I lived with told me that they search for la otra media de naranja (the other half of the orange). I've always thought that was charming and not so "prince charming" like.

It dawned on me that I’ve not written and update about my adventures in online dating. It could, frankly, because there has been no adventure in it. It’s been painfully slow. I don’t do patience well, but I guess this is an exercise in just that…patience.

Speaking of exercise, here’s something amusing. But first some background.

My profile is on eHarmony. I know many couples who are couples because of this site. So I figured I might as well give it a try as well. I have in the past, but afore-mentioned virtue I’m missing stopped me from continuing. It was taking what I considered too long. Anyhow, this time around I started an entirely new profile with them. From beginning to end, I answered all their questions, honestly and succinctly. No need to get too wordy yet. I’ve discovered reading profiles is a lot like reading resumes. If you don’t have me within the first couple of lines, I’m moving on.

So fast forward to my profile being live and active. Not two words I used in my profile mind you. I would 1) assume they knew I was alive and 2) am not an overly active person – as in hiking, fishing, skiing, bungee jumping, or any of the sort.

The matches weren’t rolling in. In fact, I only got a handful the first couple of weeks. I’d check every couple of days and be shocked that there were no new matches. I’d think to myself, “Really? No matches.” In a city of a couple million, I’m surprised – or maybe I shouldn’t be.

Then I noticed all the matches that were coming in were for men in their mid to late 50’s. Now I have no issues with a large number of years between me and my OHO (see subject for translation) – I mean my mom is 13 years younger than my dad and they’ve been married for 30 ish years. Yet, when I see a profile for a man who’s 57 I think, “That’s almost 60! And that’s almost my mom’s age.” And – well I just can’t go down that path yet.

I should also mention that none of the 50Plusers were interesting. I’m sure had anything in their profile been interesting, I might have given them a shot…but they either 1) had nothing in their profile or 2) used words too big for me to understand.

I joke.

Mostly.

Ahem…Right, so let’s fast forward again to last week. Suddenly I was getting the mother-load of matches. 19 came in at one time. I felt like I had hit the OHO Lottery. As I read through them, trying desperately to not make snap judgments on them, I started to see a trend. ALL of them, while in my age range, were overly active. As in hate sitting on the couch watching TV or reading, hate staying home, hate doing anything that doesn’t get your heart rate up (none mentioned hanky-panky but one could only assume they would include that in their list).

As I read through them, one at a time it dawned on me…ALL of them were the sporty type. All wanted to hike, fish, be outdoors, swim, ski, bungee jump (one guy said it was on his bucket list and the following item on his bucket list – Survive Bungee Jumping), boating, yoga, working out every day for 3 hours (I kid you not), and the activities went on and on.

Um, did eHarmony read my profile? I know opposites attract, but really? There is nothing in my profile, let alone life, that says I’m an overly athletic type who loves to fling herself off a perfectly good bridge/cliff, then swim 9 miles to where the boat will pick me up so I can hike home.

That’s not to say I’m not active. I am – to a degree. I’m just not Sporty Spice. I’m more Cooking Spice. Or Photo Spice. Or any other spice that is less athletic.

I re-read my profile just to be sure I hadn’t accidentally lied and said I was Sporty Spice…and I sure don’t see how they are getting these matches.

Needless to say, I didn’t send my questions to any of them. They all wanted Sporty Spice and I ain’t she. Yes, I know, I should have let them say that – but frankly – why waste my time.

I was chatting with a friend about it today and how frustrating it’s becoming. She said I should have someone else write my profile. Someone who knows me and who could perhaps do a better job describing me than me. I need a better Marketeer!

So if you feel so inclined….

Questions:

The One thing I’m most passionate about:



The Most Important think I’m looking for in a person is:



The three things I’m most thankful for:



The One think I wish more people would notice about me:



The things I can’t live without:

Never on a Monday...a Monday...a Monday...

Wow, it's Monday already. And what a Monday it's gonna be. Makes me want to drive my 3.2 miles home, change into my flannel pjs, hop into bed, throw the covers over my head and not come out until Thursday.

We had one hellevua wind storm last night. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.  "There's no place like home...." I have a screen on my front window that I was sure was going to jiggle loose and take flight. I noticed this morning its a bit more waggled than it had been.

I bought a new printer table (actually it's a microwave stand, but whatever) through the mail. And can I just say, "You get what you pay for." It had been in this catalog for $80 then it went on sale, free shipping and $40. I can't pass that up. It has shelves on it so it could house my scanner and  my new Silhouette tool. Yesterday I put the thing together...and I swear it feels like a house of cards. I wanted something studier than the desk I had it on...and I think I went backwards instead of forwards on the "sturdy meter".

Got a call from Blueberry last night. She spent the day in the emergency room. Silly girl took her niece and nephew ice skating, fell and broke her left wrist. Blueberry's left handed. This should be interesting.

In other news, I'm heading to Tucson this coming weekend. The MomUnit is telling me the weather is going to be cold. Which, frankly, I don't care, as long as it's sunny. And cold Tucson is Spring Seattle sometimes.  I'd like to go by the Safeway the shootings happened and see the memorial that's growing there. I love to see the outpouring of support when tragedies happen. After 9/11 in West Seattle, the small version of the Statue of Liberty was COVERED with flowers, candles, signs, balloons, etc. It was a sight to be seen. It really made you pause and think about how life is fleeting.

And on that note, I'm going to get work done today. Oh and I'm 16 for 16 on the Project365.

Just another Tuesday, wait Wednesday, night...

Why do firemen hold such an appeal to us girls? My brother-in-law is a fireman...and he's just Stupid-Brother-in-Law. Nothing overly exciting...(hehehe...don't tell him I said that). 

It could be the uniforms.

It could be the bravery and courage we associate with them.

It could be they are just damn hot under all that fire protecting gear...

Or it could be I'm just weird and I blame my mother.

Tonight I was warm and happy sitting on my couch getting ready to take a nap when I heard the fire alarm of a unit in our complex go off. 

"Oh boy Oh boy Oh boy", I thought.

I grab my coat, my camera, my shoes (yes I have to remember my shoes) and I was off.

Ten minutes later, the cavalry arrived. 

Wait...the alarm's going off again!  Will they come check it out again?

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...too bad I'm upstairs and so done with going out in the cold. Sorry boys, you'll have to work this one without me.

I wonder what percentage of their calls are false alarms. 

In other news, I'm on day 12 of Project365 and I'm 12 for 12 with my photos.  Only (calculator please) 353 more photos to go.  In case you've been remiss in checking out my progress, here are the last several you've missed.

The Breakfast Club

GalPal Claudia and I like to meet for breakfast on the weekends.  We have a couple of favorite spots that we frequent but we wanted to track down some new haunts.

A couple things you should know about me and Claudia and breakfast.
1. I am not a fan of eggs.
2. Claudia likes eggs.
3. Claudia usually eats all her eggs, all my eggs, and takes the rest home for leftovers.
4. Nothing goes to waste at breakfast

Way back in October I had won a drawing at the Drink Beyond Pink auction.  In the beautiful pink basket I won, was a $25 gift certificate for The Breakfast Club.

 This was one of those places I've driven past a hundred times.  And one of those places I'd never go into by myself. As we pushed open the door - I thought as my senses were washed over with the smell of grease - that we'd either have the best breakfast of our lives, or we'd be sick for days with food poisoning.

Its a small place, with, let's call it, eclectic decorations.  It reminded me of going into an antique store.  You know the types, with thousands of items on its shelves and walls.  Your eyes are so confused with what you're seeing that you don't even know where to look. This is that place.

This was the view from our table toward the back of the restaurant.  The clutter just about drove me crazy, but as I started looking around, I began to appreciate the craziness that was this little diner.

This view is from the front. It doesn't do it justice to all the stuff on the shelves to the right - which you can't see - but it does show the walls well...so many items.  Through the course of breakfast I counted about 10 flamingos around the place.  Any place with flamingos can't be that bad, right?

Turns out the food was pretty darn good. Reasonably priced for how much food you got and surprisingly tasty.  I wasn't holding out a whole lot of hope considering the location of this place (Lake City - hooligans live in Lake City...like my bigbro and his fam...it's just not safe with those Wraspir's lurking).  Anyhow, the staff was was you'd expect from a family owned little diner...polite and attentive.

I had their corned beef hash and Claudia had their chicken fried steak.  We split the two ...she had my eggs and her eggs (which was 6 total and to her credit she only ate 5...took everything else home with her.

Nothing matched either.  The coffee cups were stained with years of use...I momentarily questioned if they were even cleaned...and decided coffee wouldn't hurt me.  Claudia's knife was yellow and black ... with a rubber handle.  You can see it in the photo above with the blue rimmed plate.

At the end of the breakfast, we were satisfied.  Good food, great conversation, and the best part...it was free.  I'll most likely go back - not alone of course - I bet I can talk the fam into meeting me there some day.

And since I know you care and are dying to know...I've done well for 8 days with the Project365.  I don't hold any delusions that I'll be able to keep this up, but I'm gonna try.

Cold...Leaf...

I swear to you this will not become a photography blog!  However, with the Project365 getting started I'm overly motivated to take photos and  post them.  Trust me, in 15 days - give or take - I'll be struggling to find something to take a photo of.

I did get asked today what's stopping you from taking 7 photos on the weekend and posting one a day. My reply - Nothing. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I am carrying my camera everywhere with me and as I was walking to the mailbox - before almost slipping and breaking something - I saw this.

Got any brilliant ideas of what I can take photos of in my every day life?  Food is already on my list. The Stang, Pookie, coffee and weather are all on the list. I  need ideas people.

Project 365

I have three friends who are involved in what's called Project 365.  The idea is to take one photo every day...and post it. These friends aren't professional photographers and at least two of them I didn't even know they owned cameras. Yet, they are setting off on this adventure.

Can I do this?

I love taking photos. I want to improve my photography ability, but a photo a day? That's a lot of photos. Well, 365 to be exact.

One of my goals this year was a photo a week - which seems more doable to me.  But what if I could do a photo a day? There's no rules saying it has to be perfect. No rules saying there has to be a theme. No rules for it at all. I could certainly give it a try, couldn't I? Of course, you all will suffer the most because I'd be posting them here.

Let's see, since Jan 1 I have taken a photo a day! I'm already well on my way to a photo a day.

Okay, so how about this. Why don't I say I'm going to TRY to take a photo a day...and worst case I take a photo a week. I can't possibly think I'd post a photo a day, so I might post them in clumps ...or I can make an attempt at one a day. We shall see. Watch this space.

In the meantime, here's Jan 1 - Jan 3rd photos:

January 1 - Right outside my front door.  I had decided to go on a little photoshoot - my weekly theme was Cold. And since it was 17F outside, I figured how hard could it be.  Right outside my front door is a wood fence that haunts me.  Every time I see it, I know there's an award winning photo in it. I just can't compose it correctly. It screams to be photographed.  Today, instead, I focused on the moss and ice that seemed to be clinging on for dear life to the old faded wood.

January 2 - Also right out my front door. I have a pond behind my townhouse. It's protected land so the cat tails line the pond. Throughout the year I enjoy watching them change color from vibrant green in the spring, to warm, autumn brown in the fall.  Suddenly, I noticed they are spitting cotton out.  I love this photo with the warmth in the background and the cool, shaded foreground.  If I could do it again, I'd try to expose the foreground more..but Projec365 beggars, can't be choosers.

January 3 - What to shoot today? Since the Stang was filthy I decided to get it cleaned.  Pulling into my garage and pulling out the camera I'm not carrying everywhere with me, I thought, "why not shoot the stang?"

I should also state that you should not expect all my photos to be quality photos.  Having a photo a day means I most likely will be shooting whatever I feel like at the moment. Could be dinner, could be my coffee, could be my shoelace (if I wore shoes with shoe laces).  I'm just saying, to not expect glorified photos...some maybe...most, probably not.

OOO UPS is here with my 2nd birthday gift...ironically it plays very well into my Project365. I bought a new small camera.  Found a killer deal online and since my other little camera has decided it no longer wanted to participate in the photo taking business - I figured why not.  I didn't put it on credit, and starting this month is my huge savings plan. Why not? 

1.1.11

Hard to believe it's 2011.  We've completed the first decade of the new millennium. Oy vei!

I spent last night with my BFF Blueberry.  We kept it quiet and just hung out and had "BFF" type of talks.  I made a beef pot pie that was out of this world...surprising since I didn't have a recipe.  Turns out pot pie is pretty easy. 

Part of my goal last night was to finalize my goals for the new year. I'm not a big "resolution" type of girl, but more a "theme" type of girl.  This year is all about 21 New Things, financial freedom, and personal development.  In the  next couple of days I'll be discussing about my goals and my plan to accomplish them, but for now suffice it to say, it's going to be a GREAT year.

As part of my new plan, I decided to do a post mortem on the last year. What was good, and what was bad.  I recently read an article about doing an annual review when you're doing your goals. By doing that you can sometimes find clarity in what your new goals should be.  The author suggested coming up with 6 good and 6 bad.

Let's see what I've got.

What was good:
1. I have a job I love
2. I got fired.
3. I have been very aware of my financial standing and have followed my plan closely
4. Sunday dinners
5. Live.Laugh.Love Photography
6. Development of some personal relationship that needed some love and care.

What was bad:
1. I got fired. I know I listed is a good too and I meant that on purpose.  It really was a good, as well as a bad.  Had it not happen I wouldn't be where I am today.  I wouldn't have had to do some serious contemplation about my career and what I wanted to do. As bad as it was, it wasn't horrible and has turned out okay.
2. Lack of exercise.
3. Debt
4.

I can't come up with 6 bad. Isn't that interesting?  Turns out I had a pretty good year. Despite some serious attempts to make it suck.

I found why I was coming up with the bad - which was the first list I started to make - that as I came up with bad, I came up with a counter good, then more goods, then more.  Huh!

So I welcome 2011.  Show me what you've got.  I'm ready for you!