My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

Until We're 100%

Courtney Lee was the first one to get sick - and then it hit Cole, Annie and me simultaneously.

So when Josh Downs got home from dinner with his brother last night, he found the three of us, all laying in the same bed, feeling sick and sorry for ourselves. (Courtney Lee was spending the night at Grandma Jo's.)

But I don't have any pictures of that because I was sick.

I think we all woke up this morning feeling about 50% better, but we're keeping it low-key until we're 100%.

So this morning was all about hot chocolates from Dutch Brothers and board games.

And 50% is enough for me to grab my camera...

Hope your weekend is/was good.

Still At It

Took this one with my iPhone while I was biking the other day...

I'm still at it.

And I feel like I'm progressing...

I'm a better biker than I was at this time last year, thanks to a few hilly bike routes I've been riding. And I can handle longer running distances than I could handle last year too, thanks to your recommendations for using a foam roller to deal with my hip pain. And I think I'm a better swimmer as well (which I didn't realize until the other night when I was able to swim a mile at the YMCA without stopping), but I'll just have to thank God and his good grace for that one because I've put very little effort into swimming this year.

And in general, I think I'm in a better place for this year's triathlon both physically (because I've trained harder this year) and mentally (because Josh was getting ready to deploy at this time last year).

That said, I'm also regressing...

I'm about seven pounds heavier than I was last year, which is hurting me, but I think its the memory of last year's triathlon (my first) which is hurting me even worse.

I just remember being in the water (for 47 minutes) and telling myself that I would never do another triathlon.

And I remember climbing that hill on my bike (three times) and telling myself that I would never do another triathlon.

And I remember crying during the run (with my head in that ladies bosom) and telling myself that I would never do another triathlon.

Yet I signed up for another triathlon (and it's just over two weeks away).

This week is my hardest training week (75 miles of biking, 20 miles of running and 2 miles of swimming), but I'm right on track so far and yesterday while I was running up at my mom's place (while she watched my kiddos), I felt like I had a bazillion random thoughts/epiphanies/thankful moments...

- If I had to train indoors (on a treadmill, a stationary bike, etc.) I'd have given up a long time ago because fresh air, a light breeze and taking in new sights is part of what keeps me going.

- Instead of chastising my little (big) sausage legs, I should thank them for being able to run 8-miles.

- Life is kind of like running in a way; There are always going to be steep uphill climbs and long flats that unfortunately always seem to take place in the hot, scorching sun, but thankfully, there are also downhill stretches and cool patches of shade along the way.

- The upside of wearing shorts while I'm running is that I stay cooler.

- The downside of wearing shorts while I'm running is that I'm worried my chubby thighs are going to start a forest fire from all the friction.

- I want to take time in life to appreciate the sound of water pushing through irrigation sprinklers, ugly weeds that looks like art-forms when the sun hits them just right, American flags blowing in a way that makes me want to belt-out the National Anthem, old barns that could tell a thousand stories and birds hopping from fencepost to fencepost as if they're trying to encourage me to keep running.

- Out of years and years of habit, my mind always settles on painful/ugly/worrisome thoughts when left unattended and because I know that about myself (and want something better) I have to be on top of my thoughts like white on rice.

- Nothing gets my mind back on track better than Philippians 4:8 - "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (And I think that holds true, regardless of religious beliefs.)

- Sometimes running sucks and I have no clue why I'm doing it.

- Running makes me a better wife and a better mom and a better worker because it clears a lot of crap out of my head.

- Stopping to talk to old ladies and friendly dogs is sometimes the best part of a run.

- It's kind of humiliating being one of those girls who has to pull her shorts down every 20 steps or so, in order to prevent them from riding up and looking like a diaper.

- I'll bet no one else in the world gives a rip what my shorts look like while I'm running, and if I were smart, I wouldn't care either.

- I love my mom. (Apparently, I was taking longer than she had expected, so she drove down the road looking for me and after unsuccessfully trying to talk me into giving up and getting in her air-conditioned car, she decided to drive alongside me while I finished up the last mile.)

Medford Cruise

After we got home from Willow Lake, we ran Courtney Lee by her mom's place and then we went to the Medford Cruise...

Oh ya, we stopped by Dairy Queen (for Blizzards) first though.

Some nice lady that was sitting behind us asked if she could borrow my camera for a few minutes to take photos of us as the cars went by and (after deciding that I could catch her if she took off with my camera) I was happy to oblige.

And Coley took that one (and I'm in love with it).

And then he rattled off a bazillion photos of old cars passing by and made me promise that I'd post them here for all of you to see.

And he even complained that the porta-potties were ruining his composition. (That's my boy.)

And he decided that he wanted to find an old 69' Camaro for him and his dad to fix up. (His dad was hoping he'd be a Mustang-lover rather than a Camaro-lover though.)

And then he shot.

And shot.

And shot.

And shot some more.

And if I didn't already have my heart set on driving an old, blue 49' Ford Coupe one day, I'd totally drive that orange Falcon.

Love it.

Willow Lake

We met up with Josh's side of the family at Willow Lake the weekend before last...

As we were pulling out of our driveway, Josh said that he had spent seven months in Afghanistan daydreaming about the first time he'd see his old 76' Bayliner getting pulled up to the lake in his rearview mirror.

And these guys were pretty excited too.

We had to drive over to Klamath first though to drop off a load of bricks for the Veteran's War Memorial. (Veteran's names get engraved on bricks over in Grants Pass and then Josh takes the bricks over to Klamath Falls so they can be added to the memorial.)

Which meant we had a few minutes in Klamath to throw the football and run around.

And then we made a quick stop at Safeways for groceries before getting back on the road.

As soon as we got to the lake, the boys went for a ride in the boat and the girls went swimming with Grandma Jo.

And then the boys (or at least this boy) showed up to join us.

And then we made our way back to camp (with a quick stop for pinecone baseball).

And then we snacked.

And then it was the girls turn to get out on the boat.

Which meant I had to suit up for an open water swim. (Three weeks until the Deschutes Dash Triathlon.)

That's Josh Downs on the tube.

I know that last shot is kind of a mess, but I love it anyhow.

And I love that one too.

And then we BBQ'd some lunch.

And goofed off back at camp.

Courtney Lee was making that face because she knew it would make me laugh (and she was right).

Annie was making that face because she smashed her thumb on the boat.

Coley was making that face because I threatened to smooch him to death in front of everyone if he didn't smile for me.

And Josh Downs was making that face because he was in the middle of doing a Baywatch impersonation.

And that last shot is a collaborative effort between Coley and I. (He asked me to take a shot of the trees, so I dialed in the settings and he kept lifting my viewfinder higher and higher until he thought I was in the right position to get the shot.)

And then we loaded up the munchkins once again and set off for home.

Rachel Chaney

It's happened about a half-dozen times since I started teaching The Photographers' Workshop - that during the first couple weeks of class I'd spot a student and immediately tell my husband, "I guarantee that this student is going to be a better photographer than I am in a year."

And I don't mean that in a self-deprecating way - I simply mean that all photographers have a certain amount of natural talent and that while (as their instructor) I might have a larger foundation of knowledge, as soon as their foundation of knowledge grows, their natural talent will allow them to surpass me.

And I'd be lying if I said that doesn't bother me a bit sometimes, but for the most part, it just makes me happy for them and makes me want to email them to share my thoughts.

And though their response is typically excitement and disbelief, I've yet to be wrong and each of those students has eventually become a knock-your-socks-off photographer.

Rachel Chaney was the first student I ever had this happen with, and I think it was an image of her son, Carter (looking at a turtle he had found along a path) she had posted for evaluation that solidified it for me.

And over the years, Rachel has just periodically shot off emails to me with photos attached and a note that usually says something like, "I don't need a response, I just wanted to show you these images and wanted to thank you."

And as her talent progressed, I found myself looking at those images with awe and respect and happiness (and an occassional twinge of jealousy) for her.

And then a few months back while we were exchanging emails, I said, "One of these days, I'd love to either fly out to Texas to visit and shoot with you or have you fly out here to do the same."

And last weekend, we made that happen - Rachel Chaney came to visit me and my family here in Oregon.

And high on her (very organized) 'to-do' list was bio shots...

Will post more details about our time together, but I just wanted to share these for now. (That last one is my favorite.)

And Rachel Chaney...I have to tell you that Annie was sitting on my lap this morning while I was editing these images of you and she said, "I love looking at pictures of Rachel, I just miss her so much already."

Seattle

I spent last week up in Seattle at my sister's house.

I went for a multitude of reasons, but #1 on the list was the ability to work some long hours without the daily interruptions that plague me at home. (ie. getting kids ready for school, laundry, grocery shopping, picking kids up from school, homework, dinner, etc., etc., etc.)

Just a week's worth of long, uninterrupted work days, followed up with the good company of my sister.

I didn't take my camera and decided to challenge myself to shoot the entire week with my iPhone.

And I think I was pretty successful at that.

But then, on the morning I was heading home, my sister took it upon herself to fix my iPhone (I had been having some problems with it.) by doing a 'System Restart' which not only made it so that my iPhone will not longer sync up with my computer, but it also wiped out all of my pictures.

Thanks Leigh Ann. I owe you.

So this is the only shot I've got from the entire week. (I took it parked in downtown Portland, partway through my drive home when I stopped to pick up two orders of Spinach Au Gratin to go from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for dinner.)

So sans the photos, here's what I want to remember:

- Loading up Tucker (my sister's dog) every day at noon to pick up lunch from the PCC deli.

- Laughing as my 20 year old son ordered a 'Piggy Patty Pile' for breakfast while simultaneously trying to look cool for the cute waitress.

- Meeting up with Josh Downs for lunch in Eugene. (He was driving home from Seattle and I was driving to Seattle.)

- Ice cream at Molly Moons.

- Dancing in the kitchen to 'I Wish' (One of our favorite songs from college.)

- Laughing (The kind of laughing where you make snorting noises and have to cross your legs to prevent leakage.) while while my sister and I tried to stuff one another into wetsuits (for upcoming triathlons) at Speedy Reedy.

- Pear Marinis, Truffle Popcorn, Roasted Cauliflower and whatever that magic cheese was from Epulo Bistro.

- Laughing our butts off.

- A 28 mile bike ride down to U-District with my sister and our best friend from college, Dawn.

- Two nights of Pagliaci's pizza because its my favorite.

- Sitting out on the back porch talking with Ross and my sister.

- A 7 mile run in a pair of shoes I'm not used to running in and the ensuing blister.

- Driving as fast as we could to see the sun set on the water and finding the coolest rainbow I'd ever seen along the way.

- Meeting up for lunch with Jill on my way out of town.

Thanks for making it a great trip Lee Lee (except for the part when you broke my iPhone).

Love,

Your Little Sis

Father's Day

We slept in on Father's Day.

And then I went grocery shopping and cleaned while Josh Downs worked on odd projects around the house.

And then I decided I couldn't stand the suspense anymore, so I made him open his gifts...

A memory foam pillow so he'd quit stealing mine and two other regular pillows so he'd quit using my pretty, decorative ones.

And then the girls and I gave him his his next gift...

A dance routine to 'Like a Love Song' by Selena Gomez.

No, I'm not kidding. Selena Gomez.

And yes, someday, I'm going to figure out what to do with the walls in the dining room. (I've tried three different paint colors, purchased multiple wallpaper samples and most recently, hung white frames on the wall with the intention of adding color photos. So far, I don't like anything.)

And them my dad and stepmom came over to BBQ.

And I took lots of pictures of my dad with the kiddos.

And I loved every single one of them.

So I decided to take a few pictures of Josh Downs with the kiddos too...

It had (seriously) been years since I got a portrait-style shot of all of them together.

Thanks for that one Coley.

And then we hung out.

Annie's been wearing a hand-made Madonna glove for the past couple of days. (She and Josh made it out of the sleeve from one of her baby's dresses.)

And then my step-mom and I told embarrassing stories about my Dad and Josh.

And Annie told everyone about how she smashed her thumb while we were at the lake with Josh's parents the day before.

And Cole told everyone that he didn't shower for an entire week at Church Camp last summer, hence Courtney Lee's face.

And then Annie decided that she wanted to take pictures too so she grabbed an old camera I gave her a few years ago. (An old Canon EOS film camera.)

When she realized it wasn't working, she asked for some new batteries.

And when I told her that she'd need batteries and film she said, "What's film?"

And then she asked if she could take pictures with my camera instead since it doesn't need film.

And she took that one of Coley and my dad.

And then we ate.

Burgers and faux chicken patties (Quorn brand patties are my favorite.) and corn-on-the-cobb.

And then my dad and stepmom went home and Josh and I took a nap while the kids watched a movie.

And then I supervised the first kid-prepared meal ever served in our house...

Coley made a German Chocolate cake (Josh's favorite) with a little help from his (spoon-liking) little sister.

Courtney Lee made home-made mac & cheese.

She said that she had to watch the video nine times in a row to get all of the instructions/ingredients written down correctly. 

Apparently she didn't know that she could have saved a little time by hitting the 'print' button.

And Annie made berry bowls with whipped cream.

And I sprayed whipped cream in all of the kids mouths just like my grandma used to do with me.

And then we ate dinner before heading out for an 8:30 p.m. softball game.

And yes, we lost.

Again.

But I kind of felt like the day was a 'win' anyhow. (Hope yours was too.)

Registration...

Registration for the next Photographers' Workshop begins this this coming up Monday morning (June 18th, 2012) at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. (This class runs from September 10th - November 18th and will be my last workshop in 2012.)

To register just go here. (Note that you will not be able to register prior to 9 a.m. Pacific time on June 18th.)

Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. I have no way of knowing how this particular registration will go but past classes have always filled up fast so you'll want to type quickly. (To make the process quicker, just fill out the 'General Information' section, knowing that you can fill out the remaining information at a later time, after your registration is complete.) 

The workshop runs for 10 weeks, includes 45 lesson (a total of 450+ pages of information and images) and 9 assignments. There is a class forum (an image from the Q&A Board is shown below) where you can interact with your classmates, post all of your questions, upload your assignments and post images for fun and/or critique. (This forum is my full time job so you'll have access to me 40+ hours a week during the entire course.)

  

I allow a limited number of 'regular students' ($395) and 'auditing students' ($245). Auditing students can participate in class exactly like a regular student, asking questions, posting comments, uploading photos, etc. The only difference between auditing students and regular students is that I do not provide evaluations for assignments or photo critiques posted by auditing students. 

Some students choose to audit because the regular seats usually fill up quickly and other students choose to audit because their schedule is busy and they want the flexibility of working at their own pace, knowing that they can choose to schedule a telephone or Skype consult ($95 per hour) with me in the future to ask questions and receive feedback on their images.

If you'd like to receive updates on future classes via email, you can get on the wait list here. (There's currently 1314 people on the waiting list but don't let that scare you because again, registration is on a first-come first-served basis.)

If you have any additional questions, check out the information here. (You can click on the link at the bottom of this page to download a FAQ sheet and a Class Syllabus.) If you don't find the answer to your question there, feel free to leave your question in the comments section and I'll update this post with the answer to your question marked in red so you don't miss my response.

If you'd like to read some reviews, you can do so here and/or you can weed through the comments on this post (Sorry, I was doing a giveaway so there's 800+ comments) to hear what some past students have to say about the class.

Hope I didn't miss anything and looking forward to having some of you in my next class! (Oh, and if you email me on registration day, please be patient with my response because registration day is crazy for me!)

Summer Vacation 2012

Their last day of school was on Friday.

I was up in Seattle and Josh didn't take any pictures, but from what I heard, they roasted hot dogs in the backyard and ate their weight in junk food while listening to 'School's Out For Summer.'

And being the Type A, anal-retentive, my-best-friend-is-a-label-maker kind of girl that I am, I had grand visions of how organized and how structured and how prepared I was going to be this summer (I decided not to teach a summer workshop, so I'm doing full-time mommy duty for the next three months.) but by the time the first official day of summer vacation was upon us (Monday), I found myself with no schedule, no plans and an empty fridge, not to mention the fact that even though my last photography workshop ended on Sunday, this is actually the busiest time of the class for me since all of the final Assignment and Photo Critique evaluations are due.

So my kids stayed in their pajamas until 1:00 p.m., ate peanut butter toast for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and entertained themselves on my laptop for more hours than I care to divulge.

So I'd say this mom-hosted Summer Vacation 2012 is off to a shaky start.

And at one point in the day, I actually caught myself singing this song, after Cole and Annie played it for like the 284th time in a row.

So I took that as my cue to put down the mouse and the keyboard and to grab my camera.

I even filmed part of it, which is something I've only done once before with my camera. (The SOS Alarm tech was at our house fixing the alarm while I was shooting this, which is why you can hear beeping noises in the video. When he left he said, "I'm kind of worried that Bomp, bomp, bomp, got any grapes? is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.")

It's kind of long and I can't figure out how to focus correctly in Video Mode, but I kind of love it anyhow...

 

Wish me luck.

I'm going to need it.

A Couple Weekends Back Part II...

And here's the rest of the photos from a few weekends back, along with my random (I'm too tired to make anything flow.) comments...

Those pants of his are slowly disintegrating, but they're my favorite work pant of he owns. (He was making a run to the storage until because somehow, I ended up collecting more desks and dressers than we have children to use them.)

And Shindand is a year old now and he's enourmous (but until recently, he couldn't jump into the back of my car or Josh's truck, so we had to lift him in - all 90 lbs of him).

And Shelby is getting to be an old girl, but her favorite place in the world is still the back of Josh's truck. (And she totally knows how to smile.)

And all of our kids are pretty fond of hanging out in the back of the truck too.

She's so dang cute.

But so dang loud.

Nachos for lunch. (There was nothing of any nutritional value in my cupboards.)

Josh loves finding bugs for the kids. (He found an ant's nest.)

As soon as Annie even glanced upon it, she thought ants were crawling up her legs.

And Courtney Lee wanted no part of that.

I think Annie was getting ready to bail too until Josh found a cricket (and Annie loves just about every kind of bug except for spiders, ants and pinchers).

But crickets are jumpy, so she was a bit reluctant.

Still feeling like she had ants in her pants.

As soon as you see Josh sitting down with a beer in his hand, you know he's done working.

And seeing him sitting on the front porch at the end of the day is probably one of my favorite sights.

Ok, enough of all my randomness...I'm done.