Oh Martha, you're so fine...

You're so fine. You blow my mind. Hey Martha. Hey Martha.

You may remember our little New Year's Eve party. Where we made resolutions. And posted them.

One of those resolution cards read "The person I want to be more like this year is..." I left this one blank for most of the night. And finally just scribbled down Martha Stewart. Not really giving it much thought.

Maybe it was because of that piece of paper that I picked up this magazine in January. Because any magazine with the word "organizing" in the title would normally send me running for the hills. I. am. not. an. organized. person.

But much to my surprise I found myself enjoying this magazine. And ultimately falling in love with this picture...

Since our entry way looked like this...

And because BSD is uber organized, (we've got that whole yin yang thing going on) it wasn't hard to get BSD on board with the project.

He quickly built the upper shelf. Using some cool old brackets I bought at an estate sale. But after that he started getting cold feet. The built-in bench was a little daunting to my new handyman's skill level. So we took the easy way out and bought a bench instead.

We lived with the space like this for a few weeks, but I could not get good ole Martha's bench out of my mind. Finally, after much begging, BSD agreed to give it a whirl. We had no instructions so we had to just wing it. And when we were done we ended up with this.

It probably took us ten times longer than someone with mad carpentry skills, but we got there. And I find myself wanting to hang out in this space now instead of shutting my eyes tight every time I walk in the front door.

My favorite parts? The red Euro license plate that was on my car when my parents picked it up for us at the factory. My dad's name is on the registration sticker on the back. And that little woven mail basket? A $1.25 Good Will score. *woot* I'm loving the ole G dubya lately.

Oh Martha, you're so fine. You're so fine. You blow my mind. Hey Martha. Hey Martha. 

Stay tuned. There's more Martha in the making over here.

Kerri...note the lack of window treatments on the side lights. ;)

Family Photographs

Remember my photo class? The one called "Finding your Vision Courage?" Well, it finally ended. After many weeks of shooting, editing, writing and crying. It finally ended. And I survived.

The hardest part? Writing the damn Artist Statement. Me. The one who started out with an interest in writing. Who discovered a passion for taking photos along the way. Struggled to write the damn statement.

And I know why. It's the same reason I always struggle with writing for classes. It becomes too personal. The thoughts that I keep bottled up inside me. That I never want to see the light of day. Are the only ones I seem to write about in class situations. Because if I'm going to write. It has to mean something to me. And the things that mean something to me. Are the things I don't like to talk about.

And of course we had to read our statements aloud. Or rather our partners read our statements aloud. And in my case. She read. While I bawled. Yep. Big heaving, gasping tears. Totally embarrassing. It sucked. And then to top it all off? My partner told me to basically cut out everything I wrote.

Later others in the class made me promise not to change it. And told me not to read it on the day of the reception. So I wouldn't get emotional. In the end, I did edit it. Basically making it longer.

At the eleventh hour BSD found out he would not be home for the reception. Needless to say I was crushed. But the reception turned out to be a lot of fun. Thanks to some very dear friends. Who came to support me. And stayed the whole two hours despite an absolutely gorgeous beach day passing them by.

A table filled with snacks and drinks kept the ballerinas and their friends happy. And my friend's father-in-law volunteered to keep us all entertained as our very own piano man. What a treat that was!

In the end I learned a lot. About myself. About my vision. About courage. I'm sick and tired of the photos I took in this class. But I look forward to taking more. So I'd say the class was a success.

Family Photographs
Growing up, I have fond memories of my father as the family photographer. The worn leather strap of his Leica hung from his shoulder throughout our family travels. He photographed our family, doing ordinary things in extraordinary places, and he brought that world back home for us through slides projected onto our living room wall.

Just like my father, my family inspires me to pick up my camera. Beyond the family trips and birthday celebrations, I am captivated by capturing the everyday moments. Those moments that I don’t want to forget: the way my youngest curls her blankie around her fingers before she drifts off to sleep, or the dozens of chocolate chip cookies we’ve baked together over the years; even a simple hand-scrawled note or a family game of cards.

The photographs displayed here are simple: a family doing ordinary things in ordinary places. This collection represents a season of our family life, literally and figuratively. Other seasons will come and go, and with my Canon hanging from my shoulder by its patchwork strap, I will continue to document our “ordinary” life. As my father did before me, I will leave a legacy in the form of photographs for my children. Simple. Ordinary. Extraordinary.


***
Note: The two photographs from the reception were taken with my dad's camera. *big cheesy grin*

Ten on Ten: April 2012

ahhh...Ten on Ten, my old friend. I'm sorry I haven't called in a few months. Things around here have been hectic. But in a good way. Lots of projects in progress. Lots of family time in action. Lots of good. And just a little ick that I work hard to shove way down deep. And cover with lots of dirt. Hoping that will be enough to make only good things emerge. If I ignore it for long enough.

It's Spring Break this week. We're sticking close to the old homestead. Enjoying the break from schedules. And homework. And carpools. It's a week of checking things off our To-Do list. But I keep adding new things to that list. And poor BSD is running on his hamster wheel as fast as he can trying to keep up. If we were independently wealthy there is no doubt that we would spend our days putzing around the house creating. When we get in the zone together, the hours fly by. And in the evening we are both tired and dirty. And content.

Yes. Life is good.

I'll be back soon with updates on our latest projects. Stay tuned. But in the meantime, check out what everyone else's Ten on Ten looked like here.