The Walk of Shame

 

I wish this post was a reminiscence of a drunken college night. I would much rather be posting a picture of me walking back to my dorm wearing the same clothes I had on the night before. Instead it's a different fall from grace. A dose of reality.

Today the Little Ballerina got suspended from the bus for the day. It seems she spit at someone. I have no idea why she would do something like this. I have never seen her hock a looey. I don't know that she knows how. But she will stick her tongue out and blow. Whatever she did. It's disgusting. And embarrassing. 

So today I walked to the school when it was over to retrieve her.

"Why didn't you bring the car?" she asked.

"Because you don't get the privilege of riding in any vehicle. You can walk home."

And so she did. She didn't complain. She didn't whine. She didn't cry. She carried her backpack and her special crystal in a cup that she was so proud of. The whole way home.

I told her if anything like this happens again she will walk home carrying a sign that says, "I can't ride the bus because I spit on people." And the next day on the bus she will wear a sign that says, "Don't sit next to me because I spit."

She didn't have dessert tonight. She is not going to her best friend's birthday party tomorrow.

I sure hope this makes a difference. If not, I'm going to have some killer legs come summertime.

Just keepin' it real, folks.

Now excuse me while I drown my sorrows in a box of Thin Mints and a bucket of Diet Coke.

The Shark Shack

Where. The Joy of Love assignment today is Where. Where were you when your heart became his. This was so easy for me. I know exactly where....

Hawaii. O'ahu. The North Shore. The Shark Shack. On his bed. Just BSD. Me. And my friend Sheryl. Not Crow. Although I think she and I could be great friends.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get to Hawaii today. Or the North Shore. Or the Shark Shack. So our own bed will have to do.  

This is how exactly how I remember it. Minus the sandy feet. Plus a few extra layers of clothing. Minus Sheryl.

BSD, Sheryl and I had just returned to the Shark Shack after a day at the beach. We were sandy. We were sunburned. We were pooped. We flopped down on BSD's bed. And laid on our backs for a long, long time. And just talked. And talked. All three of us. The conversation was so easy. It was so comfortable. Like three best friends.

Best friends. 

That's when I realized it. I was with my best friend. 

Having recently walked away from a relationship with someone who didn't know how to relax. Who was married to his job. Who wasn't there for me. This simple little moment was profound.

Joy of Love: Day 22: Portraits

The Joy of Love class is winding down. I would love to go back and make sure I hit each day's assignments, but I doubt that is going to happen. I do have grand ideas for a few of the ones I've missed. But they require warm weather. And members of my family to be home. And willing participants. Three attributes that rarely go together.

OK...so today's assignment was portraits. Close up. Head and shoulder shots. Indoor. Natural light. I should be a pro at these by now. Right? So..how come I'm not? I'm blaming it on my house. My gear. And the weather.

My house is just not conducive to beautiful indoor natural light photos. I'm convinced. Not sure why. Is it the way it's positioned in relation to the sun and the windows? Is it the lack of windows on the sides of our house? Is it the paint color?!?!?

Since I can't do anything about the way our house is positioned on the earth. Or where the windows are located. Or the weather. I guess I'll just have to paint the walls. Something bright and neutral. This deep yellow/gold color? It's gotta go.

As for gear? I know it's not the gear. I have a great camera. Some decent lenses. But I can't help lusting after a 50mm 1.4. I have the 1.8. It works well enough. I just feeelllll like the 1.4 would be so much better. I've heard mixed reviews on the 1.2 and with the $1500 price tag that bad boy is not in the cards. Anyone here upgrade from a 1.8 to a 1.4 or 1.2? Did you notice a big difference?

Ok...so enough excuses. Oh wait, one more thing. There was NO light today. Totally gray and overcast. But here are my pictures for today. Both are taken with the 50mm 1.8.

Shot Through the Heart

The Joy of Love assignment today is to photograph hands. Doing something you love. BSD and I used to play darts all the time while we were dating. I think we knew where every dart board was located on O'ahu. 

We used to especially love to play darts at the Sugar Bar on the North Shore. The Sugar Bar was a biker bar. A dive bar. With cheap beers. Sketchy patrons. And darts. 

Our favorite dart-playing adventure was the night two bar stool bums challenged us to a game of Cricket. Losers buy the next round. These two locals thought they had the game in the bag. A couple of haoles. No problem.

Little did they know that the more I drank, the better I got. And that night I drank. A lot. So I was good. Really good. Those two bar stool bums didn't know what hit them. But they went down. And BSD and I toasted our win with two Coronas. On them.

We haven't played in years. Since before we had the ballerinas. But for Valentine's Day this year I got BSD some "love darts." Just like cupid would shoot. 

And this weekend we taught the ballerinas how to play. 

Good times. Ahhh. Good times.

Holy Smokes...

We had a bit of a scare on Saturday. The weather reports kept warning that the high winds combined with the dryness made for prime wildfire conditions. And sure enough. As we were hanging out in our front yard Saturday morning we saw the smoke. We thought nothing of it at first. But then it was getting thicker. And darker. And closer.

Everyone went to go check it out. The Big Ballerina came back in tears. Shaking from head to toe. The dunes were on fire. And spreading. Fast.

"Call 911, Mommy! PLEASE! Call 911!" she begged me.

You know you're in trouble when you call 911 and they put you on hold. But the dispatcher assured me the fire department was on its way.

We watched trees engulf in flames. And wondered if we should pack up what we could and leave. We gathered a few things. Threw them in the back of the car. And waited. And watched.

Luckily, there is water that separates us from the dunes. Water that stopped the fire from continuing into our backyards. Thank goodness the winds blew the flames parallel to the houses instead of up the street toward us. And thank goodness for the fire fighters who got it under control. 

(I am standing in our next door neighbor's back yard here. The zoom is only at 55mm. The fire fighters are close. Too close for comfort.)

The picture below is taken this morning in the same spot as the one of BB above. All of the vegetation is gone. This is one of my favorite places to take pictures. I was actually thinking of a photo I wanted to take in this spot that very morning on my walk.

All of this used to be covered in those pretty reeds. The fire started from the far end. About three streets away.

But, we're all ok. Nobody was hurt. Everyone's house was spared. I just need to find a new favorite location to take photos. And gather all of the important papers together in one place so we're prepared for something like this in the future.

What I Wore Wednesday: The Valentine Edition

I'm still high on love this month. Even though I've fallen pitifully behind on my Joy of Love assignments. There are still, what, 12 more days in February? Still plenty of assignments left to photograph. I'm going to squeeze out every last ounce of the pink, the red, the frills and the ruffles.

We had our special family Valentine's celebration. It was fantabulous. If I can get my act together (aka... finish project extra tunics) I'll post about it soon. But I know some of you are wondering if I caved and bought that super sweet Bronco for BSD.

Wellllll....let's just say that BSD received this on Valentine's Day instead...

 

 Betsey Johnson nightie - TJMaxx (Originally $82. $10 on clearance!)

Shoes - TJMaxx (beautiful Italian leather. $15 on clearance!)

You can't walk out of Victoria's Secret with a pair of undies for the price I paid for both!

Was BSD disappointed? I don't think so. 

But...I did get a call on my cell phone from "Doug" telling me he knows I want his vintage Bronco. That he'd love to let me take it for a test drive. And...he's willing to 'entertain an offer.' Said he'll 'give me a good deal on it.' 

I wonder if Doug reads my blog. And if this picture is enough 'entertainment' to give me a realllly good deal. Stay tuned.

Check out what others wore last week here at the Pleated Poppy.

Tunic or Not Tunic...

Today was the day. The tunics were due. At least the dawn's early light was welcoming.

 I had three sleeves left to set. I couldn't finish them last night. I was too tired. Plus, LB was at a party. BSD was at work. Leaving the Big Ballerina and I free for a dinner date. Just the two of us. This never happens. Three guesses where we went. And the first two don't count.

Did I get them done?

It's ok, BB. You can come out.

 

Phew! The Big Ballerina doesn't need to arabesque au naturel. And I'm happy to report...

 neither do the others.

I'm not going to lie, though. I had to call for backup. I was lost on those collars. Luckily, a friend came over Friday morning and squared me away. 

The best part of today was crossing the threshold into the costume room.  Oh boy, was it thrilling to be in there among the racks of tutus and tulle. It was intoxicating. 

So intoxicating, that I now have THREE MORE TUNICS TO SEW!

But, you know what? Next time I'm bringing my camera in with me...

Oh, and the sleeves and hem are unfinished. They wanted them left that way to tailor them to the girls. I didn't go all fancy with the pinking shears. ;)