In Honor of the New Moon

In honor of today's new moon... my take on the triple goddess symbol.

Ganesha

Hipstamatic Gong

Another View

Another view of the power lines. I took this from the parking lot at my office. But it looks so vast and expansive that it feels like it's the middle of nowhere.

Power Lines

Who knew power lines could have any level of interest?

Kali

I believe this is a statue of Kali in one of her variations. Took this at Pure Prana last night after teaching my classes. This is the John S lens with eh Kodot XGrizzled film. Should have used the flash but I forget I have it on the iPhone! Nonetheless, this app never ceases to amaze me!

Always Making Me Smile

Grizzled

So I know that this is the Kaimal Mark II lens using Kodot XGrizzled film. I like the "grizzled" aspect cuz I think it works with the dragon:)

More Morning Glorys

More Morning Glorys with a different Hipstamatic Lens, Film, etc... I had started to get a grip on which lens, film, etc... does what but I really need to write it down with a sample so I can get it implanted permanently into my brain!

Just the Cats

Crepe Myrtle

One of the crepe myrtle trees outside the office. When I lived in Norfolk, I lived in this cool older neighborhood that was big old houses intermingled with brownstone apartment buildings. Colonial Place and all the street names were of the 13 original colonies. I had a kickass two bedroom apartment. It was old, super hot in the summer and super cold in the winter, with a scary ass basement, but I loved it. Anyway, crepe myrtle trees lined the streets of Colonial Place. I never knew what kind of trees they were until my mom came to visit and she mentioned it. And they're all over the place in Northern Va.

Ascending

The moonflowers continue their ascent.

A Few More Roses

We have this rose bush that gives us beautiful red, amazingly fragrant roses. Problem is we get like 3 blooms in the spring and that's it. We're like, wtf? Everyone else's roses bloom all summer. So Shawn was like, that's it! It's getting hacked. So he chopped it down to the ground. And what do you know, we got a bunch more blooms out of it, mid-Summer. We'll see what happens with it for the rest of the summer.

First Morning Glories of the Season

The morning glories are starting to bloom. Here's one from this morning which I risked life and limb, well maybe just limb, to get a photo of. Had to walk around to the backyard in my wedge platforms to get the pic. And there's a bit of a slope in the side yard on the way to the backyard, which I have fallen on, twice within 15 minutes because I was wearing the wrong shoes. But I lived to post this photo! And limbs are in tact.

Fried Greenish Tomatos

Ingredients for tonight's dinner. Green, well really, orange tomatoes. They're a wee bit ripe for green tomatoes:) Basil, spinach, pine nuts and parmesan cheese for pesto. Not the most amazing hipstamatic shot but the food was damn good!

Cumulus

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this app? When I walked out of the gym this morning and saw these clouds I knew they'd make great Hipstamatic shots. And sure enough. Happy Saturday!

Jasmine Lounge

Drinking a Habibi at the Jasmine Lounge. The Habibi drink is my brother's drink of choice so much so that his friends dubbed it, The Habibi. It's orange flavored vodka with tonic. It's pretty damn good. And for as long as I can remember Vodka Tonic has been my brother's drink of choice. My youngest brother, who will of course, always be my baby brother.

The Jasmine Lounge is the official name for the backyard patio oasis. The plant in this photo is the Jasmine. It was a beautiful evening. An intention and desire that I put out to the universe at the new moon came to fruition today, on the full moon. It was cause for a mild celebration. It's also something that reminds me to be grateful and to focus on the silver lining of things rather than the worst aspects.

Early AM

Sun rise over Woodbridge.

Kitty Drama

We've had a bit of kitty drama in the household the last few weeks. Of course, Tiki Baby passed away in June. A week later I noticed Lucy sneezing. A lot. So much so that she was rubbing her face a lot and her lip got all red and irritated. But she was acting normal otherwise. Doing her Lucy thing, getting after shower pets (my shower that is), gulping her food down in like 60 seconds, sitting in the window, playing fetch. She might have slept a little more than usual, 22 hours instead of 21. I made a vet appt for her for July 5 and what do you know, by that day she had stopped sneezing. Ok, I can relax now right. Oh no.

So Lenny Boy starts coughing Saturday. And not a lot. So I figure maybe he's got a hairball. Then he starts sneezing on Sunday. Ok, he caught Lucy's cold. But by Tuesday all he was doing was sleeping. He wasn't doing any of his normal Lenny Boy stuff, destruction, rip tearing through the house, attacking the steps, jumping on the counter, lounging on the table, romping with Lucy. By Wednesday evening I was pretty worried about him. He even looked sad. So I made a vet appt for him for the next day.

He slept next to me all night and this morning he seemed better, more like himself. Did a couple of rip tears through the house, jumped on the counter, attacked the steps. I'll keep my eye on him but jees can't a girl catch a break? The worrying was over the top.

Silly and Naughty

I had a bunch of fruit sitting on the counter and as it was consumed ultimately these were the three pieces left. At first I had the apples together and the banana underneath, like a smiley face. Shawn noticed and was like that's cute. Then I got naughty to make it look like, um, well, I think you get it:) I know my bff will appreciate this.

Moonflowers

The moonflower vines beginning their climb.

Garden Gnome

This photo goes out to my girl Mo. She gave us the garden gnome last year. It's looking the elements might be taking their toll. And another shout out to Mo for finding the cool, abandoned and run down spots for a photo shoot I had yesterday. Sneak peeks of that coming real soon.

Sneak Peeks! Amanda and Jeff

Sneak peeks from yesterdays wedding. Amanda is Paige's sister, whose wedding I shot last year. I was honored that Amanda asked me to shoot her wedding:) I'm honored every time someone asks me to shoot their wedding.

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Here they are on Ft. Myer with DC in the background. We wanted to get this shot but technically we were supposed to have permission AND an escort. When I talked to them about it this shot the evening before, the groom had the best answer. Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

So we pulled up next to where this hill was on base, hopped out of the limo, climbed over a little railing, ran out to the hill and got the shots.

And finally, they pretended like the MPs were after them cuz we broke the rules. I'll never forget the bride laughing during this.

I had to delete my other comments because blogger is a huge pita, but I think the images speak for themselves!

Hipstamatic Wedding

A hipstamatic shot from the wedding I photographed yesterday. I wanted to take more hipstamatic pics but I had enough to do! And I'm sure it looked a little funny ... the hired photographer taking pics with her iPhone! Anyway, if I want that look for any photos I've got the mad Photoshop skillz:) And Adobe CS5 sitting on my desk at work.

Sneak peeks from the wonderful day are forthcoming. In fact a lot of sneak peeks are forthcoming.

Trays

Trays for pots in Shawn's office. Shawn's office is his sanctuary. Cats do not have freedom to roam in there. So of course, that's the place to be. Many plants make their home in the office during the winter. But right now, they are all outside. So the trays sit empty and stacked. But looking cool:)

I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow and promo shots for a band Sunday. Busy weekend. So I'll have sneak peeks from those as well as sneak peeks from a bunch of other shoots. Crazy busy is an understatement.

River Farm

There's this place called River Farm close to where I work. It's a historical property on the Potomac River and GW Parkway in Alexandria. I would LOVE to live in this area. But let's just say, it ain't cheap.

I've been to River Farm before and now a friend of mine works there for the American Horticulture Society. Their hq is on the property in the historic home and other buildings. It's just beautiful and I want to work there doing their graphic design!

I went there today to have a picnic lunch with my friend but it was much too hot outside, so we ate lunch in the kitchen in the big old house. Can't wait to see this place in the fall. Can't wait to do a photoshoot with someone there:) Here's a few more from lunchtime.

Bad Kitteh

Bad kitteh lounging on the kitchen table. We've pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we are just going to have to wipe down and clean off the kitchen table before every meal. Cuz le douche isn't going to change his ways. Yelling, squirt bottle, loud noise, etc... doesn't phase him. I guess this is one of the many sacrifices we make for those precious moments. You know, the precious moments that literally are a moment and are few and far between. When he's being so damn sweet you're like, how could I live without this. They like to give me those precious moments when I'm half asleep, thinking I won't notice. But, I love this little, bowling pin shaped cat anyway.

Backyard Oasis

A little look at our backyard oasis. I'm still just randomly selecting Hipstamatic styles. You do that by shaking the phone and it changes lens/styles. Next week I plan to delve into which one is which and getting to know this great app a little better.

Melons

Watermelons at Wegmans. Wegmans is our high end grocery store here in Woodbridge, VA. The only step up is Whole Foods and lucky for me, there's one of those very close to my office. But Whole Foods is pricey. I can get many of the same things at Wegmans for much less than Whole Foods.

I try to avoid Wegmans on the weekend or holidays like 4th of July. It's crowded and people are just so overwhelmed by the abundance of everything they don't know how to act. Stopping in the middle of aisles in a daze, meandering around with no purpose ... omg, I can't stand it. One time the evening before Christmas eve, it was insane in there and this man was in awe of some wacky fruit. When he realized he was blocking the way while in his awed daze, he apologized and told me he'd never been to a food store before. That did make me giggle. Anyway, I like to get in and get out! I make my list in the order that I go through the store (which avoids areas like the deli, the little cafe/restaurant thing and the prepared foods area) to expedite the whole thing.

Today though, I was taking Hipstamatic shots in the produce area, which is always a crazy area. So I was adding to the craziness of a holiday at Wegmans:)

And Happy Independence Day! Independence and freedom continue to have a whole new significance for us. A year ago when we would go out, we would talk about how great it is to walk out your front door, get in your car and go. And reverse that for when you get home. For us it was set up the ramps, push wheelchair and Shawn through grass and up street, get Shawn in car, break down ramps, get in car and go. It makes me tired just typing that. Ugh. BUT ... now, a year later we are liberated from that. We were actually free of that whole deal around October of last year.

Shawn is free to come and go as he pleases. He is independent.

And as a yoga teacher and student, I celebrate the freedom and liberation from suffering that yoga offers. Hari Om!

Stellaaaaa!

My fave beer these days. When I had the hives, which, have simply gone away thankfully, I thought it might be a food allergy. So I cut a lot of stuff out of my diet, including wheat. So no beer while I was on vacation. Drag.

I tried a gluten, wheat free beer. It wasn't bad but it was little too ale like for me. But since it wasn't a food allergy causing the hives, I can enjoy a Stella. I have to admit though, in not consuming wheat, dairy, sugar and caffeine, my body was feeling pretty damn good. Some food for thought, huh?

Hipstamtic Kittehs

Some bird was on the deck squawking its ass off at the cats. The cats were like dude ... the only thing separating us from a tasty snack is this thin piece of screen. Actually, I'm not sure if Lucy and Lenny would actually know what to do with a real bird and they'll never find out. They have torn the birdie toy to pieces.

I do believe Lucy was involved in a mouse incident when she was a few months old. A poor mouse met its maker (not the first time that's happened here, although it was the last) but we think Lucy got a hold of it cuz the poor thing was all mangled. Previously Mr., Nelli or Tiki would just flatten a mouse. No blood or guts. But the one where Lucy was involved. Eeesh.

A Month of Hipstamatic

So in an effort to keep posting everyday AND to learn how to really use the Hipstamatic app on my phone, I'm gonna post a Hipstamatic pic everyday during July. Kaun Yin Hipstamatic style. Happy Friday, 4th of July and 3 Day weekend!