More Pictures, Anyone?

I just got back into the wonderful town of Albany late on Sunday night, and I'm just starting to go through some pictures and download stuff off my camera. These things are rather low on the priority list, as I have about 3 paying clients first in line to get stuff done, but since it's my family, I couldn't resist playing with just a FEW....


Here's my big brother and his wife Amanda...Can you believe she just had a baby a week ago? I'm glad I got a good one of the two of them, because let's face it - with four kids now, they're not going to have time for ANYTHING, let alone pictures. :)




Robby, the eldest....He's funny and silly and has contagious laughter.....




Johnny - the middle child. Prone to fierce mood swings but with an infectious personality. He's the clown and has an extremely vivid imagination.



Abby. The one and only female child. She's the princess and she knows it. Her hair is a wild mane of red curls. Need I say more?


The newest addition - Kendrick. He's a good baby - quiet and sleeps a lot. Good thing too, cuz he's gonna need his rest in that house. :)

Just a random horse farm that I drove by, and I liked this horse. Heck, I like *all* horses. Anyone wanna take me riding? I'm jones'n for some horseback riding.....


My sister Shari and her husband Joel. I convinced them that they needed a picture for their Christmas card. They've only been married a little over a year and apparently were not aware that it's a RULE that you must send out a Christmas card and letter after you're married. Well, now you know, guys. And knowing is half the battle (as G.I. Joe once said).

And this cool barn. I stopped and asked the people living there if I could take pictures, and they said yes. It was very cool, with a lot of character.


That's it....I'll try to post some Halloween pics later today, so until then.....

Words I Hate....

I was replying to Amy Lynn's post in which she asked if it was ok to use the word, "ultra" to which I replied yes, as long as she didn't use the word, "uber" which for some reason, I totally cannot stand. And then that got me thinking of other words or phrases that I hate, and here are a few of them. Feel free to add your own to the list.

"Panties" (it sound so pre-pubescent and grandma-ish at the same time. *shudder*) My sister-in-law used this word extensively last week with her 2-yr old daughter - "Abby, go put your new Blue's Clues panties on" (the kid likes to be naked). "Abby, where are your panties?" It made me cringe every time. I should explore the deeper psychological issues at play here...That is one of my all time top-hated words.

"Welp" (as in, "welp, see ya later!")

"Get 'R Done" (for some reason this phrase not only annoys me but makes me feel a lot of inner rage for some reason. I need to examine that a little further....)

"Yo Dawg" (this makes me think of middle class white boys riding around with rap music blasting out of their Honda Accords. I find it extremely aggravating)

"Scrumptious" (it's a ridiculous sounding word and that's all there is to it)

"***" As in, that miniscule little * at the end of a promotional offer or at the bottom of a television screen.

YOU'RE OUR 1BAZILLIONTH VISITOR! YOU WIN A FREE LAPTOP, JUST CLICK HERE!!!* <-----There?? Do you see it? do you see that tiny star?? That's what basically tells you in size .004235 size font at the bottom of the screen that if you actually fall for that gimmick and click on the link, it is a scientific fact that you have no brain.

OR at the bottom of a prescription advertisement: TRY SEASONALE FOR YOUR ALLERGY RELIEF** <---there it is again!
And as you're wondering what the star implies is at the end of the word, you catch glimpses of the voice of the commercial telling you -- (in a male voice, that while soothing and calm, is speaking the English language so quickly that a chipmunk on speed couldn't even understand) that Seasonale, although that greatest medicinal drug to ever be conceived by man "could cause...hemmorhoids, 4 day constipation, bleeding out your eyes, rapid-fire sneezing, intestinal blockages, liver failure, a 4 hour erection, dizziness, an inabilitity to sleep for 6 days, mild psychosis, and unexplained barking. Ask your doctor if it's right for you."

"Rebate" --Just seeing this word makes me instantly annoyed. What's the point of buying something for more money than it's worth just so that some corporation can send me my money BACK in a few weeks?? WHY would I want to spend the time to fill out your stupid rebate form so that you can sell my name and address to some junkmail-spamming fools so I can get millions of pieces of completely useless advertisements for address labels personalized with a picture of my cat or adjustable orthopedic mattresses that cost so much money that you'll send me a free promotional video to try to convince me of how badly I need one? Why don't you just let me keep my money in the first place?? WHY? WHY?? WHY?? %$@#$!??

I'm sure I"ll think of more, but that's what came to mind in the first 10 seconds of pondering this issue. Great. Now I'll lie awake in bed tonight thinking of more words and phrases and commercials that I hate....Maybe I need a prescription sleep aid. Although I've heard that those can cause mild side effects....***

The Beauty of Michigan

Here's a few from the more rural parts of where I call home.....

This one is from a photoshoot with my sister and bro-in-law...I kept stopping to photograph the pretty leaves. :) Nevermind that there were about 8 million of them all over the ground.





A horse farm up the road from where I'm staying....




Found this barn when I was driving aimlessly about yesterday.....



The road that my brother and sister-in-law live off of.....




Hope you liked...I've only got 2 days left until I come home...I'm hoping to get some shots of the city tonight or tomorrow if I have time. And of course, I still need to get in a shoot with my neice and nephews before I leave so it'll be a busy last 2 days....

Hope you enjoyed the pics....

Inflated or Deflated?

So when I was in Chicago, Dan hooked me up with an all access pass to any area of the marathon that I could imagine my little heart wanted to go. Runners stopping to take a pee under a bridge? Yup, I could go there. Amid an incredibly large swarm of marathoner humanity at the start line? As long as I didn't have a panic attack from the claustrophobia, I could go there too.

The Chicago Marathon is the largest marathon in north america...something like 40,000 people run it. Oh, and did I mention that it's 26 freaking MILES long? Now, the true question is, who in the HECK would want to put themselves through a grueling 26.5 mile run in 38 degree weather..but apparently, the answer would be..well, 40,000 people. I don't get it. But I guess that's why I'm the type of person to enjoy a lovely creme brulee and starbucks latte while the die-hards gut it out on the streets of Chicago.

Anyway, the "elite" runner finish up this hellish journey through the streets of pain in about 2 hrs. 10 minutes or so, so after I photograph a few other things and warm my bones in one of the security trailers, Dan and I head over to the finish line. He (being such a gentleman-thanks man!) offers to hold my bag so I can get a good spot at the finish line. I make my way in there and inch my way into a good spot and wait for the winner to make his grand finale. The Rock Star feeling kicks in again as I realize that I'm standing among some big wigs...NBC news, Sports Illustrated, Runners World...oh, and me - I'm the stay-at-home-mom/photographer from Albany Georgia. Everyone got mad at the guy from ABC sports because he kept getting right inthe way of everyone else so that he ALONE could get the best shot - everyone was yelling at him, "Get down!" "Get outta the way ABC!" They were shaking their heads in disbelief and calling him uncouth names. For a brief moment I had the urge to join the bandwagon and yell at him too, because hey, he was in the way of MY shot too - but as soon as I took a breath and opened my mouth to yell, my better senses kicked in and I chose the high road and shut my trapper up again. :)

Meanwhile....Dan (not a bad photographer hisself) is across the way from the media corral, taking pictures of me taking pictures. Which brings me to the title of my blog.

I read somewhere that everyone has either 1) an inflated view of themselves or 2) a deflated view of themselves. I am quite certain that I have the first kind because, unfortunately I seem to think that I am a much better version of myself and it takes a mere picture for me to say, "DANG! Is that what I REALLY look like to other people?" This is the true reason that there are only about 12 pictures of me in existence from the last 6 years. I like to live in a cushy delusionally mental world of denial about my true appearance. What I look like in my head is WAY better. So what're you - inflated or deflated??

Anyway...it WAS fun for me to see that my camera and lens stacked up comparably to the big timers lenses although now I AM jones'n for an extender to make my lens REALLY big....lens envy, I call it. And I don't know WHAT to call whatever was going on with my hair that day, but it was *not* a pretty sight.

When I get back I'll post the pictures that I got of the winner falling on his keister before he even crossed the finish line....That's one you don't want to miss....

My Kick'n Hotel Room...and Fat Naked Guy

When I got to my hotel in Chicago (after dragging approximately 248 pounds of luggage and camera gear through the airport and 2 el-train stations) the fancy schmancy bellman opened my cab door and loaded up my luggage and I went to the front desk to check in.
"Name?" she asked me.
"Tammi Nowack" I replied as she began typing away on her computer searching for my room.
"ooh, we have a very nice room for you this weekend Miss Nowack" she says.
"Great." I replied flatly(At this point I was just looking forward to collapsing on my bed for an hour before I had to get dressed for the cocktail party I was supposed to shoot that night).


She gave me my room key and told me my room number and I went up to my room. The first thing I noticed was that my room had a freaking doorbell outside it, which I thought was novel, but fun - and I proceeded inside where my mouth promptly fell open in disbelief. It was the hugest, nicest hotel room I had ever been in. The floors were hardwood. There was a bar, with barstools, bar sink, refrigerator. A plate of chocolate covered strawberries. A table with 4 chairs and a really expensive looking (albeit hideously ugly) vase/bowl thing on it. A sofa. An armchair. A armoire with a minibar in it and huge t.v.

But wait. There's more. A winding hallway. A bathroom. A master bedroom with a 4 poster bed (king size I might add). Another bathroom with a jet tub and bathrobes, several closets to spare, a dressing area. My own t.v. in there too.


But wait. There's more. In the bedroom...steps leading outside to a balcony. And I'm not talk'n about a 4ft x 4ft balcony-that-hangs-off-your-first-apartment-in-the-ghetto kind of balcony - I'm talk'n a HUGE brick wrap-around balcony18 stories up that hangs out over the streets of Chicago with a kick'n view of Michigan Ave. and the city skyline.


Um...yeah. I could get used to this lifestyle. I go back inside to tip the bellman who has brought up my bags for me and has taken the liberty of turning on every light in the room, 2 radios, and turned down the bed.
ok, whatever.
I tipped him way more than one person deserves for wheeling 2 pieces of luggage into an elevator and down a hallway, but I guess I thought he could use a little extra since he DID turn on every single light in the room and turn down the bed. Maybe he wanted me to really be able to SEE the luxury of the room so I would tip accordingly. Good plan - it worked.


This is the point in the story were my incredulity gets the best of me and I call down to the front desk to ensure that this really IS my room and that there hasn't been some sort of mixup.
"Why? Is there a problem Miss Nowack?"
"No maam. I'm just a little dissapointed that there isn't an actual person up here to hold a warm towel out for me when I exit the shower."


Just kidding.




So now I grab my camera and start taking pictures. I'm waiting for the hotel nazis to barge in and grab my luggage and take me down to my REAL room in the hotel basement next to the kitchen and the laundry room where Ricardo the linen boy folds all the towels, so I'm taking pictures while I have a chance! I go back out to the balcony to enjoy the view and take a few snapshots when I see it...one floor below me over the northeast side of the balcony. Shades wide open, bed a mere 2 feet from the window.
It's Naked Fat Guy and he's taking a little snoozer at 4:30 in the afternoon. I giggle uproariously and stealthily bring my camera to my eye and sneak a pic in. It's too good to pass up.



Here's the weird thing. He was there..in the bed, in all his naked glory EVERY SINGLE TIME I walked out on the balcony the entire weekend.
After the cocktail party? Still there.
Next morning, before breakfast? Still there.
Later that afternoon when I came back to the hotel before lunch? Yup..still there.

I think he must have used HIS fancy ugly bowl for a toilet because he NEVER left that bed. So everytime I saw him, I took his picture. Once I thought he saw me, but I think it was just a facial tic.







Anyway, that night I came back to the room MORE than ready for bed and climbed into that glorious mound of down feather fluff and felt like I was in heaven. I normally sleep with one cover-hogging man and 2 bed-hogging, kicking children so to have a large downy bed all to myself was pure heaven. I slept with the shades wide open (so as not to hinder my view of the city), smack in the middle of the bed, in my underwear, with all 5 pillows scrunched up under and around me.



And I drooled on every single one of 'em. :)

Home Again

Being up north again feels so good. It's hard to describe to someone what it's like in the north compared to the south and the feeling you get when coming back home.And it's even hard for people who live up here to understand unless they've left it and have missed its familiarity. It FEELS different here - it IS different here and I love it and I've missed it terribly - a fact I didn't realize until I stepped off the plane in Chicago and the crisp air off the lake hit me.

There's a feel in the air..a crispness that speaks of autumn, an air of busyness, and the holidays approaching, and people in a hurry. The air in the streets smells like crisp leaves, and moisture, Starbucks and fresh bread, apples, perfume wafting from the stores. The atmosphere is hurried - shoppers rushing about the stores, searching for that perfect SOMETHING, warming up in a cozy cafe or bookstore with hot cocoa and coffee. The taxis are honking, women's heels are click-clacking on the sidewalk, people are on their phones, hollering for cabs, laughing. The city employees have parked their truck outside the Virgin Records store and are hanging Christmas lights in the trees.
I'm strolling slowly, soaking it all in - music from my IPod fills my ears and sets the tone for the soundtrack of my life for that moment in time - that 2 mile walk down the streets of Chicago. I start with something melancholoy - Colorblind by Counting Crows, but switch over to John Mayer - homey, nostalgic, as comfortable as my favorite pair of jeans. I'm in no hurry. I don't have any shopping that I need or want to do. It just feels good to be home. To be NORTH. To see the brilliant colors on the leaves, and the bustle of a city, and be a part of something really big and exciting. To have my fingertips get a chill from the wind and step inside the Starbucks and get 2 hot apple ciders - one for me and one for the homeless guy outside who's sign says it's his 50th birthday. I don't know if it really is, but I tell him Happy Birthday anyway, and as he eagerly takes up the steaming cup of cider, I feel like right now life is perfect...and I go on my way.

It's good to be back.

I've been spammed

Have to set up word verification now when people post comments because I've been spammed. "I didn't find what I was looking for on my blog, but if you go to this crapola link you can earn big money" blah, blah, blah. Next thing you know, I'll be having porno links and advertisements for Viagra. Hopefully the word verification thing will nip it in the bud and I can take it back down in a couple months. I hate those stupid word verification things. I know they're supposed to deter spam generators, but do they have to be so complicated that a real human being can't decipher the words sometimes?
May the force be with you....

A Funny

Found this comic strip online today called "What the Duck" geared towards the photographer and it made me laugh. Thought I'd share one for you to see....

I Love This Guy

I feel cool....

Thanks to Major Dan O'Connor, who has hooked me up BIG TIME with an awesome photography gig in Chicago this weekend. A few months back he told me about this group that he did some "consultation work" with....hold on - first we need to talk about that. What exactly IS a consultant, ya know? It's like that episode of Friends, when everyone is talking about Chandler and how he's so successful and he's such a great friend and he has this great job and someone asks him, "What exactly DO you do, Chandler?" and he says, "Well, I'm a consultant" and everyone says, "Oh." BUT NO ONE EVER REALLY KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THE HECK HE DOES.
Anyway, I digress....

Anyway, so he's telling me about this group, Jean's Marines, and how they run all these marathons together and he's thinking he could get me as their photographer and blah, blah, blah. At this point, I've only met the guy like, twice before and I have no idea what he's like or if he's completely blow'n smoke up my butt or WHAT, so I just smile and nod and say, "hey, yeah, that sounds great". But he keeps push'n it, and saying it'd be so much fun, and telling me all about it that I start to believe him and whaddya know? Three months later and I'm in on the gig and my tickets to Chi-town are booked for this weekend and I have a stomp'n ALL-ACCESS PASS to the entire race and I just feel like a freakin' rock star.

He's a marine and sometimes when he talks I have NO IDEA what he's saying - words like "critical incident" and "trigger mode" and "proprietary media" and "post-mortem update" and other marine-ish, testoterone-laden, military-minded, security-induced jargon spin around my head and leaves me feeling slightly dazed and confused (and with a strange desire to don camoflouge, paint my face black and yell "fire in the hole!" while doing a belly crawl ...on our beige carpet).

Meet Dan. He rocks. I love him. And I owe him big time. Especially since I googled his name and found this picture of him and posted it on the internet. :)

My First...and Last Wedding

Yesterday I shot my first wedding and I'm so glad it's over! Not because the wedding was bad or anything like that, but because it was so stressful for me. Casey's beautiful sister Anna was crazy enough to want to hire me to do her wedding and for several weeks I kept saying, "no, no - I don't DO weddings". Finally I caved to the pressure and agreed. As the day approached I was wondering what the heck I was thinking and spent countless hours reading and studying up on wedding photography.

You might wonder why I was so freaked out to do a wedding - how much different can it be than a regular photoshoot, right? Well, it's TONS different and here's why:

1. The biggest reason is: If you screw it up, there's no do-over, no reset, no "let's try that again". For a lot of the day, you have approximately 4 seconds to get the image and if you don't, well - you've missed that once-in-a-lifetime shot and the bride will hate your guts. Ahem...yeah, no pressure or anything.
2. Secondly, I am a completely self-taught photographer. I've never taken a class or any had any kind of formal training. I know what my camera does, and how to use it, but when it comes to technicalities, well - I can tell you what an f-stop is, and exposure, and about your ISO and shutter speed, etc. etc. but I can't tell you EXACTLY how it all works together or how the lens works when it opens or the mirrors and the angles and all the technical intricacies of a functioning camera. I can DO it, but I'm not good at explaining it or TEACHING it.
The problem? A wedding is tricky TECHNICALLY to photograph. White dress, Black tuxes, variant lighting - correct exposure is difficult. I did a LOT of reading on understanding my camera's histogram.
3. Equipment. To photograph weddings, it's essential to have backup equipment of everything. Backup camera, backup flash, backup lenses. Did I mention that I don't have backup ANYTHING? And it's not like I could rent around here because in small-town-USA the TWO available camera stores in town do NOT rent. So I held my breath all day and prayed to God that Murphy's law would be occupied elsewhere and not attack my camera or flash. I had a moment of panic when my flash wouldn't work - but it turns out it was just a set of dud batteries. Oh, and my Tamron lens quit working throughout the day, but luckily I had my handy 50mm that I just popped on when the Tamron went caputz. Hopefully no one noticed.

Last night when I got home I took a bubble bath and drank some wine and then curled up in bed with "The Sound of Music" - don't know why, but I've been jones'n to see it lately and I found it at the library last week, so....wah-lah. A night of relaxation after a long day.

ANYWAY...if you read all that - you get a sticker. I JUST started sorting through them all, but I HAD to open a few to see what I got, so...here are a few teasers of yesterday's wedding. I couldn't have asked for more good looking people. The bride was gorgeous and the groom was a hottie... Oh, and did I mention that the bride's father is a dentist? So not only was the bride bee-u-teeful, she had a perfect thousand-watt smile to boot.

Here they are....images from my first....and last wedding. :)







Hmm...they look darker on here than in real life....oh well. Turn up the brightness on your monitor.

"Procrastination - Your Personal Entertainer"

Nothing new over here...I'm procrastinating as usual, and was having some fun on Sloganizer.net.
Try it. It's addicting. Here's some it generated for me:

"Let your Tammi flow"

"I lost weight with Tammi"

"Tammi - living innovation"

"Things go better with Tammi"

"Tammi, photography, art. The original"

"Tammi, funarhyffic"

"Tammi. Fun. Since 1845"


Just type in whatever word(s) you want and hit sloganize and see what it generates for you - then post 'em here! Have fun!

Our Trip to the Patch

Went out yesterday with grandpa Nowack to get a few small pumpkins for the boys. They've been BEGGING to get pumpkins for the last week since all the stores are selling them now. After they painted them last night, Owen got up and announced, "Okay...time to trick or treat!"

You can click on any of them to enlarge....

Enjoy....:)




LOVE A.J.'s face in this one....




I love pictures like this...to remember that at one time he was little enough to fit inside the wheel of a tractor. And he's so stink'n cute too....



Some other stuff growing at the pumpkin patch.....Being from Michigan, I'm used to cider and apples at a patch, but in the south you'll see sunflowers...



Cotton....



Peanuts....



Oh, and GNATS. There are TONS of them down here and they are the bane of my existence. At first glance you might think AJ and Steve are sharing a special moment in laughter, but if you look closer, you'll see the gnats around their heads. Gross. And they were extra pesky at the patch last night.



AJ thought he was supposed to paint HIMSELF, until we told him otherwise....



Owen's finished pumpkin.... yes, he did it all by himself.



Oh, and look - a picture of me! Testament for the boys that as they grew up they DID have a mother. I'm not behind the camera ALL the time.
Steve's dad took this one with his new camera. Not bad, huh?

Need a good laugh?

Steve-o, Casey and I like to frequent this website. We sit in the computer room late at night, taking turns reading aloud the absurdity of "religion"-- this -- it's most ridiculous attempt at evangelism. We cover our mouths to smother our loud guffaws so we don't wake the children. Click the link - you'll laugh, I promise. And you'll remember a few of your own that you've seen with your own eyes. Feel free to post one you've seen in the comments....

Crummy Church Signs

What the Heck, Let's Give Him a Name

Apology: To those who have no idea what this is about, I'm sorry. Hopefully more "universal" blogs will be soon forthcoming.

------------

I've been thinking about this giant elephant in the room...he's been with the SCA Volleyball Team for about a week now. No one likes to talk about him...but there he is.
Big.
Fat.
Obtrusive.
Ugly.
And smelling quite strongly of ...er...elephant dookie.
He will snort our chances of state championship up his long and hairy snout unless we can get rid of him (or at least shove him at least halfway out the door) in the next 18 hours.
Oh, and he particularly enjoys farting in Brittany's direction.

What the heck, let's give him a name! My only rule: his name must be male-gendered. No public flaming allowed on Tammi's blog.

So....Any suggestions?

Ambiguous Venting

There are probably a select few who will understand any of the frustration that prompted this blog, but hey, it's my blog and if it makes no sense to anyone other than me - so be it. This is my online journal...my thoughts and feelings on a myriad of subjects. Sometimes everyone may not "get it", but it's there. You can read it if you like. Or not.

Vent #1: There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things.
I'm mad when things aren't done right. When "issues" are not handled in the way they should be. There is a certain chain of command - both Biblically and ethically - in which to handle conflict, and when it's not done right, people get hurt. And I get mad when I see people I care about being hurt.

Vent #2: Why do Christians have to be so known for what they are "against"?? Christians are MORE known for being oppositional forces -against drinking, dancing, the Democratic party, swearing, R-rated movies, boycotting this group, or that organization, blah, blah, BLAH-need I say more -- than what we are FOR, which SHOULD be first to love God and others. Jesus loved. An amount of love unfathomable to any soul on this earth. His love was profound and pure and he commanded that His followers foremost, LOVE others. Why can we not be known for that?
I guess that there are things that, as a Christian, I am "against". But I hope that moreso, people see in me what I am "for".
I'm for love.
I'm for grace.
I'm for forgiveness.
I'm for laughing.
I'm for fun.
I'm for truth. And change. And growing - even if it's hard.
I'm for discovery.
I'm for new ideas. And thinking outside the box.
I'm for creativity and expression.
I'm for screwing up, and having that be ok, and trying to do better next time.
I'm for honesty and being real. Even if it's ugly sometimes.
I'm for hope. And trying to get better.

And those are just the things that came to mind in 30 seconds. I could make a much, MUCH bigger list. Know me for THAT. Know that I am a follower of Christ, and I don't do everything right all the time, but I'm FOR a lot. What are YOU for?

Vent #3: Mediocrity. All things should be done with excellence. No matter your position, no matter your task, no matter your situation, or circumstance, or location. And don't complain to me about how your circumstances, or how your place sucks - because it starts with YOU. And if it sucks, it's because YOU suck. Change begins with you. So quit whining and do something about it.


And that's all I have to say about that.

Owen-isms

I'm cleaning up the house this morning after breakfast. AJ is playing in his room with cars and Owen (who is naked, by the way) is playing in the mudroom at the train table. I'm vacuuming the bedrooms when Owen comes running in.

"mama. mama. come look." ( This is usually what he tells me when he's either 1) made a mess of some sort or (2) tattling on A.J. )
I follow his nakey little buns to the mudroom where he points to the wall. "Look! Look at dat!"

On the wall I see a smudge of a greenish brown color - in the shape of Owen's finger. I lean in for a closer look, expecting to see bug guts or a booger. It was neither, so I smoosh it a little with my finger to test it's consistency.

"What IS that?" I ask him.

"Ellwww. It's yucky" he replies.

"yeah, I know" I said, "but what is it?"

As I lean in for an even closer look, he tells me, "It's poop. From my body."

I'm so cool

Check it out: Pigskin Review

I told you I was semi-famous. :) My pics are on page 3D and 6D. :)


Oh...and for Brittany and Erica (aka "The Pirates"):

Don't Download This Song

A Fabulous Weekend

What a great weekend. The weather is starting cool off and there's a pleasant breeze and a crispness to the morning and evening air that *almost* reminds me of fall in Michigan.
Friday night I did my first solo assignment for the Herald, and got my first photos published in the newspaper - I actually had TWO photos in there - a football pic and a feature, so I feel semi-famous in that small-town-you-THINK-you're-cool sorta way. I looked at the Herald online to see if they posted the weekend pigskin review, but they still have last weeks up there and haven't updated, so if you keep checking back HERE, you might get to see my photos in the next couple of days.

Saturday a.m. dawned a few volleyball matches. The girls played horrible in their first match - they won, but only by the skin of their teeth in a game that was almost painful to witness. JV played next (or B-Team as it's known down here) and they won pretty handily and played quite well. B-Team photos posted on the website this morning so you can check those out HERE. Here's one of Brittany B. pounding one down - she's an up and coming B-teamer and she'll kick some butt by the time she's a senior. She's improved a tremendous amount in the last 2 months alone...can't wait to see how she grows as an athlete in the next couple of YEARS.

Varsity played again after B-Team and played tremendously. They were on top of their game, playing smart and playing hard. It was a much more enjoyable game to experience...as a spectator and as a coach, and I'm sure for the players as well. They played like the awesome team that they are, and that makes for a much more enjoyable time for EVERYONE - right, girls? THANK YOU for pulling your heads out of your butts and playing like you really know how to play! :) That first game about gave me a coronary I think.






Went home after the games and spent the afternoon with the boys outside - the sun was shining, there was a nice breeze and we had a big time playing fetch with Harley and swinging on the swingset.
Who's Harley, you wonder? He's our psuedo-dog. He actually belongs to the people who live about 2 houses up from us, but they don't take good care of him - he's always running around the neighborhood (even in the rain) and eating from trash and basically being a pest to all the neighbors. He's a great dog though, and the kids love him, and Harley doesn't care if they sit on him or pull his tail or climb under him like a bridge when he's begging for food in the kitchen. I bought him a flea collar a couple weeks ago because he's got a nasty case of fleas (gross!) but I don't seem to notice much difference in the scratching. I think I might have to try a different method of flea control if Harley is going to continue visiting our house on a regular basis.

Here's A.J. -- being his cool self. He loves to wear these sunglasses, but insists on putting them on all by himself, even if they're upside down. I waited until he figured out how to put them on the right way before snapping his picture.

"What's that in his hand?" you wonder? It's a rubber mallet, that I had been using to repair a bent axle on the wagon, which he stealthily stole from me and beganto climb up the swingset with (with great difficulty - it's hard to climb with only one hand because you have a mallet in your other hand). There was much grunting and sweat broken on this feat, and when he got to the top (about 5 rungs) he exclaimed, "I did it mama!" and promptly threw the mallet about 4 feet across the yard, narrowly missing Harley who was laying peacefully just a few feet away. Good thing he was watching the spectacle or he wouldn't have been able to move out of the way in time.




Sunday morning we drove an hour to Tifton to meet our friend's the Cox's, who were passing through on their way home to Rabun Gap. We all swam in the hotel pool for awhile and then went out for lunch before they continued on their way back home.

We miss them.
We wish they would move closer to us. Or we could move closer to them. They're good friends and we have a lot of fun together.


There's new secrets on Post Secret, and the sun is shining. Yesterday I only paid $1.95 for gas. The kids want to go oustide and play - Owen wants to go to the zoo.

And I think that's a great idea.