Now, THIS is Dancing!

This has got to be the best trained dog I've ever seen. He should be on Dancing With The Stars - he'd smoke 'em!

This pooch is amazing!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Myspace Thanksgiving Graphics

PostSecret Website Updated

New secrets found HERE - Enjoy!

A Sunset Wedding

I was cruising around last weekend looking for some good picture-taking opportunities, and I happened upon a beautiful little sunset wedding.

I call this image "Vows"



Best wishes to this couple.

Glory!

My newest favorite picture - taken yesterday. I'm calling it "Glory" for obvious reasons...

SuperG Gallery - Heather's Exhibit

Last night I ventured deep into the netherworld that is L.A.
This was an adventure insofar as life behind the Orange Curtain is...well...different. Sort of like Oz. It is a very protected suburban society, and we view the rest of the urban world from the safety of our homes, via the television, or, better yet, the Internet.

While it was a little unsettling at first to see the continuous lineup of buildings adorned with iron-barred windows, graffiti, undefinable stains, and iron fencing with razor sharp points, suitable for impaling intruders --




-- we then began to emerge into a much cooler area with all sorts of urban chic shops, retro diners, and upscale restaurants that I was absolutely sure hosted at least one or more movie stars. AND Paramount Studios!




Lucky for me (like never before), I was not driving.



We were on this outing to attend Heather's exhibition at the SuperG Gallery in L.A. Heather is our friend and fellow First Impressions group member. She is also a very talented photographer, so while we would have solely gone to see her exhibit to support her as part of our group, we were really looking forward to seeing her work, which is never a letdown.

So, back to the adventure...

After the loooong drive made longer by rad traffic, and then the bumper-to-bumper road-rage-fest that is normal city surface street driving conditions, we were faced with yet another obstacle. No parking.

Bob circled around and around, hunting for the ideal place to park. We found a parking garage, but it had a little murder-mystery vibe to it, so we turned around and left. Looped around, up and down, and then found a normalish looking street right by the gallery, and turned down it. No parking, no parking, no parking -- "WAIT! There's one!" (That's me talking) We were past it, though, so another U-turn or two and we were coming back to it. We saw several cars coming up the street and we were cringing at the thought of losing our great spot, but we were very relieved to see that the five or so cars that drove past it didn't want to park there. Wow! Lucky us!

Not. But that comes later...

It was a short walk to the SuperG, with a Johnny Rockets diner across the street. So, Bob, Rita and I went in and had a sandwich. Like all true camera nerds, we sat there and ate and photographed everything we could inside the restaurant.






Great food, by the way, and the service by the one waitress on duty was probably the best service I've had in years! I mean, this girl was on it!

We leave and go across the street and people are outside mulling around, and we were happy to see it's a pretty good-sized crowd. We go in and spot Heather right away, and she spots us.





They had a pretty wide range of art at the show, including a drawing by Heather's boyfriend (seen above Heather's "Mirror, Mirror" piece), but I have to say that Heather's was the best in the room.





They had a DJ and percussionist, and the music was loud, heavy and tribal. I loved it!





Some other people came to see Heather, so after checking out all the other art, and, of course, taking pictures (I'm obsessed), we said goodbye and walked back to the car.




(Heather and her boyfriend)


It was at this point that the "why" of our earlier good fortune was revealed. The car was safe and sound, and sporting a brand new $45.00 parking ticket.

"Crap!" (That's Bob talking)

Rita and I pitched in our $15.00 share, which took the sting out of it for Bob. And I must say, that parking spot was totally worth $15.00!

The ride home was good - for me, anyway. I had a Mountain Dew on the way up and I get totally wired on those. I talked the whole way up, and the whole way back. I thoroughly enjoyed (listening to) myself.


:-D

TGIF!!

The happiest day of the week for me is Friday. Not Saturday or Sunday, but Friday. Why? Because it's the part of the weekend that is the farthest away from Monday without actually using up your weekend ducats. Fridays are always great for daydreaming about what you'll get to do over the weekend, where you'll go, who you'll run into.

AND you can stay up really late without worrying about how tired you'll be when you have to crawl out of bed in the morning. You really don't even have to get out of bed if you don't feel like it.

Personally, I can't bear to sleep away my weekend. I mean, who wants to waste their leisure time? It's like taking off on sick time when you're actually sick. What a waste of a day off. I stay up late and get up early on the weekends, and try to pack 10,000 things into my little two-day weekly vacation. I LOVE the weekends!

Okay, so what to do??

A no-miss, as far as I'm concerned, is the swap meet. Or, as it is now known, "The Orange County Marketplace." (It'll always be the swap meet to me)

It is a great place to spend the day. Lots of people and vendors, great deals, good deals, not-so-good deals. And if you happen to be in the market for cheap sunglasses - this is the place to be. Oh, and the plants are beautiful, and you can't find cheaper hair thingies. And hats! And -- well, you get it.




If you're a beer drinker, you can grab a beer, get the kids some ice cream or churros, maybe a pretzel, and off you go. Personally? A soda and some Fire Bites (super spicy little hot dog pieces) rock my world :D



You really never know who or what you'll see at the swap meet. Last week we saw the Mayan guys, who have been there for a looooong time. Their music is really cool, and has a haunting tonality to it. If you go you'll know exactly who I'm talking about once you get there.

Then we also saw a guy in a Scottish outfit (kilt, etc.) playing a violin and rocking out (didn't really get the connect between the outfit and the music, although, he did play well)

And these two 49'er-looking guys who had this crazy antique SUV from a gabillion years ago. Apparently these guys travel around to various sites, such as campgrounds, and perform their act. They're actually really entertaining, and I'm sure they do very well.



So, what'd I get on my last swap meet excursion? A blue "diamond" paperweight that weighs about a pound ($3.00), a sticker for the back window of my car (heart with tribal, $6.00), a cool gray cap, which I used that day at the swap meet, and the next day for taking pics at the beach ($6.00), and some windchimes I had to replace, because my mom fell in love with my last one and I gave it to her ($10.00).

Treasures, every one.

Oh, and I got to use my cool "old lady" cart that is semi-new. I bought a license plate for it, but haven't had a chance to put it on yet. I'm also going to get a horn. So nerdy, but so funny.


Me? I prefer to laugh...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Whistling Puppy

I am an ABSOLUTE MANIAC for animals, and especially DOGS! I love them insanely. That said, I have to share with you something that makes me happy every single time I see it.

This is my absolute favorite YouTube video of all time. I play it every now and then, sometimes over and over, and it never fails to make me laugh.

Eavesdropping... Huh? What'd They Say?

So, yesterday I was down in San Clemente working on a custom order for a lovely couple in England, and I must've briefly joined in (read: eavesdropped) on 30 small conversation soundbites.

If you're into photography you know that when you're on a photo mission you split your time between scanning your surroundings and looking through the camera lens, constantly trying to frame the next great shot. Contrary to what you might think, photographers miss a lot - oh, not the beautiful skies, or gorgeous scenery, but you might miss the people next to you, or the gull getting ready to drop a bomb on you, or, in my case, an airplane that is about to drop on your head. (Real airplane, not a toy. True story.) Basically, you tune out everything irrelevant to your (hopefully) awesome photograph setup.

This plays out sort of like a blind person - you hear so much more than you ordinarily would.

At first you don't even notice that you're eavesdropping. But if you're like me, you absolutely love hearing tidbits from other people's lives. Okay, that sounds really creepy, so let me explain and defend this questionable practice of mine...

I love people. I love to chat with strangers I meet on the streets, in stores, at the beach - wherever our paths may cross. It's not that I'm desperate for conversation, I have lots of friends and acquaintances, and I am (apologies) horrid at returning phone calls. So, desperation to talk is not my motivator.

What does motivate me is that people are totally interesting! Each person has their own little fascinating world, and while you may not want to spend hours and hours chatting them up, a quick fix is eavesdropping. And I don't mean the creepy stalking kind of eavesdropping, but just paying attention as you come near people in passing.

You come to find out that all people are basically the same, and have lots of the same issues. Doesn't matter if they're rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight, or from different generations. Life is similar in its cycle, with little individual tweaks here and there, but fundementally the same. People are people are people. This is a great insight, because once you "get" that, you'll be happier with yourself and your world.

I try to not envy anyone, because you never know what lurks behind their doors. The person who has everything may have a dear price to pay for that lifestyle - one that, if known, you or I would be unwilling to pay.

So, while I might have an iPod plugged into my ears at times, I more than likely might just be eavesdropping in on my "WorldPod" (Wow, that sounds soooo corny...LOL!) and enjoying every minute of my secret visits.

PostSecret Response

I'm SO glad people are enjoying the PostSecret books. And, no, I don't do Pay-For-Post, or whatever it's called, so this is all me, baby! I just fell in love with the whole PostSecret project, and really believe that besides being deliciously entertaining, it really does help people get rid of their "junk."

I've had a ton of emails asking for the address to PostSecret, and others just commenting on PostSecret and my blog about it. This is great! It makes me happy, because it's like having a really cool story or funny joke - it's oh, so good when you can share it with someone else and relive it all over again when others react to it.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out the PostSecret books yet, you're really missing out.

And if you have...DON'T YOU LOVE IT???!!!

World Clock - What's Going On???

Ever wonder what's going on? Well, wonder no more. Here are some of the answers - some happy, some tragic, but it just gives you an idea of how much is happening outside our own personal bubbles.

If it's too small to read, here's a bigger version



Poodwaddle.com

Harbor House Cafe - Dana Point

Unless you live in Las Vegas, all night diners are tough to come by. Sometimes it's nice to get out, or stay out, and then go have a burger, or dessert, or whatever, but if it's after 9:00 p.m. in the 'burbs, that is NOT going to happen.



Harbor House in Dana Point is the coolest place to hang out, especially late at night. The beachy, low-pro casual atmosphere is so totally comfy and pressure-free. The food is great, and portions are HUGE, but they're happy to give you a container to take the leftovers home for a rerun snack the next day.



The inside of Harbor House is really cool - old time leatherette booths, and movie star pics all over the walls and ceiling. And the graffiti is to die for! (Okay, that was weird and just jumped out).







But mostly, it's just a cool, fun place to hang out near the beach...especially in the middle of the night when the rest of the world is sleeping.

PostSecret - Website Secrets Updated

PostSecret updates their website every so often with new secrets people have sent in. Here's the latest update:

Click Here

Pacific Sunsets Series Finished!

Okay, "finished" is a relative term, because I always want to add on additional pictures as I make them. But my series, Pacific Sunsets, is finished enough that I made my series book (being printed now - yay!) and I've made note cards and I can now get to work on the other projects using this series.

I'm really happy with this series, because I LOVE SUNSETS, and it was an absolute joy to put it together. My book rocks my world, too, and I can't wait to get it.

Here are a few images from the series, and you can find more on my website in the "Places" gallery. I haven't completely loaded all the pictures yet, but most of them are there.

My Week - Out of Order - Still Catching Up

Saturday I managed to get quite a few notecard sets uploaded to my Etsy shop. Let me just say that I ADORE notecards. If you knew how many I had you'd urge me to open a shop. Oh, wait. I do have a shop - my Etsy shop. :-D

It got so bad at one point (embarrassing insight coming) that I got a bunch of penpals, just so I could use my notecards! (Hey, at least they didn't sit there and go to waste...)

I also got my first batch of Christmas cards uploaded. I know it's only the beginning of November, but if you've been to a store lately, you'll see that Christmas is in full swing, and I don't want to miss the party!