Halloween Pub Crawl

A friend talked me into doing a Halloween pub crawl this weekend. My friend is someone I met through work, she's awesome, but she's a few years younger than my 27 years (*cough* +10 *cough*) of age and my first thought is "I'm too old for this shit." But I'm from New Orleans, so let's be honest, we New Orleanians never get too old for this shit, we just perfect our strategies. I should mention that I'm totally in this for the photo ops, because let's face it, Halloween costumes + Pub Crawl = Totally embarrassing photos for all!
This brings us to the Halloween costume decision. Now, I could do the wench costume, I have plenty of options for clothes...I love renaissance festivals and being a card carrying Wench it's a look I've added to over the years. I also thought about doing something different this year: witch, sorceress, vampire. I was even trying to come up with ways to use my wench garb in a different costume. I thought of adding white pancake makeup and going as the ghost of a wench or a witch. And then, I had the idea of going as a ghost of a witch from the Salem witch trials, complete with a rope fashioined into a noose around my neck. (Did I mention my strange sense of humor?) But after a couple of texts, that was deemed a little too tacky, even for me. I still think it would be funny, but being haunted by the ghosts of Salem witches might not be so funny afterwards. If I knew the status of their senses of humor, it would be better. But, after being hanged, pressed or drowned, I'm thinking they lack humor.
I polled my FB friends and most voted "wench." My Friend that started this entire thing voted "whatever is the skankiest, so she wouldn't feel weird." So, wench it is. It allows me to show off large tracks of land while at the same time donning a long skirt. Another friend voted for "Banana" and the only banana costume I found was a very unflattering "banana flasher" in the men's section. Not. I think I'll take my wooden beer mug and go as a "Beer Wench." Because who doesn't love a wench with beer?

A New Year...Already?!

Are we really already 5 days into 2011? I feel like I'm already running behind, but I'm not sure in what, exactly. I have a lot to accomplish this year, but I'm not calling them "resolutions" because that's just a guarantee that they will not get done.

I went to Mississippi over Christmas to visit mom and dad. T met me there and we all spent the holiday together. T brought Tavey, our little dog with him. We went out site seeing one day and took Tavey with us. She had a blast. We grabbed lunch at Sonic and she got quite a few french fries since she was so good.

We went to a place called Windsor Ruins to take some pictures. It was really awesome and sad at
the same time.  Here are a couple of photos.

Still No Snow

I've been hoping to get back to the bridge in some snow, but alas, still no snow. In fact, we have rain today. Mother Nature, not to complain, but rain does not lend itself to pretty pictures of the bridge. The lakes are finally starting to freeze though. Nothing thick, just a thin top layer of ice, but it is pretty to look at. I'm going to take some frozen water photographs. We have several really pretty lakes here in Westford, hopefully they will make some pretty photographs.
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with my photography long term. I keep going back and forth on keeping it a hobby or pursuing it professionally. If I do follow it as a profession, it will be a part-time profession for a while. Gotta keep the day job to keep a roof over my head and pay for the camera equipment. LOL. A D300 isn't cheap and I still drool for one.
So instead of photography today, I'm doing fun things like laundry, housework and cooking. Well, I actually enjoy the last one, but other two, not so much. Necessary evils, right? Oh yes, I must finish the rest of my holiday cards too.
I'll leave you with this photograph from this fall in lieu of any winter photography. I took this while I was visiting a lighthouse on Cape Cod.

Photography...Finding My Eye

After I moved to Boston, I started taking pictures again. And with a real camera, not just my iPhone. At the beginning of the year I made a resolution to go shooting once a month. I haven't kept that resolution at all, I can honestly say I've probably shot about every other month, if that. This photo is one I took this summer, early in the summer.

This bridge is near where I live, it's a granite bridge that has no mortar. It's held up just by the pressure of the stones upon one another. I am planning to go back after the first snow fall to capture it again in the winter. I'll post that picture too.

Photography and writing are the two things that I keep coming back to no matter what else I do. I keep thinking I should pursue something with both of these passions. I'm not sure what, beyond this blog, but I'll figure it out eventually. I hope. Preferably something that will allow me to support myself or at the very least something I enjoy that will supplement my current job. No, I'm not looking for a new job, but I do need to find a creative outlet in my life and be proactive at actually pursuing it regularly.

Long time, no write

I stopped writing again for a long time. It's been almost 2 years since I posted here. I've been busy in that time too. I relocated to Boston, MA in the summer of 2009. I took a job up here, an admin job, but the idea was to get my foot in the door of a major company.
I'm not sure what I want to do with this blog from this point on, but I want to start using it again. Maybe a mix of photography and writing. We shall see. I am slowly finding my eye again. Now to find my muse once again.

War and Photography

President Obama is considering lifting the ban on photos and media coverage of the flag draped coffins of our fallen war heroes. These men and women are flown into Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, where they are quietly given a final salute in a "dignified transfer of remains" ceremony.

The public does not see this ceremony. The first President Bush instituted a ban on media coverage that was implemented during the Persian Gulf War. Bush, Sr. held a news conference at the same time that the first plane of coffins were being unloaded and the media got the bright idea to do a split screen and show both the news conference and the ceremony at the same time. I'm sure President Bush had no idea this was going on and as a result looked as though he were disrespectful of the dead. In reality it was the media that was disrespectful of both the President and the deceased. To give neither your full attention was a disrespect in itself.

If President Obama does lift this ban, the photographer in me will cheer and say "it's about time!" I am un-apologetically against censorship. [There is a time and place to keep media away, such as when troop movements and locations are in play. I do not agree with anything that would endanger our soldiers.] Preventing coverage of this final salute is censorship plain and simple. Now you can argue this from two sides, it's censorship vs. leftist propaganda against the war. I can see both arguments. I have given thought to both sides and I still believe it should be documented. War isn't pretty. People die. Sons, fathers, mother, sisters. Friends. They are all something to someone. Each and every soldier that doesn't return alive is missed. Hiding them away from sight doesn't make the negative side of war not there. It's still happening. We embed reporters with troops, we show the dog fights, show the end result. Alive or dead, they are all heroes. They all deserve to be honored upon their return home.

If President Obama does list this ban, the military wife of an Iraq war veteran in me will say "thank you." I was fortunate to have my husband return alive, safe and healthy. As a military wife I am all too aware of how little our soldiers get in the way of a "thank you" from the public or from their government. The VA is so under funded it isn't even funny. It's sad that as we have soldiers returning, that funding continues to be cut. We celebrate the return of our soldiers with parades and news coverage to welcome them home. When they come home alive. We should honor the fallen too, by observing their return and that final salute. A final thank you. They deserve that much at the very least.

Happy New Year!

Good riddance to 2008! It wasn't the worst year I've had, but it was easily in the top three. My family has gone through a lot of changes in 2008. Not many were happy changes. My husband lost his job in Lafayette which has led to many challenges. In the end he landed a new job in Huntsville, Alabama and so far this seems to be a positive change. It will be even more positive once I find a job! I lost an uncle and a great aunt this year too. My dad and I were in a pretty serious accident in early December, thankfully we walked away with no major injuries.

I'm not keen on new year resolutions. I never keep up with them. Instead I have a few goals for this year.
1. Live a healthy lifestyle
2. Strive towards a more eco-friendly way of life. I want to consume less, not just food, but consumer goods as well.
3. Run a 5k this spring.
4. Find a job that I truly like and enjoy. One that is challenging, but rewarding.
5. Write more in this blog!

That's about it, those are my goals for 2009. Nothing earth shattering, just little things that will move me towards living the way I want too.