Perspective

Good grief...it's been a long time since I've written anything here.  I think I have been intimidated by all of my web savvy friends who have developed such high tech blogs.  Oh well, it's bland, but here goes...

Not too long ago, a good friend and I stopped in to visit my Mom.  She was at work, but had time to talk (benefits of being the owner).  We got into a conversation about my Aunt's cancer and this spurred Mom to tell us in detail of all the people that she knows who have been "burned up" by chemotherapy (I know, it's radiation, not chemotherapy, but bear with me).  I always complain that everytime I talk to my Mom all she wants to talk about is who has died, who's sick, what horrible thing is the latest news headline, or how she's tired of supporting all the people on welfare.  Most of the time I just get aggravated with her outlook and wonder how in the world I ended up being as optimistic as I usually am.  Sometimes I say it's purely rebellion, but honestly, it's the grace of God.  When I really think about it, I realize that in addition to a hard life sometimes physically and oftentimes emotionally, Mom has never really had an optimistic influence in her life.  Not a lasting one anyway.  I don't know if I could be that, but maybe I should try a little harder instead of being so judgmental all the time.  It's just that judgmental is so much easier.

I started thinking more about this because of an email that I received today.  Last weekend I had the opportunity to photograph the Dragon Boat Festival in Chattanooga. (you can see pictures at www.imagesoflove.instaproofs.com)  It's a fundraiser for Children's Hospital involving people racing these canoe like boats down the river.  There were 4 professional teams there and they all had something in common.  They were all cancer survivors, the majority of them breast cancer survivors.  These people had more spirit and drive than I can possibly put into words.  They came from Atlanta and Charleston and they travel all over entering in these races.  Some of them are even going to Australia for the Nationals!  In corresponding with one of the ladies about pictures, I simply asked if she had enjoyed the event.  This was her response:

My wish for all of you is that you not be on the road when she's in that 18 wheeler because she likes to drive on both sides.  Her theory is she paid for the whole thing, she should get to use it.....

You Never Know What You're Going to Get...

I love weddings...which is a good thing since I spend a lot of time at them.  They are all different, reflecting the lives and personalities of the brides and grooms.  Although they can be extremely unpredictable, I love weddings who have little ones as part of the wedding party.

Today's wedding happened to be on of these.  The flower girl was 4 and her brother, who was 3, was the ringbearer.  They both had personality plus!  For some reason, animals and children love me and usually we bond pretty quickly.  That works to my advantage in cases like these.  However, it brought something new to the picture today.  As the flower girl and the ring bearer were walking down the aisle, she was having trouble getting the petals out of her basket because of two strips of material that were lining her basket.  So, about 3/4 of the way down the aisle with all eyes on her, she stopped right in front of me and pulled the material out of her basket and handed it to me.  She had solved her problem, so she went the rest of the way down the aisle!  To her, it was logical because I was the person along the way that she knew and had spent the last couple of hours with.  To me, it was just hilarious and precious at the same time.

The wedding was beautiful and I had the privilege of witnessing another of God's miracles.

Boogie Nights...

Tonight I had the opportunity to photograph a second wedding reception for a lady that I work with.  She was booked with another engagement, so she asked me to fill in for her.  I say it was a second wedding reception because the couple actually got married yesterday, but wanted to have a more intimate party with their family and close friends.

I love photographing receptions and events where people really know how to let loose and have a good time.  These folks really knew how to celebrate.  And a bonus...they LOVE to dance.  If you know me, then you know that I do as well.  I probably dance while I'm taking pictures of other people dancing.  I can't help it.  If there is music playing, I 'm somehow moving.

Now, the groom claimed that he couldn't dance, but I told him that he gave a really good impression of it if that was actually the case.  So, after that, everyone was leaving the dance floor and he grabbed my hand and asked me to dance.  I laughed, but took him up on the offer.  Unfortunately there is no picture of this, but let me see if I can paint one for you.  First of all, I have an enormous camera around my neck, complete with flash and lightsphere.  I've also got a battery pack tucked into the back waistband of my skirt, which probably did wonders for my posterior.  Somehow we ended up being the only two people on the dance floor at the time and this was a fast, shake-your-bootie kind of song.  Here's the kicker, did I mention that I was the minority in the room and that the groom made me look like a really skinny midget?  Well, I did my best, but I was laughing so hard that somehow all the dance lessons that Kari has given me went straight out of my head.  I hope no one got that on video.  I'm sure it will be part of the blooper reel if they did!

Anyway, it was fun and I'm sure they are going to have a very blessed and fun-filled marriage.  I'm so glad I got to share in this one night with them.

So, shake your groove thing any opportunity you get!

Techno Geek failure

Well, maybe I should make empty posts more often...I seem to get more comments that way!  Actually, I was trying to post the code from that personality test that Mattchews had in his latest entry.  However, evidently, I'm not smart enough to copy the code that it gives you.  I copied it and it still looked like code, so I just deleted it, not realizing that you all would get an empty entry.  Oh well, if someone would like to help me out here, I would be much appreciative.

So, I'll just tell you what the test said.  Basically, I'm the opposite of you Mattchews, surprised?  Yeah, probably not.  I'd say anyone could have seen that one coming.  I'm an ISFP, which is somewhat rare.  7% of all people have my personality, 8% of all women, and 6% of all men.  It means Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.  Supposedly I'm caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm.  I would agree with that overall, although I do have my off days. 

So, if you would like to take this test yourself, it's quick and easy, but you'll have to visit Mattchews site because I can't figure out how to post the $?*#& code.