A Number...

My husband turned 50 this week. A milestone? A half-way point? The beginning of the end? These and many other negative thoughts have plagued him during the months leading up to his birthday. As any good and loving wife I've been trying to dissuade all the negativity with light hearted comments such as, "How do you know this is a half-way point? You could step off a curb and get his by a bus tomorrow!"... I know, I'm quite the day brightener, aren't I.

I'm wondering when aging became so taboo in our society? The elders in a community used to be revered for their wisdom and all they could teach the younger generations. Today everyone wants to deny the fact their aging. Fill in wrinkles with collagen... Hide the gray... Wear a rug... Why are we so obsessed with youth? My youth pretty much sucked and I'm proud of the insights and maturity I've gained in the last 20 yrs. or so.

I'll be 44 this year... Still a few years away from 50, and I wonder if I too, will begin to freak out or just feel a mild sense of discomfort over the loss of my youth? Or will I continue to value the experiences which have made me the person I am?

I've suggested to my husband that he start a list. A list of a 100 things he'd like to do before he dies. Not a new idea, I know... Also rather bleak to even mention the 'D-word'... But how can you really know what you want out of life if you don't think about what it is you really WANT? It's been said that the best way to hold yourself to something or implement a plan is to put it down on paper. I really like the idea so I'm going to list my first ten items today, right here, right now:

1-10 of 100 Things I'd like to Do with my Life

(Sounds so much more positive than 100 things I want to do before I die.)

1. Travel through New Zealand.
2. Decorate a Wedding Cake.
3. Walk through the Giant Redwoods.
4. Plant a gorgeous bed of flowers in my backyard.
5. Paint a mural... somewhere!
6. Cook a truly gourmet meal.
7. Learn to swim freestyle without feeling like I'm going to drown.
8. Try Stand-Up Comedy at an open mic night.
9. Ride in a Zorb
10. Organize or enter a car rally.

Note: Coming up with 10 things is really difficult, it's going to be a very tough task to think of 100. However while trying to come up with ideas I realized there are several things I've accomplished which I'm pretty proud of... Here are 10 of them:

1. Completed a professional decorating assignment, which I got paid for.
2. Sold a painting.
3. Attended a National Convention
4. Taught a class.
5. Sold personal artwork.
6. Gave a humorous speech at a conference, which left at least 50 women laughing out loud.
7. Participated in an hour long radio interview.
8. Created a clay sculpture of which I'm quite proud.
9. Decorated a shop window display.
10. Served as President of a civic organization.

Hope this inspires you to consider not only things you wish to accomplish but take pride in things you've already achieved.

Note: I realize the candles on my husband's birthday 'cake' make it appear as though I totally ripped him off as it pertains to celebratory 'goodies'... However, just off camera is the most beautiful, made from scratch, lemon meringue pie, you've ever laid eyes on and if I'd put the candles on it, they would've compromised the aesthetics of that gorgeous pie.

Renaissance

FYI: Pulling out old photos because my pretty little laptop had a major 'MF'ing Vista' meltdown this morning (thanks for that Mr. Gates, and to think I used to stick up for you when others called you a money grubbing dork!)... I Believe I've lost EVERYTHING, all my bookmarks, all my recent photos... Good thing I got old reliable 'Bessy' here on my office desk.

Yes, I went to 'The Fair'... No, I'm not terribly proud of it... But how cool does this guy look?


And even though my husband was less then impressed with all things medieval, he didn't seem to mind gaping at wenches who looked like this.

Surf and Learn...

When I received my lovely little laptop I thought I'd spend the majority of my time on it 'blogging'... Uh, not so much... I'm in a slump folks, as it pertains to writing witty little ditty's that'll leave you clutching your sides in uproarious laughter... Wait, was I ever capable of such a response?... Don't answer that.

Regardless of my lack of posting, I have indeed been spending a great deal of time acquainting myself with lovely little 'Godiva'... Namely, I've been surfing the web in search of awe inspiring photography sites. Places like this: Jules Bianchi Photography or this: Jessica Claire Photography
and this: J. Garner Photography.

Yeah, okay, I'm living in a dream world... I'm not even fit to carry around the camera bag of people this talented. It is however nice to dream AND imagine I have an extra 12K sitting around to invest in an awesome camera and a couple of bad ass lenses. I am however, going to continue playing around with light, color and form... Try and get myself some flare shots, along with some cool depth of field tricks.

One thing I am learning from all this surfing is the portrait sittings of the past are so... Well, um, Yesterday! The new look in photography seems to be all about illustration. The best wedding shots aren't posed affairs with everyone in stair step order, like geese at a shooting gallery... No, they're about movement and projecting the joy of the event. I love this... I also love, Love, LOVE, the idea of shooting the little details... The small things that so much thought and preparation go into when it comes to planning the event... These are the things you forget about later if they aren't photographed. A bridesmaid tending to a ribbon on the back of the brides gown. The curve of her ankle as the bride slips into her satin shoes. When it comes to photographing children, it just seems odd to make them sit in a chair in front of a painted backdrop when their real joy and exuberance for life shines through when their engaged in doing something they love, like playing outside or dressing up. This is what I want to capture... And I'm tired of sitting here just dreaming about it. So, I'm gonna try and post more pics and if anyone has thoughts on them, complimentary or constructive, well... Damn I'd sure appreciate it. Maybe someday someone will search out a site I create for inspiration? And maybe the reality will be I can just make myself happy trying to get better at something I really enjoy... Yeah, that would be Great!

Below are a couple of pics I took last Friday on our walk from the Washington DC Convention Center to Metro Center. Getting ready to cross the street ahead of us was the most elegantly dressed couple... Look like they stepped off the pages of 'Mid-Life Vogue'... My Goodness but they're handsome aren't they? I'll bet their kids are named Biff and Buffy with grandchildren Beatrice and Henry... They're probably already planning ahead to the whole family vacationing on the Martha's Vineyard in late June. Then again she might be the aide to this little known congressman and his wife might be plenty pissed if she ever runs across this pic... Sorry, I'm such a cynic.


I was able to zoom in for this shot just before the traffic light changed.

Back to the Beginning...

I started this blog 'thing' as a means of displaying my 'mad skillz' as a paper artist... Since that time I've done little but yammer on about housework, family and the bizarre situations day to day existence has handed me. Fear not, my loyal 3.5 Paper Treehouse visitors (.5? hey, you know who you are, stop on my blog for half a second, only to find a cute picture of a dog and the cut off heads of my children and think to yourself, "Not gonna waste my time on this shit!") ... I'll not disappoint you by holding back on details of my everyday drudgeries. How could I, dear readers, ever leave you bereft of the soliloquies (yes, I had to look up the spelling), in which I take the time to engage myself... I might also choose to believe, you'll think me an amazing blogger, if I start inserting some Readers Digest quality, 'Enrich Your Word Power', buzzwords into my blog... The likes of which result in a visit to dictionary.com. Is it workin' for ya? huh?

SO, let's go back to the beginning and allow me to take a break from all the witty repartee and regale you with a bit of not only my artsy awesomeness but also my utter lack of humility... Behold the beauty that is the birth announcement project I recently completed:

Yes, I handmade 80 announcements

A longtime customer and friend of mine had her baby... FINALLY! And gave me the opportunity to strip her poor child naked on a cold afternoon, so I could practice my photography skills. Take a look at sweet little Charley... Here's a close-up of the shot that graced each birth announcement:

I'm really quite pleased with the result and since I'm all up in myself over the fact I got MORE than one good picture, I simply have to share my favorite pic of the session:


Like I said, I just couldn't be happier with the results! I had SO much fun with this project, that I'm longing to do it again... and soon! Problem is, I'm in that stage of life when most of my friends are long past the baby making stage and it's still too early for the grandparent thing, at least without a shotgun involved.

Plunging My Doctors Toilet... (no, that's not a metaphor!)

I have a knack for getting myself into some of the oddest situations... Today was one of them.

I went in for my regular check-up with my diabetes/thyroid doctor (endochrinologist... and yes, I'm too lazy to look up the spelling)... And yeah, my A1-C is perfect but my thyroid is a tricky bitch that doesn't want to settle down and do whatever it's supposed to do... What exactly it does, I'm not sure other than keep my hair firmly implanted and the fact that's not happening is indeed a tell-tale sign the damn thyroid is on the fritz.... Anyways...

So I arrive at my doctors office with an overwhelming need to use the facilities... However, when I open the door to the restroom it's evident the toilet is clogged and in desperate need of a good plunge. So I hustle over to the front desk and say, "Excuse me, do you have a plunger or another restroom I can use? The toilet is blocked-up in the main restroom." The receptionist looks at me, hems and haws about yes, they have a plunger and notices my eyes trained directly on the restroom beyond her desk and says, "There's a plunger in there... Oh, go ahead and use that one." Turns out this particular office is so small that when I enter the restroom, I run directly into the physicians assistant who is busy sorting files... Files located directly IN the bathroom....Eeeeewwww!

Whilst (at last) taking care of the urgent business at hand. I'm given the chance to reflect on the current situation. Somewhere in the doctors office is a toilet which is still hopelessly clogged and I'm sitting right next to (of all things) a plunger! This is when I ask myself, WSMD (what should Margie do?) Why, plunge the other toilet, of course! So I finish up and head down the hall, plunger in hand and run directly into my doctor. He seem rather surprised to see me in the back hallway of his office AND carrying a plunger. He asks, "Is everything okay?" I tell him everything is fine but his toilet is backed up and I'm going to plunge it. He walks with me towards the main restroom, looks inside and asks, "Are you alright?" I was distinctly given the impression he thought I'd made the mess in the main bathroom, so I quickly explained I found it like that and it was my intention to fix it. It's difficult to express the look that one person gives another when they realize you're going to plunge their toilet, a toilet YOU didn't clog. My guess is my doctor thinks I'm some sort of freak for clearing his pipes... I guess I am... A control freak, that is.

'Breaking-In' a New Driver

You know, it's somewhat of a Catch 22... This teaching your kid to drive. In order to learn they MUST practice and in order to practice, they must drive your car, that's how the learning takes place. However, with learning comes making mistakes and when the reality of 'making mistakes' involves an automobile... Well, it can be an expensive lesson. Case in point, Exhibit A:



Yes, that's the front drivers side fender of my van... And no, that dent and scrape you see was not created by me but by my son, the guy with the learners permit. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I'm taking full responsibility for the damage. He says, "You weren't behind the wheel, he was! So why are you saying it's your fault?" Because, I had him drive to school before he was ready. You see there's two difficult moves a driver must make while driving to my kids school.

1. (the one I remembered) Involves making a U-turn on what can be considered, a busy thoroughfare.
2. (which I forgot) Involves taking a hard right into a driveway from aforementioned 'busy thoroughfare'... This driveway happens to be lined with several large pine trees, the first of which tangled with the front fender of my car when our new driver didn't cut the turn quite hard enough.

Now, I could've had him stop and back up, but that would've involved backing out onto that busy thoroughfare... Probably not a good idea. And since it appeared the only damage my van was going to incur was a few limb scrapings on my paint job, I figured it was the lesser of the two evils to keep moving forward. It was only after my son parked the vehicle that we saw the large dent a stubborn branch, refusing to give way, created on the front fender. So I'm taking the blame for my lack of foresight AND if it's any consolation, my boy did an Excellent job with that U-turn I was so worried about.

It's been said that if one makes their mistakes early on in a process that this is a good thing. It gets the bad stuff out of the way early so one can move on from that point to great success... Man, I hope that's true, because Body Shops can be expensive.*

Note: In light of the fact that my boy will be practicing driving with my car for a while, I will not be so foolish as to spend money fixing the dent on my van, as I'm sure there's a chance for more driving 'experience' to take place.