i just posted a bunch of new photos on my Pixel Bliss Photography page in the "Weddings & Engagement" folder, and now i'm peddling my mad skillz (hee! i just can't type or say that with a straight face. ). seriously though, until i build more experience and a more fully rounded portfolio, i'll be working for cheap. so, if you are in need of a photographer for protraiture or an event of almost any kind, or you know someone who is, please let me know!

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

...is that all the world really cares about? according to the mass amounts of spam clogging my email lately, the answer is YES. as long as they are big, long-lasting and cheap, apparently.

 

(unfortunately, i can't um... cock-block... because it's my work email. wah.)

i added the truthbox app a while back, but i didn't tell anyone about it and no one posted anything so i finally took it down and forgot about it. since that time, they beefed it up a little and made it really easy to post bulletins about it and invite people to it, etc. so i re-added it a couple days ago.

i've gotten a few very complimentary posts now and it's funny because part of me wonders if it's even real... if the comments/secrets/truths being left are from anyone i actually know or if they are just generated by the app itself. then i wonder why i would even wonder that... ah... my brain. gotta love it. 

people have said some very nice things, and that feels really nice. i don't need to know who wrote it; it's just a happy little anonymous present. and really, i think those are the most sincere anyway. for this reason, i wish more people would add the app because it's just fun to do, running around spreading random anonymous  joy.

that said, i'm a little nervous about any real secrets... some things are better off left unsaid but get said anyway, while other things definitely should be said, yet never are and it's a very, very fine line at times. in addition, i think we all assume that others are well aware of the good and/or bad thoughts and feelings they inspire in us, but the truth is, most are almost completely oblivious.

it's this last sad truth that often contributes to hurt feelings. i personally have regularly assumed that i have little to no affect on most other people's thoughts/feelings. this assumption has lead me to believe that, as long as i'm not being an intentionally hurtful person, nothing i say or do (or don't say or do) will adversely affect anyone else. sometimes this is true, but often it isn't and damage is done.

so i guess that's the question that things like truthbox keep me asking: how much do our words, actions, and general bearing in life affect others around us? do the little things really make a difference? did that small smile and kind word do anything to brighten another's day, or did a scowl or snarl really bring someone else down without our having any knowledge of it? did anyone even notice or care at all? or did they notice and care a lot?

you may be far less important to someone else than you could have ever imagined. or, far, far more.

hey! i made a new myspace page for my blossoming photography biz. it doesn't look like anything yet, but i'll fix it up as soon as i can. for now, if you'd like to add it please go here.  

yay!!

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.With Mason's assistance, I shot my first paid wedding gig a couple weeks ago. There was no way, no matter how much it's done for me in the past, that my old Canon G3 was going to be able to handle it. Plus, I have more work coming in the future. So, it was time to upgrade. I'd been eyeing the Canon Rebels since they first came out, so I gave in and got the latest: the Canon EOS 450D, otherwise known as the Rebel XSi. SWEET!!  

Isn't she a beaut?!? Shoots like a dream. The image stablization in the lens makes up for a lot of my shaky grip too. This camera is seriously way smarter than I am.   Hopefully the class I'm taking this fall will close that gap. Of course now I need new lenses... a wide angle, a telephoto, and maybe some day, my guilty pleasure: a Lensbaby. 

I haven't posted anything I've taken with it yet because it's all been either practice shots or wedding shots. Once I get some time to play, I'll post the results on Flickr.

i got the news from tony's wife gen earlier this evening that the surgery went quickly, smoothly, and without any complications!!   she said that he was clear-headed and doing well, though definitely exhausted and in pain. tom and i are planning to go see him tomorrow when he's had a chance to rest a bit. he will be in the ICU for a day or so, and will then be moved to a regular room.

HUGE thanks to all of you who sent your well-wishes and great energy!! i have no doubt that it all helped him get through this.

i'll post more once tony has had a chance to recover a bit.

SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

today my little brother tony is having major surgery to correct an issue with his skull and spine that has been seriously deteriorating his health and threatening his life. he goes in at 1:30 today... please send strong, healing thoughts his way! actually, his dear wife gen could really use that too... these things are often toughest on the person in the waiting room.

i have high hopes for him; he has a chance to get his life back, finally. the poor guy has suffered way more than anyone should ever have to. he and gen really deserve to have a happy, healthy life together ahead of them.

i'm really scared for him, but excited too. i can't wait to see him smile again, walk around, enjoy his life and just not be in horrible pain anymore. thanks for your support, it means everything!

i'm moved in to the new place! 

it's awesome, beautiful, and i love it!!! AND... i have a new roommate... he's tall, dark, and handsome and i love him like crazy. you get ONE guess who it is. 

we had tons of help from mason, melody, scott, and marissa - thank you all SO MUCH!!

tom and i are soooo happy and can't wait to get settled and have you over to our new home!!

in my last report, there was 6 cute little baby fishes swimming around doing their fishy thing. and then... there was 4. i was bummed out for a minute but then thought maybe i ought to take a peek into the filter and sure enough! two pissed off looking baby fish, just waiting to be rescued.    so i got a spoon, scooped 'em out and dumped them back into the tank where they immediately resumed doing their fishy thing.

i leave the spoon there now and do a head-count twice a day. this is not easy. they are really, really small and they move really, really fast. they can hide places in that tank where they become virtually invisible. which is probably why it took me a solid week to realize that there are actually 7 babies!! ha! i have no idea how i managed to miss that extra one for so long, but there has consistently been 7 molly babies for the last few days now and they are doing beautifully. 

and they have a friend!! about four days ago i discovered ANOTHER baby fish! this one is not a molly - i'm pretty certain of that. i suspect it is a platy baby because one of the platys was looking really big, then suddenly wasn't anymore, but i didn't see any babies till i spotted this tiny little peach colored thing hiding behind the filter. every time it tries to venture out it gets immediately attacked by the platys which leads me to believe that it's brothers and sisters were all victims of platy cannibalism.   still, this little thing is managing to stay alive! i couldn't find it for the last two days and assumed it too had been devoured, but just this afternoon it made another appearance. it's managed to make it down to the bottom of the tank and hide in the plants, which is good because that's where the food is.

so now there are 8. it's like an aquatic version of the brady bunch. it's awesome.

the scene: cubicleland, 10 minutes ago.

uber-frumpy-office-matron 1: "we're like an old married couple"

uber-frumptastic-office-matron 2: "what? who, us? what do you mean?"

ufom 1: "yeah, us. you never pay any attention to me any more."

ufom2: "yes i do! why would you say that??"

ufom 1: "my pants have been inside-out ALL DAY and you never even noticed!"

fin