i don't really update this blog, and i don't really want to. so, i started a blog through blogspot.com. if you want to keep up with me through that, that would be great.

right now it's pretty random. stuff about photography, baking, parenting (my life, pretty much). but if you're interested in keeping up with it, that would be great.

http://melissahumphries.blogspot.com

berea fest was, once again, amazing. definitely worth the delirious 12 hour drive. i didn't take as many pictures this year as i did last year an am now kicking my ass for it. sometimes it's hard to decide what's more important - focusing on taking great photos, or just rocking the eff out. i chose (for the most part) rocking the eff out. here are some of the highlights of our weekend.

sunrise friday morning (west virginia? ohio? not sure)


bike time


the few bands that i did photograph between dancing and rocking out:

slingshot dakota -




super bobby -




lemuria -



halo fauna -





bridge and tunnel -





random fun times -

christopher, my toothbrushing buddy


circus tricks


tentopia


jay draper's bday



ryan.



like i said above, i wish i had taken more pictures of the bands that played, especially the bands that i had the most fun dancing to. (good luck, get bent, tin armor, and the list goes on)

so, summer is approaching, i'm getting antsy. i have at least one fully week of paid vacation, and enough extra money to take more time off, if i would like.

there are lots of things i'd like to do, one being visiting friends i haven't seen in forever (and friends that i just adore hanging out with **coughericcough**)

looking back to last summer, it was so amazing. i was freshly single after i very disfunctional relationship, and,  granted i worked a lot, i still had a lot of fun on my off time. ken was here, and we hung out almost every day, rode bikes almost every day, and just had a great time. (i miss the shit out of ken, btw) there were shows going on almost weekly, so i (we) were surrounded by good people all the time. i loved every moment of it.

i'm at a loss on what to do this summer. i'm cutting back on the number of days i'm working at the store, just so i can be home with carley more, but i'd like to take off somewhere this summer. (berea fest is on my list of things to do/places to go) so, to all my friends, if you want to hang out or want to go on an adventure, let me know. i'm down with some traveling and good times with good friends.

so, i've been thinking.... and watching too much buffy the vampire slayer. i've decided that the best thing for me is a life-like robot. all i really want out of a guy right now is to just someone to cuddle with, wash the dishes, and go on bike rides with. other than that, i don't think i really want anything else right now.

i think i'm just void of all emotion right now. i miss intimacy-- mostly/only the cuddling part, and i really don't want the ridiculousness of a relationship. the great thing about having a robot-person, would be that i could unplug him when i didn't need him and reprogram him when new things come up that need to get done. --mowing the lawn, cleaning thomas' cage, etc.

i wonder how complicated it would be to build a robot-person. it would need to feel lifelike. i don't want to cuddle next to cold steel (iron?) body. that would not be very pleasant. oh, and he can have music programmed into him and will play sweet relaxing tunes as a fall asleep.

good times.

since it seems like i'm always posting things about how sad and lonely i am, i figured it was time to do a happy update.

life in general is going well. i've actually been getting calls about shooting weddings and portraits lately which is baffling to me because i never really talk about my photography to people. my confidence is slowly building, and i'm really enjoying every shoot i do. i still wish i could work with other photographers since i never really did that when i first got started. i feel like there's so much i missed out on learning, and while being mostly self-taught is nice (other than tech school learning, but really, how much do you really learn there), i just feel like i lack in so many ways, but am slowly building myself up and learning more. so, yay for me and photography.

i've managed to lose my wallet twice in less than a week and a half. the first time i think thomas stole it and hid it, and when he was finally allowed out of his cage again the next day, took it out of his hiding spot in order to be glorified for finding my wallet. that jerk. the 2nd time i lost my wallet, carley and i were on a bike ride and i never noticed it had fallen out of pocket. it was rather embarrassing when i tried paying for stuff at walgreens and had no wallet. i tried backtracking our route we had taken earlier, but never found my wallet. a couple of hours later, i get a call from a guy telling me he found my wallet. honest people make me smile. i think i need to change wallets though. it's starting to prove to be bad luck.

what else is new... i'm trying to work on my flower bed. getting all the weeds out is annoying. i haven't worked on the flower bed in a couple of weeks ,but i'm going to try to get back into it soon. i may give the whole thing an entire face lift. that being said, anyone have a lawnmower i can borrow for an afternoon? my lawn is in dire need of cutting.

i guess that's about it. pretty soon i'll be buying carley a guitar and getting her started with guitar lessons. i think she will be an amazing guitar player if she really sets her mind to it.

in other news: tub.

sometimes i get inside my head too much.

i think i slept at least 18 hours yesterday. i couldn't get myself motivated to do anything else other than sleep. in those many hours of sleep, i had some of the most messed up dreams i think a person could have. they were all a cross between nightmares and emotional torture. between all that, my view of reality is rather skewed right now.

i really think my dreams (at least the ones that involve the emotional side of my brain) are some kind of window to my real feelings, fears, loves, hates. i'm rather confused right now, and i don't even know where to begin to get myself straight again. i wish i could just be happy being alone or at least not get myself worked up about potential relations... or at least have something good happen to me for once.

----

i just finished watching juno. the movie was amazing. it pretty close to home. not just because of the preggers at 16, but really the awkwardness of relationships... or, should i say, transitioning friendships to relationships. it's not as easy as it seems, and it sucks when it doesn't work out. i'm probably going to be crying over this movie for the next couple of days. but i'm an emotional sap like that, so... whatevs.

=====

i wish i could put all my thoughts together. i wish i could talk to the people i need to talk to in order to get a lot of this shit out of my head. right now i don't think i could properly communicate whatever is going on through my head right now, but i need some form of feedback, something to tell me i'm not crazy.

--------

i don't ask for much. i just want someone to hold me at the end of the night and love me.

all vegan

red velvet cake (x2)
chocolate chip cookies (x2)
brownies w/pecans
zucchini bread
chocolate chip cookie bars w/coconut flakes

i think that's it so far.

coming soon...
chocolate and peanut butter rice krispy treats
banana nut bread
banana chocolate pie
and other things.

if you live near me...you should come over and have these tastey treats.

greenwool mill plant 5.

why is it that i always want what i know i can't have?

thanks to everyone that came out to the show, and to the amazing bands that played and to ken freeman for making it all happen!!













thanks for letting me blind you with my flash. i love photographing these events and it makes me soooo happy to share these moments with you all.

(more pictures will be posted on my flickr account sometime in the next couple of days)

xo
melissa