Post Wordless Wednesday - Searching for Crayons

Drat, I posted this as Wordless Wednesday, thinking it was Wednesday. Lo and behold, today is actually Thursday! Wow, I am so messed up. Okay, so I guess I can put words here, then. Anyway, I just wanted to post this image--I really like it. She's reaching for the crayons in a bin I had kept secret from her for a long while (it's where we keep the crayons and markers), but now she knows what's there, and knows how to get them! Not like she can do anything with them. She palms them so that when she "draws" on paper, she's actually just drawing with her knuckles. Something we and the OT are working on. I'm anxiously awaiting her first real drawing to frame proudly for my office.

School starts in a few weeks. I bought her a backpack--it was a strange feeling. Can't believe how time has flown. I always had good memories of back to school. My grandmother would take me shopping a week or two before at Rovners (can't remember if that's how it was spelled) in the Cumberland Mall, and I couldn't wait to start wearing my new duds! My favorite was in 6th grade, when she let me buy a pair of purple suede shoes with a little heel. I felt really grown up. Of course, I got tons of flack for it when I went to school since I was the tallest kid in the class already without heels. And for some reason, the first day of school was always the most beautiful, crisp, fresh fall day. Now it's just swampy until October, so all those back-to-school fall clothes will have to wait.

Sheesh, I'm 40 Today.

Actually, I thought today would occur with a whole lot of tantrums and drama. Kinda like last year. I had a really crappy day on my 39th. Part of that was an inability to deal with the inevitability of 40, and part of it was to do with a crappy day/week/month at work. But the more that I have realized that a lot of my friends are already there (and survived it just fine!), and that nothing in the world matters more than Samantha and my family (hey, I never even used to leave the house without makeup or putting real clothes on--now I'm happy in sweats and bare skin on the weekends since I've begun to view things in perspective!), including, gasp, aging another year, the more I'm fine with today and the start of a new decade. I can't predict that I'll feel the same way in another 10 years, though.

I remember when my Dad turned 40. I also turned 21 two days later. I was a big milestone for both of us, and my brother had just been born and adopted the month before. There was a huge party down at the farm, where lots of people I'd known for a good portion of my life came--family, family friends, friends, etc. Huge. They even put up a big tent on the field. And there were lots and lots and lots of presents. Mainly for me and Josh, but possibly some for Dad.

I was on the back end of my rebellious stage then. I still found drama in everything. My father gave me a photo album of "my life", which was set up in sections according to the people I've known in my life. It started out with my parents, then my grandparents, then my friends throughout the years, then my pets. But, mind you, this was in the days before digital photos, and these were original photos that my dad had in his collection. Of course, Dramatic Me, felt that now that my little brother had come along (whom I adored--this was so exciting for me to finally have a sibling!), they were handing me back my life and moving on to his. These were their photos that they were giving back to me, photos that they would never have in their possession again.

Silly, I know. I got over it. :-)

That all being said, today will pass as uneventfully as yesterday (aside from the wonderful birthday present Steve & Samantha gave me--a spa day at Elizabeth Arden!!!!!!!), and existentially, nothing significant has changed.
I'm cool with that.

Wordless Wednesday - Pure Joy

Dilemmas and Other Brain-Consuming Things

Ooh, where to start? I haven't updated in ages, mainly because I've been so busy. First of all, I started a new job. I'm now the Executive Assistant to a CEO and 3 Vice Presidents for a software development firm in Tysons. Last week was my first week--so far, I love it! Everyone I've met has been wonderful, but it's a very, very different culture in a large office as opposed to the small group of 6 of us at the Golden Triangle BID. I'll miss my friends there (Katherine, Regina, MaryKay and Sloan), but hopefully we'll keep in touch. And I don't think my bosses at my new job are crazy, which is a huge relief. :-)

Second, I've been totally obsessed with the 2009 DSANV calendar. I'm closing in on the deadline for getting the materials to the printer. Bethany was great, offering to help (along with other people), but without having to schedule in-person meetings, it was easier to do most of it myself. I totally appreciate the offers, you guys!!! One of the aspects I didn't expect to be as time-consuming as it is, is the layout. I know a lot of people hire graphic designers for stuff like this. I'm praying that it all looks okay. Especially because I want to do justice to the beautiful models and the generous and talented photographers who were a part of this project. I may slip a sneak-peek onto my blog soon. Personally I think that what I've got so far looks great!

Now for the HUGE dilemma I'm faced with. I was debating even mentioning this on my blog, but I'm at crunch-time. Those of you who are familiar with this project or are a part of the DSANV, please, please give me your feedback on this. Heck, even if you're not familiar with any of this, I could still use your feedback. When I set out to choose the models for the calendar, I asked for name/age submissions from the DSANV membership. I randomly selected the models from within each age group, and made sure there was fair representation of both genders. I had 36 models chosen--each month would have 1 main, large, horizontal photo, with 2 smaller vertical images to the right of the actual calendar part, below. Not sure if you can envision this. What I forgot to do was get a model for the cover. I'd talked about it a few months ago, and was thinking about putting out a call for one more model, to have just their eyes featured on the cover, since the theme is "The Eyes are the Mirrors..." Then life got in the way (and the search for a new job), and I completely forgot about it. Soooooo, I contacted one of the photographers, Lisa Hill-Sutton, who I've gotten to know a bit through the course of this project, and whose work is exceptional, and asked her if she wouldn't mind photographing Samantha's eyes for the cover. The photo shoots had already been completed by this time, and I was about to begin the layout. My intention was always to exclude Samantha from the selection process, since I'm the one doing the calendar. I didn't want people to be upset if I put her in the drawing for models and if she was selected, because I didn't want anyone to think it was unfair. However, I think Samantha's eyes are gorgeous, if I must say so myself, and figured if it was a photo of just her eyes, and if I didn't put her name on it, it would be fine. Well, Lisa had a wonderful idea to photograph Samantha looking out through a vintage window that has flowers painted on it. I thought that would be a great idea. In the execution, it worked much better to have more of Samantha in the image. Her eyes are still the main focus of the shot. But I really, really don't want to cause any controversy. I don't want tongues to wag to the effect of, "...oh, can you believe she put her kid in the calendar? And on the cover!" You know how it would go... One person assured me that not that many people even know Samantha, so it would be okay, but I don't know what else to do. Lisa was so great to do this for us, too, and I would hate to not use the shot. That being said, I could always crop the image so the photo is just her eyes, but the concept works so well with the window. *sigh* Any ideas, anyone? Have I lost any of you yet??


Lisa--please let me know if you mind me posting this image, and I'll certainly pull it!!

Wordless Wednesday?

Okay, all you folks out in blogland, can you please tell me exactly what "Wordless Wednesday" is and how it originated? I'm posting this in total ignorance, but it does seem appropriate!! :-)