horn tootin'

I thought I'd share some photos from some of the photoshoots I've had over the past six weeks. A wise man said, "If I don't toot my own horn, who will?!"

Jackson:


Alice:


And of course, the Famous Amys Family:






My brother and his adorable girlfriend:


Brit:




Willie:


And a quick look at last weekend's session with Alex (my first completely random photoshoot with someone I had never met before!)

I've got an engagement shoot this weekend I'm super excited for, and so many wonderful things coming up in 2012 for Young South Photography, including a new business/marketing manager, website, price lists, etc.!

run like the wind, bullseye

I've always HATED running, although I've always wanted to be a runner. I'm secretly jealous of the people I pass to and from anywhere in Birmingham who are running. Because I know it's something I could benefit from, if I just knew how to do it in a way that my body didn't completely and totally hate me.

I decided over Thanksgiving weekend that I wanted to learn to run. Lucky for me I have a friend and neighbor who has been a runner her entire life who has been on hiatus from running since the birth of her son and needed some motivation to get back out there. So we decided to be running buddies.

You see, I deal with a lot of stupid idiots at my office. Not my coworkers, they're great, but the patients can be complete ignoramuses. It's gotten harder and harder for me lately to leave all that crap at the office and not take that negative energy home with me. Add to that the acute female condition known in my family as "The Rage", and I was honestly thinking I may need to start taking medication to level out my emotions. So, to me, it was either running or Prozac. I decided to try running first.

Friday afternoon, Mary Claire and I headed to a local establishment, the Trak Shak, to get measured for some new shoes. I told them my limitations: I have scoliosis and one leg is a quarter of an inch longer than the other, I danced for two decades and my knees are shot, and I walk on the balls/big toes of my feet. They found the perfect pair of shoes for me, and I just couldn't wait to get started. MC (Mary Claire), either. We laid out our clothes the night before, I transferred the running mixes my sister made me to my iPod, and I was literally so anxious and nervous I puked last night. Those of you who don't know me well may find this odd, but others will realize that it's completely normal. The puking, that is.

MC picked me up this morning and started giving me the pep talk. The goal: three miles in under an hour. We can do this, right? We started out walking at a brisk rate, which we did for half a mile, then we alternated running and then walking every half mile. At first I was doing great. I felt as if my legs could run forever, it was my neck and shoulders that were starting to feel the strain. So I started wiggling my head and shoulders and arms around like a crazy person to loosen up, and that seemed to help significantly. I've ALWAYS carried my stress in my shoulders, so I made a mental note to be sure to stretch these areas before and after running. After two miles, my right hip started aching a bit, so I started taking longer strides, which helped stretch it a bit. At the last quarter of a mile, MC looked at me and was like, "do you feel the adrenaline?" and I did. I totally did. We started sprinting. At one point, I looked down at my legs and it took me a minute to register that I had control over them, I literally felt like my body was doing it's own thing, completely independent of what my head was telling it to do. And WOW! After that sprin I did some yoga stretches to cool down and limber up, and I could FEEL the endorphins releasing. I could FEEL THEM! It was like I'd just taken a Xanax and drank a glass of wine while laying in a jacuzzi bathtub with candles and a really good book. I still have perma-grin, in fact.

So yes, I know there are other things I could be blogging about today: new and exciting things on the horizon for my freelance photography "business", decorating my house for Christmas, the awesome weekend we just spent as a family in Asheville, an upcoming luxurious girl's getaway to the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead, Melody's CONFIRMED visit to the Southeast, but THIS, this whole running thing, has really got me so excited about everything else I couldn't help but share!

Any runners out there? I need tips on breathing. All those years of yoga and I really wanted, today, to link my inhale/exhales to my stride, but could not, for the life of me, figure out how to do it effectively. Do you breathe through your nose? Through your mouth? Do you emphasize the inhale? The exhale? Do you try to keep the inhales and exhales evenly spaced? I know my muscles need the oxygen, I just need to figure out the best way to give it to them.

We're aiming towards a 5k in January, and have already got our weekly running schedule and goals mapped out!

lagging behind

Hmmmmm.....I really don't know where I left off and where to begin again? There are things I could be blogging about, I just haven't carved out the time for this lately.

A few weeks ago, Dirk had the entire weekend off, which NEVER happens. So on Friday we headed to Atlanta, where we stayed in a fun downtown hotel and saw the Trey Anastasio Band perform at the Tabernacle Theater. TAB at the TAB on 11-11-11. It was a pretty spectacular show and venue.

Here are Dirk and the girls in the hotel room. These pups are getting to be very well-traveled. Sipsey has now stayed in hotels in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia.

This is the Tabernacle!

Not the best shot I got of my red-headed boyfriend all night, but I love that there's a cow on the organ and a balloon flying through the photo.
The energy was contagious!
This photo cracks me up. Dirk and I met up with some of our Birmingham friends. We had too much fun.
I was majorly suffering from the cocktail flu the day after the show, but was able to remember to take some pictures whilst taking the dogs around for their morning business run.
After lounging around half the morning we decided to walk around Centennial Olympic Park, which was looking absolutely gorgeous with all the leaves changing. We, on the otherhand, looked homeless.
While we were walking through the Park, Piper stepped too close to a fountain and we found ourselves detained by a very mean and angry policewoman. She screamed at us that she was going to have to shut the whole park down because we were irresponsible pet owners and don't know how to read signs, blah, blah, blah. Luckily she radio'ed for back-up and the man (I'm assuming a park manager) was petting the dogs and talking nicely to us. She claimed she saw the pups in the fountain, and the dude was like, "They're not even wet! Wouldn't they be wet if they were in the fountain? We don't have to close anything down." She stalked off and we were free to go on our way. Stupid Fountain Cop.

So that was our little Atlanta getaway! I've got more posts I should be working on, but things are about to get ridiculously busy/crazy around here. Love you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

fall, o glorious fall

I grew up in a state where fall lasted a month, six weeks tops, and was not a relaxing, let's-go-out-and-enjoy-the-weather kind of time. It was more like we-need-to-get-the-crops-out-of-the-field-as-soon-as-possible-and-pray-that-no-machinery-breaks kind of time. I guess I still have that mindset, too. When I returned from Iowa after Labor Day, I had around 1600 RAW images to edit, not once, but at least three different times to get to my bride by the end of the month. Suffice it to say, I spent much of September staring at my computer screen, and Photoshop was about as social as I allowed myself to get. I had a few meltdowns about it, and inevitably called mama. "I feel like my whole month is slipping away from me and fall's going to be over and I won't have done anything fun or memorable ALL MONTH LONG." Mama knows exactly what to say to make me feel better when I'm having these come-aparts, because we're pretty much the same person. "But Libba, you're not in Iowa. You have SO much time left for fall!" She was right. Aren't mamas always, though?

So here it is, November, and things are finally becoming colorful and beautiful and I just want to hug you, Fall. Maybe I'm enjoying it more this year because of where we live. I mean, it's hard to be thinking negative thoughts when you step out onto your porch and see this:

And you're flinging the tennis ball to your dog in the field next to the house and this is your backdrop:

And how cute does our little house look with all the fall colors!?

One more from the front porch, different time of day, different colors.

Gah. Yes. This is my favorite season.

Dia de los Muertos

When I first moved to Birmingham, I did a lot of odd jobs to make the rent, including babysitting. Around 2005, all the parents of the families I was babysitting for starting talking about these hot new restaurants they were going to check out. Then my friends started talking about how Cantina was the place to be, etc., etc., etc. So I went. And I enjoyed it. But at the time I was still in my weird I-hate-Mexican-food-because-the-beans-look-like-baby-diarrhea phase. Then I was invited to attend the Day of the Dead festival with some friends, and it was cool, and it was fun, but it was really cold and I just didn't get it. Dirk and I went back a year or so later, and again, we walked around, we admired all the altars erected for people's loved ones, and that was about it.

Shortly thereafter Aimee and I met at the dog park, our dogs fell in love with each other, and we became friends. She started dating Jorge and Dirk and Jorge immediately fell in love with each other. I started learning more about Mexican culture, and we were accepted into the Castro and Cantina family. I learned that Guillermo, the owner and mastermind behind the restaurants, was a huge supporter of the Day of the Dead festival, and the next year when we attended, we had a blast. It was SO much fun.

When Guillermo passed in July, thoughts began turning towards this year's celebration, and how bittersweet it would be. But no, the festival became a memorial to this great man, and his family and loved ones lingered around his altar all afternoon and evening, laughing over memorabilia, tearing up over youthful images, honoring the way in which he embraced an American life without losing his passion for his country and culture.

These are the surviving Castro brothers. Such an amazing family.

Memo would always kid around with Dirk about Dirk being a homosexual and make comments about him going to the gay bars, etc. So whenever Dirk would walk into the restaurant Memo would call, "There she is!" Dirk has always been great at making t-shirts out of electrical tape, this year he stepped up his game and printed a picture of him and Memo and taped it to the back.

I've decided that when I pass, I don't want a funeral or memorial or anything like that. I want an altar and a party and music you can dance to.

Fitz and the Tantrums

Last December, while Dirk and I were getting away in Seaside, we were browsing the local record store and fell in love with the music playing over the intercom. It was love at first listen. We bought the album and listened to it nonstop our entire visit, and it became the soundtrack to our trip. I just love when trips have soundtracks.

We've been itching to see this band live ever since, but could never work it out to travel to either Atlanta or Nashville to catch a show. Then the stars aligned and we found ourselves with tickets to a concert in Atlanta.

Our friend Jim came along with us, being a fellow appreciator of music, and we had a blast!

Here's Dirk eagerly waiting for the opening band to break down their gear and skedaddle.

I love this photo. It looks like Jim is a total creeper, and I'm ready to kick some butt.

Can't you just feel the energy from this photo!? It was ridiculous!

And finally, here's a photo we like to call "Jibba".

If you're interested in hearing what they sound like, here's a video:

crafty

This week's craft night was hosted by Mary Claire, and she picked a super fun project for us to tackle. First, we taped our canvases.

Wake kept track of the supplies and an eye on the cat to keep him from disturbing us.

Then we sprayed our canvases.

This part was tricky for me, as both my paintings were multiple colors, so I had to attempt to keep the paint from running or spraying other sections.

Voila! Aimee's are the top two, mine are the middle, and Mary Claire's are at the bottom of this picture.

I look special needs in this photo but it's the only in-focus photo from the group shots of us. Mary Claire looks adorable (as always), and Aimee always looks good. Note to self, the next time you leave the house in the same outfit you also plan to wear to bed, think twice about it.

Here are my two masterpieces. Don't know if I'll keep them or gift them. I do like how, completely by accident, the two diagonal stripes seem to travel from one canvas to the other. Kind of neat, huh?

The next craft night will be at Aimee's, and I know she's got something really spectacular planned!