Project #51 Laughing Baby

A baby laughing is one of the most magical sounds you will ever hear.  Well, at least to my lil' mama ears, anyway. This little cutie isn't mine, he belongs to friends of mine, who's wedding I had the opportunity to photograph a few years ago. ( the FUNNEST wedding I have ever worked on, I might add)

One of the things I love about christmas is the chance to reconnect with old friends, and since these friends live so far away ( an entire province away) it was just so great to see them and meet their little one!

I made sure I was sitting right next to his high chair at dinner, so I could enjoy his little antics while I caught up with his awesome parents =)

He was so fascinated by my bracelet and rings on my hand, that he would shriek everytime I moved my arm away! hahaha.  So I ate my tacos with my boring hand while I let him play with my other "facinating"  hand, haha. 

I didnt have much time to catch up with them, as I had to share their attention with other people there as well, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple quick photos of him in his dad's arms before I left. He was a bit out of sorts because of all the travelling that had thrown his usual daily nap schedule out of whack, but as you can see, this kid is a real trooper, and he grinned and gurgled away happily for the most part. He even giggled away at the peek-a-boo game just long enough to take this photo. 

Wishing I could take a nap right now,

-J

Project #50 - The Wheel

I honestly couldnt think of a single thing to say about this photo, hahaha!

It's 12:56 a.m. and I have been staring at my computer for hours trying to think up something witty to say about it. Oh who am I kidding, I'd settle for something even slightly intelligible at the moment.

After 3 cups of tea, about 27 trips to the bathroom and nearly dozing off about 46 times, hahaha, I've decided that there's really nothing to say about this photo : it is what it is. A wheel,

A pioneer wagon wheel, to be precise. From a wagon in the old abandoned ghost town I blogged about earlier. I had taken this photo and really liked it, but I kept waiting to post it until I had something wonderfully exciting to write about it. But now it's 1:02 a.m. on December 30th, and I'm kinda getting down to the wire here to get my projects all up to date so that I can post the final project of the year, Project #52 of 52, on December 31st. SO,  That being said, here is the almost-next-to-last project photo.  The invention of the wheel itself changed the course of history forever, so in that respect, there is a lot that can be said about "the wheel". But since I've nearly fallen asleep for the 47th time now, hahahaha, I'm gonna let the photo say a thousand words, because I'm too tired to do it myself, hahaha!

Wagon wheels carrying me off into dreamland,

-J

Project #49 - Christmas Lights

When I was a little girl, my dad used to pack us kids up in his truck, pick us up some hot chocolates (and coffee for himself) and drive around the neighborhoods in our small town looking at all the houses decorated for christmas, while we listened to christmas carols on the radio.  It was always something I looked forward to.
Nowadays it's rare to find entire neighborhoods all decked out in the season's best, each trying to outdo the other. Obviously things like rising electricity costs, and everybody trying their best to "go green" and do their part to preserve the planet for the next generation ( myself included) have changed things alot since then . That being said, seeing any kind of christmas lights, whether outdoors or indoors up along the top of my kitchen cupboards ( like the ones in the photo) always hit me with nostalgia every time I see them.
I hope every single one of you had a chance to admire twinkling christmas lights this year. I hope every one of you had a wonderful christmas full of love and laughter.
For those of you who didn't, my heart goes out to you, I wish I could wrap you up in my arms and warm your heart with my words. A new year is coming upon us, A year to make changes, to take chances,  to forgive and to heal, a year to clear away the cobwebs in your heart and just let it shine like it was meant to.  If no one else has told you you're loved, I'll tell you: YOU ARE LOVED MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. If you don't have a mama to tell you "I love you, I support your dreams, I believe in you" then let me be the one to say it! I'll be your bloggie mama, hahaha.
So take a long look at the twinkling lights and let their bright little bulbs shine love into your heart and hope into your soul.
 Hugs and Hope for a new year,
-J

Project #48- Birthday Candle

WHAT: My son's 8th's birthday party
WHEN: December 10th
WHERE: at home =)

This was the cake I pulled together at the last second - he had wanted a penguin cake but I couldnt find a moulded pan anywhere for that, and we were running out of time to get it baked before the party, so he decided that a skateboard cake would make the cut, haha (Plus, he got to keep all the funky plastic miniature skateboards after!)

Instead of the usual candles, I decided that "sparkler" candles would be more exciting. Then I decided that taking a photo of the candle once it was lit might make a fun photo.

So there we have it.
 P.S. - the cake was really yummy! hee hee =)

cakes and candles shooting sparks everywhere,

-J

Project #47 - Puppy Love!

This cutie here, is Mack ... ( aka "Mackaroo")

And this is Mercedes (aka "Sadie", aka "Giant Ball of Fur") hahaha

 Let me tell you, they LOOK like quiet little angels in the photos here, but photographing pets of any kind can be a challenge, and at times a royal nightmare, which thankfully was not the case this time.  These two adorable "babies" belong to friends of mine, whose family portaits I was honored to take recently, the first weekend it snowed.
Mack is a boxer, and Sadie is a miniature American Eskimo. These are two of the sweetest, most gentle puppies ever. My kids LOVE these dogs! 
I get a kick out of the fact that Mack is nearly 3 times the size of Sadie, yet he thinks he's her size!  He's younger than her and wants to do everything Sadie does, including curling up on my lap, haha.
We had a great family session, although it was so cold the only ones who didnt mind being outside were the dogs. They played and chased each other, and Mack ignored me when I called to him to look at the camera - he was too busy watching the ducks!
Here they are running together...  I love the sense of motion in this one! 

Here they all are, with Mack staring at the ducks haha

We had a fantastic morning, and celebrating it by warming up in a restaurant over a yummy sunday brunch =)

Puppy Love and Sunday Brunches,

-J

DOUBLE WHAMMY! Projects #45 & #46

Alright!
Since I've had to improvise with my computer due to what we'll call the Great Multitasking Incident of 2011   (or GMI '11, or "What Was I Thinking?"), hahaha  I am going to be super efficient in a no-nail-polish-of-any-sort-anywhere-near-the-computer kind of way. I'm going to post TWO projects in ONE post. (I know, I'm such a badass, hahaha)
SO....
 Project #45 is gonna go a little something like this: The Ordinarily Extraordinary

Just an ordinary coffee cup, right? WRONG!  This is a hand painted cup, with the house painted on it having been one of actual houses buried by lava from the volcano Eldfell on Iceland's tiny island of  Heimaey (Vestmannaeyjar)  back in the infamous eruption in 1973.   This cup belongs to a cafe, which belongs to the owners who have lived on this island their whole lives ( as most of the islanders have) . They started the cafe , called Vinaminni, as a tribute to honor those who had lived on the island and  fought Nature itself to save their island and preserve their homes and way of life.  The owner's wife was kind enough to sit down with me and share her story of  what happened the night of the eruption (she was 17 years old at the time, and dating the man who is now her husband). Not only was it an extraodinary story of bravery and resilience, but hers is one of the sweetest love stories I've ever heard!   She also happened to mention that houses back then did not have just numbers for addresses, they had names.  (again, VERY small town, haha) This particular house bore the name Vinaminni Uraaorvegi 5. 
The house painted on the cup is what that house actually looked like, and belonged to a beloved little elderly lady, whom my cafe hostess herself as a child once asked " can you be my grandma?" hahaha, too cute!
Vinaminni literally means "remember your friends", which is a perfect name for their cafe.  Her husband, ridiculously talented that he is, not only hnadpainted every single coffee cup in the place with a different house,  he is also the chef, and a musician!  She herself is quite an artist in the multimedia department:. she made the ceiling of the cafe look like you're sitting beneath lava of an erupting volcano!   which brings us to :

Project  #46 Volcanic Artwork

Yes, this is the ceiling in Vinaminni,  which is actually a collage of photos of lava from all different volcanos, and superimposed over each other in layers, to get the final effect, then lit up from behind.
The tables all have photos on them, under glass, of houses and families from the island who were here in 1973, and what their stories were.  How I wish I were in Iceland again, chattiing in the cafe over a steaming cup of coffee and stuffing my face with the most amazingly delicious crepes I've ever had!  Her english is very good ( as is alot of icelanders, actually) and her accent is so beautiful and she is such a skilled storyteller, it makes you want to sit and just listen to her talk for hours!  haha
Did I mention? It's extremely hard to find a cupcake anywhere in Iceland, I was convinced that I couldnt find one ANYWHERE!  Not  even in the bakeries! But this li'l place had the BEST cupcakes I'd had in , well, weeks! 

Typing From A KeyBoard That's Not Mine, and Wishing I Had A Cupcake,
-J

Things That Make Ya Go, "DOH!"

Ya know those days when you're charging along so well and getting so much done, that you just KNOW something is bound to happen to trip you up?  I had one of those days last week, when I got everything done on my "to do" list in record time, and decided to reward myself by relaxing with a funny movie before going to bed.  So I crawled into bed with my laptop, and then, being the Queen of Multitasking that I am, I figured I should use my time more efficiently by painting some nail growth solution on my poor neglected nails while I watched. (something I've done dozens of times before)
Well,
 Long story short, my poor laptop is now in the tech shop awaiting a new keyboard, since the current one is totally fried.
DOH!
Serves me right for trying to be efficient! hahaha
I'm going to try not to let this get me behind in my photo projects, since we are SO close to the end of the year and the end of the projects! Depending on how long I have to wait for the new one to be shipped, I may try to plug in an external keyboard for now, and go about my posting that way.
And lets just say, this is one lesson learned the hard way that will only ever be learned ONCE, hahaha

Keyboards and Kicking Myself,
-J