Nic Ara Gua

I have to break words up like that... so I know how to spell them.

What are the rules when making New Years resolutions?
There are none, right?
So it's perfectly acceptable for one of our resolutions to be...
Take a REAL vacation
right?

Well, I just got this email from Casey.
One place he's thinking about is
Nicaragua.
Hmmmmm.
He sent me this picture...
and suddenly, Im not surprised at all.



The hotel he wants to stay at is a treehouse.
Why are all boys obsessed with treehouses?
It makes me think of the Sandlot and that cute chubby kid
For.E.veR

I'll have to look into Nicaragua.
Because at first glance I'm thinking...
maybe not.
Have any of you ever been?
Or do you have some suggestions of beautiful vacation spots.
Prerequisite... Must Have Beach.

Happy weekend.

Focus!

I got a 50 mm lens for my birthday.
I don't pretend to know anything about photography
But I do know this.
My DSLR could possibly cure cancer
that's how fabulous it is.

This all stems from babies.
Truly. If this was a perfect world,
We'd go in for an ultrasound and the doctor would say...
Would you like to know what you're having?
Oh, Yes please.
It's a girl! and wait... I see something else...
Huh?!?!
Yes! Let's try and get a better look... Oh yes... this is incredible...
You're also having a.... a.... A CANON T1i DSLR!!
So that's why my heartburn's been so gnarly!

Babies should come with instructions, bags of money and a dope camera.
I know. I took the words right out of your mouth.
Anyway. I asked for a 50 mm because...
RESEARCH.
And by research... I mean, I typed best camera lenses in my google bar.

Turns out... It was a super choice.
This lens is SO fun and serves it's purpose well.
Personally (now remember I know NOTHING about what I'm talking about)
I love being able to put my camera in manual and try to get as focused
as I can on my subject and have everything else incredibly blurry.
It feels like the picture is screaming at me.
That made sense in my head.
The 50mm helps me achieve the "screaming affect"
Of course I could have bought a macro lens but
it would have cost me about 10 times more.
Just not to that level of devotion yet.
The biggest problem is
things look perfectly focused in that teeny tiny window
and yet, sadly...
focus no bueno.
:(

Oh well.
Here's some pictures taken with the 50...





Moses, my love.
My Sweet Co-dependent Love.

AND... BEHOLD! The baby who came MINUS the instructions, bags of money and camera.
But I kept her anyway.














No.
You may not eat my baby.
But trust me, I completely understand the temptation.

Now I'm going to show you why it SUCKS to have your camera on manual
when you are a beginner.




Man, I am dumb!
Why is my focus on Ginger Ginger and not Mirror Ginger?



Alright. a mistake so nice I did it twice.
Im awesome.


Um excuse me while I go drink a gallon of bleach in an effort to PUNISH MYSELF.
Seriously... I swear I thought it was in focus.
I probably was shaking from the excitement of the photo opp.

In all honesty, I have hundreds more like that.
I'll spare you.

Let there be Light

I didn't take a stupid before picture.
I didn't take a stupid before picture.
I didn't take a stupid before picture.

Still banging my head against the wall.
When we first saw this house
I really had to do my best to see it as a blank canvas.
The bones of this home are so wonderful.
It's the perfect size, and such a great use of space.
But when I first walked in I was a little overwhelmed.



Where in the New Jersey Hell am I?
I'm pretty sure the owner is a direct relative of The Situation.

See the three glasses of wine at the bottom of the picture...
She never did offer us a glass.
I'm pretty sure she sat down at that table after we left
and enjoyed herself a wonderful vino afternoon.

I digress.

Walking into this home you get slapped in the face with a brass chandelier.
I am so OCD and get really stuck on such a blemish.
My sincerest apologies to all of you brass chandelier fans out there.
but really it's one of the worst things to happen to home decor since
professional athletes began making the big bucks.
So as Snookie's mom is showing us the laundry room
I am picturing me taking a hammer to that sucker
over and over again.
and over
again.
and again and again and again.

When we moved in Casey took it down right away for fear
that if my period hit the same time as a full moon I might turn
into a werewolf and he'd go blind from a wayward glass shard striking him in the eye
as I get my revenge on brass.

Now I see why my English papers where always peppered
with red "RUN ON SENTENCE!!!" marks.
That's only a taste of the way my mind operates on a full time basis.

anyway. hole in the ceiling left over from removed chandelier prior to finding a replacement.
Caught up?
Okay so I'm on the hunt for an affordable fixture.
Finally I find myself on Maryland Parkway a street I avoid like the plague
when I see what I've been dreaming about.
A discount lighting store.
There I spend a good two hours studying every fixture searching for a large inexpensive
replacement I can perform surgery on.
Ever since I saw Pamela Anderson's Malibu beach house on cribs
I have been obsessed with having a shabby chic chandelier.
Don't judge. Her personal style in fashion surprisingly has no reflection
on her design abilities.

As I mentioned before...
I did NOT take a stupid before picture.
So please if you will imagine...
a 6 arm fixture.
thrown up on
after eating nothing but peas for a week.
Now hang pears from it.
Okay, got a mental picture?
Now take a can of white spray paint to it.
Throw some bling on it.
And spend five months agonizing how you re going to make over these shades...



I'm melting! I'm meeeeeeeeelting!
They. are. disgusting.
I'm really not this snobby about such insignificant things.
Perhaps five months of a white blob smacking me in the face
on a daily basis has
made my personality sterile.
At least I got a before picture of these nasty things.
Behold the after...





What do you think? Is it too crafty?
Can you picture yourself making them every fourth Wednesday
night at relief society?
Don't lie.
I'm pretty satisfied with the final product
but then again anyone would be after agonizing over the
lunar moon calendar for five months.

PStwenty what?

Am I the only one who hasn't seen one of these videos?

Please enjoy...




New York Entertainment gave me this bit of information about the choir...

Breinberg, a Staten Island native and onetime music major at SUNY New Paltz, arrived at P.S. 22—the borough’s largest elementary school—in 1999, when he was 25. Racially diverse, with a multilingual student body, the school has a solid reputation for arts education, but many of the students come from struggling families. (Nearly 70 percent qualify for lunch assistance.) “There are kids who come from places where I wish I could just physically move them somewhere else,” Breinberg says. “Horrible backgrounds.”

Read more: How Staten Island's P.S. 22 Chorus Got Famous With a Little Help From Perez Hilton -- New York Magazine http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/57730/#ixzz0dhZSBA4w

I am so in love with what Breinberg is doing.
I could and am tempted to go on a tangent about an economics study
I once read pertaining to... well I wont start.
It's so long and in depth and it comes with a limited edition soapbox.
I'll just say this...
He's changing many of their futures.
Which makes for a better country for all of us.
Amen.

PS Im twenty seven in eleven minutes.
PStwentyWhat?
Twenty seven.
I'm too irresponsible to be 27.
Nine more minutes now.

Wanted

Oh how obsessed I am with this picture.

Per your request, mom.

Because I totally wouldn't post my
birthday wishes otherwise...

Oh and about that movie...

I told you I'd think this one over to death.
I just feel like I have to say:
watch at your own risk.
It's very raw and emotional
and I can see how it could leave some feeling depressed.

Okay I feel better adding that disclaimer.

Thursday

I watched a documentary today that...
well... left me...
I really want to use a big, impressive word here.
But I got nothing.
Basically once the closing credits rolled, I just sat there
stunned.
I was angry, sad, shocked, inspired, impressed.
It's a devastating story.
But strangely and here's where I find the genius in this film
Strangely it wasn't depressing.
I want you to watch it.
This is why;
There's a legacy that we all leave behind.
We meet people throughout our life and
we make impressions on one another.
Big and small.
Good and bad.
I am one person.
One small person among 6,692,030,277 other persons.
I have a large family.
I have a comfortable number of friends.
I go to the same grocery store a few times a week and
interact with the checkers, the bag boy, the butchers.
I live in a small neighborhood and see my neighbors often.
I talk on the phone to strangers about
my bank account. my health insurance. my cable television.
I take Ginger to her Pediatrician and interact with
the secretary. the doctor. his assistant.
I go to church on Sunday with a large congregation
of familiar and non-familiar faces.
Do you get where I'm going with this?
Hundreds of people have in some way or another
been affected by my words. my actions. my silence.
my facial expressions. my body language. my temper.
my humor. my stories. my lies. my truths. my convictions.
my silliness. my seriousness. my sarcasm. my countenance.
I know this is all obvious.
But is that not an incredible power?
Am I sounding too preachy?
Too somber?
Lame?
And to those to whom I've unfortunately left a bad impression
on their lives...
Do I sound hypocritical?

I can't help it, after this film I'm left thinking...
What will be my legacy?
What will be said of me?

Dear Zachary: A Letter to His Son About His Father


Don't worry.
Im sure my next post will be about something really important...
like what new shoes I want.

But now...
I will press Publish Post
and then undoubtedly go about my night wondering
Did you roll your eyes while reading this?
Because I'm self conscious like that.

Celebrate Good TImes

Come On!
Now I got that song in your head.

I have been thinking very hard about making a resolution list.
Maybe that should be my resolution...
Come up with resolutions for the new year.
Are you still there?

New Years Eve- we accomplished a wonderful feat.
We left the house.
Okay. Resolution one. Leave the house often enough so that
when you do... its not counted as a wonderful feat.

Anyway we got dressed up
Somewhat. Sorry, these days I consider heels as dressing up
Ginger decided to forgo the heels and wear her pajamas.

Behold... Heels and Pajamas...
(Dont I look tall)?




I think Casey looks like he's taking a break from from herding cattle
Are cattle herded? Is Herded a word.



And here's Clark telling me if I took one more picture he was going to break my camera.
In honor of that statement, I am posting this picture.



:)

Presenting the mother of Ginger's future friend...



And for some reason this picture makes me a little nervous...

What is so interesting guys?

Seriously, Guys?




And this is about 11:30 p.m. Honestly, I didnt try to keep Ginger up.
She just seemed so happy to be awake and partying.
See look how much fun she's having here.



Oh, here's an awesome picture.



And another one.



Raise your hand if you think it's too early to be embarrassing my daughter.

Ginger's new years resolution was to learn how to climb the stairs.



Done.

Awesome. Time to buy a gate.
Ill just add it to her tab.

I am proud to say that I have put my super dope Christmas present to use!
Viola!

A new DSLR camera! wahoo!
I am being brave and venturing into manual mode.
I'm even learning new words like aperature.

Here are 4 out of 100 I shot in manual mode that I consider... Descent enough.



I can say I was there when Ginger had her first taste of dirt.


Well, what say you Ginger?




And just simple beauty.


And here's a picture of...
Breakfast.
Jimmy Dean Sausage to be precise...



Are you salivating
or perhaps thinking what shade of red paint you can splatter on my doorstep?
Oh how I love my new camera.

So what's this post about? Nothing!
Alas! (my favorite word) I'm sleepy.
It's 3:00 am, so good bye for now,
and may your weekend be Merry and Bright.

Real Housewife?

A small exchange between my brother in law and me
while watching Real Housewives of Orange County

Clark. You could be a real housewife!
Me. No I couldn't. I dont get ready enough.

Or maybe that is a real housewife.

Or maybe I need to wash my hair more.