wandering sails: 10.2006

10.26.2006

and so the mind goes.

well, i've been a little busy. coming into this fall, i wasn't expecting to do that many sessions, but i've found myself in the midst of my craziest fall ever.

and i think i'm starting to lose my mind.

on tuesday night, i made a lab run and met a friend for dinner before heading over to saver's to see about a costume for ashley's party on friday night. though i searched half-heartedly at eye-level, i found nothing i could get creative with, so i headed home.

after the drive from bloomington, i pulled up to the stoplight in maple lake and stopped at the red light. the semi that had been ahead of me was turning right, i was going straight. the semi stopped, looked both ways and drove off. i looked both ways, and seeing no cars, drove across the intersection.

about half-way through, i realized that i had not been sitting at a stop sign, but a stoplight and that light had not turned green.

and then this morning, on my way to work, i exited the interstate, only to sit in the right turn lane, waiting for the light to turn green.

it seems i have forgotten how stoplights work.

posted by julie @ 2:27 PM 1 comments

10.19.2006

lawrence & ashley. engagement.

posted by julie @ 10:53 AM 14 comments

to the left.

i've got this car, she's pretty old. you know that. things fall apart on old cars. things get rusty, they wear out.

i've needed a front end alignment for some time now. like two years. i just have never gotten around to it. i've been going through tires like they're free, but no time to get an alignment. until yesterday. i made myself call the place near work, found someone to follow me there to bring me back to work and went. i asked for the alignment and two new front tires.

i got a call mid-afternoon.

ma'am, there are two issues we've discovered.

one apparently is critical and must be dealt with as soon as possible. the other was labeled as 'really important' and also cost three times the amount of the critical issue. for those who know cars, the critial was a tie rod and the really important was a bearing. since i know a few people who know cars, i opted out of the bearing fix and gave them permission to fix the tie rod.

dear julia dropped me off after work to pick it up, i paid for it and went on my way.

huh. it still seems to be veering. a lot. since i admittedly do not choose to remember things about cars, i called my dad, thinking that maybe i don't really know what an alignment does. he verified that no, it should not be veering and so i drove back. back to the place i did not have time to go back to.

and when i told the guy behind the counter, he didn't even seem surprised. just asked me when i wanted to get it fixed.

when do i want to get it fixed? yeah. that was today. when i made the appointment.

my brain had lots of things to say rather tersely but i told him tuesday. sigh.

posted by julie @ 8:29 AM 2 comments

10.18.2006

charli. 3 days.

this is my new little (second) cousin. we had pretty limited light, so the session was short, but long enough to get these sweet moments from one of her first days.

posted by julie @ 11:07 AM 8 comments

10.16.2006

chili.

i want you all to know that last week, i ate chili. twice.

those who have known me forever know that this is unheard of. i hated chili. this was the one meal my mother let me out of without asking questions. there was automatically something else for me on my plate those winter nights my family devoured an entire batch of the bean-ridden concoction. i did not like beans in soup.

but last week, i went to the dunn bros in buffalo to do some online stuff and went for the chicken muffin man soup that was available. what the heck is chicken muffin man soup, i asked. oh, it's just chicken and beans. it's a little spicy. oh. well, that sounds great, i'll take it. (it should be mentioned that it sounded great because now, i do like beans in soup, but not chili.)

i have to admit when she handed me the bowl, i was pretty skeptical, but i could hardly hand it back and demand something different because she failed to mention that it was chili.

and i was hungry. so i ate it. and i liked it.

so then, when my friend kristi and i went to potbelly on wednesday to catch up, at the last minute, i switched my soup order from black bean to chili.

brave. really brave.

i ate it. i liked it.

change is good.

posted by julie @ 4:05 PM 2 comments

10.13.2006

look.

look what we got! this first one here... that was my visibility at one point driving home. and then the second is what i was greeted with at home. i have mulitiple things running through my brain.

#1. oh crap.

this is due to the fact that i still have a few fall shoots to do this season. fall shoots are hard

when it starts to snow like this.

#2. YES!

this is due to the fact that i know it's too early for this to last and it will go away soon. it makes it easier to enjoy this oddball snowfall. i love snow. i'm not quite ready for winter, but i love snow... so last night was fun.

and the other fun part of last night was that this is

what i paid for gas. i had to wait in line to get it, but it was fantastic to fill up for twenty-five dollars again.

one has to love the little things.

posted by julie @ 3:56 PM 0 comments

10.06.2006

spoiled.

there are things in life that we can choose to do or not and things that we simply don't have a choice about. and those things we can choose to do or not, are either things that are just that or things that though we have a choice, we really ought to do. like showering.

now, i recognize that i have a choice about showering. i can take them. or i can not take them. but i also recognize that my decision bears weight. has consequence. for instance, the other night i showered after running. (which, by the way, is another blog, i think.) the next day, at lunch, joel says to me, you smell fresh, julie. and though a bit on the odd side, it's still a nice thing to hear.

on the other hand, a decision to not shower very well may be a decision to have less friends. or to create the need for a new job (i'm not sure if it applies here, but i've had jobs before that state regular showering as a requirement for employment... ). there really has never been a major point of decision for me. it's just something that i do. i have, however, made a decision that i only have to shower every other day, unless i get dirty on the off day. i just plan accordingly.

but i hate showering. though i love the benefits, i hate the action. often, in the moment of realizing it's a shower night, i get mad. last night, after having had a wonderful evening sitting on my porch, editing pictures and watching grey's anatomy, i was sleepy and ready for bed. upon entering the bathroom, i realized that it was a shower night. i stomped my foot. i made an arghh noise. i felt a little anger.

i don't like to take them. i get wet. and when you're wet, my house feels a lot colder. and my head gets really cold, which makes it harder to fall asleep. but showering in the morning is simply not an option. my water doesn't actually have any warmth to it until about nine. and at nine, i've already been away from home for two hours. which makes it hard to shower at nine.

it's just the realization that at no point will i get to stop showering. i will have to shower until i die. it's not like a job, which you can leave and get another one. it's not like where you live. chances are i will move. more than once. but no matter what house i live in, i will shower. and i will brush my teeth at least twice a day. and i will have to eat. and sleep. and pay the bills.

huh. my life sure is tough.

posted by julie @ 3:51 PM 3 comments

10.03.2006

no help available.

i downloaded the beta version of adobe lightroom and have been poking around in it for a few days. so far, i like it, but the other night, i was trying to figure something out and couldn't, so i went to the help menu and selected lightroom help.

no help is available for lightroom.

i found this rather sad. no help is available. i find myself grateful that in life, help is available.

i also wondered why lightroom help was even an option if it wasn't available. that, i found funny.

posted by julie @ 4:17 PM 3 comments

10.02.2006

life as i knew it.

when i was young, when the days were long and the garden had time to grow, my mother hung the sheets on the line to dry. and as the scent of soap and summer breeze mingled together, i would walk underneath them, running my hand along the cool dampness of the drying sheet, taking myself away from the world outside, with its troubles and worries. hours were spent underneath the sheets, reading books and taking naps, listening to the birds sing and the wind play with the leaves. the grass was cool beneath my legs, the sun filtered on my face.

heaven was found there.

and in my days now, when i'm too busy to see the flowers bloom and my mother no longer hangs the sheets out to dry, if i find the time, i miss the simplicity of my childhood.

posted by julie @ 1:38 PM 2 comments

wandering sails