Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl

Even though Material Girl is by Madonna, I still always think of when Adam Sandler says it in the Wedding Singer.  I also love when he says to his ex (who is wearing his Van Halen tshirt), "please get outta my Van Halen tshirt before you jinx the band and they break up".  One of my favorite movies.

The Wedding Singer really has nothing to do with today's photo.  Nor does Madonna.  My brain just thinks stuff up and then wanders off. 

I chose this image today to remind everyone that every now and then, you must do something nice for yourself.  Whether you like to go to the spa.  Or buy yourself something you've been wanting for awhile.  Whatever it is, do it!  You are worth it.  My co-worker finally convinced me back in early 2009 to buy my Nikon.  I price shopped for probably 2 months and kept going back and forth about whether I should spend the money.  He said, "you could get hit by a bus tomorrow.  get it."  Now here I am blogging with photos I took with that very camera. 

This necklace was something else I bought for myself which, coincidentally I am wearing as I blog this.  So during a trip to NYC back in December 2010 I decided to splurge and get this Tiffany piece I had been eyeing.  I don't normally choose super girly stuff, but for some reason I wanted this necklace.  So now it's mine.  It is a reminder of a wonderful trip I took with wonderful people. 

It's also a reminder to me to live in the now. 
You can always make more money. 
Do the things you want because you never know what tomorrow brings.

I wanna stoke the fire. Just creatures for awhile.

Apparently it's the week of fiery images.  I'm not a pyromaniac, but who isn't mesmerized while looking at flames?  After yesterday's fireworks shots I thought, why not follow that up with some shots of real fire?   

The photos for today were taken at my parents house.  I was there celebrating my birthday and father's day with my family.  We had crabs and then later, a bonfire.  Creation of smores occurred per the usual.  A couple of my good friends came too.  It was fun!  My family and friends rule. 

Of course I had my camera with me.  I took almost 200 pictures that day.  A few of them have already made it into prior blog entries!  (the nest and the 'self portrait')

Roasting my mallow and taking the picture.  I multi task. 

I call this one "put your hands up"

Smore preparation

Traffic in the sky

Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the Catonsville fireworks and one from the parade.  I particularly enjoy the one the first one.  Reminds me of Muppet hair....

I wear my sunglasses at night

I failed to do the photo of the day yesterday because I was out celebrating independence with some friends.  So I will make up for it sometime this week.  Also, I am vowing to clear my memory card/upload photos more regularly so I don't accumulate 1200 shots (like I have on there now) and then have to sort through them at once.  Very busy life + taking an obscene amount of photos = me.  No complaining here though.  I am thankful for being busy.  Reminds me of the Smiths song lyric "the devil will find work for idle hands to do".  No idle hands here. 

But oh how I love the Smiths.  One of my all time favorite songs is by them...There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. 

"and if a double decker bus, crashes into us.  To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die." 
Morbid yet romantic.  Awesome. 

So getting back on track here,  today's image was taken back in April (this year) at my friend's house.  Just a pair of sunglasses sitting on the coffee table, nothing crazy or exciting.  But the reflection of the ceiling fan and the color of the glasses struck me and I immediately reached for my camera.

Did I really just reference the 80's Corey Hart song and the Smiths in the same entry?  I don't think Morrissey would be too pleased.

My subjects pose for me..some of the time

One great thing about photographing subjects other than people is that they don't talk back or try to hide their face when they realize I'm taking their picture.  (Honestly, just smile for the picture and make life easier.  There ARE worse things in life than having your picture taken.)

So today's image is from last summer when I found this guy on a plant leaf.  He posed for me....and didn't shield his face with a wing or anything like that.  Humans could learn from this.

how to fight loneliness. just smile all the time.

My friend Suzana took this picture of me last summer so obviously I did not take it.  But it is today's image.   

I was in a Wilco mood today and this shot to me, is definitely an illustration of their song How To Fight Loneliness.  I frequently associate music with my photographs which is why most of my blog posts reference lyrics.  One of the things I love about photos is that they can mean different things to different people.   I have often wondered when looking at pictures of people, what was going on in their life at that time and how they felt at that exact moment when the shutter was released. 

The thing is,  things are not always what they seem.  Be thankful for what you have been blessed with instead of envying someone or something else.  Find beauty and pleasure in the little things in life!

Just smile all the time.

Lila

This is my dog Lila. 
She was adopted from the Humane Society in March 2009. 
She loves everybody, is super playful, and has no idea how strong she is. 
Her favorite thing to do is collect shoes.  Seriously.
She hoards them and snuggles with them.  Anyone's shoes.  I'm not even kidding.
You take off your shoe, she will come over, pick it up, take it back to her bed, drop it, and cuddle up with it. 

Shoe obsessed, loves to eat, sleep, get exercise and go for long walks.
Yup.  Definitely my dog :)