Cheaper than a therapist

I'm struggling, but trying to stay in the happy place.

On a related note, we've officially booked a cruise for Spring Break 2011. I'm not sure what excites me more... the open sea, the beaches or having my camera along.

Wishful thinking

No matter how old we get, we all still like to make wishes.

An old favorite

This is one of my all time favorite pictures and I can't believe that I've never posted it before. This was taken in Cozumel, Mexico. The Mariachi band played while the little girl danced. As cute as it was, it was all about money. The minute they saw you attempting to take a picture, they would stop and ask to be paid for the photo op.

Always the rebel, I used my zoom lens from the 2nd floor of the shopping area where we were. I'm sorry if I cheated them, but the girl was precious and the little boy was pretty hilarious. He obviously didn't care for the family business as much as his sister did.

Patterns

I played with the color on this one and ended up with something that reminds me of the big floral patterns you might see on a couch in the 70s. I like the yellow spots where the sun was coming through.

Arkansas

When taking some pictures of the downtown Little Rock skyline, I went a little further west to get this shot. In the foreground is the Arkansas river. In the background (from left to right) is Dillard's Corporate headquarters (longer building on the river), the AT&T building, and the Arkansas State Capitol.

The King

Today is the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. Elvis has always been one of my Mom's favorites, so for the past 33 years, I've heard "That's so sad" anytime Elvis is mentioned. It's a running family joke.

I took this picture in front of Graceland a few months ago. After all of these years, so many fans still visit to pay their respects and write messages on the outside wall.

The Happy Place

Life is just extra hard right now, so I find myself more & more going to my happy place. Yes, that includes fantasies of me on the beach.

I took this picture from the ship when we went on a Disney cruise. This is their private island, where we stopped on the last day. I had almost forgotten how blue the water is. What I wouldn't give to be here right now...

Just a house

I went to take some pictures of the skyline recently and ended up on an empty lot by this house. I first noticed the dog who played with us (who is on the back porch here, but hidden by the fence), but later noticed the house. It's located in an older neighborhood, so the newer construction is conspicuous, but overall, I like it.

I'm going to stare at it and pretend it goes out to the beach. And that I live there.

Birdhouse at sunset

I was out taking pictures of other things, but the light coming through the trees on this birdhouse caught my attention. I like the way this picture turned out.

Summer Nights

Just a fun evening, following a fun day. No matter what I originally plan to shoot, I always end up with my favorite subject.

My Happy Place

 I read an article today where people were commenting on the geese in their area and how much they hated them because they were dirty pests who left messes in their path. I've always had a strange fascination with geese. It's hard to explain why, but they make me giggle. I have way to many pictures of them and have probably featured them on here more than once.

Life has been extra hard lately and I've missed taking/posting pictures. I decided that tonight, I'd post this because I simply love to giggle at geese. I hope to get out with my camera this weekend.

Big Dam Bridge

This is the biking & pedestrian bridge between Little Rock & North Little Rock. I'm really fighting the urge to talk about the Big Dam Headache I have right now, so I'll keep it short. I love these flags that are in the middle of the bridge.

Bella Swan

Forgive the title, I've been re-reading the Twilight series. I went to one of the local lakes to take some pictures  and there were two huge swans there. I'm used to seeing all the geese - which still make me laugh - but the swans were breath taking.

Romancing the Color

Romancing the Stone is one of my daughter's favorite stores in the mall. I love it because before you even walk in, you are met with an array of colors everywhere.

Sleepovers

One of the fun things about having a daughter is when she has sleep overs. I love all the giggles - well, until I go to bed. They're not so cute at 3 a.m. ;-)  Luckily I'm a deep sleeper.
My daughter & her friend have always been creative so I actually got to play photographer for them. Within a 2 hour span, they went from Ballerina Barbies to Geishas to Goths and then back to themselves. I think I may have had as much fun as they did!

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil

Ok, so it wasn't quite midnight. Actually, it was dusk.

My sister rode along with her boyfriend while he played a few holes of golf on the course that's behind my parent's house. At the 15th hole, he started to tee off and he heard a whistle. He looked around, regained his focus to tee off, and heard it again. It was the typical cat call whistle and they both looked around to figure out who was out there messing with them. After a while, they finally saw it...

There were two parrots, actually, just hanging out in a tree. And yes, of course she called me at my Mom's to tell my daughter to come see them and yes, of course I came rushing in the golf cart, my camera in hand.

The tree was close to a house on the golf course, so they were obviously someone's pets, but it was still pretty cool to see two parrots just hanging out like that. We whistled at them  and they would whistle back. As we enjoyed the unusual sight, we noticed something else...

My guess is that this guy thought he would be eating good that night. Gorgeous, but pure evil. I'm pretty convinced that cats are out to destroy the human race.

Everyone's just chillin'

Just a lazy Saturday afternoon... the men are fishin' and the geese are hanging out. All is right in the world.

Mini Me

You know those days where you don't do anything really out of the ordinary, but it's just a good day overall and you feel warm & fuzzy inside? I've had one of those. I spent the day with my daughter today - just us girls. :-)

It was only a matter of time

Ok, I'll admit it. Not one day has gone by that I haven't thought of the beach since my trip. This is where I want to be. Period.

Upon closer inspection...

One Saturday afternoon I went out to the area by the Big Dam bridge to take pictures. There were several fisherman in one area and I had a great time snapping different pictures. It wasn't until I got home and downloaded them to my lap top that I really noticed this guy... he's fishing with a BOW??!! Is that even legal?

My feelings went from 'fun little fishing trip' to 'jerk!'. I'll admit, I know nothing about fishing, but this seemed akin to shooting fish in a barrel.

Blue skys & bridges 2

I like this shot, even though the river is so muddy.

One night in Bankok...

This is one of the vendors at the River Market. I haven't eaten here, but I like the colors & decor.

Happy Girl

I've posted about Bitsy on here before (Happy Birthday, Bitsy & Elvis!), but this is one of my favorite pictures of her. It captures perfectly what a happy little silly dog she is. You'll never meet a Pekingese who is more likable!

Crazy for the Storm

Our first night at the beach, we had a storm roll in, complete with huge streaks of lightening. I got a chance to test my skills with slower shutter speeds & my tripod. Sure - I still need a lot of work, but I got a few cool pictures.

On a side note, this title seemed applicable, but this is actually the name of a wonderful, amazing non-fiction book that I highly recommend - Crazy for the Storm, by Norman Ollstead.

Blue skys & bridges

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. I took this on the pedestrian bridge at the River Market. I like the lines, but the OCD side of me realizes that I should have lined it up much better.

Insert toes here

I'm home from my trip and I'm already feeling like I've been punched in the stomach by the real world. I'd like to be able to walk along the beach right about now and dip my toes in the water. It was so much more effective than a therapist.

Broken Record

Have I mentioned my love for the beach? :-)  Simple things like umbrellas and a chair left seem so pretty to me. Do I really have to leave soon?

Sunset

This is Gulf Shores, Alabama - a few miles from where we're staying. I took this picture from the pier. I wish I had something profound or witty to write, but I can only just sigh. I love it here.

Fun in the Sun

Lots of laughs, waves & sand castles (although not made by us). Another great day. Happy Memorial Day!

Heaven

The beach is my most favorite place in the world to be. Yesterday, while floating in the ocean, I mentioned that if I only had a bottle of water, everything would be perfect. Thirty minutes later, a lady offered me one. It truly was perfection.

Fly Away

This is a sculpture in the River Market area of Little Rock. It looked neat and I liked the view of the river, but it wasn't until after I downloaded the pictures that I really paid attention to what it was. I think it's pretty neat.

Cable

Sometimes (most of the time) my favorite images are accidents. I was taking pictures of the cables on the pedestrian bridge and took this as an afterthought. It turned out to be more interesting than the others.

Phallic Flower

I really like the way this picture turned out and I promise that I didn't realize how phallic it was until I viewed it later. In spite of my 12 year old sense of humor, I find it interesting.

Downtown Little Rock

This isn't exactly our downtown skyline, but these are some of the more significant buildings downtown. I waited until just the right moment to make sure I got the trolley.

Have a ball!

I spent my lunch today taking pictures with a good friend at the River Market. I had heard about the huge beach ball they had and we just happened to catch a few shots when the kids weren't playing with it. I liked how it matched the Riverfest signs on the lamp post.

The Animals of Kenya

Very rarely do I include the photography of others on my blog, but I was so fascinated by these shots, I wanted to share. The photographer hides his camera in a rock, grass & sometimes elephant dung to capture these shots. I encourage you to view them - they're amazing!

(forgive the cut off screen shot, but I wanted to accurately credit the photographer)

The Animals of Kenya: Up Close & Personal

This shot, along with the one of the Wildebeest, is my favorite!

The Natural State

This is one of several flags in the middle of the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock. It was a nice windy day when I took this, as you can tell from the waving flag. I thought this was appropriate too, since today is voting day for the primaries. I must admit, I didn't vote today.

Between Innings

One afternoon recently, when the weather was gorgeous, I spent a day just driving to all sorts of places taking pictures. On my way home, I passed the ball park and couldn't resist getting some baseball pictures. I have a few other shots of the action, but there's something about this one that I just liked.

Gone Fishing

Just another lazy Saturday.

Key West

I went through some old pictures tonight and came across this one. This is the view of Key West from the balcony of the Disney cruise we took in 2009. I'm headed to the beach in 15 days and am already starting to get vacation-itis.

Feeding the Ducks

This little guy was having a blast last weekend, throwing whole pieces of bread to feed the geese (yes, I know they're not truly ducks, but that's what he called them). He was reluctant to get too close and I just sat behind him, snapping away. I loved how I captured the bread in midair here. Such a care free day!

I love NY

With the latest scare in Times Square, I've had New York on my mind. One of my favorite memories is Crif Dogs. Before our trip in 2008, I asked a few locals where to get a good hot dog and the answer was a resounding "Crif Dogs in Greenwich Village!"

On a Sunday afternoon, we took a cab and the cabbie kept asking if we were sure we had the right address. I loved the entire neighborhood and the atmosphere. As you can see in the picture, we had to go to the basement, where we found a very small establishment, but it was so "New York". I  couldn't get enough! The hot dog was pretty darn good too.

Standing out in a crowd

Sometimes it's good to be different and get noticed.

Who doesn't love a good corn dog?

You can't go to the ball park without eating a hot dog and apparently you can't go to the zoo without getting a corn dog. I'm guessing this guy thinks he hit the jackpot. Now it just needs mustard.

Life is good

Our weather has been absolutely beautiful lately! Cool in the mornings, with warm breezy afternoons and blue skies. I would like this to be my new office, boss.

Head's up

I like the depth of field with the water on these, but I'll admit that I was just waiting for them to peck my face.

Lucky Duck

And by "lucky duck", I'm referring to myself. I'm fully aware that this is a goose. I went out with my camera after work and saw a gaggle (?) of geese. They really didn't like me near, so I walked and sat in another area, enjoying the breeze and sunshine. The geese suddenly swarmed at my feet, thinking I was going to feed them. I didn't have anything for them, but it did allow me to get some really fun shots. This guy kept "clapping" his beak at me - he was in mid-clap as I snapped this shot.