My weekend. In a list.

1. Early dismissal at 1pm - woohoo!  EXTRA long weekend!
2. Wedding band and engagement rings re-rhodiumed.  In one day.  Sparkles.
3. Happy hourS with former co-workers who are now just friends.  Therapeutic.
4. Wine with my cousin in-law and his future wife.
5. Donut for breakfast.
6. Lunch with friends.
7. Crawl for Cancer!
8. Mechanical bull :(
9. Hiccups.
10. Ice cream.
11. Therapy session in M&S's backyard.  Understanding.
12. Bed.
13. Puffy eyes.
14. Bridal shower.
15. Chino's pool
16. Nap
17. Front porch.
18. Two movies.
19. Doritos.
20. Bed.
21. CLEANING.
22. Appliance shopping.
23. New dryer.
24. Cookout.
25. Doggie playdate.
26. Dryer installation.
27. Bed.

Some of the best days of my life

First, let me say that I refuse to qualify any one event as the best day of my life.  I feel its too limiting.  The way I look at it, if I had the best day of my life when I was 26, then the rest of my life is going to be one big let down, so my best day can and does change on a regular basis.  Sometimes daily, sometimes hourly and Europe was no different.

Since I never did finish my series of VERY long overdue vacation posts from our trip to Europe last year, I figured, why not now?  Closure is a good thing.  As I was thinking about those posts, they were just a series of narratives, chronicling the trip that we took, showcasing some of my favorite photographs, which jogged some memories of the day and of the country that we were visiting.  Now that its been over a year since we took the trip of a lifetime, I think its a great time to reflect on what I can only describe as a dream come true and some of the best days of my life.

The trip started out as a complete disaster, thanks to canceled flights and missing luggage, and I admit that I was a tad crazed about the entire situation nightmare.  Thankfully, we made it to London, better late than never, and spent SOME time exploring what we could.  Since it was late, we were forced to prioritize, so we dropped our luggage carry-ons and headed out to find a pub for some fish and chips.  Along the way, we happened to see a double-decker bus and one of the red, iconic phone booths.  It wasn't the whirlwind tour that I had imagined, but I was still able to check some items off of my "things to see in London" list.

The next day, when we met up with our group, is when I realized that this would be so much more than a vacation or a tour.  We started to see people trickle in to the meeting place, which was a small cafe near the hotel.  We were relieved to see that the majority of people were around our age, which had been a concern because Contiki specializes in the 18-35 crowd, which is quite a range of lifestyles and interests.   I was also pleased that a majority of our fellow travelers were from Australia, which meant that I'd get to hear that awesome accent for two whole weeks!  It was actually strange NOT to hear that accent when we got back to the US.

The entire two weeks is so difficult to put into words or to explain.  It was like someone picked me up and placed me on the set of a movie, except that the movie was my life and the set was one of the most intriguing and beautiful places that I'd ever seen.  Its all a wonderful, colorful blur that even now, I can't believe.  Crossing the English channel, realizing that I was "landing" in Callais, France - think Three Musketeers!  Walking through the Red Light district in Amsterdam, seeing that certain things really ARE legal there.  Counting castles along the Rine River, shopping for beer steins before we headed to Munich.  Driving by the Oktoberfest grounds.  Walking through the gates of a concentration camp and not being able to put into words the power of that place.  Standing among the Austrian Alps, looking up on snow-covered ski slopes and a mountain lake.  Seeing our luggage being wheeled through the front door of a hotel (ok that was just a big moment for me!).  Walking through the colosseum in Rome and looking up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Floating through the streets of Venice in a Gondola.  Navigating the streets of Rome, trying not to get hit by a car.  And finally...looking up at the Eiffel Tower and then looking down from the very top.

Legit

Last weekend, I had the chance to assist a photographer friend of mine at a wedding, here in Columbus.  I was so nervous about it because this was SOMEONE'S WEDDING!!!  It wasn't just a backyard photo shoot or an impromptu Chino action shot session, this was the real deal and I (we) had one chance to capture so many important moments that this couple would look back on forever (hopefully).  If I wanted to move myself into "amateur" status, this step was necessary, if not inevitable.  But I was still apprehensive as to whether this was actually a good idea.

When my friend first asked if I'd be interested in helping her with a wedding, I was thrilled.  Then, the more I thought about it, the more I was worried about whether I actually KNEW what I was doing...or at least whether I could fake it 'till I made it.  What if I had the wrong lenses?  What if my settings were off?  What about a flash?  How would I know what to do?  What if I screwed up?  She assured me that things would be fine and that I should just have fun.  After all, the pressure was really on her, since she was THE photographer.  Despite her reassurances, I wasn't convinced.  I actually told her that I wouldn't do it and then realized that I was being a flaky idiot and recommitted.  After I recommitted, I went out and bought a flash.  I mean, if I have a flash, I'm legit, right?  Right.  Oh yeah and those lens hood thingys - I needed those too.  So now, at least I LOOKED the part.

Saturday rolled around and I was ready.  Batteries charged, flash batteries loaded (still only had 25% of a clue as to what to do with it), camera bag packed and nerves galore.  I think I know I bit Nick's head off multiple times that day, but that tends to happen when I'm nervous and he knows it, so no hard feelings.

My friend and I arrived at the venue and began to get the lay of the land.  We met the bride, who was as cool as a cucumber, and told us to just go do our thing!  We started by taking photos of all of the tables (they did a really cute numbering system where each table number was a photo of the bride and groom at that age).  Then we moved on to taking photos of the bride and groom.  Things kept moving smoothly into the ceremony and after.  We worked our butts off, running around, sweating and snapping in the sunshine.  Over 900 pictures later, it was time to head home.  I was sweaty, my hands were sore from carrying and snapping, but I had an overwhelming sense of relief that I had done it.  My first "professional" gig was out of the way.  All in all, it was a fantastic day!  I'm still playing around and editing some of the photos.  They'll be up on Flickr as soon as they're complete!  Its official, I've got the bug.  Here are a few shots from the day:

Some of the groomsmen were enjoying some beverages before "go time."

The bride's sassy pink shoes.

One of many beautiful peonies that decorated the venue.

Mother of the groom, getting him ready to go!

The weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor wedding!

My Sweet Pumpkin

On May 9th, my sweet boy (aka Cujo) turned 5.  In typical "us" fashion, we celebrated with a whoopie pie, dog friendly of course, and a new toy, because if you can't celebrate a dog's birthday, what can you celebrate?

He enjoyed his cake thoroughly, licking ALL of the icing off first and then deciding to sample the cookie/cake part.  We were fully prepared for an "incident" all over the carpet when we got home the next day, but as a display of his new-found five year-old maturity, he refrained.  We're so proud.

Editing Fun

The more I play around with my camera and photos, the more I love it.  I've had some fun lately, playing with Picnik and its free editing software.  The upgrade to "pro" is pretty inexpensive and I'm thinking of making the investment to hold me over until I can understand Photoshop Elements.  The mission I've been on is to find photos to use as art for our house by turning them into canvas (thanks to a Groupon and Living Social deal).  Here's what I came up with.  Since I'm still new at this, I'm not sure what settings I used - I just tweaked until I loved.

This picture is called "Pelican in St. Croix".  I took this photo after a fun day of off roading in a rented Jeep, followed by shopping at the local market, beer in hand.  Typical vacation adventure.

  

This is the view from the Rialto Bridge in Venice.  That day was one of my favorite parts of Europe.  Nick and I spent the day in a gondola, wandering the streets and eating gelato.

I'm baaaaaack

So I didn't forget the password, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but I did get sidetracked by lots of fun stuff happening.  Here's a quick photo recap:

I went to a 2nd bridal shower in Dayton for one of my best friends.  Cake and champagne on a Sunday? Absolutely.

A couple weeks later, we celebrated her last night of being single with an 80's themed bachelorette party in Columbus.  There were feathers, jelly bracelets, primary colored make-up and jellys.  It was a blast.  The rest of the pictures are marked for friends and family, to protect the guilty.

We took the trip of a lifetime to Santa Theresa, Costa Rica.  We zip lined, we drank coffee, we walked on the beach and most importantly - we celebrated the marriage of a "forever" friend.  It was a magical experience and will likely be getting its own blog post.

I started a new job.  With green hair from the trip to Costa Rica.  Its the change (the job, not the hair) that I needed to make and I'm excited and reenergized by the opportunity and the company that I'm now a part of.  Good things apparently do come to those who wait (although I still hate it).

We celebrated the marriage of two great friends.  The wedding was gorgeous, with lots of small touches that reflected the personality of the bride and groom.  We ate, we drank and we celebrated and of course, we were one of the last ones to leave.