my travels to the sea

i share my journey soon - too many photographs to edit

the news

my freewrite friday from magpie's fancy...a day early

mandy sat alone in her room.  her fingers entwined in the pink cord leading to the princess handset pressed firmly to her right ear.  as she listened, she was aware of the post from her pearl earring poking into the side of her skull and the water dripping in the bathroom sink.  the last light of the late spring afternoon had turned golden and shattered as it hit the thin slats of her blinds.

she nodded her head as she listened to cyrus.  it was the call she wanted and dreaded.  would she be in the corps...would she be asked to join the company...or, crushingly, was she rejected - disappointing her mother's dreams of a prima ballerina.  the dreams her mother had for herself.  the dreams she gave up after the accident.  she shifted again as cyrus told her the critiques from the panel.  her arms were a bit short....her turnout a bit overextended...but her pointe work was good, her lines elegant.  mandy swatted at a dust mote that traveled across her sight, focusing on his words....but...unfortunately, they were not asking her to join.

mandy heard the silent click of the extension.  of course now her mother knew too.  she crossed to the bathroom and got a small glass of water from the tap.  as hard as she tried, she couldn't get the drip to stop.  she sat the glass on the tile as she tried, twisting, grimacing....that damn thing just wouldn't stop.  her hands shaking, she picked up the glass and looked into the mirror.  as she did, a tear fell silently down her cheek and dripped into the glass forming concentric circles, much like the pirouettes she practiced today.

it was later that night that she realized, they were tears of relief - her mother's were the ones that tasted of disappointment.

okay...i admit it

not that i would plan to get married again at this age..but if i did.  i want to be a character in the great gatsby and i would totally wear this dress by anthropologie's new line, bhldn.  i think the girl in me squealed at the entire catelog.  but that dress...

he would wear a white suite, just like robert redford's jay.  and we would be married on the sands of ... somewhere.  the gulf beaches are too bright, too new.  i picture instead brunswick, georgia or beaufort, south carolina.  ladies could wear cocktail dresses and men crisp suits.  the fare would be light and the cocktails cold and abundant. 

i wonder if i could just get this and marry myself.  ha!  anthropolgie...  you and your dreamy marketing campaigns.  *shakes fist*

ps - i want my "cake" to be a lucious tower of cream puffs and perhaps tiny cream brulees as another dessert. not that i've thought about that or...anything....really

though there are songs with tuesday in the title, none of them fit

i don't understand vindictive people - i just don't get the wasted energy and the negativity.  let it go 

and for the record, i don't understand beiber fever either...but i'm pretty sure my mom said that about madonna or cyndi lauper and her grandmother didn't understand elvis and in turn....her mother didn't understand those new fangled short skirts...or kitty wells.  so i can let that one go. 

i'm so excited about the upcoming weekend.  i'm going to visit my friend mellie and we're getting in the car and letting whimsy decide a destination.  i can't wait to see where we end up.  and....i'm equally excited about five days off.  *happy dance*  thank you george and abe - i'm happy to honor you both.  and can i just say right on for all of the contributions you made to this country? 

the picture above is related to the vindictive person in my worklife.  we try to do our normal job but we never know when jaws is trying to bite us on the ass again.  has anyone perfected a shark repellent?  anyway.... i have the office to myself today and i have my ipod going, the sun is shining and i just had a celebratory wendy's...sweet!

today on my ipod:  no bad news today (patty griffin), blackbird (covered by sarah mclachlan), mercedes benz (janis joplin), push (matchbox twenty), tuff enuff (the fabulous thunderbirds), summer long (kathleen edwards), melissa (the allman brothers), concede (sister hazel), bennie and the jets (elton john)

pick me, love, and various disclaimers

i wavered back and forth today about acknowledging the day and ignoring it.  the weekend was much too busy to spend much time on making a special deal over the day...and i had forgotten to try and get together the handmade card swap this year (boo!)  so...i had mostly decided to ignore the day.  until i heard this poem being read on the radio this morning, "pick me" by jonathan b tucker. 

the poem grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into a wall.  it was easy to relate to as most of us have either seen jerry mcguire or gray's anatomy.  the rom-com cliche of of wanted to be loved for yourself and having the person you're interested in choosing ....well, you.  so...read the poem - it's by a young dc poet and i would love to see performing. 

so...back to the day.  as many have said, to me the day is to be lived all year 'round.  never pass a day without telling those that you love about your love.  gather up lots of kisses and hugs to sustain you through the tough times.  remember that tough times may call for extra love but it is easy to forget that good times still call for that love.  love yourself.....yeah, i tried and there is not a way to say that without sounding dirty...so do that too if you are so inclined.  do something completely cheesy and hokey (and other funny made up words) to take yourself out of your comfort zone. (i wrote a letter)

the girls....this weekend.  there is some of my love on paper (so to speak) - this shot is untouched except to open the raw file in lightroom.  sure, it's a bit blown out and the circles under their eyes are showing and stuff...but, it cries love to me.  love for each other and love for me to pose so sweetly.

hope you have the beautiful day of your dreams.