A View of Lisa's World

Its been fun...

really it has.

And as I sit here late at night blogging with Moriah and watching the news while the boys all sleep, there are a whole lot of things I'm going to miss when these guys go home. But at about 6pm tonight when there were 3 hungry men looking for dinner, 2 little boys running amuk in and out of bathtubs and trouble, 2 dogs panting and slobbering, 3 phones ringing and several other electronic devices at unhealthy decible levels, I spotted my keys on the counter and gave serious thought to making a run for it.

Falling in love with photography again...

It isn't that I've really fallen out of love...and contrary to what my painfully out of date photo-a-day blog may suggest, I'm still taking a photo every day. (I'll update soon I promise)

But I've been thinking about photography a lot lately...a LOT (for reasons I can't share quite yet) and I've had some moments of self doubt.

Sometimes I feel like any good shots I get are on accident...or like I turn the dial on the camera and cross my fingers that I am doing something that will make a photo better instead of worse. In reality, if I slow down and think, I actually know enough to take a decent photo on purpose. I just need to remind myself once in a while.

So today I just spent a lot of time with my camera...and really worked on not only seeing things differently (and creatively) but actually trying to get what I saw in my head to come out in the image.

And let me tell you...I had SO much FUN! I really do love taking pictures...LOVE.

And while most of my photos are for some upcoming projects, I was done with my "work" and still had the camera in the car at sunset after running out to check the progress on Moriah's house, so I pulled over to try and grab a sunset shot.

It was so beautiful, and the first few photos I took were ok...they came out looking like this....and that was fine.

I almost walked back to the car, but I took one more look out at the ocean and really didn't feel like I captured just how beautiful it was.

So I thought about it, and made some adjustments...then I made a couple of more....and I got this...

...sigh. I LOVE photography.

I'm going to love you til the end of town...

Todd keeps singing...

"I'm gonna love you til the end of town!!! I swear, I'm gonna love you til the end of town!!"

When you try to tell him it is the end of time, he insists that no...it is town....and then he sings it again.

I don't even want to correct him anymore...I think I'll just start singing it as town too.

I may never cook indoors again....

because this little baby is in my backyard.

The very best thing about this BBQ? The double chamber? Yes...it is fabulous...but not the best thing. The fact that the knobs turn on the burners with no igniting and no tossing a match into a pit of gas? That too is awesome, but not the very best. That it was a gift from Geoff and Moriah for staying with us? That rocks and was totally unexpected and cool...and it is almost the best part.

No, the BEST part is that Moriah and I put it together all by ourselves. Geoff and Matt were working on the house, and we wanted to try the BBQ out tonight, so we had to get down and dirty and build the darn thing ourselves. We rocked it too!

We also had the yummiest roast ever tonight. I've never rotisserie'd before and I think I'm hooked!

Too late...

I'm up way too late to blog much. Moriah and I are back to back laptops on my kitchen table trying to catch up with work.

The good news of the day is that Todd didn't have a temperature all day. Thanks so much for all of the support on that one!The bad news is that my laptop is starting to have a little fever of it's own. The table is scorching hot underneath and I'm pretty sure that is a BAD thing.

Tomorrow we are going to lay low, and I'm thinking that being sure all of my data and photos are backed up might be a good idea.

Hopefully tomorrow I can also share a photo of my new present that Geoff and Moriah got us. I am oh so excited about it!!

where I spent my evening....

Before I start...he is FINE.

It started this morning, when he woke up with an out of the blue fever. I think the first temp reading was like 101.5 so we took some Motrin and canceled our day of school, and my lunch date etc. After hanging out all day the fever never really came down below 101. He's had no other issues, but was pretty quiet and droopy today.

Finally around dinner time I could feel that he was hotter than ever. I put the thermometer in his mouth and before he even closed his lips I could see it said 102.7...it kept going and when I saw 103.8 I was past my comfort limit.

So I called the advice nurse who poo pooed me and called me "Mom" in that tone that says "you are a psycho"....and then told me not to worry unless it was 106. She then says "If it hits 106 we ask that you call 9-1-1"

Umm...hello? There is nothing between "don't worry about it" and "call 9-1-1" ? So, of course, the clinic was closed, so we ended up at the ER.

They loaded him up on Tylenol and Motrin, and by the time we waited the 45 minutes to be seen he was feeling quite a bit better and I looked like a dolt.

The good news is that she checked him all out and couldn't find anything going on, so it is probably a virus. I probably could have stayed home, but I'm glad we went anyway. That indecision about what to do is the worst part for me. I waver between thinking I am overreacting and then worry that I'm poo pooing when I shouldn't be. Like the time I let him play t-ball last year, and by that afternoon we were at the ER getting diagnosed with pneumonia. Needless to say, we won't be playing I-Ball tomorrow!

Anyway, he's doing fine...and they said that I under dosed the Motrin (even though I did what the bottle said) so hopefully with the new dosage I can keep it down if I need to. By the time he went to bed tonight he had no fever at all, which was the first time all day....and I just went in to check on him and he is quite sweaty, so I'm hoping it actually broke.

One more shot from the iphone....

so excited...

Moriah is getting on one end of the couch, and I am getting on the other. The boys (both big and little) are in bed...and Tivo has the long awaited Grey's episode ready and waiting for us. I think giddy might be the best word to describe us right about now...did I mention we have ice cream? We do have ice cream...low calorie, but it is still ice cream.

Tomorrow I'm running errands on my own and meeting my best girlfriend for lunch...yes...giddy indeed.

Call C.S.I...

there has been a murder at my house. We have not recovered the rest of the body at this point, but I think it is pretty clear that a crime has been committed.

working late....

So Moriah and I are sitting here with two laptops open on the coffee table, trying to get caught up on some work. I have to say it is pretty darn convenient having her here. We are getting into a routine and it is going so much smoother than I anticipated all living in one small house. I almost think I'm going to miss them when they are gone (almost)...ask me in a week if I still feel that way!!

living vicariously....

Today I picked out bathroom light fixtures, picked up a kitchen sink and a pallete of new flooring and studied the Pottery Barn paint colors. But none of it came home with me. Sniff

Not only is Moriah remodeling, my parents are going through a remodel too. No walls coming down at Mom's house, and she doesn't have to move out (thank goodness, not that I don't love my parents, but we are plum out of bunk space).  When my mom is done, she will have a whole new kitchen and some actual color on her walls.

I do use the word "color" loosly when it comes to my mom. Miss Moriah is willing to go crazy with paint colors...while my mom says she wants the "illusion" of color. It has been a big joke as she has gone through this process. I keep telling her that beige is not a color! I'm proud of her though, I think that by the time she is done she will use like 6 or 7 different paints...this from a woman thats whole house has been "swiss coffee" white for 40 years. Go Mom!

Moriah is looking at some really fun colors, and don't tell Matt, but it is putting me in the mood to add maybe a little more paint around here when everyone moves out!