BAM!

This is Emeril, my Green Cheek conure. He is almost 6 years old and has been such a great part of our family! We got him for my Dad in 2003 for his birthday and he was named after his favorite chef - Emeril Lagasse. I decided to feature Emeril today because my Dad and I are actually on our way to a book signing for chef Emeril! I am going to pick up a copy of his new book for my Dad for Christmas and I am hoping that we can get a chance to meet Emeril and maybe even get a photo with him. My dad won't admit it, but I know he is excited. He has been watching him since the beginning and loves to quote Emeril's cooking tips all the time lol. I am going to try to take some photos of our day today and I will be sure to post them here!

Tuesday Ten

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. I ventured out in the downpouring rain on Saturday to get my hair highlighted, then headed home and spent the rest of the weekend indoors. With having all that time on my hands I put some thought into what I want to do with this website. I have come up with a few ideas, one of which I am beginning today.

Every Tuesday I will be posting the 'Tuesday Ten'. I'll post a topic or question and then the ten answers that I came up with for that topic. The question will be related to photography or another fun topic. I invite you all to participate by leaving your own answers in the comments section. You can also re-post the Tuesday Ten on your own blog and leave a link here so I can check out your answers :) Here goes week #1 of the Tuesday Ten!

10 Favorite Television Shows

01. The Biggest Loser
02. 90210
03. Little People, Big World
04. Golden Girls
05. Grey's Anatomy
06. Desperate Housewives
07. America's Next Top Model (only because of the photoshoots!)
08. Ace of Cakes
09. What Not to Wear
10. Anything on the Food Network

Happy Halloween

Just a quick post to say Happy Halloween! I don't really do too much to celebrate Halloween, but I did manage to (finally) get around to carving my pumpkin. Then I took him outside for a photoshoot...just kidding! (kind of) lol Here are a few more photos of it...

I know this one is a bit grainy... it's hard to take a nice, clear photo in the dark. I must learn how!

Well, I hope everyone out there is having (or had) a fun night. I'm off to watch the Halloween re-runs of Roseanne. Lots of photos will be added tomorrow, so stay tuned :)

It's gonna be a long night

It's been a somewhat unproductive week. I've been in kind of a slump this week and haven't seemed to accomplish much, right down to taking pictures. I did grab my camera to take a few photos one evening earlier in the week which produced the photo above, but aside from that I haven't had much inspiration to do much of anything. Just an off week I guess.

I did accomplish one important thing though. I went to the Dentist on Tuesday and got my first filling ever...and man was I relieved when it was done! I have to say it was not as bad as I had imagined. Nothing compared to having my tooth pulled last month. Needless to say that I can't wait until all of my dental work is complete. By the end of next month I should be all set and won't have to see the dentist again for 6 months or so.

I'm also making a few changes starting next week; I am finally going to take charge of a few things in my life that need work and changing. Things that I have been meaning to do, finish, or start that I never seem to get around to. Like knitting for example. I have been wanting to start working on my knitting skills for weeks now so I can make an afghan for my Mom. At the rate I have been procrastinating, she will be receiving the blanket as a gift at her retirement party (she's only in her forties now) lol. That's only one thing on a long list of short-term goals.

Another thing I have been contemplating is starting a series of photo shoots. I recently came across the website of L.A. photographer Ian Ruhter (whose work is fantastic!) and he always seems to have a theme or project he is working on. For example, right now he is in the middle of shooting a project that focuses on Downtown L.A. I really like the idea of that; having a collection of photos all related to the same theme. I think it would be great to always be working towards a goal and give a sense of completion each time a project is finished, as opposed to aimlessly taking photos of the same objects like I tend to do now. So, right now I am coming up with some ideas for projects I could work on. If you have any ideas for me, they would be welcomed and appreciated :)

My mind needs a rest for tonight, so I am going to try to relax and maybe get some more photos edited. I have a difficult time shutting off my mind sometimes and tonight is one of those times. I think it is going to be a long night.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks on Bonnie Hunt

One of my favorite daily reads is The Pioneer Woman, otherwise known as Ree Drummond. Her website is great and features multiple sections within the site, one of them focused on Photography. I must admit, Ree is actually part of the inspiration behind creating this website and my wanting to become a photographer. Shortly after I first saw her work, I really started to evaluate my own goals and path in life and realized that my love for photography shouldn't stop at just taking photos of random events and holidays.

Photography has always been in the back of my mind as a 'wouldn't it be nice to do that for a living?' kind of thing. My mind is always filled with doubt about my abilities and the fact that I have no formal training has always stopped me from even considering it. But, when I found out that Ree is completely self-taught and I see how wonderful her photos are, it gave me confidence that I can learn as I go and develop my skills. I did a lot of research and purchased my first 'professional' Nikon camera several months ago and made the decision that I will be a photographer one day. I believe that with practice I can turn it into my career and finally do something that I love for a living.

I just finished watching today's episode of the Bonnie Hunt Show which Ree was on and it was great! She's very sweet and down to earth and it was nice to finally see the person (and personality) behind her website. She was promoting her cookbook on the show and even got to bake a cake with Bonnie. The two of them together were a hoot! If you haven't already visited her website, you can take a peek here. Be sure to check out her photography too, it's pretty darn good :)