ahhh-colorado's amazing colors!

boulder farmer's market

have i mentioned how much i love living in colorado? just a short drive from our home is the lovely town of boulder...a place i feel such a connection with. in my 8 years here i have never turned down the opportunity to head up there to meet friends, hang out with the kids or just to enjoy some alone time.

the light at the farmer's market this week was spectacular. here are some of the images of the art that was all around. from the music to the people-watching to the food and the weather, time spent there is, to me, time well-spent.

in the painting of...chaos!

there is nothing like the feeling of cool wet paint in between your fingers and toes--oozing color and squishing against your skin.

i used to paint after college when i was not sure what i wanted to be (or who i wanted to be) while i lived with my parents after college and while i was 'in love' with the absolute wrong guy. you get the point right? to me, painting was a way of dealing with my stress and the chaos of my life. the times that i felt most creative were during these painful days. but sitting down with my paints was totally cathartic back the (in the early 90's). and still is.

the 'stress du jour' is that i'm debating getting a new camera body (full frame). translation=LOTS of our savings to be bet on a business I believe in-but not a lot yet on the books to justify it. it's stressing my husband out and, in turn, stressing me out. in this economy-is it wise to take a huge financial risk on a passion/hobby with no business plan? chaos-you see. so like in the old days-i turn to my painting to release some of the tension and to help me channel my pent up creative energy.

today i introduced the boys to painting.

at first they weren't sure it was ok to play with the paint. at times they looked at me to make sure i was really squirting the paint on the cardboard in front of them. my oldest son dove right in (with his brush) and started his cardboard box creation. then he started painting his legs, arms and toes. i loved it!
and the little guy thought it might be good to stuff the entire brush of blue paint into his mouth just in the off chance it might be food.

surprisingly-cleanup was easy and nobody was harmed in the activity. (thank goodness for non toxic paint.) i highly recommend this as a dance in creative energy and chaos. it's good for the soul!

who's afraid of the big bad camera?

answer: my husband.

he was absolutely mortified when i brought the camera (loaded with my new 'big lens') into target tonight. anyone who has a good camera knows you just can't just leave it in the car--right? right? (c'mon now--support me on this will ya?)

we had been at the park playing around with the kids and had to pick up a few things from target... of course i didn't blink an eye at the thought of snapping some shots (slice of lifers) while we filled our red baskets.

i started shooting as soon we walked in. my older son asked to ride in the baby seat (he's 4). my husband grabbed another cart-far away from me- and put our other son in it. his face turned just about as red as the card. within seconds, he grabbed both carts and started to quickly dart away from me...all the while mumbling and rolling his eyes.
"why do you bring that thing in here?"
"its totally inappropriate..."
"you've gone beyond just embarrassing me..."

pshaw...i say in return to his rants. i got some fun shots and didn't hurt anybody in the process.

some fun pics from the park too:

oozing with creativity...

today has been 'one of those days' where i feel like i just want to be creative, messy, crazy, silly. it's been raining all day and finally stopped. i grabbed the camera and my new lens and asked my oldest son to be my model. (the younger one is napping). i liked the color of the water-soaked fence in our yard.

here are some of the images thanks to my cooperative (although bribed by a fresh-baked cookie!) model.

i loved the contrast between my "model's" colors and the pattern on the fence. the cloudy sky offered the perfect diffused light. and now i have these great images to remember our dreary yet artistic day!

photography is such a passion for me. i can feel it's power all through my bones.

a weekend of photos...

this past weekend had me traveling back in time-it seems-to the world of my past...the town i grew up in.
it was my honor to do some photography for my good friend christa's 'dancing with the stars' charity event benefiting cystic fibrosis. it was a gala black tie event and the people watching was as good as it gets.

i felt so out of place in a world of people dressed up in their finest. (these days i feel out of place when i am wearing a necklace and earings!)

to add to the treat of the weekend, staying with and visiting excellent friends...i got to take loads of photos. (it is always so much fun having new 'victims' to photograph!)

here are some of my favorites.

good friends, lots of laughs and some time spent in my hometown. perfect. (but i did miss mike and the boys back in colorado!)