polls & extraverts

Well, hey there! It's been awhile since I've just sat down to write in this little blog, so I have no plan today except to just check-in & word purge a little. I already regret using the term "word purge," but oh well.

< --- POLL ALERT! Read on. It will all make sense

So far, this year has allowed for a lot of changes. These changes are wonderful & empowering & allow me to pursue my creative outlets/attempt to make a career out of them. CRAZY, I know, & it's so much harder than I ever could have anticipated... But I know that this part -- this today & tomorrow & oops-forgot-to-do-that-yesterday is the hard part. Fingers crossed that it's the hard part that I look back on with a wrist flip & laugh as I say, "OHHH, those were the days!"

This buzzfeed article has been circulating through my various social media feeds for the last day or so, & while I laughed, it's also caused me to think. I am an extrovert through & through (#9 is actually something that I would consider a fear. Fear is a slight exaggeration, MAYBE, but kindanoseriously.) Even while working in a super social office setting, I daydreamed about knocking the wall out between me & my boss' office so even if we weren't talking, I wasn't alone in an office. This isn't an awkward blogger confession. I will readily admit to anyone that I am a social butterfly leech.

That being said, I'm home frequently now. More frequently than perhaps I have ever been, made even more notable by the fact that I would never choose to be alone for the amounts of time that I am now facing. Productivity lasts for awhile, but then it just starts feeling quiet. Too quiet. So, I need a game plan. & this is where you come in.

Writing here is fun, but it would be great to have a purpose, & to get to know my audience just a wee bit better. I know you're out there - I have the stats to prove it! I want to take this little blog to the next level. I want to hear from you about what you like to read/see here & the other blogs you follow. The poll is anonymous, so click away!

I'm hoping this game plan allows me to become a bigger part of the blogging community, which has become one of my favorite groups of friends. So speak up! Say hello! Let's switch blog buttons! & if you feel like getting REALLY crazy, leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

<< end entry that uses the word "blog" entirely too much >>

kathryn & lissy - seniors

So... Part of quitting my day job at the office was taking some of my hobbies a little more seriously to bring in some extra money. It's taken a little bit (or a lot) of pride swallowing to hop on board the everyone-is-a-photographer train, especially when my story is similar to everyone else's - I got my first camera when I was 6 & it's been love ever since. I enjoy it! & it's been a joy over the last couple of years to hone in on some skills & practice on family & friends.

That being said, I've been sharing some favorites from past shoots I've done over on our *brand spanking new* facebook page (checkkkkk it!) & today, I'm giving blog readers an exclusive preview of my senior photo shoot with Lissy & Kathryn. 

These two girls are near & dear to my heart as Lissy is my biological baby sister & Kathryn is her best friend = emotional baby sister. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY ARE GOING TO BE SENIORS. But alas! They're lovely ladies & gorgeous, as you're about to see. Enjoy! (Click the read more under their picture to see all the photos!)

midwest trip - bits & pieces from the house

As the final installment of this blog's photo documentation of our grand trip to the great Midwest *adds final heaping of sarcasm*, I've just sort of thrown together some favorite pictures Jared & I took around my grandparents' house.

 

This child is hours of entertainment.

 

& also a little Nicole Kidman baby.

She loves me. PROMISE.

So much essential + glorious St. Louis food happening in this picture.

Jared found himself morally opposed to most of the above, but whatevs.

Grandma was more than slightly smitten.

Sarcasm aside, these final images capture the family time that really made this trip a gem. Growing up is such a funny thing. It was such fun to explore St. Louis as an adult - Which seems to have been my take-away thought from this trip, as it's come up in almost every post. I have so long awaited getting to show Jared my grandparents' house & yard where so many memories took place (& let's face it, anything that can help him understand my antics is considered a useful life tool).  Even though I was returning to Missouri as a married adult, it was refreshing to spend a few days in their house, constantly being offered pink lemonade & being asked if we need anything, a cookie? Ice-cream? (True story. Professional grandma status.)

But mostly? Watching my grandparents meet their first great-grandchild is a moment I hope I never forget. Seeing their love-from-afar validated the minute they met my niece was completely priceless. Grandparents becoming great-grandparents is a precious thing. Grandparents are precious things. & we can grow up all we want, & bring them as many great-grandbabies as possible, but it's still the same dynamics when our extended family (on both sides) gets together... & I will always say yes to the cookie.

[I have to warn you - There may be a video of this trip in the near future, but it seriously depends on how much I feel like procrastinating. We'll see.]

midwest trip - the city museum

I don't really know where to begin with The City Museum. I could start with how I had no idea it existed until my cousin demanded we go... Or how it's an abandoned-shoe-factory-turned-whimsical-metal-wonderland... Or how the four of us (aged between 16 & 26) all turned into 9-year-olds for about 4 hours... Or you could just read all about it here or here.

It is truly the most bizarre place I have ever been, so obviously, I would highly recommend visiting if you ever find yourself in St. Louis. My description will not do it justice. From a beatnik bar to a skateless park to a ferris wheel on top of the building to caves that go on & on & on... There was absolutely no way to capture all of it with a camera. You can take a video while you go down the 10 story slide (while Phantom of the Opera plays on a restored organ) but you're sort of in a mixture between a stairwell & an alley, so the video doesn't do it justice. How do you capture climbing into a school bus that is hanging off the side of a building? Or room after room of archeological/bug/bottle collections? I didn't even try to take pictures of us climbing through the indoor tree house & you are quite welcome for that (read: not flattering, & bruises for dayyyys).

If you feel confused &/or overwhelmed by all of this information, then my work here is done, because I was pretty much both of those things the entire time we were in there. But it's somehow magical, all at the same time.

The transformation from adult-to-child was swift, like lighting.

 

Couldn't keep up with these two.

  

A personal favorite from the stained glass room

How we wait for rooftop elevators.

 

I so badly want to describe to you what it's like climbing metal 10 floors above the city

 towards a praying mantis, but it's a rather you-had-to-be-there sort of thing.

Lissy & Trent

Riding a ferris wheel together is some sort of couple's rite of passage... So swoony!

 

& then you slide down from the places you climbed up.

 

This is the look of "we are no longer children with flexible little limbs."

  

Respite.

I was so excited by the many possibilities of visiting St. Louis as an adult with driving capabilities, so though we were stiff, sweaty, bruised & exhausted, we made the executive decision to eat dinner in the city. & again - IF you find yourself in St. Louis, you MUST eat at Range. One of my lovely followers on instagram recommended it to us, & we all almost cried over the amazing meal that met us there. The perfect finish to quite the long day.

& now I really want one of those lemonades. Oh, Jaaaaareeed...

midwest trip - to the zoo

Having worked at an outdoor park, where people visit on 100 degree days & all the employees walk around asking, "WHYYYYYY ARE YOU HEEERRREEE???" I laughed a little as we all unloaded from the car into the 103 degree weather, & there we were... At a zoo. Thooose people. But a visit to the zoo is just part of visiting Missouri, & we considered this visit to be non-negotiable. & really, how much can you complain when there's frozen coca-colas, hippos and misting fans to go around?

My grandpa has volunteered at the St. Louis Zoo since I can remember, & as kids, we knew we had hit the grandpa-jackpot because he could call the elephants over to us. "Donnnnnnna, Donna, Donna!" he would call & it worked like a charm every time. Best grandpa ever.

Grandpa & Grandma McLean - The cutest.

Donna!

Cooling off in the misting fan

 

Hey there handsome, mind if I take a selfie in your sunglasses reflection?

 

The new underwater sea lion exhibit

In the butterfly house, which are the most magical of places

It was really a pleasure to revisit this zoo as an adult & realize how much of my knowledge & love for animals came from my grandpa's tours as a kid. This realization came to full fruition that day when I teared up seeing the first baby elephant I ever saw (Raja, born in 1992) come out into the elephant yard with HIS newest baby. It was quite the full circle moment & when I say full circle, I obviously mean full circle of life & here is where I very loudly break into "NAAAAAAAAAAA ZIWET INYAAAAAA" which Google says are very much not the correct lyrics to the start of Circle of Life but whatever, right?

Up next: An afternoon at the City Museum