My girls...

I'm sitting up completely wired from too much candy and excitement, so I thought I'd share a few Halloween photos with you.

Apparently I'm not up with the times in my neighborhood, because lots of houses were offering beer, wine and vodka to the adults. Who knew? Apparently I didn't get the memo.

Anyway, don't forget to check out my previous post.

Guess the identities of the bloggers I've actually had a conversation with and you could win a $25 Starbucks Card!! For me, that's WAY better than candy OR vodka.

Good luck.

(oh and by the way, my daughters are the goth girls...the other gals are their bestest friends...)

Happy Halloween!

I tried to get some Halloween shots of the dogs. One co-operated for a few minutes, but then she decided she should be the center of attention. {I made that flower}She totally ruined what was probably a bad shot anyways, but no I love it. "Look at me mom! Loooooooooook at MEEEEEE!"

Emily had to do some volunteer work today and was handing out candy outside of KFC. We just happened to be there the same time Little R. came by in his chicken suit. He's checking out the bucket to see if it's his momma in there. It wasn't, it was just a bucket of candy.

I'm so happy the weather changed this morning. I had a photoshoot with the family of Little R. today. Holy smokes, kids move fast! And they don't always want their photos taken. I used my new lens, and am pretty happy with it.
I wish mom was more in focus here. But I can be sneaky and bribe kids to get what I want.

All shots are SOOC, except this one.

Love the look on R's face. That's a moose on his head.

Friday! Yay!

I just sent off my first invoice to get paid as a 'photographer'. I was asked by my movie making cousin to take some photos of Emily drawing our family for his next movie. I can't show them to you, you will have to see the movie. I did sneaky snap this picture of another drawing she's working on. We decided that when Emily draws Kerry he looks like the Avatar, the guy with the arrow n his head in the photo below. I don't know who drew this photo, so I can't give them credit.

If the weather is as good as the forecast says it will be tomorrow, I'll be shooting the B. family out around their house in the a.m. Then we might be going to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Day Before Halloween!

The Antisocial Blogger...

Some Caffeine Court blog stats:

Number of years blogging: 2

Number of bloggers I've met face to face: 0

Number of bloggers I've actually had a conversation with: 3


Pretty sad huh?

But I HAVE been making progress! As of a few months ago the number of bloggers I've actually had a conversation with was at ZERO.

So now it's time for a little contest.

Can you guess which 3 bloggers I
talked to on the phone?

I'll give you some hints.

Blogger #1 is a tennis player and mom to one gorgeous daughter. She's a world traveler and you could bounce a quarter off her husband's abs.

Here's a quote from her blog: Finally living my happily ever after in my own little tropical paradise. I am a mother first, recently married, I curse a lot, and yeah we're just a little nuts.

Blogger #2 is a complete hoot. This girl is pure energy and personality. You can't help but smile when you talk to her. Oh, and she's sooo SOUTHERN. I felt like Carmela Soprano compared to her.

Here's a quote from HER blog: "a willingly transplanted Midwestern girl living in the South." "...you'll either love me or hate me, but you'll laugh either way."

I am most ashamed that I have never met Blogger #3 in person. She lives 5 minutes from my house. She is a runner and an avid reader. She also writes for a couple of websites under an alias. We discussed attending BlogHer together this summer and one day VERY soon, we are going to meet for coffee.

And finally, a hint from Blogger #3's blog: "A place where I can vent about mommy hood without annoying my husband."


So there you have it.

Just to make things interesting, I'm going to offer a little prize to one random commenter who attempts to guess the identities of Bloggers 1, 2 and 3.

In keeping with the theme of my blog, the lucky winner will receive a $25 Starbucks Gift Card!!!


*APPLAUSE* yeah, I know, $25 doesn't get you far at Starbucks...but what do you expect from me? I'm not made of money!


Here are the rules.

1. If you happen to be Blogger 1, 2 or 3, you can't enter. (Sorry, it's the price you pay for being my friend...)

2. If you are related to me and you know the answer, you can't enter. But I WILL buy you a latte the next time I visit. If you DO guess and ruin the contest, I'll kick your butt next time I visit.

3. The contest ends Sunday, November 1st at 11:59 PM.

Now a little legal junk:

Caffeine Court is not liable for any burnt tongues or over caffeination and jitters caused by products purchased with the Starbucks gift card. Also, remember that there are alot of empty calories in some of those triple pump frappuccinos.

Contest not valid in Bangladesh, Greenland and the Czech Republic. Many will enter, one will win.


Let the games begin!!!

Sweet Baby Bear

I'm practicing my photography skills. Linus won't fit in the basket so I had to use Baby Bear. I ran a couple actions on the photos, I could have left them SOOC, but I wanted to try them out.

I know a stuffed bear isn't the same as a real baby.

I like this one the best. I like the paunchy bear tummy in the background.

Torn Between Two Sluggers...

Tonight's the night...game one of the Turnpike Series...Yanks vs. Phils!! And I'm torn...I feel like Richard Williams must feel when Serena and Venus play each other in the Ladies' Finals at Wimbledon.

My two favorite baseball teams have both risen to the top, but only one will be World Series Champion.

Who do I pick? The team I loved and watched many times at Veteran's Stadium while growing up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, or the local favorite here in Northern Jersey?

Who do I choose???

I feel like Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice."

Sometimes life can be very, very, cruel.

Goodbye, sweet friend!

It was a bitter sweet moment. The one where my Rebel found a new forever home. I hope it has a good life with Marg and Terry.
Sniff.


Really, I'm sad, but I was getting comfy with the idea of having 2 cameras, so I wouldn't have to switch lenses all the time. Good thing I hadn't put that into practice.

Back to the daily grind...

Following a magical few days out to chillax, do some k's and get married, reality has finally hit. Though I have been back at work for only a week, I need a holiday again (and I like my work, imagine how people would feel if they didn't!).

Un-Zud awaits with South Island trails beckoning in a few weeks. I am looking forward to a proper week out, not just a few days here and there for a bike race or a fleeting trip to Sydney and back.

I also completed the Level 1 Cycling Australia-run Mountain Biking Coaching Course on the weekend, which gave me some valuable skills that I will be implementing in the very near future. The downside to this was that the two-day course was run from 8.45–6pm on both Saturday and Sunday, so coordinating proper rides pretty much went out the window for the weekend and I had to make do with some pretty scant MTB'ing.

Ah, such is life!

Now all I have to do is get back into the swing of riding bikes again...

Big things on the horizon

I got the Stampin' Up digital papercrafting program, My Digital Studio. It still has a few kinks that need working on, and after a few hours of trying to get it installed, I finally got it working. Between SU and SCS, I got it figured out. It's fairly easy to use. I made a 5x5 Halloween album for my little friends Z and R. Sure, it took me most of the morning. And sure, I wasted a bunch of photo paper printing it right in the middle of each 8x5x11 paper, but I'll get that figured out next time. I'm impressed with the print quality, which could be a mixture of damn good printer, decent paper and decent program. I'm not a huge digital fan, I like the textures of conventional scrapbooking and card making but this program will have a place in my life, it's how I'm going to make the calendars for the grandparents this year. My life just got easier!

I'm taking the plunge, leaving my comfort zone (the basement) and am going to take on a few photo jobs. Even as I type this, I'm thinking "Are you crazy?" I guess the next few weeks will tell me if I am or not. I have been offered a couple opportunities already and they are big ones, life altering for the subjects and I want to do them but I'm such a chicken. I only hope I can do them justice.

The Internet and Me: A Love Story

The other night, as I sat typing away on my laptop pretending to watch the Yankees game, I realized how much the internet has meant to me over the years.

A little video montage played in my head, picture it with Kenny Rogers, singing softly in the background. Do you hear it? NO??? Try turning up the volume on your computer. Hear it now?? There you go!!

Flashback...1995, me, with my then boyfriend (now husband's laptop) dialing up and discovering the joys of AOL. 1997...engaged and planning my wedding on "The Knot."

Fast forward to 1999 and I'm sitting with an infant on my lap, looking at the Baby Center message boards and playing "Strike a Match" on Boxer Jam while nursing my new daughter.

Oh look! There I am ordering all my Christmas gifts on Amazon to avoid bringing a 3 month old to the mall! There I am again, getting scolded by my husband for having Amazon wrap all my presents for my at $3.50 per gift!!

It's now 2006 and I discover the world of blogs. See me sit at a desk reading "Suburban Cupcake."

Time flies by, it is now 2007, I look a little older, but I'm still on-line...this time starting my own blog.

The love affair continues into 2009. My blog is now 2 years old, and I have found yet another love. Facebook. Not the Facebook where I look at other people's pictures and reconnect.

Oh noooo. The Facebook that's a "Club Penquin" for adults. The world of Farmville (NOT Farm Town) Island Paradise and Bejeweled.

Oh and don't forget to notice my husband and children in the background, looking neglected.

The video wouldn't be complete without that.

I would be remiss, if I neglected to mention my BlackBerry. Words can't express the love I feel for my sweet, sweet little BlackBerry.

If find myself getting very emotional, so I leave you with Kenny....

Nothing better to do

After a hard day at work, grocery shopping, a visit from Craft Sale Organizer Extraordinaire, and a few phone calls from someone that should be working but seems to think about stamping all day, Linus decided to do some recycling with me. He wanted to get up close and personal.

But then played it cool and aloof.

I took this from our deck, all photos were shot with my new lens. You can't really tell that it's raining and miserable, everything looks good with the new lens. I took this one March 2008, probably the day I got my Sigma lens. At first I think I like this one better, I like the colours better, but then it's Spring. But when I compare the sharpness and the fact that when I zoom in, I can see in those windows, I like the first one better. I'm nosey like that. The other thing I notice is the corners of this photos. I like that when I do it in photoshop, don't like it when the lens does it for me. I'm controlling like that.

Disgusting

The sun has disappeared, it looks like winter. How's a girl supposed to play with her camera in this weather?

I know, I know...

My name is Kelli and I am probably the most spoiled person I know.

Canon has a rebate offer on till the end of the month. One place in town had the lens I wanted, one husband wants some major bike parts, one wife wants to start shooting semi-pro(whatever that means), and one lens was calling her name.

I sold my Sigma lens, for a lot less than I would have liked, but let's face it, it was not the right lens. It was a good lens, but after taking the photography class, I realized it was not at the high end of good. Everyone was talking about wanting, needing and getting a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 or f/4. I didn't think I'd need one. But then I saw what people were doing with it, and I put it on my list.

I was pretty sure I was getting the f/2.8, just made sense for low light situations, but it also cost about $1000 more than the f/4. We won't go into exact numbers, but it's a Canon, it's a good piece of glass, that's photog talk. Anway, we went to Lens and Shutter. I knew I would never be taking indoor sports shots. The kids are past that, so I knew a f/2.8 might be over kill, but for lowlight mountain biking, it would be great. But how much do I do that? $1000 to do it a few times a year? No, so I said gimme the f/4. But then I said "Can I hold the f/2.8?" They very knowledgable sales person put it on a 50D for me to test the weight of both. Here's where the story gets sad...

I didn't mind the weight of the f/4 at all. Very managable. But the f/2.8 made my spine compress under the sheer weight of it. Kerry snickered, he said there was no way he was listening to me complain about carrying that thing up and down the hill. We, along with the sales person, agreed that was not the lens for me and my upper body strength of a kitten. Walk all day, sure, pack something in my arms or around my neck for 20 min., no way!

I'm so sad that my lack of strength was the deciding factor on the type of lens I got. Not sad enough to start weightlifting just yet, like the sales person recommended. She said to start, then sell the f/4, good re-sale value, and then get the f/2.8 in a year or so. I don't know if I'm up to having to sweat to get a lens.

Here's a comparison so you can see the difference, I know you want to ... The middle one is the f/4, the one I got. The one on the right is the f/2.8, I believe the lens weighs 4 lbs. add that to the weight of the camera, the battery pack and god forbid a flash...my arms hurt just thinking about it.

What did I have to promise to do for the lens, because that's how we roll? To put myself out there and take pictures. And maybe some other stuff that's not blog worthy...

If you want to do something right...

you HAVE to do it yourself!!

Lately there has been critiquing of certain blogs by other bloggers. It's kind of turned into a big drama, so I've decided that I'm going to critique my own blog and that way no one else has to do it for me.

Here goes:

How about Jill over at Caffeine Court? What a bore!! She is so obsessed with boots! And tennis! Who the hell CARES if she won a tennis match? Who wants to hear about the stupid byotches on her team?

What kind of psycho has THREE dogs AND a cat?!!! That's just gross.

Oh and the way she criticizes Obama! Obama is a wonderful man! She must be very, VERY selfish to oppose health care reform.

To top it off, she live in JERSEY. I mean need I say more?!!!

I won't even go into her grammar! Has she ever heard of spellcheck, or editing? What a lazy wench. She has such a messy closet. She should spend less time on Facebook and more time cleaning up her house.

And she's always posting pictures of her hair. Once again...WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR HAIR JILL!!!??? So annoying.

And her clothes! She dresses like a 12 year old boy. Get rid of the hoodies and jeans, put on something cute woman!!! Have some pride.

I could go on and on. Bottom line is, her blog sucks.

Once more thing...she has a fat stomach. Maybe she should do some sit-ups.

There you go.

If you have anything to add, just click the little comment button.

Busy Weekend coming

I'm getting my hair done today. Some say I should let it go it's natural colour, which would be mostly white, not grey, but white. I think that works for some people, Steve Martin, Betty White, my mother-in-law, Albert Einstein, but not for me. I'm not even 40 yet, and I'd like to be considered not even 40. Like at the garage sale when someone from the past said "What? You have a kid that is 20? That can't be right, he can't be YOUR kid!" We all know I had him young but this person thought I was younger than I was, thank you, Twyla, it's always great to see you! So, I'm getting a cut and colour.

Tonight we are celebrating my dad's 60th. He thinks he's getting a surprise party, he thinks people from his past will be there, he thinks he has to get 'dressed up'. Well, won't he be surprised when he realizes it's not a surprise party, it's just a dinner with family. He thinks he's so sneaky and figured it out. My mom keeps telling him that he's not getting a party, he got a Lazyboy chair instead.

Tomorrow is "get rid of the left-over garage sale stuff" day. Kerry said I had to get up bright and early. I don't know why. Then I have to make dessert for the party tomorrow night, more about that, and I appies for the daytime Halloween party. I'm charging up the batteries, I'm taking the camera, and I'm taking pictures of every single thing. Everything! I'm kind of grumbly about the lack of co-operative photography subjects around here, the slimy black leaves on the trees, and the fact dogs don't really have that many facial expressions.

Then after the party we have to go to my dad's for the UFC/birthday bash. I'm all pumped up, which is what some people don't like about UFC, the aggression part. I never thought I'd be having conversations with my dad that would include the phrases like "Darrell's triangle choke hold" and "Rampage is an idiot". I also never thought it would be so rewarding to see Zak take a nap after the choke hold, but it was and I like the rubber legs guys get when they get knocked out on their feet, but I don't like the blood. And who knew I'd start to like a guy named Kimbo Slice.

He's no GSP, but he's kind of teddy bearish.

And because I like photos on blogs, here's my depressing shot of my view from the couch, taken with my sweet baby 50D, at a super high ISO, because it can. I think it was nighttime, and it's depressing because I was pouting about the fact no one wants their pictures taken anymore. What's the point of having such an awesome camera and so much camera knowledge if no one in my family wants their picture taken?

Long time, no blog...

A lot has been happening, most recently a nasty nasty bout of food poisoning (or something) that left me unable to talk or move for about 12 hours, well, except to run to the toilet, puke my guts up, and amble back to bed.

ANYWAY! Much more exciting things have been happening.

See below...

Caffeine Court: It's All About ME!!!

This is MY blog, so I'm going to talk about ME. When I'm done you can talk about yourself, OR we can keep talking about ME.

The following is stuff that I've been dealing with.

My hair: After trying to grow it long, I caved and now it's SHORT again. Oh well. I can spend a few months trying to grow it out again, and then I'm sure I'll butcher it again. That's just what I do.

My dogs: It appears that the flea infestation of my home is under control. On Monday I was ready to snap, but I soldiered on...spraying, vacuuming, shampooing and washing. Please pray for us. If they come back I might just lose my sh*t.

Tennis: Things in the tennis department are good. I might have to get a sports agent to negotiate my team play. There's already wheeling and dealing going on for the Spring season, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to handle it. It's a pressure cooker and I have alot of demands that I want met. I hope I make the right choice.

Fashion: I've had a fixation on the J. Crew catalog and I can't stop looking at it. I wonder how I would look wearing 3 chunky necklaces, a ruffly shirt, boyfriend jeans, bright ankle socks and pumps. I think I know the answer. Only 20 year old hot models can pull off that look. Middle aged housewives look asinine in 3 chunky necklaces, a ruffly shirt, boyfriend jeans, bright ankle socks and pumps.

So there you go. I'll bet this post makes you long for one of my political rants. I've been holding off on that. Why? Because some of the nuttiness that's been going on is quite frankly too much for me to take, so I'll just stick to hair, pets, sports and clothes.

Okay. Enough about me.

How are YOU?

Meteor Rain, and The Gemini Truths.

Hey, it's me again. Dan satu album 'Brand New Eyes' by Paramore sudah berulang untuk ke-14 kalinya sekarang, sejak tadi pagi --Kalo diitung dari kemaren malem, berarti udah satu album ini sudah diulang sekitar 30 kali-an. Dan belum bosen :)

******

So, the last thing why I'm so racy this morning is, tadi malam ada HUJAN METEOR! :D
Seperti yang gue bilang, gue sangat sukaaaa banget sama bintang, dan segala tentang perbintangan. Gue suka stargazing, sampe gue bikin kamar di lantai 3 rumah gue yang tadinya gudang, cuma biar bisa stargazing tiap malem.

*****

Tadi malem, gue sama sekali ga ngeliat hujan meteor, atau satu biji bintang yang jatuh. I saw nothing. Tapi dari dulu gue bener-bener excited sama yang namanya bintang, dan tertarik banget mempelajari apapun yang berhubungan sama bintang (ada yang mau menemani gue pergi ke planetarium? gue pengen banget tapi belum pernah loh. Tapi pasti keren deh, huhu mauuuu).

By the way, koq ga ada beritanya sih tentang meteor rain kemarin? gue pengen tau bangettt, sampe saking penasarannya tadi malem gue mimpi ngeliat hujan meteor, tapi siang-siang -_____-" gue googling Meteor Rain Orionid, ehhhh yang muncul malah foto-foto F4. Sigh.

*****

Rasanya mood yang dipengaruhi sama kata-kata 'meteor rain' tadi malam masih terbawa sampe sekarang. Denger kemarin bakal ada hujan meteor, gue sangat bersemangat, nungguuuu, sampe akhirnya ketiduran juga. Hmmmh... sambil menunggu, ditemani lagu-lagunya... yes you could guess it, paramore, hahaha (jangan bosen-bosen ya, gue memang lagi tergila-gila sama satu album, keren dan dalem gitu lirik dan musiknya, sekarang aja lagi di-repeat untuk yang ke 16 kalinya untuk hari ini).. Termenung dengerin lagu Brand New Eyes (The Only Exception), Misguided Ghosts, All I Wanted. In this album, Paramore's getting a lil bit mellow. So do I. Killed by the desperately romantic mood in my own brain.

*****

Stargazing, reminds me of some memories, of him.

Like A Star

Just like a star across my sky
Just like an angel off the page
You have appeared to my life
Feel like I'll never be the same

Just like a song in my heart
Just like oil on my hands
Oh, I do love you

You've got this look I can't describe
You make me feel like I'm alive
When everything else is a fade
Without a doubt you're on my side

Heaven has been away too long
Can't find the words to write this song
Oh, your love

I have come to understand
The way it is, it's not a secret anymore
'Cause we've been through that before
From tonight I know that you're the only one
I've been confused and in the dark, now I understand

I wonder why it is
I don't argue like this
With anyone but you
I wonder why it is

I won't let my guard down
For anyone but you
We do it all the time
Blowing out my mind

...Oh, I do love you. :)


-Like A Star, Corrine Bailey Rae-

That song was played on the radio... On Saturday nite, right when he drove me home. Lucunya, malem itu kita abis stargazing, walaupun ternyata pada kenyataannya ga ada bintang sama sekali, but we were enjoying that nite so much. Rencana yang udah dipersiapkan rame-rame sama temen-temen kita buat hari itu ternyata batal semua, and there were us, sudah mulai malem, semua udah mulai mati gaya, jadi cuma nyender di luar mobil sambil ngadep ke langit, hening.

Dan tadi malem, di hari pas kita putus, ada hujan meteor. I wish I could watch it, dia juga, walaupun ga barengan. But we'll take some time to think, and slowing down. Not to look back, but to make sure that we'll never forget.

*****

Maybe I'm just being over too sensitive. I am very cracked up now, it's the first time i wrote about boy, haha -___-" (hey, btw I'm wearing the clothes that I wore when we were stargazing that nite, and I smell you and your car scents. Hehe.)


Tentang bintang, walaupun terobsesi banget sama yang namanya bintang, tapi gue ga tertarik sama ramalan bintang. Karena gue sendiri bingung, gue di 21 Juni, berarti kadang gue Gemini, kadang gue Cancer. He once told me, that I maybe made a greatest Cancer in his heart, but I'm his greatest Gemini. Yes, maybe I'm a Gemini Cancer. Bittersweet. And Strange.

*****

** "It's not an ending story...
It will live in my world...
It's you I'm thinking of...
Coz you are the centre of my universe..."

---------------------------------------

stare at sky.... currently....

** The last part of the song he wrote for us, The Story will Never End.

So Inspired!

I'm on a self imposed magazine restriction. I only allow myself to buy Scrapbooks Etc., but I did splurge and buy the one in the post below. And boy, am I glad I did. I'm on pg. 39 and I've made 9 cards. Here are some of my favourites.

Bright spots on a rainy day!

It's my dad's 60th birthday today! He's having a 'fight night/birthday party' on the weekend and we will be celebrating family style on Friday.
This morning started off the way a bad day does, I must have slept funny because I'm very sore today and fighting off a head-ache. And I woke up 9 min. before my alarm went off and then the power went out for over 30 minutes. Which to a certain teenager meant 'no school' and she went back to sleep, but I made her get up. The power came on just before she left. The internet has been super slow or non-existant. That same teenager only had half a day of school and got rained on. But...I am not having a bad day despite all that. Made 18 of these.

This large parcel came for me today, I was a bit worried after receiving an email saying the cd calendar cases were back-ordered and that it could take weeks to get them. It took less than a week. Wish all back-ordered items took that long.

Picked this up, I had seen it numerous times on blogs, but not in the stores. Haven't had a chance to look at it, but it looks pretty nice on my new fabric.

I found this wonderful tape today, after seeing this, I knew I needed some. I printed the instructions and pages and made one in no time. I didn't add pictures yet.

The cover.

Just a peek at what's inside.

I also made buttermilk drop biscuits after the power came back on.

If it's none of my business...

THEN DON'T POST IT ON THE INTERNET!!

We live in an age where people like to live in the public eye. Facebook, Twitter, blogs. We can all be celebrities in our own little realm. The thing with being a celebrity is...we lose our privacy. ESPECIALLY when we CHOOSE to put it out there.

Here are some examples. My neighbor and his wife love (let's call them Bob and Darlene) to have arguments on Facebook.


Here is an actual example of one of their Facebook exchanges:

Bob status update: Hungover. Had too much to drink last night and told wifey she needs to lose weight. Sorry babe...I love u.

Diane: Looks like someone needs to go to AA.
Diane's friend: He's an a**hole!!
Diane: Yeah, he was drinking tequila all afternoon and then said I shouldn't wear jeans because it made my butt look big.

Hello!!! Do you people know that people read Facebook? Do we need to know about your marital conflict and drinking problem?! (Actually, it's pretty interesting...keep up the good work!)

Or, there are those who blog about INTIMATE relationship details, and then in the next post, complain that their lives are nobody else's business and that everyone should mind their own business. Hey! You just TOLD us everything, so if someone asks how you are doign, don't get all huffy. YOU put it out there!

Sooo, since I'm not a hypocrite, feel free to ask me about my dogs' flea problem, my boot obsession, or my messy house. There are other issues in my life, but don't ask about them. UNLESS, of course, I Tweet, Facebook or blog about it.

In which case, it's all fair game.

Hunting and Gathering

Last Saturday at the pottery studio, I was uninspired. The previous day, I had thrown two small teapot bodies and lids, and as the pieces dried and shrank, one pot's lid did not shrink enough, and no longer fit. Somewhat disappointed in my fixing the lid too tight, my work moved to handbuilding the handles and spouts for the pots. I slowly caressed and stretched the red stoneware into passable forms, but frequently found my thoughts far from the clay between my fingers, my gaze wandering to the magnolia trees outside. Looking forward to my trip to the mountains, my eyes wouldn't look at my work.

Davin and I tested the limits of his hybrid car that evening, driving the steep roads up to Rimforest, a small community near Lake Arrowhead and on the path to Big Bear Lake. Under her pines, oaks, and cedars, the sparkling San Bernardino city lights enchanting us, we spent a relaxing night at my sister's house there, giddily inflated with clean air and elevation.

The morning put Davin, my sister, my brother-in-law, and I on the road to Big Bear. Where my thoughts at the studio strayed to the mountains, my thoughts in the car connected the mountain scenery with pottery. Each exposed trove of decomposed granite, every naked ochre-lined cliff made me want to fly out of the car and eat at the clay like a wild parrot. The anticipation of our hike to a natural spring, however, clipped my wings and sat my behind firmly in my seat, the fall foliage flying by.

A friend who used to reside in Big Bear told me of the spring. He recently brought some spring water down the mountain for us to use for tea, and I wanted to gather more for myself and my own experimentation. He gave me a map, and I decided to hunt for the spring.

We easily found the spring, located not too far off a dirt access road. Bursting forth from the recent rains, the outflow like a geyser, the spring fed a small stream that likely emptied into the lake below. The three one-gallon jugs we brought quickly filled with cold spring water, and we spent the afternoon hiking around the area. Wild roses brambled about the pines and yellow shrubs, showing juicy, red, puckering hips, their stalks bristled with thorns like a hair brush. Bark mulch and dead trees, pine saplings and baby ferns, decomposition yielded to new growth.

My sister gathered leaves to press. I gathered beetle-eaten, twisted twigs to use for teapot handles. We all took home the sights, smells, and soft taste of the cold spring water.

Back at my sister's, I gathered stray acorns to use for knobs, and cleaned out her fireplace ash to use for glaze. Happy for a haul of free, local materials, natural inspiration, and good company, I sat in contented silence for the drive down the mountain and homeward. Although I returned home loaded with water, twigs, and ash, at the threshold of the door I felt a tinge of sadness for the one thing I forgot to take: photographs.

Thou SHALT COVET....

I have to share with you my latest internet find: Covet.

Here's a little description straight off their website:

Covet is your personal shopper, searching thousands of brands from hundreds of online stores to find the most coveted fashion in your style. your size. On sale. Covet's revolutionary Stylyzer(TM) visually learns your individual style preferences. Based on your subscription frequency, you'll get personalized emails full of items we think you'll love. At Covet we combine style, visual technology and the convenience of email to provide the most personalized shopping experience on the web.

How does it work?

You'll start with the Stylyzer(TM). We'll learn your preferences from a series of images that ask 'Which one is more your style?' Then you'll tell us what sizes you wear so we can shop for you. Once you've completed your registration, we'll show you your Stylyzer(TM) results. (If you're a style chameleon too complex to comprehend, don't worry. We'll let you create your own style profile.) We can get to know you even more when you complete the (completely optional but really cool) color, pattern, and silhouette preference pages. You can even tell us what brands you love (and what brands you hate). It doesn't stop there. Let's maintain our relationship via email. You'll tell us when we mess up (and send you something you don't love). Then we'll do our best to make it up to you next time.

Here were my results:

Sporty Eclectic
Sporty Modern




Sporty Conservative















I guess that means I'm quite the sporty gal....

Once you've determined your style, you get occasional e-mails with notifications of sales on fashion that they think you might like based on your profile.

Some of the brands include, Athleta, Loeffler Randall, Tory Burch, French Connection, Miss Sixty and even Mossimo at Target!!

I love the way most of their choices match my style perfectly!!

So go ahead, check it out. Taking the test is actually fun and they really nail it.

Then let me know what you think.

Where the Wild Things Are

We took E. and I. to see Where the Wild Things Are this afternoon. It was definately not a feel good movie. I liked it, but .... it was a bit of a downer, a bit slow, not very funny, although it had a couple of moments, and kind of made you think.
So... even though it's based on a children's book, it is not a children's movie. Both E. and I. really liked it, they got it, they understood the underlying message, liked the 2 funny parts, and felt sad at the appropriate times.
It did not ruin the book. So if you haven't read the book and want to see the movie, that's okay, and if you have read the book and want to see it, I don't think you will say "I enjoyed the book more".
Although now that the monsters have names and voices, it's kind of wierd. The main monster, Carol, is James Gandolfini and after Kerry told me that it was hard to not see Tony Soprano whacking someone every time Carol spoke.
Off to search ebay for some pj's like Max's 'wolf' suit.

Gastronomy in DC