Yee Olden Days

I just spent the past few minutes going through my flickr from beginning to end.  I’ve had it for three years, so to see what has changed has amused me greatly.  There’s cute little stories attached to a lot of these photos…that’s mainly why I keep them up (I know they aren’t that great of pictures, but we all have to start somewhere)

Let’s start somewhere near the beginning, shall we?  I’m going to be obnoxious and only post the links so you can see them the way they were uploaded

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/152634246/

From my first ever “Photoshoot”.  I was waiting for my model to arrive.  This is the Orpheum in Ybor City, Florida.  Why my parents let me go to shows in Ybor as a young teen, I’ll never know.   But this is what I lived for when I was younger.  Shows shows shows.  The orpheum was my favourite (and you gotta love the “in lust we trust” sign by the bar…)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/167899356/

Charlene was always a good sport and modeled for me whenever I had a whim.  This was taken up at our favourite spot…the overpass in my neighborhood in Tampa, Florida.  She is pretty much the only thing I miss about Tampa.  I have a few friends that I consider close, but she really is my BEST friend.  One day I’m going to go to tampa and kidnap her and make her live with me and we can take tons of pictures together again.  And she knows this.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/171129683/

this would be the infamous show that blew my eardrums out.  Thank you, copeland, for forever ruining my hearing!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/219450619/

the first and last shoot I ever got paid for.  I think.

I must bring good luck because they’re married with a baby boy now.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/218911844/

the day I discovered the “liquify” tool

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/352581551/

I went on a shoot with my friend right before I moved to Nashville.  He had gone off to take pictures of trash or something…and he had no idea I was doing this kind of photo.  He rounded the corner right as I took a flying leap…and I think I scared him to death to say the least.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/414354545/

Taken during the most depressing time of my life.  I hate looking at that series.  I made it colorful and happy though, because I’m not one to give up hope.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/428876892/

Before my sister moved she had a demon cat, manduren.  Oh, she was cute…but she slapped and bit and ugh.  I couldn’t stand the little monster.  My sister had to give her up when she left Portland…so now we think she’s probably got dreads and is tokin’ it with the hippies in Oregon now.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/528857212/

I don’t care what people say, this is my favourite picture that I’ve ever taken.  I was in Charlotte, NC at a dance competiton.  They hyped up this hotel so much, and it was awful in the end.  But I took photos and had a great time.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/955075165/

I lied.  This photo is my favourite.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/2263679637/

Every time I see this photo I’m shocked at the fact that I had the guts to put it up…but then I realize that nobody on earth knows what the meaning is behind it and so I chuckle to myself and move on quietly.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/2471894646/

I had no clue that picture would get even the slightest bit of attention.  It was just a random idea that came forth on a boring day.  King hippo totally stole the show on this one.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/2606033666/

On a trip to tampa last year, I went to visit Julliet.  She is such a dear friend to me.  She’s hilarious, creative, obsessed with batman and secretly (yet not so secretly) wishes she was asian.  Now she lives in DC and I’m going to have to make a trip up to see her, because she simply is the bomb diggity.

 

Last but certainly not least

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecameraismakebelieve/2609750018/in/photostream/

the day I met my flickr friends, Kate and Amanda.  Now we’re all bff and stuff.  If flickr did anything for me in the past three years, it brought me two really great friends

 

Hopefully this amused you somewhat.  I know it did me.

tea time.

ciao

Ireland is calling…

I just looked at the calendar.

21 days.

To ireland.

To europe.

To the day I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

It doesn’t seem real.  All-Irelands is just the half of it.  Europe.  Ireland.  A different country.  I’ve dreampt of seeing the world for so long and it’s finally time!  Granted, we’re really having to trust God right now because er, funds still aren’t here (we still haven’t bought tickets for the nashville to chicago leg of the trip) so all prayers would be greatly appriciated!

To think I’m going to be a competitor at the All-Ireland Championships is unreal.  Seriously.  I’ve looked at pictures of that stage so many friggin times.  The stage, in fact…is the size of a small country.  That doesn’t scare me.  What scares me is the fact that it is possible I could dance with the world champion (PLEASE PRAY I DON’T!….although that might be cause for great laughter)  But it’s awesome that I am going to be against the best in the world.  I’m nowhere near the best, but I’m going to enjoy getting out there and getting my feet wet, so to say.

 

So yeah.  This was a blog about ireland.  A blog asking for prayers for funds, that I would stay healthy and get my dancing skills as strong as they can get in the next 21 days.  A prayer possibly for a miracle that everything would work out nicely and I can walk away from the competition satisfied with myself.  Ha.

love to all you bloggernauts.

Yes, you’re right.  You are enough.

Quit searching.  What you’re looking for is already there.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been waking up every morning with excitement.

For no good reason.

Oh, and don’t ya just know…the second you decide you don’t want something anymore, it drops right in your lap?  How often this happens.  I believe it’s a thing of surrender.

 

Oh, my big sis is engaged!  How strange, time flies.  I swear we were all young children yesterday.  Anyway, she’s going to make a gorgeous bride….and she’s marrying a really great guy.  I can’t wait to have him as my brother.

 

Computer’s dying.

Ciao

Have I found you, flightless bird?

Happy new year.

To say that this past year was great is an understatement.  How excited I am to be alive and to be so blessed to have such a year behind me now.  I look back on what happened, and more than ever do I see God’s hand in it all.  There’s no other explanation.  The impossible happened, a few times.

A dream came true.

More than once.

I feel like a giddy little girl, waiting for all the things to come in the new year….I mean heck, in 6 weeks I’m going to be roaming around Kilarney, Ireland.  If that isn’t a dream come true I don’t know what is.  But there’s so much more…..oh my, what a time to be alive and well in the world

 

Thanks to all the friends who spent this year with me.  I love you all.

Happy new year!  infinte x’s and o’s.

I wish for a time machine….

I don’t like being sick, no one does.  But I do enjoy what I get to do when I’m sick.  I’m watching anne of green gables and drinking tea…ah…this is the life. 

Movies about the victorian era/early 1900’s make me wish I lived back then.  I feel like I was made for that time.  For tea parties and balls and beautiful long dresses.  I wish….

People.

The world is full of em.

 

All types.  All sizes.  All full of different ideas.

 

And God brings certain ones to you.

 

Sometimes you see why.  Sometimes you want to give God the biggest hug because you don’t know how you could survive without them there to hold your hand.

 

And…sometimes you don’t.  Sometimes it seems like people come into your life just so you can love them and they can hurt you in return.  

 

It’s stupid to ask God to just send the right people your way.  To just send the people who are going to teach you, guide you, love you.  That would be asking for a perfect situation.  And those do not exist, on earth.

 

But I sometimes wonder why God allows people in your life that just rip your insides to shreds.  I guess it is so we can appreciate the ones who love us even more.

 

If there is anything I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that you can’t let one or two people control your pain or happiness.  If you’re hurting for someone, you must only have that be one part of your life.  It can’t consume you.  I struggle with that because I never want others to be unhappy, I never want myself to be unhappy.  I want love all around us.  But sometimes that doesn’t happen.  And sometimes love hurts, because you love them and they love you right back, but they don’t care enough to stop the pain.  It can not consume you, or your chance of happiness flies out the window.  We must look up, we must not give up, and we must not question God when he put that person in our lives.

“if the dizzying highs don’t subside overnight…”

I really have a thing for contentedness.  Because I know from where it births.

I love Christmas.  It is something I look forward to all year.  Odd to most because I hate presents (I think the recieving and giving of them should be outlawed, yes?  It’s so unnessecary and awkward).  But I adore the lights, the music, and yes, the fact that the world turns upside-down to celebrate Jesus’s birthday, wether they realise it or not, they are.  And it makes me chuckle.  I’m just dreading what comes next, my 17th birthday.  I hate birthdays.  No, it’s not because I’m in love with a vampire and I’m sad because I’m getting older and he isn’t (I’ve been reading the twilight series entirely too much)….they’ve just always been really awkward for me.  I put no stock in them, it’s just something tragic normally happens on that day.  Hopefully it’s 24 hours that passes quickly.

 

I was going to think out a list of the top ten albums of 2008, but then I thought for a minute and the newest sigur ros album just kind of overshadows everything else, so I’ll leave you there.

 

I know it’s past thanksgiving but I’m just so happy right now, so greatful for everything in my life.  Granted, things didn’t work out this year like I’d hoped in some ways (I still get the shakes and kinda want to cry when I think about the oireachtas), but this has been such a good year.  So much better than the one before it.  And I’m happy.  I love my little franklin, I love my friends, I still love dance, I love the little purring marshmallow that follows me around the house constantly, I love being just a mile away from my sister and how she’s become quite the hero to me, and I love the one who put it all together for me.  Maybe I’m too simple, maybe if someone else had my life they’d hate it.  But I don’t, so, heck.

 

END.

I’m horrible at keeping up with blogs.

I really should be better at it.  I have so many people in so many different states to keep up with..it’s so easy just to blog than to write ten thousand emails.

 

Well.  It’s getting cold (finally).  I’m still not used to it.  I’m a floridian.  I’m not sure when I’ll get over that.  At least franklin has begun to actually feel like home in the past few months. 

 

I keep having cravings (not for food) that get so intense.  For instance, I nearly went crazy yesterday because I knew I wasn’t going to wake up at daybreak and I wanted to so badly.  I wanted to go outside while it’s still blue and chilly and hazy and just drive to a far-away field where no one can find me.  Ha.  I never do what  I want to.

 

So, I guess I’m going to all-irelands.  Well, if I can raise the money.  Dancing in Ireland has been my biggest dream since I was a little girl.  It pretty much means everything to me.  I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself afterwards, haha.  I guess I’ll just go again next year.  I can promise you, once I’m over there, they’re going to have to drag me on to the plane to america.  I’ll never want to leave.

 

About a month ago a friend and I went to chicago to see sigur ros.  I’m never going to another show again.  It was the greatest show of all time.  Sitting in the front row didn’t exactly hurt, either.

 

I’m not really fond of paramore.  Or vampires.  But some movie called “twilight” is coming out (girl falls in love with vampire, bwah haaaaaaaaaaaaa), and I WANT TO SEE IT SO BAD.  Paramore came out with a song called “decode” for the twilight soundtrack…and I actually really like it.  A lot.  Go listen.

 

In other news, I miss you!

bye.

I really hope I’m more than just skin and bones.