an afternoon game of chess on these red chairs could actually entice me. unfortunately to mr. ntm's dismay, i don't have the brain power for chess.

but i certainly have enough brain power to sit on these cute red chairs. especially if the sun comes with the deal.

and a soy latte.

happy clothes



don't necessarily make a happy person.

maybe she wasn't happy because she didn't get to do what she expected to be doing that day.
or maybe she had a fight with a friend, or maybe it was because she didn't feel good.
maybe she was happy, but just not happy at that particular moment.
or maybe she had had the best day of her entire life, until i asked to take her picture, and then her entire day was ruined.
all because i asked to take her picture.

who knows?

we never know what people carry around with them, do we?
but she was rocking those orange corduroy pants and bright pink scarf.
from the neck down... to me, she looked happy.



sometimes it's necessary that we look at things in black and white.
or at least try to look at things in black and white.
i'm one who's always concentrating on the grays,
i have to try to remember that i wouldn't even be able to see those grays if it weren't for the black and whites.

fortune cookie thursday

in


sometimes i wish it were. but then again, that's the trick isn't it?
and the fun.

i'm still learning, learning learning all i can about this camera of mine. trying to make it do what i want it to do. exploring all i can find. trying to magically absorb it into my brain. taking it all in.

i stumbled upon this food for the photographer's soul. go down their list of blogs that speak photography and be amazed at what you find.
also being a fan of these guys, they will email you a daily photo from their collection. it's been one of the nicer things waiting for me in my inbox.

enjoy!

hay!





look at these SO clever hay bale masterpieces!
these are nothing to sneeze at....

mr. ntm and i went back to our alma mater in athens, georgia this weekend to visit some friends. and even though the town was mourning the fact that the dawgs were handed their butts on a silver platter by florida state, we still had a lot of fun.

thanks kt and tim for a great weekend.



when i was young, i was told by other kids that i was weird because halloween was my favorite holiday.
i'm still weird.
and it's still my favorite holiday.

what's yours?

have a happy halloween and a great weekend!

in




"love you more than chocolate cake"
"love you more than a soy latte"
"love you more than sleeping in"
"love you more than weekends"
"love you more than a shopping spree at forever 21"
"love you more than vacations"

these are the text messages that the p.b. kid and i send to each other every morning.
sometimes saying "i love you" just isn't enough

beautiful







my friend nancy honored me the other morning by letting me take pictures of her beautiful self...beautiful inside and out.

thank you nancy. i love you.



dear self,

today is your birthday.
yes, i know you can't believe you're 48 years old today. i know you wonder where all those years went and if you've done anything at all in those years that make any difference to anybody. i know you're still trying to make sense of your life even after all these years. i know you struggle with what you'll do with the next years ahead of you and what they will be like... all those middle aged fears and questions come tumbling in on you.
i wish i could give you some sage advice, but i can't. i wish i could tell you exactly what's ahead of you and that you'll navigate it all just great and everything will be wonderful.
but i can't.
what i can say to you is this:
it's pretty safe to say that you're not going to win a nobel peace prize or discover a cure for cancer. you're not going to become the queen of the universe or single handedly save a continent from famine and disease.
maybe you may not ever remember which side of the car your gas tank is on or learn how to actually iron the wrinkles out of a shirt.
but, there are people in your life that really love you. and you deeply love them as well.
and that's all that really matters. because when things are not what you'd like for them to be, they will still be there loving you through it.

so, that's it.
that's all i got.
nothing earth shattering, but there it is anyway.

oh, and one more thing....
happy birthday.

could it be possible?



it's a miracle, but i think i'm finally getting some of this photography stuff down.
just a little bit.
i'm not feeling totally confident about it, but i think a few basics are actually seeping in. it just seemed to make more sense last night during class. i've been waiting a while for that to happen. i'm probably the most undisciplined person in the world and being forced to use my camera without benefit of pre-set modes has been the best thing for me. i actually know how to manipulate settings manually and can guess with some accuracy how they'll turn out. plus it doesn't hurt to have an extremely patient and sweet brother in law who just happens to be a photographer guru and will answer my endless questions. i thank him for that

living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks..





this guy had mad skills with the balloons. plus a great scottish accent, a way with a story and cute legs. he asked if we knew what haggis was. we asked him if he could make us a haggis out of one of those balloons. i'm sure it would have tasted better than a real haggis.

i should have learned how to make balloon animals.
maybe i still will.
i don't have a scottish accent tho.
and i'm definitely not wearing shorts, either.

self portrait tuesday

in
october's challenge is mirrors


dear dawn,

i don't take your words from last week personally. i know you're having a little trouble wrapping your brain around the fact that you're going to be another year older in just a few days.
so in order to help you prepare for the big day, i've decided that i'm going to reflect you in the finest birthday regalia a girl ever had until you warm up to the idea of this birthday thing.

your friend,
the mirror

p.s. i was built in 1936 so i'm way older than you. it's really not that bad

will you take my picture?

in





whenever anyone points a camera at me, i run. fast. but when i'm out shooting, total strangers walk right up to me and ask me if i'll take their picture.
i'm honored that they ask me. plus it's so much fun to take pictures of people.
wouldn't it be boring if everyone looked the same?