Happy 11th Birthday, Miss M!

OK ... so I'm VERY late posting anything about Miss M's birthday ... but it was a WHIRLWIND! So, I'll back date this post so she can have a proper post on her birthday. Actually, she wanted a whole birthday page like her brother, but I don't know if I have it in me to do another one until she's 18!

Instead, we exhausted ourselves with another kind of surprise: a room makeover! As her schoolbus pulled away, Grandma and Grandpa pulled in. And away we went. I was furiously packing. And while I ran to work for a meeting, they continued the mad dash to move furniture, pack up extra stuff, find supplies to make a ballet barre, and get cranking on the project.

When she arrived home, when she looked down the hall to her room, instead of seeing her bed and night stand, she saw this (minus her, of course)! "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?!?!" Madame R.E. and myself were responsible for creating the hot pink reading corner with chocolate and gold curtains, and the grandparents took Miss M shopping for a cool lamp the next day.

But the birthday surprises didn't end there ... dinner with the family who could come was quite a treat, a new FAVE CD and help relocating the pink chandelier from Uncle J, and the mad dash to get an iPod the next night courtesy of her dad and grandfather's checks topped it all off.

And there you have it ... birthday #11!

Anxiety and Gifted Children

I promised I'd share my findings from a seminar last week ... and I have to admit, I feel like I'm scratching the surface of a REALLY BIG deal. But more on that later.



And an additional link for gifted adults: http://giftedservices.com.au/adults.html

Here's to next time ...

The part in the movie didn't come her way (insert frown) but it was a great first experience and I'm sure there will be more! This is one of those "I never did that" things, so as a mom I'm still proud and excited.

Aspiring Actress Update

Now that she's been on an actual audition, does that make her an actress? I guess not until she gets a role! The update for today was just the audition itself. She didn't want me to go in with her (GASP!), so I waited with the other parents and girls. Later on, we got an email with all kinds of information to fill in on a profile. Not sure if that's a good sign or something everyone who auditions does ... but we'll see!

It was interesting to see the other girls there for the punk/emo/goth group scene. One was really quite cute with black and purple hair, piercings, etc. A couple others looked like shy girls with dark eyes, but authentic. One looked like "Wanna Be Emo Barbie" (but was awfully full of sparkles and all new/shiny like) with modeling comp cards in hand. And one more looked like country singer cutie pie with skinny jeans and flannel. Miss M? She's mild but authentic ... just like you see her above (another favorite photo of hers from last night): skinny jeans, hoodie, worn-out converse and the eye makeup she so desperately wants to wear (but mom usually vetos).

She brought some prints to school (the two we emailed last night) ... scared kids, I hear. Maybe they were just being, ummm, dramatic? I have to laugh.

WOWZA! A callback!

Guess what? After sending in these two photos last night, Miss M got called for an audition! I'm going to make it happen ... and if she's what they're looking for, she'll be filming with a group of girls on Friday!

Movie Time?

The casting email comes ... this one might fit! But we have to send in a recent photo, and if possible, I'd like it to resonate with the scene. Between ballet and pointe classes, she donned her black duds and tried NOT to look pretty.  We hit a few places, took a few pictures, and the last one of the night was our favorite ... BUT ... we're keeping that a secret for now.  I'll share more later if I have time.

As for the little model and wannabe actress, she's ELATED!  I think she's ready to put together a whole photo album of herself and share with the world.  As for me, I'm glad I had some time behind the camera and quality time with my daughter.  Regardless of the movie outcome, it's a life memory for both of us!

Joys of Nature

We got to discover all the leftover bounty in the garden at Grandma and Grandpa's place this weekend. This little guy turned out to be the mildest in a power-packed chili challenge! Why we couldn't curb our curiosity is beyond me. I really don't like those kinds of things, but somehow I was the first to cave in and try. After filming the antics of other sufferers, even my little one got in on the game! Brave girl. Silly adults.

Encouragements and Struggles

I have had another round of unexpected encouragements connected with work but not connected at the same time (it's something I do on my own time). My "I'm A Girl Scout" blog received some attention, and because it impacted others, I was greatly encouraged ... Not for me, but for the fact that it made a difference.

I'm not going to go into detail, neither am I going to post this anywhere other than my personal blog. But what I will say is that I had the wonderful moment of hearing how another staff person was weighing recent messages about her purpose, and after reading my story, with tears running down her face, called her family to tell them that she indeed was where she should be and felt this is her calling.

Funny how my words in a simple story can define purpose in others while I'm struggling with my own. It makes me wonder ...
... Am I missing my purpose?
... Or could that BE my purpose?
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Love and Science

I happened to come across this blog post: The Brain in Love and Lust

"In a study published in 2002, anthropologist Helen Fisher PhD of Rutgers University and a multi-disciplinary team of experts recruited 40 young people madly in love - half with love returned, the other half with love rejected - and put them into an MRI with a photo of their sweetheart and one of an acquaintance. Each subject looked at the sweetheart photo for 30 seconds, then - after a diversion task - at the acquaintance photo for another 30 seconds.. They switched back and forth for 12 minutes.

The result was a revealing photo album of the brain in love. Think like a brain scientist and you too would be excited by activity in the right ventral tegmental area. This is the part of the brain where dopamine cells project into other areas of the brain, including the posterior dorsal caudate and its tail, both which are central to the brain’s system for reward and motivation. The sweetheart photos, but not the acquaintance photos, were the cause. In addition, several parts of the prefrontal cortex that are highly wired in the dopamine pathways were mobilized, while the amygdala, associated with fear, was temporarily mothballed."

It makes me think of a Bible verse ... "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." (1 Jn. 4:8)

My Boy is 18!!!

I'm not sure how that is possible ... and yet the road certainly seems that long when viewed in certain ways.  There have been shining moments and dark days.  But one thing remains, I love him.  For friends and family who don't know, we tried a move to Ohio to see if it helped bring an uphill curve, so it's been very different without him in Oklahoma!  And celebrating special days is not very easy.  I probably went a little bit overboard compiling all kinds of memories for his birthday, but here's his own blog page from my heart:  http://indigobleue.blogspot.com/p/happy-birthday-jeremy.html

My Latest "IngShui" Collection

Inspired by images from O'ahu, I've finally settled on my next "IngShui" collection. It is yet unnamed, and each element has yet to receive the words in final form ... but this is the early form of what has become for me a powerful expression of my desires in various areas of my life.

PROSPERITY: vibrant, colorful and unusual
REPUTATION: calm and deep with creative bursting metamorphasis
RELATIONSHIPS: intimate and open
CREATIVITY: washing, moments of reflective expression
MENTORS: none missing, linked together
CAREER: fresh, rich, life-giving
KNOWLEDGE: embracing and even learning the past, knowing it is still affecting us today
FAMILY & HEALTH: peaceful
FOCUS: reflecting & illuminating from beyond myself

Love The Earth

Sunset on Mount Scott, Oklahoma from Ingrid Williams on Vimeo.

I've been so inspired recently with a couple of videos (below) that are a little like my style of still photography that I decided to try my hand with a little handheld unit while on my surprise birthday vacation.  THEN ... I heard about Imogen Heap's Love The Earth film project and decided I'd see if one of my little clips might be worth sharing.  So ... what you see if my first ever attempt at capturing the beauty of nature via video.  My original inspirations are linked below, but I AM CHOMPING AT THE BIT to create now.  Not just the images and the moments that breathe behind them ... but creating the music, too.  Maybe my heart really can find some footing to revive itself musically!


Around Venezia from Icam on Vimeo.


Un jour de printemps from Icam on Vimeo.

American Idol Tour 2010

Just a fun moment ... I think my daughter would like to share her closet!

4-Pack Fertilizer and the Electric Moweress

Presenting the backyard green team!
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Lush or Bare?

So which is it? Lush leaves ... Bare branches ... my thoughts have more questions than answers tonight.

Rascal Flatts Concert

The little cowgirl next to me would have loved this moment if we had been ones to go down front! It was fun - people could text things - and every once-in-a-while a few more would get invited down. Pretty cool!

Wind Circle of Life

Isn't this amazing? It's almost as if this little windmill had a dream about the future! 

Day one of the birthday escape held not only the wonders of a wind farm, but the secret hope of finding this scene.  My sweet K knew there was SOMEWHERE with a view like this, and I am so amazed we found it along the massive horizon of wind turbines.  AND what an interesting statement about our progress!  Finding new energy sources brings us right back to basic elements ... like wind.  What was once abandoned for more powerful resources has come full circle into a massive source of green energy. 

Our Own Private Show

Talk about a convenient way to enjoy fireworks! I believe 4 out of 5 years, I have spent the 4th of July right here ... in my driveway. It's never been an official party, but I'm beginning to think it would make a great location for one. What we really need is spinning chairs. Actually, I need a spinning chair with flexible camera mounts! Now that would be AWESOME. The dogs don't think it's as awesome as the people do. They get to stay inside with the lights on (below) while the world blasts away above their heads.

Fire From The Sky

What a treat!  I wish I had time to put an album together ... but for now, this will do.  It's my favorite photo of the night just because it's different.

She Named Him ...

And his name was Hobo. And sadly, now she will have to say goodbye. I don't know if Hobo will keep his name with his new family, but it certainly got him FAR! Of all the pups, he will be the first to "hop a plane" (trains are too slow) and travel out of state. I chuckled at this note about the word "hobo" on thesaurus.com:

a hobo is a migratory worker who likes to travel,
a tramp travels without working,
and a bum does not travel or work

I'm glad his namesake carries a work ethic and some culture! ANYWAY ... tonight was a chance to spend a little time with him at the softball game before he goes to the East Coast at the end of the week. He made friends with a toddler, never jumped once, and every time she cried he ran to check on her. What a sweetheart!

Tuesday Night Tango

Or should I say Tangle? I'm pretty sure the other guy didn't want to dance. I think we did everything but dance (this photo came pretty close)!

The Puppies Are Free Again!

We held 4 puppies for a family who has not been able to get to Tulsa ... so the pups did not go to the vet for their first check up and shots, and are still available for adoption free of charge to friends/family/blog buddies. Please send an email if you're interested! To see details of which dogs are available, visit the "puppy page" on this site (link also located to the right).

Naughty!

I caught Chunk making a hole in my green velvet chair. Good thing it's one I bought at a second hand shop to try my hand at upholstry! I've recently heard about "tethering" pups to you when they're in the house while training. I'm thinking that might be a good idea ... at least with just one (not with ALL of the pups - that's a cartoon waiting to happen)!

Now I know the pups aren't being naughty ... they're just doing what they do.  My job? Give the command, substitute something chewable, and keep moving.  One thing they love?  Helping "recycle" plastic bottles.  They chew and mash and I bring a bag full of flattened plastic to the recycling center.  Perfect!  Not to mention it makes for cheap toys.

The Cutest Hidey Hole

The concrete basket (left by former homeowners, along with a concrete basset hound) has now become a favorite napping spot of the pups. Of all the places I've found the pups enjoying, this is the one of the cutest!

We're FREE through June 8 - Adopt a Puppy in the Tulsa Area.

We're ready for our forever homes, and I can go home with you today! We're all on the Puppy Page if you want to know more about us. The lady of the house says she gets email on her phone (I think it's that cool little thing she carries with her that we can't touch). So email her to stop by today or tomorrow (Tulsa, OK area).

The Joy of Puppies

Thinking back to our quick journey, it's amazing to think that 8 weeks have passed so quickly! This photo is from the halfway point (a month ago). We've had a lot of laughter with these pups! Now that they are finding homes, it's hard not to cry to think of them being split up ... but if they have good homes, they'll be happy pups ... just like their daddy, Hank! (Hank is the only dog I've adopted as a puppy instead of full grown.)

I Do Well By Water

What a way to spend an afternoon!  Sometimes I have so much on my plate that I have to choose between many things that are needed or good or for good causes.  There are times I can get completely burned out by those things.  But this was different!  When a friend contacted me about an urgent need for a photographer at their event, and it meant spending the afternoon on the lake in a boat, I decided to throw my burn-out schedule to the wind and do something completely different.  COUNT ME IN! 

But it wasn't just a "good thing" for a friend and a charity, it was soul-soothing and nostalgic, too.  The motion of the water, the wind in my face, the smell of everything lakish, and the sun baked serenity ... it all had those good-moment-memory feelings from times on the lake with family.  I was sore (between the muscles I forgot I needed to balance - AND shoot photos! - as well as the pink skin that had several coats of sunscreen which didn't seem to do much) but happy at the end of the day. 

A phrase that kept bobbing through my head was something I heard a minister say when retelling a story of how God provided a new location for her ... "You do well by water."  I've always resonated with that statement and kind of taken it as my own.  I do well by water.  I do well by trees.  I do well by nature.  And it makes me long for the prairies and woods and lakes to explore as I did when I was a child.

One Last Kiss

Before departing on a Father/Daughter trip, Miss J stopped by for one last kiss ... knowing the puppies are about to be publicized for adoption. (If interested, click on the puppy page - link also on the right hand side of the page.)