Ouch!

Sigh. Today wasn't the day I wanted it to be.  How did I spend my afternoon?

Getting another injection, thats how. My knee and I are officially no longer friends. Also, could these shots be any bigger? (Don't answer that) Injections in the knee are no freaking joke, my friends. 

The good news is I got the shot to help with pain & inflammation. The bad news is my knee is flaring up because of the training I've been doing for my marathon. (I guess I should have started out more with brisk walking or jogging and not quite so fiercely running!)  I can't actually complain - the whole reason my knee is injured to begin with is because of my clumsiness. It turns out you actually SHOULD NOT stand on a tall chair with wheels to hang up a photo canvas on the wall. When you come crashing down and land knee first into a hardwood floor, it's not going to end well.

If I continue to have flare-ups, we will be looking at surgery later in the year. And let's not lie- the thought of knee surgery totally freaks me out & I will do whatever it takes to stay away from it! Which might mean NOT running in the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. We'll see. I will be so incredibly disappointed. Sigh.

However, when I came home, this gem was waiting on the front porch for me!

Kelly Moore made this a seriously quick exchange - I shipped back the other bag at the end of last week & I had my new Mimi before even a week went by. Review coming soon for my photographer nerds, but I'm going to say - this bag really DOES function well as an every day bag with or without the camera gear!  I carried my B-Hobo for a year - hope Mimi lasts that long too!

Now it's wine time - after the day I've had, I think I've earned it!

Short Stuff is 12!

In important news of the day: 

This headline made my day. I really wasn't going to watch the Grammy's this year, but I guess that's changed! 

So yesterday, I had a sweet post typed up for Short Stuff's 12th Birthday, and of course instead of hitting "save" while drafting it, I hit discard. I was so annoyed I didn't attempt to type it up again. So with that - yesterday was Short Stuff's 12th Birthday! I don’t know where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was standing in the delivery room, crying with my sister! 12 years later, it’s the running joke in our family that he really belongs to me. Every little quirk he has, my sister is quick to use the ‘You get THAT from your Aunt Nicole!’, yes, yes Kadin you do. It’s okay, I turned out pretty awesome. And while he may be a picky eater like his Aunt Nicole, but he also has my smarts & brings home report cards just like I used to bring home, and definitely got my creative gene. My little love bug is going to go places! 

And of course, with the birthday comes party time! We celebrated his birthday over the weekend with some family & friends and some of his friends from school. His friends were so adorable – and so polite!  "May I", "Would it be okay if", "Thank you" were used so often, it restored my faith a little bit in kids today! 

His obsession with wrestling was his theme -- and boy was it the theme of his presents! The number of figurines he got was crazy -- which shocked me because he has SO MANY right now, you wouldn't think it's even possible to have anymore! He had such a good time with everyone, so it was a successful party. He didn't want to be sung to in front of his friends - but was still a good sport and let me put the candles in the cupcakes for at least a photo op!

I got him a card that wouldn't open, the inside of the card was actually on the back of a card and it completely blew his mind, his reaction was hilarious. He was so thrown off! 

We didn't tell him his big sister Amy was coming to the party, so she was a surprise.....as soon as she walked in and said "Hey Buddy!", he rushed over to hug her. So freaking cute. 

I somehow forgot to take a pic on my actual camera of this, damn it. This birthday poster was huge and hung up in pieces - we thought it would make a cool photo backdrop (sigh, and then the photographer forgot to actually take photos at it. My bad. At least I took pics on my phone!) -- he was so excited about it. 

Happy Mid-week, y'all! Here's hoping the rest of the week flies by.....because another Holiday weekend sounds good to me! 

It's that time of year again....

Being the movie/TV nerd I am, I loooove Golden Globes time! So yes, we DID have a mini-party at my place last night to watch the show. (We may have just used the Golden Globes as an excuse to get together and drink wine, though.) I was striking out left and right  – NONE of my people were winning! My only prediction that won was Best Drama – 12 Years a Slave. I cannot even begin to stress how great this movie was. There were some scenes in the movie that were difficult to watch, but so overwhelmingly powerful --- it deserved its win.

A few ramblings from the show:

1. Because of what a powerful, moving film 12 Years a Slave was - I was SHOCKED to see Chiwetel Ejiofor & Lupita Nyong’o  weren’t the winners in their categories. American Hustle was a good movie, but it definitely wasn’t on the level as 12 Years.  I know I cry easy at movies, but….when grown men start sobbing in the theater, you KNOW it’s a good movie.

2. Seriously? Kerry Washington ignored again? Have you voters WATCHED SCANDAL!?

3. I would marry Johnny Depp at 4:00 tomorrow…..if he washes that blonde out of his hair.  What the fresh hell is this? I know it’s for a film, but….no Johnny Depp. No.

 

 4. Cate Blanchett’s Armani dress was to die for. I wasn’t overly crazy about the back of it, but the head to toe lace was absolutely gorgeous.

 

5. Chris Pine. Sigh. He gets hotter every day.

6. The greatest part of the night is summed up in two words: Emma Thompson. There are few people who can get away with A) Walking out barefoot with Louboutins in one hand & a Martini in the other. B)Tossing said Louboutins behind her back C) Shutting you up when you applaud her entrance. Emma Thompson is one of those people.

7. And finally, even without presenting, Meryl Streep is STILL the Queen. 

5 on Friday...

This felt like the longest week ever. Maybe because I had 9 days away & this was my first week back at the office? I've been convinced Friday was never going to get here!

I haven't done the 5 on Friday randoms link up in awhile...

one. downton abbey 
I am such a freaking TV junkie -- the whole winter hiatus ABC has on Once Upon a Time & Scandal is driving me crazy!  Thank goodness the ever fabulous Downton Abbey is back! This show is seriously amazing - and Maggie Smith is absolutely brilliant! If you're not watching it - you should be.

two. books, books, books! 
I may have went slightly crazy & ordered a slew of new books on Amazon last week (how would I live without Amazon?) - so says my debit card & packages that keep arriving in my mailbox. I may be one the biggest tech nerds around, and I sure can't live without my iPhone & iPad--- but I can never ever give up my love for books!

In the ones I just ordered, I just finished yesterday reading Bless Your Heart Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark. The southern girl in me LOOOVED it. (And I love most of Celia's books!) And because I keep adding to my intensely large Vintage Country Music library, I finally picked up Vivian Cash's bio, I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny, which I'm currently reading -- and can't put down! (If you've watched "Walk the Line", you reeeeally need to read this book to truly have both sides of the story)

three. i miss who i was with you

You can go through Patty's catalogue and you'll find a song for every.single.moment in your life, I swear. Seriously no exaggeration. It's part of what makes her awesome, she doesn't cut BS songs.

This song has always been one of my faves of hers, but holy hell did it hit me like a ton of bricks this week --- I needed this song this week. Every single line of it. 

(Everyone should listen to it....and then purchase the record it's on, because it's better than anything you've heard on radio today. Before P released the Holy Grail that is Mountain Soul, this was my favorite record of hers!) 

four. hello dolly!Our Dolly Parton tickets came today! I'm excited to see her again - I haven't seen her since Chris & I went to Chicago to see her a few years ago (which was also the show we went backstage, my first time getting to meet Dolly!) This time the bestie is going & she's never seen a full Dolly show! 

five. vacations!

I already booked our Thanksgiving Disney World trip, so yesterday I sat down to start working on the rest of this years plans....besides hitting FL for Disney, it's also on the list earlier in the year so I can go home and visit family. Also on the list this year is Baltimore, Ohio, our girls weekend in Gulf Shores, and Canada in the fall. And that's just what's on the list thus far- and doesn't include our concert travel OR the fact that we're going to the Kentucky Derby this year! What would I do if I had to sit at home all the time??

 

Happy Friday y'all!

The woes of a female photographer....

Why is purse shopping so ridiculously hard? This was no big deal before I became a photographer. I had a purse addiction, they filled my closet, and I was certain they were the reason of my happiness.

And then I went a little deeper into photography world and thought "Hey, I can't be without my camera EVER!", and carried my handy dandy DSLR everywhere I went.  I've been known to slam on the brakes & pull over to take a picture -- I've gotta have more than just my iPhone on me! And when I entered the whole "adult world" and had to start paying for all my own stuff, reality hit real quick that carrying in my purse wasn't the greatest idea.

Enter the world of camera purses. I did so much research on them and was so incredibly specific on what I wanted. There are SO many out there that are massive, and those come in handy for shooting weddings. But I needed something that fit and protected one camera body (with a lens attached), one small additional lens - and one flash. I don't always carry a flash, but I wanted the space for it -- and then my every day stuff -- wallet, sunglasses & case, compact, lip gloss, keys, etc. This way I could carry my camera every day, and I could even take it to a portrait session without having to swap bags. All this, and I needed it to be super cute.

My first was the Lola from Epiphanie Bags:

Gorgeous, and I loved it at first - but the angle of the top made it slightly difficult to get the camera out. I overlooked this, until the purse started showing a lot of wear and tear -- not even a year after purchase. (The same problem I had with what I bought after it, from Jo Totes. Cute bags, but my Jo Tote started coming apart less than 4 months after purchase.)

I sold it and eventually moved onto the world of Kelly Moore - who is AMAZING. I love love love her bags! My first KM was the B-Hobo. I LOVE my B-Hobo.  It's a great feel, fits how I need to stuff to -- and after TWO years of use, it's just now starting to show some wear! 

Anyway, I decided I wanted something different & ordered the Posey 2 from Kelly Moore this week. It arrived today, and....I wasn't as in love as I thought I'd be! I was able to fit in the basics using two dividers (as shown in this crappy photo below --- too much effort to dig out my 2nd body for one quick pic!):

That fit one body with a 50mm attached, an SB 600 & in the middle I was able to put in a medium size lens & my sunglasses. I was able to fit my coin purse, lip gloss, phone, hand sanitizer in an outer pocket. But pulling the body with the 50mm attached was difficult, and I didn't like the way it fell when I had the strap attached to the sides. I was contemplating keeping the bag and using it for super light days, when I don't need my flash -- but I REALLY want that space to take my flash if I need it....so I emailed Kelly Moore tonight to exchange for the Mimi.

I've secretly been in love with the Mimi for awhile, but was concerned she was too big for every day use -- she's a little wider than the B-Hobo and the Posey 2. But after 2.5 hours of review reading -- I think this one will work perfect. Fingers crossed she's my perfect bag!

Are there any other bag designers worth checking out, photogs? I don't know that I'll carry anything other than Kelly now -- but I'm all about looking for new bags!

Practically Perfect in Every Way...

I hope everyone is staying warm -- I know I whine about it all the time, but holy hell do I loathe winter. 18 years in Tennessee, and I still whine when it's 40 degrees, so I'm sure in for a shock when it's 10 degrees on Monday :/

A few weekend musings....

The title of this entry may be one of my very favorite lines in Mary Poppins - and it's beyond fitting for this entry. Larry, Christian & I went to see Saving Mr.Banks last night. What an incredible movie! Easily one of the best movies I've seen in the past year. The story behind "Mary Poppins" & how the film was made, Tom Hanks completely exceeded my expectations as Walt Disney (who totally hung the moon, y'all, not even kidding!) - and Emma Thompson was brilliant as PL Travers.

Mary Poppins was way before my time - the movie was 19 years old by the time I was born. But naturally, Disney movies are timeless (says the 30 year old with an intense Disney collection) - I saw the movie as a small child & the book nerd in me added it to my collection in middle school. I was actually really surprised at the # of adults in our theater who had never actually seen or read it! However, even not having seen it -- I was NOT the only one who cried during the film. I do think you'd enjoy the movie more if you've seen/read/have an appreciation for Mary Poppins.

A few things I loved: the in depth look at PL Travers background - and trying to show she wasn't just trying to be a hard ass - she had a personal, genuine attachment to Mary Poppins that was so incredibly deep. A touching moment in the movie I thought was Disney admitting he understood her attachment, and he felt the same way about Mickey Mouse. The story behind her personal life & her fathers struggles were heartbreaking. The only remotely "negative" thing I could say was they made it seem as though Travers loved the outcome of the movie, when it was so well known that she was not happy & refused to work with Disney again.

An incredible touch in the credits is listening to some of the original recordings from the writers room between Disney writers & PL Travers,  so if you go see it, stay for the credits - a great party of history folks haven't heard before, it was fascinating!

"Adults are only grown-up kids, anyway" - Walt Disney

Movies (we also saw the latest Madea movie today! Not nearly as funny as the other Madea movies, what a bummer!) & Shopping were the extent of the weekend, really. And -- to probably everyone's surprise - I bought NOTHING at Opry Mills. How I didn't find a new pair of shoes is beyond me - and this is probably the first time I left H&M empty handed. What I need is for them to bring my damn bookstore back....

Today is also P's birthday! I was searching twitter earlier and found these two tweets from folks - greatest tweets ever:

Patty Loveless has a voice straight from Jesus.
Tomorrow is Patty Loveless' birthday.  I'm so thankful she was born.

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people in the world! Girl has serious talent and outshines everyone else. (Also, she's all kinds of humble. She never plays the "I'm way more awesome than you" card  -- even though she totally could!)

1996 & 2011

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Happy 2014!

Ringing in the New Year this year was almost identical to last years celebration. We of course, all spent it in Kentucky at Dolphie's! It was busy, but not too busy this year, which meant we had a lot of singing time..

Celebrating with the bestie!

So glad I rang in the past few New Years with these folks!

Metcalf even sang "The Cowboy Rides Away" for us! 

I keep seeing everyone posting about resolutions, and I so hate making a resolution. Mainly because I usually know I won't keep up with it. I suppose my resolution actually this year could be continuing training for my marathon....because I have no choice but to train for it! 

The bestie & I DID, however, make a concert list for this year - artists we want to see - some we've seen 1091202121 times, some we've never seen, so my goal is to make this year even bigger on the concert front than last year. That's a hard feat - we sure hit a lot of great concerts & saw some serious legends. At the top of our list this year:

George Strait - which happens in March!

PL -duh!

Charley Pride

Alan Jackson

Ronnie Milsap

Loretta 

Merle  - which will most likely happen once again on Labor Day weekend, where we'll see him with Loretta again!

Gene Watson

Keith Urban

Emmylou Harris

Steve Wariner

Dolly Parton - we see her in May! I haven't seen a full show of hers since I got to meet her in Chicago! 

Joe Nichols

And I have no doubt we'll hit a gig for every single one of them.