3. BEING UNDERWATER

when i was but a young little meredith, one of the most magical places for me was my grand bob’s house.  once a week, i would get to spend the day with him and his housekeeper, nina, who was a beloved family friend.  both of them are two my favorite people in the whole wide world.  especially because they would let me run around the house, making blanket forts and costumes out of table cloths.  i have so many stories and cherished memories from that time…i could go on for hours.  but i have a point here, so i will try my best to get to it.

in my grandfather’s bathroom, he had this huge sunken bathtub.  for a kid of about 4 or 5, it was like a swimming pool.  it even had steps!  i would beg & plead to be allowed to take a bubble bath.  and, for i was very persistent even back then, nina would finally give in and load the tub full of warm water and bubbles.  it was heaven.  i would pretend that i was a princess or perhaps a My Little Pony.  i would make a giant beard of bubbles and a shampoo mohawk.  i would go completely underwater and see how long i could hold my breath, because by this time i was pretending to be a mermaid.  all too soon, the water would get cold & my fingers were beyond pruney.  nina would coax me out of the tub with a giant fluffy towel and promises of chocolate milk.  it worked every time.

 

as an adult, not much has changed.  i still live for a nice, warm bubble bath.  only i’ve traded in the pretend of being a princess or a my little pony for a good book and a glass of wine.  and yes, i still make a shampoo mohawk complete with a beard made of bubbles.  sadly, the bathtub at my condo is seriously lacking.  but trust me when i say that if i ever run into a windfall of money, that will be one of the first upgrades i make.  a big, white, claw foot tub.  deep enough that i can soak in water up to my chin.  or better yet, completely submerge and see how long i can hold my breath…because while i’ve given up being a princess or a my little pony, i will never stop pretending i’m a mermaid.

 

 

 

a huge thank you to my friend Allison… for posing for this session, for having the perfect bathroom, for helping make this beyond what i had envisioned, and for being absolutely stunning.  i originally intended to only share one or two images, but i fell in love with so many that i couldn’t bear to part with any of them.

29. BEING INVISIBLE

sometimes it’s a good thing.  just to soak into your surroundings, blend in and become apart of them.  it’s a conscious choice.

other times, it’s a bad thing.  when you feel that you are fading away and not a single person acknowledges it.

and then there are the comic books, with invisibility being a super power.

with these images, i tried to capture the different feelings of being invisible: becoming apart of your surroundings, fading away, and just being rad.

a huge thank you to my roommate, Aaron…for always being game for an impromptu photo sesh.  you’re the best

THE WAITING GAME

waiting rooms suck.  there’s just not an eloquent way to put it.  they’re horrible.  even at the fancier Dr’s office.  trust me, i know these things.  i just recently spent 4 hrs in one.

 

uncomfortable chairs.  stacks of old, non interesting magazines.  hushed conversations.  the one annoying loud talker.  bad coffee.  people moving…in the door, to the waiting room, summoned to the rooms beyond, back to the waiting room, out the door.

 

i went there for support.  my mom had to have a minor out-patient surgery.  she insisted i didn’t need to go…like she really had a choice.  mom in surgery?  you best believe i was going to be there.  i had to see with my own 2 eyes that she was ok.  and i had to report back to the other Blondes that i saw with my own 2 eyes that she was indeed ok.

 

we were the first ones there at 7:30am and proceeded to camp out in the prime location.  2nd row from the receptionist’s desk (and the magical door next to it).  there were some weird recliner type chairs & we totally snagged them.  i held down the fort when she had to go back.  and each time, the newcomers would give me the evil eye…for i clearly wasn’t sick.  i clearly didn’t need the recliner or the prime location.  but my mom did.  and i stared them down as they approached her vacant chair.

 

there were several different waves of people that came into the waiting room.  my favorite was the old man with this awesome cane.  he sung to his wife the 30 minutes they were there.  the most annoying was this real estate agent who was there with his father.  seriously, he needed to go outside for his phone conversations.  i didn’t give a rat’s ass about the 1,400 sq ft starter home he wanted to show his client…but at the volume he insisted on talking at, it was hard not to.  the most heartbreaking was the little old lady with a giant bandage on her nose.  she shuffled between the rows and whispered “oh, this is the walk of fame”.  no one was there with her, and i really wanted to ask her to sit by me.

 

i tried to nap.  i tried to read.  i caught up on the back issues of Glamour.  i tried to distract myself from being worried.  for 4 hours.  and you know what?  the recliner chairs…even though they looked like the better option…not all that comfortable, my friends.

36. DRIVING WITH THE RADIO ON

there is something quite delightful about hopping in the car, blasting some sweet tunes, and driving aimlessly.  i’ve been doing that a lot lately.  just grabbing my camera and going on a little excursion…stopping whenever something catches my eye.

on the drive home, the sunset was amazing (as only an Oklahoma sunset can be).  i thought i’d share my aimless road trip sunset with you…

and here’s the playlist that i was listening to at a loud volume…

1. blue jeans {lana del rey}
2. hero knows {we have band}
3. feel it all around {washed out}
4. young americans {david bowie}
5. john, i’m only dancing {david bowie}
6. sledgehammer {peter gabriel}
7. 1940 (AmpLive Remix) {The Submarines}
8. nightcall {kavinsky & lovefoxxx}
9. booty bounce {dev}
10. ni**as in paris {kanye west & jay z}
11. gotta have it {kanye west & jay z}
12. divisive {we have band}
13. reset {mutemath}
14. born to die {lana del rey}

1. NIGHT-TIME

everyone has a little routine they do before they go to sleep.  it might be something small, or something with multiple steps.

i tell Aa goodnight, then i look at Mr Bix and ask him “wanna go to bed?”  his response is to run up the stairs & jump onto my bed.  from there, it’s brush my teeth & wash my face.  finally, i climb into bed and read for at least 30 minutes while Bix curls up & enjoys his chew bone.

it’s that perfect, quiet little moment where all of the excitement, stress, and whatnot of the day just melt away.

NO TIME FOR CAMERAS, WE’LL USE OUR EYES INSTEAD

i don’t know if i’ve mentioned this once before (ok, a million times), but i love me a challenge.

as i mentioned in last week’s post, Aa found this website with pretty rad ideas for creative writing.  and while i can string a few sentences together here & there, it’s mostly in the forms of long winded, random rambles.  hello blog.  however, photography is my artistic love.  so, why not try to do all of them in photo form?

so here’s the list of 58 ideas that i am going to somehow translate into photographs…

1. night-time
2. a particular color
3. being underwater
4. a person whose life you’re curious about
5. your mother’s perfume
6. falling asleep or waking up
7. growing older
8. the feeling of getting lost in a book
9. how to know if you’re in love
10. a bad dream
11. a ghost
12. your city, town, or neighborhood
13. an important life choice you’ve made
14. spring, summer, fall or winter
15. something most people see as ugly, but which you see as beautiful
16. jealousy
17. becoming a parent
18. an event that changed you
19. a place you visited — how you imagined it beforehand, and what it was actually like
20. the ocean
21. forgetting
22. the speed of light
23. a voodoo doll
24. reflections on a window
25. a newspaper headline
26. your greatest fear
27. your grandmother’s hand
28. a particular toy you had as a child
29. being invisible
30. a time you felt homesick
31. having an affair, or discovering your partner is having one
32. birthdays
33. reflections on a window
34. a favorite food & a specific memory of eating it
35. an imaginary city
36. driving with the radio on
37. life in an aquarium
38. dancing
39. walking with your eyes closed
40. time travel
41. brothers or sisters
42. your job, or a job you’ve had
43. weddings
44. leaving home
45. camping
46. a zoo
47. a historical event from the perspective of someone who saw it first hand
48. holding your breath
49. intimacy and privacy
50. a time you were tempted to do something you feel is wrong
51. physical attraction to someone
52. a superstition you have
53. someone you admire
54. the taste of: an egg, an orange, medicine, cinnamon
55. the smell of: burning food, melting snow, the ocean, your grandparents’ home, the inside of a bus, pavement after the rain
56. the sound of: a radio changing channels, a dog howling, a football or baseball game, your parents talking in another room
57. the sight of: lit windows in a house when you’re standing outside at night, someone you love when he or she doesn’t know you’re watching, a dying plant, shadows on snow
58. the feeling of: grass under bare feet, a really bad kiss, the head rush when you stand up too fast, sore muscles, falling asleep in the back seat of a moving car

some of these will be easy, some of these will be difficult…either way…challenge accepted!!!

and just because Mr. Bix is just so gosh darn cute…

just love that little face of his!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

welp, another year is upon us my friends.  happy 2012!

so, naturally, the first post of the new year must be about resolutions.  new year’s resolutions to be exact.

instead of the normal “lose weight, drink less, be healthier” resolutions (which i am going to actually do this year dammit!), i want to think outside of the box a little.  mix it up a bit.  and if i post them to the world-wide web, maybe i’ll follow through.  so without further ado… ladies and gentlemen, i present to you my 2012 new year’s resolutions:

1) photo challenge

oooo, you know i love a good challenge!  Aa found a pretty neat-o creative writing challenge of 60 “inspiration” ideas.  so i thought to myself, “hey, self!  you could toooootes do that with photography!!”  and self replied, “you bet your ass i could!”  so yes.  i will take on this challenge.  i’ll post the specifics later on.

2) stress less

i tend to fixate on things, over analyze, dwell, and then stress out about tiny and unimportant details…shocker, i know.  this year, i will not do so.  i will really be a “go with the flow” person…instead of just pretending to be one while i internally freak out.  it will be difficult, but hopefully i can do this.

3) do more

more happy things.  more fun things.  more challenging things.  more blogging.  more non-shopping-related things for myself.  more just-because-i-was-thinking-of-you things for my friends.  more good things for the world in general. 

4) take pictures, just because i want to

not gonna lie, i have a rad camera.  and i have the photo editing tools just a click away on my computer.  but do i ever take pics of the good times when i’m out & about town?  nope.  and, on the rare occasion that i do, what do i use?  my phone’s camera.  that is lame.  i need to just take my camera with me (in a very protected, not gonna break it way, natch.) and just. take. fun. pictures.

 

so there you have it.  my 2012 list o’ resolutions.  it’s going to be a great year, friends.  a great year indeed.

and just because i thought this was rad…

totes.