New fresh starts

Hello lovlies!  I have been thinking about a logo redesign for a while now.  I donno...I feel like I need a fresh start.  I love the look and feel to this.  And it's fun creating a new identity of sorts.  This feels fresh and modern to me.  It's not too different from my old one...just a bit more "stylish".

Anyway, I have been busier than a beaver in a woodshop!  I have been designing headers like mad these past few weeks...which has been so much fun!  You do know I create blog headers?  Check my sidebar out...if you are needing a bit of a blogging facelift...shoot me an email!

Yep...liking the new logo a lot...even made it into a photoshop brush for easy watermarking.

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OK enough of that!  It's almost 60 degrees here today.  Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful.  So I am going to get my booty off this chair and go outside.  I can't believe this weather.  We really had no winter to speak of.  It snowed 3 times and lasted a few days if that.  I am not complaining...but if this is global warming...whoa...

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My last thought...I brought back my  Nowordz facebook fan page.  I am torn though.  I didn't delete it totally, just unpublished it.  But I wonder if it really does any amount of good?  I have never gotten a lick a business from there and wonder if it's worth the effort.  Not that it's a lot of effort...hmmmm.  Would love your thoughts.

Happiest of hump days and leap days to ya!

xoxo

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more random crap (updated!)

So Beth brought up a great point about word verification...and how annoying it is, especially now that we have to type in 2 words instead of one.  WTF?  I know it's supposed to protect us, but really it's just one more thing to do that is not overly necessary (if you have comment moderation too).  BUT as luck would have it, I some how can't remove the option...because I don't have an option!  Thank you Blogger!  Can someone help me out here?  If not, sorry folks, you are just going to have to deal with typing in 2 annoying nonsensical words if you want to leave a comment.  Sorry.  I tried.  And that 's all I can do.

UPDATE!!! 
 I found out how to remove the word verification thanks to Ashley!  I could hug you right now girl!  I had to revert to my old blogger...YOU DO NOT have the option to remove word verification in blogger.draft.  If you want to remove word verification read this post!!!

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So Pinterest is gone.  I deleted my account yesterday.  I donno, I am in the deletion mode lately.  No more Facebook fan page, no more Flickr and now no more Pinterest!  Shit, thank God for blogging or I might go into virtual shock.

But I have to tell you...it's not all that big of a deal.  Pinterest just made me feel like I wanted to do all these things that I really could never do anyway.  Or go to places I could never afford to go to.  Or have that dream home that would always be just a dream...  All in all, it kinda made me feel shitty.  Like I should be living some life that was so perfect and looked so pretty...but was never really achievable.  Does that make sense?  So really, who needs that kind of bullshit?  It did not inspire me...it made me go..."damn I really wish I had a better life or I had that pretty dress or could make that beautiful cake or could be that awesome photographer who took that incredible photograph."  BUT!!!!!  I have a very good life, and pretty dresses, honestly I would rather buy that cake than make it, and I am a pretty damn good photographer (not to trying to sound cocky).  But sometimes I do get caught up and forget that..I mean, I am human afterall.

Now I don't want to say that Pinterest is the devil...and I think it's great to be inspired and dream.  We all need dreams.  And we all should dream big.  But I know I need to remember that sometimes the universe has different plans for us...and as much as we want one thing...sometimes the other thing is better.  We must be patient and let it all work out when it's gonna work out.  My gosh that sounds like the prefect motivational quote that I would have pinned, had I still had a Pinterest account.  LOL

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OK...here are the rest of my NYC film shots.  This is it folks.  Out of 7 rolls of film,  I got like, what, about 15 photos that I totally love.  OMG...wtf?  Oh well...it was fun and I will still shoot film for shits and grins.  BTW...I realize that I say shit a lot.  Shit.  Ooops... *grins*

Hope you are having the bestest Tuesday, like ever...

xoxo

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for the love of film and other musings

I got my film back today...it was bittersweet.  For some reason, the girls film did not come out.  All was under exposed.  That made me sad...and kinda pissed because film is freaking expensive to process.  SO there was lot's of high hopes...only to be quickly taken away and melting into tears.  That got me thinking.  How much we put out hopes and dreams...and many times they just don't "develop".

And so I have been struggling with this concept a lot lately...not developing.  Why do some things develop perfectly...while others just...don't.

*sigh*

I can't answer that question.  So instead of continuing to bang my head against the wall, I just shrug my shoulders and go "oh well".  So be it.  That's life.  No rhyme or reason for some things.

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Anyway...I need to discuss Pinterest.  I am thinking of getting rid of that too.  Makes me so sad, cuz I love it and it feeds my creative soul.  But I keep reading more and more things that disturb me.  Today I read this article and it really got me thinking.

So all my pinner buddies...what do you think?

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enough

 am i enough?

do I have enough?

can I ever have enough time?

am I happy enough?

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.

.

enough already!

This word has been haunting me lately.  Especially the question of am I enough?  Am I?  Lately I have been wondering.  When is enough...enough?  Are we ever satisfied?  Do we ever get to a point where we have enough stuff?  Enough love?  Enough happiness? Enough?

Now this word is even beginning to look odd to me.  

*sigh*

I am learning so much lately.  So much fickleness that life seems to be throwing at me.  I have been questioning a lot of things.  My strength has been tested... I have had enough.  It's not all bad...and I have off loaded things that have been too much.  When I have said enough is enough.  So today I sit enjoying a quiet Sunday and pondering this word.  The various dimensions of enough.  

good enough

strong enough

brave enough

.

.

.

And so at the end of the day...I ask myself have I tried hard enough?  Have I achieved enough?  Am I fearless enough?  Or have I just had enough of this bullshit?

Hmmmm...

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ahhhhhh

What is it about pretty fresh flowers that make everything all better?  Especially daisies.  Daisies are just so damn happy aren't they?  To think of it, I have never come across an angry daisy!

*sigh*

So I have to say, I do not regret getting rid of those accounts.  It's nice not having the pressure.  Funny, it seemed so important not too long ago.  I felt like I just had to be everywhere.  Silly I was...

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Anyway here are a few of my favorite shots from NYC...I think little one shares my love for photography...YAY!  Don't you love her Holga?  What fun we had shooting film.  And we only lost 2 rolls (because I loaded it wrong first and we also learned that if you crank it too hard, it will came completely out of the canister!  Live and learn I tell ya!  Sometimes lo-fi seems harder and digital!).

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Don't forget...

I hope you are having a nice weekend...I am settled back home and enjoying getting back into the routine.  I have a house full of girls (had no idea how loud little girls can be!) baking Stromboli and being silly.  You gotta love a sleepover.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

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"F" the Jonses...

I seriously can't keep up anymore...  So I quit.  I had a Flickr account that I was holding on too...thinking that maybe Getty or someone would stumble across it and think...hey!  We want your photos.  I also just deleted my Nowordz Facebook Fanpage.  So if you were a fan...sorry, it's gone.  I am only going to post my photos here from now on.  I felt like I was stretching myself too thin.  There are too many places to post, too many pressures, to many Jonses to keep up with. So I just said fuck it and got rid of the things that just don't make me feel good anymore.  And you know what?  I feel like a weight has been lifted!  Honestly I never got a paying request from Facebook or Flickr.  I get my paying jobs from meeting people in person and word of mouth.  It's kinda the old fashioned way...

So I have one more day in NYC...I have really enjoyed my visit.  I have been quiet.  And I have been taking loads of film photos...can't wait to get them developed.

I have been thinking a lot too...getting my shit together and realizing what is important and what's wasting my time.

I love my blog.  And this is where I like to spend my time.  And I really thank you for visiting me here.  At the end of a crappy day, you make me smile.  Thanks for that!

xoxo

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Taking a bite...

out of the big apple...

I will be off line for much of this week as I am in NYC.  Can't wait to share more photos.  I will try and pop in when I can...but it will be sparse.

Hope you have a great week!  See you soon!

xoxo

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Meet "Lady Di"

Ohhhhhh...I finally jumped on the film craze!  A friend bought me this sweet little lomo camera.  Can you stand it?  It's the Diana Mini (which I named lady di).  It deserves a sweet name...as she is the sweetest little piece of plastic that good money can buy.  I shot my first roll of film in about 15 years this morning!  It was so much fun...and I could not wait to see the photos.  I think I got some good ones too!  Ah yes, silly fun is good!  Actually the top left photo was taken by my daughter on the way to school this morning...It's my favorite by far!

Here is a collage of my first film shots...

And a few more...

not sure what happened here...but I like it!

Hope you all survived Valentine's day and are having a beautiful Wednesday!

xoxo

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Chicago Street Art and some Valentines...

This mural was hand painted and is huge...I purposefully included the cars on the far right so you can appreciate the scale...holy moly!

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My favorite...

It reads: "that night in a room full of reflections...she caught the last sight of him...she closed her eyes and vanished back into her dreams."

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I told you I was going to conduct an urban art hunt!  And it did not disappoint.  I was told the general area to look (The West Loop around Hubbard) and made some time yesterday to go hunting.  It was exhilarating to say the least... wondering what I would find next.  What messages and images might I find to delight my senses.  I have to say...I love this about city living...there is so much out there! It might not always be peaceful or easy to look at...but that is life.  Life is so full of chaos sometimes...and it's all we can do to find peace.  But peace is always with us...it's with our breath.

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Oh yes...it's officially Valentine's Day...here's a nice cake!    nom nom nom!

Here's a sexy valentine...

Oh this is such a sweet gesture...and incredible photoshopping! 

Hope you have a beautiful day...

xoxo

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