Shutterbug Mama

I've been in class all week and haven't had the time or energy to post here, so I apologize. And as always, there's so much that's been going on.

For starters, Rudden turned 4! Do you know what that means, folks? That means that Cadence is running around with FOUR YEAR OLDS and that she TOO will be FOUR YEARS OLD in less than TWO MONTHS!!! Yikes...

The party was a blast. My friend Amy went all out with some of Rudden's favorite things, including a Robot Parade, a Buzz Lightyear cake, a group singalong of Yellow Submarine (complete with trumpet solo by Rudden's Uncle Don), bubbles, sprinklers and a kiddie pool.

There's a lot more stuff, but I am seriously too exhausted to get into that. I'm learning to stop and take a breather from blogging when I get this way. I just get so monotonous and I can't stand the sound of my own typing.

FYI, I do post a photo every day on my other blog.

Labels: birthday, friends, this.busy.life

I'm going to give it another go at posting from the weekend, so bear with me. First of all, this weekend was Josh-o-rama, an event that occurs once, twice, sometime three times a year when my friend Josh descends upon Chicago and makes his rounds. This year, since a number of us Mather High alums were reunited via Facebook, more folks were able to participate in Josh-o-rama, including my very first friend at Mather, Kae.

I should probably mention that although it seems that my shutterbugging tendencies sometimes annoy Josh, it was actually because of him that I made the fateful jump from film to digital over 6 years ago. I got my very first Nikon Coolpix 995 to document his 30th surprise birthday party, and I was hooked by the instant gratification. My blog made its debut a mere two weeks later. Anyhoo, we had so much fun getting together w/ the old high school crowd we're gonna do it again in a month.

Saturday afternoon, Cadence and I met up at a Korean restaurant with some of my fellow blogger friends. I'm so glad I got permission to post this photo (their blogs are anonymous) because these kids were SO DARN CUTE. It really was like a Hapa Kids Convention. They all had a great time playing together. They're all kinda like bloggy cousins, if you know what I mean. I hope we can do it again soon!

On Sunday, we went to a Buy/Bye party at the apartment of our church friends Hilary and Katie (pictured above). Katie is going to start an artist-in-residency on a farm sometime in July, and so they put up much of their belongings for sale (hence the buy part of the buy/bye party) before they both move out of their apartment.

I love how they had decorated their home. It was like living in an art gallery. Both Hilary and Katie are really creative, so it's no big surprise. They had some cool stuff for sale as a result, like this old Polaroid Land Camera.

I also loved these beautiful rag strips rolled into balls. I'm going to have to maybe make my own and just display them because they are so darn lovely.

There was a bit of a thunderstorm during the party, and then the sun came out in its gloaming glory, revealing a huge rainbow in the eastern sky. I know it doesn't come out all that clearly in the photo, but trust me--it was beautiful.

Cadence had a blast at the party, at least after Rudden and his family showed up. It's a nice break for me when Cadence has someone her own size to play with, and I can actually talk to other grown-ups or shoot photos, depending on my mood. They actually played house at one point. With a baby and everything. I just don't know how kids learn these things...To his credit, though, Rudden did the cooking (which would more closely model our family in which Cadence thinks that daddys and grandmas are the only ones who cook).

So that's the weekend roundup. In less than two days, I will be flying solo around here while Ted goes on tour, and I don't know how much I'll be online. I'm thinking about maybe getting away overnight somewhere w/ just Cadence and me. We'll see...Aw, who am I kidding. Aint' no way I'll find anything w/ the 4th of July holiday coming up. Oh, well...

Labels: friends, i.heart.berry.church, photos, this.busy.life

Ok, so I know I always break the BEST shot rule by posting a gazillion shots, so I'll just say right out this is my favorite from the week, even though that would be fibbing because I really can't make up my mind. I need to stop taking so many photos...

And with that, I give up finishing this post because I am truly, truly lazy like that.

Oh, wait. I changed my mind.

Ain't that an awesome photo of my friend Amy (Rudden's mom)? I just had to post that. The red couch, which is Hilary & Katie's (whose apt. the party was at) but soon to be somebody else's, was a killer prop for photos. I bet if you put a rotten potato on it and shot a photo, it would make Couch (Rotten) Potato look totally Pottery Barn. Oh wait, I'm not in ANY way comparing Amy to a rotten fermenting lump of starch. That was just a badly juxtaposed set of sentences and images. Sorry. Well, Amy knows I think the world of her, so I'll just leave it. I have no idea how to rearrange that paragraph.

Here's another Red Couch photo. This one's got the current owner on it. Just look at that texture. Yeah, it's kinda worn out, but that gives it CHARACTER, and y'all know what a sucker I am for stuff that's got CHARACTER.

Ok. That's it for now. I will have a catch-up-on-the-crazy-weekend post soon. Just not now.

*It's called The Manic Edition because--oh, gosh, never mind. It's just another Manic Monday and let's leave it at that.

See more folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photos

Some of you may remember an interesting photoshoot I did in April of my friend Jessica Hannah's graduate thesis performance/installation for Columbia College. Well, Jessica and her fellow robotic housewives will be performing once again this Friday, June 13th (an auspicious date, eh?) to open Ladylike: A Proper Take on Feminist Art group exhibit at Koscielak Gallery in Wicker Park.

I'm especially excited as Jessica has informed me that the curator will make prints of my photos available for purchase if anyone is interested. I don't know who would want to buy photos of robotic companions, but it's just exciting to think that someone POSSIBLY might. Plus, the gallery is using a couple of my photos to promote the show, one on their website and one on the invite for the opening reception:

Two of the artists also exhibiting are Korean-American women, so I want to check that out too. If you have the chance to see this on Friday night, I highly recommend it. The performance piece of Jessica's installation will only be for this Friday night. There's some video and other visual stuff that will be part of the exhibit through July 3oth.

So here's the info:

LADYLIKE: A proper take on feminist art
Krista Babbitt (Chicago), Andrea Dezso (New York), Jessica Hannah (Chicago), Sally Ko (Chicago), Ke-Sook Lee (Kansas City),Emma McCagg (New York), Lorraine Peltz (Chicago), Abigail Pope (New York), Susan Sensemann (Chicago),Stacia Yeapanis (Chicago).

The exhibition LADYLIKE is curated by Joanne Hinkel.
Opening reception
Friday, June 13, 2008
6 - 9 pm
Koscielak Gallery
1646 N. Bosworth Ave
Exhibition runs through July 31st.

Labels: art, friends, photography

I know I'll be way too busy tomorrow to post since I plan on working through lunch, so here are my best shots of the week.

This one is especially for my good friend Amy (Rudden's mom), who couldn't be at church w/ us today. I told Rudden to let me take a few photos of him for Mother's Day, and this is one of my favorites.

I really love this shot of Rudden and Cadence. I know it's really similar to another shot taken of them in the exact same place, but I still find it irresistible.

There's something about this photo too that I just love. I really enjoy observing these two's friendship. Cadence doesn't have a lot of friends, and Rudden is definitely the one she's spent the most time with. They squabble and fight like two siblings would, but I've also witnessed some tender moments in which they expressed genuine concern for the other. Seeing Cadence care for and delight in her little friends has been one of the greatest joys of motherhood.

Speaking of which, it's been a cold and wet and windy Mother's Day here in Chicago. We were going to go out to my mom's in the burbs for dinner, but she's not feeling well, so we're opting for Thai delivery and staying in where it's warm and dry.

There's a lot I could say about motherhood, about the joys, the heartaches, the excitement, the mundane, the hopes, the worries...Mainly, though, I'm full of amazement, even after several years of motherhood under my belt. Watching Cadence emerge as her own little person and being such a big part of her life have been more incredible than I could've ever imagined.

Happy Mother's Day to me and to all the moms out there.


You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, motherhood, photos

This spring, I am attempting to get more experience in shooting photos of folks who are taller than 3-and-a-half feet. A few of my friends have volunteered for this experiment, and I had my first shoot with one of them Sunday afternoon. It was with Ben Miranda, my friend from the Detholz!.

We shot for a couple hours in the Lincoln Square area, mainly on the grounds of Waters Academy, which has a community garden. We did some typical portrait shots, like the one above, but I wanted to do something a little more interesting.

Luckily, Ben was happy to oblige with some interesting props and poses. This is one of my favorites.

I was especially happy with the shots taken in front of the very colorful fieldhouse next to the garden in the school.

All in all, it was a great learning experience for me, and I look forward to doing some more shoots in the coming weeks. Ben was such a good sport about it all, and it was a lot of fun. You can see some of my other favorite shots in the slideshow below. To see all the shots from the session, you can visit my more "serious" Flickr account.

Labels: detholz, friends, friends.who.rock, photography

Folks, I took hundreds of photos this weekend at two photoshoots, and I am mentally and physically exhausted (but in a good, satisfying way). A few of my favorite shots, however, are more snap-shotty candids of other people's kids. Like Caely here with her totally kick-ass skull tattoo. I like me a good color combo, and that fuschia and green is one of my favorites.

And then there's this cute shot of Rudden, Caely and Cadence. They were nice enough to pause their flurry of fun to pose for one group shot. Otherwise, I'd have a bunch of blurs. Not that I have anything against blurs, but it's nice to get a shot in which you can actually make out faces once in a while.

And then there's this shot of my cousin's baby Eden, who is now a toddler already (!!!) and who is extremely photogenic. It's already hard to remember when Cadence was this little.


Which brings us to the Robotic Housewives portion of this post. I had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot for my friend Jessica Hannah's performance installation titled Showroom No. 6. The slideshow above is of some of my favorite shots from the shoot. You can see the entire set on my other Flickr account. This was Jessica's graduate thesis for Columbia College's Interdisciplinary Art and Media department. Here's a description from her website:

"Her thesis work explores identity struggles, her subject being robotic housewives. Showroom No.6 is an installation/durational performance involving six live women displayed in the 1950s-era showroom of Renaldi Industries, a fictional manufacturer of robotic companions. Six phones allow audience members to hear the inner monologue of each female robot; lifting the phone receiver actives each robot to life. A video catalog details other companionship options provided by the company."

I also did a photoshoot Sunday afternoon of my friend Ben (of Detholz! notoriety), but I haven't had a chance to go through all of those yet.

I've gotten some of my friends to volunteer as guinea pigs for photoshoots (Ben was the first) because I'm trying to get more experience shooting grownups. With just these two photoshoots, I've already learned a lot, and I'm excited to be pushing my limits as a photographer!


You can see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photography

The trees don't lie, folks. It's really spring in Chicago, and it's about time. We had our first weekend of abundant sunshine and above 60 degree weather. And today? We're back down to the 40's. So goes life in the Windy City.

It's been a crazy busy weekend for me. For someone who says she wants to practice voluntary simplicity, I sure do make life complicated for myself. On Saturday, we had a wedding at our church for our friend Karen and Mark. We only went to the wedding ceremony and then hurried home because we were having a small chili party with a few of Ted's friends to try out his Quinoa lager from his new (used) keg. That meant we needed to clean and make corn bread. Ted had the sense to make the chili the night before, so at least we didn't have to worry about that.

I could've cleaned during Friday night and during the day Saturday while Ted was at work, but I had other things to do. It was Tim Lowly's 50th Birthday Party on Sunday, and I had my heart set on making a mix cd. Make that TWO mix CDs. 50 songs for 50 years. And then I decided to put all that felt I bought to good use by making a double CD jacket to go along w/ the CDs. I take my mix CDs very seriously, and since Tim is a musician himself, I wanted to choose the songs carefully--some which I knew he'd like (the usual suspects like Roise Thomas, Sufjan, Iron & Wine) but others that he may not like too much but which I still think he should listen to because I like pushing my favorite music on other people (Arcade Fire, Blonde Redhead, The Mountain Goats, Kings of Convenience, etc). I'm actually surprised that I was able to choose all 50 songs, put them in proper order (very important, you know, if you've read/watched High Fidelity), burn the CDs, print the labels and track lists, AND sew the CD jacket, and all this by Sunday morning.

And the reason I had to be done w/ the CD project by Sunday morning was because I was shooting photos at Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church's Sunday Service so that they could have updated photos for their website, which Ted's brother is designing. After that gig, I had over 300 photos to go through and select and edit.

We made it to Tim's birthday party, and we were there pretty much all evening. And contrary to what you might think about a party being thrown at a pastor's house (Tim is our Pastor Sherrie's husband), this was a KEG party. That's right. Ted brought his quinoa lager on tap, PLUS there was a keg of Virgil's Root Beer.

Cadence and I took advantage of the weather and visited the brand new playground across the street from the Lowlys in Winnemac Park. It was the first time I'd been to a park with Cadence this spring. It was kind of crowded, which is understandable, as this whole city's got cabin fever. It was nice, though, to soak in that late afternoon golden sun and to remember what spring is supposed to feel like.

Back at Tim's party, which was also a book-making party, many of the guests created collaged pages which were all taped together at the end to make one very long accordian book. It was very impressive, and I'm curious as to what Tim decides to do with that book.

I was so exhausted by the time Monday morning rolled around that I took the day off. And now after this blog post, I'm REALLY REALLY exhausted.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Another reason I was so crazy busy was that I posted on Shutter Sisters on Sunday (which I wrote an posted after our chili party guests left late on Saturday night). You can check out my post here.

Labels: best.shots.monday, friends, photos

A couple weeks ago, I found this little heart-shaped white mark on Cadence's back. It's best to see the photo large to make out the heart (you have to scroll over until you encounter the little white mark). She just happened to be wearing her hugs and kisses pajamas, which I thought was really appropriate for documenting this little discovery.

And here's another Love-ly photo of Cadence and Rudden. They look like they're in a heart-shaped bubble. Don't get the wrong impression, though. They are great friends, but they do fight. Not too long before this photo was taken, they were fighting about something, and Rudden started to cry. Cadence immediately softened towards him and tried to comfort him. I could just hear the love in her voice as she put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you sad, Rudden?" It was really sweet. And of course, in a few moments, they were laughing and playing as usual.

In case you haven't noticed, it's Love Thursday over on Shutter Sisters, so go check it out.

Labels: cadence, friends, love.thursday

I know I post photos of Cadence and Rudden a lot, but I just loved this shot of them sharing a Snoopy book together. It actually started out with them both grabbing the book at the same time and could've gotten ugly. But I happened to be there and suggested that Cadence hold one side and Rudden the other so they could read to each other. Redirection doesn't always work, but lucky for me, this time it did, and I had time to shoot a few photos of them.

And today happens to be Rudden's mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Amy! I took this shot of Rudden just for you. Oh, and he was totally posing, too. Cadence had already run off and was yelling for him to follow, but he lingered, waiting for me to take the shot.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, friends

So my friend Tim Lowly, husband of our church's wonderful pastor Sherrie Lowly and instigator for the Tim Lowly Ensemble which Ted drums for, also happens to be a talented and well-respected painter. He is a teacher/artist-in-residence at North Park University, where he also directs the gallery. I have been a fan of Tim's paintings for as long as I've known him. His images often resonate with the deepest places of my heart, and someday I'm going to scrape together enough money to buy me one of his works.

Lately, however, he's been making more and more art in Photoshop with photos he's taken. The stuff is pretty amazing. He posted the "photo" above of Cadence on his Flickr stream, and I absolutely love it. I'm not a big fan of drastic Photoshop alterations (I can't even get simple textures down), but the stuff that Tim does just makes my jaw drop. I highly recommend mosing on over there and having a looksy. He also posts his paintings and drawings, which are also amazing.

Labels: art, flickritis, friends, photography, tim.lowly

A week ago, I wrote a post on Shutter Sisters about How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Blur. My best shot for this week fits quite nicely with that post. I snapped this photo while chasing Cadence down our hallway. There's something about this photo that I just love (and I don't say that about too many of my photos). Sometimes, the most perfect way to capture my little whirlwind-of-a-child is like this--a total blur.

In other news, it was Ted's 31st birthday on Saturday (which coincidentally was the 6th anniversary of this here blog). We celebrated w/ a few friends and family members at an Ethiopian place called Ethiopian Diamond. It's been a long time since I've had Ethiopian, and I forgot just how delicious it is. Chicago, esp. the North side has a large Ethiopian population, so there are a number of restaurants to choose from. I think we picked a pretty good one and hope to go back.

After dinner, we headed back to our place for more libations, including shots of a really really good bottle of scotch that I bought Ted for Valentine's Day. As you can see from this photo of Erik, the scotch had its intended effect.

So is anybody else's kid suffering from sleep deficit due to the time change? I have to say, that's the last time we have a late-night gathering on the eve of a spring-forward time change. We had to be up for church the next morning, and Cadence ended up getting only 8 hours of sleep Saturday night. Ouch.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, cadence, friends, photography, teddy

One of the downsides of being sick for Cadence has been missing out on seeing her friends. She was so happy to be able to go to church yesterday where she was reunited with her buddy Rudden.

Here was the "conversation" I observed between them as they held hands walking to the nursery together:

Cadence: I love you, Rudden.
Rudden (singing): So we sailed up to the sun
Cadence (with her hand on his arm for emphasis): I love you, Rudden.
Rudden (singing): Till we found the sea of green
Cadence (unwavering): I love you.
Rudden (happy-go-lucky): And we lived beneath the waves
Me (interceding on Cadence's behalf): Rudden, Cadence is saying she loves you.
Rudden (carefree as ever): In our yellow submarine.

Ah, to be 3-and-a-half and have a hand to hold...

And here they are passing notes during Communion. These two are inseparable. Makes going home a physical challenge for both families. Hopefully, we're done with being sick so that these two can spend more time together, especially with the weather warming up (knocking on wood...) soon.


Go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey' Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, friends

Cadence and I went to a Valentine's Day Tea Party at her buddy Ada Grey's (and my friends Jenn and John's) place. These folks know how to throw a party, and I knew we'd have a great time. As you can see from this photo, we were not disappointed.

My photos can't do justice to the yumminess that was spread out before us. You'll just have to trust me on that one.

I can't say that we actually got around to sitting and eating our goodies and sipping tea. Nevertheless, we all had fun. And Ada got to wear these nifty shoes!

Labels: cadence, friends

Welcome to the new domain, y'all! This is my first official post on shutterbugmama.com! Hope you guys are as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as Cadence on this first day of 2008.

We had the most boring New Year's Eve possible in our home. Ted and I both had headaches (his was beer-induced, mine was a migraine) all day. Poor Cadence had to fend for herself. I had wanted to take her downtown on the train (it's what she wanted), but my headache didn't go away until around midnight (just in time for 2008!). We stayed in and watched The Straight Story, which is a sweet movie and all, but about the most boring movie you can watch on New Year's Eve. Yeah. We're a dull bunch around here.

That's alright, though. We had enough excitement on Sunday night when we hosted a chili party for (mainly) our Berry Church friends. It was so exciting I didn't take any photos pretty much the whole night, unfortunately. Actually, I kind of feel stupid taking photos at parties, probably because I hate having my own photo taken, but my friend Amy tells me that most folks like seeing photos of themselves afterwards, so now I regret not taking more photos.

Anyhoo, we had around 40 people show up, and Ted made JUST enough chili. It was a lot of fun, and of course the homebrew flowed like we were in the Promised Land. Cadence had a blast, as her friends Fischer, Ada, Rudden and Baby Jack were there, and I was happy because their PARENTS were there. I wish I had taken photos. Did I say that already? Oh well. Next time.

There's a fresh layer of snow on the ground calling our names to be turned into angels, so I gots to go now. Have a wonderful 2008, everyone!

Labels: blogging.schmlogging, friends, i.heart.berry.church, i.heart.my.friends

Our little friend Caely turned 4 this week, and we partook of the festivities at Chucky Cheese. I admit I was scared to go, but Cadence would never have forgiven me if she knew I kept her home from an opportunity to eat CAKE.

When we first got to the party, Cadence was scared of the giant robotic animals on stage, and she begged to go back home. Once those robotic furry creatures started dancing and performing, however, she decided they were harmless, and before the night was over she got pretty chummy with Chucky himself.

There were a lot of kids there that we didn't know, but Cadence's friends Rudden and Baby Jack and Zane were there, as were my friends, their moms, so it was fun to hang out amidst the chaos of singing robotic stuffed animals, video arcades, rides and a vast array of little toys and prizes.

My favorite activity, though, had to be the Sketch Booth. It was kinda like a photobooth, except that Chucky Cheese (a computerized version, and just his hand at that) himself would sketch a picture of you from a snapshot taken in the booth. Amy and I had a hard time getting the kids' heads in the camera frame, which resulted in this funny series. I think that's Zane's hand in the middle photo.

The kids are all growing up so fast...Baby Jack was just about to be conceived when Ted and Cadence and I started attending Berry Church where we met these families. Now he's toddling around everywhere. Cadence wasn't even walking at the time...I'm just glad she's got some friends who really feel like family to her, and I look forward to many more birthday parties to come. Even ones at Chucky Cheese.

Labels: cadence, friends, i.heart.berry.church, photos

Orange, pink and purple. These were Mallory's favorite colors because they were the colors of the sunset. I found out this morning that my friends Chris and Lee's 7 year old daughter Mallory died Sunday morning. She was waiting for a new set of lungs because of complications from cystic fibrosis. I knew the situation had been critical for the past few weeks, but when I checked up on their journal this morning and read the latest post titled "Memorial Service and Reception," it hit me like a ton of bricks, and I broke down and wept.

I didn't know Mallory too well, but I've known her parents for 15 years. Her dad Chris used to bring in a lot of different musical acts to the coffeehouses that my old church used to put on. That's how I got into listening to indie music, and as you can imagine, I feel that I owe a great debt to Chris for that alone.

In reading Mallory's mom Lee's blog posts the past few months, I've been impressed at how strong the whole family has been through this ordeal. As a mom, I was particularly impressed with Lee's ability to write with optimism and hope while at the same time not hiding the seriousness of what they were experiencing. I know a lot of the grief I am feeling now is empathy for Lee, just because I'm a mom too.

We woke up today to a fresh blanket of snow, deep enough to play in. There's something indescribably beautiful about waking up to snow, especially the first snow of the season that sticks around for more than a few hours. Cadence made her first snow angel today. This is a big step for a kid who refused to even step in the snow last winter.

I made a snow angel too, and as I lay in the soft, cold snow, flapping my arms and legs and looking up at the deep blue conciliatory sky, I thought of Mallory...

Labels: friends, grief

It's been a busy week photo-wise, so I'm going to have to incorporate my Best Shot(s) into a blog post to get caught up. Some of the photos below I would consider part of my best shots for the week, and others just part of the story. You can see other folks' best shots for the week at Tracey's Picture This.

My friends Yvonne and Justin and I get together on a regular basis to talk photos and take photos. We call ourselves the Photopeeps. Last Wednesday, we did a little photoshoot at our place with Yvonne's dog Barko and Cadence dressed up in costumes. Cadence barely fit into her catsuit, as this would be the 3rd year of her wearing it, but she was really into pretending to be a kitty. More like a little lion, perhaps...

She's starting to look like such a KID. I mean, just look at that hair. She actually has enough for it to be blowing in the wind. She was such a bald baby for so long, I didn't think this day would come.

Saturday evening, Ted, Dave, Cadence and I headed to University Village for a Half Acre Beer tasting at Lush Wine and Spirits.

[For those of you who haven't heard, Ted is now a resident small batch brewer for Half Acre, which is a new Chicago beer company that just put out a lager over the summer. It's available in a bunch of places in Chicago right now—some liquor stores, a few Jewels, a couple 7-Elevens, some Whole Foods and other specialty grocers, especially in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. If you like interesting lagers, you should check them out. Andrew Huff, the editor of Gapers Block has given it his seal of approval. Go to Half Acre's website, and you'll see a plug for Ted's brew blog in the right hand column.]

Dave's best friend (and Ted's former roommate) Keom met up with us at Lush. We went to Pompei for dinner, which is an old favorite haunt of Ted's from back when he lived at 800 South (the apartment where he and ALL his brothers lived at one point or another, as well as some close friends).

Keom's one of my favorite people. For one thing, we share a love of some of the same bands and we always talk music together. He's also fun to banter with on just about anything.

After dinner, we stopped in at Keom's new apartment in Pilsen. Cadence was delighted to find that a kitty lived there too, although I don't think the kitty was too happy about Cadence. Poor kitty…

Speaking of poor kitty, we (including Dave) went to Ted's parents' house in the burbs on Sunday, partly to deliver some framed photos of Sniper, the family cat, who died two weeks ago today. Sniper lived a long (16 years?) and happy life, free to roam and hunt in the woods on the property. Cadence was quite fond of Sniper, and I'm not sure she understands what's happened. She knows that he's not at Grandma and Grandpa's any more, but she did ask for him when we visited.

Another reason for our visit yesterday was to attend a bike race in Carpentersville that our friend Dave Norton was competing in. Since it was unseasonably warm out yesterday, Dad and (Uncle) Dave took a ride to the race in his Cobra. Dad took the long winding scenic route, and it was just lovely. I happened to catch this shot of Dave with his arms in the air. With the pretty fall foliage all around, it was quite a pretty drive indeed.

The race was just about to start when we got to the park, and all the riders were bunched together just waiting for the signal to start. This race is part of the 2007 Chicago Cyclocross Cup which will culminate in the final race in December at Montrose Harbor in Chicago.

We located our friend Dave amongst the crowd of cyclists. He looked pretty calm to me while waiting for the race to begin.

Cyclocross racing looks really challenging, as it requires not just cycling, but a variety of terrain AND dismounting and carrying your bike over obstacles at certain points. I think doing this for one lap would be more than enough for me. I don't know how these folks do it lap after lap.

We cheered for Dave whenever he passed us. Unfortunately, we were too far from the finish line at the end of the race so we didn't actually see him finish. In fact, HE didn't even know the race was over and thought he had another lap.

Cadence wore her cycle shirt for the occasion. Maybe watching the race will inspire her to be a cyclist someday. Her name would fit right into the sport, as 'cadence' is a cycling terminology.

Cadence fell asleep soon after we drove away from the bike race, and since Dundee has two microbreweries around the corner from each other, Ted and Dave decided to stop for a pint, while I stayed by the car so Cadence could keep napping. We parked facing the Fox River, and I took some photos of the seagulls soaring over my head. The sky was so blue, and the white birds literally glowed in the late afternoon sunlight as they would catch the wind in their wings and soar higher and higher [yikes, that sentence sounded way too much like a Bette Midler song!]. Watching them, I had to conclude that flying probably never gets old, even for a bird.

We went back to Ted's parents' house to have a little afternoon tea and cake (or limeade for Cadence) before we hit the road back into the city.

Cadence of course wanted to see the neighbor's horses, so we had to stop on our way out by the little pasture. Unfortunately, the horses were in the stable, and we could only see the baby horse's hindquarters.

Oh, the photo above? Cadence's finger was in her nose just moments before it was taken. For Grandma's sake, though, I waited until she took her finger out before I pressed the shutter.

Labels: best.shots.monday, chicago.cyclocross.cup, friends, photos, this.busy.life

Now I know y'all are familiar with Uncle Dave, Ted's oldest brother.

Cadence also has a series of other uncles who dote on her, including her uncles Phil (a.k.a. Teal) and John (a.k.a. Brown). It just so happens that they were in town this week (they live all over the place, most recently in Portland, OR) and paid a visit last night.

They had a chance to get caught up on Ted's latest homebrews over dinner.

John is leaving in the next 10 days for India where he will be studing music for 6 months.

Phil may be going to Ghana with their other friend Mikey for the funeral of Ghana's most esteemed xylophone player.

Some people get to travel everywhere!

Makes me want to renew my passport...

Photo slideshow of the visit is here, if yer interested.

Labels: family, friends, friends.rock, photos, uncles.galore

So I started a post to fill y'all in on the weekend, but you know what? I give up. I'm hopelessly behind as it is. There was way too much going on. Can I post some photos and a few remarks instead? Oh wait. It's my blog. I can do whatever the heck I want. I mean, I know that, in theory. I guess I just wanted to be polite...Anyhoo, bring on the photos!

Oh wait. I almost forgot to tell ya. I broke my main lens. The 18-55mm kit lens that came with my D40. I dunno what i done to it, but it won't focus any more. I guess I better send it in for repairs now, but I'm worried I won't have it back in time for Lauren's wedding. The Nikon repair folks are so SLOW...I could probably borrow one if I needed to, but still...My main lens! What am I gonna do for now? I've been using the 50mm mostly this weekend, but that means I have to use my D50, which has its drawbacks...*Sigh*...Anyhoo...Back to the photos...

Saturday late morning, after Cadence and I had already been up and busy about town for 5 hours, I met up with Carol (of Bokumbop), Janet (of HalfMama) and Geraly (of Mamazilla) and their lovely families and Glennia (of The Silent I) who was in town from Silicone Valley for BlogHer. These talented ladies write for Kimchi Mamas and Filipina Moms and various other blogs.

I don't think I've ever seen so many hapa kids running around together at once. I gotta say, they were pretty darn cute! Considering my tendency to suffer from social anxiety disorder, I had a great time and felt really comfortable with everyone. We'll have to do this more often!

After the meet-up, Cadence and I had to hurry home to clean and get ready to pick up Ted @ Trader Joe's so we could make (Cadence's favorite partner in crime) Rudden's 3rd Birthday party. As you can see, there was something buggy about this party. Rudden's mom Amy made those fabulous cupcakes!

And here's the birthday boy himself. Looking mighty serious for a party. I'm sure it only lasted a moment...

Oh, and look. Here's Cadence asleep at her best friend's birthday party. That's what she gets for refusing to nap in that tiny window of time we had at home before the party.

Wanna know how busy I was? I was so busy I couldn't find Cadence's swim suit and had to settle for a-bit-too-small swim diaper.

And here's Little Brother Jack, looking sweet and adorable as always. He LOVES when I point my camera at him!

Ok. I think that's about as far as I'm gonna get for now. More later folks!

Labels: friends, friends.who.rock, kimchi.mamas, photos, this.busy.life

And I'm lovin' it! Yeah, I'm starting to actually like the D50, as long as there's lots of light and Cadence cooperates. Of course, it's just the Magic Lens (50mm f/1.8) that I'm using on it.

Here's Cadence playing All Aboard the Ducky Train with her dad's skateboard. Great. Now I have Ernie singing the Rubber Ducky Song in my head. Do you have any idea how hard it is to erase a Sesame Street voice from your head once it gets started??? I better turn on some music...

So our friends Jenn and John and their daughter Ada came over for dinner on Saturday. They live close enough to stroll over, and it's a shame that this was our first time having them for dinner, considering we've lived in our place for over 1 1/2 years now.

Cadence was so excited about Ada coming over. She asked me all day for Ada and got so cranky and impatient I finally told her to take a nap (at 4pm) and that when she woke up Ada would be here. Luckily, that's exactly what happened, or I'm sure there would've been hell to pay had Cadence awakened to no Ada.

And then after asking for Ada all day, Cadence proceeded to call her "Hay-na" (Helena) all evening. Go figure. Anyhoo, I hope we have Ada and her mom and dad over BEFORE another 1 1/2 years have elapsed.

Oh, and go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, friends, friends.who.rock, photos

So the show Thursday night...was pretty damn long. Sticking to the green theme of the occasion, I took the 22 Clark bus to the Metro. Public transportation is an amazing thing, folks. I am thankful to live in a city that has it, even when it's pretty f*cked up at times.

There was a lot going on. For one thing, there were like a half a dozen acts on the bill. My lovely kickass friend Miss Mia was the host for the show. Okay, I'm just gonna summarize with a some photos cuz it's like way late and I'm still exhausted from last night.

This is Imelda de la Cruz. She was one of the winners of the Audio Emission contest to get her song on the i-go Compilation CD that will be in every i-go car.

This is the winner of the Hip Hop category, Animate Objects. I realize the photo doesn't show the whole group. That's not the point. The point is that this is an awesome photo and it took great skill to take.

Actually, it was totally an accident. Anyhoo, moving right along...

So there was actually a lot of time to kill in between sets. I used that time to people watch, of course. I spent a lot of that time spying on the Windy City Rollers who were at the show apparently as the hired dancers/rabble-rousers planted in the crowd. They seem like an awesome bunch of women. Damn. Roller derby. Another way I could totally get brain damage. Actually, I had no idea who these women were until this really hip-looking totally hot Asian girl (Shoot. I totally forgot her name. Sheena? Shawna? Dolores?) asked me if I knew who those women were and could they possibly be the Windy City Rollers? Then I remembered hearing that they were supposed to be there, and that's exactly who they turned out to be.

I suppose I could've somehow gotten to the "green room" to schmooze with my friends in the Detholz! but I suck at the schmooze so I kept myself occupied by taking a lot of really stupid photos and making up stories about the people around me and looking like I was totally content being alone. Which I was, actually, because that's how I generally operate when at shows with the purpose of taking some photos in addition to enjoying the rawk. I know, I know, I'm so antisocial.

The band that played before the Detholz! was called Palliard. Their influences are good old fashioned traditional country/blues and probably alcohol, and they sure do put on a good show.

Dude. They had not ONLY an upright bass, but a PEDAL STEEL GUITAR as well. If they'd had a banjo, I would have totally swooned.

You can see a slideshow of all the Palliard photos here.

The Detholz! were definitely worth the wait. I haven't seen them play live since they invited me out to their Urbana show w/ Wilco, which was over a year ago.

I have to be honest with you. I'm not totally thrilled with the photos I took. It was a learning experience, however, and I am still determined to convince the folks at Pitchfork to let me bring in my camera to the festival. God forbid I have to watch Sonic Youth and Cat Power while armed with only my Point 'n' Shoot.

The Detholz! setlist was largely new to me, although they did some of their oldies-but-goodies. It was as frenetic a show as ever.

Jim (Mr. Frontman) does stuff with his body that makes me concerned about his internal organs, and he did at one point end up a sweaty convulsing mass of flesh at the feet of his audience. I'm really not sure how he kept his flip-flops on through it all.

Speaking of flip-flops, the crowd was pretty docile (for a Detholz! show), but this here lady did hit Jonny AND Jim with her flip-flops towards the end of the show. I think she was "with the band."

You can see the rest of the Detholz! photos here.

You can see ALL the photos from the entire i-Go Audio Emissions CD Release Party here.

Oh! And I did finally get to meet in person my mutual lurker friend Elaine! We're totally gonna have coffee one of these days and laugh about all the dirty little details we know about each other's lives.

I also got to see my friends Derek and Linda Becker (Derek manages/books the Detholz! and many other fine bands). They're another couple of friends I really need to see more often, and outside music venues for a change.

Anyhoo, it was past midnight by the time I finally got home. Oh, and look! It's past midnight now! I'm totally done here, y'alls.

Labels: friends, friends.who.rock, live.music, photos, rock.n.roll

Seriously, folks. Sometimes our lives just get so busy, I have to go into work to get some rest. If it weren't for the commute, I would LOVE going to work like ALL the TIME.

We went to our friends Jeff and Lena's house in Elgin for a BBQ/Birthday party on Monday. They recently bought an old historic Victorian house that they're fixing up. We were celebrating both Jeff's and Uncle Jay's birthdays. Jeff and Jay went to high school together and are now business partners for Periphix Computer Solutions.

It was a nice day to grill and be outdoors. I like city life, but sometimes it's nice to have a yard and some (relatively) fresh air.

I mean, when was the last time we played croquet in the city? Like, never, that's when.

Cadence was unusually docile for most of the afternoon. She was happy to just watch what others were doing, or just play by herself, often singing nonsense songs. Maybe it was all the unfamiliar faces, although most of Ted's immediate family were there. Or maybe it's because there was a big bowl of chips just within her reach. I guess I'd be happy too if I were a 2-1/2-year-old and there were all-you-can-eat Doritos around.

Anyhoo, it was cool to see the inside of an old house and see all the work Jeff and Lena have put into it. They could totally have a Bed and Breakfast if they wanted.

The day didn't end with the BBQ. We went over later that night to my cousin Ben and Rachel's apartment to see my aunt and uncle and Ben's sister Jessica who were visiting for the long weekend. We were supposed to be having coffee when we got there, but my aunt had JUST finished cooking dinner, which ended up being a feast of shrimp, squid, alaskan king crab legs, korean spicy pork, and zucchini and eggplant fritters. I guess they went to Super H-mart and went a little crazy because there was a huge seafood sale going on. Ted and I love our aunt's cooking, so we dove in and pigged out.

Ben and Rachel's daughter Eden is growing so fast! It's fun seeing another little baby. I like seeing how Cadence reacts to her, and she seems to be warming up to her quite nicely. She asked me later at home if we could get a Baby Eden too. HA HA HA! Yeah right. So I told her if we had another baby in the family, Mommy and Daddy would have to take care of the other baby too, and she didn't take too kindly to that idea.

Anyhoo. I need a vacation.

Labels: family, friends, holidays.wear.me.out, photos

So the rest of my Birth day...Cadence and I rode a couple buses and made our way to Trader Joe's in time to help Ted finish grocery shopping after his shift.

With the rain and all, there was a LOT of splashing involved while waiting for buses and walking to Trader Joe's from the bus stop. Thank goodness for Kidorable boots!

And I couldn't believe that someone left this bike outside in the rain in front of Trader Joe's. That's got to be the rustiest bike I've ever seen, and no wonder. They didn't even bother to park it underneath a covered area.

My cousin Kris and our friend Connie came over for dinner. My brother stopped by and ended up staying too. We got carry-out from an Indian restaurant (YUM!), drank some Tripel Karmeliet and homebrew, and reveled in the goodness that is Tres Leches cake from Rolf's Patisserie.

And look! For once, I actually have a photo of the whole group. I'm pretty bad about taking photos when I'm with friends, but I made sure we got one in. I was going to do it with a timer, but I like the look of the Arms Reach Self-Portrait.

Alright. Off to bed for me.

Labels: birthday, family, friends, photos

Well, my laptop survived Tropical Storm Cadence. So far so good. And thank goodness because I had not yet uploaded my photos from Saturday night when we got to see our friend Jozka and his beautiful girlfriend Susannah who were visiting from Ann Arbor. Joe was the happiest I've ever seen him, and that made me happy too because I've often worried over him.

Joe was roommates with Ted @ 800 South when we first started dating. He and I bonded over Douglas Coupland and songs played on guitar. He's one of those people with whom I've shared some very special memories--moments of pure joy and pure sadness. He moved to Ann Arbor that summer after the Infamous 800 South New Year's Eve Party where we first met, so we were friends in the same city for only about 8 months. We only see him sporadically now, but it always warms my heart and brings back some of the sweetest memories ever.

Labels: friends, friends.who.rock, memory.lane

(My brain is rather mushy this week, so I turn to my friends for a little support and material for this here blog.)
This photo of Cadence (hot DANG, she looks like a KID!) shows her wearing a Sew Rad creation by our friend Jan Hammer, the lovely wife of Ryan Hammer, who plays bass in the Tim Lowly band with Ted. Jan and Ryan went to the Rosie Thomas/Denison Witmer show with me on Sunday night. When I went to pick them up at their apartment, Jan delievered a bag of goodies, which included this lovely t-shirt. It is totally the type of shirt I'd want to wear if I were a two-and-a-half year old indie rock toddler. Jan and her stitchin' friends inspire me to learn how to sew.

My friend Michele has been working on the 5 questions I gave her to answer on her blog. She's gotten throught the first 2, and her posts are definitely worth a read. Post #1 is the answer to the question "What traditions from your family of origin do you plan on continuing in your *new* family?" And Post #2 is the answer to the question "What are a few of your favorite Montessori-based activities that anyone can do in their home with their toddler/preschooler?" I took a lot away from both posts. This will be required reading material for Ted.

One of the reasons my mind is so blank this week is because I'm grieving over the Virgian Tech shootings. Carol of Bokumbop wrote a post on Kimchi Mamas that pretty much articulates why this tragedy has had such a deep impact on many Koreans here in the U.S. (I was born in Seoul, if you don't know) and back home in the motherland (and I'm sure, around the world). Besides the killer sharing my ethnic and immigrant background, as a mom, I can't help feeling for all the mothers and fathers affected personally by this tragedy. The always-inspiring Jen Lemen cross-posted what her sister Patience wrote which was something really beautiful for one of those moms.

That's it for this week. Next week, I will unveil the New and Improved Photography of Sarah-Ji made possible by a generous grant from my mother.

Labels: friends, friends.rock, friends.who.rock, kimchi.mamas, virginia.tech

I'm emerging from a very busy weekend, and I can't get my brain to produce a coherent post because I'm still somewhat discombobulated. I think I'll have to resort to bullet points.

Saturday

* Cadence and I took the Metra to our church for the Fair Trade Market. Berry (our church) is a member of the Chicago Committee on Fair Trade, and we host one of these markets at least a couple times a year. Most of the folks volunteering at the booths were folks we know from church, so I felt comfortable letting Cadence just roam around while I shopped and visited with folks. To me, that's a clear sign that I'm feeling more at home at Berry.

* We took the Lawrence bus and Clark bus back home. Luckily, I had brought a sling, and Cadence fell asleep snuggled against my chest while we were waiting for the bus. This is the 3rd weekend in a row that Cadence and I have taken public transportation, and while I was standing on the corner of Lawrence and Clark, holding Cadence close to me, I thought about how meditative the act of waiting for a bus or train can be. You get to see the world around you, standing in one spot, letting it soak in, as opposed to zooming by a blur at XX mph. It's been liberating to not feel confined to our home just because I don't have the car on Saturdays. There are so many places we can go, and it all starts with a 2 minute walk to our bus stop.

* Saturday evening, Ted, his brother Dave, Cadence and I attended a potluck/presentation at church with our Community Supported Agriculture provider. CSA links local farmers with consumers who can buy subscriptions for a delivery of fresh, in-season produce on a weekly basis. This provides the farmers with a somewhat reliable source of income, and it gives the people in the communities a chance to develop a relationship with the people who grow their food. Tony Ends, the owner of Scotch Hill Farm and Executive Director for the organization Churches' Center for Land and People (CCLP), talked to us about the philosophy and practices behind CSA. He is an articulate, passionate speaker, and we were all moved by what he had to say. Ted, Dave, Dave's fiancé Becki and I are going to share a CSA subscription this summer. We hope the weekly delivery of fresh produce, grown with so much respect for the earth and for humanity, will encourage us to cook meals together with that food and increase the community amongst ourselves.

Sunday

* My new friend Holly visited our church with her breathtakingly beautiful almost-2-year-old daughter Helena. If I told you all the coinkidinks that tie Holly and me together, you would freak out. Go read her blog. She is awesome.

* Ted and Dave painted our living room all day Sunday. I rewarded them by taking them out to Gruppo di Amici, a relatively new Italian restaurant that specializes in Roman-style pizzas cooked in a woodburning oven. As soon as I told Ted about their $3 draft beer Sunday special, he was sold. The restaurant is in the newly revitalizing Jarvis district, right off the Jarvis stop of the Red line in Rogers Park. It ain't no hole in the wall, either. The owners definitely spent money on decorating this joint. Still, the waitstaff were friendly, and we got no dirty looks when we walked in with Cadence in tow.

They only have two beers on tap, but we discovered that they only stock fine quality craft beers. When Ted found that out, I knew we'd be back on many a future Sunday. Anyhoo, on this particular evening, they had the Tripel Karmeliet and Veltins Pilsner on tap. Ted ordered the first one, and when I saw the beautiful creamy head in the gorgeous goblet they served it in, I had to have a taste. One little mouthful, and I was totally hooked. This was the yummiest beer I had ever laid my lips on! It was so smooth, more like a dreamsicle. I immediately called over the waiter and ordered my own goblet. Unfortunately, they'll be replacing this beer before next Sunday, so next time I'll have to pay full price ($7)at the Hopleaf to get it on tap. If you like Two Brother's Cane and Ebel, that's the next beer that will replace the Tripel Karmeliet on tap @ Gruppo di Amici. I highly recommend going there on Sundays for their $3 draft beer special. Plus the food was yummy! A little on the expensive side, but overall a lovely experience. It also really helped that Cadence was happy as a clam eating ice cubes the whole time.

Monday

* I took a vacation day Monday because I happen to follow the weather, and I found out it would be the only warm and sunny day of the week. We took Cadence and her little buddy Rudden to Brookfield Zoo, where we have a membership. Rudden's parents Brendan and Amy are friends of ours from church.

I remembered from our previous visit that you could rent those plastic wagons at the zoo, and so rather than lug two toddlers in and out of strollers, we opted for the wagon. It turned out to be one of my smarter decisions in life. The kids loved riding in the wagon, which meant a) we only had to pull one vehicle at a time; b) we didn't have to constantly chase down two toddlers to put them back in strollers; c) we had a place to put our stuff; d)it was easy to take the kids in and out of the wagon without fussing w/ buckles.

Cadence also enjoyed pulling the wagon. Yeah, she may look scrawny, but don't let her size fool you. It's all pure muscle.

Don't get me wrong--we didn't keep them totally confined to the wagon. They got plenty of chances to run and hop and jump and climb and basically be two-and-a-half year olds.

It was so cute when they both fell asleep in their car seats on the way back home. All in all, it was a lovely outing. Seeing Cadence interact with Rudden gives us a peek at what it would be like if she had a sibling. They are good enough friends that they can fight and then laugh within the same minute. It's actually quite fascinating.

Labels: beer, cadence, family, friends, photos, this.busy.life