Shutterbug Mama

This is Cadence lounging around on the dining room floor Saturday morning. She's waiting for our friend, her Uncle Erik, to wake up. He got in the night before super late, so she was asleep when he got there, and he was sleeping in Saturday morning in Cadence's playroom. As soon as she woke up, she wanted to go wake him up, but I made her wait. We went and picked up our vegetables, dropped them off at home, had breakfast at our local coffeehouse, browsed a little thrift store (where she picked up that Pooh bear on the floor for a quarter), and finally came back home close to 11am, at which point she planted herself on the floor outside Erik's door.

She occasionally got up to do a little dance or just run around, but for the most part she stuck to the floor and would ask every 10 seconds, "Is he awake yet? What's he doing?"

She finally couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and started spying on Erik through the crack underneath the door. Then she started saying, "I think he's awake now! I see his feet moving!"

Cadence ADORES her Uncle Erik, and Ted and I are also very happy to have him with us. For Ted, it's like a big sleep-over with his best friend, except instead of ghost stories and flashlights and candy and soda, it's lots of beer and a late-night showing of The Dark Knight.

So while the boys were at the movies Saturday night, after I put Cadence to sleep, I happened to check the mailbox and found that some fabric I'd ordered from Etsy had come in. I was so excited that I made a dress that very night.

The fabric is a cotton-linen blend from a Japanese designer, so this was my first time making something for Cadence that wasn't made out of a t-shirt. It's actually a lot easier to sew by hand than t-shirt material because it is stiffer than jersey. I loved how the 1/2 yard length was perfect for folding in half and making this dress. I also loved how I could use the edge of the fabric as the hem so that I didn't have to sew an actual hem myself. I think it's kinda cool to have the fabric name and that frayed edge as the hem.

FYI, I don't know how to use a pattern, so that dress was simply made by laying another dress on top of the fabric (which was folded in half) and tracing around the other dress directly onto the fabric. I made the shoulders where the fabric was folded in half, and then I just sewed the sides of the dress (before cutting the fabric)in an A-line shape, cut the armholes and neck, and voila! Dress! When Cadence woke up the next morning, I had her try it on, and adjusted the shoulders a bit by scrunching them a little at the top. I may still do something about the neck and armholes, maybe put an edge on it w/ a blanket stitch or something to keep the fabric from unraveling, or I may just leave it as is. I like things that are rough around the edges anyhow.

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

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, me.so.crafty, photos, sewing

#1--I had a new post up on Shutter Sisters the beginning of the month. You can see all my past posts on Shutter Sisters by clicking here. I post every 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, so I'll have another one up this Sunday.

#2--I got to see the band Frisbie at the Taste on the 4th of July while Cadence and I were on our mini-vacation. This was a big accomplishment for me as it was actually on my list of things to do that day. I almost missed them because they played 45 minutes earlier than I thought they were scheduled to. Luckily, I was foraging for food near the stage around the time they started playing, and I recognized their music right away and hurried over there. Cadence fell asleep after the first song, so I shot the entire set of photos sitting down at a table with Cadence in my left arm, and shooting w/ my zoom lens with my right.

#3--I took some really fun photos while on our mini-vacation. There was so much to see. I'll spare you the clicking to Flickr with a Pictobrowser (sorry if you can't see this in your feed):

#4--I made Cadence a new dress. It flippin' ROCKS. This was a t-shirt Ted used to wear back when we first started dating. It doesn't fit any more. Now it's a dress.

#5--Last last Saturday (the 5th), I had the honor of photographing The Maplewood Summer Olympics. Cadence was in the medal round for the Short Jump at one point. It's really harder than it sounds, even when you're half the size of everyone else. Lots of craziness ensued that night, including a bit of a SNAFU involving Cadence and vodka watermelon, but it's all good. Again, I'll resort to good old Picto to paint the picture:

#6--Cadence and I went to the Shedd Aquarium last Monday with my our friends Amy (the mom), Rudden and Jack. We had fun, but Cadence did run out the door with a stuffed penguin at one point (because I wouldn't buy it for her) and there were at least a couple major meltdowns. We survived, though. Fortunately, Amy is one of those friends who I know won't judge us in the present or hold this against us in the future.

#7--The day after Ted came home, we had a BBQ at our friend Yvonne's whose condo building has this ginormous patio overlooking their private beach. We really like Yvonne's neighbors and friends, so it was a good time. I had fun taking photos of the kids, and the lake and sky were just gorgeous.

#8--So the exhibit and Wicker Park Grace's Rent Party fundraiser were on Saturday. I got lucky that Tim V., who is active at WPG, was there on Saturday during the day when I came in to hang my photos. Tim is an artist and has a lot of gallery experience, so he basically put all my photos up for me.

I was surprised by how many people showed up, including folks who never let on that they would be there, like my friend Denise and her son Zachary. My brother brought a whole contingent from his church. All in all, the evening was a success. Lots of folks showed up to raise money for WPG, and I sold 4 frames prints from the exhibit and 2 more in the silent auction and received orders for a few more. Considering I had 15 pieces total, I'd say that was a pretty good night. Thanks to everyone who came out or who sent me notes of congrats or helped pick photos for the exhibit. I don't think my photography could have come this far without all the support I've gotten from you all.


And that will be my last Pictobrowser for this post. Those are the photos from Saturday night. Alright. I think that's quite enough for one post.

Oh, wait. One more thing. I've started a daily photoblog on my new website. This will be mainly about the photo and not so much about life in general, and most of the photos will be non-Cadence related. Some of the photos will be from the archives--stuff I never had a chance to post here but really liked and want to talk about. If you're interested in hearing me talk just about my photos, you can check it out.

Labels: friends.who.rock, photography, photos, this.busy.life

We're on Day 8 here without Ted, and I'm hanging in there, but I don't quite feel on top of the world I have to admit.

We've been getting postcards regularly from Daddy while he's on the road, and we've talked just about every day. Quite honestly, I don't think Cadence realizes how many days have passed, and it seems like she still thinks Daddy is at work and this is just one really really long work day.

We're currently on an impromptu mini-vacation to downtown Chicago. I found a room at a 4-star hotel (The Palmer House Hilton) for $76 on Hotwire, so we came down here yesterday afternoon for the 4th of July festivities. We don't have much of a view, and the room is tiny.

But the bed sure is great for jumping on. AND it's king size, so we had PLENTY of room. So much so that Cadence actually did a circle lying in different parts of the bed throughout the night. I found her lying horizontally at the foot of the bed at one point. I'm glad I woke up before she fell off.

Although I have mixed feelings about this holiday (I am not a proponent of blind patriotism, and much of what mainstream America stands for makes my stomach ache), I'm not going to argue about a day off, especially when it's on the most perfect summer day imaginable--sunny and in the mid-70s. Like a Seattle summer day.

Anyhoo, gotta run. Have to pack and check out in an hour. More photos later.

Labels: cadence, holidays.wear.me.out, i.heart.chicago, photos, vacation

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

As you can see from this photo, my friend Alana did indeed tie the knot this weekend. Here she is kissing her husband Dave for the very first time as his wife.


Okay, so the title of this post is misleading, as I'm too tired to do an actual review. I'll let the PictoBrowser* do that for me with some of my favorite photos from the special day. Suffice it to say that there were tornado warnings and a lightning storm that lasted, oh, from around 9:30 until at least the time I got back to my hotel after midnight. I learned a lot from this experience, and I'm so thankful to Alana and Dave for entrusting me with the honor of documenting their special day.

*FYI, if you're reading this on my Facebook FlogBlog, the PictoBrowser won't be visible unless you click on the link to the actual blog post on my domain.

Labels: friends.who.rock, photos, wedding.photography, weddings

I feel like I've lately neglected my duty to post an adequate amount of photos of Cadence, so it's a good thing I took a whole bunch of photos of her this weekend. Here she is sporting her new Woody Guthrie dress that I made on the train last week. It just so happens that Woody has been a long-time dead celebrity crush for me, along with the likes of Nick Drake (hopeless, I know) and Dostoevsky.

Okay, I realize this isn't a photo of Cadence, but just take my word for it that Cadence was only a couple feet away from where this shot was taken. Besides, I just couldn't resist posting a photo of Baby Jack double-fisting shakey eggs. Just look at that stance, that grasp, those curly locks!

And this may SEEM like a photo of Rudden, but if you look carefully, you will notice Cadence right behind him, like a little crown upon his head. I just couldn't resist the synchronicity of this shot. It's like the kids are performing an intricately choreographed dance of BLUR.

OK, back to the Cadence Channel. We decided after church yesterday that it would be a good idea to let Cadence run around some more in Giddings Plaza. Since Cafe Selmarie is right there, we lunched on their delectable oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (just two--one for me and one for Cadence; Ted's on a really party-pooping liver cleanse this week) and fresh squeezed OJ. Talk about a sugar high. At least I got this sweet shot of Cadence. I usually hate photographing in bright sun (and yesterday's light quality can only be described as blindingly bright sunshine), but I caught this moment when some light was inexplicably shining onto her face, and she actually WAITED for me to press the shutter! She must've known she looked good or something.

While walking back to our car, Cadence happened to spy this sad looking dandelion growing in a sparsely green dirt patch, and I just love how she bent down to smell it, as if it were the most fragrant blossom to ever grace her path. Then she picked it and showed it to me.

Then she tried to blow the wishes away, but alas, they were all gone already. Oh well. I just love how good Woody looks in this photo...

And now I reveal to you my most embarrassing photo technique, just discovered yesterday, and that is the Laptop Reflector. I realized that the glow of the laptop on Cadence's face as she numbed her mind on some Nick Jr. was quite suitable for photographing her in our dimly lit dining room.

Can you just SEE the brain cells taking a flying leap into oblivion? Eh, I still happen to really like the effect.

Her face looks much better lit up like this, believe me. And the glow is so subtle, it's...perfect.

We did get outside before the sun went down, since it was a beautiful day and all. Cadence even got to find some more "flowers" that actually had wishes left on them.

Since dandelions breed like bunnies in our neighborhood, Cadence was able to gather up armfuls of them.

I just love how some of our neighbors let their weeds grow wild. Well-kempt lawns are so over-rated. If it weren't for those cars in the background, you'd think this photo had been taken in the country, or forest preserves, at least. And I bet if I hadn't said anything about those cars, you wouldn't have even noticed.

Back indoors, Cadence had some nekkid time. FYI, I don't post totally nekkid photos of my kid for the whole universe to see because, believe it or not, I have SOME boundaries. Well, actually, it's to save folks out there with REAL boundaries the trouble of wasting their time judging me. I see it as an act of charity and not self-censorship.

So you'll just have to take my word for it that the sight of a totally nekkid Cadence banging on her toy piano while doing Max's Wild Rumpus dance was quite the visual extravaganza. And I know she's doing the Wild Rumpus dance because while she's jumping up and down and hopping from foot to foot while her hands do the same on the piano, she's yelling, "AND now, let the WILD RUMPUS START!"

Gotta love this kid.

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

P.S. I have a post up on Shutter Sisters. Check it out to find your chance to win a totally awesome photo book.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

That's right, folks. It's my six-squared birthday today. I'm well on my way towards the middle ages now. Let's just hope with the older will come the wiser.

I have no idea how to catch y'all up on this weekend. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were devoted to friends, food and frolicking. It was more than a birthday girl could ever ask for.

Our friends Sarah, Ben and Eleanor were in town from Grand Rapids this weekend, thereby creating the impetus for much of the fun. Ben is the Ben of Ribbons of Song and Ben and Bruno, two bands that The Tim Lowly Ensemble has played with on numerous occasions. Sarah is one of the coolest moms I know, and Eleanor is about as spunky and creative a kid as 3 year olds get.

We threw a Panini Party for folks who know Sarah & Ben on Saturday night. Cadence was SO excited about Eleanor coming over. All day Saturday she kept asking when Eleanor would get there. It was probably one of the few times when she couldn't wait for the sun to go down because that's when I told her we'd see Eleanor.

It was a great time just hanging out and eating yummy food (and drinking yummy framboise for me and homebrew for others). Cadence is quite fond of Sarah, and I just love this shot of them reading together.

Sunday evening, we hung out at a park before grabbing some awesome Thai food. The weather was gorgeous, and it was just perfect for a lazy Sunday late afternoon romp in the park.


Here's a pictobrowser of the rest of the photos from the evening. It was a total treat to be able to spend two evenings in a row w/ Sarah and Ben and Eleanor.

On Monday, my cousins came over to hang out. It wasn't officially a birthday celebration, although it was my cousin Kris's and my birthdays this week. We did have cake and ice cream, at Cadence's insistence.

Another reason for the get-together was that my cousin Ben and his wife Rachel and daughter Eden are moving to New Jersey next week. Baby Eden has been one of my favorite kids to photograph, and I will really miss them. She's just great in front of the camera, and it's been a total delight watching her get bigger and bigger.

Cadence missed her nap today, and by the time 6pm rolled around, she was looking pretty beat. Out of desperation, we gave her a piece of chocolate truffle to hopefully keep her awake for just a little bit longer.

And this is how I found her 5 minutes after the truffles. Apparently, our plan failed.

Other than the total meltdown she had when we tried to wake her from her slumber (we really are stupid sometimes), she has been so sweet to me this weekend, wishing me happy birthday numerous times and telling me she loves me and that I'm her favorite friend. She's the best birthday present I could ask for.

Labels: birthday, family, friends.who.rock, photos, this.busy.life

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

I'm still here, folks. I'm just kinda tired. My mind is also a bit preoccupied these days. I'm three-quarters of the way through A People's History of the United States, and it's pretty much kicking my social-justice-activist-wannabe conscience to the curb. In a good way.

Besides, the sun's been shining all spring-like, so I had to take advantage. Knowing Chicago, we'll be back in the 40's any day now.

Plus, the Tim Lowly Ensemble FINALLY had their CD release show on Friday night. I missed most of the show as I was watching Cadence in the nursery for most of it.

I let her loose in the show towards the end when things started getting a bit more rowdy. She danced like Richard Simmons on speed.

On Saturday, Ted and I watched our friends Holly and Kyle's daughter Helena all day, and we also went to Berry's Seeds of Change Marketplace, which was almost a whole-day affair.

There was a ton of music going on all day, and my good friend John Berton did a couple talks on solar energy.

Cadence had a blast playing w/ her buddies Rudden and Helena for HOURS. We tried to give them a nap in the nursery, but who were we kidding? We're just lucky no blood got shed and that all three kids LOVED chili, since that was the only main food being served at the event.

Oh, by the way, I had a post up on Shutter Sisters on Sunday. Go check it out:
Sunday School: Get Your Flare On

Labels: fair.trade, photos, this.busy.life, tim.lowly.ensemble

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

Jen Lemen has a beautiful story and photo to share on Shutter Sisters, and so I thought I'd share a photo and story too.

I took the photo above at church on Easter Sunday. The woman you see sitting is Jan. She is the person who sits in the back of the sanctuary at her little table and hands out Sunday programs to latecomers (a category we fall into 90% of the time). She is there every Sunday, faithfully serving with a warm smile and kind, gentle eyes.

It may seem that what she does in the church is insignificant, but I know that is not true. Folks like her who serve their churches and communities and families in all the small things--quietly, humbly, faithfully--these are the true saints. They are not there for glory or to feed their egos or to score points with God. They see what needs to be done and do it, whether others are watching or not.

This is something I need to remember moment by moment. I live in an environment of seemingly endless self-promotion and a hunger for attention and recognition and grandiosity. I don't want to get sucked into that mentality, always calculating if doing this good deed or that will get me...get me what??? What is it that I want anyways? Fame? Respect? Envy? A pat on the back? Marketability? I sure hope those are not the things I want in my heart of hearts. This is why I so very much love the Small is Beautiful Manifesto.

I know that if Jesus were to come and throw a banquet at our church, he would personally take Jan by the arm and escort her to the seat next to him at the table. And that is the way it should be.

Labels: i.heart.berry.church, photos, stories

I don't know who was dreaming of a white Easter, but they sure got it whoever they are. I think it was colder this Easter weekend than most Christmases in recent memory (except maybe this past one--it's been a brutal winter here, y'all).

I didn't buy Cadence an Easter dress this year. Part of the reason is that Easter fell so early I just forgot. Another reason is that I don't like Easter dresses. Cadence already runs to the mirror and admires her own reflection every time I put any dress on her, so I don't want her acquiring a taste for foofy frilly stuff. Unless it's vintage, like the dress she's wearing in the photo above, or hand-made. Then it's okay.

I don't think Cadence minded at all that I put her in an old dress over blue jeans for Easter festivities at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She had a blast searching for the Easter eggs Grandpa had hidden all over the house.

We also had fun making real Easter eggs with natural dyes. Thanks to Amy Geekgrl of Crunchy Domestic Goddess for the tips! We found that turmeric and curry powder make a lovely yellow, paprika makes a nice brownish orange, and blueberries make an awesome lavender/purple. Next year, I think I want to use spinach for green and find a good source for making a really bright red.

I hope you all had a Happy Easter/First-Weekend-of-Spring!


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

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photos

The lovely Tracey Clark has tagged me for the "7 weird things about me" meme. I have to admit I really had to think about this one because I'm quite boring. I mean, yeah, I'm plenty WEIRD, but it's really BORING weird, not INTERESTING weird. Here's what I've come up with, at any rate. Oh, and I'm including seven weird photos as a bonus.

1. I grew up in a fundamentalist evangelical-wannabe cult called University Bible Fellowship. You can read more about that shenanigan here and here. That's probably the most profoundly and absolutely weirdest thing about me.

2. I have no tolerance for violence in movies or TV. It's not a MORAL thing. It's more like I-hit-the-floor-and-cover-my-head-lest-the bullets/demons/knives-fly-off-the- screen-right-at-me kind of thing. When we were kids, one of our favorite shows was Barnaby Jones. I used to run out of the room regularly during that show to avoid even the possibility of witnessing someone getting punched in the nose.

3. Growing up, my family subscribed religiously to Time Magazine. I read just about every issue almost cover to cover, BUT, and here's the weird part, I always started with the last page. To this day, if I happen to come across a copy of Time, I turn to the last page first. I think it must be my total lack of tolerance for any type of suspense.

4. I can't eat yellow bananas. They have to be at least slightly green, or I can't stand the taste. For this reason, numerous bananas are left to turn black in our home. Which is okay because then Ted makes banana bread which I really like.

5. I've been with the same company for 12 years. Apparently, this is considered weird by some of my peers. Fortunately, I really like the folks I work with, I LOVE my boss, and I'm treated really well there.

6. I can't read non-fiction without falling asleep unless it's about parenting, a memoir, biography or historical in nature. This posed a problem to my educational success, as most of the required reading (except for history and Englist Lit) would fall into the category of non-fiction that I just couldn't get through. I have no idea how I got through college, let alone grad school.

7. I have this thing about taking photos of people's shoes, especially when I'm at a rock show. It's not a fetish or anything, just one of my quirks.

Now it's time to tag some folks, so I tag the following and whoever else wants to join in:

Leigh (Mere Mortal)
Christina (Momology)
Maya (Laurent Files)
Amy Geekgrl (Crunch Domestic Goddess)
Paige (Look Away)

This happens to be a "Links Around the World" meme, so if you participate, add your blog link to the end of the list on your own post (I copied and pasted the code from the View Source to get all the links).

Link Addiction ~ Ardour of the Heart ~ When Life Becomes a Book ~ The Malaysian Life ~ Yogatta.com ~ What goes under the sun ~ Roshidan’s Cyber Station ~ Sasha says ~ Arts of Physics ~ And the legend lives ~ My View, My Life ~ A Simple Life ~ Juliana RW ~ Mom Knows Everything ~ Beth & Cory’s Mom ~ A Mind Forever Voyaging~ enjoying the ride ~ Jennifer’s thoughts ~ Mom of 3 Girls ~ Amanda ~ Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys ~ ExPat Mom ~ Just Jessie ~ Wilson Six ~Krisitn ~ Nuttier Than You ~ Shonnte ~ Summer’s Nook ~ Laura Williams Musings ~ Sher ~ Shanda ~ Seven QTPies ~ Mel ~ Skittles ~ Lady Banana ~ Momhood Moments ~ Business Mars ~ A Simple life ~ moms….. check nyo ~ Mommy’s Little Corner ~ Pampered ~ HappyHeart ~ Make Every Day Your Lucky Day ~ Thumbelina Creations ~ Ivonnardona's Creations ~ Jewellery Craft ~ A Bead a Day~ Useless Ramblings ~Candid Yammering ~ Green Eyed Mama ~ Mother May I ~ Shutterbug Mama

Labels: about.me, memememe, photos

It's the 2nd day of spring, and Chicago celebrated in usual fashion with totally inappropriate weather. It's been dubbed "snizzle" (snow+drizzle), and it's pretty nasty.

It wasn't so bad this morning when we made a rare family trip to Metropolis, our favorite coffeehouse. By the afternoon, however, things started piling up. Luckily, the weather didn't stop the UPS truck from delivering my eagerly and long-awaited Singer Genie 353 sewing machine.

Here she is in all her lovely vintage glory. I have to admit it was the flower power pattern that totally sold me. It also got really good reviews on some sewing sites.

Ain't she a beauty? Now if I can only figure out how to raise the bobbin thread. I think I might have to take the Genie to Easter dinner for a lesson from Ted's mom...

Hope y'all are having more seasonably springy weather in your part of the world.

Labels: me.so.crazy, photos, sewing, spring.fever

I know I've complained and complained about the brutal winter we've had in Chicago before, so for once I am happy to report that the temperatures actually SOARED into the 50's yesterday. And thank goodness, as I've been itching to hit the streets for a photoshoot.

The winter's been extra hard on me, as it's left me uninspired to take photos of anything or anyone. Except for the occasional shots of Cadence and friends, it's been a dry spell for me shutterbug-wise. And I've especially missed one of my favorite activities--street photography.

Thanks to the time change this week, I had about an hour-and-a-half of natural light left after I got home from work last night, and I immediately rushed out with my camera. I kept things simple with just my 30mm lens since I HATE changing lenses. I didn't know where I was going to go shoot when I got in my car. I wanted to visit my favorite haunts in Wicker Park, but traffic on Clark Street was a bear, and the light wasn't getting any brighter, so I headed on over to New Chinatown in Uptown, by Argyle and Broadway.

If you live on the Northside of Chicago and get a hankering for pho or dim sum or a Chinese bakery, this is the place to go. The neighborhood is also called Little Vietnam or Little Cambodia, as many of the shops and restaurants and residents have connections to Southeast Asia, as opposed to mainland China.

While I was shooting some photos, I happened to hear someone calling my name. It was one of my best friends, John, who was riding his bike down Argyle on his way to a bar called Big Chicks on Sheridan. Funny thing was, I had left a message on John's answering machine that morning telling him I'd be doing a photoshoot that evening. I didn't say where, and he never even got the message as he hadn't been home all day, so it was quite a pleasant surprise to run into him.

I feel a bit rusty when it comes to shooting, so I'm going to have to do a bunch more of these photoshoots. Back when I was a single gal living alone on the Wicker Park/Bucktown border, I did a photoshoot wherever I went. I think that was a little extreme, and now (especially with a kid) I recognize the need to put away the camera sometimes and just let things BE. But still, I can't help feeling a bit nostalgic about those days...

I'll post some other photos from last night in a slideshow below so you don't have to keep scrolling forever. Just click on the photo to go to the next one, or click on a thumbnail to see that photo.

Labels: i.heart.chicago, memory.lane, photography, photos

This one's from the archives way back in the beginning of January, but I've been wanting to use this photo for a Love Thursday, and Karen's post gave me the perfect opportunity.

Check out Shutter Sisters for some more Love.

Labels: family, love.thursday, photos, shutter.sisters

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it snowed again last night. Big huge flakes like they were making shaved ice desserts in heaven. That or the elves were pelting us mortals with elvish sized snowballs.

That's right, Cadence. You tell whoever's making that snow to just cut it out already! Oh, wait. You're trying to catch snowflakes in your mouth. Never mind...

Well, what are ya gonna do. Like father, like daughter, I guess.

Seriously, though, I am getting majorly tired of having to wear snow goggles on my walks to and from the train station.

Labels: family, photos, the.longest.winter.ever

This photo was taken at Ted's cousin Vikki's wedding rehearsal dinner. It's the heart locket presented to Vikki's daughter Mackenzie by Vikki and her now-husband Mike.

I remember the first time we met Mike. Vikki brought him to our monthly gathering at Ted's Grandma Sophie's house. He was shy and quiet, but so sweet that I hoped back then that someday he and Vikki would get married. Over the months, I saw how good he was to Mackenzie, and how she delighted in having a father figure in her life. After he and Vikki got engaged, Kenzie started calling him "Soon-To-Be-Daddy" because I'm sure she couldn't wait for the day when she could really call him "Daddy."

I am as happy for Mackenzie as I am for Vikki and Mike that they have formed this new family together. They are such a sweet bunch!

Check out the love on Love Thursday at Shutter Sisters.

Labels: family, love.thursday, photos, shutter.sisters

It's Love Thursday over at Shutter Sisters, and this is my submission. I absolutely love how Cadence's hair swirls into delicatle curls during bathtime. Melts my heart every time. See what else folks are loving over here.

Labels: love.thursday, photos, shutter.sisters

I may be a little biased, or I may be a little too interested in the show Heroes, but I just happen to think Cadence is pretty Super. Just look at that smile! I do believe it could melt a heart of steel.

And that jump! I do believe this little sprite knows how to fly.

See more folk's Best Shots at Tracey's Mother May I.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Anyone who knows Cadence in real life (or virtually) knows that she is little ball of TREMENDOUS energy. It's probably why I'm so tired all the time.

As you can imagine, we start suffering from cabin fever right around this time of year. A 2 bedroom condo is not the best place to unleash the power of the force that is Cadence, so I signed her up for a few classes with the park district, including basketball. Hence the new kicks.

She's only had one class so far, and there was only one other boy her age, and I hear she was more interested in pushing some cart and something about a monkey than in actual basketball, but as you can see, she's a natural.

Now if only I could convince her that our couch is not a trampoline...

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

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

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

As some of you may know, I did not grow up in a family that decorated Christmas trees. So it should come as no surprise to you that I had no idea what to do once we got our tree home. Ted, who DID grow up in a family that did Christmas trees, was somewhat of a help, but as this was his very first tree as the DAD, it wasn't entirely obvious to him either as to how to proceed. We managed to get the lights on, as you saw in the previous post, but we weren't sure what to do about a garland. So for the first couple days, the tree just sat there, as you can see in the sad photo above. But not for long!

As you can see, we managed to decorate the tree just fine. We settled on a ribbon garland, and although it took a couple tries, I think Ted did a good job. We had just enough ornaments, mostly ones from Ted's Grandma Yia Yia, who helps out with a Christmas Bazaar every year. I absolutly love the kitschy stuff! Here are some of my favorites:

Here's that lonely covered wagon ornament from the top photo. As you can see, it's got some company now.

The Foam Snowman. A total classic, especially with the tiny crocheted hat and scarves and sequins for buttons.

The Stuffed Granny Boot. We have this in red too. Ted's favorite, and one of mine too.

The Gingerbread House. Looks yummy enough to eat.

And then there's the friendly ghost with the not-quite-James-Dean coiffure. Or is it a cloud? Or a marshmallow? Does it matter? Probably not.

Then there's the adorable rollerskate. Love those little tiny button wheels! This is so much cuter than the rollerskates I had as a kid.

Check out the three-headed Santa. Funny thing is my high school friend Ed saw this in my Flickr stream and informed me that his parents got this same ornament from their church bazaar. Weird!

By the date on this one, I'd say it's older than some of you reading this post.

Here's a trio of ornaments. The heart one on the right is actually something I picked up at the Seeds of Change marketplace. A woman (I think her name is Erin?) made these out of scraps from clothes she didn't want any more. That got me thinking about making some of my own...I haven't had any success, yet, I can tell you that.

And here is my favorite, y'alls. Is that robot rad or WHAT?! I can't believe Yia Yia's been holding onto this all these years!

There are many more ornaments, and I have to say they look awesome on our tree. Not Martha Stewart awesome (*GAG!*), but my kind of awesome.

Our next step is to make a popcorn garland. I think maybe with cranberries. So the saga continues...

Labels: christmas, family.tradition, photos

That's probably because I just ate me a big old turkey sandwich with--what else?--leftover turkey. I normally post my Best Shots Monday on Mondays, but I'm not in any mental condition to pick out what I consider my best shots. In other words, I'm feeling mighty lazy. Besides, "best" is such a heavy word. Nevertheless, I don't want to neglect posting SOMETHING today, so how about a smattering of various photos from last week? That way, no pressure on me to post anything earth-shattering.

And more Rock 'n' Roll paraphernalia. If you want to see what Cadence looked like in this shirt 3 years ago, click here.

And here's something a little more classical. Although she looks like she's playing some boogie-woogie.

Or Grandpa? Of course, we were missing Auntie Lauren and Uncle Doug in Sweden and Uncle Charles and Auntie Ali in Seattle and Auntie Becki in Bali (kinda jealous about that last one).

This would be my sweetest photo of the week. Cadence totally looks up to her 6-year-old cousin Mackenzie. Hmm...maybe she can talk to her about the potty. You know, all casual-like...

And this would be my saddest photo of the week. Sad because it's THAT cold, not so much because the poor cig got stuck.

Now if someone can point me to an organic nursery that sells potted christmas trees, I'll be all set.

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

You know what I love about autumn? I really, really adore all the leaves floating down one, two, three at a time, creating piles and piles on the sidewalks and next to the parked cars in the streets. I know that's like a duh given, but I just don't ever get over the leaves. I love how they crunch under my feet as I walk to catch my morning train. I love how they mute all the colors around them to browns and golds and oranges with the occasional blazing crimson.

I love autumn because it is the season that gave me my Cadence, and I love that SHE loves watching the leaves fall from the sky, kicking them up into the air with her feet, pointing out that once all the leaves have fallen from the branches (she actually likes using the word 'branches' these days), that it will finally snow. Only a kid, or a kid at heart, or someone from a tropical climate, could get excited at the prospect of snow.

And while autumn means that death and hibernation are just around the corner, and that I will soon need to wear longjohns on my walks to the train--every now and then, you encounter a vestige of life from the summer past, and it is even more strikingly beautiful because it has now become so scarce. I've always enjoyed a little splash of pink next to the browns in my life, because there probably is no better color combination than pink and brown.

Go visit other folks' Best Shots for the week at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, i.heart.autumn, photos, random.thoughts

Slowly but surely, Cadence seems to be recovering from her cold. We went through an entire family sized box of Kleenex, and I think we'll be able to get through this week on maybe just half of one.

I tried to get a really snotty photo of her for posterity, but for some reason, it's really hard to get one of her where she looks all that bad.

Unfortunately, we spent the weekend pretty much indoors except to go out and buy more tissue and homeopathic stuff. Ted caught the bug Saturday, so we were a pretty miserable bunch for most of the weekend. I was a bit more lucky and got to go do a photoshoot of my cousins' daughter Eden Sunday afternoon. It was a really nice day, although it was a bummer to see the sun go down so much earlier with the time change. Oh, and it was a bummer I didn't get to give Eden any hugs from fear of making her sick too.

On my way home from the photoshoot, I stopped in at the rose garden near downtown Evanston. I was quite surprised to see so many roses in bloom in November.

I guess it's been a pretty warm fall so far. Still, it's pretty amazing to see such lovely and huge blossoms thriving in the middle of autumn, especially since we had some nights in the 30s last week.

There's something extremely nostalgic to me about this time of year. Spring and summer are such hopeful, exciting seasons--so much new life popping up all around, and countless hours spent in the warm sun outdoors. Autumn, on the other hand, is when time slows down, and I start savoring the memories, recent and from long ago.

Alright, let me cut this short before I get all sappy on y'all. Go see other folks' best shots at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Woah, is it really Wednesday already?! Holy schmoles. I've been super busy for several reasons. First of all, Ted and I spent every free moment (e.g., while Cadence was napping/sleeping) this weekend watching episodes from the 1st Season of Heroes. 2nd of all, Cadence seems to be fighting a bug. She's had a fever since the middle of Monday night, and I think some cold/ear infection symptoms are manifesting today. 3rd, I'm super super busy at work. That's why I skipped my usual Best Shot(s) Monday post. I'll try to make it up today, but I have to admit my brain is a bit preoccupied by homeopathic remedies for all the possible things that may be ailing Cadence. She seldom gets sick (go breastmilk!), so when she DOES feel a bit under the weather, all that mommy anxiety and stress I've been saving up come out in full force.

Was Saturday as beautiful in your neck of the woods as it was in ours? I hope so. Totally perfect autumn weather. Crisp, clear and sunny. Too warm for a coat but warm enough to get by with a sweater. We took advantage of the day and visited Garfield Park Conservatory w/ my cousin Kris. My other cousin Ben and his wife Rachel and daughter Eden and their friend Seth joined us later.

It was the last weekend of Niki in the Garden, a special exhibit of Niki de Saint Phalle's oversized and colorful sculptures. It's the perfect exhibit for families, as many of the sculptures are interactive and even climbable.

Cadence made the most of the afternoon sun and even found a little hill to run up and down. She loved that the grass was covered with small golden leaves.

It eventually got chilly as the sun got lower and lower on the horizon. I had left Cadence's jacket in the car, so I put my hoodie on her. I have to say, she looks like the cutest grim reaper I've ever seen.

Okay, I'm really starting to bore myself with this post, so just enjoy the photos. I SO totally need a nap...

This is what I call signature Cadence Cheese. Snapped right before we got kicked out, as the park was closing.

And by Sunday afternoon, it was cold enough to dig out the winter coat and hat. Here we are on our way to Metropolis for some really yummy hot chocolates.

Alright. Enough with the cheesiness. Hopefully, all that homeopathic stuff will work and Cadence will be feeling better soon. Still, I'm sure we won't be going anywhere on Halloween night this year. Good thing I already took photos of her in her costume:

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

My bro-in-law Dave left a comment on this photo on Flickr wanting to know who authorized a haircut for Cadence, "especially in such a style." Ha ha! Truth is, it's a fake haircut. Her hair got stuck inside her turtleneck when I was getting her dressed, and I noticed it looked like she got a haircut, so I snapped a few shots. As IF. It's taken me FOREVER (okay, 3 years, not really forever) to get her hair long enough for pigtails and barrettes, so there's no way I'm letting a pair of scissors come near her head.

Yesterday was a truly blustery day. I had a migraine almost the whole day. Luckily, it was my day to telecommute, but still. Working with a migraine, even from the comfort of my sofa, kinda sucks bigtime. I was feeling well enough by around 5pm, so I took Cadence outside to play. Holy schmoles! I was NOT expecting it to be THAT cold. The sad thing is, it probably wasn't all that cold. Maybe in the high 40's with the wind chill, but compared to what we normally get in winter round these parts, not that cold in the grand scheme of things. I'm just not ready to let go of summer just yet...

So, I realize I take a lot of photos of Cadence (that would be the understatement of the year). And yet, I have to admit that sometimes I get these shots that just take my breath away. Like this one above here.

Or this one. She can be so cheesy sometimes, but it's really her serious, deep looks that pierce me in that maternal place in my heart.

So while we're on the topic of photos, it looks like a few of you have discovered that I'm working on a new photo gallery. I didn't mean it to get out there in public, as I'm still futzing around with it, but I've discovered a great little tool called Pictobrowser that lets you create a snazzy looking slideshow gallery of your Flickr photos based on a specific tag, group or set. I'm still playing around with it, but if you like, you can go take a looksy at my new photo gallery page over here.

Or just look at the example below:


What I like about Pictobrowser is its sleek design and no nonsense font and the fact that you can see the title of the photo if you hover over a thumbnail with your mouse, as well as give you a link to the actual Flickr page where the photo resides. The downside is that I can't figure out how to get more than 21 pages of photos to show up. Of course, it's kinda crazy to have 21 pages of photos of any category, but I take a lot of photos, ya know. Oh well. I guess I have to be more critical of the photos I put in these here galleries. Currently, I just have the one of some of my favorite photos taken after I switched to dSLR. I'm working on one for all of Cadence. And the one posted in this blog is of my nature shots. I'll probably do one of Chicago, or street photography, or something. I dunno...The possibilities are endless with Pictobrowser.

Tags: Pictobrowser, Photography

Labels: blogging.schmlogging, cadence, photography, photos

Labels: do.you.see.god, nature, photos, wordless.wednesday

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

I recently got myself Marina's Underground Set List for Adobe Lightroom. These are basically different settings (presets) that can be applied to my RAW (uncompressed)images in Lightroom to achieve specific looks. They are a lot of fun to play with. You can apply the setting and then adjust the exposure, color, etc to make the photo look the way you want it to. The setting I used for this one is called Mello MaiTai3.

It kind of gives the photos an aged, yet dreamy feel to 'em, which I really like. For those of you who have cameras that can shoot in RAW format, I highly recommend it. You have much more options when you edit photos for correcting exposure and color and whatnot. I've been shooting exclusively in RAW since Lauren's wedding.

Something else that I continue to play with is getting a different angle or perspective on my photos by "shooting from the hip." Basically, that means shooting without looking through the viewfinder. I often put the camera all the way to the ground to get a bug's eye view, so to speak. My aim kinda sucks, so I never know what I'm gonna get.

Like this shot here...That's not what I was going for at all. I meant to get Cadence in the shot, but of course I was too close and my aim too poor. Still, I really like the result, which I think is more interesting than what I would've gotten had I actually gotten all of Cadence in the shot.

Go see more folks' Best Shots for the week on Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, photography, photos

Sunday was girl-fest for Cadence and me. While Ted and our neighbor Chad were sweating away brewing a batch of Nut Brown Ale, we girls spent the afternoon with my cousin Kris. We had lunch at Charmer's Cafe on Jarvis and hung out afterwards at our place. When Ted finished brewing, we all hung out on the porch sipping our beverages and just enjoying being lazy. Of course, Cadence was napping during this part, or there was no way we would have been allowed to be LAZY.

In the evening, we met up with Miss Mia and some of the girls from Team Do!Boo! at a newish Korean restaurant called Su Ra in Wicker Park. Ted brought some homebrews, which was much appreciated, especially by Melissa and her husband Andrew who are thinking of homebrewing. Ted was totally happy to have folks to talk to about beer, I was happy to see the girls and have some Korean food, and Cadence wasn't too bad off either with all the emoh's (aunties) there to dote on her.

Team Do!Boo! is a group that Miss Mia formed a few years ago with some of the Korean American girls she was hanging out with. We formed a collective of creative types, kind of like a Korean American all-girl art gang. We've gotten together to learn how to cook Korean food or study the Korean language. Some of the girls have done spoken word performances together. I haven't hung out too much with Team Do!Boo!, considering I got pregnant right about the time we formed as a group, but I still like keeping in touch and spending time with them.

I promised Mia I would post this photo of nose-picking Cadence and the girls. Actually, I have to consider Cadence a member of Team Do!Boo! because she's been to almost all the events with me, either in my uterus or as a baby and toddler. Like how many kids could say they've been in a Korean American all-girl art gang from the time they were in utero? Not too many, I would think.

Labels: family, miss.mia, photos, team.do.boo, this.korean.american.life

I am sad to say that I lost ¾ of Saturday to a god-awful migraine. I finally got desperate and called my mother to send me real migraine drugs via my brother. I haven't taken any of the more potent migraine pills since prior to getting pregnant w/ Cadence, but I just couldn't take it any more. Thankfully, my brother Jim brought drugs and food, so I was sufficiently revived by 6pm to take Cadence out for the last hour of daylight to play at our favorite park on the lakefront.

Here she is conducting an imaginary orchestra of trees, grass, leaves and pebbles while munching on an apple at the park.

And here she is commanding the lake and the rocks to give her more crescendo. Or maybe she's playing a fiddle? Who knows. She's quite dramatic with the hand gestures as of late.

She did actually get some swinging in, although she seems bored with most of the playground equipment nowadays.

Although she got into some good old-fashioned pole-swinging. I used to do that for hours on my grammar school playground.

And, of course, there was running involved. She sure took a long time eating that apple, too, I might add.

Finally, we're back home taking a breather. Oh, ignore the crumbs on the carpet, please. I didn't feel like taking out the vacuum cleaner just to take a few shots.

And that's it for my best shots for this week. Go see more at Tracey's Picture This!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Here's a recap of Cadence's actual birthday (Monday the 24th) told in photos, because I am too drained from being sick all week to write a meaningful blog post.

Breakfast at Pauline's, cuz who WOULDN'T want to start off their 4th year of life with French toast and strawberries smothered in real whipped cream?

She fell asleep on the car ride over to the planeterium, but perked up when we told her we were gonna see the moon and planets and stars. BTW, a really good, cheap place to park downtown is right on that little strip of meters by the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planeterium. They have TEN (no, not two, TEN) hour parking meters for just a quarter a half-hour. Plus, there's a free trolley stop right in front of the Planeterium.

Oh, and did I mention the Planetarium was free on Monday? It's also free the whole week of October 8th-12th, plus on Mondays and Tuesdays in October and November. Now that I've given you the tip on cheap parking, you've got no excuse not to go.

Looks like Ted and Cadence will be going to the moon. Just like Wallace and Gromit. We ARE a cheese-loving family, so it only makes sense.

After the Planetarium, we headed over to Navy Pier. Ted found street parking on just the other side of Lake Shore Drive, so we didn't have to pay $20 to park for our hour of fun on the Pier. I didn't even know there was a carousel there, so that was a special bonus for Cadence, who absolutely ADORES carousels and anything horse-related.

The main reason for going to Navy Pier was to ride on the Ferris Wheel. I know folks who've gotten engaged on that thing, but after all these years living in Chicago, I had never ridden in it myself. Cadence has admired the Wheel from a distance while driving past it on Lake Shore Drive, so she was excited when Ted told her we'd be going up for a ride in it.

I wasn't sure if she'd get scared being up so high in a flimsy little carriage, but that thing moves so slow, so she was just fine. And her big strong Dada held her close the whole time, so of course she felt safe.

We didn't get home until past 5:30, but we were able to squeeze in a ride on Cadence's new trike before the sun went down.

She still hasn't figured out the pedaling part yet. And yes, sparkly ballet flats are probably not the ideal shoes for riding a tricycle, but then again, why the heck not?! I paid full price for those shoes in a last-minute fit of desperation before the wedding last month, so I want her to get as much use out of them as possible!

And that's about it, folks. I've been sleeping on the couch (when I'm lucky to be able to sleep at all) the past couple nights due to my hacking cough, so I'm pretty exhausted. I stayed home from work Thursday but still had to work all day to be able to finish a project that was due that day. Plus, I had to watch Cadence most of the day, since she decided she'd rather nap than go out w/ Ted on his 3-hour errand.

Tonight, though, I'm getting me some much needed girl time w/ my friend Amy (Cadence's best bud Rudden's mom) PLUS some high culture courtesy of the Strawdog Theater Company, which my friend John (Ada's dad) is a part of. They are performing four radio scripts (one of which John wrote) PLUS it's a free show! My kind of evening, all the way.

Labels: birthday, cadence, family, i.heart.chicago, photos

Today is our little Cadence's 3rd birthday. I'm off work today to spend the day with her, but we had the official celebration yesterday. That's also when she wore her birthday dress.

Poor thing. Her mama dresses her like a character out of Little House on the Prairie. I just hope she doesn't retaliate by wearing midriffs at the age of 9.

Ted's mom made a yummy banana cake in the shape of a flower. It was simply perfect. Although, I think Cadence covered it in her spit trying to blow out her candles. It literally took her 50 tries and then a little help from Dada to get those things blown out. Which is surprising, considering I KNOW for a fact that there's nothing wrong with them lungs of hers.

The big birthday present we got Cadence was a shiny new red Schwinn Roadster tricycle. We thought she'd be totally into it, but quite frankly, she was only interested in the bell at first. I think she was a little intimidated by the size. It took a little coaxing, but her uncles Dave and Jay got her to finally sit in it so I could actually get a photo.

Apparently, she feels much more comfortable on the trike when she's not wearing any clothes. She may be a future Naked Bike Rider in the making.

It's hard to believe Cadence was ever this little. I'm amazed at the big personality emerging from this still-growing body of hers. Thank you, Cadence, for being the best kid we could have ever asked for. We love you!

Go see more folk's Best Shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, birthday, cadence, photos

...and it's coming from this blog. Yes, lame-age abounds around here these days, I totally admit it. It's been a rough week, people.

So Monday through Wednesday, I had this meeting in downtown Chicago with other folks within the compensation world in my industry. My boss asked me to make a presentation about our company and our compensation practices. I was totally stressed out because 1) if given the choice between a root canal WITHOUT anesthesia and speaking formally in front of total strangers, I would gladly pick the root canal and thank the Lord for my good fortune; 2) I knew I'd be the LEAST experienced person professionally in the room; and 3) I just don't know my sh*t as well as I should.

To make matters worse, Cadence kept me up most of Monday night, so I went into this meeting on Tuesday with only a couple hours of sleep. Plus, I was starting to feel a cold coming on. Last, but not least, I was scheduled to give my presentation at 4:30pm, right before everyone would be heading to their hotel for the cocktail reception at 5pm.

I can't tell you how the presentation went as I've permanently repressed the memory, cuz everybody knows that anything more painful than a root canal without anesthesia (except for childbirth) should qualify for automatic repression within the memory banks. All I know is my boss didn't fire me on the spot, so it must have been okay. And no, I'm pretty sure I wasn't great.

Anyhoo, if that whole debacle weren't bad enough, I developed a migraine Tuesday night (from lack of sleep Monday night) and had to sit through Wednesday's meeting with a bruised head. Thank goodness it was a half-day meeting. I'd had plans of going on a photoshoot as long as I was downtown, but instead I went straight home and threw up. I missed our friend Erik's birthday dinner, and my head kept on hurting right into Thursday. Plus, I developed a full-blown cold by Thursday morning and couldn't stop sneezing, which made my headache worse. I stayed home from work, but I barely felt well enough to attend the Tim Lowly art reception/music show that evening.

Nevertheless, I really wanted to see Tim's art as he is one of my favorite artists, so I dragged my sickly self (actually, I should say WE dragged OUR sickly selves, as Ted is sick too) out of the house to see the show. I'm glad I did, because I hadn't seen most of the stuff he was showing, and it's pretty flippin' rad. That's Tim in the photo above, wearing the Tim Lowly ensemble t-shirt that the lovely and talented Katie Schofield embroidered. And that's my good friend Amy taking some Super8 footage.

I also took some of my favorite photos in a while, so click on the photo above for the whole slideshow. You can also see some of Tim's artwork, as well as photos of the music show that followed the reception.

This is actually my favorite photo from the night. It's just kinda wacky, ya know? Tim says it looks like a scene from a play, and I would have to agree. Katie C.(the violinist) looks like she's about to say something really poignant. And Matt looks like he's just gonna ignore her. And then there's that bottle of wine off to the side...

Tim's really nice to let me bring Cadence to all the shows. She was running and dancing and hopping around a lot, and at one point found her way onto stage. She told me she needed to talke to dada. No, really. That's what she said: "I need to talk to Dada." And she was totally serious.

Speaking of the munchkin, she's turning 3 on Monday. Another reason we're kinda stressed in this household. We're not having a party or anything--just cake w/ immediate family, no kids or anything. I'm glad we planned it that way, cuz I don't think I would've wanted to host a party w/ other folks' children in the condition I'm in right now--all snotty and achey and whatnot.

So that's the scoop, y'all. I'm sorry I've been bad about responding to comments or catching up on your blogs. I hope things mellow out in October...

Labels: blogging.schmlogging, cadence, fess.up.time, photography, photos, this.busy.life, tim.lowly.ensemble

Ok, I'm like totally swamped w/ work related stuff, but here's a short post. So we went to the Great Lakes Brewfest in Racine, WI on Saturday. And by 'we' I mean Ted and his brother David, who was turning 35 the next day. It was a 21-and-over event, so Cadence and I had to find other things to do.

While Ted and Dave were at this all-you-can-drink mayhem, Cadence and I checked out the local tourist trap, where she had her Very First Pony Ride. I didn't think she would actually get on the pony, cuz the whole time we were in line watching the other kids get their turn, she kept asking me where the 'little horse' was. I told her this was the littlest one they had, and she seemed worried. Once she was on the pony, I had to walk with her almost the whole time, which is why I only have this one crappy photo. Still, a little girl's first pony ride is something that MUST be documented.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Can the sky get any bluer than that? And this photos was taken WITHOUT my polarizing filter. It didn't get any warmer than 70 degrees, if that. It's really my favorite kind of weather. You know. Seattle summer weather.

It was positively nippy by the time we headed back to Racine to pick up the boys. Cadence and I visited the lakefront where the fishermen were throwing their lines, and the wind was starting to get pretty chilly, as you can see from Cadence's nose matching her jacket.

The sun set while we were by the lake, and the horizon turned a beautiful shade of pink. I love Lake Michigan right around sunset.

We went to pick up Ted and Dave when the brewfest was over, as I was the designated driver. And it's a good thing. Stinkin' drunk they were by the time I picked them up. They were running down the street pretending to be shooting at each other like they were little kids, while I was honking and honking and they ran right past the car without realizing it was me. While I was taking this picture, I didn't realize there was a guy peeing in the bushes behind them (another inebriated participant of the brewfest), and he yelled out at me, 'What are you, the PO-LEECE?!!' If he'd kept his mouth shut, I wouldn't have even seen him.

Anyhoo, in conjunction with the brewfest, there was a homebrew competition. Ted entered 4 of his brews, and we just found out today that he won 2nd place in the IPA (India Pale Ale) category!!!! You can see the results here. Scroll down to Table 17 to see the winners of the IPA category. This was the one with most entrants (19) so 2nd place is actually quite impressive. And there's Ted in the photo above celebrating with the most excellent Rogue Mocha Porter, which just became available at Trader Joe's. A well-deserved drink, I'd say.

Read more about Ted and his homebrewing obsession on his blog.

Labels: beer, cadence, family, homebrew, photos, teddy

Monday night was a special treat for us. Our friend Ian Moore was in town playing a CD release show with a full band(!), so we got Ted's bro Dave to babysit, and we had ourselves a bona fide date. Normally, we would take Cadence to see her Uncle Ian play, but I happened to know that his full band shows get LOUD. Plus, it was a later show than normal for Ian. We braved the rain and the traffic on Ashland, did a Trader Joe's run for some hummus and cheap wine (per Ian and the band's request), and made our way to Martyr's where the show was.

Ted got to get a very short game of pinball in right before the opening band started. I'm not sure why there is a pinball machine in the music room, as that whackety-wack can get pretty loud.

Local act Brice Woodall opened the show. We were quite surprised to see what looked like Jim Cooper (of the Detholz!, Baby Teeth, Bobby Conn, etc) on DRUMS. Turns out it's not Jim, but he sure could be his double if he wanted to be. I mean, down to the pattern that his facial hair made and everything.

Ted and I have seen Ian play his solo acoustic shows numerous times, and they are always amazing. With all the indie rockers saturating the music world these days, it can be hard to find someone who has passion, creativity AND true musical talent. That's why it's always such a treat to see Ian play.

We were excited to see a full-band show, as this is a rare occurrence here in the Midwest, since most of the folks who play with him live in Texas. I caught a full-band show down in Austin, TX back in 2002, but Ted had never seen one before last night, so he was especially expectant. And needless to say it was a totally awesome show.

Ian always amazes me with how full his sound is when he's playing solo or w/ just one backup musician. So with a full band, the sound is even more amazing. And the musicians traveling with him on this tour are really seasoned players.

Ian's latest CD 'To Be Loved' is out on Justice Records. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this album. It is Ian's best yet. I was happy to see that some of the songs he's been performing live for several years have finally made it onto an album version.

It was really great to be able to hear these songs live with a full band. I don't know when Ian will make it out to Chicago with a full band, so I'm glad Ted and I got the chance to see them.

The show was totally awesome. The thing I love about Ian's shows is that even as he performs, he is such a huge music fan himself, and he plays some really great cover songs. That's how I discovered the music of Neutral Milk Hotel and the solo work of Chris Bell (of Big Star). At this show, he also covered Teenage Fan Club's 'Start Again' from one of their older albums.

Here's something weird that happened during the show. While I was taking this photo above (which I have to credit Ian's Chicago merch man Gary Overstreet for asking me to take) from the merch booth, my cellphone began to vibrate. When I took it out of my pocket, the CallerID said it was Ian calling me. So there I was looking at Ian playing his encore on stage, and then I looked back to my phone which was telling me that Ian was calling me at that very moment. It was kinda surreal. I went out to take the call because I was too curious to see what would happen. Now here's the really crazy part. When I picked up, it was some woman talking. But she wasn't talking to me. She was carrying on a conversation with someone else. When I asked her who she was, it was obvious she couldn't hear me, which freaked me out and I hung up. It was like Ian's phone was chanelling this woman's phone conversation and sending it to my phone. Like how totally weird is that?!

I don't usually take photos at Ian's shows, since he normally plays at Schubas and although it's my favorite music room in the city, it kinda sucks for photos. Martyr's had better lighting, especially for a full band show.

After the show, we gave Ian his Trader Joe's loot, as well as a few bottles of Ted's homebrew. We had to hurry home to Cadence, so we couldn't hang out more, but it was good to get a chance to catch up a little. I can see that Ian is really happy with the new album and enjoying this tour, so that was good to see. It was also nice to have an evening out, just Ted and I.

You can see the rest of my photos from Ian's show over here.

Labels: friends.who.rock, ian.moore, live.music, photos

For this week, I give you three of Cadence's smiles from the past week. This one above is one of her sweeter ones.

And this one is sweet in more ways than one. This smile is covered in chocolate!

And here's a dimply one. Probably one of my favorites ever. Folks have been commenting how much older she's looking. I guess that's an inevitable part of growing up...*sigh*...It's been good times, fer sure.

Go see other folks' Best Shots on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

Ok, now where were we...Ah, yes. On to the reception!

Here are the newlyweds entering the reception hall to much applause.

And straight into their first dance as husband and wife.

Next was the bride's dance with her father.

And if you look closely, you will see Lauren's pink Converse All-star sneakers peeking out from under her dress. I just couldn't resist taking this shot...

The part that may have produced the most tears from the guests was the dance with all four of Lauren's brothers. Here she is with the oldest, Dave.

And with Jason, the youngest and her twin.

With Charles, the 2nd oldest brother.

And finally, with Ted, the middle brother.

Here's Cadence watching her daddy twirl her Aunt Lauren around the dance floor. She looked so thoughtful throughout the dance. I don't know what was going through her head. Maybe she thought her dad was a good dancer.

Here she is trying out Daddy as a dance partner. I am not even going to think of her dancing with her Daddy at her own wedding someday.

I have to admit, though, that Cadence didn't spend much time dancing cuz she was too busy running. No surprise there.

Can you hear the glasses clinking?

Oh, look. Another one! And a dramatic dip! Glad I had my camera ready!

This is one of my favorite dancing photos. That's Ted's mom and a very good family friend, Mr. Motyl.

I had a lot of fun photographing our friends Jeff and Lena. They are such a beautiful couple and a lot of fun on the dance floor. I have some goofy photos of them, but I really like this sweet one.

And this is probably in my top 10 favorites of the day. I think I need to do a little more editing, and it may look best in sepia or black and white. We'll see.

I think the dancing photos were the most fun to take. People were having so much fun! There was dancing pretty much non-stop for the reception. Even Grandma Sophie danced the afternoon away. She met a very nice Italian gentleman from Florida who whisked her around the dance floor. He later told me what a great dancer she was and how astounded he was by her agility and lightness of feet.

Anyhoo, I could go on and on with dancing photos, but I'll stop for now. The band definitely deserved a big round of applause.

There was an after-party at the parents' house post-reception, which all the wedding guests were invited to. Ted's mom is a fabulous hostess, and everything looked awesome with just one hired helper.

Some folks on Doug's (the groom's) side of the family gave speeches. I have to say, it amazes me how people from other countries (in this case, Sweden) are so good at speaking English. I mean, could you imagine going to Sweden and delivering a speech in front of 100 guests in Swedish? No, I didn't think so.

I think a lot more drinking went on at the after-party due to the presence of some really awesome homebrew made especially for the wedding by Ted and Dave and Ted's best friend Brian.

There was also no band to keep people on the dancefloor. Unless you were Dave and you dance to the beat of a different realm of reality.

By the end of the night, some of us were in dire need of some shut-eye. All in all, though, it was a fun day. I gotta say, Ted's family sure knows how to party, and I mean that in a very positive way.

So that's it for the photos. Again, you can see all 422 over here if you're so inclined. Hope you have broadband.

Labels: auntie.lore, family, photography, photos, wedding.photography, weddings

That's right, folks. I survived the wedding extravaganza week, and I'm almost back to my everyday life, which would include this blog, of course. I've been editing photos during every moment of my free time since the wedding on Saturday, and I finally have something to show you all. I took over 1,000 photos, and of these I kept a little over 400 from the wedding day itself. I've posted all these to a different flickr account, so if you want to have a look-see at ALL of them, you can mosey on over here. Otherwise, I'll share some of the more memorable photos in this blog post. Excuse the lack of words. I'm tired.

And here is the bride's bouquet. The colors of the wedding were red and orange (for Rouge Douge and Orange Loren).

I didn't really take photos during the ceremony, so here they are moments after being married. The ceremony wasn't the kind that would've allowed me to move around much to take photos. The professional photographer basically planted his tripod and stayed put for most of the ceremony. I figured if he wasn't moving around, I wasn't going to either because I felt self-conscious of my very small lens.

I didn't partake in the family photos, either. I kind of hung around, but I know it's distracting to have two photographers taking photos for posed shots so I didn't take very many photos, except of folks just standing around, like Uncle Charles here. I was kind of disappointed that the photographer didn't do very many family shots. Maybe it's cuz I'm Asian, but I was hoping for a really big family photo. I think I was in only one of the posed photos (the sisters-in-law), and Cadence wasn't in any. But after visiting the photographer's website, I'm glad because the photos I saw on there were kinda scary. We may need to be photoshopping the professional shots...

This is one of the few photos of Cadence I took the entire day, not to mention the entire week. She was half-asleep already.

And here are the newlyweds going off to the reception in their limo. I have no idea how Ted's dad scored a stretch limo 2 days before the wedding.

This one may be my favorite photo of the day. Grandma Sophie had a blast blowing bubbles. She is a total HOOT to photograph.

Alright. I'll end it there for now. More later!

Labels: auntie.lore, family, photography, photos, wedding.photography, weddings

We went to the annual Chicago Korean Festival on Saturday. I don't know why I go to this every year. I guess to get my occasional Korean fix. Unfortunately, the food just isn't up to par, and I couldn't get any paht-bingsoo this year because the line was too damn long at Outdoor Cafe. We did get to spend some time w/ Halfmama and her family and later my cousins Ben and Rachel and Baby Eden, which was nice. I felt bad the festival was so lame though.

I am in full wedding preparation mode, PLUS I'm super busy at work. Poor Cadence...She's been watching a lot of Wonder Pets these days...

To make matters possibly worse, Ted started getting sick yesterday. We don't know if it's allergies or a cold. All I know is, we don't have TIME to get sick. Ain't that always the truth?

That's not all. I woke up with a migraine in the middle of the night last night, and I couldn't fall back to sleep. By the time I got to work at 8am this morning, I had already been up for 7 hours. That is going to throw my sleep WAY off. I just hope I don't get another migraine from the lack of sleep...

See more folks' Best Shots Monday on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, family, photos, this.busy.life

#1—I was walking to the train one day when I passed an elderly dog of indiscernible breed hanging around his front lawn. He was a friendly type---the kind that always has a smile on his face, and I wasn't worried at all walking by him. His owner was on the front porch, just a couple yards away, and he called to his dog in such a gentle, amiable tone that made me smile to myself as I hurried to catch my train. It got me thinking about a quote by Gandhi that says, 'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.' (Thank you, Google) I think this is true. I then got to thinking about how it is considered inhumane to hit a dog or cat or most animals in this country, but when it comes to hitting a child it's considered discipline.

I suppose the Christians have at least a little bit of something to do with this. One little Bible verse in the book of Proverbs—'Spare the rod, spoil the child' has probably done more to mislead parents regarding appropriate discipline than all the other verses regarding love, gentleness, kindness, mercy and forgiveness combined have done to enlighten them. I know that there are now Christian groups who believe in grace-based discipline and do not believe in spanking. William and Martha Sears, who are often considered the spokespersons for Attachment Parenting, are in fact devout Christians. Still, most folks who grew up in Christian or church-going homes grew up being spanked. I know a lot of folks who were hit as a child say they turned out okay so spanking must not be that bad. To them, I say, you probably turned out okay DESPITE being spanked. I'm sorry, but I personally don't see how the assertion of one's superior physical strength or size over another of inferior strength or size can EVER produce truly positive, long-term effects, such as instilling a sense of SELF-discipline, or the sense of right and wrong that is based on internalized morals and not fear of punishment.

I do believe that parents have the responsibility to guide their children. To me, that is what The Rod in the verse from Proverbs is referring to. Shepherds use their rods to guide their sheep, not to beat them when they stray. I'm no expert on discipline. In fact, it's an area that I really struggle with in our home. I am convinced that rewards and punishments do not work in the long-term, if what I'm looking to do is to teach Cadence self-control and desire to do the right thing, not out of fear of punishment or the desire for a reward but simply because it is the right thing to do.

And yet, I understand why parents spank their kids. When you are being pushed to the limits of your sanity by a scrawny 36 inches weighing less than 30lbs, it can be so easy to just revert to how you were parented. I really think that unless we experience significant internal changes, and unless we equip ourselves with the tools to know better, we just can't help ourselves from becoming our parents. For those who were parented well, this is a blessing. For the rest of us, it's a source of frequent internal and external strife.

I didn't grow up with a lot of physical discipline. However, I do distinctly remember my mom telling me that she wanted to beat the tar out of me (loose translation from the Korean), and I never forgot that. I just hope I never say anything so hurtful to Cadence. It would be as bad as giving her a spanking, I would imagine.

I believe that there is another quote out there about how you can tell a lot about a people by the way they treat their young, their old and their sick or disabled. If there isn't, there should be. All in all, I do believe that our humanity is determined, for better or for worse, by how we treat the weakest, the most vulnerable, the frailest, the most dependent among us.

Which is why Jesus is my hero, even though a lot of the stuff that often comes packaged in Christianity drives me totally nutso. But that's another thought for another (Thurs)day.

#2—On a totally different note, will any of you respect me less if I wear gauchos? I know some folks don't have a problem with it, but others simply cannot stand them. I just can't find anything to wear to the wedding that is comfortable enough for me to move around freely so I can take photos. You see, to get some of the shots I want, I sometimes find myself in awkward positions, and I mean that in the physical realm. I've been known to do things like stand on high places, kneel or get my belly on the ground, and I don't want to be doing all that in a skirt. Gauchos provide a nice in-between. Ted doesn't like them at all, but I can't find another pair of pants that I like. And don't get me started about the top…

#3—Can I just say that I absolutely love Ted's new haircut? I made him go to art+science which is much more pricey than just a barber or Supercuts. I have to say, it's totally worth it. Best of all, he loves it too!

Cadence thinks the haircut is beautiful too. They sure make a good looking pair!

Labels: attachment.parenting, cadence, parenting, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays

I'm practicing my photog skillz for Auntie Lauren's wedding, which is coming up really fast now! Here are a few of my faves from this past week:

Cadence's little friend Ada at her Dr. Seuss-themed 3rd Birthday Party. Notice her little tattoo on her arm. So cute!

Adorable little Nora at the birthday party. I like how Ada and Cadence are off in the distance, and here's little Nora chasing after them.

Here, I'm playing around on Picasa, which is a google software for organizing and editing photos. I've muted the colors every so slightly.

This one is kinda dreamy. I don't think I'd want to do too many photos like this as that would probably make me want to vomit. But a few here and there I think would be okay. I'm really not so much into the effects. I like when other people do 'em, but I like to keep things simple. Probably cuz I'm lazy.

I just like the light in this one. And I am a big fan of window seats! I always think of Jane Eyre as a little girl hiding away in one of these and reading for hours and hours during the cold winter months.

This happened to be in Ted's parent's fridge. It's almost 2 years old! There will definitely be a bunch of homebrew at the wedding after-party.

There's something about this photo that I really like. Part of it is because I think Becki is just absolutely beautiful, in a really pure, natural and wholesome way. The awesome part is that she's really this beautiful on the inside too. I know that sounds hokey, but it's true. Uncle David is so lucky that she chose him!

As you can see, Cadence is quite fond of her Aunt Becki, whom she called Aunt Duckie for the longest time. *sigh*. I kinda liked it when she called her Duckie...

Oh, all of these photos were taken w/ the 50mm f/1.8 lens on my D50. I'm thinking I'll shoot mainly w/ that lens cuz I just love the blur. So I guess it won't matter so much that my 18-55mm is broken. I have an older 35-55mm from my film camera that I can use on my D50, so I'll do that. I'll use my D40 for my 55-200mm zoom lens, mainly at the ceremony. I'm going to focus more on the reception and after-party and leave the main ceremony shooting to the pros. There is no way I'll get much more than maybe some artsy looking grainy B&W shots at the ceremony, since the church does not allow flash or planted lighting. We'll see how it goes...

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: auntie.lore, best.shots.monday, cadence, family, photography, photos, weddings

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

When I chose to do certain things as a parent that some folks would consider attachment parenting, I have to admit that I didn't have visions of beautiful bonding moments with my child; they were for reasons of convenience and necessity as a working mom. Breastfeeding meant I'd always have food ready to serve without needing to measure, mix or warm up. Extended breastfeeding meant I'd always have a means of calming and comforting instantaneously, not to mention being able to give Cadence—ever the Energizer bunny—the equivalent of a sleeping pill every night. Co-sleeping meant being able to nurse and comfort without having to get up or entirely waking up so that I could actually function during the day and bring home the bacon. Babywearing meant being able to do things around the house and not having to lug a stroller everywhere, the technicalities of which I never fully grasped (I am severely mechanically challenged). If these things promoted attachment between Cadence and me, well that was an added bonus.

As she grew older, however, I wondered if my laziness had set us up for disaster. I mean, would Cadence EVER stop nursing during the night, with a midnight snack just inches from her face? Would she EVER learn to put herself to sleep without the sleep-inducing hormones in a nightcap on tap from mama's boob? Would she EVER wean herself, if we let HER decide when she was ready? Would she EVER be able to sleep by herself in her own bed without a warm body next to her?

It seems to me that the answer to all these questions is YES. She has already stopped nursing during the night for the most part through no effort of my own. Sometimes she stirs, but she usually just settles herself and sleeps through the night until after I've already left for work. She has also started getting in bed and putting herself to sleep for naptimes, but only with Ted. I don't try to force her to do it with me too because I get to put her down for naps only three days a week. But at least I know that she CAN do it. She obviously hasn't weaned yet, but I know she will someday. Now that she's cut out her pre-dawn session, she only nurses twice a day as it is.

As for sleeping in her own bed, I am personally skeptical of the notion that a child should be expected to sleep alone so early in life. I remember sleeping with my grandmother while my brother slept with my parents until I was at least 5 years old. For thousands of years, humans slept together in one family bed, so I think babies are hard-wired to want to be close to a warm body, probably as a built-in safety feature. I believe that humans are highly adaptable and therefore have learned to sleep alone from infancy during the last 100 years or so (at least in the Western world). However, I don't expect this of my own child, because I know her personality. Some babies are great in their own cribs and beds from the get-go. Others can gradually become accustomed to sleeping alone. Cadence happens to fall into the camp that requires a little more coziness during the night. Maybe it's because I am away from her so much during the day. Maybe it's just how she's hardwired. At any rate, co-sleeping gives me the opportunity to be in close contact with her for at least 7 hours during the night, and although we may be asleep through most of it, in our dreamy state, we soak in each other's presence and touch, and it diminishes the sadness of being separated for 10-11 hours during the day. Of course there are nights when I just wish I could sleep unencumbered all alone in a nice big soft bed. Overall, though, it's so worth it.

Labels: attachment.parenting, cadence, cosleeping, extended.breastfeeding, parenting, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays

So after Rudden's birthday party, we high-tailed it back home to get ready for Ted's show w/ the Tim Lowly Ensemble that night. They were playing at the Dawghaus Café, a new eatery/venue right on the lakefront off of Sheridan and Grandville in Berger Park (which also happens to have our favorite playground in the city).

I was especially excited about this show because my friend Sarah and her daughter Eleanor were going to be at the show, as Sarah's husband Ben was opening up for Tim's band under the moniker Ribbons of Song. With the awesome playground right next to the venue and the lovely lakefront as the backdrop and the weather totally cooperating by 7pm, I knew we'd have a good time. And Cadence was totally psyched about playing with Eleanor again.

And here's Eleanor playing on the playground next to the cafe. She's one spunky kid — super creative and funny and cute and smart.

Here's Eleanor sharing her milkshake with Cadence. Note the worried look on her face. Needless to say, I had to get Cadence her own smoothie after that.

I took some photos under the streetlights that line the trail next to the lakeshore, and I'm kind of surprised at how much I like them.

I don't do too much night photography any more now that I'm usually home trying to get a toddler to sleep after it gets dark. I used to love doing nighttime street photography with my little Nikon back in the day, and I'm starting to remember why.

There was this one big super bright light illuminating the stage, and it was perfect for shooting with my superfast 50mm lens.

There WAS this one really, really loud cricket, but I thought it added to the charm and ambience of the evening.

Oh, and there was this big beautiful spider web right behind Tim. Spiders are awesome, even though I'm scared to death of the ones living in our home.

After the show, a bunch of folks (but not Sarah and Ben and Eleanor, who were all pooped) came back to our place for homebrews. We drank beer and talked until a little after 1 am. Man, what a long day.

Oh, Cadence didn't go to bed until midnight, and then she woke up at 4am whimpering and contorting her body in pain. It was either gas or constipation (probably the latter, as she pooped in the morning). I was so desperate for sleep that I finally ended up somehow upside down on the bed with her on top of me, tummy to tummy. I didn't get out of bed until close to 9:30 the next morning.

On Sunday, we went to church and then came home so Cadence could nap for a bit. As soon as she woke up, we had to run out the door again, this time to Tim and Sherrie's house where he and Ben and Ryan and Jan (Tales from Tuckaway) were playing a house show.

Cadence and Eleanor got pretty raucous, and Tim was recording the shows, so Sarah and I were mostly outside with the girls.

We did go inside for a bit between sets. Here's Sarah, Eleanor's mama, sitting in Tim and Sherrie's living room.

At one point, Eleanor's dad Ben threw out lollipops at folks in the living room. Cadence, being the deprived child that she is, didn't know what they were until she saw people putting them in their mouths. She then started begging for her own "popsicle." I relented, but explained to her that this was a special treat, and like Christmas, would come around only about once a year.

And here are the two girls, sharing a chair and toasting lollipops. It doesn't get any better than this, they're thinking, I'm sure.

Alas, soon after, we had to say goodbye to Eleanor, who had gone sans nap all day and finally collapsed in her mama's arms right about when they were going to be heading back to Grand Rapids. We miss you already!!!

OK. That's about it. We went out for the best tilapia tacos on the planet with Hilary, Katie, Matt and Ethan afterwards and didn't get home until close to 9pm.

So minus the sleeping and napping, we had pretty much been going nonstop from Saturday morning 6:15am until bedtime Sunday night.

It sure was fun, though.

Labels: friends.who.rock, grand.rapids.REPRESENT, photos, ribbons.of.song, this.busy.life, tim.lowly.ensemble

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

I don't know how we got so lucky, but we've had two weekends in a row of absolutely gorgeous weather. It's like someome screwed up and programmed Chicago for Seattle's summer weather, instead of the usual 90 degrees+/80% humidity that is normally to be expected in July around here.

I'm almost afraid to write about it, lest Someone realizes the mistake and switches us back to our regularly scheduled programming. Hope you all are enjoying your summers!

Check out more Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, i.heart.seattle, i.heart.summer, photos

#1--I think I've got photographer's block. As much as I love my new camera(s), I haven't been feeling all that inspired lately to take photos. And you know what? I'm kinda tired of taking photos of Cadence.

I mean, yeah, she's really cute and all, and it's not that I'm tired of HER (well, ok, sometimes I am). I just don't know if a kid actually needs that many photos taken of them. I'm not going to stop taking photos of Cadence, but I'll probably take less than I have been. And I'm hoping I'll gain a little inspiration to take photos of other stuff.

#2--I am totally digging the music of Feist these days. Oh Em Gee. Listening to her sing can feel like swimming in liquid chocolate one moment and then like having a screwdriver boring a hole through your heart the next. Totally hot stuff. Other bands I'm listening to are The New Pornagraphers, The Blow, Kings of Convenience, Grizzly Bear, and The Sea and Cake

#3--So we've already gotten through a month of summer. Goodness gracious, time is just whizzing by, and I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath. The end of summer will signal the arrival of Cadence's 3rd birthday. I better get ready to sing Happy Birthday over and over and over again, cuz she LOVES singing that song. I heard her singing Happy Birthday to her chair the other day, that's how much she loves that song.

And here's another random photo:

Labels: photos, three.thoughts.thursdays

I guess I haven't quite recovered from Pitchfork yet. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought tickets for the WHOLE. FLIPPIN'. WEEKEND. when I knew I'd have Cadence in tow by myself.

Actually, Ted did accompany me Friday night for Sonic Youth's performance of Daydream Nation. We met up w/ my friend Sarah S-B and her daughter Eleanor, who drove in from Grand Rapids. I'm bummed I didn't have my good camera with me cuz Eleanor was dressed up in a Superman outfit. It was totally awesome!

I wish I had more photos to share with you of actual performances, but trying to keep up with Cadence prevented me from taking too many photos. Here's Iron and Wine on stage. Dang, Sam Beam's hair is getting long. I think Cadence's little buddy Rudden, who was there with his family, asked if that was Jesus. Ha ha!

That's right, folks. I went to a weekend-long festival of some of the best indie music out there, and I took photos of toddlers.

Can you blame me, though, when they're this adorable?

I have to say, I love this photo of Rudden as he reacts to the music of metal band Mastadon.

I did get to spend time with my friends Caleb and Kathy Maskell, who flew in from New Haven, CT for the festival. They hadn't seen Cadence for a year and a half, so I was glad they got a chance to see her budding personality.

I have some other photos on Ted's camera, but since I've been using my new cameras, I've misplaced the reader for the type of memory card it uses, so I haven't been able to get those photos onto a computer yet. They're probably no good. I did take one of Neko Case a woman who was filling in for Neko Case* as she played with The New Pornagraphers, whose set kicked some major booty. I've been enjoying their new album, so it was totally cool to hear some of the songs live.
*(Thanks to Caleb for the clarification. We were wondering why that woman looked nothing like Neko Case.)

Anyhoo, I'm totally out of steam. I'm extremely busy at work, and I'm helping plan a bachelorette party for Ted's sister next month in addition to getting all the other wedding details ready (shoes for Cadence, outfit for me, camera equipment, etc.) so you'll have to excuse me if I just post random photos every once in a while like this one:

Labels: live.music, music.festivals, photos, this.busy.life

Thanks for all your well wishes! My headache did go away, and I think I did fine on the exam (it's pass/fail). Cadence and I are going to Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend, so it's gonna be busy. Thank goodness it's not so hot here.

Yesterday's weather was absolutely beautiful! I got to take some photos after my exam. I just got a polarizing filter, which I should've gotten when I first got my camera. It makes your sky shots so much better!

Anyhoo, the lineup at Pitchfork is amazing. Ok, I gotta hustle if I'm gonna make Califone. Which it looks like I'm gonna miss now cuz Cadence was napping. Oh well. There's still Voxtrot, Grizzly Bear, Iron and Wine, Cat Power and more! And that's just today!

Labels: i.heart.chicago, music, photos

That's right. I've got a migraine. Hopefully the cafe au lait Ted made me, in combo w/ some pain killers, will chase it away. I think it's due to some intense studying I've been doing for a work-related exam I'm taking on Friday. If anyone has any wisdom to impart on Base Pay Structures, please send 'em my way.

So instead of sharing my deep thoughts, I am participating in Tracey's Thursday Theme, which is HEAT, something a good portion of our country has been experiencing in waves lately. Things have cooled down in our neck of the woods the past couple of days, but Sunday was a scorcher. I thought it would be a good idea to cool Cadence off with some water play. Unfortunately, I was too lazy to run out to actually buy a bonafide kiddie pool.

Luckily, we had just the right sized storage container that could do the job. It was perfect for Cadence and some of her rubber friends.

Cadence liked her "swimming pool" just fine.

There was lots of splashing going on, fer sure.

She liked it so much, in fact, that she got quite pruny.

Go see how other folks are dealling w/ the heat on Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: around.the.house, cadence, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays, thursday.theme

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 my D50 body that I bought just for my 50mm f/1.8 lens? I think I'm finally getting used to it. It's still clunky compared to my D40. I've only taken probably less than 700 photos on it, compared to almost 9,000 on my D40, so maybe it's just a matter of practice before I'm feeling more at home with it.

I did get to do a little photoshoot with the D50 on Wednesday of my cousins Ben and Rachel's baby daughter Eden, who is now 4 months old. We went over to their place for a 4th of July BBQ. Cadence loves going to see Baby Eden. She still gets jealous when one of us holds her, but not as much as she used to. She even told Ted, as we were getting out of the car, that he could hold Baby Eden.

The more time I spend with Eden, the more I miss that itty bitty baby stage. And Eden isn't so itty bitty any more already! Ted and I were looking through some old photos last night of Cadence at around 4 months old. It's been so long since we could actually say she was chubby that I was surprised to see her chunkiness.

I know y'all are thinking we're totally gonna have another one with all this baby talk, but that's not true. Yes, Ted and I joke about it casually, with just a little hint of yearning in our voices. Would we be happy if we happened to get pregnant right now? I think so. Are we going out of our way to get pregnant? Uh, no.

Fact is, I don't know if I'll even be able to get pregnant again. My doctor had told me in my 20s that I would need fertility treatment to get pregnant. Apparently, Ted was fertility treatment enough. But now, I don't know…I've only had a few periods since Cadence was born. Yes, I'm still nursing, but only a couple times a day, and I don't think that would be enough to keep most women from ovulating again.

It may just be that Cadence is my one miracle baby and that I'll never get another chance to give birth again. I have mixed feelings about this, but you know, as much as I bitch and moan about what a handful Cadence is, she really is a totally kickass kid, and I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am to have the privilege of being her mama. So if it turns out that she is my only child, she's the best only I could have ever asked for, and I'm thankful for that.

Labels: baby.fever, cadence, family, i.heart.nikon, photography, photos

Sorry, folks, but I haven't had a thought worth sharing in a while, and I'm so behind on photos--and let's face it; this site is about the photos (mainly of Cadence) and not about me--so Three Thoughts Thursday will have to resume next week. Hopefully, I'll be thinking again by then.

Ted's dad flew us to Madison on Saturday afternoon, which saved us quite a bit of driving. And Cadence totally loves flying with her grandpa, so it was a special treat.

Cadence was totally chatty and excited as she enjoyed her in-flight snack of canteloupe and grapes that Grandma had packed for her, until we put the headset on her so she could hear us talking to each other. Then she totally froze and barely even blinked after that. I guess hearing our voices almost inside her head freaked her out. She just held onto Grandma's hand the whole time, staring straight ahead of her. When we took the headset off as we were landing, she just resumed chattering away, almost as if we'd turned her off and on again. Weird...

My cousin Casey, who had driven up earlier, picked us up at the Madison airport. We headed downtown to our hotel, the Madison Concourse and Governor's Club, which ended up being a block from the capitol and all the fun and excitement on State Street near the UW campus.

We grabbed some dinner at State Street Brats, and that's where Cadence began her hunger strike against food with any nutritional value for the entire weekend. She wouldn't eat anything but fries there, and things didn't get much better for the remainder of the vacation.

After dinner, we walked over to UW's Memorial Union Terrace on Lake Mendota to watch the Rhythm and Boom fireworks across the Lake. Apparently, half the town also congregated on the Terrace to see the fireworks, and it was so crowded you literally had to watch where you were walking so you wouldn't step on people's fingers.

The fireworks were okay, I guess, but I once attended the Celebration of Light in Vancouver, which is the largest fireworks competition in the world, and that kind of spoiled fireworks for me from then on. Chicago also has fireworks a couple times a week because of Navy Pier, so I guess I'm just a bit jaded.

Cadence LOVED being on the Terrace, and she basically did not stop running--and by running, I mean RUNNING--around until we left for the hotel some time after 11pm. Meanwhile, Ted and Casey had ordered two pitchers of beer and were taking their sweet time drinking them. The Union sells beer only to members, which Casey happens to be, and they sell pretty damn good beer. I was so anxious for the boys to be done with their beer that I actually had a glass myself, just to speed things along.

After two-and-a-half hours of sprinting, Cadence finally fell asleep in her stroller on our walk over to the hotel. We didn't even bother chaning her into her PJs. Goodness gracious, that girl knows how to party.

So remember that little itty bitty bit of beer I had to hurry things along on the Terrace? Well, it came back to smite me the next morning. I woke up hung over with an imminent migraine. Although I managed to take Cadence swimming in the hotel pool for a little bit, by the time we were eating breakfast (it was actually more like lunchtime by then), I was in so much pain and sick to my stomach. I knew that I had an appointment with the porcelin god and that there was no way in hell I could go on the New Glarus brewery tour which we'd planned for that afternoon.

Casey and Ted dropped me and Cadence off at the hotel (after I purchased a very large bottle of Excedrin), and I somehow managed to subscribe to the Disney Channel-On-Demand before rushing to the bathroom and taking care of business. It was pretty nasty. Somebody remind me to never eat potatoes when I know I'm gonna throw up in the near future.

I was sick the rest of the day. I closed all the blinds and let Cadence watch Little Einstein and Disney Clubhouse, which she was very happy about as she'd never seen those programs before.

My head was still in so much pain that I didn't even go out for dinner, even though it was a gorgeous day outside and I was starving since I'd been cooped up in the hotel room all day. Casey and Ted came back from their brewery tour, which they were able to enjoy since they didn't have to chase Cadence around. I did make them take her for dinner though, just to get her unglued from the tube. I, on the other hand, stayed in and ordered room service. I also stayed away from alcohol for the rest of the trip.

I did manage to drag myself out of the hotel room once the sun went down (I'm extremely photophobic when a migraine is plaguing me). We walked down State Street, and Cadence was as crazy as ever, running amok. Luckily, there is no car traffic on State Street, so I wasn't as stressed out about Cadence getting flattened by a vehicle.

We went to The Chocolate Shoppe, which is where our favorite Chicago ice cream shop, Sweet Occasions, gets their ice cream. Yeah, cuz Cadence NEEDS sugar. Really, folks, we don't even give this girl juice. I have no idea why she always acts like she's got high fructose corn syrup running through her veins.

I gotta say, Cadence LOVES vacations. Clean sheets and fluffy pillows galore and TELEVISION! Elevators! Swimming pools! New territory to explore and run and run and run around in! What's not to love? Me, on the other hand? I've pretty much had it with vacations until Cadence is old enough to walk down a street unchaperoned. Can someone please tell me when that will be? Is 4 years old too young? How about 3? I suppose I should work on her potty learning first...Don't even go there, people...

We checked out of the hotel on Monday morning and stopped at the Henry Vilas Zoo before driving back w/ Casey to Ted's parents' house. And thus ended my Madison getaway.

I guess I'm a little annoyed that the bulk of my vacation was spent in bed hiding from the sun. And I hear that New Glarus is a really cute town that I would've really loved, so I totally missed that too. Oh well. I'll just have to remember to steer clear of the beer next time. Sheesh.

It was a real relief to get back to Ted's parents' house. We stayed overnight there, and it was actually like another little vacation. Ted's mom is a great cook, and Cadence could care less about me when there's Grandma, Grandpa AND Sniper the cat to play with.

We even got to visit the neighbors' horses, one of whom just had a baby a month ago. I've never had much contact with horses, having grown up in the city, but I've always been fascinated by them. I think they are absolutely beautiful creatures, and Cadence agrees.

I guess it's inevitable now that Cadence will one day want a horse of her own. We'll just have to move to a farm or something.

Alright, I'm getting really tired of posting, so I'll just have to continue some other time.

Labels: family, photos, vacation

If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along

Just sing what you feel
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong

When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)

There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you

(What Light by Wilco from their new album, Sky Blue Sky)

Labels: around.the.house, cadence, i.heart.wilco, photos

#1—I recently celebrated a semi-milestone birthday, which has forced me to contemplate my aging process. I have to say, if there's one thing my mom has done well, it's to age gracefully. At the age of 65, she still has only a few stray gray hairs here and there, and her face lacks but a few wrinkles. In the past year, I have come to grips with the fact that my hair is in fact starting to gray. This wouldn't be so bad if my hair were a lighter color, but when you've got black hair, it's really hard to miss. Just this morning, when I looked in the mirror, I was horrified to find that a few strands had gone white totally overnight. Like, how is that even possible?

Different people have different ways of dealing with their deviant strands. Me? I pluck those suckers right out of my scalp as fast as I can. Luckily, I haven't found too many so far. And yet, I know I'll have to make a decision as to what I'm gonna do about the gray once these ghost strands become too numerous for me to keep up with. The thing is, I don't want to dye my hair. My dad stopped dying his later in life, and he had a lovely head of silvery moonbeam hair. I actually wouldn't mind having that. I just hope it's not at the age of 35. Anyhoo, I don't know what to do in the interim. If I dyed my hair, I'd want to dye it a totally different color, like cobalt blue or magenta. Something tells me that wouldn't go over so well at my place of gainful employment...

#2—It seems to me that a lot of newish parents these days fret over the size of their babies and toddlers, especially if they're on the smallish side. It doesn't help that the growth charts published in every parenting book and exhibited by pediatricians across the country don't take into account factors such as whether the children were formula-fed or breastfed or the genetic makeup inherited from the parents. Cadence has been falling off the charts weight-wise for some time now, and if it weren't for those pesky charts, I probably wouldn't stress out so much over her eating habits. The fact is, she's happy, playful, strong and active. If you look at her, the word "malnourished" would never enter your mind. Still, I wish she'd eat actual meals more than a couple times a week.

Speaking of small, I finally got to meet my friends Zarah and Felix's newborn son Asher yesterday. He is tiny at just over 5lbs (after losing some of his birthweight like all newborns) but is just about the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. Granted, I only saw him while he was slumbering, but I'm sure he's just as beautiful awake. I absolutely love the way newborns look and smell and feel in your arms. Even my cousin's Baby Eden, who's now a whopping 4 months old, feels so small and light compared to Cadence, who herself is still light enough to carry with one arm.

*Sigh*. Here's a photo of Cadence from the archives, when she was really little. Can you tell I have just an eensy-teensie bit of baby fever? I'll get over it soon enough, though, before it's too late. Although this would be the perfect time for me to get pregnant…My work usually slows down for mid-spring/early summer, which would be just around 40 weeks from now. Hmmm…

Alright, moving right along...

#3—I know that my affinity for used/vintage clothing is obvious in the way I dress Cadence. Well, what's even better than used/vintage is used/vintage hand-me-downs from people I love. That's exactly what Cadence is wearing in this photo. The shirt and shorts were her Auntie Lauren's way back in the 80's. Ted's mom made the shorts, and she spruced up the shirt with the lace/ribbon trim.

I wish my mom had kept some of my clothes from girlhood. There was this one Snoopy shirt which I can guarantee never existed in the U.S. And then there was that white dress with the floral apron that I absolutely adored. I guess we could only take so much on the plane when we moved here from Korea, but still...It apparently never occurred to my mom to save any of my stuff, even my hanboks. She expressed surprise that Ted's mom had kept Lauren's clothese all these years. This is coming from someone who saved every one of my report cards from grammar school. Oh well.

Labels: about.me, auntie.lore, baby.fever, cadence, family, parenting, photos, three.thoughts.thursdays

It's true. I love this dress, and on so many levels. I love that it's not pink.

I love the fact that it's old and used and that some one loved this dress so much that they lengthened it so their kid could wear it just a little longer.

I love the details, like the ruffles and the smocking.

I love how comfortable Cadence looks in it.

And I love it for this photo alone.

Go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

It's been a busy weekend and then some around here. I took a lot of photos, and I'm just too plain tired, busy and lazy to say much about them, so please excuse me while I let my photos do most of the talking.

Labels: anathallo, get.up.johns, live.music, photos, think.dance.collective, this.busy.life, tim.lowly.ensemble

Ted's sister Lauren (his only sister of his 4 siblings, I might add) is getting married to her sweet and handsome Bostwanian Swede Douglas in August. She's asked me to be the photographer for the big event, and before you think she's crazy for asking an amateur like me (Let's face it, guys. Y'all are really sweet to me, but that's what I am. Have you ever been on Flickr?), you have to know Lore. She's a simple gal who wants a simple wedding and who prefers things more spontaneous and informal. I think I can handle that.

Don't get me wrong. To some degree, I'm shaking in my crocs. Which is why I'm trying to do as much preparation as possible before the big day. I'm taking this assignment seriously, and I think my first step is going to be to ask beg our sister-in-law Ali in Seattle for help. She's a film photographer with a great eye and so much more experience than me. I think it would be pretty stupid to have just one photographer. Even I had two at my little backyard wedding (Ali and my friend Teal Pheal).

I've actually shot two weddings (as the backup photographer, of course) with my point-and-shoots a while back. The first one was a disaster because it was entirely indoors under artificial lighting, and my camera only went up to an ISO400. DisASTER. Thank GOD they had an AWESOME and PROFESSIONAL REAL photographer (who was probably giggling behind my back at my little coolpix). The 2nd wedding was for my friends Caleb and Kathy, who also had an awesome primary photographer. That wedding was an early wedding with lots of natural light, so I fared better at that one, and if I'd actually had an SLR, I'd have to say the photos would have been kick-ass.

In addition to asking Ali for help, I've taken another step towards being a better faux-real photographer. I got myself another SLR body. Yes, I done gone out and bought me a used D50, just so I could use my 50mm f/1.8 lens without having to manually focus. I suppose I could've put that lens on my film SLR, but do you have any idea what a friggin' nervous wreck I'd be wondering how the photos were coming out? Yeah. Not my cup of tea. Besides. If you're gonna shoot a wedding, you gotta have two bodies so you don't have to keep switching out your lenses. Right? And look at that photo above, which I took w/ the D50 and the 50mm lens. No postprocessing here. That is all natural blur, folks. And dirt. All natural dirt on them footsies.

I'm also actually going to look at books about photographing weddings. In case you didn't know, wedding photography is a huge industry now. Wedding photojournalism has especially gotten popular. People don't want just canned posed photos of their weddings any more. They want flippin' ART. I hear there are a few good books on the subject that may give me ideas and hopefully the technical know-how to execute those ideas.

I plan on shooting in RAW format to be on the safe side so that I can make corrections if need be in post process. I don't do a lot of post processing, considering up until I discovered Picasa, I only used Microsoft Photoeditor for making changes and corrections to my photos. I'm pretty scared of Photoshop. I tried it for a month and just couldn't get comfortable with it. So I've been seeing a lot of Flickrites using Lightroom, which is definitely cheaper than Photoshop, and I'm thinking I might try it out and see if I like it. My friend Lori has been using it a lot, and I love the results she's getting. Of course, she has Photoshop experience, so I may not get the same results…

So yeah. I'm taking this pretty seriously, as I should, it being a once-in-a-lifetime event and all. It's also my wedding present for Lauren and Doug, so I want it to be as good as possible. This is no time to be hiding behind pseudoartistic pride or punk rawk stubbornness, if you know what I mean. I figure I have two months to practice and learn all I can.

Those of you experienced in wedding photography, if you have any pointers, now would be the time to speak up. Even if you've never posted a comment on here before, this would be the time to delurk. I will be most grateful!

One last thing. What shoes should I wear?

Labels: family, photography, photos, weddings

#1— This has been a beautiful week weatherwise in Chicago (although we could use some rain soon, I'm sure). We live about a mile from the lake, and I've been there with Cadence a few times this past week. I was reminded again just how beautiful it is to live by a big body of water like Lake Michigan. I know I rave about summers in Seattle, but when you think about it, summers in Chicago are pretty damn nice too.

I know that we don't live by the BIGGEST of the Great Lakes, but it still looks like an ocean to me. You can't help but be filled with a sense of awe while looking out on the vast waters beneath a huge endless sky. I just don't get tired of this. Ever.

#2—Something I wonder and worry about every 3 days or so is where, when and how to send Cadence to school. Ted and I have seriously considered homeschooling, cuz let's face it—Chicago Public Schools are not exactly stellar. But lately, Cadence has shown an interest in going to school. She's run into kids from a nearby preschool at a local playground, and she really seems to want to be a part of that whole scene. I guess playing with an entire group of people her own size is more appealing than same old boring mom and dad. So I guess we are open to the idea of sending her to school. Lord knows Ted could probably use the break. And now we have to ask ourselves when we think a good time would be to enroll her. And considering most schools require that you apply a good 6-9 months in advance, we may need to decide WHERE to send her sooner than we'd like.

Part of it will depend on the luck of the draw, literally, as I hear the best public schools in the city have a pretty competitive lottery system of admission. I've thought about packing up the family and moving into the neighborhood of certain schools so that we'd have a better chance of getting in. But I'd hate to go through all that trouble and end up not getting in at all.

I feel like so much of public education in the last decade has focused a ridiculous amount of time on testing, which I think is stupid and a waste of taxpayer dollars. I was surprised to find that an increasing number of schools have done away with recess. I don’t want Cadence to be stuck in a learning environment where she's forced to fill in an endless array of bubbles with a #2 pencil day after day. That's not what I call learning. That's what I call mind-numbing, brain-cell-annihilating exercise in futility.

#3—Lately, I've been thinking that it would be nice to have a large family. I'm actually a big supporter of folks who choose to have only one child. In the U.S., having just one kid has the environmental impact of having maybe 30 kids or more in certain parts of the developing world. This is something I actually have thought about a lot. On the other hand, I've ALWAYS wanted to be in a big family, and I really enjoy the dynamics among Ted and his siblings. Cadence is such a social kid that I think she's really going to give us a hard time if we don't provide her with some siblings. Now don't jump to the conclusion that Ted and I are gonna get busy for a #2 anytime soon. Adding another family member would be a significant change to the current family environment, and we need to think about this more. I know some of you are laughing at me, but dude…Cadence is a flippin' handful…A very cute, sweet and charming handful, but still…Maybe what she needs is a lot of cousins…

Labels: cadence, family, photos, random.thoughts, three.thoughts.thursdays

So on Sunday, our little family did something we've never done before--as individuals OR as a family. We went to Chicago's North Center Ribfest. Now, you may not think anything of it, but you have to understand that we're not really a rib-eating family, unless it's Korean Kalbi. Fortunately, there was a lot more than ribs going on at this festival.

Some people were apparently there for the free goodies.

Some people were there to sit around and enjoy a cig or two or three dozen.

I'm sure others were there for the drunken debauchery that is sure to ensue at events such as this one.

Other folks just wanted to chill out.

Still other were there to be cooler than thou.

But me?

I was there for the Rock 'n' Roll, baby! Like, DUH!

The Chamber Strings, whose recent reunion and old and new material have garnered much press and praise, were totally f*cking awesome.

Their songs are chock full of devastating beauty. You know--the kind of beauty that can silence a room and make your jaw drop and bring you to your knees as you thank God in heaven for being graced with that moment. Okay, maybe I exaggerate. But maybe not. You can find out for yourselves here, or check them out @ the Abbey Pub on Friday July 13th when they play with the marching band sensation Mucca Pazza (another Satellite band!). If I weren't going to Pitchfork Festival that night, I'd be there for sure. Heck, I may still try and make it.

You can see all my photos of the Chamber Strings from Ribfest here. Some of my favorite live music shots, I have to say...

I would've been totally happy to see just the Chamber Strings that night, but no...We were also treated to the retro pop yumminess of Chicago's superband Baby Teeth. I haven't seen these guys play since 2004. And they've come a long way since then, let me tell ya.

My friend Jim plays bass in Baby Teeth. It's a much different role for him than his other gig as the frontman of the Detholz!. Kinda like the difference between being an earthling and Klingon, I would imagine.

Baby Teeth shows are a great place for a first date. Their music is such that your date won't be able to keep himself/herself from dancing. And chances are, if they start dancing with you, you'll get to hold his/her hand. And the rest could be history.

If you don't live in Chicago but on the East Coast, you're in luck, as Baby Teeth will be doing their EC Tour the end of June through mid-July. Check out their shows page for more details.

And see more Baby Teeth photos here.

Cadence totally loved all the music and the crowds. She was dancing with herself and running around and charming everyone within visual range and having a grand ol' time.

Heck, even Ted thought the music was great, which is saying A LOT considering that most bands these days bore him to tears.

Anyhoo, the rest of the photos from ribfest are here. Good times, good times.

Labels: baby.teeth, i.heart.chicago, i.heart.summer, live.music, photos, the.chamber.strings

I'm actually going to post something short and sweet cuz it's actually been pretty busy at Chez Moi. This is Cadence sitting in Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square. I just love her blouse, which I think I got for like a dollar at the thrift store. Or was it eBay? The pants are definitely eBay.

So the one week I post just one, would you believe Tracey bends her own totally unenforced and unwritten rule and posts three?! Go check out every one's Best Shot(s) Monday at Tracey's Picture This!

And stay tuned for more rock 'n' roll! Chamber Strings! Baby Teeth! I got 'em!

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos, this.busy.life

#1—I've been thinking lately about my "past" lives. No, I'm not talking about "past" as in previous lives, but as in the totally different people I've been over the course of my 35 years. It's just so weird to think back to the various identities and sets of beliefs and circles of friends I've had. I've even had a number of different names. You'd think I couldn't make up my mind on who I was or something.

It's always a little awkward when I run into someone from one of these former lives. I have no idea what they've heard through the grapevine about my life since I last saw them. It's especially weird if they just assume that I'm the same as I ever was, especially regarding my thoughts on God and the Church (and by Church, I mean mainly the evangelical church in the U.S.).

Sometimes, though, it's a pleasant surprise to run into someone I haven't seen in a while. Like yesterday, at the Common, when I ran into a guy named Dave Fleuchaus who I used to go to church with. It was a very brief encounter, but still really nice, and I got to introduce him to Ted and Cadence. It's funny how a flood of memories can rush back from when you were essentially someone else. I sure do miss a lot of the people…

#2—Whenever summer rolls around, my thoughts drift towards the Pacific Northwest, home of my favorite city to visit—Seattle, WA. Surrounded by mountains and water, built on hills, draped in breathtakingly green raiment, covered by deep azure skies, and soaked in bountiful sunshine—summers in Seattle are simply gorgeous. I know they're notorious for their drizzle, but that's really mainly during the winter months. Summers totally make up for it.

There was a time when you could fly roundtrip to Seattle from Chicago for around $180. I think I visited there 3 times in a 9-month period back in 2002/2003. Ted went last year to drink beer with visit his bro Charles and sis-in-law Ali while I moped at home with Cadence. Now I'm itching to go back, but we've decided that we won't take any flying trips this year, unless it's Ted's dad who's doing the flying. Now that we have to buy a ticket for Cadence too, we'd have to spend at least $700 on airfare alone to go most places far away enough to justify flying. But still…

I really have a hankering for some fresh (flying) seafood at Pike Place market.

Or a REALLY AWESOME latte on Capitol Hill.

Or a picnic in Discovery Park.

Or watching folks busking on the street corners.

Or some really greasy pizza on The Ave.

Or a late night stroll through Red Square in UW.