Have a Holly Jolly...Day of the Dead?

Christmas this year was awesome! This may be the only year I've ever received what I asked for; in this case a Canon G-10 camera. My hubby is far more sneaky than I thought... So now you'll be seeing snapshots taken by me - not nearly the photo quality of my husband's, but in a much more timely manner. And as you can imagine, I photo'd just about everything from Christmas day.

This pie didn't get eaten; in fact I fished it from the trash to take this pic. A bit like foam rubber, I thought.

We got up so early to open presents (Honey was kicking me out of bed at 7am) there was a lot of free time between present elation and prep for dinner. I think we watched Nostrodamus 2012 (by the way, I'm now pretty convinced the world as we know it will end or just literally end. But even if I'm wrong its a great excuse to recklessly go after your dreams) and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which I didn't care for nearly as much as the first one. Honey helped me start the pork wellington - it came out devine even after too long in the oven. Get the recipe here.

This is before the oven.                                                                                 This is after carving.

This is some of my holiday sparkle. Photo taken by me with the help of a mirror.

Alethea and Darrin joined us for dinner and an impromptu Day of the Dead photo shoot. Alethea was also kind enough to bring some of the most heavenly mac 'n cheese ever and guid-moc-shoe - it's a veggie dish covered in bacon, even my husband ate it. Here are some pics of the make-up session and resulting spectre.

One big happy, albeit strange, family. Unfortunately the pic with Darrin in it was blurry, but he's family anyway :)

The Ol' Days

I was thinking when I went to bed last night: about this time 8 years ago Honey and I were living out of a Lincoln Towncar in snowy Minnesota. We were so broke we lived off the McDonald’s dollar menu and camped at the construction site where Honey worked. On pay days, we got the cheapest hotel we could find to shower and do laundry. We were cold, hungry, and completely free. I may have been quoted as saying, “You know if we had a van and it wasn’t wintertime, this would be great.” I know for me it was a huge growing experience: I spent most of my days scribbling in journals; we lost everything in a storage unit we couldn’t pay for (I’m still upset about my VitaMix…), the alternator died on the Lincoln… I didn’t have a choice but to suck it up and become stronger.

And then the pendulum began to swing the other way.

Honey got his ‘break-in’ job at state line, then his gig at the Rio. I went back to school and got the gig at Wynn. We were making what we considered ‘bank’; we had the house, a fancy car, the fishing boat…

And here we are now: getting pretty close to the freedom of having nothing to worry about. I can’t say I’m upset by that. As hard as it was in MN, it was also simple. We could all use a little more ‘simple’ in our lives.

If you’re in Vegas any time soon, swing by O’Shea’s on the Las Vegas Strip and check out Acoustic Soul. They’re the only ‘jukebox’ band I’ve ever heard that sings solely by request and they rock. However, there website pics kinda suck – we’re hoping to help them with that.

Got to see Train perform not to long ago. Pat Monahan has recovered from the bronchitis that caused them to cancel performing at Bite of Las Vegas, and they sounded awesome live. The venue though, Pure Nightclub at Caesar’s Palace, totally sucked: standing room only, $9 drinks, and zero access to the bathroom due to stage placement and the crowd. Not a good choice to host a live band.

Anyway, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Enjoy it in whatever fashion you can manage. Remember it’s not about the stuff, but the memories and time well spent.

An Author with a Good Point (not me)

This is for everyone in the US. I thought this writer had a unique idea. See what you think:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20091218/cm_ucru/forecloseonthebanks;_ylt=AvZ1HZayvnGGOwugJO4MA3xzfNdF

Altered Perspective

Let me see if I can express this…

I read somewhere that your soul is like a bird inside your chest. That’s what makes your stomach flutter, your imagination soar, and your heart swell with feeling. Mine is trying its damnedest to get out right now; she’s flapping about so hard it feels a bit like floating and that I can’t breathe at the same time. We saw a movie tonight that truly moved me. There was a beautiful world, alive with life, like nothing I’ve ever seen or will see. There was a tribe bound together by a great energy that resided in all things. There was harmony and balance. It was awash in color and vibrancy that I struggle to describe. Quite possibly it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

This produces two distinct reactions in me, at complete opposites with each other. On one side, I’m overflowing with hope, a sense of happiness and peace, and an inner smile that’s felt in every fiber of my being. On the other, everything around me looks flat, gray, and lifeless, and the point of everything is completely lost. I’ve lost all perspective about here.

Which brings up something I’ve struggled with my whole life, since I was old enough to read and fully comprehend sci-fi novels: the urge to be something other than I am and be someplace other than here. I’m not talking about being a lawyer instead of a designer, or living in Hawaii instead of Las Vegas. I mean something more than me and someplace out of this world. As you can imagine, it makes it rather hard to be content within myself.

Honey tells me I’m going to have to make peace with myself within the world I live in, inside my little sphere of influence. Do what I can, where I can, and find peace knowing I’ve done everything possible to make my world better. It feels almost pointless, if I’m being totally honest. People can be so horrible; there’s greed, want for power, soulless fools who think only of themselves. These are the so-called ‘civilized’ people of the world. This is not the first time I’ve been ashamed to be human.

And yet…there is hope. I’m not quite sure for what; it’s very ethereal and if I try to grasp it too hard or define it, it slips away, but my future prayers will be for the balance of life in all things. Everything wanted in life seems pointless, the stuff, the money, the need for bigger, better, more, but this – this has purpose.

Go see Avatar and see if it doesn’t change your perspective… I can’t be the only one.

Awesome Weekend

I've just had an awesome weekend: took a 'personal day' and went Christmas shopping (Honey is taken care of), went hiking in Valley of Fire for a photo shoot, got some excellent one-on-one time with my hubby, made sugar cookies, and got a massage. I am a happy camper. :)

Last Thursday night we had a shoot downtown. Apparently you're not allowed to wear a mask around the vendors because they're afraid of theft - even if your arms are tied behind your back in a straight jacket. A lady handing out flyers made a bee-line for Darrin, saying he needed this (this being a brochure for mental health during the holidays). We got to walk around for maybe ten minutes before security showed up and escorted us to the other side of LV Blvd. Right before we crossed, the guard asked if Darrin would put the mask back on so he could take a picture on his camera phone. There was another security guard on the other side of the street who wanted a picture also. Guess he's already been alerted to the presence of a man in hot pink tights, a straight jacket, and gas mask.

Sunday's shoot was at Valley of Fire - there was no nudity so we didn't get hassled or kicked out this time. We did get some strange looks though, hiking off into the wilderness with 20 black balloons streaming behind us. Stephanie, our model that day, gets big trooper points for not complaining - it was cold and windy and she was wearing a strapless dress and no shoes. On our way back out there was a wedding party, all of them freezing their tails off in wedding attire, who actually got married on a rock while we got a couple last shots on the road. I told Honey they couldn't borrow our balloons, which are still in the back of my truck.

So is anyone ready for Christams? We put the tree up yesterday, but didn't do the outside lights because of the rain. I need to find something nice for Mom. We're going to be printing calendars of Honey's photography...I was just thinking of making them available for purchase thru here... more on that later, and as always feedback is appreciated. Off to work, like a good leming.