They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions....

It's been two years, almost, since my last update. Two years since I took the plunge, and then seemed to plunge right off the edge of the world. I had forgotten about Murphy's Law, and how when there is an opportunity for something to go wrong, it will go wrong. I am ever an optimist, and I guess I just assumed the best and forgot to prepare for the worst. In this case "the worst" turned out to be that both of my computers, and all of their sacred data, died a spectacular death shortly after our move. I am still without a computer, but have been able to temporarily cobble together an eyefi card for my camera, along with a tablet with a copy of Photoshop Touch for editing. It's a lit more pared down than what I'm used to working with, but I have been able to make it work. In fact, I even got hired on by a new Nashville magazine called Main Course, where I have written a few articles and made photos for a column of my very own. Other happenings over the last couple of years include:

Contemplating Ophelia's Roux



Attending the rodeo, twice!



Watching the coldest winter of my life invade North America



Learning to let go of stress





Playing in the kitchen



Finding a new pool to call home



Watching my daughter continue to grow into an amazing girl



And... here we are again; Autumn.



I've struggled a lot these past couple of years with my own personal journey. I moved to the Nashville area with every intention of hitting the pavement and getting both feet in the door to the career that I want. Having no computer has meant that I have been cut off from any real means of making that happen. And it has also made me question a lot of big things, too; like...what do I actually hope to accomplish with my work, anyway? It's something I'm still mulling over. As the lyrics go, "you can't always get what you want, but you might find you get what you need."

In the meantime, I have several personal projects that I intend to finally make time for. It's way past time to crawl out of survival mode; peel myself out of my comfy hermit crab shell, and get back to work by whatever means necessary. I look forward to seeing where it takes me, and I hope I see you along the way!

One last trip down memory lane

This week is my last as a western North Carolina citizen! With each box that is filled with the memories of our lives here, taped up, loaded onto a truck, I take another step toward whatever fantasic adventures await me in Nashville, TN. I will miss these mountains that I have held so dear for so long, but I plan on embracing Music City just as hard as I can! I am so excited to see the new places and faces that make up such a wonderful city, and getting down to business in our new home.

Peter Pan and Wendy Darling

There was once a boy named Peter Pan.



He met a girl named Wendy Darling, and fought for her honor against the evil Captain Hook.



Then she gave him a kiss, and ran away.
Poor Pete. <3

Portraits at Cataloochee Valley

I also did some portrait work with my children yesterday. They got double teamed by both myself and their dad, who took the opportunity to bring his camera along, too! The ambient lighting and backdrops that these historical buildings offer is as close to perfect as it gets, and remains one of my favorite places to do portrait work. It's a shame that the terrain to get there is so treacherous, and I don't get out to that area as much as I'd like to. The portraits with the colored pencils were taken for Project 52, assignment 12; please join us here!