You're gonna be gone before you get found in another boring afternoon

You're gonna be gone before you get found in another boring afternoon, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

The bit of lyrics I chose to include on the photo:
"I can count the years
Everybody now is just counting tears
And plastic bills and their protective pills
And I just took my time"
...is personal.

I feel like I've missed out on so much in my life. I'm 26 with no college degree, no progeny, and no ring on my finger. It feels like I have done nothing to contribute to the world or to my life.

Yes, I know, this sounds like whining.
...but I can't help the way I feel.

I do, however, realize that I have a good fifty years (or so) left to live, so I'm not worried about rectifying those situations. =)
...in fact, I am only 16 weeks away from getting my Associate of Arts degree.
...and then, onto a Bachelor's from there. (I've been --thankfully-- getting some insights into what to major in, too.)

The marriage and kids thing can wait.

One thing at a time.
One day at a time.
That's how things get done. =)

Thanksgiving Table & Christmas Preview

Thanksgiving Table, originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

It was amazingly nice yesterday. It was so amazingly nice that we ate our Thanksgiving meal outside.
...and yes, I still live in Colorado!

I can honestly say that was the first time that I remember eating outside for Thanksgiving.

The meal was at my boyfriend's aunt's house in Denver.
We went down on Wednesday night to not only be there to help out on Thursday morning but also to prevent an early morning rush to leave our house, which is an hour away.
We helped with the food prep, food area cleaning and staging on Thursday morning. I even ironed the table linens! Huzzah!
Slowly but surely, the other family members arrived, and we sat down and feasted on turkey, Brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes, grilled root vegetables, homemade challah, cornbread stuffing, and a grapefruit-arugula salad.
A few hours later, after the dishes were done from round one, we went to my boyfriend's older brother's house and had lovely desserts: an apple cake and a classic pumpkin pie.

Thanksgiving always coincides with my boyfriend's uncle's birthday --which is actually November 25-- so there were presents to be had for that.
I also took advantage of the family gathering to dole out Bahamian souvenirs.
(And there may or may not have been child-like crafts with thank you notes in them as well. Ahem.)

My mom was dear enough to feed the cat and let the dogs out during our twenty-seven hour vacation, and I am grateful for her agreeing to do that for us. (Thanks, mom!)
She had a meal with my dad, grandma, and uncle, and they did not eat at home.
It's sad, really. My family never has holiday meals or celebrations anymore. I'd love it if they would, because we'd trade off with my boyfriend's family. I mean, it would only be fair. But, my family probably doesn't do Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals anymore because they figure I'll be with my boyfriend's family, not realizing that we make plans based on who asks first. So...there you go. (Mom, if you're reading this, plan on having meals and stuff. I'll be there.)
...or they're just waiting for me to start hosting dinners. But that's a little farther down the road yet.

Now comes the fun part: Christmas.
This year, we are not able to purchase presents, and I am perfectly fine with that.
Christmas has become too commercialized for my preference anyway. And homemade gifts always mean more, because the person didn't go to the florescent-lighted store, pick out a shiny box with shiny machine-pressed goods inside, slap some shiny-printed paper on it and stick a plastic bow on top.
Homemade gifts are more personal. They carry a piece of the person with them. And they are specially made by hand, not by machine.
(Have you noticed that even McDonald's has a machine to create the drinks now? There are too many machine-dictated things in this world. Hasn't anyone seen Terminator?
I have always wanted to give homemade gifts, because of these reasons. Being forced to is a good thing, I think.
...and I guess it all sort of had roots when I gave wheel-thrown ceramic pieces last year. It was an artisanal satisfaction that cannot be explained.

Well, folks, Christmas is coming. I hope you're ready! And I hope everyone reading this had a great Thanksgiving. If you care to, please leave me a synopsis of your yesterday in the comments.

Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork

I don't even know where to begin or how to say this, so I'm just going to come out with it.

It is always a good idea for photographers to have a signed contract before they do any shoot.
I have never had one, but I am going to start.

I was supposed to be a second shooter at a wedding tomorrow.
The friend for whom I was going to be working called the groom Tuesday to make final arrangements.
Well, yesterday, the bride called my friend and said that she had a cousin with a camera who would shoot the wedding for free and that they didn't see the point in paying my friend that much. (And, honestly, my friend's rate is not expensive! $300 for a wedding is a steal.)
So now, not only is my friend not going to shoot their wedding tomorrow, but she may not get paid at all. She offers free engagement sessions to couples who also book their weddings with her, and guess what? That's the offer they took her up on.

I just hope that she can work out what's going on with them without the courts having to get involved.

So while you're outside looking in, remember what you're staring at is me.

So while you're outside looking in, remember what you're staring at is me., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

It is so easy for us to judge each other.
You stop by my photostream or blog, read some random facts, and form an opinion about me. It's done unconsciously.
I do it too. He does it. She does it.
We all do it.
All the time.

That's what the title of this song means to me.
Most of the people we see on a daily basis are outside of our lives, spectators, really.
A five minute conversation when they see us by the coffee pot at work, a simple rapport when they're ringing out our groceries, a short exchange over the phone... It is so easy for us to forget that we are looking at people who have just as much on their minds as we do.
Someone who has a great week this week will be struggling next week.
Life is a constant roller coaster of ups and downs, for each of us.

Just remember, when you're outside looking in, describing what you see, remember what you're staring at is someone else. A living, breathing, loving person, full of emotions, needs, chaos, and capabilities. We are each tied to each other by thin threads, and we all have more in common than we know.

The sun is surely sinking down, and I still love you.

The sun is surely sinking down, and I still love you., originally uploaded by speckled_beckle.

November is upon us.
It has been for three days now.

This is when I start thinking seriously about Christmas gifts.
(I know, I know; it's well before Thanksgiving. But at least I have only purchased one gift!)

I am thinking of doing homemade or home-kitchen-made gifts for Christmas this year. I cannot afford to buy presents. Period. The paycheck is really the only thing I miss about my job. Other than that, I am perfectly fine. (Especially seeing as how, for my kids' first ten or so years of life, I'd like to be a stay-at-home mom, working part-time from home, preferably as my own boss.)

I will have some money this year for Christmas gifts -- shooting the wedding on the 11th will take care of that-- but I just know I can't afford everyone a gift. So...handmade and heartmade, it is.

I have found a really awesome site from which to buy presents...but it's something I'll have to keep in mind for next year. Maybe for birthdays?

I hope to find a work-study position on campus next semester, especially since this semester it didn't pan out. That would help the money situation.
...and, next semester, the living situation will be different. Could be a lot different, depending on how things work out.

I am considering taking all night and/or online classes next semester so I can get a full time job.
I told my boyfriend that I don't want my schedule to interfere with his job search. He says it won't. I also don't want him to feel obligated to not look for work when school starts. I don't know what classes to take to help minimize the risk of that happening. (He says one thing, but always insists on taking me, anyway. Lesigh.)

...ok, now that we're at the end, I have some confessions to make.
I have actually been looking at Christmas presents since I tweeted this. (Now I'm really narrowing my focus down, trying to decide what I should give to whom.)
...and here is one reason why the living situation might really change, in the form of a tweet from September 30th. Granted, that won't really take effect until I decide what the hay I'm gonna do, but that requisite move would (ideally) happen next summer.

New Website!!

Since I have re-branded, I have not had a proper website for my photography; I was still using the ol' Rebbecca Romine Photography Site.

Now, I have one! Here's the screen shot for the main page of the new site:

I can't wait until I can afford to put my own domain on this and get rid of the Wix ads.
(Though, Wix makes it easy to make a site, so if you're in the market for a site, have at it!)

Along with this site, I have created a sister site for client proofing.
It features four password-protected galleries. Each password is unique, so only the client who has the proper password can see their own stuff. (This makes it easier for privacy.)
Here's the screen shot of the welcome page on the proofing site:

Please leave me any feedback that you have. I am excited to see what new opportunities these sites can bring. =)

Also, I have a new email address! If you need anything, please drop me a line at: rebbecca.ella@gmail.com