life or something like it

i've been quiet on here since my return from england...but it has nothing to do with my trip.

there is so much going on in my life.. that i haven't really felt comfortable sharing until now.

due to some really sad and horrible circumstances i've been blessed with a new child to my family. yes i'm a mom again :) and no.. i'm not pregnant.. good lord.. please parish the thought!

over the past year i've been aware of a situation with a friend of one my own kids. i knew the situation in his home was dismal, his biological mother is mentally ill and he has never known a father and doesn't have any relatives that he knows of.

over the past few weeks thing have come to the boiling point and without going into all the details... i decided to take the steps to stop it.

this child has fallen thru every single crack our social services has.. he has been overlooked and ignored. he has asked for help, even been removed from the home on several occasions but until now.. has been placed right back into the same unacceptable living situation.

the schools, the police, the local social services have all failed miserably at their responsibility to this child.. i'm sick over it. knowing that there are 1000s of kids that are probably falling thru the exact same cracks in the system.

anyway.. like i said...i'm not going into all the details.. i just wanted to let everyone know i'm now a mother of 4 :) looking at all our options to make sure that everything is legal....

my newest child is 16 years old and is named alex. for those of you who know my family already you're probably asking... how many children named alex that are 16 does she have??? :) the answer to that is two :P

well the actual ages are this.. hannah 16 (17 in 2 weeks) alex 16, alex 15 (soon to be 16), sam 12.

lets not forget the 3 aquariums, 3 cats and a dog...

considering ordering a sign for the door that says "enter as your own risk"

although this isn't the way i thought our lives would ever turn out... i couldn't be happier.

there will be a huge adjustment period, and i'm not sure how personal i'll get in my blogs.. but keep an eye out for some new pictures soon ... alex gets to meet his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents today at a family birthday celebration.

to anyone that reads this blog.. i beg you to be aware of the community around you. watch for things that don't look right, ask questions.. do not be afraid to say something... its ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry.

falling

its happening already, some leaves are starting to fall... they haven't even properly changed colors yet, and they are falling ...

this is by far my most favorite time of the year... cool nights, clear blue skies, no humidity, apples.. kids all settled in school... its the most wonderful time of the year (some people think that is christmas time... not me!)

things have been a bit out of hand since i returned from england..in all honesty i wish i was still there. maybe its because of how overwhelming life can be sometimes.. when you aren't on a holiday... maybe its because it was really great being with such good friends.. maybe its because of my obsession with castles and cathedrals (still wish i could play my flute in one)... maybe its just because i love fish n chips so much :P

other pictures had to get moved to the top of my priority list... but i still have my UK pictures to work on and post.

the other pictures are photo shoots i did last week.. the first is for a music group. they wanted something fun, casual, inviting... for flyers and postcards for advertising.. the problem is there are 14 people in the group and they all have ideas of what "should" be done and how it "should" be done.. and it was nearly impossible to get a shot without someone talking :|

this is one of the ones they went with.. it was taken at the last minute as they were all complaining about the heat.. and walking back inside.. they were gathered in a group.. i was above them and said.. "Everyone look up here and shut your mouths" :)

i had 3 rehearsals last week.. still working out concert orders... and deciding on call times for the upcoming christmas season.

on friday i was able to drive up and see my friend robin. she has a son who is a senior and graduating for high school this year. he isn't what i would call a very traditional kid.. he seems to blaze his own trail in this world.. which i think is very cool.. especially for a 17 year old. he was very adamant that he didn't want any "formal" clothes or shots.. he wanted lots of different locations around his town.. and a few shots with studio lights.. but all shots that would express his personality... he is an artist and likes to meditate.. and has lived in the same small town his entire life. there is one main street in his town.. and its very popular with tourists... he had an artshow in the middle of town this past spring.. so taking shots of him around the town was very important.here are a few of his proofs... he seemed very happy with the results. it was the most unusual senior photo shoot i've ever done. i did at least get him to change into a few different outfits :P even tho they were all casual.. at least he has a few looks to choose from.

since i was already up at robin's.. and she does have 3 other kids... i spent some time shooting them as well. i even put robin in a picture or two.. now she has a new family picture to put in her new home :)

i have some more traditional senior portraits to process.. and a few more picture related projects to finish up.. but i'm really hoping to design my family album again this year .. and have it printed before the holidays.

every year i take a lot of pictures.. (are you surprised?) i pretty much document my kids lives... and my own.. in pictures.. and for the past couple of years i've designed an album that is like a year in review. this year will look a little weird... the moves.. all 3 of them...and everything else i've been thru... i want to make sure it all printed for history's sake.

castles, cathedrals, the north sea and more

its been a long time.. as a friend politely reminded me .. since i've blogged.

i returned from my trip to england.. and i have to say it was one of the best holidays i can ever remember. it was great to see markus and malcolm again.. its been one full year since we've been together.

this time two new people joined us for some of the outings.. paul and jon. it was great meeting them.

malcolm made sure i saw some castles :) some in ruins and some that were nicely restored. markus documented every single second of our week.. even the parts where we weren't feeling very photogenic

paul put up with us for 3 days.. then went back to work to recover.. and met with us again on thursday night for curry night at the pub.. and friday night for an evening of touring the local pub scene in consett, and on saturday he cooked us an amazing meal in his home.

jon was able to stay the first 3 days.. and had to leave to go back to work.

i stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast called the knitsley mill. it was exactly what you'd expect from a quaint english bed and breakfast. the farmhouse i stayed in was over 100 years old and malcolm insisted that it was haunted. it may have been.. but i was so exhausted at the end of each day that even the ghosts couldn't wake me up.

the pictures in this blog were taken by markus... cuz he ALWAYS had his camera :) thanks markus. the images i took haven't even been sorted thru yet... but i will post them as i get to them

this picture was taken while driving to the lake district.... yes.. its me.. yes i'm sleeping .. apparently i didn't miss much scenery tho.. because markus found it more fun to take pictures of me sleeping than of the countryside ;)

the last time my friends saw me i looked a bit different than i do now.... but the greatest thing about good friends is that they like you no matter what you look like... thanks guys :)

i noticed a difference in the way i felt this time.. after losing some weight. the last time i went to durham (2 years ago) climbing the cathedral stairs to the top nearly killed me... approx 365 steps i think.. this time.. i was the first one up :) and never had to stop to rest. i couldn't believe how quickly i got to the top...

i still have a way to go before i'm fit enough to climb the mountains in austria.. but at least i think i will have a good chance making the summit next time :)

anyway.. just wanted everyone to know i'm alive and well.. and dreaming of england.

bye bye summer

well..here we are.. the summer is officially over for all practical purposes. today was the first day of school. my kids, and i all had a restless night. you'd think after experiencing the first day of school as many times as someone my age has... i'd handle it better. remember just a few short months ago when i was impatient for school to end?????

i guess the reason the first day of school is so stressful is due to the unknowns.... for the kids and for me.

i wanted to post a few more pictures from my trip last week to the ocean.... one night i was there a storm blew in from the mainland.. it came up so quickly.. and it was fairly violent. the storm itself only lasted about an hour.. the view you see here is from the condo.. looking out over the atlantic ocean. (its actually looking directly towards england :D )

speaking of england.... only 4 nights left until i'm on a plane flying to see my friends!

this past weekend.. i took my boys fishing a couple of times. sam turned 12 last week, and although he ONLY wanted video games for his birthday.. i decided to get him a new fishing pole and a tackle box full of everything you could possibly need to catch anything that would bite. i even got him his very first real knife.... the count down on is now to when we head to the ER for stitches :|

anyway... so far we've only done catch and release.. mostly because 1) we haven't caught anything worth eating and 2) i really really don't want to clean any fish. if sam decides he wants to eat them.. i'm going to have to teach him how to clean his own fish with his nifty new knife.

we've had the best luck so far at a local lake. the biggest he's caught so far is a 2.2lb bass. mostly he keeps catching little perch and sunfish..... i'll have to do some research to figure out the best fishing holes near here.




alex is less than excited to go fishing. i suppose being a 15 year old boy is by definition a time when the only things that excites you are girls.. and computers. i actually caught him nearly smiling.. so i quickly took a shot.

hannah thought the entire idea of fishing.. or in her words "causing undo pain to innocent creatures) was barbaric.

she is still a vegetarian... but not quite as strict as before.. she used to be vegan (no animal products at all)

at some point i suspect she will outgrow this.. but i respect that she at least has something she believes in.


i have a ton of work to do so that i can be ready to enjoy an entire week in northern england. i just got word that markus arrived safely. i will leave here saturday, arrive sunday, and probably be walked to death by wednesday.

holidays ahead

i made it home from south carolina realitively unscathed :) the trip there was more about tying up loose ends and making sure my life is heading in the right direction rather than your typical beach vacation. i tied up loose ends and confirmed my current direction in life ...

although it was an emotionally draining week, i did manage to enjoy myself ( you didn't think i was going to head to the coast and not have fun did you????)

every morning i made a point of taking a nice long walk... sometimes on the beach, sometimes near the marsh. i'm very familiar with the area... i've been visiting there since BEFORE i was born

i have a healthy respect for the ocean and for the wildlife that lives in the area.

alligators tend to live in fresh water, not salt water. they often settle for the water traps on local golf courses.

one of the place i love to go while i'm in south carolina has a salt water marsh on one side of a causeway, and a fresh water lake on the other. the only things that separates the two is a road. the area is in a federally protected park. when the tide is high the water from the marsh often seeps into the lake, and when the tide goes back out some of the fresh water from the lake goes into the marsh...

the variety of shore birds and raptors that call that place home is amazing. every time i go there i see new birds that i've never seen before.

one morning while walking along the causeway in the park.. i noticed something highly unusual. i was the only one around.. the sun had just risen above the horizon. there was a young-ish gator walking around the salt water marsh. the tide was out, so there was a lot of mud, and a few tide pools left ... but still the gator wasn't where he should be.

i followed the gator up and down the marsh has he marched back and forth .. i assume looking for a way back into the fresh water. my thought was that he must have crawled out of the lake and into the marsh while the water was very high... because there is a wall of sharp rocks that line the causeway. in 43 years of visiting this place i have never seen a gator climb over those rocks... i've seen them pull their bodies up on the edge of the rocks and sun themselves.. but never pull their entire body onto the rocks. i guess i assumed that they couldn't climb the wall....

anyway.. the gator was starting to get anxious because the tide was coming back in.. and he was beginning to get surrounded by the salt water... he went to the edge of the rocks.. and pulled his body up a bit on the bottom of the rocks... i kept myself safely at the top of the rockwall... at least i believed i was a safe distance.......

the gator was not happy i had been stalking him, but they aren't aggressive by nature. the way i could tell he wasn't happy was because he stopped moving every time he realized i was watching him.. and he would wait until i walked a few yards away to start moving again.

once he was pulled onto the bottom rock.. i decided to get a bit closer. i took several shots i was probably 5 feet from the front of the gator.. but remember.. he was at the bottom of the rock wall ....

after taking all the shots i wanted too... i started walking backwards to see if i could get a different perspective..... and in a blink of an eye.. that gator ran up the rock wall and onto the sidewalk where i had been standing just moments earlier :|

my heart nearly stopped..... but.. it was clear that gator wasn't interested in eating me, or attacking me.. he just really really wanted to get back to the fresh water.

after he darted up the wall.. he took a leisurely stroll across the road.. never even giving me a second look. you can see.. he is only about 4ft at the most. his 12 foot momma was sitting in the fresh water lake across the causeway.... and i will NEVER stand at the top of the rock wall when she is sunning herself below

it was a great morning, and i learned a thing or two about gators that day

now i'm home.. back in michigan just in time to get the kids prepared for the start of school next tuesday.

i have a real vacation planned for the week after they start school. i will be heading to the UK to visit with my friends and to see how many castles i can explore.

vacation

va·ca·tion : /veɪˈkeɪʃən, və-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[vey-key-shuhn, vuh-] –noun

1.	a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday

there needs to be a word to describe this situation

1. a period of time when emotions run high and there are too many people in too small of an area all with different expectations of who will do what work, and how time will be spent; total chaos

its in the mail

i got a confirmation email from the passport agency.... my passport is being processed at the charleston processing center and should be mailed to me shortly. i'm gonna take that as a good sign .. i have 3 weeks before i travel to europe... i'm starting to feel like i need to hold my breath.

my publicity work is getting out of control. on one hand its going great! we've booked 14 gigs between oct and dec :) on the other hand... i have to make sure the venues have the proper materials to promote the concerts. last year was a hard year for us. it was my first year back after being gone for a year, and the concerts are usually booked 6months in advance. so... while i was gone nobody really took publicity seriously..... we didn't have enough bookings last year.

i don't think i'm particularly gifted in the area of promotion.. but at least i understand what needs to be done.

also in the past we got into some bad habits of negotiating our fee based on ticket sales. that was a really bad business deal. i was spending so much time promoting our concerts i didn't get to enjoy the rehearsals and performances.... now we get a flat fee, with an agreement to have a sales table and the venue is in charge of filling the house :D

anyway.. i'm trying to get all the publicity work for the first few concerts done this week.. because on thursday im driving to south carolina. i'll have enough on my plate there .. i don't really need to be worrying about stuff here.

hannah is ready to see her mom :) she called and asked if she could stay with me when i came to visit... she has been staying with my parents for the past several weeks. so hannah, the boys and i will be on the ocean and bill says that he isn't going to work at all that week....... i'll believe that when i see it ....

the zoo of animals will go to the vet for shots tomorrow then to the kennel on thursday morning. i'm not sure exaclty how i'm gonna get 3 cats and a dog into the vet......all at the same time. it reminds me of trying to take all 3 kids to the doctor when they were still in diapers... somehow i managed and i will tomorrow too.

all this work to go on vacation... hmmm something seems wrong about getting exhausted while preparing to travel for fun.......