Living by example

~ photo taken September 2004 ~Yes, I realize that I've posted this shot before. But I have exactly TWO photos that include my bicycle, and this is the only photo of me ON It. Which is applicable to this post, so suffer.

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I have a huge pet peeve. Actually, many of them, but today this one comes to mind. See the photo up there? Notice the lack of a helmet?

I don't do that. EVER.

I did it for about 30 seconds in order to snap this picture. (Well, and also about 3 or 4 other 30-second episodes while trying and failing to snap a picture, because it's really damn tough to set your camera timer, run to your bike, jump on it, and start pedaling, all before the camera timer goes off.) And damn, there just isn't time to get the kickstand up before the timer goes off. So some things you omit.

But the bike helmet was omitted due to aesthetics, not time.

My old helmet was a tad funny looking. To put it mildly. Don't get me wrong, back in about 1990 when I got it, it was really cool as bike helmets go. But 1990 was a long time ago, and bike helmets have changed a tad. Except for mine.

Until two weeks ago. I got a new one when I got my new bike. I had planned to do that anyway because it didn't fit the greatest, but something that happened at the store cemented my decision. While we were bike shopping, I put on my helmet to go test-ride one of their bikes. And the sales person helping me offered me $10 off of a new helmet if I'd give them my old one.

For their bike helmet museum.

Damn, did it really look that bad?

In reality, it probably did. But I wore it anyway. Because you really should wear a bike helmet.

I got a serious concussion when I was about 9, when I fell off of my cousin's bike while visiting her. Back then no one wore helmets so I couldn't really be blamed.

My brother might not be alive if he hadn't had one on the time the car drove to the left of him and then turned right, running into him as he made his way straight through an intersection. You don't fly onto the pavement without losing a few teeth, but at least his upper head was protected.

So since then, I always wear mine. I insist on my kids wearing theirs too. And I even refused to let my husband EVER ride his bike until he got a helmet as well.

Call me a helmet Nazi if you'd like. But what good does a double-standard do? All those parents who make their kids wear helmets but don't even own one themselves? What sort of message does that give a kid? That adult heads don't get damaged if THEY hit the pavement? Well I hate to break it to you, but really? They do.

Adult heads splat just as well as kid heads.

And how can I insist that my kids wear their helmet if I don't wear mine?

"Do as I say and not as I do" really doesn't work. Trust me. So I wear my helmet. My husband wears his. And my kids? They wear them too. Under threat of death. Or at least bike confiscation.

You do what works.

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Time to vote!

~ photo taken March 2005 ~

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My friend Tess put up her voting entry on the contest she is having. So if anyone wants to vote, now is your chance.

When I checked, only 5 people had voted yet, and Base was in first place. Which isn't fair, because what's HE going to do with a vibrating duckie if he wins?

Um, never mind, that is one thing I really don't want to know.

But can you imagine what I could do with one?

Uh huh. I thought maybe you could.

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Another reprieve!

~ photo taken June 2001 ~

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Well, yesterday's ultrasound cleared me again. They commented on the large number of cysts (I saw at least 4) and agreed with my assessment that the ultrasound would probably be an annual event.

They also agreed that my request to do both at the first visit seemed logical, and said I should have my doctor request that for next year. (I suppose that I can't just request that myself without a doctor's orders, but they were pretty sure he could and that insurance shouldn't argue it given my cysts and family history.)

Which would cut out about 2 weeks of worry.

I think that sounds like a good thing.

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Squeeze gently please!

~ photo taken October 2001 ~This was from the first series with my gold lingerie, part of my rainbow series of photo shoots. I like the second attempt better, but this one shot from the first part is a favorite from both!

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Today I go in for the follow-up to my recent mammogram. I have to have an ultrasound to check out the girls a bit more.

You can bet I'll be glad to have the week-long wait over... they usually give me the results right then, though I suppose if they had bad news, they might make me wait to see my doctor. So I guess this is a time when no news is probably NOT good news.

So I am hoping for some news. Soon. I want this over for another year.

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*pinch*

~ photo taken February 2006 ~

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I love a nice pinch. Or sometimes two. I even love a not-so-nice one at times.

We all have our little quirks. So there's mine, or at least one of them.

Your turn to share! ;)

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Color coordinated

~ photo taken December 2001 ~This was part of my "rainbow" series of shoots. I wasn't able to find teal nail polish so I had to throw in the mint green beads so it looked like it was intentional. hehe

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"Papa" likes to refer to this set as my "gangster" series, but really it wasn't. (Sorry to disillusion you, papa.) Though I always thought perhaps I should do a gangster theme, I never got around to it. So the closest I came was papa's photoshop job on my pics.

I couldn't find the one I wanted... I must have lost that one during one of my many computer changes. I've got one more place I could look but don't have time to dig through the box of zip disks at the moment. So for now, here is one of the gangster pics he did for me. And if I find another one later, I'll update the post to include it.

On a side note, some of these older photos remind me that I used to always have my nails done. I did them myself, of course... I'm just that way. But you'd seldom see them without polish. They might have been chipped a little, depending on the day, but about once a week I sat down and did my nails.

Which just makes me ask...

How the hell did I find the time?

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Losing my groove

~ photo taken July 2001 ~I took this series as a way to enjoy the form of a body without seeing the details - the curve of a lower back, the outline of a breast, or the kitty-cat shape that the inner thighs outline.

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I am apathetic lately.

About taking photographs.
About the ones I've taken in the past.
About showing photos.
About the ideas I come up with for more.

I don't have the same urge to post on the blog lately. I keep it up because you expect it... because I assume I can blog past the apathy and get back to the fun.

But maybe not. I don't know.

I haven't really wanted to take new photos, and I am tired of showing you my old ones. I hope you're not tired of seeing the old ones.

And let's just hope I find my groove again before school ends. Because once summer begins, photo opportunities are scarce.

And if the apathy continues, I may pause the blog for a while. It used to be therapeutic for me. But lately I've enjoyed my other blog more. So maybe I've outgrown the need for it.

I really don't know.

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Lawn season

~ photo taken May 2004 ~I don't love the John Deere as much as my hubby does, but when I found green nail polish, I knew I had to take photos with it. It was like fate or something.

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It's almost that time again... when I have to get off of the top of the mower and onto the seat.

We just re-seeded the lawn... rented some sort of tool that cuts slices into an existing lawn and adds seed. We're hoping it helps fill in the spots that died out over the winter.

Well, I say 'we', but I didn't really do much. I played helpless and let the hubby do it. I consider the lawn his problem, and I confess that I can be less than helpful at times. I like my flowers, but I really don't care about the lawn.

The John Deere, on the other hand, is rather picturesque.

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