ARe YoU OnE OF THosE pEoPLe?!

"Horse People"

I am not one of these

But I hung around them for a few hours on Saturday

They ride horses

They love their horses

They know what to do around horses

So. . . why was I hanging in their crowd?

Well, I was asked to photograph

Horse things that look like letters of the alphabet

Since I own nothing that could pass as horse stuff

I ventured into new territory

Gold Mine!!!

I found lots of new letters for my collection

Met some great "horse people"

I know "photography people"

we have "photo speak"

I'm still learning, 

But I'm starting to understand more all the time

I am starting to feel like one of them

f-stop, aperature, high key lighting, soft box, stop down

fill light, post process, RAW, jpeg, shutter speed

 . . . sexy language huh?

I have a lot of "dog people" in my neighborhood

I guess in my family actually

I'm not one of them

I don't quite get the draw?

Dogs seem like a lot of work to me

responsibility

shedding

cost

they bark

they poop in the yard

they eat stuff, chew, wreck furniture

But to "Dog  People" 

It's worth it

I just don't get it

I'm just glad we have all these different people

because we need each other

I need 

"computer people"

I wish I had 

"cleaning people"

My husband is part of the

"concrete sequential people"

I love to hang with

"positive people"

I stay away from

"negative downer type folks"

Who are your people?

Who are the people you need?

Who are the people you don't get?

Who are the people you stay away from?

BeLOng

Somethings are just more fun with company

lots of company

masses

You get to belong to the club

the doers

who did it

Saturday was a club of kids that

committed to run a marathon

a half mile at a time

kids as young as kindergarteners

pretty cool

I like belonging 

I'm part of a book club

A photography association

They call themselves the Cornbelt Photographers Association

I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

and feel a connection to other RPCV's

We are a Honker Host Family

belonging is important

belonging can give you direction

motivation

support

belonging begins with a common ground

identify your common ground

hobbies

politics

interests

kids

schools

church 

neighborhoods

family

friends

experiences 

places you've lived 

travel 

jobs

 belong

Where do you belong?

IF itS GOnNa HaPpEN . . . ItS BeCAusE of ME

Hours?  Are you kidding me?!

Sometimes what you want takes hours to achieve

I know this

But not so obvious to a 10 year old

These flowers are merely set in there perspective places

A design potential

with good soil, water and love they'll prosper

but not before effort

not before a couple hours of work

The vision is in the head

the flowers are set in a potential design

the tools are ready and waiting

it starts with the vision

I envisioned a couple Adirondack  chairs

ok honestly I've been envisioning the adirondack chairs for years now

but I've been waiting for them

I've been waiting for them to appear

sometimes you just can't wait

I think I'll own a pair of adirondack chairs

before the weekend is over

but only because I am taking action

When hints don't work

you gotta make it happen

if it's gonna happen

just because it's important to you

doesn't mean it's important to others

So. . . what will you make happen this weekend?

SEizE ThE OpPOrTuNiTY

I miss too many opportunities

The baby bird picture above was an opportunity 

that fell in my lap

Last summer we replaced the deck boards

One at a time

We pulled up one particular board 

a robin nest with newly hatched babes

was sitting there

Get Your Camera!!!

"Click"

 opportunity captured

There are also the opportunities that I consciously let pass

regrettably

Those opportunities often involve a photo opportunity

I hate it when I don't recognize an opportunity

until it has passed

Like when family gets together

Like when friends get together

Some opportunities are unplanned and mean that I need 

To stop in my path or change course

Sometimes I'm just too lazy, late or self conscious

to do what it takes to get the picture

The thing is

when I pass up an opportunity

I may not get it back

the day will be different

It will never be what it was

I have become so much more aware of 

opportunities

Since I started shooting pictures

Life Opportunities

Opportunities take risk

Peace Corp

Marriage

Jobs

friendships

taking a stand

raising your hand

saying your piece

speaking your mind

starting a business

trying something new

helping a friend

helping a stranger

taking a class

investing money

spending money

be wise

be aware

look for opportunities

an opportunity passed 

is an opportunity missed

what opportunity have you missed, regrettably?

what opportunity have you seized?

for better or worse

ThE THouGhT wAs BEaUtiFUl . . . THe FloWErS NoT SO mUcH

Surprise!

I love you more each day

Thanks for all you do

Love Tim

That was what the card said.

The flowers were from the "right flower shop"

The flowers were from LeJardin

Problem was. . . 

The flowers didn't look like flowers from Le Jardin

WTF?

I have gotten flowers from Pat Heck's store for the last several years

And I am always Wowed

Yesterday I was not Wowed

Are the edges of the roses supposed to be browned?

The arrangement looked so . . . common

This is so not what I expect from Le Jardin

So, I made a phone call

Answering Machine

Hello, this is Le Jardin, please leave a message

"Pat, the surprise from Tim was wonderful"

"The flowers, not so wonderful"

"Are the edges of the flowers supposed to be brown?"

"Is the arrangement supposed to be so 'common'?"

Ok, I didn't really say that last line, but I was thinking it

Later in the evening

A personal call from Pat Heck

"I did not see the arrangement

My design assisstant put it together

Tracey, the edges are not supposed to be brown

Keep the arrangement you recieved

I'm sending you another"

The new arrangement came today

This is what I expect from LeJardin

Gorgeous, Fresh, a punch of Wow.

Thanks To my guy for showing me some love

Thanks to Pat for reminding me why she's my favorite flower shop

So WHat'S tHE StORy?

So do you ever just wonder  

"WTF?"

Shoes on an Electric wire?

Dead Body in the Woods?

The Salsa Guy Has a Following

Why don't I like the salsa?

People actually think repealing the seat belt law is a good thing

The Twins are in a major losing slump

Justin Morneau has that obnoxious mustachie thing

You just don't know what you'll come across

Every single day I think

"WTF?"

At least once

I am just in awe of what I see, hear or witness

Sometimes friends surprise me

Sometimes its strangers

Sometimes is large groups of people

I am in no way righteous

I am just an observer that is incredulous sometimes

Incredulous that I didn't realize other people

Lots of other people

Have  different values than I do on certain topics

different opinions

To all those people

bodies 

and shoes

I just want to say

"WTF?"

Or

"What's the story?  Tell me more."

LiFE Is A BaLL gAMe, YoU ARe the PiTCheR

All the eyes are on you

everyone is watching how you perform 

strike = good

ball = miss the target

hit = good if your defense can play it

home run = bad bad bad, ugh

grand slam = super bad, bummer

Metaphor for life

You are the pitcher

The ball is your actions

The batter is who or what you are interacting with

You want to throw strikes (do the right stuff)

You'll throw balls a lot - it's inevitable

Sometimes with the best intentions we just miss the target (foul)

If your actions take a hit you have to play it right

Be sincere, be honest and get the ball back in play 

(realign your actions)

A home run would mean your actions got away from you

The consequence is unacceptable

But you don't quit

A grand slam would be a major screw up

But you don't quit

Until the game has been played out 

And there is nothing left to do

Even at that point

You don't give up

There will be another batter

Another game

Learn from the previous batter

The previous game

AnD SoMETiMeS ItS FuN To BE DiFFerEnT

If it were his sister's tutu 

I don't think it would have held half the charm

But this is his dad's tutu

How many boys can claim that?

I had this tutu made for Tim to wear

In the spring dance recital

The dancing dad routine included a tutu this year

Halloween is an invitation

Theme parties

 Sports events have this same insanity

Dressing crazy

It's an opportunity to go outside of our norm

or maybe a socially acceptable opportunity to

comfortably dress like we'd like to more often

get silly

laugh

be someone else for a day

be yourself for a day

be creative

hunt, scrounge, plan

build and make

it's work sometimes

but it's fun almost all the time

I dare ya

when did you

when will you

dress crazy?

THe sMilE On HEr FaCe CovEReD UP thE DiScORd

The smile on her face covered up the discord

the hotel room thermostat malfunctioned

the temp during the night rose to 90 degrees

it couldn't be fixed

we changed rooms at 3am

we had 5 hours of sleep

and a fitful sweaty sleep at that

we were 2 hours from home

and 30 minutes until her solo

when she realized she didn't have

her lyrical dance shoes

another dancer loaned her shoes

its not the same

but they are shoes

they are lyrical shoes

they'll work

When she went on stage she danced like nobodies business

It's all in the practice

If you are ready and practiced and know your stuff

you can call upon it in times of stress

It's not faking it

It's making it

Being prepared and strong in what you do

Remembering why you do it

gets us through the hard times

the times when we feel like quitting and going home

But you know quitting and going home is not an option

Its not an option you want 

its not an option you'll choose

those ups and downs in life

prepare us for those ups and downs in life

DrEaMS

It's just a ball game and only a little league game at that

or is it?

In Eli's eyes this is his future

Actually his future has many possible directions

MLB, NHL, or policeman with his buddy Luca

He was recently considering being a chef

but decided that was boring

Cooking in my house is nothing like

Buddy in Cake Boss

It is exciting to dream

It is more exciting to watch dreams take place

dreams take risk, luck, and determination

My dreams:

teaching

Peace Corps

Speak a second Language

Travel and live abroad

Marry a great guy

Grad School for both Tim and I

My Words by Tracey business

Photography business (dream in progress stage)

Family trip to Europe in four years (we started a Euro account)

Now the dreams are in large part kid centered

Help the kids develop into great people

Support the kids in their dreams

whatever they may be

as often as they change

today those dreams

are:

professional sports

professional dancer

we'll see

the determination to reach the dream

has to come from within

the drive 

the courage

the dertermination

What are Your Dreams?

What are you doing to make it real?

THe WhEEl of the TRactoR

The wagon was full of corn

we sat on the pile of corn

Grandpa drove the tractor

Our Destination 

Greenleafton, MN

When we got there 

the corn got ground at the mill

We got a spring grove soda

orange was my favorite

Cherry Grove 

 another favorite place

Shuffleboard

grandpa even had a shuffleboard. . .  (court?)

in the attic of the hen house

Grandpa drove the tractor

I sat on his knee

we parked on the side of the field

Grandpa walked into the field to . . . 

pick weeds, rocks, look around??

 I looked long and hard at the tractor

I started the tractor 

I'd seen grandpa do it a hundred times

I just pushed the button

It started right up

then I didn't know what to do

Grandpa looked up from the field

walked over 

he wasn't happy

He told me to go back to the house

it was a half mile walk 

up that gravel road to the farm house

I'm sorry grandpa

I was 8

I loved my grandpa

I loved being at the farm

Grandpa's farm holds great memories for me

Lawrence Welk

Uno

Rootbeer floats

The chicken coop

Eggs

The barn

The smell of hay

The apple orchard

Getting water from the pump

The tin cup hanging from a wire hook

Grandma making homemade play dough

Juicy fruit gum

pink wintergreen mints

Memories, all of them

jogged today

by a picture of a tractor wheel

Look at something today

what does it bring back to you?

OUt Of BOunDS

Tim kissed a baby alligator

He didn't do this for me

He didn't do this because he's always wanted to kiss a gator

He did this because he knew his kids would get a kick out of it

kids push us outside of our bounds

 I once dressed up in a dress that was too small

and a head band that had yellow yarn braids

and I wore this get up on a 250 mile road trip

to visit my older brother

in Mitchell SD

I even stopped to pump gas

The occasion?

My birthday

My kids bought me the dress

and the headband for my birthday

they thought I looked beautiful

Every year Tim takes Quinn to a ballet in Mpls

I asked him if he enjoys the ballet

He said, Not really, but Quinn sure does

they make it a date 

 dinner and the ballet

 Quinn had her first dance recital 6 years ago

we learned they also had "dancing dads" 

Tim said, yeah he could do that

As long as Quinn danced he'd dance too

He's an introvert

this is truly a gift for his daughter

The dads rehearse every Sunday

Wear costumes

Dance in 6 shows on recital weekend 

this year he wears a tutu

You know what else we do?

We play hide and go seek in the dark

in our house

every winter

it's a winter sport

kids push us out of our bounds

What bounds have kids helped you move beyond?

THe OrDEr oF ThINGs

You just never know what you're going to see

You know, when you're in a different environment being open to things being different

comes a little more natural

Everyday walking around waiting for and expecting things to look and be different

 when in a foreign place or country 

it is easy to be forgiving of differences

or  is it just me

I love the differences

Palm Readers . . . 

are they gifted?

 or do they buy taro cards and directions on line?

Performance Art . . . . 

Do these guys look at themselves as artists?

or is painting yourself silver and posing

like a mannequin 

just a way to make a buck?

The hotel was on Bourbon Street

they don't apologize for the noise ALL night long

 the earplugs they left on the pillow

in a really cute little organza bag

 was my first clue

What's to apologize for? 

it's part of the experience

part of the story

part of the order of things in that environment

But please don't mess with my order of things 

in my environment

It doesn't make sense here

but could it?

Ask Why?

Why are you mad?

Why did you move my cheese?

Why isn't your homework done?

Why am I feeling discombobulated?

Why didn't I make the team?

Why didn't I get the job?

Why do you wear you pants around your knees?

Why?

Why?

When we know why

we know

and the order of things is revealed

tHe VaCAtIOn

Larry Flint owned the place and his girls stayed there

Wouldn't that be a great byline to your vacation? 

I met a man in New Orleans that can use that byline

Tim and I were recently on vacation in New Orleans

He had a conference I went along as "the purse"

not as in the money in the purse

but more like the purse that makes the outfit complete

The Jazz Clubs in New Orleans are great

So I've been told

Problem is......

Tim and I couldn't stay awake late enough to go to one

Here's what I think...

Jazz Clubs need to have a 3:00pm set with an AARP discount

Everything looks better in beads

It's just obvious in New Orleans

At least in the weeks after Mardi Gras

the beads are everywhere

hanging from trees, plants, posts, balconies ....

Everything just looks better in beads

My vacation style has changed over the years

I want to relax

I want to taste the food

I want to meet the people

I want to explore

I want to read

I want to take pictures

I want to get comfortable in the environment

I want to give myself permission to

do everything or nothing

a vacation is as much about getting away

from the demands 

as it is about seeing the sights