The Ramlings of Denise: It's SOoooo freaking QUIET here...

Day 4 of the Spring Break UP Adventure...

The title sounds so grandiose, but really it's just a quiet visit with my dad. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with either type of vacation, there is something to be said for both. A wild and crazy fun filled Adventure is always awesome, and sitting around chatting and relaxing in the quiet is awesome too. It's nice to be able to read a book, surf the internet, play some Wii, nap, eat, and take some time to get inside your own head. But I have to be honest, my tolerance for quiet relaxation is short lived! I actually enjoy the chaos that is my household. I like all the crazy, stupid, shit we are always doing, I like the noise, and the constant sound of music!!! I always make fun of my husband because he can't just sit around and do nothing for very long, but now that I'm on vacation without him, I wish he were here saying "let's go find something to do!" Too much time on your hands is not always a good thing, too much time inside your own head, not a good thing!! I think we may have to leave a day early...
One of the things I've been doing with all this quiet time is reading a photography book, and surfing some photography sites on the internet. I have been giving this whole take better pictures thing some thought. I'm trying to decide if I will EVER really be able to wrap my mind around the stuff these real photographers are saying, and trying to teach. And will I ever really have enough money for the kind of equipment that is necessary to take great pictures. Then I had a new thought... Who am I really taking these pictures for??? Am I really looking to be soooo good I get published? Do I like people enough to take portraits??? Hhhmmm... Now that got me thinking!!! {I know scary, huh!!!} I take pictures for myself. No, I don't care about getting published, or paid, or hired to take pics for other people. This is ALL about me. The things I like, the way I see the world. Not anyone else or for anyone else. Sure, I'd like my pics to NOT suck, but if some do, that's okay with me, cuz I really just wanted to capture the moment, to capture life, the way we live it, in that very moment... nothing more. I look at what one photographer calls the "good" pic and the "bad" pic and sometimes I like the bad pic better. The way I see the world is kind of unique to me, I think!! Yes, some may call it strange, but I like what I like. And I don't want to learn to see the world the way someone else says I should. My world is mine. I am also not a fan of all this editing, the real speaks to me more than the edit. Don't get me wrong, I think edits can be very cool, but it's not always for me. I like Instagram, cuz it's instant, I can make old grungy pics in 2 seconds time. I don't want to sit at my computer and work on pics and editing them, I want to go back out and SEE things and take more crappy pics of the things I see. I want to have a million pics to remember my whole life, every minute of it. Not one or two great pics. I want to participate in LIVING life, and editing pictures just doesn't allow for that, for me anyway. Nor does figuring out how all my cameras fancy functions and settings work. Or filters and lighting and all that stuff. I'm a simple girl, with simple tastes, and a simple mind. My memory is terrible and my attention span is short. I can't understand all that stuff without serious effort. I'm old, I don't have time left, for serious effort. I only have time left for living and experiencing life. Maybe that's a cop out, maybe I will change my mind later. Who knows with me, but for now, I'm just gonna fill my memory cards with half ass pictures of real life, and print them the way they are, for the most part!! And if I want GREAT pictures, I will hire someone, who takes great pictures, cuz that's what they are good at.
So here are the half ass pics from yesterday, maybe someday there will be great pics but for now this is what you get...

We played some Wii... she kicked my ass, repeatedly at everything!!!

She went for a run, I went for a walk! No way I'm chancing a jog on those roads... At least I got out and did SOME walking. It's a lot of work walking in boots, and several layers of clothing!! But it was pretty, there is not a gym in sight, and I do need to get in my {stupid ass} walk!! July will be here before I know it, so it wasn't much but it was something!!!