no... really...

dear husband:
who needs to save money when you can see sunsets like this?!


dear cheryl (my travel buddy):
sure hazel is only a couple months old, but she likes to travel. she told me. i wouldnt lie about these things..

dear haiti:
i would come see you again if you took care of those hypodermic needles we found on the beach. something tells me thats not very sanitary...

dear everyone:
WHO LET ME CUT MY HAIR?!!? ugh...

this has been a public announcement brought to you from stir crazy jenn.
its not getting any better.... looking at vacation pictures may or may not be helping matters....

its that time again.

sometimes i get stir crazy.
like now.
i NEED to take a trip.

"two of us riding nowhere. spending someone's hard earned pay. you and me sunday driving, not arriving, on our way back home. we're on our way home.
you and i have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.
two of us sending postcards, writing letters on my wall. you and me burning matches, lifting latches on our way back home. we're on our way home. we're going home" -the beatles

"this is gonna be reality, you can never dream it down..."

much to my husbands dismay, i am not political. AT. ALL.

i try. i really do. (thats a lie, i dont.) i even went to ASU with him to watch ron paul speak. i ended up annoyed and bored. you can call it uneducated, uninformed, ignorant, whatever. i'm fine with that. i just choose to not have a "oh woe is me, everything is going to hell" attitude, which seems to be the case amongst most politicians and people that talk politics. its all just too negative for me. i've never thought that politics really effected me. until now.

now. i'm. pissed.

but i'm not sure at who.

this is where my immature selfish childish side is about to raise its head. let me explain.

i LOVE music. i live for music. it gets me through life. makes me happier when i'm happy and gets me through tough times when i'm sad. ...you get the point.

ever since arizona passed SB1070 (the immigration law..dont worry i didnt know it was called that either) many bands have gone on what they are calling "The Sound Strike".

this makes me sad. i dont know if i'm upset with politicians or musicians.. it just makes me....well.... sad. especially when i find out my favorite band of all time - bright eyes - has joined this strike and will NOT be coming to AZ on their tour this summer (colorado here i come!)

so here's my political selfish duties.. (let me preface this by saying- i really dont have an opinion either way on this law. there are definitely pros and cons and i dont know enough about it to try to have an opinion) but can we PLEASE do something about it so my bands will come back to AZ? thank you.

here's a letter conor oberst (the lead singer/creative genius behind bright eyes) wrote to stateside presents (a concert promoter here in the valley) about why he is joining in the strike if you are interested - go HERE.

i'm not saying i agree or disagree, but if you are into that sort of stuff, its interesting.

this is making me hate politics even more.

i just want my music back.

my holy grail

yup.

youre seeing that right. mac & cheese pizza. my trusted hole in the wall pizza joint Slices really pulled through for me this time. the only thing that could have made this better was hot dogs sliced up on the top. that would have been the trifecta of greatness. i cant even think about it without getting a little teary eyed.

luckily cosmo had his camera phone to document such an amazing event. he almost wouldnt take the pictures because he insists i need a camera phone and was trying to teach me a lesson. i will refuse until my dying day....or atleast until i cant find a replacement to my trustee oldschool nokia, but thats another story for another day....

needless to say, my not so pleasant day, just turned pleasant. very cheesily pleasant.

editors note: for those who are not aware- mac & cheese (w/ hotdogs) is my FAVORITE food. cosmo took me to a fancy restaurant for our anniversary a few years ago, and i ordered a $35 plate of essentially what was macaroni and cheese.... oops. i have the palette of a 4 year old.

rants and silver and spoon

i have been interested in photography since i was young. i've always enjoyed creating and capturing a moment that will last forever. this is only a known fact among my family and closest friends. its never something i shouted from the rooftops or wanted to make money from. it is a creative release for me. i have always just done it for fun.

i've used my family and friends as my scape goat models from senior pictures to baby pictures to band pictures to artsy pictures that may have frightened my mother and made her question why i was smearing black make up all over her innocent little girl's face. i've coveted a nicer camera since i can remember but could never justify spending the money on the one i really wanted.

for christmas, cosmo completely blew my expectations for a camera out of the water when he got me a nikon d7000. like i've mentioned before, i cried like a baby. i was overwhelmed and overly excited all at once. this was A LOT of camera for me.

now here's my rant:

since owning this camera i've been asked a lot if i plan on starting a photo blog or website. these cameras and photo programs are so accessible these days, it seems everyone is a "photographer" now. its actually a huge pet peeve of mine. i'm not saying i am this fantastic amazing photographer. i'm not. i have SO MUCH to learn. especially when it comes to this digital stuff. but i do this for myself. it makes me happy. plain and simple.

i'm also not saying that there are not AMAZING photographers out there with photoblogs. there are several i look at daily and oogle over their ability to create.

i'm just tired of the "mary janes" that pick up a camera for the first time in their lives and decide they are a photographer and start charging people money for it.

you are not a photographer, you just have an overpriced camera.

ok. now that that is out. this is the first time i've really shared my work with everyone... it makes me nervous and anxious to put it out there.. especially after that little rant. but i'm trying to grow. to not be fearful. to share my talents. photography makes me happy.

my little sister's friend makes rings from antique spoons. the name of his company is silver and spoon he had made her a few of them and asked if she would take pictures showing the rings. she, in return, asked me if i would take the pictures. this was the first real shoot i've done with my new camera.

here are just a few shots.

go check out his rings HERE

so there you have it. my photography in all its glory.