It. Has. Been. Crazy. Here.
It's quite possible that I may have forgotten what busy is like since my winter [and truly, my year in Hawaii] was lived at a relatively slow pace. I didn't have many deadlines, wake up times, or much pressing me to get it done at a certain time. I worked only for myself for a year and a half.
This Monday, Gull Lake Resort's hot water came on again and spring cleaning resumed. I have worked at 'the resort' as I affectionately call it, since 2002, every summer except last. I have cleaned those 23 cabins hundreds of times, and answered that Gull Lake Resort phone thousands of time. It has become a home away from home, summer after summer, and I quite honestly can't stop myself from going back.
This summer is no different.
I am so unbelievably thankful to Ruthie to continue to want me back year after year. She let me come back each summer through high school, and into college. She understood when my available work days were drastically cut in half during the summer in which I did a nursing internship. She said goodbye to me when I moved to Oahu in the winter of 2008/2009. Then, she excitedly welcomed me back this year when I showed interest in once again being one of the 'lodge girls' at GLR. Working at the resort will allow me to supplement my growing photography business, plus give me a little head start on my 'lens fund'. I have my sights set on a few doozies, and need all the pennies I can get. :)
Anyways, sorry - I get all nostalgic when I think of the great times I have had at that resort over the past almost-decade. The majority of the guests are annual returners, which means I've seen their little kids grow from babies into toddlers, and into kids now. The ones who used to come up to the lodge for candy are now teenagers. It is so weird and cool to see them change, summer after summer. Ok, I got nostalgic again. I can't help it.
The spring cleaning of the cabins started on Monday and my sister and I have been busy. Along with a few other core cleaners, we have tackled the 4 biggest cabins at the resort. Every nook and cranny has been scrubbed, de-cobwebbed, swept and is now ready for the guests to start coming. Now, only if the weather would warm up...
Coupled with Matt's crazy idea to start the Insanity Workout [go to youtube and look it up if you want to see insanity at its best!] on Saturday, it has been a rough start to the week for me. I waddled into church with the sorest [or so I thought] muscles of my entire life. Monday morning rolled around and much to my distress, I was even more sore than the day before. Just in time to start cleaning the biggest cabins at the resort. Let's say I was moving very slowly and not gracefully at all. I also was doing a lot of groaning and silent [or kind of silent] complaining.
Luckily for me, Tues and today have been much better, with the soreness decreasing slowly each day. I'm kind of [NOT] sad to say that I don't know how much more of the insanity workout I'll be doing. My sister is in week 3, is totally buff, has muscled popping out everywhere and could be the next spokesperson for the workout, but hey - she has a wedding to motivate her. Me?? Um... I'm lacking in the motivation department. Badly!
So - couple a crazy busy schedule, my insanely sore muscles, and Matt's busy softball schedule [I have seen him for a total of about 3 awake hours this week so far. What does he look like again??] it's been a crazy week. Plus, I'm not a big morning person, so the earlier mornings haven't been too welcomed by me. BUT! Each day gets easier.
Now that you know exactly what my life has been like this week, I'll ... continue to jabber your ear off! Hey, I am not making you read this. [I am in a surprisingly chatty mood tonight. Maybe it's because Matt's at softball and I've been home alone since 4 pm. Maybe??]
Let's get to my weekly issue of Wednesday Wonders! - Anything and everything that has struck me, excited me, made me thankful, or caught my eye this week...
-I have decided on two photography goals this past week. I don't know when or how I will achieve them, but mark my words - One day I WILL achieve these dreams. They are:
*To hold a photography workshop. I'd actually like to do one for aspiring photographers and then one for children. This will wreck havoc on my sweaty armpits and my fear of public speaking, but hey - it's kind of like therapy right?
*I will someday photograph a Birth Story. This means that I will take photographs of a mom-to-be's labor and delivery, and then those special moments right after the birth that always make me bawl in A Baby Story etc. I don't know if this will be done for someone I know or someone who contacts me to photograph it for them, but someday I WILL photograph a birth story! In a totally tactful and beautiful way, of course! :)
-We have lost our beautifully warm weather and it's been replaced by chilly, brisk weather. I know the warmth is coming, but my neon white legs would love to see some sunshine!
-I'm so thankful for the gentle probing of my most recent engagement couple. Despite my suggestion to cancel Sunday's session, Erin gently asked if we could try it, even though Mother Nature wasn't showing us too much love. I was mostly worried about their enjoyment of their shoot, so when she suggested going ahead with it, I was all for it. And we had a blast! The photos can be seen HERE, in case you missed it. They are truly a beautiful couple!
-I have had to turn a couple people down for potential wedding shoots; two in one day actually. It was hard for me to do because I really welcome each and every shoot possibility that comes my way, and the opportunity to meet the people on the other side of the email or phone. Looking on the positive side of it though, it means that my business and word about me is growing, which I am SO THANKFUL FOR. For those of you who have referred someone to me, or spread the word about my photography, I am eternally grateful to you.
-Tonight, we had crazy weather. It just couldn't decide if it was going to be raining or sunny - we had a little bit of both. The pendulum just swung back and forth between the two extremes. Matt was at softball [I'm sure he's totally soaked from the downpours!] and I was hard at work finishing up Erin and Zack's shoot. I looked out the window and it happened to be one of the times in between rain showers, where the sun peaked out. The light was STUNNING. It was a perfect golden color, and the little rain drops were glistening off of everything. I immediately turned my attention to finding my camera. I have a baby shoot tomorrow, so my Nikon was all cleaned, formatted and charged up for tomorrow, tucked safely inside my bag. So, for the first time in a LONG time, I reached for the Sony.
Let me say that after you get used to using one particular camera, moving to another one with different controls is so hard! It was for me anyway. I used to be able to work the Sony like the back of my hand but I was fumbling for the controls like it was my first time using it! I slapped on my 'beer can' lens [70-210mm f/4] and headed outside. Despite fumbling through my photos, I realized something - something that I have known all along but that felt good to reaffirm it. Consumer-grade cameras can take wonderful photos. I've been using my D700 99.99% of the time I'm photographing, since I got it, and I LOVE the photos that come out of that. However, that doesn't mean that I can't get great ones from the a200. These photos are 99% straight out of the camera. Only a conversion from RAW to JPEG took place.
It felt good to know that my Sony is still a wonderful camera. No, that doesn't mean I'll be taking it with me on my shoot tomorrow instead of the D700. But still, I need to maybe give it a little more attention when the time and conditions are right.
This is what they mean when the talk about the 'golden light'.
P.S. Matt's walking through the door right now, and because I'd like to add to the 3 hours I have seen him in three days, I'm not going to proof read this post. Oops! :) I think you'll forgive any typos, right? I knew it.
Love wins,
Laura
Great post! And YES, my legs are "neon white" too :)
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