Even with homework, this has been a lovely weekend! Sorry about the no show last week, a couple of timezones, a dear friends weekend wedding, and a strange hippy commune doesn’t lend to getting much work done online…. Dancing to 80’s music however, I had that base covered.
September was such a lovely month - rich with love of friends and family and children, warm and welcoming and encompassing.
October is going to be a little different, a little uncomfortable. It will involve some soul searching.
Look beyond the surface of your life, dig into your imperfect self and reveal it to us. I want to see the down and dirty you, the messy, gross and ugly you, the side of yourself that you always try to hide, give us some insight into your dreadful secrets. This can be your physical self or your personal space or within your wider life. Be not afraid!
We are back at week number 4 again! I love my job here at SPC. Looking at all the photos and picking my top 10 (or 11:) is so much fun. I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with next month!
Nikki deleted her old blog and started fresh in May this year with Shake Your Booty Now. Naturally, the time I spent at her blog the almost-epynonymous song hustled through my brain. In June she added her first self-portrait to our pop art challenges.
This is what she said:
I am new at this so please don’t judge.
Nothing else. So then why does she do what she and we do? She loves photography so posing herself seems like a natural thing. Check out some of the macro shots she takes of nature’s bounty and posts to her blog or her flickr account.
What else? She loves yoga, shops too much, has an eye for detail (the aforementioned macro shots), doesn’t know how to play poker, usually tips 20%, spends a lot of time on the water with her two boys and husband, and ALREADY is the artist she dreams of becoming.
This is my first born. Of course I have a special relationship with him, he is my son…Nicolas is the beginning of our successes. I look at him and see the hard work we all put into this life and I am thankful.
I have been on top of my game lately. I feel better than I have in a long time. I have been able to attend Yoga several nights a week, attend soccer games, make homemade meals and take the kids on adventures. Right now the 90 degree weather has me dragging.
I love them both. They bring us so much joy (well, always the kids) and dog hair.
My favorite television shows are making their season premieres tonight, and as lame as this is, I’m going to be super selfish. I’ve already put my kid to bed without a bath, and read her one of the usual three booksbook only tonight so I could relax on the couch with my shows. And now, I’m going to slack off on my SPC post. Pictures only.
What a wonderful morning it was with just that hint that fall is on it’s way. It was just me, the dog, and the crisp 6am air. I’m sure it’s been like this all week, but I haven’t had the time to sit and enjoy a morning and all it’s peace until today.
Let’s highlight the proud parents this week, there were so many… and they speak for themselves.
I felt all night as though I was forgetting something, but I couldn’t think what it was. So I just chalked it up to me always feeling that way and that it was probably nothing. Then I was getting ready for bed and was one second away from shutting my computer down when I remembered! This, I almost forgot this!
I love, love, love this photograph. Why? Because I like bowling shoes and because it is just a good photograph. I love the idea that those feet are connected to two friends. And I love the little feet that you can in the distance. They make me feel like grabbing a friend and hitting the lanes.
I love that dog’s face. I love that Poncho is obviously having a good time in the back of Lori’s car. Poncho and Lori make me wish I was in the passenger seat of that car.
When I look at this, all I see is La Vie en Rose taking this picture. I like that if I look again I see what is holding her reflection. I see his skin, the glasses, the hair. Very nice. She makes me feel like taking more photographs of my husband and me together.
Being the mother of a small child myself, I fought from choosing too many mother ‘n’ child shots (though there are more than enough lovely ones out there to make a whole column of it). Thank you all again for sharing your loved ones — here are a few of the week’s most moving unions:
When I first learned that Jamie is a motivational coach those skits on Saturday Night Live featuring Chris Farley came to mind. Remember? He tries to get kids to straighten up by telling them how he lives in his van down by the river.
Only, she’s not that kind of coach. She’s personally and professionally successful and lives in one of the most awesome cities in the world, Toronto. Besides all that she has a sweet husband, wonderful friends and family, and pets, too. Also, she’s a Sagittarius. Here’s what she says about her life’s calling:
As a coach, I work with creative people who are chosing a unique path, one where the signposts have not been laid out as clearly as if they planned to be accountants or teachers. I help them design a life that supports their unique self and their creative endeavours. I am committed to doing the same for myself.
And one of the inspiration words was “packaging.” When I started my coaching practice, I thought a lot about how I would package what I had to offer. I considered colours, images, words, phrases. I asked everyone I knew for feedback. I tried to determine who my ideal client was. I brushed up on marketing and communications. And as a person in a service-profession, I knew that my packaging had to really say something about me.
Looking back on that time is also a reminder to me that I love having wacky memories, having done things that are perhaps a little bit odd or different. And I guess that’s why I coach people who choose a different path, creative people who are trying to build a life around their own distinct personality that honours their heart and spirit. I am deeply committed that path.
She’s Papa Smurf in this shot, btw
Her first foray into Self-Portraits was in January. It’s probably all part of her Year of Magic:
I’ve put the emphasis on magic this year by dubbing 2006 the Year of Magic. I’d like to share with you how it unfolds.
Why participate? Ego? Self-reflection? Self-acceptance? How about simply to remind myself to take more pics of me? In so many ways photos create our history, reinforcing particular memories and moments - and I don’t want to be left out of my own story! Since owning my digital camera, I have about a gazillion pictures of my cats, a bazillion of my husband, our house, special events, my neighbourhood, flowers, the garden, etc., etc., etc. and well, um, not too many of me. I realize that growing up, family photos are like that too, but they are missing my Mom. She’s the loving eye watching us all and capturing our special moments and memories on film.
….So, what I love about Self-Portrait Tuesday is the invitation to every week take a look at myself, take a pic and mark this moment in my life, this look on my face, this haircut, even this wrinkle, and know that there I am, making an appearance in my own history.
This is me at work. Notice that I am not in an office. This was the most awesome day. On a day that I work at my “day job,” I had a telephone meeting booked with an organization that I will be doing some coaching for. So I took myself out to a closeby park area. At 10:00 in the morning, it was almost deserted. There were beautiful gardens all around, and the weather was extraordinary. I couldn’t stop smiling. I thought, yes, these are what my days are like when I’m my own boss! I love it.
