visceral summer (the mermaid session)

The days are longer now; light is all around us. Let it in, let it warm your soul and feed your heart, and revive you. 

Spend time in the ocean. In the lake. Connect with the waters that are too cold to let us in in the winter. Get sand in your hair and in your bed. DANCE. SWEAT. LOVE. 

Let you skin get darker and your hair get lighter. Take a walk through the green woods and listen to the sounds of the birds singing. SING with them. 

Sit outside at in a quiet, dark place and watch the fireflies light up the night sky.

And when you're doing a shoot on a beach on Sunday morning in front of hundreds of people, dance like no one is watching.

Don't hide from it, embrace it; all of it. This is the season of light and energy. This is your summer vacation. Every moment of it.

full post on Visceral Dance Co. coming soon!

know when to let go of the wheel.. (and when to take it back, of course;)

I am taking a 4 week online photography course through the DEFINE school called Life+Light with Kellie Hatcher. The class started the week of our wedding, which was kind of crazy. And then, two days before our wedding I fell sick with a laryngitis turned bronchitis thing, which I am still recovering from. And Mathieu has been away all week on business, so I have been single Mom for most of the week. I started thinking that perhaps it was terrible timing to be taking a class, but over the last few days I have found myself saying f#%* it and just letting go of the ship a bit so I can find some time to work on my light metering(our 2nd week lesson). These were taken in the midst of a cat food-throwing party. I mean, the girls had the whole bowl of food tossed all over the kitchen floor. But I didn't say a word, and I just kept shooting and changing my exposure and practicing, and practicing. My point being, sometimes, it's ok to let responsibility wait. Sometimes, the only way we can actually get the time we deserve to do the things we love to do is by letting go of the things we 'should' be doing. And sometimes, these are the moments we remember the most.. because they are the most free. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my girls(and Mystic the cat) go bonkers without boundaries for 15 minutes of the day. They were so happy, and silly, and curious and free! (Mathieu will love seeing this...)

And then, eventually, when both girls had found their way to the table top, and the entire bucket of roses had found it's way to the floor, I decided it was a good time to stop. And then we had a sweep-up-the-cat-food party.