International Women’s Day & Throwback Shoot

Did you know that yesterday was #internationalwomensday ? Me neither. Of course once someone told me all about it, I started seeing more and more about it pop up in the news and my feed. It stuck with me. I was inspired to learn and to read more about this day.

Maybe it’s because we don’t take it as seriously here (in US) as we should? I don’t know.  I know that I take for granted my upbringing, and that I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where I was encouraged to do or BE whatever I wanted. I was taught that hard work and keeping a good head on my shoulder was all I needed to succeed. My gender NEVER played a role in that. And now my daughters are getting that same privilege.

I can’t imagine being born into an environment where women, young girls, still have ZERO rights or opportunities in this world. But there are still places like this. It’s hard to imagine, it’s sad and true. Take some time today to read more about why this is so important and take time to try and do ONE thing to make a difference.

1. Sign a petition. There is a link below.
2. Teach your daughter about one amazing woman in the world.
3. Donate to your favorite women’s charity.

The theme this year is #makeithappen .

Let’s get to it.

http://www.one.org/us/take-action/poverty-is-sexist/?source=homepage

A throwback photo shoot from 2 years ago. Completely untouched and unedited except for one photo.

It’s fun going back into time or maybe I should say–it’s about time I got around to editing these. 😉

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Connections and the Blue Lily Tribe

There are many elements to life that equate to happiness. My children, family, experiences, accomplishments, friends, food, sleep.  The list goes on. But my favorite kind of happiness is simply a truly bonfiable genuine connection with another human being. Your kids come with it built in, you meet it in your future husband for the first time, and sometimes if you are lucky, you will find it in other friends or colleagues.  Not just a trivial, networking–on the surface connection. But something much more than that. I value a true and meaningful connection more than most things on my happiness radar. It’s not easy to do and very hard to find.

This group, or rather as one member said it best, this TRIBE is so FULL of connections and on so many levels that is sends my personal happiness radar off the map. I won’t bore anyone of our stories of laughter, randomness, epic think tanks, classes taught by one (all) of our own, amazing photo opportunities, or just plain old inappropriate–good for the soul—discussions. I won’t bore you with that at all.

BUT, if you are a photographer (like me 4 years ago) on the verge of deciding vs hobby or pro….you must I repeat MUST attend a Blue Lily Go Pro Seminar. It really will change your life. And we might even let you into the tribe when you are done. 🙂

Here is a look back at my 4th workshop with the Lilies. This year was in Las Vegas, NV.

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Thanks to my friends for capturing my perpetual smirk that doesn’t seem to change much. I should work on that. I also have perpetual fly aways, my harness upside down (my apologies to hold fast gear) and my inability to recognize spatial awareness (aka the bandaid photos).  Good times.

Thanks to Wendy of Blue Lily, Miranda Stratford of M. Shanti Photo,Kelly of Pear Tree Photography, and Alicia of Gray Wren Photography—- for making me feel awesome and enjoying 2nd of our shoot!

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Costa Rica: Round 3

It’s hard to imagine that I would love Costa Rica anymore and any better than each of my previous destinations here and here but in true Costa Rican style, our last and final stop in Guanacaste didn’t disappoint. It was pretty much pure perfection. We ended our journey wanting to relax, not do too much and that is exactly what we did. We were happy though that we took the advice of a great friend of mine and headed to a local beach town of Tamarindo where met up with a few locals, surfed in the soft warm ocean and dined in a hidden spot along the river. I can’t go into details about all of it but lets just stay that when one asks me to picture myself on a beach somewhere—this is my go to meditative picture.

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Adios, Costa Rica! We will be back.

Bonus video: Surfing quickly became on of our FAVE activities!

 

 

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