Three (Wee) Thoughts Thursday #8

#1--I think I've got photographer's block. As much as I love my new camera(s), I haven't been feeling all that inspired lately to take photos. And you know what? I'm kinda tired of taking photos of Cadence.

I mean, yeah, she's really cute and all, and it's not that I'm tired of HER (well, ok, sometimes I am). I just don't know if a kid actually needs that many photos taken of them. I'm not going to stop taking photos of Cadence, but I'll probably take less than I have been. And I'm hoping I'll gain a little inspiration to take photos of other stuff.

#2--I am totally digging the music of Feist these days. Oh Em Gee. Listening to her sing can feel like swimming in liquid chocolate one moment and then like having a screwdriver boring a hole through your heart the next. Totally hot stuff. Other bands I'm listening to are The New Pornagraphers, The Blow, Kings of Convenience, Grizzly Bear, and The Sea and Cake

#3--So we've already gotten through a month of summer. Goodness gracious, time is just whizzing by, and I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath. The end of summer will signal the arrival of Cadence's 3rd birthday. I better get ready to sing Happy Birthday over and over and over again, cuz she LOVES singing that song. I heard her singing Happy Birthday to her chair the other day, that's how much she loves that song.

And here's another random photo:

Oh, Yeah! I Have a Blog!

I guess I haven't quite recovered from Pitchfork yet. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought tickets for the WHOLE. FLIPPIN'. WEEKEND. when I knew I'd have Cadence in tow by myself.

Actually, Ted did accompany me Friday night for Sonic Youth's performance of Daydream Nation. We met up w/ my friend Sarah S-B and her daughter Eleanor, who drove in from Grand Rapids. I'm bummed I didn't have my good camera with me cuz Eleanor was dressed up in a Superman outfit. It was totally awesome!

I wish I had more photos to share with you of actual performances, but trying to keep up with Cadence prevented me from taking too many photos. Here's Iron and Wine on stage. Dang, Sam Beam's hair is getting long. I think Cadence's little buddy Rudden, who was there with his family, asked if that was Jesus. Ha ha!

That's right, folks. I went to a weekend-long festival of some of the best indie music out there, and I took photos of toddlers.

Can you blame me, though, when they're this adorable?

I have to say, I love this photo of Rudden as he reacts to the music of metal band Mastadon.

I did get to spend time with my friends Caleb and Kathy Maskell, who flew in from New Haven, CT for the festival. They hadn't seen Cadence for a year and a half, so I was glad they got a chance to see her budding personality.

I have some other photos on Ted's camera, but since I've been using my new cameras, I've misplaced the reader for the type of memory card it uses, so I haven't been able to get those photos onto a computer yet. They're probably no good. I did take one of Neko Case a woman who was filling in for Neko Case* as she played with The New Pornagraphers, whose set kicked some major booty. I've been enjoying their new album, so it was totally cool to hear some of the songs live.
*(Thanks to Caleb for the clarification. We were wondering why that woman looked nothing like Neko Case.)

Anyhoo, I'm totally out of steam. I'm extremely busy at work, and I'm helping plan a bachelorette party for Ted's sister next month in addition to getting all the other wedding details ready (shoes for Cadence, outfit for me, camera equipment, etc.) so you'll have to excuse me if I just post random photos every once in a while like this one:

Thanks Y'all--I'm off to Pitchfork!

Thanks for all your well wishes! My headache did go away, and I think I did fine on the exam (it's pass/fail). Cadence and I are going to Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend, so it's gonna be busy. Thank goodness it's not so hot here.

Yesterday's weather was absolutely beautiful! I got to take some photos after my exam. I just got a polarizing filter, which I should've gotten when I first got my camera. It makes your sky shots so much better!

Anyhoo, the lineup at Pitchfork is amazing. Ok, I gotta hustle if I'm gonna make Califone. Which it looks like I'm gonna miss now cuz Cadence was napping. Oh well. There's still Voxtrot, Grizzly Bear, Iron and Wine, Cat Power and more! And that's just today!

Three Thoughts Thursday--This Hiatus Brought To You By A Flippin' Migraine

That's right. I've got a migraine. Hopefully the cafe au lait Ted made me, in combo w/ some pain killers, will chase it away. I think it's due to some intense studying I've been doing for a work-related exam I'm taking on Friday. If anyone has any wisdom to impart on Base Pay Structures, please send 'em my way.

So instead of sharing my deep thoughts, I am participating in Tracey's Thursday Theme, which is HEAT, something a good portion of our country has been experiencing in waves lately. Things have cooled down in our neck of the woods the past couple of days, but Sunday was a scorcher. I thought it would be a good idea to cool Cadence off with some water play. Unfortunately, I was too lazy to run out to actually buy a bonafide kiddie pool.

Luckily, we had just the right sized storage container that could do the job. It was perfect for Cadence and some of her rubber friends.

Cadence liked her "swimming pool" just fine.

There was lots of splashing going on, fer sure.

She liked it so much, in fact, that she got quite pruny.

Go see how other folks are dealling w/ the heat on Tracey's Picture This.

Best Shot(s) Monday--I'm BACK!

And I'm lovin' it! Yeah, I'm starting to actually like the D50, as long as there's lots of light and Cadence cooperates. Of course, it's just the Magic Lens (50mm f/1.8) that I'm using on it.

Here's Cadence playing All Aboard the Ducky Train with her dad's skateboard. Great. Now I have Ernie singing the Rubber Ducky Song in my head. Do you have any idea how hard it is to erase a Sesame Street voice from your head once it gets started??? I better turn on some music...

So our friends Jenn and John and their daughter Ada came over for dinner on Saturday. They live close enough to stroll over, and it's a shame that this was our first time having them for dinner, considering we've lived in our place for over 1 1/2 years now.

Cadence was so excited about Ada coming over. She asked me all day for Ada and got so cranky and impatient I finally told her to take a nap (at 4pm) and that when she woke up Ada would be here. Luckily, that's exactly what happened, or I'm sure there would've been hell to pay had Cadence awakened to no Ada.

And then after asking for Ada all day, Cadence proceeded to call her "Hay-na" (Helena) all evening. Go figure. Anyhoo, I hope we have Ada and her mom and dad over BEFORE another 1 1/2 years have elapsed.

Oh, and go see other folks' Best Shots Monday at Tracey's Picture This!