I'm pulling photos from the archives today because I am without my laptop. And without my laptop means I'm without any of my most recent images. Grrrrr! On Friday my laptop screen decided to take a nose dive. It just went blank with a bunch of stripes going up and down it. I immediately ran it over to Best Buy and their Geek Squad told me I'd have my baby back in 3 weeks. THREE WEEKS??? That is like death to some people - me included. How in the world am I supposed to go three weeks without my left arm? Needless to say, I'm feeling the pain. Photoshop, all of my actions, my current and past images over the last year, etc. are all on my laptop. I'm lost! I'm currently using my desktop computer which I don't necessarily care for. It doesn't have any of my current programs or anything on it. What a mess! So...for now it looks as though I'll be using older images that you've already seen anytime I plan to blog over the next three weeks. Oh what a joy that is going to be. LOL! Bare with me...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that three weeks goes by in a jiffy.
Karen flew into town and spent that past 4 days with me before she had to head on over to the East coast of Florida for a concert she was attending. We had a great time eating at all of the restaurants I've wanted to try but just haven't had a chance yet. For those of you heading to the Sanibel Island area over Spring Break, you must eat at the "Island Cow." It is this quaint little restaurant that I've always wanted to try but never had the chance until last week. It's always packed out and therefore we never attempted stopping there because of the wait. It's an outdoor restaurant with the most adorable hand carved Adirondack chairs in every color of the tropical rainbow calling your name in their front yard. The chairs are handmade by a company here in town called "Tropic-chair" and I'm bound and determined to save up for some to place around our pool. They scream beach, tropics, sun, fun, etc. Definitely a new favorite find of mine. The Island Cow restaurant has a menu the size of Texas which includes everything under the sun. I tried their lobster and shrimp wontons that were plated with a plum dipping sauce that day and devoured them along with their hand squeezed orange juice and their chocolate chip muffins as a side filler. Oh yes, my tummy was in heaven. Keep in mind this stuff followed a bowl of guacamole dip that Karen and I woofed down in the car on the way to Sanibel that morning. Yes, can you tell it was my "cheat day?" I think it goes without saying that it was my one day off my diet and I made the best of it. And when my blender broke at home and it appeared that our lime chips and avocados were about to go to waste, Karen suggested duck tape for a quick fix. I never wavered - headed straight to the garage for Brent's duck tape and we made that daggone blender work. You know your a guacamole addict when you tape up your blender with duck tape in order to make it work at 9:30am in the morning. HA! Thank you God for brilliant friends who suggest duck tape and for the duck tape itself. :) Oh and here are a few photos I found on the Internet of the Island Cow atmosphere...
As you can tell, the Island Cow is a MUST when on Sanibel Island. I love the atmosphere. I love the colors. I love that it is an open air restaurant. I love their food. I love their shirts they wear there. I loved it all. We will go back. I want to take the kids there sometime. Too fun!
Lastly, I've had many people writing and asking how my doctor appt. with the cardiac electrophysiologist went yesterday. In a nutshell, he doesn't think that my issues are the AV Node Tachycardia. THANK GOODNESS! Praise Jesus! Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. The doc says he is 90% sure that it is due to stress rather than the condition that requires surgery. He thinks my body is releasing a surge of adrenaline at night while I sleep and while my body processes the day. Because of that, I'm having severe palpitations like I've never had before and my medication is no longer working to help them. He basically told me that I needed to quit "stifling" my stress. (meaning don't hold it in or push it deep down - deal with it!) Anyone who knows me well enough knows that it takes a lot to get me down. No matter what is going on in my life, my main goal is to keep trucking along. I refuse to let anyone or anything get the best of me. I read a quote yesterday that said..."Those things or those people that tried to destroy you, haven't! Those things or those people who tried to kill you, didn't! YOU'RE ALL THAT!!!" (by Paula White) I loved it. Thought the quote was a must share - so I did share it on facebook with my crackbook friends. :) However, that attitude is apparently part of my problem. I need to start accepting my stress and owning it a bit more I guess. The doctor reiterated that the normal person who is stressed out hasn't undergone a move across 5 states away from family, a life altering heart diagnosis last year (the PFO), personal issues last July nor do they parent a special needs child on an hourly basis - day after day - and so forth. He told me that my stress level is beyond the norm and that I have to start balancing that out even though I might not feel stressed or feel as though it is as bad as it is. My problem is that I don't look at my life as stressed. I won't give in to the enemy and allow my joy to be stolen. After my talk with the cardiac doctor yesterday though, I realize now that I can OWN my stress and still have joy. He said I needed to give myself extra long bubble baths, extra walks on the beach, pedicures, etc. that focus on me and me only. He said the body needs to balance and the only way to balance your life is to give yourself the time your body is requesting. I laughed and said "Well, apparently my 1-2 walks on the beach each week aren't cutting it then. I'll follow the doctors orders and increase that amount." He twisted my arm. LOL! Looking back on it, in hindsight, I guess I do have a lot to be stressed about. I'm just not one to let those "stressors" win. Even knowing what I know now, I still won't. However, I will throw them away with the seaweed as the wave caps come washing up on the shore each time that I'm taking my walks on the beach here in sunny Florida. I'm making the decision to own those stressors and send them packing in the cool gulf waters with the sharks and the bottom feeders on the ocean floor. Yes, yes...that is the best place for her them...on the bottom of the ocean floor - in the darkness for which they so consistently beckon.
And today...where am I headed...to the beach of course. Today begins the start of a FL warm up here in Naples. Our temps are expected to reach the low to mid 80's over the next 10 days. Not only due I plan to hit that beach over the next several days in order to return to Indiana next week tan and actually looking like I "live" in Florida, but I plan to hit that beach to feed my stressors to the almighty powerful ocean and the monsters that lurk within it. My stressors will soon be their problem now and not mine. And when I report back to my cardiologist in 4-6 weeks, I intend to prove to him that he was right and that the sea is confirmed yet again as a huge and ever so powerful tool in life.
Happy, happy, Monday peeps! Make sure you are all de-stressing even if your "sea" is the toilet in your nearest bathroom. Let's be honest...that is where the stressors best fit anyway - in the commode.
LIGHTHOUSE BEACH - SANIBEL ISLAND BEACH PHOTOGRAPHER
Last week I hit Sanibel Island and Captiva for some shelling as well as for some "shooting" time that was just for me. More often than not I hear professional photographers talk about how you should take certain days and just make them "your" days to shoot whatever you want. They explain how these "whatever" days really keep you inspired and your creativity flowing. I love to go shoot by myself and for myself. I enjoy taking my time and photographing things as many times as I want at as many different angles and such as I want. I don't have to hurry as you would in the middle of a scheduled session. I can take my time and see things at my own pace. On this day, the clouds/sky were incredible. The top image above is just proof of what a beautiful day it was. I teach my students in my photography classes that you should never take an image with the horizon line dead center in the middle of the photograph. You should always either pick the sky, the ocean, or the sand as your subject. One of them needs to be your main focus. Therefore, the horizon line should always end up in the bottom third of the photograph or in the upper third of it. In this case, can you tell what I chose my subject to be? Scroll up there and look. What is your answer? If you chose the sky/clouds, you are correct. When you look at that image, I want your eyes to focus on the sky. I want you to see the beauty in the clouds so I place my focus point on that area. I even went a bit more drastic and placed the sand in less than a 1/3 of the image so that the sky is basically screaming at you. You didn't know you were gonna' get a little photography lesson here today, did ya? LOL!
Notice how the shot above has the horizon line in the upper 1/3 of that image? Yeap, now I'm trying to direct your eyes to the beach and the sand. I want you to focus in on the fact that all of those people are sitting on top of a pile of sand that is infested with nothing but shells. They are combing that mound looking for all kinds of different type shells. This particular spot is called blind pass. It is the area where Sanibel Island and Captiva Island split. It's a gorgeous spot. I love it there. There are always tons of "shellers" there. Great fun.
There are really cool rocks on the corner of this beach. They make for great texture in an image...
I have a thing for photographing signs. Some of you might have picked up on that before. Signage always has great color. Love me some signs...
And I'm still confused by this one...
Here is one I just had to grab because of the angle within it. Angles can do so much for a photograph. Love the shadows from the nautical ropes here...
I managed to get some great shots of the Sanibel lighthouse that day too. It really popped on top of that blue sky. This lighthouse is one of the most unattractive lighthouses I've ever seen but I still love it. I am obsessed with its rustic, old, vintagey feel.
I love wondering about the nights it lead and directed those at sea. I envision this powerful beacon that is the epitome' of all things "sea" related. It was first lit with a kerosene lantern on August 20th, 1884 and the rumor is that the light is still operational. The lighthouse itself is 98 feet tall and totally brown in color. It took them three months to build the structure itself. It sits on the southern most tip of Sanibel Island. The beach it rests on is poignantly named "Lighthouse beach."
Although the building itself is not open to the public, many visit the site and photograph it on a daily basis. The beach surrounding the lighthouse is gorgeous and well worth any day spent there.
As you can tell, I had a great time exploring the lighthouse grounds as well as lighthouse beach there in Sanibel. This whole moving experience has been great fun for me because I enjoy learning the history about all of these areas. Even though we vacationed here for more than 10 years before moving here full time, I never knew any of the main details surrounding the islands. It is a treat to research this stuff and then be able to photograph it as well.
I'm signing off for now in order to tend to two sick children I have tucked under my wings here at home today. Yeap, Kenidi is home now too. We are bundled up in my bed watching cartoons under the down comforter as the sultry Florida rains pound the seaside outdoors. I used to detest when it rained in Indiana. However, now that we live here and see such little rain, I have found that I enjoy a good downpour to help cool off the humidity. Storms here are so much more powerful as they roll in off the ocean - way different than Hoosier land. We are enjoying those pelting's on the clay rooftop today. It's a welcoming sound as we nurture our way thru this sick spell. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Talk soon...Angie
Hi friends. Long time no blog, eh? Sorry about that. You can always tell when my new photography classes start up because I get M.I.A over here on the blog. I apologize. I definitely haven't forgotten about you. I'm just devoting my spare time to my newest students and hoping to provide the best instruction to them possible.
With that said, thought I'd jump in and say hello really quickly. I spent the morning on the beach. Shelling over on Sanibel Island as well as over in Captiva. I took my camera along so I'll be sure to post photos later this week. It's a beautiful 75 degree day here today. I'm vegging out by the pool now with my Mom while waiting for Kenidi and Brennen to get off their bus in a few minutes. It was nice to take today for a relaxation day as my heart and my sanity needed it in a bad way. That heart of mine loves to pump out of my chest when I'm stressed out. Therefore, the smell of sunscreen and suntan oil is a sure fire fix for that when I go to the beach. If even for that moment only, it makes everything in life all better. Ya know?
On another fun note, I got to meet some wonderful new friends this weekend. I hooked up with the Naples Photography club here in Florida and have begun attending events, classes, and workshops with them. They are a great group of people and I had a ball shooting with them this weekend. It's awesome to have others that share your same passion whom you can get out and shoot this incredibly beautiful environment with. I loved it. I was a bit nervous going into at first. I felt like the new kid on the block. Because I was. However, they were all extremely welcoming and made me feel right at home. I can't wait until our next outing together. It's great to have something to focus on and look forward to that is just for me. And me only. Rarely do we Moms or women get that in life. We are always so busy with kids and husbands and daily day to day life that we forget who we are and what we love. Photography has helped me remember who I am. And I am so thankful for that.
Oh yes...and this little girl up above and below...??? She was my beautiful subject during a candid photo session at a local park here the other day. I'm not one that typically cares for any kind of fencing or background clutter in images but her cuteness helped me forget that we were on a playground instead of at a location where I would have rather been. These are just a couple of sneak peek shots from our session. And her hair...oh the hair...
It goes without saying that she was an absolute doll!
For now, I'm headed out to take Brennen to football practice. I'm looking forward to hanging out on the bleachers in the sunshine this evening. It's a great night for football. :) PS...Thanks for your patience last Friday when someone hacked into my AGD blog and AGD website. Thankfully my web gals (Amy & Crystal) got the problem fixed within an hour or so of me discovering it. And actually I didn't discover it, my dear sweet facebook friend and blog reader, Amy Dana did. Thanks again Amy. I appreciate the heads up girl. And for Amy & Crystal...huge kudo's to you two for being such ROCKSTARS in the web design field. You girls are my life savers. I don't know what I would do without you. Thanks again for all of your hard work - on a whim - and on the fly like that - regarding the hacking. You two are no match for those crazies. Soooooo appreciate you both.
Oh what a day. It was gorgeous for the most part. I began my day listening to the warm Florida rains pour down like a raging waterfall. That type of rain is rare here. While taking in the sounds of quiet other than the rain, I cranked up Ray Lamontagne in the house and rocked out to his mellow tunes while listening to the rain outside my windows and while finishing some final edits on a few images. It was a blissful morning. Relaxing, peaceful, and slow going. Loved that. There is something to be said for warm Florida rains, having my laptop in my hands doing what I love (editing photography) and jammin out to good ol' Ray. I found myself saying "Thank you God for warm Florida rains, for my camera, and for Ray...of course." LOL!
The rain quit after about 30 minutes and then the sun came out full force. Typical Florida weather. When that happened, I grabbed "Big Pappa" and headed to the beach with Ray now jamming on my stereo in the car on the way. It was a stunning day at the shores edge. I went scouting out some new photography locations. Found some good ones too. A perfect day.
On another note...I visited a new cardiologist down here in Naples yesterday. I've been having some really strange episodes of palpitations in the middle of the night. They are three times as intense as my older ones and my blood pressure drops way down when it happens which sends my pulse racing - ultimately waking me up from a deep sleep each night. The cardiologist seems to think I might have a specific kind of palpitation that could ultimately result in needing surgery to be treated effectively. He says I am too young to be going thru this at my age. I agree. I am being sent to an electrophysiologist now. I don't see him for another three weeks which makes me nuts but apparently this doc specializes in only patients with severe palpitations. I'm nervous yet eager to hear what he thinks and what he has to say. Please pray for me, once again, regarding these heart matters. It was almost a year ago when I was diagnosed with the PFO issue to do with my heart. Now this. I'm trying to remain upbeat but it is scary at times. Scary at night a lot. I'm tired of being tired and tired of worrying. Just trying to have faith that God is in control and that hopefully this can be treated without a surgery - maybe with a different prescription or something. And lastly, I was skyping with my Dad the other night and he had a girl scout come to his door selling cookies. I told him that I hadn't seen any girl scouts here in Florida yet. I was craving my favorites...the thin mints. Low and behold...about 3 days later...look what showed up at my front door...
Wait for it...
Waaiitttt for it...
Yeap, not only did he get me some thin mints and shipped them to me but my StepMom made homemade chocolate chip cookies and homemade brownies for me too. Well...for the kids and I anyway. Ha ha! Guess it is good to share, right? LOL! Don't hate. You heard me...don't be a "hater." Do I need to get you guys some hater-ade? Hee hee! Yes, I am absolutely spoiled rotten. I have wonderful and amazing parents who definitely take good care of me. It was great to get a little taste of home. Thanks Dad and Cath...I love you guys so very much! Needless to say, the cookie and brownie stash was gone in two days. I had 1.5 brownies and one cookie out of it before the rest was depleted by little monsters. Gotta' love em'! They saved my hips for the week. Bwwwaahhhhhh!
Hope all of you are having a great week thus far. Enjoy hump day tomorrow. Hugs, Angie
One of the best things about living in Florida is basically having the beach at your back door. For example, whenever you have a free Friday or Saturday night (or any night of the week for that matter) and you want to pack everyone up & head to the sand & seashore to witness a gorgeous sunset and let the kids frolic in the sand, you can. Thankfully our home here is just down the street from the beach. The road our development sits off of leads right straight down into the gulf of Mexico. A 5 minute drive to the beach makes everything in life that much better.
There is nothing I love more than stepping down into that sand and feeling the grit of it all between my toes. The sugaring process...ya know? The sound of the waves lapping and the smell of the sea salt in the air is almost more than my heart can handle. There is also nothing I love more than seeing my kids enjoy the beach as much or more than I do. I managed to get Brennen to stand still a few times while there Friday evening. This is now one of my new favorite images...
There is something to be said for footprints in the sand. Not just because of the famous poem either. The rushing of the waves and their ability to wash away a footstep is a perfect word picture for how important life is. How short life is. One minute it is here. The next minute it's gone.
I just love photos of toes in the sand. Images of flip flops at the beach.
Brennen wasn't happy with me for posting this image of him below. He stuck his toes in the water and found that the gulf was freezing. However, I just had to share it. :) I focused my camera all on him this particular night. I just love this boy...
When I look at this shot below, it is hard to believe he is going to be 11 in just two more weeks. In some ways he looks so much older here - but in other ways he still resembles that little baby of mine who ran around with a chili bowl haircut for so long and who adored Blues Clues as a toddler. The years just fly by.
He is such a little stud-man now. Girls calling and texting. Females in his class leaving "I love you" verbage on his Valentines, etc. How quickly they grow up. It is nights spent watching the sunsets at the beach that make me so thankful for the time I do have with him. One day he'll be wanting to bring his "best girl" to the shoreline instead of his Mama. No fear...I'll be hiding out in the sea oats with my 70-300mm telephoto lens. Poor girl...she'll have no idea that his Mom mimics the Paparazzi until its too late. Ha ha! Poor Brennen...his life is forever doomed. LOL!
Hope you are all having a spectacular weekend. Even if you don't have a beach near by, go sugar your toes in the snow with your kiddo's. It will melt soon. Again, life is soooo short. Much love, Angie
PS...Thank you to all of you who've signed up for the Angie Seaman Photography class that begins this Monday. The class has once again sold out. There is now a wait list going for the next class being offered in May. I'll announce details on that one soon. For those still interested in the workshop I'm doing here in Naples in September, there are seats available. Click HERE for details. It is going to be an amazing weekend!
Meet Dotty. Dotty is Kenidi's assigned horse each week at therapy. To say that Kenidi loves Dotty would be an extreme understatement. Everyday she asks me about "oohs" which means horse in her language. We think she got horses and cows mixed up somewhere along the way and refers to horses as "oohs" because of the noise that cows make..."mooooo." It is nothing for her to come in with her cowboy boots and her riding helmet asking for the "oohs." I have to count down sleeps with her (days/nights) and remind her that she has 4 more "sleeps" for example before she sees the "oohs" again. These talks have to be the sweetest thing you've ever heard.
The shot above was just my way of capturing the beautiful light that was filtering in thru the barn the other night. It's great to be able to have the weather where she can do this outside year round. Back home in Indy, we had to do it indoors. I was standing right on the edge of the fence and the light was hitting the corner. There is so much to be said about natural light. It really is gorgeous. Thus why I can't stand to use a flash on my camera. EVER!
She looks upset in this shot below but this is Kenidi's shy face. I was snapping photos of her and she noticed me there. She swung that shy look at me and turned away from the camera...
The mundane orange cone below - again just a shot showing the natural light hitting it in just the right way. There is such beauty in the mundane if we are willing to look for it. I love being a photographer because the camera teaches you to look for things you never saw before. To look for beauty in even the ugliest of places...
Those who know me well...know that I love angles. I love architecture. I love lines. Leading lines. I looked up in the barn and saw these lights strategically hanging in a row. Loved it.
And this hook below. Nothing. No significance whatsoever other than the gorgeous natural light that is hitting it again.
I saw this sign on one of the barns. Thought it was very profound. This entire horse facility is run off volunteers. We pay only $10 a week for Kenidi to ride there. The day to day runnings of the facility are done via the help of all volunteers. Even the side walkers you see walking beside Kenidi when she is on the horse are volunteers. This is a HUGE difference compared to the facility that we went to in Indy for her. We loved it there but it was $180 a session compared to the $10 we pay now. Thankfully our insurance paid for most of those sessions back home. The unfortunate part is that many families never get the opportunity to send their child there because it is so costly and they don't have the means to cover it. Very sad!Volunteers ROCK!
These side walkers are there with Kenidi to make sure that should the horse ever act up, they are there to help her. In all the time we've been doing this though, we've never had a horse get out of line. They are what they call "Bomb trained." Meaning even if a bomb were to go off near them, they remain controlled and don't go crazy - especially with a rider on their back. Kenidi tells the horse when to go and when to stop. She is to pull on his reigns when stopping and shake his reigns and tell him to "walk on" when she wants him to go. It is really amazing to see how calm she is when in therapy with these horses.
Now look at these images and notice how all of the locals are wearing coats, muffins around their heads, etc. Kenidi of course just has on a sweatshirt. It was 66 degrees on this particular day - with sunshine. However, according to how the locals were dressed, you would have thought that it was below zero outside. LOL! Of course us Hoosiers are good with a simple hoodie. Ha ha!
It still seems so odd to me to see palm trees with barns and horses. I don't know why. The barns and the animals just remind me of the Midwest. However, they roam where the palm trees grow too...
Now this is what I call one big ol' ceiling fan...
We are so very thankful for all of the therapists, doctors, volunteers, etc. which have now come into our life since moving to Florida. God placed some great ones in our path and we couldn't be more at peace with the individuals we entrust Kenidi with. It is such a scary thing to have to find and recruit all new people to handle the medical issues and the day to day routines (i.e. school) and so forth when it comes to your child. Because Kenidi can't speak to us and tell us her feelings or how her day went, we rely on trustworthy people to make us feel at ease when it comes to her. It is so very tough but when you have relationships with stellar individuals such as these, it makes each day a little easier. Thanks again to everyone who is helping to make us feel so at home here in Florida.
This shot above is the rec center where Brennen plays on his basketball league. It's a gorgeous park - as all the parks here in Southwest Florida are. The parks here in Florida put our parks in Indiana to shame. It's really embarrassing when you compare the two. The Indiana parks and rec peeps could really take some advice from Florida's head honcho's. That is fo' sho'! This shot just happened to be of the entrance into the rec center. It's just a small snippet of the beauty to behold at this particular location. Either way, thought I'd do a quick blog about his game Saturday...
Yeap, here is the stud-man himself exuding frustration at one point in the game - those long eyelashes and all...
Here is the gym inside the rec center. They also have a massive fitness center inside this same building with a phenomenal day care that looks like a school. It's amazing. Awesome facility to say the least.
Just a simple shot of the basket I kept seeing while down on the floor. Yeap, I'm that Mom who sits at the end of the court and takes pictures the whole game - sprawling out across the floor when necessary...
Like for this shoe shot below. Look how dusty and dirty that floor is though. GAG! Can you guess which tennies are Brennen's?
If you guessed the third set of tennies from the left, then you are correct. He is sitting next to the kid with the white tennis shoes on - with his hands together.
This next shot was just of a little girl sitting on the folded up bleachers. I saw her feet dangling with the flip flops on and thought it was a cute shot...
Here was a fun succession of shots I took during one of the baskets made for Brennen's team...
SWOOSHHHHH...nothin' but net...!
Here is another one of those moments when I got down on the floor - that dirty filthy basketball shoe wearin' floor - in front of all the other parents watching me make a fool of myself - and captured this shot of all the boys running. They have two girls on their team (it's a co-ed rec league here) and I loved the pink converse that were proudly displayed in this shot along with all of the other "boyish" tennis shoes.
Here is their team with their coach. You can see Brennen dead center - peeking thru...
And for those of you wondering if they won or not...here was the final score.
We were the HOME team! YAY!
It was a great game that stayed neck and neck - about 1 point apart - the whole game. (until the end when our team landed a few extras) We love his coach - he's a great guy. Brennen starts football this week as well. It's a spring league. His basketball and football will overlap with one another for the next couple of weeks. He's going to be a tired boy I'm sure. On Mondays for the next few weeks he'll have basketball and football practice - on the same night. It was a fluke thing due to being in two different leagues. However, we are going to play it by ear and see how he can handle it. In the meantime, I am just as anxious to get back out on the football sidelines as he is. LOL!
I'm off to go enjoy the sunny and blissful 76 degree weather here in Naples, Florida today. It has been in the sixties all week so yesterday and today were a great change. Looking forward to a weeks worth of warm temps now that the cold front is gone again. "There is something about the sunshine baby..." (that is a Disney song for those who don't know. It's playing on the movie Starstruck as I type. Catchy little tune if you ask me) Enjoy your week everyone. xoxo, Angie
