A change is gonna come...

Turns out I did exactly what I said I wouldn't do.... I started a blog, wrote a few posts and then ignored it. Well, hopefully with the changes happening with work and all, I will have some time to focus and contribute a little more.

Today is Labor Day and I'm previewing the new Avett Brothers album on NPR, The Carpenter. I've actually already purchased the pre-release vinyl set but the download won't be available until the album release date. Anyways, I'm definitely digging the album and I have a feeling a few of these songs will be on the greenway playlist (and on repeat).

My favorite song, although not the album version, is "Down with the Shine". I've heard this song several times live and it is definitely one of my favorites of theirs. The album version doesn't do the live version justice, but then again, the same hold's true for most of their songs.

My other soon to be favorite's (in no particular order):
- "Life"
- "The Once and Future Carpenter"
- "Live and Die"
- "February Seven"
- "Through My Prayers"

Would love to hear your opinions on the album or suggestions on other new releases I should check out!

Peace,
Jen

A Series

So I've had a fair amount of experience tie dying in the last few months. A few things I've learned:
1. Saturate, saturate, saturate. Don't skimp on the dye, really.
2. Pinks and reds will run. This includes fuchsia. Never underestimate the ability of one accidental drop to screw up an entire shirt. Seriously, it's happened more than once.
3. Pay attention, go slow and make even strokes with your dye bottles.
4. Zip ties work much better than rubber bands. Be very careful when cutting them off, especially when working with thinner cotton like jersey. I have screwed up an otherwise lovely shirt by poking a hole while cutting off the zip tie.
5. Pick a color scheme and do more than one shirt, in various patterns.

With that being said, I did a series of shirts last night with the same three colors. I thought this might be a cool idea for family photos, twins, best friends, etc. So here's my first series:

The first two are girls tanks, size small.














 

This one is a Mossimo Womens Large. The shirt below is a Youth XSmall.

Spring?

Playing with the macro lens and some rare February blossoms last weekend...

Spring is the "new" season. New growth, fresh blossoms. I'm so ready for this spring. It's been a mild winter, weather-wise (minus the rain), but not so much otherwise. I can see the door opening for a lot of new things in my life. New growth and a fresh start. I'm not quite there... but then spring is not quite here either.

I have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. March is going to ah-mazing - shows for The Pack A.D., Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers all within three weeks. Wow. I still can't quite believe it's happening or that I got that lucky.

Now I get to wait around for it to get here. I'm not so good at that, the patience part. I'm getting better and I make an effort every day to slow down and take things for what they are. It's not the easiest thing for me though. I'm debating on getting a pause button for my next tattoo. Crazy right? I need one. Sometimes, I just need to hit the pause button, take a step back and realize the smallness of what seems like a very big deal at the time.

I'm thankful to be able to do things like this, take pictures of beautiful things, appreciate the wonder and beauty of the world around me. It helps me slow down, to put the focus (pun intended haha) on something other than my life for a little while.

Now it's cold and dark again... after all, it is February. I've made it this far, only a few more weeks to go. Soon, the sun will make a more permanent appearance, the days will get longer, the warmth will return and the cold weariness will be but a memory. Until then, more random posts and pictures are sure to come :)

Here are a couple more macros... subject is a bouquet from a work event.

Peace,
Jen

The Sun Will Rise

It's been a rough couple of weeks... busy and stressful but I am thankful that it's Friday and that the sun finally returned this week. I haven't posted much in the way of being creative because my creative space has been in limbo while the flooding issue was resolved. Luckily it is now fixed and I will be moving back in this weekend. Hopefully more fun posts will be coming soon. In the mean time, I wanted to share some lyrics :)

The Sun Will Rise (Kelly Clarkson)
I can see the wait there in your eyes
I can feel the thought in your sigh
Your knuckles are bruised from a losing fight
One way down a dead end street
Broken glass underneath your feet
You think the day won't break the sunless night

The sun will rise
The sun will rise
When you've lost your lights
The sun will rise
It'll be alright
It'll be alright

I've been in stuck in a storm before
Felt the wind raging at my door
Couldn't move, couldn't breathe, Couldn't find a way out

Somehow my clouds disappeared, Somehow I made it here
Maybe just so you could hear me say

The sun will rise
The sun will rise (The sun will rise)
When you've lost your lights
The sun will rise

It'll be alright (It'll be alright)
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright

Although you can't see it
So hard to believe it
Sometimes you just need a little faith (All you need is a little faith)
There's an answer to your prayer
And I swear that there'll come a day

The sun will rise
The sun will rise (The sun will rise)
The sun will rise (The sun will rise)
The sun will rise
Yeah
(The sun will rise)
(The sun will rise)
(The sun will rise)

It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright
It'll be alright

The sun will rise

The Pack A.D.

I'm in Charlotte airport on my way to Boston for a couple of days. Needless to say, my iPhone has been playing music since the second I left this morning. I loaded Spotify up before I left with four albums from The Pack A.D.  This will be on heavy rotation for the next few months, if not indefinitely. Think Black Keys and the White Stripes and you will be heading in the right direction. Oh, and it's two chicks btw. Rock. On. They definitely have their own thing and I love them.  After I get done with this post and find a decent wifi signal, I'm adding these guys to my must see list for 2012.

Albums I'm spinning:
Funeral Mixtape
Tintype
Unpersons
We Kill Computers

A few tracks I've favorited so far:
Don't Have To (Funeral Mixtape)
Making Gestures (Funeral Mixtape)
Snow (Tintype)
Dannemora Blues (Funeral Mixtape)
Catch (We Kill Computers)
Everyone Looks Like Everyone (We Kill Computers)
Gold Rush (Tintype)

thepackad.com

PS - They are playing in Denver on March 5th... I'm so there :)

Moving at a Snail's Pace

These guys are about my speed. I managed to get outside for a few minutes during a break in the rain today. I used my macro lens to catch a few snails on the wall for practice...

One decided to climb on top of the other one... I guess snails need lovin' too ;)

Peace,
Jen

Don't Take It for Granted

I take my life for granted about a thousand times a day. And I probably will keep doing so because we're all selfish by nature and we get so wrapped up in our little lives and how everything seems like such a big deal in that moment. But in this moment, I'm thankful for:

1. My home - I walked in the door tonight and I was so happy just to be home. My own little part of the world where I feel safe, with the things and sounds around me that mean so much to me. Not material things really, but the stories behind the pictures and paintings and hats... my life.

2. My health - I was feeling sorry for myself earlier because I have to take some medicine for a few days that's going to make me uncomfortable but I have insurance that covered it and only had to pay $5. There are so many people that would love to be able to take medicine that makes them uncomfortable but better but they can't afford it. And then there is the little boy that I saw on my way in to the doctor that has cancer and I'm sitting here feeling like a real schmuck now. I can't imagine the pain he is going through, what his mother must feel on a daily basis to watch and wonder what will happen to her little boy. Yeah, I suck.

3. My family - My little girl drives me CRAZY on a daily basis. And the days I don't see her I physically hurt from how bad I miss her. But she is happy and healthy and smart and beautiful and I'm so lucky she's mine. It's not the greatest situation, the shared time but I'm doing what I truly feel is best, and doing the best with what I have.

4. My job - I bitch about it on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. But I have a job and I'm independent and I can do things a lot of people can't. And I truly am thankful.

5. My freedom - I get lonely and it sucks sometimes. But I don't live in fear or walk on eggshells on a daily basis and I know I take my life for granted.

On a side note, I found this while I was going through some things when I was moving and I wanted to share...

My Hand Print
Sometimes you get discouraged,
Because I am so small,
And always leave my finger prints
On furniture and wall.

But every day I'm growing up,
And soon I'll be so tall,
That all those little hand prints
Will be difficult to recall.

So here's a current hand print
That you can put away.
You'll know just how my fingers looked
This year for Mother's Day.

Hopefully I will get better at this, and be better. But in this moment, I am so thankful for my life and all the people who love and care about me. I am a very lucky girl.

Peace,
Jen

New Music Thursday?

Typically new music is released on Tuesday. But it's Thursday and I found some new music so I'm going to share. I recently signed up for PandoraOne and even more recently Spotify. I think I'm officially off of iTunes now. Pandora is great for finding new music and I love Spotify for the ease of finding any and every song that pops in my head as well as being able to easily create playlists and sync them to my iPhone (which I use to workout, in the car and anytime I'm not on my laptop). Ok, so here goes:

1. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson
I've loved her music for a long time, although it's been quite awhile since I've listened to it. I found this song while searching for workout music based on inspiration from my friend Jane's latest blog post. I also put Kelly's newest album on Spotify for further review.

2. Hold Me Together - Royal Taylor
From Jane's blog (link above).

3. I'm Not Who I Was - Brandon Heath
Ok, I kind of cheated on this one. I didn't exactly discover this today but I am in love with this song. It's pretty self-explanatory so I will just leave it at that.

4. Let's Make It Last - Brandon Heath
Again, didn't discover this one today but happened upon it when I got his album because of #3. I had been listening to a lot of sad songs of love lost and this was one of the first things that reminded me of how wonderful love can be when I came out of that dark place.

5. Stereo Hearts - Dorm Parties
From Jane's running playlist as well and I will be sweating my ass off on the elliptical/spin bike to it.

As you can see my posts will be a little random at times, enjoy the ride :)
Peace,
Jen

Hello World!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog... well another one anyways. Hopefully I will be a little more committed to this one and make it a place you will enjoy visiting from time to time. A few things about me and what you can expect to find in my little patch of the interwebs (in no particular order)...

1. Music: I love music. Actually a better statement would be, I live music. I'm constantly listening to new music, music I loved forever and going through phases where I listen to an artist or playlist incessantly for a few weeks or months. I also try to see as many shows as time allows so you will probably hear about those too.

2. My life: I'm a soon-to-be divorced mother of a beautiful 3-yr old little girl. She is my world and she is the best and sometimes most difficult part of my life. I will try to keep the venting to a minimum... I really try to waste the least amount of time possible on negative thoughts and energy.

3. Photography: I take a LOT of pictures. On my iPhone using Hipstamatic mostly, but I just upgraded to a DSLR and I plan on practicing and posting as much as possible.

4. My etsy store: I started an etsy store in November and I'm trying to make it a success (read shameless self-promotion). I don't know if it will be successful, it may not. But I won't have any regrets and I love using some of my hobbies to (hopefully) make a little extra income for my daughter and me.

5. Being creative: I paint, I tie dye (hence the name), I make chalkboards, I re-purpose, I attempt (albeit miserably right now) to sew and I will probably share these experiences. In no way am I an expert so if you are looking for expertise or creative inspiration, you might be disappointed. You could find a little comic relief though, and I'm okay with that too :)

So that's a little about me and why I'm here. I hope you enjoy my posts, I hope I can make the time to share my experiences and make this blog worth reading and well, thanks for stopping by. Peace, Jen

I and Love and You

 Letters on canvas, inspired by The Avett Brothers

On the etsy store here. here  and here

On the road again

I'm slightly obsessed with open roads, road trips, travel, etc. Kinda looks like the road to Nashville...