Very Mary

Listography: Scary Things

It's a heavy list and things that I actually try not to think about altogether too often. Most of these scary things center around my children - it's amazing how becoming a mother can simultaneously make a person so strong and yet so vulnerable. 

1. Losing either of my children in a public place.

2. Kidnapping.

3. Either of them getting sick with a serious illness. 

4. Losing any one of my family members.

5. Dying before I get a chance to watch my kids grow up.

6. Having a major regret about how I lived life. 

7. Plane crashes.

8. Driving in winter.

9. Failure.

10. Public speaking.

11. Starting a photography business.

Listography: Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over

I love music. It never fails to inspire. Here is a short list of songs that I really do listen to over and over (in no apparent order and subject to change):

 

1. Jolene by Dolly Parton

2. The Cave by Mumford and Sons

3. White Blank Page by Mumford and Sons

4. Rolling in the Deep by Adele 

5. Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for your Eyes by Kristin Andreassen

6. Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John

7. Pursuit of Happiness*** (cover) by Lissie

8. Are You Happy Now? by Richard Shindell

9. I'll Be Your Man by Van Morrison

10. Wings by Josh Ritter

11. All I Want is You by Barry Louis Polisar

12. Paper Airplane by Buck 65

13. Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand

14. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart

15. Proof of Love by Old Man Luedecke

16. Oh Marie by Louis Prima

17. Annie Mae by John Lee Hooker

18. Devil's Spoke by Laura Marling

19. When I'm Alone by Lissie

20. Candy by Paolo Nutini

 

*** Don't listen WITH your children or you will be MAD at ME

Listography: Books I Could Read Over and Over

There is nothing like the excitement of discovering a good book, and these are my favorites:

1. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

2. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

3.The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

4. Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles

5.The Fruit of Stone by Mark Spragg

6. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

8. When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

9. Buster Midnight's Cafe by Sandra Dallas

10. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

11. Last Year's River by Allen Morris Jones

12. Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

13. The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips

14. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Listography: Things I Collect

The truth is, I'm not a collector. I don't seek out "things" to buy and put on shelves. We bought a shelving unit at IKEA months ago, and every shelf except one is still empty. I feel like I need to populate it with something that makes me happy, but there is a fine line between home decor and clutter, and I haven't figured that one out yet.

These are the things I am acquiring without really trying:

1. photographs

2. white dishes

3. festive placemats

4. camera lenses

5. striped socks

Listography: Guiltiest Pleasures

Subject to change, of course, depending on my mood: 

1. Eating creme brulee and not sharing

2. Sleeping all by myself

3. Sipping a grande white chocolate mocha

4. New shoes just because

5. Uninterrupted Flickr time during the day

6. Buying books (instead of checking them out at the library)

7. Watching American Idol religiously

8. Letting the answering machine pick it up

Listography: Words I Love

For no real reason. I just like the way they sound...

 

1. momma

2. rambunctious

3. lush

4. exactly

5. tangerine

6. hippopotamus

7. periwinkle

8. dazzle

9. snap

10. fantastic

11. copacetic

12. wink

13. badonkadonk

14. fandango

15. articulate

16. vibrant

17. mariposa

18. lululemon

19. toucan

20. aquatic 

Listography: I'm Lucky Because...

1. My children are healthy. and smart. and beautiful.

2. I'm married to the most supportive man ever. He thinks all my ideas are good ones.

3. A long time ago, I survived a horrible car accident. 

4. My mother and I are very good friends.

5. I have a high metabolism.

6. I'm American AND Canadian.

7. I'm happy to be a stay-at-home momma.

8. Depression is treatable.

9. I learn quickly and I'm determined.

10. We can afford for me to love photography.

Listography: If I Could I Would...

1. Travel. As much as possible. There are so many places that I want to see. So many. 

2. Stay up late. Every night.

3. Sleep in. Every day.

4. Watch movies without feeling compelled to multi-task.

5. Give up coffee.

6. Move outside of the city. Have land and space and a view. 

7. Make a career out of photography and be good at it. 

8. Upgrade my camera and buy a wide angle zoom lens. 14 - 24mm, come to momma.

9. Grow my hair long. And toss it around, all sexy-like. Because that looks fun.

10. Banish guilt forever and ever and ever. And jealousy too. Blargh. 

11. Six-pack abs. I want some.

12. Learn another language and be fluent about it.

13. Write a bestseller. 

14. See Mumford and Sons live. And Paolo too, of course.

15. See the Smithsonian American History Museum.

16. Watch a Broadway show on Broadway. Maybe Wicked?

17. See the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Museum.

18. Buy a pair of mopeds. 

19. Build a bigger bathroom with a soaker tub.

20. Have a window seat. And a personal library.

Listography: Things I Like to Photograph

I'm perhaps not as well-rounded as I would like to be, but at this point in my life and in my photographic journey, I am primarily interested in taking photos of my children. They are fascinating and wonderful, adorable and amazing. A wise person I know said, "You’re going to look at [these photos] and cry because your babies aren’t babies any more and you don’t really remember as much as you thought you would about how they smelled, and how their voices sounded, and what was so important to their hearts." I know it's true, and it makes me a little sad, so I capture what I can with my photos:

1. the quiet moments

2. the milestones

3. the joy

4. the quirks

5. the connections

Eventually this will change, as all things do. They will get older and won't appreciate having the camera focused on them all the time. And I will keep learning and growing and changing and my own photographic style and tastes will evolve. But this is where we are at right now, and these are the photos that make me happy.

Listography: Things I Do Not Like

It's alarming how easy this particular list was to put together...

1. When the weather is so cold that the inside of my nose sticks together.

2. People wearing outside shoes inside my house.

3. When the cuff of my pants gets wet, and I step on it with socked feet.

4. Cleaning the kitchen floor. 

5. Parallel parking the truck while someone is watching me. 

6. Putting away Christmas decorations.

7. Forgetting I have a book on hold at the library.

8. Returning to the hairdresser to have her "fix" my cut. 

9. When I open the pantry door and things fall off the shelves and land on my toes.

10. When my children hurt themselves.

11. Hangnails.

12. Chalk, talc, or dried mud on my hands.

13. Oysters.

14. Photos with selective color.

15. Personalized license plates.

16. When people smoke at the entrance to the building. 

17. When ANYONE is mean to my kids. 

18. Impatience, procrastination, and tardiness. (My own.)

19. Clutter. 

20. When the mouse connection is lost, and I have to restart the computer.