Finding happiness

“It’s gonna be alright, no matter what they say, gonna be a good day, just wait and see”

Things I am loving, things that are making me happy, things that I am looking forward to, in no particular order

SEATTLE! Next Monday morning, we get on a few planes (3 to be exact) to spend Thanksgiving week with big brother Aaron. I’ve never been to Seattle, can’t wait to explore a gorgeous city I’ve always wanted to see, get to spend five days with Husband and Brother Aaron. We are going to go to the Seattle Aquarium, and my camera will be working overtime next week, I’m sure!

ShutterCal – I am LOVING playing with my camera every day, and making shooting a habit. This morning, the fog was thick, the world was quiet and I got some great mysterious fog shots (to be posted later today or tomorrow).

For Your Entertainment, the new Adam Lambert single, ohhhmydoggg so incredibly fun to listen to, especially if you crank it in the car.

Bright colored polymer clay beads

Pinups, especially redhead pinups

Swoony color beads

Ferocious monsters (note, not really ferocious)

Too cute for words accessories

Brave, dear souls who set off onto bold new adventures of their creation

Pumpkin smoothies, yerba mate chocolatte lattes with almond milk,  raw vegan chocolate pudding, plain, with pomegranates, or mixed in a smoothie

 

What are some things that are making you happy, things you are looking forward to?

 

 

 

 

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Life I love you, all is groovy

Time for a photowalk, with images that caught my eye and made me happy today.

Gray morning, after a windy, rainy week, but a few leaves are still clinging on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuzzies and bright leaves on one branch

 

Would you like an apple, little girl?

The WonderPup, although she makes me happy every day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why, yes, Bliss is spelled Cupcake! And the other sign…Books. Cats. Life is Good. Why, yes it is, especially when you have all those things!

 

I can not properly explain how much I love streets like this!

Top of a birdhouse. I would be pretty darn psyched if I was a bird.

Ha! A rather ineffective sign, it would appear

Free wireless with hookah session. Good to know.

The writing is on the wall. Even if it is a very small wall.

MUST. EAT.HERE.

Side of the wall of the above restaurant

Yes, please. Times 50,000.

Ha!!!!!! You want a piece of me? David’s ear, $29.99 Ha!(my father-in-law, shouldn’t that be van gogh? Double Ha!)

Fresh pita from local, organic ingredients. Just because I can’t eat this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the awesomeness.

The sign is empty, but still so beautiful!

Thanks for coming on my happy trip today!

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Meet BatManuel

For the past almost five years, I’ve been driving a toaster. A Scion Xb toaster to be specific. Exceptionally good at being square and holding lots of things, not so exceptional at accelerating, turning, driving, being quiet, being fun.

But as of Friday, I no longer drive a toaster – I drive the BatMobile (named BatManuel – bonus points if you get the reference!)

Husband and I bought a 2010 Ford Fusion, and it is so much fun to drive! And it has Sync — it syncs with my phone, and it is voice activated, so I can tell it call B, and it does! And it connects to my iPod (iPhone) so I can tell it to play Van Morrison, and it does! I’ve never had a car that talks to me, hence the batmobile 🙂

It also has heated seats, hooray!!! That was my biggest requirement in a new car (well, and one that accelerates properly!). As far as I’m concerned, you can never be too warm. 🙂

Pretty good looking, isn’t he?

Console of many buttons!

The steering wheel buttons that activate the voice controls, and I can also control the volume, change radio stations and such, all from the wheel. Very convenient.

Fun, cockpit-like dashboard

It also has Sirius radio, which I am loving! It also has dual climate control, shows the outside temperature, lists the name and artist of the song that is playing, and shows what direction you are going. My car is very smart.

 

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Photo happiness

The past month, and longer, I’ve not been myself, trapped in being unwell, with no energy left for anything I normally do. The fog is lifting, sun is breaking up the shadows and I am feeling much more like my usual mermaid self.

Some recent-ish photos that I love, and that make me feel happy, just because. Small slices of happiness are worth sharing! And the story of what’s been going on with me will be coming soon. It’s nice to feel I’m coming out the other side of it now.

 

Spiderwebs and glowing light. Nature’s art.

 

I adore old books!

This was actually set up for a photo shoot I was working on with Husband, he was doing an interview and thought he wanted the chair. I just loved this shot I took as I was setting up. No reason. It just spoke to me.

 

playing around, waiting for another photo shoot to start. I think I want to get this one framed.

Rich color and contrasts. Swoon.

A happy little flower, content with its face in the sun, and not afraid of the dark behind it. Yes.

yes please – sunshine and green and a proud little flower.

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Return of the Flying Mermaid

Hellooooo out there!

‘Tis I, Flying Mermaid, finally returned from her great, mighty Mermaid adventure off on the other side of the ocean and eager to return to her bloggy home.

Ok, really, I’m not returning from anywhere, other than a very long blog hiatus, but I am very happy to be returning to blog land!

I last posted in July (hangs head with a bit of shame) but life has been a whirlwind since then!

There was work-land, which has been occupying my thoughts in a way that I didn’t want to share here (this is a public blog after all). But suffice it to say, my head has been bogged down by that a lot, and since I didn’t want to share my thoughts on it, I just didn’t share at all!

Then there was Sadie. We adopted a coon hound puppy in August…and our lives turned upside down and inside out. Suddenly we had no time to relax, to sit and do nothing, to read in peace, and anything that we normally did (including blogging) was out the window.

Sadie was not a good fit for us. We did everything possible for her, taking her for lots of walks, giving her play time and teaching her commands, and having less and less time to do anything for us, not associated with Sadie. Hounds require a lot of time, a lot of exercise, way more than we could provide.  And then there was Myra WonderPup. Myra, my sweet, happy, loves other dogs and people, that Myra — she disappeared entirely. She HATED Sadie. She was depressed. She was growling at Sadie all the time, and showing her teeth. We tried to make sure we were balancing play time and affection, and Myra got the short end of that stick. Every time we would try to cuddle with Myra, Sadie would jump in and Myra would get up and walk away. When we played with Myra, Sadie would jump in and take her toys and Myra would growl and walk away and not play anymore. Plus B works from home and Sadie made that very, very challenging for him.

We found a new home for Sadie, a wonderful, perfect for her in every way home, where she would have lots and lots of outside time, and kids to play with and a high-energy Jack Russell to play with, and an owner who would take her on truck rides and hunting trips. Perfect Sadie land!

I am not looking for “shame on you” or “you should have known what you were getting into” or “how could you do that?” This was a decision we felt was truly best for everyone involved, me, B, Myra, and Sadie.

And then I’ve also been growing Flying Mermaid Photography!

I’ve had my first professional shoots:

I entered the NC state fair photo exhibit with the picture below (my first ever photo contest/juried art show!)

I have a photo on display/for sale at a new yoga studio in Raleigh.

I am gearing up for my first wedding on Saturday, and for the bride, I’ve also done her bridal shower pictures

And her bachelorette party

I attended the wedding of another friend

B is starting up a videography business, partnered with Flying Mermaid Photography for some projects. We had our first joint project, a high school recruitment video for a high school football player.

And then there has been just regular life stuff, but Flying Mermaid Photography has definitely been taking up a chunk of time – time I am more than happy to be spending! Dream growing, doing what I love, what brings me passion, is so rewarding (even if it has made me busy!)

I will be back to regular blogging now, I look forward to connecting again!

love and mermaid splashes!

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Happiness is a daily choice

I wrote that on a little inspiration card I painted.

I have it hanging in my cube at work.

I see it every day.

I know it to be true.

And still…I forget the simple truth of it.

I forget that I can choose to focus on things that make me happy, or I can focus on what is bothering me, what is bringing me down.

In general, I am a happy girl and don’t have much difficulty finding happy, joyful moments. Tilting my head up to the sun and putting my arms out to fly in the wind on nice days. Watching thunderstorms. Smiling at the flowers.

But still, even then, I can still forget that I can choose happiness. I can choose to focus on joy (go visit the amazing Brandi for all sorts of stuff on focusing on joy…she is the original Joy Rebel, and has the army to prove it!).

Things have been a bit challenging lately. B is unhappy with work. I am not in love with what I am doing. We have both been feeling stuck. And yesterday, yesterday was not a good day. Nothing earth-shattering. Nothing major in the grand scheme of things. But still, it ended up with me crying on hubby’s shoulder (which is something hubby shoulders are good for).

But the worst of it…I was only focusing on what was WRONG. It became all I saw. It felt like all that was there, it felt like all I could feel.

And then I remembered. Happiness is a choice. Happiness is something I can choose to focus on. It’s in my power. It IS a power.

And today, I did just that.

I’m wearing a fun head scarf and twirly skirty with black canvas sneakers today.

I drove in to work, blasting Keeps Getting Better by Christina Aguilera and Womanizer by Britney Spears, bopping along and singing at the top of my lungs.

I am doing a photoshoot tonight for Flying Mermaid Photography.

I set up some coupons for people who did free sessions with me to help me set up my portfolio, to hopefully start having some photo sales.

Choosing to focus on happiness left me not feeling so stuck, not so overwhelmed with what was bringing me down.

Nothing has drastically changed. What was bothering me yesterday is still there today. But I’m not making it bigger by focusing all my energy on it. And that made all the difference.

I’m choosing happiness and fun and joy today. And it is something I can always choose.

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Tales of a weekend getaway

Hubby and I needed a recharging weekend, he’s been very stressed at work, and I needed some relaxing, outdoor time.

I found Pilot Knob Inn, a charming B&B located about two hours away from home, out past Winston-Salem.

Before checking in, we went to Hanging Rock State Park, hiked up to the bouldering field and got to try our first attempt at outdoor bouldering. Now because we didn’t have any bouldering pads or anything, we stayed really low to the ground, so we wouldn’t get hurt if we fell. It was frustrating, because we very much wanted to climb higher and play on the rocks more, but we were suitably wary of broken bones or worse.

The bouldering field was incredible, I described it as a giant’s playground. Huge big rocks, climb a little path and find even more around the corner. We will definitely be going back!

Then we went to check in to our little log cabin!

Isn’t it darling? We completely fell in love with it. It was the honeymoon suite 🙂

Our front porch! We stood out here and watched an awesome thunderstorm.

There were four kittens who lived under our porch. They were happy to sit on the porch with us, but wouldn’t let us pet them. Their mom checked us out, and decided we were mostly harmless.

I love pink kitten feet

Kitten pile!!

Isn’t this peaceful and beautiful? I felt so relaxed staying here.

Our birdhouse at the cabin

Hubby and a pup who lived on the property, love at first sight for both.

A rare mermaid on a bridge sighting

Hubby on swinging bridge

Some of the  yummy fruit spread I had for breakfast today

Today, we drove up to Pilot Mountain.

Then went to a nearby vineyard

I didn’t know there were fast grapes and slow grapes

But even though they are slow grapes, they are hard workers

And they make lovely wines!

And that was our weekend! We came home feeling relaxed and that we had a chance to unwind, and really get away from everything, even though we were only gone for two days.

Hooray for mini getaways!

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Dream growing, new site, portfolio pics

Photography has become such a strong passion of mine. I love it. I love sharing how I view the world. And I want to start making photography more than just a passion. I want to grow a business. Put myself out there. Take the risk because to pursue something I love so much means pursuing joy as work, and I love that.

Before the wedding, I created a craigslist ad, looking for wedding dress models and kids for portraits. In exchange for them helping me to build my portfolio, I would give them a few free prints and a few photos for free.

I had my first portfolio session yesterday with a girl who is getting married in November and wanted pictures in her wedding dress. She brought her maid of honor, and they were great to work with. Fun. Open to being silly. Not self-conscious around the camera.

I am very very happy with the photos I got, these will be great to add to my portfolio. I spent today creating a new professional photography site, and I would like to introduce you to Flying Mermaid Photography I am very, very excited about it!!

And I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from my first ever bridal session. I had so much fun on this photo shoot.

She was very sassy in a great way

I asked them if they would mind getting silly. “It’s what we do!”

I bought a parasol from this great vintage store, and she was great with playing with it.

Love the sass.

My FAVORITE from the session

Love the boots with the dress

How fun is this??

Ahh, girlfriends

Nice detail

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Announcing…

Mr. and Mrs. Flying Mermaid!!

The day was perfect and magical and filled with lots of laughter and dancing on the beach. I couldn’t be happier.

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Some happy moments from this weekend

B’s wedding ring came in yesterday. It fits perfectly, and looks incredible on his hand. Very him. I love seeing it on him.

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We bought a dining room table today, so now all of the rooms will be complete, furniture-wise. It will be delivered next weekend, and it is perfect for us. Not formal, a great place to gather and have dinner with friends or family, play games, talk and laugh.

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Getting to talk to my wonderful friend RM today, on her first mother’s day 🙂

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Standing out in the backyard, rubbing my puppy’s belly, while she rolled around in the grass and sunshine.

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Read Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Very creepy, but a really fun read, great lead character, and completely engaging.

I’ve been feeling very blah and frustrated and rather disgruntled today, so it was good to do this, stop and reflect on the moments of joy and light and fun this weekend.

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