the 4th and photography

my first 4th of july with a decent camera. i am telling you, i’m never doing it any other way again. here are a few of my favorites.

tuck-ins and warm feelings

sometimes little kids are the best things in the world. my niece and nephew can really drive me INSANE some times, but they always make up for it. tonight it was something so little, and yet it touched me so much.

bryn and eliot got to go to bed extra late tonight. it’s their last night here before moving to mexico tomorrow, and i’m not exactly sure when i’ll see them again. i was about to walk out the door to help my sister-in-law load her car when bryn yelled, “mindy, i want you to tuck me in!” i hesitated, but then remembering that it was her last night with me, i said, “ok, really quickly.” then eliot yelled, “i want you to tuck me in too!”

i did bryn first, checking with her that i got the blankets in the right order. i kissed her, then turned to eliot. he was laying very straight, waiting for his turn. he also received a kiss.

all this was very special, but my favorite part was when i was walking out the door and bryn said, “eliot is acting like a little kid. he was already in bed but took his covers off so you could tuck him in.” when i looked at him, i knew it was true because of the silly embarrassed look he was wearing. he got an extra kiss for that.

i love those kids.

late nights and tired eyes

it’s 3 in the morning here. this is the 3rd or 4th night this week i’ve been up this late. the cause? i’m reading again.

in middle school i was very much into books and reading. i was the kid whose parents would punish her by taking away her book. yeah, i was that bad. this hobby carried on into high school when i could read and still get my homework done. in college, with both homework and real work, i found that i couldn’t read because i have next to no restraint when it comes to books. if i start a good novel, it’s one of the hardest things in the world for me to put it down. it takes a good deal of willpower, more than i’m usually inclined to exercise. i’ll neglect everything: sleep, work, and meals (although i’ve learned how to eat and read at the same time) until i’ve read the last sentence on the last page. and if the book was especially good, i’ll go back and read my favorite parts. or i’ll go back and read sections to see what they’re like with a better understanding or a new perspective. i know, way nerdy. :-)

anyway, my job lends me a lot of spare time, so i’ve gotten a library card and picked up some books. i must have already read 10 or so books this summer, and i plan to go right on reading. i LOVE it. i forgot how much.

last night i read until my eyes couldn’t bare it another minute, and i fell asleep instantly. and woke up to pick up right where i’d left off.

this past week i’ve been reading a lot of young-adult fiction. today i finished two books by the same author: robin mckinley. the first was the hero and the crown, which was about a girl born princess who wanted to be more like a knight. about 10 minutes ago i finished beauty, which retells the story of the beauty and the beast in a very creative way. i enjoyed both greatly and would recommend them to anyone interested.

in the meantime, i should catch some shut-eye so the little one doesn’t get neglected by me tomorrow.

mk

words confused and muddled

well, i was up at 4 in the morning with little desire to sleep, so i thought a little bloggin’ might do for me what warm milk does for others (although that has never really appealed to me…).

apple surprised me by repairing my pro in 2 days instead of the 3 to 5 they had promised. i mentioned this to my younger brother, and he said, “so, did they manage to throw in a large lump of money with that?” when i expressed confusion, he went on to explain that he thinks it’s ridiculous how people think that apple can do magic just because their customer service is top-rate. i agree, but i do have to say that i’ve never seen a company treat its customers so well. i know i love it.

it’s nice to be using a mac again… i guess i never really noticed that i had become more comfortable with macs than pcs now. but it’s official. i’m a mac girl.

my brain is starting to shut off now, and it’s very irresponsible for me to be up this late when i have to tend to a baby tomorrow. and i’ll probably be spending most of the day re-customizing my mac (for the 3rd time in less than a year… ugg).

hm… this entry seems to have been something of a stream of consciousness. well, now you have more of a clue of how my brain works. lucky you.

mk

a first blog, a first entry

well, i was encouraged by my friend rachel to start a blog. i’ve never really thought my thoughts or my writing (or my life, really) were interesting enough to blog about, but maybe i’ll shock myself and prove me wrong. in any case, i’m giving this blogging thing a chance.

i’m not thrilled to start off with bad news, but my macbook pro quit on me yesterday. (my heart seriously tightened when i saw, instead of the apple logo on boot-up, a folder with a question mark on it. and it was FLASHING. what does THAT mean???) i honestly cried over my lost hard drive. but the guys at the apple genius bar have taken over and i hope to see a fully restored pro in a couple of days. it won’t be my diego, though. (my pro was christened after my home city.)

currently i am using my brother’s old toshiba, which isn’t helping me to forget the loss of my beautiful pro. 3 to 5 days seems like a long time to me.

today is my mom’s birthday and i managed to make her cry. i was still in a bad mood over my mac, and i hadn’t remembered her birthday, so i snapped at her on the phone. i think she’s mostly forgiven me now, but i hate making her cry. for a birthday present i’m trying to get my siblings to chip in and help me pay for the recovery of one of her old hard drives that crashed. she mentioned this morning something about how important it is to her. i think it would be nice, but it’s expensive and i don’t really have the funds myself.

i’m glad i have my baby niece sophia to look after. her shy smiles always make my heart feel warm.

mk