guns and babies

I was in speech and debate in high school, and one of the things Mr. G always reminded us was to try to work in babies, or people dying... the best of course being babies dying.  Winners win with dead baby facts.

Only somewhat related, I often come across some gun/weapon/freedom-to-bear arms clip-art share with a gazillion likes on facebook..... and am always caught off guard when I look to see who posted it [mostly to roll my eyes towards*], and find myself shaking my head.  Inevitably it is the same person who three posts prior shared with the facebook world some alien baby photo** with a pro-life slogan plastered across in big bold letters.

And the thing I just can't wrap my head around, is the notion that babies are innocent, and free from sin and should have a chance in this seriously messed up and broken world to live, BUT if you are a thief, or a gang-banger, or a general bad-decision maker, you shouldn't get that same chance.  Nope, you should probably get shot with my gun.

I guess I also sort of get stuck on the nature versus nurture thing too.  Because if you believe an individual is a bad person/criminal/asshole by nature, then you believe when they were in their mothers belly, they were also bad then.  If you believe an individual is a bad/person/criminal/no-gooder by nurture, then shouldn't you also believe said no-gooder might have a chance to change and become better, since her nasty ways were learned behaviors?

Anyway, I know people don't agree on this, and probably never will.  And I get that.  But it does bother me.  Especially when it's other Christians, and they are spewing hate instead of love.  I really think if Jesus where here now, he wouldn't have time for a facebook account, but if he did, it'd be to encourage people and love people.  Did he speak truth to people?  Absolutely.  But did he slam it in their faces with disturbing photographs?  No way.  He loved.  He forgave.  And then he helped guide our poor broken human-kind to be a bit better than we were before we met him.

-mrp-

*if there was an emoticon for this, I would want to use it all the time.
**To clarify: I think we should have the right to bear arms.  Totally.  I also think there should be limits and restrictions on how fast those arms we're bearing can kill a multitude of people.  I don't see anything wrong with having those rules.  This is why fireworks are okay, but bombs are not.  I also, am against abortions.  But, I am pro-choice.  Confusing I know... I think it probably has something to do with my idea's about the division of church and state.

#5/30

Last Saturday Ronald and I went to a couple wineries with Meg's and Cam for a picnic which was lovely... then, Ronald and I went to the dollar theater, where I switched my normal low-ish pony tail to a side pony... and then sort of liked the result, so decided to play around a bit with my new camera and a sweet lens...

Which brings us to #5/30 [which some of you might have already seen on fb... I like it a lot... and I REALLY like how my profile page looks together now :).  The blue paint peeling wall behind as my banner, and then the sharp black and white portrait in front... it's totally my style, so I believe it will probably stay that way for a while :).

extreme...

Working with 4th and 5th graders part time [in the mornings as a teachers aid], creates extreme polar's for me... today that polar was, "I never want to have kids, they are exhausting".

whew.

I had a kiddo today break down because life was too tough, and his mom requires too much from him.... I might have told him he was acting like the victim and that he was NOT a victim.

He doesn't seem to get that the choices HE makes have consequences.  It's not her fault he didn't get an A on the spelling test, or that he didn't finish his homework... [sigh]... sheesh.

On the other hand, parents that aren't involved also need to step up, especially the first few weeks of school as kids are developing habits.

-mrp-

Back in School...

So, I've found myself officially back in school.  Okay, that doesn't exactly mean what it says there :).  As part of our pay-off-the-damn-debt-plan, I've taken on a few extra jobs recently.

This summer, as most of you know, I have been working in the box office at The Cove, the baseball park here in town, selling tickets for a couple hours most games.  Which has been great, and fun, and well... just cool to say that I worked in baseball for a summer.  Will I do it again next year?  Ya, Ronald and I haven't talked about it, but probably.

In addition to that, I've also started being a teachers assistant at a local Christian school... hence the 'finding myself back in school' part.

All that to say, I'm now back in the realm of kids, and listening to them talk.  This year it's 4th and 5th graders, which is quite different from my normal 4 and 5 year old's, but still sort of cool.

So I thought I'd share.  Last Friday, they were talking about what their parents do for a living [to fully understand the word "livelihood"].  And most of them were like, "my dad does this", or "my dad does that", but then there were two kids [one boy and one girl], and the one said, "My dad works at Notre Dame and my mom is an exterminator"... the other said, "My mom fixes computers"....

...

And I wanted to high five both those awesome momma's.  First, for showing their kids that if they want, they can be more than a stay-at-home parent.  And then also, for pushing into a career role mostly set aside for men.  Rock on ladies.  I think it's awesome.  Breaking the gender barriers.

-mrp-

them jeans...

Today I slipped [okay, this is not the right verb; it was more like, 'squirmed my way into'], a pair of jeans I hadn't put on for probably a year or so.

And the experience made it clear that one of two things are true.

1. I used to wear jeans MUCH tighter than I currently do.

or

2.  Hip's don't lie... or the thighs, or the calf's for that matter.

Meh.

I don't actually care too much EXCEPT for the difficulty it takes to get in the damn things.

-mrp-

“The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ― John Bingham

So I have some updates!

1. last year around this time, I started running [remember this?].  I remember being really excited about running a full mile without stopping [I texted Ronald when it happened :) and then blogged about it later HERE].

UPDATE -> I'm still running.  Not as often as I was when I was getting ready for the Color Run, but probably once a week at least [I mix in yoga, since there is free yoga Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in the park nearby].  Ronald, Keira and I ran the 5K at the Sunburst, which is a local run from downtown South Bend, to Notre Dame University Football Stadium on June 1st.  And, although I didn't keep up with either of the other two, I'm happy to announce that I didn't stop/walk at all either :).  My official stats are as follows:
Overall Place: 1796 of 3256
Gender Place: 735 of 1749
Female 25-29: 89 of 220
Total Time: 33:32:79
Total Pace: 10:30/M

2. last year also around this time, I was talking about how we paid off the car!

UPDATE -> We've now officially paid off our line of credit!  Hooray! Now onto saving, before paying off school loans :).

3. a few months ago, I talked about goals, and new patterns, etc. [HERE].

UPDATE -> Turns out 3 things each day is sort of hard.  I've since switched to do yearly things.  This year it will be reading the bible, since that's the one that I've continued to do, in a somewhat consistent way [I'm only 2 days behind now, and since the old testament part has been reading names/daddies/mothers/etc in Hosea, I should be able to catch up today or tomorrow (uhm, ya 'cause I don't actually read all the names, that just seems silly to me)].  Next year perhaps I'll do the German for a year and see what I can learn :).

ALL TOGETHER:

It's sometimes fun to see where you were a year ago and where you are now.  On a recent run with Ronald, he asked what I felt was different last year (when I was rejoicing over running a full mile without stopping), and this year, although sometimes I have to stop, I know I CAN keep going for 3 miles.  After thinking about it a bit, I answered with I thought my mind was stronger.... and my lungs.  I didn't think I would actually die/pass out now.... [okay, some days I still do, but whatever].

In comparing the debt list, while we still have a lot of debt to pay off, it's sort of awesome to see what all we've paid off so far [we've paid off a total of $19,000 in 2.5 years].  And to know that more opportunities will be open in the future.  If we paid that much off in two and a half years, in a few years we could be traveling the world without using a credit card.  Which is definitely a goal of mine.

Bible reading.  I'm almost half way through [since I started in March].  Which is pretty great.  Since I've never read the entire bible before, I keep coming across things that are cool/crazy [yeah, and definitely some things that pastors leave out of Sunday morning sermons].  And I think I'm getting a better understanding of history versus now.  People on the internet are always like, "What's this world coming to that this is happening"... and sometimes, depending on what "this" is, I think to myself, "actually, crazy shit has been happening for centuries. you think it's crazy that there's this dude eating someone else zombie style on the side of the road (and it is, totally), but have you read the part in the bible where the two women agree to eat their kids to survive?!?" [they were in the middle of a famine, you can read it HERE].

In any case.  There you have it, my updates.  And now I've got to get back to my job and edit some more wedding photos :).  Wedding down in Indy this weekend!

-mrp-

#4/30

It's been a while, sorry about that... summer = fun stuff = not a lot of extra time = more photography!.. [well, the paid photography that is :)].

So here's numero cuatro:

Mom moment :)

For those of you that have kids, I know you've experienced that moment when you are just so damn proud of your kid.  Like, when they go to a new preschool and the teacher says that they were a doll to have in class, and they're looking forward to having them around everyday.

You casually say, "That's so great!  Thank so much, we're excited to be here too!"

And then you get in the car, and you're like, "Thank the Lord they were good!"

I had one of those moments today.  I took Bentley to the groomer [ya, I'm liking my dog to your kid, whatev], and when I went to pick him up, they said, "He was really good, and a very charming little guy".

And I got in the car and thought, "I will come back to you, because not only did you say he was good, but you said he was charming".... which he actually isn't charming very often towards me, but I'm glad he was charming for them :).

Anyway, it was a mom-ish moment.  Especially because I had to warn them ahead of time that he hadn't done his business before we came this morning [I opened up the door, he took one step out and watched the rain coming down, turned his head back to me with that look, "Woman, you have got to be kidding!".  He knew.  There wasn't a damn chance I would want to go out there to pee, and I'm a pushover, so I wasn't going to make him go out either.]

-mrp-

woah!

Last weekends wedding was FABULOUS [I'll post more at http://blog.mrinaye.com in the next couple of weeks :)].

But I was looking at my fb page insites today, and WOAH!... doubled from my last big woah moment :).

I think I might be getting the hang of this whole photography business thing :)... I'm at least doing something right.

Summer wedding #2 is this weekend, and there's a 30% chance of rain... here's to praying it stays away!

-mrp-

The Parental Visit!

Whew... so when I visit places, especially for the first time, I like to DO things... and so, when people visit here, especially for the first time, I like to DO things with them :).

And it turns out that South Bend/Michiana are actually has a lot to do in the summer!  Here's a run down of our schedule with the parents:

Friday - parents arrive on train in Chicago, we grab pizza and have a picnic in the green area to the south of the Art Institute of Chicago [I got into Chicago early so that I could wander around this museum before meeting them at Union Station].... it was awesome.  We go check out the Bean in Millennium Park, and then head back on the South Shore train to get in fairly late to South Bend.

Saturday - Mom and I start the day with some free yoga at 8am, then head to the Farmers Market, have lunch, and then drive out to Amish Land for the best donuts ever, and to walk around the store areas in Shipshewanna.

Then we head home, make Fettuccine Alfredo, and then head to a baseball game, where we won! [hooray!], and it turns out it was the game making the Silverhawks the 1st Half Eastern Division Champions!  It was very cool.  A somewhat close game, and then all the players came out and did the dumping of the Gatorade over the coach, and jumped up and down, then went to the lockers and drank champagne, and then came out again in their sock to run the bases and run around celebrating.  It was cool.

Sunday - Church, dollar tacos, movie [Star Trek; Dad's choice for fathers day], steak/lobster/salad/asparagus for dinner.  SOO yummy.

Monday - BEACH!  We went to New Buffalo, where we had a picnic and then got dessert stuff at a place called Nancy's [which I of course took pictures of my mother in front of].  Then we went to ND to take a look at the Basilica and the Grotto, and the Main Building [it really is a beautiful campus].  Then took them to Pullrite to have a tour, and then mom and I caught some more free yoga outside at the park, before we headed to Fiddlers for some dinner.

Tuesday - Drove into Chicago to go to the Shedd Aquarium.  We got there at 9:30 [it opened at 9am], and there was a line out the door and down the stairs.  We finally got in at 10am, walked around, saw everything, and then had lunch there before I dropped them off in Midway to catch their flight to see my brother and his family in North Carolina.... which of course ended up being delayed.

It was SUCH a great visit.  And I'm sort of in that mode of, "I can't believe that it's already gone/over".

I'm really glad they came to visit, and see my life here.  There's just something about it that's comforting.  Maybe also in referencing things on the phone after this.  They'll actually be able to know what I'm talking about.

But now back to the grind.  Gotta prep for my wedding this weekend, and I have a list of other things to get finished and check off as well.

-mrp-

R

R: "When we get older, I think we should own a diner."
....
.....
....

Ya, that could be fun :)...

Uck. That moment when you've been having a bad day and to top it off you have to go to the grocery store and you give the most cheesiest fake smile ever to the clerk that's checking you out. F. She knows.

-mrp-

"....I like girls that wear abercrombie and fitch... I'd take her if I had one wish...."

Have you all seen this?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/abercrombie-and-fitch-homeless-brand-readjustment_n_3272498.html

So I saw this link for the first time last night, and while it's unique and interesting... I'm not sure it's really that great of an idea.  While this is saying 'screw you' to A&F, it's also saying, 'let's give their clothing items to the opposite of the pretty people/cool kids'... and why would you want to say that?... It's sort of de-humanizing.

I'm all for sticking it to the man, especially that man... but perhaps there is a better way.

Perhaps we should make A&F products into baby diapers... because then they'd be covered in shit :).

-mrp-

#3/30

So part of this 30 before 30 is pushing myself to take not only 30 self portraits [which is a feat in itself], but to also make them interesting.  I'm going to assume that people don't actually want to see 30 selfies of me.... [boooooring].

I'm hoping that as I'm thinking, and the months go on, that I'll push myself to do things that are not traditional portraiture.  That are more art.

So today's image was created with that in mind.  I'm not 100% satisfied with it [I wish there was more space between my feet and the ground], but it's a start to better art portraits in the future.

*click the image above to see it larger.

-mrp-

ps: this was taken at New Buffalo beach.  I love the emptyness of the beach.  There will only be a few more weeks of emptyness I bet.

#2/30

Numero dos!

*mrp*

The Bentley...

*Bentley, running all over trying to get away from his weird smell [of flea stuff just put on his back].

me: Come here stinky dog!
*rubs puppies back and gives kisses
me: Do you not like how you smell?
Bentley: Grrrrr
me: But it's killing all the bugs!

***now he will go and lay in one spot for about 30 seconds before he gets up to move to a different spot, trying to get away form the smell... of himself :).

-mrp-

In a few weeks....

I'll be headed down to Indy to photograph a boudoir session, and then an event with School on Wheels, and then hang out with some photog friends, and then hang out with some church friends, and then meet up with a friends new [ish], baby!

I'm excited about it.

But I just e-mailed the friend I'm staying with, and she mentioned it was firefighters week in Indy [her Dad's a firefighter].

And I was like:

THE FIREFIGHTERS CONVENTION!!?!!?! [smile].  My favorite time of the year in Indy!!!! [well, when I was single :)]; it is like the first real sign of spring :).

-mrp-

ps: remember this? wahahahaha rofl... lol... ha ha ha

Munchkin...

Have you played it?  There are a lot of cards, and a lot of reading, but it's fun.

And there are a ton of different genres: zombie, space, regular, pirate, etc.

So looking for something that was challenging, fun and short enough I could do it every night [ish], and not be overwhelmed, I decided to start drawing from the munchkin deck.

Here we are so far:

I finished up another 5x7 sketch book with these images :).

*mrp*

Kindergarten

A few weeks ago I substitute taught a kindergarten class at a private school here in town [maybe I mentioned it here or somewhere?].

Anyways, at one point, we sat down to do journal time where I give them a prompt and then they draw a picture and write a sentence about it.

I can't even remember what my prompt was [it was supposed to do something with the story we read right before].

What I do remember is, as we are drawing, one of the kids picks up his paper, barely written on and says he messed up and needs a new sheet.  I inquire about how he messed up and encourage him to draw around it or draw it into the story, but he starts to crumble it up, while telling me their teacher lets them start over.  Which of course ticks me off.  And I say something like, "well, I'm here today, and while we'll do a lot of things like your teacher does, this isn't going to be one of them".

In the end he crumpled up his paper in a ball, and I had to have a talk about respecting teachers, and when they ask something he needs to do it.  I should have made him draw on the crumpled up sheet.  But I didn't.

I was thinking though, what exactly are we teaching kids with that approach?  Are we teaching them if they mess up they can start all over, and not worry about the first mess up?  I know this is one of those small nit-picky things where it's ridiculous to pinpoint what it really is teaching kids.  But to a certain extent, I think the small things like this do teach kids problem solving skills for the future.

Should we have kids, I want them to know it's okay to mess up, and inevitable that they will mess up.  But they can't just run and get a new paper every time they mess up.  Most times they have to figure out a way to make the mess up okay, or better.  And learn from it so that next time they have a clean sheet of paper they don't make the same mess up.

And hopefully that lesson will expand to all things in life.  You can't always just start fresh.

-mrp-

April 1st!

And, it's snowing outside.

Not an April Fools joke.

:/

Spring needs to fight harder to get here!

-mrp-