D... is for a DAY late :)...

And dragon fly [and because I was not completely satisfied with the dragon fly, it's also for dandelion].

*mrp*

C... Canary

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

B.... Belly Dancer

Today is much better :).

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

A is for...

Antonio Banderas... I know... You can't really tell (sigh)... But this is why I needed this challenge, to get back to where you can tell which famous person I'm drawing :).

A, btw, is a hard letter to start with!... I should have gone backwards (smile).

Better drawing tomorrow!

*mrp*

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

"When I was having that alphabet soup...."

"When I was having that alphabet soup, I never thought that it would pay off."
-Vanna White

So along with some friends [Heather, Whit and Jenkins], I'm doing a November challenge... involving the alphabet... and art/writing/photography/general blogging action!!!!

This is my introduction... I'm going to try to draw through the alphabet... and by the end of November, I'll have an alphabet of drawings on the blog... well, that's the goal at least :).

So thanks for stopping by, and feel free to come back and comment/keep me motivated!

*mrp*

ps: all my cohorts in this project have blogged already today with their letter A inspired stuff... I'm a slacker :).... my A art will be up before midnight [smile].

"Friends and good manners will carry you where money won't go." Margaret Walker

These are some of my friends... they are fabulous in SOOO many ways.

-mrp-

Today....

My feelings for today: "I used to call people, then I got into e-mailing, then texting, and now I just ignore everyone."

*mrt*

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward..."

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

So I know it's been a while; I've been focusing my efforts on the new blog :).

BUT, I took this image the weekend I was in Marshall for Juli & Brandon's wedding, and decided that it definitely needed to be posted somewhere :).

*mrt*

91

Holy shit.... there are only 91 days until our wedding... damn.

*mrt*

ps: as equally as I'm shocked there are only 91 days, I'm also thinking, 'seriously, 91 days left?... it needs to freaking get here already!' [smile].

“What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?” Marcus Tullius Cicero

Maike Tillen. is. employed.

“From small beginnings come great things.” -Proverb

New blog!

http://mrinaye.wordpress.com/

But I need a better catchphrase.. right now I have:
m.rinaye
photographing your family heirlooms

It will work for now, but I need help! Any suggestions?

*mrt*

"Girls flirt with the dangerous types, they don't take them home. They marry a good guy!" --Jean Grey, X2

Sneak Peak of Lizzie & Doug's session yesterday... couldn't resist... more coming soon :).

*mrt*

“Computers have enabled people...."

".... to make more mistakes faster than almost any invention in history, with the possible exception of tequila and hand guns" -Mitch Ratcliffe
*Click on image to view larger and get the full effect.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -C.S. Lewis

"I bought a cactus. A week later it died. And I got depressed, because I thought, Damn. I am less nurturing than a desert." -Demetri Martin

“There are no speed limits on the road to excellence.”

"Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home."James Joyce

"My sons think it's a fireman's pole, but I forgot to cut a hole through the ground into the kitchen." ~Pamela Anderson

Megan: What are you doing Friday?

Maike: Umm... oh yeah, shooting firefighters.

Megan: Ooh, need help?

Maike: [laugh]... ha, yeah, you want to be my bag lady?

Megan: Sure, I could help carry things for you and then be like, 'Hey firefighter, need me to carry anything for you?'

Maike: [in a girly voice] 'like your hose?'

rofl.

[photo not my own: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f119/Dana_Roxxi/01bd6292.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gigagranadahills.com/2009/09/lafd-knocks-out-omelveny-park-fire.html&usg=__LPrgzriSSovdbeHwCqhG7wm4Cgs=&h=467&w=360&sz=31&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=QSpnaxeRKo8aXM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=99&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhot%2Bfirefighter%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26tbs%3Disch:1]

"Whatever good things we build end up building us." -Jim Rohn

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” -Mother Teresa quotes

This past Wednesday, I photographed an event for Gleaners Food Bank here in Indianapolis.

They are awesome, and it has been a pleasure to be able to photograph events for them.

Here are my three favorites from the event.

This one is fabulous, because there are 4 people cutting a tiny ribbon with giant scissors :). What's not to love about it! And look at their faces, all so intent on this silly traditional task. love it.

And this one I LOVE!!! All four of them are all smiley and real. Genuine. Totally dig it :).


And then the cake, with awesome lighting from Conseco guy Jay Jones :). I'm partial to it, personally, great leading lines, great flare, cool composition. They will probably not use it for anything, but dang it, I WILL display it on the blog for others to enjoy as well.

love,
*mrt*

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion". ~ Martha Graham

“When Ruth Handler introduced Barbie in 1959, she didn't want any story attached to the doll whatsoever..."

"...because she wanted the girls to create it all out of their imaginations. Today, girls interact with story in a different way. They're used to watching television shows, they're used to having characters brought to life for them in dramatic ways.”
~Chris Byrne




*click and enlarge the picture to see the full wonderfulness of this picture :)

*mrt*

"Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace." -Paul Theroux

So I'm a slacker [smile].... but here are a few from Hawaii that I think are enjoyable...

*mrt*

"You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." -Jon Kabat-Zinn

"Sometimes in the morning, when it's a good surf, I go out there, and I don't feel like it's a bad world." Kary Mullis

“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” -Mark Twain

I think I'm hilarious :)

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." ~Mignon McLaughlin

"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

"The laziest man I ever met put popcorn in his pancakes so they would turn over by themselves." -W. C. Fields

"I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty." -Imelda Marcos

Imelda Marcos is my hero [smile].

This is old, but a favorite.

*mrt*

ps: I might have already uploaded this image to this blog... sorry if it's a repeat :).

Bentley---ha ha.

So here is one, because it's just hilarious. For those of you that know my puppy, he hates hates HATES putting his sweater on... but additionally will start to shiver after being outside for 2 minutes.

Here is my vindication.

*mrt*

Winter Wonders

Slacking... clearly... so here's one. Another few to come soon :).

-mrt

"Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves." -Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

A self portrait.

I promise... this is like, the last proposal picture you will see.... but I love them all! So I will post this one. A self portrait on my proposal date.

love,
*maike rinaye*

“It is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened.” Sir Philip Sidney

Hawaii-on a hike down to this kick ass beach [called "hideaway beach"]. I love love LOVE this picture.

*maike rinaye*

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” -Albert Einstein

So today get's two [let's say we're making up for not posting an image on Sunday :].

They're not exquisite, but I love them.

The day after I told my work family that I got engaged, this is the desk I came to work at.

*maike rinaye*

“A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange tree..."

“A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange tree would if it could walk up and down in the garden, swinging perfume from every little censer it holds up to the air”
-Henry Ward Beecher (Liberal US Congregational minister, 1813-1887)





*maike rinaye*

Canal Photo

So this is not MY photography [smile]. But it's to cool not to post on here.

ps: My fiance' is amazing at planning surprises.

photo from Perry Reichanadter, wayneimagesblog.blogspot.com [the great fake "student photographer" we met at the canal].

"Candle light, moon light, star light, The brightest glow is from love light "– Grey Livingston

The boyfriend... oh wait... fiance' [smile]... doesn't think that I'll be able to keep this up, every day at least... so game on!

Additionally, he wants to know what's going to happen to this blog [smile]... So I think it's appropriate that I'm up going to try to post a new picture every day until the day we're married. It will be my last hurrah as an mtillen.

In any case, here is another image that Ashley assisted me in taking.

*maike rinaye*

He Put a Ring on It!

So, on Tuesday Whit said to me that one of her friends was posting a photograph-a-day for a year, and said I should do it as well. My response was: Sounds good and I've actually thought about it before, but it's already February. She said that I should start now anyway.

So, day three :).

Best Suprise EVER!

Check it:

A photograph

This is not my best work, but it turns out, that it is really freakin difficult to take photograph of your own left hand! Who knew?!

[helpful hint: click on the photograph to see a closer view]

*mrt*

ps: better image coming tomorrow :).

New Status....

Engaged [smile]... awesome [grin].

<><,
*maike rinaye*

Julie & Phil = Married!

Hey all,

So I thought that I would update you with some wedding images that a co-worker and I shot this past October down in Marco Island.

I'll post some on here later on [assuming I remember:], but if you have time and are interested, take a look:

go to www.seemyprints.com
type in: Platt
Click on the Platt-Williams Wedding
Type in: Platt [with a capital P, this is the password]
Type in your e-mail address

View awesomeness from Julie and Phil's amazingly beautiful beach front wedding.

Fabulous couple, can't wait to design their album!

*maike rinaye*

Mickey...

Damn it mouse! Get caught!!!!

Grrr... what I would like to leave on a nice little note, to the creeper mouse who has been sharing my living space, and helping himself to the puppy food/puppy treats/my shirt, and creeping around avoiding the damn traps for the last month.... Get caught, damn it!

*maike rinaye*

Confession...

So... when I'm bored, and on the internet... and have exhausted all other known/interesting web-sites I go to ebay, type in "wedding dress" and then list them from the highest to the lowest, just to see what the most expensive gowns look like.

We all have our different nerd-doms.

*maike rinaye*

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

25 Things About me:

1. I own between 35-40 pairs of shoes and I would say that I wear 70% of them with some sort of regularity.
2. I have traveled to 11 different countries [Mexico, Germany, Sicily, Italy, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Ireland, Spain, Egypt]
3. I am a photographer.
4. It takes me a very long time to hang things on the wall when I move somewhere new.
5. I can juggle.
6. I moved to Indianapolis on a whim, but it turned out to be a pretty damn good move.
7. I love playing scrabble, and even though I am not good at spelling, it’s very possible I will kick your ass if we play :].
8. I am a photoshop guru…. No, not a photoshop nerd [shakes head]… definitely a guru.
9. I am a middle child. Older sister, younger brother. I apparently had middle child syndrome before I had even started school [which is why I went to preschool and neither my sister or brother did].
10. My brother and I used to catch lizards together when we were younger. We also set traps for leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day.
11. My sister and I shared a room until she was in High School. It was bright Barbie doll pink.
12. They say I look like my mother, who has always been fabulous looking, so I’m okay with that.
13. My dad once took me hunting with him when I was 14. I wasn’t actually hunting, instead he set me up in the tree with the camera; by the time he was done he came back for me and I was bored and whistling. He’s continued to make fun of me for that ever since.
14. When we lived in New Mexico, my favorite time of the day was when grandma came by to eat a cookie and have a cup of coffee before we went to school and she went to work.
15. I took belly dancing class this last fall [smile].
16. My favorite time of the year growing up was any of the holidays. Because our house was the best suited for large gatherings, we would have all of our family and friends over at our house. The kitchen was always full of the women cooking and talking, the dining room was full of the guys talking politics, and there were always a ton of kids running around inside and outside.
17. When I went to check in for college graduation, they handed me honors cords and I made them double check that they had given me the right pack. They had, and I proudly wore my surprise honors cords the entire rest of the day.
18. The very first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was an artist and a violinist. My mother told me that I might want to consider a back up plan because neither of those careers yielded much money. I then decided that I was going to be a lawyer. After a few months, however, we had to do a school project on what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I decided that art was still way cooler than law, and was able to interview one of the artists for Disney. It was so freakin sweet.
19. I played the violin for something like 8 years. I also played the cello for one year, and the piano for 3. I also played in the hand bell choir at church for probably 9 years. Whitney says this is a nerd thing to do… I disagree and think it was cool [smile]. I am currently taking my time to learn how to play the guitar.
20. I don’t ever remember being bored when we lived in New Mexico. My mother said, “boredom is a lack of thought”. She’s a very smart lady.
21. I was family schooled for one year, where we were home schooled all the boring classes, and then went to school with a bunch of kids in different grades to do the fun stuff like art, theatre, singing, etc. Mrs. Schultie’s class… that was awesome.
22. My favorite animal is a pig. Since I couldn’t have pet pigs growing up, I had guinea pigs. My first one was named Crystal, and when she died, I somehow convinced my mother to purchase this guinea pig we’d found in the paper named Catawba [meaning melon, because she was the freakin size of a melon]. She kept getting fatter and fatter, and one morning I woke up to find two babies in the cage with her. We called one Lucky [boy], and the other Lucy [the girl].
23. I like having my picture taken.
24. I live with three guys, and a boy dog, and a boy cat.
25. My favorite day of the week is Thursday.

“The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier”

Pain. Two nights ago I went to the gym for belly dancing, and afterwards decided to go downstairs to the weight machines. Good idea, all in all.... the problem [one I rarely REALLY complain about], is that there were too many good looking guys there. Go ahead, call me whatever you want to call me, but that's one of the perks of working out in the weight machine area. Boys are doing bench presses, and chin ups, and this crazy backwards sit up thing... and I hang out, do my thing and [smile]... watch :).

The problem is this... when there are a multitude of good looking boys, or when the one I frequently watch shows up halfway through my workout, I have a tendency to hang out/lollygag/do-machines-twice/stretch-more-often/etc..... today however, my gawking and dawdling is causing me pain. Wednesdays workout had me dawdling in all the worst ways... and as I find myself cringing whenever I climb up the stairs, I think "Is this really worth it"... and of course, smile to myself, because... why not [grin]. ... no pain, no gain, right?

*mrt*


"The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said, "If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down." ~Rita Rudner

“Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.” –Robert Caspar Lintner

Ah Thanksgiving. An event mostly characterized by getting together with family [of which, my blood family happen to be 600 to 1,300 miles away from me], turkey, and football.

So, since the first of the list was unachievable this Thanksgiving, my other family and I decided to scratch the rest of it and go with an alternative thanksgiving [smile].

Megs and I drove down to Whit’s place in B-town on Wednesday, went grocery shopping for food late that night and then stayed up watching episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

Thursday we sorta slept in [which was really pathetic on all of our parts, ‘cause we were all up by 9:30], made breakfast, watched some of the parade [I love parades (smile)], took a walk to the grocery store, and after a few more episodes of Grey’s, started making the meal, which instead of Turkey, we decided to make Chinese!

We successfully made crab rangoon, orange chicken, and egg rolls. I leave the egg rolls for the end, ‘cause although they were successful, they were not necessarily as scrumptious as we might have liked them to be.

In any case, we continued the day watching more Grey’s, decorating X-mas ornaments, Meg’s sewed stuff, and yup… that’s about it. It was perfect. A great reminder of all the blessings I have to be thankful for.

*mrt*

“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.”

Hooray we're moving... Oh crap, we're moving?!?!

It's true... my household family is moving to a new house downtown!

And ya know what that means?... Means that I get to have the dog!!!!! Hooray!

So now... he's a boy... [the white maltese]... and I have to pick out a name... and this is what I read on one naming site:
"It’s been estimated that your dog will be called by the name you’ll be choosing for it, over 30,000 times during the course of it’s life time. It’s also been estimated that 1 in 5 puppy owners want to change their dogs name in the first year they have it."

Clearly this is very important... so here's what I've come up with so far:

Blake [which Whitney and Shelly think is to human (rolls eyes)].
Bentley
Baxter
Benton
Bringham
Broderick
Botticelli
Daguerre
Atticus
Manet
Nikon [lol...that could work!]

So, you should help a sister out and tell me which ones you like, or any suggestions you have!

*mrt*

Bah...

Bad news... landlord has said no on the dog bit [rolls eyes]. Apparently something to do with the property owners being liable if the dog bites someone on their property [seriously?.. the dog I want will probably not get bigger than 5lbs... seriously?].

Anyway, he told me this about two weeks ago.. and so [smile]... because I am Maike, I will attempt to convince him I need the dog again tomorrow. I might not have any luck, but we'll see what a second shot will do for me [shrug]. If I don't get a dog, I think I might buy a new bed [nod]... I'm not sure it will fit into my room, but we'll see.

*mrt*

"Children are for people who can't have dogs."

So, currently considering getting a dog... [nod] yup. I know, it's a lot of responsibility, you cann't travel the same, blah blah blah. I know! But did you know that it's been proven that dog owners are healthier and live longer?! So really, purchasing a dog, is going to make me a healthier human being [smile]

So first up is the Maltese puppy. He'd be a boy, and I'd get him at like 10 weeks old probably. I'd have to potty train him, and train him for other things too, but that could be a good thing, ya know? My friend Bonni's mother's dog just had puppies, so it's from a friend, not a puppy mill or anything like that. I'm pretty sure he'd come with papers [if I wanted them], and he's just so freakin adorable!!!



Second up, the Pomeranian. Also super cute, she is 2 years old and a friend who's mother is a breeder [I guess], sold this girl and then the owners brought her back for some reason. She hung out with us at work last week, and she's a little nutso at first, but she's super friendly and excited about life in general [smile]. She's not fixed, and does not have papers, but we could get some for a fee [of course].



So I've been researching about poms and malts... I think the malt might be more my style, but I think we're going to puppy sit the pom for a weekend here soon and see how it goes [shrug]... we'll see.

I don't have time now, but will put up the information I found on both breeds soon.

*mrt*

"The Grand essentials of happiness are:...."

"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."
-Allan K. Chalmers

Whitney loves the expression "love extravagantly".... But how does one love better each day? We ended house church tonight talking about it... and attempting to figure out how to implement it into our lives in the next week.... I think we sometimes convince ourselves we don't have time to make any more of a difference than we are already doing. And that we don't have time to figure out how to love people better... or that we're doing an okay job at it, because we're generally nice to people. But I don't really think is what Jesus was telling us to do when he said to love. Being nice and loving are different.

Anyway, I'm thinking about it... and perhaps will do an update post when I have come up with something.

*mrt*

"A man dies ... only a few circles in the water prove that he was ever there...."

"A man dies ... only a few circles in the water prove that he was ever there. And even they quickly disappear. And when they're gone, he's forgotten, without a trace, as if he'd never even existed. And that's all."
-WOLFGANG BORCHERT

Sunday I spent a good couple of hours in the largest cemetery in Indianapolis. It’s actually, probably the largest in Indiana… in any case, Crown Hill Cemetery, it’s huge.

I went for the sheer purpose of photographing statues of Mary, angels, Jesus… just statues in general really. I actually have this idea/project that I’m thinking through and working on here and there.

So, I drive in, and… although I don’t believe necessarily that I found the cemetery at 1 in the afternoon to be “creepy”… there is just something that’s eerie about cemeteries, no matter what time of day it is. I also felt silly, because I was coming for a purpose not having to do with the deceased at all. It was more like a scavenger hunt. I would see across the field if tombstones, a statue, and come up on it, photograph it from all angels, and then in the distance see another one that looked equally as fascinating and head off in it’s direction.

One of the first statues I found was one of Mary, holding onto a cross. It turns out it was actually pretty popular because I seemed to find new versions of the same thing throughout my time in the cemetery, perhaps holding the cross on the other shoulder, or a different size, but a popular idea nonetheless.

I got my camera all set, and start taking every angel of this statue, when I spy on the left side of the cross, a lump of some sort. Upon closer inspection, I find the left over shell of a cicada clinging to the cross. Because I have another project going on, my first thought was “fabulous!”…. but as I reflected on it later walking around and realizing exactly what I was walking around in, and watching people drop off flowers to graves of their deceased, I thought how appropriate it was.

The cicada, when it sheds its shell does not die instead it just moves on to a different stage of life. But much like a cicada who leaves its mark, the cemetery was in many ways the same thing. The statues, and tombstones they were all put up in remembrance of an individual who has passed away. Their bodies might still be there, but their soul, and their beings are no longer located with their shells. They have moved on to different stages. Depending on what you believe, that could be heaven, hell, or perhaps they just cease to exist, in which case my cicada analogy does nothing for you. Inevitably though, the cicada shell is broken or eaten or disintegrates. And then there is nothing.

Hmm… not a perfect analogy, but [shrug]… I’m not a writer, so it doesn’t have to be perfect [smile].

*mrt*