Nine hours of sleep-- can you picture it?

Supposedly we should be getting nine hours of sleep as an adult. I wonder how I would feel if I got nine hours of sleep, every night, for a week. Truly, I can't even fathom it. Do you remember that soft, drowsy feeling you had when you got your full complement? The cat stretch in the bed, the slightly confused sensation as you decided whether you should go to the bathroom right now, or maybe {GASP} roll over?



We have some beach shots from after Nick's birthday. I feel like I am "back in business." Being without a functional camera since before Christmas has really left me low. Now that I think about it, I wonder if that had a lot to do with my depression. I couldn't instantly "create," and that is so important to me. There's something about catching that moment, that glint of color, that certain mood. Several of my good friends (online or not!) are all gifted photographers. We are all competent in photography, but we have our specialties that mark our work. I love the cheeks and the eyes; watching the children morph in front of me while I document this version of theirselves forever.

Another friend of mine likes portraiture, but her gift is still life. She captures the mood of an empty room, the personality of an object. You can smell the paint, feel the warmth of the sun in places she has shot just by looking at her pics. Another woman, whose first love is clearly Mt. Rainier, takes mountain pictures that are neither boring nor expected. She uses her photographs to place you there, and she does it well. Yet she took birth pictures for me that outstrip any professional shots I have seen online.

It's all about what you see. I am so grateful to Niki and Fran for loaning me a camera.