Obama and Nigel

In the Presence of Greatness... that was the topic on one of my morning radio shows (I'm a channel surfer). Today I felt like I was in the presence of greatness twice. First and foremost, Barack Obama was in Grand Rapids today. Regardless of your political views, seeing either one of the presidential candidates in person is an amazing experience. I felt very fortunate that I was able to sneak out of the office today to catch a sneak peek, and listen to his message of hope and change.





We were really far away. The plaza was packed!
I can't believe I forgot my zoom lens at home! Ugh, stupid. ::smacks forehead::

Here are a couple very bad crops - but still fun to see :)




Yikes!


Danielle, holding her front-row spot to watch him get in his bus :) We did see him!





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THEN, as if that wasn't enough to make my day, I had the unique opportunity to meet an amazing fashion photographer, Nigel Barker. He was speaking at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, a lecture about Richard Avedon, a very influential fashion photographer and one of my personal favorite artists. It was fun to hear him speak, he was very passionate about it, honored to be speaking about him. Looking through Nigel's work, it is obvious that Avedon was influential to him personally. The lecture was part of the Member's Preview Party for the extraordinary exhibition, Richard Avedon: Larger than Life. If you're in the area, I highly recommend heading over to the GRAM to see the gallery. It truly is amazing to see.

we become

"We become what we think about all day long."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson





(photo of me by my mom, Denise :)

Pandora Love

Obsession du jour: Pandora!

www.pandora.com

It's an online radio, but better than anything I've ever used before. You enter in a song or artist you like, and it creates a playlist based on that. As each song plays, you can click whether or not you like it, and it continues to personalize the playlist. I end up loving about 90% of the songs they choose for me. What a great way to explore new artists, and it's totally free! :)

For what I've been listening to lately, enter artist "Duffy". You'll end up with a sweet playlist of bluesy, mellow, melodic tunes :)

Have a great playlist to share? Put it in the comments!

Lance Borrowed My Roadbike

On June 7 and 8, 2008, my friend Anna & her team will be biking 150 miles to raise money for the MS Society. Her goal is to raise $500, and her team goal is $5,000. As of the moment I'm posting, they have already achieved $3,457! That's pretty impressive! If you would like to help her reach her goal, or learn more about MS, visit her donation page:

Lance Borrowed My Roadbike

From their site: "Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. We believe moving is not just something you can or can’t do, but that moving forward is who we are. Just by being here, you are connected to the potential, the hope, the momentum of it all.
We've formed a team for the Bike MS: Larkin Hoffman MS 150 Ride 2008 because the National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports more MS research, offers more services for people with MS, provides more professional education programs and furthers more MS advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Minnesota Chapter represents an estimated 9,000 people with MS in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
We ride together during Bike MS to make a powerful statement and to keep us moving toward a cure. Join our team as a biker or a volunteer! Make a donation online! With the help of people like you, the National MS Society addresses the challenges of each person whose life is affected by MS and helps them stay connected to the great big moving world."

I had the honor of designing their team t-shirts, which is the image you see above. Go team!! :)

Earth Day - Plant a Billion

In honor of Earth Day 2008 - tomorrow, April 22nd - I'm starting up a campaign with "Plant a Billion Trees" and The Nature Conservancy. See the image to the left - that's the status counter - keep an eye on it, hopefully we'll start to see numbers rising :) Starting now, I will donate to plant one tree for every new session booked or order placed. In fact, on Earth Day, I'll double that - so book your session on Tuesday, and know that you've helped plant TWO trees!

Want to help more? Click on the image to the left and make a donation! Better yet, start up your own campaign to raise awareness!

Want to help even more? Start with earthday.net's Top Ten List of what you can do to save the earth. There are tons of resources out there - google "earth day" for a list of websites with more info!

Ordinary?

I love taking something completely ordinary, and looking at it in a new way, paying attention to how the light hits it and brings out its shape, and capturing its significance & beauty. One of our assignments for this week was to use directional & diffused light to show pattern & texture. I was in my office thinking of what to take pictures of for class, when the sun peeked through the clouds, came through my window, and hit a paper clip on my desk just right... and out came the camera.

Changes...

If you happen to be browsing at the same time as me tonight, this page might look pretty goofy... I'm experimenting with different templates :) Hang tight! And thanks for being here! -Kristen

UPDATE: Aaaaaaannnd.....done. For tonight. Crap - it's 11:30! Bedtime, y'all!

** ps - what do you think of the layout? Love it? Hate it? Easy to see/read? Impossible? Let me know! **

Over grapefruit and long strides

I often find myself immersed in deep conversations with myself over grapefruit. No, not conversations about grapefruit, but rather conversations about things that have been on my mind, or things I have shoved to the back of my mind... all while I'm peeling my daily grapefruit. Steadily peeling back the thick skin, then rhythmically peeling the white from each individual wedge, one at a time, skin in the trash, fruit in the bowl, skin in the trash, fruit in the bowl... My mind wanders. Lately it's been venturing over into my thoughts on sense of purpose. What we're here for, what I'm here for, what I'm meant to do, what's my calling. I haven't come to a conclusion yet, but this song keeps popping in and continues on repeat since I only know a few words... "Something's callin' me..." And before long, my grapefruit is peeled, and it's time to head back to my cubicle and get back to work, back to reality. Ah, but blissful moments they were.

This afternoon while out walking with my dog, I again let my mind wander. We were actually headed down the road to drop off Colin's announcement cards (yay!) Rhythmically walking, arms swinging, shoes hitting sidewalk, breath in, breath out, little Lexi trotting along in front of me... And what should pop into my head? "Something's callin' me..." Callin'. Sounds like Colin. Then baby Maya pops in... Maya, Colin... My Calling? This epiphany strikes me. A smile spreads across my face, and my step quickens. Maya, Colin. My calling. As I let this thought roll around and savor the idea, I notice a bright green bush near the sidewalk up ahead, revealing itself as the snow melts and the frozen earth thaws, bright green against the dirty & dull spring grass. It's holly.

Imagine. As I was walking, smiling to myself at the thought of my calling, I came across Holly. How wonderfully deliciously intriguing...

:)

Sorry, that got a little long... Back to those announcements. Here they are! You know you want some of your own... ;) Call me - let's take some pictures!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

I had lots of cool ideas for Jamie's birthday gift, but as we walked through Home Depot, his eyes lit up like the glittering lights on a Christmas tree... I threw all other ideas out and got him what he REALLY wanted. A miter saw. It's only been a few weeks, and he's already gotten good use of it... he's been working hard on finishing our lower level, which will include a family room, kitchen area, bathroom, storage, my office and a studio space. We're both really excited, we've been flipping through various cabinet and trim samples, and countless paint color fans. Hmm, I guess the miter saw wasn't just a gift for him ;)

Eat, Drink & Be Merry

Merry Christmas!