the good, the bad & the beautiful

so this is my first post - and first creative endeavor for that matter - at the ripe old age of 24. the weekend away was truly relaxing, with the exception of the six hour drive to new mexico in a blizzard. driving in bad conditions stresses me out like no other. all the stress proved to be worth it when we woke up the next morning to fresh snow in raton - such a treat for that area. i can't remember the last time i was there just after it snowed; it was probably decades ago.

it was a good time for quiet reflection and appreciating my time with both alex and roux. there is something satisfying about seeing roux romping around up there, just like the many family dogs before her, like coming full circle. and something equally (if not more) satisfying about being there with alex, feeling him feeling at home. THE BOOK this year is really amazing - it's over 100 pages and the story is goooood.


beulah was a nice get away, too, although judging by my photos in new mexico i was inspired by the outdoors while in beulah i was inspired by the indoors. dee just has such an eye for beautiful objects; you can hardly walk through the house without wanting to capture them. including this, art by lauren:

this glass i purposely didn't photograph until the next morning. i'm glad i waited.

a few years ago, when they were cleaning out my grandparents' stuff, my dad & dee salvaged this. apparently it hung in my grandparents' house while my dad was growing up, and it has a sort of timeless appeal if you ask me.

all in all, i ended up with approximately three birthday celebrations. not half bad. i am feeling exceptionally blessed to have so many people i love who love me back. like you, lauren, i can't wait to see what the next 50 years has in store for us. heck, i can't wait to see what this year has in store for us.

in parting, here is this photo that elise sneakily captured. what a moment, eh? the mantra emblazoned on my brain from photojournalism was always about capturing the MOMENT, which i usually sort of ignore. i suppose every now and then i capture a moment, but i seem mostly to capture a FEELING instead. well, lisie got both in this photo, which somehow seems almost too personal to share. but i will anyway, because i think it's that great. and it goes back to remembering the good, the bad & the beautiful.

the rest of the trip is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairevb/

love, love.