ModestGeniusXL

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

So the plan was that I was going to surprise Mom with a visit this past weekend.  Just to be on the safe side I did alert Diah and Dad.  I had no idea that Diah would also tell her kids which would increase the probability that someone would spill the beans.  Surprisingly they didn't.  But my plan of surprise didn't work out quite the way I wanted.  I was supposed to walk in the house as Mom was on the couch so I could see the look on her face of  "Who is this walking up in my house??"

The problem was I underestimated how long it would take me to get from Ames to Bloomington.  GPS told me 5 hours 29 minutes.  It seemed accurate. Especially given the fact that there would have to be at least one stop in there for gas.  However, it didn't take into consideration that I tend to drive slightly over the speed limit from time to time.  Enough in this instance that even with stopping for gas AND a couple of restroom breaks it only took me 5 hours flat.  I pulled up as Mom and Dad were getting back from eating dinner.  Mom was still shocked, just not in the venue I was anticipating.  Whatever works though.

The last time I visited Bloomington was clear back in Thanksgiving of last year.  I quickly grew a greater appreciation for a four and a half day visit.  Maybe even took it for granted.  This time around I wasn't able to get in town until 9pm at night.  It made the next day and a half fly by too quickly.  The visit felt incredibly rushed.  I still made the most of it anyway as I kept in mind that once I move to Texas, these type of visits will be much more infrequent.

The biggest drawback of a short visit?  No time for some effective photos.  Y'all know how I like that.  I wanted to set up my mobile studio of XL-Images East and get even more updated great shots of Mom.  No time for that though.  Oh...and the small problem that the remote trigger on my lights has been acting a fool lately.  Yes, I know I need to invest in pocket wizards to solve that problem (my fellow photo nerds know what I'm talking about) but a brotha is a little strapped at the moment. 

Instead, I had to settle for this not to random shot you see here.  I intended for it to be just Mom.  But she insisted that Diah join her.  Then Jozalyn jumped in.  So it would have been a true Mother's Day photo were it not for my niece.  It's all good though because these are still three beautiful Fleming women which helped to make the photo turn out amazing.

Some of you may have not have been with this site since the beginning so you weren't privy to my theory on Mother's Day.  It's simple.  It's the same way I feel about Father's Day and even Valentine's Day.  You shouldn't need a special day to let your parent/significant other know they're special.  Although let's face it...some folks need that day to remind themselves of that.  Not me.  I'm proud every day that I have the greatest Mom in the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I ended up using this picture on Facebook to commemorate Dad's birthday.  Only because I don't have a more recent pic of him.  It reminded me that I should have taken more of just him when I was there last Thanksgiving.  Hindsight is 20/20 though I guess.  I'll know better the next time I'm in Bloomington.

The interesting thing about Dad's pic on The Book is the amount of attention it received.  For those of you that aren't familiar with The Book, you probably don't know anything about "Likes".  Basically, it's an option that every FB member has whenever they see a picture and/or a post.  They can show their approval but clicking a "like" button.  FB then records who all liked it to show you the individuals and the number of people that liked something on your page.  Prior to today, the most "likes" I had on a picture of mine was right around 75.

Dad's picture got close to 100 and counting.

The more I thought about it the more I figured it was more than just the picture itself.  It was what it represented.  It was that here I was a grown man giving adulation to my father.  My actual father.  Not a mere father figure.  Not just the person who was there for me.  The man who was there as a major part of my life since day one with be being his own flesh and blood.  Actually since even before day one.  I cannot stress how fortunate I am to have that benefit.

Actually, another reason I chose this particular picture was because he has the camera dangling from his neck.  I told y'all that the seed for my fascination with photography was first inadvertently planted by Dad having the same interest.  Here is proof that he still has it too.  Now it's gotten to the point where he's even asking me for pointers.  Probably just to make me feel good.  I'm fine with that though. And let's face it...this is a well composed shot if I must say so myself.

Spring Break Randomness

I probably could have posted about my trip on a daily basis.  Maybe came back and post-dated a bunch of entries to clue all of you in on the happenings that transpired over the course of the last week.  However, I already told you I'm not into updating on a daily basis any longer.  Plus, everything could best be summed up better in more random thoughts anyway.  So here goes...

I was pretty much sick the entire trip from the road trip down there.  It should have been a 12 hour drive but it amounted to 14 hours with all the stopping.  I honestly didn't think the wings from the lunch the day before would have that strong of an effect on me.  Guess I was wrong

I swear everytime I go to Dallas I end up taking a different route each time.  What makes it even more strange is I'm using the GPS.  Maybe they're using some type of rotating maps I don't know about

XM Radio makes long road trips SO much better

What does every place south of Kansas City have against rest areas?  I never saw another one after that the entire trip

One of these days I will learn to better pick hotels based on the type of beds they have

It's a shame when my phone's hotspot connection is more reliable than the hotel's internet

I'm not afraid of heights per se but those overpasses in Dallas (AND Houston) can be rather intimidating

I almost forgot there is Blue Bell ice cream there.  BEST.  VANILLA. ICE CREAM. EVER.  I must have had at least three or four of those pints in all during the whole time I was there

Tried a few new different restaurants that are indigenous to the area.  Probably should have done an independent post on all of them but I'll sum them up here instead:

T-Bone Tom's:  Featured on 'Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives' which is of course the reason why I picked it.  The armadillo eggs were AMAZING.  The marinated rib-eye steak was just as good

Abuelo's:  Still not sure if there is such a thing as a restaurant down there that truly features 'authentic' Mexican food.  This joint gave it their best shot and wasn't too bad.  Then again, it wasn't a whole lot different from the Mexican food we have available here

BJ's Restaurant Brewhouse:  E insisted on it since it was his favorite pizza joint.  Pizza was so-so.  Same for the cajun pasta I ordered (Lucallan's continues to hold the crown in that regard).  Their strawberry lemonade was some of the best I've ever had

Still managed to find time to watch my Cyclones win their first round NCAA game against the defending National Champs UConn.  And better yet it was at E's house.  Watching the NCAA tourney games just like we used to do back in the day

Texas folks sure love them some Dodge Chargers

I should have stuck with my original idea of making the trip down there in January instead of over Spring Break.  It seemed like EVERYONE was vacationing down there that week.  Couldn't hardly do any tourist stuff because there were crowds and lines everywhere

It's funny how time can both creep by yet go so fast at the same time while on vacation.  Especially when you're sick 95% of the time.  I didn't get around near as much as I wanted to so missed out seeing family I wanted to see while down there.  However, the time there did reinvigorate my desire to make that migration south

Pictures?  Oh I got pictures alright.  But again, not near as many as I wanted.  I've been posting them periodically on The Book complete with it's own separate photo album.  I even went as far as to create a special high-definition album for everyone else to enjoy as well.  Check it out by clicking here:  Spring Break 2012

Best thing about the vacation...hands down...was seeing my two oldest.  I just wish Mariah could have gotten time off so I could have spent more time with her as well.  But if everything works out then maybe that won't be an issue before the end of the year...

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIJAH!!!

Of course I didn't forget my oldest son's birthday.  I've just been busy spending it with him during this Spring Break.  So I gave him a shout out for it on The Book but neglected to do so here.  So allow me to do so with one of the many shots I have of him from this Spring Break.  Then forgive me as I get back to spending time with the family...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!!

Giving Thanks

Isn't funny how it seems like it took so long for Thanksgiving to get here then it just flies by like it only lasted a few minutes?  Or was it just me that felt that way?  I had been looking forward to the trip to Bloomington to see my family for the past month.  Then I get there and before you know it it was time to return home.  Glad I was able to get my fill while I was there.  Which is probably why it went by so quickly.

I wouldn't even know where to start with how great everything was so let me go with the most obvious:  the food.  Of course it was off tha chain.  I had to hold myself back from posting about it on Facebook.  Not because it was average, but because I was getting tired of seeing everyone else post about their own feasts.  I didn't want to contribute to the carnage.  But more than the dinner was also the great breakfasts.  I forgot how good Mom's breakfasts are.  And that was even without her epic sweet rice.  All of that capped off by some of her impeccable chocolate cake.  Which I had to share with everyone else.  One of these visits I'm going to get a cake that's all mine.

Mom wasn't alone with the bomb cooking though.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the awesome cornbread that Teandra made from scratch (with the help of Jiffy).  Cornbread....ain't nothin' wrong with that!  She even contributed to with a breakfast of her own one of the days there.  She had my mouth all watering for the hashbrowns she was making until I saw the plethora of peppers and onion in them.  I just had to take everyone else's word that they were good.

I didn't realize it has been so long since I had been there until I saw how old Pepper (the dog) had gotten since my last visit.  That dog years aging is no joke.  It was sad to see him looking like he was on his last leg.  He's hard of hearing, can't hardly see and has arthritis so bad that it looks like it hurts for him to walk.  Despite all that, he still managed to have a pretty upbeat demeanor.  Just much more subdued and much more slower.  I couldn't help but wonder if he'll still be around by the next time I come to visit.

Don't think that I didn't hit Black Friday sales while I was there.  Okay...Black Friday sale in my case.  I wasn't trying to stand in line at 5pm to catch the midnight doorbuster sales.  Was it really worth all that to save an extra $20 - $30?  Sure, I missed out on getting G that 24" HDTV for $75 at Best Buy.  But I was able to get a 19" one just as good at WalMart for not much more.  I can't lie though...I really wished I would have gotten that Best Buy deal.  Although I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find one just as good online for a comparable price.  And it wouldn't require having to wait 6 hours in the cold.

Easily one of my favorite parts about the trip was all of the pictures I was able to take.  I set up an impromptu mobile studio in Mom and Dad's basement and had a field day.  I could have easily sat down there and shot all day long if all the fam were up for it.  Only Josh was extemely gung ho about it.  I had to almost pry him from in front of the camera.  I'm just happy that I was able to talk Mom and Dad into some couple photos.  They ended up giving me my favorite shots of the trip. 

The prime example of the days flying by was the fact that I didn't get done some of the things I wanted to do.  One of my frat brothers had recently moved to Bloomington (well...Normal which is pretty much the same thing) and I meant to hook up with him while I was there.  Didn't happen.  Was going to try to squeeze in some random shoots of folks that I know in the Bloomington area that I'm not related to.  Didn't happen. What DID happen was I was able to get tons of photos of the family.  Enough for two photo albums.  But you'll just have to settle for one now: Thanksgiving Shooting 2011.  Stay tuned because you'll see part two coming very soon!

Random (XL-Images) Pic of the Day

Random (XL-Images) Pic of the Day

Plenty more Thanksgiving break pics in the works but here's one to tide you over for now...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIAH!

I searched and searched for a good picture of Diah that I could use that was actually one of mine.  I can't believe I couldn't find a single one.  The ones I really liked were either too old (as in taken last year) or there was someone else in the photo.  I could've been triflin' and cropped out the other person and/or people, but I don't like the way that looks if they're too close.  It's just tacky and y'all know I'm anal about things like that.

Therefore, I had to go with this photo instead.  It's one that I found out her Facebook page.  No clue who took it.  It just looked like it was in the style of what I often do with my poses and lighting.  So whoever took it was on to something. 

What this reminded me of is that I need to get some updated pics of my baby sister.  Yet another reason why I can't wait to get to my folks for Thanksgiving weekend.  I'm going photo happy.  Everyone is getting their own personal photo shoot.  Whether they want it or not.  Just don't tell Mom I said that.  That way I'll always have photos to pull from my archives for everyone including Diah.

But enough about that...so yeah, today is Diah's birthday.  She said something about this is another celebration of her 21st birthday?  It's not the first time I've heard a woman say that.  Still not sure I understand the urge to want to stay 21.  That age was just okay to me.  But now 35 is quite tha bomb.  Wouldn't mind being that age forever.  Wait..I'm doing it again.  Got off track and started talking about myself.  See how easy it is?

Anyway, I'm wishing a very special birthday to the best baby sister a brother could have.  And when I go visit for Thanksgiving she's going to get one of her best belated birthday presents ever.  My presence!  HA!

Time for Some Random

So The Book has made some changes again which means people are complaining about it again.  As an FB friend pointed out, they do realize that their use of Facebook is completely voluntary AND free, right?

I could really use a manager and/or assistant for this XL-Images business.  But I love how business is getting to the point where that would even be a consideration 

I'm rather excited about the lights I just obtained that will now allow me to add light when shooting somewhere that needs a little extra boost.  Soon as I get a portable power source so I can shoot anywhere anytime then it will be even better

Speaking of which, the squatting pose that Lil Kim made famous ie NOT sexy. Whether shot from the front or back. It looks like you're trying to take a dump.  Please don't do it. And if you know someone that's thinking of doing it when taking pictures, please stop them

As long as we're on the subject of The Book, some folks should really learn to incorporate spellcheck before posting updates.  And misspelling words for the sake of trying to be cool is not cute.  It just makes you look stupid

Can we please get a shout out to my ISU Cyclones that are now 3-0?  WOO-HOO!  Have to celebrate now before they start getting into the heart of that Big 12 schedule where they have to face Texas AND Oklahoma this year

On the flipside, let's all offer our condolences to my Chiefs for the rest of this season.  They are currently the frontrunner for next year's Andrew Luck sweepstakes

Of course with the Chiefs luck, Luck will turn out to be first Ryan Leaf tragedy since Ryan Leaf.  Or since Jamarcus Russell

Had a very enlightening conversation with a fellow photog yesterday and received some excellent advice.  Have I mentioned before how great the photog community is here?

Scouted some locations downtown and found some I can't believe I had previously overlooked.  Can't wait to utilize some of them for shoots this weekend

This Troy Davis cat could really use Casey Anthony's attorney right about now

It's rather ironic that my digestive system doesn't want to cooperate whenever it comes to processing chicken.  Next thing you know I'll start having problems with watermelon

Totally spaced off that yesterday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day until it was almost too late.  I only got a chance to use one pirate phrase the whole day

Went back to Google Plus the other day to see if I was missing anything.  Nope

I tried to get into that "Beyond Scared Straight" marathon that was on but whenever they started doing their yelling I just kept envisioning that SNL skit with Keenan and I would start cracking up

I will always love me some Stevie Wonder, but why is he still holding on to the braids??

My favorite conversation from this week...
G:  I got an A+ on my Science test!
Me:  Great job, son!  I thought you didn't get letter grades yet though?
G:  We don't.  But I didn't miss any so that means I got an A+

'Nuff said.