Alaska - Wildlife Cruise

taken with my Holga. I finally got the film developed after 3 years. yay!

I just thought it was kind of funny how everyone was trying to get a picture for the brief second that the whale's fin came out of the water... they were probably all thinking they would capture a photo that you would see in national geographic.

You know I've got food on the brain when it seems like all my posts are about food lately...... Lay off me I'm starving! Okay, not really but I can't help but think about food. I'm always trying think of ways I can be more creative with my meals and how I can add more flavor. So forgive me if I get a little personal and share a list of Foods I have been missing and craving most:

• Bratwurst and sauerkraut  (apparently I can have sauerkraut but what good is that without bratwurst!?)

• Donuts (all the time at work. :( Stinkin' coworkers! but I love you so for all the other times that you bring donuts...)

• Candy (any and all kinds)

• The first week I was craving carrots and peas (I never realized how much I would miss something like peas)

• Turkey with cranberry sauce (I was craving this hard core last week and cranberry sauce is not approved)

• Spam (Curse you salty and savory mystery meat!)

• A few days ago I was craving Macaroni and cheese with ketchup on top

• Homemade bread and butter with Lana's Bear Lake raspberry jam

More candida's cleanse approved dishes to come...

yummy FIND food

Food does look better on film....

Okay I'm not completely sure about that.... The chef was pretty amazing.... And the lighting was pretty perfect....

I will have to conduct a few more tests....

But until I do, here is one of many yummy breakfasts from the Film Is Not Dead Workshop. Jonathan's wife was the amazing chef for the entire week. It was divine. :)

I heart food....

What's in a name

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I have been building a portfolio for some time now.... A year to be exact. And have finally decided to take the leap and start my own business. And I have finally figured out what the hold up is...and it's a stupid one.

What do I call my business!? It's such a silly thing to get stuck on and at the same time I know how permanent it can be. It's kind of a big deal! Big enough to keep me awake at 6:30 in the morning. I never wake up this early! The thought came to me, "If you build it, they will come...." Anyone? Field of Dreams...But I didn't hear some creepy voice just my own train of thoughts, "nothing is going to happen if you just sit there on your butt! Maybe you should actually start the business! maybe you are the one standing in your own way! if you start the business the business will come." So yeah I can't put this off anymore. It's seriously holding me up and keeping me up!

Okay so here are my thoughts... Just read it!

I've never wanted to name my business after my own name. I wonder if it would come across as egotistical and self centered.... But after doing some research I see the value in using my own name. Branding would easier, easier to google me because my name is unique. Because it's unique, sometimes it's easy to remember. I don't know what I want to specialize in yet (I have some ideas) and I haven't quite defined my brand so I can figure those out as I go and it gives me room to refine my style, which could change and evolve. Using my name gives me room evolve, grow and refine myself as a photographer and as business. So I have decided that it is probably the way I should go. So the huge and daunting question that has been plaguing me for weeks is what shall I name my business? Your name, dummy! right? No, for reals though....

We had a lesson in Relief Society  that was based on a talk, "What have you done with my name" by Elder Mervyn B Arnold. It led me to think about my own names, Meili, Ann, Ware, and what those mean to me, the legacy that my last name has and where my first name came from.

I love my last name, Ware. Meili Ware photography seems pretty good. Okay! Done and done. that was easy! Not quite. It seems easy....  BUT, I think.... someday.... maybe...... I might....sort of..... want to get married. Okay who am I kidding. I do. I want to get married, whether that will actually happen is another thing. So do I base my business name on the prospect that someday I might get married and will want to change my last name to my husband's last name? If so then then my last name will be different from ware and that could complicate things, or not.... I don't know. Meili Ann Photography seems like a better, more permanent choice. Although, it might not sound as nice as Meili Ware Photography, nor does it match the address to this very blog... which wouldn't be so bad....I guess... Because that could change. I could some day give my humble little blog a makeover.

So... do I use meili ware and possibly face having to change it or have a different business name than my real married name? Or do I go with meili ann, which is good but maybe doesn't sound as good but it is more lasting? And my last option is may photography, just to shorten things up a whole bunch, but might not sound as good either...

So if anyone even reads this blog and actually stuck around and read all my ramblings and made it out to the other end...

What do you think?  Which name do you prefer?

1. meili ware photography

2. meili ann photography

3. may photography

Please! give me your thoughts! what do I gotta do? promise home made cookies? would that help? 'Cause I will! You just let me know that you are commenting for the home made cookies and leave your address and I'll bake 'em up with love for you! But you have to leave your vote. I sound pretty desperate... I am..... :( I need to get some sleep here!

French White Bean Stew

My sister is always doing some crazy detox or cleanse, of which I sometimes try to jump on the wagon and fail miserably. I would say that my greatest detox failure to date is the Lemonade diet. I just plain old stopped drinking anything, it was so nasty! You don't eat on that diet so I already wasn't eating anything. Anyways that one lasted about two days.... hehe

I pretty much gave up on dieting and bogus detoxes. Until now.... I decided to give it one more go...
So.... I am doing a Candida's cleanse. It's been 1 week and 6 days to be exact. This one isn't so extreme and is actually doable.  I have to admit that I do feel better since I got past the first 3 days of withdrawals and even better since starting the second phase.

I've tried a lot of new recipes and have discovered that there actually is other food that I can eat besides eggs, almonds, chicken and vegetables.

This is my first adventurous attempt. I substituted ground beef for turkey kielbasa.

Not my favorite but after two days of eggs, chicken, steamed vegetables and almonds it was surprisingly good.

(Note to self- for presentation add greens in last, just before serving.)

Maggie Mag Pie

Here are some more of my very, most, favorite photos of Maggie. I wanted to show so many more but it just seems like so long ago that I took these... It's like when you look back at your old school projects and are surprised by how little you knew....

But I still wanted to show a few of my favorites, because she so dang cute! And I wanted to show off the hat she is wearing, which I knitted.... with my very own two hands... heheheh

I love knitting baby hats! I knitted this one a few years ago and had no one to give it to because all of my friends were having boys. I was just waiting for someone to have a girl and how perfect it was that that someone got to be my very own little sister. I think it is perfect for Maggie. So far this is my favorite baby hat that I've knitted out of many. I'd like to make it again, if only I can figure out how I did it..... hahaha! The pattern was so hard follow and I started over what seemed like a million times.

And I do wish I would have gotten a picture if the top... it's the shape of a star. I'll have to dig through the old photos and see if I can find one...

Lily

This girl and I share a very special connection. Our names. No. Not Lily. But her middle name Mei. I'm not sure if that's how they spell it but it should be! Her dad and my dad both served LDS missions in Taiwan and that is where we both got our very awesome names. Her's being Lily Mei. Mine being Meili (my dad still writes it the correct way, Mei Li)

Mei meaning beautiful. I'd say her name fits her quite perfectly.

FIND (Film Is Not Dead Workshop)

So is it bad that I've been totally selfish and have been hording these photos for so long?

Wednesday morning, March 16th to be exact, I got the message in my gmail account, saying that my photos were ready for download. So why is it that here it is Monday, March 21, and I am finally posting photos from the Film Is Not Dead Workshop I attended last October....  I was so anxious for the two weeks it took to get them developed and scanned. And I couldn't stop looking at each and everyone image as they downloaded. I swear it felt like Christmas. So why is it taking me so long to share them?

Maybe I don't want to share.... Maybe I just want to keep them to myself just a bit longer... And at the same time, as I was downloading the files I wanted to announce it to the whole world "I LOVE film." I love it so much my heart aches....
be still my heart....

I studied film photography in college and fell in love. In love with the process. In love with the grain. In love with black and white photos. In love with the rich tone. In love with the smell of the chemicals, the sound of the shutter, and in love with the image as it unfolds in front of me like magic.

So..... The question is, why did I stop shooting film? Well, it's simple really, but not so convincing, I didn't have access to a darkroom. Everyone was shooting digital and it seemed like the cheaper and more convenient way to go. And here I am.... Finding myself falling in love with film all over again.

I sent in 20 rolls of film, a few that are as old as 5 years, and a ton from the workshop. I'm just going to post a few right now. And maybe I'll think about sharing the rest.... or not..... I'm undecided. I still need my special "alone time" with them....

More photos of Adam and Tessa here.

Brock

 Brock is all boy with crazy, silly faces, all sorts of boy noises and tons of fun. These were taken way back in October at our annual pumpkin carving party.

Here's wishing you a beautiful day!