Flashbacks

Im stressed. Majorly stressed. But Im amused. I dont know why. Just feels that way. I was miserable last week. All my buttons werent pushed. They were ripped out, rewired and shoved back in. Oh and if my cat rubs up against my left without me knowing its her one more time.... Yeah it tickles and I jumped up out of my seat thinking some creepy crawly was on my leg. She usually sleeps under my desk while the dog is up on my bed. She just decided to venture out. I usually know when she does this but Im wearing shoes right now. Yeah, me wearing shoes. Imagine that one.

So last week I was miserable. Yep. Just flat out "pissy". But I seldomly show it. I get really quiet. But it was one of those kinds of miserable that you want to yell out that someone needs to get a heart before I cut it out. Yeah, that kind of miserable. I was completely derailed by a migraine that could possibly kill a cow. The kind where you go blind after seeing flashing lights. You cant lay down because it feels like your brain shrunk and detached itself from your skull. When you lay on your side, your brain comes crashing over and you can actually hear it. It makes this sloshing-bang sound. Oh, that could have been water in my ears. Oh well.

So I got through that day without seriously injuring anyone. Good thing that I wasnt driving huh? I would have had to put down my cell phone, put my drink between my legs, and put the CD case on the passenger seat just so that I could flip someone off with both hands.

Well my latest stress is getting my website up and running. This is really taking a toll on me. Ive been stressing about this for a while. At least two years. See the thing is, I make jewelry. I started this out as a stress relieving hobby. Can you see that now? Stress relieving but its driving me insane to get it up on a public website. I need to start selling because all I do is keep buying. I have enough beads and goodies to make hundreds of things. I have about 100 of them ready for sale but I need to get some decent photos done. So in the mean time, I just keep making things.

About a month ago, I decided to start this ball rolling. It was about 98F outside and the humidity was sweltering. But I trudged all my stuff out to the back yard and set up a little display. It was so hot that the sweat was running down my back and into my shorts. Yeah that was a fun feeling. Not to mention that it was pooling in the bottom of my bra. Not sure if the twins were swimming or not but they were sure floating. Ok, no funny cracks about doing the breast-stroke.

So I have my little display set up on a white resin chair. So for me to put the jewelry on there and take the photos, I have to be in the constant squatting position. I dont dare stand up because my shorts are wet. This isnt a pretty sight. And you would think that the bugs flying around would understand that I need to get these shots done. But nooo. Inconsiderate little bastards. Im not feeding you today so go away.

I got about 30 photos done and I gave up. I was soaked with sweat and it wasnt feeling too good in my shoes now. I took all my stuff back upstairs. I have the airconditioning on and it was like walking into an artic freezer. Felt pretty darn good. I took a shower though. Cant stand the feeling of frozen sweat. Once that was done, I sat down and downloaded the pictures. They came out really good. Plain, but good. Then I noticed that there were alot of shadows on them. Im not pleased.

So now I decide to retake them. I want some more props as well. So for the past month, Ive been hunting down ideas to use. I bought some shells and some coral. I bought some material in black, tan, white and light blue. Today I went to the pet store and grabbed some driftwood. Wasnt exactly what I wanted though. I just couldnt afford the $40 for the really cool stuff. But what I got was nice enough to do the trick. Mmmmmmmmmmmm orange jello. Sorry, I got hungry. I had some green jello with pineapple in it but I ate it all. Oh and me and Christy are chatting about pineapple on hams. Now Im really hungry. Go read her blog. He he he....

So my retakes will be done inside with some serious spotlights. Ya know, to get rid of the shadows. So I set up the kitchen table with my display and turned on the spotlights. Holy cow do these things put off some serious light. Not to mention heat. I can heat my house all winter with these. Or at least get a good tan. Where is DB when you need him. I need some SPF and my shades.

So I get some photos taken and I decided that I didnt like them. So I rearranged the display. Took some more. Didnt like it. Rearranged it again. Im using dog food cans under the material to set this up. Yeah it was amusing. But after a few shots, I noticed that my faucet is in the background too. Ok, this isnt working. So I take it all apart and redo it all again. This time they are coming out really nicely. After I do all the necklaces and sets, I took the whole thing apart and then set it up to do all the bracelets. The display of shells was beautiful. All in all I took about 70 final shots. I was sitting in a chair the whole time. By now my ass is soaked in sweat again from the heat beams above my head.

I turned off the lights and went into my room to download the shots. Damnit. They all suck. They came out with a "musty" look. Im not happy about this. So tomorrow I will retake them outside again but with all the shells and driftwood displays. I prefer the natural light and the colors will be much truer and brighter.

But at least with the spotlights, there werent any shadows.