"It's a Good Day for a Guinness"

"It's a Good Day for a Guinness"
Originally uploaded by elsamart

I never did get all my photos up from our quick sojourn to Ireland the first week of October. You saw me put up videos previously on this blog and my youtube channel. The trip was quiet, beautiful weather (sun!) and uneventful but just fine.


Click on slideshow below for more pictures - -

Ireland 2010

Ginger - - our rescue kitten

The next morning - we find out that it's a girl and P names her "Ginger" - -

"What I did for Thanksgiving vacation..."

Do you remember writing papers with that title in grade school? Well, it's been a doozy of a last few days with getting soaked at work in the rain over the weekend, then going to see my friends in a drag show at Bourbon Street on Saturday evening with my husband and my go-to-girl Richele. Will blog on that later when I get a couple photos from Patrick who shot that night.

I spent 2 days painting Ciara's bedroom a Barbie Doll lavender. And I informed her that in 2 years she can't get all 'emo' on me and want it repainted black. Cus I ain't gonna do it!!! It's staying Barbie Doll pretty-girl color until she goes to college - which it will then be promptly turned into my yoga/meditation chamber - hehehe.

I have spent all day today in bed with a flu bug - but at least I am getting some photography worked on for here and my Flickr site!

But the biggest event this vacation was Sunday late afternoon when Patrick and I rescued a kitten!

We had just done a little photography excursion in the car and were in line for gas at CostCo in the ghetto. Even with the running cars and windows rolled up I could hear a kitten squawking in distress.

I still can't believe no one else heard her. Not even P. When I finally pointed it out to him he said, "It's a dying bird". Then he somehow caught a glimpse of her orange tabby face caught in the side of the parking lot, above a wall where there was an extremely thick and prickly hedge made of thorny twigs and sticks separating the CostCo parking lot to the minimall on the other side.

Well, I immediately jumped out of the car, jumped up the wall and searched for her - - she was crying loudly and caught in the thick mess. P, meanwhile, got his gas and pulled over to park the car. But he didn't get out - thinking I would get her out quickly or give up. Neither occurred.

It was so dense and prickly, I scraped my arms and hands trying to break pieces off so I could make a tunnel big enough for my hand to reach her. She is the size of my tiny hand by the way. I guesstimate about 6 weeks old, tops.

She was terrified and panicking, of course, as I tried to get to her which made her even more caught int he branches. She even sliced open the soft pad on her back foot on those horrible thin branches.

Not a single person asked to help me or even asked what I was doing. I am sure it was quite a sight seeing me up on that wall and digging into a hedge at sunset. I was praying to Jesus to help me get her out because I had no doubt in my mind that she would not have survived the night stuck in there. She would have succumbed to exhaustion, dehydration and exposure easily.

At one point I made the decision that I'd have to drive all the way home to pick up cutters to get into that hedge and that I'd be back in about 45 minutes. I felt guilty, but jumped down to the ground. She started screaming.... SCREAMING! It was as if she knew that she was going to be left alone. It broke my heart.

So I jumped up again to try and got as far as being able to touch her nose softly. Finally after about 40 minutes my husband came out to help - and with his help we were able to get her.

Of course we took her straight home. She was covered with fleas and dirt and trembling from fear and shock for the first half hour. But settled into my warm, fuzzy vest which is now dubbed 'the cat jacket' or 'her mom' since it is lined with a faux fur.

She is very young. We looked for her mama and any siblings but it was clear she was abandoned in there on purpose. Also, her demeanour makes it seem like she wasn't a Ferrel kitten - she was scared and in shock, no doubt, but she had to have been around humans before.

We now have 2 cats and 2 dogs - and I already suffer over our animals and their well-being so, believe me, I wasn't going to be getting a new cat until Jordy passed on (he is about 10 years old and still has plenty of time). Also breaking her into how things are done around here and with the dogs takes time. Like I have that right now ;)

She is precious. We love her already.

Haute With Heart Runway

I am on far right in my spectacular red gown that the photographer failed to get a shot of me in on my runway pass :(

This show was in August benefiting the St. Madeline Sophie Center.



It was lovely to have some of the kids actually sing onstage and strut their stuff - they had a wonderful time. So did we! Click on slideshow below!

Haute With Heart Runway show

Project Ethos - Goga by Gordana

Here I am just getting up pictures of events and modeling shows that I worked earlier this year. It's been a decent year of runway - and here is from August 26, 2010 at FLUXX club downtown where I modeled again for Project Runway alum Gordana Gelhausen. It was for her Goga line, Spring 2011.

I first modeled for her in November 2009 (see blog here) and since have had the pleasure of walking in several more shows for her. She even invited me to model in New York and LA Fashion Week in September and October but the timing was really bad what with NYC happening the week of Patrick and mine 1rst Year Anniversary/Wedding Reception party. Then LA Fashion Week went up whilst we were returning from Ireland. So I did neither one. I am very grateful to her for her support - - doing those shows at the age of 38 is INSANELY gratifying when most of the other girls are between 17-22.

That said here was a precursor show to workshop her Spring 2011 line. I haven't done a show in a club in over 5 years and now I remember why -- the wait was horrible -- with us not going on for hours and standing around getting exhausted, dehydrated and hot in high heels backstage.
There should be video of the show eventually and it's been hard for me to track down more pics but here are some as well as me getting my hair curled by Gianina of Como, Italy -- with whom I had a lovely conversation of the beauties of Northern Italy.

Case in Point #2

Here is another example of my talented husband's fine photography that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. This is a shot he took from his IPhone, for Pete's sake.

We were at Thai dinner and there was a lovely orchid (his favorite flower) at our table and he composed in the low-light this shot without me even knowing he was shooting. (I was undoubtedly looking around observing the scene and people-watching as I often do).

Obviously he added a sloppy frame to the pic in post-production to frame it up nicely, but one cannot deny it's a pretty darn cool pic - - and just proves what a good eye for composition can produce(!)

Alternative Ulster

I recently found a treasure's chest of photos taken by my husband on his computer. It will be a slow process but there are 4 years' worth of modeling, family, camping and Ireland pics that I need to 'steal' so I can put them on my blog. See...he shoots all the time but I probably see only about 20% of his pictures. He takes months to work on a select few pictures and then posts them on his Flickr photography website, but he doesn't post blogs with photo albums to document memories the way I do. So I pretty much have no clue what he has shot or how things turned out.

Here is an example: GREAT photos of the usually camera-shy Ciara posing as a punk for Halloween (just like her daddy back in 80s Ireland). She is even wearing one of his original punk t-shirts of the Sex Pistols - - ORIGINAL - - we are talking 1983 and in worn, but great condition - - definitely worth posting!

Halloween 2010

My husband and I spent the day in the sun working on our new fence and yard and then quickly I had to throw a costume together for... HALLOWEEN!

I was "Shnarf" from the "Thundercats" cartoon back in the 80s - - and those who know me know that I do the shnarf meow all the time to cats and dogs who shnarf back. I even Shnarf "I love you" to my husband. I am holding a miniscule package of candy-corn --the only candy I was interested in taking from the kids...!

We went to trick or treat and have dinner at my brother Gabe's house and uber-cool neighborhood in Point Loma. My nieces and nephews along with Ciara looked great - but of course by the time I took a picture they had taken off parts of their costumes and were only interested in checking out their loot.

Even my sister in law, and big sister wore costumes! My brothers were also decked out in 70s garb (Ben's afro looked great - I always praise what a good weave, wig or head of hair can do for you) and (of course, being a sci-fi Trekkie and Comic Con Fool) Gabe was Darth Vader.
My tired husband and dad were left behind and were falling asleep on the couch while we were out getting candy....

Twas a fun evening and beautiful weather!

Videos correction

www.youtube.com/elsamart

For whatever reason, uploading my 2010 Ireland video snippets to my blog somehow makes them very slow and uneven to watch. However, if you go on my actual youtube website above you can watch them easily,in quicker real time.