free write friday • that new new

Since I have the book broads helping me to cover excellent book content for this old blog, I'm not terribly sure where I fit in outside of book broad-dom. Well, I wanted to try something a little bit different-- free write friday. It will entail me just blathering about little things about my week (so hopefully less of that on every post) and sharing snapshots from the week. I think it would also be cool to link up some interesting articles I have encountered. This literally just came to me so I don't have any links at the current writing, but if you check back later in the evening, I will link you to some fun shit!

I'm excited again about this blog. I feel people have moved past blogging to podcasts. As I hate my voice and don't have anything interesting to podcast about, I think sticking with my blog is my best bet. It's not something I ever plan on monetizing. It's an exercise in writing and sharing with like minded folk that would like to read my words, along with others.

Okay, so about my week-- it was kind of crummy. I was sick for the majority of it. Everyone is moving and so I'm just a solitary chump. Laura is moving to Seattle and I'm so sad. I wept for an entire day, but I'm glad she's a plan ride away. I love my boo boo. Mary is moving, but not too far. It's crazy how right now, it feels as though everyone is moving. Things are changing. It's definitely spring.

juggling

lately, I have been juggling loads of things in my life- work, photography, hooping, yoga, my cat, my relationship. it's quite a bit and i'm trying to come up with a good schedule to balance things, but this isn't necessarily about balancing everything. No, this is about balancing my social media presence with who I am. I am a multi-faceted person. I have a lot going on, a lot of interests. I barely touch on all of them on every platform. My juggling discussion more so revolves around my instagram. I've thought about how within the last three months, I have lost and gained followers. Some are consistent (you know who you are), yet others came initially for the photography, didn't expect the yoga and hooping, yet that's who I have become. I have become an active person. I document these for the purpose of recognizing my progress. not everyone likes the yoga aspect, not everyone likes the photography aspect, but I have decided to keep my space, well, my space. As many have proven, unfollowing is very easy to do. I'm not encouraging or daring people to unfollow me; I am, however, making it a a point to declare these little spaces mine. You don't go into someone's house and tell them,"Ugh, that end table is awful. What the fuck were you thinking?" It's kind of the same, especially since I'm showing a vulnerable side in my fitness. I've just become more active. I still eat the same because I've always believed everything in moderation. I just hope that people can appreciate the blend of my passions.

unexpected hiatus

I didn't expect to go away for a bit. I'll explain about that in a minute, but first, I want to congratulate my friend on her Senior Photo Exhibition. Theseus was the name, but there was some amazing work to be seen, not only the AMAZING ERIN <3, but other artists as well. I got to see her older sister, who I worked with at Barnes ages ago. We caught up to the point that I felt like I was monopolizing all of her time. Talk to me! It was inspiring. It was also super sweet because Erin thought that I would really love this artist who uses self-portraiture in mixed media. And I absolutely did. She said the kindest things about my self-portraits, and that she wouldn't be brave enough to do that. I didn't think what I was doing was brave. It's a way for me to express myself when I'm feeling low, but I'm glad someone likes it, especially someone who's photographic eye I trust.

fifty-eight through sixty-five

The reason for this unexpected hiatus was I felt super uninspired.I felt like there was something wrong with my photographic eye. I'd see things and want to take a photo, but it felt forced or stale. I'm trying hard to experiment with different styles to shooting lately so these are just snapshots from my phone that were never planned, just shot it from where I stood. I'm sure people are like,"Well, duh, you'd snap it where you stood." But normally, I would try to get the right angle, compose things just right, fit everything I want into the frame. I'm "shooting from the hip". The article I linked explains it best, but it's basically just shooting differently. For me, it also means quickly, getting the composition and colors I want in a split second. No redos. It's helping me to see things more clearly. I'm getting back into my thang and I'm excited to share whatever new things come from me.ALSO, I started my Facebook Page again: Elis Ramos-Garcia photography. I am adding things as I go through my hard drives.

relaxing days

Today was my very first day off. I did normal day off things- oil change, laundry, caught up on DVR'd shows. I have a four day weekend that I hope I haven't spread myself too thin. I want to visit Mary and the bebes, hang out with some other friends, maybe go out to brunch with my mom. I don't know. Today, things looked like the above photo. Batman slept while I caught up on Forensic Files and read a little bit.
You may have noticed, but things have changed around here. I already had combined the two blogs, and I finally came up with the name Blathering Broad. Why? Well, I tend to blather on about my life in these text posts and I'm fond of the term broad since it's old timey. I like referring to people as classy broads. Oh the things you learn about me here. I think I have finally changed all of my links so that blogger doesn't claim that you're being redirected to an unverified website. Oh, blurgh. That was an annoying first two days of checking and changing links, but hooray. New beginnings all around.

the last post

I could look back and be disappointed with things I did not do this year, but then again, I can also look back and see all that I did do, documented or not. I can also get excited to always strive to be better, do better, no matter if it's the new year or three months in. I'm finishing this after coming home from seeing Wild, which was a life-changing book when I read it. I was deep down in the dumps, and reading what Cheryl accomplished in order to work through her suffering made me feel empowered. I haven't done anything in years for New Years Eve just because going out and having to wait until at least midnight to go home does not appeal to me. I'm here, rambling, watching the Simpsons with my boyfriend and my cat. There's nowhere else I'd rather be. Cheers to more nights like this and a good new year.

around here

Things have been so hectic lately. I hope to review some books in the next days I have off. Please don't hold your breath, but I'd really like to! I'll try my hardest, I swear. Gosh, I don't even think I'll finish my 365. It's not that I haven't been trying to get motivated, but ooof. Sometimes you just can't jumpstart your brain, y'know? These past week has been great, with friends visiting from out of town, family, and food. This year, Matt and I had to split time between out families. My family hasn't really done much for Christmas so it was exciting, and maybe a little stressful, to do back and forth. But at least I got to see everyone and spend time with both sides. Batman was super spoiled by Matt's mom and sister. She's loving her toys and treats, both of which she's usually weird about. She's also excited about all of the boxes we've obtained over the week. Kitty paradise!

life lately: photos and thoughts

I'm considering importing my other blog into this blog so that I can just purchase a domain, have everything under one name, clean things up a little bit more. I'll have to round up the books I have read. I know I am not making it to 50 books in the short amount of time I have. Only on 32 books. Definitely not happening. I'm trying to really push myself to be motivated to execute all of the ideas I have floating around in my brain. My friend and I are working on a show together. He came up with a really great theme that will be revealed in due time. I'm planning on some sort of May showing. It gives us time to pull everything together. Lately, I have been scrapbooking/collaging/hand-lettering. It's fun to lose yourself in juxtaposing images and a lyric or quote. I also enjoy using my new micro-line ink pens. I've certainly been practicing my drawing skills. Maybe I'll be brave to share someday.

a little share

I've followed Kris Atomic for years, but I won't delve into all of the little details. I recently caught up on a few posts and this one really is exactly how I've been feeling about posting. Lots of drafts, no real energy to round things out and click publish. I don't know why I'm so self-conscious about sharing things. I do so on other outlets all of the time. But I do like having this little space to keep everything.

birthday weekend

I had a quite the birthday weekend. It started with me jokingly pouting at work,"It's my birthday weekend, dammit, and I'll do whatever the hell I want!" Hey, it got me an Ewok coloring book page :) I kept forgetting to call and make a reservation for the Hamburger Mary's late Saturday show. Kind of bummed I couldn't get a mac n cheese burger while watching drag queens lip synch and dance to pop songs. Ugh, I love it! We'll have to make a reservation soon because it's been too long since I've been. We ended up getting sloppy fried egg cheeseburgers. Matt felt bad about the Hamburger Mary's snafu that although he already spoiled me with presents, offered up anything else I wanted. I opted for my very own cake so we went out and picked a cake (side note: I asked him what if I had wanted the Scarface POP! Vinyl; "Well, then, you'd have the Scarface POP! Vinyl." hah).

Sunday morning, the day of my birthday, my mom took me out for brunch where I had a mimosa and some of the best french toast I have ever had. It was nice and filling. My mom got lemon-ricotta pancakes, which were so amazing, they required no syrup whatsoever. I made up my mind Thursday that I was going to have a small gathering at our bar for fried cheese and a Brandy old fashioned. It being last minute, not a lot of people could come, but I'm grateful to everyone who did show up! We seriously destroyed three orders of cheese curds. It was kind of insane. I feel like we've done that before, and then some, but for the amount of people there, it was definitely a lot.
Before I sign off here, I have to bring up my little baby, Batman. She's about a year and was a stray that is actually quite the sweetheart. And yes, she's a lady. Gender is a social construct. What the hell do cats know about boy/girl names? She already responds to it and has gained quite a bit of weight in the two weeks since we've taken her in. Other than being skinny, she's healthy and is now well taken care of, spoiled, even.

about that unexpected break...

It's been nearly a month since I last posted, and that's odd, even for me. I wasn't expecting to take a little break. I can't even promise future consistency, but I can say that I will try my best, but I have to admit that after a summer filled with lots of adventures and projects, I feel a little bit burned out. That's not to say I'm not shooting. I'm shooting a lot with my phone, using VSCOcam app. I stopped following a photography website because they always seemed to hate on VSCO in favor of another photo preset company, but they're similar in that they provide presets for photographers to use, but I prefer VSCO's style and user interface. Just because something doesn't suit your aesthetic doesn't mean it's something to bash. I understand constructive criticism, but it was a little petty, IMO. Whoa, sorry to go off on a tangent. I haven't been able to sit still for very long in order to post to my tumblr and 365 Project, but I've been keeping up with my VSCO grid. Maybe I'll finally finish up my summer book roundup *nail bite*