Thomas and I had a photoshoot with MIchael Spain Smith this afternoon and of course, on a hot steamy June day in Philly, the air conditioning in the studio went out. Excuse our slight “shine” but we were HOT.
MIchael must have taken 400 different pictures and by the end of it neither one of our faces were working anymore: we were smiled out. I took this picture off the screen with my phone as they were sorting through them so it’s not top quality, and not touched up but you get the idea.
I think our instructions for this pose were to look “serious” but not “mean.” Not sure what expression ended up coming out, what do you think? (be nice)
We kicked off our Philly anti-litter season with the 3rd Annual Spring Clean a few weeks ago, and now we’re trying to emphasize the fact that cleaning our city is more than a one day event. Have you heard of our latest campaign– ”Unlitter Us?”
We had a big event in Love Park today with the Mayor, Streets Commission, and even Tony Danza (he’s a big supporter of our city and a great guy, check out his blog “The Daily Danza”)
His dad was a garbage man and he said he would be thrilled to see what this city has done to turn around a culture of trash, dumping and littering. We are headed in the right direction and we WILL be the “Greenest City in America” which is Mayor Nutter’s goal.
So… on this Earth Day, examine your own carbon footprint, or your recycling habits. What are YOU doing to help?
I just can’t stop thinking about Joshua Tree National Park. My husband and I recently went on a climbing trip there and the scenery was so incredible and unique that I just had to share some photos.
(look carefully between the Joshua Trees in the second photo, you’ll see Kirt near the top of the rock)
It was a picture perfect sunny-blue-sky kind of day in the desert, though a little chilly since the park is several thousand feet above sea level. With our layers on we were just fine and raring to go once we pulled in and saw the scenery. Upon entering however, we noticed some commotion: lots of climbers looking alarmed and nearby there was a rescue team with dogs, gearing up. We weren’t sure what happened, but as we drove past a park ranger came to our car window and said, “Are you part of the group that had the accident?” We said no, we were just looking for directions to one of the rocks we wanted to check out. She said there had been an accident so they were trying to keep people moving but we had no idea if it was serious or not. Off we went, but eventually we saw a chopper in the sky and feared it was not looking good for whomever was involved.
Once we got home, my husband found this article online– a climber from southern California took a fatal fall, and his partner was seriously injured. It was a blatent reminder just how dangerous the sport can be– these guys were experienced! You need a little luck and you have to really know what you’re doing and thankfully, my husband has been climbing for years so I felt pretty comfortable that he had my back. We played it safe but still had a tremendous time.
Turns out the day was an amazing experience in more ways than one. Not only was the climbing fun and super challenging, but meeting climbers from all over the world was great fun, and hiking through the Joshua Tree covered desert was truly breathtaking. I have been to this area countless times since I was a child to visit my Great Aunt and Uncle who live in Palm Desert and am now kicking myself I didn’t drive the 20 minutes to check out the park. Better late than never, I suppose.
I highly recommend it to all of you if you find yourselves near Phoenix, LA, Palm Springs/Desert… it’s worth the drive, even if you just hike or walk around.
