Study. Graduate. Play.

Ok. I know. It has been some time since my last entry but with good reason. My life has been INSANE since I last blogged and I have a feeling it is just about to get more so in the upcoming year! Hmmmm Lets see... lost months in review:

MARCH:

I studied. That pretty much sums it up.

APRIL:

I took the National Board Exam along with my oral and written comps. This is us in Pocatello (over Brooks' 30 birthday weekend) before our exam..I am kissing the ISU rock for good luck! 2 months later I found out that I passed. :) That gray hair and stress for nothing! Really I found a gray hair after that test...not cool.

MAY:

After THREE LONG years...I graduated with my Masters of Counseling...then wedding season began. See photoblog.

Words can't describe (this photo does however) how stoked I am to be done with school (for now)! Brooks told me that he is happy to have his "old wife back"...no clue what that means?? I couldn't have been all that much of a stress case for the last three years could I have?? Now it is time to celebrate missed birthdays and FREEDOM!!!!

More of these photos on my photoblog

JUNE and JULY trip photos to come.

India and more India to come.

As usual, I took WAY too many photos and am still sorting them and such- so a slideshow is in the works. For now here are some highlights. Excuse the low quality of video clips- I haven't been able to get them uploaded in full quality yet.


Here is a boy we met playing cricket and claimed to be the best dancer in his school- so, we had to have him show us his skills. We may seem him in a Bollywood movie someday!


Now here are my skills…or lack of skills. I had to add a little booty shake at the end to keep it real.


We grew accustomed to the old taxis (Brooks could hardly fit in) that at times we had to get out and push to get it running. Let me add that the traffic and driving is INSANE. I probably almost got run over a dozen times! Apparently, red lights don’t necessarily mean stop!

India highlights

THE NIGHT LIFE: 7 movies, 20 games of solitaire, 3 hours of sleep, and 4 hours of "attempting" to study later and we arrived in India ready for a night on the town! This photo was taken at a dance club with in hours of arriving. We don’t mess around.

EXPLORING: I loved getting lost and taking photos of what I experienced. We wandered and hopped on trains in search for the must sees in Mumbai.

No Boys allowed on my train.

BARGAINING: I don’t claim to be the best bargainer…okay I am a total sucker and have a difficult time walking away from vendors. Here are a few of the friends I met along the way…how could I say no to shiny bags and old bent postcards?


BOLLYWOOD: We rocked our dances Bollywood style for the bride and groom.


HENNA: Henna and dancing- what a great combo! I loved my Henna hand art. Brooks’ henna on the other hand was…well… a bit girly. Guys normally don’t get henna, so I think the women was playing a mean joke on him by putting HUGE hearts on the tops of his hands!





I must say that I too experienced “henna remorse” after agreeing to put a band on my arm…when it was done I was not a fan of the band on my arm…mistake...today it’s faded into a splotchy birth mark figure- not attractive.

CEREMONY: dancing, music, food, colorful attire- loved it.







THE HAPPY COUPLE- This is Brooks' friend Sanjay and his new beautiful wife Shraddha. View more of the ceremony on my photo blog. Coming real soon.

RED CARPET: What an extravagant and stunning soiree! They had like 150 dishes to choose from including a Cold Stone style ice cream parlor! Over 2,000 guests were in attendance! Who are those beautiful celebrities walking the red carpet… oh no wait- it’s just us.

SNAKE CHARMER- Contrary to popular belief, snakes can’t really hear the music of the flute and respond to the sight of the flute instead. That took the magic out of it for me. Then the man asked if we wanted to touch the snake…needless to say… I declined. I am not a snake fan.

JAIPUR: Among the several sites we saw, I really enjoyed Amer fort and the City Palace. I chose to where my sari and had fun taking photos in front of these historical buildings. More photos to come on my photo blog.




CAMEL: I feel guilty taking this photo because moments before a man had the camel inhale a cigarette and blow it out as you see in this photo. Oddly enough, the camel really seemed to enjoy his drag...but somehow, it just seemed wrong.

LASSE-Lasse is a yogurt drink that we enjoyed for the most part. We drank it in these clay cups that were so fun to break afterwards. I am not sure how clean they were- but it was about the experience right? On this occasion, it wasn’t the smartest idea … our stomachs regretted that choice for days.



CAMEL RIDE-We couldn’t leave India without riding on a camel…once again I am guilty of endorcing animal cruelty. These poor camels struggled to stand up while kneeling down.. it was painful to watch him try to lift Brooks and I (okay mostly Brooks) starting from the kneeling down position. I vow never to make a camel do that again- but it was a memorable experience!

Camel making it's way down...poor guy just dropped to his knees. Never again little camel!

Time flies.

Okay so I was working on cleaning out the THOUSANDS of photos I have on my desktop...AND I mean TENS OF THOUSANDS of photos I have stored on here and came across some videos that Brooks had recorded of himself while I was not around that I just had to post (see October post) and so I realized that I hadn't even made mention of the last few months of 2008. So, before I get even further behind and writing of my blog all together...I thought I would recap the last months of 2008 from November back to August. So, check them out...oh yah and by the way...my NEW photo website is up and ready to be viewed. Check it out: cristi dame photography.

DECEMBER

Few! Final projects over, papers are turned in, and test answers submitted. YAY!!! I felt like doing double backflips!! Then to make it even better...we went with the Dames to Hawaii for Christmas. I had been looking forward to this trip... it was the escape from school and work...it was just what I needed...time to relax...and that is exactly what I did. I love to sit back and people watch. (especially while relaxing on the beach) Life moves too fast and if we don't take a moment to breathe it in- then it will pass us by. I took a lot of photos capturing my paradise to take home and look at during this last semester of school. Check them out on December photo blog entry.


While I watched, I saw nestled between two generations of women- McCall- our one and only niece in between her grandma Mimi and Great grandma Gigi who were helping her with her sand castle. Words can't describe the tenderness this moment brought to me-but through these images I express my gratitude and pay tribute to the women in my life. McCall will forever remeber these women and how they have touched her life through simple moments like these.





Watching the sun rise.

Surfing.

Snorkling.


Chiln' on the beach. ( I lost those sunglasses the last day of our trip. Brooks told me he will never buy me nice sunglasses ever again- I should stick to my $12 pair.)



The road to Hana.

Sipping Pina coladas at at the luau.



Chilln' with Mcally pops.



Visiting with my cousin Amey who lives in Maui.

NOVEMBER

We flew across the states to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my family. To celebrate Mandy's birthday what better way to start our vacation then with 6 games of laser tag (we had the whole place to ourselves) and some yummy Italian food.



Then it was off to Williamsburg. There's not a better place to celebrate Thanksgiving than Williamsburg.






We worked up an appetite from walking around so I was excited when the time came to sit around a round table and stuff our faces with a yummy buffet! MMMMM it was good...and the best part was that there were several choices, no prep work, and best of all- no dishes! It was a memorable Thanksgiving!

Then we danced the night away... old school style. Shortly after this photo was taken we hit the "Black Friday" madness at the outlet shops at 12:00am... little did we know that the whole state of Virginia would join us...but that didn't stop us...we shopped till we dropped... a total of 6 hours that night and then about 4 more hours the next day! Knocked out Christmas shopping all in one day!

Then we spent some time out Joe's parent's beautiful home and took photos- gotta get more sister photos!




Montecello trip.



Then it was a day trip to D.C. It is such a cool place!!



We had dinner at our friends Wendy and Harley...baby Anderson thinks Brooks is halarious!

OCTOBER

We woke up to Guapo barking on Saturday morning and found a hot air balloon that landed in front of our house!


I ran another half marathon with my dad.

Not sure why the quality is so horrible in this one.

and....well...I don't even know how to describe this...I found this in my iphotos for October...and well...just take a look...yes, I am married to this man.

SEPTEMBER

Dear Tim and Lars,
I flew to Salt Lake City to see you guys in concert. I had been planing this for months with one of my best friends Megan. I was looking forward to transforming back to a hyper-careless teenager and rocking out to your tunes. Months I had been waiting for this moment to find a note on the door. A note? I am hurt and bitter.I thought we were better friends then that? Actually, I don't know if we can be friends. If you play again...I will only think about coming...okay maybe I will come.

Your hurt friend-cristi


Megs and I tried to make the best of it and have our OWN concert- special VIPS only!

To drown our sorrows- we met up with Katy for a girls night out.

We bought new 12 dollar Sun glasses.

Brooks met up with me in Salt Lake and we went to a BYU football game with Matt and Karen. I know I am a traitor to my fellow Utes! But I can't say that I didn't enjoy myself... I got to make a HUGE icee! I am excited for summer!




To top off the night, our family decided to go out and celebrate Chile's independence day with dancing the night away...Latino style!

AUGUST

Smith Family Reunion in McCall.

Cousin Laurie took some photos of us while we were there...let me note that I dread facing reality of our height difference and never really notice it until I see it staring back at me in a photo! ...am I really that short?



Fishing...lazy style. I didn't catch anything. I was more focused on taking some sweet pics.

late christmas letter post or the letter that didn't make it to the mail

Dame/Norris Christmas Letter-


This year we have had another addition to our family. It’s not another dog or even a child. This year Chuck Norris moved into our home.
Ever since Walker: Texas Ranger was canceled and the Gov. Huckabee thing ran its course Chuck has hit hard times. Cristi and I have always been big fans of Chuck and his entire body of work. Even the infomercials. So let me update you on our year with Chuck or as I like to call him sometime Walker.
I’m writing this on Chuck’s laptop and I just realized there’s not backspace and no ctrl button. Why you ask, because Chuck Norris doesn’t make mistakes and he’s always in control.
This year has been pretty spectacular much like witnessing a roundhouse to the face of an evildoer by Chuck.
We started out this year with a tragic accident. Cristi while bending over to pick up a bone was struck a heavy blow by our dog El Guapo. Guapo likes to jump, and he jumped right into Cristi’s tooth and broke it in half. After some major surgeries and some extensive work Cristi’s tooth has been restored.
Chuck was looking for a job since a lot of his endorsements had ended. Total gym was a good gig while it lasted, but Chuck needed something to really put him back on his feet, plus he eats a lot since he’s gotta keep his energy up. I suggested that he be a toilet paper spokesman, but he looked me dead in the eye with those intense piercing eyes and said, “Brooks I don’t take crap from anyone”. Too true too true, what was I thinking suggesting it?
For my birthday Cristi got me a WII and it is pretty fun. I’m pretty good at guitar hero and so is Cristi. But of course Chuck is the best. He has a mean power stance.
Cristi was working the wedding circuit and shooting photographs for a good chunk of the summer. It seemed like almost every weekend Cristi had a wedding this summer.
We did take a trip or two in the mountains and then got the opportunity to go film a documentary in Venezuela. We worked down there with the Barri and the Yukpa Indian tribes who suffer from lack of medicine. We spent two weeks down there shooting video and photos. We left Chuck at home; we knew if he came down he’d probably have to roundhouse Hugo Chavez.
In the Fall Chuck decided he wanted to go out on his own to pursue the meaning of life. He said, “Brooks, I appreciate your hospitality this year, you have taught me a lot. There have been many times that I have wanted to roundhouse the smile off your face, like the time you made fun of my hit movie Delta Force. But, you have helped me so much this year when I was down and out. Now is my time to go back in the world and make my mark one more time. Thank you my friend. Thank you”. At this point you’d think he would cry or hug me, but Walker TEXAS ranger does not hug and does not ever cry.
In order to celebrate Chuck leaving, we went to Hawaii for Christmas with the family.

Good luck chuck. Good luck. And Merry Christmas.

Trading textbooks for vampires.

Deprived from reading anything but dry textbooks for nearly three years, I took my little sister’s challenge to put down the highlighter and read Twilight. It's surprising since I am not very enthusiastic about mythical subjects- sorry Harry Potter fans- never have picked up a book. But I mean vampires and werewolves…no thanks. But it was either that or studying on my vacation…and I chose vampires!

There I was sunbathing on the beach listening to the crashing waves and swirling winds as I began to read…and then an hour passed... and then two…six… and I couldn’t seem to put it down. I found myself finishing the first book and craving more… I searched the entire island looking for the next book feeling like a crazy. FINALLY I found a bookstore with the book that fed my addiction.

I remember sheepishly whispering to the info lady about the book and she grinned and loudly stated, “Yes! It is in the children’s section, follow me.” What? CHILDREN’S SECTION??? Feeling even lamer I made my way down the isle and came upon several thirteen-year-olds gazing at the glossy black covers and gushing over whom they liked better, “Edward or Jacob.” (I am on Team Edward) I grabbed my book quickly and tiptoed to the counter to make my prize purchase with the hugest grin on my face. Okay I am officially a geek. What is even geekier is listening to myself analyze the characters with other fellow Twilight readers…okay most of them being seventh-grade-girls…but still… we find ourselves on common ground in talking about the mysteries of the vampires and werewolves as if we were discussing the daily weather. It is awesome.

Monday I finished the last book (sob)…and the emptiness has set in. It is now once again time to trade in vampire books for textbooks and highlighters. As silly as this my sound, this book has been a much needed escape from all the stress that graduate school and the photography business has brought these last few years. It has tapped into my childhood imagination that I have put aside to be a “grown up”… but who really wants to grow up anyhow? I have gotten to love these characters and am heartbroken to say goodbye. Lesson learned. I will never turn my nose up to any book without giving it a chance first…you never know…I just might love it.

JANUARY 2009. New Year. New Snow.

Another year has passed... and Brooks and I have managed to neglect sending out our Christmas Letter and photo once again. Which is a shame because we had a sweet photo of us and the dogs in tacky christmas sweaters. I still have the stamps and photos for 2007 waiting to go out. :( You think an entire year would be pleanty of time to send last years card out! So, I thought I would try to get the blog somewhat caught up and start from the latest news and go backwards before school starts back up next week. So, JANUARY... (so far)

Kicking the year off right by snowboarding up at Brundage. Nothing better than that.



Showing off my new Christmas Gift...Thanks Brooks for the snowboard! I love it!

Battle Wound.

Well well it has been over three months since my fingers have hit the keyboard to update ya'll on what we have goin' on here at the Dame house...maybe there is TOO much going on and TOO little time! Between going to class, shooting and editing photos, and seeing counseling clients...I have been avoiding this blog...the thought of figuring out where to even begin has been just way too overwhelming! But today is the night that I refuse to pull a late night editing and will ignore the "to do list" for a moment and sit down and catch up on the last few months.

Hmmmm- how about I start with the here and now and work my way backwards? At this rate maybe...just maybe I will get caught up by the end of next year! As I sit on the livingroom floor, I begin to think about the last two days. Bentley is now nudging my left arm and I now attempting to type with one hand while I pet him with my other. Brooks is at the gym getting ready for swimsuit wearing in Hawaii- where I should probablly be as well seing as Hawaii is in like four days and I have been stuffing my face with all the holiday goodies!!! Guapo is on the right side- sprawled out and dozing off on part of my lap. The little guy has been following me everywhere for the last few days since the "park accident." You see Guapo got in the way of a dog and his ball at the park last Friday and walked away with a battle wound to prove it. So, me, usually "over-reacting" to situations like this decided to play it calm this time and try to nurse the wound myself...yeah... that didn't go so well. Pretty soon Guapo had so much neosporin on his fur that it had created a large dirty crusty patch on his neck. The wound that looked like a smoker's throat hole was just not healing. Despite Brooks' hesitation, it was off to the vet and dig into the pockets to pay for the damage. It was time to come to terms with how serious it really was. Several hours and 6 staples later, Guapo came out with a lovely neck brace looking thing and was on the road to recovery.

Day ONE: Guapo comes home from the vet- a tad sedated and continually staring off into space. He greets Brooks with his new harness and newly rapped bandage. We get a good laugh at how rediculous he looks and how funny he was acting. He got a lot of sympathy attention.



DAY TWO:
Guapo tries on his new e-collar. He is not a fan.




DAY THREE:
Bandages are removed and wound exposed...six staples!

closure.

While I was in Salt Lake a few weeks ago, we got the opportunity to spend time with our childhood dog, Patches...or actually Patch for short. Blind, deaf, and wobbling around, she still is our sweet 16-year-old Border Collie who has been part of our family for so long. She represents so much of my childhood and I have many memories with her in it. Running, hiking, camping, and trips to Mexico were some of the moments she shared with us and this last time I was home, I wanted to make one more memory. I realized that she doesn’t seem to have very much life in her and that my visit home could very well be the last time I see her. So, my sisters and I decided to take her to Bob’s dogwash and get her all cleaned up. (She was looking pretty rough) In it’s simplicity, I found it to be a very profound moment for me. It seemed to be a way to say goodbye and have closure with her and with my childhood family. My parents have recently gotten a divorce this year, and I think this dog wash experience also represented putting some closure to what our family used to look like and begin to accept what our family will look like from now on. It was also a way to say goodbye to Patch in case she wasn’t around when I came home next. It was also such a fun moment with my sisters who I love so much. I look forward to the more memories for years to come with you guys!!!!

Stinky!

Start to brush...

and brush...

and brush...

Yes this is all the fur that came off of Patch! Gross!

Time to wash.

Patch is happy.

Patch is not so happy.

Almost done.

So clean!

Could be our last photo together with patch.

Here is a little video we recorded on the digital camera...not best quality in sound or image.

I'm not Gay I just like to decorate

So the other day I was out looking for some new tools for a project i'm working on.

I had some time so stopped by my favorite store, TJ Maxx. I stop by every couple of months to see if there is anything we need for our house. (It isn't quite finished Plus instead of going out and buying a ton of stuff it kind of lets us just find the right pieces to put it all together when they come about.)

Now, I don't mind looking for stuff for the house. My mom majored in Fashion merchandising and Interior design in college so many of my days as a kid were spent running errands with my mom to fabric stores, carpet stores, etc. I've got a pretty good eye if I do say so myself. It is kind of nice to fun to see everything come together.

So I went into TJ's not really looking for anything in particular and found this pretty cool piece of art. It was big and I wanted something that made a statement and worked well with the colors we have in the house.

So I pull out this frame and I stand back to look at it. And it's probably 4x4 feet, so pretty large. I'm admiring it and thinking, "Yeah this would work, I'm gonna get this" Then a guy comes around the corner and joins me staring at the piece. He puts his hand to his chin and looks deep in thought. I thought he was going to say something like, "I don't get it"
And so to break the awkwardness i say, "So what do you think?" "I like it a lot" he responds. "What kind of house do you have? What is your style?" I tell him that the house is clean lines, modern/contemporary but not out there a lot of elementary/Earthy and wood elements.
He says, "I see come with me" and takes me down one of the aisles. We stop at a modern painting. "He says, "I don't like the pictures but these bold colors would go well with your house." You know something he is right. He tells me about a piece of art he hung on his wall even when his wife didn't think it would work, and now she loves it.

So we walk back over the the piece I was looking at to start with and he says, "I really like this one, that's got my vote."

He then looks at me and says, "I'm not Gay, I just like to decorate. I'm good at it and my wife hates that I'm better at it than her."

It was pretty funny. I ended up buying the piece and hung it up on the wall when I got home. Cristi approved.

Out with the old...in with the new.

I love to run. I am also the type of person that likes to stick with things that I know and love because I know I won't be disappointed. Yes, I am that girl who orders the same thing each time at a restaurant...doesn't that mean I am easy to please??? However, this has caused me to fear buying a new pair of running shoes. I have managed to avoid buying "real" running shoes for the last 10 years or so... I say "real" running shoes because for the past 3 years I have been running with "Nike" shoes that I bought out of desperation in a flee market in Mexico and I can't remember the shoes I had before that. My shoes and I have been through a lot together. They have traveled the globe and have endured hundreds and hundreds of miles. (including one marathon and half) If you notice closely you will see that the swoosh has fallen off on the right shoe! I just never saw a need to buy new running shoes...never had a blister with this pair..it was a perfect fit! I was scared of not being able to find shoes that compared. It was not until I began to see my socks through the holes on top of the shoe that I realized it was time to say goodbye. So, while we were in Venezuela, I promised myself I would leave them there with someone who needed shoes...(even though they are tattered and worn) so I wouldn't be tempted to hold on to them for another three years.

So, that is what I did. I said my good byes to my shoes and came home to start over in search for pair of new shoes. I went to the Boise Running Co. where I took a foot analysis test and fount the perfect she.... So, drum roll please.....here are my new and improved shoes! I love them!!!! Each step I take is soft and springy... and that I haven't experienced in a really long time! Why did it it take me so long???

The New Film

Las Caras de Hepatitis B en Venezuela from Brooks Dame on Vimeo.

Sorry if you don't speak spanish you might not enjoy this.

I'm working on a longer version which will make the film fest circut with subtitles so just be patient.
Enjoy

Caracas.

Yesterday we slept in for the first time since we have been out here. I was stoked to take a hot shower and walk around with my shoes off on carpet! We then ventured out to explore Caracas. It is very much a large city with like 25million people living there. So, every where you go there is a ton of people and long lines. So of course, we had to go to the most popular mall (which was 6 stories high) and do some shopping at my favorite store! We also ate at the Subway that has more sales than any Subway in the world- they had like 10 people working behind the counter and a huge line! We decided to take a break and sit down and have a frosty at Wendy's and some Mango gelato. There are a ton of Italians so the Italian food is awesome! Oh yah I forgot to mention we also watched a girl fight outside... with hair-pulling, scratching, and screaming! Brooks tried to get it on film but was too late because nine (no exaggeration) cops showed up to break it up. It was rad. Wow what a change from Tukuko!

Here are some pics of today's drive through Caracas. Here is a pic of the view of the huge city!

We stopped to look for a good magnet to add to our collection but walked out instead with some mini maracas for my sister Bianca!

Here is dinner. This is called a cachapa... MMMM....they have the best food with lots of yummy cheese!

Gas is sooooooo cheap out here. We filled up the tank for just over a buck! I think we figured it out and it was like 15cents per gallon!!

Of course we had to grab some dessert- churos ricos!

I just love avocados! Look how huge they are here!!!

Tukuko, Venezuela

Well, I finally have access to the world wide web...por fin...we are back in Maracaibo, Venezuela... it is super late here so I don't have too much time or energy but a quick update for now. Last week we have been in a town close to the border of Colombia called Tukuko where we have been filming and taking photos of the indigenous Yupa tribe and the problem with Hepatitis B. It has been a whirlwind since the moment we set foot here. We arrived back in the city now beginning the interviews of the doctors. Tomorrow we head back to Caracas for more interviews and a day or two of editing and of course shopping...there are like 10 Zaras in Caracas;)!

The people gave me these awesome neclaces along with weaved baskets.

The simple way of life.

They danced and sang for us in their language.



We thought this girl was eating worms... it turned out to be pasta!

I couldn't get enough photos of the cute kids...I have plenty more of those photos to come!


Things I have missed in the last week:
-hot showers
-drinking water from a tap
-AC
-paved roads
-soft pillows
-cell phones
-keeping in touch with my family
-my dog El Guapo


Things I have learned to appreciate and will miss from Tukuko:
-quiet and peaceful nights
-the sound of kids laughing when I show them the photo I just took of them
-the homemade gifts given to us
-the passion people had when they speak
-the people's kindness and gratitude
-the nun's yummy food
-the phrase "Tranquilo"
-the concept of living in the present moment
-not worrying about being late because everyone else is running late too!
-the simple way of life

20 days later...

Well there you have it....20 days later and I have FINALLY come around to posting fourth of july pics. Let me just say that my life has been very busy with weddings photography and I can't remember the last time I have felt so exhausted. Brooks and i leave for Venezuela in an hour...I am so excited to get away from editing photos all day long you have no idea! It will be such a nice break! Well I haven't had a chance to write about the fourth of July yet...we spent it in McCall...I LOVE McCall! Here is a slide show of the Dame family retreat we had! Hanging out on the lake, fireworks, cupcakes, polar bear swim, wii tournaments, jumping from a tall pole, and bbq...gotta love the fourth...even when it happend almost a month ago. This month has gone so fast!!!