Montecito Piano Bar With Gil Rosas by The Profant Foundation For The Arts

Hosted by The Profant Foundation For The Arts
Featuring Gil Rosas on Piano & Vocals....and a few other surprise guests! ;-)  ♪♪♪

Lively music, piano playing, upbeat Broadway musical singalongs, lots of smiles and laughter served up along with beautiful ambience in gorgeous home in Montecito? Ummm, YES, PLEASE! ;-) 

This event was such a treat to photograph thanks to Mignonne Profant who brought me on board and whom I met many years ago while photographing the SB Women's Festival. The aim of the Profant Foundation (run by Mignonne, her three lovely sisters and their Mother)  is to raise funds towards scholarships for local artists as well as to resurrect some local cultural traditions around the arts, hence this latest musical event.

What a delight to capture laughter and camaraderie among guests as they sang along with Gil who has spent the last 60+ years entertaining local Santa Barbarans. He's also well known for his many years performing at the much beloved "Olive Mill Bistro" (where "The Montecito Cafe" is now located) back in the day. 

I thought a slideshow would be a fun tribute to the evening's celebrations! 

*To view the slideshow in full screen mode, just click on the "rectangle icon" in the lower right portion of the screen. 
*If music doesn't come on at first, just refresh your browser and click on the "triangle" play button again. 
***If you would like to purchase any prints from the gallery below, click here to be taken to the gallery.  

Enjoy the slideshow! ❤ 
*Song Credit: "King Of Swing" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (who originally hail from Santa Barbara! ;)

❤ Judy's Mesa Family Photo Shoot  ❤

        Such a fun photo shoot with a dear friend of mine, her two beautiful kids, and their sweet puppy Oakley (who unexpectedly passed away a few months after the shoot). I'm so happy we were able to get Oakley in several of these photos....it was a magical evening with that dreamy, creamy sunset peach light! 

        She ended up choosing several of the same favorites I had from our shoot together and ordering some gorgeous large prints from me and Zenfolio (Awesome Professional Photographer's Lab) for her living room. So fun to see them being appreciated and enjoyed on a daily basis!  ❤

Lisa & John's Tahoe Wedding Celebration

*Feel free to leave your comments and congratulations for Lisa and John on the thread below the slideshow. Thanks!

One of the sweetest highlights of my summer (and probably my year!) was traveling to Squaw Valley, Tahoe this summer to photograph an incredible multi-day celebration of Lisa and John's wedding. I met Lisa's family several years ago when I photographed them on a celebratory family trip to Santa Barbara. Many years later it's been an equal pleasure to meet the rest of her and John's extraordinary families.

In short, this is a love letter to Lisa and John and both of their gracious, kind-hearted, down to earth, and big-hearted families who came in from all parts of the country to celebrate their union. It's a special privilege to feel so included in a celebration the way that Lisa and John made me and my honey feel. It's an inspiration to me to know two such lovely people and to be made to feel like "family" during a very intimate occasion.

I was deeply touched by the way that Lisa and John included their five beloved kids and "blended family" in their nuptials and in a very well thought out slideshow and ode to their family. The love between a couple like Lisa and John  and the love they share with their families is exactly what the world needs more of. 

I look forward to watching their love and their families continue to grow over the years and hope to continue having the opportunity to photograph them all over the years…no matter the location! ITALY, ICELAND, MALAYSIA?! Where will your next celebration be? I'm so there! ;-)

As a special thank you to Lisa and John and their beautiful friends and family, and because they live spread out around the country, I have put together not one but FOUR SLIDESHOWS of their celebration in Tahoe earlier this year. I'm hoping you all have as much fun watching this as I have had putting these together for you all!

Much Love & Many Thanks,
Rachel 
www.rsthurston.com

*To watch the slideshows in full screen mode, just click on the rectangle icon in the lower right hand corner of the slideshow window. Voila!

**If the music doesn't play with the slideshow, just refresh your browser window and click "play" (arrow icon in middle of the screen) again. 

Cummins-Dulchinos Family & Bride & Groom Photo Slideshow: 


Cummins-Dulchinos Wedding Ceremony & Cocktail Hour


Cummins-Dulchinos Wedding Dinner & Reception


BONUS: Cummins-Dulchinos Wedding Rehearsal Dinner



*IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VIEW THE WHOLE GALLERY OF PHOTOS (many of which are not in these slideshows) PLEASE CLICK HERE: http://rsthurston.zenfolio.com/cumminsdulchinostahoewedding

The American Riviera Woman Entrepreneur Of The Years Awards 2013

*Enjoy the slideshow at the end of this post!  The Arwey Awards were founded by Executive Director Tia Walker here in Santa Barbara, California. This year's awards were held on Saturday, November 16th 2013 at The Bacara Resort and Spa


I learned a few years ago that basically anything that Tia Walker touches usually turns to gold and sparkles with magical and powerful intention in the world! Being in the room and sharing an afternoon with such incredibly motivated and inspiring women was a powerful experience for all of us. She miraculously brought together a diverse group of heavy-hitting women from around the country in order to both celebrate each of their achievements and to inspire all of us towards more intentional living in this world.

There is an indelible strength that comes from supporting each other in moving towards our dreams and giving back to the world. 

From listening to the work that the panelists are doing in the world to being treated to some fantastic music including a humorous "Tiara Song" by Penelope and then a surprise performance by Rickie Byars Beckwith of the Agape Spiritual Center it was difficult to not feel spiritually uplifted by the end of the afternoon. 

We can't merely walk our own paths with purpose, we must support our sisters in walking their own as well. And this is where we will get our fuel to continue on and our inspiration to always aim higher. 

I couldn't have put it better than Sister Janet (another award recipient) put it, "No one has it all together but together we have it all." 


Amen, Sister! 

Enjoy the slideshow that I put together from this beautiful event! Please feel free to share the link with all of your friends and anyone else who was involved with this beautiful day. A big thanks to Tia Walker and all of her hard-working volunteers who helped make this day happen. 

May you all continue to walk the walk. 

With Love And Blessings,
 Rachel ☆⋰⋱★⋰⋱☆⋰⋱★۰̮̑●̮̑۰
www.rsthurston.com
_________________________________________


A Message From Tia….

The Bigger ARWEY Vision ~ by Founder Tia Walker

Thanks to the brilliant photographic talents of Rachel S. Thurston (of r.s.thurston photography), there is a slideshow of the event that will delight your heart and you'll receive a joy blast :) just by watching.

Your support of the ARWEY Awards extends beyond the borders of Santa Barbara and reaches remote areas of Tanzania and Ghana. Together with our sister city of Monaco, we are building a bridge to help women through the sometimes harsh reality of oppression and lack of access to capital through micro loans, training and mentoring. Our intention is to partner with existing organizations and support their efforts both locally and globally.  We feel no need to start something "new" as there are many organizations that are established to meet the needs, we simply support those efforts.

As we gather with our families and friends this Thanksgiving and holiday season I ask that as a community we take a moment to support the very life changing gift of economic development through entrepreneurship. These micro businesses, feed families, bring women out of oppressed situations and change communities. Imagine a world where everyone on this planet is fed and has fresh drinking water and a means to sustain themselves. That is a very real possibility as we shift our focus to a global connected community and assist those with less access to capital.

You may help by making a donation or bidding on the beautiful Shona art piece "Reach for your dreams" by Zimbabwe artist Marion Nyanhongo which supports the micro loan programs and local organizations who are taking the charge with community changing work. For auction visit:

http://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/item-detail.cfm?auctionID=604&ItemID=17835&viewType=1&style=39&font=0&catName=Antiques%20and%20Art

For individual donations contact us at ARWEY:  http://arweyawards.com/contact.html

Thank you! Sending you warm holiday wishes and welcome to the ARWEY Circle of Light community.

Tia

____________________________________________________________________

*Enjoy the slideshow below! Be patient and wait for the grey box to show a circle with an arrow in the middle appear. Once it appears click on it to "play." If it doesn't load, try refreshing your browser and waiting a few moments. 

~If the music doesn't come on at first, try refreshing your browser and clicking "play" again. 

~You can make the slideshow full screen by clicking on the rectangular box in the lower right hand screen of slideshow. Voila!

~Feel free to leave your comments below and share the link with your friends~ ;-)

1) If you would like to order any of these prints please visit this gallery here: http://rsthurston.zenfolio.com/arweyawardsprints

2) If you would like to order any digital downloads of these photos please visit this gallery here: http://rsthurston.zenfolio.com/arweyawardsdigidownload

Tia and Kaylin's Wine and Social Meetup Halloween Party!

I love October and I LOVE MILKING EVERY LAST DROP OF HALLOWEEN! This year was no exception. Among a few other wonderful gatherings, I had the pleasure of attending Tia and Kaylin's SB Wine and Social Meetup Halloween Party at 240 Studio (a beautiful space run by fellow photog Michelle Lee).

I really enjoyed mingling with some wonderful people...a mixture of familiar faces as well as many new peeps to the SB Scene. Big Thanks to Tia, Kaylin, Michelle and their many helpers for a wonderful, Halloween-ey evening!

I took so many fun photos from the night that I coudn't resist putting them into a slideshow! Enjoy and feel free to share this link with your friends~

Beautiful Tribute to Yosemite National Park

"Project Yosemite"

Time Lapse Photography by Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty (using the Canon 5D Mark II)

This is one of the most beautiful tributes that I've seen to one of our country's oldest National Parks. Stunning time lapse photography and use of movement...especially love the night scenes~

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

August 12, 2011

Photo Shoot with Cynthia Ziemer

Friend, Superstar, and Fellow Djun Djun Mama~

by r.s.thurston photography

"There is just one life for each of us: our own." ~Euripides

*Feel free to leave your sweet comments at the end of this entry~

It's a dream to have the chance to photograph more girlfriends and among those a very special group of women: the Djun Djun Mamas. I've photographed both Lisa Beck, our leader, as well as Kris Oster another phenomenal woman in her own right.

Each of the women in this group are extraordinary. Accomplished. Creative. Kind. Generous. Wise beyond this life. And radiant.

Cynthia is all of these and more. I continue to learn more about her through moments together like this shoot. How she is capable of giggling and smiling most any day of the week. How she loves bringing coconut water to our Djun Djun Mama potlucks. How she adores driving her '64 Red Corvette (which has a story of its own). How she loves music concerts and volunteering locally. And how gorgeous she looks in jewel tones like purple, green, and turquoise!

We had originally planned this shoot b/c she'll be featured on the back of an upcoming issue of Casa Magazine with her company Prospect Mortgage.....but it gave us the opportunity to have way more fun with it and get a little more artsy.

And not surprisingly through the process of working with her, I learned that Cynthia is truly a beautiful woman inside and out.

And now for the slideshow...

If the music doesn't come on when you play the slideshow. Refresh your webpage and restart the slideshow.

Enjoy!

Panzumo's Spring Equinox Concert at the Music Academy of the West~

Montecito, California

by r.s.thurston photography

"We ought to dance with rapture that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos."

D.H. Lawrence

Please feel free as well to share this link with your friends and family~ The more "likes" and shares I get the more opportunities there will be for these photos to reach a larger audience~

I felt so euphoric after this concert for several reasons. It's a true gift when you find a sense of home among a group of individuals. Over the years, I've sweat, I've laughed and I've cried with these men and women. Many have become good friends and others I'm just getting the chance to know.

On Friday, March 25th I had the unique opportunity to both perform with the Djun Djun Mamas as well as photograph the whole event. I've been involved whether as spectator, supporter, or performer with Panzumo for the past 10+ years and this, by far, was their most amazing performance to date.

Set in the Music Academy of the West's brand spankin' newly renovated Hahn Hall the seats were nearly packed. Lisa Beck and Budhi Harlow organized and choreographed the night's program of West African rhythms fused with keyboards, viola, and horns as well as Tribal Fusion, West African, and Bollywood dance performances and a thundering performance by the Djun Djun Mamas. Afterwards, we poured outside to fill our bellies with scrumptious homemade dishes of coconut pudding, soups, fresh fruits, salads, and drinks.

It's a rare thing to have the opportunity to watch world-class dancing in a venue like Hahn Hall and then get fed afterwards!

Please make sure to watch the slideshow and tell me what you think~ If the music doesn't come on right away then "refresh" your web page and the click "play" again~ Lisa and I both thought this song would be a purrfect fit for the night!

If you're interested in purchasing any prints, click on "visit gallery" in the upper right hand corner of the slideshow. You can purchase prints individually from the gallery~ Feel free to email me with any questions~ Enjoy and thanks again for your support!

"Rachel S. Thurston: Entertaining and Lovable"

Featured Guide by Santa Barbara Adventure Company

Turns out I have attributes curiously similar to a Border Collie. ;)

I had the distinct honor of being featured by The Santa Barbara Adventure Company on their website blog this past month. I've worked on and off with them for around six years as a kayaking, biking, hiking, ropes course, team building, and wine tasting guide. During the last eight years I've known him, Mike Cohen has done an extraordinary job of growing his company into a force to be reckoned with in Santa Barbara. He and his fleet of super fun, experienced guides put together some truly awesome trips.

But enough about them and more about me.

Check out this article. It was so fun doing this interview and reflecting on where my interests and attention has been going the past several years~

A big thank you to Suzanne Cohen for putting this all together!

Check it out here:

http://www.sbadventureco.com/blog/rachel-thurston-entertaining-and-lovable/

For more info about their uber-fabulous trips check out:

www.sbadventureco.com

Photo by Karen Custer Thurston

Full Version of Article From Santa Barbara Adventure Company:

Magical Moments in Santa Barbara....

‎"Our hearts were drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see."

George William Russell

July 25th, 2010
Santa Barbara, CA

Co-Creating The Journey:
Photo Shoot With Lisa Beck and Budhi Harlow of Panzumo
West African Dancers and Drummers

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
Ursula K. Le Guin.

I don’t’ even know where to begin with explaining my relationship with Lisa and Budhi. Friends. Mentors. Co-creators. Teachers.




We perform together. We dance together. We drum together. We commune together. And we occasionally sing together. It’s difficult to separate out the levels of relationship that we have together. But one of the most cherished of these relationships is as their photographer. In the past ten years, we’ve had several photo shoots together which have unintentionally archived our journeys as artists from their first music cd around nine years ago with their first band to their connection with the ocean and Lisa’s growth as a dance teacher to this summer during which our creative energies only seem to growing without abandon and Lisa has become something of a mythical creature…graceful, gorgeous in a very unself-conscious way, strong. There is so much that I wanted to create with her photographically this time around that we decided to do a separate photo shoot of her as goddess portraits (to be released soon) and another of her and Budhi shining in their musical elements….



Budhi is a phenomenal musician, composer, teacher and performer. And in the past ten years, Lisa has not only blossomed as a highly talented musician and dancer but she has become one of the most gifted dance teachers I’ve ever known (up there along with Vanessa Isaac and my beloved Mamacita). Her humility, grace, unending ability to combine her multiple talents have helped make her such an amazing leader. Together they have helped to create a truly beautiful community of drummers and dancers in Santa Barbara over the past several years and one which I consider to be one of the many amazing blessings of my life.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. There is a beautiful synergy that occurs when creative spirits come together with a similar vision and you can almost taste it in the electrical texture of the photos….This is the path that I have envisioned for many years to come. It’s difficult to imagine having more fun than we did together on this shoot but, after years of experience with them both, I know it’s always possible! ;)

Weekly Teaser....
Here's the first shot I've edited from my recent Goddess Photo Shoot with Lisa Beck~
LOVE IT! More to come....

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir

Kern River Trip With Family And Friends~

The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are.
~Lynn Noel

For those of you who have known me in my pre-Santa Barbara Days...I spent many blissful years living and working on rivers. For nearly five years I worked as a park ranger, a commercial river guide, and as an Outward Bound Instructor (yes, I made many young teenagers occasionally cry but was compassionate all around!) throughout the American West (California, New Mexico, Utah/Colorado, the border of Texas and Mexico, and along the border of Minnesota and Canada.

Those were some of the best years of my early adulthood...seasons spent running rivers, living out of tents and tupperware, living into the strength of my body, pushing my physical and psychological comfort zones, basking in the intense desert heat, and living as a nomad through the winters when I traveled throughout Latin America and Australia.

It is true that you can never step into the same river...twice. The same goes with revisiting those years lived on and along the river. But like any river rat, the river continues to have a sweet spot in my heart with deep roots. I still have occasional midsummer night dreams of navigating whitewater in some foreign wilderness. And every time I visit the river I am a different person living out a whole new chapter of my life...but yet the river remains some constant unchangeable force.




I was fortunate to recently return to the river on an incredible trip with family and friends. Although it has been years since I went down the river and even longer since I gave an impromptu "safety talk" or lesson on reading whitewater, it felt so encouraging to know I still had the chops! All those skills came immediately back. I was in absolute heaven being on the water again. My heart sings on the water and I feel like I am home again...all the rivers seem to be one and to contain the same fluid energy.

I'm so grateful to the Abbeys for putting together another Amazing Trip and to the rest of the Rousseau Clan and to my friends Richard and Michele for making the weekend into such an amazing trip! I can't wait to go back to the river and the Sierras with good friends and family~

Life continues to move quickly along...at sometimes speeding up...but when I'm on the river, something seems to have stayed the same if only for a brief moment in time.

March 26th, 2010
The Best Family Portrait Shoot (I love that I can say that!)
Elaine, Mike, and The Little Man...Mister Ethan Best
When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
~Joyce Brothers

I had a truly wonderful afternoon photographing Elaine, Mike, and their young son Ethan at a nearby beach. Although the beginning of the shoot got off to a somewhat chilly start for the little tyke we really gained some great momentum as the sun set lower over the ocean and we tried out a few fun poses. I especially love the little Scottish Hat that Elaine brought along for Ethan...a few of my favorite pictures feature him silhouetted against the sand and lapping waves...the images could just have easily come from Isle of Skye, Scotland as Santa Barbara. Ahh, the magic of photography!

Instead of posting individual photos, I'm going to post slideshow of the shoots I'm doing. I'm so incredibly stoked that I've found a new service which allows me to create slideshows which maintain the integrity of the photos' vivid colors and sharpness! Enjoy some of my favorite pics of the Best Gang. I hope you enjoy them!

Zenfolio Here I Come!

I am so incredibly stoked to have found an incredible new online photo viewing and purchasing company called Zenfolio. I have been having an absolute blast uploading some of my latest portrait galleries and creating slideshow which I can finally upload to my blog! It's been a heck of a lot more user-friendly than another company which I've been using.

Here's my first slideshow "Dancing Goddesses!" featuring the ever so talented West African Dancer and Drummer Lisa Beck (Panzumo) and Turkish Egyptian Dancer, Percussionist, and Choreographer Karen Custer Thurston.

(www.turkishegyptiandance.com).

BABIES, BABIES, BABIES!
A Shoot With Princess Corianna Camenzind
San Francisco, California

There is only one really pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.
Chinese Proverb



I had the opportunity to go on another fantastic road trip with Steve up to San Francisco last fall to visit some friends of ours and attend a Hard Assets Conference (more his thang than mine). The coolest part of the trip was the fact that I had just bought a brand-new Canon 7D which shoots gorgeous pics and takes digital high-def video (which I went on to shoot a lot of on my trip to Ecuador!).


My first shoot with the 7d was with the veritable and charming Princess Corianna up in San Mateo....
What greater beauty than to see a little naked baby on a sheepskin rug....she was gorgeous! And takes quite a bit after her Mama and Papa (Peter and Lisa Camenzind). After a crazy holiday season and a month long trip to South America, I've finally had the chance to edit and post a few of my favorite pics from the morning with them.









How do you spell "adorable?" C-O-R-I-A-N-N-A!

Pugs, Play-Time, and Parenthood
Photo Shoot with Jeff, Hilda, Quinn, and Sturgis Kirchmaier
With Special Guest Appearances by Buster and Rocky



Okay, I really have it rough. I've braved it as a kitten wrangler and now I'm courageous enough to take on pugs. I originally met Hilda and her family through my Baby Love (aka "Steve") but never had the opportunity to spend more than an hour or so with her family. Let me tell you, you really get a sense of family dynamics and how someone is as a parent or a child when you're photographing them. I was truly blown away by what good parents both Hilda and Jeff are and how patient their sweet kids Quinn and Sturgis are. And as if that wasn't enough, I got to shoot the pugs, too!







I'm a total sucker for puppies and kittens, I've gotta say. I grew up with animals (peacocks, bear, turkey, exotic deer, crocodiles, ferrets, raccoons, horses, dogs, cats, and so on...just your typical Midwestern Childhood on an exotic animal farm) and I feel real comfortable with them. But it's a true treat to have the chance to work with them as well! And let me say, these were the most photogenic, patient puppies you could imagine...as soon as they knew I was pointing the camera at them, they relaxed and put on their best "mugs." Since they're growing fast, Hilda wanted to catch some great pics of the family with the little ones before they get any bigger. At the time of the shoot, they were a couple of months old.

OH MY GOSH. THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!





Towards the end of the shoot, the sky had turned really dark from storm clouds. I had hopes that we'd get a thin sliver of light down at Hendry's Beach before nightfall. We raced down there and literally had about three minutes to get in a couple of really magical moments of light before it was gone. Such are the moments in photography. As an old friend once told me, "Everything in life, like in photography, comes down to two things: good timing and good lighting."
Touche!

2009 Year Of The Phoenix: From Fires, Floods, and Mayhem To Gingerbread, Pumpkins, And Afro-Cali Dance

Okay, so I'm not naked but it is a cute picture, isn't it?! :)

*So after spending weeks working on my holiday newsletter in three different programs and beating my head against the wall b/c of technical issues, I thought it might be best to take the path of least resistance and post my newsletter here where I can upload pictures and maintain the format I wanted...besides, newsletters are supposed to be fun, right?! ;)

2009 seems to have been a year of transitions and challenges…I've decided to call it the Year of the Phoenix where elements need to be destroyed to be reborn again. I’ve experienced many changes within my family that have presented incredible opportunities to deepen my connections with loved ones. I’ve also had several health challenges this past year which have reinforced my desire to take care of my health and to have compassion for those friends I know who are given similar “health opportunities.” That all said, I thought it best to write my newsletter in a different format and one of gratitude:

Twelve Things I’m Grateful For From 2009 In No Particular Order:

1) That after nine months of fighting some health challenges and major fatigue (long story…) I am feeling vibrant and full of energy again for the first time in about a year. I am able to dance, to sing, and to socialize with friends with the vibrancy that I used to!

2) That I was able to travel back to Indiana four time in five months and reconnect with an incredible group of friends, families, and neighbors there. That I was with my Dad and good friend Mike when my stepmother Susan passed away on June 1st. That I had the opportunity to be there for that amazing transition with my father and with her and that we were able to throw one of the most incredible Memorial Life Celebrations for her that any of us could have invisioned….bluegrass band, scrumptious food, wildflower bouquets, limericks and stories by some of her best friends and family members, a neighbor flying over the party and dropping colorful streamers on 150 people, sharing laughter, tears, and limericks….I've included a picture of Dad, Susan, and I from three years ago~



3) That my Dad’s in Texas on a hunting trip for Christmas and doesn’t have to suffer through another year of watching “Pride and Prejudice” for the 49th time, decorating and gift giving…he has the luxury of stuffing himself with frozen burritos, and spending hours on end reading his favorite books on economics and travel adventure in a one-room cabin with some of his best friends. Enjoy it now, Dad…you may get roped back into the holidays next year. ;)

4) That Steve and I have such amazing families….that they all share such great sense of humors, relish scrumptious food, travel, reading, and being with us. We had the opportunity to go on another Abbey family vacation to Punta Mita, Mexico for surfing, kayaking, and gorging on Chilaquiles. Steve and I also made a trip out to visit my Mamacita for the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival this past October...four days of non-stop travel adventure filmmaking (I posted a blog about my favorites in October). My Dad also came out to visit Santa Barbara for the first time in about six years…and we had a blast watching movies, going target shooting (it's an Indiana thang), and whale watching.

5) That we have a roof over our heads and are financially solvent. It’s been a hard year for so many people who may have lost their homes in the fires here or through financial woes. I can’t help but feel blessed that we are living in Santa Barbara in a beautiful home. That our house and our kittens are fine and that although our house was evacuated during the third huge Santa Barbara fire that ravaged the hills above us...we're still here!

6) That I’m amazingly blessed to be heading on another adventure with my beloved Mama Chihuahua (Karen) and Baby Love (Steve) to Ecuador after the New Year for adventures in the Ecuadorean Andes….chasing wild horses, photographing wildlife and Quechua markets, trekking along ancient Incan roots, immersing ourselves in the gorgeous sounds of Spanish, and giggling together as much as possible~



7) That I’ve had the opportunity to engage again in the incredible Afro-Cali community of dance and drumming with my friends Lisa Beck and Budhi Harlow of Panzumo….that I’ve made such incredible friends through this family of musicians/dancers and that I continue having the opportunity to perform with Panzumo and the Djun Djun Mamas. If you're curious what kind of dancing and performing we do, I've included a couple of links to some short clips of our latest performances:

Djun Djun Mamas Drumming Ensemble on Winter Solstice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukDHHdBfL08

Panzumo Dance Performance of "Djole" at the Unitarian Church (Scroll to one third of the way through the clip to see our dancing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huCzBNTVhgo

Tribal Arts Fair Performance (On Facebook ): http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1215179744326&subj=626981652

I'm also super grateful that Steve is engaged in something which brings him equal joy: Jiu Jitsu! He recently earned his blue belt and is completely obsessed with studying new moves…regularly practicing “choke holds,” “rear naked chokes,” and “triangles” on me when we really should be cuddling instead. ;)

8) That King Bee continues to perform into our ninth year….We’ve been through so much over the past nearly a decade now…and we continue having the opportunity to play for such wonderful people and venues. It's been an incredible nine years, guys! I'm so grateful to have music in my life on a regular basis and to be playing in a community which truly values good music.


9) That Steve continues to be my intrepid partner on the good days and the more challenging days and that, no matter what issues arise in our lives, we’re able to communicate with each other through love, respect, and humor.

10) That I’m so blessed to have the friends in our lives that I do. Some of whom live several states away but whom are always close to my heart. These friendships are the bedrock of my life and give me the strength to keep going and the inspiration to do better on a daily basis!


11) That I’ve had the opportunity to grow professionally on several levels. This year I had my first national magazine feature in Women’s Adventure Magazine as well as several other fun stories in Destination Wine Country. More importantly, my photography has continued to evolve and grow. I’ve had the opportunity to photograph several incredible individuals this year with whom I’ve been able to deepen my connection. I look forward to this next year when I plan to devote even more of my time and creativity towards my photography. You can see some of my latest portrait sessions on this blog throughout the year or check out some of my new portrait galleries at www.rsthurston.com. I'll be regularly adding to my galleries there.



12) That my Mum and I continue to deepen our relationship with each other and continue to follow those pursuits which bring us so much joy! She’s doing lots of horseback riding, hiking, cooking, and dancing with her performance group, “Al Rakasaat.” If you haven’t seen her dance website which I finished this past spring, you’ve got to check it out here: www.turkishegyptiandance.com. I'm very proud of it! Besides putting the whole thing together for her, I also did all of the photography on the home page.

Overrall, I’m ending the year feeling incredible grateful for the gifts of this past year and I go into 2010 with the feeling that the ground has been cleared for some really powerful things to happen in this coming year. I was recently given a very heartfelt gift by my stepmother’s aunt who is a talented, whimsical artist. On the back of the canvas was a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche I’d like to live by in this next year of creativity and gracious living: “The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.”

And as my stepmother was famously known for saying, “Life is good, isn’t it?! “
Hoping that you have the courage to face things in your life which you need to change, the wisdom to recognize things you can’t, and that you start and end each day feeling grateful for all of the blessings in your life.

With Love, Great Affection, and New Year's Wishes,
Raquelita