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Introducing…Picture Birmingham.

March 3, 2014March 2, 2014 Rachel Callahan Actually Possibly Informational, I Love Birmingham, I Play at Photography, Newsflash, Picture Birmingham, The WellHouse

If I’ve seemed a bit scarce, quieter than usual, or really slow on email responses the past couple of months, it’s because I’ve been completely consumed with designing a new project and website.

So here it is: Picture Birmingham.

First, a bit of back story.

Last summer, I felt compelled to get involved with a local ministry, The WellHouse. God kept bringing them to my mind and putting articles in front of me about the stunning things they were doing. I resisted at first, because I don’t handle tragedy well – and their ministry is the rescue of women, men, and children from sex slavery. They were seeing and dealing with tragedy every day – tragedy that most of us don’t think happens in the United States. But it does. And one of the interstates running through Birmingham is the number one avenue for sex trafficking in the nation.

I emailed them and offered to serve. I met with Alexa, their Director of Development and listened, mouth agape, at her tales of the horrific things happening in my city, near my house, and around the nation. How they had recently saved a girl who had been trafficked for 20 years from one of the most affluent suburbs of Birmingham. How they had flown as far as Washington State to rescue someone – because they were one of the only groups who would.

She explained to me the intricacies of trafficking – how our laws are set up to punish the prostitutes, and that’s how pimps enslave these girls – by manipulating them with fear of police and promises of protection. The Wellhouse is also involved in training police and talking to legislators, but it’s an uphill battle.

I knew I must help, but I didn’t know how. It was unclear and fuzzy, and neither she or I could quite nail down a plan at the time. Then I got sick. With months of doctor’s visits and uncertainties, I knew the timing wasn’t right, and I put The WellHouse in the back of my mind – still thinking about them, still feeling compelled, but not knowing what I could do to help.

That was also when I started taking photos of Birmingham. Mostly sunsets, but with others mixed in.

Chris figured it out quicker than I did that these photographical journeys – the thrill of chasing the sunset, trying to catch it at just the right angle, not missing the perfect moment – that this was therapy for me. It made me forget my fears about what was wrong with me, gave me an adrenaline rush, and put a smile on my face.

So Chris began to find a way to take me on a sunset journey nearly every night. And Birmingham isn’t an easy place to find a good view of the skies – we have a LOT of hills and trees.

It became ridiculous – many of my friends were making fun of me for my sunset obsession, but I couldn’t quit. The skies – and my city – had fully captured my heart.

But I have never considered myself a photographer. I liked how my photos looked on my tiny iPhone screen and they made me happy, but I never thought they were good enough to print.

Until I did – on a whim.

They surprised me by looking quite lovely. They brought the joy of the sunset chasing right into my living room, every moment of every day.

Then other people started to ask if they could buy prints, and God started to put the pieces together for me. I could use this new passion He’d given me to benefit The WellHouse. It offered me a platform to help them build awareness on social media, as well as a way for me to support them financially. I could sell prints of the best of my photos, and give all the profits to their ministry. Perhaps this was why God made me obsessed with sunsets. Perhaps, just maybe, this was even why I got sick.

Working on this new site has actually helped in making me feel better, giving me something to focus on and work toward, with the excitement of knowing that God has put this mission on my heart.

(Heart medicine has also been quite helpful. But a new project never hurts.)

The new site has a shop, where I am selling prints (on gorgeous 100% cotton art archival paper), canvases (gallery wrapped), and my favorite product, luxuriously printed notecards. All of the products are locally printed and distributed by the amazing team at Alabama Graphics, and 100% of the profits will go to The WellHouse.

The site also has a PhotoBlog, where I have archived my near-daily photo journey since June, and will continue to add photos as I take them.

The photos will not all be from Birmingham. I have documented the Smoky Mountains, Lake Eufaula, Nashville, North Alabama, Georgia, Orlando, and the Alabama Gulf in the PhotoBlog, and will continue to photograph any areas to which we may travel (Asheville, North Carolina is next.) I will add new photos for sale occasionally, and not all of those will be from Birmingham, either. So even if you’re not local, perhaps the site may hold some interest to you – or at least increase your appreciation for my city and my south.

I’ll be talking occasionally about The WellHouse as time goes on, sharing their projects and ministry. And once this new site is running smoothly, I promise to be back to my normal 100% presence here as well.

So thank you for sticking with me during this busy time, and please check out the amazing things The WellHouse is doing – you can follow them on their website, Facebook, and on Twitter.

And of course, you can visit Picture Birmingham by clicking here.

Special thanks to my husband Chris, who started the whole obsession, came up with the Picture Birmingham name, and made it possible for me to spend dozens of hours in the past few months on this project. Also thanks to Wade Kwon, who designed the beautiful logo and walked with me through many business and media decisions; to James Spann, for encouraging me to take on this journey; to my fantastic tech guy, Chris Rasco, who put up with my request of working together to design the site; to Kelli at Alabama Graphics for tirelessly answering hundreds of questions and printing dozens of proofs until I approved every inch; to Carla Jean Whitley and Jamie Golden for helping me make things pretty; to Ebony Hall, for understanding the vision of my project and trusting me with two interviews before I’d even launched (I’ll be on ABC 33/40 today in the 4pm hour and Wednesday in the 9am hour); and to my parents and babysitters who helped tremendously with my kids throughout this process. I’d have never finished it on my own, and I am so grateful for your investments into this project.

Taking Issue With the Compliance Department.

February 24, 2014February 23, 2014 Rachel Callahan A Day in the Life, Boy Child = Bizarre., I embarrass myself just for your amusement., Just My Luck, Parent of the Year, Toddlers: The Experience

Dear Noah,

We took a break from our potty-training failures so that I could take you to the dentist last week. It was only your second trip ever, and your first time to get x-rays.

And you were an angel.

I need you to know that I am not okay with this.

First of all, let’s talk about getting up onto the table and laying down.

Have you ever laid down on command when I’ve asked you to?

No.

And certainly not when I needed to perform some sort of function. I mean seriously. You will fight harder and longer than Reepicheep himself when I simply need to remove a giant nasal-blocking booger hanging halfway down your upper lip. But you’re going to hop up on the bed for a masked stranger, happily open your mouth, and allow her to poke your teeth with a sharp metal hook while you act like nothing peculiar is happening at all?

Really.

Really???

You’ve never willingly opened your mouth for me even when I offered you some delectable treat. Yet you’re going to lay there on that table, happily agape even when she has her back to you, acting as if you’re the most perfectly submissive and joyfully obedient child on the planet.

You do realize that it took your extraordinarily compliant sister three failed visits and TWO YEARS to even open her mouth at the Dentist’s Office, right?

But you know what she DID do, without hesitation or fight?

SHE POTTY-TRAINED. When I asked her to.

Sure, she had a natural fear of being gagged by the spit spray and sucked up by the saliva vacuum – that’s perfectly reasonable. But she didn’t mind peeing in the correct receptacle.

Novel idea.

But you. YOU.

You don’t mind the dentist at all.

The hygienist asked you what flavor toothpaste you wanted, and you simply PICKED A FLAVOR and then – THEN – you were happy with your choice!

I try to get you to taste a new dessert and you scream like a pig. Then I force a bite into your mouth and you gag it back up onto my shirt without even tasting it.

(Seriously – just in the past month – Snow cream and Fruit Crisp. Remember those?)

And we won’t even discuss vegetables. Or casseroles. Or soup. Or meat other than chicken fingers.

You happily acquiesced when they sat you on a stool way too high for your feet to touch the ground and enswathed you in a ridiculously heavy cape (“I’m Batman!!”, you exclaimed) – you were so totally okay with the whole thing, despite the fact that the faux lead turtleneck was certainly cutting off your airway.

But I try to sit you on a toilet where your feet do reach the ground and remove clothes rather than put heavier ones on and what do you do?

Why not be Batman then?

Because I can guarantee you one thing. BATMAN DOESN’T WEAR A DIAPER.

Okay. He kinda does. But I’m sure that’s only because of the intensity of his adventures.

And then she shoves a giant plastic rectangle the size of your ear into your mouth while holding your head in place. And what do you do?

You let her. Quietly and with perfect poise.

YOU CAN BE CHOKING AND TURNING PURPLE BUT IF I TRY TO STICK MY FINGERS IN YOUR MOUTH TO SAVE YOUR LIFE YOU BITE ME WITH THE FEROCITY OF A HUNDRED SHARKS.

Then the Dentist came in and poked at your teeth again. While you had sparkles in your eyes and dimples on your cheeks.

I try to trim your toenails and you turn into a Wildebeest. And my hands end up looking like I’ve been attacked by ten feral cats.

I’m pretty sure the Dentist could have given you open heart surgery without as much as a teaspoon of Children’s Tylenol and you would have still acted like the most precious angel that ever did live.

I just try to get you to take Children’s Tylenol and I end up with a backache.

So. Can we trade dental serenity for potty-training compliance?

Because you only have to go to the dentist two times a year, but you have to pee six times a day.

(I’m not even asking for poop right now. I’m a reasonable person.)

Also? I just want to remind you that I let my doctor cut you out of my abdomen. The dentist has only even met you twice.

Gimme a break.

Sincerely,

Your Loving Mother.

p.s. I need you to know that if you don’t take me up on the trade, I might consider leaving you on the Dental doorstep. Because they make you a better person.

Pitfall, The Shopping Edition.

February 17, 2014February 16, 2014 Rachel Callahan Don't Listen to my Fashion Advice, HauteLook, Shopping: A Girl's Best Friend, Weird Strange and True

I have a horrible confession.

I’ve been cheating on Zulily.

Not only have I been cheating on Zulily, but I’ve completely abandoned my daily Zulily Browsing, which means no more Weird Strange and True posts for you.

However, I’ve replaced her with a new App Mistress: HauteLook.

This exposes a growing selfishness in my heart, because where my Zulily purchases were mostly centered on the children, HauteLook is for me…all for me. They are the new supplier for my Denim Addiction, outfitted me singlehandedly for Fall and Winter, and have tempted me into buying more cute dresses than I’ll ever need.

But although they have fantastic deals and fabulous clothes, they also have some Zulily-esque finds as well. And, since they’re run by Nordstrom, their odder items are, at times, puzzlingly expensive.

So. Let’s get started.

I know firsthand how unflattering large-scale Houndstooth can be. Thanks to HauteLook, the world now knows that adding lime green to it does not fix the problem.

Also. Can we call it a “track short” if its accompanying adjectives are “leather and silk”? Then again, Elle Woods would have needed something to wear during PhysEd.

However. A Leather and Silk Track Short is infinitely more attractive, practical, and non-Cameltoe-inducing than….these.

Cable Knit has never been treated so wretchedly, not even by The Cosby family.

There’s nothing that sets off a Giorgio Armani Sweater like Mom Trousers. Mom Trousers from 1988. Mom Trousers from 1988 that are five sizes too large.

Mom Trousers from 1988 that are five sizes too large and two inches too short.

If you told me that model didn’t punch a wall after that particular photo was shot, I wouldn’t believe you.

Fortunately, they have non-mom options. You might remember these from my Christmas Post, but they’re so special they really deserve to be mentioned again.

Because I might have had nightmares about that Giant Golden Indiana Jones Beetle snapping at my crotch. And now you can, too.

But if you prefer your jeans to have more of a human touch, then this is the pair for you.

I’m pretty sure they both answer to “Thigh Gap Police.”

Speaking of Thigh Gap, I feel like I should start a petition for HauteLook to feed their models. Because either this one has an Alien Baby about to disembark or there’s a stray rib cutting a hole in that dress.

And I’m pretty sure it’d take a diet of strained Kale and 20 Jillian Shreds a day to give me…is that a two-pack? But one thing is for certain. If that dress so prominently displays her abs…what it would do to mine would be considered illegal in 27 states.

And this dress, despite the fact that her ribs are supporting the star, still makes her look like she has a baby belly. Which means it’d make me look at least 15 months pregnant.