TAG - We're It!

Ha ha, this is so much fun! We've been tagged twice in the last two days... in the great online community of professional photographers, our friends are writing 8 little known facts about themselves on their blogs, then "tagging" 8 more photographers to do the same. The lovely and creative photographers Angela Anderson AND Amanda Harris both brought us into the loop by tagging us... so I'll write my 8 and then turn it over to Matt to write his 8 as well...

Enna said:

1) I spent my younger childhood years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, in a small town called Halfway (maybe some of you have heard of the town that renamed itself "Half.com" during the dot-com revolution...). We had a few pigs, chickens, goats, and sheep, but our real livelihood was from the newspaper that my mom founded. I helped my mom in the darkroom, and that was my first experience with photography. Since then I've gone through a long list of things i "want to be when I grow up" (archaeologist, poet, painter, doctor, judge - not a lawyer, just a judge :)...), but photographer was the very first one. The farm was affectionately - or dis-affectionately, depending on who you ask - known as "halfway house"... hmmm what does that tell you about my childhood... anyway, for breakfast I often carried a bowl of fresh milk out to the garden where I filled it with fresh raspberries, which I ate right there. We had a summer kitchen, which was an outdoor kitchen with no walls on two sides, and that was a lovely place for summer dinners and parties.

2) I love to read about food. I will happily read cookbooks, surf foodie websites and blogs, shop gourmet grocers, and read food magazines for hours on end. My cookbook collection drives Matt crazy because it takes up a lot of space but I don't actually use the cookbooks very often.

3) I really really really want to visit Iceland. I've planned a couple of trips there but both fell through (first for our honeymoon which got cancelled because I started a new job right after the wedding), and 2nd for an overland trek which I cancelled because we got pregnant with Ollie. One of my favorite movies is "Cold Fever" which - you guessed it - is set in Iceland. Okay, at this point I have to admit, I'm a total armchair traveler: I've planned lots of trips all over the world, including to Italy, Trinidad&Tobago, Nepal, Mali, France, Russia, Ecuador, Hungary and more... I can't wait till my boys are big enough to start taking them to some of these places.

4) ... I'm writing this next item because I was inspired by Davina Fear's tell-all tagging post: I delivered both of my sons naturally... need I say more? Ollie's labor was 34 hours, Will's was 2 hours. Don't know if this is related, but Ollie is MUCH more patient than Will.

5) I earned a "Basic" level license in the Urasenke Tea Ceremony Family, while I was a member of the Tea Ceremony Club at my high school in Japan. I think that means I can visit the private Urasenke House if I ever visit Japan again, though I've forgotten a lot of the ceremony...

6) I eat a bowl of cereal and take a really hot bath every night before bed. I can't sleep if I haven't done both of those things. They are usually accompanied by a book, magazine, or fiendish sudoku. I usually forget the bowl next to the tub and there it sits... that drives Matt TOTALLY crazy. Maybe Justin Marantz and Matt should start a support group.

7) chocolate. coffee. coffee. chocolate.

8) I love the smell of my boys, even when they're stinky: I will stick my nose in their hair or the backs of their necks, and kiss them over and over again.

9) I love the mountains. Matt laughs when I say this because we've hardly had time to venture out into the wilderness in the years we've been together, but I really do feel most at home when I have rock underfoot and breathe that fresh crisp low-oxygen air.


Matt said:
OK. Here it goes. I've been tagged.

1. I don't like sitting in front of a computer. It's a funny thing considering that I make my living and art with digital technology. The truth is, Enna does 99.9% of our blogging:) I do write sometimes. I was trained as a darkroom guy, I miss the darkroom, and can't wait to buy a barn and build a darkroom. When that happens you may never hear from me again, JK. I like to edit on the computer, but I don't like investing the time into learning all the new software that comes out. I'd much rather be outside. So I hope you all understand why I don't blog much, and post on other people's blogs much. I do read blogs sometimes. I like checking in with Justin and Mary. Their wedding is going to rock! Can't wait.

2. Nothing makes me happier than being a dad. Having children is hands down the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I love being woken by them jumping on our bed. I love it when they spill milk, scream in public, and draw on the walls. I love it when they laugh, give bear hugs, and learn new things.

3. Mattion is my nickname, Matthew is my birth name. When I was about 6 or 7 years old I watched the movie Papillon with my siblings. The next day my older brother was in charge as the parents were gone. I became a bit unruly, and he tried to lock me in a room. I say tried. My successful escapes earned me the nickname Mattion, a play on Papillon, created by my sisters who were not much older than me. Because of my sisters age at the time, Mattion is not correctly spelt. The correct spelling should be Mattillon, or so I am told. In high school I would sign all my art given to family with the name Mattion. As I became an adult it stuck, and when I became a professional photographer I decided to keep using it for two reasons. One, to remind me that life should be fun and doesn't have to always have correct spelling, and Two, to show thanks to my family for always supporting me no matter what.

4. I never ever went to any school events that occurred after school hours. Not one game, dance, rally, or anything. Except my Junior prom. I didn't even go to my senior prom. I hated school as a kid. Instead I went to rock concerts, and skied :) No regrets. I had a blast.

5. I often dream of outrageous snowboarding stunts. The most common is a long jump. I'm a freestyle rider, so I like to go fast, make long carves, and jump low and far. I use to do tricks, but after a cracked vertebrae in my neck, a broken collar bone, torn ligaments and cartilage in my ankle, a slight concussion and other small injuries, I've decided to take it easy on the slopes. I haven't been riding much since we have had kids, so I make up for that with these outrageous dreams.

6. There are many reasons why we choose to marry someone. Besides the fact that I think Enna is beautiful, smart and caring, I know I can trust her more than any other person I have ever met. I tell her everything, and have since day one. Our trust was instant. Once I realized this I knew I had to marry her. Now it's time for a confession. Enna, the reason I forgot to get the event cards for a certain event was because I snuck out of the office to see the movie Transformers. I love you honey:)

7. I don't like to read fiction. I read National Geographic and true adventure stories. I often dream of having some great adventure in life that will be worthy of a book. Is that a near death wish? I hope not. I'm just fascinated reading about the strength people find in themselves, both mentally and physically, to beat the odds and survive. John Shackleton is one of my heroes, along with Rocky and Yoda.

8. I have a life list. My life list is a list of things that I want to do before I'm gone. Some examples: Own a nice sport fishing boat, surf Hawaii's north shore, see the Northern Lights in Iceland, go to Tokyo, gives toasts at my boys weddings, and be a grandfather. There is more, but I think that's enough. Many I have done, such as being married to an amazing person and having a family. But I need to share the reason for which I have created such a list. I lost three of my best friends to suicide. One happened during the last weeks of school during my sophomore year in high school. The second happened three years after high school, and the third was a drug overdose, which I choose to call a suicide. The first two were the toughest because they both went out of their way to say goodbye to me. I had no idea that they were saying goodbye, but as I look back it's clear to me that they were. When my third friend died it was a wake up call to me. A wake up in the sense that I realized that I was 25 years old and did not have a vision of how I wanted to live my life. It made me step back and look at who I was, and ask myself what I wanted to be. I literally dropped everything and took action to create a better life. I left my home town, enrolled in a college, was a great student and had a blast. I even participated in extra curricular activities, met my wife, found my passion (photography) and here I am. My life list is nothing more than things I wish my friends could have experienced.

Peace,
Mattion


Enna's addendum: I knew Matt would pour his heart out into this... that's why I married him! Love you Matt! He should be the one blogging for us!



TAG, you're it:
Tabitha & Larry Sherrell (and their adorable son Eldon)
Krista Guenin
Christine and Andy of Bello Photo
Shawn Reeder
Hot Pepper and her Haut Husband Mitch (whose blog is definitely due for a new post)
Sean and Cathy Cayton

You all better join in now! :)