ASH Photography – Page 2 – The Misadventures of MHC

Day 14: A Year of Change

February 14, 2014February 14, 2014 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, ASH General, ASH Photography, Current Events, My New Life As Me

The challenge was to post a photo from last year & discuss how I have changed. Normally, I’d say I’m the same girl I’ve always been, but that’s not true.

Last year, I felt life was hopeless. My daughter was mad at the world & I felt like a failure as a mom. My education wasn’t going well. My friendships were strained. My magazine folded & life without journalism felt bleak. I was healing from a breakup. I was freaking miserable.

But, I kept going. Sometimes, when life feels hopeless, all you’ve got are the little victories. I went to school today. I got my kid in therapy. I handed in my assignments. I went to placement & did well. Soon, those little victories become big ones. I finished school. I found a job. I did well at my job. I helped my child cope with anger & she’s doing well & doesn’t need counselling anymore. I became stronger & more self aware. All of these things helped me be happier.

Then there are the physical changes. I’m 15 lbs lighter. My arms are thinner. I wear a smaller size, and of course, the most obvious; my hair. My once jet black hair is now a warmer brown. The change brightened my face, made my eyes stand out & dare I say I feel like I’m prettier.

The year was hard but I’m grateful because once again I learned what I can accomplish if I try, which is a lot. So, I’m stronger, wiser & more at peace. These lessons I will take to my shiny new home, that I will move in to in 75 days.

Best I Ever Had

December 23, 2013December 24, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH General, ASH Photography, Celebrity Fluff, Current Events, Just Fun, MusicIsLifeIsMusicIsLife, My New Life As Me, Social Media, WWE Wrasslin'

AKA a series of photos detailing my year.

As I’m getting ready for my move, my plans & my amazeballs 2014, I wanted to showcase the awesomeness that was 2013 in a series of awesome photos.

So, in 2013, this happened…

So, I decided to celebrate. By torching my wedding dress.

Lifehouse concert...best show of the year. — Lifehouse concert…best show of the year.

My friend is leading a campaign against the Adventures of Tintin. She's doing fairly well I think — My friend is leading a campaign against the Adventures of Tintin. She’s doing fairly well I think

WWE wrasslin with the littles. I needed to be decked out too, so while they're in their AJ Lee digs...I chose CM Punk. — WWE wrasslin with the littles. I needed to be decked out too, so while they’re in their AJ Lee digs…I chose CM Punk.

Let the house hunting begin! On this empty train

I changed my hair colour for the first time in 10 years. I felt this warranted a mention. I'm not just that vain to put a random selfie in there...or am I? — I changed my hair colour for the first time in 10 years. I felt this warranted a mention. I’m not just that vain to put a random selfie in there…or am I?

The Angriest Tween's first concert: The Wanted — The Angriest Tween’s first concert: The Wanted

Since the Texan is too far away to celebrate with, we have to stick with Bitstrips where she hurls food @ me in front of the President

Have a great holiday everyone & I hope your year was full of awesome moments too.

Long Live

June 27, 2013June 27, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH General, ASH Photography, Just Fun, My New Life As Me

Look what I found today! My original portfolio, containing my first published pieces! Hard to believe that it’s been seven years, 200 articles & 26 feature interviews later & it’s still the only thing I want to do.

For The Nights I Can’t Remember

March 30, 2013April 1, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Photography, Dorkdom, Mommydom, My New Life As Me

“Mommy, why do you take so many photos?”

My 6yo asked me this today after I took about four photos of her in line waiting for the Easter Bunny. I told her its because she’s so pretty. But I do take a million pictures & showcase them on my various social networking sites (FB, Twitter, Instagram).

The reason is simple. The Notebook.

***Before you start with “God Dammit MHC, haven’t you drawn enough parallels to the Notebook,” hear me out***

The idea that I could end up forgetting my entire life freaks me out. I couldn’t imagine having ALS & forgetting the moments I hold most dear. Almost all of my favourite gifts to give are photos. They adorn my walls. I gave my one of my best friends a photo frame with every photo of her & her wife for Xmas. I gave another a frame for his desk of all of us when he got a new shift. My girls once made a book full of photos for someone they loved. When you look @ photos, you’re instantly transported back to that memory (I do the same thing with music. Certain songs remind me of certain moments & will always be attributed to that moment. I mentioned a few in a previous post.)

Not to mention there are so few photos of my childhood. No birthdays, no school photos, nothing. My childhood is a traumatic blur. I don’t want my daughters to have the same thing. I want them to laugh @ their baby photos & look back on trips to the park, old friends, etc. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to look back on my childhood & remember anything good, because there isn’t a single photo to remind me.

Bad memories linger like scabs we pick at while good ones fade to the background. That’s why photos are so important. It’s easy to forget that day at the park playing in the water, that hilarious time you goofed off in class, or that trip to the art gallery, but the fights linger on.

So, I take as many photos as possible so I can remember all of those days & nights & random moments that would otherwise fade to the back of my mind. Because as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m going to get old & my mind will weaken & some of the moments that I hold dearest will fade. That is why I take so many pictures, so that I’ll have them, long after the moment is gone.

Drive By

March 24, 2013March 24, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, ASH Photography, Just Fun, My New Life As Me

So…I fed these today. I only cried once. I did scream a lot. But…phobia conquered…sort of.

Everyone

February 19, 2013March 15, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, ASH General, ASH Photography, Celebrity Fluff, Dorkdom, Just Fun, My New Life As Me

Look what we did!

I know it might seem super lame to you, but to me this is a big deal.

When I started ASH Multimedia two years ago, it was originally a companion site for my former husband’s photography. He couldn’t generate interest in his photos, so he thought my writing would help. When we split up, I was unsure of what to do with it, so my dearest friend Drew suggested we work on it together…so we did.

For a good long time, I only had one fan. I adored my one fan. They meant everything to me because they were reading what I wrote. Then, more of you came and slowly, this little blog turned into something successful…sort of.

I write a lot of words. It’s all I do. Sometimes I write about my life and how I screw it up almost every second of every day. Sometimes I struggle to be a single mom. Sometimes I look at the latest mess I’ve gotten into. Sometimes, I just have an idea & want to share it with y’all. Maybe you’ve had the same thought and felt like someone got it. Maybe you thought I was an idiot. Regardless, you read this blog. Sometimes, you read it more than once. Some of you are regulars. So, whether you’re that one fan that kept me motivated for two years or someone who just popped in; thank you so much for reading my kooky little words. It may not seem like much to you, but it means everything in the entire world to me. No matter how successful I become as a writer or a person, I’ll always remember the day my little project reached this milestone and smile.

So, thanks for making my project something. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll keep writing if you’ll keep coming. If I’ve ever said anything that helped you, made you think or anything other than I’m an idiot, thanks. The one thing I hope you take into the next 10k is this: If you find that something I say makes you think of yourself, a moment in time or whatever, maybe there’s a reason. Maybe there’s something to it that you need to apply to your own life. We could all use a little guidance, and if in any way made you think, then I did my job as a writer well.

-MHC

The 2013 30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 7

February 17, 2013February 17, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Blog Projects, ASH General, ASH Photography, Celebrity Fluff

Day 7: Describe your dream job.

I’m just going to direct you HERE & HERE & HERE.

Explosions

February 4, 2013February 5, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Photography, Mommydom, My New Life As Me, Quotable Quotes and Potpourri, Relationships, When Things Suck Hard

Last summer, a really good friend of mine suggested that we start attending church. I find it to be a very positive experience and now that my girls are attending as well, I feel like it’s really helping us improve as a family.

Yesterday, my friend & I were inspired by the sermon we heard. We learned about how Jesus was nearly thrown to his death in his hometown of Nazareth for telling the people something that they did not want to hear. However, eventually the people calmed and let him on his way. This was coupled with the most famous Bible verse on love, which I’ve mentioned on this blog before, but I’ll repost for those who are too lazy to go back and look for it:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

It seemed like an odd pairing, as we go from a malicious attack on someone’s character to the gentle promise of love, which I guess it why my friend & I found it so interesting, so much so that I decided to share it with y’all. We all think of Jesus as this gentle, loving creature, but sometimes he was rather harsh and succinct with his comments towards people. He didn’t mince words and told people exactly what they need to hear, even if they didn’t like it. However, once people had a chance to calm down and reflect on his words, they realized that he meant them in the most loving capacity. He used the modern parallel of relationships; sometimes we have to tell our partner something that they don’t want to hear and they lash out, because the natural reaction to harshness is to be harsh back. When someone calls us on our crap, our reaction is to deny and make up excuses. However, once the initial anger dies down, you’re left with the realization that they likely meant no harm, they were reaching out because despite your current interactions, they care for you and wanted to help you. But you just lashed out and lied and hurt them (I know I’ve done this more than I’d care to admit).

Hence why the Reverend brought up Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Because love doesn’t end. Love cannot fail, even when it seems hopeless, love is still there. Love is not an emotion that is turned off. You can pretend it’s gone, but it’s there, lingering in your mind and no matter how you try to bury it or push it away, it remains constant, in your mind and heart and nothing, not even harsh words or a proverbial kick in the face makes it go away. Sometimes what seems harsh is actually one’s desire to protect the person they love most in the world. But in the end, when cooler heads prevail, you’re left with the realization that the person who seemed harsh, arrogant or even stupid was likely the one person in the world who cared about your feelings the most. But love will never reject you, no matter how stupid you’ve been, which was the lesson our Reverend wanted to convey yesterday. His message was that sometimes we will say something to someone and they will get angry and walk away, ignore you and hurt you. But in the end, they will realize that you said it because you love them…and they will know that you were right and they will eventually tell you. But you have to show the true meaning of love; be patient and let them come to you on their own and when they do, do not dwell on past infractions. Forgive, put them behind you and focus on the fact that you love each other.

Reblogged: Teaming with No H8!

January 24, 2013January 25, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH General, ASH Photography, Celebrity Fluff, Uncategorized

This is the article that I wrote about Andrew Freij & the No H8 campaign!

afreij

By: Mary-Helen Clark

Andrew Freij is more than just a pretty face, he wants to make a difference.

For many American young people, their 21^st birthday is an excuse to imbibe to excess, and cause mayhem. But for the Livonia native, it was an opportunity to speak out for a very important cause. The actor and model teamed up with the NO H8 campaign to support same sex marriage as well as LGBT rights and went on tour, visiting various cities across Canada and the US to promote tolerance.

“I didn’t want to go out and party, I wanted to support a cause,” Freij said.

“I have so many friends in the gay and lesbian community and I wanted to support them. My ultimate goal in life is to use my career to change something, I want to make a difference and the No H8 Campaign is just the…

View original post 262 more words

Kiss Me

January 23, 2013January 24, 2013 by maryhelenc, posted in ASH Photography, Celebrity Fluff, Dorkdom, Douchers, Quotable Quotes and Potpourri, Relationships, Seriously WTF?

“In the end, even if not in the short-term, love will conquer all.”

I found this quote on Twitter & I thought it was too cute.

It made me think as lately most of my friends are at these relationship crossroads. It happens to everyone after you’ve been with someone for more than a few months and that warm fuzzy infatuation feeling wears off and you’re in that real love stage. We all end up in that place and for some reason, when things get a little hard, one person wants to work on it while one person always seems to want to bail. We live in a society where love is disposable. When life gets hard, we throw it away & think everything gets better. Oh, we’ll get a new partner & it’ll be better…until chances are we ruin that relationship. It probably fell apart the same way too. But why?

Because the problem never went away…because the problem is you.

Yes, YOU.

You are the problem, just like I am the problem, everyone is the problem! The truth is that we think because we left a relationship, then we “fixed” the problem, when in fact the problem is still there. It’s internal and it’s never going to get better and just because you’re going to make the same mistakes over again.

Maybe you never tell your partners when you’re angry, so they’re constantly guessing why you’re mad and then you just walk away because well…they’re still doing that thing that pissed you off. People don’t read minds, how were they to know when you didn’t tell them? Maybe they asked and you said it’s fine (SUCH a chick move). Maybe you overreact when you need to have a frank conversation and cry, so that your partner doesn’t feel they can tell you when your relationship needs work. Maybe when you feel confused, you try to rationalize & take everyone’s advice but your own & make a giant mess & ruin everything. Maybe you bury your head in the sand like an ostritch and pretend everything is fine when in reality, everyone is pissed off and nothing is working. Maybe you displace aggression and yell about the floor mat but in reality you had a bad day at work. But there is something that needs work and that something is how you handle conflict, how you handle stress, how you handle arguments, you, you, YOU. The reason you can’t find someone is because of you.

This is one of the reasons I continually try to evolve as a person. I know that friendships and relationships end and it’s because of something I did (as well as something they did), so I try harder to improve myself because remaining static will only hinder your life’s journey.

However, chances are that much like the quote says, there is that one person that you can conquer odds with…eventually. Maybe it’s the person you’ve been with for years, maybe it’s that old flame that sticks out in your mind but you treated them really crummy. But that’s the person you need to know about the most and you will loop back over and over to that person. People believe once something fails, it’s broken but just because you’ve found “the one” doesn’t mean the path to forever is going to run smoothly. In fact, a lot of times there will be periods of damn hard. However, running away from the problem doesn’t make it go away. It just eats at you, damaging the rest of who you are until you become a broken person. Look at Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. Timberlake left Biel when she was hoping for a commitment and he wasn’t ready to settle down. He dumped her unceremoniously and slutted it up. Six months later, Timberlake went back to Biel and asked for another chance and the couple wed late 2012.

Sometimes things just don’t effing work at the time, but they won’t ever work if you don’t even try. They won’t work with the next person either. It’ll be a continuous loop of failed relationships until you look at yourself and start looking at how you treat others, how you communicate with them, how much you invest in actually attempting to make it work. But eventually, you’ll meet someone that you can’t stop thinking about no matter how many times you eff it up and eventually, it’ll work. I mentioned it back in September and it bears repeating, that couples who have been married 40 or 50 years will tell you that in their day, you fixed something when it didn’t work right, you didn’t just throw it away.