1/7/11 My daily dose of amusement.....

It never ceases to amaze me how amused we get with the cats...We have 2 of them now but this one just popped up on our doorstep a few months ago....my brother the tender heart that he is started feeding her while he was housesitting for us. She never really wanted to come in the house...but everytime we walked out on the porch she was laying there so sweet and always picked her head up to see us and looking like she was pleading with us to pet her....and of course we did....we tried bringing her in the house.....but Voodoo our other cat was having absolutely no part of that...He would chase her and they would hiss at each other and growl and into the couch she would go and hide...that lasted all of about 3 hours....and as soon as she caught the door open out she went...but she never ventured farther than the garage....so we let her be and just continued feeding her. Well when it got really cold outside, Shane and I decided that we didn't have the heart to leave her out there. So we went and got a second litter box and brought her back in...and then just watched and waited and hoped that Voodoo would be nice. Suprisingly after the first few hours they were great together. Now a few weeks later they are our daily dose of comedy....They chase each other around the house and bat at each other....one will be laying around the corner and the other will come by and get caught off guard and so begins the rumble....it is freaking hilarious...it is like our own personal episode of Tom and Jerry....Tonight was no different....This little one is comical all on her own....she chases her tail, and a ball all over the house and gets into small spaces apparently just to see if she can fit and then tries to bat at her tail...I love her so much....tonight's adventure consisted of a tabby cat and a 3/4 empty water case (plastic wrap).

I am so thankful that she chose our doorstep and our hearts are too big to turn her away.....she has truly been a blessing to my soul....she can be the sweetest thing and then go from angel to demon in like 2.7 seconds. We don't think she is more than a year old if she is that and she still has the playfulness of a kitten. I wouldn't trade her now for the world. Shane's favorite thing to say now is if you need some comic relief or if you are feeling down...just find the cats....LOL!

1/6/11 Something that makes me smile....

My mom tried so hard to teach me to crochet when I was a little girl...but I could never learn,....everything was always backwards for me. You see she was right handed and I was left handed, so I would always get frustrated and give up. I wish I had had more patience with myself and with crocheting. In the past few years I have come to absolutely love it. Although I have only finished a couple of projects, I tend to start a million. :) However in the last year I have gotten better at it. I am doing my best to finish the projects I have started before the end of January. I know that I can do it...I just have to put my mind to it....So when i finish this blog I am going to work on this particular blanket that is part of a Christmas present for someone very special to me. Now if I can just make the blanket look like the picture....(of course in different colors but you get the idea). I love love love my new basket that my honey got me for Christmas...now I can crochet ANYWHERE!!! I love him and he knows me well!  I hope you all have a wonderful night...and if you have something that you love to do....do it! The accomplishment is worth the fight!

1/5/11 Pictures that inspire me to keep picking up my camera and trying.....

I never let myself get so cocky that I don't think I can do better. If anything I am the complete opposite. I think that my photos don't measure up. I look at all these phenomenal photographers and wonder how in the world I can ever get as good as them....Then I look back at some of my pictures that have taken my breath away and I think did I really take that. The answer would be yes. I dont ever want to get to the point that I think I am the best there is. I want to keep that sense of wonder and excitement. The sense that makes me strive to do better.... this summer while Shane and I were in North Carolina we passed by this barn. I fell in absolute love. I made him stop, turn around and go back so that I could get a picture of it. Never dreaming that I would love the picture just as much as I loved the actual barn. It was one of those wow that's really my picture. I am so blessed to have a passion for what I do. I love what I do and I can only hope that it shows in my pictures. Every time I pick up my camera I learn something new. I hope that continues every time I get behind the lens.......

1/4/11 The beginning of the end....(so to speak)

I didnt take a picture today. Nor did I even touch my camera. It has sat in its bag all day long staring at me...saying hello you havent picked me up today...LOL! I was just having one of those days where I didnt really have the motivation to do ANYTHING! However this morning I was going thru some older pictures in a box that I want to sort and start archiving and ran across what has to be my most favoritist picture ever! It was an accident if you can believe that. My friend from school came to visit me when I lived in Phenix City, Al and we took her boys to the river walk and took some pictures of them... I was trying to pose them for some pictures and turned out ok...it was before I was really into photography. However as she and I were talking I was still snapping some of the boys playing, running around etc....I just happened to catch this shot. I HAVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH IT EVER SINCE. Sometimes I think that pictures was the whole reason I decided to become a photographer.....so I guess as they say it was the beginning of the end. :) A good end! I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love and love what I do! So here is where it all started! Thank you Joe and Kade for being such an inspiration to me.....

1/3/11 Another place to be myself...

 So this is my scrapbook cabinet....Kinda messy, really needs attention. This is another goal I have set for some me time. I love to scrapbook. I love to capture memories and preserve them. I take tons of pictures. Now I just have to do something with them. Its not like I dont have the stuff to do something with them. I just keep telling myself that I dont have the time. But it is time for me to make time! I have a TON of paper....a couple of kits, a ton of stickers, embellishments, etc. I just have to make time to do something with all of them. I have to put it in my head to get my creativeness back on track. This used to be one of my absolute favorite hobbies. I need to regain that love. I always feel so accomplished after I have made a page and preserved some kind of memory.

 This is All stickers, and cutouts, kinda like clip art. A lot of people have gotten into digital scrapbooking aka digiscrapping. I understand the concept and have even tried it....however I dont like it. It doesnt give me the same kind of satisfaction as when I actually get to cut and glue and make a mess...LOL!

 A couple of "COMPLETE" kits or so the box says. But they are NEVER really complete. There is always something to be added or you feel like something is missing. However it is a great base which is why when I find them on clearance, I always pick one up.
Sheets upon sheets of paper....bought on sale or on clearance just because it was pretty. And pretty it is...it is TOO pretty to just be sitting on the shelf in my cabinet! I see it at the store and think OOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhh that would be awesome with this that or the other picture, so I buy it or my sweet wonderful hubby buys it for me......and there is sits on the shelf.....I do the same with albums because they are so pretty and so expensive...so when I run across them I pick them up thinking that would make an awesome present but I never get around to putting it all together. So in 2011 I plan to finish some projects and get some things off of this shelf. I cant wait to share my creativity.!!!

Today was a very productive day. Both physically and emotionally. I got up this morning before 8am. and got my day started. It took a left turn when the appointment that was scheduled got cancelled. however I didnt let it derail me. I got on my computer and started my workday. Then the internet tried to derail me, the servers were down. But I didnt let it. I just went about doing other things and went back to it later and finally got some things accomplished. I am feeling really good about this year. Now if I can just keep my positive attitude and determination we will be doing alright. I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings.

1/2/11 How I lose myself...

 Just a few of my favorite places to get lost....so thankful for a husband who listens when I say I love this author..or when I point a book out and say I really wanna read that. These were a few of my Christmas presents from him.....I am so blessed! I LOVE YOU SHANE OATES! 

I love to read....for a little while I can slip into someone elses life. I can forget about all the drama and misunderstandings and chaos of my life and lose myself in someone elses world. I will pick up one of these books and before you know it somehow I have read half the night away. I can truly feel like I am someone else for just a little while and no matter what happened to me...I know that there will be a happy ending. This calms me and gives me a peace because although my problems are not gone, I have had time to get away from them and most of the time come back with a different perspective. Or at best a little less attitude. I dont know how many times I have read till I fell asleep and then woke up much happier. I know that most people think fairy tales are nonsense and romance is long gone....but I refuse to give up on either of them. My fairytale is my own and only I can write it. I hope to fill my life with love and family and friends. My goals for this new year are pretty simple. I have started thinking a little more about me. This past year was a tough one. I refuse to relive it. But I did learn quite a few lessons from it. One of my goals is to pick up a real PAPER BACK book more often and cuddle in a comfy chair or in my bed and get lost for a little me time.......

1/1/11 What inspires me

What inspires me today is this. A simple plant that with care grows and flourishes. I think that there are things in my life that I could apply this to. This plant started out as nothing but leaves, and now has green peppers that taste amazing and if left long enough and cared for turn into these beautiful sweet red peppers. I feel like there are little steps that can be taken in everyones life that if with a little care can grow and flourish. I am looking forward to 2011 and what this year holds for me as a person, as a wife, as a business owner, as a friend, and as an important part of my family. I have a lot to be thankful for. Today I am thankful for a small little pepper plant that made me think about and inspect parts of my life!