Lovely shades of brown

I accidently snapped this picture today when I was trying to get my camera to focus. Jayda was standing too close and I was trying to use the feature that blurs the background. So I turned the camera on a subject further away and captured this! I surprised to find it when I was looking at the images I took and for some reason I absolutely love it. I love how it makes my chairs look fabulously high quality, when really they are not and I love the muted colors.

I'll get the more interesting pictures of much cuter subjects posted later.

I found an amazing camera bag that I've fallen in love with. Actually pioneer woman posted it on her website and I did ravenous searching to find it. I've always wished I could find a cuter alternative to the boring black structured bags that are obviously camera bags, but without any style. This bag looks like a purse but has the protection and support that a camera needs. Plus all I really need to carry in my purse is a credit card, and a CAMERA!

Here is the link to the red one! Just incase you ever need a gift idea!! hehe

http://www.epiphaniebags.com/#/details-red/

Corn on the top

This was Jayda and Kaia's conversation today...

Kaia: Can you come over after school and play with me?
Jayda: Maybe, what are you having for supper?
Kaia: I dunno!
Jayda: I love spagetti. Maybe you should have corn on the top (corn on the cob). I love corn on the top too!
Kaia: So can you come over?
Jayda: What are you having for supper? Maybe Chili? My dad always makes chili...yuck
Kaia: giggles...I don't like chili either

Can we watch a movie?

Putting it in writing

I have a few goals for this year and I've always heard that you should put your goals in writing and make other people aware of your goals to hold you accountable. So here goes...

1. Graduate College
2. Set a budget and stick to it
3. Pay down credit card debt
4. Lose 30 pounds
5. Go to church

Those are in no particular order, so don't criticize me for not putting #5 in #1's spot! They are all #1's so I guess I shouldn't have numbered them!

I feel like 2010 is really MY year! A lot of things I have worked very hard for are finally coming to a point where I will see my efforts pay off. Number 1 in particular! I recently found a worksheet for budgeting that I'm going to begin using to track month to month spending and hold our budget to a stricter limit.

http://financialplan.about.com/cs/budgeting/l/blbudget.htm

That link has an excellent spreadsheet if anyone else feels the need!

We were actually going to start going to church this past Sunday, until the wind decided to blow the highway shut. I don't like to make excuses, but that was a pretty good one. Paisley also has decided she likes to scream, which also makes me hesitant.

Cuz I'm a country girl

These pictures are from the gravel road that I take to drop the girls off at daycare. Thankfully a very nice rancher generally takes his tractor out to clear a path before I get there in the morning. These pictures are after the plow had taken a pass. In the morning there is usually just a one lane tractor bucket width pass to get through. You can imagine what happens when the wind blows for 2 days straight...nothing but huge drifts to bust through! This drive gets a little western once in a while.

Secondly I wanted to report that I obviously have been packing my camera along since I vowed I would start carrying it at all times. I haven't discovered anything remotely picture worthy since then, but I did get to take the above pictures! I wish it was green grass I was seeing...suppose I'll have to wait for that.

Revelation

I just had a revelation a moment ago... I was sorting through things on my desk and found a coupon for 10% off my next text book purchase. So I thought to myself, oohh I better put that somewhere I'll be able to find it for next semester. ...

Wait..no...there ISN'T a NEXT semester. This is IT, DONE, Finito! yay. I love those kind of revelations. Much better than the kind that go something like...Oh yay its Thursday, oh wait no..its only Wednesday..shoot.

A few nights ago Jed and I had a laughing so hard my mascara ran all over my face moment. His didn't run..even if he wore mascara on his unfairly, ridiculously long lashes, it wouldn't have ran because I seemed to be the only one that laughed very hard...but that's nothing new!

So I came home from work and he had made a pot of chili. He had turned the burner way down because I was a little later than usual getting home. So I stuck my finger in it when I was scooping Jayda's to see how hot it was and found it wasn't very. So I cranked the burner up and got our bowls, drinks ect. Meanwhile Jed walked up and scooped his own bowl. I said, " Is that very hot?" So he stuck his finger in it and shouted, "HELL YEAH ITS HOT, as he quickly removed his scolded finger..."WHY DID YOU ASK ME THAT?" (note I'm cracking up right now trying to type this, much like I was cracking up on my home last night thinking about it again). It was utterly hilarious how he tried to get all mad that I would ask him if it was hot, as if I knew it was. When I burst into laughter he also found the humor and chuckled a bit. Probably not as funny retold, as it was when it happened, but still funny to me!

love and honor

The photo above is my little sister, Taylor, taken for her senior pictures. (no I didn't take them, I wish!!)

As I write this blog entry with her in mind, I ask that everyone reading this please include her in your prayers. And Taylor if you are reading this I hope you can gain some insight and finally understand how many people truly love you and are concerned for your future.

As I look at your picture, I can hardly believe you will be turning 18 tomorrow. I can remember the day my mom told me she was pregnant with you and even the exact location at a stop light on Omaha street near Sanfords. When you arrived, I video taped every possible moment Mom and Dad would allow me to until everyone was so sick of the video camera, my privileges were taken away. As you got older and more annoying, we definitely had our battles. They generally included nail polish, my room and a stealing habit I tried to break you of. Because of you, I got very handy at rigging my bedroom door shut with furniture, a lariat rope and my bed. I, of course had to crawl out the window to get out, but that was a minor setback compared to the anger I would experience if I didn't go to the trouble of blocking you out. As we both matured and grew up, we finally grew into a stage we could tolerate each other and came to realize one day we would wish we had this time back to spend together. Jed, Jayda and I have enjoyed our summers with you and all the help you are when you come to babysit. I'm so thankful for the time you've been able to spend with Jayda and for the chance for her to really know you. Living far from my family always worries me that my children won't "know" my side of the family in the way that I wish they could.

Now for the serious stuff...I don't know where to start or how to finish, but I have to express something in writing, since it's how I feel I am best able to express my thoughts and feelings. Life is a journey with many ups and many downs and sometimes, time is the only thing that heals us, changes us, motivates us, makes things clearer, or gives us an opportunity to change our path. I hope that you can find the time to take a long hard look at yourself, NOW and yourself in the future. Are the things you are doing now going to make an impact on your tomorrow, and are they the impact you had hoped for? We all live with regrets and things we wish we had done differently. There is no way to have really lived, without making some mistakes, stumbling and falling and feeling as though our world is falling in on top of us. The important part of making these mistakes and picking ourselves up off the floor, is our ability to learn from them and not let these small things, be our defining factor. Learn, grow, and trust in God.

There comes a point in your life when you have to take control of your future. The things you are doing today WILL change your tomorrow. You have all the support in the world at your fingertips, we are not your enemy and we are not looking down upon you. We are standing behind you, cheering you on and anxiously hoping you will begin taking the right steps. So many before you, have walked in your same steps. We have also faced hardships and struggled to find our direction. We've felt like giving up when we had to face things we wished would just go away. You are strong enough, you are smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you!

When Grandpa died, I remember thinking of all the things I wished he would have been able to see. I thought of you and your high school graduation, all the great-grandkids birthdays, the birth of Paisley, Jayda in her first rodeo, running barrels, me graduating college. All the things he wouldn't miss for the world, because he
believed in accomplishments, honor and pride. And when he left this world, he left a family full of pride, honor and the accomplishments he worked so hard to gain. Nothing was ever handed to him, it was earned and all the better because it was earned. Now the responsibilty is in our hands, to honor his name and the life he created for us. Although he will not physically be in presence at the events I mentioned earlier, we know spiritually he is always with us, always watching.

Over productive

As I write this, it is currently 10:06 pm. I am usually fast asleep by 9:30 at the latest..if I can hang in there long enough to watch some of the news and decide if it will be cold enough to wear jeans to work tomorrow, or if I'll have to suffer another day in dress pants that I Oh So despise. I'm unsure what bothers me so much about them, but each day that I can wear jeans is just a better day for that simple fact. I love jeans. They are my favorite.

Anyway, I strayed from my point and got lost in my jeans..hehe. I'm WIDE awake and I have been zooming through this house like nobody's business since the moment I got home. Not sure what's gotten into me, but I like it! I'll recap... worked some overtime on storm invoices (couldn't stop myself). Left work, picked up kids, came home, ate supper that was wonderfully already on the table. I love that man! Cleaned up supper, tried feeding Paisley applesauce and she actually enjoyed it a little this time around. Gave Pais and Jayda baths, dried and clothed them. Fed Pais a bottle then laid her down after googling at her for a good hour and snuggling her so hard it makes her giggle! Made some valentine boxes with Jayda and put candy in them, watched some American Idol and facebooked simultaneously. Then made 2 dozen heart shaped cupcakes, frosted and sprinkled them. Made more valentines for Jayda to give to her classmates at Head Start and wrote their names in pretty writing for her! At this point Jed went to bed since he was bored by Lost..that or he was just "lost!" Next I filled out a gazillion papers for head start stuff and moved on to homework. Took a Electronic Commerce test and got 30 out of 30, somebody stop me!! I actually am pretty proud that I've found a secret way to get perfect scores and I'm not sure if the professor even knows this is possible, so I'm not going to out myself and inform anyone else. Between you I, however...He posts reviews that contain all the test questions, so I've figured out how I can go back and forth between the review and the test to make sure all my answers are correct. I'm fairly certain if he knew this was possible he would put a stop to it...but again...this is our little secret. Now I'm on to blogging just because I can and I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do. G'night all!

Foxy lady

This was sent to me by email and it was too cute not to share!





A doctor on his morning walk, noticed the old lady above,

sitting on her front step smoking a cigar, so he walked up to her and said,

"I couldn't help but notice how happy you look! What is your secret?"

"I smoke ten cigars a day," she said. "Before I go to bed, I smoke a nice big joint.

Apart from that, I drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels every week, and eat only junk food.

On weekends, I pop pills, get laid, and don't exercise at all."

"That is absolutely amazing! How old are you?"

"Thirty-four," she replied.

Rise above

I was looking back through some older posts from January and realized I failed to mention how great my new work environment is. How I managed to omit such a hugely happy fact is beyond me, but it appears I did. January 1st my office roomie that literally drove me crazy, got to move into her own office! OHHHH HAPPY DAY! It is incredibly amazing how much better each day has been since this event occurred. It's not that I don't like this person, or that she is a bad person. She just has no perception of her surroundings and no respect for others personal space. Anyway, work is no longer quite so awful and each day is no longer a struggle. Now if the other person who can't seem to mind her own business and is constantly "reporting" things she "notices" to supervisors, would take a hike, we'd be good to go. Well... almost...

I just have a hard time dealing with people who put on such a holy, pure persona but turn around and act in such a deceitful manner. They are consumed with themselves and only pretend to be remotely interested in your life. You can tell this when they ask you a question, then cut you off mid sentence and begin talking about themselves..again. I really dislike the fact that there are people in my life that I feel I have to sensor. You have to be careful what you tell them or what they see you doing because they will inevitably use it against you, no matter how harmless it really is. Lately where I park my car seems to be the issue...ridiculous.

I guess I've learned there are always going to be people we have to guard ourselves against, much like we guard ourselves against evil. We must keep our guard up at all times and refuse these people the opportunity to let their evils influence us. Rising above the pettiness of their daily battles and staying true to the person God wants us to be, must always remain in our hearts.

Stop and smell the roses..and take a picture while you're at it

Lucy meets Jayda, one of my favs

I am not a person who enjoys winter in any way shape or form. However I hear myself saying each day, "I wish I had my camera with!" I don't know if it's just the fact that I love pictures, or if I'm seeing the world in a new way lately. At any rate, I've decided I need to start carrying my camera with me at all times, because I'm seeing some incredibly beautiful things each day that deserve to be captured, at least in print! The moon a few nights ago was incredible as I drove home and it peeked through the power lines (that weren't laying on ground!). The frost this morning on the most perfect tree line, couldn't have painted a prettier picture. Last Friday a herd of AT LEAST 75 deer crossed in front of me. I was in awe, mainly that I didn't hit any of them, but also at how many there were. Truly something you have to capture in a photo to prove just how many there were.

I really think it's God speaking to me each day, giving me photo ops nearly twice a day and waiting for me to listen. I'M LISTENING! I see my signs and I promise I will begin seizing my opportunities. I don't know if these images will lead me somewhere, but I do know they will give me great happiness and enjoyment, as photography is the world I wish I lived in.

So maybe you'll be seeing some neat pictures and maybe not, but I have decided to pull the car over and take the time to enjoy the beauty that I pass by each day.