and just like that, it's here

may your christmas days be filled with more love and laughter than 

you can even imagine.

~

{and cookies. don't forget the frosted covered sugar cookies. 

may your christmas days be filled with those, too}

we're all out of almond bark

why is it that target can't seem to keep almond bark on the shelves this time of year? obviously i'm not the only one who knows that their almond bark is the best. last week i got the last package in the store. yesterday, nothing. i had to resort to white baking chips. they'll probably suck.

lately for lunch, i've been having scrambled eggs. i can't really do eggs for breakfast, but by noon they are calling my name. i will put anything in my eggs {spinach, onions, green peppers, mushrooms} but they MUST be finished with a heavy dose of goat cheese. OMG....so amazingly delicious.

for most of you, you know my love and involvement with help-portrait. this year was the year all of years since we had TWO locations. the second location was at the food pantry where i volunteer and with 585 clients photographed at pantry number one and 189 photographed at pantry number two, i am blown away.
in explaining to someone today who knew nothing about help-portrait, she asked, "and what do you do, or do they do with the photos?" and i told her that for most of these families that these are the first family photographs they have ever had...and once again, i got all teary eyed. i have worked the past few years with amandalynn, our amazing madison coordinator for help-portrait and here's
an article she wrote. see how many times you see me {look carefully} and my hubby. {who by the way has always helped with HP but was a HUGE help this year...thanks babe}

the social security site yesterday said i don't qualify for benefits...that i haven't worked enough hours. well they can take that information and shove it. i was a stay at home mom who worked her butt off and volunteered for everything that my children were involved in and just because i didn't "pay into the system," on paper it looks like i didn't do anything. {insert a volcano erupting}
whew. that's off my chest.

do you re-gift? i do. just saying.

i love ellen and my dream is to be part of her 12 days of christmas. yesterday was a good day. they all got trips to resorts in mexico. honestly, i'd be happy with a target gift card that i could use to stock up on almond bark...if they ever restock the shelves.

i can't do it…..

i can't shoot when it's less than ten degrees outside. seriously, i can't. i think i'm allergic to air when it's not heated to at least twenty degrees, but even then, the sun better be out and the wind better not be blowing.

so let's just pretend i took these photos this week {instead of two weeks ago} to show you our six inches of snow and how all the gaps that fall left behind are filled with what looks like creamy white frosting. okay? thanks :)  

last weekend was madison's help-portrait event and we photographed 585 people and 14 dogs. it was a HUGE day and i'm so grateful to be part of this amazing group. this weekend we do it all over again, because the need is that great and our group decided to do its first, "second location." i just can't tell you how wonderful it is to give families in need, a photo of themselves.

i don't know what i'd do with all my time if i wasn't watching videos that go viral and end up on facebook…so today i have to share this one with you. it will melt your heart and make you laugh. kids are amazing, aren't they? talk about just being yourself.

like walking through a cloud…..

it was forty degrees when i changed into my walking clothes and hiking boots late yesterday afternoon and i raised a "want to come with me" eyebrow towards my hubby. he looked at me and smiled.

a thick and extremely wet fog had engulfed our entire town and was holding it hostage and i was determined to get up close and personal with it.

usually by this time of the year, my ability to see mother nature's beauty has dwindled and i pout, but not yesterday. yesterday i saw a stillness and a softness and even a spookiness that took my breath away. the ground beneath our feet didn't make a noise, even though it was still covered in leaves. instead, it was soft and quiet and i think somehow mother nature knew that "she" had thrown out her version of a red carpet for us to walk on.

my baby has been housebound for too long now. days have been spent kicking and screaming and without the darling personality she came home with, but yesterday, she was a happy camper. she cooperated beautifully and loved being out in the fog just as much as i did. i'll never really worry about her or any of her siblings and being outside with them. they were all born weatherproof. snort.

when we finished our walk and were heading towards the car, i noticed how damp our clothes were. my hubby said, "it was like walking through a cloud" and i smiled. it truly was just like that.

i'm so grateful he's retired now and gets to do spur of the moment, middle of the day things with me. blessed, i tell you. we are truly blessed.

partaking in the pecan pie…..

happy thanksgiving everyone

~

i hope today especially that you're surrounded by loved ones. it doesn't matter if they're family or  friends or the next door neighbors…they're the ones that make you feel warm and safe...and hopefully one of them makes an amazing pie.

if you're reading this, thank you. thank you for letting me into your online life and believing that i have something that will inspire you or make you laugh. maybe it's a photo that will bring a smile to your face or hopefully, like i said above, it's a few minutes of making you feel warm and safe inside my little world here.

"tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to everything else in the universe"

~john muir~

serious business…..

just a week ago, it was still there. 

the beauty of fall.

the kind of weather that makes me silly. 

or at least makes me do silly things.

~

now it's cold. seriously cold.

personally, i hate it.

~

anyone with me

??

you're being ignored.....

sheepishly, that's what i told my blog just now..."you're being ignored."

if she could have, she would have given me a cold shoulder, looked the other way and then sulked. instead she just sat there.

she knows i need to "clean things up" and that my "pages" are messy and a new banner needs to be made, but yet she doesn't make me feel bad about it. i make myself feel bad about it. i pinky swore with her that i'd get my act together and fix things between us. she rolled her eyes, but in a warm "i love you and would be nothing without you" kind of way. snort.

i used to be such a faithful blogger and i still am when things are happening and the outdoors are pretty...but when life is great, just not photo worthy and cold weather is peering at me through the "it gets dark now at 3pm" windows, i'm left feeling like other things are more important. like surfing tumblr for hours and hours and hours. don't judge. it's where i find my inspiration. well, that's at least what i tell people who want to know why i surf tumblr for hours and hours and hours. see, it makes sense if you think about it.

anywhooooooo...this saturday, i'm shooting "feast for the turkeys" at the heartland farm sanctuary and my hubby is my second shooter. i am beyond excited to share this day with him. i have volunteered for them before, photographing one of their barn dances, in which he got to come with me and i was grateful he was there, but this time he's shooting, too.

want to know a secret? he's an amazing photographer and loved photography long before i ever did. yep, seriously friends, he's really really good and knows way more than he lets on. oh, and that beard...lordy, it's just getting better everyday!!

i cried this afternoon telling him two new "feel good" stories from the food pantry i volunteer at. it happens pretty much every monday. what can i say? seeing a gentleman grateful from the bottom of his heart for the big heavy warm winter coat we had for him or a young woman almost in tears over the black pantsuits i found for her to wear for a job she was starting later today...well, somedays it just doesn't get any better than this.

i wish i had done this when my kids were born and believe me, my grandchildren will have very similar photos.

sherry and i are thinking there needs to be a "don't like" option needed on FB. what are your thoughts?

i hope your week is off to a great start !!!