reaching for the sky...

it's old and weathered and simple

and

yet so stunningly beautiful

that it takes my breath away

~~

it's just an outbuilding

on a rundown farm

that I have photographed before

but

sitting in the sun this past saturday afternoon

casting shadows

in the late november sun

it was alive with personality and strength

~~

maybe someday

years from now

someone will describe me this same way

and

if they do

I'll be completely happy with that

*

this was taken with my new lens

~that many of you asked me about the last time I was out playing~

it's a 10-20 wide angle

and

it's just so much fun

~~

I could have edited this photo

and

actually thought about that for more than a few minutes

but

then decided to leave it natural...sooc

because

well

sometimes simple

just feels right

*

I'll admit it...

living with me is not always easy

~~

in fact

I believe it takes a saint

~~

and

this saint

my saint

my lover and best friend

my air when I can't breathe

my legs when I can't bear my own weight

my only hope when my dreams are shattered

my pillow when everything in life feels as hard as rock

my biggest fan even when I'm sitting quietly reading a book

my right hand when my left hand has a mind of its own

my voice when biting my tongue is a better option for me

turns

47

today

~~

wow

47

years old

and

I have been lucky enough to be with this saint 29 years

~~

don't get me wrong

does he ever do anything that irritates the crap out of me

?

sure he does

but

does all his good far outweigh any of his bad

?

more than I could ever put into words

~~

happy birthday sweetie

I love you so very much

*

and flying away with a new blog banner is....

vicky

vicky

bo bicky

banana fana fo ficky

mi my mo micky

vicky

~~

vicky

you won

~

oh

yes you did

~

whenever you're ready to get started

just give me a shout

and

we'll start playing

~~

and

for those of you who didn't win

there will be another blog banner give-away

in january

to help welcome in the new year

*

thank you everyone

who entered my little give-away

you all made my heart feel really happy

*

I totally fight like a girl...

this is me

throwing some punches at mother nature

shouting out

"bring it on"

while

feeling really tough in my new fingerless gloves

I did it

I really did it

and

you can do it

too

~

first I took an old goodwill sweater

and

cut off the sleeves to make the fingerless gloves

then

I took a black sweater and the rest of the striped sweater

and

cut up pieces and sewed them together to make this really cool scarf

here's a close up of the gloves

right when I finished them

and

this is while I was playing around with vintage buttons

thinking it would be fun to funk them up a bit

and

here I am again

~total goofball~

feeling even more tough

~now that my scarf is on~

for the winter

mother nature

has up her sleeve

that she's going to pull out any minute

and

sucker punch me with

~~

but now I'm ready

*

if you want to make these and have any questions

I'd be happy to answer them for you

*

and

the winner of the blog banner will be announced tomorrow

let me thank you...

for being

who you are

~

my family

my friends

my blog loves

~~

whether you

bring me

hope and inspiration

love and understanding

or

patience and compassion

~~

whether you

bring me

a shoulder to cry on

enough laughter that takes me to the floor and makes my stomach ache

or

a swift kick that gets me moving again

~~

whether you

bring me

my first smile of the day

a steady hand when I'm shaky

or

a raised eyebrow when my mouth gets out of control

~~

whether you

bring me

an idea that is brilliant

a photo that blows me away

or

an opinion that differs from my own

~~

whether you

bring me

a prayer chain that needs to be continued

a personal email where you feel safe enough to open up your heart

or

a phone call just so I can hear your voice

~~

I thank you

today and everyday

for filling me up

and

being an amazing part of my life

~~

happy thanksgiving

to you all

*

I'm in the kitchen today...and if you know me very well, this is not where I like to spend my time

it's almost thanksgiving

and

I'm mostly looking forward to the stuffing

~~

actually

I'm hoping that the dessert that I'm making today

~since it has to be refrigerated overnight~

that

required 4 different grocery store visits to find all the ingredients

is

the most

amazing gingerbread pumpkin anything

I have ever eaten

in my entire life

~~

seriously

how can grocery stores

3 days before thanksgiving

not have

pumpkin pie filling

~~

anyhow

are you baking and cooking today

~in between blog reading~

~~

me too

I hope you can sew...

I bought this skirt at a craft fair

and

I think it's the best thing since fingerless gloves

~

the girl making them

told us how she has all of her friends give her

what would be their "goodwill" donations

and

then she turns the old sweaters into winter skirts

and

the t-shirts get turned into summer skirts or bikini bottom cover ups

~

all of them have draw string waists

for basically

a perfect fit

~

oh

I hope you can sew

and

make some of these

~

AND

then there's this fabulous thingy over here

~I just ran to goodwill by the way so I can try this~

and

then

look in her store while you're on her blog

ummmm

did you see her fabulous fingerless gloves

~holy crap~

they look like my skirt and now I want those

~~

this is totally what happens to me this time of year

~~

and

~one more thing~

can you see the slightly crooked smile up top

well the braces are going back on sometime in january

because

the tooth that had to move the most the first time around

is being a little shit

and

not cooperating

and

if it were any other tooth than a front one

then

so be it

but

nooooo

it had to be smack dab in the middle of my face

arrghhhh

and

you might say what the heck is this crazy woman talking about

it looks just fine

but

what you see here is my half smile

at most

and

usually I smile with my whole face

and

well

it's bugging me

and

besides

I paid for straight teeth

*

did you know....

I'm having a give-away

~~

when I wrote this post

a few days ago

thanking all of you

for your love and inspiration

I left a little note

about winning a custom made

blog banner

and

some of you

might have missed it

~~

so I just wanted to make sure you know you still have a chance to win

since

I won't be drawing a name

~or two~

until thanksgiving evening

~~

so

if you'd like a custom made banner

made with some of your own personal photos

~and lots of your input to make it exactly what you want~

layered with a few of my nature shots

leave

a 3 word comment

on this post

or

here on this one today

letting me know what you are thankful for this thanksgiving

*

and

the cat

that's lucy and she belongs to my sister's kids

and

since I don't have a cat

I think everything she does is absolutely hysterical

~

she's a bit of a diva

can you tell

*

back to not judging....or possibly opening a can of worms

we had a great time

walking around downtown yesterday

~~

we saw a little bit of everything and brought it all home on our cameras

adorable kids

interesting clothing options

funny signs

amazing architecture

street musicians

talented artists

~~

but

this is the photo that will stay with me for a very long time

because

a little piece of my heart broke off when I took it

~~

when did any us of decide

that we had the right or even the ability

to judge anyone else

that wasn't

"just like us"

~~

seriously

when and how did that happen

~~

because guess what

we're all

~each and everyone one of us~

"just like us"

~~

last time I checked

we all laugh when we're told a joke

we all sleep when the day has filled us up

we all feel better when we have a warm hand to hold onto

we all know that the sky is blue

we all have hearts that beat loudly inside us

we all bleed when we've been cut

and

we all feel a world of emotions

when we've been left out

talked about

pointed at

made fun of

or

ignored

~~

sure

the lady next to you on the train had really bad body odor

~but we don't know her story to judge her~

~~

sure

the heavily bearded man walking down the street had liquor on his breath

~but we don't know his story to judge him~

~~

sure

the house with the boarded up windows ruins the look of the neighborhood

~but we don't know the story of the people inside to judge them~

~~

we don't

plain and simple

we don't

~~~~~

she didn't mind at all that I took her photo yesterday

and

she didn't even ask what I was going to use it for

~~

I can only hope and pray that she somehow knows that I'm using it

for good

for love

for understanding

~

for letting people know

that we don't have the right to judge anyone

based on

who they love

who they want to come home to at the end of the day

who they want keeping them warm

who they want holding their hand

who they want making them laugh

because if we did

we'd all be judging our friends and family

~~

haven't you maybe said or at least thought

~~

"gosh I don't know what she sees in him"

"how did those two end up together"

"how can she even begin to think he's handsome"

"do you think they'll get married"

~~

I thought maybe you had

kind of sappy...

we went on a nature walk yesterday

around our favorite pond

~~

and

after not seeing each other

for almost three weeks

a funny thing happened

we couldn't seem to take our eyes off each other

~~

{amazing isn't it that after all these years we still like each other}

so

maybe today

we'll head downtown with our cameras

and

if you're lucky

we'll get cool photos of madison to share with you

instead of photos of us

*

and

maybe I'll wear a pair of jeans

that don't make my butt all saggy

and

frumpy dumpy

don't rock the boat baby...well, maybe a little bit

I apologize

~

I'm not a great linker

really I'm not

~

and

there are so many of you who deserve huge shout outs

for

your amazing words

inspiration

photography

warmth

and

overall

"I want to spend an entire day with you because you make me laugh and smile"

blogs

~

but

I can't even imagine where to begin

~

wait

that's a lie

~

I do know

~~

today I want you to meet

mark

he's a merchant seaman

and

has an amazing sense of humor mixed with life knowledge

which makes for great stories

and

you'll think to yourself

while reading his blog

"I just want to sit and have a beer with you"

well

at least I do

~~

anyhow

if you have some extra time this weekend

can you go and visit my friend

mark

~

he's on a boat with dudes

for long stretches of time

with just his computer and his camera

and

even though he's happily married

he could use some blog loving from all of you

*

and

when he totally acknowledged me out of the blue

on his blog

and

made me feel like a rock star

well

I decided it's time to make him feel the same way

*

you've got to be kidding me...

another photo shoot

all because I refused to sleep through the first one

well guess what

?

you're gonna have to take me wide awake

again

because

even with your studio perfectly heated

for a naked baby like myself

and

that soft music playing on your ipod

I am not going to sleep and be molded into those cute baby poses that

other babies somehow figure out how to do

~

so there

~~

but

I can tell by the way you look at me and hold me and talk to me

and

don't even flinch when I spit up all over you or pee on the floor

that you totally love me

~

yep

I have your number

miss photographer lady

and

you are putty in my hands

*

oh

she is just the sweetest baby ever and I will take her and love her and hold

and photograph her anytime she wants to come over and play

**

oh

and

there's a few more photos over here

because of you, I smile...

there aren't enough words to use

or

hugs big enough to send

that would adequately thank all of you

for being so supportive of me

and

all that I do

~~

yesterday

your comments jumped off my computer screen

and

into my heart

and

by the end of the day I was filled with more love

than I could have ever imagined

~~

so how do I say

thank you

to all of you

loud enough

?

the kind of loud

that has all of us doing the chicken dance

and

the limbo

~under a flaming stick~

on a dance floor

~~

well I can only think of one thing

A-GIVE-AWAY

~~

who want's a new banner

?

if you do

leave a 1-3 word comment on this post

telling me what you're grateful for

{only 1-3 words}

and

on

thanksgiving day

I will pull a name out of my

new winter felted wool

hat

and

create for you

an artsy banner using your photos

as

a huge thank you

~from the bottom of my heart~

*

and

the beautiful horse above

that cracked me up when he actually smiled at me

~~

well

the other day on my way to my sister's house, the sunflower park had horse trailers in the parking lot

so I pulled my car over for a closer look

and

was able to catch 3 wonderful ladies on horseback

who told me

"of course you can take photos"

~~

there's a few more over at ruby luna worth seeing

only

if you have any time left

now that I've practically written a book

that's probably sucked up a chunk of your day

*