it's simple...

i "savored" january

and

in savoring i realized how simple life can be

and

how simply i can live

~

most of you know i spent the month of january in florida. and to tell you that i tried to savor everyday would be an understatement. i not only savored my time there. i sucked it up until it oozed back out of my pores. these are the photos to prove it.

in living simply, i didn't miss any of my "stuff" at home.

all the little things i buy or save that fill up a corner here or a spot on a shelf over there. the stuff that has to be dusted constantly. nope. i didn't miss any of it.

i didn't miss all the clothes and shoes that were still in my closet that i didn't take with me. i liked having only options a, b and c when it came to choosing what t-shirt to wear on any given day. the rest of the alphabet options are really unnecessary.

~

standing on the beach multiple times a day seeing how the color of the water constantly changed, was all i needed to be happy. rubbing sand off the bottom of my feet before getting into bed every night, no matter how often i swept the hardwood floors, became a habit i loved.

~

i learned that sitting in the warmth of the sun for the sake of doing nothing else, is never a waste of time. and that walking miles and miles a day through an ever changing environment kept me focused. focused on just how simply i could live.

~

really. how many lipsticks does a woman need to be happy. my new answer. one. even with my love of face creams. i only packed one. so no decisions had to be made after i washed my face at night. do you have any idea how freeing that kind of thing is. very.

~

as soon as we got home. before i unpacked my suitcase. i cleaned out my closet. i filled two huge garbage bags that are now ready to go to good-will. and that feels amazing.

and that's just the beginning.

the rest of the house is going to get an overhaul too. mostly those drawers and closets that tend to almost grow things when you're not looking. you know what i mean.

you go into your junk drawer to find batteries and an hour later you're all like "wow. i forgot we had this and what cord does this go to and why do i have 4 screwdrivers that are all the same size" and when you finish rummaging, you walk away with a magnetic key holder for under your car and forget that you were looking for batteries in the first place.

~

so i was thinking that maybe simple or simply or simplify would have to my new word for the year since that's what i feel like i'm doing. but i wouldn't have gotten to this point without savoring everything the past month. so i will keep "savor" and i will keep savoring everything life wants to throw at me.

granted. my expectations are a bit high after an amazing start. but maybe sometimes that all we need. a whole lot of good in order to savor everything else that comes our way.

~

and

now to my hubby. thank you for giving me a gift that i will never forget. thank you for everything and i mean everything you did in order for me to have the time of my life.

just like dirty dancing. i really owe it all to you.

and

these photos you took of me. wow.

thank you. thank you for seeing me the way i truly am and letting me be me.

authentically me. the me that only you can bring out. the me that only you know.

*

because.....

we don't all read or know the same bloggers

{thank you thea and jen}

and

because

i know you will love this video

and

because

i have just gotten home from florida

and

because

i don't have the strength today to write a post or upload any photos

~

tomorrow i will share my current thoughts about life

and

some photos that mean the world to me

and

why i might have to change my word for 2011

*

a bit more of this and some of my stupidity....

this is a friend of ours

he and his wife came down to visit us for a few days. i told them they didn't have to jump. in fact i was a bit nervous to let them. but they insisted. actually he insisted and his wife came along for the ride. she's so darn sweet.

these girls were too cute. they're from destin

{i think}

you'd think after awhile i'd learn to carry a notebook with me to keep track of everyone. but no. i rely on my memory. actually i try to rely on my memory.

i found this cute couple biking and taking photos in town.

they're from cedar rapids, which is in my neck of the woods.

you know. wisconsin. iowa. illinois. we're like triplets.

check out these jumpers. they're from tampa and mississippi.

{once again. i think}

the girl in the pink was totally getting into the fun.

here's

samantha. lucy. and tracy.

all from my favorite little shop

perspicacity

{is the hair in the middle photo hilarious or what}

i adore these two guys

~

if my memory is right

they're from bloomington, illinois

and

i think they would have done anything for me. i should have asked for cartwheels.

and

here's where my stupidity comes into play

~

these two girls are twins and are the sweetest people i think i have ever met.

obviously one is pregnant

{terri}

and

is due in a month

and

the other is not

{tracy}

{i pray that i have their names right}

~

anyhow

both of them are married to men serving to protect our country. they are originally from phoenix. terri lives an hour from here. tracy lives in las vegas.

so what would a really good photographer do after spending that much time with strangers to know that much about them.

she'd be smart enough to have her camera set to get a photo that it's in focus. but noooooo. instead she first uses one camera with the wrong setting that totally overexposes the photo. in seeing what is happening she runs to her hubby and grabs the other camera. changes lenses. runs back to the girls and is blinded by the bright sun which prevents her from seeing that her red focal point was not in the center where it should have been. arrghhhh.

~

thank god i had taken photos on their camera first. please tell me those turned out if you're reading this. my fingers are crossed.

and

the jumper. she did that pose in every jump and totally cracked me up. i didn't ask but i bet she played volleyball in high school.

~~~~~

thank you thank you thank you

to all my jumpers

you truly made my january one i'll never forget

*

babies are so entertaining...

is it just me or does this white sand look like snow

*

i know her....

my mind

~not to mention my heart~

is achingly full. in a good way.

in a 'truly i can't believe this is my life' way. in a 'wake me up has this been a dream' way.

~

often when a new year begins, my mind won't rest. it works overtime designing a plan where the things i don't need. get tossed. and the things that remain, need to be beautified. unfortunately as honest and easy as that may sound. it rarely happens.

and

instead

it makes me feel anxious

like i have bricks tied to my feet while i'm in the middle of the ball pit at mcdonalds

~

add my germaphobic tendencies to that picture and let me just tell you. it's not pretty.

~

but

not this year. this year has had a completely different beginning. and my mind is clear.

well as clear as it probably ever will be. or ever has been.

~i am a woman after all~

~

it's as if someone else is doing the thinking for me. and maybe even the worrying.

~

i feel like

maybe

every now and then

i'm standing outside

wide-eyed

in my favorite pair of boots. looking in. my face pressed up tightly against the window while my fingerless gloved hands cradle my face. watching someone who might be me. who looks strangely like me. crooked nose and all. wondering what she's going to do next.

and

then

quietly yet suddenly

the one i've been watching

grabs my hand

and

makes me run with her

and

i realize that she's wearing the same gloves that i am

and

that we share the same breath

~

i am her

*

please tell me....

that you're not tired of my jumping photos

~because i could do this all day long~

these two sweeties

are

from tallahassee

and

so is this group

~i think they are all students~

if you've ever been to seaside

then i know you've shopped here

at

per-spi-cas-sity

~

they closed for a tiny bit after the holidays and this past week they were back to work setting up the most incredible vignettes

~

so

sophie and i strolled through the market everyday

watching and drooling

{me not her, over the new clothes}

and

quickly made friends with managers

ann and morgan

who

wanted to jump for me

when they found out that that's what i do

~they are too sweet~

these two unsuspecting beach walkers

from ft. walton beach

or shoot

was it panama city

were more than willing to set down their beers and jump for me

~guys are so easy~

this is judy and her grand-daughter. we met judy the first day we walked into town and since she spends the winters in seaside, we've been lucky enough to talk to her almost everyday.

she really wanted to jump for one of my jumping photos, but i told her that i just couldn't take the chance that she might fall or twist an ankle. now granted, she rides her bike everyday and is amazingly young for her 70 plus years. but sometimes i just have to draw the line.

whatever her grand-daughter eats for breakfast, though. well, i want some of that.

wow. can this girl jump.

and

of course we had to throw in a few cartwheels

too

this family is from henderson, kentucky. which is just barely a breath away from where we lived in newburgh {evansville} indiana for 8 years. so we had lots to talk about.

at first

the little guys weren't so sure that jumping was what they wanted to do.

~actually i'm not really so sure dad wanted to jump either~

but

when mom said "come on, let's do it" they all joined in on the fun

aren't they the cutest

~

and

believe or not

it's the younger kids

already close to the ground

that have the hardest time jumping

so you can imagine how happy i was

to see the "air" they were able to get

{and to see the seagull in the upper left corner}

~

thanks to all my jumpers. you make me smile until my cheeks my hurt.

and guess what. i have more. see. i told you i could do this all day.

the rest of the photos will be up a bit later in the week.

~

ps...the packers are going to the super bowl. it's good to be a cheesehead.

AND

this information below, from kate is so helpful, that i might be publishing it a few times, as i really want to respond to you when you leave me a comment. but i can't and i don't want you to think i'm ignoring you. because i'm not. honest. you just have to change something.

~

here's the information

thanks kate

Bloggers out there ~ you’ve seen it. It’s the ‘Noreply-Comment@Blogger.com’ message that appears sometimes after you click on reply to a reader’s comment.

I often respond directly to reader’s comments, but there’s that little grinch who always seems to show up like an unwanted guest when I have something I really want to say to someone.

There is a way to help rid this little problem and it’s so easy to do. Readers who have blogs can do the following:

• Open your blog and click on the Customize link. It’s in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
• Click on the Dashboard link, also in the upper right hand corner.
• Now click on Edit Profile, on the left hand size of the screen right next to your picture.
• This takes you to the Edit User Profile screen.
• Look in the Privacy section.
• Check the box that says, “Show my e-mail address”.
• In the Identity section, enter in an e-mail address.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Save Profile.

And that’s how it’s done. This will rid the world of Noreply-Comment@Blogger.com. Unless you wish to remain stealth, of course. And that I will understand.

tears to my eyes....

i'm not sure what you have planned today

but

i hope it involves laughing

and

if i can help with that

even a tiny bit

i'd love to

~

this video

brought tears to my eyes last night

~

laughing tears

of course

~

and

i

really really really really

hope

you watch it and laugh with me

{turn up your volume}

*

happy sunday

everyone

~

more jumping photos tomorrow

oh

and

thanks mom for the video link

what today looks like....

yup

just like this

~

~have a blindingly bright and happy weekend~

*

stay tuned

more jumping photos will be here on monday

this i know for sure...

jumping makes you smile

~seriously. it's impossible to jump with a frown on your face. try it~

and

building a human pyramid

can cause full out belly laughs

~see the boy on top~

this family is from louisville, kentucky and when i approached them about a photo. well somehow i just knew they'd be amazing. when we finished the jumping photos they wanted more. they said how about a pyramid. i said are you kidding me. yes. one hundred percent yes. the dad quickly did the math. twice actually {gotcha chris} to figure out that we'd end up with a

cutie patootie in front of the pyramid base.

i have to admit. it was perfect. they were perfect.

then i ran across these three girls. wow. more perfection.

~i think i forgot to ask where they were from~

let's take a closer look at this photo for a moment.

i mean i know i'm kind of good at this jumping thing and capturing really cool photos.

but come on. even i can't do the magic that happened behind this photo.

~

the single man between the leg space of the girl in the middle. and then the other group of people standing under the bent knees of another girl. wow.

~umm. yup. forgot to ask where they were from, too~

and

at the end of the day. before heading back to my cottage to watch the golden globes.

i found this family from nashville watching the sunset.

actually one of the girls is from wisconsin. cheese heads unite.

~

the mom had a new camera. so i showed her a few things. she said she really didn't know how to use it and i was happy to help. then like i always do. i took a few photos on her camera first. then a couple on mine. i'm not sure where my settings were. it's a bit dark. even for sunset.

but hey. they jumped.

i had another people connection. smiles and laughs were seen and heard.

and really. by the end of the day. isn't that what we all want.

*

i don't care what my parents say....

i was born on a beach. to a mermaid.

it's truly the one place

where i feel like myself

without any explanations

or

excuses

~

attention

beach jumpers

i promise i'm working on your photos. please. keep watching for them. they're coming.

the louisville, kentucky

~totally amazing and funny family~

will be here tomorrow

::

also

thank you hilary

for once again choosing me for your post of the week.

i love that you love what i write and photograph

enough so

to share it with all of your readers.

*

and then we're going to jump....

you already know i'm passionate about photography

and

there are days

where

i'm even more passionate about jumping

~many of you already know this~

and

when the jumping involves unsuspecting strangers

well

then my day has been totally and completely made

i ask "do you want a photo of all of you"

they say "sure"

i say "we can do a normal shot but then will you jump for me"

they say "okay"

~while nervously laughing with each other~

then

they hand me their camera. usually a point and shoot.

i ask them to find the sports mode for me.

then i tell them what to do. how to jump. how i'll count them down.

~

the best part. always. is the laughter.

then

the "look at you" the "you jumped so high" the "your shirt came up"

the

"can we do another one"

~

honestly. i can't begin to tell you how happy the jumping photos make me.

~

and

if you think these are the only jumping photos i have from the beach. you're mistaken.

i have so many to share with you.

~

~these just happen to be the only ones where my hubby caught me in the act~

*

ps...the girl i'm talking to in the first photo told me she's a first year photography student. we talked shop a little bit. you know us camera geeks. that's what we do.

somehow she did it...

i don't like photos of myself.

there.

it's that simple. i said it.

so

i do pretty much anything to stay on "my side" of the camera

the side i feel safe on. the side where i feel like me. the side that truly makes me smile.

the side that's my classroom where i still learn something new everyday.

i opened my mail yesterday

from deb

and

the sideways photo of me below

jumped onto my screen

~

i didn't like it. not really. well maybe a tiny bit since it was me.

and since i don't hate me. just photos of me. i took a deep breath.

~

deb said

"here, go ahead and play. do that magic that you do"

so i did

~

i played and i played and i played

like a child with a new box of crayons

and

guess what

~

i pretty much love the photos above. i do. i really do.

~

thank you deb for seeing the me i don't often see

it's your thoughts and your spirit

and your creativity and your flare

and your heart and your sparkle

and your passion and your loves

and your courage that make up

the incredible mix of who you are...

why oh why

do we let others tell us

what our mix should be?!

~terri st. cloud~

::

and

then she sent me this quote

::

how lucky am i to have a friend like her

*