what are words...

have you been watching american idol. did you fall in love with chris medina.

did you cry when steven tyler kissed chris's fiance and whispered in her ear.

did you cry when he got cut. did you cry with jennifer when she had to deliver the news to him.

did you see chris on jay leno friday night. or this morning on regis and kelly.

did you know chris already has a single out on itunes.

i hope you love him and his story as much as i do.

here he is

*

Oh the love of sweaters.....

Let me just say that the overwhelming love to my sweater in the previous post blew me away. I'm traveling at the moment and I promise to have sweater information for all of you later this week. Jenny sells her sweaters in the same store I sell my cards and postcards in, but I believe that she does have a website, too.... and even takes custom orders based on your body measurements and favorite colors. I'll even ask her if she'll do a give-away on my blog......she's really sweet....I bet she will.

And of course if she says yes, a sweater won't be enough.....I'll even throw In some of my cards, too !!

Now wish me luck that my two hour delay doesn't turn into a cancelled flight all together......

i got tired and bored....

so i ran to the local antique shop for something to do

and

to gain a bit of inspiration

that always seems to dissolve during the month of february

not my feet

or my boots

but

i would have bought them in a heartbeat if i wore a size 5

this is my favorite new sweater

created by a local artist who takes old sweaters

cuts them up and wha-la

makes new ones

~

i love her talent

"not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted"

{ a quote by probably someone famous}

*

i hope all of you and your loved ones

have the best weekend ever

{ps....thanks mom and dad}

and you thought i was the only dork living here....

earlier this week

we had a storm that went from

rain to freezing rain to thunder to snowflakes the size of duck feathers to sleet to more snow

~

when the sky really opened up

looking like a feather pillow fight was taking place

up on our roof

my hubby said

"i'm running out and catching those flakes on my tongue"

i said

"you dork"

you didn't think i wouldn't grab my camera

did you

~

i stood inside

in my jammies

shooting the above said dork while he acted five

while i laughed out loud

i decided i didn't want him to have all the fun

so

i quickly grabbed my

"doesn't this make me look like a lumberjack"

hat

and

ran outside while he ran inside

only

to discover that the huge flakes had instantly turned to sleet

and

i was now being pelted to death

so i made an ice ball

and

threw it at my hubby

praying that i wouldn't break the window

~

it was a good sunday

at the house of dorks

*

i think you're my favorite.....

have you ever noticed

that every once in awhile

a photo you've taken

quietly tiptoes into your heart and speaks to you

~

well

for some reason

this photo did more than speak to me

it actually took me into its arms

and

whispered "sweet somethings" in my ear

and

then softly

i whispered back

"you're my favorite"

~

well

with all the photos i take

at least for today

this one is my favorite

and

sometimes

to be somebody's favorite

if even just for a day

feels really good

*

as soon as the printers are done

this photo will be a postcard and a greeting card

saying

"sometimes to be somebody's favorite if even just for a day feels really good"

does this make me look fat.....

when old feels better...

this isn't really a tutorial. but i wanted to share something with you.

~

the hubby and i went out for a little drive yesterday and as beautiful as the sky was and as great as the barn was that caught my eye. it left me empty. or at least wanting more.

~

what i really wanted

was for this photo to look old enough to be held in arthritic hands

while a story of what happened in this barn years ago

was shared with me.

in order to do that

changes had to made

~

i felt i had to get rid of the dirt pile in the lower front right hand corner

{only because it bugged me}

and

the sign in the dried prairie grass.

then the "will call sheriff" sign on the door

{which made me laugh}

felt out of place. so i got rid of that.

there was also a large square cement box on the bottom right of the barn

that my eyes kept going to. so i made that disappear too.

~

after all of those things were cloned over. i was ready to play.

so with a few "old" colors added and an aged texture

the photo became what i had envisioned in the first place.

*

i'm kind of thinking about doing something like

"make it pretty" mondays in march

where all of you can join me on mondays and we can share what we did to a photo

to make it better. to change it. to make it pretty.

what do you think

?

girls just want to have fun....

most of our snow is gone. really. it is.

now granted. what's been left behind is less than pretty.

but i can see grass. unfortunately that means i can also see all the dog poop that's been hidden for a few months. but i'll take it.

grass and dog poop trump snow any day in my book.

~

so with winter melting and the excitement of spring just around the corner

i just had to make a new banner. it makes me smile. it's fun and silly.

and

sometimes that's all i really want. fun and silly.

~

okay. i'd also like some new furniture for our family room. oh and some new pots and pans would be fabulous. of course that new bedding i've had my eye on from anthropologie would be amazing. but really. who needs that stuff when you've got fun and silly.

~

hmmm

maybe fun and silly is a bit overrated when i've got mall on the brain

(*)>

{ }

^^

happy weekend everyone

when things change...

the air is warmer. the sky on tuesday was a new shade of blue grey that i want to name like a paint color in the hardware store.

maybe i'll call it ~just a tease~ and paint my studio with it.

~

his laundry is done. it's been months since the tiny room off the kitchen that makes the most noise has smelled like him. but when he asked me so sweetly in his "where did my teenager go" deep voice if i could help him out after he worked a 12 hour day. i caved.

~

the fog is thick today. enough to close some of the country schools. i think i better plan on the hubby picking up take-out tonight on his way home.

obviously it's too dangerous for me to go to the grocery store.

*

happy thursday. do you have a paint color name for your day. tell me what it is.

starting over, starting today...

one day

a long time from now

you'll cease to care anymore about whom you please

or

what anybody says about you

~

that's when you'll do your best work

j.d. salinger

::

i couldn't help but feel a little pinch when i first read this quote. when i turned 40 i bragged about not giving a damn anymore about what others say or think about me. that it was time for me to do anything i wanted without feeling hurt if someone else questioned it or couldn't understand it. and somedays that's exactly how it is.

but

every so often there's still that self doubt rearing it's ugly head

~

did i do something wrong. did i say something wrong. did i write something wrong.

are my ideas that spew out of my mouth daily

just crazy talk. do i talk too much. do i not pay enough attention to the things i should.

am i selfish. and if i am is that bad.

do i not listen enough. am i too controlling. and if i am is that wrong.

~

and

then throw in my photography. where i question the photos that didn't sell in the shop i had them in. where i wonder if i really have any talent at all when i compare myself to other photographer bloggers. should i even call myself a photographer when i seem to choke on that word so easily when someone asks me what i do.

~

why is it that we. we as in women. seem to do this self questioning. self doubting. so easily.

why do we care so much about what others think of us.

~

well. i'm tired of it.

and

after reading the words above and letting them sink heavily into my heart

well

all i know is that i don't want to wait a long time to do my best work. i want to do it now.

~

kind of exciting when you think about it. isn't it.

care to join me

::

just an ordinary day...

our air is strangely warm and the sun has been amazing

~

the melting has begun

but

only as a tease. we know winter is still technically here. but i'm not complaining. instead i'm savoring it. i even went for a walk in the park yesterday.

have i ever told you that i hate treadmills with a passion. well i do.

a woman's place, by barbara delinsky

the dive from clausen's pier, by ann packer

look again, by lisa scottoline

i'm so happy for you, by lucinda rosenfeld

and

beyond the waves, by elizabeth marek

~

these are the books that have captured my attention so far this winter. if i read 5 pages in a book and it doesn't suck me in. then it's not a book for me and it quickly goes back on the shelf.

obviously all of these books sucked me in. immediately.

i have a hard time recommending books to other people though. books and movies. i mean just because i loved it doesn't mean you will. but if you happen to be in a bookstore wandering around aimlessly this weekend, you might want to have my list handy. just in case.

in the afternoons i have been watching "the talk" which i had completely laughed at when it was first advertised. i have to say. for the most part. i like it.

~

is anyone besides me watching the bachelor. it's not that i love this show. it's the fact that it's a train wreck that keeps me interested.

and

the whole photo shoot with the bikinis last night. sheesh. but hey. at least michelle is finally gone. i think with all the therapy brad's gotten he's finally wising up.

so what do think.

is it going to be emily in the end. can you believe she's only 24.

or will it be chantal the funeral director.

~

have i mentioned lately that i can't wait for summer

*

i look for hearts everywhere....

so how lucky

am i that this one has been with me for 30 years

~

to say he's my world isn't saying enough. to love him more than i do is impossible.

to celebrate him just today isn't right. i try to do that all year long.

now granted

some days aren't perfect. i mean really. nobody can be together as long as we have and say that marriage isn't a challenge. because it is. or at least it can be sometimes.

and

what's wrong with that. a hurdle to jump every now and then keeps us on our toes.

and

honestly. i can't imagine my life any other way.

sometimes when i can't find hearts. i draw them. or make them.

and

most days i have a helper

who leaves tiny paw prints behind

to make sure i don't ever forget her

do you look for hearts

everywhere

too

~

oh i hope you do

~

happy valentine's day to all of my fellow bloggers

who inspire me everyday

with

laughter and wisdom

passion and sincerity

and

most of all

a desire

to continue doing what i LOVE to do

*

this could be me....

when i see the ocean. a feeling comes over me that's hard to explain. so when i saw this little girl. i had to laugh. somehow. magically. she made my feelings come alive.

~

first she pointed at the water. and then quickly, not wanting to take her eyes off the brilliant shades of turquoise, made sure her loved ones were watching the waves with her.

when she knew they were

and

that she didn't have to worry about a thing.

she just stood there. frozen in place. awestruck. and soaked it all in.

and

when the turquoise waves danced wildly

taking deep breaths while they crept closer to her

~

she applauded them

~

funny. i do that too.

but

in an adult kind of way

where the applause is only heard in my mind

~

next time

i'll be clapping out loud

just like her

~

*

sandy if you're reading this. this little girl looked just like alexandra did at that age.

please please pretty please....

can we talk about blogs and blogging

without hurting the feelings of anyone

~

last month i posted the information at the bottom of today's post. thanks kate.

it's so easy and wonderful and makes blogging so much more fun. often when someone leaves me a comment i immediately have something i want to say back to you. it might be a simple "thank you" or "i'm so glad my photos brightened your day" but if you don't do what's in the message below, more than likely you won't hear back from me. if i can reply to you immediately, then usually we become friends because all of a sudden we're sending emails back and forth to each other.

~~~~

i did get a note from someone confused by this information below. she didn't realize that she could be getting her comments in an email form in the first place. she was having to go back to her blog multiple times a day to see what comments had been left for her. if this sounds like you, just go to the "comments" on your post page and look for the box that asks for what email address you'd like comments to go to. enter your email address and wha-la. no more checking your blog for comments. they will come directly to you.

~~~~

also. some of you who do what i described above {checking your blog for comments} leave comments yourself on your blog, answering a question or thanking someone for what they said. once i have read a blog and leave a comment. i don't go back to your blog to see if you responded to what i said. does that make sense without sounding rude. i'm guessing some of those people are the ones i described above that don't have emailed comments coming to them.

~~~~

something else. often if you have music playing on your blog, it will take longer for my computer to load your page. so often when i am short on time, your blog will be neglected as i have to move on. so many blogs. so little time.

~~~~

okay

that's it for today.

here's the information i talked about. and if you have any questions, feel free to send them my way. many of you have asked for help with banners, blocking followers, picture resizing and template backgrounds and i am honored that you trust me.

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.

slightly easier....

remember the recent post about the squirrels and how sneaky they were

~

well

i think these floridian birds are starting to take notes

~

gosh they were fast

i don't really ever do this.....

but

today i'm going to share a bit of my shopping with all of you

~

see this bag. i found it on someone's blog last week

as they highlighted the company who makes them

and

i decided that since i say these words all the time

{basically it's my motto}

i had to have this bag

~

it says

"everything happens for a reason"

with

YES

obviously in the larger letters

~

now

if it only had the small handles

i would have passed it up

but

it comes with a longer handle so that i can wear it messenger style

which makes my back happy

{which makes my doctor happy}

~

the quality is amazing

the packaging was beautiful

and

now i'm happy

too

*

proud to be part of the pack...

even with the 5 foot high snow drifts

everywhere

it's rather green here in wisconsin today

and

unless you live under a rock

you know why

~

aaron

you cute thing

you did good

really good

and

those other guys

you play with

they did good

too

~

and

christina

who cares

you still have an amazing voice that was delicious to listen to

*

time for a break...

my daughter turns 23 tomorrow. i was 23 when she was born.

i look back now and think

wow

how'd we do that

but we did something right. she's truly amazing.

~

i watched reruns of ally mcbeal on our "snow day" wednesday.

gosh. i used to love that show.

oh. and then i took a nap.

~

have you had the ghirardelli "milk chocolate with caramel" squares.

i think the label is misprinted. nowhere does it say hugely addicting.

~

i went to the doctor for my shoulder blade/neck pain.

she agreed with me. i'm a mess.

i'm doing traction again and will go back to physical therapy if it doesn't resolve itself.

fun

~

have a great weekend. i'll be eating birthday cake

and

watching the packers

win the super bowl. what. you heard me.

come on. it's our turn.

you know it is.

~go packers~

*