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 !!!

eleven~twelve~thirteen.....

i've scheduled this post to go "live" at 9:10 this morning. if you're a goon like me and miss the morning version of this pretty much totally cool day, you can do yours tonight at 9:10pm. 

are you with me? have i lost you? are you getting it? 

9.10.11.12.13...see, cool right?

for those of you on FB with me, you already know that i have a new baby. for those of you who didn't see my little "birth announcement" it's all about her...and yes, i was able to get my hands on one of the "2000" silver limited edition versions. call me extremely lucky.

let me tell you, she is simply gorgeous and i feel horrible that i've hardly gotten her out to play. our weather turned cold and icky the night she arrived, so i've kept her mostly inside where i know she'll be warm and comfy...but she did help me with all of the shots on this post.

i don't use the filters on my camera {like ever} but being stuck inside last night as our temperatures dropped to seventeen {yikes} i sat on our couch, reading my new camera manual and used the black and white filter to irritate photograph my hubby. snort.

oh, and overhead recessed lighting...ummm, not so great :(

but good lord he's a handsome man...and look at his beard. he's got the whole "no shave november" thing going on and i love it. granted, it's a bit scratchy, but ohhhh...it's a sexy thang!!

falling together and never apart.....

here's a really big leaf for you

and 

acorns

here's a bigger leaf for you

and 

walnuts

will you juggle them for me and make me laugh

{pretty please}

just like last year, here i am having gathered a handful of milk pod seeds on one of our walks. then i stood very still, for a very long time and made lots of wishes. very important wishes. 

sometimes wishes feel more like prayers.

i think what's important is that you put out into the universe what you want or don't want, what you need, what's no longer working for you or even the changes you need to see happen. 

i mean why not, right?

then i let them go

~

{oh, and actually, the milk pod seeds and the wishing thing...i did this on multiple walks but only photographed it once...and you know what, i think things have happened. things have changed. in a very very good way}

hanging on for dear life.....

i've written before about volunteering at the clothing distribution center at our local food pantry and today, with the cold weather knocking at our door, i wanted to share a little bit more.

yesterday i had a mom looking for winter coats for her and her daughter and our supply of winter items has already dwindled down to very limited sizes and it broke my heart that we didn't have what she needed. she said they had planned on looking for coats over the weekend, but instead had to put their dog down and all of their extra money had been used towards that.

last week, another mom needed footed sleepers for her son. a specific size obviously, but she didn't care if they were in a little girl's print, as she just needed to keep him warm. she told me they couldn't afford to turn their heat on.

i'm sharing this just to raise awareness to what donating can actually do. it can change someone's day. or their life. i'm guessing most of you already donate to goodwill or maybe saint vincent de paul, but if you can, try to find a local shelter or a local food pantry {that has a clothing center} to take your items to. the families who utilize food pantries have a very limited income {or no income at all} and need your help year round and even more so if you live in a colder climate. 

i know there are probably many opinions out there regarding donations or donation centers, so all i'm saying is your help is greatly needed.

if this post gets just a few of you to empty out your closets with things that you no longer wear, pants that don't fit, shoes that were never quite "you" in the first place, then i've done what i wanted to do. like a PSA, i'm just trying to educate and motivate.

now, in regards to what you donate. if the clothing and shoes or the coats/hats/mittens/gloves/scarves look like someone wore them in a bar fight {and lost} they aren't acceptable. we receive ripped/torn/stained items  all of the time and throw them away. if what you're donating isn't something you'd wear, then someone else isn't going to wear them either. i hope i'm not sounding mean, since donating comes from the heart, but you really just can't imagine how horrible some of the things are that come into our center.

okay, i'm jumping down off my platform now and heading to the kitchen. a hot bowl of soup is calling my name.

ps...fall continues to amaze me this year for some reason, but slowly, she's packing her bags and i can't tell you how much she'll be missed.