i think it's time...

isn't it

~

oh fall. i love the gifts that come with you when you visit.

finding words...

sometimes

the words that others have found

fit perfectly in your mouth 

and 

not sharing them would be such a disgrace

~

Maybe the camera crew is at someone else’s house,
a spotlight haloing over another’s fleshy story.
Maybe the mailman is delivering the good news
to your neighbor, or a different city entirely,
and you come home to a rash of catalogues,
the second notice for a doctor’s bill, a plea
from the do-gooders for whatever you can spare.
Maybe you haven’t cleaned your kitchen floor in weeks,
forgotten to nourish the front garden, spilled too much
coffee in your car, weaving through traffic.
Maybe you are 10 pounds heavier than last year.
Maybe your skin is betraying your age.
Maybe winter is ravaging your heart.
Maybe you are afraid, or lonely, or furious, or wanting out
of every commitment you entered with such vigor and trust.
Maybe you’ve bitten your nails down to the quick,
chosen your meals badly, ignored the advice of those
who know you best. Maybe you are stubborn as a toddler.
Maybe you are clumsy or foolish or hasty or reckless.
Maybe you haven’t read all the books you’re supposed to.
Maybe your handwriting is still illegible after all these years.
Maybe you spent too much on a pair of shoes you didn’t need.
Maybe you left the window open and the rain ruined the cake.
Maybe you’ve destroyed everything you’ve ever wanted to save.
Still.
If anything, believe in your own strange loveliness.
How your body, even as it stumbles, angles for light.
The way you hold a dandelion with such yearning and tenderness,
the whole world stops spinning.
by maya stein
{found on tara's blog}

photography tip friday.....

today's tip is simple

{it's been a long week, so i vote for not having to think very hard today}

~

"be careful what you focus on"

what i really wanted to show you in this photo, is the cool winding path. 

but 

taking a photo of the actual path was so boring.

{you'll see it below in a second}

taking photos of the flowers along the path....oh, so much better.

see this photo. yuck. it's the picture of the path. sad isn't it. 

~

now granted. someone reading this might love this path photo and that's fine. 

but focusing on the path didn't do anything for me. 

it looks blah. there's no depth. no bokeh.

~

happy weekend everyone

smarty pants....

did you hear that madison was declared the most educated city

in the united states

by

men's heath magazine

~

now granted

we've been in the top 100 places to live a few times 

but

now we're smart 

too

~

so there you go

another reason for you to move here and be my neighbor

*

{photo above taken last weekend at our neighborhood ice cream social}

i am not your friend....

i am NOT your friend. i am YOUR parent. 

i will stalk you. flip out on you. lecture you. drive you insane. 

be your worst nightmare and hunt you down when needed. 

BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. 

when YOU understand that, i will know you're a responsible adult. 

YOU will never find someone who LOVES, prays, cares and worries about you more then ME. 

this is MY PROMISE to you.

*

my friend jen, a mother of five {none that are teenagers yet} sent this to me. and i more then love it. 

i thought you might you like it, too. 

~

and 

when she does have teenagers and has forgotten all about this, i will send it back to her. 

she'll really need it then

*

just a few reasons why i love madison....

it really is a place where you can totally be yourself

and

free bull rides. i mean really. does it get any better then that.

*

i named him norman...

yes, this is a fingerling potato. 

personally, i think it looks like a dog. the kind with a stumpy tail.

he only has one eye. but at least now he can run.

~

{if you are totally lost, read the post before this one, so you don't think i'm a total freak}

in case you were wondering what our early fall looks like, i took some photos just for you. 

believe me, i love, like really open mouth kiss love summer. 

but fall steals my heart every year. 

it has a gentleness about it...even a bit of innocence. 

and 

if i were looking for a man at "i need somebody bad dot com"

those are two of the qualities i'd list first. 

~

then of course i'd have to add "must be able to deal with quirky things like making small animals out of potatoes" which would immediately narrow the playing field down to about zero.

~

it's a wonderful thing that i'm already married.

see the yellow leaves. swoon. 

now if they could just hang on a bit longer.

and

between me and you... 

i love dried up flowers more then i love flowers that are alive.

~

please tell me that's not weird, too. i mean i know the potato thing is well, different, but you like dead flowers, too. right ?

*