Monica's Mindless Mumblings

Kind of Here.

2011-06-11T01:33:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I heard about Martha doing her weekly beach parties and thought, I could do a blog entry once a week. Oh, who was I fooling!? After reading Martha’s latest entry and seeing I’m not the only one struggling with time I figured, I could at least post an entry a few times a month. We’ll see how well that goes! =)

Not a lot has been happening in my world. This week has been real quiet staying at home conserving money. My husband’s job reduced their force in half and my husband was one caught in the lay-offs. Now we are relying on my splotchy photography business income. It scares me like nothing else has in the past! I’ve decided to do a job search along side my husband. HOW I’ll run the business and hold down a full time business is beyond me – I guess it’s just something that I’ll figure out as things happen.

Anyway, on the cheery side of things. My daughter has started expressing an interest in photography and wanted to go to Seattle to take some photos. She wanted me to provide some tips and tricks. =) I’ve yet to see what she took as Sonny (my husband) is now teaching her how to edit the photos.

The photo above was taken in Seattle during our little adventure through the city.

I look forward to meeting others at the beach party! * Sorry I didn’t ‘bring’ a food photo to share. I thought it was supposed to be a blog entry about our week – guess I just don’t know how to play!

All Day - Nov 29th

2010-11-29T19:29:00.001-08:00

All day today I've been sitting here contemplating if I wanted to write about the past event in our lives that took 4 police officers from the community. I've decided not to go into a lot of detail with this entry however, I can't let the day pass without recognizing their families and the community that lost 4 officers who served and protected them.

We sometimes forget that behind those uniforms and badges are family men and women, husbands & wives, sons and daughters. People who love them when the uniform and 'game face' comes off.

The day that Officer Renninger, Officer Richards, Officer Griswald and Officer Owens were laid to rest was the day that my own son was graduating from the Baltimore Police Department. It was a difficult day, a day of conflicting emotions, I felt great sadness for this senseless loss of four officers yet, I felt pride (and FEAR) for my own son.

We watched the procession which actually took place during the time my son was having his graduation ceremony in Baltimore.

To this day, when I meet customers at the Forza where the officers were killed, I find myself saying a prayer for their families, the community and of course my own son.

I'll just share a couple of photos real quick before signing off today. The first is my son in uniform on duty Halloween night. He's the second one on the right. They were just starting duty when this photo was taken. It was a relatively 'quiet' night.

This last photo is my son's tattoo. I'm not one who likes tattoo's, however, this one I understand.

It's black with the blue band for the fallen officers. The top row of black shows death, drugs, violence, etc. Then the middle blue is very peaceful and serene for the fallen officers who are now at peace. And the bottom black is for justice, and law in our country. It's actually a fascinating piece of art and I'm shocked that I'm calling it art as I've always hated tattoo's. I guess this mom is opening her mind a wee bit.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T00:55:00.001-08:00

This is actually a post I wrote for my business blog. Then I was thinking I'd share it here too as I have the same wishes for my friends here on the net. =)

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not so much for the feast that many families have, though I can't deny I enjoy a good meal! It's meant getting the family all together, shared conversations, catching up with those you love. I suppose some say Christmas is good for that and to a degree that is true. Except at Christmas I feel a bit of pressure to buy gifts for everyone and sometimes finding that right gift can be difficult. Especially when you get someone like myself - I have what I want when it comes to physical/material items.

Those who know my lack of desire to cook, might be surprised that Thanksgiving is a favorite time and I actually enjoy cooking a nice family dinner for this special occasion. However if I must be honest, I can't really say that I enjoy all the dishes afterwards! Wait, I can give thanks for the dishwasher and for family members who help clean up!

While this year has provided it's own challenges it's also provided me with many reasons to be thankful and grateful. Here is a brief personal list of things that I'm thankful/grateful for this year.

~ My husband and business partner, he has allowed me to pursue what I love. And not once did he discourage me from starting the business then dragging him around with me! I think he actually enjoyed this himself, even if it wasn't something he would have visualized for himself before I came into his life.

~ My three children who have led healthy productive lives and fill my life with love. laughter and even a bit of frustration that just reminds me life is a learning process that we must sometimes learn on our own.

~ My precious granddaughters who will test their daddy just the way he has tested me in the past! For their hugs, smiles and laughter.

~ I'm thankful for my parents who owned their own businesses. It was because of this I went forward with creating my own business with NO FEAR. Maybe I should have had some fear and worries but, I just knew deep in my heart this was right! I miss them terribly and I feel they would be very proud of what I have accomplished and of the wonderful man (my husband) who supports me through this journey.

~ Lastly, I am thankful for all the wonderful customers we've been blessed to photograph, to be a part of such an important day in their lives, to welcome a new baby into their families, to document their lives as they unfold. We have met some truly wonderful and inspirational people with this business.

We wish you, your family and friends a very 'Happy Thanksgiving'. Enjoy the holiday with those you love, laugh with them, embrace the moment and remember to give thanks for having love in your life!

Wow ... How Much More?

2010-11-21T15:29:00.001-08:00

Photo: Chihuly Bridge of Glass. There is light at the end of this colorful 'tunnel'.

Right now I'm feeling like I'm really being tested and this 'test' is getting the best of me. I'm trying very hard not to be 'Debbie Downer'. I prefer searching for that silver lining, it's out there I'm positive of it. Just at this moment I can't see it.

Winter is our hardest time of the year as I generally have little to no income. We simply tighten our belts and continue on. This year was an exceptionally slow year for our business. Partially due to having no website for 3 months and partially to the slow economy. So, no savings this year and a really tight belt that is squeezing us. Still, I knew we would somehow be okay.

That is until everything fell apart! First the oil pump went out in my SUV. I don't drive it a lot due to cost of gas. But, I do use it when the weather is adverse. It handles like a dream in snow and guess what it's doing outside right now ... snowing! They are predicting a bad winter for us here in the Northwest. While a strain, I was trying not to stress about this situation. After all I have another car that I can drive. I simply don't like to drive it in heavy rain or snow as it's a light weight car that slips and slides a LOT when road conditions aren't perfect.

We live in an older house, it's 98 years old. She's in good shape but we are learning she's hard to heat! Our source of heat is a temperamental pellet stove. Sonny pulled the stove apart to clean it and see why it was being so temperamental. Seems we need to replace a $200 part. (sigh) For the moment it's limping along. We have to watch it carefully as it will shut down yet still feed the pellets causing a major back up, Meaning Sonny has to pull it completely apart each time it does that to clean it out. That reminds me, I'm home alone ... I need to go check it! Be right back. Still running! The downstairs is now at 60 degrees, it started out 50 this morning!

The only other source of heat is an electric floor board heater in my bedroom upstairs. So, at least I have warmth here in my room and the office space which is connected by a open wall to the bedroom. However, that heater doesn't heat the entire upstairs! The bathroom is like a refrigerator. Burrrr I hate going in there. But, it's our only bathroom so I must. In time we will have one downstairs, it's part of our future remodeling plans.

So, keeping warm this winter is a concern of mine. Especially if we have the winter they are predicting for us.

Now we have something else to deal with beside the oil pump in the SUV and the house heating issue. Today I was going to meet a young photographer who wants to get into wedding photography. I didn't get any further than my car. Some punk went and shot my window two times with a bb gun! It's shattered and some of the glass even went into the car. If I opened or closed the door the rest of the glass would've been on me. I started crying immediately. We haven't fixed the oil pump, we haven't fixed the pellet stove and now we have this ... and little to NO money for these repairs!

I stood there in the rain looking at the car window wondering WHO would do this? Was it directed at ME? Was it a past customer? I didn't know of any customers who were upset and none seem to have that type of personality. In fact, all my customers have given us raving reviews! I'm stumped ... WHO, WHY ME? We walked up and down the street to see if other cars were hit. None.

Later I spoke to my MIL and a church friend of hers had her car window shot out last night too. This lady lives about a mile from us with no connection to us at all. I guess it was some punks with nothing better to do than go get their thrills by shooting out windows. And to answer a question before it gets asked ... NO, I don't have insurance to cover a new window. The Storm is a 92 and I only have the required insurance on it. (sigh).

Slow Learner

2010-11-12T00:11:00.001-08:00

Over the past few days I’ve been in a reflective mood. Sometimes it’s good to do that so one can move forward in life. While I've had a few light bulb moments, I still haven’t figured out my next move.

The biggest realization is I can’t do things to please others. Meaning, I can’t stop a habit or lose weight to please my dad, or my grandchildren, my husband (he hasn't asked or hinted), etc. IF I’m going to do something it has to be for ME. Because I love myself enough to take care of myself. Not to win love from someone else. However, I don't do things for myself, it's always been for everyone else. Can I change that?

It’s not just weight issues. There are other areas in my life where I’m always doing things in order to please those around me. It even rolls over into my business. I’ll do everything possible to please a bride, give them discounts to get them to book, offer additional prints in order to get them to book. I think they sense my vulnerability and push for the extras and for the discounts.

Why must I always give them the shirt off my back? I provide them with good products, good images at a valued costs. My prices are considerably lower than other photographers. A lot of that has to do with my own lack of self worth. I’ve been trying to figure out WHY I sell myself short.

I don’t talk about my past much when I do it’s only tiny bits, the happy bits. One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that I’ve somehow blocked all the things I didn’t like when I was a child. The bullies, the belittling I heard, etc. Not only did I block them I made sure I suffocated them with food.

So, here I sit contemplating on HOW to move on. How do I find my value, how do I love myself enough to take care of myself and not settle for second, third or even the least valued?

*The photo above was taken at a wedding venue this past summer.

Our Family Portrait

2010-11-07T17:35:00.001-08:00

We have returned from Maryland and while there I insisted on some family portraits which I'll share in a moment. I'm glad to be home in Washington State and getting back to business as usual. However, I must admit I would love to get some weddings in the "other' Washington (DC) so I could visit my boys and their families more often. =)

Most of the time I was behind the camera for this quick (10 minutes) family portrait session. For the entire group we had to set the camera on it's timer so we could all be in together. We got lucky with our first attempt. As you can see everyone is smiling and actually looking at the unmanned camera. - the one chance was all we needed. =) Which was good because it was a wee bit chilly outside!

Anyway, let me introduce you to my family!

L-R: Sonny (one of our photographers), that's me (Monica, another photographer) with the long pink scarf, Kimberly (behind me who is a part time photographer/assistant), Robert (sitting next to me), Ryan (in the back), Cecelia (my youngest granddaughter), Heather and Amelia (hiding behind mom - oldest granddaughter)

My three generally aren't very co-operative and only tolerate having their photographs taken. They started calling me "Mamarazzi" when they were very young - grade school age.

Our oldest son, Robert with his daughters Amelia and Cecelia

Our daughter-in-law with Amelia (in black & white) and Cecelia.

Our granddaughters, Amelia and Cecelia.

I love this quick candid as I was setting up. Doesn't Heather (DIL) have a beautiful smile? They think I didn't notice but, I noticed that my son had pinched her butt and that's what got the natural smile. Sometimes you just need to be quick with the camera!

I hope you enjoyed our quick mini portrait session. I wish we had more time at the park but everyone was getting cold and hungry which doesn't make for an ideal portrait session.

In the next several days I'll try to edit some photos from the trip - I didn't take as many as I had hoped or planned. Other distractions (AKA granddaughters) keeping me busy. =) And I'll be sure to share some our adventures from the trip and yes, we had a few!

During the trip I also realized I have a deeper appreciation for my own bed and pillows! Sonny and I woke up with headaches and body aches daily. Oh the joy of getting old and we were feeling our age plus a few added years! So more than anything I can honestly say I appreciate my bed more than ever. If you have a tempur-pedic bed, you understand. If you have a regular bed, all I can say is ignorance is bliss!

Thanks for stopping by and soon I'll share more from our trip. Until then take care!

Tacoma Sunset

2010-10-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

Since I've re-formatted my blogs, I've been having fun posting photos on my business blog. =) I appreciate being able to post the larger images for people to view. I recently shared this particular photo in the Round Robin Photo Challenges over at Shutterly Happy. It was taken on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. It's a pedestrian bridge that connects downtown Tacoma to the waterfront and the Museum of Glass which would otherwise be blocked by the interstate that runs through that area.

Now it's time for me to think about packing so I can be ready for our flight in the morning! =) I feel some wonderful hugs coming from my beautiful granddaughters. =)

Oh, that reminds me of a couple stories I NEED to share. =) The other day my son called and told me that he had Amelia with him. He informed me that she gave him the phone and asked that he call her grandma. He asked which one as she has three. She said she wanted the "thinner grandma". ME, the thinner grandma. Okay, I can live with that! Especially since she calls the other two "fat grandma with blonde hair' and "fat grandma with gray hair". I'm just the "thinner grandma". =) I think it's inspired me to try to try to lose weight again. That can't be a bad thing!

The next day I called my son to ask how he was doing and he said he was busy doing homework or studying for mid-terms. I asked him if he was babysitting the girls or was a parent home with them? No, Uncle RyRy was babysitting and studying. I said it was awfully quiet, what were the girls doing. He then assured me they were fine, they were downstairs watching TV. Uh oh! That didn't sound good to me! Two little ones downstairs QUIET. I asked him to please go down and check on them, humor me!

He finally goes down the stairs and the next thing I heard was "Oh shit! I gotta go" and the phone was disconnected. I still have NO idea what happened. He'll learn that quiet unmonitored children = TROUBLE! =)

Hope everyone has a great week and please don't forget to vote!

Totally and Utterly Distracted

2010-10-22T22:31:00.001-07:00

It's been a fairly quiet week here, not the most productive. For some reason I haven't been very motivated to get work done. When that happens I don't really push myself as when the motivation hits, I get a LOT done quickly. However, I've never gone a whole week of letting myself be distracted! I really need to get myself in gear and focus on getting some photos edited from a recent wedding I photographed.

Which reminds me, the other day I went out with my camera to PLAY! I haven't done that in a long time. I was only going to go out for a half hour. Next thing I knew TWO hours had passed and I still wasn't ready to stop. The only reason I did was because I forgot my jacket and I was getting cold. I'll be posting those photos over at Shutterly Happy - my personal site for photo themes, meme's etc.

This evening Kim and I went to a holiday craft festival type thing. Both of us just wanted to look. I thought I MIGHT buy one small item I had seen online for $20.00. I swear they MUST have subliminal messages telling people it's okay to spend! Kim and I both left with several purchases and not one was a Christmas gift. As we walked to the car we were kicking ourselves for spending money we didn't intend to spend! HOW did this happen? I have self control, or so I thought I did. BTW, I didn't get the one item I was considering buying before I got there. By the time I found that booth, I was already broke! Luckily I had enough control to use only cash and I had limited cash with me but, still more than I intended or the desire to spend.

In a few days I will be heading out to DC/Baltimore area to visit my two boys, my DIL and more importantly my two precious granddaughters! =) YES, I will be taking photos of them - the camera might be going NON stop. Oh, I should take my video camera too! =) We are talking about taking a day trip over to Philadelphia. Can anyone make any recommendations for that area in the way of things to see, to do, to photography, to eat ... whatever! =) I think we will be going back into DC again - this is more for my daughter Kim, who wants to go back. Me, I'd be happy to stay and play with my girls. =)

** It just hit me that I really goofed when booking this trip. I won't be home for elections and I didn't realize that until NOW! Meaning to late for the absentee voting. There were several close races that are of interest to me too. I'm really kicking myself over this.

Kim will be meeting a young man while we are there! My oldest son and DIL recommended that Kim write him on Facebook. They started messaging each other and have been writing each other for 6 months. Recently they started talking on the phone. She's extremely nervous yet excited about meeting him. I think she's nervous because we will be there. I would be if I was in her situation.

Okay, I think I've shared enough of my mindless mumbling's and mutterings. Have a great weekend! And as always thank you for stopping by to visit, it's always appreciated. =)

I'm Home Again!

2010-10-14T21:24:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here. In fact, I considered closing this blog on several occasions due to the neglect. I suppose I could claim that I was extraordinarily busy. I wish! With this economy, things have been slow.

Recently I read somewhere that there were less weddings this year than back in 1968! Actually that doesn't surprise me. Those that have contacted me for their 2011 wedding have all mentioned they originally wanted to get married this year but had to hold off due to expenses, job security, etc. We have survived this low year and for that I'm grateful. =)

Another distraction for me this past year was Facebook. First I want to say, Facebook has helped my business! I was surprised by that. I guess my webmaster knew what he was talking about. Imagine that! =)

However, I've also come to the conclusion that Facebook is a great place to feel like a total loser! It made me 'homesick' for the good ole AOL journal community. It was truly a community that cared about each other. If for some reason you didn't post something for a period of time, you would get e-mails from concerned friends. I MISS that, having that actual connection with others.

With Facebook, I haven't posted any status updates for long periods of time and not one person has checked to see if I was still alive and kicking. Does that mean no one cares? See, it makes you start to doubt your self worth!

Now, I'm off to see if I can find some of my old favorite blogs. I wonder how many are still writing. If you have found me again, leave me a link to one of your favorite blogs to follow. I want to reconnect here in bloggerville.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my mindless mumbling's. May you have a blessed day!

He's Got Cojones!

2010-06-07T02:12:00.001-07:00

I shared this entry on my business blog and decided to share the story here on the personal side. Each day I post an 'Image of the Day'. I try to post weddings, portraits and even pet portraits. However, with this I hesitate to say 'pet' photography as I personally have no desire to have one of these as a pet! I must admit this little guy did amuse and even scared me a wee bit.

In his eagerness to find food he jumped on my leg, which I started shaking my leg and screaming "NO, NO, NO, NO!!" He wasn't giving up that easily, as he jumped from my leg into my open door of the truck! He then ran and grabbed a small white bag sitting on the passenger seat next to my camera. Again I'm screaming "NO, NO, NO!" My voice becoming shrill with each NO. And I imagine it must have been a sight to see.

In the white bag (which he couldn't get out) was half a donut. Once he was out of my truck, and I was safely IN my truck with the door closed, I tossed him the donut in pieces. Not that I'm really sure a donut is good for this guy but, I certainly wasn't going to eat it after he had manhandled the bag and well, he was rather entertaining from the safety of my truck! Just keep him off my leg please!!!

So without further ado here is the 'Image of the Day'.

He's got cojones! Translation: He's got balls!

Wrong?

2010-04-30T18:19:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days where I could easily say "If it could go wrong, it did!" OR, I could look at all the little blessings in disguise of things going wrong!

It started with setting the alarm on my cell phone for the wrong time. Not that it would have mattered as I had the phone on SILENT! (smart move, huh!?!) I also woke up with a pounding headache which is very rare for me. So, let's just say I was a wee bit ummmm, grouchy? Oh and maybe just a tad overly sensitive!

For every little thing that went wrong there was another alternative that in reality worked out, not necessarily 'for the better' but, it worked out!

It's funny how I started to freak out knowing everything was starting to fall apart on me. Then when I changed my thinking to find the positives of the day I realized it was all working out okay. But, not only did things work out, after my "attitude adjustment' the day started improving and going RIGHT!

I guess the moral of what I'm trying to say is: If your day is starting out rough and everything is falling down at your feet. Stop and look for the slightest positive thing and once you do, you start looking for all the other positive things and before you know it, the day starts to slowly improve. =)

BTW, the potential customer I had to meet today, did NOT hire us. It's okay though because not all do and we aren't a good fit for all couples. Someone else will come along and hire me to photograph their wedding, family, baby or even their dog! =) I want customers to hire us because they want to work with US and they LOVE our photography not because we offer the affordable packages!

So tell me, what is a positive thing that happened to YOU today?

Bad girl, bad girl ...

2010-04-20T22:49:00.001-07:00

... whatcha going to do when they come for you!

Today I had a little free time and went to visit some of my favorite blogs. Sadly, many of them haven't been updated in several MONTHS. So, I guess it's not just me who's been absent from bloggerville. Does that mean I have no reason to feel guilty for not visiting those blogs since they haven't been updated?

Maybe I need to get out and start exploring some new blogs? I'll think about it. Soon I'll be hitting the busy time of the year for my business and won't have much free time for writing or reading.

Well, I had a little 'excitement' today. I was pulled over by a cop! No, I didn't mention my middle son was a cop. I knew that wouldn't go over with this cop. It might have made things worse!

What happened? Well, I was in a brightly lit parking lot, and in the parking lot were FIVE fire trucks and two police cars. I was distracted!

I pulled out of the parking lot without my headlights on! Yep, that was my crime. I did however turn on the lights within a minute of leaving the parking lot. Just not soon enough for Mr No Sense of Humor Cop. =(

He took my license, my registration and my insurance went to his car and called my info in! Finally he came back to the car and scolded me for pulling out into the road without my lights. (sigh) This cop was as old as my son and he was SCOLDING me out! Gesh. Didn't he have any real criminals to go after?!?!? Maybe he should go to Baltimore and work with my son ... he deals with bad dudes and dudettes!

Mmm, now I'm wondering does my son have no sense of humor too?

Couple last items: I'm once again posting photos at Shutterly Happy. Well, once in a while I am for the Round Robin Photo Challenges, etc. When time allows.

Last item, if you are on Facebook come say hi to me there. Or let me know and I can find you. =) I'm listed under Family Affair Photography.

Feeling a wee bit lonely

2010-04-07T20:53:00.001-07:00

and a wee bit frustrated.

However, I can't talk about 'things' (head games) here as I don't know who all reads this. (sigh)

So, what can I talk about?!? Well, my oldest son will be here in about a month. Not ready. Will the house EVER be "ready" - probably not! There is always something to do to our home. =)

I would like to see the downstairs room completed, it's such a mess. UGH. It's the room that had the water pipe bust during the sell. The owners did a half a$$ repair job on it. We had to tear the ceiling off and redo it correctly. Then Sonny got the ceiling back up and another pipe went bad! So, it's all down again and he's redoing ALL the plumbing.

On the good side of things - the outside sewer pipes are all NEW. We should be set for years with those. =)

Neighbor on the other hand had problems. Seems the man who lived here in this house cut off the neighbors pipes and left them to drain into the ground and back up. This happened just before we bought the house. (whew).

From what I understand the owner in our home didn't like him because of his skin color. It's not an issue for us, we like him! He's a good guy and watches out for all the neighbors. =) I feel safer knowing he doesn't let things slide by around the neighborhood.

Of course yesterday we had some action around here and our neighbor wasn't even home! His dog kept barking - you know that "come a step closer and I'll tear your head off" bark. I kept looking out the window and really couldn't see anything. Then I saw a guy walking around the alley.

Mmmmm, suspicious. I suppose I should've called the police at that point. However, all I was thinking was "How do I tell the police I need them to check out the alley cuz our neighbor's dog is barking his mean bark?"

My cop son told me I should've just told them there was suspicious activity in the alley. Oh DUH!?!?!? Why didn't I think of that?!?! Next time I will know.

Later that night, around 1 am the police and paramedics were back. A police officer got into the ambulance with the patient the other cop drove behind the ambulance when they left. Very interesting. All this in the same area of the police activity earlier in the day.

Yes, I have a nose problem. Wanna make something of that?!?! =)

So, what's happening in your neighborhood? I know, I should just come visit you and find out! =) Watch out, I might come knocking on your (blog) door soon.

BTW, only lonely because my husband is at work and I really want to be with him right now. Frustrated with so called "professionals" in the wedding industry. I'll leave it at that! Night all!

**** BTW, I feel better after writing even if I didn't discuss the frustrations. Sometimes just changing your thoughts can help a great deal. So for that, thank you for 'listening'! =)

The View

2010-03-07T13:59:00.001-08:00

This is something I shared on Facebook and thought I'd go ahead and share it here on the blog too. =)

Everyday as I drive north on I-5, I enjoy this view. Naturally it varies on sky conditions (of course). Often times in the winter Mt Rainier is hidden in the mist of the clouds. However on clear days the view always wows me.

This photo was taken going 60 MPH on the freeway, pretty good for a 'drive-by' don't you think?

Hope everyone has been having a great weekend!

This n That n Nothin' Much

2010-03-04T21:28:00.001-08:00

What does one do when they have caught up on ALL their work? I'm afraid to think that everything is caught up and in order ... am I forgetting something?!?! Does that mean I can blog without a guilty conscious? =) I like that idea.

All my customers have their photos, the next wedding will be this Saturday and then I'll once again be editing photos. But, what do I have that has to be done between now and Saturday? Charge batteries for the camera, that's it.

YES, I can blog with a clear mind.

Now what? Ohhhh, I have some news to share. =) Those of you who follow me on Facebook already know this (Boo, Ken, Terri and Linda), Robert will NOT be deployed after all. It was a mix up and he was out of the reserves BEFORE the deployment was assigned to him.

While it means he won't be here at Fort Lewis for a month, I'm okay with that. Because something better is going to happen. =) He is coming to visit us in WA, first time since the USS Carl Vinson left WA 5 or so years ago.

Since he's not deploying it means he can bring his wife and some VERY VERY SPECIAL girls ... my granddaughters!!! =) They will be here in 73 days. Yes, the countdown starts! The camera is ready to take photos of those precious girls ... oh yeah the son and DIL too if they must get in the way! =)

I think there was something else I was going to share but, my mind is blank. Yeah, yeah, I know, common for me. Since I can't remember I'll go read some blogs and see who all remembers me.

** photo is a flower in our yard that is blooming. Love seeing the spring flowers appearing. I thought I'd share some of the spring color with you.

Two Hours

2010-02-22T18:35:00.001-08:00

Today I'm thankful it wasn't snowing or raining. I'm thankful that we've been having beautiful weather the past several days.

However, despite our beautiful clear skies I can't recommend sitting on your front porch for two hours in our 49* temperatures without proper clothing. It can make you cranky and if your old enough, stiff too!

I got up and walked around the block a couple of times. Each time Toby would protest that I was taking a walk and leaving him at home. With no leash, it wasn't happening. Sorry Toby. The walking probably helped a bit ... a wee bit. I was still cold and I still remained cranky.

Sitting on the hard cement steps made my bum protest, it didn't like how hard or how cold the seat was. It's not as if my bum doesn't have enough padding. (sigh)

Two blocks from us is a "lovely" little bar. I decided I'd go hang out there for a bit. I wanted more than anything to warm up. I opened the door, glanced in and saw all these men and not ONE woman. Uhhh, never mind! So much for sitting at the bar nursing a Diet Coke.

So you ask, WHY was I sitting outside for two hours thinking about ALL the things I could be doing IF I was inside? Yes, I locked myself out ... kind of obvious huh?

Let me back up just a wee bit if I may. The other day the water pump went out in my truck and today Sonny started to replace it. However, he found another little problem and he didn't get to finish the repair before he had to go to work.

We only have the one vehicle right now. Sooooo, we called his mom and asked if she would take Sonny to work today as we knew we couldn't count on Kim to be home on time. NORMALLY, Kim gets home right at 3:15 when we are walking out the door to take Sonny to work.

Kim has this built in radar that warns her when we need her home on time for one reason or another. When that radar goes off, she finds other things to keep herself busy for several hours. Also, she won't answer her cell phone, she doesn't call ... I often wonder WHY she even has a cell phone. But, she pays her part so I don't complain (much).

Sonny's mom came and asked if I would drive the car. She went with us, she doesn't drive the highway. I drove, we dropped Sonny off at work (only 10 miles away) and came back to my house. I got out of the car, Sonny's mom got back in the drivers seat and took off.

I walked up to the house and searched for my keys, no success so I dumped out the purse and searched some more, shook the purse violently in hopes that the purse would release it's hold on my keys. Nope nothing happened, the purse wasn't holding my keys hostage.

So, I sat down and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Two hours of waiting.

While waiting I learned my neighbor across the street isn't very educated. I was listening to him talk to someone on his cell phone. Every other word was "you know" and "like" mingled in with a good amount of obscenities.

A typical sentence from the neighbor: "bleep, bleep you know, like, bleep, bleep do you get it? You know, bleep, bleep like bleep! " I wanted to go over and slap his head thinking maybe it might help. You know like how records get stuck, you know!

Okay, like it's time for me to like get some work done, you know!

***UPDATE: This evening as Kim and I were watching a little TV, I put my hands in my jacket pocket and I felt my keys! This is the same jacket I've had on ALL frickin day!

While I was sitting outside my hands were in my pockets most of the time. Just moments before I sat down to watch TV with Kim I had mentioned that I had NO CLUE where my keys were.

Were they there the entire time!?!? If so ... HOW did I miss them?!?!?! They couldn't have been there! HOW and WHEN did they get in my pockets! I'm so confused. (sigh)

Am I getting that old? Don't even answer that!

Mixed Messages

2010-02-19T21:53:00.001-08:00

Today I was a wee bit sad and yet happy. I am a woman after all so I am allowed conflicting emotions!

Today my oldest son, Robert graduated from the Baltimore Police Academy. More than anything I wanted to be there to show him that despite my complaints about his career choice I do support him and I'm damn proud of him.

First conflicting emotions, now conflicting message to son; not liking the career choice (because mama bear worries) but at the same time so proud of the young man he's become.

I guess about 10 minutes or so before his graduation he received a message that he's being deployed to Afghanistan in a few months. He's been in the reserves. Notice I said 'been', as in past tense. He left the reserves. However, I guess there seems to be a dispute about that. We shall see how this all unfolds.

We still don't have an ETA for Heather to return home from Haiti. I think Robert said they had under 20 patients on the ship now. Does that mean they will return home just as Robert deploys?

While I'd LOVE to have the girls here with me, I also realize this has got to be stressful for my young granddaughters when both mommy and then daddy leave them.

Unfortunately I've seen several homecomings where the young children don't recognize their parent or they stand back away from them. It's heartbreaking to watch the soldier wanting a hug and the child hiding behind the other parent. It was that very scene my son saw and made him realize he didn't want to be in the military, he wanted to be with his children. Now this.

Other stuff. Youngest son, Ryan is testing for a fire department in the Baltimore area Saturday. My thoughts and prayers are with him. I'd LOVE to see him get on with a fire department as it's what he does in the navy and it's something he enjoys.

Before I close this entry. Today it seemed everyone wanted to call me at the very same moment. I'd go long periods with no calls, then I'd get a call and as soon as I started talking I'd hear the little click letting me know another caller is trying to call. I don' do the back and forth thing, I'm sorry I find it rude.

I get off my call and each time I was on a call, I'd get 3 to 5 calls and all leaving messages for me. When I return their calls, they don't answer. Later they call back and then of course 3-5 others call during that call.

This I'm blaming the phone stuff on the alignment of the planets.

My shirt was on right side, my socks matched, clothing wise all was good. Of course it was because I really didn't go anywhere ... I went out once but I didn't have to get out of my car!

Have a safe and fun weekend! We are expecting more sunshine here and as a result of that have scheduled two portrait sessions this weekend. =)

Walk this Way

2010-02-18T02:30:00.001-08:00

The other night Sonny came home from work and told me; "if you were walking out the door with your bra outside your shirt, you know I'd tell you right? Because I love you."

I'm POSITIVE I'd notice that my bra was over my shirt, no if's and's or maybe's about that! It's not going to happen.

So, now of course that still begs me to ask why he would even say that! Was my shirt inside out again or something?

Nope. It seems that my DH, Sonny walked the "walk of shame" at work. He wore two different pairs of shoes!!! Me, the loving wife that I am, obviously didn't tell him.

In my defense .... I didn't NOTICE! I don't look at his shoes, I could care less about HIS shoes. I barely care about my own. My only care is if my feet are happy or if they want to kick the D*** shoes off. Generally they are happiest with NO shoes, thank you.

Being the loving wife that I am, I laughed ... hysterically at my DH.

Today, I was sitting on the sofa attempting to get my thoughts together, sort my day out in my head and get moving out the door. Sonny looks over at me and asks "Is your shirt inside out or is that some new creative stitching?" Yep, I did it AGAIN!

Almost went to a professional wedding vendor meeting where I would be standing in front of everyone speaking with my shirt inside out. Luckily Sonny told me despite my laughing at HIM the night before. Whew, he could've ... he didn't. =) He must love me, you think? =)

Just Another Day

2010-02-11T02:16:00.001-08:00

Today was one of those days ... where you wonder when things will go right. It wasn't particularly a bad day, it just wasn't right! Does that make any sense?

Our trash pick up here is a day later than where we used to live. That throws me off. I wake up hearing the trucks and I thought it was Tuesday. My mind mulls over what I need to do today. Umm, Tuesday means nothing important. Good, I allow myself extra time in the comfort of my bed.

Look at the clock, it's flashing meaning electricity was off for a brief period of time during the night. No biggie. I eventually work my way to the computer to check business e-mails and work on getting my act together.

Then I saw it ... the e-mail reminding me I'm supposed to meet a bride (who already hired us) at her wedding venue. I'm supposed to be there in ONE hour!!! I'm not dressed, not showered, not coherent and I have NO clue where the venue is located. Oh, I do know that it's at least a 45 minute drive from where I live. At LEAST 45 minutes with good traffic.

Rush, rush, rush ... got a little testy with anyone who dared to get in my way as I was rushing around the house looking for my clothes, my keys, my head, or even my sanity. Found most everything. The sanity has been missing for some time now. =(

Jumped in the car to head to the venue. Praying along the way for clear traffic. That I got for the most part, a few rough spots but not bad overall. I look over, and Sonny's hair is actually flat on his head not straight up as it usually is in the morning. =) Whew, we are good!

Got to the venue - 15 minutes late. I wasn't happy about that. Part of it was us getting lost with the directions we had. Sometimes when you are rushing madly you don't hear all the important details. (sigh)

In the truck I was wearing a sweat shirt jacket to keep warm, I didn't want to wear that in front of the bride. It was all I could find when I was looking for jackets or anything to keep me warm. I went to take it off and Sonny tells me my buttons came undone on my shirt. No prob.

Looking down I start to attempt to button my shirt. However something was seriously wrong. I couldn't understand the buttons. Ohhhhh, my shirt was on inside OUT! (sigh) Sweat shirt jacket back on. =(

We looked around the venue, all the time I'm wondering is my hair all over the place, does anyone know my buttons are all undone, my shirt is inside out, my head is in a major state of confusion, and then I realize once again I'm in a sweat shirt jacket in front of this high end bride! Urgh.

Beautiful venue, lots of wonderful photo opportunities.

Finally back in the car and we can head home. However, I realize we are close to the Ikea store. Kim wants some items from the store, we should get her a gift certificate for her birthday.

We stop, we start to amuse ourselves with all the storage systems they have. Uh oh, the time ... we must watch the time as Sonny has to work this afternoon. We grab a quick lunch, get the certificate and bolt out the door.

Got home with just enough time for Sonny to change, get his work badge and bolt back out the door.

Home again ... can I just relax now? Uh no .. the madness must continue and this time Kim and I run out the door. She dragged me around to several stores showing me curtains for her room, bedspreads, new mattresses and other NEEDED stuff.

At 8pm I was FINALLY allowed to go to my room, close the door and just hide. I may not come out tomorrow! Tomorrow is Thursday right? I think the date is clear for me to hide. =)

Happy hiding folks!

* Update on Thursday. I didn't get to hide out ... maybe tomorrow? (doubtful). All day today Sonny kept thinking it was Friday. You should've seen his face when I finally broke the news that it was only Thursday and he still had TWO days of work ahead of him.

Middle Name - Middle Initial

2010-02-10T02:39:00.001-08:00

Rules:

It's harder than it looks. Actually, for me it was very easy - I guess I had a good middle name for this? And I've always HATED my middle name.

Erase my answers, enter yours. Send it on to 10 people including the one that sent this to you. (I received this in an e-mail from my friend Tamara).

Use the first letter of your middle name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names or things nothing made up!

Try to use different answers if the person who sent this to you has the same middle initial. You can't use your name for the boy/girl name.

1. What is your Middle name? Pilar (I'm 1/2 Mexican)

2. A 4 Letter Word Punk

3. A Boys Name Peter

4. Girls name Paula

5. An Occupation PHOTOGRAPHER! (You didn't expect me to say something else did you?!?!)

6. Something you wear Pajamas

7. Beverage Pina Colada

8. A place Paris

9. Something you shout PICKLES! (not really but, it works for this!)

the hardest part is finding 10 people that will play with you!!!
Remember to send it back to me. If you do this leave me your link instead. =)

Increased Smile, Reducing Elsewhere

2010-02-08T18:49:00.001-08:00

This afternoon my two sons unknowingly, unwittingly provided me with thee biggest smile I've had in a few weeks. I swear I thought my face was going to crack in half!

I decided to call my oldest son, Robert to see if he's gotten out, been to work and how he's LOVIN' the snow. You know, the son who's living between DC & Baltimore. Yes, I had evil intentions, especially since we are enjoying beautiful sunshine here in WA state. =) (bad momma ... wicked momma).

He hasn't been out, he's hating the snow. Nor did he buy that we are having sunshine! We honestly are. Would I have any reason to lie?!?! No, he's stuck with a 5 year contract. He's not going anywhere.

Anyway, I called and he told me to hang up as he would call me in just a moment. Uh huh, I've heard that before ... then forgotten. Within seconds he called me back, with my youngest son on the line too. Conference call ... YaY!

I didn't talk much, I sat back and listened to the two of them go at it ... it was just like the 'old' days when they lived at home. =) The bantering went on, I'd add my 2 cents from time to time but honestly I was happiest just kicking back listening to the two of them. Sometimes it truly is the simplest of things that can make your day.

Earlier today we met with a potential customer. The bride was difficult to read, the groom genuinely seemed interested in our services. We shall see what happens. We certainly don't get everyone to book our services, though we book a high percentage.

I should be working on my business blog. Last year I had several blogs and this year I have reduced back down to one blog which will have previews of all weddings, portrait sessions my image of the day and all that business stuff!

This is my year to reduce. Reduce the amount of work - my photo editing is now handled by a young lady who does beautiful editing work at .20 an image. Generally my weddings produce about 100 images for every hour of coverage (2 photographers).

Reducing my clutter and knick knacks that collect dust or were forgotten in some box up in the attic. We will have a garage sale with my MIL later this spring.

Sonny has started work in the 3rd bedroom that is going to serve as Kim's sitting room/office/escape/whatever room! It had paneling on the walls, the ceiling had water damage, and it had those ugly drop down ceilings. I've asked Sonny to save the paneling, I'll paint them an off white and use them in the garage when I build my studio. I get half of the 2.5 car garage! YaY!

I'll be sure to take some photos of Sonny and his mess ... I have a before photo somewhere. And of course, we have to get a completed photo. Those won't be shared today. Sorry.

Okay, I've rambled on enough for tonight. I want to thank all of you kept me in your alerts. =) I'll be visiting everyone as time allows, I'm making time for blogging and other things that I enjoyed and haven't had much time to do lately due to the business taking over my life. =)

Last question, anyone on Facebook? I'm there and check in from time to time.

Hello Friends

2010-02-05T17:54:00.001-08:00

beep beep ... am I on anyone's radar anymore? I've been such an absent figure around here it wouldn't surprise me to learn that I'm all alone in this little corner of cyber space.

How is everyone? I hope this year is improving as it appears to be for us. =)

We have 'our' home now ... finally! It's in need of work. It seems everyday we find something else we want to do to the house. It's fun, it's a bit overwhelming, but most of all it's just exciting! =)

Maybe once I'm unpacked I can invite you over for a cyber housewarming party! =) It might be a while ... I have a TON of boxes to unpack and figure out what I'm going to do with. I feel a HUGE garage sale is in the near future.

What else? Business seems to be picking up this year. Last year was a bit rocky. I really considered finding a part time job. Okay, I did more than consider, I applied for many jobs and got nothing. Luckily I always seemed to get a little bit of business in time to pay a bill or meet a need. =) I was always grateful for that!

My oldest son graduates from the Baltimore Police Academy in a few days. I still wish he had moved to the West Coast. The Baltimore PD got a stand up guy when they hired him. =)

My youngest only has a few more months in the US Navy. He will be testing for a fire department near my oldest. WHY must they live so far from Washington STATE.

I did the same to my parents. They lived in Florida and I moved to California. Payback? Don't ask me to move to Baltimore or the DC area. I just can't do it. I LOVE the beautiful Northwest.

Kim, is doing good no, make that GREAT. She bought this house we are living in ... all on her own! Okay, we pay her mortgage ... she's my landlord! She's off to a good start saving for her retirement and later years. Now if I could just find a decent guy for her! She's been jerked along by several guys lately.

I know there were other things on my mind to share. But, I think I will leave it at this for now. If your still around stop by and say hi! I'll be making my rounds and seeing who is still here bloggerville and who remembers me!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:06:00.001-08:00

I couldn't let this day pass without stopping to wish all my blogger friends a very Merry Christmas.

This past year has been a struggle, I can't deny that. Despite the struggles, I learned that sometimes I just need to step back and focus on the blessings no matter how small they may seem. Those small blessings can certainly add up!

Thank you all for allowing me to share my struggles this year, that friendship and support was truly appreciated. I'm looking forward to the New Year. We are already seeing small signs of improvement for the business and I expect to see more. =) Also sometime in 2010 I hope to announce that we have a home!

Wishing all of you a Joyous Christmas and a Happy, healthy New Year!

Recent Events

2009-12-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

I've wanted to write, yet the words have failed me.

As many of you may have read in papers or heard on TV, we recently lost four police officers in the most heinous of acts in Lakewood, WA.

There are many who don't like police officers and will call them names, are disrespectful and forget that behind that badge is a father/mother, husband/wife or a son/daughter. They are not robots, they are not without emotion and love for their families and their communities.

Until this recent event I have never told my own police officer son how proud I am of him. I've expressed my fears, my concerns yet, I've never once told him how proud I truly am. It's time he knows that I AM proud of him and that I LOVE him for what he does and who he has become. I will always pray for his safety too!

People have ask me WHY I went to the memorial for officers I didn't personally know. I went because they are part of my community.

These officers who were killed looked out for OUR safety, they were assigned to protect and serve US.

Please include these officers families in your prayers, they will need all the loving support and prayers they can get at this time. Also, think about telling the next officer you see "Thank you for serving our community".

Once again, words fail me.

Blind-sided

2009-11-13T18:31:00.001-08:00

Today we got blind-sided. It hurts like a ...

It seems that the bank (it's a bank owned home) forgot to sign a paper and thus found a loop hole and decided to go with the other buyer who offered a lower amount for the home. Huh?

I'm just going to say a couple of things about this. The listing agent was from the same office as our first Realtor. Mmmm.

Our current Realtor got a curt rejection letter, followed by a demanding phone call from the financial person who had pre-approved a home loan through the first agency. She wanted to know WHO and HOW the new loan had been approved. Mmmm, confidential information!

Back to square one once again. I have some thoughts on what happened but, I have no proof of wrong doing.

**** Update. OMG, OMG, OMG I just got off the phone with our new Realtor and learned that the LISTING agent owned a home that our original Realtor tried to get us to buy. But, then the owner (who I now know is the listing agent) of that home decided to split the property ... you can read about it in this entry - home.

Anyway, it appears that the listing agent is a wee bit bitter that we "walked away" from that home deal and instead of working in the best interest of his client he decided to nix our offer due to a unsigned paper and give it to the other lower offer!

At this point we are putting it all behind us and moving forward with our search for OUR home. It's out there, right

Positive Changes ... at last!

2009-11-12T14:44:00.001-08:00

One week ago we found a home that looked like it had a lot of potential. We called the realtor and asked her to show it to us. Even she couldn't find anything wrong with the house and trust me, this was unusual!

However back at the office later that same afternoon, she informs us that we could never get this home because of the financing. We needed to save an additional $3,000.00. She told us to save the money and come back in 3 months after we saved that money. Uh huh, save an additional $3,000.00 at Christmas time!?!? Seriously?!?!? She made NO attempt to write an offer ... NONE.

This had happened before when we found a home we really liked. She didn't want to write the offer for one reason after another. We finally went to her broker who immediately wrote the offer which got accepted.

That particular house had several problems that would have cost us major money almost immediately. The previous owners essentially put a band aide on a gushing artery. Not helpful. We ended up turning that house down. =( It was hard walking away from it yet, we knew it was the right thing to do.

We found several homes afterwards that we really liked but, she always found 'problems' with the home. A few she found for us, we thought we could live with, make them work. But, a kink of some sort would stop that sale. Obviously the ones she thought we should buy were NOT meant for us ... even if we thought we could make it work, eventually with modifications, etc.

I'm grateful they didn't work out. This journey has had it's up's and down's. And I'd have to say it had more down's then anything. All of us were getting terribly discouraged. Maybe this isn't our time? Then we would tell ourselves to hang in there and keep the faith. It was HARD.

When the realtor told us to go save the money and come back when we had the extra funding we decided to question our nephew who had recently bought a home. He told us of his agent and how great she was to work with, a positive go getter.

We called her and told her we were dismissed from our previous agent which we were and we had found a home we loved but, we didn't qualify. I figured the home would give her an idea of what we were looking for.

She wanted to know why we felt we didn't qualify as she wrote up the paperwork for this particular house! She called, it was still available the listing agent had an offer he was going to turn in but was going to wait for our offer so he could give them both offers.

Anyway, long story short, we qualified with NO difficulties, the offer was accepted! Now it's just pending inspection. I'm praying this IS the home. It's a neighborhood we really like, the home is cute and spacious ... needs paint in the bedrooms but, I can live with that!

If you believe in prayer, please keep us and our home situation in your prayers. It would be so greatly appreciated. =) Ask your blogger buddies to help with the positive thoughts and prayers too! I'm looking for ALL the help I can get!! =)

Here are some photos of the house from the listing. It's a 1950 rambler. Nothing fancy, it's a nice basic home. =)

I love this kitchen, light and airy. =)

Looking toward the kitchen - that's the dining room area.

So, are you with me in keeping plosive thoughts and prayers going! If inspection passes we will be moving in JANUARY - how sweet would that be to start the New Year in a new home! =)

Overwhelmed ...

2009-10-28T21:44:00.001-07:00

... with so many emotions. Less than a month ago, I was feeling very alone in the world. Well, not so much alone but, I felt I had NO family. The only family I have is Sonny's family. I love his family, I miss having my own too. Does that make sense?

Then out of the blue I received an e-mail from a niece I've never met telling me that my half sister who I've also never met has been searching for ME! My head was spinning. MY half sister made an effort to find ME! =) She only had a photo from my mom that had my maiden name written on the back.

Let me back up a moment. When my mom was young she met and married a young handsome Mexican from a wealthy family. My mom was born in Mexico, raised mostly in the States. Anyway, they had two daughters. When the oldest was 9 my mom got a divorce which was unheard of back in the day. And from what she had said was very embarrassing to her family as she put them to 'shame'.

She didn't get the girls, it's a man's world in Mexico. She tried often to see them, to have contact with them and was always met with brick walls. I heard my mom speak of my sisters often with tears in her eyes and deep sadness in her voice. I tried hard to be the daughter she needed to comfort the empty gap in her life. That was a TALL order that I realize as a mom, I could never have filled.

I have exchanged e-mails with my sister, even talked to her on the phone. Our conversation had me in tears. It must've been so hard on her, losing her mom when she was about 9 years old. Thinking her mom just abandoned her and no longer wanted to be a part of her life. That was so far from the truth! The pain that my mom felt, the pain my sisters felt is heart wrenching.

When my sister, Maria's dad was on his deathbed, he told the girls not to be angry with their mom that she did no wrong. His new wife was very strict and wanted NO mention of my mom. He knew my mom wanted contact, he KNEW she wanted to be a part of their lives. Yet, he let his new wife rule.

My mom finally got to meet Maria and they spent time at each others homes. However, I never got the opportunity to meet her as I was dealing with a husband who'd rather I have no family or friends. It's something abusers like, to alienate you from those who love you.

Shortly after my met my sister, Maria, my mom was killed in a car accident. My mom was my best friend, the best mom and she kept me moving forward when I felt like falling. My ex loved this time in my life. It was after my mom died he told me NOT to contact my half brothers and sisters from my dad's side of the family. This caused major alienation. I was shunned from his children.

Soon my ex would tell me on a regular basis how he could have me killed and NO ONE would miss me. It was true. The only ones who would miss me were my three children. Other than who would report me missing? Who would report that I was in an abusive relationship? No one. I was alone.

Sonny claims he didn't get married earlier in life because he had to wait to save me. =) It might sound funny here but, it's cute how he says it. He IS my knight with clunky armor and he may not have the white horse, he had an old pick up truck!

Back to family. Before my sister wrote me, I received an e-mail from a long lost cousin. She found a photograph of my mom, dad and me when I was a baby. She wanted to send it to me. I received it the day I received the e-mail written in Spanish from Maria.

My cousin is bilingual and works as an interpreter, this couldn't have been better timing! She read the letter to me and wrote my sister a letter on my behalf. I learned when I called Maria, that she can speak English but doesn't know how to write in English.

WoW, are you still with me? Have I lost you somewhere? I think I lost myself somewhere as I was trying to share ALL this.

Long story short - I have FAMILY! =) After talking to my cousin, she assured me that YES, I still have family ... LOT's of family. It was also after talking to my cousin that I decided to search for my siblings on my dad's side of the family. Even if they didn't want to talk to me, I was curious about them.

My mom had two daughters from her previous marriage in Mexico. I haven't had contact with Martha the youngest of the two YET. My dad had 5 children from a previous marriage. While he didn't want any more children, he knew my mom desperately wanted a daughter - they got "lucky" and had ME! YaY! LOL I'm not sure how lucky that really is but, I'll call it that as I'm a girl not a boy.

So, I do an online search of each of the other brothers and sisters. I found the youngest of the sisters on Facebook and we've had some brief contact. I hope we have more. There are two (a brother and a sister) that I haven't found anything on. Then there are the two oldest of the brothers.

One is still in Southern California doing woodwork and protesting against Mexicans in the US. Ouch, I'm half Mexican. Like my mom, I believe if you live in the States you should speak English. Just as if you live in Paris, you should speak French or at least be learning it!

Then that leaves one brother and this one just breaks my heart. I have been overwhelmed with deep sorrow for him. It seems he invested money and the investor ran an Ponzi Scheme and is now in court facing charges while my brother and many others are losing their homes.

It also made me realize, that despite the problems Sonny & I have - lack of income type issues. I'm grateful that neither of us have a lot nor do we truly feel we are lacking. It just would be nice NOT to have to worry about $$. But, I guess it doesn't always mean if you have money you have no worries in life. Maybe their worries are in the MILLIONS instead of just in the 10's and 20's like mine.

Sorry to have rambled on endlessly here. I really needed the opportunity to just purge. Despite sharing all this, my head is still spinning and I only shared a few tidbits of what I've learned in the past few days.

Whew, Calgon take me away ... I need to decompress!

Wishing ...

2009-10-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

I had someone I could talk to right now.

Searching for a home shouldn't be so complicated! How long have we been looking now? I'm afraid to even count back to the start of our search. If I do, I just might start to cry.

Yes, I'm down.

Shortly before our vacation to Vegas we had found a home we all fell in love with. It had EVERYTHING we needed and nothing we didn't need. It wasn't a big house, it wasn't too small, it was just right. Or so we thought.

The inspector found MAJOR water damage to the house. The previous owners put a 'band aid' over some very major expensive repairs. There was NO way the house would pass inspection. Even if it did, we would've been faced with some HUGE repair bills.

Back to square one. Heavy sigh.

Last week the realtor called and informed us that he found a house and wanted to show it to us STAT. We met him and saw this tiny house. That of course was the downside of this home.

However, it had many good qualities. This house was essentially a NEW house as the owner bought the (auction) house, gutted it to the studs and rebuilt it. Everything is new, electrical, plumbing, pergo floors, granite tile floors in the bathroom and counters, etc. All done beautifully.

The house also had an unfinished attic that was a perfect size for our family room and for my office. We also figured we could add a laundry room off the kitchen with a back door to a car port. While small, we saw a LOT of potential of it being a perfect fit. It would take a little time and some work on our part. Between Sonny and some of his relatives we would've gotten it all built and completed without hiring outside help.

Today before our appointment to go in and sign paperwork we got a call from the realtor telling us we have to go out together and measure the property lines as the owner divided the property earlier today.

We saw the division, we weren't happy. It would mean he was going to build a tall narrow home in that space. Meaning we would have NO morning light and NO evening light as there is a tall house on the other side already. It's taking what potentially could've been a good home and converted it into a cave.

Not only would we lose the light but the ability to add that laundry room and car port to the house. So, we are once again back at square one.

I want to cry, yet, I'm not totally disappointed. I think I'm more mad that he pulled this the day we were supposed to sign. We had built our hopes up, we allowed ourselves to get excited.

When did home buying become so complicated? I seriously think something needs to be done that will make the homes in need of repair available to FHA loans so people without a lot of money can have a home they can fix and make nice with a little effort.

Sorry if I sound very negative today. I'm just down right now and tired of hearing "the right home is out there for you". Yeah, WHEN and more importantly WHERE is it!!! Grrrrrrrrr

Vegas Baby!

2009-09-26T01:26:00.001-07:00

I HAD to say it ... "Vegas Baby!" that is.

As some of you may know we recently returned from a short mini vacation to Arizona and Las Vegas. The Arizona portion was much to short the Las Vegas portion much to expensive!

Below are a few photographs from the trip and a few of the many brides we saw that special 'lucky' day - 9-9-09. I had NO winnings so, it wasn't particularly lucky for myself. I guess one has to gamble to win or lose and we really didn't do that. But, I can say that we went home with some money ... so maybe I was lucky?

Sonny & I at the Grand Canyon . If you've never been, put this on your MUST do list! This was my second trip, and the first for Sonny, his mom and my daughter, Kim. =)

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ. It's incredible how this church was built into the rock formations. I can only imagine a wedding here. =) If only I had that opportunity to photograph one there.

While in Vegas we stayed center strip at the Flamingo. May I say, great pools! =) We had a room on the 16th floor overlooking the pools.

Being centrally located was great for walking over to the Bellagio to see the fountains.

From there we walked over to the Paris Hotel. We didn't gamble as we were having way too much fun playing with our camera! =)

What is a trip to Vegas without seeing Elvis? Kim thought this particular Elvis was a hottie and liked getting close to him! I noticed he kept checking her out too.

We were in Las Vegas on 9-9-09, Below are a few of the brides we saw as we strolled around in searing 100+ heat. (I MISSED Washington's cooler weather!)

I must admit, I had problems with how the photographer posed this couple. Keeping each other at arms length away. I want to see some romance! This was their wedding after all! Of course, I couldn't and wouldn't interfere with another photographer at work. I just sat back watching hoping to see something romantic. Nope, didn't happen. =(

This one I like and I don't like. I love how the columns lead you to the beautiful couple. The Venetian offers plenty of wonderful photo opportunities for the newlyweds. I think my problem is with the groom sitting. Why?!? Is the bride dominating? (just my thoughts) Was he bored? Maybe his feet were hurting? =) I still think the bride might have slapped the groom silly if he tried to stand next to her and steal some of the spotlight! LOL

* While the photographs above were taken by us, we didn't pose or interfere with the photographers in action. I took the shots as the photographers were getting into place to photograph the couples.

This last couple were a lot of FUN and most definitely had plenty to drink that evening! =) Meet the bride, 'Marilyn Monroe' and the groom, 'Elvis'. The bridesmaids (I wish I got their photo) had HUGE beehive hair-do's. The best man and groomsmen were Batman and Robin. I loved this couple, as I said they were FUN and lovin life.

Just another shameless promotion here, I've been nominated in the Best of Western Washington - we are up for "best" wedding photographer again this year. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE vote for us and tell all your family and friends to vote for us ... I'm number 33 or such ... that's out of like 250+ photographers!

Your votes are most appreciated! Vote here: Best of Western Washington

Second Nomination!

2009-09-01T17:01:00.001-07:00

We received the e-mail below last week and couldn't have been more excited to be nominated for our second year in a row. We feel we have been truly blessed with our business and the wonderful customers who have come into our lives.

If you have a moment check us out here: Best of Western Washington - Family Affair Photography. And now I will shamelessly ask you to please vote for us! Have your friends and family vote too! :-D I wasn't kidding about the shameless request!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations Family Affair Photography!

Family Affair Photography has been nominated as one of Western Washington's best businesses in Evening Magazine's the Best of Western Washington. Voting begins Monday, August 31st and runs through Sunday, October 11th.

No 'Wine' ...

2009-08-13T17:14:00.001-07:00

... just a bit of a vent.

Over the past few days I've noticed a disturbing trend that is apparently getting worse not better. That trend? Distracted drivers. There have been several times I've found myself holding my breath in fear that the driver behind me wont stop in time. Each time they did - barely.

Today it was screeching tires and the driver went onto the shoulder/ditch. I wasn't hit, whew. What was the driving doing? Sending a text message! WHAT was so urgent that he couldn't wait or pull over?

There are many ways of being distracted; sending text messages, talking on the cell phone (even with a blue tooth), eating your meals on the run, children arguing in the back seat, changing CD's ... ANYTHING that takes your attention from the road ahead of you.

With so many people on the road at all times of the day it's all the more important to pay attention to what's ahead. You can be cruising along at speed limit and suddenly come to an abrupt halt, traffic seems crazy that way.

Usually on the freeway, I find the stoppage is due to people who don't know how to merge or exit from the freeway. They can have a long entry for merging but no, they want to come to a complete STOP and then try to merge. URGH! That is getting off the subject of distracted drivers and treading in the stupid driver category.

Yes, I'm passionate about not driving while distracted. In my humble opinion it's as bad as driving drunk. The reason I'm so passionate about paying attention to the road ahead is because my mom lost her life because a young driver was busy looking for a better radio station and didn't see that my mom's car had stalled. According to reports, the driver didn't even try to hit her breaks until she was just a few feet from my mom's car.

So, if you are one who likes to 'multitask' while driving, may I please ask that you reconsider. Is it worth a life to do whatever it is that is taking away your attention?

I'm getting off my soapbox now to go look at some homes.

It's been 3 weeks ...

2009-08-06T20:01:00.001-07:00

... since I've stopped by to update. I haven't really been visiting many blogs either. When I have it's just been lurking - reading without commenting.

My birthday was good. :-) Everyone in my family remembered this year. After forgetting last year on my 50th they knew better! Sonny got me the camera that I've been drooling over for the past year. Kim got me concert tickets to see Rob Thomas. My youngest son called several times to ask if I was doing something fun yet! Last year he was out to sea and couldn't call. He was the only one who was excused.

::Heavy Sigh:: The home search. We have spent the past three weeks searching with NO luck yet. We have either been outbid or by the time we find a house, it's already pending or the house won't pass with an FHA loan - which is what we have. On the other hand our nephew who is also trying to buy a home has had TWO offers accepted! The first didn't pass inspection. This second is going through all the paperwork now. It's frustrating as he's at least had offers accepted, we haven't been able to get that far!

Tonight we found another house of interest - day one on the market. We've placed an offer on the house. It meets all our needs, however it's a bit of a commute. I suppose (providing we get this) we can learn to spend an extra 15-20 minutes on the road. I'm not going to think about it ... I hate getting excited about a house then having it yanked out from under us.

Once again, I'm sending out a request for positive thoughts and prayers for us to be placed in a home soon. Especially since our landlord is wanting to move his son and DIL into this house. I don't want to be without a home! Please know that I truly appreciate the prayers and positive thoughts at this time. I'm trying to remain positive myself. I really am!

Update: Again, we were out priced. :-(

For a cheery ending, here is a beautiful Dahlia I photographed.

Never mind

2009-07-15T17:53:00.001-07:00

We didn't get the house mentioned below. Due to some changes we no longer qualify for the loan amount we had, it's now $15,000 less and as it was we were getting out bid on homes. The home search is off. Two bids have been placed on that home, both were under what we originally planned to offer if only by a couple thousand. ::sigh:: This birthday girl is sad.

Everything and MORE

2009-07-15T01:53:00.001-07:00

The search for a home has continued without much success. We found a couple of possibilities, good homes in good neighborhoods. None were "perfect" but, we (Sonny, Kim and I) figured we could each make concessions to make the house work.

Since the duplex another house has failed to go through. Someone was able to out bid us once again. This time I wasn't terribly upset. While it was a nice home in a really desirable part of town it lacked several things. As I said, we were going to deal with it and MAKE it work. It simply wasn't meant to be.

Today we found a home that is everything and MORE of what we have hoped and prayed for. The owner was home and gave us (with our realtor) a tour of the home. He took great pride in telling us everything he has done to the home, yard and garage.

The owner lost his job and as a result is now facing the fact he is losing his home. While I feel horrible that he has been put in such a situation, I pray that he is eventually led to something better down the road.

What this has for us:

Sonny wants a garage to keep his Z car that he has been in the SLOW process of restoring, he also wanted a dry place so he can work on the cars. Kim wanted a garage that would not only have room for Sonny's Z car but, have room for her car. I wanted a garage but, figured I was out of luck. Not at this house!

Kim wanted her own living room and a large yard so she could get her own dog. I wanted to have a room for a business office and IF I was lucky, I wanted space for a STUDIO so I could work year round. We can have ALL that with this particular house.

Sonny wanted a house that had either gas heat or a fire place to keep energy costs down. It not only has one fireplace, it has TWO! The second is in a bedroom that Sonny and I want. :-)

This home is everything we wanted and so much more.

If I can be given one birthday wish (my b-day is the 16th), I wish for this house to become our new home! If I can have a second birthday wish, it would be for prayers and positive thoughts from all of you in bloggerville so my first wish can come true!

Now, it's time for me to get to bed as I have an early morning photo shoot.

* Update, we aren't getting the house.

Once Again

2009-07-05T10:01:00.001-07:00

There were several reasons I deleted this blog, fewer reasons for restarting it. The biggest reason being a few people have mentioned to me they miss this blog and hearing about the happenings in my life. Meaning they cared and that touched me more than one can imagine.

I can't promise how often I'll visit and read blogs. I will keep up when I can. We are in the heart of our busy wedding season. Not only that, Fort Lewis is deploying over 5,000 troops and many have learned about the Op: Love Reunited FREE photo sessions. And we are one of the participating photographers.

Meaning, I'm getting swamped with FREE non paid work, having additional expenses of paying for their prints (they each receive 24 prints from the session in a small album). Not to mention all the time involved with the sessions and photo editing.

However with all that said, I find I have a real hard time telling these young soldiers "No, I can't do the session." Other photographers aren't having the problem of saying no or adding major stipulations of having to purchase items from them.

Not only do I have the photography stuff going on, Sonny and I are trying to buy a home. While we have been pre-approved, it's been a rough road finding a house that we like or that will pass the FHA loan requirements. It's been very frustrating.

The first house we found and fell in love with was a repo and it didn't pass the inspection because we learned the evicted owner busted the water pipe. Sonny saw where and could easily fix it in 10 minutes. However, because it didn't pass inspection we couldn't even be considered.

So, someone with a conventional loan MIGHT be able to get it or someone with cash (an investor). The frustrating thing was the house was originally on the market for a good $100,000.00 more than the asking price. FRUSTRATING. It was beautiful inside, the owner obviously put a lot into that house before he lost it.

We moved forward and searched again. Each time we found something of interest, the house would already be pending and many times the house had only been on the market for a few days. Again, more frustrations.

A few weeks ago we found a duplex that was also a repo and we all fell in love with it. Kim was going to "rent" the smaller unit, she was very excited about having her own place. I admit, I was excited to have her move "out" without really being out.

The bank reject ALL the bids saying NONE would qualify. Our realtor went back saying yes, we did and we also qualified for a rehab loan which would be needed for some roof repairs. I don't understand this part, we qualify for a rehab loan to fix a roof (major expense) but, the other busted pipe didn't qualify for the rehab loan. Go figure. Again, frustrating!

We waited for a response and the bank finally got back to us several weeks later saying they received a CASH offer for the duplex. While the CASH offer didn't match ours, it was CASH. The bank wants to wait and see if more bids come in for that property.

We are moving forward and looking at homes again. This home search has been one crazy ride! When I bought my first home with Mr Big X, we looked at maybe a dozen homes. When we saw the one we fell in love with we gave our offer, it was accepted and in no time we were in our first home. This experience is far more difficult. (sigh). We once again have a bid on another smaller home, it has some good qualities, it's lacking a few things but, it's in a really good neighborhood and within our small budget. We shall see. I refuse to get excited anymore.

Anyway, to those who mentioned they missed hearing what was happening in my life, are you still missing me now that I rambled on a mile long?

Oh, I may not write much here or that often. I can also be found at 'Shutterly Happy' a photo blog. I AM after all happy when I can play with my camera and forget the housing and work frustrations. :-)

I hope everyone had a GREAT 4th of July!

Home Again!

2009-05-14T19:07:00.001-07:00

It's certainly been a while since I've posted an entry - a WHOLE month. During the past month, I made a few attempts to visit blogs to at least say hi if nothing else. And that was only if and when I had a few minutes to myself.

My youngest, Ryan came to visit and during his visit I was talked into flying back to the Baltimore/Washington DC area to help my middle child, Robert out while his wife, Heather is deployed.

I had NO clue what I signed up for!

My two precious granddaughters are a HANDFUL. Good girls, well behaved and all that wonderful mushy stuff. It just seemed that if something wasn't going on with one, it was the other who needed attention. This grandma forgot what it was like to have two children under the age of three needing or DEMANDING your attention!

Amelia just turned three in April and really seems to be struggling with the idea that mom is gone for several months. She often sat on my lap and cuddled.

Cecilia is 18 months old. She's generally very easy going, she sings most of the day. She also wanted to sit on my lap most of the day so she could cuddle too. Double cuddles!

To be honest, I don't think my son really needed me. He's doing such a wonderful job with his daughters. He was there in every sense of the way for them. He's patient, caring, firm yet in a gentle way, silly, and he does everything he can to make sure the girls needs are met. When he was home from work, the girls were all over him with their cuddles. :-)

I left knowing he has a good handle on the situation. I also knew that within two weeks his MIL would be out to help him with the girls and she will stay until her daughter, Heather returns home in August from the deployment.

The reason I went out is that Robert FINALLY got a new job and started with the Baltimore PD the day Ryan and I arrived. Ryan stayed for a couple of days to help me out then he had to return to his ship in VA.

During my time there, I had hoped to get out and explore the area. I LOVE DC and I was only 25 miles away. The only outing I had was to Annapolis and I fell in love with that city! I could go back and spend more time there if only given the chance.

And something else happened while I was away. I became very HOMESICK! I missed my husband in a way I didn't know was possible. Since we got together we've never spent any time apart. I can tell you I don't ever want to spend another day apart from him.

Yes, I miss the granddaughters. I wish they lived closer so I could help in their care and be a more active grandma. I also cherish my quiet lifestyle with Sonny.

Anyway, I'm now home, fatigued, a bit numb, severely lacking in adult conversation, and overloaded on Dora the Explorer.

It's time for me to get back to my photography business. I will however make time each day to visit blogs and catch up on all the wonderful happenings in your life.

Blue No More

2009-04-12T21:51:00.001-07:00

The other day I was fighting depression. I was sad that no one would be at the port to welcome my youngest son, Ryan home after being out to sea for the past 9 months with the US Navy.

Also Easter was fast approaching and I knew my older son, Robert was at his home near DC all on his own with his two little girls. His wife's ship (USS Comfort) is out until August in Haiti. Since they were recently transferred to MD they have no friends or family there.

Today I talked to Robert. He didn't really do anything special except enjoy some quality time with his girls. I got to talk to Meia (3 yr old grand) on the phone. :-) She sounded so darn cute! I wish I could have reached through the phone and gave her a huge hug.

L-R: Meia, Robert, Heather and Cece. This was taken a few weeks before Heather's ship headed to Haiti.

Meia was telling me about her BIG dog, Gage who chases away and eats her bad dreams. She also wanted to make sure I knew she's NOT the baby, her sister, Cece (1yr old grand) is the baby, she is a BIG GIRL. :-)

Robert and I talked a bit longer and he sounded like he was doing well. I could also tell he would've talked to me a lot longer if I didn't have everyone waiting for me to go to Sonny's sisters house for Easter dinner.

The phone call helped.

Another unexpected phone call made me feel even better!

Ryan called and he said he was homesick and was coming home as soon his ship got into port! He will be home on the 20th! I can't wait to spend time with him and he better be prepared because I know I'll be true to my name ... Mamarazzi! :-)

Ryan, my youngest child who will soon be HOME!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter. Now, it's time for me to finish editing wedding photos and get caught up so I can spend time with my son (when he gets here) instead of being on the computer working! :-)

And how can I post this entry showing photos of my two sons and have NO mention of my daughter? So, here is a photo of my hardworking daughter - Kim. She lives here so I get to see her and argue with her on a regular basis! :-P She's a good kid, we just like to push each others buttons.

Completely Distracted

2009-04-08T21:26:00.001-07:00

Martha over at Menagerie is on spring break and is having a mini blogathon. I can't participate everyday because I'm struggling to get my wedding photos edited and to the brides on time. Anyway, she had this from The Simple Woman's Daybook.

It seems lately I've been easily distracted. Like right now, with this new distraction! Soon Kim will be home from work and she will provide another distraction.

For Today...
Outside my window... my plum tree is in full bloom and I'm hoping that the bees will pollinate them so I have LOTS of yummy plums this summer. :-)

I am thinking... how good those plums will taste on a warm summer day!

From the learning rooms... Uhh, my brain is pure mush lately. Do I have a learning room?

I am thankful for... warm springs days, fuzzy slippers, and the fact that Ryan will be back in the States in less than a week! Whoo hoo! :-)

From the kitchen... there is a pile of dirty dishes that I need to be washed. Don't they ever go away?!?!

I am wearing... warm fuzzy slippers, blue sweats and a blue v-neck tee shirt AKA my HOT MAMA outfit! Yeah, right! :-P

I am reading... Oh this really shows how pathetic I am! I'm reading "Contemporary Wedding Photography"

I am hoping... to finish editing 100 wedding photos by the end of today.

I am creating... a mess at my desk with paperwork I need to file and CD's that need to be indexed and wedding magazines that need to be put aside for now.

I am hearing... Kim's TV in the other room. She's home and not distracting me after all.

One of my favorite things... colorful spring flowers

A few plans for the rest of the week... work on wedding photographs, rest a bit and maybe even read some blogs. Oh and cook a prime rib on Saturday. Yum!

Here is a picture I am sharing with you...

This the couple's wedding I'm SUPPOSED to be working on. Can someone give me a push and get me back to work? Oh the joys of self employment - you have to motivate yourself.

A-Z Photo Challenge

2009-04-01T20:57:00.001-07:00

If you are here looking for the Round Robin Photo Challenge - Numbers click on this link: NUMBERS.

The A-Z Photo Challenge hosted by Martha has been going on for several months. Last summer in the midst of our high wedding season I got sidetracked and stopped participating.

Originally the A-Z Photo Challenge had been started by Kat during the days of our AOL Journals. I had started there too and never completed that challenge either. It's time for me to finish this for once and all! :-) So, now you have the FULL alphabet.

A - abstract art

B - beautiful bride (she was beautiful inside and out)

C - crazy mad hatter cake (this cake was pretty but, was DRY)

D - delightful dahlia

E - earnest & energetic (if I was young I'd have a crush!)

F - Fuji apples

G - Gloria, a glorious tall ship

H - horse n carriage (this was such a romantic setting)

I - interesting, intriguing (it should be Twilight that she's holding.)

J - jet (pointed right at YOU)

K - Kites

L - lucky four leaf clover (where was that a few months ago, when I needed all the help I could get?!?!)

M - music

N - nauseating, nasty (that's all gum stuck on a wall)

O - offering (isn't she the sweetest!)

P - pretty in pink (I know - so original!)

Q - quiet time together

R - romance (what's a wedding without it?)

S - signs (What does she mean by that?!?!?) ;-)

T - tattoo

U - unusual - John Lennon's Rolls

V - variety of vegetables

W - Willit Run (I rather not find out, thanks!)

X - X-treme patience (it was this or a photo of my Mr Big X - ugh)

Y - yellow submarine (I've been holding on to this since when Kat started this challenge!!)

Z - zee zealous kitty

That's it folks! I COMPLETED it and it feels good to finish something I've started so many times. :-) Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate it.

Pictures & Clarification

2009-03-25T00:30:00.001-07:00

Before I share some photographs I just wanted to clear something up from the last entry. The person who was writing me did NOT know that my son's ship would be back in port a few weeks prior to his "wedding" date.

I mentioned in the price quote to him that I would only need one night hotel as I would stay with my son who lived in the area. So, the scam artist ... NO, scam SCUM didn't know about Ryan or Robert and my precious granddaughters.

* I can't use the word "artist" in association with scam.

He just happened to pick a location where my boys are located and picked thee perfect timing to get this ole gal excited. And in answer to some comments and e-mails. Yes, the car dealership was notified as was the FBI.

Today I received another e-mail of 'interest'. It seems someone with the SAME last name as me has died and this person is leaving ME a HUGE amount of money! ME!

Now, isn't that odd? I've only married into this name about 5 years ago and I know ALL the immediate family members. Don't you think they would want to contact my husband who was BORN with this last name instead?!? LOL, I found it funny.

Of course, in order to get the money I just need to pay this 'attorney' a retainer fee of $800.00. Uh huh, I pay him $800.00 and I get what up my .... ?

Change of subject and a quick note about Ryan (my youngest son), he will be back in the states in FOUR weeks and THREE days! He has been out to sea for the past 10 months in the Persian Gulf.

I don't envy him, tight quarters, no privacy, no quiet down time, no peace, and worst of all thee worst toilet conditions I've ever seen! UGH. This is NOT a luxury cruise liner!

Okay enough babble. Besides I have to get back to my job and complete what was on my task board for today.

The following are some flowers my daughter, Kim brought home for me. Now, before you all go thinking she's the sweetest girl for always 'buying' me flowers, I should mention the flowers I've been receiving are "throw out's" from discharged patients at the hospital where she works.

One person's trash, another person's treasure?! :-)

Tookie Bird was watching me as I was photographing the flowers. He obviously wanted to be photographed too!

Someone saw that I posted a photo of Tookie Bird and now he's demanding equal or higher billing! So here is Jett looking at the screen and a bit miffed that his picture isn't here. I have now corrected the 'problem'. Now let's get this posted before Toby Dog sees the entry!

This last photo is of a deer I saw at the last wedding we were photographing. I went outside to get a better photo and he came up close to me looking for a hand out! I later learned the cook hand feeds them. I didn't have a telephoto lens on at the time, he came close to me!

Wishing everyone a good week and I'll be blog hopping (reading) a little bit at a time as I'm behind in my work. ::sigh::

$$ It MUST pay ... $$

2009-03-19T21:51:00.001-07:00

I guess I'm a little more than amazed at the effort that went into a scam. With the ALL the time spent finding and reeling in their victims, then add the researching involved and of course add the money spent sending certified letters with 'cheques' to the victims.

You would think it wouldn't PAY!

Obviously it pays! Otherwise the 'scam scum' wouldn't thrive and continue running scams. Recently I had a 'scam scum' contact me. Let me share the story of what happened.

A few weeks ago "Rick" contacted me about photographing his upcoming wedding. First e-mail, are you available on our date? Yes, I was.

Second e-mail, he tells me where they are getting married and what services and products he wants. His wedding I learned was taking place at a church in Virginia Beach and he was willing to pay for my transportation and hotel as he knew DC was a bit of a trip for me. At that point I send another e-mail informing him that he found a photographer located in Washington STATE, not Washington DC. He writes back stating they really liked my photography and would still like a quote to consider.

WoW! I admit, I got excited. His wedding date was a week after my youngest sons ship pulled back into port after 9 months at sea. Was this the answer to my prayers, providing me a way to get to VA to see Ryan's homecoming and I'd get to see my precious granddaughters from my other son. YES, it was the answer!

However, at the same time, I kept telling myself this was way to good to be true. YET, on the other hand, I wanted to think positive that this was the real deal! After all I know other wedding photographers who get gigs ALL over the country! WHY can't I be one of those photographers?!?!

I did some research on photographers and prices in the DC area. My prices ARE lower. Which seems natural as cost of living is much more affordable where I live. I could match and even BEAT some of their rates while ADDING airfare for my husband and I!

The quote was sent and I got another e-mail saying he needed to talk it over with "Mary" his fiancee. Okay, that's a good sign. I've booked weddings online without actually meeting the couple until the day of the wedding - it's not all that uncommon. With that said, it's also something I've never endorsed!

A few days later I receive another e-mail, they want to hire me! Whoo Hoo! I e-mailed him a contract and asked that he read it over. He responded within a few hours stating all looked good. Since he was going to mail me a certified check he would need my address.

I provided him my address and told him I would e-mail him when I received the contract and check. Then I did something I wish I didn't do. I got excited, I WAS GOING TO DC TO SEE MY BABIES AND MY BOYS!! I told both by boys what happened and how I was COMING! :-) They were excited, I was excited, Sonny was excited, Kim was excited because she was able to get time off work. All was good.

Then the check came, I signed for the envelope and took it inside. Now I could start booking the flights and hotel. This was REAL!

There it was a check for $3100.00. But, wait a minute. It's from a CAR DEALERSHIP! The memo says it's for "instant cash". Huh?! There was no contract, nothing indicating this came from "Rick". So, WHY is a car dealership sending me money?

I get online and I'm about to do some research on this car dealership and the bank. But, before I do that, I saw I had some new mail.

There was one from "Rick" saying he got confirmation that I received the check that morning and that "his company" sent the payment in full when they were only supposed to pay the deposit as $2000.00 of that was to go to their wedding planner in GA.

He needed me to wire the $2000.00 IMMEDIATELY to this wedding planner in GA otherwise he would lose her services and she was simply the BEST. Really now! Do you honestly think I'm THAT gullible?

I called the car dealership and of course they didn't know anything about "Rick" or about wedding plans and paying for wedding fees. The floor manager was like, you know we are a CAR dealership not wedding coordinators. I then called the church in VA and guess what there is NO wedding for "Rick" and "Mary". It was NO surprise to me.

So much for going to VA and DC to visit my boys. ::Heavy sigh::

While disappointed about not visiting my boys, I do have a story to tell of how they TRIED to scam me.

Scam Scum - 0 Monica - 1

Fix it Friday

2009-03-13T19:29:00.001-07:00

Recently I found a photography group - 'I heart Faces' and each Friday they present a photograph for members of the group to fix. I thought I would start participating. And now I'm totally ADDICTED and can't get enough! Which is really odd since a MAJORITY of my day is spent doing "basic" edits to photos for customers. Basic - light, saturation, sharpen., etc.

While Sonny and I try to get everything right in the camera in the first place, there are always edits that can be done to enhance a photograph.

This first photograph is my daughter, Kim. Isn't she beautiful?

Before - straight from the camera. (except for putting our business name!)

After - cropped, lightened around her eyes, deleted bra strap that was showing, and softened the image

Next we have sweet little 2 year old 'L' who we just photographed this last weekend.

Straight from the camera, again no editing done. This was a quick shot and I didn't get her where I wanted in the frame. :-(

After - that pole HAD to be removed by her head, fixed her hair a bit, lightened her eyes, cropped the photo, gave her a bit of a glow. Isn't she just adorable?

This next photograph isn't one of ours, this is a photo that was given to the group to fix.

A really faded Original.

My edited version. I always keep the photos in my blog cropped to standard sizes for frames. Lately, I've seen plenty of square frames.

I want MORE photos to play with!! Did I REALLY say that?!?!

Spring Break

2009-03-12T14:18:00.001-07:00

I want to thank ALL who commented and left words of support and those who sent e-mails. I truly appreciate the outpouring of love I felt. As time passes the pain isn't as frequent. And I have asked for forgiveness and after a few comments and e-mails I think I truly feel at peace over the situation.

When one is in an abusive situation themselves it's hard to speak up for someone else who is also being abused. It's not an excuse, it's a lesson learned. I'm out of the abusive situation myself and that is why I now know in my heart I WOULD speak up or take action.

Moving on!

Recently I posted the following photos at my 'Click Shots' photo blog and thought why not share a little spring break over here? Especially after my last entry! It's time to lighten things up a bit and enjoy some beautiful color and think some beautiful thoughts.

Hope you enjoy this mini "Spring Break".

The roses were from my daughter a few weeks ago, aren't they beautiful.

What Would You Do?

2009-03-11T20:26:00.001-07:00

The other day I was cooking dinner and I lost my balance (bit of water on the floor) and I nearly put my hand down on the hot burner of the stove. Scary thought. I'll get back to the burner in a moment.

This incident reminded me of a young beautiful little boy I had in my daycare years ago. He had thee biggest brown eyes, he was quiet as a little mouse and NEVER got into trouble. NEVER!

I've never shared this story, and it's a piece of guilt that haunts me often and one I imagine I will carry to my grave. Last night, I decided it was time to share the story.

Little Dominic often had bruises on his little body. I would ask his parents about it and they ALWAYS had an excuse or reason as to HOW he got the bruise. I expressed some concern to Mr Big X who advised me that I need to stop imagining things as his parents both worked for our local police department. Mom was a dispatcher and dad a cop.

Then the bruises went away and were replaced by cigarette burns. I was told he walked into their cigarettes. Do you buy that? I wanted to call child welfare. Mr Big X once again said stay out of it! If I could do it over, I wouldn't listen to that Big Mr X of mine, I'd have called.

The last time I saw that precious little boy, I found stove burn marks on the bottom of his feet! The mother KNEW I wasn't buying her story that he climbed the counter and WALKED on the hot stove!

NOT ONCE did he ever do anything like that when he was in my care. He played quietly with the other boys and girls. If they wanted his toy, he surrendered the toy to them and would find something else.

I didn't do what I should have done. I didn't do what I morally should have done. My ex wanted it that way. My heart broke to pieces.

His family never returned. I didn't expect to see them after I had found the burned feet.

A few years later I picked up a local newspaper. I usually read the paper for San Francisco not my little town. Not this time. Of all times to pick up that paper.

There it was in the news, his precious little name. He had died in the hospital a few days before. His death was under investigation.

I didn't do what I should've done. How do you live with that?

If someone can't speak for themselves, no matter how young or how old I have to speak up for them! One can't stand by timidly.

IF you ever suspect anything, it's best to make that call. If nothing happened, they have nothing to hide. If something is happening, you can at the very least live with a clear conscious.

Some News

2009-03-06T21:31:00.001-08:00

If you are here looking for the Round Robin Photos for this weeks challenge for the color of PURPLE, you need to go over to Click Shots.

Today was one of those days where I literally had to jump out of bed and start running! Okay, maybe I exaggerated a wee bit. But only a WEE bit of exaggeration! Our daughter woke us up by pounding on our bedroom window.

She went and locked her keys inside her RUNNING car?!? WHY? HOW? ::sigh:: She also had no spare key, despite the nagging from us. She called AAA to once again come to her rescue. Her prince charming doesn't need a white horse, he needs a yellow tow truck!

Shortly after that I had to get myself moving for a few appointments I had today with potential customers. The first appointment was 30 miles south of where I live, the second appointment was 30 miles NORTH of where I live and the 3rd was changed at the last minute and was also North of where I live.

It meant I had to drive home in commute traffic - UGH! I forgot about the joy of commute traffic.

Once I crawled home I need to rush in the house for a bathroom break ... whew made it in time! Hey that traffic was BAD! After that I was able to get flowers for Linda and I headed south to the hospital.

The other day when I read in Robin's blog about Linda had mentioned she had a HOT doctor, I KNEW immediately she had to be at the hospital where my daughter works. Kim is always talking about this doctor who makes her knees weak, takes her breath away and makes her stutter! Yep, it was the same hospital and same ER doctor.

Anyway, the flowers have been delivered to Linda who looked good and was eager to get home to save both Bob and Gabi from each other! :-)

Linda wanted me to tell everyone "Thank-you" for the flowers! I also want to thank those who have helped pay for the flowers. Once I realized it was going to be more than I first thought I went and bought a second bunch of PURPLE flowers for her.

I was in tears when I saw how much people wanted to help and I truly appreciate that we could do this as Linda is one of those really super nice people who made my job a WHOLE lot easier when she came to offer a bit of relief in our little section of the hospital.

I only worked at the hospital where Linda worked for a few years however, within that time I learned she was one person you could count on being cheerful and upbeat.

Linda in Washington

2009-03-06T01:40:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I'm going to check on Linda of "Linda's World". IF she's still in the hospital I want to take some flowers into her. We both worked at the same hospital at one time.

From what I understand she was taken to the hospital yesterday for cardiac problems but doesn't think it was a heart attack.

Would anyone else like to help with a dollar or two toward the flowers? I'd write on the card that the flowers are from her friends here in bloggerville. I hate to ask but, my business has been incredibly slow at the moment. However, if no one is interested, I'm still getting them! :-) When there's a will, there's a way!

If interested, let me know at monica@familyaffairphotography.com

Even if she's not in the hospital tomorrow, I'll probably take some flowers over to her house to cheer her up and let her know we love her!

As for myself, things are quiet and that at the moment is welcomed!

Not So Friendly Skies

2009-02-26T23:22:00.001-08:00

Those of you who used to read my AOL journal are aware I worked several years for a major international online travel 'agency'. I LOVED that job ... I HATED that job! Yes, it was a truest form of a love/hate relationship.

The customers who called in, needing assistance were my ultimate favorite. Especially if I could turn a bad situation into a good one and I was deemed a saint. :-) I didn't even mind the customers who hated me because I didn't give them the answers they wanted to hear. Unfortunately I didn't write the airline cancellation rules.

There were ALWAYS interesting stories to share when I completed my shift. This entry however, isn't about those stories ... sorry. Today I had found something on one of my "favorite" (coughing, gagging and choking here) airlines.

When customers called in and needed help dealing with one particular airline, I would ALWAYS cringe. I only remember ONE positive outcome when I had to deal with them. Not only was I shocked it was resolved so quickly, my supervisors and manager were shocked and wanted to know what I said or did to get their cooperation! This particular situation was one I would've had problems getting done with one of the easy to deal with airlines!

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. Today I had found an article about a passenger who put on the headphones to listen to the cockpit communicate with the control tower. It was something I always enjoyed doing myself.

Well, it seems that the radio signals got mixed up and it wasn't airing communications between the pilots and control tower. Instead it was airing the phone line from the ever so friendly and aging flight attendants and the pilots.

What the customers got to hear was the flight attendant telling the pilot that she had to serve drinks to the "idiots in coach". Lovely! A customer let them know it was overheard. They stopped using the phone for communication and never offered an apology to the customers. Not surprising from my own experiences with this friendly sky airline. Grrrrrrrr.

However, I will admit, I've called many of their employees idiots or worse over the years. I even personally know one of their biggest idiots who would brag about things he did to customers luggage or dogs who barked to much.

To this day, I do not, WILL NOT fly United Airlines. If you are a big fan of the airline, that's fine for you. Let me fly Continental or American Airlines or just about any other airline out there! Both Continental and American pulled through when I need assistance as a passenger and as a representative of that online travel company.

I'm going to close by sharing some helpful travel sites. Maybe someone out in Bloggerville is lucky enough to plan a trip soon. (heavy, heavy sigh). I imagine many of you already know of these sites but, I'm sharing anyway!

Trip Advisor - it's a wealth of reviews on hotels. Some customers have even posted photographs of the hotel. However, take the reviews with a grain of salt.

Expedia - they are still operating in the black - financially strong. Not only that they have the highest customer satisfaction rate ... although it may have dropped since I left. ;-)

Seatguru - if you want to make sure you are getting a good seat on the plane, this is the site to check out. I hate the seats that don't recline, especially on LONG flights.

Universal Packing List - Not sure what to pack? Need help in creating a list? Check this site out.

Chowhound - looking for guidance on where to eat?

and last but certainly not least, how about those bathrooms? I remember when I was in a public bathroom in Europe and I was handed a piece of newspaper by an attendant. I was thinking, I can't read this! I quickly learned it wasn't to read, it was to WIPE! Here you can find a wealth of information ... lovely, huh?!?!?

So, I end with 'The Bathroom Diaries'! Did I just flush this entry down the drain?

Politics Explained

2009-02-25T16:06:00.001-08:00

I found this the other day online and decided to share, someone in bloggerville might enjoy this. :-) I've also found some other interesting stuff that I might have to share over the next few days.

I generally avoid conversations of politics, however, this isn't getting into any real policies, etc.

****************************************

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.

FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out 100's of forms accounting for the missing cows.

PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

Lots of Photos

2009-02-19T19:48:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when I need an attitude adjustment the best thing you can do is hand me my camera and shove me out the door!

Today I headed over to the Seymour Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park in Tacoma. This happens to be my personal favorite time of the year at the conservatory as it's full of beautiful tulips, daffodils and fragrant hyacinths that impact your senses as soon as you walk in the door. This year it's even more impressive because of the Chihuly glass display among the foliage.

This weekend is the last for the Chihuly glass exhibit. So, this was a great time to get back to the conservatory for some photographs.

We had photographed a wedding at the conservatory on Valentine's Day and it was afterwards that I had an idea of HOW I wanted to take a photo to remember the beauty. I'll share that photo first. The other photos are from this current visit and from my visit in December.

I hope you enjoy visiting the conservatory with me!

This is from the wedding, you can see the rest at my business blog: Wedding. The wedding was in the evening and the lights inside provided a dramatic effect on the glass.

The three above were taken in the evening, after the wedding.

Anyone care for some blue frog legs?

Overwhelmed

2009-02-16T20:37:00.001-08:00

Lately I've had very little desire to write in my blog. There are several things happening in my life right now and I'm not one who can fake that things are peachy keen.

I often feel like I'm in a losing battle. As soon as I say that to myself, I chastise myself for being negative. I hate negativity - it's so counter productive. It's getting harder to look for the positive when someone keeps shoving your head under water before you can even get a breath of air.

Today however, I received something that brought a smile to my face. How can you not smile when looking at those adorable faces. That is my older son, Robert with his wife, Heather and their two daughters Amelia and Cecilia.

My DIL, Heather is about to be deployed for 6 months. I suggested they go to a photographer who will do free Op Love photo sessions. I found one about 30 minutes from them and they were able to get an appointment for a free portrait session. The photographer is going to send me a DVD of the images with a release to make prints. I thought that was very sweet of him to do that.

Here are a couple photos of my sweetest ever granddaughters

** photography by David Kruse.

On the other hand receiving the photos only reminded me of how my son will be home alone with their two daughters during that time with no family close by for help. It was my goal to go to Baltimore and help him with the girls for a few weeks to a month. It's not happening.

If it's not one thing, it seems to be another. At some point things need start improving, right? If you believe in prayer, I ask again that you say one for us.

Thank you my dear friends for listening.

Toby Speaks

2009-01-29T23:48:00.001-08:00

I'm still trying to get my act together and still shaking that dirt off my back. Just gotta keep shaking the dirt off and keep the faith that things WILL improve. Anyway, I don't want to talk about that!

Besides, Toby asked to post this entry. I'll let him take it from here.

Hi everyone, this is Toby, the GOOD dog, unlike the BAD kitties. Yet, look what I had to do today! As if it wasn't bad enough that I had to wear that dumb Yappy New Year hat. Though I must admit, I looked handsome even if I wasn't happy.

So, WHY is it I have to do the dumb things and the kitties get to sleep all day? Maybe I need to get into trouble and then act all innocent by pretending to be sleeping! I thought about it but, my human daddy had a nice treat for me.

Is anyone else weak when it comes to food?

Here's a photo of what I had to do, I had to have a BIRD on my head and let me tell you it felt like I had fleas on my head!

I BETTER NOT hear you laughing or I'll come bark at ya!

Why ....

2009-01-28T18:16:00.001-08:00

Today I went to McDonald's - I had a craving for some french fries. (not sure WHY I felt the need to explain that) My total was $2.06. I gave the guy at the counter $2.26 so I could get back .20 cents in change. I don't need more pennies!

He looked at me baffled and said I gave him to much money. "Yes, and I expect change back" I replied. He gave me my penny back which I refused to take, saying I didn't need the pennies, I rather have two dimes. Okay, I'm not sure of my exact wording. But, I explained the change with the penny would be 20 cents. Still a baffled confused look was all I got. He finally keyed it into the register and he seemed genuinely surprised that the change was (drum roll please .... ) 20 CENTS! Amazing.

My question, why don't these kids know BASIC MATH?

Even earlier in the day I went to see my doctor. (Which might be why I was craving the comfort of the french fries!) I didn't want to, I had to in order to get some medication refills.

I went in feeling good, looking forward to my day. I left sulking and pretty much in a pissy mood. And I LIKE my doctor! It's his nurse I'm not crazy about, she's a real witch!

I was chastised for not visiting the doctor on a regular basis. However, when I wasn't feeling good, I was chastised for coming in whining about my imaginary illnesses. ::sigh:: Today I felt like they were TRYING to find something WRONG and not accepting the fact that I was feeling GOOD.

The doctor mentioned that I've gained 10 pounds since the last time he saw me December 2007. I wish I had thought about it at the time but I didn't. Instead I was stressing that I GAINED weight!

What I wish I had thought of was the fact that the last time he saw me was when I had returned from Mexico and got deathly sick and didn't eat for approx 3 weeks. If one hasn't been eating for several weeks their weight is going to be lower, right?!?! ::sigh::

It upset me because last year my big thing was to remain steady weight wise and work on improving health issues - mostly depression. There, I said it out loud. I might have been smilin on the outside however, I was fighting a major case of depression.

Things in life right now are even tougher than they were at that time I was fighting the depression and I can honestly say I feel HOPEFUL - hey things HAVE to start going up sometime!

When asked why I hadn't been seen, Sonny stepped up and explained that he lost his job in 2007 due to the bad economy. The doctor had a total blank look. Bad economy, what bad economy! Oh I forgot, we were talking to a DOCTOR. ::sigh:: Always in demand.

Last question, WHY can't doctors or nurses accept you feel GOOD? WHY must they push so many drugs on us!

Today Kim was told her dad needs to take a new medication for his shaking. However, the medication might effect his heart/blood pressure and he already problems with that. It just sounded counter productive.

You listen to the ads for different medications and they tell you it may cause .... blah, blah, blah. Many times the effects are worse than the original problem! Is it just me who is really concerned about this?

That's it, I'm stepping off the soap box. I'm done venting, whining and being crabby. My mom always told me not to let someone steal your joy and I did. Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my evening. Darn it, I DESERVE to enjoy the evening and to be HAPPY. And so do you!

The Critters ...

2009-01-27T13:06:00.001-08:00

... that live with us. For the current Bloggers Community Photo Challenge (which is 'Food') I posted an old photo of Toby with a hot dog on his nose. It can be seen here; Click Shots.

Anyway, it's time to update the photo. This morning I made a peanut butter sandwich, a favorite of his. I once again placed it on his nose and got this photograph.

"Can I have it NOW?!?!" Yes, once he was given the okay command, he tossed the sandwich into the air and then caught it and gulped it down in one swallow.

On the memory card was this photo of Tookie Tookie and I thought I would share it too.

Naturally I felt bad leaving out the kitties, Hunter and Jett out. So, I searched for them and found them sleeping on Kim's bed. I called them, trying to get them to look up at me. No luck, they wanted to ignore me and continue their naps. Humph! So, all you get to see is a big black puddle of kitty fur!

Tookie Tookie

2009-01-25T16:54:00.001-08:00

Here he is, our newest family member! As I mentioned in the last entry, he's a gray and yellow cockatiel. He's a very social little guy, he loves when you talk or whistle.

I've seen Toby (our German Shepherd/Labrador mix) stick his nose up to the cage and Tookie checking him out from inside the safety of his cage. Then Toby let out a big doggie breath sigh and Tookie went running to the other side of the cage! Not that I blame him ... Toby has BAD doggie breath! But, you still gotta love that Toby. Within a few minutes they were nose to nose again - with a cage between them.

Now of course we also have kitties who live with us. Kim's cat, Hunter has learned if he gets to close he gets sprayed with water and he moves on past as quickly as his chubby body will move.

The one who is REALLY curious is Jett - the one sitting up in the photo. ::sigh:: He's been sprayed so many times. From what I can see he looks more curious about the new family member and not like he's looking for dinner. (so I HOPE!)

The other day I was talking to Tookie and Jett came in and jumped on my lap, reminding me that I MUST pay attention to him, that HE is my baby. Within a few seconds of that Toby felt that he too needed to be on my lap!

Tookie is only allowed out when we have the kitties locked in a bedroom or another part of the house. He's been out with Toby in the room as Toby isn't all that interested in him.

Quickly, I mentioned in the last entry that I'm dealing with some issues. If you believe in prayer, I'd appreciate any! I still KNOW things will work out - I have to trust completely. However, an extra prayer wouldn't hurt!!!

I'm The Farmer's Donkey

2009-01-24T01:49:00.001-08:00

***** If you are here looking for my Round Robin photo for this weeks challenge, you will find it here -> Click Shot. *****

I'm sure many of you have seen this story of the farmer's donkey. Basically a donkey falls into an abandoned well. Not able to pull the donkey out, the farmer decides to bury it. With each shovel of dirt put on its back, the donkey shakes it off and steps on a new layer of dirt. Finally, it is able to jump out of the well, jovial and alive. The moral of the story: when life constantly adds a shovel of dirt on your back; shake it off and take a step up.

After Tuesday a few things happened in my life and I will admit the first day I just had to "sulk" a bit. At least that is what everyone thought I was doing. And yes, to a degree I was tempted to wallow in self pity. Yet, in reality I was brewing up plans to get ourselves out of that abandoned well. I was working on game plans on how to step up.

I also spent a lot of quiet time in prayer. I KNEW that some how, in some way things will work out. They always do when you trust and have faith.

Today things look better, while not fully resolved there is light at the end of the tunnel or I should say we are shaking the dirt off our backs and slowly working our way out of the hole. I'm also grateful that I have Sonny in my life, I couldn't imagine going through the hard times with anyone else! He's a rock.

Also it seems my youngest son knows intuitively when to call. Today he called to see how I was doing and tell me he loved me and missed me. That of course helped to improve my day and my outlook. It may not change my situation but, he made me laugh about it!

Off the subject, I had mentioned we had some changes and I wasn't referring to any of the current "issues" we are dealing with.

The changes had nothing to do with the studio building. We learned that the owner has a LOT of renovations to do to get the building up to code. He also can't bulldoze it as it's a historical building. Anyway, it's out of the question for us. Still, it would be a perfect set up. When things aren't so topsy turvey in my/our life, I might have to rethink a studio. Not now.

The change is we have added to our family. His name is Tookie Tookie (think 'George of the Jungle'), he's a beautiful yellow and gray cockatiel. We haven't had him very long but he's quickly warmed up to us and gets excited when we come into the room. I'll share photos of him soon.

This weekend I should be getting around to visit - as I said things were/ARE crazy and I just couldn't be social.

Changes

2009-01-20T11:01:00.001-08:00

This won't be long today as I have much to do. On this inauguration day, we have a wedding to photograph. New beginnings for the country, a new beginning for a young couple. A day of change.

There have been a few changes here too, and I will share that information in the next day or two when time allows. Nothing bad, nothing earth shattering!

Today the main reason I came is to share a link. My photo - shown above is being featured at 'Pictures, Poetry & Prose'. LJ is asking for readers to come and share your opinions and your hopes today.

As Laura Jayne said, it's an interesting day for Americans. So go write about ANY aspect of politics you desire. She simply requests that there be no attacking or hatefulness - there is no need for that. After all we are adults who can share our opinion without being mean spirited.

Now what are you waiting for, go share your thoughts and go read what others wrote! There are some beautiful thoughts from people who didn't vote and did vote for our new president.

Click HERE!

Growing Up!

2009-01-14T19:37:00.001-08:00

It's time for me to accept that Sonny and I ARE professional photographers! I used to cringe when someone called us "professional" photographers. The professionals were the big boys with the really fancy toys. (not just camera's but, cars, etc)

However, I'm still without the fancy toys. We charge modest prices which I hear from other professionals is much to low. Yes, I've received e-mails from other photographers telling me to raise my prices.

Now I get e-mails from people wanting to know if I'm hiring that they want to come work for our 'studio'. Nope. We are just a mom and pop on location operation with very low overhead. No budget for other photographers or assistants.

Others (such as hotels, and semi related businesses) are now e-mailing me, informing me that they have reviewed my web site and were impressed and would like to link up with me.

I never really had that kind of attention before. I think it means we've become one of the "big boys"!

The other day I was talking to my webmaster asking about those wanting to link with me. It made me chuckle when he said they were wanting to ride MY shirt tails! Huh, ME!?!? :-)

Let me share why he told me that. If you do a Google search for "Tacoma Wedding Photographers" I am now on the FIRST page ... yes, at the bottom of the page BUT, I'm on the FRICKIN FIRST PAGE! Yes, I was (joyously) Yelling! For those of you who are new, my photography business is Family Affair Photography.

Four years ago this month I had shot my SECOND wedding - that of my own son and daughter in law. It was 4 years ago that I decided I WOULD make this happen! Over the past 3 years we have shot 114 weddings! How amazing is that?

I'm sitting here so grateful and joyous that this opportunity opened up for me. It has given my life purpose and PEACE! I work with my best friend/husband and we make one heck of a team! We don't get bridezillas we have had thee best couples without doubt.

Lately Sonny and I have been eyeing this empty store front with a residence above it. Every time we drive by we say it would make a great studio. We also like that the property has a fenced in backyard where Toby could romp around when I'm working.

I'm thinking MAYBE I'd have fun with a studio! Think we can make it work out?

*** If you are looking for my Round Robin Photos or for the Blogger's Community Photo Challenge photos, they will be found here -> Click Shots

In Response

2009-01-13T11:48:00.001-08:00

In response to 'Bonzrus' who wrote me an e-mail stating she/he didn't believe my list, especially the part about saving a life. I will admit, I hesitated highlighting and sharing that bit of information.

As pointed out by 'Bonzrus', I've never mentioned this in my AOL journal. There is a very good reason. I DON'T talk about the incident because I don't remember it. I only know of it because my mom talked about it ALL the time! As did a neighbor of ours.

This story is all second hand as I truly don't remember a bit of it. I was about 12 years old, we were living in a small town in Indiana (population 1200). Our home was on a major road that crossed the county

Across the street from us lived a young family with a little toddler boy. One day he got out front while his mom was pre-occupied with her newborn baby. He started to cross the major road as a truck was coming fast toward him.

From what I understand I ran and pretty much plowed into him and threw him into the lawn. I was told he was screaming that I hurt him and he hated me from that day forward. Not that they lived there much longer.

There were two witnesses who saw the incident, the boys mom who had just realized her son was missing and another neighbor. I was never a runner, never one to have speed, so it's hard to imagine me running and doing this.

Bonzrus asked if it had been in the paper, I don't know! I don't think so as we really didn't have a newspaper. There may have been some mention.

The reason I was in a paper (it was paper from a larger college town about 30 miles from us) is because I had placed a pen pal ad in a magazine published in England asking for a pen pals. I had brought back several magazines when we moved back from England to the states. If I remember correctly the magazine name was 'Princess Tina'. Anyone in England know if that is correct?

There was no way I was prepared for the response! I was receiving HUNDREDS of letters a day for almost a month. I wanted to find each of them a pen-pal so my dad went to the paper to tell my story. He used to be a writer/editor so he wrote the story and the paper published it. Unfortunately we didn't get any response from American teens wanting to write girls from England.

Hopefully that will clear that up for Bonzrus and anyone else who had questions about my highlighted list in the entry below. If you have questions or doubts please let me know I'm not hiding anything!

For Inquiring Minds

2009-01-12T01:18:00.001-08:00

After reading some of the comments in my last post I realized that maybe I should put a link in this blog when I do some of the photo challenges. I'm NOT using this blog for photo challenges,

If you are looking for my Round Robin Photos or for the Blogger's Community Photo Challenge photos, they will be found here -> Click Shots.

The correct links are posted at the challenges. However, when I leave a comment it comes up with this particular blog. It's a confusing mess, huh?!?!

Now for the really inquiring minds ... I got this from Linda (Linda’s World) who got this fromTraci (My Like As A Transplanted Yankee).

The object is to boldface the items that you HAVE done, and leave the rest normal…. If you end up doing it, leave a link so we can come check out what YOU have done. After all this inquiring mind wants to know! (mine are in yellow bold)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (we were watching meteors)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (Kim gave me a gift certificate on Hawaiian Airlines - so soon!)
5. Watched a meteor shower (see # 2)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain. (hiked ON Mt Rainier. But never climbed to the top of any mountain.)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (gotta consider the dogs who would howl loudly if I sang)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (from the beach, yes. At sea, no)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I wanted to - the ex said NO)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (me run ... seriously!?!)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Been to Venice however the gondola ride was at the Venetian in Las Vegas! Crazy huh?)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Key word ... HAD)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (seriously, I don't want to hurt the dogs ears!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.                                                                                        51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Been in a TV commercial!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma (can't due to meds I take)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check                                           68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (tried it & didn't like it)
72. Pieced a quilt (but, never finished it!)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job                                                          76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (would a wedding album count?!?!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (almost all)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I didn't realize how much I was going to be highlighting when I started this. Don't say it's because I'm getting OLD and have plenty of time under my belt. Geesh!

Looking Up

2009-01-05T10:47:00.001-08:00

Nothing really to share, things are quiet and I suppose that's good.

WAIT, hold the presses! I forgot something ... if you've been reading on a regular basis and remember I've mentioned that my oldest son, Robert has been working in VA about three hours from his family as he hasn't been able to find a job close to where his wife got transferred. (She's in the US Navy).

Well, it seems he's been offered a job and it would be close to where his wife is based. Not only would he be closer, the pay in considerably higher ... but, they are living outside of Washington DC and that extra money will be needed for everyday expenses.

Details of the job are sketchy, it's a security - investigative maybe government type job. Yeah, yeah, I'm a real good mom not knowing what her son will be doing! Currently he's a police officer near Norfolk, VA so I imagine it might be along the same lines. I know for a positive that it's NOT a police officer job.

Last night my youngest son, Ryan who is still out to sea in the Persian Gulf called me just to tell me that I'm a "dork". Like I didn't know that already! :-)

He also told me that he's been giving it some thought to moving to WA and maybe working with us in the photography business when he's off from his regular job. He's a fireman with the US Navy and wants to do that for the city of Seattle or such. He has one more year to serve so, it's time for him to start looking at his options in the real world. :-)

Okay, that's ALL that's new around here. :-) Oh wait, did I mention that Sonny and I were selected as "Artist of the Month" at Borders? We have a display of photographs up at the Borders in Tacoma for the entire month of January. How cool is that?!?! We've even gotten a couple of e-mails from people saying they like the photographs! And the display only went up on the first! :-)

The photo above is Jett looking at some birds on the fence outside. I changed his name a wee bit, from Jet to Jett in honor of John Travolta's son. Besides, I actually thought of his son when I named my kitty.

Friday Fill In's

2009-01-02T17:11:00.001-08:00

I snagged this from Tamy at Three Sides of Crazy who snagged it from Janet. You can click on their names to visit their blogs.

1. The world is filled with many wonderful places to explore!
2. "I love you" (to Sonny) was the last thing I said.
3. I wonder how I can get a bride having a destination wedding to book Sonny and I to photograph her wedding!
4. There is a new beginning at the end of all things.
5. There's something to be said for living in the moment.
6. Puerto Vallarta is where I want to be.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on wedding photos (not really looking forward it's a must do), tomorrow my plans include oh my, working on MORE wedding photos and Sunday, I want to do nothing in particular ... maybe REST!

I thought I would be around reading and writing a lot more than I had been over the holidays - it just didn't happen. Things have been good, tight financially but, everything else is good.

On Christmas Eve, I had a LONG 4 hour phone conversation with my youngest son. That was better than any present I could've received. I'm THRILLED to say he is out of a horrid relationship and this time it was him who got out. For the first time in MONTHS he truly sounded like himself.

He's back in our lives and no one is trying to hold him back! :-)

I need to get to work but, Toby (my fur baby) wants to step in for the Camera Critters ...

Hi, This is Toby. I want you to know that I can't believe my mom made me wear that silly hat for the photo! Aren't I good looking WITHOUT the hat? She BRIBED me with a stupid cracker. I really should've held out for a hamburger or something like that. Anyway, we all wish you a Yappy New Year and all that.

See, I could say it without the dumb hat! I bet Koda didn't have to do something so silly. Sure hope my mom feels guilty and gets me a hamburger, make that a cheeseburger instead!

** Say a prayer for John & Kelly Travolta, it was reported that their 16 year old son Jett died today.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-23T18:06:00.001-08:00

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

By Oren Arnold

I'll be staying home this Christmas, my boys aren't able to visit. My youngest, Ryan is still out in the Persian Gulf doing his thing with the US Navy. He e-mailed me and told me he would be calling to keep my cell close by. :-) You better believe I will be sleeping with that phone if need be!

My middle child, Robert will be off work (whew) and up in Fort Mead, MD with his wife and daughters where he belongs. He's having to live in Newport News, VA right now due to his work situation. I'm praying he finds a job close to his family soon. They are having a quiet Christmas this year. In years past they had other sailors over to their house. Most the sailors they know have left the navy, or they are out to sea, and a few actually got to go home and be with families.

Kim (my oldest and my only daughter) will be working on Christmas day. She wasn't thrilled yet, as one of the newest employees in her department she knew she would have to. The boss gave her a midday schedule (what my daughter hoped she would get) so she is home in the morning and will be able to join us for a few hours in the evening with Sonny's family.

Christmas day Sonny and I will go to his sister's house for Christmas dinner. She hosted the Thanksgiving dinner - she cooks a feast large enough to feed the entire ship my youngest is on. Okay, I exaggerated it a wee bit. The officers would have to eat the ship food. While we let the enlisted eat the GOOD stuff. :-)Debbie (Sonny's sister) refuses help, does ALL the cooking herself.

This year I was thinking I would have to go there empty handed. However, a past customer of ours called and wanted to order several family portrait gift certificates. I delivered those today.

Not only that, I had a woman call yesterday and ask about a portrait session. While we were talking to her during the session today, she learned our last name. She asked if we had family in the area and we soon learned that our customer is a friend of Sonny's mom. :-) Small world. Anyway, we had portrait money come in from her too.

So, with all that happening, I am able to have ALL bills caught up AND buy a few gifts. How sweet is that! I won't be buying expensive gifts but, we are giving them something. What a blessing this has been! While I wasn't overly concerned about not giving a gift, I so enjoy giving when I can.

Once again, I wish all a very Merry Christmas! I'm sure I'll be reading some blogs over the next few days as I don't have a lot to do. Oh the life of leisure!

Northwest Winter

2008-12-22T00:58:00.001-08:00

Above photos: Jet talking to the sky that is falling around him. His first experience with snow.

It's not completely unusual for Tacoma to get snow in the winter. However, from what I'm understanding it is unusual for us to get this much snow.

I've been LOVIN it! Okay, at first I wanted someone to hand me some tickets for a flight to 86 degree Puerto Vallarta. And I wanted those tickets YESTERDAY!

However, I HAD to get out of the house and drive in the snow. At first it was with a bit of fear as I hadn't driven in snow for several years. I've always let Sonny do the driving and before that I lived several years in a part of CA where we didn't get snow.

Over the past few days, I've found myself wanting to be out in the snow. Well, I WANT to drive in the snow!! My Honda Passport LOVES the snow! I swear it's just like driving on a dirt road. No slipping, no sliding, great breaking, great control. However, I don't like the busier roads as there were/ARE some complete IDIOTS out there on the road!

Anyway, in the entry I posted some photos Sonny & I have taken last night and tonight. Most have been taken from our car. The one immediately above this was taken in front of Sonny's mom's house, we picked her up to have dinner at our house tonight.

And as a side note, in a few days when this turns into that nasty slushy stuff ... I'll be ready for those tickets to Puerto Vallarta again! Anyone going with me? Uhhh better yet, anyone PAYING for us to go!?!?

Can you believe this photo was taken at 10:30 PM?! I liked this street we passed, I told Sonny I want to buy a house here. Oh, and look there is a for sale sign! It was a cute little house too. Can't buy yet. :-(

How do you like our neighbor's "disco ball"? Ready to do some dancing in the street?

In case I don't get a chance to get back, I want to wish each and every one of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS or HAPPY HANUKKAH!

A Warm Heart got me Through

2008-12-20T10:57:00.001-08:00

The above photo was taken during our mini trip to the Columbia Gorge. We were at our last waterfall, getting into the car when I looked over and saw this beautiful sight. How could I not preserve this?

I realized we are quickly approaching Christmas. We didn't decorate this year. With the IRS dipping into our checking account and took our rent, it just put a real damper on everything. Those of you who read about that incident know we worked things out and will be okay.

The only thing I have giving it any feel of Christmas are the beautiful cards I've received from my online friends - THANK-YOU! They are all here decorating my desk.

On the good side of things - we have HEAT! :-)FINALLY! Our main source of heat went out and we have been without heat during this past really cold week. Our wonderful landlord didn't feel it was an urgent matter as we had another source of heat.

We have baseboard heat in the front part (original part of the house) but, in the newer part of the house, the BIGGEST part of the house, there is NO heat. It's also where I have my computer and where I conduct all my business.

The baseboards were TRYING to heat the house, however with the newer section of the house being big, cold and open to the older part of the house it kept things really ... burrrrrrr, COLD!

I was always wrapped in blankets, had jackets on and did my best to work on photos while trying not to freeze.

Sonny pulled the pellet stove apart and found the problem. BUT, we had no money to get the part until yesterday! So, first thing on our list was to get the part and fix it. It's now fixed - no thanks to the stupid @*$ landlord.

When I divorced Mr Big X, I walked away with NOTHING. I didn't get money from our house, didn't take furniture, nothing. What I took was my clothes, pictures, and my mom's stained glass lamps she had made. IF I had tried to fight, I suppose I could be a homeowner once again.

However, it wasn't a battle I was healthy enough (at the time) to fight. I had nothing left in me. Besides if truth be told, I figured I only had a few years to live as my health was poor at best.

Obviously I've had more than a few years, and I think I'd like to stick around longer! It's amazing how getting out of a mentally abusive situation can change your health and of course it changes your outlook and what is important to you in life.

I wish everyone warm homes (not just heat wise) and lots of love and happiness not just for the holidays but, for the upcoming new year and ALWAYS!

Thank you to my online friends for getting me (mentally) through some hard times this month, it's been greatly appreciated!

What Goes Around, Comes Around

2008-12-18T01:29:00.001-08:00

Recently it hit me like a ton of bricks, my dad loved me! If you had asked me as a teen, I might have said he "tolerated" me. Or I was born to keep my mom happy.

The other day as I was impatiently waiting for my own daughter, Kim to get home from work while driving icy dark roads. It reminded me of an incident when I was 17, driving home from work after a snow blizzard. My dad had instructed me to stay with the car if anything happened as he would be searching for me if I wasn't home within a given time frame.

Being the lovable cocky teen who KNEW EVERYTHING there is to know, I assured him I wouldn't have any problems. I quickly went to a fast food drive thru to get a milk shake to have as I drove home.

At this point, Sonny asked me "WHY did you go to a fast food drive thru when you worked at Sambo's? Sambo's is a restaurant like Denny's and I of course have no clue as to WHY I went to a fast food place when I could've gotten one where I worked. Not that it would've mattered anyway ...

With my milkshake in one hand, I got on the highway and not even a mile from my place of work I went OFF the road into a nice deep snow drift! The snow drift covered the door and I had to climb out of my window. Oh, I should have listened to my dad and I should've passed on the milkshake!

A neighbor saw me go off the road and offered me a ride. I remember hesitating and then decided we SHOULD make it home before my dad would be out searching for me. Besides it was darn cold in my car and the milkshake wasn't warming me, it was taunting me with the simple fact of knowing that I was paying attention to that and not the road.

If only I had a cell phone when I was a teenager! Anyway, my job was 25 miles from my house, my neighbor drove extremely slow. As we were turning off the highway onto the road into town is when I saw my dad turning onto the highway to look for me.

I gasped and asked my neighbor to honk ... DO SOMETHING. He just looked at me and said don't worry your dad will understand you accepted a ride home.

No, my dad wasn't very understanding he was very MAD! It was while I was waiting for my daughter I realized if that was MY daughter who pulled the stunt I did, I'd be VERY MAD too ... and it's because I'd be SICK WITH WORRY. And why would I be sick with worry? Because I LOVE her!

So, I may have thought he was "mean" and totally unable to understand me, I realize I must've really stressed him out on many occasions! I'm glad my daughter hasn't put me through the things I put my dad through ... and I always thought of myself as a "good" child!

Tonight I had to drive out in less than perfect driving conditions to pick up Sonny from his job. He had called and told me that coworkers who were just coming in were telling him how bad the roads were. They told him of black ice, a semi flipped over on the interstate and more. I finally stopped him and told him to STOP stressing me out! :-)

I drove out to his job and decided people here just don't know what it's like to drive in bad weather! It was just wet out.

On the ride home, my opinion changed. I passed the flipped truck. Due to the location of my on ramp in relation to where he flipped, I didn't see him on my way to pick up Sonny. On the way home in heavy snow flurries, I saw a smashed up semi. Oops, I guess Sonny's coworkers weren't exaggerating. ::sigh::

Ponytail & Horsetail Falls

2008-12-15T17:59:00.001-08:00

Before I share the waterfall photographs, I have 24 stamps that I had bought and forgot. :-) Earlier today Kim asked me to go to Target with her, while there I found some cheap Christmas cards that were $1.00 for 8 cards. Yes, they are cheap and cheesy but, I was thinking about YOU! Tell me it's the thought that counts, please!!! :-)

If you would like a Christmas card send me a note/e-mail at SonEnSmilinMon@gmail.com with your address so I can mail them out! I GET TO MAIL CARDS!!! I really didn't think I was going to have the opportunity to do that this year when I was hit by the IRS. ::sigh:: Here I was wondering what I was going to do with that little $5.00 gift card I had from Target - it bought the cards. :-) I'm one happy camper tonight.

One other bit of news. It seems one of my concerns has finally run it course and I pray that the "problem" will stay away from my son. I also pray that my son isn't depressed, however, I suspect he is as I haven't had any e-mails from him lately. So, I'm praying for him too. A mom's job NEVER ends does it?!?!?

Now, I'll let you enjoy some more waterfalls!

While I stayed at road level photographing Horsetail Falls, Sonny hiked (climbed) a short trail that climbs 1000 feet in half a mile to photograph Ponytail Falls. Horsetail Creek shoots through a narrow opening creating this waterfall that looks much like a ponytail.

The rock that the water flows over is undercut so the trail actually passes behind the falls.

Not far from this point (above photo) the water will plummet again, creating Horsetail Falls. And yes, it looks like a horse tail!

My view from the nice warm car. However, I wasn't content to just sit in the warm comfortable car while Sonny hiked up to photography Ponytail Falls. I walked around and photographed this equally beautiful fall.

In the summer you will find people swimming in this watering hole. Personally I preferred Oneonta Falls for wading and swimming as it was rather private due to being a bit of a challenge to get to.

I suppose if it was hot outside, I would've been tempted. As it was I got cold enough from the mist hitting me as I took this photograph.

Above is a full view of the falls. Once again, I hope you enjoyed the photos and I still have MORE (just a few) to share from our mini trip to the Columbia Gorge.

Just as a FYI, the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge has 77 waterfalls of all sizes and shapes for your viewing pleasure.

Wahkeena Falls

2008-12-14T11:19:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite water falls along the Columbia Gorge is the Wahkeena Falls. It came as no surprise to me when I learned that Wahkeena means "most beautiful" to the Yakima Indian.

On Previous trips I have hiked up to the bridge, and if the weather had been nicer, I'd have enjoyed going to the bridge again. It's very close to the falls and you will get wet! In the summer the mist feels wonderful. In the cold weather, it simply didn't sound appealing! Since I was already chilled to the bone, there was no getting me up close and personal with the falls. :-)

This waterfall goes right up to the roadway and can easily be viewed from the car. There are several waterfalls along the historic Columbia Highway that are visible from the road and a few that require very little walking/hiking to view.

Wahkeena Falls is 242 feet and is a year round waterfall.

I hope that you enjoyed one of my favorite waterfalls. Stay tuned as I still have some other beautiful waterfalls to share and one of the falls is a little gem that is off the road with a bit of a hike involved. :-)

** Just as an FYI for those of you interested, I posted an entry over at my business blog about my first ever heirloom wedding album that I designed. We chose a wedding from Thornwood Castle for the album. If you take a look, let me know what you think. Unfortunately, the photos really don't do it any justice, the cover photo just POPS on the album and grabs your attention. Click here to see: ALBUM

Multnomah Falls

2008-12-12T22:23:00.001-08:00

We have returned home safely! ::Whew:: During this trip we experienced several weather conditions, sunshine, high winds, rain and snow. However, we weren't about to let any of the weather conditions put a damper on our mini trip.

On Thursday with clear skies and crisp air we checked out a few of the falls along the Columbia River Gorge. I was curious to see them in the winter as I've only been there in the summer, but never this time of the year.

Today I will just be sharing photos and information of Multnomah Falls and in the next few days I will post photos from the other falls and sights of the Columbia Gorge area.

The above photo was taken from the parking lot and you can only see part of the falls from this vantage point. Multnomah Falls are 620 feet tall, which drops into two steps/tiers.

There is a trail you can hike up and walk across the bridge. I was reading that in 1995 a rock the size of a school bus filled with concrete fell into the upper pool.

When the rock fell, there was a wedding party getting some portraits done on the bridge who got drenched from the splash that covered the bridge. They have some wedding story! Of course my first thought was, what happened to the photographers equipment!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Multnomah Falls, stay tuned for some of the other sights!

Internally Rotten Scrooges

2008-12-09T18:49:00.001-08:00

It's amazing how a little time can change your outlook. Maybe it's just knowing it's time to step back so you can get a different perspective? Maybe and more importantly, it's knowing you need to silence your fears and start trusting! That can be challenging.

I'm ready to talk or in this case write.

Yesterday as I was checking my bank account balance I noticed the balance was HIGHER than I was expecting. That would be a pleasant surprise for sure. I looked into the account further and saw that utilities were paid, (whew) but, then I saw it.

It was like a ton of bricks had landed on me. Sonny and I owed the IRS a good chunk of change. We had been slowly paying it off. Well, the last payment was due in November and someone (me) completely spaced it.

The IRS swooped in and took the remaining balance PLUS $100.00 charge for being late, for them having to swoop in and take it from us and who knows what other reasons they needed to take extra money! All in all, the amount they took was just shy of $500.00.

The $500.00 they took wasn't Christmas spending money, it was our rent money! The landlord hadn't cashed the check yet. It now meant I was about $300.00 short for our rent! I have no weddings until New Years Eve and Sonny just got paid last weekend.

Stress hit me hard. I went into a panic mode. Not that I could do anything but sit at home and stress myself over the situation. Sonny was at work. I had no one I could talk to and I really just wanted to talk to a person. Okay, I just wanted to cry on someone's shoulder!

Sonny came home and I told him what happened. I was prepared for him to blow. I don't know why I was prepared for that when he doesn't blow - that would've been Mr Big X and he would make sure I knew it was MY fault. Anyway, Sonny thought about it a bit and then asked if I considered getting one of those pay day loans.

DUH, NO! I didn't think about that! So, we immediately went to the one just a few blocks from us that we see open 24 hours, got a $400.00 loan at the cost of $60 frickin dollars! After we got that we drove straight to our bank and deposited the money order into out account.

We now have our rent covered! I have a Costco cash card that I had gotten for a rainy day, meaning I will be able to keep gas in my car due to my thinking ahead.

We talked about canceling a trip, we had planned on driving down to Portland and the Columbia Gorge. I already pre-paid for a hotel online - non refundable type thing. It was frustrating yet, it wasn't a big loss as I had a coupon from Expedia that brought my hotel room cost down to $30.00.

After some conversation, and after looking at our full 'emergency or for pure fun' coin jar that has now been emptied and cashed, we decided we are going! We are taking a cooler with food so we won't need to eat out. It's ONE night and 1 tank of gas. I'm willing to give up eating out in order to go.

So, bills are paid, the car has a full tank of gas, I have enough to get another tank of gas when we return. We are aware things will be extremely tight the rest of this month. We can live with tight.

There is a DJ at a local station who's wife had asked him if he could go a week without spending a dime. He's starting her challenge next week. Sonny and I will be doing the challenge too - out of necessity!

Today brought some good news at least for me. :-) I had designed one of those heirloom albums and ordered it as a studio sample. So, we are now offering albums with our wedding packages. I can't wait to see the album! I sure hope the brides will like the album - it's not as plain or simple in design as I've seen from other photographers, I kinda got overly creative maybe?!? Once I pick up the album, I will take some photos and share it ... over at my business blog. :-P

Thank you for all the encouraging comments and e-mails I received. I truly appreciate the out pouring of support that I received during my time of moral support need!

Kaleidoscopes

2008-12-09T00:00:00.001-08:00

Still unable to write ... well, I'll be honest, I'm still unable to open up and share.

Times like this, I regret being a loner. It's not like I ever wanted to be a loner! When I was younger I heard "children are meant to be seen not heard" So, I sat back quietly and listened to the adults talk. With Mr Big X, he wanted the kids and me quiet, not expressing our opinions. It's now engrained in me to keep quiet, just smile. Right now I can't even give you a fake smile, sorry.

For my own amusement I started playing with a feature in the photo editing program. As a child I was always fascinated and easily entertained by kaleidoscopes. Today, I reverted to my childhood for a bit and quietly entertained myself by making some beautiful kaleidoscopes views from photos in my folders. Most of the photos are of groups of people, a few others of Chihuly glass, etc. None were flowers or landscape photographs

Enjoy the show and let me know which is your favorite. Anyone else out there easily entertained by kaleidoscopes?

Mystical Gardens

2008-12-07T18:54:00.001-08:00

Here in Tacoma, we have a small Victorian conservatory. What it lacks in size it more than makes up for in character and beauty.

The Seymour Conservatory is celebrating 100 years and one of our own local artist, Dale Chihuly has created a special display to help celebrate this milestone anniversary.

As we walked in the door, I knew we were in for something spectacular. I could see red, yellow and purple glass shimmering among the colorful Christmas display of poinsettias mixed with the tropical ferns and plants that are currently displayed at the conservatory.

It was as if we had found a magical mystical garden ...

... with hornets burrowing into the lush ferns,

Exotic glass blooms coming out of free form pots of every shape and size imaginable.

Glass balls that remind you of an outlandish Japanese fishing floats.

Strange alien shaped blooms that were emerging from the undergrowth.

A favorite of both Sonny and myself is this fascinating fiery flaming bush growing among poinsettias.

Another one of my favorites was this extraordinary purple passion bloom.

While we didn't see the frogs, we saw several curious looking blue frog feet!

After the conservatory we took a quick jaunt over to the Tacoma Zoo as it was a free day for Tacoma residents.

Lenticular Clouds

2008-12-05T17:43:00.001-08:00

Today I was out and about town when I looked over and saw some lenticular clouds over MT Rainier. OMGosh, I HAD to get a photo. I sat thumping on the steering wheel fighting impatience while I waited at thee longest light possible.

Not only did I have to wait for this incredibly LONG light, I was in the WRONG lane. I saw the sight as I was about to run another errand, which reminds me, I never completed! I eventually made it home so I could grab my camera. Sweet Toby was excited to see me and was hoping for attention - NO TIME! MUST RUN!!!

Toby was disappointed with me ... I could see it on his face. Poor boy. I'll have to make it up to him in a bit. Maybe he will forgive me if I give him a hamburger?

Despite, the long lights, heavy traffic, no camera in my car (sigh), a dog who wanted to play, I finally found a spot where I could snap a couple of shots. It was worth the rush. Thing is, haven't I said before that a lesson I learned was to ALWAYS have my camera with me?!? Geesh once again I was unprepared. I wouldn't make a good scout!

Without further ado, here are two photographs I got of the lenticular cloud formation over MT Rainier.

*** UPDATE: Sonny has a photograph that is being featured over at Pictures, Poetry & Prose. It's a beautiful blog featuring photographs and artwork with prompts for writers who come and share their writing using the photos provided. Check it out here: Pictures, Poetry & Prose.

A Northwest Road Trip

2008-12-03T14:49:00.001-08:00

I want to write, however I am finding it hard to come up with the words needed to express the frustrations I'm currently facing. Being a mom doesn't get any easier when your children grow up and leave the house. If anything, it seems a bit more complicated!

Since I can't write, I'm going to share some photographs that Sonny and I took during a little road trip to the southern part of Washington. We drove along a scenic route that followed the south fork of the Lewis River.

There were many times we felt as if we were a world away from civilization. Meaning it was peaceful, serene, calm, soothing to the soul. In reality we were no more than 15 miles from dense population and about 30 miles NE (as the crow flies) of Portland, OR.

If I had only known what was waiting on my cell phone .... I think I would've tossed it into the river !

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-29T00:29:00.001-08:00

Did everyone have a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving?

We had Thanksgiving dinner with Sonny's sister and her family. I LOVE going to their house for the holidays. It's such a different experience from my previous marriage. In pervious years when I went to Mr Big X's sisters house for Thanksgiving, I was walking on egg shells for fear of doing or saying the wrong thing. Or worse yet, that one of my children would even breathe wrong! Heaven forbid. That's the past, it's gone, it's over, it's no longer a part of my life! Whew.

Aren't the three above darling? Those are the children of our oldest niece. They posed for this and then Sonny helped them in creating a Thanksgiving Day card for their mom and grandma. Well, actually their aunts then wanted a copy as did great grandma!

Debbie puts down butcher paper on the table and as we are waiting for dinner we color and leave messages of love for each other. :-) The three photos above are some samples of what you can find. Everyone of all ages are involved in adding artwork to the table.

This is a relaxed family who enjoy the time together. The simple fact that I was able to wear my comfortable warm fuzzy slippers and not be out of place is very comforting! Sonny's sister, Debbie insists on doing ALL the cooking and she always cooks enough to feed an Army. Sonny said there were enough pies for everyone to take one home and still have left over pies. Debbie does bake a pumpkin pie from scratch for each family. Then she bakes several different types to have that evening.

Let's just say after the turkey, prime rib, and ALL the trimmings, they rolled me out the door and luckily it was down hill to where I live. I was able to roll right on home and into bed with a full contented tummy and heart.

This last photo is of Sonny and thee adorable little Kylie who is the same age as my adorable little Amelia. I think they would be great playmates if my son and his family would move to Washington state! Robert ... hint, hint! That's Amelia below last spring.

*** I Just wanted to add a link to a blog I found and want to share with others. She posts photographs and writers write poems, etc for the photograph. They write what motivates or moves them. Beautiful words and photography found at Pictures, Poetry & Prose.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T00:57:00.001-08:00

I posted this entry over at my business blog and decided to post it here at my personal blog.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

After a recent wedding as we were driving home, I looked up and saw this magnificent view of MT Rainier. We had dark cloudy skies all day and there in front of me was this shimmering ray of light and MT Rainier giving us a peek at her majestic beauty.

It made me think that even though this Thanksgiving life may be 'stormy' for many. Given a chance, hope can still shine through and promise a better tomorrow.

From our family to your family we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Who Needs a Tom Tom ...

2008-11-23T14:30:00.001-08:00

... when you got mom mom just a phone call away?

Yesterday my middle child, Robert called lost in Washington DC. He was in front of the Capitol Building and was trying unsuccessfully to get to Fort Mead. It seems that traffic was congested (no surprise to me) and he couldn't safely change lanes. The lane he was in dumped him out in the middle of DC.

He was sounding rather stressed and extremely frustrated. If you haven't driven in DC, I can assure you it's an experience like no other! I've driven in Chicago, Los Angeles, much of Florida, among other locations. While each of those places can be crazy, it's still not as bad as DC! Those taxi drivers seem to be under the impression that road rules don't apply to THEM. As far as I'm concerned, public transportation (metro) is the ONLY way when visiting DC.

Anyway, it was Mom Mom (and Sonny) who pulled up Mapquest on our computers and guided him back to the highway he needed in order to get home to his girls.

However Robert wasn't visiting and this will be something he will have to learn to deal with over the next several months as he commutes between VA and MD. I won't be surprised if he soon invests in another Tom Tom. He had received one for Christmas last year. When they moved to MD last month, he gave the navigation system to his wife.

The above photo is Robert with his wife, Heather.

Since I'm already talking about Robert, I suppose this is a good day to introduce my middle child. I always felt I had to be a bit protective of this guy. It seemed he could do nothing right by his father ... and it was usually the typical boy stuff he was doing.

He wasn't a problem child, however, it seems he was the boy that only a mom could love. He wasn't shy and sweet like his older sister, he didn't have the charm of his younger brother. He was quiet unless you really KNEW him, People tend to think he's snobbish or uninterested. It's what people have thought of me, so in that respect I understand the misconceptions people have of him.

The picture above is with Amelia, his oldest daughter.

He is a dad to two beautiful little girls who he ADORES to no end. I enjoy watching him interact with the girls. He will however have to learn to punish them when they do wrong - that is his weakness. They have him wrapped around their little pinkies. Right now he's been dealing with some separation issues. His wife was transferred to MD (she's in the US Navy) and he hasn't been able to find a job near her base. He's three hours away in VA where he is still working with the Newport News Police Department.

Such a big bad cop, huh?!?! :-) Here is with his youngest, Cecilia.

Anyway, that's Robert in a nutshell. He's a private young man who is protective of his family, loves his job, his country and is just a kid who makes his mom proud.

Thankful ...

2008-11-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening as Kim and I were heading to a wedding vendor meeting she was telling me about her 'real' job. In an employee area they filled a wall with butcher paper and asked the employees to write 3 things they were thankful for.

She said she wrote: her family, her health and her iPod. Okay, so the iPod was actually ahead of family and health. We know what is more important in her life! :-) When asked what three things I'd have written: Family (number 1 for me), my thriving business, and my warm comfortable home. I could add more if I was allowed!

Below in the comment section is your piece of butcher paper ... what three things are YOU thankful for?

*** update 11/23

The hospital had to remove the Thankful Three that employees had been writing due to someone writing something hateful and obscene.

Where the $$$ goes ...

2008-11-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

I had mentioned in the previous entry that the mall was rather empty when I was there the other day. Linda, who also lives here in Tacoma had mentioned going to a local casino for a buffet lunch and how it was busy in the casino. Today I drove past the casino and sure enough that parking lot was FULL. It's Friday - payday, time to gamble. I don't have that kind of money to throw away!

As I had mentioned, I was going to start introducing the cast of characters in my life. Well, my oldest fur baby was insistent that he be next and he said I could talk for days about him and he wouldn't mind. He generous that way! Toby is our German Shepherd - Black Labrador mix dog.

I still remember the day we went into the pet store and we saw Toby with his brother and sisters. This little guy was the first to approach me and then he just cuddled up in my arms. He was this tiny adorable bundle of soft fur. Sonny knew he wouldn't be able to tell me no. Well, he could have ... it just wouldn't have been effective! :-)

Toby loves being close to us, sleeping by our feet when he isn't shoving one of his dozen (100's) of rope bones in our hands. He prefers to play tug of war so he can yank out your shoulder. However if you insist he will play a little fetch as long as there is some tug your should out of it's socket between the throws.

If you come to our home and you are bringing food or you have left overs from a restaurant it belongs to Toby. At least that is his thoughts! He gets a little miffed if Kim eats all "his" leftovers. He will sit there cocking his head back and forth giving her an indigent look. It's rather priceless to watch. Poor Toby!

Toby is great doing tricks ... IF you have food. He will beg, roll over, sit, lay down, jump, speak and hold food on his long nose. Just don't expect him to wear a leash! That according to Toby is simply CRIMINAL. We have tried every kind of leash and he always acts like we are abusing him. Poor Toby!

He doesn't understand that he's really not a lap dog ... he will do everything possible to fit in your lap. He doesn't get on furniture, never expressed an interest in that. I can leave a steak at the edge of the counter and he won't touch it. However, he will sit there next to it and stare at it, willing it to jump off the counter onto the floor.

As for the title of the entry - 'Where the $$$ goes ...', think DOG FOOD. For those at the casino - it seems their money goes to the slot machines and cigarettes.

**** Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it's doing it AGAIN, Blogspot is running ALL the paragraphs together - this frustrates me to NO end. I've tried time and time again for it to STOP. Grrrrrrrrrrr What now it's fixed?!?! I complain and it's corrects itself?!?!

Kimberly

2008-11-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today my daughter Kim and I went to the mall for a quick errand. It wasn’t until I was walking to the parking lot that I realized how SLOW and empty it was in the mall and this is November, correct?!? I guess people really aren’t shopping.

Yes, I’m clueless because I haven’t been shopping, haven’t been to the mall in MONTHS. Haven’t been due to lack of time, lack of desire and well, lack of free spending money.

Even earlier today, my husband Sonny and I went to get gas for my SUV and WHOO HOO, it was UNDER $40.00 to fill it up and I was on fumes. Sweet relief. I think I had thee biggest grin on my face when I had to go back for my change. If it hadn’t been pouring down rain, I’d have done a happy dance right there.

Change of subject.

Now that those of us from J-land have moved to Blogspot and we are making new friends, I thought I would step back for a moment and introduce my family. Tonight I want to introduce/re-introduce my lovely daughter, Kimberly, who is the oldest of three.

Kim, 25 lives at home with me. She’s not married nor does she have a boyfriend at this time. She’s extremely shy and has a hard time talking to guys. However, Sonny and I have been excited by how she is coming out of her shell and talking more to people, she holds her head up and is just blossoming into a beautiful young woman.

After being in an abusive home for years, she really needs this time to heal before getting into any serious relationship. Her father was one who on a daily basis reminded her that she was “retarded” and that she will never be able to drive, have her own place, etc, etc, etc. For those of you new, Kim is Dyslexic, however I don’t think that is considered retarded. Actually many who are dyslexic are highly intelligent.

After I read the last paragraph I started thinking again how far she has come and how I KNOW without any doubt that she won’t put up with an abusive guy. She will tell him to take a hike! She’s met a couple of guys and thought they were cute until they did something that she didn’t like. I’m proud that she rather be alone than in a (mental or physically) abusive relationship

Right now she is working at a local hospital in their housekeeping department. She has to be with the hospital a year before she can use an education program they have. During that year, she plans on talking to different staff and asking them about their jobs. So far she has ruled out x-ray techs despite the high paying wages.

Anyway, that’s Kim in a nutshell. I could talk a LOT more about her. However, I try to respect her privacy and for that reason I don’t write much about her.

The photo below is Kim at Halloween, she was helping us photograph a Halloween wedding. Isn’t she cute?

I'm Audrey ...

2008-11-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

I found this quiz on Kelly's blog and decided to play along. I don't do these quizzes very often. However, I was sitting here alone (again, everyone is at work) and I'm SUPPOSED to be working myself ... and I will, soon. Soon enough ... maybe later.

Anyway, Here were my results:

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Audrey! (If only I truly was!! or even just looked like her ... or thin like her!)

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace" (Actually, I AM at peace)

Audrey's are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

* If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure (SO TRUE!)

* I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this

* Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit (ME meander?!?! That so resembles me ...)

* Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and non judgmentally (I need a nudge to get back to work!)

* Ask me questions to help me get clear

* Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery

* Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings (I NEED hugs - don't we ALL!?!?)

* I like a good discussion but not a confrontation (NO confrontations ... PLEASE)

* Let me know you like what I've done or said

* Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

* being nonjudgmental and accepting

* caring for and being concerned about others

* being able to relax and have a good time

* knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around

* my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator

* my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now

* being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

* being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive (I'm so often misunderstood ... sigh)

* being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline (oh yeah ...)

* being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally (my ex was great at this game - he knew it would eat at me when he did those things.)

* being confused about what I really want (SO TRUE!)

* caring too much about what others will think of me (YOU still like me, right?!?!)

* not being listened to or taken seriously (No one takes me seriously ... I'm used to it)

Audrey's as Children Often (every bit of that is me as a child... )

* feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant

* tune out a lot, especially when others argue

* are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audrey's as Parents (I hope my children would think that I was supportive, kind and warm and yes, I was a bit overly permissive at times.)

* are supportive, kind, and warm

* are sometimes overly permissive or non directive

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

If you take the quiz, let me know the results! And did you think it was accurate for you? BTW, it's really SHORT and quick to take the quiz.

Six Things You Didn't Know ...

2008-11-07T21:27:00.001-08:00

Today I was tagged by Gina of Gina‘s Space, to tell you 6 things about myself that I’ve not told before and tag 6 more folks to do the same. so here goes....

1) I have 7 half brothers/sisters … I’m the baby of the family. Unfortunately, I’ve never met two of my half sisters - they live in Mexico. It’s a story fit for a soap opera.

2) My Mr Big X didn’t tell his mom I was pregnant with our first child until I was in the hospital in labor. I was ready to tell him to take a hike if he didn’t tell his family. I should’ve.

3) When I got pregnant with my youngest son, I was under advisement from my doctors NOT to get pregnant as my body needed to heal. They didn’t think I’d carry him to term. I did and he was a healthy BIG baby (11 lbs, 12 oz)

4) I dated a wonderful young man for 5 years, I still love him and he will always hold a special place in my heart. It never went anywhere because he finally came out of the closet and admitted his true feelings. Luckily I found a wonderful man when I met Sonny.

5) This might not be new to some of you who know me from J-land. I met Sonny online. I was looking for pen-pals in the Seattle area and well after 100’s of e-mails, then phone calls … he eventually became my husband. We’ve been married over 5 years.

6) Neither of us can tell you our wedding date! Yes, we are wedding photographers who don’t know our own date - it‘s sometime in December. We went to the JP to be legal as we had to postpone our wedding plans 3 times before, due to job layoffs, etc. We thought we’d still have that wedding. Never did and I have no problem with that - I get my fill of weddings already!

and I’m tagging....

I couldn't come up with 6 because I wasn't sure who has done this. If you haven't done it, I'm tagging YOU! :-) Now fess up and let me know you are doing it.

2008-11-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

This top photo is Cody Linley, age 18

The original - the master, my son Ryan at age 20.

Look at those eyebrows on both those boys! I just wish Ryan would SMILE for a photo.

I watch Dancing with the Stars every week. It’s one of the few times I turn on the TV. This week, Cody Linley had me laughing when they were talking about what comes easy to them on the show and what was hard.

For Cody what came easy was “being sexy, because it comes so naturally.” He said this while giving us his ‘sexy’ look. When I saw and heard that I cracked up - laughing and once again immediately thought of my youngest son, Ryan who is just too sexy for his …

It’s pretty sad when I find myself sitting there at the edge of my seat praying that he gets another week on the show. It’s just he is the closest thing I have to being with my son at this time. Our phone calls are precious and very few. I also know that he will do something on the show that will make me smile or laugh and I NEED that.

Ryan was the one who used to get in trouble with me at the dinner table on a regular basis. We would start laughing about something only to have Mr Big X tell us to “shut up and grow up!” It didn’t happen, we just laughed harder and Mr Big X would storm away from the table or on occasion ban us from the dinner table!

He is also the child I would catch dancing in his room to “I’m too sexy” by Right said Fred or “Man, I feel like a woman!” By Shania Twain, I remember stopping and asking him, “You feel like a WOMAN?!” He just laughed and said he LOVED the beat and kept on doing his “sexy” dancing.

When I was fighting with my health, he was the child who would sit at the edge of my bed and talk to me for hours. He ALWAYS left me with a smile.

Today, I’ve been fighting the blues … depression. It has nothing to do with the elections on Tuesday. It’s this weather, the time change (it’s dark to early) and being home all alone in the evening while my husband, Sonny and my daughter Kim are at work. It’s just so very lonely and quiet here for me.

*** 11PM, I got a call from Ryan tonight. I almost didn't answer the phone! He said he just wanted to say he was thinking of me and wanted to know if I was okay. I'm MUCH BETTER.

Lost Thoughts

2008-11-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

I’m lost. Well, I’m physically at my desk … as ALWAYS. But, I AM lost.

My mind is wondering here, there and even over to Wallamazoo (not Kalamazoo)! Is there a GPS for our minds?

The elections - let’s get it over with! I’m sick and tired of ALL the political ads and slams. It’s not just the presidential election on my mind, the current governor of Washington State won the election by a mere difference of 130 -140 votes. That was for the ENTIRE state, a small difference. The same two are running once again.

While I know who I’m voting for, I’ve never had strong enough emotions/convictions to say I’m a supporter. I’ve had enough questions on both candidates to make me a bit uncomfortable with our choices. I’m trying to decide if my age is part of that uneasy, uncomfortable feeling or if all ages are struggling with this election.

Sometimes it’s just trying to figure out which is the lesser of the two evils then saying a prayer and voting.

Next time I write, we will have a new president elect.

Few observations:
President Bush has been in hiding … I imagine the GOP really rather not have him endorse McCain.

The gas prices have been dropping and actually becoming “reasonable” the closer it gets to the elections. I better fill the car up Tuesday! My thoughts, they want us to forget our woes when we vote! Though my oldest son, Robert feels they (oil companies/car manufactures) are trying to divert our thoughts from thinking about other sources/alternative fuel for our cars.

Off the subject completely … does anyone know where my glasses are? That might help me in finding myself!