the Heart answers, "I don't know...". the Brain replies, "You'll be 47 years old in 2 weeks! Don't you think you should damn well know?!". the Heart, "yes, I'm trying...". This schizophrenic little conversation was brought on by the last question in this post at chookooloonks. When do I feel most authentic? I responded but it was definitely not my finest moment... I've been mulling the question over for three days trying to understand why I couldn't answer... These are my thoughts. I'll try not to be too random or ramble. I was raised by an Army officer, my dad,... Continue reading

Recently I was inspired by Karen and Maggie to create a Life List. A list of 100 (at least) things that I would like to accomplish before I leave this world. When I first read Karen's list, my first thought was "what a cool idea - I'm going to make my own list"! My second thought - "whoa, 100 things...can I think of that many"? Third thought - "why didn't I start a list like this 20 years ago...do I have enough life left to cram in 100 things"? (morbid, I know). The more I thought about THE LIST, the... Continue reading

For several months now I've wrestled with the question of whether or not to include pictures of my family in my blog entries. Last night as I was tossing and turning (one more sleepless night), I decided that who I am as wife, mother, daughter, sister is far too intertwined with who I am as a woman, writer, photographer and artist to leave them out. I still have some privacy concerns so, at least for now, I've decided to use nicknames. Besides I think it'll be fun! So, without further ado... Meet my husband the sexysculptor. I know what you're... Continue reading

A few weeks ago I volunteered to read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to soccerboy's kindergarten class during Dr. Seuss week. I wanted to to something special for the kids so I decided to make green Jell-O eggs fro snack time. So yesterday was the "big day" and I woke up feeling like...crap. A sinus infection. Great. But I was determined to make those eggs and to take great pictures of the process so I could write a killer blog about the process.Okay...here goes... I don't have a Jell-O mold for eggs so I decided to cut a hole... Continue reading

I had intended to blog about something totally different today but I was so moved by this post that I felt compelled to write about my own memories of the NICU. Almost exactly 26 years ago I gave birth to a premature baby boy. Two months before my due date, I had a small fender bender which the doctors think caused a small tear in the amniotic sack. I was admitted to the hospital and put on strict bed rest in an effort to hold off my labor as long as possible. After a week, it was apparent that the... Continue reading

Finally! My words for 2010! At first I thought the word would be self-realization but it occurred to me that in order to pursue self-realization I needed to have some inkling of what will fullfill me and make me feel complete. Mmmmmmmmmmmm..... Next word, please! That would be perseverance. Yeah, that sounds like a good one. Definition: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose. A course of action? A purpose? You mean other than trying to figure out what the hell the action and purpose are? All righty then. Next!! I've mulled this over for two weeks while... Continue reading

What a wonderful, blissful day! We had all four of our children (ages 5-25) at home, an extremely rare occurrence. The occasion? Trim the Christmas tree. I started the tradition of g iving my children an ornament every year when my second child was born. After the holidays, each child's ornaments are packed away in a container. The idea is that when they are grown and have their own tree, they have a whole box of ornaments each with a special memory attached. So much better than the box of Wal-Mart ornaments that I started out with. We spent the... Continue reading

One thing I've noticed in the past few days is that the bliss action that I've planned to do is not always the action that actually happens. In the past four days the only action that was actually the action I planned happened on day 1. Take today for example, I had planned to do something that is very high on my list of things I would do alot if I lived in a bubble. But alas there is no bubble here. Just as I settled down to what I thought was going to be 20 uninterrupted minutes of pure... Continue reading

Today I joined Sheri and Magpie Girl in making a list of the 8 Things I'm going to do to make this holiday season less stressful and more blissful. 8 Things for a More Blissful Holiday Season 1. I will take the time to enjoy every movie in our Christmas collection at least once. 2. I will have all of my shopping and gift making finished by December 20. 3. I will enjoy the annual cookie decorating day with my children, nieces and nephew. I will not stress no matter how much icing and sprinkles end up on my kitchen... Continue reading

Ever have a day that just gets away from you? You know the one where you oversleep, your kids are 30 minutes late to school, you almost miss your American Lit class, you realize you left your youngest child's lunch at home so after your class you have to run home, get the lunch, drop the lunch at school, then rush back to the university just in time for your Faulkner class (you voluntarily subjected yourself to reading Faulkner for an entire semester? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!). Oh...you've never had a day like this? Hmmm, guess this must have been... Continue reading

Hobby Lobby is the only thing that even remotely resembles an art store in the town where I live. In order to peruse the shelves of a true brick and mortar art store I have to be willing to travel 45 minutes to an hour. Correction: I'm always willing, just not always able to disappear for 3-4 hours without dealing with the guilt and overwhelming sense that I've abandoned my family. So on this first day of Sheri Gaynor's Bliss Challenge I thought it only appropriate to give myself this gift. Now, to be perfectly honest, I had a doctor's... Continue reading

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've added a post! When I started this blog, I tried to convince myself that I could add a post everyday but with the reality of my busy life glaring me in the face, once a week seemed more doable. Ok, so what happened? Let's see...1 husband with a crazy work schedule; 1 blogger (me) with college classes, two part time jobs and a craving to play poker at least once a week; 3 kids that must be shuttled to and from school, football, basketball, soccer, dance, etc; 2 dogs; 3... Continue reading

I've been a little under the weather the past few days and just didn't feel like I had anything positive to say, so I took my mom's age old advice and didn't say anything. :) I have been using the time to think about my blog and the things I'd like to include here. I want this to be a place where I can share my photography, my art, my feelings and my life. Therein lies my dilemma... My children are such a huge part of my life that leaving them out of my blog would be like pretending I... Continue reading

As I look back over the week, I realize what has made me the happiest is all of you. I started my blog with some uncertainty...what in the world would I write about, could I commit to frequent posts, would anyone ever read, much less respond, to what I have to say? Thanks to Lisa and her Happy Week all of my fears have been confronted and overcome...I really do have something say, I can say it often and there are wonderful, inspiring women that will take the time to read and respond. My favorite time of the day has... Continue reading

What a great day! After a 10 year sabbatical, I'm going back to school! After our 2nd child was born, thinking I still needed 16 more classes to graduate with a B.S. in English and a certification to teach, I was overwhelmed and decided to take a break. The "break" included 2 more children! Now that the last one is finally in Kindergarten, it's time to go back. Now, here is the really HAPPY part...after spending all day yesterday at campus talking to various counselors and department heads, it appears that I only need 6 more classes! All thanks to... Continue reading

This is our sweet girl, Daisy. She loves to play dress-up with my daughter and dance in her tutu. Daisy is a Bichon Frise. I know, she needs an appointment at the doggie spa but she's such a sweetie and HATES the groomer, that I keep putting off the trip. :) I hope this photo brightens your Tuesday. Thanks to Lisa at Curious Girl for letting me play along during Happy Week! Continue reading

It's been a little over ten years ago that my grandmother (my Nonee) was killed in a car accident. It was a devastating tragedy that took her from us without giving us a chance to say goodbye. For six years after the accident, my grandfather continued to live in the home they had built together. One day it occurred to him that the house was too big, the yard overwhelming. He had finally come to terms with her passing and it was time to move on. My husband and I bought the house and my grandfather moved into an apartment.... Continue reading