I don't think I've ever been so ready for a fresh new year to begin. I have been making a mental list of all of the things I want to accomplish in 2011. I've really never been one to make New Years resolutions because I know that once the hype of the season is gone, usually the resolutions are quickly forgotten. I do however have many things in my life that I want to accomplish and change, so I am taking the opportunity of this fresh new year ahead to work towards them.
This year has been a great year in so many ways, yet it has also been one of the worst and most stressful years to date. I have been dealing with several health issues since August that I haven't talked about here yet. The entire ordeal stressed me out so badly that I didn't know how much more I could handle. This was all, of course, on top of still trying to find a job and being unemployed for so long that my unemployment benefits are coming to an end within the next six weeks. There is so much more to this situation and maybe I will talk more about it here soon, but over the past few weeks I have realized more than ever that I need to leave this all in Gods hands because he is in control. Worrying has never and will never helped a thing, so I have let it all go and I believe that God will see me through each and every thing I am up against.
I have decided to focus instead on the good things that have happened this past year. I have continued to learn about photography and actually saw one of my dreams come to life when I had my both my first photo shoot and my first wedding last May. That was a goal that I wrote down over a year ago and sometimes I can't believe that it actually happened. Which reminds me, I am so behind on posting photos from other shoots I've done - it's officially on my to-do list :) I've always been the type of person who has good plans and good intentions, but rarely do I follow through on them when it comes to doing things for myself (when I make a commitment to others, I always keep my word). So, I am proud that becoming a photographer is one goal that I have accomplished this year.
I will be putting together a post this weekend highlighting some of my favorite photos of 2010. I wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy New Year! Thanks for sticking with me this year!
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I just wanted to say a quick Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating it today. I did most of the cooking again this year (with some help from Mom & Dad too) and I've been up since 5:30 this morning. I have had a really nice, relaxing day with my family and now I think it might just be time for a nap! And later, some chocolate cream pie ;)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day
Project 365 - Day 25
Lots of pink this Valentine's Day :)
Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I hope you have a special day whether you have a valentine or not :)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Buh-bye 2009!
Happy almost-New Year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I had a really great day with my family. We had some plans for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day that had to be tweaked at the last minute, but everything was great even so. It was a lesson in flexibility for me lol.
We had a pot-luck style dinner planned for Christmas Eve as well as some last-minute baking that had to be done. I had brownies baking in the oven and my Mom went to turn on the stove to start cooking and when she did, there was a blue spark and then the stove died. Oven and all. We live in a rental, so the first thing we thought to do is call the Landlord. But what can be done on Christmas Eve? We figured he had plans as well as we did, but we still called and spoke to his wife. As we thought, there was nothing that could be done until the day after Christmas, so she offered us the option of using the stove in one of their other rental units a few miles away.
I removed the almost-done brownies from the oven and still had another batch to cook, so we got together a few things we needed the stove to cook and drove to the other house. Thankfully we were able to finish up the remainder of our cooking in crock pots. We had a nice dinner and later on I finished decorating all of the gifts I had wrapped a couple weeks ago while we watched a movie.
In the words of one of my favorite photographers Jasmine Star, a post is not complete without a photo. So, here are a few:
The stove that saved the day!
Our kitchen-away-from-home
The brownies that almost weren't
Last glimpse of the Christmas tree
We had a big breakfast cooking on the electric griddle and then opened our presents. We were all so blessed this year! I got so many great things, one of them being a sewing machine. I was (am) so thrilled with it! I already have a list of all the things I want to make. I had Home Economics in school and remember the basics, but I am definitely still a beginner so I will start with the easy projects first. I will post about my first 'creation' tomorrow :)
Timber's tired from all the gift un-wrapping
For Christmas dinner my Dad was supposed to make a lasagna. Our new plan was to carry all of the ingredients, pots & pans, and utensils over to the other house to cook and then bring everything back for our dinner. But, that would have meant hours for him at the empty rental house on Christmas day with nowhere to sit and nothing to do while waiting. We decided to cancel the dinner until our stove was fixed and we ate leftover pizza strips instead. It may not have been the big meal we planned, but we made the best of it. And, we actually decided that we liked the simplicity of not having to cook and clean up a big meal on Christmas, so we are going to have a quick and easy meal again next Christmas too! Starting new traditions :)
Well, this post is getting a bit long and I could still keep on typing, but then we would be getting ready for the arrival of 2011 lol. We ended up getting a nice, newer stove the day after Christmas so we are having our lasagna tonight and we're going to ring in the New Year at home. Nice & safe and off the roads with the crazy/drunk drivers. It's also a full moon, so the looney toons will be out too! lol I'll spend my evening working on a new layout for my Mom's blog, and possibly one for mine too (big fun, I know!). I hope you have a wonderful and safe night and a happy and prosperous New Year in 2010!!
We had a pot-luck style dinner planned for Christmas Eve as well as some last-minute baking that had to be done. I had brownies baking in the oven and my Mom went to turn on the stove to start cooking and when she did, there was a blue spark and then the stove died. Oven and all. We live in a rental, so the first thing we thought to do is call the Landlord. But what can be done on Christmas Eve? We figured he had plans as well as we did, but we still called and spoke to his wife. As we thought, there was nothing that could be done until the day after Christmas, so she offered us the option of using the stove in one of their other rental units a few miles away.
I removed the almost-done brownies from the oven and still had another batch to cook, so we got together a few things we needed the stove to cook and drove to the other house. Thankfully we were able to finish up the remainder of our cooking in crock pots. We had a nice dinner and later on I finished decorating all of the gifts I had wrapped a couple weeks ago while we watched a movie.
In the words of one of my favorite photographers Jasmine Star, a post is not complete without a photo. So, here are a few:
The stove that saved the day!
Our kitchen-away-from-home
The brownies that almost weren't
Last glimpse of the Christmas tree
We had a big breakfast cooking on the electric griddle and then opened our presents. We were all so blessed this year! I got so many great things, one of them being a sewing machine. I was (am) so thrilled with it! I already have a list of all the things I want to make. I had Home Economics in school and remember the basics, but I am definitely still a beginner so I will start with the easy projects first. I will post about my first 'creation' tomorrow :)
Timber's tired from all the gift un-wrapping
For Christmas dinner my Dad was supposed to make a lasagna. Our new plan was to carry all of the ingredients, pots & pans, and utensils over to the other house to cook and then bring everything back for our dinner. But, that would have meant hours for him at the empty rental house on Christmas day with nowhere to sit and nothing to do while waiting. We decided to cancel the dinner until our stove was fixed and we ate leftover pizza strips instead. It may not have been the big meal we planned, but we made the best of it. And, we actually decided that we liked the simplicity of not having to cook and clean up a big meal on Christmas, so we are going to have a quick and easy meal again next Christmas too! Starting new traditions :)
Well, this post is getting a bit long and I could still keep on typing, but then we would be getting ready for the arrival of 2011 lol. We ended up getting a nice, newer stove the day after Christmas so we are having our lasagna tonight and we're going to ring in the New Year at home. Nice & safe and off the roads with the crazy/drunk drivers. It's also a full moon, so the looney toons will be out too! lol I'll spend my evening working on a new layout for my Mom's blog, and possibly one for mine too (big fun, I know!). I hope you have a wonderful and safe night and a happy and prosperous New Year in 2010!!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Oh, Christmas Tree
In mid-October I went with my Dad to a local tree farm to tag a Christmas tree. When you first arrive, they give you a tag with a number on it. You browse their selection of trees and when you find one you like that hasn't been sold, you put your tag on it and leave a deposit with the owner. Then, when you are ready to pick up your tree, you bring the ticket stub back to the farm and they cut the tree down and you have yourself a Christmas tree :)
Last year was the first time we had ever tagged a tree, so when we showed up in mid-November to tag our tree, there wasn't much of a selection. We found a nice enough tree but it was only about 5 feet tall. This year we purposely went to the farm on their opening weekend on Columbus Day (Oct. 10th) to make sure we would find a nice tree. We spent well over an hour searching for the best tree and when we found a really nice one, we tagged it and left the deposit.
This was the tree farm:
So, today was the day we decided to go and pick up our tree. Ironically, before we left the house my Dad joked that he hoped our tree would still be there. When we showed up at the farm, we gave the woman our tag stub and she had her husband go out into the field to cut down the tree. About ten minutes later he came back and said he couldn't find our tree. We went out into the field to help them locate our tree and my Dad and I found the section where we knew the tree was, but we could not find our tag number. At that point, I started to think that someone had removed our tag and took our tree by putting their own tag on it.
I went to the next row of trees from where ours was and, lo and behold, I found our tag. Someone removed our tag from our tree and just stuck it in the branches of another persons tagged tree! The worst part is that there are a couple of signs on the way down to the field that says 'DO NOT REMOVE TAGS FROM THE TREES'. We were so upset, my Dad especially. There we stood looking at the tree that we believed was ours, with someone else's tag on it. And there was nothing we could do to prove it was ours. The owner offered to give us our deposit back of course, but we were still so disappointed that we spent all of that time searching for this tree and some could come along and just take it.
So, off we went to find another Christmas tree. We drove to a nearby Christmas tree stand that had nice, freshly cut trees and found ourselves a beautiful tree (and it was a little cheaper too). All in all, I think the tree we ended up with is nicer than the original tree we tagged. The first tree was about 6 feet tall, including the long stem at the top, but the new tree we brought home is at least 7 feet tall and is much fuller. I guess something positive did come from the whole experience :) I will be decorating the tree tomorrow, so I will make sure I come back here to post some photos!
This is the tree we bought from the tree stand. It is much bigger in person than it appears in the photo...I am 5'7 and the tree is about a foot and a half taller than me!
I will be back tomorrow to post photos of the tree decorated. Have a great weekend!
Last year was the first time we had ever tagged a tree, so when we showed up in mid-November to tag our tree, there wasn't much of a selection. We found a nice enough tree but it was only about 5 feet tall. This year we purposely went to the farm on their opening weekend on Columbus Day (Oct. 10th) to make sure we would find a nice tree. We spent well over an hour searching for the best tree and when we found a really nice one, we tagged it and left the deposit.
This was the tree farm:
Our tag on the tree we chose
After an hour of searching, this is the tree we picked
I went to the next row of trees from where ours was and, lo and behold, I found our tag. Someone removed our tag from our tree and just stuck it in the branches of another persons tagged tree! The worst part is that there are a couple of signs on the way down to the field that says 'DO NOT REMOVE TAGS FROM THE TREES'. We were so upset, my Dad especially. There we stood looking at the tree that we believed was ours, with someone else's tag on it. And there was nothing we could do to prove it was ours. The owner offered to give us our deposit back of course, but we were still so disappointed that we spent all of that time searching for this tree and some could come along and just take it.
So, off we went to find another Christmas tree. We drove to a nearby Christmas tree stand that had nice, freshly cut trees and found ourselves a beautiful tree (and it was a little cheaper too). All in all, I think the tree we ended up with is nicer than the original tree we tagged. The first tree was about 6 feet tall, including the long stem at the top, but the new tree we brought home is at least 7 feet tall and is much fuller. I guess something positive did come from the whole experience :) I will be decorating the tree tomorrow, so I will make sure I come back here to post some photos!
This is the tree we bought from the tree stand. It is much bigger in person than it appears in the photo...I am 5'7 and the tree is about a foot and a half taller than me!
I will be back tomorrow to post photos of the tree decorated. Have a great weekend!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Black Friday: Mission Accomplished
Well, my Black Friday shopping was a success. I got a few really good deals and didn't even have to leave my computer chair! I can't say what I bought just yet though, my Mom reads this blog and I wouldn't want to ruin her surprise ;) I kept my word though - I had hot cocoa and listened to some Christmas music while I shopped. Did it help me get in the 'Christmas Spirit'? Not really. I think I am still brainwashed from all of the Fall decorations I was looking at around me while I shopped lol.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was really nice. A little discrepancy over how long to cook the turkey due to bad instructions I found online, but it came out great just the same. I had a lot of help this year with all of the preparations, so it brought my stress level down to nada. I am the type of person that does great cooking, until the very end that is. I am nice and relaxed the whole time, then at the end while trying to have everything ready at the same time - boom! Stress. And a very red face. And when I sit down to eat you might think I just ran five miles on a treadmill because I look like I have been through a war lol. Ah...the joys of preparing a big meal :)
The photo below is for my friend Pea, who lives in Canada and had their Thanksgiving last month. Your slice is on the way Pea! lol
A few more photos from the day:
Our table
I took some leaves and acorns from outside and glittered them up
Emeril eating his carrot
Timber posing in my Grandfathers rocking chair after dinner...poor kitty got nothing :(
That's all for today! Enjoy the rest of the weekend :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! For me, it is the official start of the holiday season. I decided to skip the Black Friday shopping in the stores this year and will do my shopping online instead. On Friday morning, I plan on sitting at my computer with my hot cocoa and Christmas music, doing my shopping while everyone else is crammed into the stores fighting over the sale items. Long lines, items sold out, trying to find parking spaces.....I don't think I will be missing much lol.
Tomorrow I will be doing most of the cooking. We got alot of the preparations and baking done today so there won't be too much left to do in the morning and everything should go smoothly. It is going to be a small family gathering with only the immediately family so it will be a nice, relaxed day without having to entertain guests. I am really looking forward to watching the parades on TV and, I would be lying if I didn't admit, the chocolate cream pie ;)
I hope you all enjoy the day with your family & friends and take a moment to think about your life and what you are grateful for. It's during these times when you realize just how blessed you are.
Tomorrow I will be doing most of the cooking. We got alot of the preparations and baking done today so there won't be too much left to do in the morning and everything should go smoothly. It is going to be a small family gathering with only the immediately family so it will be a nice, relaxed day without having to entertain guests. I am really looking forward to watching the parades on TV and, I would be lying if I didn't admit, the chocolate cream pie ;)
I hope you all enjoy the day with your family & friends and take a moment to think about your life and what you are grateful for. It's during these times when you realize just how blessed you are.
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