What I wanna be when I grow up..

This is what I want to do
when I grow up.
If I had only known 30 years ago
before my parents and I invested thousands
in my education as a teacher.
Not that I don't like teaching.
I like it.
I think I even have an appitude for it.
(or so I am told)
But the excitement that I get
from taking pictures.
There is no match for it.
It is second only to the passion I have
for being a wife and a mother.
(and let's face it those things are so hard)
As I have always told my kids as whined and fussed at moments that they have been instructed to smile for the birdie.."If there are no pictures of something, it might not have actually happened. I read a post from CJane this week that said that she didn't take her camera on her trip to England and that she took snapshots with her mind and that would be enough. Good luck with that one I say. She is young. Her mental photo album is still relatively uncluttered. Wait until the album is filled and the pictures are stuffed in the shoeboxes of your brain, cluttered and unorganized. Or the lens on the brains camera is fuzzy, needs reading glasses and the rusty shutter sticks every now and then. That when you need the real thing on paper. Good photographic paper that won't yellow or fade and feels substantial in your hands and in your heart.
That's when you will feel grateful for the screwball in the family that always had a camera in their hand.
The one who made you mad because you weren't wearing make-up or you wanted to wait until you had lost a few pounds.
Who insists on the photo of the family dinner that you complained about because the food was getting cold.
Yup, that's me.
You don't have to thank me. (although no one is stopping you)
I do it because I love it like I love rocky road ice cream.
I need to like I need oxygen to breathe.
It's who I am.
Now how am I going to turn it into a retirement part time job?
Anyone need a retired teacher/semi retired mom/photographer?

P.S. It doesn't hurt to have two of the most beautiful models ever...Peanut and her cousin Pizza. It makes the task a piece of cake. Thank you girls. You rock!

A Rich aBUNDTance: Sister and Sweets

Party Time!! My stunningly sweet sister and drop dead darling daughter are visiting the great state of Texas for a week. I've been looking forward to this for awhile now.....and what could make their visit even sweeter?
BUNDT CAKE!!
Not that their visit alone is not exciting enough but you just gotta love a house guest that brings cake.
Outstanding!
This is a cake from Utah the land of yummy bread and pastries. Mormons really know their way around the sweets. I had one of these when I was there for Raars graduation in April and fell head over heels madly in love. This one is lemon with cream cheese frosting. I can't get it here in Texas which is probably a good thing. But my thoughtful big sis brought the slice of heaven here to me. I take back all of the mean or spiteful things I ever did in the name of sibling rivalry to her. Well almost all of them....I still get a chuckle at the time she was growing into womanhood and wearing her bra all of the time (even to sleep) because she said that I was staring at her. I told her that I read somewhere that wearing a bra 24/7 can give you breast cancer. Or that time that I got red marker on the new white couch and when my Dad questioned us I said that it wasn't me and Precious (that's what I call big sis) was found guilty before he even asked her by process of elimination. Or the time......oh nevermind, you get the point.
Sisters can never erase the past. They can only build bridges in the present...bridges made of luscious lemon bundt cake.

Stay tuned for reports of our week of adventure!

A Charmed Life

When I was a little girl my mom and dad bought me a charm bracelet.
They were pretty popular back then. The charm that was all the rage was the little mustard seed. It was pretty encouraging to me as a little girl that my faith only needed to be that big for me to move mountains. I figured I could muster (lol no pun intended) at least that much faith. It seems a little trickier now that I am not so young. I haven't moved any mountains lately so I am still obviously a work in progress.
The charm bracelet has grown over the years. It is now filled. It is heavy and cumbersome to wear and every link is filled. I know I should start another one but it makes me sad to think that the new one would not have some of my favorites like;
The pinecone: purchased in a little country store in Coldspring Texas where I took my girls every year to Mother Daughter Campout. I would take them out of school for the day and we would get there before all of the other mothers and daughters. We would stop at a little restaurant called "The Hop" and eat fries and drink strawberry banana milkshakes. I purchased their bracelets and first charms there. It was always such a magical time for the three of us.
The Twin Towers: We had a girls trip planned to New York City in November 2000 for a fun filled weekend of broadway shows, eating and sight seeing. We sat around the table one Sunday talking about the "must see" sights on our list. They included among others, the statue of liberty, Ellis Island, the World Trade Center, and beautiful fall foliage. The next morning my brother called and told me that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center Tower. He is a big tease and so I told him to stop. He told me to turn on my TV. My stomach just dropped. It was unbelievable. The feeling of fear and of being under attack as a nation is one I will never forget. My children were in three different schools; elementary, middle and high school. I spent the rest of the day checking them out of school along with other frightened parents. I just wanted to hug them and let them know that it was alright. I wanted to be the one to reassure them and I wanted everyone I loved to be close by. I was so frightened to get on a plane after only two months later but I did it. I conquered my fear and I went. It was an amazing trip filled with laughter, fun, shows, eating, family and a deep sense of love of country and freedom. I think it made me realize how much family and country meant and to never to take them for granted. I bought the charm so I would never forget.
The train: On my 15 anniversary my husband gave me a steam engine train charm. It was to remind me of our honeymoon when we rode the Durango Silverton train up a winding vista of breath taking scenery. It was beautiful but I was more focused on staring at the passenger next to me. He was beautiful...more than anything outside that train. He was my soul mate and the love of my live. I spent the afternoon wondering how I could be so lucky and so happy. And why on earth would someone so good looking and so nice pick me. Someday I will ride that train again and try and appreciate what is outside of the train but who knows...if Mr. T is sitting by me all bets are off.
My charm bracelet tells my story. It is a shiny silvery history of love and laughter and life.
Here's to the start of another bracelet just as full.

Exploring new territory in the back yard

These are pictures from my backyard. I love taking pictures. But I don't love my backyard. I have a love/hate relationship with the out of doors. (I hope that those of you who love being outdoors won't stop being my friend...just keep reading..it gets better) I have always felt that the outdoors definitely had it's place....."it's place" meaning being viewed from the window of my perfectly climate controlled spot in my favorite chair with a book on my lap. Now it might be because I live in Houston. Anyone who has ever been to Houston in the summer, raise your hand. Yup all of those people are nodding their heads in agreement. It is hot.
It is sweat inducing, hair frizzingly humid, energy sapping, fry an egg on the sidewalk, steam broccoli without a stove, tear jerking HOT in Houston.
But I have made peace with that.
I just stay inside.
Or rather I use to stay inside. My body is changing. I think I am entering into the last sputterings of the hormonal choo choo train I boarded when I was a teenager and it is changing who I am. I was always the "hot one". (interpret that however you want to) I could be in 30 degree weather in a T shirt and love it. I made sure that my exposure to the outside was only the brief seconds that it required to go from one air conditioned spot to another air conditioned spot. And I look slow but like a crocodile I can go short distances freakishly fast.
Now I am always cold.
I am that annoying person that says. "Is anybody else cold in here?" I am the old lady who brings a sweater in her car everywhere just in case. I am the person who turns off the fan in the room.
Just plain weird.
But it has it's bright side. I think I am falling in love with my backyard. I spent two hours on Thursday just sitting and drinking it all in. I took these pictures. Did you know that there are some fascinating things in MY backyard? I sure didn't. There must have been at least a dozen different species of birds. The tomatoes that we planted are beautiful. The herbs were deliciously fragrant.
WHO KNEW?
I guess you outdoor people did.

"I SEE" said the blind man who could not see at all.

EUREKA!! I think I've got it. Remember in one of my last somewhat melancholy posts that I didn't really know why I have a blog? I know why! Do you want to know too? (Admit it...you've hardly been able to get a decent nights sleep since I said it. lol)

IT"S YOU!! (and a little me)

I was so touched by the response from people I had never met who took the time out of their busy lives to lend a listening ear and a write a kind response.
And what a sweet little birdie who told her friends to stop by!! Oh how I wish we lived in the same town Kristin. I think I would like to be your new best friend. You are such a thoughtful person. Thank you.

I realized that the older I get, the more exclusive I have gotten. I just don't go out as much as I use to. I would rather stay home than go shopping. I don't look forward to outings as much as I use to. I chalked this up to age and decided it was ok. But maybe it's not.
Maybe this blog is a way to connect with something (without leaving the comfort of my easy chair). It is like a little window to the outside world when I am just not feeling like leaving my nest. It is a transition period between my active mothering stage and the time when I am going to have to go back out into the world as just me, myself.....not the MOMshell but just Shell. I know that it will be good for me to discover that part of me again,
but for now, I am enjoying the ability to be in my home mothering my last chick.
So for now, I blog.
And I meet great people like you.
And I sit in my worn, comfortable easy chair.
And I plan for the future.
P.S. Reason #2 My sister said I made her cry and that she was proud of me. Right back at you precious. Your picture should be listed under the definition of what a big sister should be. In fact I think it already is.
P.S.S. The title of this post is something my grandma Elgie use to say all of the time. Now when ever any one says, "I see" I have the urge to say it. She was a pistol. I miss her.

Happy 17th Birthday Peanut!

I love you more than you could ever imagine. I am so proud of the young woman you have become. You are not only beautiful on the outside but you are beautiful on the inside as well. I could not have asked for more. You are my sunshine.