Compliments of the Management

Only the best when the Winn family sets out on their road trips....
We drive in style and comfort in our big ole red van.
We dine in the finest fast food establishments available in places like ...
Comanche, Texline, Gustine, and Nageezi. (actually there is no fast food in Nageezi, there is not even a gas station or a stop sign but I like to say it's name anyway)
And we almost NEVER eat at a fast food that is attached to a gas station.
After all we have our high standards to uphold.
Our nights lodgings are always first class as well.
As evidenced by the gift that was waiting for us in our hotel in New Mexico.
Not only was the management offering us it finest guest towel with their compliments....
But they also made sure we understood the many ways that we could use this great gift.
I am certainly going to appreciate the "guest towels" that we collect in our fine eating establishments as well
now that I know just how many uses there are for something
of this quality.
P.S. Isn't my son just the cutest?

Goodbye my friend...

I said goodbye to a dear friend today.
They say that what doesn't break you....makes you stronger....
But what about what you break?
Does that make you stronger?
I stared at the tile floor this afternoon in shock believing that if I just stared long enough my camera would jump back up in place perched upon the brand new tripod I was testing.
CONCENTRATE
CONCENTRATE....
That did NOT just happen.
Well I guess I am getting ahead of myself here....
It all started when I decided to practice my photography skills while showing ya'll my new house and at the same time showing off my excessive Halloween decorations. Multi-tasking....and since I had slept in later this morning than I should it was going to be an atonement of sorts.
I excitedly pulled out my newest toy.
A brand new tripod!
Nothing says professional like a fancy new tripod....
I attached my favorite wide angle lens and aimed it towards my ever increasing stash of Halloween, while contemplating whether or not my home was beginning to look like the shelves at Hobby Lobby.
Click!
What joy to be shooting......
Crash!!
(This part was truly like it is in the movie...slow motion....while the sounds of OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO out of mouth were equally slow)
The crashing thud made my stomach flip flop and I hesitated to look down. I stared at the top of the tripod and blinked a couple of times to make sure.
And then I looked down.
It was on the floor
and there were a couple of pieces of broken plastic scattered around it.
I just froze.
Picking it up would mean I would have to face the consequences.
Was it a total loss?
Minutes seemed to pass...
It's funny how the mind sometimes refuses to process what it does not want to process.
I finally bent down and scooped it up.
I turned it on and all of the right lights and numbers appeared.
Could it be that all would be alright?
Were the camera gods smiling down upon me.
I slowly pressed the shutter release button......
Darkness.
My wide angle lens...
My very FIRST lens ever....
was gone.
I post tonight the last picture that it took,
in memory of a wonderful lens.
I will miss you..
sniff
sniff.
P.S. The lens must have taken the force of the fall since the camera is working fine. I took over 500 shots at a middle school football game tonight. Whew.....)

Quarter Century...Oh Baby!

25 years ago today I met her.
She made it known immediately that my life would never be the same.
We named her Megan.
which means strong.
And we were right on the money with that decision.
She is STRONG
I used to describe her as a 100 watt bulb in a 25 watt socket.
She is BEAUTIFUL
inside and out.
She is INTELLIGENT
I knew I was in trouble when at 2 she was speaking full sentences that started out with, "Well actually Mom."
She is FAITHFUL
Faithful to her family, to her husband, and to the gospel.
She is my FIRST BORN
subject to all the perks and downsides of being my "test case". We had to figure out being a mother and daughter together and she still is the first to enter new frontiers as our relationship develops.
She is ARTICULATE
she speaks her mind and believe me her mind is filled to capacity. She amazes me with her ability to remember and to think and to speak.
She is LOVING
She loves with all her heart and is always there to help out her family with whatever they need.
She is TALENTED
she teaches like a seasoned professional and is there for any of her students to help them and guide them in life's tricky teenage journeys.
She is my Megan and I have been honored to share the last 25 years of my life intertwined with hers.
She is my shinin' pride
A quarter of a century of being her mother.
What an honor and privilege.
I love you Meggie Peggie.
Happy Birthday!