My biggest owner/pet pet peeve is when someone is walking their pet...toodling along and they come across my front yard. Since my yard belongs to a animal...you can best believe Miyagi has marked his territory all over the place. Most dogs...any dogs...will catch the scent of another dog and go to investigate. I understand. Such is the life of being an animal.

But when you let 'Toto' come up into my yard and do his/her business IN MY YARD...you are allowing that other dog's scent to be all in my dog's territory.

not good.

when he goes out TO HIS OWN FRONT YARD...he tends to freak out because other dogs smell is in his yard

I'm very particular about when I walk Miyagi. I dont allow him to go into other peoples yard simply for this reason. Also...his..markings....can be GIGANTIC so you might not want him to mark his territory in your yard. It could get messy....

i have GOT to stop taking pictures through my car windows...but ya'll...I couldnt help it. I just loved this moment... the feeling I got...pretty amazing stuff. so of course, i had to turn around, get my camera ready, wait for traffic to come through and pulled right back to the same spot...

just for this shot.

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." ~ Mohandas Gandhi

*this photo is from my 365 project*

Happy New Year!!!!

Well it is for me...

I tend to start my 'New Year' on my birthday. Which is today...or yesterday depending on if I can get this posted today on the 27th (issues with my computer and BLOGGER) .

2011...although you started with a bang...you ended as a fllllllllllllliptttttttttttttttttttttt....you know, a burned out, horrible tired mess. I made a resolution several years ago where any resolution I made, would be one that would stay in my psyche for years....it wouldnt just be something for that year but it would turn out to be a way of life for me. One of this years resolution was for me to slow down and take some time for me. Well, that didnt necesarily happen.

The same with Alie Edwards and her OLW project.

I've done this for 3 years and even though I come up with a word for the year, I want that word to keep going from year to year. 2011...2011, your word was !LIVE! and I did good with that. I was more open. I did more things. I enjoyed LIFE. And then my father was diagnosed with cancer. My best friends dad passed away. My ex lost his job. My son started his senior year in high school. My baby boy started acting more adult like...ahhhhhhhhhh you name it and I felt like...well...I just didnt have time to !LIVE! anymore. I didnt have time for that word but really and truthfully, that's all that I WAS doing was living...through the good and the bad. And lets be honest...isnt that what life is all about??

2012, your word is going to be Transformation.

At Christmas time, it was me, my parents and my sister Netta. Everyone else was scattered all over my parents home but we were all sitting at the table eating pumpkin pie (RIGHT OUT OF THE DISH...no plates here...just a fork for each one of us) and I told them about the OLW project. I also explained that I started doing this in regards to scrapbooking but it had become so much more. It became a quest to direct my life for THAT purpose.

Without me telling them too, they all started naming their words... health was my dad's...my mother's words were faith/patience ( she would have to be the difficult one) and my sisters word was happy. When I told them my word they immediately felt like I was setting myself up for disaster.

Transformation is a BIG word. HUGE even. But to me each little step I take for change will lead to a big transformation. In my health. In my fiances. In my relationships. And when you have all these conscious decisions for a small change in ourselves..a transformation has no other choice but to occur.

And that is what I'm banking on.

In other news...I've fallen in love with photography again. At least the meaning of it, to me....which is to document my life, our lives....all lives for everyone around me. I love the idea of stopping time for that moment...THE moment... in someone's life where they can look at that photo and laugh in memory or even....cry. I want to concentrate on this every day so I'll be doing my 365 project not only here but on flickr as well.

In closing, again...this is my New Years Day but I know that your New Years Day is a couple days away so I will say now...have a Happy New Year...enjoy yourself..enjoy your family...and enjoy your life. After all, its the only chance you get to live it.... Muah!

he's 18....and yes...he's shaved before...



well, not really SHAVED shaved.....

he has a pair of clipper that he's used for a long time but they are more like beginners clippers or something you would use on a dog...

no...this is a little different...





this was with shaving cream and *gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssp* a razor.....

be still my poor beating mama heart....

every day is a day to be thankful....

My sister got married last weekend....it was a weekend full of love, fun and family. You cant get any better than that and for that I am truly thankful but...this post is about my new brother-in-law...

I am SO thankful that my sister was blessed with another great love...very seldom do people experience the love she had with her first husband ( who died in a car accident) but to have it again....God works miracles.

I'm also thankful she married a man that worships the ground her grand-daughters, my great nieces, walk on.

GOD, is most definitely, good

every day is a day to be thankful.....

SO thankful for a peace that passes all understanding...my father is back in the hospital but you you know what...everything...I mean EVERYTHING.... is going to be alright.

everyday is a day to be thankful

I am so thankful that when my stomach is growling, like it currently is...that I have food to sustain me

everyday is a day to be thankful....

i am so thankful that God knows me better than I know myself....and He knows when I need a pick me up better than anyone I know....

everyday is a day to be thankful....

i am so blessed to have two teenage son's that are NOT ashamed to take pictures with their momma :-)

everyday...is a day to be thankful...

Yes...these are potatoes. Red potatoes. And yes, they are in my cast iron skillet being FRIED. FRIED. FRIED i said....

i have two recipes...my grandmother liked her red potatoes (or baby potatoes as she called them...dont know which is the correct term but I call them red) steamed. She fried bacon and onions with a lot of salt and a little pepper. When the bacon was done she added about half a cup of water and then the potatoes, sliced , covered them with a lid and steamed them on low for, what she called 'awhile'.

my dad...he sliced his red potatoes ( now that is what he called them) directly into the iron skillet, added salt and pepper, rings of white onions and little pieces of a green bell pepper. He would fry that in oil but I couldnt tell you how much he uses...it was usually 'enough'....and he would cook that 'until its done'

no...these are not chef's recipes but recipes that I've grown to love because they were DONE out of a lot of love. a love that I am SO blessed to continue to feel, even to this day.

everyday is a day to give thanks....

I am SO thankful for a job that gives me the ability to provide for my family. Yes...I do complain...yes sometimes I have to DRAG my butt out of bed and sometimes, my co-workers drive me insane but I am so very blessed.

every day is a day to be thankful...

God has blessed me with a sister and a mother who both love me enough to know that I LOVE chicken and dumplings made from scratch...and then make them at the last minute....

everyday is a day to be thankful...

my few raindrops, although they can be irritating when I dont have a umbrella and for most times, do not turn into natural disasters. but these raindrops, they do have the ability to sustain life and growth for many things.

annnnnnnnnnnd they also give some really good photo-op's.....

everyday is a day of thanksgiving....





So very thankful that I have a warm home to go to after a LONG day. And I'm not talking just about the warmth of the heat but the warmth of the love, trust and emotion that just.....ooooooooooooooooooooozes out of my home.

everyday is a day to be thankful....to see the blessings in life and to be a blessing to others...

so thankful for another day to be with my loved ones...rather it be sitting right next to each other or across the miles on a phone, email or some other electronic media LOL

oh my...does it ever just seem like 'life' has just decided to take off without your premission??

you know...when things get so hectic and busy that before you know it....5 months have passed you by...

that is how i feel, where i am and where i dont want to be.

my prayers lately have been like this:

'God...PLEASE!'

or

'God, how'd you know THAT?!'

or

'God, thank you for just being with me. I need you'

these are my all time, top used/favorite prayers.

And there is always an answer.

'let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?' ~ fanny brice

"God told them, 'I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!' " Jeremiah 31:3

you are loved.

I found this in a book I'm reading, currently checked out from the library. I've had, the book, for about2 weeks and was getting NO WHERE. It's a book on photography and I tend to learn better by doing then I do learning by reading.

In my quest to find something a lil bit more interesting in the book, I skipped ahead and this feel out. This little but powerful note...

perfectly on time....

sometimes its better to just let sleeping dogs lie...or cats in this case.....

Summer is trying its damnedest to hold on. The past 4-5 days our weather has been between 60-85 degrees, warm sunshine on the skin, beautiful blue skies which even makes warm balmy nights with a sky full of stars.

i love it.

Yeah..go 'head Ms Mother-Nature...have your mood swings.....

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. Life is already filled with those who want to bringyou down ~ Oprah Winfrey

Everything will change when your desire to move on exceeds your desire to hold on~ unknown

If one dream should fall and breaak into a thousand pieces, nevver be afraid to pick on of those pieces up and begin again. ~ Flavia Weedn

Gosh...where has all the time went...

feeling very thankful this morning....thankful that i was raised by two parents who love each other deeply...that when one hurts, the other other feels the pain...feels the pain enough to say, no argue with the specialist....'SOMETHING is NOT right'....

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights...well...









not really.









But it did rain all last weekend. Which was fine...















I had two weeks of dirty house to clean





...so it rained, drizzled, got foggy and cold so we pulled out our flannel pj's bottoms and our big wholly socks that I LOVE SO much...( who needs silver and gold when you can get to my heart with thick socks) and we basically just amped out at the house. My oldest would leave for work and then come back to us watching movies, eating popcorn, camping out on the computer, making chili. Just BEING.






if you've known me any length of time you know that from October to April....I tend to cave dwell. I hole myself up at home for the most part, dont smile, dont laugh and bemoan the fact that I hate winter. this year..I will hole myself up but i will also use that time to connect.

Connect with everyone and me. ME. Not just a quick email. Not just a text. Not just dread the snow. Not just waiting for spring...but let things coccoon and grow into something a lil bit better.

it will be hard...I tend to be a little bit of a Negative Nilly...( I can hear you all gasp in suprise but yes...I can be that) but do ever feel like SOMETHING has to change??? Well, I'm at that point and feel it is the best point to be at....

* my dad is in his 3rd week of radiation and so far he is doing pretty good. He's having trouble with his blood sugar spiking and being overly tired some times but for the most part, he is doing really good. Prayer is an AMAZING thing...

Most commit the same mistake with God that they do with their friends they do all the talking.
~ Fulton Sheen


so true....so so true. I took this during one of my moments when I simply asked God 'what next???'. And this is what he showed me.

I love moon shots....

before I bed, i always take Miyagi outside for freash air and to do his doggy thing. Its just me and him having our quality time, bonding. I usually sit and stare at the sky, think, pray...just whatever. Miyagi, for the most part, sits on the pavers in the yard and waits until I'm ready to go in. Sometimes he runs along the fence line. If I'm upset, he paces.

the other night the moon was SO amazingly clear. it was gorgeous. I was torn between just sitting there enjoying the moment or getting up, going inside and getting my camera. The dreamer in me won out and I grabbed my camera.

once i came back outside, the new neighbors were outside on their deck. They have a little dog, which I like to call Miyagi's girlfriend but tonight, I guess his girlfriend had a guest and this dog...is a barker.

a LOUD barker

and a runner

and Miyagi...Miyagi is not. Its part of their breed to not bark a lot ( unless necessary) but for the most part he knows, I dont like a lot of barking. I know that sounds crazy but Rott's are very smart dogs. His protective instinct came out when I came out and he gave me his warning growl like 'mama...I got this.' but i clucked my tongue at him to let him know

'calm your butt down'

he whimpered a little bit but he just sat down and continued to watch the guest dog run back and forth and bark....and bark...and bark.....

until finally, after they yelled at the dog several times to be quiet, I decided, for the moral of the neighborhood, that Miygai and I had had enough bonding time and we went in for bed.

i'm a scribbler my nature.....when I am thinking I scribble. when i am on the phone I scribble. when I am in meetings I scribble.

wait a minute...is 'scribble' even a word???

doodler...I am a doodler by nature....

anywho...it helps me to have my mind be able to wander but wander in a controlled fashion. that doesnt quite make sense does it???

I've doodled since middle school so I've doodled stick figures, flowers, hearts, crosses, of course names...you know what i mean....

jakki richardson

jakki lee

jakki bolin

jakki bardwell

jakki springsteen

jakki lowe...

jakki washington

in any case my latest artistic endeaver is following the dots on paper towels....when I say latest, i mean the past 3-4 years. like in the picture above...I tend to use different ink pens/colors but it doesnt really matter. just as long as every dot is filled...once its filled...

i start all over again.

I. LOVE. SILHOUETTE SHOTS.

my oldest with my great niece...

I'm trying to get back on track...its easier said than done I'm finding.

but it IS being done and it IS going to be okay...

this I know.

Labor Day BBQ is today. Dad wanted it at their house so that is where we will be. He started his radiation last Wednesday. First day, fine. Second day had some side effects. Third day...not so good. He seems tired and a little weak but maybe that's more from stress.

School as been in session about 3 weeks. Senior year is off to a really good start. I notice my oldest is tired even though he's cut back on his work during the school week but he ends up doing double shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. And of course, we've got to have fun times with the girlfriend...sigh...young love....SO time consumming and such a energy waster. Well, not a waste of energy but you use some much of it...ya'll know what I mean.

my youngest baby is actually in the main high school. My 'Town Trying Hard to be a City" has one public high school. Which in reality...is too damn small for the student population that is enrolled there....any who's...back to my baby...so far...he's loving it. Well not loving it but he's not having any problems. He rides to school with his big brother so he gets to be around the upper classmen. Who knew that the same petty issues between high school upper classman and lower classmen STILL exsists....