37millimeterfilm

New York Times-Joe Pernice

2009-08-05T11:30:00.002-04:00

This was in the New York Times today:

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/living-with-music-joe-pernice/

The new book comes out tomorrow.

2009-08-05T10:38:00.004-04:00

changing my location: in a few hours I'll be changing my location. www.kamiellis-yaskophotography.blogspot.com

take note and change it on your sidebar if you will.

Summer.

2009-08-03T12:20:00.009-04:00

I love summer. I love color. I especially love all the colors of summer :) Anyway, not much to say just a few pictures. Enjoy.

Hydrangeas

Daisies

Dandelion

More Hydrangeas

Heavy Heart...

2009-07-28T16:42:00.002-04:00

I'm not very good with words. I speak more eloquently than I write (strange, I know.) I tend to capture my emotions with pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have any right now...but soon I will. For now, I'll just have to try to write it.

Yesterday, I was at work when my mom called. I could tell, immediately, that something was wrong. Through her tears she informed that she and my Dad were on their way to the Dr. Larry (the vet) for a task that had been weighing on their minds and hearts for a long time. Our family Dog, Frazier, after 17+ years, just wasn't able to enjoy life as a dog anymore, and it was time.

I cried, because....well, I cry. At (cough) 27 (cough) I've only ever had four dogs, two of which currently live with me. I'm a dog person. My dogs are apart of my family and when one of them dies...it hurts. Before I moved out of the house, he was my dog. He slept in my room every night and could recognize my voice over the phone. He HATED every single boyfriend until I started dating James, no LIE! He loved James. He love me because I gave him cinnamon roles on Sunday morning. He hated water. He loved to bark at boats. He didn't bite, but he wasn't a licky dog either (which is good, because he liked to drink out of the toilet) He was a the definition of a lap dog. He loved to be petted (?). He loved watermelon. He was one of the best natured dogs, ever.

So, my heart is heavy today. It'll probably be heavy for a while. Dogs are such a blessing and Frazier Dog will be missed.

ALIVE!

2009-06-29T15:22:00.010-04:00

Yes, as a matter of fact I AM! my deepest apologies for my hiatus. It wasn't my fault though, I've been without a computer until this past Saturday. When I returned home, to Nashville, I found out that mine AND James' computers had both met their end. SO, I sold a kidney on the black market, and got a new one. A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I have a NEW NEPHEW!!!! Cohen Thomas was born a little over three weeks ago. I haven't seen him in person yet, but hope to VERY soon! I talk to Aaron often and he says everyone is doing GREAT!

I don't have a lot more to say, since I'm about to have to go yell at some rowdy children (I'm currently working about 55 hours a weeks as a nanny) but I do have a lot of pictures to show you. Some cakes, lot of Noah, and maybe a few others. Enjoy!

I promise it won't be this long before my next post!!

I love this one.

Miss Savannah and Mr. Noah playing (the reason you can't see S's arm is because i'm about to get blasted with stuffed animals! )

So cute

Cupcakes for Allison's Shower (before Cohen was here)

Cake

Cake I did for a lady here in Nashville.

Noah and his Papa.

See you soon!

2009-05-07T17:40:00.008-04:00

With all the talk about Swine Flu, H1N1, or R2D2..whatever it's called...I figured I offer a helpful hint for avoiding it. Don't do this:

Happy Thursday, y'all!
Oh, i still haven't gotten my computer fixed so that's why I hijacked this picture from my dad's blog. As soon as I get my computer up and running again, I will be blogging more regularly since all my pictures are on there!

Cheers!

Storms and Puppies

2009-04-21T15:11:00.012-04:00

I thought I would post some of the pictures I've taken lately. Nashville has been great, James and I have really adjusted to life near...well, everything! We've already been to several concerts and even had the pleasure of hearing David McCoullough speak at Bellmont University. (he's the author of The Great Bridge, 1776, and many others). Anyway, we've really enjoyed it. It's been a change for me to go from constant work to having to establish myself again, but such is the job. Actually, I've been commissioned to do some work for at James' work. Hopefully, i'll be doing a lot more freelance work for them.
Something I've really enjoyed is Nashville in the spring. I love storms and we've got 'em. Anyway, here are some pictures I have taken lately.
Gunther posing like a groundhog (he does this all the time)

Happy little Gunther

Happy Little Angus

Angus posing, trying to look dapper

This is just the sidewalk after the storm

Earth Hour was a few weeks ago. During that hour James and I turned off everything for almost two hours and played guitar and sang by candle light. it was awesome.

Another sidewalk shot.

This was right before the storm. It was almost dark except for the light coming through the clouds. I think its awesome that you can see the two fronts coming to together

This is a crack in the sidewalk after the storm.

for thought.

2009-04-13T12:08:00.005-04:00

Sorry I've been away. I've had plenty to blog about, but for almost a month I had no computer. My battery totally died and I finally received the new one last week. We've had a lot going on and even more to come. Anyway, I promise to update with pictures soon, but for now here is a post card from one of my favorite websites: postsecret.
see you soon! :)

back again.

2009-03-10T13:19:00.005-04:00

At long last, I am back. I know you have all been heart-broken in my absence, but now that we are settled I am fully prepared to be a semi-active blogger. (semi because claiming to be "active" can give false hope :). Anyway, as of this very moment I am officially a Tennessean...well- not card-carrying, but you know- born in Oklahoma, raised in Texas, experimented with Yankeeism (didn't take) and have now ventured back below the Mason/Dixon line. Anyway, the move went well, very few broken bones, even fewer broken objects, two dogs, a brother and four rearrangements later....we are now somewhat settled in Nashville. We are currently living with our good friends David and Kristin Sessions. It's kind of cool actually, we werent' really sure what area of Nashville we wanted to live in, if we wanted to buy a house, rent, etc. so they graciously offered to let us live with them for the time being. It won't be forever, but is a definite benefit to all parties involved. Since I work from home and love to cook, Kristin said it's like having a personal chef, which is good by me. They have a dog, Abby, which is great because she keeps the boys entertained. As for Nashville, I love it. James started work yesterday and I'm sure he will be filling you in on the happenings, so check out his blog for an update. As for me, things are starting to take off as well, I've only been here a week and I already have several cake orders. Here are a few pictures of some cakes I've done in the last week This is my first Nashville cake, it was for Kristin's boss. He told her he really liked almond cake and blackberries. okay, I had never made anything like that, but no fear I spent the morning coming up with a recipe. I must say, I impressed my self with this one. This is a "white chocolate almond cake filled with a blackberry (with a hint of lemon) filling and an Almond cream cheese frosting". It may not sound good, but it WAS.

This is for one of my good friends in Cooperstown. I made this the week we left.

This was James' birthday cake. I made a little 6 inch cake for him to enjoy and cupcakes for him to take to work.

See you soon!

the Pretenders

2009-02-03T13:24:00.009-05:00

Last Thursday James and I got to go see the Pretenders kick off their tour in Albany! James and I are HUGE Pernice Bros Fans and their guitar player James Walbourne (incredible) is touring right now with them!

It was a pretty sweet deal! We sat 6th row dead center! It was a great concert, but we were definitely in a weird crowd! Walbourne was incredible, as was the rest of the band! I love live music and it was especially cool to see them that close up. (we also got to hang around after and talk to the band! Of course, we had to wait in line with a few crazies who wanted autographs . We're not big on autographs, having been through 3 Inductions and seeing grown men trample children for an autographs...it's not really our gig, just nice to be able to tell them we appreciate what they do!)

This security guy, who looked like my father-in-law with BANGS and a 3 foot PONY TAIL, yelled at me to put my camera away and told me there was "no photography rule" I didn't let that stop me, but some of them are kind of blurry since I had to take them super fast and couldn't use a flash! Anyway, here are some of the pics from the show.

OH YEA, and the opening band American Bang...was great! They are from Nashville and have an album coming out pretty soon that I can't wait to get hear. I hope these guys stick around for a while..they will either be around for years or all be in rehab in 2. So here are some pics from the concert! Enjoy!

Guitar player for American Bang

Lead Singer for American bang

Drummer-obviously

Chrissie Hynde

these guys were awesome!

this isn't a great shot-but like I said...I had to be fast and sneaky :)

Nashville!

2009-01-27T15:10:00.007-05:00

There ain't nothinnnnn, nothing wrong with Nashville!

Sorry, I was singing that song. Why? Because I AIN'T GONNA BE NO YANKEE NO MORE!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? James was offered, and accepted, a job as the Director of Education for the Hermitage in Nashville. The Hermitage is Andrew Jackson's Presidential home and museum. We are both incredibly excited to be moving, but didnt realize just how hard it would be to tell everyone we're leaving. We leave exactly 4 weeks from this Thursday! One month isn't very long, and we have a lot to do. Luckily, my brother Jared will be coming to help do some heavy lifting since I can't lift the heavy stuff yet. Anyway, in honor of this, here are some pictures that I took today. ( my computer is being stupid again so it's only 3) Enjoy!

2009-01-22T16:22:00.003-05:00

There is a lot going on around here, but I can't blog about it just yet. However, I do have a question. Well....two questions really. When you were growing up did your family eat at the table or in front of the T.V.? AND those of you who are married with or w/o kids, have a roommate, or are living with someone. Where do you eat now? at the table? Just wondering. James and I are weird, (shocking, i know) but, sometimes we eat at the table, and sometimes we eat in front of the boob-tube and there's no rhyme or reason. When we were growing up we all at the table with the T.V. off! It was a big deal and still is to me. Have a good day! Another post coming VERY soon!

The picture is a groom's cake that I did a few months ago. Obviously, he was a huge Michigan fan!

Conversation

2009-01-18T17:26:00.005-05:00

James- Are you interested in dozing?

Me- You mean do I want to take a nap?

James- yea

Me- It's almost 4 o'clock. I don't sleep after 4 o'clock, only vampires sleep after 4 and vampires don't sleep.

James- So...no, then.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little better. Not great. But James says If I am coming up with things like that, I must be feeling better.

Hope you have a good week!

New Year

2009-01-05T15:59:00.011-05:00

I'm a little frustrated. I've been trying to upload pictures from our NYC trip for almost 2 weeks and for some reason, blogger does not like them. So I've decided to blog about something that means a lot to me. GREEN. Not the color. Well-sort of.

As many of you know I'm a hippie. I am a tree hugger. Don't worry, I'm not going to preach to you about how every thing you're doing is killing mother earth. (It is..but im not going to preach about it :) Here's the thing, in an effort to save money and be more environmentally conscious, James and I have made several adjustments to our diet and how we live. (and a little note -before you start jumping on my case about being a vegetarian, I ate a cheeseburger two days ago. That's for another blog) And before you start thinking that going green mean you have to give up something...it doesn't. Most of the time it will actually save you money, save the environment, improve your health, and your lifespan. I think 15 second of effort is worth that.

These are all things that we have done:

1. Buy organic milk-okay, I know that it's expensive, however, it's worth it. This is one that is a big deal for me because I have asthma. After several weeks of switching to organic milk, my symptoms decreased significantly. ALSO, I dont' really drink that much milk anymore, in an effort to be healthier I switched my cereal for oatmeal,( plain with berries, or shaved apple for sweetner) eggs, or some other form of protein in the morning (we go through about a half gallon a week now, not bad)

2. Try to eat locally- Farmers markets are the greatest thing. EVEN ABILENE has one. Seriously people, eating locally does several things: guarantees that your not eating something that was shipped from Guatemala, who knows how long ago, ensuring that you are eating something that is better for your body, and it supports local farmers. Most farmers markets offer organically or almost organically grown produce, free-range meats, local cheese, eggs, and all sort of other things. TRUST me, it's worth the trip. Just for the satisfaction of knowing that you are putting something good into you and your kids and supporting local business. It also forces us to eat healthier. If you live in a place where winter exists (like I do) Then buy locally in the summer and freeze fruits and veggies for use later in the year. (free them in a single layer on a sheet pan, and after they are frozen put the in bags.) That way you can eat good stuff all year round.

3. Reusable bags- This is a big deal for me and it's not that hard to do. The bags generally cost about 99 cents. I just picked one up a few times when I only had a few items to get. If you don't want to spend the money on those at least do the brown paper bag thing, those can be recycled and used for crafts or whatever. Keep a few of the reusable bags in your care that way if you just need to go to the store on the way home you have one already there! ( It can take at least 300 years for a plastic bag to decompose)

4. Get a water filter- AGAIN plastic take up to 300 years to decompose. Not to mention the fact that buying a filter vs v bottled water can save HUNDREDS of dollars a year. The standards for filters is improving constantly and they work! Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it instead of a landfill.

5. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs- they do cost more than regular bulbs, but they last up to 5 years! If every American switched green house gases equivalent to 800,000 cars a year.

6. Want to save gas? Carpool and Turn off the car instead of idling when waiting in the car. When a car idles for more than 30 seconds, it's actually using more gas, therefore putting more greenhouse gas pollution into the air then if it was turned off.

7. Get rid of paper products-We don't use paper towels, napkins or plates anymore and haven't for almost a year. It was an adjustment. But a stack of kitchen towels is about 5 bucks are completely reusable. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

8. Say no to receipts-unless you're need them for tax purposes. It's a waste of paper. Make a note on your phone, blackberry, iphone, or keep a dry erase board in your car if you need to. If everyone in the U.S. said "no thanks" to just ATM receipts, it would save a roll of paper so long it could circle the equator fifteen times.

9. Unplug your unused appliances-okay I know this sounds crazy, but after you use the toaster-uplug it. What we do is plug a bunch of appliances in to a power-strip and unplug that at night, that way its just one cord. Even though they might not be on, it they are plugged in, they are still using small amounts of electricity. Just so you know our electric bill went from $85 a month to around $36.

10. Open your windows, blinds, etc.- fresh air is good for you and sun light is FREE!

I know it sounds like a lot. But it really isn't. It just take a little extra effort and before long you'll be doing it without thinking about it. They are little things that really do save money and the environment. I know a lot of you are list maker so add it to the list! Anyway, cheers to a greener New Year!

the past week

2008-12-21T13:56:00.011-05:00

So I don't really know how to blog about this so I'm going to do a timeline.

Last Sunday, I wasn' t feeling very well so James made me stay home from church and sleep. No big deal, I was just really tired. Monday morning I woke up and went down stairs to eat breakfast. I called James, as I normally do when I get up in the morning, told him to call me back (at 9:17) I went downstairs started doing my normal morning routine: make coffee, check email..blah blah blah. I went in to the kitchen to fix something to eat. I took one bite of my cereal when I started having this blinding pain in my abdomen. I didn't know what was going on so I went up stairs. Generally when that happens it's gas..sorry if that's too much information..but it's true. As I was walk up the stairs I got very light headed I couldnt' see...and I laid down on the bathroom floor. About 2 min. later I openend my eyes and realized that I passed out. I was sweating, but freezing...my head was still spinning. Immediately I called James to come home. I knew something wasn't right....I don't pass out.

5 min later James came running in the door yelling for me. I was still upstairs on the edge of the bathtub trying to hold myself up. Im pretty sure when he saw me he knew something was wrong because he had one of those priceless "you look terrible" expressions on his face. The pain still hadn't subsided so I told him I needed to go to the E.R. I guess I should probably mention that I was around 8 weeks pregnant. So DEFINITELY need to go to the E.R.

We got to the E.R. at Bassett not 10 minutes later ( luckily its right down the road). They put me in a wheel-chair right away on account that I could barely stand up. The check-in nurse proceeded to ask me questions about my symptoms...I managed to piece together words to make sentences...though I'm not sure it made sense. It's still really fuzzy at this point. oh, and when they took my blood-pressure at this point it was about 90/40. Not so good. Explains why I passed out.

Now I'm in my room in the E.R. the bring a team to draw some blood. The regular E.R. nurses try 3 times and can't get a vein so they have to call in the I.V. TEAM. GREAT! This lady finally draws about 5 viles of blood to run some tests..you know normal stuff..red blood cell count, HCG (pregnancy hormone), and several other things (so we're up to 4 sticks with a needle). We wait for several hours before they are able to get me in for an ultrasound. FINALLY, around 2:30 I get wheeled to the ultrasound room (meanwhile blood pressure still around 95/55).

The lay me down on that oh-so-wonderful table and the tech proceeds to do a regular ultrasound for about 30 min...pressing hard on to my abdomen.....that...is....still...hurting...like...crazy!!! Okay, so really bad news. I'm supposed to be 8 weeks and they can't see a sac. Which means I don't have an inter-uterine pregnancy. I started crying...and James still is not really sure what's going on so over my sobs Im trying to explain to him that the baby isn't growing in my uterus (not good) but it is growing somewhere (even worse). So now, to add insult to injury, they inform me that they MUST get pictures from inside. JOY. At this point I am still in writhing in pain and they decide they have to do it THEN.

So, after about 10 minutes of me screaming on the table they finally get enough pictures. As soon as that was finished James sat me up slowly to help comfort me....and he puts it I "started to go" Yep, passed out again. The next thing I remember is 5 nurses in the E.R. running towards whomever is wheeling me back to the actual emergency room. I think I woke up in the room again. I dont' really remember that, but I was super sweaty again. The Dr. in the ER read my ultrasound quickly and determined that the baby was in fact growing IN my left fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancy. okay. I know what this means but we have to wait for the Dr.

Since they know, it was ectopic, they were able to start me on an I.V. and they have to take more blood. AGAIN, the ER nurse misses twice and gets in on the 3 or 4..I can't remember and I don't feel like counting the trackmarks on my arm (we're now around 8 sticks) So I have an I.V. now. The couldn't get it in my hand or arm...so it went in my shoulder. Then they decide they need more blood and I need more I.V.'s, apparently I was dehydrated. So now, I have almost 11 places where they have attempted to draw blood and 3 different I.V.'s in an assortment of sizes in both shoulders.

Almost 6 hours after getting to the ER I finally get something for the pain. I should also mention that my blood pressure is still hovering around 100/40-50. So the can't give me much for the pain (it lowers your blood pressure)

This is where it gets a little scary. I'm flat on my back because I need to get blood to my head, but now i'm starting to have trouble breathing and my stomach starts slowly get bigger. I begged the nurse to set me up a little but she can't because they're afraid I will pass out again. (each time I "go" gets longer and longer I'm up to 3 blackouts now...once in the room for now reason).

Now, it's waiting game. For a couple of hours Im laying on this table in the ER 3 needles in me pumping me full of fluid and some pain killers, having my blood pressure taken every 10 minutes to makes sure Im not crashing, and 10 nurses and Dr.'s coming in and out every so often to look at my vitals.

It's now around 6:15 the Dr. we've been waiting on is out of surgery and comes to talk to us. He stays very monotone when telling me what they have to do. Sometimes with an ectopic pregnancy it doesn't last very long and just stays in the tube. Not this time. My HCG level came back at 13,000. The baby was still growing up until that morning and had managed to rupture my tube. Actually, had expanded so much that it blew out the back side of my ovary. Reason for low blood pressure, blackouts, pain, trouble breathing, expanding tummy?? I'm losing blood internally. Now i'm scared. Terrified actually. At this point James still has no idea what the Dr. is saying. I do.

45 mins later I was in surgery....ahh but not without the nurses trying to get me up to go to the Bathroom first....I passed out and hit my head. I am up to 5 blackouts now. I went out twice waiting to go in to surgery, twice in about 10 min, so now I'm getting really scared. BUT thank God for all that Yoga and meditation because the whole day I was able to keep myself relatively calm by breathing.

As we're waiting I hear the Dr. say to the nurse "In surgery STAT" and "Stop the bleeding first". Luckily at that point I was only conscious for about 90 more seconds. I think it hit James for the first time how serious it was when he asked my nurse "she's going to be okay..right?" and she replied "yea, after they get the bleeding stopped" They did. Praise God. they also had to remove the baby and my left tube.

Thank God, and airmiles my mom was able to get here by Tuesday and left this morning. I honestly dont' know if we could have handled it without her. I'm not completely immobile, but close. I have a nice 6 inch incision that is healing quite nicely and a heart that will be on the mend indefinitely. I definitley didn't think this was how I was going to be spending my Christmas. My hormones and pain killers are playing tricks on me. I have a breakdown twice a day. Mostly in the evenings. But I also thank God for watching over me. I think it really hit James just how serious this was sometime on Wednesday. Their a lot of things to be thankful for and a lot of things that break my heart on a daily basis. Anyway, that's how we spent the week recovering from Emergency Surgery. It'll definitley be an interesting Christmas, but I am still here to celebrate it and for that I thank God!

I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Winter is here!

2008-11-29T17:19:00.010-05:00

It's official. Winter is here. Okay, actually it was official before Halloween, I just don't like to acknowledge it until after Thanksgiving. James and I had a very quiet but very nice Thanksgiving dinner just the two of us. I cooked, and James stayed out of the way! I will have a lot more to post about next week after we get back from NYC with the fam. (and hopefully LOTS of pictures too!) I can't wait. Just found out Jared is coming now! So the WHOLE family will get to be together! Anyway, here's a few pictures from the recent present.

Lake Front park a few weeks ago. (the leaves are now gone)

The Candy Canes on our front porch

Sweet little Angus.

Gunther likes to look out the window at the snow.

Statue at Lake Front.

Cheers, Y'all!

We're back!

2008-11-18T14:59:00.006-05:00

...From Texas that is. James and I went down this past week to see family and James spoke at a workshop in Galveston. We were able to see both sets of parents and both of James' cousins and aunt whom we haven't seen in FOREVER! It was a lot of fun just hanging out with family. It was only for a few days and since we don't know if we're going to make it down for Christmas...it was good to see everyone. We didn't get to see Aaron, Allison and Noah, but we'll see them here in a few weeks in NYC!!! Oh, and by the way I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT AGAIN!!!!!!! No, Jared is not pregnant. Allison is! with baby number two due in June. I am so happy for them and their growing family! Noah will be two on Friday, I can't believe it! LOVE YOU GUYS!

It's freezing cold here. literally. It won't get above freezing until Friday...JOY! Being on the beach in Galveston when it was 60 and sunny spoiled us. It made me miss the south. Snow is beautiful up until Christmas, then when it gets to be March, April and a lot of the time May before it melts...well, it's depressing. It's even worse when the snow starts in October. IT's not good when Seasonal Depression starts in before Halloween. Anyway, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

p.s. If you are of the praying sort....I do ask that you do so for James and myself. The past few months have been pretty stressful, and there are still several things up in the air. We have a lot going on and a LOT that is uncertain so just pray for us.

This was at Casey's in Galveston. I just like it.
On the Seawall.

The one-legged pigeon that lived on our balcony.

Just thought this was cool.

2008-11-05T20:20:00.005-05:00

Thought you'd be interested in seeing this. It's from the political ticker on CNN.

"(CNN) — Before he delivered his victory speech on Tuesday night in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama took a call and bowed his head in prayer. Dr. Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Florida and Otis Moss Jr. from Mount Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio joined him in that prayer.
Speaking with CNN today by phone, Dr. Hunter says the prayer was intensely personal and private but did say “I prayed for his family and for him and for the country. I had no agenda other than trying to create an environment in which he felt the presence and could receive wisdom from God.” Dr. Hunter, a conservative evangelical who delivered a prayer at the Democratic National Convention this summer, says the President-elect “…feels the weight of this responsibility. He [Obama] doesn’t take upon himself of having to have all the answers but he certainly realizes the huge challenges this nation faces. He feels the personal weight of the potential to guide us through these difficult times. I don’t think he’s oppressed by it though.” Dr. Hunter says he thinks it set in for Obama last night and led to the sober tone of the victory speech.
Evangelicals have long been a force in American politics but many wondered with the defeat of Sen. John McCain what role they will play in the Obama administration. Eric Sapp is one of the founders of The Eleison Group which works specifically with Democratic campaigns to mobilize Christian voters he says, “There is a new generation of white evangelicals. They are less partisan and it all plays to Barack Obama’s favor.” Sapp puts Hunter in that category and thinks the Obama administration will be inclusive of evangelicals. “I think it’s an early indication of the way he’s going to govern. For something as personal as who he wants praying for him is a good indicator of how he wants to be president.”
For Hunter, it wasn’t the first time the two men had prayed together and says the prayer before Obama's speech Tuesday night was in keeping with the next president's character, “Obama is a big picture person. His big picture includes God and he wanted to do that as it’s just the right thing to do at that moment.”

Yesterday, when I went into the polling booth I prayed. ( I also made a lot of people mad because I took so long :)) I prayed for God to take our country in to his hands. Regardless for whom you voted, It doesn't matter who I voted for, Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Last night history was made. I sat at home with James and cried like a little girl as I watched his victory speech. I've been scared in my country for at least the last 5 years. I hope and pray that this is the change we need, and I'm not the only one. Over 62 million people also had that same idea. He wasn't elected BECAUSE he's black, he wasn't elected because he's a socialist (which he's not), he wasn't elected because we're all stupid, he was elected because people want change, they want hope...hope that it will get better. Can he do it? hopefully. I pray that WE can. Americans. It involves all of us, believing and working towards the same cause: Making this country as great as we know it can be.

Election Day

2008-11-04T13:11:00.004-05:00

YOU SHOULD TOO!

Aside from the fact that it's your civil right and duty, you should vote today to be a part of history! The polls are open until 9!!! There's no excuse!

IF you voted, I'd love for you to leave a comment. The lastime I checked over 1.9 million people on Facebook have voted! Here's to the (hopefully) the highest voter turnout in history!

Cheers y'all!

2008-10-28T14:48:00.011-04:00

I couldn't think of a good title for this blog, so I decided to leave it blank. Someone asked me the other day "Are you Happy?". SURE! I now have heating oil and hot water, why wouldn't I be? OH, because I had to pay $1,000 for that's why!!! Sorry, back to the topic.

I started thinking...AM I truly happy with my life (yes), my marriage(yes), my job (or my 5 jobs). I am doing 4 (right now) things that I truly enjoy doing. Luckily the talents I have been blessed with translate monetarily (at least enough to where I don't have to get a 9-5 job) Photography is my passion, and I believe that God has truly blessed me with an eye and capacity for this art.

However, Is this what I want to do or what God would have me do? I think this is a burning question in a lot of our minds. How do I discern between what God is calling me to do and my own ambition? or are they the same? IF you could do ANYTHING, what would you do? ______ What is your ideal job?____ Or what would you rather be doing?_____( I would like you to answer out loud to yourself) What is keeping us from doing these things? Is it a lack of money, time, opportunity? Would we feel guilty/selfish for doing what we want instead of what we think/believe that God is calling us to do? Are we too comfortable in current situation to step out on a limb and give God the opportunity to work through us? Are we truly using our talents to serve God? ( I don't have an answer I'm just thinking out loud here)

I know that we are not to seek things for ourselves, but to seek God's kingdom. Please understand I'm not saying sit back and let God work in our lives, that puts the emphasis on ourselves. It is part of our relationship with God that we are to strive to know, love, serve and devote our lives to him. Our faith takes action on all accounts. We are all ministers and servants and I believe that God uses us in whatever situation/job we are in, when we allow him to. I am just rambling here so please forgive my spastic sentences. My mind is all over the place. I am looking in the mirror while writing this (it's kind of weird).

All i know is: If it doesn't involve risk, it doesn't involve faith.

Anyway, just something to pray about...

p.s. fall is over. now Winter has shown it's evil head. Supposed to get 10 inches of snow tonight.
Those of you who want to move here...wait until it's 35 degrees below zero and the cells in your head start to shrink giving you a headache when you go outside, and you can't go outside for more than 6 minutes with bare hands or you'll get frostbite. OH, and if you breathe out the steam turns to ice and falls to the ground :)

Halloween decorations- yep! those are leg bones (crossed!)

skull

Arm bones coming out of the ground....man I LOVE this holiday!

seriously!

yep! bloody handprints!

End of Fall

2008-10-19T21:55:00.016-04:00

Since this is my favourite time of year I have been taking a TON of pictures. The other day it was absolutely beautiful outside, and I needed to take a walk to clear my mind anyway, so naturally...I took my camera. I have a lot on my mind, but nothing I really feel like writing about this late. Anyway, enjoy the pics and the start to your week! :)

This is a sign that my two dogs blatantly ignore! It's actually one of Gunther's favorite places to go. :)

This guy grew in my back yard!

This was in Cooper Park, I thought the couple was so cute!

Crab Apple tree. Most of the apples are now a deep burgundy color, this one was a late bloomer.

When I was down by the lake about 4 chipmunks kept running all around me chasing each other. This one came out to look at me for a while :)

This is actually a buzzard. There were about 30 of them in one tree. I'll post a pic of that later.

leaves on a bench down by the lake

I thought the colors were amazing

Unfortunately, a huge storm came the day after I took all of these and knocked the majority of the remaining leaves off. Anyway, enjoy your week!

wedding

2008-10-13T22:23:00.009-04:00

This past Saturday James and I had a wedding that we went to. Actually, that's putting it lightly. Two of our best friends here got married and we were in the wedding party, we sang the processional (when she walked in), and I made their wedding cake. So we were slightly involved in the whole process. Anyway, it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding, bride, setting, day..etc. Anyway, I didnt' have a chance to take many pictures but here are a few.

James and I being...well...us.

outside where the wedding was

top of the cake

their wedding cake! it was covered in chocolate ganache, that's why it's not as smooth as icing, but tasted WAY better!

Fall

2008-10-06T21:23:00.018-04:00

Fall is my FAVOURITE time of year for lots of reasons! A. College Football. 2. Baseball Playoffs D. the weather starts to get a little cooler. 4. Halloween is the best Holiday! and 5. Fall in upstate New York is stunning. Most nights James and I take the boys on an hour, or so, long walk. This serves a myriad of purposes. It get us off our butts, we have a little quiet time, and it totally wears the dogs out. This time of year is the absolute greatest. Last night we just walked around for about an hour an half. I, of course, took my camera. Unfortunately, we left a little too late so I wasn't able to get as many good shots as I wanted. But, you'll get the idea. Anyway, here a few shots from last night. I'll be posting more from days to come as the leaves turn even more.

This is James and the boys in Cooper Park

Angus just chillin in the leaves.

James playing with the dogs

Taking it all in!

One of the beautiful trees this time of year. You can see the red at the top of the tree! gorgeous!

leaves

the red ivy grows on a lot of houses!

Cooper Park

Again

This beautiful tree right up the street. At night the street light makes it look like it's on fire!

Anyway, hope you like these. I will be taking a LOT more the next few weeks!

Here's a joke for you:

Little Tony had been playing outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the house and asked his Grandmother: "Grandma, what's that thing called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?" She was a little taken aback, but she decided to just tell him the truth "it's called sexual intercourse, darling." Little Tony, just said "oh, okay." and went back outside to play with the other kids. A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily "Grandma it isn't called sexual intercourse, its' called BUNK BEDS, and Jimmy's mom wants to talk to you!!!!"

Cheers, y'all!

Funny Story...to me, anyway!

2008-10-01T14:10:00.004-04:00

As most of you know we have two dogs, Gunther the brown dog who looks like Benji and LOVES attention, and Angus. Angus is special. He's a Scottie. He's somewhat anti-social and....Jaunty. Yep that's the perfect word to describe him..he's Jaunty. Anywho, when James or myself comes home , generally both dogs will greet us in a matter of minutes. Gunther is normally waiting by the back door and Angus reluctantly follows suit. Today, I've been home working on wedding pictures, and converting my cake recipes for a cake I have to do next week. James came home around 11;40 to have lunch. (We have a guy who's repainting our house per our landlord's request, so i've kept the dogs downstairs with me, otherwise they would bark constantly) So, I had just seen them not 10 minutes before James came home. He walks in the back door with his normal "HI" to let me know it's him. Gunther comes running out...but no Angus. ( not so weird). But we decided to try to find him anyway. So we're both calling his name.....that doesn' t work (but it rarely does), then I try "wanna go outside?" (now, this is generally a sure-fire way to get that dog to show his face...but STILL no Angus. So now we're a little concerned. we can't find him anywhere. Then I see this..

Just to give you a better idea of where this dog decided to hide. This is an armoire in the corner of our dining room. (Please excuse the large stack of magazines, James was supposed to take those to the hospital a while ago) If you look closely in the bottom picture you can see how we'd miss him. :)

Okay, so next story. I'm weird, that's no secret. We live on a fairly busy street in Cooperstown. People really like to look into our house...I don't like it when people look into our house and I'm not going to close the shades on a perfectly good day or evening when there is plenty of natural light. Well to put a stop...or actually just to entertain myself this is what I put IN THE WINDOW. I think it s' fantastic. It's mask that I wore in a dance I choreographed that I put on a bendy-neck (?) lamp. :) (insert maniacal laugh here)

I made Banana bread today, I can't have it because i'm allergic to bananas, but James likes it! :)oh, and I made the bowl!
Cheers!

stuff

2008-09-25T19:17:00.006-04:00

SORRY, AARON! Although it would be appropriate to this blog to be titled 'Hiatus' as well....i didn't. It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about, in fact a LOT has gone on in the last month or so. First of all, My parents and everyone in Southeast Texas were hit by that jerk IKE! My dad is much better at explaining everything ( because he was there). So check out his blog for the latest. I just thank God that nothing happened to them!

On another note, the past 6 weeks has been kind of crazy. I've taken a LOT of pictures and baked a lot of cakes, which is awesome, but I haven't had the easiest go of it. As a lot of you know, I'm fairly....anti-doctor/medicine. If I can find a homeopathic way of dealing with something- I DO! That mostly consists of taking vitamins everyday, drinking lots of herbal/green teas, I exercise...blah, blah blah,...but alot of that effort goes to the wayside when you're around kids. Kids are walking petri dishes. Over the past 6 weeks I've been to the Doctor 5 times...thats' more than i've been in the last 5 years. Let's start at the beginning( this has nothing to do with the kids...well not mine anyway): I was having a LOT of pain in my lower abdomen about 6-7 weeks ago, long story, 4 doctors, 2 internal ultrasounds (YUCK) later, they found that I have 10 little pearls growing on the inside of of right ovary (hence, the pain) what the doctor called Poly-cystic ovarian disease. Something that is fairly common in women of "birthing" age, as James so lovingly puts it. SO, I am now on some medicine for that, I didn't want to be, BUT the doctor told me it would do THREE things with this one pill: 1. Make getting pregnant easier. Okay. 2. help me STAY pregnant once I get there. AWESOME, need some help with that. 3. it will shrink the cysts. whohoo, no more pain. oh, and i found out that it also helps with insulin resistance...so It will make it easier for me to lose weight!!!! DONE!

Next episode (hey, hey, hey--sorry Dr. dre reference) anyway, Fall in Upstate New York is not easy for someone with allergies. Me in particular! I had trouble last year, but this year EVERYTHING is blooming, molding, or pollening(?) whatever. It's been bad! so bad in fact that i had to go the doctor because I could breathe when I would lie down. Not so fun. As James will tell you I tend to wait until its REALLY bad before going to the doctor. SO 3 breathing treatments later.....i was at home with a brand new prescription for Albuterol AND Advair. YUCK. I take the Advair, but I haven't used an inhaler in a while, so I don't intend to start.

Anyway, that wasn't fun but I haven't had anymore problems. (Cut out dairy and that helps too)

Continuing on...Since the allergens have been so bad, it's also been a while since I've had a stuffy-less nose. I've been stopped up a lot. Not a big deal, just annoying. Well, my eyes starting getting red....and itchy....and oozing (its' gross, i know....they're my eyes)...and sore....and..I went to the Doctor today to get my 4th prescription filled for the Severe Bacterial Conjunctivitis or PINK EYE. Both eyes. from kids. James has it now too. So does Gunther. (okay that last statement is false). But it's so bad that I can't just use the drops, I have to squeeze ointment INTO MY EYES! yea fantastic!!! So I am the person who reads the ENTIRE pamphlet of information. and on my death ointment the possible side effects are: itching, burning, watery eyes, redness...REDNESS! seriously....

Anyway, when I went into the Pharmacy today and the lady says "you, again?" that's probably not a good sign. Sorry for the graphic post. Hope the rest of you are doing better than me. (JK) I just hate taking medicine.

Here's some picture I've taken lately!

Enjoy!

Hiatus

2008-08-28T17:20:00.012-04:00

As some of you naggingly aware, I have been a little busy. SORRY. I have been meaning to blog for some time now...but I just can't bring myself to do it. Well, here I am after a month of insanity. Those of you loyalists are bound to know that in the sometime I have the equivalent of 4 part-time jobs. I work most days nannying (?), 3-5 days a week at the Hall of Fame (depending on how short staffed we are), I have been taking LOTS of photographs, and baking wedding cakes, birthday cakes, anniversary cakes..you get the idea. Between all of those I have very little time to much else. OF course there is the random week day where I am not doing anything that i manage to bide my time by taking pictures of inanimate objects (pictures will follow). Anyway, it's coming down to the end of the summer and I am sad and thankful at the same time. Sad, because the trees are already starting to turn...(yea it's not even September yet), the 4 year old that i was taking care of is now going to kindergarten :( and thankful that TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF DREAMSPARK!!! It's really hard to believe that the time has flown by this quickly. Anyway, to be cliche'- since a picture is worth a thousand words, I figure I will let them do the talking! (warning: several pictures to come)

60th Birthday cake..I didn't know Mary.

Josie, the beautiful 7 year-old I nanny for.

Ray, Josie's 4 1/2 year old brother.
Part of the the First Wedding cake I did. (the top was missing) All of the flowers were hand-made by moi, and then dried and placed on with Vegan Wedding cake (the Bride was from China, she wanted something simple and elegant) The roses and Cherry blossoms are all buttercream.

Close up of the Cherry blossoms ( the stamen are spaghetti)

Josie again ( I absolutely adore these kids)

not a real bird
Ray

teaching her to be a rockstar

I got bored one and had some tomatoes ( they really were that color in the sun)
had an apple too
i have no idea why
birthday cake
ray again

2008-08-28T17:20:00.001-04:00

Induction

2008-07-29T23:17:00.002-04:00

I know that a lot of you think I have dissappeared off the planet, however, the past few weeks have just been insanely busy, so I haven't had much time to do anything-much less blog. Anyhow, this past weekend was Induction, and as you know that means a VERY busy three days for James and I. I just get to deal with the general public, James, however has a more significant role. This year he was the official blogger for the Ceremony. He did such a GREAT job! you should read it! go here :http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080727&content_id=8666&vkey=hof_news

Today

2008-07-25T12:16:00.003-04:00

This one goes out to the one I love. Happy 5th Anniversary baby!!! I can't wait for the next 100 years with you.

Note

2008-07-20T17:48:00.002-04:00

I've been meaning to do this for a while, and I've been so busy that it slipped my mind. As a lot of you know My pa-in-law (Dave Yasko) was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer several months ago. Since has been undergoing a SERIES of tests and treatments! Anyway, he tells the story in a way that only a Yasko can! he's created a blog to keep everyone updated: Check it out, leave comments, and let him know you're praying for him! :) here's his blog: http://blog.daveyasko.com/

Something Different

2008-07-16T16:07:00.004-04:00

Since I've been working so much lately, (both at home and elsewhere) I've been listening to a lot more music than normal. James is leaps and bounds ahead of me as far as the amount of music he ACTUALLY listens too, but please give credit where credit is due. I am responsible for probably 40% of the new stuff we listen to. Anyhow, as he has posted his most recent blog about the Broken west, I feel is my duty to help you out in your music library regardless of age, sex, height..whatever. And yes, i'm sure that some of them coincide with James', but these are my PERSONAL choices for albums you MUST have, and that I can't currenlty get enough of . Here goes:

1. Will Hoge- "Blackbird on a Lonely Wire". Its a fabulous album from start to finish. IGo see them live if you can..you will fall in love. It's true rock and roll...when that used to mean something.

2.Wilco- "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". this album changed the way i listen to music.

3. The Broken West- "I can't go on Ill go On". Just get it and listen to it straight through.

4. Anything by Ray LaMontagne. The man is a genious. period.

5. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova aka the "Once" soundtrack. if you haven't seen the movie..do. and buy the soundtrack it's.....beautiful.

6.Guster- "Keep it together" Great Album

7. James Morrison- "Undiscovered"

8. Marc Broussard -"Carencro" It's all about the soul, baby!

9. The Pernice Brothers- "Yours, Mine and Ours." AWESOME!

10. Travis- "The Man Who"- this is my favorite of the Travis albums, but they're all great!

11. Ryan Adams- "Gold" and that it is...

12. Coldplay - All (but especially "A Rush of Blood to the Head")

I have 5,753 songs On my Ipod. This is by no means ALL you should have. I just think there is something wrong if you don't. :)

and this is a picture that I took a while back...no significance

cheers!

Yep

2008-06-19T15:33:00.007-04:00

Okay, so after much abuse (both directly and indirectly) I have decided to post again. Hope you're happy. I was incredibly busy. Summertime is here and that means 4 jobs. yes, 4! One of those jobs is wedding photography. I just got back from a week long trip to Texas where last weekend I photographed my first "official" solo wedding. I am happy to report. IT WAS AWESOME. I don't really know how people ever photograph weddings alone...it's stupid. My mom and Dad came along and i'm probably still alive thanks to them. It was hot, and I was running around like mad (totally under control, mind you, but it's a busy time when the wedding starts at 7 and the groomsmen show up at 615 UNDRESSED, and we still have to do pictures! Nevertheless, my mom and I busted out our army voices and all was well.) My Dad kept pumping me full of water and fruit, otherwise I probably would have passed out. (Outside wedding... in Texas ...in June) The place was beautiful, the bride was stunning, and everything went perfectly! PLUS, it was fun to see Aaron, Allison, Noah, Erika, Jen, Cassie, Austin, and Caleb for a short time. I started weeding out some of the 1200 pictures I took over the course of 9 hours, and Ionly erased about 100. Next stop cropping, editing, and whatnot. Had an awesome time spending a few days with my mom and dad. I'm pretty sure that's the longest amount of time I've spent with them alone since before Aaron was born, and it was so great! Dad and I got to see the Yankees play in Houston for Father's day, but not the Astros they didn't bother showing up for the game. Anyway, all is was awesomeFor your viewing pleasure (no wedding pics yet) some shots of Noah I took in May that i forgot to post. He's getting sooo big and as you will see in the pictures has very little personality...oh, wait! Love that kid! anyway, Enjoy!

Spring in NY

2008-05-21T11:00:00.010-04:00

While the South is heading full speed ahead in to summer, Upstate NY has, within the last 3 weeks, started really getting our spring. I guess we're late bloomers! (hahahahaha) This is the start of our 3rd summer here in Cooperstown and I believe that is year has been the prettiest. We've had just the right amount of rain and (while I think they are entirely to cool) the temperatures have been perfect for everything to starting blooming like crazy. This is also the reason why my eyes were swollen shut yesterday evening. (stupid allergies!) The other night it was nice enough for us to go on a long walk with the boys (aka. Gunther and Angus). I, of course, brought along my camera. Here are some of the shots...

our front porch

the beautiful tree outside our house

Angus looking quite Dapper among the tulips

Gunther happy per usual

these grow everywhere

The tulips are amazing this time of year!

I love it when it rains...

Have a great Wednesday Y'all!

back in NY

2008-05-13T11:01:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that this time last week James was in Miami and I was getting ready to leave for Texas. It's amazing how quicly time flies when you are with family...

Anyway, Wednesday I met James in Houston and we spent a few days with his parents. Then friday afternoon we picked up my mom at the airport and met Aaron, Allison, Noah and my Dad at PAPPASITOS! ( i do believe it is worth all caps) It was so much fun just to hang out with everyone. We missed them so much!!!! Here's a few pics from the weekend. Noah being his cute self.:)
Aunt Kami, seriously, put the camera away. (sorry kiddo, got to have as many pics as possible)
Thursday night James and I were quiet priviledged to have these seats at the Astros game.
what a VIEW!!!
James ashamed of himself after ruining a couple engagement on the Jumbo-tron. It's okay honey, I still love you!

We also had a blast flying down the HUGE slip-n-slide that Aaron, James and my dad made out of a roll of plastic, a TON of dishwashing liquid, and several trial and error sessions. I would post pictures of James' wounds, but it's not suitable for all audiences. Sunday it looked as though he had escaped a PUMA attack. It was over 50 feet long, and straight down the hill in my parents backyard. Check out Allison's blog for pictures and videos of the slip-n-slide. It' was so good to see everybody after 5 1/2 months. Hopefully we won't have to go that long between visits again! Also, jared drove in Sunday night to see us. Didn't get a whole lot of time with him, but it still good to get a hug.

Cheers!

Around

2008-04-24T09:15:00.004-04:00

lately I've been incredibly home sick. It could be that we haven't been HOME in almost 5 months. Or for that matter seen any of my family since then either. (James and I went to NYC to meet up with my cousin Heather last weekend and had a blast, but that's not what this post is about) Anywho, Last week It was really hitting me. Partly for that and partly because last monday the high was only 45. We've only gotten warmer temps in the last 10 days or so. ANYWAY, what do I do when I'm feeling blah....of course, I take pictures! Oh, and that day I took my Ipod and listened to High School Musical. DON'T JUDGE ME. the music is surprisingly catchy and uplifting. right, so I just took my camera and walk about 3 miles around town shooting anything and everthing. Not all stellar work, but definitely some good ones. Anyway, enjoy!

This n That

2008-04-17T11:40:00.003-04:00

I posted a while ago that I had been doing cakes for various occasions. here are some pictures of the ones I've done. Sorry for the quality on them, I was in hurry.

Hopeful

2008-04-04T10:46:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I've debated about whether or not to post about this for a while, but clearly I have decided to so here goes....

There has been a lot going on here in the Yasko house the last few months; some good, some bad, some weird (that's pretty frequent though). James and I have both been keeping very busy. Since I have basically 3 part-time jobs, it keeps me on toes, and this is an incredibly busy time of year for James. It's been a welcome distraction, to say the least.

On January 30, we found out I was 4 and half weeks pregnant. But almost immediately I started having problems. I was in a tremendous amount of pain and that combined with other things I had a feeling something was not right. I made an appointment with the doctor the next day. They did their test to confirm I was in fact pregnant, but then we spent the next 6 hours at the hospital, running tests, ultrasounds, had 15...that's right 15 viles of blood taken!! All of this for them to say....'we're sorry Mrs. Yasko but we are not able to determine whether or not you are still pregnant.....we need you to come back every day for 2 weeks and have blood taken'. Basically, they believed I had lost the pregnancy, but they were not SURE, so I had to keep coming back. (two days before James' birthday).

The next friday, I get a call from the doctor...my HCG levels are still rising. wait, WHAT!!! This means.....okay awesome, I'm still pregnant!!! Not real sure what to do emotionally, after all, it's been a bit of a roller-coaster so far! I don't really understand what's going on.

We're now to my birthday and now almost 7 weeks. So they keep testing my blood every 4 days now to check my levels. 3 weeks later the doctor calls to say my level had dropped by half....I had not yet lost but I WOULD lose the pregnancy.....I had been in the process of miscarrying for for almost 2 months. The next few days might have been the worst in my life. My doctor actually apologized for what I was going through. They were able to give me medicine because the baby was only measuring about 6 weeks when i was 11 weeks pregnant. It was INCREDIBLY painful. The medicine gave me contractions and ...well I'll spare you the other details.

Emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually....I was spent. James was incredible. He was so supportive and nurturing.

During this time, I was looking for answers to a lot of questions. Mostly about my body, things that were happening, and the toll that it took on me physically. It wasn't until I spent a LOT of time online looking for answers that I realized just how many women go through this! I honestly could not believe the number of women that this happens to, mainly because very few talk about it. Since those of you who read this probably know me pretty well, you know that I tend not to keep things to myself. (things that I find important anyway)

I'm not writing for you to feel sorry for me. I'm a pretty head-strong woman, just ask my family or James. :) Going through this has altered my view of a lot of things. Not to mention my hormones! It changes you. It screws things up. But it also makes you stronger! It has shown me how strong God made our bodies and our minds, what we are capable of and how quickly we can rebound from something like this. I know that there are other things that happen that are much more severe, but for me this was definitely a storm to be weathered.

It do not care that it was early. I do not care that it was my first pregnancy. I care that it happened....and it hurt. It hurt my mind, my body and my heart! To those of you who have suffered with this, my heart aches for you! I pray for you and I hurt for you. For those of you who haven't. Thank God!

I trust in God. I trust that this will happen for us and until then I'll just keep praying.

Going's on!

2008-03-31T10:36:00.003-04:00

I know i've taken somewhat of a hiatus from blogging, but it's with good reason. We've been very busy around here lately. Since last November I've been involved with the Vagina Monologues. It's not just a play, but a movement rather, aimed towards ending violence against women. All of the monologues are based on stories and interviews of women all around the world. It was an incredible experience and I can't wait to be involved next year! Since HBO owns the rights to the show no videotaping is allowed, I have posted my headshot from the program and hopefully I will get some of the pictures from other people soon. I've also been doing 1-2 cakes a week for various occasions (3birthdays, Easter and a wedding shower cake). I will post pictures of those soon.

On another note, The pictures of James are from a shoot I did. He hasn't really told a whole lot of people, but I WILL! The American Association of Museums magazine is doing a spread on Up and coming museum professionals. They chose 7 people from around the country and MY AMAZING HUSBAND was picked. I am so proud of him. Along with their article they were asked to submit a photo. We sent several in, but here are some of the shots I got. (this is in the plaque gallery at the Hall of Fame).

Enjoy!

Time for a Change

2008-03-19T17:00:00.002-04:00

Okay, with all the cute blogs that I read....i thought it was time that I put some personality in to mine. I have a hard time getting away from black but...this is the best that I could do. Anyway, the picture is mine from Montreal. Hope this post finds you all doing well!! Have a Happy Easter everybody! cheers!

Lunar Eclipse, Abraham Lincoln, and a Dog

2008-02-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

These three things actually have nothing to do with one another, just a few random shots from some things I've been doing.

As I'm sure some of you are aware, last night we had a total lunar eclipse. I'm not going to bore you with exactly what happens, but basically the sun, earth and moon line up and the Moon turns this amazing orange-red. I got several pictures, but here are two of the better ones. (please keep in mind that it was 6 degrees, with a wind-chill somewhere below zero, and I was using a telephoto lens with no tripod. I was already shaking from the cold, not to mention the camera shake from a 9 in. long lens with...well never mind. It was too cold to get anything better than this!) The first one is about 30 minutes into the Eclipse, and the second is during the total eclipse)

Lately I've been doing a lot of free-lance cake decorating. Basically the bakery here stinks and people want more than confetti on their cakes for special occasions and whatnot, so I am more than happy to oblige. I love doing it, it's such a creative outlet for. blah, blah, blah, blah- One of the ladies down the street has a little boy that was about to turn four, so she ask me a few weeks ago if I would be interested in making a cake...OF COURSE! She said "are you ready for this....he wants an Abraham Lincoln party!" he's 4! Classic! anyway, here what his cake looked like! He was ecstatic!!

Finally, two weekends ago (my birthday weekend) was the Cooperstown Winter Carnival. I was asked again this year to be the "official" photographer for the weekend. (not quite as glamorous as is sounds, but James and I did get into everything for free:) They have several events that go on during the weekend, one of them is the SSPCA dog show. Here is one of the shots I got while walking around. I just LOVE that he looks like he's smiling at the camera!

Happy Thursday y'all!

Snowflakes and Roses

2008-02-14T11:22:00.007-05:00

I dont' know what it is about Valentine's Day, but it seems to bring about some crazy weather in upstate New York. Monday the temperature was 0 with a windchill of -20. Tuesday it warmed up to almost 15. Tuesday night temperatures continued to rise to about 33. This is no good. At 33 it doesn't snow, it rains. When it rains on top of snow, it makes.....ICE. No Good. This brings us to Wednesday morning. As I was on the phone with my dad I watched the temperature drop back down below freezing.

I knew it was dropping because I watched the precipitation go from all rain, to rain and a little bit of snow, to an all out down pour or snow. In the last 24 hours we've gotten almost a foot of snow. (nothing compared to last years Valentine's Day, mind you.....52 inches.) But still, with no wind and the perfect temperature it ALL stuck. Here are some pictures I took yesterday as we were walking the dogs.

Also, This past weekend was my birthday. My Mom and Dad have this tradition of sending me flowers on my birthday...which I LOVE!!! I love getting flowers, but I enjoy only getting them a few times a years so they are more special. Anyway, almost as much as I love getting them I love taking pictures of them. I think their amazing. I asked James if it surprised him that I could take 200 pictures of one bouquet of flowers and he said "no, I'm used to your ways by now" Thanks honey. anyway, here are some shots that i got. enjoy!
and Happy Valentine's Day!

Winter Blues and Reds

2008-01-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've blogged, but not necessarily because I didn't have anything to blog about, I just didn't feel like it. I'm not sure who all still reads my blog, but by the lack of comments I would assume, not many. Anyhow, for those of you faithful viewers, I am about to have my photography website up and running, so I will be sure to let you know when that is available for viewing. I'm very excited about that!!!! Also, I am LOVING my new job as a nanny. The kids are great and we're teaching each other plenty! Its still cold and will be for a while....i'm trying to not think about it! Anyway, here are some pictures of some things I've done over the last month. I did a photo shoot before Christmas of two little girls here in town (for their mom). They were precious and here are some of the shots i got! Also, I had the distinct Honor and pleasure of photographing one of my dear friends from High school before she gave birth to their first baby, so I've included a few that were my favorite. And the cake I did for a couple who is adopting a little baby girl from China; the cake says "Eleanor" the baby's names! Love you all!
cheers!

Happy New Year!! (Belated)

2008-01-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm a little behind on the New Year thing, but things are a little crazy around here. It's hard to believe that A MONTH ago yesterday we started our cross-country journey towards the promise land...that's TEXAS for you ordinary folk! We had soooooo much fun just seeing and hanging out with both of our families and friends. On the way down we stopped to spend the night in Tennessee with our good friends Dave and Kristin, It was hard to believe we hadn't seen them since we moved (about a year and half) we just picked right up where we left off. It's so great to have friends like them!
Then we drove to Dallas to spend the night with Aaron and Allison ( each leg of the trips was about 9-10 hours). Friday we drove to Kyle that was little out of the way but totally worth it, because I got to see (and take Preg. pics of) my good friend Candace. It was awesome to be able to SEE her first of all, and to be able to share in this special time in their lives. That same day we drove to Houston to drop the dogs off and see James' parents. We then headed even further south. For Christmas this year my parents took us on a CRUISE. That's right! It was amazing and we got to spend an entire week with my WHOLE family!! and My cousins, my aunt and uncle...and Allison's family! Those who missed...missed out! Just to be able to spend that time with them was awesome! And as my dad said, Noah finally got to really KNOW all of us. It was also soooo amazing to see my mom virtually pain free for the first time in years!! We also got to spend some time with my In-laws (thanks again for watching the puppies)! On our way to the north we stopped and had lunch with my Mum and Poppie, and then headed to Muskogee to Celebrate my Grandad's 80th birthday!!

We are so blessed with the family and friends that we have!!! sorry for the rambling...here are some pictures from the whole trip!
love you guys!
cheers!

At long Last

2007-12-15T09:38:00.000-05:00

After 2025 miles, we are finally in Houston.

it's kind of surreal to think we started driving on Tuesday and finally got here last night.

James and I realized several things on our sojourn, but most of all we realized that we must love each other VERY much. Most people might have trouble with that distance, but add two dogs in the mix, and it's a true test. WE ACED IT.

i plan on sleeping a lot, and standing alot in the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Back from the Lone Star State

2007-11-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

I got back almost a week ago, but it's been busy, so i haven't had chance to update. Here are some pictures from my trip. Noah is totally camera shy....oh, wait...no he's not! ENJOY!

Ephesians 3:20

2007-10-16T22:12:00.000-04:00

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" Amen

Mumbai it is!

2007-10-11T19:50:00.000-04:00

If you are reading this, first of all; please leave me a comment, and second of all please, please, please pray! As some of you know my mom and dad will be leaving in one week to fly to Mumbai, India. There my mom will undergo not one, but two, hip resurfacing surgeries. They will be there over three weeks. She will have the first surgery and then after several days of recovery, she will undergo the second. As my dad has been keeping me very informed, almost everything is taken care of. This has been very quick (just over a week) for everything to fall into place. It's amazing how things can happen when God opens doors. As I said before if you are reading this PLEASE leave a comment and let me and my family know you are praying for this!
God Bless!

here's my dad's blog if you want to read and keep up with their adventures, and also let he and my mom know you are thinking and praying : http://www.davidel1957.blogspot.com/

Fall

2007-10-01T16:26:00.001-04:00

It's officially fall here in the Coop. Even though summer is over I've still been incredibly busy. Luckily i haven't been working as much but, between the Hall, the 'Coach and taking pictures all the time, i have been up to my ears. This is the 'fest' time of the year. We've had garlic fest, apple fest, TRACToR fest (we have plenty of rednecks here too), and this past weekend was pumpkin fest. Last weekend James and I were part of the live entertainment at apple Fest. It was a lot of fun, we only played for about and hour and got a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaraunts.
As i said this past weekend was the PUMPKIN festival. It was pretty interesting actually, there were pumpkin races ( this is where grown men and women decide to hollow out pumpkins, paint them and RACE them across the lake) that's right. There were also tons of yummy pumpkin treats and some of the biggest pumpkins I have ever seen in my life. ( one was almost the size of the car) Of course when they are that big, they more resemble a large orange-ribbed blob with a stem.

As for everything else, I am ready for a break. I really miss my family. The next few weeks can't go by fast enough for me. In 3 weeks i get to go to Dallas to see my brother and his wife, oh and of course my nephew Noah!!!!!! I miss them so much it hurts right now. There is no one in life that can ever fill the place of family. As much as I love my good friends here, I miss my family ALL THE TIME! I know that someday we'll be closer, but for now we have to settle for thrice yearly visits and SKYPE. Honestly without it, James and I probably couldn't live so far away. While it doesnt' compare to our Lengthy chats at Starbucks or dominating the FRIENDS game, it is soooo good to at least see their faces once or twice a week. Love you guys!
I need to go walk the boys.
Happy Fall Everybody!
cheers!

As for

Royal Mountain

2007-08-22T14:01:00.000-04:00

so i know that i haven't blogged in a while, but that's mostly due to how much i have been working. Actually, that totally why i haven't been able to do much in the last few months. It's unbelievable to me that summer is almost over and soon the leaves will be turning again. James and i both have worked two jobs this summer, and while it has been good for our bank account, it hasn't been good for our bodies. We are both soooooo tired. So as a reward for our hard work and our 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY James and I took a couple days and went to Montreal. With the exception of the 2 and half hour wait at the border we had a great time. Here are some of the better shots i got.

Pretty nice little Saturday...

2007-07-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

Well, we didn't go to Bed, Bath and Beyond or Home Depot, but we did get up and have breakfast and make it to the farmer's market. Anyway, I love taking pictures of food! there are colors that God made in Nature that can never be emulated by man. Anyway, here are some of the pictures that i took around the house. Cheers!

blank

2007-07-19T22:53:00.001-04:00

I can't really think of a good title for this blog. it's been an interesting night. james and i went to utica to do a little shopping. (We needed a guitar strap for tomorrow night) Oh, yea tomorrow night James and i will be the live music at one of the local restaurants!!!!! they are booked solid all night whoohoo!
okay so on the list of things we did tonight:
1. Bought a guitar strap and a new capo from a guy that i'm pretty sure is the lead singer of the red hot Chili peppers.
2. Went the "mall" and found perhaps the greatest Gap sale ever!
3. ate at Taco Bell...it wasn't that great
4. Found that there IS a Victoria's Secret in the "mall"
5. James was mistaken for a model....at Victoria's Secret
6. Drove home...and on the way home hit a deer!!!!!
7. jacked up our car
9. james was mistaken for a MODEL at a women's underclothing store!
10. got home and practiced being rockstars!
cheers!

Finally!

2007-07-13T09:20:00.000-04:00

a Day off...from either job. Tuesday was my first day off from either of my jobs, in a while! i have today off too!!! anyway, because i've been working so much i haven't had a chance to take as many photographs as i would like. So.......that's what i did tuesday! I listened to music, danced and took pics. I'm not my favorite subject...but these are a few that i got! Have a great weekend y'all! cheers!

2007-07-06T14:11:00.000-04:00

there is a reason for my reason lack of blogging...i have been working entirely too much! However, I do have some pictures to show from 1 of my 3 current jobs. (the photography one). I was hired to photograph a birthday party, do some shots for a bands website and last week i did some headshots for a real estate broker in the area. anyway, here are some of the better but more random shots.

I know, I know!

2007-05-14T20:12:00.000-04:00

As if you didnt' know that i am obsessed with my nephew, here are a few pictures of him from my trip home!
I had so much fun just hanging out with my family! My brother and his wife are the most amazing parents! Allison you were born to be a mom! i love you all so much and miss you more than you will ever know!

beautiful women.

2007-03-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

okay, so i've had some ideas about some pictures that i wanted to take for a while, but didn't really know how to go about doing it...Luckily i have some amazing and beautiful friends here who were more than happy to volunteer to let me do their makeup, hair and and basically boss them around for an hour. I got some amazing shots and I think that they had a blast too! anyway, here are a few of the shots that i came out with...
p.s. Danielle and Stephanie...you rock!!

2007-03-15T20:39:00.000-04:00

On Friday April 1, 2007 I will be having my first official show! I'm scared to death! as of right now, it will be 10-15 ( if i can find that many that i deem worthy) 8x10's of my photographs. I've decided to do some people and some...well...not people. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! the show will has to be up by March 28, because Albany's 'artwalk' starts the night of the 1st. (all of the galleries in town are opening with new shows and stay open late for patrons to view the work) As of right now, or until i sell them..i guess, the show will be a permanent fixture. GO ME!!! Now i just have to go through about 25,000 pictures (that process is currently going on in my head...which makes for a very scattered brained Kami) this picture is my "about the artist" picture! anyway, i'm so excited and i just wanted you all to know! love you! cheers!

2007-02-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

okay...these are some pictures from a few shoots that I've done in the past month! Hope you enjoy them!

winter

2007-02-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

i don't have a whole lot to say...i think i'll let the pictures do that. (except that they don't really do justice to the height)

Fast and Furious...but no Paul Walker

2007-02-12T09:44:00.000-05:00

I'll have to admit I don't think I have ever had a birthday quite like this one. this past Friday, February 9, 2007 at 3 something in the morning I officially turned half of a century old. (that's 25 years people) anyway, unfortunately James was out of town and was not able to spend it with me. This was actually the first year I have ever spent a birthday without a member of my family present. I'd consider that a milestone. There's something mildly empowering about being alone on your birthday. I wasn't, however, completely alone... I had plenty of friends wish me a happy birthday SEVERAL times, and I both James and my mom and dad sent me flowers to work! I LOVE GETTING FLOWERS, especially in the winter...i think it's kind of weird to get spring flower when there is snow all of the ground...anyway i'm rambling. After work on friday i ran home to get my camera to start the 3 day long marathon of picture taking. Not only did i take pictures of almost all of the winter carnival events, I manage to work in another gig as well. These are some of the pics I took of my friend Chad. I'm trying to expand my portfolio and so far it was, a lot of pregnant women, dogs, and James. Thanks again Chooch for letting me take these! and i'll try to get some of the winter carnival pictures up soon!
love y'all!
cheers! everyone....

Happy New year

2007-01-29T21:04:00.000-05:00

Okay so i know i haven't posted in a while even though there has been a ton of stuff going on! Let me just say that just because I haven't blogged about it doesn't mean that it wasn't that important.

Let's see, where to begin! I finally got to see my NEPHEW, who by his picture you will see he is not only beautiful, but an OU fan!! ( notice the finger) Also the sunset pictures are from James and I's trip home to see my family for Christmas. The sunset was taken at my parent's house...i just love their house...and the sunsets never get old!

After seeing everybody at Christmas James and I returned to the Coop to start the New year in full swing! I guess the price you pay for 70' summers is the inhumanly cold winters! the picture of the temperature was this past Thursday night at 2:15 in the morning when our heater decided to give out...for the second time! This time however it filled the house with smoke...do you know what if feels like to have your windows open for three hours when the windchill is 64 degrees below freezing?~?!?!?!?!?!?! we had to keep water running so the pipes wouldn't freeze and james and i both looked like the "stay-puffed marshmallow man" we had so many layers on!! We got it fixed and were assured that it wouldn't happen again!

The other pictures are just from around the Coop, the icicles are amazing! Hope all is well my friends and i will be posting more regularly again!

cheers!

2007-01-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Okay I will post a more interesting post later...but for now I just want to let all of you know that the Husband's blog has now changed. you can laugh you butt off at ohthatsfunny.blogspot.com. (there is now www before it) The panda video is my favorite!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2006-12-08T18:50:00.000-05:00

When James and I got up this morning the temperature was 2'..the wind-chill was somewhere below zero...bottom line-it's cold! I love this time of year, I am one of 'those' people. I love Christmas music, the decorations, the trees, the egg-nog (I drink soy). Living in a place where there's actually snow on the ground definitely put a new spin on the Holidays. In the Lone Star State scarves are an accessory, here...they're necessary. It actually takes us longer to get ready to take the dogs outside than it does for us to walk them...I've never had to shovel a sidewalk before either and we had to go buy a snow shovel...it's the law to shovel the area in front of your house...(the one picture of james is from last week sometime...when it was still in the 50's)
Sub zero temps are the only thing different this Christmas..in about a week and a half I'll go home to see my family...all of them..there are 6 six now..not 5...that's weird. My brother and his wife..whom you will see on my previous post just had their first baby boy..and oh my gosh is he adorable. I can't wait to see them and everyone else..things are different this Christmas..in a good way...hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy new Year!
cheers!

Back to work

2006-11-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

I went back to work today after having several days off. (I went to TExas to see my familia) It was so much fun to see everybody. It went by entirely too quickly but, I still had a blast. My sister-in-law had her baby shower, and it was so awesome to see all of the stuff that my nephew will be in, around, sleeping on...etc. Here are a couple of the pics of her and my brother..p.s. they were probably the hardest people to photograph! don't get me wrong, they are two of the most photogenic people ever, they just like to be difficult..anyway I can't wait to see them again, I miss them so much!!! I love you guys!
have a good rest of the week everyone!
cheers!

reading awesometown

2006-10-28T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have to, once again, apologize for my recent blogging paralysis. As it seems, though, most of my friends are doing the same. Although, the middle child and dad are picking it up again which I love. Things have been busy in the Coop. Friday was my first day off since last Wednesday, but I was still busy. I have several photography jobs lined up and several that I have just finished. This thing, and by that i mean what I've always wanted to do, is finally starting to pick up. Word of mouth here is better than any advertising i could do, and believe me, in a small town things do travel fast. So praise the lord for that.
It's starting to get cold. (HA, starting...I haven't felt my toes since september) The winter is coming, whether we like it or not!
We've had a little snow, but not for more than an hour and it wasn't enough to stick. But that's only a matter of time. The dogs dont' seem to mind the weather, they sleep all the time anyway. Who care if it's cold outside if it's still warm inside. (i'm speaking for the four-legged creatures, now)

We have a halloween party to go to tonight. As much as I tried to convince the husband to go as the Spartan Cheerleaders, He opted for a H.S. football coach (which by the way requires very little acting on his part) I am headed to Oneonta to day to attempt to find the rest of my costumes..and If not I can always cut up and old sweatshirt and wear some highheels and socks, spike my hair and wear bad make up and be some punk rocker from the 80's, or what InStyle is deeming "back in".

I GET TO SEE MY FAMILY NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited the sister-in-law is having a baby shower and I get to fly down for it and everyone is coming up! I can't wait! I hope the spouse can survive without me! hehe..

love you all...
cheers!

short comings

2006-10-13T21:05:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this is the picture that's on my myspace page and you can see how short my hair is now~ I love it...oh and while i'm on the subject, I'm freakin wasting my life away on myspace...I should have never started...anyway, things are cold here...and i have to go make biscotti
cheers! friends...

carry on....

wee babe

2006-10-06T21:34:00.000-04:00

These are some of the pictures from my shoot today! Keep in mind the baby is two weeks old..she is such a beautiful little girl! It helps that the mom is gorgeous too! Thanks again, sweetie...

Watch Out

2006-09-24T17:43:00.000-04:00

I have several things to say...

first of all these are a few pics from my most recent photography job..actually i can't post my favorites because they're of her bare tummy...but i thnk these are pretty good!

I am currently sitting at my house with my two four-legged companions whilst my husband is at a conference in Minneapolis. I miss him already..always handle being the one who's gone better. anyway, i love him!

My beautiful sister-in-law, Allison, is having their baby shower the first weekend of November and I, Lord willing, will be attending.....YEAH!!!!! I can't wait to see all of them I miss my family so much! I probably get on their nerves how much I call them all, but who cares...it's just shows how much i love them!

Speaking of family...I remember the time my brother, Aaron, sold my child-hood softball bat, the 'meat-head', so that he could buy himself lunch at La Popular. i guess growing up comes at a price...$3!!!!! I'm not bitter...

Okay, Angus just farted on me so....I think i need to go!!

Question for today: Who was your first kiss?

Carry on, friends, carry on!

back again...

2006-09-15T21:21:00.000-04:00

At Long last...we have the internet! After two weeks of fighting with verizon we have managed to set up our internet. Now, not only can we surf the web, but we can use our Skype phone. We call people in Texas for free! This thing rocks!
Anywho, not much has changed since my last blog, except for our new home. We have been on Lake Street for almost three weeks now! Man, I can't believe it's been that long! We're going to Albany tomorrow to get the boys hair cut and get some pictures developed (professionally). I've had one client so far and 4 more in the next 2 months! I'm hoping that it takes off commpletely! I miss my family, i miss my friends, i miss the Lone Star state, but we are settling in here. Can't wait to see you all!
oh and if you read my blog, leave a comment, i live for those!
I'll have more interesting things to say when i'm not so tired!
love you..
miss you..
carry on!
p.s. i cut all of my hair off!!!!! it's as short as James'
i'll post a pic soon!

Decaffeinated

2006-08-19T17:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, so my blog has nothing to do with coffee, it's just the first word that came to my head!

Several things:
Thursday night James and I had our Anniversary trip to Saratoga springs, it was only like ten hours that we spent away, but neither one of us had to work and we saw a great concert..
We went to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to see Rogue Wave, Ray LaMontagne and Guster..it was greatness!
I'm starting to really like the 'Wave" and Ray was absolutely incredible (you'd be hard pressed to find someone who rights music as beautiful as his)...Guster was great too...altogether an outstanding concert!

so P.S.- if you don't have Ray's album, you need to! I can't go a day without listening to it!
also i'm really liking this guy named Mat Kearney right now... if you get chance ...check him out too!

Next subject:
James and I are moving again!!!!!!!!!!! sorry, not back to the Lone Start State.....yet....
we found a place to rent IN Cooperstown! It's like 2 blocks from the Hall and right around the corner from where I work..It's two bedroom, two story, its' just the cutest house and I can't wait to get into that house...it's just going to be so much better not having to drive!

as soon as i can get a strong enough signal to post some pics...i will

i need to go home...
so, until next time
carry on......

much ado about nothing

2006-08-09T09:05:00.000-04:00

Musically: if there's one song that I would recommend listening to when you're down...it's Motion City Soundtrack's "Everything is Allright" its' a sugary sweet song but it's a good one... Also , I know it's weird, but I am loving "Teenage Wasteland" right now. I know that James is the guru of music, but here's are my absolute must have's right now:

Will Hoge-Blackbird on a Lonely Wire (it's greatness)
Ringside-self titled album
Spoon- can't remember the name of the album, but i listen to it almost everyday
oh, and maybe one of my all-time favorite bands:
Jump Little Children- they have three albums, the last two are my favorite, the one's with'Vertigo,' 'Rains in Asia' and 'Mexico'
Keane-Under the Iron Sea

anyway, we're going to see Guster and Ray LaMontagne (if you don't already have their stuff, you should get it) a week from tomorrow!!!!! I can't freaking wait! it's gonna be a great concert! Oh and we just found out that Rogue Wave is opening for them.

It's 55 degress right now, this is the kind of weather I can get on board with, however its' only a matter of time before i'm too cold to speak...

carry on my music loving friends...
and the rest of you...

the simple life

2006-08-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Several things:
Number zero- pic of Otsego Lake near our house

Number one- i'm sorry that i haven't been blogging much lately...the boys had a field day with our internet router, so the only place I can blog is after work (which is what I'm doing now)

Number two-Aaron and Allison found out last Thursday that they are having a little boy, although despite my efforts, they have chosen to keep the name a secret until he is born! Congrats to them!!! i love you guys, and miss you so much!

Number three- I am now employed!!!!!! i work at a coffee shop, the only good coffee shop in Cooperstown! If nothing else, i've managed to drum up at least three photography jobs so far! Right now it's pretty crazy just because all of the crazy tourists are still here! ( Man i am ready for tourist season to be over) It's fun, the people are great, and i'm now making money...

and finally...
my thoughts for the day...and the title of my blog...

by no means would i consider my self a simple person...In fact if you asked most of the people who know me, 'simple' may not ever cross their lips. I'm strange, possibly the weirdest person you'll ever meet, my taste in books is different, my taste in movies complicated, the things i find interestingly and challenging are things that most people wouldn't..however, it is in some of the most simple things that i find a sense of tranquility...for example, there is something about the smell of wood-burning on a cool morning that will suddenly give me a sense of peace...my heart skips a small beat when Monarch butterfly lands on the tip of Angus' nose and he can't figure out what in the world to do...I laughed for almost a half an hour yesterday when i took the boys out for their 3pm outing and Gunther and Angus both chased butterflies and dragonflies until they almost couldn't run any longer... Angus, the scottie, will trap them under his paws, like a cat, then lift his paws to see if it's still there...If it is....he'll jam his nose on to the ground on top of his prey and then look at me as though to say..."look mommy...look what i did." It's seriously one of the cutest things, and when all other emotions are flooding my head, i can watch my two puppies chasing butterflies and all else seems to float away on their wings...it's the little things in this life that i am determined not to miss...so many people just let life take ahold of them..and they miss so many wonderful things...Well...if it means being one step behind to see all of these things...i don't mind

okay, so on a more cynical note:
so working at a coffee shop...has it's ups and downs...its' always a good thing when someone walks in and orders straight off the menu...
it's when the guy comes and in and says "let me have a double tall, half caf., easy hazelnut, no foam with whip, extra hot, skinny soy latte'"...that i feel like replying "you'd better say 'one regular coffee' or i'll punch you in the face..."
this is teaching me patience ..p.s. if you were wondering yes, I can make that, and yes someone really does order that..

well it's getting hot and i need to go home!!!
things are good...
missing everyone....
love you...

carry on, friends

Favorites

2006-07-13T14:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, the pigeon picture is a little weird but it's one my favorites! These are just a few of the pics from our vacation! The rainbow was on our way to KEY WESTat about 8 in the morning!

The next pic, is of my Mom and Dad on the fourth.... I absolutely love July 4th... it's one of my favorite Holidays, mainly because I LOVE fireworks! Seriously, my love for fireworks is a little weird... (anyway, it was very dark and i didn't want to use a flash so this was one of my better efforts)
Still looking for a job...

It's supposed to be really hot here this weekend...93...that's hot when you don't have air-conditioning!
Anyway, I'll post more pics later..
cheers, y'all!

Back from the dead

2006-07-11T13:07:00.000-04:00

My deepest apologies for the lack of blogging that has taken place on my part. The past few months have been pretty crazy. I'm still getting used to the fact that i live in New York, not to mention we haven't been able to get internet yet ( thus explains the absence of my blog and email) Right now I am sitting in My favorite coffee house in Cooperstown, Stagecoach coffee. It's great
james and i come here often. I am currently looking for a job, and i have several leads. Hopefully by the beginning of next week i will be among the gamefully employed.

This past saturday I returned from Florida, where i spent a 7 wonderful days with my family. Aaron and Allison had to leave on Wed. so that was a bummer, but it was a blast while they were there. It was a shame that James couldn't come, but he had to go to Pittsburgh to do a presentation at FanFest (the convention before the All-star game). Anyway, we had a so much fun on vacation. Monday we drove to Looe Key where we spent 6 hours out at sea. In the first 15 minutes of our first snorkel, i saw more sharks than I've ever seen before in my life!!! There was one who stuck with us, he kept circling back to see what we were up to. He swam directly under me and was about 5 feet from my abdomen..I think i actually stopped breathing. it was totally worth it though...Just seeing those creatures totally reminds me just how amazing God really is.

After our brush with death (the sharks and dualing lobsters), we went to Key West and ate dinner at the Hog's Breath Saloon...because after all..."Hog's Breath is better than no breath at all" We watched the Beautiful sunset and drove back to Ft. Lauderdale. The next few days were filled with nothing but relaxing by the beach, the pool, and flying the kite that Dad bought...i didn't so much fly it as i did crash it right in the middle of a family...nonetheless, i had a great time. I forgot much I actually enjoy spendng time with my family... I love you all very much and miss you terribly...

Now that I'm back it's becoming more and more real that we'll be here for a few years to come...it's going to be scary, hard, and exciting all at the same time...I know God has me here for a reason...I dont' know what... yet....but i plan to enjoy the ride..no matter what comes our way...
love y'all...
miss y'all...
cheers!

New York State of Mind

2006-06-03T10:30:00.000-04:00

No, no....no clever anecdotes, or anything revolutionary! Of course, if you're lookinng to my blog for that..well..dont'. Just an update per usual. also, no pictures yet, our signal isn't strong enough, but I will get the them up as soon as I can.

We are moved in! Almost everything is on the walls, doors, behind the doors, over the windows.etc. I am currently standing in the kitchen window with the computer in order to get an internet signal...we're getting a router so we don't have to stand..but like many other things, it's going to have to wait. It's been good thus far; James just completed his second full week of work, and being the primary un-packer, i have almost managed to get the house in the shape I want it. The dogs are doing great, very clingy though, still needing time to adjust, but then again so are we. I feel the adjustment period will last until next year at this time, seeing as how neither one of us has ever lived through a New England summer, fall, winter...well you get the picture. James' friend Mark gave us a 30% chance of survival. I think that is more James than me. Although, 6 months of snow....? just kidding, it'll be a change, but a fun adventure for us to grow through together.

We' It rains an awful lot up here...alot..alot! If you looked at the weather channel this morning you might have heard something about "New England flooding" no kidding! In order to take the dogs out we had to pick them up, set them down and hope they 'went' where we placed them...one did, one didnt'! That meant we had to wash him because the brown dog was all covered in mud.

Things are good though, we've been to church 3 times since we've been here ( we went everytime they met ) It's small, James and i make 12, last Sunday we had 17, hope we can help them grow.

I need to go make James and myself some breakfast...
do some laundry...
and enjoy this New York State of mine
cheers!

patience is a virtue

2006-05-19T19:06:00.000-04:00

We are, yet again, spending the night in a Holiday Inn. Not the same one we stayed in last night, no,no, no one in Oneonta, Cooperstown, Albany, or anywhere within 50 miles has any vacancy, except Schoharie (pronounced skuh-harry), which is about 20 minutes from Albany...that's fine...we still can't move in..plumbing problems, not with me, with the barn...HOUSE...sorry!
So we shall move in tomorrow morning, without the help of my mom, and my father-in-law...which, that's fine too, but just not something we had planned on... all in all the trip has gone very well...despite the truck breaking down in the parking lot, the pipes at the house busting, us not having much help moving in, not being able to move in until 5 days after we thought we were...things went really well. (despite my tendency to be cynical, the last sentence was not written with any sarcasm) We got to Cooperstown without any problems, the truck broke down HERE, not 800 hundred miles from here, and James and I are young, so moving by ourselves should be no problem! The dogs have been amazing, I really couldn't believe how well-behaved they were in the car.

We're here, i can't believe it! It was kind of hard yesterday when Mom left because it became more real that we're staying! It's beautiful here, and we got here at a good time of year ( so we have time to adjust before the evil of winter comes to lay his hand on us) Our landlord said the four seasons in New York are "almost winter, winter, still winter and Construction." GREAT!!!! No seriously, I am very much looking forward to getting involved with the church up here, we will probably lower the average age by 40 years!

the black dog is licking my toes, i think he's hungry....
Keep praying for us....we're praying for y'all ( i refuse to wipe that word from my vocabulary)
I had a lot of water....
basketball is on....so i'm gonna go..
more later....
cheers!

on the road again

2006-05-15T12:06:00.000-04:00

FIRST....I'M GONNA BE AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My brother is pregnant...no wait..my brother's wife Allison is pregnant!! Congratulations to them...I love you guys so much!! She's due around Christmas, so keep them in your prayers!

As for James and I we are in our 4th day of our Journey towards Cooperstown, N.Y. Saying goodbye to our dear friends was so hard, but as I have said before, Abilene, for most people, is a merely a stop on the way to better things. So most of them will be leaving soon anyway!

As of 8:30 Eastern time(our new time zone)last night we landed in Anderson, Indiana. James' cousin, we'll call him Allen, lives there with his wife Kenny. (Their real names will not be used as to protect the innocent). Staying here allows us to catch up with them, and save money on hotels. We can't move in until Friday now, so we are going to take our time getting there. It's been great so far, the dogs have behaved, somewhat better than James' and his dad have...just kidding... and we haven't had any problems thus far. We did run into some really bad construction yesterday for about an hour, but other than that it's been really great. I'm not on my computer so i can't post any pics, but as soon as we get settled in I'll be able to show you what the town looks like. I'm getting more excited the closer we get, and also a little more scared about the winter. Right now, it's about 50 degrees and raining, and this is the middle May. It's only going to get worse! But i am a strong woman(some people would use other words), so I can totally handle whatever comes my way. No really, it's beautiful up here and nothing like i've ever experienced, so I am ready for the challenge!
Thanks again, to all of you for your love, prayers, and help with our move! We couldn't have done it without you!

I need to take a shower...
drink some water...
and go talk to the family...
more later...

boston common

2006-04-29T22:45:00.000-04:00

Today might have been one of the most important days in James' professional life, and he was amazing. We got up this morning around 6 in order to meet his panel by 7:15a.m. I had the most expensive bowl of strawberries and blueberries that I've ever had in my life in the restaurant of the Sheraton Hotel. Had I known it was going to be that bad, i would have stopped at Starbuck's on my way. Anyway, James' session " Podcasting in Museums" started at 9 and there were probably 250 there, filling the Grand Ballroom, at lest 3/4 full. He had numerous people come up to him afterward to compliment him. One guy told him that he was "an innovative speaker...in a good way." I'm not sure how that could be bad...but maybe being funny is considered innovative in a museum setting...who know!
After that we went to have coffee with James' advisor from O.U. and then we went to meet some people from Cooperstown for lunch.
After going back to the hotel to change and catch a cat nap, we headed to the Boston Commons and the Freedom Trail. There was a beautiful park there and we had dinner at the pub in the picture...so good!!
We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so we came back early...
Gonna see my new house tomorrow~!!!!
Having a great time here, but i miss my puppies!
love ya....
more later...

traveler's rest

2006-04-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

Today i got to sleep in...james didn't, he had a meeting at 9..which if you count the "d@$^it" time you have to allow, that means he left here at 730a.m. ("d@$^it time is the time you have to alot for getting to the place where you think you're going, getting off the subway, turning around and realizing that you're not where you thought you were!) speaking of, i have mastered the subway, it only took me about 12 hours? is that bad?

Today was colder than yesterday...the guy at the subway station said it was uncharacteristically cold for the end of April..no kidding!
James was at the conference until three today, then after that we came back changed to go to dinner...
We went to the North End...man that place is awesome...there was a homeless lady who after we gave her a dollar, gave a pamphlet..on the back it said "your ticket to Heaven!" I should have given her a dollar a long time ago!!!!

tonight's dinner was much more romantic than the loud pizza parlor last night..We ate at 5 North Square...that's the name not the address... it was a quaint little restaurant owned and operated by a single family....aunts, uncles, cousins, and sister-in-laws were the waitresses, bartenders and cooks, it was awesome... not to mention the food was incredible..
After that we just walked around and found several historical landmarks, Paul Revere's house, Old North church, and the Union Oyster House (the oldest restaurant in Boston)

Tomorrow we go to Haaaavard, i still can't understand half of what people are saying, and i'm sure that goes both ways...

James need to do some work....
i need to put on different clothes...
the North East is weird...but i kinda like it...
see you tomorrow..

long day~

2006-04-27T21:33:00.000-04:00

tonite was fun...we got here around 5p.m. and hadn't eaten all day, so we decided to find something. I looked up some stuff up and we ended up chosing this pizzeria. Well i took us a while to find it, because the neighborhood it was in was a little confusing, however, it was AWESOME! We walked around for almost two hours, me taking pictures, James looking for the place...we didn't have anything else to do tonite, so we weren't in a hurry and decided just to soak up the atmosphere. The place we ate at was called Pizzeria Regina, it's a hole in the wall that's been there for 80 years. It was amazing, they still use a brick oven and make everything from scratch. James was pleased with my obsession for eating at "non-chain" restaraunts, and or researching old places ( to eat that is). It was well worth the time....
We walked around was had to be known as Little Italy...for nearly 3 hours....so cool..
here's some pics...i'll keep updating..
love you all..

good morning

2006-04-27T07:15:00.000-04:00

it's now 6 a.m. i've been up for 45 minutes, not too much earlier than i'm used to getting up, but i didn't go to sleep until almost 2.
In Abilene my husband is a celebrity, well, kind of. He's had people he barely knew tell him that he's their hero. Anywho, the Reporter news did a story on him, the link is somewhere in this article...more later...

2006-04-27T01:17:00.000-04:00

pics of the storm the other night....
keep in mind these are through my window...

northern exposures

2006-04-27T01:07:00.001-04:00

We started the journey today towards Boston!
It'll be an early morning, but we should have an entire day in Boston before the conference starts....Oh, James is the chairman of a committee that is presenting at the Amercian Association of Museums conference in Boston, he will be speaking about podcasting...I, however, an not paying $250 for a guest pass to see one session, so i have gonna photograph the heck out of Boston and the surrounding areas. We will be in Cooperstown on Sunday, so i can see where I will be living....WE HAVE HOUSE! Praise the Lord for he is Glorious, praise him angels....oh, sorry i started singing to myself....
anywho, the next few weeks wil be crazy. Today was my last day at the Bakery! As of 1:53p.m. the Hallelujah Chorus began going off in my head....
After we get back from Boston, James has one week left at the Grace, i will be packing and cleaning the house, fun , fun!!!!!!! May 12 we drive to Oklahoma where James will walk at Oklahoma University receiving his masters in Museum Studies, after Graduation we will start our three to four day trek to Coopertown. The Maternal 'rent is accompanying me!!! and The father-in-law we be riding with James! It should be fun! keep praying, we have a long way to go!

i need to put on my pyjamas
i need to sleep
more later....

boxes

2006-04-20T21:20:00.000-04:00

I hate boxes..
boxes mean something has to go in them...
that means packing....
i hate packing...
we're packing for a good reason...but i still dont' like it...

last night there was an amazing storm in the big country....that's something i'll miss...
watching storms from 11 stories up from up to 60 miles away, is amazing confirmation of God's power!
i got some good lightening pics... i'll try to post later after James puts on some pants and goes down to get the card reader...nevermind...

It's hard to grasp sometimes the changes that take place in your life..
i got to Abilene over four years ago, and i can't honestly believe i've been here that long.
It's a transitional place really, most people come for school and then leave to follow their dreams or their boyfriends...
as much as i've wanted to leave the last year, there are things i'll miss..

a few:
~west texas sunsets ( those of you who know me know that i am somewhat of an art freak, sunsets here are of colors that only teh Lord could create...they're amazing...each one is different...its abstract from the hand of God)

~storms...now im not talking about the hamburger place in Hamilton, i'm talking about thunderstorms ( although i will miss the other one too!)

~the people...while most of our friends have already moved away, the people in Texas are one of a kind

~ the friends and family...it's going to be much harder than i ever imagined to be so far away from so many people that i love so dearly...

~Cajun cones- man i love those things..if you've lived here you know that they are the best snow cones and creams in the world

~Mexican food...no such thing in Cooperstown, N.Y. ...seriously, i've asked

~a big church- or a medium sized church- the singing at Southern Hiills is amazing...i'm trying to stay positive and think that the 18 people that attend the Cooperstown COC can make as much beautiful music as i'm used to....

there are more but these are the only ones that i can think of right now

on a happier note....Angus ( the black dog) almost talked today...James' aunt Sheree can vouch for that..

I had a lot of water at dinner...
more later.....
love you all.....

relocating

2006-04-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

So i haven't posted in a while! In three weeks james and i will be relocating to Cooperstown, N.Y.. He GOT A JOB AT THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME!!!!!!! This is his dream job and he will be amazing at it. He is absolutely the most brilliant person i know, and the Hall of Fame is very lucky to have him.
We are trying to find a place to live...that is proving to be more difficult than i had ever imagined. So keep us in mind! i will continue to keep in touch as this we progress.

black and white

2006-04-07T18:46:00.000-04:00

it's friday! I haven't posted in a while...sorry! Not that any of you have been hanging on to what new clever thing i might say. James is the clever one. i can be, but i'm probably more witty than clever ( is there a difference?), in that i can generally come up with snide comments fairly quickly, not something i'm that proud of, but it comes in handy sometimes.

For the record, i would like to say that i picked Florida to win the Championship. thank you!

James has been gone for a week (tear) so i haven't had the computer or even access to one. He's been in Houston for a conference and as of right now he's in Cooperstown, N.Y. for his third and hopefully final interview at the Baseball Hall of Fame! So up until now i've been totally okay, well, considering. But, as of right now i'm officially freaking~!!!!!
So instead of staying in Abilene, i decided to go see my brother in Dallas, so at least i can freak out around people that i know, and who know me...and won't judge me...too much...

i miss my husband and i miss my dogs

i don't have any pics here so i can't post any,

work was rough today, i feel like i'm getting dumber by the minute working there. It's mindless tasks, nothing challenges my brain, i have to read so much at home just to keep my brain functioning sub par.

maybe i'm crazy, nah!

i need to change clothes,
more later........

2006-03-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

from the big country to you!!

today

2006-03-31T21:44:00.001-05:00

so of course my husband was in the bathroom when the guy from the Baseball hall of Fame called him today...however, we recently found out that he IS FLYING TO COOPERSTOWN NEXT THURSDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR THE THIRD ROUND OF INTERVIEWS!!!!!!!
i'm trying not to freak out, haha, not doing a very good job!
this is something james has wanted for a very long time; it's his dream job!
so keep praying, if you are a prayerful person!
all else is good in A-town!
more later...

2006-03-30T23:42:00.000-05:00

i have a horrible headache! no word from cooperstown yet...

spliced

2006-03-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

Yet another exciting day in the bakery world.
Vilinda, a lady i work with, decided that it was important to discuss the discovery show about delicacies in other countries (all the while forgetting that i dont' eat meat) so after the first comment about people eating raw frogs, i began to get a little queezy. That's a lie, i was a lot que ezy, but it wasn't until after she talked about them eating the frog heart (while it was still beating) that i ended up in the bathroom yacking!! she felt pretty bad, but rob and christy were laughing their butts off at me!
i still dont' feel great!

Had dinner with kevin and jenny tonight. It's pretty much a tradition. Every tuesday that we're here we go to
Rosa's with them.Their two year old daughter lucy can say my name now, it was 'tanen' for a while. 'tami' is what she says now, MUCH better!
In following tradition james and i had our regular tuesday night date grocery shopping. tuesdays are good nights, not much traffic in the store. so we were walking down one of the isles and I picked up a calender for 2006, on the front it said "16 month Calendar for 2006" 16 months!!! did i miss something?
james wouldnt' let me get the cereal with Johnny Depp on the box, no matter how much i asked.

this is random; i remember this one time the brothers and the 'rents and i were going to get ice cream at Baskin
Robbins ( this was a long time ago). We were about to go in, and my dad had peeled the glue of the back of a credit card and stuck in on my arm and told me that it was a booger. I was like 10 years old and mortified!

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein
i like that!

2006-03-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

out my window in the big country

unexposed film

2006-03-25T22:24:00.001-05:00

so i figure it's about time that i start one of these, seeing as how everyone else i know has one. This way i can just write on here and you people can keep up with me. i will try my bestest to update this as often as i can, however, we only get an internet signal once in a blue moon.

We're in Houston right now visiting the in-laws, saw Riverdance today! that was awesome. "there legs flail about as if independent from their bodies!" the main guy dancer looked like fun-bobby from friends, it was hard to keep a straight face everytime i saw him.

James had a second interview on friday with the Baseball Hall of fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. still waiting to hear whether or not we're moving 1937 miles from here.

the 'rents are still down under, awesome pics on dad's blog.

that's it....

note: I do realize that there is no such thing as 37 millimeter film, 37 is my favorite number, and i'm a photographer. Not my most clever moment, however, it works.