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

winter

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...