....indulge..........

let them eat cake...............

This week's word for Nicole and I is INDULGE!!!!!  By definition indulge means to allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of.....  what the definition left out was the word OCCASIONALLY!!!  :)  And there should be something near the word indulge explaining the difference between it and the word OVER-indulge!!!  heeheehee!!!  Ya see... I am an all or nothing kinda girl when it comes to most things......  especially yummy treats!!!  Yep....  I'm the one who eats an entire bag of oreos in 24 hrs just so they won't be around to tempt me anymore....  profound logic huh!!!  :)  A few years ago I really took a long look at my life....  my eating habits.... spending habits.... the way that I used my time.... and I discovered that I was very lacking in (not really self-control) but reason!!!  I never really took the time to reason with myself about my indulgences!!!  Do I really NEED a whole bag of oreos???  I think not!!!  And how will I feel if I eat a whole bag of oreos???  That old familiar guilty "I'm a big fat loser" feeling!!!  YUCK!!!  Hate that feeling!!!  And the same with THINGS that I buy....  do I really need ANOTHER pair of shoes....  (maybe...  if their REALLY cute!!  heehee)  But seriously....  there is a fine line between indulging and overindulging!!!  And when we don't recognize that something good is eventually turned into something that makes us feel bad.... guilty....:(

So.... I have really made a point to not indulge everyday....  and to savor and appreciate my indulgences!!!  When I see something on the store shelf that I think I want.... I reason with myself.... do I also NEED it???  hummm....  and chances are...  the answer is NOPE!!!  Same way with my yummy little sweet tooth indulgences....  I keep NOTHING tempting in my house.... (my poor hubby!!!...  but I do keep things around for him that HE likes...  and that I DON'T like!!!  :).... like fig newtons.... yuck!!!)  That way I have to really reason my indulgences....  Do I want a brownie so bad that I will get in my car and drive to the store for it????  And do I need a whole pan of brownies or just one little brownie????   And how many miles will I have to run AFTER I eat that stinkin thing????  And da da dada....  I have just places VALUE on that indulgence!!!  My shot this week is of this YUMMY little pettifor........  picked it up at my local grocery store and got the very familiar question from the bakery counter girl...  "just one?"....  yep just ONE!!!!  And trust me it was equally beautiful and YUMMY!!!!!  :)  I must also admit that I bought a TINY TINY TINY container of Ben and Jerry's Double Chocolate Brownie ice cream and some maraschino cherries....  I DID use them for a shot too.... and I DID eat them all up!!!  :)  And I will be running an extra mile today!!!  :)  It's all about balance people!!!  heehehehee!!!  :)  Be sure to check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!

.....feminine............

I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it..........

This week mine and Nicole's word is FEMININE....  I have to say that I really struggled with this word!  Feminine would be the absolute LAST word that I would use to describe myself....  I am not a frilly girl....  I don't really even have frilly things!  There are no lacy flowy girly girl things hanging in my closet....  No feminine decor in my home....  I am a pretty low maintenance girl....  not a ton of makeup....  no foo foo hairdo!!!  And God sure knew what He was doing when he blessed me with a BOY cause I would have surely not have survived many years with a drama filled girl!!!!  (plus I would have NEVER been able to fix her hair!!! heeheehee)  I have always said that I was my Daddy's first born SON!!!  I would rather be out in the yard throwing a softball than wearing ballet shoes....  and I wanted BB guns and bikes for Christmas!!!  My momma.... bless her heart....  she tried her best to doll me up and at least make me LOOK girly....  but without fail, I was always the shoeless little girl with the kool-aide mustache and spagetti-o's all over the front of her dress!   It's just not who I am.... not who I have ever been!!!   However....  I am still a girl....  just not of the girly type!!  :)  I just happen to prefer running marathons and riding my bike over tea parties and shopping!!!  :)  It has taken me a really long time to realize that it's okay to embrace the girl that I am!!!  It's okay to be a strong woman.....  strength and determination doesn't make me less of a woman.... it doesn't make me less feminine!!!  Although the GIRLY GIRLS would sure like to make you feel that you are!!!  The fact is this....  frilly lacy girly girl THINGS don't make you a woman....  and when you take that all away....  those foo foo girls and I are just alike!!!   We are women.... we are feminine!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!!

....familiar.......

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.....

The word for Nicole and I this week is FAMILIAR!!  For me familiar is one of those words that makes you feel all warm inside....  it is a comfortable word!  But not a word that is so easily captured in a photograph!   Familiar.... common.... everyday.... intimate....  the familiar things in my life are sometimes overlooked.... expected.... taken for granted.  Tucked in the back of my mind until something reminds me of how important they are to me....  a familiar scent that catches my attention.... reminding me of the way my grandmother's house used to smell....  a familiar laugh in a crowd.... bringing a flood of memories as I am reminded of my Poppa and how his roar of a laugh would make everyone in the room laugh too!!  The familiar feeling of the cool grass under my feet....  taking me back to my childhood and endless summer nights spent playing hide-n-go-seek and chasing lightening bugs!!!  We need the familiar things.... they remind us of where we came from.... of what is truly important in our lives!!  My shot this week is of my most favorite familiar thing!!!  My guy!!! :)  A few years ago we spent 6 months apart....  was the absolute hardest thing that I have EVER done!  And during that time.... the most important "familiar things" in my life were gone....  things that I had taken for granted.... important little things.... like the smell of his cologne.... the sound of his voice.... the familiar "feeling" of his presence when I would walk into the house.... but the thing that I missed the most was his touch!  I missed sitting on the couch at the end of the day.... holding hands and talking.... I missed how his touch would remind me that I was safe....  that I was loved!  And in the absence of his touch I realized just how important  this simple little "familiar thing" is in my life!!!  His touch is comforting.... warm.... protecting.... intimate.... FAMILIAR!!!  With just a single touch I know that everything is gonna be alright!!  It is my BEST thing!!!  :)   And I don't want to every live another day without it!!! 

Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too.

.....waiting.............

Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day............

Well..... another week has flown by.....  finding myself in need of some down time to just catch my breath!!!  Mine and Nicole's word for this week is WAITING!!!  And while it is lacking in artistic merit.... I KNEW that this would be my shot for this week!!!!  This scene plays itself out day after day at my house (as proven by the slobber marks on the window!!!  heeheehee).....  sweet Scout waiting for Rick to return home!!!  Waiting patiently to give him all the love his little heart can hold!!!  Our sweet puppies....  sooooo excited and happy to see us each day....  every time we walk in the door you would think they hadn't seen us in weeks!!!  Tails wagging...  waiting....  to give us big ol wet dog kisses and let us know just how much they have missed us!!!!  Unconditionally they wait.....  wait for us to finish whatever we think is important at the time....  wait for us to notice that they have found their favorite toy and would really LOVE to play....  wait for us to realize that it's been awhile since they have been for a w-a-l-k!!! (ya have to spell that word around here!!!)  They are always waiting.....  to love you!!!  And my life is better because of them!!!  I believe that God created a special little place in our hearts that can only be filled by the love of a dog!!!  And I consider myself pretty darn luck to be sooooo loved by mine!!!  Heck.... I certainly like them better than most people!!!  :)  And as I sit here typing this, I am blessed to have them both curled up by my feet....  waiting....  for me to finish what is important at the moment.... waiting to give me all the love in their little hearts!!!!  :)  Be sure to check out Nicole's shot this week too!!!!

....circular...........

and out of the darkness came forth light...........

HOLY COW!!!!  Can I just tell ya that summer is kickin my butt!!!  It is as HOT as BLAZES with no relief in sight and we have been busier that a one legged man in a butt kickin contest!!  :)  (sorry.... my redneck roots are showin!!)  However, I do know that this heat will help me to appreciate cool fall days.... eventually!!!  :)To tell ya the truth, I don't even know what week Nicole and I are on in our 52 week project... gonna have to do some counting!!  :)  Nevertheless, our word for this week is CIRCULAR!  This one was tough for me....  I struggled to find inspiration on this one....  so I took a lot of shots of random circular things... but nothing spoke to me... until I began to edit some shots that I had taken of the tiny little spring from inside of an ink pen....  Yep...  my shot this week is of a spring from an ink pen!!!!  And the object itself was of no real inspiration.... it was the LIGHT!!!  Inside of this tiny little circle I was amazed and inspired by the balance of darkness and light!!!  The yin and yang that existed in this tiny little space!!!  Such a profound discovery... and one that caused my mind to race with thoughts about balance in my own life!!!  While I try to find something good in my life everyday.... I have to admit that I have had.... and surely will continue to have dark days....  we all will!!  But even in that darkness I am searching for the light!!!   Not really the light at the end of a dark tunnel.... but the light that exists within the darkness...  the balance!!!  So I see my life as a circle.... a never ending cycle of light and dark.... good and bad....  happy and sad!!!   And I think that life is meant to be this way....  one cannot exist without the other in the circle of our lives!!  So may you all be blessed with balance in your circle!!  heeheehee!!!  And I wish you all a safe and happy 4th of July!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!  PEACE!!!!  :)