.....refreshing............

summertime and the livin is easy...................

It is OFFICIAL!!!!  Summer is here......  quite frankly I thought summer had started about 5 weeks ago.....  with all this CRAZY heat that we've been having!!!  This week mine and Nicole's word is REFRESHING.......  and for some reason this word really reminded me of summertime.....  awesome memories flooded my mind of childhood summers!!!!  Summers spent at the lake with my family....  carefree endless summer days filled with frog chasin....  fish catchin.... green apple eatin.... adventures that will forever bring a smile to my face!!!   And the tradition of the 4th of July........  the day when my daddy took me to the firecracker stand and let me pick out whatever I wanted!!!  :)   HOLY COW....  THAT is the only day of the year that I couldn't wait for the sun to go down!!  :)  And every year.... without fail.... it ended with a big fat ice cold watermelon!!!!  It was (and still is) my favorite summertime thing!!!  OH the GOODNESS!!!  Sweet.... ice cold... and juicy!!!  So juicy that I was only allowed to eat it OUTSIDE!!  And after my belly was full...  a good hosing off was required before I could even go inside the house!!  :)  As a kid, I was one of those "bury your face" in the center of the slice kinda watermelon eaters!!!  :)  I have since refined my technique!!!  heeheehee  :)  I can think of nothing more refreshing than a big fat juicy watermelon...    So....  there was no question for me what my shot this week would be!!!  :)  now... if you will excuse me.... there is a watermelon in my fridge!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too!!!

.... weathered............

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated

This week mine and Nicole's word is WEATHERED.....  and I have to confess that my shot for this week is a cheat!!  :(  I did attempt a current shot for this week but nothing compared (in my mind) to THIS shot!!!  So THIS shot it is!!!  :)  Let me start by saying that I really have a passion for photographing street people.....  they are so authentic... raw.... baring their souls to those who would care to listen....  and I am drawn to their untold story....  and they all have one...  a story that is!!!  They are a walking reflection of a weathered life....  perhaps a life filled with struggles....  hardships....  sadness or pain...  when I see them I am never really sure why they are there.... on the street.... but their weathered face and hands silently speak  of a hard life....  and I am intrigued!!  What brought them to this place....  and while I do feel a certain sense of sadness for them.... I also, through my camera lens, see a simple peace in each of them....   and even though  I can never quit put my finger on that sense of peace that I capture in each of them, I know THAT is what draws me to each and every one that I photograph...  This fellow is a homeless man in Key West....  and when I saw him... I was drawn to the light on his face and beard.....  he sat quietly....  never asked for a dime....  in the warm ocean breeze....  his skin weathered by time....  by the sun.... by life....    he seemed so at peace.... this  weathered old man...  silently telling his story without speaking a word.

 Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot this week....  sorry for the cheat girl....  PROMISE I'll post a current shot next week!!!  :)  PS... welcome back!!!  :)

....growth...........

Growth begins when we begin to accept out own weakness

Week 19........  and we are in full blown summer mode around here....  it is HOT AS BLAZES!!!  Don't even want to think of how hot July and August will be....  why is it that I don't live in Portland again???!!!  :)  This weeks word for Nicole and I is GROWTH!!  Man... I would have loved this word back in March when everything was just starting to peek out of the ground....  totally found this little gem by accident....  we were moving the camper around in the yard... (yes we are going camping!!!  wish us luck!!!)  and I just happened to look up into the trees (the ones that were about to be wiped out by the camper!!) and there it was!!!  It was my lucky day for sure!!!  :)  And the quote is one that I try really hard to live by.....  the two together really put things in perspective for me....  no matter what my weakness is.... I have to own it.... accept it as mine!!!   And in the moment that I acknowledge my weakness it becomes my STRENGTH!!!  I grow....  beyond the boundaries that myself and others have created....  and become a better person.... a stronger person!!!  I believe that every circumstance.... every situation.... every challenge in this life presents you with an opportunity for growth!!!  I see this life as a journey that has been planned out for each of us by an Almighty God, who's intent is that we learn and grow from the day He puts us here until the day He takes us home....  and I sure don't plan on disappointing Him!!!  :)  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot this week too!!!  Her work is ALWAYS amazing!!!  :)  :)

.......temptation...........

I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it ~ Mae West

WOW!!!  What a word....  TEMPTATION!!!  My mind went in a million directions when I found out what this weeks word was!!!  Temptation by definition is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and generally, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons!!  :)  My first thought was of CHOCOLATE (of course!!) and then I started thinking about the apple that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden....  seems that temptation has been around for a pretty long time!!!  It is such an appealing word....  in a strange (sorta bad) kinda way!!  And just like ol Mae West says...  I TRY to avoid all temptations....  unless I can't resist them!!  :)  And this week.....  I was weak!!!  yep... gave in to the temptation of a big fat OREO!!!  (and almost an entire loaf of fresh baked rosemary and sea salt bread from Louisa's Bakery!!  HOLY COW it was sooooo good!!!!)  And although I am riddled with guilt...  (NOT)  heeheehee  :)  I do believe that we must make some sacrifices to get the perfect shot!!!  :)  Man, I sure hope next weeks word is willpower!!!  :)  :)  :)  Be sure to check out Nicole's shot for this week too....  she never disappoints!!!

.....light............

It is the photographing of ordinary things, in extraordinary light, which results in extraordinary photographs....

LIGHT!!!!  YES!!!!  This weeks word is LIGHT!!!!!  Can I tell you that LIGHT is my muse for just about every photo that I shoot!!  I am drawn to the way that light seems to change the ordinary into the extraordinary.....  it takes my breath away!  My shot this week is of the window in my foyer with the light of sunset beaming through (I caught FLARE!!!  yeah!!!)......  the same window that I spoke of in my shot of architecture.... these window are FABULOUS..... and no photo could ever do them justice....  seriously.....  they are like a firework show of reflection and light dancing throughtout the day with the changing direction of the sun!!!  They are by far my favorite detail of our house!!!  LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!  :)  Seems that when it comes to photography I am ALWAY chasing light....  and pretty much do that in life too!!  :)  LOVE a sunny day.... it makes me HAPPY....  renews my soul!!!  (especially if I get to spend it at the beach!!)  So....  hope that you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.... filled with LOTS of light!!!  :)  I'm hopin that I get a chance to see some AMAZING light reflected on the shores of Orange Beach!!!  heeheehee  HINT HINT RICK!!!  :)  Be sure and head over to check out Nicole's shot for this week too.....  SHE ROCKS!!!!! 

.....simplicity.........

The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go....

The word for this week is SIMPLICITY.....  can I tell how much I LOVE this word!!!!  I actually "adopted" this word for 2011!!!  My goal for this year and basically the rest of my life is to live a simple life!!!  As I grow older, it is becoming painfully clear to my what I value most in my life and that is TIME!!!  And with that discovery I have also realized that it is all of the STUFF that I thought I just HAD TO HAVE....  that steals away most of my time....  The "American Dream" is really just a consumer trap!!!!  Every day we are made to believe....  through commercials, advertisements and those "keeping up with the Jones" people that surround us,,,,  that we NEED a 5 bedroom house, a giant gas guzzling SUV and that white picket fence!!!  THAT will surely make us HAPPY!!!???  But we never really find happiness in any of those things.....  as a matter of fact, we are miserable because of all that STUFF!!!  We drag ourselves to work every day....  spend more of our TIME with strangers than with the people that we really love and care about and then end up spending what time we do have off either cleaning that 5 bedroom house or running our kids all over town keeping up with those "Jones"!!!  And for what???  In the end we will all want for MORE TIME....  and even the "Jones" can't buy more of that!!!  So with that thought in my head I decided that the only way I could escape the choke hold of the "American Dream" was to just LET GO!!!  Yep.....  keep it simple!!!  From the top to the bottom of my life....  SIMPLIFY!!!  Now don't get me wrong....  this is not an overnight thing for me....  it is a process....  I have started by getting rid of the things that clutter my life....  those things that I have held on tight to forever but haven't needed or even looked at for years!!!  You know what I'm talking about....  the things that you find in the bottom of a box and say out loud... "OH!!  I forgot I had this!!"  If ya didn't even remember that you had it....  guess what.... ya probably don't NEED it!!!  So just go on ahead a put up that YARD SALE sign!!  :)  And as much as I love my awesome house....  it is way too big for the two of us....  and there is always some very time consuming "project" to be done!!!  I have realized that a simple little place (near the beach!!) just big enough for me, my guy, our puppies and the occasional overnight guest....  is all that I really need!!!  Just letting go of the clutter in my life has been liberating!!  And motivating!!!  I have begun to adopt the idea of simplicity in all corners of my life...  I'm growing a little box garden out back....  Never in a million years would I have dreamed that a box garden could bring me sooo much joy!!!  Not only am I growing and consuming simple organic veggies, I am also appreciating the simple beauty that God blesses us with every day....  but we often are too busy to notice!!   I have always appreciated the breath taking beauty of a sunset...  but I can't tell ya how often that I have only had just enough time to glance at that beauty and say "oh... that's so pretty" and get right back to the nonsense that was consuming my life at that moment!!  NO MORE!!!  I have vowed to STOP....  savor the moment.... notice the little things.... the breathtaking SIMPLE things!!!  The dew drops on my roses that sparkle like diamonds....  the birds that sing to me from the trees out back....  the ever so gentle jasmine filled breeze that blows through my window....  the excitement of my sweet puppies when I walk through the door!!!!  The things that you can't buy!!!    Yep.... getting back to the basics....  seeing beauty in the simplicity of this life.... grateful for the realization that there are very few THINGS that I really NEED....  and humbled by the simplicity of the things I have discovered that I WANT in my life!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot this week too!!!  :)

....blossom......

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud, was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.......   it is my time to blossom...............

well....  here we are at week 15.....  can't believe how fast this year is flying by!!!  This weeks word for Nicole and I is BLOSSOM!!!  Be sure to head over and check out Nicole's shot for this week too... 

Wow.... I sure wish that we had this word a month ago....  blossoms were everywhere then....  summer has settled in down here way too soon and robbed spring of all its beauty...  makes me kinda sad :(   So.....  blossom, by definition, is a period or condition of maximum development, a time to develop; flourish....  this definition got me to thinkin about myself and my life....  and then I came across the above quote and that really put things into perspective for me!!!  As I grow older (by the day... heeheehee) I realize just how important it is to LIVE!!!  Not just occupy space and breath air... I mean REALLY LIVE!!!  Seriously people..... what are we waiting for????  TODAY may be all that we have....  tomorrow is never a promise...  only a hope!!  Just this morning, Rick and I were talking about living life....  and our dreams and goals....  Why wait to do the things that you want to do???  Why wait to live your dreams and accomplish your goals???  Why remain "tight inside the bud"???  TODAY is the day that we all should BLOSSOM into the beautiful creature that we were intended to be!!!  With no fear....  the risk is worth the beauty that will fill our lives when we allow ourselves to blossom!!!  :)   There are really NO EXCUSES for not living life to the fullest EVERYDAY!!!  Now.... by no means do I think that I will fulfill a life long dream every day of my life....  that's not what I am saying here!!!  But I will work toward those dreams EVERYDAY!!!  And I will appreciate EVERYDAY for the beauty that it holds....  that beauty may be as simple as the tomatoes that I am growing in my little box garden out back....  or as profound as the accomplishment of a marathon!!!   I will not wait for "someday" to LIVE my life!!!  .....  it is MY TIME to blossom!!!  :)