Lifestyle Images

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-01T09:14:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T09:11:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T09:10:00.001-06:00

Minus 16.5 Pounds

2010-08-16T11:29:00.000-06:00

And 23.5 inches...

An Evening with Friends

2010-08-14T23:59:00.000-06:00

It's sad that we have friends only an hour away that we see only about once a year. But with both of them working full time, and raising two young boys, their schedules are jam-packed. But tonight was one of those yearly events. We went to their house, where we grilled out, sat in the spa, and swam in the pool all evening. We had a great time!

We also got to meet the newest addition to their family--Henry. Henry is the cutest dang thing ever! Even if he does still pee on the floor and chew up the coffee table. Who could resist that face? It's the Power of Cute.

Rain Boy

2010-08-11T11:20:00.001-06:00

Woofey loves to sit on the front porch and watch the rain fall. Unless it starts to storm--then he hides.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-11T09:09:00.000-06:00

One of the many joys of homeownership...

2010-08-10T11:49:00.001-06:00

It seems there is always something wanting to suck your money away when you own a home. This time, its gutters. The gutters are over 20 years old, they are always clogged with leaves, and have pulled away from the house in places. Time to replace them...

Cats Sleep Anywhere

2010-08-09T11:01:00.000-06:00

I find him sleeping in the oddest places...

Diet Snacks...

2010-08-06T02:59:00.001-06:00

Yeah, this is what I get for a snack. If I ever see another strawberry again, it will be too soon.

Thank you, Facebook!

2010-08-05T14:45:00.002-06:00

Thank you, Facebook. Once again, you have made it possible to re-connect with an old friend. On December 9, 2008, I found my high school friend Julie on Facebook. We messaged each other and got 'caught up' with each others lives. She lives on the west coast, near Seattle, and doesn't come back here to Nashville very often. But she arrived here yesterday for a family wedding this weekend! We made plans to meet for lunch, and had a great time remembering different people, catching up on where they are and what they're doing, and talking about our lives now. It was so great to see her! I hope to go out to Seattle again someday soon, and see her and meet her family.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-04T09:07:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T09:06:00.000-06:00

Dieting sucks!

2010-07-26T19:42:00.000-06:00

And this is all I get to eat for dinner...This diet is no fun!

Red Snapper & Fresh Veggies

2010-07-23T21:31:00.003-06:00

Tonight's meal consisted of Red Snapper, grilled on my counter-top grill, with fresh organic baby spinach, sauteed in Riesling vinegar with salt, pepper, and garlic. Kelly also had asparagus, tomatoes, celery, scallions and cilantro.

Trying to stay cool...

2010-07-22T13:21:00.000-06:00

It's hotter than hell outside, and the cats still prefer to stay out rather than come in. But they are looking for shady places to rest from the heat...

Diet Food

2010-07-21T21:26:00.002-06:00

Kelly has been really great about what we eat while I am on this super-strict diet. He eats close to what I eat, but maybe a little larger portion or a slightly different vegetable. I can't stand asparagus, but he likes it. He also loves cilantro, which tastes like soap to me.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T02:04:00.001-06:00

Acai Berry Tea

2010-07-18T09:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I started a really strict diet three days ago. I've had to give up all my soft drinks and juice. All I can have is water, coffee, and tea--with no sugar. Of course, I hate coffee and tea. But I thought I would try some of the fruit-flavored teas, over ice, with some stevia to sweeten. This is Acai Berry tea. And you know what? It's gross. I still hate tea. Back to plain old water it is.

Butterflies

2010-07-16T11:04:00.000-06:00

We've had a lot of butterflies this summer. Today, there were several clustered together on the Cone Flowers.

More Bugs

2010-07-14T21:01:00.002-06:00

And more bugs on a hot, steamy night. If I went outside to photograph him, my camera lens would fog up!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-14T18:32:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T18:31:00.001-06:00

Bugs

2010-07-06T20:58:00.000-06:00

It's so hot outside that I have resorted to photographing things through my front door, lol.

Homemade Pizza

2010-07-04T20:53:00.000-06:00

Kelly makes the best homemade pizza dough! We topped it with Pizza sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, and fresh basil from the garden. YUM!

Butterflies

2010-07-03T11:51:00.002-06:00

With all the flowers blooming, we have lots of butterflies in our yard. Mostly these dark ones. I don't know anything about butterflies, so I had to do some research to identify it. It appears to be a male Pipevine Swallowtail, based on what I could find on-line to identify it. I love watching them flit and flutter from one flower to another. Ha-ha, I made a rhyme!

Vintage Flowers

2010-07-01T16:34:00.002-06:00

I just got some great new vintage actions and textures from Flora Bella, and had to play with them right away. So I went out to the front garden and photographed some of the flowers. Here's the results--I love them!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T18:11:00.000-06:00

A Quick Trip to Memphis--Day 2

2010-06-26T23:03:00.001-06:00

Today was so suffocatingly hot that we could barely go outside. The humidity was like 90%, and it was about 97 degrees. Plus, we had thunderstorms. Steamy.

But after the storms cleared, I took Kendall and Jax outside to grab a few pictures of them. Just some casual, summer stuff. I processed some of them using Flora Bella's Spring actions.

I also snapped a few photos of the neighbor's spectacular backyard--including my favorite Stargazer Lilies.

I had to head back home right after an early dinner, and right around Jackson, TN, I caught this spectacular sunset--which I shot while holding my camera over my shoulder, driving down the interstate, not even looking to see where it was aimed.

A Quick Trip to Memphis

2010-06-25T21:45:00.003-06:00

I don't get to see my niece and nephew very often, as they live in Florida. So when I learned they would be flying up to Memphis to visit my parents for a few days, I decided to make the drive over and see them.

I planned to arrive shortly after their flight was scheduled to land, so I drove over in the late afternoon. And managed to get caught in a nasty storm for over an hour. But once I got past Jackson, TN, the storm abated, and I arrived in Germantown shortly after 7 PM. Since the my parents were still at the airport picking up the kids, I went to my younger brother's house, and we went out to eat at the Half Shell. It was great to spend some time one-on-one with him. I haven't done that in years!

Just as we were finishing up our meal, my mom called to let us know they were home, so we headed over there. They were eating pizza--which my parents had to pick all the toppings off of first. Everyone knows that little kids don't eat peppers and onions and mushrooms on pizza, right? Well, Kendall's not so little anymore, but she still wants her pizza plain.

We all sat around catching up for a while, and I managed to grab a few shots of my parents' cats--Lucky and Leo--before heading to bed.

Woofey's New Chair

2010-06-24T19:17:00.000-06:00

Oh wait--that's Kelly's new chair! But Woofey thinks it's his. It matches his eyes...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-23T18:09:00.001-06:00

Ewwww!

2010-06-22T14:15:00.002-06:00

I went out to get the mail today, and found this: A dead bat stuck in the hinge of the mailbox. I have no idea how this happened, but it's seriously gross and creeped me out. I left it there for Kelly to deal with!

Yummy

2010-06-21T10:18:00.001-06:00

I made blueberry muffins for breakfast today. Yum!

Somebody wasn't thinking...

2010-06-19T09:20:00.001-06:00

I had to drive up to Ashland City yesterday. It's the county seat, and it's 45 minutes away. All back country roads. I don't like going up there, but I had to go pay for Kelly's court-ordered traffic school.

Ashland City is 45 minutes outside of Nashville, and is a very blue-collar town with a population of about 4,000 people. It's on the Cumberland River, and there are a number of small factories and industrial-type companies located there. Home prices range from $100k to $350k. And that $350k will get you a big ol' house with some land.

Which is why, for the life of me, I can't figure out why someone thought it was a good idea to build these luxury condominiums there! They are priced between $450,000 and $1.2 million. The boat slips in the marina are sold separately. Is it any wonder they are nearly empty, development/construction companies associated with the project are filing bankruptcy, and the marina has about a dozen boats in it's 161 boat slips?

In my opinion, these buildings stick out of the rural/industrial landscape around them like a neon sign flashing "Stupid Tax."

Summer Means Sonic

2010-06-18T15:36:00.000-06:00

It was a great day when our little town opened a Sonic Drive In a few years ago. I love stopping by there in the summer for milkshakes or root beer.

Summer Storms

2010-06-17T21:41:00.001-06:00

Around 10 o'clock this morning, it got as dark as it is at 9 PM. A severe storm rolled through, lasting about 45 minutes. We had another one just like it at around 3PM, and another around 6PM. All with bright sunshine immediately after. It was bizarre!

I took these shots out my bathroom window.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-16T18:08:00.001-06:00

The Batman Building

2010-06-15T21:37:00.000-06:00

Just a grab shot of the Bell South Building (aka the Batman Building) downtown...

What a Lovely Surprise!

2010-06-14T16:20:00.000-06:00

One of the dear girls from the Two Peas in a Bucket Photography forum sent me some great Happy Mail all the way from Hawaii! Elizabeth has an ETSY shop where she sells designer camera strap covers. She sent me this beautiful strap cover as a gift! I just love having so many friends all over the world and being able to stay connected through Facebook and internet forums and message boards!

A Little Western Flair from Thursday...

2010-06-13T17:40:00.001-06:00

Here are a few more from last Thursday. Love the attitude I'm getting in some of these. Of course, she threatened to steal my boots and take them back to Hawaii with her.

A few more from downtown...

2010-06-11T18:46:00.001-06:00

Just a few more from downtown. These were taken at Legislative Plaza.

Our Downtown Session

2010-06-10T18:32:00.002-06:00

So after the field in Kingston Springs, we headed to downtown Nashville. I should have been paying attention to local news, and I would have known they were getting ready for CMA-fest, previously known as Fan Fair. So some of the place we wanted to shoot were either inaccessible because of flood damage, or because of CMA-fest. The Symphony Hall was still barricaded while they tried to dry out all the water damage from a month ago. The Country Music Hall of Fame had a bunch of white tents in front of it for Fan Fair. And there was heavy machinery on the Pedestrian Bridge. We worked around all that as best we could. That and the harsh sun which was still blasting down on us.

How freakin' awesome are these shoes?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-09T18:06:00.001-06:00

Saying goodbye for more than 6 months sucks!

2010-06-08T14:22:00.000-06:00

So the kid left today. She's driving back to Memphis, where she will spend the night and catch a plane tomorrow for Honolulu. She was only here for 8 days--not nearly long enough! It's been six months since her last visit home (Christmas) and we won't see her again until December when we fly out to Hawaii for her college graduation.

Of course, I had to take just a few more photos of her before she drove off...

Her Last Evening at Home...

2010-06-07T22:28:00.002-06:00

Parrish is leaving tomorrow to go back to school in Hawaii, so we had to have another portrait session tonight. We started in Kingston Springs, in an empty field...

I'll share the ones from downtown in a few days.

Project Squirrel Proof

2010-06-06T14:39:00.004-06:00

Well, since our last effort to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeder was an utter--though entertaining--failure, Kelly decided to try something else. He took a piece of steel rod, and filed it to hang the feeder from. It's long enough that the squirrels cannot reach the feeder while still touching the post. It seems we have finally out-smarted the squirrels!

Aleah + Skye

2010-06-05T17:33:00.002-06:00

Here are a few more from Thursday morning. This is Aleah and Skye...

Another Amazing Sunset

2010-06-04T20:19:00.002-06:00

I captured this on the drive home from Nashville this evening. Isn't it glorious?

Vintage Betsy Johnson

2010-06-03T16:34:00.002-06:00

This is Parrish's favorite dress, from Betsy Johnson's Vintage Collection. Betsy is Parrish's favorite designer, and she was absolutely thrilled to find this darling dress in a second-hand store with the original tags still on it. She got it for a steal! We shopped everywhere for the perfect shoes, but couldn't find what we were looking for. We finally gave up and she wore my Kenneth Coles. I made the headband for her.

So this morning, we met up with Rebekah, Aleah, and Skye, and drove down to my favorite neighborhood in Franklin--Westhaven. It was the perfect spot for this session. Unfortunately, it was miserably hot! We lasted about an hour and a half before giving into the heat, and deciding to go to lunch.

Just as we were about to leave, Rebekah discovered the battery in her van was dead! If I had driven my car instead of Parrish driving hers, we would have been fine, as I have two sets of jumper cables in my truck. But Parrish didn't have any. A very kind man coming home from his morning walk knocked on several doors to try and find us a set of cables, but no one who was home had any. We finally drove to Wal-mart in Parrish's car and bought a set. But first we had lunch at Genghis Grill. Love that place! (Ran into Zach while I was there, too.)

Fortunately, Rebekah's van started right up with a little jump from Parrish, and we all headed home to our air conditioning and Photoshop!

Here's the first set of images from this morning...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-02T18:04:00.000-06:00

Porch Kitty

2010-06-01T11:08:00.000-06:00

During these hot summer days, the cats prefer to lounge on the porch rather than inside with the air conditioning. But it's too hot even for them in the sun. Isn't it bizarre the positions cats will sleep in?

Spring Flowers

2010-05-30T14:51:00.001-06:00

The flowers in our yard take little longer to bloom than in most parts of town--I guess because we don't get much sun with all the trees.

More of Anna...

2010-05-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

Woofey & Pete

2010-05-28T15:43:00.002-06:00

While Anne loves to sleep in the swing, Woofey and Pete prefer the sidewalk these days.

Anna Belle

2010-05-27T15:39:00.001-06:00

Anna Belle's favorite spot these days is on the porch swing. She sleeps there pretty much all day. But when she jumps down, the swing bangs into the wall and makes a terrible noise!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-26T18:00:00.000-06:00

Woofey in the Grass

2010-05-23T15:59:00.000-06:00

Love Woofey! He enjoys the grass and the plants. Hiding in them mostly, but sometimes eating them. And then throwing them up either on the porch or in my house.

What Vacations Are All About...

2010-05-20T15:33:00.001-06:00

Kelly's still on vacation, but we didn't actually go anywhere. So I guess it's really a STAYcation, right? Isn't that the new buzzword? But this is what I found when I looked out the front door this afternoon...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-19T17:57:00.001-06:00

Stormy Skyline & Dinner at Miel

2010-05-18T22:46:00.000-06:00

Kelly's on vacation this week, and today we ran some errands and then joined Zach and Suzanne and a few other friends for dinner at Miel to celebrate Suzanne's birthday. Dinner was fantastic! If you are in the Nashville area, looking for a nice restaurant with lots of organic and local foods, try Miel off Charlotte.

We started with the most delightful amuse-bouche--fresh, organic melon topped with mint sprigs. Then we ordered the escargot, with roasted garlic, house-cured ham, and parsley butter. This was followed by the peppercorn encrusted New York Strip steak, Smoked Gouda Au Gratin Potatoes, steamed spring vegetables and fresh tomato butter. This was accompanied by a delightfully fresh wine that had a hint of Green Apples. (Regretfully, I cannot remember what the name of the wine was, and it's not on their published wine list.) For dessert, we had French Press coffee and Creme Brulee. After everyone was finished with their dessert and coffee, our server brought us all a tiny spoon of local, organic clover honey.

We were very impressed with the meal, and the service, and will definitely return.

Crafty and Determined

2010-05-17T14:26:00.000-06:00

These dang squirrels are DETERMINED to get that bird seed. This feeder is supposed to close the openings to the seed when anything heavier than a bird gets on it. Well, the pesky squirrels were hanging on the post and eating out of the feeder. So we put the feeder on a longer rod, thinking they wouldn't be able to reach anymore. WRONG! It's like a circus trapeze act watching these guys. Not that the Cardinal who wanted to eat found it entertaining--he was mad!

Pesky Squirrels!

2010-05-15T15:35:00.001-06:00

They just don't give up. They can't actually climb on the bird feeder because it's spring loaded to close with their weight. So they hang on the post and reach out for the seed!

Just what we don't need...more rain.

2010-05-14T15:44:00.003-06:00

Kelly started his vacation today, and we decided to go run some errands and check out a few places. We started with breakfast at Red Tree, of course. Amy makes these great little egg & ham muffin things. One of the places we went was McKay's on Charlotte. They have the biggest selection of used books, music, movies, and games I have ever seen. Kelly picked up a few CD's and I got a dozen paperback books for less than $50. While I was there, in the Paranormal Romance isle, I talked several women into buying the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and the Dark-Hunter series. I hope they like them as much as I do.

While we were out, another storm came through. Like we needed any more rain around here.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-12T17:56:00.001-06:00

The Aftermath

2010-05-08T23:34:00.000-06:00

One thing I can say about Tennessee--we are the VOLUNTEER STATE! In the wake of catastrophic flooding, volunteers have literally flooded the neighborhoods to help others. The Red Tree Coffee House has been the command center for Kingston Springs and Pegram, and owners/sisters Amy Bruce and Katie Conley spearheaded the organization of volunteers and dispatched them to those in need. (See local news story.) The Methodist church across the street was command center for food, with volunteers making sack lunches for both those who lost their homes, and the volunteers helping with the clean up.

Kelly volunteered to help clear debris and rip out ruined drywall from homes in the Shacklett area, which was particularly hard hit. And is a rather poor area to begin with. I volunteered to help make lunches and deliver them to workers in the Harpeth Meadows and Tanglewood subdivisions. I also spent some time at the Middle School, which has been turned into a Red Cross Relief Center, helping them organize donations of food, water, clothing, tools, and cleaning supplies.

I didn't take any photographs today. There was something about it that would have felt like I was intruding on people's pain and suffering, since I was seeing first hand the damage to people's homes, not just public areas and streets.

There was a big BBQ for all the victims and volunteers at Red Tree tonight, but I had already committed to photographing a graduation party for some young men at Brentwood Academy.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-05T17:55:00.001-06:00

The Thousand Year Flood, Day 4

2010-05-04T15:42:00.002-06:00

It's Tuesday, and we are finally able to get out of our neighborhood, and even into Nashville. Highway 70 is still closed, but I-40 is open. I didn't attempt to go into Nashville because many secondary roads are still closed, and I didn't have a real need. I did drive around Kingston Springs and see the damages here.

I was amazed to find road crews from a private contractor already trying to make Kingston Springs Rd passable in front of the high school.

This is where several homes were completely destroyed after being swept off their foundations by raging flood waters. You can see the huge sheets of asphalt that were torn off the road surface.

There was little left of these train tracks over the Harpeth River. Normally, the river is way below the tracks, and only a few feet deep at this point.

Back in my neighborhood...

This is the bottom of the hill in our neighborhood, which was impassable yesterday.

The Thousand Year Flood, Day 2

2010-05-02T13:17:00.005-06:00

It's Sunday, and the rain is still coming down.

I started watching the weather/news on TV, and checking Facebook updates. The flooding was all over middle Tennessee, and it was serious. Our elementary school was under 5 feet of water, and a teacher who had gone to retrieve things from her classroom had to be rescued from the roof by boat. I-25 southeast of downtown had become a raging river itself. A portable classroom from Lighthouse Christian academy was floating down the interstate until it hit a stranded semi and fell to pieces. The beautiful Opryland Hotel and Convention Center was under 10 feet of water. Interstate 40 both east and west of Kingston Springs was closed because it was under water. Highway 70 was also closed. Kingston Springs was now an island, with no way in or out. We were no longer able to get out of our neighborhood. I see on Facebook that several homes across the street from our Middle School and High School have been swept away, in a river that never existed before. Videos of the homes being forced off their foundations and floating away to later be broken apart into kindling. Families losing everything they own. I read posts on Facebook about people being trapped in their homes waiting for rescue. Or a family that escaped their flooded home but spent days waiting for rescue from their van parked on the ridge above their home. Its all surreal.

A little while later, we lost our internet and cable connections, and cell service became too weak to get a call in or out. Text messages were still going through.

The Thousand Year Flood, Day 1

2010-05-01T16:54:00.001-06:00

When I woke up this morning, Kelly had already left to play golf. I thought he was kind of nuts, since it was raining, but he and his friends played anyway. I was waiting for him to come home so that we could go grocery shopping together. The refrigerator, freezer, and pantry were all but empty since I had been out of town so much and he was working such long hours.

By the time he got home, it was raining harder, but didn't seem too bad. We left via our normal route, only to discover that water was rushing across the street from what was normally a tiny creek. And just beyond that was a downed tree across the road. So we turned around and went the other way, out Bald Eagle instead of Campbell Ridge. At the bottom of the hill, another small creek was at least a foot deep over the road, blocking all traffic. Yikes! But we still had one more route we could try and took Lonesome Pine. While the creeks along the road were high, they were not across the roads. We managed to make it into Bellevue, only to discover the electricity was out in the businesses on Hwy 70 all the way up to the Publix store which was our destination. Fortunately, the Publix had electricity, and we were able to do our shopping. Which was a real blessing, seeing as what transpired over the next few hours and days.

Coming home, we took the Lonesome Pine route again, without issue. We unloaded all the groceries and put them away, then went back out to take some photos of the weather, still not realizing just how desperate the situation would become. The water had receeded back into the creek banks at the bottom of the hill, but had damaged the roadway. Water was still rushing across Whippoorwill near the downed tree. We took some photos and returned home.

I started watching the weather/news on TV, and checking Facebook updates. The flooding was all over middle Tennessee, and it was serious. And it was still raining.

New Mexico

2010-04-30T15:26:00.003-06:00

I recently returned from a trip to New Mexico. I went to do some one-on-one mentoring for another photographer who is just getting her business really up and and running. But in addition to the 2 days of mentoring, we added 6 days of hanging out and having fun. Which for photographers means we logged a lot of hours in her Suburban, foregoing food, sleep, and family in the pursuit of photographs. We covered pretty much all of south-central New Mexico, from El Paso, TX, to Ruidoso, Roswell, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Alamagordo, and White Sands. Like I said, we logged a LOT of miles/hours in her Suburban!

But oh, was it worth it! We found charming little chapels, wild Mustangs, snow-capped mountains, sculpted canyons, beautiful flowers, snowy egrets, windmills, cemeteries, markets, and even managed to attend the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow!

I returned home exhausted and satisfied.

Here are some of my favorite images, and more are on Facebook. Soon, I hope to have the images for sale on my website.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T17:53:00.002-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-14T17:51:00.001-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T17:01:00.001-06:00

Grace

2010-04-01T14:08:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I met Grace and her mom Anne to create Grace's senior portraits. We started with a studio setup to capture the traditional formal drape shot. Then we headed to historic downtown Franklin and the town square for the fun stuff!

Grace is beautiful and outgoing, and not at all shy in front of a camera. We had a wonderful time wandering around and finding little places to shoot. Working with them was a pleasure, and I hope they love these images as much as I loved creating them!

Katherine

2010-03-21T17:17:00.005-06:00

On Friday afternoon, I had the honor of creating Katherine's senior portraits. Working with Katherine and her mom, Linda, was such a pleasure! I also met Katherine's beautiful sister, and their dog, Mr. Darcy. From choosing Katherine's wardrobe & makeup, to finding different locations to shoot, to chatting with Linda and playing with Mr. Darcy, it was just an all-around wonderful afternoon.

Katherine is a beautiful and accomplished young lady, and we wanted to create portraits that showed her true personality. The family enjoys living in an historic downtown area, with lots of little shops and restaurants within walking distance. So today's session highlighted the area in which they live and play. As a painter, Katherine loves color and texture. This historic town has an abundance of both, so we didn't have much trouble finding places to shoot.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T16:59:00.001-06:00

Fire!

2010-03-09T19:56:00.002-06:00

Yes, my neighbor was burning a brush pile tonight. I looked out my window at about dusk to see what appeared to be a forest fire, lol. I had to go outside and make sure it was a controlled burn.

Winter Trees

2010-03-08T16:52:00.003-06:00

It's not spring yet. The trees are still in their bare winter form. But the days are getting warmer, so spring can't be far away.

Asian Tuna

2010-03-07T20:49:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite meals. Again, from the Weight Watcher's Make It In Minutes cookbook. YUM!!!

Remodeling continues...

2010-03-06T16:29:00.001-06:00

Kelly is working on remodeling the 3rd bedroom, which used to be my office, and will now be his. He scraped all that crappy popcorn off the ceilings and installed recessed lighting. It's a HUGE project for such a tiny room.

Sleepy Boy

2010-03-05T16:34:00.000-06:00

Yes, he's a lazy, sleepy boy...

Thai Chicken

2010-03-04T20:27:00.001-06:00

I made Thai Chicken for dinner tonight. It's another recipe from Weight Watcher's Make It In Minutes. One of my favorite cookbooks!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T16:56:00.001-06:00

Woofey & The Squirrels

2010-03-02T16:21:00.004-06:00

Woofey thinks he wants to catch a squirrel. I guess he thinks it would prove what a brave and fierce kitty he is to Anna and Pete. Little does he know those squirrels would rip him apart. I have to protect him from himself. So today, he watched from the safety of the living room sofa as the squirrels feasted from the bird feeder.

And yes, it was snowing again.

It's All Or Nothing...

2010-02-28T23:53:00.003-06:00

Our social calendar seems to be one extreme or the other. Either we have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to see, or we are practically double-booked. Tonight we had dinner with Zach and Suzanne downtown in the Gulch at Sambuca. Just grabbed this shot as we were heading home...

Dinner with old friends...

2010-02-27T23:49:00.002-06:00

We had dinner tonight with an old friend who recently moved back to the Nashville area from Houston. Andrea moved to Texas shortly after getting married about 10 years ago, and we hadn't seen her since. Now she not only has a husband, but three kids.

We spent a pleasant evening catching up, and getting to know her family a bit. This is her youngest son, who wasn't too thrilled at first about me taking his picture. He kept trying to hide his smile, lol!

Woofey

2010-02-26T13:46:00.000-06:00

Household Organizing Projects

2010-02-25T15:42:00.000-06:00

I spent some time today organizing some areas of the house. You know, the things that get messy over time, like the kitchen drawers and cabinets. The weather was cold and dreary, so it was the perfect time to be productive inside.

And More Winter Weather Arrives

2010-02-24T19:37:00.002-06:00

Well, it wasn't much of a break in the snow...it started snowing again today while I was out running errands. I was able to get everything done and get back home before the roads got too bad. Of course, that included a Starbuck's run for Peppermint Hot Chocolate, and the fixin's for yummy tacos tonight.

It's Finally Finished!!!

2010-02-23T14:20:00.002-06:00

After months and months of planning and work and spending money...my new home office and craft room is finished!

After Parrish announced that she was not moving back here after she finished college, we decided that space was too precious around here to waste it on a room that was only used for two weeks at Christmas and a month in the summer. So Parrish's bedroom is now my office.

No matter how much planning went into it, there are still some things that aren't exactly as I would like, but I haven't been able to figure out a better solution at this time--like where my printer and scanner are located. And my craft desk is a bit too small, but nothing any bigger will fit. And I'm not thrilled with the filing drawers--they are made for 12x12 scrapbook paper, not my business files. Also, we plan to replace the ceiling light fixture with a fan now that I have experienced how warm the computer equipment and lights make the room.

But overall, I am very pleased with the results, and I really enjoy spending time in this room!

Yep, you guessed it--more snow.

2010-02-22T13:02:00.000-06:00

I told you I loved snow...

I think the last of the snow for a while...

2010-02-21T13:13:00.002-06:00

The view from my home office on these snowy days...I love it.

More Snow Macros

2010-02-20T13:11:00.001-06:00

Snow Macros

2010-02-19T13:07:00.002-06:00

I decided I would try some macros of the snowflakes. It's much harder than I thought!

A Beautiful and Fun Bride!

2010-02-18T19:20:00.002-06:00

We had a much needed break from the snow for a few days, and during that time I was pleased to help David Wright with a bridal portrait at the Belle Meade Mansion. Julie was great fun, and up for just about anything. Check out the cowboy boots with her wedding gown! Love it!

And Yet More Snow Photos...

2010-02-17T12:58:00.002-06:00

More Snow Photos from Yesterday

2010-02-16T12:52:00.002-06:00

I took so many photos yesterday that I couldn't possibly share them all in one post. So here are a few more.

These are the neighbors' dog. She managed to get through their fence--again.

And More Snow...

2010-02-15T21:43:00.004-06:00

Wow. We've had more snow this winter than we have for the past 8 years combined, I think. Not that I am complaining--I LOVE snow. But it's surprising, to say the least. Snow has become a rare occurrence around here in the past 15 years. So every time it does snow, you can bet I am outside with my camera. I wish I could get photos of areas other than my own immediate neighborhood, but the streets are impassable around here. So if I can't get there on foot, I don't get there.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T16:55:00.000-06:00