I love friends. I especially love friends who make really cool tags. You see, I'm a paper product girl: I love cards (I have a huge box of nothing but cards), I love cute envelopes, I love stationeries, and now I love these tags!

The last time I met Sarah, I think, we where passing each other on a staircase at college...maybe...its been so long since I've actually seen her. And, that is why I'm so thankful for facebook! Thanks to facebook, no matter what crazy different directions life takes us, a friend can still tell me when she is making awesome tags.

{Terrific Teal Tag}

{Happy Hope Tag}

{Polka Dot Party Tag}

Check out her blog at http://piecefuljoy.wordpress.com/

And also see her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/piecefuljoy

Panther Creek

This weekend {August 21st} my family is opening up a shop called Panther Creek! We will be selling all kinds of wonderful items including antiques, home made soaps {thank you Erin!}, and....Puppies!!!

My little Beowulf is a daddy, and his pups are absolutely adorable! Before you think on stopping by and picking up a lil guy for your one bedroom apartment, let me warn you that that they can get up to 150 lbs or more being that their mama is a Great Pyrenees and their papa is an Anatolian Shepherd. But they are supper sweet and will love and protect any human and animal they are raised with.

Here are few of the antiques we will be selling. There will be a whole lot more on the day of the sell.

I LOVE this rocking horse!!! If I had any room in my apartment at all, I would buy that before any of you could come out and see it, haha!

Please come and have a look around; my parents property is a lovely place. I also think Erin is bringing fresh cut flowers , jalapeno sea salt, and some veggies {I'm pretty excited for her soap!}.

Home School Graduation 2010!

My goodness, I have a lot to catch up on! The graduation was all the way back in May! Well, here are some highlights for you :)

I met Mrs. Lunsford, the director of the NThen graduation, through my cousin Ricky last year. She is a marvelously organized women. She takes all these families who have never met, and in a matter of months make their high schoolers friends in a single graduating class. The ceremony itself consists of speaker, song, cake, and student tables where the students can strut their stuff.

This year one of the families, the Meltons, wanted a mini-session right before graduation. Personally, I think this kid could go into modeling. Here's one of my favorites :)

Here is this years graduating class!

Thank you Mrs. Lunsford for all your hard work in putting this together.

Confessions

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted! I would like to say that it was because I was sooo busy that I just couldn't find the time...but I have a confession: truth is I'm a terrible procrastinator. But I am trying to form good habits this summer! I've been running, practicing my guitar (which I'm terrible at), and now I will be blogging.

While I'm at it, I'll get a few other confessions off my chest....

{confession #2}

I spent a year sleeping on am Ikea couch

Last May (that would be May 2009) I brought my cat from my parents house to my new apartment. While I'm sure he was delighted to be re-united with me, he was unhappy with the change in environment. He communicated his displeasure by peeing on my bed. Thus being the poor chick that I am, I waited for this year's income tax return to buy a real bed.

Here is my brand new bed in all it's glory!

{confession#3}

I LOVE to cook! ...but I hate to clean up afterwards.

I cook all my meals, and I'm not too bad at it. I cook Mexican, Asian, American, and even some Mediterranean. Baked, fried or steamed, it doesn't matter. What's not so great is the mess I make...Here's another habit I'm trying to form this summer-cleaning up after myself! Don't get me wrong, I love laundry, and I can straighten a living room like no bodies business. But I hate cleaning the kitchen.

Here's a little mess in the making: 100% oat pancake with sausage

{confession #4}
Video games give me nightmares

Okay, not all! I love Super Mario, Castle Crashers, and Fable II. But make me play Modern Warfare and I'll about have a heart attack! The first time I played Left for Dead with my roommate, I had a zombie nightmare...In fact I've had three since. I've gotten better; that is, in my dreams I can shoot the zombies and find the safe room.

This is more my speed!

{Confession #5}

I LOVE flowers! If only I wouldn't forget to water them.

My rosebush is surviving, but I've about killed my wildflower pots. My Cilantro is long gone. I wish I could blame the Texas heat (and I do), but really a little water here and there would solve the problem.

My surprisingly hardy rose bush

Thanks for reading! Next week, I will post some more senior stuff like I promised.

Waiting

Despite my allergies (which are killing me at the moment), I LOVE spring! I love flowers and fresh green leaves, the warm sun and cool air, leaving my windows open-I could go on :)

Spring is here...That's for sure, but I'm still waiting on my flowers. I see other's have their rose bush blooming, but I'm still waiting for mine. My Cilantro and wild flowers are all sprouted, but when oh when will they finally flower?!

{my dad's puppy, Clyde..He looks like he's waiting too}

{The wild flowers in my pot}

I have one tiny little bud on my rose bush, and I'm so excited! I planted it middle of last month and it has gown so fast...and now I have a rose bud!

{a tiny little bitty rose bud on my rose bush}

I hope I will be able to post some flow pictures soon!

So, I was supposed to post this blog last week, but I was in such a bad mood (from what, I am still pondering) that I just couldn't think of anything good to say. Sorry for the delay. Perhaps it was the cabin fever I got from being stuck inside when it was so lovely out. I do love spring!

Speaking of Spring: I was a very surprised Texan when it snowed on the first day of SPRING! Texas, I appreciate your new attitude to the cold white fluffy stuff, but I think your just confused now.

I said in my last post that I was going to be posting senior sessions for some people who have been calling--so here we go with a sample from another shoot.

Mr. Micheal Hayes! A cow boy at heart. He opted to have his shoot on my dad's ranch which was wonderful for me! And him, of course :).

{chill'en in the hay loft}
My dad's horse, Pecos, loved Micheal...or at least his hat.

I might mention that I was stung by a bee right on the eyelid while taking those last shots, haha! I laugh now, but oh the pain! But after a short break and some ice, I was able to return to the shoot. It was only one swollen eye, the other one still worked ;).

I'm starting to get requests from seniors to take the portraits that they will be sending out to all their grandparents, aunt, uncles, friends... So, I thought I would do a post of the very first session that I did last year, even though it was actually a model shoot... But I figure that many seniors would prefer to look like models anyway, right ;).

This shoot was really fun! I had never met Elise before, but she was a natural. I would just stick her somewhere and she knew what to do. I have since stolen a few ideas.
She was so easy going; she let me take a few artsy shots for fun.

If you know anyone who needs some portraits to send out (whatever the occasion), just let me know!

Just Fun on a Muddy Day!

I love my little sisters. They are gifts from God to me...really! I asked for them when my mom found out she was having twins. I already had two brother, so I begged for at least one sister. He gave me two.

When the weather is nice on my Sunday visits to home, me and my sisters go on a walk out on the acres. This particular day was sunny...but very muddy. Jessica was stuck in the mud, and Jennifer came to try to help her. I stood back and took pictures, haha!

They are so different now. You can hardly tell that they are twins. But they stick together lick glue.

I am a film grad from UNT. Coming from there I had some interaction with the wonderful Texas Filmmakers' association who holds the ThinLine International Film Fest every year in Denton. This fest is a great opportunity for brand new filmmakers to show what they got and to bring in some great but rare work from people all over! The films are excellent.

For the past couple of years, I have been a volunteer photographer for their event :). It is such a great opportunity to meet fellow filmmakers, see some good films, and just get some fun shots!

{One of the theatres screening films}

{People coming in for the closing ceremony}
{Mr. DJ}
{the growing crowd right before the winning filmmakers where announced}

I can't believe I am blogging about snow again! I could understand ice maybe, but I have never seen so much snow in Texas in my life time. I love it! Me and some buddies made snow angel, snow men, and got into snow ball fights. All that and we never looked down realizing that we had run out of snow as a normal Texas snow fall would have. Instead it just kept falling and stacking up higher.

Day two of snow, I gave the snow a photoshoot early that morning. I can't get over the natural beauty of snow. It turns any mediocre landscape into a piece of art work. I only could wish that it had survived all of day three.

{The view from my window}

{on the way to the mail box}



{A puppy playing in the snow at the dog park}

{walking through the neighborhood}

Here's Travis again! My big little brother...Once upon a time, I was taller than he was...and thinner. But now he is a giant and super fit! It must be all that ranch work he does with my dad. Something about hard work, sun , and good food really made him grow.

He actually asked me to bring my camera this time. I'm glad he has resigned himself to the fact that he makes a good model, haha.

We where still fighting the time a little because he had to run and help someone with their weed eater...Neighbors :p. But at least I had enough time to get a bunch of close ups and a few standing (about 10 min worth). Here's a few of my favorites from Sunday.

I love taking pictures of my family. While waiting for Travis I got some really cute candid shots of my little sisters. I get those edited and posted soon.

Sadly, I completely forgot my camera Sunday when I went to visit my family...So, here are a few other photographs that I had saved from this past year! I love the pictures of these two girlies! North and South are posing for me as they guard my dad's sheep. They are the only dogs that actually stay and guard the sheep, and my dad had been trying with different dogs for years. The last dog that we spent days and hours training ended up a porch dog with the nickname Sausage (since he is now as fat as a sausage link).

This is dear Cheyenne after winter finally set in and killed most the greenery. I think the brown of Texas winter is ugly, but here it highlights Cheyenne's beautiful white. This is my favorite picture of her.

I go to my parent's house most Sunday's to hang out with the family...and sometimes take pictures. Last Sunday, me and my brother ran out into my dad's pasture for pictures, but were a little too late to catch the sunlight. I took a few pictures of him anyway. He's always a good sport.

All I had was the flash, but I think they turned out pretty good. I'm going to plan a little better for this Sunday (aka tomorrow) and get a few more.

Back on Christmas Morning

I know I'm about three weeks late, but Texas had snow for Christmas! I was so excited that I made everyone wait to open presents while I took a few pictures. I have been asking God for snow on Christmas since I was six. I guess you can blame me for the climate change.

My sister, Jessica, and my sweet little puppy, Beowulf, came out to convince me that the snow shoot was over and it was time for presents. I snuck a shot of them instead.

I actually hate the cold, but, if it snowed whenever it was cold, I might change my mind.