Captured by Winter

yesterday i woke up, showered, put makeup on, fixed hair, dressed for work, and was ready to head out the door when i decided to call and see if i even needed to come in...turns out i didn't really. it's a good thing too because it snowed the entire day, and had i gone to work, i might have had some trouble getting home! i was grateful for the snow day! it was especially nice spending the day with my grandma. we drank our coffee and watched the snow fall while we talked about how the earth has shifted and moved over the last thousands of years...it was an interesting conversation i tell ya! :) the day before i bought her the susan boyle cd (the lady who shocked audiences in britain's got talent with her performance of i dreamed a dream). we listened to that and got teary eyed with her rendition of how great thou art...she sang beautifully and it just filled me up with so much passion and emotion. i'll have to share more about my passion for music in another post...it's kind of a big deal! then i bundled up and wrapped my camera up to venture outside for some photography! * click on the images to see them larger...it's better! *



i'm being cheesey with my wrapping techniques...the one below would have worked better but i was finished shooting by the time i decided on this wrapping. oh well! my hair and makeup that were all fixed up for work were quickly destroyed by winter's forces...i basically melted. it was all in the name of photography though so no biggie! here are some favorites! * click to enlarge *







this one was my very favorite i think!





playing with daisies in the snow!







so after getting soaking wet and completely numb, i came inside. grandma made grilled cheese sandwiches for us...it was lovely...the pickles and olives were my favorite parts though! yummy!



later that evening i made oatmeal cookies and chai tea...it really was a lovely wintery day! today we just couldn't imagine staying in the entire day so we ventured out in to the winter wonderland for some burgers at goldies. yummy again! the roads really aren't too terrible unless you're an idiot driver...most people are unfortunately:( i've got the bed of my truck weighed down with about 550 pounds of sand, salt, and pallets...that's helpful!

well i just wanted to share my winter adventures! later i am going to write more about the power of music in my life...that's something that has been on my mind for some time. tonight we are celebrating my brother's upcoming 25th birthday...that is if people don't wimp out because of the weather. i totally rock on the roads no matter what!

Going Away

amy has been one of my best friends for 14 years...since she moved here second semester of 7th grade. we met in choir. she moved here from california, and in my 13 year old eyes she was the very image of a california girl! oklahoma grew on her, and we became like sisters and over the years we faced challenges and difficulties. we've had a million laughs and a few tears...there have been good times and bad times. she and her husband are moving back to california where they will have new jobs, new experiences, and someday some babies! last night was their going away party, and it was so odd! i felt so possessive of her...i wanted to grab her and announce that she was my friend first! i've known her the longest and we've been through the most! so back off people...this is MY sisterfriend! but that wouldn't have been very nice and it's important to share friends:) i plan on visiting them in california as often as i can anyway. so i grabbed our friends bryan and michelle...friends who have practically been there since the beginning as well...and we got some pictures of the original crew. i just wanted to share:)

amy, me, bryan, and michelle

just us girls

and finally just us: amy and amy; amy #1 and amy #2; big amy and little amy; double A's; amy squared; amy times two...the amys.

My Little Space

i mostly don't have any problems living with my grandma. the only challenge is going from having my own kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, office, and bedroom...to simply having my own room. my style is very eclectic so spreading it out through a whole apartment isn't so overwhelming. trying to cram as much of it as i can into a little bedroom probably doesn't look so...umm...attractive? but i still like it...it's me...everything is of value to me so i simply cannot part with anything! (click on photos to see bigger)

here you can see my love of scarves and such. the light blue one is from amy...she brought it back from her trip to italy. the yellow one with pink and orange showing is from michelle...she brought it back from a recent cruise. there's also my guitar which i got for my 13th birthday but have never practiced long enough to be really good at it. on the very edge is my easel...currently holding my photography books.




these books are wonderful! there's even a little ireland book hanging out with them...all very inspiring! close up on the mesh of scarves (yes i know they clash) also gives a glimpse of the small pink one...from the breast cancer awareness walk three years ago, and the green one from my trip to boston back in 2003. see? sentimental.



here's a little glimpse at my desk. goofy pic of my sister and me from years ago...we are very weird when you put us together for too long...seriously don't know any sisters like us! you can also see a giant conch shell my friend chris gave me years ago...he said it was very special to him so i've always felt special that he gave it to me. there's also a little sea turtle paper weight michelle got me on another one of her trips. hopefully, you can also see the little frame holding a photo of bryan, amy, and me in a three person tower in the swimming pool. i was tiny back then and could thus be at the very top...good times :) i just thought i'd throw in another pic of my necklaces and bracelets...just 'cause they're lovely!

my room is my little retreat...my only little bubble of independence besides my truck. maybe i'll get bean bags for when girlfriends come over...then we can pretend to be 10 or more years younger...except with wine :)

i'll end with a photo. it's a glossy 4x6 taped to my computer. it's my mama...she's twenty in this photo and i'm probably around 8 months or so. the picture is probably my favorite part of my little room.

Updates

tommy doesn't like the idea of me putting so much personal information involving him in my blog so i'll avoid major details. to summarize: we moved out from the apartment we were sharing and are trying to be friends. the transition was literally the hardest thing i've had to do in my life thus far. the tears and heartache were shattering. the best decisions shouldn't be so hard, but unfortunately often times they are. sucks. i felt like i was a black hole...emotions whirled around and settled down inside me and were then cast out in to an abyss. probably the worst depression i have ever felt! but i got a really cool picture out of it. i used oil pastels on regular sketch paper. this is me in my puffy faced endless tears distress while composing this expression of feeling like a black hole:




so my hands get dirty any time i do any kind of art project. it never fails! but i like it. makes me feel closer to what i've put all my energy and thoughts in to. i probably looked worse at various times throughout this process, but snot and scary black rivers on my face probably would have been an over share! here's the best pic i could get of the final product. also, took a pic of the crappy poem i wrote that somewhat inspired it.



i've gotten through the worst of it i think. i still get teary eyed looking through photos or ticket stubs and souvenirs...but it doesn't hurt so much. i also think that tommy and i are going to be able to stay friends...i really hope so anyway!

moved in with my grandma, and no i am not ashamed of being a 27 year old woman living with my grandma. in fact, this time i have with her will be something i'll cherish for the rest of my life. we are so much alike! stubborn and strong willed! we won't ask for help unless it's a last resort. we'll drive ourselves to the hospital even if we feel like we're dying (true story). we'll order pick up at our favorite mexican restaurant so we don't have to pay the extra price to split a plate dining in.



she's kind of a big deal! and she's an artist too! i'll have to take some photos of her paintings and share. i'll also be sharing more of my art as well. i totally fail at computer business and proper terminology but i plan on figuring out a way to create a navigational bar of some sort with links to the various parts of this blog i want to expand on. i'd like to have an art section, photography section, a video section (i'll share more about my ideas for this later), random memories section, and of course just the daily blog type of sharing. i think it could be fun! oh yeah and a travel section!

there's a bit of my plans for this blog. any suggestions on tutorials for web design type of stuff would be appreciated! and moving on...

i'm feeling sick. there's been this head cold, stopped up nose, drainage down the back of my throat, overall nastiness feeling going on for a little over a week. i thought it was getting better with my vitamin C defense, but it's making an appearance again. so my brain is getting fuzzy now...that would be the point of me sharing this. i was going to write more, but the snot and mucus seem to be distracting my cells and brain waves. yay. bye for now!

2010

2010 = catching people up who read this blog, redesigning this blog to summarize new life, and blogging more.

2010 also = getting healthy, being a better friend, daughter, grand daughter, sister, niece, cousin, and aunt, releasing everything inside me that has been dormant, and taking control of my life.

2010 started very badly. i thought someone i love was dead. he's not. he's okay. but oh my gosh the despair was....beyond words. make sure all those who are loved know that they are loved. give big hugs and loud smacking kisses!

i'll be back with much much more to say!