30 day photo challenge: days 8-11

day 8: bad habit. i have this irresistible urge to buy cute stationery---that never gets used---but not because i don't have good intentions. i used to pride myself in the fact that i was quite prompt about writing thank you notes and using my free-time to drop someone a note to make them smile. but, now that i'm a busy mom all my 'thank yous' are done verbally by phone or through a quick email message. but, i still feel the pull towards wanting to sit down and write notes. as you can see, i've collection quite the stash of blank note cards....most of them found in packs of 8 or 10 for $1. so while it isn't a huge investment, it's still, at this point, wasted money. i just recently sat down and wrote 13 different staff members at the elementary school personalized thank you notes for various ways they've impacted my daughters life and i can say that the thrill of using kind words and a small amount of time is something that never gets old. happy mail, kind words and thankfulness are things that people remember for years to come. i hope next month i can say that it's no longer a bad habit.....as i hope to dig into this stash and spread more happy. :)

day 9: someone you love. her and i go round and round. and i'm certain that all my grey hairs are from her alone, LOL. BUT, i love her. i love her quirky personality. i love her stinky morning breath. i love her sensitive heart. i love her ability to make friends easily. i love watching her exercise her creativity. i love that tiny little freckle on her chin. i love seeing glimpses of me in her. i love seeing her stretch her confidence. i love that i'm her safe place to fall. i just love her. and, well, this picture kinda tells you how she feels about me most of the time. LOL.

day 10: childhood memory. as a child i remember sitting down with a quart-sized jar of grandma's home-canned dill pickles and being able to polish them off in one sitting. i loooooooooove dill pickles. my dad introduced me to this concoction and it quickly replaced PB&J and became a staple in my childhood diet. not quite sure who turned him onto it. i'll have to ask him. i assure you that it's not as disgusting as you might think. so, don't knock it until you try it my friends. it's quite delicious.


day 11: something blue. i had a single globe in my possession---given to me by my grandma. but now have two since i picked this one up for $1 while at a garage sale last weekend. globes make me ridiculously happy--i think it's the colors on them. i'm collecting various sizes to display together as a decorative item on top of a shelf, kind like shown in this photo: BHG Globes.

catching up: day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5 and day 6.....

oh my. oh my. oh my. i feel like someone has put me on a tilt-a-whirl and forgot to get me off. life is speeding by at lightening speed. i have so many things to blog about that i might just need to have a 24-hour blog marathon to purge all these thoughts from my noggin. in the meantime, i'll start with catching up on posting photos from the 30 day photo challenge. it's not too late to join me. :)

if you're playing along be sure to leave me a link in the comment section so i can see all your photos too.

here we go........

day 2: my outfit. always lots of layers, always a funky combination with some sort of thrifted piece, more often than not a flower in my hair, glasses always on, make up optional. :) but i really wish you could see my gray & white zebra striped socked and brown mary janes too.



day 3: clouds. i'm really trying not to get hung up on all my photos for this challenge being just...so. trying to break free from that everything has to be perfect or i don't want to participate mentality. i've been lugging my big camera around for the past week at school functions and today decided that the camera phone will work just as well. it's a gorgeous way to end the week when you look up through your sunroof and see blue skies after what felt like a season of never-ending rain. got a little artsy with the post-processing that was all done using picnik.com----love that program.

day 4: something green. one of only two live plants that live inside my home.....but i'm hoping to change that soon with the addition of a fairy garden and some potted succulents. anywho. this is the only long-lasting green that i have from my mom's funeral. it sits in my kitchen reminding me of her every single day. such a happy reminder, don'tch think? i wish i had thought to take her hens and chicks from the front stoop of her house before they were just given to the neighbor. she was always super proud of those things.

day 5: from a high angle. ahhhh, Don Pablos. this used to be a common site on a weekly basis for our family. wednesday family date night for fajitas. yummo. unfortunately the one near us went out of business. so, yep, we're the crazy people that drive 78 miles one way just to eat at our favorite restuarant because that's the closest one now. usually it's such a pleasant experience, but last night was horrible. from the time we were seated until we got our food was over an hour and we were there at total of 2 1/2 hours. the food was mediocre, cooks were walking out, and the manager was giving everyone 50% off their bill and free dessert. somehow, we got the blessing of our entire meal being free. wonder how long it will be before we're brave enough to go back? or maybe i just need to start a petition to bring Don Pablos back to Columbus. think it will work?


day 6: from a low angle. spidergirl looooooves popcicles. has since she was much smaller. after having adenoids out once and tonsils and an adenoid revision, this girl has eaten thousands of popcicles, slushes, and icees. and let me tell you, she knows what she likes and doesn't like when it comes to the frozen treats. while out playing, she heard the icecream man from a distance and was determined to sit outside, patiently waiting by the curb until he came to our neighborhood. daddy made sure she was comfortable by bringing her a chair and spiderman umbrella (of course). so, there she sat with her new puppy purse tucked under her arm, that was stuffed with collected change from every nook and cranny she could think of, patiently waiting for the beat up white van splashed with colorful pictures and alluring music to turn down our street so she could buy herself some icecream. he never came. but she was alright with that. she's ready for the next time though.

30 day photo challenge....

so, i abandoned the last photo challenge i posted a few weeks ago when my schedule got insanely busy.

but my super sweet friend Sherry and i agreed that we'd both start a similar, but slightly different challenge June 1.....yesterday. so ideally, i should have posted this list yesterday for any of you who want to play along. but that's just like for me lately.....a day late and lots of dollars short.

it's cool though, if you'd like to play along, just take two pics today and then you'll be all caught up. heeee.


so here's the list we're working from, originally seen here. if you click over there you can see the list much larger. :)

i'm hoping to gather lots of happy snaps throughout the month.

day 1....self-portrait.

supposed to be a self-portrait, but this is as much of a self-portrait as i could get yesterday.

it pretty much represents real-life for me. sportin' nerd glasses (because ashlyn thought i should), hair up in a ponytail, bangs clipped back with bobby pins, and no makeup on.

whenever the camera is out she gets all silly and turns into a gigglebox that can't keep a straight face if she wanted too. and yeah, she's pretty much been attached to my hip since the day she was born and doesn't stray far from me when no one else is around. so a picture without her in it in some way or another was next to impossible.

i mean the kid would step back out of the frame and as soon as i snapped the picture she was right there again----trying hard not to crack a smile or bust a gut laughing. at one point she even had her tongue out trying to lick my ear. ewwwwwwwwwww.

so yeah. day 1......i'm doing good. :)