Nature.....it blows my mind

Been snapping up some flower and dewdrop shots lately. I just can't get enough of the beautiful weather. Everywhere I look, I am reminded of how very lucky I am to live on such a beautiful planet. I need to focus on the bits of color....the sparkle and shine.....and the fabulous light more often.

My week 85

Oh my word! I just realized that I've been taking a photo EVERY.SINGLE.DAY for over 960 days now. WOWZA! That is is a lot.

May 14th blessed my heart with stunning weather. It held on so that we might enjoy it after school and work. I LOVE THAT! We are really appreciating the flowers growing in our flower pots on the deck. Feels so very wonderful. Sugar loves to water them.

May 15th was a YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO day, because my new computer finally arrived. woo hoo! I took a quick snap of my desktop. So great to be back in action again.

May 16th found me in the middle of an extremely stressful week at work......which only serves to shove me whole hearted into the simple, relaxing things at home.  I'll admit that I wanted to eat an entire pie when I got home that night, but I didn't.  I crawled in bed with my little love, and we read some "Little House in the Big Woods" together.  I'm thrilled to be starting this series with my girl.  I adored it as a child.  ♥

May 17th started with worry and stress, but ended with PURE JOY.  The light definitely shined on in, and lifted the back breaking weight off my shoulders.  I was more than happy to play around in our yard when we got home from our long day.  It was perfect. 

May 18th might have been the perfect day.  I took some vacation hours in the morning, then joined my co-workers at a nearby lake for a picnic, sailing, and sun.  I didn't not sail, as I had to run back to get my Sugar Bear from school, but I did have a fabulous day.  I shared more pictures of this day HERE.

May 19th  was a relaxing Saturday. We had the opportunity to spend the entire afternoon with some great friends at their new home.  It was so wonderful to be with them.  The girls played so wonderfully that we didn't once have to worry about them.  So great to just chit chat and get reacquainted. 

May 20th started with Sugar Bear waking from a dream of our late Daisy dog.  She wanted to hike up the hill behind our house to visit her grave.  We hadn't been up there in a year.  I was quite a walk, as the blackberries and such have really grown. We battled out way through, and found a beautiful fern growing right on Daisy's grave.  Definitely a well spend morning.  :) 

Freedom

“Now that she had nothing to lose, she was free.” ― Paulo Coelho

I've had a weight on my shoulders for quite nearly 9 months, and it has been holding me hostage. I can't really share exactly the circumstances, but I can say that it doesn't reside in my home.  Sadly, this stresser has affected every fiber of my being, and I have struggled to remain the person I want to be. Under the constant pressure, I have deviated from things that fundamentally make up who I am. It has been quite unbearable.

  Recently, I was set free of this burden. I didn't clearly predict how sweet the relief would be. A day later, Sugar Bear and I found ourselves with an opportunity to soak up some sun at a local lake. While I sat and watched my little heart play, it quite felt like I was watching an animated version of my life being set free of this chronic stress I have been under.

I noticed there was pure JOY in my heart.

And an absence of FEAR.

I could feel the deadly grip it had on me loosen....

and LET GO!

At that moment I was FREE! and I knew it.....embraced it.......went with it...

and haven't landed yet! 

LIFE IS GOOD!

Solar Eclipse and 52 Weeks of ME 2012~ Week 21

There are certainly times when I'm not ashamed to admit that I am pretty disconnected from the world. I don't listen not watch the news. I'm not kidding. I catch the tiniest bit of news a few times a month. Unless it is BIG news and someone brings it to my attention.....I'm blissfully unaware.

Some might say that this is irresponsible, or that it makes me less intelligent, but I know what's right for me, and staying disconnected with the world stuff.....actually serves to keep me connect to the important stuff. I'm often too entirely sensitive. Watching the horrible things that happened around the world each and every day makes me a mess. I choose to let it go on around me while I simply live in my little world. I've got plenty of things to deal with in my own little corner. This doesn't mean, that I don't care....it just means, I don't allow myself to dwell.

  So.....I'm not surprised that I was caught unawares of the latest solar eclipse. It it hadn't been for facebook, Sugar Bear and I would have missed it. Not 5 minutes after reading a status update of a friend, you would have found me outside looking like this:

The theme/prompt for the week was:  UP

I'm definitely looking up!

Thanks to a husband that welds, Sugar Bear and I had the perfect eclipse watching gear.

It took me a bit of talking to get Sugar Bear interested in the eclipse. She didn't really grasp that these sorts of things don't actually happen all the time. Once that sunk in, she was good to go.

We passed the helmet back and forth, and snapped a few photos. It was cloudy, and somehow we missed the perfect ring of fire, but It was amazing none the less.

I'm glad that for a little while....on a special Sunday, I wasn't entirely disconnected from the rest of the world. I was just one of many....gazing up into the sky to watch the moon glide between us and the sun. AMAZING!

My Week 84

May 7th was......ummmmmm....Monday! ack.....It is bad that my computer was down, and I am unable to remember anything awesome about this day. It appears that the sky was gray. I remember taking this photo as I walked from my truck to the house when I got home from work. I also remember that we had prepared a "show and share" presentation for Sugar about Rhododendrons. Did you know that honey made from the nectar of a Rhododendrons can be toxic and make people sick? Interesting, yes? (oh yes...now I remember.) I had tons of energy, so I mowed the lawn AND washed my truck after work. That sort of thing NEVER happens.

May 8th was a busy, busy, busy day. I grabbed a quick snap of Sugar Bear and I reflected on our newly clean truck. I am horrible about washing my truck. It had been 6 months.

May 9th Sugar Bear and I were surprised to find that The Hubby had made a temporary home for our baby quail. He worked so hard to make it safe for them. He even buried the wire so animals could dig through to get them. It ain't pretty....but it worked.

May 10th we were honored to attend an open house for a couple wonderful photographer friends. They had a great photo exhibit at one of our local libraries. It looked GREAT! We were so proud of our girls. :)

May 11th was THE.BEST.DAY.EVER!   Okay....so maybe not the best day, but it was fantabulous.  ♥ There was a Mother's Day Tea in the First Grade Class, and it blessed my heart a thousand times over.  Sugar Bear makes everything better.  EVERYTHING!  I am the luckiest mama in the world.  I had to use flash to get the shot, as the lights were off in the class.  We had candlelight tea.  :)  After the tea, we joined a mama/daughter set of friends to go see "Chimpanzee" in the theatre.  ♥  Perfect for Mother's Day weekend.

May 12th...wellll....I can't remember exactly what we did, but I do remember spending a good deal of time outside. Sugar has been playing outside so very much these days. It's the way it should be. :)

May 13th was HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! ♥ ♥ ♥ WE spent the majority of the morning outside loving on nature, and then we went to a local student production of "Hansel and Gretel". After....a mama/daughter dinner out. It couldn't have been better. Sugar presented me with a darling Elephant (piggy) bank she painted just for me. She knows I love elephants. I've got a good kid. Yes I do. ♥

My Week 83

April 30th was a rainy....icky Monday.  I had like ZERO motivation, so  I just grabbed a shot of raindrops on a spider web on my deck.  We have like 62345157 spiders around our place.  I am so used to all the webs, I hardly even notice them anymore.  The rain did make them more interesting.

May 1st lifted my heart.  The sun came out, and brought the Spring joy with it.  I don't think anything special happened for Sugar Bear or myself, but the sun was enough.

May 2nd I helped out at a Car Seat Clinic.  WE didn't have many folks stop by to have their carseat checks.  It is my 10 year experience that most people assume they are transporting their children correctly, and about 95% of them are wrong.  There is quite nearly ALWAYS something they could do differently to make their children safer in the vehicle.  So after wrappin that up, I treated myself to one of my favorite sandwiches EVER.  I adore the Scarlett Turkey.  yum...yum...yum!

May 3rd  was a normal old Thursday.  It was a treat to come home to find the jump rope I ordered for the Sugar had arrived in the mail.  She set to jumpin'!  The photos crack me up.  So many faces.  :)

May 4th was a FAB Friday!  A wonderfully thoughtful friend spent some time with Sugar Bear at the local pottery place, so that she could paint something for me for Mother's day.  Sugar was doubly excited because it meant spending time with her friend that she doesn't see often enough since changing schools this year.  While Sugar Bear painted pottery, I wandered around downtown with some friends celebrating their birthdays.  It was perfect.  ♥  I love this shot I got of Sugar and her friend goofing around.  Life is good.

May 5th was a quite perfect day at home.  We hadn't had a chance to plant flowers for our deck yet this season.  I'm so glad we finally did it.  It is such a treasured tradition for me and my girl.  Our deck is looking so much more summery.  We love it.

May 6th brought us to a really fantastic birthday party for a first grade friend.  It was a traditional tea party.  What a great experience it was for my girl.  She was the pickiest eater present.  I think it was good for her to see all the other kiddos diving in to try new things.  She was the only one that doesn't like tea.  I can't blame her.  I don't drink the stuff either. 

My Week 82

April 23rd was a normal Monday. Sugar was OVER the top excited to show me the pot holder she finished up knitting at school. It is her first complete project. She is so very proud. It was an EARLY Mother's Day gift. My favorite color as well.

April 24th I left work early to give some newborn photography a go. This little punkin gave me a run for my money. He absolutely WOULD.NOT.SLEEP. Newborns make 83 bazzilion faces when they are awake, and their little limbs never stop moving. WOW what a challenge. I did adore this little yawn though. So cute.

April 25th was yet another typical Wednesday. Sugar Bear hangs out at a friend's house on Wednesday afternoons. She loves it. She surprised me with the amazing chalkboard drawing when I stopped to pick her up. I love, love, love it.

April 26th found me ready to give the newborn little honey another try. We ramped up the heat, and mama nursed him like crazy, and we finally got him to sleep. Sigh......so much easier. whew.....

April 27th was a friday. And.....I played with baby bunnies when I got home from work. And that's all I remember. It's been toooooooo long.

April 28th was a stunning day. The Hubby, Ivy dog, Sugar Bear and I went for a hike along the coast. It was perfect. I love days like that.

April 29th was another birthday party. April was the month of kid birthday parties for sure. We had one every single weekend, and sometimes two. This was a pool party, and the kids LOVED it. Sugar hadn't been in the water since summer, so she was super duper excited. I nabbed lots of shots but this one of a friend's little brother caught my eye. He is over the top adorable. ♥