a year of happy

family outtakes

2010-03-16T07:36:10-06:00

I have no words.
Care to give it a try?

noses

2010-03-15T06:36:36-06:00

There's a story behind everything.

I always wonder
about the story behind photos--
especially old family photos.

Last week,
I showed you this photo.
But I didn't tell you the story.

These two lovely ladies
are my great-aunt,
Ethel Naomi Heninger,
and my grandmother,
Hazel Heninger.

I think this photo
is so pretty
of the two of them.

But Ethel didn't think so.

Whenever she saw
this photograph,
she would turn it face down,
then she would sniff
and say, "Noses."

Do you have
old family photographs
with a story
just waiting to be told?

sunday gratitude

2010-03-14T00:44:00-07:00

This early Sunday morning,
I'm feeling grateful.

Grateful for:

yesterday's snow, which gives us another week before we have to prune our apple trees. (I knew there was a reason I could be glad for snow in March!)
.
opportunities to start fresh.
.
friends--new and old.
.
my sweet little grandson's smile.
.
Sunday worship, a time to sing and learn and feel spiritually refreshed.
.
a teenage son who still likes his mom.
.
the ability to learn new things.
.
the strength to do hard things.
.
strong feet that carry me wherever I need to go.
.

What are you grateful for
this beautiful March morning?

the three 3's that inspire me

2010-03-13T00:37:00-07:00

On her blog yesterday,
my cute cousin posted
her favorite things in threes--
and she invited her readers
to do the same.

Her favorites inspired me....
and so I'm doing it!

These are the three 3's
that lift me up,
encourage me,
and motivate me
to keep going.

Songs

Come to Jesus by Kenneth Cope

Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band

Viva la Vida by Coldplay (sung by these kids)

Places

Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/vxla/ / CC BY 2.0

The Salt Lake LDS Temple

The Ocean

Books

The Greatest Salesman in the World

The Book of Mormon

A Heart Like His

What are the three things
that motivate and inspire you?

life is beautiful

2010-03-12T00:28:00-07:00

these words are an excerpt from
Richard G. Scott's "Finding Joy in Life"

Do you take time
to discover each day
how beautiful
your life can be?

How long has it been
since you watched the sun set?

The departing rays
kissing the clouds,
trees, hills, and lowlands
good night,
sometimes tranquilly,
sometimes with exuberant bursts
of color and form.

What of the wonder of a
cloudless night
when the Lord
unveils the marvels
of His heavens—
the twinkling stars,
the moonlight rays—
to ignite our imagination
with His greatness and glory?

You are one of the noblest
of God’s creations.

His intent is that
your life
be gloriously beautiful
regardless
of your circumstances.

.Sun

Sunflower photo courtesy of
Perception Photography.

playing with water for team up thursday

2010-03-11T09:51:05-07:00

UPDATE:

This week I've joined up
with a Flickr photography group
called Team Up Thursday.

Every Thursday,
members of this group
post a photo based on a theme.

Here's what's fun about it.
Everybody is teamed up
with somebody else,
and the two of them
pair their photos together
and then post them in a diptych.

This is my first week
and my partner is
Arizaphale from Australia.

Arizaphale blogs at
"Now Where Did I Put
My Flaming Sword?"
Her blog is so much fun--
she makes me laugh
every time I read it.

Arizaphale in Australia
is 17 hours ahead of me
over here in Utah.
So my Thursday
is basically her Friday.
And when she's awake,
I'm asleep....it could
get really confusing!

This week our theme is Water.

And here's our Water Diptych:

Click on it to see it full size.

You can see all of the group's photos
on the Team Up Thursday Flickr page.
And if you'd like to join in the fun,
it's not too late.
Visit Megan at Mental Inventory
and she'll get you set up!

___________________________________

At first,
I couldn't think of a good way
to photograph water.

I took this shot.

It was fine, but boring.
I wanted to try to see
water in a different way.

So I put food coloring in it.

It still wasn't quite
what I was looking for.

So I thought I might
play it safe and I
started hunting
through my archives.

I found photos
from our vacation at Bear Lake,

and camping trips to the Uintahs,

and a trip to the Northwest.

They all have water.

Then "J" came over --
and told me,
"You've got to take a new photo.
You can do it!"

So we started brainstorming.

And we had so much fun
finding beautiful ways
to see water through a camera lens.

Thanks for your help "J"!
I'm learning so much
about photography from you!

remembering 1979

2010-03-10T00:07:00-07:00

Today I sat down
and listened to some music
with my 17 year old son
who will graduate
from high school
in a couple of months.

We listened to his IPod
and he played the guitar
along with some of his favorite bands.

Believe me,
I really enjoyed the moment.
Times like that
with a teenager can be rare!

It also made me think about
what life was like
the year I graduated from high school.
That was way back in 1979.

So for today's Wednesday list,
I'm going to tell you
some of the things I was doing
the year I graduated from high school.

List 4: What I was doing in 1979

I was listening to the BeeGees on my Walkman cassette tape player.
.
I was cheering at basketball games in my red quilted corduroy jumper with the pep band playing Hawaii 5-0 and Sweet Caroline.
.
I was reading "Gone with the Wind" for the seventh time.
.
I was singing along with The Commodores to "Three Times a Lady."
.
I was so excited that we got a microwave.
.
I was also excited that our town got its first McDonald's.
.
I was wearing cowl neck sweaters, Saddleback jeans, mood rings, Gunne Sax dresses, Love's Lemon Fresh perfume, and a battery-powered t-shirt that lit up and said "Boogie".
.
I was exercising in a pair of long rubber pants that promised to make you sweat off ALL the extra weight!
.
I was watching Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and Dallas.
.
I put smiley face stickers on everything.
..
I was sleeping on a waterbed.
.
My best friend and I were trying to raise sea monkeys.
..
And...I was making sure my hair was puffy enough, had enough hairspray, and was exactly the same on both sides.

...

What were you doing
the year you graduated
from high school?

what google analytics tells me about my blog

2010-03-09T00:30:00-07:00

Have you ever used
Google Analytics?

It's a tool that can tell you
a lot of things about
your website or blog.

It shows all sorts of percentages
and counters and reports...
mostly I don't pay
much attention to it.

But there are a few things
I find really interesting.

One is that it can show you
your top landing pages.
Landing pages are the pages
people arrive on when they
visit your blog or website--
they've either done a search
or clicked on a link
and they "land"
on a page on your site.

Last week I wrote a post called
"Five Times on the Road to Hana."

I had debated about whether or not
I should even publish it
because it was so ridiculous.

But that post has quickly become
my number one landing page!

Who knew?!

Another thing I've found out
is what search words
people have used
to land on my blog.

The most popular
search words for my blog are
"Happy WWI Soldiers".

Almost every day,
someone lands on my blog
after searching for something
about World War I soldiers.

That's all because of this photo:

This is my grandfather
and some of his buddies
during World War I.
He is the second from the right.

Isn't it amazing
that Google knows
that the soldiers
in this picture are happy?!

I posted this
on Veteran's Day 2009
along with an article
written by my grandmother in 1981
about Armistice Day.

I'm not sure if any of these searchers
take the time to read
her moving words
about the ending of World War I.

I think most of them
take a look at the photo
and then they move on.

But they really should read it.
It's the best part.

_________________________

It has nothing to do
with Google Analytics,
but now that we're talking
about Veterans,
and my grandma and grandpa.
and other tender things,
I want to share an excerpt
of those beautiful words
written by my grandma in 1981.

If you'd like to read
the whole thing,
and I think you should,
you can click here.
It will probably
make you cry.

An excerpt from
"Armistice Day of World War"
by Lillian V. Perkins, my grandma.

"Then, Oh! The blessed day of November 11th.

"We had just arrived at the store and were preparing for work when the church bells all over the city began ringing, trains in the railroad yards were whistling and ringing their bells, cars on the streets were honking, people were screaming, running and calling out, "The war is over! The war is over! The Armistice has been signed, the war is ended!"

"People working in the business houses just put on their coats and walked out and doors were closed. Everyone on the street was embracing everyone else, it didn't make any difference who you were, we were all one and people were hysterically celebrating.

"Another girl and I were riding on the front fenders of a Model-T Ford and my new beautiful winter hat blew off and sailed over the high board fence enclosing the railroad yards. ...and that is the last I ever saw of it. No one could stop for a mere hat even though it cost $13.00 of my meager earnings!"

Click here to read more.

three great links to make you smile

2010-03-08T00:44:00-07:00

Link #1

On Saturday,
I received a package in the mail.
How often does that happen?!
Not often for me.

This package was from a new friend--
Sherry from Everyday Possibilities.

Sherry makes the most beautiful
mixed media paper goods
and collaged altered art.

Her shop is called Bella Rennie
and as it says on her site,
her art is "sometimes whimsical,
sometimes serious and
always with an eye to grace and beauty."

Take a look at what she sent to me.

This whimsical gift card--
wouldn't it be cute in a frame?

And this lovely bookmark.
I'll use it everyday!

Thanks, Sherry!
Be sure to visit her blog
and her shop.
You don't want to miss it!

________________________________

Link #2

The other day I discovered
a new photography blog
that I really like.

It's called
Dream Tomorrow, Live Today,
Cherish Yesterday,
and the photographer is
Bob Towery.

I'm really taken
with his amazing photos,
but I also like
how he writes about
what he did to get
his great results.

This is the first photo I saw.
You should take a look--
it blew me away!

Here's another one...
but don't take my word for it.
Check it out.
I think you'll like it too!

________________________________

Link #3

And finally,
this link is a video
from my 17 year old son.
If you like chain reactions,
you've got to see this!

______________________________

Do you have any great links
to share with the
rest of us today?
Please do in the comments!

today i'm grateful for....

2010-03-07T00:34:00-07:00

kleenexes, the ones with lotion in them.
.
kids (mine) who call their mom because they want to.
.
almond joy candy bars, and a husband who brought me a whole package.
.
my new camera, and the new video I got to teach me how to use it.
.
packages, especially the sweet package I received in the mail today from a friend I've never met before.
.
the scent of lemons, and the ability to smell them.
.
the color green, especially outside after all the gray.
.
sundays, a day that's different from all the rest.
.
email--and people who send them just to be nice.
.

What are you grateful for today?
.
.
.