Holly Rockets!

black history and environmentalism

2012-02-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

this one is my favorite. this letter excerpt is from a series of letters written between this lady and the state's dept of health supervisor (from 1975). i know she is an african american women because she refered to herself as a "negro" in a different letter. she was an environmentalist at heart before there were really a such thing, i think. out of all the letters i've read, this is only the 2nd one i've read like it. this one was from cumberland county, the other was from a western county, also written by a woman.

i took the time, after work, to search her name in hopes that she was either alive or that i'd find an obituary with family names on it. if my grandmother had written letters like this, i would have loved to had a copy (or the original, which i would have sent the originals and put copies in our files!!!) unfortunately, i did not find anything. and though she refered to her husband many times, she only called him Mr. and never by his first name.

transcript: There is too many road thru the wood, and there is a close door refrigerate, two of them that were illegal dumping by someone of the color family. If you should take a walk thru there, in the wood, and see all the beautiful wood all cover with trash and no bird singing. There is a lot thing that started to make comeback, because of the clean up trash. And a lot of chameleon who is also being helpful in eating up the insects. And it is still ashamed that the people still drive thru the wood and dumping it was a lot of hard worked, and it took two month, I go in there everday, and pick up the recycling materials, and we make a profut of $35. And we do it every day , of clean up earth day. Some group of conservationists, would clean up maybe once a year. So the only way we ever going to stop the people from illegal dumping, is to block the road, with huge piles of dirt. There is too many road thru the wood, and death end, and more trash. I have try to block the road, with some death tree branches. It help some. No matter who the land belong to, it should not be the place for the dumping. If we are more enforcement in plawing dumpsters, in these local area, it would be less illegal dumping. Please give it a try.
isn't it beautiful?

how landfills and black history month are related

2012-02-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

well, simple. i work with landfills. we have old files from back in the 70s (that's when the EPA was established). recently, i was going through some of said old files and came across some letters written by african americans living just downstream and across the river from one of the oldest communities established by african americans in NC.

i often get stuck reading these old letters in the 70s files. these letters are priceless. i LOVE how these, in particular, talk about how white people and black people live side by side and get along.

(click to enlarge and read)

transcription: the part that worrie me the most is that it might effect my water level and the place where the road are to be are all most in front of my house. We are negros and we have white friends all around us and we thank God for them we get along fine together. Any help that you can help us with we will glad of it fact to

i don't like how things in this one implies segregation, however, i like that the "white man" (whose name i blacked out) was a friendly person to all races. back then, i guess in this town, that was sorta ahead of his time.

transcription: These fifty homes are both black and white. Please help us by sending these County Commissioners some guidelines for a landfill not to be located one-half mile of anyones home. This garbage dump will be a health hazard. Will it effect our well (drinking water)? These white Commissioners tell us the state has approved this but will not say who in the state would approve such a public place for a landfill. We love our homes and please tell us what to do. Could you send one of your HEW representatives to see Mr. XXX (White), XXX Co., XXX, NC? Mr. XXX will be glad to show him the true facts. May we hear from you soon.
although i know discrimination still exists, i'm glad that i am not planting its hateful seed in my children.

i have another one to post tomorrow (or soon) about an african american woman who was way ahead of her time in a different way. she was an environmentalist! rather, a conservationist! to come...

about kendal

2012-02-07T11:52:00.004-05:00

so i just wrote about holly. she was easy. she follows me around like my shadow on a sunny day. sometimes it is like holly and i share a brain. kendal, though, he is different. he is a daddy's boy. writing about him will be more of a challenge. i had to put two pictures here because they both show his personality. one picture could sum up hers, but i didn't have any recents ones of him that did that.

picture 1 show kendal's face - he's wearing his favorite coat, a smirk on his face, he's sitting in a crouched, squat position, one arm sorta laxed, one knee up, like he just looked up from examining something on the ground. his knees are probably dirty. the picture is very him. on the other hand, picture 2 shows him with lacy, who is "his cat." the sun shines on his back and he is up on the hill exactly where we tell him not to go because that is where the cat poops. this also, is exactly him.

so, now that i explained my photos...words about kendal:

kendal loves animals. lacy sleeps with him. on a saturday morning, it isn't unusual to hear him say "she only bit me twice this morning mama!"

he likes to choke the cat. that's why she bites him.

kendal loves trucks.

and chicken nuggets, french fries, and sprite.

when watching sports, kendal likes to act out what he is seeing on TV. it's really funny to watch. i need to make a video of him doing it.

kendal is infatuated with buses. and motorcycles.

he loves dogs, and wants one really bad.

he also loves bears and zebras.
kendal is left handed.

he likes to throw sticks in the woods.

he can pick up pine cones and the prickles never bother his hands.

he likes to fall down (on purpose).

he has 3 pairs of shoes but wears only one pair 99% of the time.

his favorite coat is green.

he can write his whole name, in a circle.

his most favorite food is grits, he can eat 4 servings in one sitting.

it takes him about an hour and a half to eat a meal.

he goes to sleep just about every time we are in the car for longer than an hour.

max and ruby are his favorite characters. he also likes the fresh beat band and dinosaur dan.

he loves puzzles.

he likes to have his ears kissed.

he is REALLY ticklish.

he likes to be chased, and he likes to race as long as he always wins.

he is the fastest.

he calls escalators "excavators."
he does NOT like to get his hands dirty!
he is more of a watcher than a helper (in the kitchen).
he likes to keep his toys straight and organized. if they aren't in the right place, he'll let you know about it!
he is a wanderer. meaning, he can't be trusted to stay put. even if he says he will. he'll walk away, far away, in the blink of an eye and scare you to death.
he tries to wipe his butt. he is not good at it yet.
he has always peed standing up. once i saw him pee sitting down. i think he did it by accident.
he always puts the lid down. he will fuss at me if i forget.
he doesn't like to wash his hands.
he says he has "a job" - sometimes it is at the mall, sometimes it is at a game. for example, at a baseball game, he thinks it is his job is to run the bases. at a mall, his "job" is to play on the play equipment. he thought his job after the NCSU basketball game was to go down to the basketball court. he was sorely disappointed.
he likes marshmellows and jellybeans.
he can eat a can of garden peas by himself.
he can talk to anyone, about anything. he is an extrovert for sure.
he gets frustrated easily. he seems to think if you don't succeed the first time, scream really loud and try it. usually it still won't work because screaming doesn't fix much.
patience is not one of his virtues.
he likes to flirt.
he also likes it when people growl at him while making dinosaur faces.
he likes dinosaurs. because they growl.
don't tell him anything that you don't want him to tell a stranger.

oh my gosh. this list could go on for-E.V.E.R! kendal is so funny. he is a constant source of humor in our house! and frustration. suppose he balances himself well. holly is 100% sweet and kendal is 75% funny and 25% hard-headed! we sure have us a pair of good kids. not alike at all! except they are both very loved.

about holly

2012-02-07T10:48:00.001-05:00

i thought i'd take a break at work to write about holly.

she's 3 years, 1-1/2 months old.

she likes to sleep with mommy. and when she's "really really sick" (her words, she just had a bad cold), it is a great excuse to do it for consecutive nights. (i have a hard time saying no.)

sometimes, she gets up really early to take a shower with mommy.

she likes to help cook. when making little pizzas, she likes to sing patty cake.

she really likes pizza. and mushrooms, raw.

she's a really good helper.

she's never had a haircut.

she does not like the vacuum because it is loud.

she likes raw carrots but only whole (not baby carrots).

she does not like to race.

she likes to watch belle, but she thinks she is sleeping beauty.

holly will only eat vanilla ice cream, and prefers it in a cone and with sprinkles.
she's a good matcher, and she likes to wear big bows in her hair.

she's actually pretty good at washing windows.

holly loves to have her nails polished: she thinks the metallic colors have sprinkles in them.

granddaddy calls her puddin'. holly says "i not puddin'". so, she calls him granddaddy puddin'.

she likes to dress herself.

she has 4 pairs of boots.

she thinks deodorant goes on boobies.

she can ride in an elevator now without freaking out.

she likes to twirl.

she can whistle, but it is a suck-in whistle and really deep in tone.

she smiles all the time.

she loves to write and draw, though Hs and Os are the only letters she's good at so far.

she likes animals, but she isn't smitten with them. too many swats and bites from the cats.

she is shy a little, and soft a lot.

what's in a name?

2012-02-06T13:12:00.000-05:00

NOT that i'm yet ready to start a photography business, but one of the things i constantly think about (besides buying a new, upgraded camera) is what to name the business when i'm ready to start it - legally. cause, you know, if i'm gonna do something for real, then it'll be - well, for real. like, registered with the state, paying taxes, keeping records, the whole shebang. i'm a fair-minded person and one thing i don't want to do is not be legit. that's why i just can't charge for what i do now!

so ANYWAY, i think i'm one step closer. not because i have a new camera. because i think i have finally come up with a business name. and yes, all this time i've been calling myself "sugar&spice photography" but that one was just on a whim. it isn't IT. let me tell you why.

first, i used that one because it was the name on this blog. this blog was titled because i was trying to be clever with geology words, not photography words. let me go one step back even more. to tie in to my geology background, let me explain my email, which is theoutcrop... as in - meet me behind the outcrop, i'm a little boulder/bolder there. if you aren't a geologist, you've either never heard that joke or wish i hadn't told you (you aren't laughing). if you ARE, you probably snickered. thus, my blog title is "sugar and spice and everything gneiss" - GNEISS is a rock type. again, you either get it or you don't.

that being said, when i started my blog - ages ago - i didn't have any kids. it was totally about geology. but as i had kids, and loved them and posting photos of them, the "sugar and spice" part became really cool. especially since i had a boy and a girl. which in that case, i should have changed it to be spice and sugar. literally (i mean, figuratively). SOOOO, that's one more thing i dont' like about it. it's in the wrong order.

next, if you go to the NC secretary of state's webpage, there is already several companies named sugar and spice - not necessarily photographers, but that name has different versions already. i like being original. plus, sugar & spice photography is REALLY long.

so, analee, why don't you just use the name analee thornburg photography?
because it is long. and, to me, it sounds horrible and doesn't flow. it sounds like eeh pthtth eekgrrpht. (my way of saying "gross" as i accidentally spit in your face.) i prefer a business name that does not include the word "photography" because i do more than just photography. as in, i am an artist of many media. i like to make paper cards, digital cards, photo books, digital retouching and editing, painting, etc. i also think that photography is a word of the past. to me, it is for FILM (where the you print what you shot, now with digital photos there is so much processing the customer may not get what was shot). and, though i learned on film (i still have my SLR), i am all digital now and also want a name that implies what i REALLY do. not just photography.

but mainly it was the originality part that was bothering me. i hate sounding like a copy cat. and then the use of the word "photography."

that being said, i've come up with a solution. will share it later. this was just a build up post! buh hahahahahaha!

Valentines Day House

2012-01-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

Mom gave me a plastic gingerbread house for christmas and it is one that you can decorate, clean, and redecorate for any holiday or to match anything in your house. with valentines day coming up and the boys gone to the basketball game, it was the PERFECT opportunity for holly and me to roll up our sleeves and decorate it! i bought a lot of candy at walmart, and cereal. hot tamales, red hots, candy corn, sweet tarts, another kind of hearts (that taste horrible), strawberry mini wheats, twizzlers (which holly said tasted like poop), strawberry wafer cookies, pink marshmallows, pink heart gummies, vanilla frosting, and green sprinkles.

the way it went was... she did half and i did half. you'll see...
but she ended up with a lot less frosting that she started with.

i was done and my hands were washed... she's still work on it here... but i remembered to get my camera.

her final product - she was very proud! isn't it beautiful!!!???

all in the details!!! (and the spikes across the top are "my side")

note how the frosting is missing...

i think this is supposed to be a flower!

birds eye view...

isn't it just adorable?

ok, here is mine. it looked more like the picture that came in the brochure with the house - clearly more of a pattern than holly's (she is only 3!)

i can't wait to make an easter one!

tickle tickle!

2012-01-23T12:51:00.003-05:00

in honor of this week's paper mama challenge (category: feet), i am posting this photo! what a lovely collection of piggies!

skipping days (stomach bug)

2012-01-23T11:30:00.000-05:00

thursday night, our heater had this awful smell coming from it and no heat to boot. so, the kids and i packed up and went to mom and dad's house. nathaniel stayed behind to clean out the attic and find out model numbers, etc. for our HVAC man.

it was a little after 8 when we were driving to moms. i remember thinking "i guess i will be late to work tomorrow!" - the kids bedtime is 8 and no way could they go straight to bed at mamaw's house. too many things to do. one thing i was NOT doing was stressing about how much it was gonna cost because we have our dave ramsey emergency fund for times like this!

like, break your glasses. yup. not really broken, exactly, but i was back in the bedroom and kendal brought me his glasses and said "here mommy!" one lens was missing. FRANTIC SEARCH! found it. no screw. crap. guess this REALLY means i'll be late as the glasses place doesn't open until 8.

at mamaws house, the kids have a routine of who sleeps where - and i just messed it all up. kendal and holly BOTH wanted to sleep with me (rather than one with mamaw and one with granddaddy) - so we started that way. not for long, though, holly wanted out because kendal wouldn't scoot over. holly and mamaw bunked up at that point.

around 12, kendal woke up screaming because his legs hurt. after forcing advil down his throat, he finally wanted mamaw (to calm him down) and so mamaw and i switched places in bed.

for almost 2 hours i tossed and turned because i couldn't get comfortable. for some weird reason, i kept feeling nauseated. especially if i laid on my left side. i tried and tried to get situated - but finally i got up thinking "i'll just go try to use the bathroom." that didn't end so pleasant. i woke everyone in the house up vomiting (i didn't see it coming either...).

so for the next 12 hours, my stomach felt like someone punched me in it. because i have migraines, dehydration is VERY important to NOT GET otherwise i'll end up in the hospital. dehydration causes migraines causes more vomiting causes more dehydration... vicious circle. i took phenegrin to help after the 2nd round of puking my guts out. luckily, i timed it right and it helped.

the next 24 hours were very painful because i had a fever too - and along with the regular discomfort of fever (achy joints, hurting skin), my backbone hurt like MAD! it felt like i had spikes out each vertebra and i had a hard time moving (because of pain). tylenol and advil hardly helped with it. i thought it was hard to sleep but, at the same time, i did a lot of sleeping. i was quarantined to a back bedroom with no heat (which was fine by me) and no tv or music or sound and several blankets to pull on and off as needed (as fever fluctuated). mom came in ever couple of hours (?could have been every 5 minutes for all i know!) and left me drink (or to make sure i was drinking).

so, i missed a whole day of my life. it is totally gone (and frankly, i don't want it back!)

the part i found so interesting is that, in the middle of all my fever and pain, all i could think about was how happy i was to have my mama taking care of me (not that nathaniel couldn't have done it..., but his hands were full with the kids)! if it wasn't for our heater going out, i would have never been there. i hope this was a Godly Intervention (Miracle?) to keep my husband and babies from getting this bug. my mom and dad have likely already had it (in missouri). i sorta feel like it is a miracle i'm still alive.

suppose time will tell on the contagious part.

valentines day card!

2012-01-17T08:51:00.000-05:00

again, not to spoil everyone's card - BUT, i love the prospect of a $10 off to shutterfly.

Photo Card

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First Nail Polish EVER!

2012-01-14T19:22:00.000-05:00

not only is this the first nail polish for 2012, it is the first nail polish holly (age 3) has ever had (i've offered it many times to her gentle decline)! she chose a turquoise blue for her first one. she wanted it on the fingers and the toes! my nails were the same as hers. it looked so good on us both! SHE did really good, too, not one of her nails had a smudge or needed to be redone (which is more than i could say for myself).

kendalism - spinners

2012-01-09T19:34:00.000-05:00

a while back (maybe 2 years ago), nathaniel bought me an atari game system. yup, one compatable with today's TVs - suppose it just looks like the old one, with joysticks and all. it was fun playing (beating him) in maze craze over and over. but, it really just sits there. i'm not much of a gamer.

kendal discovered it about a month ago and fell in love with two of the games. he askes EVERY DAY If he can play a game in front of the tv. i try to put him off until the weekend and usually i do (successfully) but this weekend, he forgot to ask - or we were too busy/gone.

today he asked. nathaniel got out the atari, and kendal asked for the shooting game (something with airplanes). next, he asked for the spinners. spinners? we had no idea what he was talking about.

remember these bad boys? when you shoot them, they spin. yea. spinners. (i hated combat when i was little.)

he also loves maze craze. and "the boy shooter" (some aqua game where a scuba diver shoots fish). anyway, his attention span is about 30 minutes, and holly's about 2.

"orange boy" is outlaw - very similar to combat, just with people. i never remember most of the games on this system. maze craze was the ONLY reason he bought it for me! he didn't believe i was the supremo champion of all time!

Hot Toddy (tastes like Russian Tea)

2012-01-03T08:36:00.000-05:00

1 48-ounce bottle or 6 cups cranberry juice (i used the Lowes Foods Brand of cranberry juice)3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, reserve peel (i.e. juice from one lemon)1/4 cup sugar
2 cups filtered water
12 strips lemon peel, 1-inch long (from one lemon, avoid the "white")2 cinnamon sticks, broken into 4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon dried allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/3 cup bourbon

1. In a large saucepan, combine cranberry juice, lemon juice, sugar, and water.

2. In the center of two 6-inch squares of cotton cheesecloth, place lemon peel strips, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. With cotton string, tie cheesecloths tightly into spice bags.

3. In a medium saucepan, add spice bags and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and discard spice bags (if you don't, the toddy starts to get bitter). Add bourbon (or not).

4. Transfer to heatproof pitcher, or simply ladle beverage directly from saucepan into serving cups.

This stuff is awesome and tastes just like the instant russian tea mom used to make!

chocolate nutella cookies - recipe from vegetarian times

2012-01-03T08:22:00.002-05:00

Chocolate Nutella Cookies
from Vegetarian Times recipe and with my comments!!!

1 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour i used organic
1/4 cocoa powder plain old hershey's powder!
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp of salt i used fine grained salt (i have cse grained salt that i use from time to time, that is why i specify)
1 cup Nutella i didn't actually have 1 cup of nutella, so i used what i had - about 1/2 cup, and then used almond butter to fill in the rest. they still turned out great and tasted like nutella.
4 oz/1stick unsalted butter real butter, not margarine.
3/4 cup of sugar i used cane sugar, organic, not bleach white processed sugar though i'm sure that is fine too.
1 large egg farm raised organic!
1/2 tsp of hazelnut extract didn't have this. used vanilla instead!

1. ~~Sift together flour,cocoa powder salt and 1/4 tsp of salt and set aside~~ does anyone ever do this step?
2. Beat Nutella and butter till smooth (I used an electric hand blender) i used an electric hand mixer, and this was after i put the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften. it was straight out of the fridge. mutella and almond butter didn't go in the microwave though.
3. Add the egg and sugar to the above mixture and beat till well combined still used the hand mixer.
4. Now slowly add the flour and in low speed incorporate into the wet mixture till dough forms. i just put all the dry ingredients on top of the wet and then used a large fork to incorporate. it wasn't hard.
5. Transfer the dough into a plastic wrap and shape into a 2inch diameter log and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. looked like a big poop. kinda gross. but, it was really tasty (i ate some yes!!!). i stuck it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. it was cold enough after that.
6. Heat oven to 375F. um, i missed the 375 part. i cooked them at 350
7. Cut log to 1/4 inch thick rounds and place on a cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 9 minutes and remove from the oven and let cool for 30-45 minutes. since mine started on a cold stone, it took about 15 minutes. i put both stones in the oven at the same time on two different shelves - never done that before - but they cooked well together. and, it only took them about 15 minutes to cool off.

these cookes are AWESOME!!!

monthly photo checklist to help you take the top 10 photos from every month

2011-12-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

saw this online and i printed it. i will use it as inspiration!
maybe you can too.

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/content_downloads/PHO-LIST-A.pdf

Deck the halls with boughs of Holly

2011-12-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

last night, 3 years ago, i was pregnant. i was SO nervous about being induced. i was worried about loving another child as much as i love(d) kendal.

today is the day we celebrate the birth of holly. we knew her for 9 months before, but it was today, 3 years ago, that we got to see and hold her - and it took a lot of drugs and effort from the hospital staff (breaking water, constant monitoring, changing bed pads, etc.) to get her out! but not a lot of work from me. not even one hard push and the baby girl came right out. (i can thank kendal for learning how to push the right way, pushing out his big head was not so easy!) the doctor barely made it in the door and got washed up and gloved!

this morning, kendal couldn't stop kissing her. as a matter of a fact, we had trouble getting him dressed because he wanted to kiss on her. just like when she was a baby. he kissed her all the time. usually her feet, because that is where he would sit (she'd be in the bouncy seat, he'd be snuggled up underneath the feet part - holding and caressing her feet). things haven't changed too much in 3 years, except now he is allowed to (by us and her) kiss her face. and arms, and hands and legs and back and wherever (except butt, that's gross mommy!)

and just like the grinch, my (our) heart grew three sizes that day three years ago, when my holly was birthed (and i say my holly because she is a mini-me). maybe three thousand sizes. i wasn't even sure it would stay in my body it was so big.

happy happy happy birthday holly.

shutterfly

2011-12-07T16:24:00.001-05:00

i hate ruining surprises, but i can get a $10 credit if i show you what i made.

Stationery card

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"what do you want for christmas?"

2011-11-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

santa told me he's only bringing the kids 3 gifts this year. i am pretty sure the elves have already made them 2, and i was asking the kids this morning what did they want from santa so i could figure out what to tell the elves to make for their 3rd gift...

first, i asked kendal. he said "a dog.". really? i asked him if a stuffed one would be ok and he said yes. he specified he wanted a big one with a long tail. holly said it needed to be black, but kendal said green. i told him there wasn't a such thing as a green dog.

next i asked holly. she said "christmas" i then asked her what kind of present she would want for christmas and then we started talking in circles. basically, inside the christmas would be a present - that you open, and inside the present would be christmas. she was no help.

Nov 11 - 17 thankfuls

2011-11-17T12:03:00.000-05:00

i can remember what i was thankful for! i use a datebook.
friday, nov. 11th, i was REALLY thankful that my best friend of old times and her two boys came to visit us. her boys and my boy, though hers are much older, meshed so well. kendal loves friends. he said later that night that they were his cousins. so cute! it was also GREAT to see her. i never see her often enough. i wish we were neighbors.

sat. nov. 12th, i was REALLY thankful to have the honor and pleasure of taking pictures of a gal i worked with at gymboree and her family. they were some serious smilers. beautiful as she is, she also has a very handsome husband, a GORGEOUS - mammasgirl oldest daugher, an adorable - daddysboy middle son, and just the sweetest and content (seems to be daddys girl) baby. we had a great time, and i got to show her around dehart (she's also enjoys photography!)

sunday, nov. 13th, morning went off without a hitch. i took pictures of my kids at joyner park - gonna use these for our christmas cards. kendal had a little bruise on his forehead but i got him at angles that kept it hidden. also, those glasses - well, lets just say i got some experience in with taking pictures of kids/people with glasses. that isn't as easy as i thought. they were somewhat patient and also, nathaniel got in a run after we got in our shoot. the kids also walked one of the loops and got to watch their daddy run. it was awesome.

monday, nov. 14th, i'm thankful that nathaniel made it through the day. he wasn't feeling well but he didn't get sick at work. that's the only problem with having one car - if he goes home, then i have to go home too.

same goes for tuesday, nov. 15th. im thankful that he wasn't sick. i worried all night where i'd park if he was still sick.

wednesday, nov. 16th, i'm thankful that i got an RSVP on holly's birthday party. i know this is trivial but out of all the little people we invited, this was the ONE PERSON i was hoping could come! so, yay!

today is thursday, nov. 17. i had a stack of work on my desk when i got here. i tried to stay off the internet all morning so i could get it done. besides ordering 2 things from target (our internet wouldn't work last night), i've done that - and i got most all of it off! even though i did have a meeting... yay! that is a huge accomplishment for me. you should have seen how much work it was! now i have another huge set of tasks because those things just morph into other things... letters...

ok, lunch break is over!

photo challenges

2011-11-12T23:17:00.002-05:00

this week's subject for the paper mama and i heart faces are both fall related. REVISION: this post is now for the best faces challenge on i heart faces - week of jan. 9th, 2012!

yesterday, i took holly on a mini-shoot with the intention of capturing ONE photo (of many) for her birthday invitation. one of those is perfect for this week's challenges.

the setting: 4:30ish pm at a dehart botanical gardens (central NC), the sun was setting in the trees, holly was sitting on a rock, she had a big red maple to her side, the bright sky was peeking through the trees, the "lake" (really it is a pond) was reflecting light up at her face - it just couldn't have been more perfect. processed with florabella's musette action.

this photo was entered into the i heart faces photo challenge – http://www.iheartfaces.com/ (twice!)

and thepapermama's photo challenge - thepapermama.blogspot.com

november 10 thankful for

2011-11-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

well, quite frankly, i'm still thankful for the popcorn. i ate a lot of it today. i was also thankful to wakeup with both kids in the bed with me, kendal was in the middle even, snuggled up with me. usually holly has that spot. it was a lot of kid sugar for me! too bad they were asleep!

november 9 thankful for...

2011-11-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

i had another long field day today, just 10 hours alone of driving to pisgah forest (the town) and only 1 hour out of the car at the site. great bunch of folks down there in transylvania county. but, i sure missed seeing my kids this morning and after work. BUT, what i'm thankful for, besides a safe drive there and back, was the HUGE TUB of palsie's caramel popcorn that the hinkles brought me today as a thank you gift for taking their pictures! oh my goodness. i ate it for supper last night. wow.

i also brought a gallon size bag to eat at work today.

i'm gonna be eating a lot of popcorn this weekend too. it is my absolute favorite in the world. thanks lynnelle!

november 8 thankful for...

2011-11-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

a small world. had a field visit today to hickory and ran into a property owner that new my dad, and the contractor was from franklin county. he knew my granddaddy, and even better -after i got home and asked mom about it, his dad and she grew up together. it was fun talking about it!

November 7 thankful for

2011-11-10T09:03:00.002-05:00

super supervisors.

photo challenge - black - iheartfaces

2011-11-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

the subject of this challenge is black, and the focus of holly, and this photo, is holly's tap shoes. toe - stomp is the move she's mastering here with the help of her instructor. i think this is a perfect entry for "black"!

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

photochallenge - favorite from october - thepapermama

2011-11-07T10:10:00.000-05:00

she's got her hands in her back pocket and she's out of focus but what IS in focus is what makes the photo rock: an old barn and a bunch of four-wheelers. she is a country girl in the making. she's my holly.

the subject is "favorite from october" and if you want to see more, head on over to thepapermama's blog and take a peek!