wordless Wednesday - leap year edition

share the joy

Something that brings me joy.... wildflowers along the creek on a warm February afternoon.  It reached 80 degrees here today, and I took full advantage of it, enjoying a walk with my pup along a hiking path near our home.  We saw an Egret and a little, bright green anole.  Lots of birds and lots of wildflowers.  It was a beautiful day.

Wordless Wednesday - February 22 edition

Answering questions

I'm not going to post another 11 random things, but I *am* going to answer my friend Rhonda's questions that she posed in her blog.


Rhonda's Questions:

What was your favorite movie of all time?
Ok, again with the movies... gee whiz!  Ok, so I won't skirt it this time.  Favourite movie... favourite movie....    I got it!  I got!  Annie.  Annie is my favourite movie of all time.  I watched it EVERY single day (yes, literally) when I was 8.  After school my best friend Jennifer and I would go to her house and plop the tape in her VCR (and this was in the time when VCR's were brand new - we didn't have one, we had something that played these huge disks....).  We annoyed the HELL out of her older sister.  I know every word to every song, and ever word in the script.  

What is your favorite song of all time?
I'm cheating. I'll pick three.   Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel.    Sarah McLachlan's Full of Grace (connected to some powerful memories and emotions for me).   Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine".   It's hard to nail just three, even.  I have a lot of music that is important to me - - like a soundtrack to your life, you know?

What is your favorite food?
Hmmm.... a specific food?  Not coffee?  (just kidding... kind of..)   It really depends on what I'm in the mood for.  Right now I'd choose a nice vegetarian fajita, with grilled peppers and onions and pinto beans and a grilled tortilla... maybe a side of that edamame-guacamole I make.. and, of course, fresh pico.

Who inspires you the most?
People who can face life's ups and downs and still keep an appreciative, grateful disposition.  I love to surround myself with these people.

What is the number one location you want to visit before you die?
Machu Picchu

Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
Snapping pictures.

What kind of mobile phone do you have?
A hilarious toss-away from Nokia (I think?).  It's BIG feature?  You can play Yahtzee on it.  Wooooot!   Also, it's alarm goes off at random times if I forget to turn it off before I go to bed.  Hee hee..

What kind of car do you own?
A fiery little orange Honda Fit.  ♥

What is your favorite sport?
To play?  Soccer.  To watch?  College football.  Preferably SEC division.  WAR EAGLE!!

What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.   Bwaaa haa haa!

What makes you happy?
Laughing at silly, funny things in life.

That was fun!  Thanks, Rhonda.

dusting off the blog

Whoa.  It's really been a month since I last posted?  What's up with that?  Life, I guess.   It's kind of like exercising - - I find if I skip too many days, I just fall out of the habit.   Thinking of writing as exercise for my mind, perhaps this will help to motivate me to continue... and knowing that someone's reading, too.  That helps.

So - to jump back in - I'm going to answer the 11 questions that my friend Sherry posted over at her blog.  Oh, I also have to share 11 random things about myself and then end it off with 11 questions of my own for you (yes YOU) to answer.  Cool.  Here we go.

Wordless Wednesday

2011 ~ a review in photos

January

A shoot in Houston with some fellow Photography friends.   It was a chilly one that night!

February

We had a cold blast that for all intents and purposes shut down the City.  This is what came of it - a few icicles.  It was kind of funny, coming from a Northern home, to see how this necessitates cancelling school, closing all civic buildings, causing runs on grocery stores, etc.  It's cute!

March

March saw me take a fun trip to Austin with a friend for a SXSW photo shoot.  Not only was the photographing opportunities badass, but it solidified a wonderful, new friendship!  Hey, if you can drive 6 hours with someone and not run out of stuff to talk about?  That's true friendship.  

April

Beach time already!  I love that about living here - by April, it's warm enough to go to the beach.   April also witnessed the end of the Flagship Hotel in Galveston, irreparably damaged by Ike.  

May

A camping trip to Austin with friends!

June

Hot, hot, hot.  This summer was one of the hottest ever in TX history.  We spent rather a lot of time near water.

July

.. and enjoyed lazy evenings in the backyard.  Pretty much the only time it was tolerable was after 6pm!   Lucy was my constant, happy companion.  ♥  (She has her very favourite orange ball here...)

August

I turn 37!

September

The hardest thing ever.  We say goodbye to our Lucy girl.  I took this the night before she died;  I slept beside her on the floor that night.  

October

Happier times - my sister-in-law visits from the Great White North!   Woo hoo!  (yes, she is STILL waiting on these photos... oops.)

November

This photo is accepted into a Juried Art Exhibition at a local gallery.  My very first time entering!

December 

Hello, Miss Sally.  Welcome to our family.  ♥

Losing our Lucy was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure.  I know that there are some people out there that won't "get it".   If you're that kind of person, there's really no way to explain to you.  She was my first baby, and I loved her so dearly.  She was truly a member of our family, and she will always have a place in my heart.   Lucy Bella, you were the greatest.  

Welcoming Miss Sally (aka Sally Burger, Salamander and Sally Booger Nugget) into our home?  Very healing.  She will never replace Lucy (and why the heck would I even want that???), but she healed my heart a bit.. she did.   I am always going to want to have a dog in my life;  that's just who I am.  She is funny and sweet and a stinker and so darn wonderful that it feels like she has been with us forever - - or meant to be with us.  I'm head over heels already.

2011 saw me grow as a person.  I remember hearing something that said "At the end of the day, look back and ask yourself 'Did I grow today in some way?'; if you are able to say that you grew, then you are moving forward - ask nothing more of yourself."   I *did* grow in 2011.  I have personal goals that I still strive towards, but I grew.  All in all, the direction was one of growth.  For that I am grateful.  I am also immensely grateful for the friendships that continued to develop in my life.  Life, to me, is about the people who touch you and whose lives you, in turn, touch.  We are a gift to one another, or - at least - we have the opportunity to be.

2012 - I look forward to continuing to become more of what I hope to be.  In a nutshell, I aim to let go of all that I cannot control and jump off that proverbial diving board with enthusiasm and trust.  Giving myself the benefit of the doubt, and giving gratitude for the many good things that enter my life.  Oh, and I want to get stretchier.  Hanumanasana, you managed to elude me in 2011.  You're MINE in 2012.    So there.