A Weekend in Pictures

We went to the Dallas area last weekend (September 8-9) to attend a grand-niece's first birthday party. The entire weekend was rather lovely! I do so enjoy watching the kids and visiting with family and friends. There was a baseball practice, soccer game, birthday party and a brunch gathering.

It was hard to narrow the pictures down so that this post is not so heavy laden. I did not succeed so well. Anyway, below are some of my favorites shots I took. Keep in mind that these are snapshots. So, do not be expecting perfection. Also, the pictures shown have been resized to fit the blog; so, they are not as great as seeing the full-sized version. Enjoy!

(By the way, Dan will be posting his pictures on his blog soon. I will nag him until he does.)








The Birthday Girl


All the Toddlers Loved this Toy




Pure Joy


These two boys are cousins. They play well together, don't they?

These three are all cousins to one another

The following is a series of pictures of a lovely little girl that I just had to post.



And, last of all, this is my absolute favorite! I'm absolutely floored.

{To see the larger picture, go here.}

Oh how I wish I had captured the birthday girl like this! Maybe some day.

Remember, Dan will be posting his pictures on his blog soon.

Memories, Dreams, & Reflections: 2011

Template used to create this post.

{All pictures taken by me in the year 2011 unless otherwise noted.}
{Text in bold is the subject of the picture}

Me! This picture is part of a self portrait challenges and I really like this one; although, I like the "material girl" shot too. It is so hard to decide!

Even though 2011 had tons of crappy moments, I'd like to think I have improved in the areas of writing and photography. At least, I shared a little more of my writings this year. And, a DIY project, the trash-to-treasure nightstand, was completed. So, something was accomplished (finished) this year. I have sewed up a bunch of blocks and finished quilt tops even though a quilt haven't been completely finished yet. I have done a few other crafty projects. And, we did make bread until life hit me with a ton of bricks. I am planning to pick up the bread making once again in the New Year.

So, I guess I did okay with my New Year goals for 2011.

I Love You! This is a "old" self portrait Dan took for me back in February of 2010 at my request. I wanted a picture of him before he trimmed up his "rugged" beard for the summer. This is the most current picture I have of him. Yes, I need to get a new picture of him. But, this will have to do.

This man is the love of my life. He is so supportive in all ways including when I'm very sick. He doesn't like for me to take long road trips by myself. So, he does not hesitate to take day(s) off from work to rush me back home if I'm needed. He listens to my infrequent passionate rantings and often smiles at me in amusement. He is my BFF (Best Friend Forever) and my rock on this earth.

source: Dan

This subject of this pictures is suppose to be Still Laughing; but, for the life of me, I cannot remember such a moment. However, I'm still experiencing Quiet Joy over one of the newest member of the family. So, "quite joy" replaces "Still Laughing". She is growing up too fast!

Winter Wonderland: It snowed on February 4th and it was quite an experience for me living in the south Texas as we do not often get snow down here.

What I got for myself on My Birthday. 'Nuff said.

The cats are My Friends. Sad to say, I don't have pictures of me with friends. And, even if I did, I would not post them without their express permission. My family is different -- they know that I am nuts and will post pictures. However, I do try to respect them and ask beforehand. Anyway, my cats are an ever present source of companionship and amusement. So, I guess they'll do in the subject of "friends". Ha!

I Was Inspired by this DIY Showoff blog post to get me one of these soda crates. It can (and will) serve as a multi-purpose function throughout the year. We are planning to make some cute little wooden drawers for this crate using some Luan.

This represents Spring Fever to me. The honeybees begin to stir when spring arrives and gets busy gathering pollen. I adore honeybees and often wish I had a hive.

A favorite taken on our Vacation at North Padre Island.

{not the best picture as it was taken with a digital water camera while the sun was high in the sky}

Tubing, whether it be at a water park or on the river, is always a reflection of Summer Days for me. I can hardly wait for Garner next year in June. I'm hoping the water will be higher and flowing. Please Lord, let it continue to rain periodically!

A Day in my Life {December 19, 2011}

Seeing this little girl always makes me Smile.

{I do not have any pictures for Autumn Harvest in 2011. Fall was basically shot considering I came down sick and all that -- I just did not feel like taking pictures during this time.}

Some of my Family while bowling -- December 22, 2012.

source: Dan with my camera

My sister-in-law's Power cookies are a reason to Celebrate! anything at any time!

source: Dan

Let's Do It Again. I love cooking with Dan. I love that he's willing to do things with me including photography. I love that he's willing to teach me all that he knows in this area. I love that he gets my weird sense of humor and that he caught on by coming up with this picture all on his own.

{I Miss You is supposed to be the next picture/category. But, I really miss a man (my dad) that passed away almost three years ago. This Christmas was the hardest for me considering my Mother's circumstances and changes. I also really miss a fine lady (my grandmother) who passed away long ago. And, the strangest thing is that I miss a cat that I really bonded with and loved that passed away over 12 years ago. I still occasionally wake up in the night and feel for her at the foot at the bed only to realize she's gone. No other cat was like her before or since.}

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I do think this Cicada is Beautiful. Cicadas remind me of the dog days of summer and innocent days of childhood when I did not mind catching and holding one of the buzzing critters.

Dress Up with my new boots.

I think this Sand Crab is the best Macro picture all year long. It's also My Favorite.
Bokeh for the Holidays. I attempted to practice on 12/23 with Dan's fixed lens. I love me some snowmen; so, I focused on them on the Christmas tree. I still have a long ways to go before I achieve what I desire in a picture. But, I think I am improving, am I not?

Don't Ever Change. This is a tough one for me. I know we all change. We all grow up. We all go on our separate ways to lead our lives. We all grow older. We all eventually die. Well, I've gone macabre. The point is that this doll from my childhood will never change. We can all count on that. Ha!

Just Because...So There!
{Original Screw-in-a-Screw post}

My Hopes and Dreams is to live in the sewing room someday. Ha! Seriously though, I'm working on a "Finish Year" list and will share that with you all soon. My word of the year for 2011 is "do". I think I accomplished much more than I ever did before. There is always room for improvement though. I think I will the word of the year "finish" for 2012 and extend the word "do". I am longing to do do much more and finish a few projects. The two words, "do" and "finish", complement one another, don't you think?

Beautiful Clare

We went to see the newest addition in the family on the weekend of September 17th. She was born September 11th while we were on a mini vacation at North Padre Island. I wanted so badly to go see the little one at the hospital and we planned on going the next day. But, much to my surprise, I found out they were going to be released that day. So, after much discussion, we decided to go up and see her the following weekend instead, which turned out to be wonderful all around. It was a very relaxing time.

Clare is the cutest little baby girl with reddish hair. Here are a few of my favorite pictures and all of them were shot by Dan. I had trouble deciding which ones I liked best; so, I'm showing 'duplicates'. ha! She is a week old in these pictures. Enjoy.

PS I have a few more pictures with Clare. We will take them up to her parents the next time we go up there to visit family. For some reason or another, I choose not to post them here.