Thanksgiving

I opted for the eggnog.

Cello

He played Jingle Bells and Ode to Joy...adorable. His hope is that he learns the fingering so he can apply that to guitar. I must play more Vivaldi and Mozart in the house...and less Eminem!

Falling

Someone left this leaf on my desk the other day. It reminded me that fall is here and that winter is close behind. I tried not to focus on the dying of the trees, plants, my skin! Instead I focused on the rebirth that will come in the oh-so-lovely Spring (my favorite). The weathered look of this leaf tells me that it was a long, hot, summer and that I need to embrace the change. As I approach 40 - holy crap frick- I realize that there is a lot to look forward to. The past is where it needs to be...in the dang past. I WILL embrace turning 40. Heck some people age well and dammit I'm going to be one of those people even if I don't have a plastic surgeon. (Who wants to look like the Joker anyway?). Not me. So here's to the turning leaves...mmm Turning Leaf wine sounds good right now.

Halloween BP style

Ok NOT the most creative photos, but I think we would have won "Most Creative" at any Halloween costume party. Ryan is slightly obsessed with the BP oil spill. He even opted for a book from the school book fair about this topic (his new favorite book). He knows more about oil spills then Valdez and Tony Hayward. So naturally when I asked "what would you like to be for Halloween?" he said without skipping a beat..."the oil spill!" So then he looked to ME to come up with HOW we'd do this. Thank you Glad trash bags, internet pics and BP logos. So many of the neighbors complimented Ryan on his creative costume. This was so much better than two years ago when I attempted to make him a snake costume. We thought it looked like a snake...instead he got:
"Are you a frog?"
"Oh you are a gecko!"
"Ummm...little boy...what are you exactly?"
It broke my heart seeing his rejected, sad, cute face walking back to me after yet another failed attempt at guessing what in the sam hell he was. Epic fail Mommy!

So this year we scored and I treasured trick or treating with him. I'm not sure how many more years he has in him. I packed up the skulls, bats, skeletons, ghosts and thought about how lucky I am to have a son that loves Halloween as much as me. And I'm so proud that when he went to a house that had a sign by the bowl of candy that said, "please only take two pieces" he would only take one. He said, "I don't want to bankrupt them so I only took one." I also love that he saves all the Tootsie Rolls for me because they are my favorite. He's a great kid even if he's obsessed with oil spills, Jason Voorhees and ghosts.

Christmas? Already?

I know, I know, but I am in the process of designing holiday cards and invitations for work so I have to try to “get into the spirit”. I’m listening to Harry Connick sing Christmas songs, I’m already freezing in my office, I’ve pulled out my snowman and plopped him on my desk and then I found these sweet pictures from 2006. I will sorely miss the trek to the Green Hills Mall (usually at lunch on a weekday to avoid the long lines) to see Santa. Ryan is 10 now and well….we had “the talk”. NO! Not that talk. The talk about you know, Diet Dr. Pepper really being a diet drink…I mean…about Santa not really being the dude who forks out all the cash for his Christmas presents. He said he had a feeling he wasn’t the one paying for all those video games. He said that the writing on the packages kinda gave it away. Excuse me?! I purposely wrote those out with my left hand to make it look legit! Fo real! And then he said last year that I knew he shouldn’t open the amp before he got the guitar, that I knew what present was what. Busted. I’m still going to make him set out a Coke for Santa and water and carrots for the reindeer (I always loved that he thought of the reindeer). Oh and the cookies we decorated for Santa – those were the best. Sigh. The ONLY good thing will be that I don’t have to sneak around so quietly Christmas Eve setting out the presents. I always feared he would wake up and catch me in the act. He never did. Oh I’ll still wait until he goes to sleep, but it just won’t be the same.

Ok Chris you encouraged me to write more in my blogs and now I’m all teary…

Bear Grylls?

He really reminds me of Bear Grylls in this shot. He did pee outdoors, but that's the extent of the outdoor antics.

Papa Falls

Medium Falls

Yes these would be the medium falls...

Burgess Falls in the Fall

What a perfect day for a hike. Above are the Small Falls...you'll see the medium and large next. Go figure. Really though it was an amazing day. Perfect weather, perfect temp, perfect sky, just perfectness. I'll let the pictures talk for themselves.

King of the boat

No summer don’t go yet! I’m not ready to winterize my boat (even though I only took her out once…I know, I know). I’m not ready to turn on the heat in my house (although I already have). I’m not ready for dry skin and chapped lips. I will miss the smell of sun block. I will miss my water fights with Ryan on the street in front of our house. I will miss sitting by the pool with my neighbors (with the beer I snuck in). HOWEVER…I will NOT miss mowing my yard, the wasps, the heat in my black car and my high electric bill. Don’t get me wrong fall is beautiful and I love it for these reasons: football, eating my famous chili, wearing boots and warm jackets, fuzzy socks, fuzzy gloves, cozy fires, the amazing fall colors in this gorgeous state, s’mores sans marshmallows, hot cider, hiking, running is much better in cooler weather, wine (it goes better with chilly temps), and lots of inspiration for photos. So I vow that tomorrow I will get out my camera and embrace the fall…and the forecast: Sunny and 79! Summer isn’t totally gone.

S'mores?

These are the fun things I get to do at work. Our fall festival was complete with S'mores over a fire!

Hello there ignored blog

Mr. Blog I am so sorry I've given you the cold shoulder lately. I promise to do better. This pesky little thing called "a job" has proven to take up all of my time. Giving you more time will be easier now that it is turning fall. Ok so this picture was taken at WORK...it was a Farm to Fork dinner. Simply the coolest event we've ever done. Beginning with hot apple cider and ending with Brioche, Olive, Sinclair chocolate bread pudding. Amazing.

TestaRossa Winery

We had dinner at this winery outside San Jose, CA. The Pinot Noir was excellent!

Sun

Same spot...same lake...two days apart.

No one gets in or out

Mt. Olivet Cemetery

Beautiful, historic cemetery in Nashville at sunset. Saw a hawk and a HUGE groundhog. No ghosts though.

This is the church

Across from the John Hancock building. So very awesome.

Wrigley Field

I have no words for the creatures coming out of Harry's legs...disturbs me a bit. Look close...there is a baby...

Camp site?

The old campsite back home is in need of some love! If only I lived closer.

I was nine

My Grandpa taught me to paint at age 9. This was my masterpiece. I have his version of this painting in my house...his was WAY better. This was one of my many fond memories of him. :)

Danish

Love this photo...:-)

Cup o' tea...ahhh

Love the inspirational tidbits on Numi tea...

Back porch friend

My boy is a growin'!

I could get sappy here but then I'll cry and then my nose will run and then I'll have to explain to Ryan why I'm crying and well...pictures tell it all. I need to go kiss those cheeks now...

Dogs & Fruit

When you work in university food service you have lots of opportunities to shoot food. So occasionally you'll see random food shots on here. Fun, right?

Bridal Shoot

Liz is a trooper. We picked the most windy day to trek around downtown Nashville, but it was fun!

Adventures in painting

One of my most fond memories of childhood is painting with my Grandfather. He was an amazing man and a great teacher. I will post the paintings we did together when I was 9. I miss you Grandpa.

Magnolia

Found this as I was walking to a meeting. Lots of gems like this on Vandy's campus. I just want to eat it!

Sweetface

One of my many nicknames for Ry is "Sweetface". I don't think he likes it so much, but he never complains about it. Awww the love of my life that one.

Nugget

Eli is so durn precious. I heart him.

Sweetheart

My little boyfriend Jacks...such a little stud...I mean look at those eyes!!

Kiddos

I've ignored this photo blog too long! Summer is nearing and there's nothing better than rolling around in the grass...ok there are a lot of better things, but this sure is a fun one. I plan to get re-inspired so look out. ;-)

Spring?!

We do cool events

A model painted, with a dress of golden tickets, and a strawberry chocolate fountain in the foreground. How fun, right?

Maggie and Johanna

Their annual Christmas card! I am so behind on this blog!!!

Looking forward to this.

I shot this last spring. Can't wait to sit on that bench and watch spring bloom!

We are done with winter!

The look on my sweet boy's face says it all. We are done with snow! Spring can't get here soon enough!

So much winter!