Another day....

Here is another bug shot for ya! Again, just outside my door...by my car! And there was more than 1 baby too! I was shooting my Rose of Sharon and nearly stepped into the web of this beauty! We call them 'banana' spiders (don't know why), but the correct name is GOLDEN ORB WEAVERS see link below....

http://www.nhm.org/research/entomology/common_insect_la/golden_orb_weaver.htm

EWWWWW!!!!!

Here is a very interesting quote I received via email today. Funny, but I believe Marianne was really in tune and accurate when she said this! At least for me, I find it to be true.

Our deepest fear is not that we're inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond all measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small doesn't serve the world. ~~Marianne Williamson

Intriguing things...

I woke up early this morning (6:00 a.m.), and headed out my door to photograph. Yes, I did say photograph. There are not a heap of ops outside my door, but inspiration hits so you just roll with it! This is what I found today...

The above are remnants of my children's younger days! How fun! I ran a special photoshop action called Grandma's Attic, someone shared it over @ one of my favorite photography boards. What do remnants of your children's youth say to you? I found beauty and sadness in these shots and the action really captures a mood for me. My youngest is now 15 so there won't be many more remnants like this around for a long time. Sadness, a quiet moment in time.

NOW.....

Today in church pastor Tim used an illustration of how bees in the hive rotate duties on hot days. It would seem that 1/2 of the bees will stay in the hive beating their wings to help cool the hive...as much as 10 degrees and the others go out and gather the pollen. The next day they swap duties. All this to illustrate being a team player and not being a 'referree' (judge), blowing the whistle from the sidelines at others who serve the same God. Not just in our responsibilities in the church but in the kingdom as a whole. It is not one church denomination over another, one group of people over another, one ministry over another...but a whole that is serving the one kingdom. Reference Mark 9:38-40

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

38"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us."

All this to say, the illustration was a direct impact on me in many ways but the one I want to mention is below...

And finally....

OK...looking at the progression of these photos, I can say it is easy to see why they change duties daily....the poor booger looks like she is drunk on the nectar/pollen from this flower! Totally luck shots! I was standing out taking pix at sunrise and this 'big' bee was just there. The only one around (Thank Heavens!), and she just totally posed for me! Isn't that just too cool????

Here is my rainbow shot from Chicago... and more...

Isn't she lovely? It is such a 'luck' shot. The bird was just there when I snapped, just in the exact place at the exact moment! How cool is that?

Here are a few more from Chicago:

Rust on the bridge....

From Navy Pier.....

And finally, the view from my hotel window...the Chicago skyline...gorgeous view..but not shot well from the 14th floor tinted windows. Memorable, none-the-less!

Simple, yet elegant desserts...
Last night we were having a social with our praise and tech team from church, (Char is on the tech team-lighting, while I am on the creative arts team). We grilled and really had fun socializing--all in all there were about 40 people there, including kids. My job was bringing desserts. I made 2 simple recipes that won me the praises of everyone...I couldn't believe it! It is funny, they are cheap to make and can be so elegant depending on how you present them. Thought I would share 1 of them with you today.

Turtle Cake
1- box devils food cake mix, prepared as directed
Melt 1 T. of butter into a large, oven safe skillet (12")
Pour cake batter into skillet and bake as directed.
Set cake out to cool while preparing the topping.

Topping:
Pour 1/2 to 3/4 bag of semi-sweet chocalate chips & 1 T cooking oil in microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 1 minute increments stirring every 30 seconds until melted. (Mine took less than 2 min.) To melted chocolate, add 3/4 bottle of caramel ice cream topping (bottle is thinner than the jar), stir well.

Dump cake onto large serving plate---large. Pour chocolate/caramel topping over center-top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides. Don't worry about smoothing it out...cake should still be warm and topping should still be warm. Using remaining caramel topping, zig-zag over top of cake then sprinkle chopped pecans over cake.

MMMMMM....good!

Bon appetit!

This should be interesting....

I have been actively watching some blogs over the past few months. Admiring may be a better choice of words. One has been Caardvarks http://caardvarks.blogspot.com/ . A pretty cool challenge blog for cardmaking. Well, I am always blown away at what I find there. This week, I decided that it was time that I learn to exercise some creativity of my own and join a challenge. Now, cardmaking is NOT my strong-suit, but i do love the challenges. This week it was simple enough: Create a card using 1 embellishment, 2 patterned papers, and 3 flowers.

So I sat down last night and quickly created this card.

Now, mind you, it has been a LONG time since I bought any new supplies and I really never created cards of my own. BUT I decided, WHAT THE HECK! It would give me the opportunity to explore an entirely different creative avenue AND my own twist to the challenge: USE WHAT I HAVE! It is not a beautiful card for a 10 minute creation and all of my stuff is scattered as I have been re-organizing my studio. I used scraps that were readily available and some of those pressed flower stickers, and the frame could actually house a photo of a new baby girl--which I don't have. I really had to force myself to stick to the challenge rules, but I am pretty pleased with my first attempt! Not prize-winning by any means, but it is a great beginning! I am even going to add a link to the Cardvaarks site and share my creation! Now that is brave, considering that I just don't give out my blog addy to many folks!

Love my flower shots...

I entered the first one in a photo contest over at http://www.serendipityscrapbookdesigns.com/

as well as 2 photos. I don't recall ever entering a contest with my pix before! Should be fun, huh?

I already received a couple of comments which is very exciting!

A recent shot of Zach taken last week in Paducah:

He is my baby!

He will be 15 tomorrow!

Happy Birthday my precious one!

Saturday Mornings...
I love how peaceful Sat. mornings are in my house. I now have a pretty stable routine of getting up early and having a quiet house for atleast 3 hours. What do I do? It is not pretty, but I sit in front of my computer, excel spreadsheet open, bill binder open, check book open and envelopes open. I pay bills. I keep a running spreadsheet of our finances. I call our credit card companies seeking lower interest rates. I write out checks, make online payments and prepare for the next week. It is what I do, faithfully.

Since I took over the family finances @ the end of April, this has been my routine. It has been well over 18 years since I totally handled any of the family finances. I learn a little bit more about myself and our finances each week--some pretty, some not. It is a struggle that endures but I have a promise...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

My Lord sees and knows all. His face smiles down on me even when I struggle beyond my ability to understand. Even when I don't know how I am going to ever meet each week's obligations--which doesn't include extras such as my present situation of back to school shopping for 2 out of 3 kids~he provided for 1 by way of my mom. She didn't even know what a blessing she was giving when she went shopping with my youngest son a couple of weeks ago--a multi-faceted blessing. Now I have 2 more and I know that he will provide as well. I trust him. I love him. I lean on him. I cast my cares on him. I cry to him. He is always there, always listening, always guiding and more faithful to me that I to him many times. When I fall down, he picks me up and carries me. I am so human and he is so God! How many blessings can he give? I don't know if there is such a thing as a 'bottomless pit' of blessings, but I am sure it would be the best answer to the question posed. I am amazed weekly as I step out on faith and approach my Saturday mornings with praise and thanksgiving.

Saturday mornings? I look forward to them, I need them, I love them.