365 Project: Day 128

Today I let go...I just let it all go. The frustration, the mental block, the obsessing...I let it go. I spent the afternoon with myself at the park. I was there for hours. I'm not sure people know I do this. The park is one of those places that I sneak away to when I need to think and just be alone for awhile. I love the park. I love grass and trees and being outside. I spent hours in the shade of a big old tree, laying in the grass listening to my iPod and clearing my head. I napped for almost an hour and a half. Apparently I have no problem sleeping in public like a bum. I opened my eyes to a view of the canopy above me swaying in the breeze. I awoke feeling rested, recharged, and peaceful. 

There is something about laying on the grass that quiets my mind. The calmness that my body feels when I'm laying against the earth is hard to explain. The smell of the grass and the dirt, the coolness of it against my skin is comforting and relaxing. I ran my hands through the blades of grass along side of me, letting them tickle my palms and tangle in my fingers. I laid there for a long time and stared up into the trees stretching over me. I watched the sunlight flicker through the leaves as they twirled. These are the moments that ease my mind. I took a deep breath, inhaling the damp earthy smell and just like that...I let it all go.

365 Project: Day 24

This is my grandparents' house in Texas. Yes, it is pink, and so are most of the things inside of it, including the entire middle bathroom. My grandmother, Mee Maw, loves pink apparently. I have so many fond memories of visiting this house when I was a kid. It has changed over the years, but fundamentally it still feels and smells the same as it always has.

I spent a lot of time here visiting with my grandfather, Granddaddy, while on this trip to Texas. I thought I'd share a few of my childhood memories of this house with ya'll (I was just in Texas, I can say ya'll). I spent a lot of time out in this yard running around barefoot. Their yard was always full of nature. Plants, trees, flowers, little green lizards, thick grass, and a garden that my Granddaddy tended. I loved to sit on that wooden swing behind me in this picture.

There are pictures of me and my cousins in this tree when I was little. I tried so hard to climb its branches. Now that I'm a little taller, I can climb right up with hardly any trouble at all (and I did several times for this picture). My dad had a dog named Snoopy growing up who used to climb this tree. There was a similar tree in the front yard that was always full of snails. I tried equally as hard to climb that tree, but the trunk was much taller than this one. It was cut down not too long ago. It was old and they were afraid its huge branches would fall on the house during one of the recent hurricanes.

I was surprised to see this rose bush was still alive and blooming on the side of the house. My Mee Maw would cut these little pink roses for me. She would remove the thorns and wrap the stems in a wet paper towel for me to take home. Somewhere there is a picture of me on Easter Sunday, all dressed up in a little pink and white dress, sitting on a green velvet chair, posing with one of these roses.

These ferns are thick and abundant all over their yard. Those little green lizards hide in here and climb up the side of the house. The house behind me in this picture (across the street) belongs to Betty. The same woman who lived there when my dad was growing up in this house. She is the sweetest woman and I've known her my whole life. She still walks across the street to sit in lawn chairs on the driveway with my grandparents and discuss the neighborhood. We tease her and my Mee Maw that the two of them are the "Neighborhood Watch".

There is something so comforting to me about this house. Its full of memories. It still smells like coffee, the screen door still sounds the same when it closes, my Granddaddy's WWII metals still hang proudly in a display case on the living room wall, and there is always candy in the crystal dish on the kitchen counter (candy corns this time). My family grew up coming to this house for holidays and visits. I grew up here, my dad grew up here, and my grandparents insist on never moving even though the neighborhood has become dangerous and full of crime. I worry about them living in this house, but it is their home.

Sisters

These are two really sweet little girls!  They brought a kite to fly at the park, but the wind died down not long after we arrived. So we abandoned the kite and blew bubbles instead. They had a great time chasing and popping the bubbles.

As the sun was going down, the day ended with them making a "cake" with "sugar" on top in the sand.

Thank you girls for letting me take your pictures! I had a great time!

Quote for the Day:

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

- Marion C. Garretty

Pretty in Pink

Not long ago I spent a great afternoon playing with Sadie's big sister.  (Sadie is the Great Dane that I photographed not long ago.)

I loved her pink patchwork dress and UGG boots! I didn't realize that they made UGGs that small!

She started off a little shy, but before I knew it she was running around and having a great time at the playground. 

Thank you guys so much for letting me play with you!

I'm starting to work on getting a website soon!  I'm so excited!  I have been working so hard on building my portfolio and creating marketing materials.  I feel like I'm finally making progress in the right direction.

I'll keep everyone updated on the website progress and hopefully it will be ready to go really soon!

Quote for the day:

" Don't wait until everything is just right.  It will never be perfect.  There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions.  So what.  Get started now.  With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful."

- Mark Victor Hansen

Check out Giani!

Giani is the cutest little Maltese! What a personality! 

He was so much fun to photograph. Even when he was totally distracted by the other dogs at the dog park we were still able to get some really great images of this little cutie.