nothing's wider than your eyes.

Okay, so the day after I posted last, this song played in the car. I haven't heard it in months but I am happy I can move on now that I have it in iTunes. I would have posted the official video but it is INSANE. WTFs all over the place.



"They swallow me whole as I look over at you."

tell me your regrets, about your remorse.

confessions

1.  I may or may not {but definitely am} having a love affair with jeggings/leggings.

2.  I love NPR in the car.

3.  I have a love/hate relationship with my trainer.

4.  I have a slight obsession for all things Apple. 

5.  I started this blog as a therapeutic activity.

6.  It amazes me that it is still never enough.

7.  I appreciate all of the messages sent by random visitors/strangers to this blog.  It freaked me out at first since I had only shared this page with five people in my life but now think it is nice. 

8.  I could eat homemade salsa every day of my life.

9.  I have had a song stuck in my head for months.  It is driving me crazy because I can't remember the band or the name of the song.  I have considered calling SiriusXMU and humming what I remember on multiple occasions.  I am glad I have restrained.

10. I watch shows about the universe and then get overwhelmed by the idea of infinite space around us.  But for some reason I just can't stop myself from watching more.  It is a vicious cycle.  And, black holes really scare me.

11. I have dreams that need at least ten lifetimes to fulfill. 

12. I am in love with love.

13. I need help loading film in my camera.  

14. I didn't accomplish all I had planned to do over the break.  I have some guilt about it.  

15. I wanted to be an anthropologist, Egyptologist, and a paleontologist.

16. I want to be a photographer.

17. I haven't listened to a local radio in over a year.

18. I am not sure that I would change a thing but want to change every minute.

19. I like Meatless Mondays.

20. I miss that place.

21. I want it to snow and result in the world stopping for a few days.

"Is rebellion a stage?"

"Uh, maybe it fits somewhere between 5 and 6."

serendipitousness.

Week One 

52 weeks project. 

I have also been challenged as a photographer to shoot a roll of film on an old Nikon.  I have accepted and will be victorious if I get ONE and only one good print.  I may also play around with some filters and an on-camera flash. Wish me luck!

"Why is Snape in Die Hard?"
"I think you mean why is Hans Gruber in Harry Potter."

we don't need luck, we have magic beans.

Hello twenty-eleven! {and goodbye forever twenty-ten, I hated you for the most part}  I welcome you with open arms; full of anticipation and hopes for a better year.  A year ago today was a good day and one of my last for a long while.  It was the last day I spent with a family I loved, cherished and adored.  If I had only known I would have hugged them a little tighter, a little longer and told them all how much I truly cared. 

Hoppin' John

a history

Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on NY day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck. The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls. On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny" and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing a hope for an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year. During the late Middle Ages, there was a tradition of eating beans on New Year's Day for good luck in parts of France and Spain. The European tradition mixed with an African food item to become a New World tradition.  One tradition common in the Southern USA is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to assure that the New Year will be filled with Luck, Fortune and Romance. 

{cornbread and greens not photographed due to my forgetfulness}

Eat poor that day, eat rich the rest of the year. 
Rice for riches and peas for peace. 
- Southern saying on eating a dish of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day

"We had a promise made, we were in love."

your face has faded but lingers on.

"I read once that the ancient Egyptians have fifty words for sand and the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep and there are no words for that."

how does it feel to be you this time? will they wear you down?

This song reminds me of an afternoon forever ago. A glowing memory in my mind.



"I may get lost in your eyes forever... and I wouldn't care."

I remember you sweet-talking to me beneath the strung up lights.

This mutt has been jumping the fence. The six-foot fence. She learned how over the summer at doggie camp. It is a good story I should share but the highlight is her hopping the fence and stopping to pick up her bag of food before heading down the road towards home. {I just see her as the kid with a bag on a stick running away} Now she just does it for sport or to show us she can. Thankfully all she does is run around to the front to sit on the porch. Love this dog.

I have super slacked on learning how to use Photoshop.  Now I have no excuses after my Barnes & Noble day.  I should be dedicating Christmas break to reading through these during the day.  I can't be legit until I really know how to use Photoshop.

And, I also got this journal to start keeping photography ideas in.  It has tab dividers and pockets throughout to keep me better organized.

last one...


what I love today:

• the snow on Christmas day
• my hair is now chocolate brown/red
• acoustic guitars
• Christmas break

"I didn't say my girl, I said my woman."

is that Christmas morning creaks?

~just a small preview~

 What I love today:

• the bell ringers in front of all the stores
• Christmas lights
• bundling up for a cold run

"I think my heart may have suffered actual physical damage.  It doesn't beat the same anymore."

well versed in tears {and laughter}.

For the last couple of years I have had a non-traditional Christmas dinner.  This year will be no different.  We just had a big Thanksgiving dinner so why do it all over again only a month later?  But, instead of burritos, I am making Roast Chili for Christmas.  It might not look like much but it is pure deliciousness.  Thank you, Konga.  Plain, on shredded lettuce or dressed up in a tortilla.

I will also be making all the favorite Christmas treats.  Requests are already in for Chex Mix, Magic Bars, Fat Man's Folly, Gooey Butter Cake, Pumpkin Bread, No Bake Cookies and Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins.  Maybe some peppermint bark too.  I love baking during the holidays for everyone.

What I love today:
*the way the old hardwood feels on my bare feet
*my new, almost black hair
*Christmas shopping at Bass Pro
*the smell of evergreen in the house

"I have known you long.  Do you know me?"

{another.}

"I'll never know the man who loved me."

let's dialog.

Yesterday I spent half the day at Barnes and Noble. I had my annual Starbucks hot chocolate {thanks Michael} and looked at books for hours and hours. I can't imagine a world without books, especially hardbacks.

The line for Nooks was insane. I am not a fan. I put a couple of books on my iPad and didn't see the appeal except maybe it would be good for trips.  I can't see replacing actual books with online copies. I would miss the feel, weight and smell of the real thing.

Books + Christmas Music + Books + Hot Chocolate + Books = Utopia

So, the other day I shared my favorite classic Christmas song. Well, this is my favorite non-traditional Christmas song. This song drips magic to me.



"How was I so lucky to have found you?"

can you say what you want, can you say what you want...

The other day I posted this quote:  "When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things, not the great occasions, that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness."

I believe it to be very true and love it.  Some on my favorite memories, the ones that really stick out, are ones that maybe no one else on this earth remembers.  Little things like a late night drive, holding hands for the first time, shared moments of comfortable silence...

I overheard this today regarding a broken heart -
"It never completely heals but the cracks left behind allow that much more love in with the next."  
I liked it.

birds pass by to tell me I'm not alone.

Tonight the house is filled with Christmas music, hot chocolate, candle light, and warmth. If shopping bags and freshly baked cookies were involved then I would feel like part of a Macy's commercial. If only it would snow.

As twenty-ten is coming to an end I have been reflecting on the year and deciding what is important for twenty-eleven. Tonight I am trying to decide what mission work I would like to be a part of this coming year. Ministry, medical, construction, education? Africa, Mexico, Romania, Haiti? I am sure which ever I choose will be a wonderful and fulfilling experience.

This is my absolute favorite Christmas song. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes the first time I hear it every season. Enjoy!


"I am not sure how or if I can fully recover from this but I know the genuine smile he has brought to my face is the first step."

in a better time you could be my friend.

This is my new favorite post-run snack.  I don't know where fresh pears have been all my life.  Tasty! 

"When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things not the great occasions that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness."

and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last...

"I don't like old tomatoes."