The best made plans.

Taking this beautiful girl's pictures made me remember back to when I was graduating and all the plans and emptiness ahead of me that I saw. So many people asked me what I wanted to be (as I tortured poor Karlee with the same question) and I had no clue. All I knew was that I wanted to learn more about what I believed in, God. So I had plans to do an internship with my church as well as correspondent classes through a Bible College. Little did I know that the plans that were actually ahead for me were marriage and a wonderful life of nothing I'd been planning the previous four years. I think it's incredible how we can plan something even to the last detail and one little thing can change it all up and make it more wonderful in the end. This wonderful and incredibly beautiful girl Karlee has so much life ahead of her and so many incredible possibilities, I can't help but be excited for her!! I enjoyed every minute of the session with her and even her amazing Mom and her boyfriend too. Although there was a bit of a tick scare (I still twitch a little at the thought of them EW!! lol!) it was a wonderful time that will forever be imprinted in my sweet memory bank.

An aching heart.

I just read a very beautiful blog that you can read for yourself at http://gingerbreadcrumbsandcompany.blogspot.com/2010/05/fair-weathered-friend.html
It brought tears to my eyes because I know this all too well. There are some friends that are just too much to bear, their sadness and sorrows seem to come by the truckloads. With so many family members that get many sorrows of their own I am far too often a fair weather friend to ones that I love. Sometimes we just have to step out and away from all their troubles in order to do what does the most, pray. There are times when I have been so inundated by their troubles and many of my own that I can't see the light that I so desperately need in those times. The clouds roll in and there is no lightning to even brighten or light the darkest time. I hope and pray with all my heart that this sweet woman knows how much her friend cared for her as I hope and pray that the friends that I have not been able to be there for know how much I care for them and that although I may not be there physically in their darkest hours, I am there praying and asking God to lift them up, for He can uplift far higher than I could ever hope to.
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Neglect..

I have absolutely neglected my blog!! Thankfully I only have a couple followers ;-) but to those two, I am sorry!! Hopefully I will get a lot better at updating and new posts. I have also neglected my painting quite a bit, but thankfully I have a fantastic camera that I LOVE that has made it easy for me to be a little artistic. I did however do a screamingly fast painting for my niece over the last weekend and it was so fast I didn't even take a picture of it (I have some on my phone but.. well that would mean I'd have to hook up my phone and do many things that I'm too lazy t0 do lol :) I was actually very happy with it though. It even got some texture from some old dried up white paint haha! I used it for the center of a couple of the flowers.

I have now sold photographs including paintings!! VERY exciting, although it has been awhile since I had a sale but they seem to come in spurts so no worries. It still blows my mind that my work is hanging on some stranger's wall and I always wonder if I actually know them but they don't realize that it is my work because I do not go by V lol :-D

Here are a couple of my latest shots that I am in love with!!

Psalm 128:3 (NKJV)

³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.

Trip through the Fog

Last weekend we took a short trip to visit family and hit some crazy thick fog. I think I've seen through walls easier than we could see through this fog. After a few short minutes that felt like hours we broke through it and it was like we were on top of the clouds. Definitely one of the more beautiful scenes I've witnessed.

ugh!!! going crazy :P

So I haven't done much lately and it's starting to drive me nuts. I am tired a lot because I am pregnant!!! WOW! Never would have thought. So since I haven't done any of my own work I thought I'd post Dr. B's work ;) ha ha!! I am soooooo going to paint this and hang it in the baby's room :D SOOO EXCITED!!!!

Raking the leaves makes for great photo ops :D

painting.. standstill :(

Sooo I'm at a standstill with painting until this Friday. I am needing more acrylics and well... clay too! I'm wanting to start sculpting again and w/out the $$ I can't do anything right now. Really frustrating. Oh well, at least there is Friday (aka payday). Soo until then, I have a green canvas (along with green on my pants lol) with a blank center waiting for the lotus to be finished. UGH! Pictures of paintings are very finicky :P the colors never come out the way they are in real life. Oh well I guess maybe you'll have to go see it at Adventures Underground in the Uptown Center when it's finished. :D

Ingrid Michaelson, David Ford and Newton Faulkner

David Ford, first act.

Newton Faulkner, second act.

And the amazing Ingrid Michaelson.

The concert for Ingrid Michaelson with opening acts David Ford and also Newton Faulkner was Monday night. It was such an incredible night!! I've been to a few concerts and shows and the opening acts are generally so so but man they were FANTASTIC monday!!! David Ford does this whole one man band thing that is just WOW! And Newton Faulkner is so incredibly talented and the songs he sings are just... well I'm guessing that they will reach/touch each person differently sooo check them out for yourself k? The greatest part was finally getting to meet Ingrid M. I had joined up in her street team so that I would get to and didn't get the email until Tuesday that the meet and greet had been changed to 7:30pm instead of 6:30pm which I was there and waiting for anxiously. So I had been talking to her friend and salesperson Marylynn (who is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!) and she said that she would talk to Ingrid for me. Well she did and so did her drummer Elliot Jacobson and to make a long story short Ingrid came up from her little hiding place twice to meet with us (B, Ruth and I). We missed the first time because we thought we were supposed to be outside, but she came up again when we went inside and talked with Marylynn and Elliot and Elliot went down and told Ingrid that we were upstairs. They are all so sweet!!! Words cannot express what a wonderful time I had!!! I very much recommend getting to one of their shows before their tour is over. Tickets are stinkin cheap and the show is better than any I've been to (including much higher priced shows), seriously get out there and get your tickets now to a show near you.

Ingrid Michaelson

Something new that I hadn't put on here yet.... SO excited for Ingrid Michaelson's concert this Tuesday!!!!!!! I'm loving it!!
Check out her latest video for Be Ok a song she did for Stand Up 2 Cancer
http://www.bordersmedia.com/features/video/michaelson.asp
My face is in there!!! YAY!

A Wedding Weekend

So this weekend I was in a wedding, my beautiful cousin Tammy. It was wonderful!! I had some fun and got even more frustrated with my camera :( I'm officially looking for a temp job to buy a new camera. I love some of the pictures I got but they are all gritty and have too much noise!!! ARGH! Well here is one of my favorites :D

Thanks Larae!!!