Triptofan???

I am thankful...

I am thankful.  For lots of things, really.  I know it might be cliché to only mention it once a year, but it’s times like these that remind us to look around at the things we might take for granted the other 300+ days out of the year. 

I am thankful for my family.  For my parents who are both still young at heart and love each other with reckless abandon.  For my husband, who makes me laugh every day and loves me, warts and all.  For my son, the smartest, funniest, coolest 6^th grader on the planet, who never ceases to amaze me with his kindness, intelligence, and wit.  For my sister, an amazingly strong cancer survivor, who never stops moving, cleaning or loving her family.  I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful that my husband has a job that doesn’t take him into harm’s way anymore.  He served his country proudly and is now able to work for a company that values his service and rewards him for it.  He is able to explore new avenues and do things he has never done before and, while that is a challenge to him sometimes, it is also an exciting new horizon.  I am thankful for his job.

I am thankful for BoyBoy’s school.  After many years in schools that weren’t equipped to challenge his mind, he is flourishing in his new middle school.  They are pushing him and molding him, sometimes painfully, into a happier, more centered child.  He is learning more than what is in the books; he is learning to be a better student, a better friend, and a better citizen.  I am thankful for his school.

I am thankful for the opportunity to follow my passion.  I have always loved photography and finally decided to make it my career.  I am learning more with every picture I take and falling in love with photography all over again.  I am using my creative brain for the first time in a long time and it makes me feel refreshed.  I am grateful for my understanding, supportive and patient husband who is allowing me to chase this dream.  I am thankful for my passion.

I am thankful for my dog.  She greets me every day like I am her favorite person in the whole, wide world.  She never gets mad when I leave her home alone all day and she keeps our backyard squirrel free.  She is sweet and protective and loves to have her belly rubbed.  And I gladly rub it because she loves me unconditionally.  I am thankful for my dog. 

I know that there are more things for which I am thankful.  It is often in the little things that you find your treasures.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Foto Friday

Had a photo shoot with this cutie this week...

My New (but not my favorite) Commenters

I have some new commenters that I am none too fond of.  They go by names such as this:


救援部


and this:


裏バイト,


and this:


倶楽部


They have latched on to one post and keep commenting on it, ever-y sing-le d-ay.  I don't know how to make it stop.  What is most disturbing is, when I click on their comment to see where they are coming from, HOLY COW!!!  My sweet, pure, innocent eyes fall out of my head, roll down the hall and wash themselves out with soap!  I feel like I need to have my computer disinfected.  How did they find me?  How do I make it stop?  I tried to moderate comments for that post but now I have to check every one and delete it.  Does anyone have any ideas?  I don't know how much longer my beloved computer will last with these nasty commenters.  She's very sensitive to such things and gets her Southern sensibilities bruised easily.  What would the FBI think if they happened to stumble across my blog?  Or worse, my mother clicked one of those links?  (Mom, don't do it!)  Please, bloggy friends, help a blogger out - tell me how to make it stop!

Thank you.

Thank you to my Bubba and to all the American Veterans!

You Capture...Photographer's Choice

Beth has the flu and so does her daughter, so this week's theme is photographer's choice.  I chose to highlight my beautiful niece, P, this week.  I took these at the nearby school playground and pier with a wide angle lens I borrowed from borrowlenses.com.  That place is the bomb!!!  Anyhoo, she is a great subject and I think these capture her true personality.  Isn't she beautiful?

For more photographer's choice photos, visit I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Achoo!!

So, BoyBoy's school is closed tomorrow for swine flu.  Okay, I get it.  They are closing so that they can give the school a good old fashioned deep clean in the hopes of kicking the swine flu's butt.  Only problem is...Friday's are always MY day.  Why didn't they ask me?  I have a few things I wanted to do on Friday.  I am busy!  I need my toes done, I am getting a massage to try and remove my shoulders from my ears, and I have a mentoring session with a local photographer.  How am I supposed to do that with a BoyBoy hanging around?  Don't get me wrong, I love me some BoyBoy time, snuggling on the sofa, watching movies together, etc, but I adore ME time almost as much.  I have been looking forward to this mentoring session for a while and was hoping to gain insight into how to market my new business and find some ways to grow my little seedling.  This photographer has graciously offered to sit down with me and answer my questions, hand out advise, and basically just nosh about the local photography business.  She is a great photographer and I love her work and I know she will be a wealth of information for me.  Why didn't the school consult with me first?  Plus, I really need my toes done...

Happy Halloween!!!

The long awaited, much postponed, annual pumpkin carving party finally happened Friday night. I believe a good time was had by all. Pumpkins were carved, and then carved some more. Stew and mummy wraps were eaten. Some candy might have been consumed and, all-in-all, Halloween was celebrated beautifully.

(My mother's pumpkin in honor of her beloved Yankees - GO, YANKEES!!!)

Forgiveness

I read on MckMama's blog, the other day when she poured out her heart, a very wise comment. Her post was bravely about the struggles in her marriage and the steps she and Prince Charming are going through to get through the rough patches. She has always been honest and forthcoming about their ups and downs and I admire their faith and love of one another. What she said that caught me cold was:

As it relates to human forgiveness, forgiveness is for the forgiver, not for the forgiven.

I have had her statement rolling around in my head for a few days, can't stop thinking about it really. Made it my Facebook status, Twitter status, and it is on the chalkboard in the kitchen where I usually write my grocery list. I, like MckMama, thought that forgiveness was a gift to be bestowed on others, something you could withhold as a sort of punishment to let the guilty party know that they were still in trouble. You are not off the hook with me until I have forgiven you, so you better keep sucking up. This practice only works if the person who you think needs your forgiveness truly desires your forgiveness. And that is what I have been doing all wrong. The more I think about it, the more I realize how right she is. Looking back, I have always felt better when I have forgiven someone wholly and for the right reason and not just to "let them off the hook." How, when I forgive someone who I believe has wronged me simply because it is the right thing to do, I have often felt empty and bitter. Does this fall into the category of being the better person? Am I the better person if I forgive someone just to make myself feel better? When I forgive someone with my whole heart, aren't we both healed? Maybe forgiveness isn't what that person was seeking, but by giving it to them, I have found something in myself. Forgiveness in this way, with your whole heart and only for you is harder than doing it the other way. But, if I can do it right, it can be so much better.

There is a reason God has kept this in my head this week. I believe He thinks I may need to work on my forgiveness skills. At this time in my life, I have few things that I need to forgive for myself and maybe why it was sent to me now. I can work on forgiving for me when it is a bit easier and when the hard stuff comes along, I will be a pro. I can forgive myself for getting angry when the toothpaste top is left off or when the socks are on the floor. I can forgive myself for getting my feelings hurt when someone doesn't return my call or criticizes my choices. I can practice my forgiveness until it becomes second nature. And then I will be able to forgive others for myself.

Thanks, MckMama and God...sometimes I need a nudge.

***Continue to pray for sweet Stellan, his SVT is back with a vengence.

Stellan...

Pray for this sweet baby, he is not doing well...

Oink, oink...

Today would have been the perfect day for the Cheezes' annual Pumpkin Carving Party.

Beautiful, blustery autumn day,

huge pumpkins with cool stems at the pumpkin patch,

perfect weather for eating soup,

and mummy wraps.

However, this is how we are spending our day...

(Poor Bubba)

Don't worry...the carving will go on. Just a little later than expected. Feel better soon, Bubba! (not Sneezer!)

One of my biggest fans

So I have been told that I need to pick up the posting...my dad misses it. Isn't that sweet? He has always been one of my biggest fans.

I have been so preoccupied with school starting for BoyBoy and my new venture that coming up with blog fodder has been on the back burner. So, G-dad has given me the poke in the rear that I needed to get back on my blogging horse.

I can't promise that I will always be witty, thought-provoking, snarky, or just plain babbling but I can promise that I will make time for this blog. I may only post once or twice a week but, in the words of Arnold, "I'll be back!"

New post up over here...still a work in progress.

BTW, April's DH had a small heart attack today...please keep them in your prayers.

CH CH CH CH CHANGES....

OK, I have been absent from here for a while now and a lot of you, some of you, one of you has thoughtfully asked where I have been. I have started a new venture and it has taken up a huge chunk of my time and energy.

Wheezer is proud to announce.....(fanfare, drum roll, etc.)

Shutter Girl Photography!

Check it out! I have started my own photography business! I have always loved taking pictures and after tons, many, a few people telling me that I was good, I took the plunge and launched my business in August. I have had a few clients and hope that, with some creative marketing, and word of mouth, my new baby will take off. BoyBoy is my webmaster; Bubba, my biggest cheerleader.

I have created a photography blog and with the help of April, I hope to have that up and running soon. As soon as it is camera ready, I will come back and share the link with you all! I hope you will follow me there!

Sad

I am sad today.

I found out over the weekend that the basketball coach for my Alma mater passed away on Saturday morning. He had beaten and then been beaten back by cancer.

He was a man who knew how to fight - a Vietnam Veteran ranger, a nationally recognized basketball coach for a division III team, a husband, a father, mentor, and friend. I first met him when I was a timid freshman with a knack and desire to manage the basketball team. He scared me. Close cropped hair, no nonsense manner, deep voice and steely stare, he showed me around the gym, shared his expectations and left me with his final instruction: "You will NOT be a distraction to my players. If you are here to find a boyfriend, there's the door." I took him at his word and only disobeyed him once in my four years as his go-to girl. I made a few mistakes and he was, at first, irate at each one and, later, kind and good humored. He helped me to learn from my mistakes, both behind the scorers' table and in the real college world. In his own way, he showed all of us how to be better at everything we did. He challenged us to question our limitations, push our boundaries, search for our passions, and follow our hearts. He let us into his personal life and shared his wife, son, daughter, and dog with us. Through them, he showed us loyalty, passion, patience, tenderness, and love.

My time at Emory & Henry was full of learning both academically and personally. It was a short but full four years. The impact he has had on my life since then, in retrospect, has been enormous. That is what makes me so sad. My failure to ever tell him in so many words the impact his mentorship has had on me makes me sad. I have seen him a few times since graduation but never have I looked him in the eye and told him what he meant to me. I hope he knew. I do know that someday I will see him again up in that big basketball court in the sky and I will thank him.

Rest in peace, Coach J.

Foto Friday

Foto Friday

Foto Friday