Bekah and I made a pact the other day to start blogging more regularly. It's not so much that I think I am a profound or prolific writer. I don't have a message I need to get out there. I just need to talk. I need to vent. And the Lord knows I need to share waaaaaaaaaaay TMI on a regular basis, and I find that the internet really facilitates that exchange. So, with that said, I am going to start trying to blog twice a week. 

Bekah was talking about the future in her entry from last night, and I think that is a pretty good jumping off point. I am not sure what the WHOLE future holds for me, but I know what I want from the immediate future. I want to make this work here. I want to get healthy, and it IS doable. I want to be the best friend and co worker I can be. And, I want to spend more time working with the horses because I am kind of obsessed with them. I mean, how can you not love this face?

Exactly.

That reminds me, I want to try to feature more pictures. Which means I need to learn more about my camera so I can take the best pictures possible. (I feel like I've written these exact words before.)

On that note, I am going to take a nap. We had a group of military kids in today to do horseback riding, wall climbing, a hike, and then pumpkin carving/decorating. Yeah, I am EXHAUSTED. And I love every second of it.

RACCOOOOON!!!!

Literally SECONDS after I published that last entry, Zeb came running into my room screaming for me to get the camera because there was a raccoon in the yard. This kid KNOWS ME!

These pics aren't awesome because it's pretty dark out, thunderstorming, and I am not stupid enough to waltz across the yard toward a wild animal. But still...OMGRACCOON!!!!

I am way too into my cats.

Here are some pictures of Lucy, Jude, and Minerva being awesome.















As an added bonus, I thought I'd throw in this blurry picture of a black snake that was hanging out in my yard. It is blurry because Minerva and I saw it simultaneously and right as I was snapping the shot she took off running toward it so I had to grab her. Silly, Minerva Q!



This is a rose my mom had me take 17 pictures of. My life.

hummingbird

I was sitting at the bar in the kitchen the other morning, staring out the window, when I saw this male ruby throated hummingbird flitting around the feeders my mom had just put out. I dashed to my room, grabbed my digital camera, and started snapping shots through the window. I zoomed in about halfway, turned the flash off, and hoped for the best. These two shots were the best of the group and, natch, are the only ones I uploaded. I think they are a little dark (I am really sad that you can see his ruby chest), but I'm not sure how to fix that. His wings are just a little blurry in the second shot, and I bet if I had put the camera on the sport shot, you know for those ACTION PACKED PHOTOZ, they'd have been clearer. We live and we learn, don't we?





I am always open to tips and suggestions, so if any of you photo takers have any things I could do to make my pictures better, please let me know! I know "learn the features of your camera" is at the top of your list.

Goodbye, Sweet Lady!

Today we made the decision to euthanize our cat, Sand. Her kidneys had completely shut down, she was having seizures, and she had bleeding ulcers in her esophagus. She was 16 years old. We will miss you, Sandypants. You were one of a kind.















With love.

It's an Easter Photo Post!

It's Easter. I spent the afternoon hanging out with Zeb. Here is the fruit of our labors:
The pear trees are blooming!



I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it starts spring with these beautiful pinkish/reddish blossoms.



I am kind of obsessed with the panoramic feature on my camera...



This is a shot of the backyard:



And here is one of Lola being pretty!



Zeb is a show off...



Lola is toasty!



Me: Zeb, why are you so sweaty?
Zeb: What? I'm a child! I sweat!



Here is Zeb, hanging out in the graveyard.



I love this picture...I wish it had come out better. I posted it anyway just because I love the way it feels.



My camera is conducive to creepin:



The next four are of Zeb riding straight toward me as fast as he could...









He was going so fast, I could not zoom out...and I was freaking out and saying "DON'T RUN ME OVER! DON'T RUN ME OVER!"

Happy Easter, everyone!

It's another photo post!

I bought a digital camera a few weeks ago (months ago? It was February-ish, I think), and I have played with it some but not really taken the time to sit down and really work with it and see what's what. Here are a few pics I've taken with it over the past few weeks.

This is one of Shelby jumping on my bed.



I love the way her hair is all around her face!  And her smile! That girl is melting the ice caps!

This is one Zeb took...



I think he's a little young for those myspace angles, but they work for him. Also, I am soul-crushingly awkward.

This is one I took in the backyard as it was coming up a cloud.



A few minutes later, the sky opened up and soaked us!

This is one of CC. I find it very difficult to get a picture of her smiling. It's not that she doesn't smile, it's just that she won't hold the face long enough for the picture to take.



It's worth it when you get it, though, isn't it?

And last, but not least, here is one I took of Zeb.



That kid gets mad air, right?

It's a photo post!

Zeb is totally obsessed with playing brickbreaker on my BlackBerry. He loves this game. If I am not using my phone or taking a nap or something, I will let him play with it. Today, I was going through the pictures on my phone and I found these:













Good GRACIOUS! I love those kids.