Friday Fives time! Random questions....

Today's Friday Fives are some random questions about me. My friend, Beth came up with these.. not sure where she gets them?? Anyway, whether you want to know these things or not, here goes!

1. If you could be on a show (talk show, game show, anything...) what would you pick?
Well, I guess my answer to this one would have to be LOST. I loved this show! I know, it's already over. I just think this would have been a fun one. And, since it was filmed mostly in Hawaii that would be the perfect reason for me to finally get to visit there!
Plus, let's be honest, have you seen the cast? Why would I not want to hang out on a beach in Hawaii with those beautiful cast members!?

2. What was your first job?
I am not going to count the numerous babysitting jobs I did. So, my first "real" job was at a little market across the street from David Lipscomb, where I went to school. It was called "Granny's Pantry." I worked there a couple of days a week after school. Mostly, I sold candy bars to high school kids, made Icees and sandwiches. It was actually fun! I didn't make squat, but it was easy.



3. What's one of your guilty pleasures?
That would have to be chocolate ice cream with magic shell on top!
I know, I have said it before (and yes, I realize that I am not a kid anymore..... but I am too old to care!)
I can give up a lot of things, but there are just a few that I won't. I have to say that Dr.Pepper and coffee should be equals on this list! There could be worse things, right!?

4. Would you ever vacation alone?
Probably not. I don't mind going to movies by myself, shopping alone, etc. But, after all the years as a flight attendant spending night after night alone in my hotel room, I wouldn't want to go anywhere by myself. Been there,done that. It was fun and relaxing at first to have the room all to myself, but that wore off fairly quickly. Why travel somewhere fun without someone to share it with?

5. Democrat, Republican, or Independent..... or even Green Party (whatever that is)?
I am a proud Republican! More than that I am a conservative. I don't often bring my political views into my blog, but she asked the question! I promise not to rant and rave, this isn't the place.

Home project and my sis is a genius....

I was standing in my home studio Saturday baffled. I have tried repeatedly to figure out how to get things better organized in there for months. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, and how I imagined it would look. But, for some reason I couldn't get it there.

I have a variety of things on hand for work. I knew I had to keep these things, but had run out of storage space and could not figure out the best way to store them without letting my new work space look like a junk storage room!

Then the light bulb came on.....

I remembered my sister's post here on her blog from several months ago where she had a very similar problem, with a pretty cool (and cheap :) solution. SHE IS A GENIUS!

So, that took care of my dilemma for storage. BUT, I still did not have a place to put my new organizing system! I needed something to put them on. A shelf, a unit, SOMETHING!

SO, my husband suggested I head to Lowe's after I stop for the materials I needed for my organizers and see if there was anything on sale. He knows I will NOT buy anything at full price. It had to be a bargain. When I got there the only "bargain" was a 3 foot mahogany shelf for $20. NOPE. Not gonna do it. I had to get really creative.

I decided I could do much better than that myself. I headed over to the lumber and found a 2"x10"x8' piece of wood for $6.63, some spray paint for $3.87, and a couple of $1.29 brackets. Now, that is MUCH BETTER! I had the nice man at Lowe's cut the wood in half, giving me two 4ft. pieces. That's enough for TWO SHELVES! Plus, I had only spent around $18 so far.

I was so excited! I went home with my finds, my husband just shaking his head at me (wondering if I could really pull it off.) I got right to work!


I spray painted the brackets and gave each piece of wood 2-3 coats as well. While they dried, I went inside out of the heat and made my "Littlebits" inspired organizers.


Finally, everything started to come together. When I brought in the new shelf I managed to distress the edges like my sis has shown me, although I must say I don't have her particular talent for this. I did my best, though.


I then recruited my husband to hook up the drill and hang my new shelf. It was so exciting, knowing that I started from nothing.

But, once I got my new organizers loaded and put on the shelf, then hung my backdrops in their new home it really made a HUGE difference.


Finally, my studio is beginning to look like just that. I already have customers booked to come in tomorrow, and I can't wait to show it off. Maybe soon I will run a new special just so I can take advantage of my newly re-designed space!

Friday Fives - My wish list!

It's time for the Friday Fives again! Today's topic is the top 5 things on my wish list. I am going to go off the assumption that since it is a wish list, this means that I can really dream, so here goes....

1. A Maid!!! Wow, this was an easy one. I cannot express enough how much I hate cleaning. I don't mind it occasionally, but I can't imagine how bad my house would look if I only cleaned occasionally. Sadly, I prefer to keep my house spotless, with everything in it's place. LIKE THAT EVER ACTUALLY HAPPENS!!! I do try, but such is life I guess.



2. Unlimited home improvements!
I have an older home, built in the 60's. I love the old houses, they have so much character. I wanted a house that I could change and work on. I LOVE working on my house. Probably too much. I could spend all day (and way too much money) in Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.... Since I am blessed with that creative brain I am always coming up with new things I would like to do to my house. At the moment my list is getting quite extensive (pave the driveway, new patio, new sidewalk, deck, shrubs....). Thankfully, my goal of painting my brick exterior in under way right now, so I can check that off my list soon. (Although not until the heat goes back down a little...)
If only I could just have a carpenter on staff I would get it all done!


3. A million dollars? Or two??
Don't we all wish for this? Who doesn't have things they could use a little extra cash for? Save for kids' college, retirement, MAID!


4. A new camera!
Being a photographer, I always have a wish list of stuff I would like to get for work. Right now at the top of my list is a new camera. My current one works fine, but I have my eye on a new one. It's the Canon 50d and it is AWESOME!



5. Cricut cake!
Have you seen this thing? It is amazing! It's made just like the Cricut scrapbookers use, except it's for cake. It cuts fondant, etc. into anything you can imagine for decorating a cake.... Oooooooh, I would so love to get my hands on one of these! With my new hobby of decorating cakes this would just be awesome!! "The icing on the cake", you could say....

Photo for the day

I know, I have been mostly absent from my blogging duties this summer.... Sorry! It has literally flown by before my eyes. We have had so much going on, from activities to out of town guests, it hasn't left me much time on my computer. So, today I wanted to at least get a photo of the day up while I had a few minutes.


Isn't she a doll! This is Roxy.

I was tasked a couple of weeks ago to be the "official photographer" for VBS at our church. I basically walked around taking pictures of everyone and everything that would stand still long enough (and some that didn't!)

I came away with a ton of great shots. Lots of kids having a wonderful time. I can't deny that this is one of my favorite shots from that week. She was running around in her pink princess swimsuit between the water slide and bouncy house, taking a quick break for something cold to drink.

I just love that she wasn't posing, she simply turned around and smiled at me when I called her name.
Then, she was off again.....

Honey Time!

This post is for all you who have been writing and calling me lately.... THE HONEY IS READY!

Most of you probably know that my husband is a beekeeper. This is a side job he has held for about 3 years now. He really enjoys it, and has gotten quite good at it. I must admit, there is a lot more work involved in raising bees than I ever realized. Probably 9 months out of the year he tends to them, all in preparation for the one time per year when we harvest the honey to sell. It is a job that involves dressing in a bee suit during the hottest months of the year, getting stung, while going to great lengths to fight off pests and critters who would love to get a taste of the sweet stuff inside the hives.

So, last Monday I spent my time doing something I never imagined I would do..... I stood in a bee suit in 95 degree weather, using a leaf blower to blow bees off their hives while my husband took all the frames of honey and loaded it into his truck.

YIKES!

I am happy to say that I did not get stung, but probably because I was dressed with enough layers to play in the snow and I stood as still as I could get away with!

Thankfully my role did not last too long! Needless to say I was a little nervous. I am pretty comfortable around bees most of the time but it's a lot different when there are thousands of them flying around checking you out!

Once we got home Chip got to work extracting the honey, and has now gotten it into bottles. It was a long process. He was up most of the night. I sat and watched him for a while, but my OCD aversion to anything sticky sent me upstairs to bed.

Finally, the finished product was waiting when I got up the next morning. Beautiful!! Ooooh, and when I tasted it! Yum! I have to say it is the best yet.

Yes, I am biased. Yes, it's the best honey I have ever tasted. Plus, my kids allergies have virtually disappeared! Seriously, the bees pollinate the things we are allergic to and bring it back into the honey. The more you eat, the more you build a resistance. It's like a shot, only it doesn't hurt and it tastes great!

So get some while it lasts!

Friday Fives - It's Independence Day!

Thankfully, as I write this, the temperatures here in Nashville have dropped just enough to still be hot, but not feel as though we are living in a great, big oven. This will make enjoying Independence Day much easier!

I love this holiday. Not for what we get to do, although that is fun, but for what it means to me. I am the child of a VERY military family. I have so many family members who have served, it's hard to count them all. I also married a man in the army, whose family is equally full of military service.

So, for me it's hard not to think about the meaning of the holiday. It isn't about having the day off or going to a barbeque, although I welcome the chance to do any of those things. I just try to keep in mind what we are celebrating. So, having said that, here are my 5 things I like to do to celebrate the holiday!

1. Fireworks There have been plenty of times that I have headed downtown to see the enormous fireworks display. But, if you have read this blog before, you probably remember that I am not a big fan of crowds. I love the fireworks downtown, but it gets pretty crowded. So, for me, just sitting at my parents house watching the men shoot fireworks and seeing the kids enjoy the sparklers is all I need!

2. Bake While I probably will not get the opportunity this year, I usually love to bake some cool cake or other food that shows patriotism in a yummy fashion! Since cakes are my new found passion, I have found one that I am excited to try. I am putting this on my to do list for next year!

3. History Marathon

Have you ever noticed over the Independence Day holiday there is a bunch of cool stuff playing on a variety of channels? There are rarely times that I choose not to pour myself into housework and just watch something on TV, but I have found that on holidays like this one you can actually learn a lot if you sit and watch some of the holiday programming. Last year the History channel did an interesting series called "The Presidents". You could basically pick a president to learn more about and watch an entire hour documenting their life, both in and out of the White House. Obviously, I did not sit and watch TV for 44 hours straight, I simply set my dvr to record a few that I found interesting. There is all kinds to choose from, from historic movies like "The Patriot" (awesome, by the way) to Band of Brothers (another great series), all the way up to documentaries about 9/11.
OK, call me a nerd. That is fine. I like History, and I think that the more you learn about what our ancestors did for us, the more you appreciate the holiday.

4. Rest!!
Did you notice above where I mentioned how RARE it is for me to not spend my days working or cleaning house? Seriously, I stay pretty busy. So, I have decided that one way I celebrate is to take a day off. I am determined to enjoy myself this weekend. Let's not get crazy, I will not completely ignore my chores, but I promise to slow down a bit.

5. Thank a Soldier
I won't have to look far. As I mentioned before, my family is full of them. The latest is my husband's younger brother. We are so proud of him, he just graduated from Lousiana Tech and has been commissioned into the Air Force.
I also want to refer you to my sister's blog. She did a great post today that talks about this.