Friday fives! MORE random questions....

Well, whether you want to or not, you are going to learn a few more things about me today! It is time for the Friday Fives again over at my friend, Beth's blog. So, read on if you are curious....

1. Something I am OCD about....

Hmmm.. well, it is scary but there are lots of things that fall into this category! I will not bore you though and just narrow the list down to one!

So, I would have to say that the top of the list is my kitchen cabinets. I am SO OCD in my kitchen. Everything, from the flour, to the dishes, to even a box of crackers has a specific place and it drives me nuts if someone (sorry, sweetie) puts it in the wrong place.
Is it just me? Surely not.
Really, if I go to someone's home and I see stuff crammed in their cabinets, falling out when you open the door, I have to fight the urge to take everything out and rearrange it.
I am not so bad that all the labels have to face the same direction, but wouldn't that be nice???

2. Your favorite quote
Since I am not one to "quote" people or keep up with random quotes various people have said, my answer to this one is actually a verse:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that all who believe in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.
It's an old favorite, you just can't go wrong if you remember what this verse says. No matter what happens in my day to day life I know I can let it go, because this life is a drop in the bucket compared to what lies ahead in eternity.

3. What is the farthest you have been from home?

I visited the armpit of the world south Korea when my husband was in the military. He spent a year over there, and since I had some pretty good flight benefits while I was a flight attendant I decided to go and spend a couple of weeks. I can tell you it was very interesting and quite disgusting educational!!


4. Do you have a real or fake Christmas tree?
Well, I have recently changed my status on this. I LOVE real Christmas trees. I have always enjoyed taking the kids to help pick out the tree, the smell of it in the house, and just the look of having the real thing. I grew up having a real Christmas tree, so I never really gave it much thought.

BUT! It is so hard to keep them watered, the needles fall with the slightest touch, the really nice ones are rather pricey, and they are generally a pain to clean up. This past year I made the switch!
I bought a PRE-LIT fake tree from someone on Craigslist the day after Christmas the year before. I got a really nice one, the sticker was still on the box reading $299.99. I paid him $50 and it had only been used once!

I have to admit that I am now hooked! I never went to bed wondering if it was so dry that it would catch fire the next day. It looked great and I didn't have to string the lights!! Hallelujah!! I would love to have a real tree again some day (when I have a maid) but for now I am LOVING my easy tree.

5. First blog you ever read?
My sister's blog: Littlebits Designs was the first blog I ever really read. She is the one who got me started. I also read Beth's blog, who got me into the Friday Fives! Now I have several that I check regularly. It is a really great break from the daily grind!

What i've been up to...

Wow! I have been a bad blogger this summer!
I am sorry, my life has been a total whirlwind it seems since May when my kids were officially at home ALL THE TIME!
I don't know about you, but summer seems to be so exhausting! I remember summers as a kid being fun and relaxing. You know, sleeping late, sitting by the pool, maybe a part-time summer job.
Not anymore. I honestly don't know where it went! One day I am making plans to try and figure out how I will keep the kids busy, the next I am buying school supplies.

We were blessed with many family members, who came to visit from New Orleans, many activities, and one family vacation to Florida. Whew!

So, last week the kids started back to school. Not just that.... my youngest started Kindergarten!

Ouch.

I have to say that with Cameron, my oldest, I was a little more prepared and relieved because I still had a baby at home. Not that I wasn't sad, I was. Everyone cries a little when you take your child to their first day of school. This time is different. Now, when I drop the kids off at school, I drive back home and there is NO ONE there.

Yes, I do enjoy the quiet and the fact that I can get some work accomplished! But, at the same time it scares me because I really realize now how fast they grow. They will be grown before I know it.

So, now I am pledging that I will do better! I will get more posts up, more often. So, stay tuned!

I also plan to start the "Photoshop How-To" posts again. Let me know if there is something in particular you want to know and I will try to address it.

I am going to try and get some more Flordia photos up soon, too. So stick around and I will try to keep it interesting!

Photo for the day

Ok, there may be more than one. I am just now getting these edited, it was a very busy week. I will try to post more as I get them done!

Beautiful, huh!? Our view of the sun setting over the beach from the deck of our beach house. Truly awe inspiring.

I am a few days late with this one, too. My sweet Cameron turned 9 years old our first day at the beach. He is getting so big, I can't believe he will be in 3rd grade this year.
Happy Birthday Baby!!!

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.....