Weekend Wrapup... is it Spring?

Friday

* Started on my load of laundry that is about the size of a small mountain.  You are officially old when you have memories of going out on Friday nights but now huff & puff carrying laundry up & down the stairs for entertainment instead.

* DVR Catch up... I really love "The Goldberg's" & "Trophy Wife" ... I always fear liking new comedies because they very rarely last anymore.

* Fell asleep on the couch watching TV & woke up to find Harvey snuggled up on the couch next to me.  I had to take him out to potty before I put him in his kennel.  He was so tired, I literally carried him in the yard & he just collapsed & wouldn't move.  I want someone to carry me to the bathroom when I'm that tired...

Look at those white eyelashes

Saturday

* No sleeping in on weekends for awhile. Harvey is used to getting up & out of his kennel at 4:30 thanks to Ricky's early bird ways & early work schedule.  So Saturday is no different for him.  There goes the weekend Saturday sleep.

* Headed to do a family photo session... it was a perfectly overcast day... always my favorite.




* Headed to the pet store to try & find a bowl to slow Harvey down.  He is a MANIAC on the dance floor while eating... This is how we've had to feed him to slow him down.  It's bitter sweet because this is also how we had to feed Buffy. 



I ended up getting a bowl that has slots in it... still doesn't slow him down all that well.  Back to throwing the food on the floor.

* Ricky ordered pizza for me to pick up while I was out... but called me & said, "The lady that took our order sounded like death"... no way... nuh-uh... not touching my pizza.  I told him to call & cancel & I'd pick up something else.  I know people have germs making my food all the time, but I don't want to know about it.

* Ricky & I had a movie night - we used to do that every weekend but with pictures keeping me busy every Saturday since August 1 (wow) we haven't had time.  But finally snuck in a movie... Grown Ups 2 ... We determined that Adam Sandler has movements & actions that is just like my brother.

* Having a movie night while trying to watch a puppy isn't easy.  Ended up with lots of bones around me & switching them out to keep him entertained & in the room with us.

* Started editing pictures & noticed that the puppy was awful quiet... ahh, good puppy.  Nope. Wrong.  I look at see him chewing on something & notice a string going around the kitchen into the living room... I follow it & then see PILES of yarn... & then another pile & then ANOTHER pile...So much for that project...

 

* Ricky can sleep through anything... or he just blocks me out... screaming while holding a pile of yarn

Sunday

* Woke up in the middle of the night to STORMS.. .like Spring storms.  Thunder, lightning, hard winds, heavy rain... what month is this again?

* Headed to church on bumpy roads.  When it rains around us, on country roads, everyone's gravel driveways wash into the streets causing our road to look like an old fashion rocky road.

* I met up with a couple interested in wedding info... I love it because I just got in the mail Friday my Wedding Promo book to show my examples of weddings.  I can look at my own pictures over & over... not because my pictures are awesome (which they are (wink) )... but because I love all things weddings!!!

* I hadn't had but one Cliff-Mojo bar since 8am &  didn't get out of church & the wedding consult until after 2... I thought my stomach was gnawing on itself... we finally stopped to eat.  I was MISERABLE full when we left.  No happy medium for my belly this day...

* Storms everywhere... we got lucky, the bad stuff avoided us, but it was storm central all over the news & my phone constantly going off with alarms & alerts... Yep, again, its November, not May.  What the heck Mother Nature?

* Once Upon a Time... I gasped... best plot twist EVER!!!

So here we are again at Monday... one step closer to CATCHING FIRE... & putting up my Christmas tree... good stuff happening!

Five on Friday ... vlogging like I'm Oprah...

Today for my Five on Friday, I went Oprah style... naming some of my favorite things...

You'll have to tell me if you like any of these... & what am I missing out on, what I MUST KNOW!  Give me a new favorite!

1. FitBit ....  http://www.fitbit.com/

2. Camera Bag from Amazon ... I need to take pictures to show you all the room inside!  Its fantastic!  Even has a place to carry a tripod on the side!!!

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Backpack-SLR-Cameras-Accessories-Black/dp/B002VPE1WK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1384518299&sr=8-4&keywords=amazon+dslr+camera+bag

They've actually DROPPED the price!!! $29.99 ... SCORE!! Snag up people!

3. Steven Curtis Chapman CD ... CD comes with no Kermit the Frog voices... :)

One of my pictures ... from the FURTHEST PLACE from the stage!  That's what we get for being late...

One of my pictures from the FURTHEST PLACE EVER from the stage from the concert last week



4. Happy Herbivore Meal Plans http://happyherbivore.com/ - Click "Get Meal Plans"

5.  Fingerless Gloves... if you can get home made ones... ones out of Alpaca... you will never want to take them off...


Linking up with Ashten & other awesome Vloggers today!!

Throwback Thursday - Ally McBeal

I was listening to the radio this morning driving in & my all time favorite Christmas Song, O Holy Night came on... & by the best singer of the song... Josh Groban.

I love Josh Groban... always have... & I remembered when I first saw him.  Anyone else remember when he made his appearance as a high school guy on the show Ally McBeal?  He wanted to sing... & no one knew how good he could sing until he went on the stage... & everyone in America instantly fell in love with him... & they even brought him back for ANOTHER show. 

Dang YouTube won't allow for any of the footage of those scenes... I guess because Josh became too famous...

(the song that started it all)





Oh my gosh... I loved that show... Ally McBeal was my TV-Crack years ago.

It had funny but moving story lines...

It had love triangles

It had MUSIC!!!! ... I remember going out at lunch the DAY the soundtrack of the show came out.  All the songs by Vonda Shepard!  Her voice was amazing... how did she not get more famous?

Side note:  We still need more music shows.  ... by the way, I'm still in depression that Pushing Daisies was canceled... yet another incredible whimsy show with musical breakout moments...

Ally McBeal had Lucy Liu as a scary lawyer/judge before her Charlie Angel's days....

It had Portia de Rossi before she was Mrs. DeGeneres ...



It brought the term "Lollipop" as a body shape when Portia & Calista lost so much weight, their bodies didn't look like it would hold their heads up....

It had Peter MacNicol with the most awesome toilet flusher ever....

Let's stop & take note of the 3 most awesome guys EVER... dancing... in a bathroom

It has all things Barry White & Al Green...

It had Jane Krakowski in all her musical ability. Another talent that is amazing.  Loved she used it on 30 Rock all the years later.

It had Robert Downey Jr. as a love interest?  Come on.. it don't get better then that...
He even sang on there.... (My heart melted again)

Excuse the subtitles... & keep an eye out for PEE WEE HERMAN!!!!



If you look at the cast list, it had BIG stars on it...
Hayden Panettiere,  Jon Bon Jovi, Taye Diggs, James Marsden, Christina Ricci, Anne Heche ... when she was Mrs. DeGeneres....

& how can I not say it, it had a dancing naked baby... tell me what other show ever had that?

Best lines from the show I still remember:

"Repugnant!" - The Biscuit
"Bygones" - Richard Fish
"I need to take a moment" - The Biscuit
"Fishism" - Richard Fish
"I'm troubled" - The Biscuit

I'm still waiting for a dance moment with my coworkers in the bathroom all these years later

Man, I miss that show...

Anyone else an Ally McBeal fan? 

Turkey Talk in the Hodgepodge

1. Describe a typical Sunday in your childhood.

Every Sunday was usually the same routine.  Get up early to head to church.  Sunday School was the best.... usually stopped at the local convenient store for mints & gum... usually one of the last ones out of the church.  My mom & dad were talkers.... (mmm... wonder where I got it from?)  We came home for lunch.  It'd usually be something quick - sandwiches or leftovers.  And every day on the local TV station, they would play a movie marathon kind of thing, but the first movie that started at noon was always a 'family' movie... Usually Pippi Longstocking, Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy,  or Ma & Pa Kettle... always the highlight of the week for me!

Pippi always was my favorite....

I even dressed like her a few Halloween's ago...
I actually had a monkey to go with my outfit too :)

2. How comfortable are you with uncertainty?  Explain.

Hate it.... I'm one of those people that was definite answers...

Yeah, ask how many times I get those answers....



This is how I react to life 98% of the time

3. What's something you've accomplished recently that might be described as crafty, as in 'arts and crafts' crafty? If crafty doesn't work for you, how about handy? Or both.

Last night, I attempted my first attempt at Chalk Art... I'm going to use the sign for two photo sessions this weekend. 

I know there has to be an easier way to do it.  I was just using regular chalk & I free handed it.  I need to get a picture of the finished product... not as great as the example, but pretty decent if I do say so myself. 

Anyone else do Chalk art?  Give me a hint on the secret tips... Do they make chalk markers?  I'd be KILLING it if those existed!


4. Have you ever worked in a 'food place'. What did you take away from the experience?

I did... one time... when I was 15... I'll never do it again...

Between the horrible intercom that you had to understand a made up sounding language through... & sliding on grease on the floor all day long.... & taking HOURS to clean fried junk off of pans only to grease them back up... & trying to get the smell of fried chicken & fried fish off of your clothes & from your hair?  No thank you... not again...

My face every time I smell grease now

5. Cold turkey, talk turkey, what a turkey...in recent days, which turkey phrase or idiom best applies to you and why?  Click on the word turkey if you need to read more about the meaning behind each phrase.

Cold Turkey...

With my back pain being on Level 10 lately, my exercise has gone COLD TURKEY ... it makes me feel horrible...

My tweet last night perfectly explains how I'm feeling about it...

I've become a blob ...
— Rebecca Jo (@RebeccaJoKnits) November 13, 2013

6. If you could have any one guest join your Thanksgiving dinner table, who would it be?

Duh... Steven Curtis Chapman.... Do I even need to explain?

He can sing songs while I don't cook Thanksgiving dinner...



7. What is one thing you must accomplish today?

I MUST finish up editing the wedding album today... sale goes off at midnight.  The album is a few hundred bucks... so ANY percent off?  I need to take advantage of!



8.  Insert your own random thought here.

So I'm thinking I'm going to put up my Christmas tree next weekend!!!  With Thanksgiving being so late, I don't want to wait until then...

& I have a feeling our Christmas decorations are going to be attacked.  With a new puppy in the house that loves to chew & eat EVERYYYYYYY THINGGGGGGG, we're going to have to fence in our tree & presents... this is going to be a battle, I can tell...

Here's an idea... at least we can put lights around it!
No... Harvey will eat the lights...

Weekend wrapup

Friday

* we had a bonfire/hayride for the Youth Kiddos... BRRRR!!! It got down in the 40's that night.  The hot dog buns had frost on them.  Good thing I don't eat hot dogs

* Frost on chocolate gets warmed up quick with toasty smores... yum!

* I WOULD HAVE FREAKED OUT!!!!!... the kids went on the hayride.  They came back - some screaming - some laughing.  They found on the path, a cow that had given birth & the it didn't go well.  The calf was stuck & had died... the mom was suffering.  They had to obviously cut the hayride short so the owners could get back to help the mom.  If I was on the hayride, I would be in some sort of fetal position STILL having nightmares.

* I bought a wool jacket at the rodeo about 20 years ago... hardly ever wear it.  I had it on that cold night & was comfortably warm.  Its hideously ugly... but good to know now how warm it keeps me!

Saturday

*Ricky had to work ... so I was greeted with this... 4 faces letting me know it was time to get up & give some treats...

* We have one snuggle baby that just likes to be held when he's sleepy... I don't mind one bit...

This is going to be fun when he's 40 lbs

* Worked on a Photoshop experiment.  The groom wanted an "Avenger" look to a picture.  I made the orchard the wedding was on look like an Nuclear bomb hit it :)  Hope it likes it.  It was my first attempt at something totally different... kinda proud of it...

* It was a beautiful fall day... perfect for a Senior Photo session... I am loving this girl's pictures because she has the most beautiful red hair... the same kind of red hair I pay good money for :)



* Got home just in time to get cleaned up & head right back out... Les Miserables at the local high school.  Not just any high school (I mentioned this in my vlog Friday) - they won the Best High School Theater in the Midwest!! That's impressive.  They really are top notch.  The play didn't disappoint either.

* One oops moment though... Jean Valjean missed a whole SCENE ... where Fantine DIES!! AWKWARD!!!  ... poor Fantine.  She kept singing her part.  What to do?  But when he came out at the part she just died, he was limping - BAD!! The scene before, he had run off the set - I wonder if he tripped & twisted his ankle or something?  Someone said, "He literally broke a leg"... kudos for a Broadway wish reference!

* I saw this in the lobby... almost fainted... already plotting how to just sneak in & wear the dress whenever I want...

Sunday

* Youth Time... these kids always make a day better

* Only time I had all weekend to run out & do some errands... & by errands, I mean buy more dog food & dog toys for Harvey

* I had to run by Old Navy to take a pair of jeans I bought on line back... the whole store was 30% off... I wanted to go buck wild shopping... but know Christmas is around the corner...Christmas involves needing money (sadly)

* No more Peach Green Tea Lemonade at Starbucks... I don't get it. They still have Green Tea Lemonade.  They have different flavors like Raspberry & Peppermint.  They can't keep Peach in?  ... I'm depressed...

* Home to edit pictures... & by the time we got home, the sun was already set & it was dark.  I hate Daylight Savings Time.

* End my night trying to wear Harvey out so he'll sleep through the night in his kennel... its a job someone has to do...

*

Five on Friday... with a vlog AND a giveaway? Who can handle the awesomeness!?

The best Five on Friday EVER...

 

 

Not just because its another Vlog that I get to link up with Ashten & the awesome vloggers...
 

 

but because this one has a giveaway...

 

Let's watch & learn

 

 

 

1.  Steven Curtis Chapman... have no idea how many times I've seen him in concert now! LOVE
2. Christmas Music... a little too soon?
3.  Old Navy Jeans... FINALLY!
4. High School Les Miserables.... ONE DAY MORE!!
5. Reduce Everyday Water Bottles ... GIVEAWAY!!!!
 

Details of the Giveaway

http://www.reduceeveryday.com/

You get to pick any of the Waterweek sets

just like the ones I showed!

That's so awesome! 

 

A big thanks to Reduce Everyday for being willing to do the giveaway!

I had actually purchased mine & fell in love & then contacted them

Take advantage of this one!

 

I'll choose the winner on November 14th

How to enter? 

Comment letting me know your thoughts on the vlog!

And let me know which design you will want...
Make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you are a WINNER!!!!

Dog teaching about God...

I'm sure there is a book somewhere that talks about how much they learn about God through their dogs...

but I haven't read it :)

I just know having a puppy, I see things in him that have taught me & showed me things about the Master/obeying relationship...

Or lack thereof... because let's face it... puppies WANT to obey their master... but they just can't... too much to do...



I'll get to that in a second...

Let's just look at some things I've noticed

* Presence of the Master..... Harvey just wants to be with us... when we confine him to a certain area of the house & go to another room for a few minutes, he just cries & cries... why?  Because he wants us to be with him. We don't have to sit & hold him all the time - he just wants to know we're there.  He just wants to be in our presence.  I think it makes him feel safer to know we're right there close by....
I know there is a peace when I can feel God's presence near me as well.  A sense of comfort that nothing else can duplicate.




* Don't hurt the Master....Harvey wants to rough house, but if you whine out like he's hurt you - he stops immediately.  He knows he's not supposed to hurt us.  I think the instinct is strong in dogs to "not bite the hand that feeds you". ....
I have to stop sometimes & think of the things I do or say in a day & think,  does that hurt God?  There is a song by Ray Boltz from years ago that says, "Do you still feel the  nails, every time I fail?" ... when you think about how your actions hurt Him, it makes you stop & rethink things.  Its just taking that time to think about it.




* Hard to stay focused on commands.....Harvey is learning his commands so well already.  Sit, stay, lay, shake... getting them down pretty darn good for a puppy... but its so hard some days.  So much to see, so much to do with other dogs walking around... its hard to focus completely on what we're asking him to do... distracting.
I know some days, I get distracted by things going on... not paying attention to the things God tells me to do.




* Telling Him where to go? .... Harvey is an Aussie - which is a herding dog.  Its their instinct.  He will walk in front of us trying to show us where he wants us to go.  When we tell him to "move" & we take control & show him where we're going, he fights it for a little bit, but then he sees we're not leading him anywhere bad.  His instinct is strong though... he wants to be the leader...
Yeah - this one is obvious... don't we all have that instinct?  I want to be the one who leads the way because I know what's best!  Right?... so wrong... Then we see that where God leads us, he'll lead us through it... so scary to give up control, even when our instincts tells us not to.

* Just Rest... Harvey is a puppy... full of energy.. full of pep & always ready to go go go... but if he sees you sitting down on the floor, or even better, if you LAY down on the ground, he'll leave all the toys behind & come running to just sit in your lap, or snuggle next to you & will even just bury his face into a part of your body & just rest... you can feel his body totally relaxing... just in time to JUMP UP FOR MORE PLAY!!!
I need that more often now that I'm older & life comes with more problems & aches & pains & issues.. I need to just sit & relax with my Master... rejuvenate, get that energy back to tackle what life has in store...

* Rescued!!!!.... the last one that I just remembered that is the MOST IMPORTANT... We rescued Harvey... I don't even want to think what would have happened if we didn't rescue his sweet little face.  I always say that animals KNOW when they've been rescued & respond differently to owners.  They have a gratitude.  If you have a rescue animal, you understand.  .... I know I've been rescued & I have an attitude of gratitude... more then anything else in my life, I have that appreciation.

I'm sure as Harvey grows, he's going to continue to show us more about a Master/Obeying relationship... & I pray God just teaches me with every lick of the face


________________

Just because... I always love this video...

Hodgepodge Time

I missed the Hodgepodge last week with vacation... so excited to jump back in...

1. What's one way you're like your siblings? If you don't have siblings, how are you like your lifelong best friend or cousin?

How are we alike... my brother & I....
mmm..
we have the same parents...

That's about the extent of it.

We really are opposites.  He's a boy, I'm a girl.  He is a punk & I am perfect. KIDDING! ...
Wait - something hit me... we are alike in one way... we both love animals!
BAM!  Twinsies!


2.  What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of yourself at age eighteen?

Being young...

Honestly... I'm feeling SO OLD lately with aches & pains so the idea of 18 again & full of young energy, I'm drooling with jealousy

....oh, I also think of big 80's hair....

3.  Sculptor-dancer-actor-painter...if you could excel in one of these arts, which would you choose and why?

I'm torn between two... I always said I think I would have been an awesome dancer.  I've got rhythm, can bust out a move & am great with choreography (Thanks Jazzercise)

But I'd also choose acting... IF it meant I would excel.  I don't want to be a struggling actor... but one of those Oscar-carrying-actors... move over Julie Roberts.  The only downside?  I can remember dance moves... memorizing lines?  A whole other story...

so DANCER wins!! YAHOO!!!!

See?  I can remember this Jazzercise routine in 3.2 seconds
Dance Pro!

4. What's a scent that takes you back in time, and where does it take you?

This is a perfect timing question. Ricky & I were in a store the other day & I found a bottle of Charlie perfume... it was $2.99 for the whole bottle... I sprayed it & I told Ricky it took me on a time warp back to my childhood...

Its what my mom always wore

I told Ricky its crazy how scents can take you right back in time...

5.  November is for peanut butter lovers (National Peanut Butter Lovers Month).  Are you a lover or a hater?  What's your favorite dish/recipe that calls for peanut butter?

Give me a spoon & a jar of peanut butter & I'm happy... love the stuff...

Always love a Peanut butter sandwich... (fun fact:  NEVER had a PB&J sandwich in my life... I know... shocking)
Love PB on a banana for breakfast
Love putting it in a chocolate protein smoothie

I could cry for people with peanut allergies....



6. What do people thank you personally for most often?

For shutting up
... on some days...

Probably the most often I hear it is when clients get their pictures that I take.  I love capturing moments of time for a family ... & I think they understand how special those pictures will be down the road... makes me warm & fuzzy inside...



7. What event this year are you most thankful for?

I have to think about the whole year?  ... did you not remember my answer in the acting question?  I have no memory...

same expression I have trying to think past 2 weeks ago

I'll stick with the obvious... that our government hasn't killed us all... yet....

(Oh snap... did I just post a political statement?)




8.  Insert your own random thought here.

So everyone has probably already seen it, but I can't get enough...

The new Jimmy Kimmel video of people telling their kids they ate their Halloween Candy... kids are the best...

My favorite kid?  The little girl that is crying but says, 'That's ok' all the while sucking in the tears & the sadness... what a sweet child...