The Scoop on Coop

It was bound to happen... both of our other kids have broken bones, so Cooper's turn was up, I guess. The funny thing is, neither Brandon nor I have ever had a broken bone... knock on wood! (Well, I actually think Brandon broke his leg, but he wouldn't ever go in to the doctor, so I guess all's well that ends well...)

While I was gone to the Fallow Field Farm Marketplace this past weekend to do a photography booth, Cooper was playing around and fell off of Tyler's back onto his arm. It's happened a bazillion times, but I guess this time he wasn't so lucky.

Four weeks in this cast... wish us luck!

Photography blah blah blah....

I've been worried sick about getting ready for the Fallow Field Farm Marketplace that I'm doing a booth for this Saturday... I picked up the notecards with my photography on them today. They look good, but I noticed when I got home that they forgot to put my name on the back. Sigh... I'll try to find time tomorrow to go talk to the printer about that. I also got my big prints delivered today too, and I put them in the frames. I only cut 4 of my fingers with the glass. ;) They look really good... I'm telling you, when you spend $100 on prints, you sweat it a little bit. Please please please come if you can! Bring your friends! Come see me and my big beautiful prints, so I don't feel silly that nobody is stopping at my booth. ;)

I had one photoshoot on Sunday, 2 on Monday, and one tonight... it's photography week, I guess! OH! And I found out The Edge magazine will be using one of the photos of the graveyard that I took as the cover, and another for the article that I took them for. :) Maybe someday I'll actually be somebody in the photography world! (A girl can dream, can't she? ;)

Which One is Your Favorite?

I really want to know... tell me which one(s) you like best. Do you like the textures I've been playing with, or is it too much?

The Most Beautiful Girl

I got to have a photo shoot today with three gorgeous girls, and I'm lucky enough that one of them is my daughter. :) She's been crying and begging me all day to let her have a facebook, because she's in high school, and all her friends have one, and I'm mean... should I let her?

Raspberries... Delicious to Eat, Fun to Photograph

Sigh... aren't raspberries pretty? I guess these pictures would've gone best with the last post, but better late than never. :)

I've been backing up all of my photos today... wow, do I have a lot of them.

I put more raspberry photos on my photography blog. Yes, the raspberries got tired of getting their picture taken. ;)

Blessings

Today I came home from teaching at the gym to find raspberries, little tomatoes, and corn on the cob on my porch... one of my produce fairies struck again. (Thanks, Marilynn!) I can't believe how generous people have been with their delicious abundance! I also got green beans and squash from the Birds yesterday, and you all should've tasted the tomatoes I got from the Shewells and the watermelon from the Hemstreets... yes, I am blessed. I didn't even plant a garden, and we haven't wanted for anything. I have shared a lot of my fruit... which brings me to a funny and embarrassing story:

The day Brother Shewell brought me a big box of tomatoes, my darling 8 year old son decided to pick plums to sell. I found out later that day that not even half an hour after we were GIVEN tomatoes, Cooper sold a bag of plums to Brother Shewell. Oh boy, was I embarrassed. I guess I should know my boys are capable of things like this... they actually made about $5 selling ROCKS to our Rigby neighborhood. Now, if you know anything about Rigby, you know that rocks are the last thing anyone needs there. If you dig a hole, you'll have a pile of rocks with no dirt... hopefully this ability to make money continues with them later in life. ;)

One of my Silver Sneakers class members passed away this morning. (No... NOT in class, thank goodness!) She had cancer. Sweet little Edna will really be missed. I did get to visit her at her house a little while ago, and she still had that smile... it's hard to lose my friends... the hazards of teaching a fitness class for the aged, I guess. I love them all. I really hope this funeral thing slows down soon...

My kids are sweet, my husband is amazing... yup. It's true.

p.s. Read the "to do" list on the side. Thanks, Shannon... it was an excellent talk!

Deep Thoughts by Jack Ha... I mean, Me.

This last weekend we went to Brandon's cousin Brittney's funeral... it was a sad day, but a good remembrance of a wonderful life. This girl is one of the bravest, happiest, strongest people I have ever known. She battled cancer for over 5 years, and it never took her spirit and hope. I am determined to follow her example better. I know I'll never reach her level, but if she can endure what she endured with a smile, I should be able to whine a little less, right? I made her one of my quilted bag things, and I was told by a few people how much she loved it, and how her tubes fit perfectly in it... apparently she was a stylish cancer patient. ;) I am so glad that I could do that one little thing for her, but wish I could've done a lot more... it's hard to feel so helpless when you see others suffer so much.

I had a good conversation with my dad-in-law, and one of the things we talked about was one of the presidents in his ward (he's the bishop) who he said was sensitive to the spirit. It got me thinking and worrying afterward. Am I UNsensitive to the spirit? I feel like I have good feelings about things, particularly related to my calling, and then it doesn't turn out the way that I expect, or turn out at all... and I'm left feeling frustrated, and I start doubting myself and my answers to prayer. Do any of you have any insight for me?

On a lighter note... ummm... can't think of anything. I just thought I should lighten things up a bit, but I'm blank. ;)

Help My Scheduled Mess

I'm feeling a little bit (okay, a LOT) overwhelmed, and I decided something's gotta give. Whatever I'm doing isn't working, and I've got to do something else. The problem is, I really can't stop doing any of the things I'm doing, so tell me how I can arrange it better.

On Mondays I teach at the gym from 9:00 to noon, then start teaching violin lessons at 1:00. I thought this would be good to put all my stuff on one day, so I'd have free days. It turns out that I'm stressed, I rarely get a shower, and it's just a bit too much. On Thursdays I do pretty much the same thing again... gym then violin. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays aren't scheduled, but you can bet I fill them up pretty darn quickly. Photoshop class, YW meetings, canning, needing to paint but haven't even had time for that yet, photo shoots and editing, playing my violin at funerals (okay, that doesn't happen often, but that's the kind of stuff that's filling my days up). I really wish I had time to get to the nitty gritty cleaning and decorating projects, and maybe even read a book every once in awhile, but I feel like if I do have a moment that's not scheduled, it's an hour long at most. I'm barely keeping my house sort-of clean.

I know I'm not as busy as a lot of women, and I know some women work full time (how they do it, I'll NEVER know). I don't have any help from Brandon with the kids, because the 6 hours he is home from work is mostly filled with sleeping, poor guy. And to top it all off, I got a call from Cooper's teacher telling me he has behavior problems in class. I just need some suggestions before I go crazy. I'll listen. :) Well, gotta go... violin lesson coming.

Musings on a Morning Run

I think I'll run out in the country today.

Oh, this makes my heart hurt... not because I'm running, but because I can't live out here.

I like that house. I wonder if they'd trade me?

I wonder if I put an ad in the paper some country mouse would trade houses with a city mouse?

I want to live in a place where the sound of a car means a friend is coming to visit.

I want to live in a place where I don't breathe secondhand smoke when my neighbor decides to light one up.

I wish I could pick up my house and move it to a field out here.

I want to live in a place where I can take a picture of the sunrise without houses in the way.

If I visualize something hard enough, can it really happen?

Oh, look at that gorgeous tree-lined white-fenced lane with the red barn!! Someone's turning up that lane. Lucky sumbeaches.

Hello, cow.

Why does my left butt cheek hurt? That's weird.

My knee is feeling good though. Niiice.

Hello, dog. Thank you for being behind a fence.

I love that house! I think it's mine. Maybe I can convince the owners that it's really mine.

I don't like running with the sun in my face. Kinda hot.

Why can't we have the life we dream of? Why can't Brandon work 18 hours a day on a farm instead of sitting in an office?

I miss Brandon.

My left butt cheek still hurts. Maybe it's those exercises I did in toning class.

Hello, cow.

3 1/2 miles is enough for today.

Ahhh... air conditioning in my face. I can drive home now.

Photos All Day Long

Last night we had a big photo shoot for our YW activity. The girls wanted to do that, and I was all for it... have I ever turned down an opportunity to take pictures? ;) I made the leaders do it too... they were reluctant, but I think they're some of the best photos of the night! Rose is one of the most beautiful people I know.

I loved Samauree's dress! This was one of my favorites. All of these girls were like supermodels... gorgeous and photogenic!

Of course I'm a bit partial to my baby's blue eyes. Sha fixed her hair for the shoot, and it turned out so cute!

I got to take some pictures of some kids too... thanks for bringing them along, Lacy and Kristen!

I thought it was a fun activity! I wish we could've had all of the girls there, but we're happy to get whoever comes. :) If you want to see more click on my photography blog button (top right corner).