Monday...yuck!

Did you just ever want to go back to bed and start the day over? Today is one of those days. Who did I tick off? Or is it the universe trying to test me? How bad do I really want to be in business for myself? Guess that is why I am facing all these hurdles/obstacles. It would be nice if they were my own creation but noooooooooo! Someone else is throwing them in front of me. Please...I haven't ran track since the 80s and wasn't that great at hurdles then so I know I cannot jump too high now! (Give me an 8-80 or 4-40 and maybe I will have a chance...oh wait...cannot do that either now. Too many issues with gravity.)

Morning started off crappy, got better with photographing the toddlers, then it hit the fan again. That's ok...deep breath....breathe in, breathe out...reminds me of that blonde joke. This blonde had a headset on that was connected to a tape recorder and went into the hair dressers. When the stylist asked her to remove the head set, she fell over dead. The detectives on the scene picked up the head set and heard "breathe in, breathe out..." Ok bad joke. Made me giggle though. Life could be worse. Just breathe in and breathe out and hopefully when you have to jump that hurdle, you don't trip or pee your pants.

Feeling sorry for myself

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel sorry for yourself? Nothing seems to go right even when you woke up in a good mood. No major catastrophy. Just want to sit and cry.

The day started for me at 0430 with a cold wet nose poking me in the face. (Wasn't Darrell, he was at the fire house and I think he would have been warmer.) One of the four legged foster children, Maddey, was making it well known that she needed to pee. Unfortunately, I was not able to roll over and ignore her because she got the other kids wound up and 20 paws jumped on the bed. Yep, you read it right 20 PAWS!! Three of the children are permanent members of the family and the other two, Maddey and Casey, are visiting until we find a forever home for them.

Anyway, put on my little red flip flops and walked outside in my pjs...ok, not really pjs but green surgical scrubs that I wear to bed. Its all about cheap and comfort...except when it comes to shoes. :-) (Nothing sexy about my jammies.) We took a walk around our property for a few minutes and then I sat down on the bench to let the dogs roam around for the perfect piddle and poo spot. I love my life and my family and was thinking about that while I sat there. I started daydreaming about winning the lottery (its up to 374 million) and knowing that we never will but its nice to dream. (The ER staff at my other career put in money when the amount gets up there.) I would pay off all our bills and give some money to our parents, our daughters (the two legged ones not the four), my sister, and my sister in laws (as long as they admit I am their favorite). It was a good morning. I talked to my dad and wished he was here. Told him I missed him and started my day. But as soon as I got into the studio, it felt like that good mood was squashed by a big black cloud. (And NONE of it was my fault. Not one single thing but I was made to feel like it was.) Not going to bore you with details but I could feel gray hairs and wrinkles popping out with each conversation. Lovely....I feel the migraine starting.

Princess Meghin the model

"Gee thanks for that" was the comment from my sister. We were talking about the pictures I had taken of my niece, Meghin and the "glamour book" I made for her. I guess Meghin tells everyone she is a model and her confidence has gone beyond the point of conceipt. Oh well, what are aunties for? Meghin and I have a lot in common. We like pink, we like shoes, we like being the center of attention (but I will NEVER admit that) and we like picking on the boys. So whats better than pink and shoes? PINK SHOES!

Me? A Farmer? Yeah right.

I am learning to navigate around Facebook and ended up with 70 friends in just 24 hours. Cool! I didn't know I knew that many people who would want to add me as a friend. The little things that excite me. Then I find out my mother in law is on there. What?! You're kidding, right? The woman who I thought would never ever take a sip of alcohol (proved me wrong), the woman who I never thought would let a curse word escape her lips (proved me wrong), the woman who I thought would throw the bible at me if I uttered a curse word (proved me wrong), is now a "farmer" on facebook. Ok so the woman I met 16 years ago is not the woman I know today. It is fun reading her posts and everyone elses...guess I am a cyber stalker! But I refuse, refuse I tell you, to play that farmer game. So stop sending me invites and farm gifts! I will not become addicted to planting crops and feeding livestock! I don't like to get dirty in real life so I refuse to do it on the internet! Now if you want to go shoe shopping....that's a game I would love to play! Point me towards the Milano Blahniks and Prada please.......

Just breathe and remember...

Walking into the Franklin Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency I looked around to see if anyone else was there. The room was empty except for the tables and chairs that were waiting for their covering and decorations for the night. There was no energy or activity felt in the room so I wondered out to the lobby to check equipment, making sure I had everything with me and to wait for others to arrive. As I sat there, I talked to my dad, who only I can hear. No I am not having auditory hallucinations, I just like to believe that my dad is with me wherever I go making sure, as always, that I am staying out of trouble. (Even into my 40s, I always worried about what Dad would think about something I did or wanted to do.) I texted (yes, the old lady can text) my friend, Penny, telling her I thought I was underdressed for the evening. She answered with, "Go buy something dressy then." Simple answer but it made me laugh. "With what? My good looks? I don' t think that would get me a pair of socks with holes in them." Oh well, the night was not about me so why worry about what I was wearing? Clothes were clean and no holes so I'm good. After awhile, I walked into the ballroom and things were starting to liven up. Mary Jenkins, founder of Christians Overcoming Cancer, was there talking with an Air Force officer regarding the evening, the hotel staff was setting up the tables and the Rememberance Dancers were practicing one more time before the guests arrived. You could feel the excitement and importance of the night in the air. Once the ceremony started, I looked around the room to see smiles and tears as the speakers told their stories about how they or a loved one fought or were fighting cancer. How Christians Overcoming Cancer and Mary Jenkins helped them through their fight. I was doing well emotionally and able to focus on taking pictures. (No pun intended.) But for some reason things changed. I heard my dad say, "That's my girl." and the tears came. I remembered my grandfather who had fought cancer for so long and then died when I was 13, my grandmother and her short battle with pancreatic cancer (she died 13 days after diagnosis) and then my dad, who left us in January of this year and the tears came. I felt the grief and happiness of those in attendance and relived my grief all over again. Great, my heart is breaking, eyes are swelling and now I have to take pictures. Hopefully I can control the shaking of my hands long enough to focus. Use the tripod my brain screams or was it Dad laughing at me because I forgot something so simple. Take a deep breath and just breathe. Breathe and remember the good times, smile and be happy that you were able to have these people in your life. Just breathe and remember. Thank you Dad. Just a couple of the rememberance dancers during their performance. What a wonderful dance! I was taking pictures during the video presentation and captured a shot as the video was changing from one image to the next and this is what was created.

This cutie was there to honor the memory of his brother who had lost the battle with cancer just after turning 2.

There was a never a shortage of hugs and support. Remember this handsome face...you may see him in a future Senate race.

To see all the photos from The Night They Remembered please visit www.firstalarmstudio.com and click on view events. I will have them posted by the end of the week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Once again I hang my head in shame and hope that you can forgive me. As I have gotten older and the gray hairs have reproduced (or is that my children are sucking the life out of me...no that's not it...they are awesome!) I have become more forgetful in regards to birthdays and other celebrations. Nah.....its just that I am not paying attention to the calendar and dates are rushing up on me like there is no tomorrow. (ewww...bad pun.) Anyway, happy belated birthday to my step brother-Wayne, my cousin-Susan and my childhood best friends-Tad Chaney and Stephanie Mason. May your dreams come true and you never know sadness or dispair.

Twitter, Facebook and Myspace

Well, someone suggested (quite a few someones) that I needed to sign up on all these new networking, socializing sites...so I did. But I need a lesson on what to do and how to do it so I don't (1) look like a complete idiot (don't need any help in that department) and (2) bore you to the point where you run away with hands flying in the air and screaming ever so loudly. Or at least to the point of tears. So bear with me as I bring myself up to the technological times and think of how crazy my grandparents and dad would think this is.

Family Portrait Month

School will be starting soon and then the holidays will be upon us. (Hey! Stop throwing hard objects.) Now is the time to start thinking about and scheduling those senior pictures and family portrait sessions so that you can get your Christmas cards ready. (Whew...that was close. You almost hit my nose. Next time throw food...I'm hungry.) During the month of October, I plan on donating from those sessions to Operation Smile. I have included some information regarding this organization below but for additional facts please visit their website at http://www.operationsmile.com/. Now, you don't have to wait until October to schedule your session. Scheduling early will allow us to work more with your schedule. Since school will be back in session and the students will be involved in their activities, the evening and weekend hours will fill up fast. This is a great time to get your photos done. Not only will you be helping with a worthy cause but you will get your photos back in time for the holidays. (Photo credit to ppa.com)

Mission Statement:

Mobilizing a world of generous hearts to heal children’s smiles and transform lives across the globe.

About Us:

Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. Since its founding, Operation Smile volunteers have treated more than 130,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities and the organization has a presence in 51 countries. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency.

PCCYL Student Salutes

Well, after much work, delays, more work, hair pulling, yelling and down right frustration...ok so I exaggerated. There was only hair pulling..... The PCCYL Student Salutes are making their rounds at the banks. Each week they will be changed out until the banquet this fall. So if you do not see your picture at your local bank, it is probably visiting one of the other ones. Circleville:

• National City Bank
• Savings Bank
• Citizens Bank

Ashville:

• Citizens Bank
• Savings Bank

South Bloomfield:

• Kingston National Bank

Laurelville:

• Salt Creek Bank

Thank you for your patience during our process of getting these assembled and on display.

Just another day...

As she walks down the beach, a slight breeze blows through her hair and sun is shining warmly on her face. The tide is coming in and the waves are splashing against her ankles while the wet, warm sand squishes between her toes with each step. She sighs to herself and thinks how this is just the perfect place to be. She turns her head towards the ocean and can taste the salt water with each wave as it crashes towards the shore. Looking towards the horizon, she sees the dolphins doing an acrobatic show just for her. As she pulls her skirt around her legs, she takes a seat just at the water's edge to enjoy her surroundings before the sun completely sets and wonders if she could move here and start her business over. Since she was three years old, she has loved the ocean and the peaceful feeling it gives her to sit on the beach. Leaning her head back to allow the last few minutes of the sun to shine on her face, she senses someone is walking towards her and is able to tell who it is by the smell of his cologne. He places his hand lovingly on her shoulder and she tilts her head to allow her cheek to rest on the back of his hand as she hears the voice of Abu the store owner in her ear.........TIME TO WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD! SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH WAKEY WAKEY. Ugh! The alarm clock has sounded its annoying tone at 530am. The alarm clock that her husband thought was hilarious because of all the annoying voices that it plays....sounds that you could not sleep through or ignore when it was time to get up. Well, there goes my wonderful dream. Darrell is up like a champ to get ready for his 24 hour shift at the fire house and I just want to go back to sleep. Which I did as he showered, woke up when he kissed my forehead good bye and drifted back to sleep for a few seconds and woke to him closing the front door. Ok, I can go back to sleep for just a little bit longer. Maybe I can get back into my dream. Just as I felt myself drifting away, it was not the cool breeze by the ocean that I felt on my face. It was the hot stinky breath of the dogs. Granted only two of them can stand beside the bed to breathe in my face, Pete, the corgi, has to jump up on the bed and plant himself on my chest. Not only do I get his hot breath but also a paw to the side of my face. You can just hear him saying, "Hey you...Human! Get up, I have to pee." Maybe I can just ignore them and they will give up and go back to sleep. No such luck. They know I am awake and start body slamming the bed. Ok, Ok, I am up. As soon as I move to sit up and put on my slippers, the dogs are doing a dance. I haven't quite figured out if its the pee pee dance or hurray Mom is up dance. Either way, all three are all over me and under foot. If I don't move fast enough, Shadow, the rott, gooses me in the rear...an indication I need to hurry up. Outside they all go and I come back in to fix myself a cup of tea to enjoy on the front porch watching the sun come up and thinking how lucky I am to be here. A few hours pass and I head to the post office. I watched as the clerk wrote down the date....oh my! It's my birthday! I completely forgot. Oh well, just another day. The best seat in the house!! I needed to see over the heads of the family members that gathered outside the church waiting for the new couple to emerge through the wall of bubbles that were being blown in their direction... so I climbed in the back of the couples truck! Nice thought on my birthday....this was the Red Hat Society parade entry in Delaware.

Sticking my nose where it shouldn't be

Have you ever sat back and thought what the heck were you thinking when you did this or said that? Well, today is one of those days for me. I have two friends that I really care about and thought "hey why not introduce them to each other?" Both are in the medical field and have that as well as personalities in common. Both are strong willed, opinionated, head strong, etc etc. Ok I know....two head strong personalities may cause for some clashing BUT it will be entertaining for the rest of us to watch....right? I really do hope they can at least be friends that can hang out together and have fun. I AM NOT PLAYING MATCH MAKER!! Let me repeat that...I AM NOT PLAYING MATCH MAKER. (wiping sweat from brow that is forming due to nervousness.) (Hope you are reading this J and M....I am not playing match maker.) I just think you two could be great friends to hang out with. And if you don't get a long (cheeks turning red and hanging head in shame as perspiration forms on the pits of my shirt and forehead) IT IS NOT MY FAULT! Love you two!

Three Sweeties in the Trees

I sure love my job! Great places, great people, what else could I ask for? Well, that Hummer I really want! Red, leather seats, sun roof, etc, etc, oh to dream...... Great view of the falls after a rain.

These three were so much fun to photograph! They never complained when they had to walk through mud or sit on the ground or for that matter act like they liked each other!! Natural posers.