I am so

exhausted! I have been volunteering at my friend Jessi's church and their Vacation Bible School program this week. I volunteer so that both Franklin and Grace are able to attend. We did this for the week last summer too. Her church does such a great job. I always loved VBS when I was a kid. Because I spent the majority of the summer with my grandparents on the other coast I was able to do two different VBS weeks. Loved it! Anyway, I was under the impression that I was just going to be an extra body in one of the rooms. Not the case. I am leading the talks, activities in the theatre. After the opening ceremonies each morning, the groups rotate stations. The station where I am is called Cinema. We show a short video (5-7 minutes) that is part of a series, it picks up each day where the previous day left off. Then I talk about the video and get the kids to talk/think about the message. We do an experiment or a game and then it is usually time for them to rotate to the next station. My last group leaves the room at 11:30. I go and pick up Franklin and Grace from their teachers and head home.

I am just exhausted. I am leaving for San Diego on Thursday morning for 6 days. The kids are really excited to go on a plane. I am dreading the packing that I have to do tomorrow afternoon. Blah.

I will write more tomorrow. Right now, it is off to bed for me.

Good night,
Cathy

I've been a busy little bee

We were in need of a enclosure for our trash cans to keep the racoons out.
Here is the area that I started with. I had to remove two star jasmine plants.
I even dug up the roots.








Here are two of the posts that I put in. I used a post hole digger to
dig 2 foot holes for the 4 x 4's.









Here are the 4 4x4's in the ground and the first lattice nailed in.









Here is everything almost done. Both lattice's are up on the sides. I built the front part
on the driveway and moved it over. I need to finish the front and install the hinges. I also
need to trim the top foot or so off the lattice on the sides. I am going to borrow my friends
jigsaw today to get that finished.







I am feeling great about myself that I was able to build this. And I did it while watching 3 kids! I only ended up with one blister. The only other time I built something was a dog house. I was about 13 or 14 at the time, and my mom and I decided to try and build a dog house. Needless to say, my dad rebuilt the dog house. Well, my Dad saw this last night and was really impressed with my work. And to think that I did it all by myself without the input of anyone!





Here is a picture of the wood all piled up before I started:





Here is a picture of Franklin with the wood:


He was very excited about this project. A very big helper. That hammer that you see in the
picture is plastic. But he ran right inside and brought it out because he wanted to help. After
this was taken he lost the hammer and we still can not find it!

take a look at this

here is the website for this retreat: www.creativephotographyretreat.com

My friend Kim is going to the one in CA in August. But there is another one in Conneticut in October, that I think I will try and go to. The courses they are offering sound fun. I love to learn new things.

Cathy

why God created children

WHY GOD CREATED CHILDREN
(AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own,
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...
here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control,
you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence
did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.
And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them,
God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have saidin the first place.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
7. Just when you redecorate their room into a nice TV room, they show up with boxes, suitcases and large dogs, to move back home.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY: IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE: "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!!!!

What is love...

What is Love?

A group of professional people posted this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca- age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths. Billy- age 4

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving Cologne and they go out and smell each other. Kari- age 5

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy- age 6

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri- age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny- age 7

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily- age 8

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby-age 7

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka- age 6

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle- age 7

Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy- age 6

During my piano recital, I was on stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore. Cindy- age 8

My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare- age 6

Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine- age 5

Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. Chris- age 7

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann- age 4

You really shouldn't say "I LOVE YOU" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica- age 8

And the winner was a 4 year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly man who had just lost his wife. When the child saw the man cry, the little boy went over into the man's yard and climbed on top of the man's lap and just sat there. When the boy's mother asked him what he'd said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

can you guess who this is

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than
500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have done time for assault

71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 are currently defendants in lawsuits

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?


It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.

The same group that cranksout hundreds of new laws each
year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

photo prenuer

If you are at all interested in the business side of photography, you have to check out this blog.

http://blogs.photopreneur.com/

There are great articles about niche markets. I have learned a lot from this site. Sadly, I have not put any of it to use yet. I will though. Right now, too much information is not a bad thing.

Cathy

Iraq

Most of you who know me well, know that I am pretty liberal when it comes to politics. And how I feel about the war in Iraq. My older brother is going over to Iraq for two years. He is in Jacksonville right now for 3 weeks for the first part of his training. He will be home for July and August and then leaves again September 1st for a month of training. He will be home one day and then is deployed on October 1st.

I am in denial right now. I don't know anyone else who has a close family member over there. I was able to shut myself off about the war and not really think about it everyday. But all that is changing. My brother has a little girl, named Samantha who is only a year old. She won't even remember him by the time he comes home. I am helping him to find a good day care for her, so that I can be on the list to pick her up. I told him that I would take pictures of her all the time and email them to him so that he knows how she is growing and changing. Plus, this is how I am dealing with the situation. I have found the one small thing to focus on.

I can't even begin to imagine how I will feel come October. For now, I am just going to find Samantha a great day care, have some family/generational photos done and pray. I am going to ask all of you to pray for my brother, Eric, to keep him safe.

Cathy

Yankee or Dixie

Go to this site and see if you are a Yankee or a Dixie. I am 48% Yankee. Interesting to me considering that I was born in the South. It was Jacksonville, however. Even though most people don't consider Florida the South.


http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html

Have fun and post your results....

Cathy

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom -

I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Spit on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
And I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was ok.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

beauty

I took this photo back in April and just finally got around to posting it here on my blog. I had a few hours between commitments one Friday while at MCC and went out to the island and had a yummy seafood lunch and then found a place to shoot. This is my most favorite place to shoot locally.

Sex and the City

I bought this issue of EntertainmentWeekly at Publix on Sunday and devoured it. I am a huge Sex and the City fan and can't wait to see the movie on Friday. In fact, I am going to see it on Friday and on Sunday. I have two groups of friends that want to see it. When SATC was on, I lived for Sunday nights. And this was before tivo. I would get the house clean and the laundry done in order to sit down and enjoy 30 minutes of SATC before the next work week began.

Only two more days!

Cathy

foto flot

This is the coolest concept. They print your photo and then adhere it to a peice of plexi glass and you hang it with magnets or display it on a stand. Here is the website www.fotoflot.com It is a little pricey but when you factor in the cost of professional framing, it really is cheaper. I really like the look of these.

I bet my friend Nikki can come up with a way to do this way cheap! So my challenge to you Nikki is to see if you CAN do it cheaper.

Have a great Monday night,
Cathy

hard work

I spent Saturday and Sunday evenings working in my pool cage. For those who have been here you know what a job that can be. It was in need of weeding and trimming. I let the kids play in the pool while I trimmed trees and plants. I even took out a bird of paradise that was hitting the top of our screen cage. Franklin was watching this and said "Mommy, you are stronger than Daddy" and I said, "yes I am, and you remember that!" Had to stop on Saturday evening to feed the kids dinner. Sunday evening after dinner we did the same thing, pool for the kids and more trimming and taking out of things for me. I took out the two cactus plants that I have wanted out since we moved in. I took out the mother in law plants as well. The pool cage looks so different now.

here is me with one of the piles of clippings that I accumulated!

here is me with dirt between my eyes, Filic took my picture before telling me it was there.

Nice, right?

Hope you are having a nice memorial day.

Cathy

You don't see this everyday

I was driving home last night and saw these two on their way to the gas station. I had to follow them and take a picture of the "bike" they had built. The seat is an old office chair. They added a two-stroke engine from a motorized scooter so that they don't have to pedal. And they think that they are the two coolest guys in the world!

Enjoy,
Cathy

Something old, something new

Something old, something new. That is what this post is about. Last week on Wednesday night I was heading to my Grandmother's birthday celebration at my parents house in Venice. Filic was golfing. I stopped at the gas station and filled up. Franklin was upset because I would not get him something to eat from the gas station. (This is not something that I do by the way, no idea why he even asked.) I proceeded to my parents house. The kids were screaming like you can't even imagine. The noise level was out of control. Well, I am embarassed to say this but I ended up on a concrete header in a ditch. And I wasn't even a quater of a mile from my parents house. I couldn't open my door. The kids were screaming, they were terrified. Thank god for Britax carseats, that are also installed properly. I think that I blacked out during the crash. I finally got a hold of my parents and they came to help me. They helped get the kids out of the car and then I was able to crawl out of the car through their door. Someone called 911 and cops showed up along with an ambulance and a firetruck. Franklin liked seeing all of the flashing lights. He got to see the inside of an ambulance. We were all fine. Had to call a tow truck to pull the van off the concrete header. Filic left golf and got there right before the tow truck driver started to pull the car out of the ditch and off the header. We had it towed to my dad's friends shop. Luckily one of our good friends let me use their Volvo convertible so I could still shuttle Franklin and Grace to their last days of school and then Nature camp. Anyways, the van was in bad shape. We finally heard on Tuesday that it was going to cost ALOT to fix. ALOT. I managed to damage almost everything.

Which leads me to something new. I got a new van. A 2008 Odyssey with a DVD player and Navigation system. It is a bronze/gold color. The kids are loving the DVD player. (we had just had a DVD system put in my old van. The ones in the head rests. They are being put in Filic's car right now). I am loving the Navigation system and the rear view camera. The new van only had 3 miles on it when I received it last night. My old van was a 2005 but there are so many differences with this 2008. I am loving it.

Here is a picture of my old van, all smashed up:

doesn't look too bad, does it. thank goodness for safe cars.

Here is a side by side of my old van and new one:

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cathy

it has started...

Grace is into Disney Princesses. While we were on vacation for Spring Break, she was able to get a toy. She wanted a Ariel Barbie. She liked it and wanted to carry it around. On Saturday the kids and Filic watched The Little Mermaid for the first time. (a lot of skipping over the Ursala and eel scenes) Now all she wants to watch is The Little Mermaid, which she calls the Princess movie. She wants to sit in her chair that has a mermaid painted on it. She takes Ariel everywhere we go. Yesterday while I was getting her ready for school, she said she wanted princess hair. So I twisted it and put a clip in it. She normally screams when I try and do anything to her hair.

My life will be all about princesses from now on, I predict. But you know what, I am okay with that. I was into princesses way back when. I had to use my imagination to "be" Cinderella - my personal favorite. There were no dolls, dress up clothes etc.

Who is your favorite Disney princess?

Have a magical day,

Cathy

Spoiled

We are definately spoiled here at my house. Our tivo recorder has all of the kids favorite shows and lots of them. When they wake up before the rest of the world, I can put on something they like. Until today. Direct tv upgraded our tivo/reciever box yesterday afternoon. I explained to the kids that they had to watch live tv this morning. Franklin is okay with it, but Grace does not understand why Diego isn't on at this hour!


this is what our new one looks like


Filic and I spent over an hour last night programming in all of the kids shows and ours too. In this day and age, shouldn't there be a way for them to transfer all of that information over. Plus, I can't even remember all of the shows that we have set to record. I am just happy that we own our old box and will be able to hook it up to another tv and watch/record all of the stuff from it. There is one series in particular that I really want to watch. It was on the Ovation channel a few weeks ago, it is called The Genius of Photography. It is all about some of the most famous photographers and how photography has changed the world and our lives. It is very reminesicent of my History of Photography class from last semester.

I am sure if I sat down and really thought about it, there are many more ways that we are spoiled. But I don't want to put myself in a bad mood this early into my day!

Cathy

Assignment

At school right now we are doing some studio shooting and advertising shots. We are working in teams. Last week my team had to shoot glass. We used a bottle of Stetson Country mens' cologne. After taking numerous shots of just the bottle, I had an idea to spice things up and challenge ourselves. The incentive is that the "winning" team each week will have their image blown up and hung in the wall. The winner will be decided by the class as a whole. I personally want to win every week.

The photo that is below is a combination of two shots. I really love the way this came out. Here is our ad campain for Stetson Country:





Isn't this a great image...I think so.

Cathy

Photo shoot

At the end of February I did a photo shoot of my neices and nephew who were visiting from New Jersey. The first night that I did the shoot it was in my side yard. The pictures came out great and you would never have guessed that it was my side yard. The second time was an impromtu shoot at Selby Gardens. We went there for the kids to run around and enjoy the gardens but ever the photographer, I just had to take some photos!

Here are some of my favorite shots...



Erin, at Selby Gardens



Erin and Haysie, my side yard


Gavin, my side yard.


Kelli with her girls, my side yard

Erin, Haysie and Gavin, Selby Gardens

I hope that you are all enjoying the great Spring weather.

Cathy