100 Things About Me

I just read one of my favorite blogs, My Romantic Home, and she did a post a long time ago where she made a list of 100 facts about herself. She didn't think she could come up with that many but she did, so now I'm going to attempt it. I kinda doubt that I can. Lets see.

1. I was born in Knoxville, TN, but moved away as an infant.
2. I've lived in San Antonio since I was 9.
3. I have four kids.
4. I was positive when I was a teenager that I'd never have any children.
5. I intensly disliked children until I had my own.
6. After I had my first child, I didn't think I'd have any more.
7. I love birds, especially cockatoos and parrots.
8. I haven't had a bird in over 20 years.
9. I bought my first bird after my best friend gave her bird away to someone else without asking me if I wanted it.
10. I love singing, especially in a choir.
11. I haven't been in a choir in over 10 years.
12.The choir I enjoyed the most was The San Anotnio Symphony Mastersingers, which I was in for 3 years, but I no longer have the time to participate. Maybe in 10 more years.
13. Photography has filled the artisic gap that being unable to sing has made in my life.
14. I think about photography almost 100% of the time.
15. I fall asleep very easily and usually sleep through the night.
16. The only time I wake up and can't sleep is if I am having a disagreement with someone.
17. I'm not a morning or a night person.
18. I don't have much patience.
19. Most of the bad choices I've made in my life have been because of #18.
20. I am a procrastinator.
21. I spend too much time on the computer.
22. I was very shy as a child.
23. I'm still shy but I've learned to push it aside.
24. I am most comfortable around perky people.
25. I can't decide on a decorating style for my house. I've been trying to figure this out since 2001.
26. I talk to my sister on the phone an average of four times per day.
27. If I were single without any kids, I'd live downtown in the apartments which are over the Majestic.
28. I'm beginning to look for a new house for our family, which will hopefully be on a large lot in the country.
29. I think I'm less concerned with appearances than I should be, so I have to make huge efforts to be presentable most of the time.
30. If it were up to me, makeup would never have been invented.
31. I love watching my husband race cars.
32. I hate to watch anyone else. BORING!
33. I feel the same way about watching my kids play sports. I love watching them, hate watching anyone else.
34. I can watch Cheerleaders or dancers all day, no matter who they are.
35. I change the sheets on my bed every Saturday.
36. I wish someone would iron my sheets for me.
37. I don't iron. Anything. Ever.
38. I have had the same two best friends since 1983.
39. I love to dance, but haven't gone out dancing since my high school reunion almost two years ago.
40. I very seldom drink alohol.
41. I hate wine.
42. I prefer hard liquor. Not really-I prefer mixed drinks such as Margaritas.
43. For our honeymoon, my husband and I went on a cruise.
44. We took along 22 friends and family, including my parents and daughter.
45. We still think this was the best way to do it.
46. I have not traveled as much as I thought I would when I was young.
47. People used to say that I'm a very laid-back person, but I don't hear that as much anymore.
48. I cry more easily than anyone else I know.
49. My kids always look at me to see if I'm crying while we watch TV.
50. I hate that I cry when I'm angry.
51. I love the feeling of crying when I'm happy.
52. I love to read.
53. I love country music.
54. The only music that I really don't enjoy is jazz.
55. I love seafood.
56. I wish Maggie's Restaurant was still open.
57. I once worked as a waitress, and hated it.
58. I was a nurse before I quit to stay home with the kids.
59. I prefer staying home over working.
60. I don't think there is a right-or-wrong choice when it comes to staying home. Each woman should do what she thinks will work best for her family.
61. Every year on my birthday, I think I'm getting a surprise party.
62. The only year I was ever surprised with one, I wasn't expecting it.
63. I believe in karma.
64. I'm going to win the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes one day.
65. When I win, I'll act like it was a complete surprise.
66. I should have finished getting my music degree.
67. The reason I didn't is because at the time I didn't like kids, and so I wasn't interested in being a music teacher.
68. I think I would have been a great music teacher.
69. I don't cook very often because only one person in my family eats my cooking, and she isn't home most of the time.
70. I rarely watch TV.
71. I'm not much of an outdoor person.
72. I love going to the beach with my kids.
73. I can't wait to take my kids to Disney World next year.
74. I buy a new hat every time I go to Disney. I have three of them now.
75. I don't see what the big deal is about getting massages. I'd rather get a pedicure that lasts a while.
76. I graduated at the top of my class from nursing school.
77. In high school, I thought I was dumb.
78. I need a new purse.
79. If I suddenly won $10,000, I'd probably spend all of it on photography equipment.
80. I feel a tiny bit guilty that I get to stay home all day while my husband has to work.
81. I love to get blog comments.
82. I love everything about weddings.
83. I think everything about my wedding was perfect.
84. One of the best things about being a wedding photographer is that I get to see everything from the front row.
85. I don't like red roses.
86. I dream about the Dixie Chicks, and that I'm one of them, about once a month.
87. I also often dream that I'm in collage again, and I've missed a class for an entire semester.
88. I had a new dream that I think will be a recurring one- I photographed a wedding and forgot to stay for the reception.
89. I stay organized by having routines. If there is a deviation from one of my routines, I am likely to forget something.
90. I went on some TERRIBLE dates before I finally met my husband.
91. I hated being single, and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
92. I'm more afraid of bugs than snakes.
93. I don't like to fly in airplanes.
94. I love to watch kids laugh.
95. I haven't thought about myself this much in 14 years.
96. I am picky about movies, and I don't like most of them.
97. I hate to be tickled. Really hate it.
98. When I laugh really hard, I sometimes start crying really hard right in the middle of my laugh.
99. I am worried about the environment, and have been thinking a lot about what I can do.
100. I can remember most of the dance routines that I did in high school on the dance team. There are a few songs that I also danced to in choir, and I can remember those, as well. I wish I could remember some things that were a little more helpful in my daily life.

Yea! I did it. I actually got stuck two or three times, and didn't think I could go any further. Whew, I guess I can go get dressed now, it's time to pick up my kids from school.

R at The Japanese Gardens

It's been a long while since I've posted any client images, but I have a good excuse. The last three sessions have all been secrets for one reason or another. One was a quincanera portrait session, and the gorgeous girl naturally wants to keep her pictures under wraps until her big day. Another was a bridal portrait, of course she doesn't want anyone to see her dress, especially her fiance!

The last session was for an adorable tyke that I've photographed twice before, and it was to be a surprise for his grandma and grandpa, but I think the secret is out so now it's time to post the pictures.

We met for a fun, low-key session at the Japanese Tea Gardens, which recently opened once again after many years of neglect. The garden is stunning, with flowers, greenery, a waterfall, paths that meander, and lots of benches to sit and enjoy the scenery. The only drawback was that we were not the only ones there trying to do pictures! The place was crawling with photographers, and we had a really hard time getting good spots. I think we did pretty well in the end though.

The little guy was WONDERFUL during the whole thing. I think we were there over two hours, and he started out happy and ended happy. I couln't ask for more!

Thanks Johanna for a fantastic afternoon with you and your little boy. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Sharp & Co.

My first car was a refrigerated flower-shop delivery truck. I didn't drive it to school, but I could be seen going to the mall or my friend's houses in it, and for some reason, I wasn't too embarrased about it. I didn't LOVE it, but it was better than walking.

Now the reason I had access to a flower shop truck is because my mom owned a flower shop called Bloomers. I worked there after school and on weekends doing deliveries and occasional counter help until I graduated to REAL jobs selling shoes at Joske's and developing film at Fox Photo.

My mom sold the shop five years ago to go into Real Estate, and I have really missed it since then. But it seemed like the right decision at the time for my mom.

Well, imagine my surprise when she announced two months ago that she was buying it back! It was being sold once again and she wanted it. The Real Estate market is not going very well so she has some free time, and this time around she plans to have a manager to run it for her instead of doing it herself.

There was quite a bit of debate in my family about what the name should be. I loved the old name of "Bloomers" but my mom and dad wanted to start fresh. The name BJ's (which is the initials of my mom and dad, Brenda and Jim) left a funny taste in my mouth (pun intended). They finally settled for Sharp & Co.

The purchase was made very quickly, and the next thing to do before opening day was spruce the place up a bit. Now this part is where my mom really shines.

As you can see, the walls were a very fresh green. I helped pick that color 20 years ago, but it isn't working anymore so that will be the first to go.


Note the clutter. That will go, too.


Everything you see including the tables and shelves will be used, but they will look completly different with just a can of paint.


Here is the first round of updates! This is taken from the same vantage point as the one above, just 3 days later. Huge improvement, huh?


This is my mom, showing me a sample of fabric for the next round of changes and getting my opinion. I REALLY enjoy giving my opinion about decorating stuff. I once made the decorating choices at the bank where I worked, and the last time I checked everything was still the same.



Ta da! This is how it looks now, after being open for one month. The view here is almost the same view as the first image above.


This is how it looks from the front door, if you turn your head to the right.


And if you take three steps forward and then look left, this is what you'll see. Snazzy.


So here's the 411. The shop is located in Converse, at the same location as always but under a new name. The manager's name is Paul, and he is a fab designer.

This is Paul:


This is one of his fab designs:


My mom's name is Brenda, and she'll be working there almost daily until things are rolling along. She'd love it if you stopped by and took a look around.

Ya know, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know if they have a delivery truck or not. My daughter D is almost old enough to drive, maybe she'd be interested? On second thought, maybe not.

Good days and Bad days

I'm not going to turn my blog into a Fly Lady daily journal, but I just want to give a quick update.

Monday was a bust because M was sick. We were up all night, slept all morning, and the day was spent trying to figure out if she needed to go to the Dr. or not. I think if I had been doing the routines consistantly at this point, things would have gone great, but it was not the day to start something new.

Today is a score! It's 10:30, I am showered, dressed, I cleaned the garage, cleaned the kitchen, dressed and fed the kids. Yeah-hoo!

The Fly Lady thing feels great when you make the effort, I totally recommend it.

Flutter Lady

My feeble attempt at FlyLady last week resulted in the house looking worse today than it has ever looked. But tomorrow is a new day.

I think I set my goals too high. I usually get up early enough, but then I get on the computer after G and D go to school and don't I get off of it until about noon. (OK, yes I get T and M up and feed them, but the majority of my time is spent right here where I'm parked at this moment.) So then, I made the Fly plan of getting up BEFORE the kids, showering, starting some laundry, making my bed, and on and on. It worked for exactly one day. The rest of the week I slept until my normal time, didn't do a thing to get dressed, not a thing to the house, no laundry, you get the picture.

Here is my new Morning Routine: (If you aren't familiar with Fly Lady's Routines, click on the link above and maybe we can do this together. It isn't really hard, it just takes a certain dedication.)

Wake, brush teeth.
Wake D and G and get them off to school.
Start one load of laundry.
Shower.


I am also going to Shine my Sink tonight, get ready for bed before its bedtime, and go to bed on time.

This isn't the first time I've done the Fly Lady thing, and each time that I start I pick up a new habit that sticks.

Let me know if you'd like to Fly with me. Comments are always welcome!

Things I Plan to Blog

I talk to my sister everyday, usually averaging 3,no make it 4, calls per day. So that is lots of talking. And it seems that during every conversation I tell her that I'm going to blog the thing that we are talking about. Stuff about life, or kids, funny things that happen. I have lots that I could be putting down and I'm neglecting my blogging duties.

So today I'm blogging about the things I plan to blog about. It's my Blog To Do List. Here we go:

1. I plan to get back on the Fly Lady bandwagon again, but this time I'm going to document my experience. I actually started my program on Monday, and that day went really well. But today I'm still in my PJ's at 9:30 AM, and so are M and T, and we have TONS of things to do but I suck at Fly Lady. So I'm thinking that I can do better if I blog about it, and you can keep me accountable for my actions.

2. Did you know that I gave birth to my last kid at home? Well I did, and I have a story to tell, so I'll post it here sometime soon.

3. I was never voted HomeComming Queen or Most Popular or anything like that, but I did have the distinction of being named Choir Nerd at the Music Banquet my senior year. The interesting thing is that it was a Wardrobe Malfunction that secured the title for me, and I somehow managed to have several more of them in the following years. These are all good stories, and I would be doing you a serious disservice if I didn't share them.

4. Um, I'm sure I had another idea. I'll have to call my sister to see if she can remember what it was. I'll call her after I take a shower.

Have a day. Make it great!