Love It or Shove It

* I LOVE This fall weather!!! Can't wait for it to get just a bit more crisper, but I'll take what I'm given. Keeping the windows and doors open is so refreshing.

*I feel like I say this every time, but I LOVE my dogs! They are so simple and I love how they get so excited when I wake up or come home

*TV...The fall line up is awesome and because of the increase in TV watching, I have been getting outside more too.

*Trying new recipes. This week I have only cooked new things. Meals I've never tried before and I've love it. It makes me feel versatile.

* Plucking my eyebrows. I need my glasses on to do this (because I'm bling...almost) but its not exactly possible when plucking eyebrows. What's a girl to do?

* Photos shoots. They make me nervous and I feel like I forget everything I know. I would love to be able to take my time, but "my time" would take FOREVER!

I'm leaving you with picture I took yesterday before meeting a beautiful little girl that I photographed.

Our Mini Trip with Nature's Gentle Giants

So, a few weeks ago I begged Caleb for us to get away for a weekend. Well, last weekend we did. He planned for us to go to Florida to swim with manatees. This has been something I've wanted to do since I was 7 years old, so for me, this was HUGE. Of course I have pictures so you can relive the experience with us.

We got on the boat at 7am and rode around for about an hour and a half looking for any sign of manatees. They like warm waters and half to come up for air about every 5 minutes. So we were searching for big noses peeking out of the water. However, they were very sneaky, so I got bored and took a picture of Caleb. This is his, "where are you sea cows?" face.

We found one! Okay, we found a few but this one really liked us. As soon as I got into the water she (yes, you can tell) followed me to see if I was gentle and swam into me (on purpose). However, the water was really murky because the manatees rough it up when they eat from the bottom of the sea so I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me. It startled me at first when this HUGE gray blubber-filled animal showed up right into front of my face. Once I got use to their touch it was so amazing!!!

To touch these huge animals and know that they are so gentle made me so happy. She was very playful. She would bump into us to get our attention and while we were rubbing her, she would roll over...and over. This is how we knew she liked us. I could not stop smiling!

Before we spotted the manatees, we idled around the bay at sunset for awhile. The water was so still and the refections were perfect.

And here we are after experiencing one of the most amazing things together. God is GREAT!

LIFE LYRICS

I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons
Finally content with a past I regret
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness
For once I'm at peace with myself
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long
I'm movin' on

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces
Each one is different but they're always the same
They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it
They'll never allow me to change
But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong
I'm movin' on

I'm movin' on
At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone
There comes a time in everyone's life
When all you can see are the years passing by
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone

I sold what I could and packed what I couldn't
Stopped to fill up on my way out of town
I've loved like I should but lived like I shouldn't
I had to lose everything to find out
Maybe forgiveness will find me somewhere down this road
I'm movin' on

give me a cookie

My new obsession. These are so good, make you full fast and are healthy!!! I love it!

These are all over Alabama. Mushrooms that it, not grass.

The next 3 pictures are of Haley. I helping her mom during her labor and now she is almost 3 weeks old. Her dad is also in flight school. She is so sweet and beautiful!

New Projects

This week I've had the urge to do new things and be creative. So, Caleb suggested I start growing some herbs and I FINALLY got around to making curtains for the kitchen with fabric I bought about 2 months ago. Here are the results from my first week of having a "green thumb" and actually being a homemaker.

Our basil and rosemary getting some sun.

The rosemary is winning!

The curtains.

For my first time making these, I don't think they are half bad.

Alabama Adventures

This week has been jam packed! I worked Sunday and Monday, went to a Dr. appointment, spent a day cleaning, organizing and shopping, and went on a little adventure with 2 friends from work. It's been a wonderful week. Of coarse I have pictures that document my fun.

Also this week, Caleb completed dunker training and passed! To me it seems scary...being tipped over in a huge metal aircraft and having to find your way out and to the surface. To him...it was awesome! Glad he thinks so.

Last week I ordered 2 new lenses. A wide angle lens and a macro lens. They finally got here and I love them! I also found a great photography store in Dothan and the owner helped me out a lot. I'm learning so much lately and just want to shoot everything in sight, even if it doesn't seem interesting to photograph. Taking pictures of people would be so much more interesting, but I'll take what I can get.

Here is a picture I took with my macro lens. I'm trying to get a picture of every letter of the alphabet in an unique way. I"m getting there but its hard finding every letter and making them all different.

This has been my lifeline since working so many nights lately. Caffeine!!!

This is me with my fellow nursery nurses, Cara and Aimee, at "Old Towne." It is a mock western town kept up by an Alabama native man. Don't quite know who the 3 are that populate it, but we thought it was pretty cool.

Our friend that we met while visiting "Old Towne." He loved the camera.

This church is at Landmark Park in Dothan, AL, an old town that has been refurbished with a school house, out house, general store, planetarium and farm. Pretty cool.

Recent pics: before and after

Yesterday Caleb and I took a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Dothan.  A coworker, Kara, suggested the place and others for pictures.  I actually have 4 couples who want me to take pictures of them for Christmas.  SO EXCITED and HONORED!!!  

Anyway, I got some good pics yesterday and found some good spots to photograph the Christmas sessions.  Here are a few of them, with 2 before (SOOC) and after (Edited with Picnik).  They say practice makes perfect and I'm sure getting my practice in.  

With working nights, but spending a little while outside in the daylight really makes me feel so much better.  I really have no idea how they do it for months in Alaska.

This picture reminds me of fall.  The day was cloudy with a light breeze, not cool, but seeing these mini pumpkins (I think they are come type of gourd), made me want to put on a sweater and boots.  

Before

After

Before

After

I hope you enjoy.  I'm so ready to start this new week.  Working 2 nights, cleaning, and taking pictures on my to do list!

Pictures from the week

I don't have much to say lately, so I guess that is why there haven't been many posts.  I'm trying to take a picture everyday of something that I do or think of or find so here are a few from the past week.

On this particular day, the nausea was pretty bad so Caleb stopped to get me some Tums, thinking it would help.  After being with him for this long... its the small things that show love.

I can't get enough of this magazine.  A facebook friend of mine found that Amazon.com was selling a year subscription for $5 and I jumped on it!  

Obviously I was cooking on this day.  Waiting for the water to boil so that I could put the noodles in.  Cooking is nice since working nights doesn't allow much time for home cooked meals.

This is our nightly routine.  Caleb is at his desk to the left and I'm around the house cleaning, editing pictures or taking them.

Sunday.  The only day I ever need to iron anything.