It's a Girl!! About 7 lbs.

Here is Summer! Isn't she the prettiest little girl puppy?? I am loving her so much, except at 3 in the morning while she cries. I can't take it, especially since Mark is gone. I was up most of the night- of course Summer has been sleeping most of the day- but I haven't -so tonight should be fun again!!
With a face like that, she can get away with a lot, I am afraid!! She is so blond- I think she looks like a seal pup (with ears!)
I spent today doing a set of senior portraits- I am pretty happy with them. I have quite a few for them to look at. I have one more swim meet to do- I'll get that done tomorrow. Then I can finally get to some great pics I took of Alex and Alyssa, and they really want me to spend some time on the Jonas Brothers pics I have (from all three concerts I have attended this year!)
Tomorrow I have a mammogram, so think about me after lunchtime. I am really nervous- which is why I set an appointment soon. I don't have time to chicken out or stress too incredibly much.

Bible Study Day Two

I really like all of the verses that give voice to my feelings. I never give Bible study enough of a concerted effort to make it stick. Also, skirting around the commitment to study allows me the freedom not to change. I am in the non-existent / inconsistent chick with dashes of quick fix. I hate to admit to the open the Bible randomly practice, but I have so done that. That, or going back to the books I studied for Bible Quiz Team (so I am very familiar with them.) I am really enjoying being opened up to the Psalms- I didn't know David and I had so many similar feelings. Relating to an Old Testament king, who knew??
Going to pick up the puppy today!! Can't wait to see her!

Bible Study Day One

O.k. not on time with the posting, but I did do the study on time. I think the main thing I took away from today's lesson was that I am scared of changing. As committed as I am to self-improvement, God-improvement is a really frightening thing. (not that I am doing such a stellar job, but I know I am not going to require very much of myself.) It is a comfortable delusion I am working with. Apparently, this is not how God would have me work on things. Hmmm... my other revelation for myself was that the guilt of starting and stopping is more painful than the guilt of not doing Bible study at all. Maybe as I continue to pray for the ability to do this, the commitment will come.

Yoga Again

O.k. maybe yoga does something to me that makes me able to blog. Relax me a bit, perhaps??

Tonight's class was really nice. I hope they continue these classes in the fall- I could get used to a bit of weekly peace.

Tomorrow I am headed to Hershey Park, PA for a day at the amusement park followed by a concert by the Jonas Brothers. Not peaceful, but it should be fun anyway. The girls are thrilled about the concert, and I am pretty excited about the chocolate. Haven't ever been there, so it should be a fun day and a half. Mark has secured me a pair of ear plugs in an effort to drown out the screaming so that I might actually hear the music. (What a thought) My voice is almost gone, which is probably not ideal in that no one would be able to hear me even without the screaming, but I have no shot of being heard now.

Our puppy has been selected and she is adorable- see below:

We will be able to pick her up next week. I can hardly wait to snuggle with that little one. Her name is Summer, and she is a very light golden.

If everyone has purchased the bible study book, I would love to start lesson one on Monday, the 28th. I'll try and post as part of my study. (accountability, you know) Business has been busy, which is good, but it has kept me away from my blog. I will try and find a specific time each day to do my blogging- for the next few weeks it will be in the morning during my devotional time. (note the confidence!)

Off to Chocolate World- there is actually an attraction named that- how fabulous!!

Yoga

On Monday night as I pulled in to the dance studio to pay off my girls' summer classes, I saw that they had added a Thursday night yoga class for adults. On a total whim, I asked if it was full. It was not, and tonight I went to yoga. I love how you feel when you leave yoga class; I don't know why it is so difficult for me to get into the habit. I think I am going to buy a new yoga DVD (since my best yoga tape is just that, a VCR tape- yikes!) at Target and try to practice a few more times a week. I have the walking pretty well ingrained into my schedule, now it is just adding yoga and some strength training. (just!)
Do you ever feel like if you actually did all of the things so called experts tell you to do everyday (floss, exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes, take a vitamin, moisturize, eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, daily devotion- still a sticking point-, etc.) that you would need more than 24 hours in the day? Sometimes that is what I think, usually as I am trying to rationalize my way into bed without flossing.
Sometimes I wonder what I have done all day, but today, I know. Not much. I took the swim team photos this morning and it stressed me out a bit before hand, so I didn't plan anything for this afternoon. We are dog sitting for our friend's Bichon, and he and I did some resting together for a while. The girls and I watched last night's So You Think You Can Dance on the DVR, and that about sums up my day, along with eating an entire carton of grape tomatoes and 2 white peaches (so sweet!). The dog sitting is reminding me of what is to come in the puppy department- I had kind of forgotten that panic of thought- where's the dog? and its implied meaning- what is the dog destroying at this particular moment? Nordstrom (don't ask) is 5 years old and very calm, so that part is not puppy like, but being used to a 70 lb. golden retriever, the Bichon is puppy sized.
Tomorrow Alyssa gets assessed by the physical therapist, and I am looking forward to having a plan to help her shoulder get better. More news after that.

Scrapbook Inspiration

Today I was trolling the internet in search of something, I can't remember now, and I came across these bios that they have of the teachers on bigpicturescrapbooking.com. I loved the format of the lists and thought I would answer the same questions and (eventually) turn it into a small scrapbook. Getting it on the blog gives me a "permanent" place to record it, so pardon my indulgence, but it is a blog about me, right?? Kind of cool to think about...

Ten Essentials I cannot be without:

paper towels
camera
Excedrin (when you need it, you need it)
sunglasses
laptop
iPod (for walking)
RediWhip
chocolate chips in the pantry
books and magazines
phone- either home or cell

Nine Words I Love

y'all (and please punctuate it correctly)
cool
delicious
yes
Christmas
intelligence
however,
chocolate
favorite

Eight books I have loved (only eight is hard, and these are in no order)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle
Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Shopaholic (the series) by Sophie Kinsella
Harry Potter (the series) by JK Rowling
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
How to be Good by Nick Hornby

Seven things I love about my everyday life:

Sunday- the sermon is always good and the Post Magazine find the difference pictures
Monday- a fresh start, new to do lists
Tuesday- crossword puzzle and sudoku in the newspaper
Wednesday-watching As The World Turns on my DVR
Thursday- my kids are old enough to entertain themselves, yet still like for me to participate occasionally
Friday- pizza for dinner means I don't have to cook
Saturday- preferably a no-schedule day with time for projects and reading and scrapbooking and all sorts of stuff that can't actually fit into a 24 hour day.

Six Places I Would Like to Visit Before I Die

London
Australia
Italy (Rome and Venice)
Greece
Alaskan Cruise
Paris (again!)

Five Things I do Everyday

Read (something, anything)
Crossword Puzzle (most days anyway)
talk on the phone
eat something chocolate
go on the computer for some reason

Four stores/websites I frequent

bigpicturescrapbooking.com
Target (the actual store)
amazon.com
ThePioneerWoman.com

Three Ways I Relax

walking
reading
scrapbooking

Two Decisions I Have Never Regretted

Finishing College before I got married
having children (not that I haven't had my moments, but I haven't ever truly regretted it)

One additional Thing You should know about me:

I am addicted to self-improvement and the ability to re-invent myself frequently (doesn't always take, but I keep trying.

Productivity

I have been struggling with my productivity for a little while now. I think part of my outlook is dependent on my productivity, and so when it is low, I am low. Also, we had a weekend of no air conditioning, which also affects my general mood. Yesterday and today, I did some stuff. Lots of business stuff that really needed doing. I am feeling slightly better now, less like the ship is going to sink. I have made plans for improvements (a recurring theme in my life) and hope that they will help me be more consistent. In other news, the air conditioning was fixed today (AT NO CHARGE I MIGHT ADD) so that will help my mood as well. A good night's sleep is always beneficial to me, and I don't sleep well hot.

The last project I had to do for my photography class was a photo essay- it needed to have an "establishing shot, a mid range shot and a detail shot." Here was my entry:

They weren't my favorite photos of all time, but I had a difficult time picking a theme. I may try and do a few more of these photo essays- they help focus your efforts. I tend to shoot randomly at times, and this aids in organization. You can pick almost any theme, or it also plays into event photography, setting the scene, getting the details, etc.

I have a senior photo shoot tomorrow morning- I am looking forward to it. I got out my studio lights and backdrop tonight and I practiced my lighting. My class really helped me with a few things, especially moving people away from the background- you get less shadow that way- you should try it. My instructor was big on the shallow depth of field for a blurry background. I like those, too, but you have to be very careful of your focus points. I am taking this particular girl downtown in Fredericksburg and then back here for some studio shots after we use the morning light outside.

This part of my job I love- taking photos and processing them. The business side of things not so much, but it must be done, or you no longer get to do the taking and processing part.

In other news, I am trying, once again, to establish a daily devotional time. I really stink at this, which is why I am putting it out here into the blogosphere. I have always been one to cram my homework for Bible Study into one or two sessions before class. (I know, I know, for shame...) I have just finished reading A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study by Jen Hatmaker, and I really want to put it into practice. So, Shellie and Susan and DeAun (the only readers of this blog as far as I know), would you like to join me? The book is quite entertaining, and I need some accountability here. Let me know-

This is Love

This is my birthday cake- made for me by my youngest daughter Alyssa. It was a labor of love, and only someone who decorates cakes can truly appreciate that. It involved two trips to the store, a miscalculation on doubling ingredients that resulted in four times as much frosting as was needed, and a lot of stress over writing with an icing tip. Considering she is TWELVE- I think it is awesome. Probably my favorite birthday thing this year. Most adult women couldn't make a cake this beautiful- and she even thought to line the back of the stamps with parchment paper so they didn't get greasy! And, if you could taste it, you would be even more impressed- it is so light and delicious- I have a hard time walking by it in the kitchen and not tasting it. mmm- thanks honey for a great birthday cake (and we all know I am in it for the cake- if you have to get older, it is the only thing that makes it bearable). We'll be making some fourth of July cupcakes to use up all of that frosting!!