I Can't Wait Till Tomorrow

A few weeks ago I posted about how I bought a new camera and all my apprehension about it. Well, I don't know exactly how it happened but I'm taking a photography class tomorrow and I'm really pumped! I can't wait. I found out about it a couple of weeks ago reading a blog that I discovered online. Funny how things workout, uh? So, as soon as I read about the class I emailed the girl as quickly as I could to see if she had any room left. As luck would have it, she had one spot available that she said I could take if I wanted. Are you kidding? Of course! So, tomorrow while the girls are at school from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm I will be learning about lighting, photo composition, understanding your camera functions, etc. I'm so excited! It's been so long since I've had a photography class. I'm a little rusty to say the least. If I remember correctly it was the summer before the Olympics and my final project was all photographs of architectural details. I'm just glad I'm not getting a grade this time.

Oh yeah, for those of you who wanted to know what kind of camera I bought. It's a Canon EOS Rebel XSi/450D. I really like and I know when I finally start using it I will probably love it!

Tell Me Why

I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I wanna shoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oot the whole day down

I can hear the Boomtown Rats singing my anthem today!

I can tell you why I don't like Mondays, well especially this Monday. I've had Lacey home all day from school because yesterday she had pink eye. That's always fun. So, I had to do errands with her all morning. Lela got up at some unheard hour of 4:30 am this morning. Her nose is running as well as Lacey's. Gotta love that pollen. So, she has spent most of her afternoon being grouchy. I'm trying to clean up the house because it looks like a bomb went off in it. Not to mention that everytime I get something picked up another mess somehow mysteriously appears. What's funny is no one seems to know how the mess got there? I'm also doing laundry in hopes that no one else in the house gets pink eye. I'm cooking dinner for us as well as a couple in our Sunday School class that has just had a baby. Then on top of all of this I'm trying to change out my Jazzercise set for tomorrow because I have to teach at 9:30 am. Do I bring all this on myself? Am I crazy? Oh, well at least the day is almost over with. Thanks for letting me vent.

Zombieland

Newnan is a really cool place to live. On any given day you can find a film crew in town shooting a movie or even a television series. This weekend is no different except downtown has been taken over by zombies. Yes, you heard right, zombies. After church this morning, we walked to the square to see Zombieland? From what I can tell you it's a horror/comedy film starring Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin. And Newnan is serving as the backdrop for a "Texas" town that has just witnessed a battle between the zombies and non-zombies. The street were littered with trash everywhere and there were zombie signs all over the place. It was so cool walking around looking at the stuff. Surprisingly I did have my camera this morning, so I was able to take pictures. Pretty cool, uh?

What's funny is a friend of mine was downtown last night for dinner when they started "trashing" up Newnan and she thought they were just cleaning out the courthouse because they have been refurbishing it. How funny is that?

Rainy Saturday Afternoon

I can't believe the amount of rain we have gotten in the past few days. It's hard to complain when we need it so bad, but when a lake forms in your backyard you start to get a little worried. I checked my rain gauge this afternoon and it is said we have gotten 4 1/2" of rain. Wow! That's a lot! It's been so nice just to stay at home today and do nothing. Well, that's not true I've always got something going on. My latest project that I started today is a doll quilt. I've been dying to make one and have actually been planning on doing it for a while but I didn't have any cute fabric for it. So, when mom and I were out "shop hopping" I discovered the cutest little fabric for one called Soiree by Moda Fabrics. It's very girly with pink, yellow, green and aqua blue flowers in it. I'm really excited about it. I just hope the girls like it. I've about decided that if they don't I will keep it for myself.

Shop Hop

Are you asking yourself what that is? Well, from Thursday, March 26 through March 29 the quilt shops in the metro Atlanta area hold what is called a The Greater Atlanta Shop Hop. It's a way for the local quilt shops to come together and have a lot of fun. This year's theme is entitled The Magic of Childhood and all the shops involved in the "hop" carry the theme throughout their stores. The idea is to pick up a "passport" and visit all the quilt shops in order to be eligible for the grand prize. All the shops involved in the "hop" usually have giveaways, refreshments, demos. It's so much fun! Last year was the first time, mom and I had ever participated in anything like it and we loved it. So for the past two days in the pouring rain, we have traveled from Newnan to McDonough to even Marietta to visit five out of the nine stores. I'm extremely tired but oh so inspired.

Surprise!!!

Last night we threw my mom a surprise party for her 60th birthday. I probably shouldn't have said that, but I think she looks great to be 60. Besides it's only a number. They say you're only as old as you feel, right?

Well to my surprise the girls never let the cat out of the bag considering they spent the day with her. I'm so proud. I left the girls at mom's house while I went to teach and the whole entire time all I could imagine was them telling her what we were doing. They didn't though.

For some unknown reason I had forgotten my camera, so all I have is a picture the restaurant took of the group. You get the idea.)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

I Love...

my two beautiful daughters. I love my wonderful husband, he truly is my knight in shining armour. I love thunderstorms. I love white chocolate. I love coffee. I love living in Newnan. I love Italian Renaissance Art. I love my black Converse tennis shoes. I love my friends. I love my church. I love God. I love birds. I love crabs. I love San Francisco. I love St. Simons Island. I love reading. I love the color orange. I love the color aqua blue. I love to get up early every morning and write in my journal. I love to sew. I love to draw. I love photography. I love watching the sunset. I love watching the sunrise. I love old cemeteries. I love old churches. I love Gerber daisies. I love hydrangeas. I love Mexican food. I love Jazzercise. I love yoga. I love Grey's Anatomy. I love Fiesta ware. I love that I'm closer to 40 than 30. I love strong women. I love men who love strong women. I love that my husband is thoughtful. I love midori sours. I love that I'm close to my mother and sister. I love a good cry. I love bags. I love my ipod. I love truth and honesty. I love the fall. I love my feather pillow that I rest my weary head on every night. I love the moon. I love surprises. I love to sing in the car. I love to dance. I love my life...I'm defintely blessed.

Self Portrait

I'm a big believer in artistic freedom especially coming from an art background. I so love it when the girls bring home a piece of artwork they have created. I usually try and save it or I end up framing it and it goes in the hallway. I still have few things from when I was younger. In fact I have this "monster" I made from clay sitting on one of the bookcases that I swear Kevin thinks is junk. In fact it something I did probably in the fourth or fifth grade, so I do have some attachment to it.

Well, Lela's class had to draw a self portrait of themselves. She brought it home today and I absolutely love it! I loved it so much I went out right after school to buy a frame for it. She did such a good job. She asked me if the nose looked OK and I told it looked great!!! I've done self portraits in the past and let me tell you they are not fun nor easy to do in my opinion; having to sit in front of a mirror for hours on end, no thank you. I'm not a vain person by any means so to sit in front of a mirror for a few hours just makes my skin crawl. I would much rather draw anything else than myself. It's so much easier to see the beauty of others, that's for sure.

Surrounded By God's Love

Well, that is the title to our Children's Sermon that Kevin and I will give tomorrow at the 10:55 am service. Am I scared? Am I nervous? No not really, surprisingly enough I'm just very excited. And what even surprises me more is how easy the lesson came to me. I guess when you truly trust and mean really trust in the Lord, amazing things can happen. I've prayed that this is what we're suppose to talk about. When we were first approached I started off with one lesson that has materialised into another. And that I truly believe was God at work. In fact when I think about what I originally thought we should talk about has now fallen away and a new lesson was born in its place. Amazing, uh? Well, here is the lesson...

Our girls have two hermit crabs, Pinchers and Bananas. (We will actually have the crabs at church for the kids to see because they love that kind of stuff.) If you will notice the crabs live in a shell which surrounds their bodies and keeps them protected. Did you know that we are just like those little hermit crabs living in those shells? What do you think our shells are that protect and surround us? It's God and His love for us. We are surround by Him and His love everyday through the people we meet, our families and the beauty in the world. So, every time you see a little hermit crab I want you to remember that God's love is our shell. Amen.

First Day Of Spring

Yes, it's the first day of spring and we've been blessed to have a teacher's workday today. The good thing about not having school is I did sleep in (a little.) What do I mean? Well, sleeping in for me is when I don't set an alarm. This is coming from a woman who gets up somewhere between 5:00 am and 5:30 am during the week. So when I wake up at 6:00 am, I consider that to be sleeping in.

The girls and I have been planning this day for a while now and I was hoping that we would have a good time hanging out. I was definitely planning on us eating lunch at Johnny's Pizza because the girls love that place, well at least Lela does anyways. And since Johnny's is located next to Rita's, and every first day of spring they serve free Italian ice all day long I knew we would hit there as well. In fact that is how we became introduced to Rita's. As Lacey would say, "It was YUM!"

So, our day started with us hitting the new Belks in Newnan where I got everyone new flip flops for the summer. After wandering through the store and checking out everything, we then decided to go get our lunch and Italian ice. It was so nice outside that we sat by the fountain eating our ice. It felt so good having the warm sun beating down on us - not too hot and not too cool, just perfect.

After "dessert," we piled back in the car and headed to the Avenue. Lela had gotten a gift card to Children's Place for her birthday and I'd been promising her that I would take her and she could buy a few things with it....that she did. She is going through a "pink phase." For some unknown reason she thinks everything in her closet needs to be pink? Go figure. I so wish she would pick another color and realize that she could change up her wardrobe some.

By the time we had finish at Children's Place, we were all about worn out with the execption of Lela. She rarely stops. Somewhere on the way home Lacey decided to crash out. Thank goodness because I just knew a nap was in order for me as well. When we finally did get home, Lela had to get on the computer and Lacey and I snuggled down for an afternoon nap....ahhh.

Taking A Leap Of Faith

On the heels of our Walk, today I was emailed by one of our ministers if Kevin and I would present the Children's Sermon at the 10:55 service on Sunday. At first my stomach was in my throat, my palms sweaty and my head spinning. Us talking in church in front of...well, everyone? Just for one brief moment I tried to come up with an excuse, we would be out town or I was planning on being sick that morning. Then it hit me out of nowhere like a ton of bricks, after everything we experienced over the past two weekends - we could do this.

I called Kevin and told him what was going on and it occurred to me that JoAn really thought we could do this and wanted to give us this opportunity. I should feel honored. I won't lie and say I'm not scared, because I am. I don't stand in front of crowds talking, heck I really don't like attention put on me at all. Yes, I get up in front of a group of people with a microphone on and dance around, but that's a different part of my personality. But to get up and just talk, is an entirely different story. Wow! It's amazing to me how God works, I've been praying for courage, humility and guidance since the first of the year. I can't believe this is actually happening. Stay tuned, I think it only gets more exciting.

Wow!

that is all I can I say about this past weekend. My life is definitely forever changed because of my Walk To Emmaus. I have felt every emotion in my body from happiness and tears to love and joy. I have truly seen and experienced Christ in ways I never imagined. It definitely changes a person I can say that very confidently. I am seeing the world in a totally different light and have become a different and better person for it.

I think one of the many lessons I have taken from my walk is to enjoy this journey called life and not to anticipate. There will be times in our life when we will be on top of the mountain and then there will be times we are deep in the pit and still other times we are just treking along. But no matter where we are in life, God is always there loving on us and leading the way. I think it's only human nature to want to lead especially when we have no idea where in the world we are going. I have realized this past weekend that we must trust, such a small world but with so much power in it. In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge him. In this past weekend, I trusted God and boy what an adventure we went on, it was awesome!

De Colores!

No Computer, No Cell Phone

I'm leaving tomorrow evening to go on my to Walk To Emmaus for the weekend. Please keep me in your prayers for I will be without my computer or cell phone for basically the next 72 hours. Yeah, I'm a little nervous and a lot excited all at the same time. Kevin went last weekend and had a really good time even though he really hasn't shared anything with me per say. There is this kind of unwritten rule where you don't really divulge anything, so there won't be any expectations. I have actually been wanting to do this for about a year now and now the time is right. I know God will do amazing things weekend because every retreat I've every gone on has been amazing and I'm sure this will be no exception.

Birds And Chicks, Chicks and Birds

This is what I have been up to for the past few days making chicks and birds. I found the pattern for them in the Spring 2009 issue of Quilts and More. They have been so easy and fun that I'm considering making more. I might just have my own flock of birds before it's all said and done. The girls both wanted pink, of course and I decided to make a blue one for me. In fact it's now my bluebird of happiness that I have named Nara, which means happy in Gaelic. She is so cute and she makes me well...happy ;).

I Took The Plunge...

yes, I finally did it and I still can't believe it! I'm still in shock over the matter. What did I do you may be asking? Well, since Christmas I decided that I wanted a new camera. Not just any camera, but a really nice one. You know the kind with the metering systems and fancy lenses. Well, last Friday I actually went and finally bought one after much research and of course a coupon; not to mention the price had come down on it. But after months of waiting to purchase it, I'm now having buyers remorse. Crazy, uh? Why? I'm asking myself the same question. I put thought into this purchase. It's not some spontanteous idea I woke up with one morning. I think I'm scared of it or something? It's sitting on our dining room table in its box like a shrine which I refuse to open because I might mess something up. What is up with that? I just need to take a deep breath and imagine all the beautiful pictures I will be able to take and post on the blog. All the creative things I could with those pictures. Ah, I like where this is going....

OK, I've convinced myself to open it....hey wait minute, then again.

The Marriage Of Q And U

I had the pleasure of going to a wedding this morning. Who doesn't love going to a beautiful wedding? This wedding was a special one at that. It was the marriage of Q and U. In Lela's kindergarten class they celebrated the marriage of Q and U. They had an actual wedding with all the girls dressed as "queens" and the boys were dressed as "quarterbacks." It was held in the sanctuary with our associate minister administring the vows. It was just too cute for words! I think the funniest part was when the kids walked down the aisle to "Under Pressure" by Queen.

Sanity In The Mist Of Chaos

I'm finding a good way to release my stress these days is to draw. I'm actually trying to find more time to devote to art. It's amazing when I make myself sit down what I can actually get done. This is coming from someone who I swear has attention deficit order even though I have never been formally diagnosed. I'm finding that my artwork is becoming my sanity in the mist of chaos. Here are just a few pastel drawings that I have worked on lately. I'm still not quite comfortable with this medium yet, but every drawing I do gets a little bit looser and freer.

"Still Life - Bird on a Tree" by Julie Holland Daniell, 2008

"Still Life - Lily in Vase" by Julie Holland Daniell, 2008

"Breezy" by Julie Holland Daniell, 2008

Fireproof/The Love Dare

For Lent our church proposed a challenge to the congregation. It involves a book called The Love Dare which was seen in the movie Fireproof. Kevin and I along with many others in our Sunday School class decided to take this challenge. What it is is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. The way it works is you have a daily reading and then a challenge is presented that day. You are to do the challenge and then answer some questions as to what you learned, experienced, etc. Some of the challenges have been easy while others have been a little more difficult. I think this is great tool and I'm learning a lot about myself, Kevin and our marriage. I challenge anyone out there to take this dare, it's awesome!!!

Snow Day - No School!!

Yeah! We got a much need break as I see it - it snowed yesterday! So, no school today! Woo hoo!!! What a beautiful sight to see especially since it is something we don't experience much here in the south. By the time we got home from church, the streets were covered with snowflakes. I love watching the snow fall outside as it covers the ground in a beautiful cold blanket of white. The girls were bouncing up and down and couldn't get out the door quick enough to play in the winter wonderland. Kevin so graciously went with them outside as I decided it was much too cold for me. I looked out the window at one point as a snowball went flying through the air towards Lacey. She seemed to be laughing as it got her on her nice warm neck. When the three finally returned indoors, the girls checks were a nice flushed color of red with ice cold hands. I striped them down placing wet coats and hats in the laundry room while they headed to the heater to thaw out.

100 Days Of School

On Friday, Lela celebrated a 100 Days of School. The actual day was on Thursday, but because of all the fun activities her teacher had planned it was scheduled for Friday. When she got in the car Miss Josie told me that Lela was worn-out because they had walked a 100 steps, jumped rope 100 times, ran a 100 yards, etc. You get the idea. They even made a 100 Day Celebration Hash with "Miss Bindergarten. " We hadn't been home to terribly long when the poor child crashed out for a good portion of the afternoon. She was exhausted! I particularly liked the peace and quiet. Do you think they could celebrate everyday?

Another thing we had to do in celebration of the 100 Days of School was to create a poster with a 100 objects glued on it. Lela and I came up with the idea of a bubble gum machine with a 100 gum balls in it. It didn't quite turn out like I had pictured but you know that's OK. It is what Lela had pictured and that is all that matters.