Took more than I gave

What a delightful, incredible time I had at my Photo seminar this past week.

I hope this post can possibly express my heartfelt Soul Journey.

There are times in life where we truly take more than we give...

And this, my friends, was one of those times.

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To Sherry...

I adore you. I have looked up to you from the day I met you in 2003.

Many times, as I walked my rocky path, I have sought your comfort and guidance.

And countless others I have talked to you in my head.

You are a lady to be admired and your love for God, your family, your friends, and your camera are one that I treasure beyond what this lifetime will hold.

To Deb....

My precious new kindred spirit.

You are enclosed in one package so much of what the world needs more of.

Sincere, honest to your soul, natural, creative, and full of "the moment."

How thankful I am that we share our dear Sherry so that our paths met at the crossroads.

I will hold dearly to the 2 days we spent together.

The nights rocking on your front porch sharing the depths of our "woman's souls" will forever be a priceless moment I will look back on and smile.
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When Sherry and I arrived in RoundTop, Texas on Saturday night.... We drove to an incredible little pub to meet Deb. They were playing LIVE music and dancing. For a girl who watches daily Sponge Bob.... it of course was an amazing treat. A dear man, in his 60's, stood and sang his heart out to any one's request for at least 2 priceless hours.

How I wish you could have both seen and felt the overwhelming passion this precious man had for what he did.. I know I am an emotional sap, but it really brought me to tears to watch him. He loved what he did. He played from his soul with a Bucket on a stool that said "God Bless You".

Later that night I found out from Deb that he is the man who carries the huge CROSS over the top of his shoulder all over Texas. Now that is a man who has not stopped living. He lives each day tapped in to the Passion and JOY God has given us all. He didn't care at all that he was missing half of his front teeth. He sang from his heart... and for that no teeth were needed.

As my new male inspiration was singing Jeremiah was a Bullfrog (my request) ha

We turned around to see this (may I say STRANGE) sight. haha I'm not sure, but I feel like he was hurting the next morning.

Sunday morning I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee, and bacon. Heard the sweet sound of handmade wind chimes and thought that this place must surely be somewhere close to the road to Heaven. It may not be marked as such on the map, but if you ever need a visit to a place where time stood still... filled with the peace that we often take for granted then visit Deb http://diddebdoit.blogspot.com/ at the her bed and breakfast, and you can't help but take home a fresh squeezed dose.

After an incredible start to a beautiful day...

I set off on a Treasure Hunt.

I knew as I walked that this town would be filled with things I couldn't go home without.

I have so many wonderful pictures.. But this space can only hold a few..

After our workshop on Sunday Deb treated us to a wonderful diner. I've been told by another friend of mine that we should eat with our eyes.. I have never known exactly what that meant, but I came pretty darn close that night..

What wonderful food, and she even gave me the POLKA dot glass. hee hee

Deb invited a few of her friends over, and for that I will forever be thankful... I have read many times that we can learn something from each person who passed through our lives. Well I can only hope to have learned something from these amazing ladies. Glenda, was has a PhD, is in her 70's... To hear her talk you'd think she was just beginning life's road to being a woman. So full of life, and the desire to learn new things. We should never let the fear of failure stop us from trying. She talked it.... And most importantly she lived it...

Then there was Ms. Emma... A woman in her 80's who had me bending over with laughter one moment, and wiping back tears the next. She is the original founder of the Round Top Antique Show.. What an incredible woman. Her stories of a woman's journey in a man's world were something I will never forget.. Little did she know that a West Texas gal would be changed for a lifetime that night.

After our classes finished... Deb had one more surprise for us.

She took us to a place out in the middle of NO WHERE to see the Bridge of HOPE.

Along this gorgeous bridge are notes, prayers, poems, and hopes left by those who know God himself must surely visit such an incredible place.

Many cheers, and many thanks for this opportunity.

TO old friends, and new friends.... To new places, and experiences I will keep zipped in my soul.

Thank you Sherry for always reminding me that Women are the most SEXY when they follow the true spirit inside them.. Thank you for always taking my picture, and showing me that cellulite, wrinkles, and a few pounds can never replace the gifts inside our souls. I will have more of those to show later, and a lot more to say about that.

SEXY is knowing WHO you are, and being ok in THAT SKIN!

May we all find a $5 Polka dot garage sale dress that makes us feel incredible, and may we have dear, treasured friends who remind us that we are..

PIGS did FLY

If you saw Penelope (the pig) in my last post...

You'll see that she too has had a makeover!

I decided my new studio theme was going to be..

When Pigs Fly

so I gave her a little friendly witch to help with her aerial affairs.

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I must say I think she looks rather fanciful

in her new HOT PINK polka dot attire.

Little Brady is quite enamored with her.

She's had several conversations with him

in a language they speak all their own.e

Here is the new sewing section of my studio..

I'm not finished with my tree of wonder,

( the raw beginnings of it are in my last post)

I will have it completed soon and get it posted.

The shelves are wonderful, and I can see my fabric while I create.

I bought the brackets for .50 cents a piece at last weeks garage sale.

After a quick paint job and some dots.... they are perfect for my needs.

Brad hung them for me and I have already put them to use.

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Got busy right away and made me a new pillow

to match my new $10 garage sale chair.

I used the arm rest material to make the flower

and it ties all the colors in to the rest of the house.

Now I must say - that chair was a steal.

It is so comfy.........

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I did not buy this at a garage sale...

This is Brad's contribution to our decor... haha

But I figured if he's let me paint polka dots on everything

then I owed him his deer.

(with a few minor additions)

Yes... I know if it has these horns it is a BOY,

but a deer in Drag is so much cuter I think. hee hee'

Besides... I told Brad it gets much more attention that way.

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Here is my chair in my sewing area...

Was an ugly old brown mess before,

and a few coats of paint and some glamour

and she's a Cosmo GAL..

April and I designed her a matching lamp sister,

and they are set to fill me with many days of fun in my work space.

Smiling while you work...

Now it just doesn't get much better.

Last but not least...
My best $50 dolloar purchase..
A not so fabulous, not so real wood armour.
A coat of fresh white paint....
Some wonderful Polka dots and she is the best storage in the city..

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to comment,
send me a text, facebook me, or write an email about my last post..
What an amazing treat to know that life is filled with people like you.
Their is much more good in this world than bad if we just take the time to discover it..

May we all find someone to spread a kind word to.
You never know when you just might have made their day..
Smiles are the best kind of flowers to send.

When PIGS Fly

This is one of the most "from the Heart" posts I've ever written,

but I have let something eat at me for years and it's time to let it out.

Several years ago...

someone I trusted told me that I lived in a fairy tale world.

They told me that I would never amount to anything

unless I learned to get out of the dream world inside my head

and get serious.

I hadn't realized how much I let what they said to me take root in my spirit..

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I have tried to be serious..

Tried to like serious things...

Wear serious colors....

AND it's just not ME......

So what if the world ever takes me serious

or thinks I amount to (their version of) anything.

After a great deal of soul searching ...

I have decided to embrace all that I am and just be proud of it.

God gives each of us a special set of gifts.

And when people say you are one in a million.......

THEY'RE WRONG!!!
You are the ONE and ONLY..

There is not another single person in this entire world like you for a reason.

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I have spent many years fighting against my gifts.

I love to smile, and make other people smile.

I love to tell silly stories, and giggle so hard I nearly wet my pants.

I like color.... Wild and crazy colors..

I like whimsy...

I like things that make me feel inspired and want to create.

I like pigs with big round bodies...

And most of all I like POLKA dots!!

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So... Last night I began painting,

and I have torn my upstairs studio apart.

I have kept it serious

because I wanted people to take my work seriously.

I work very hard at the things I do,

and I let those words "get out of your fairy tale"

keep me from being the ME that I was meant to be..

Maybe I was put here

to bring a little fairy tale to us all.

To fill someones day with something silly instead of something serious.

To bring a giggle, to cause a smile, to say some inspiring words,

to push someone to never stop dreaming,

or to create happy things with polka dots....

And best of all

maybe to show someone that God makes us all

with a unique purpose..

How sad it would be if we were all the same!

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So.. with that said -

I begin my studio transformation...

I am going to take the words of JOYCE MEYER to heart.

Surround your self with only those things that.....

Are Beautiful

Are Useful

or Bring you JOY.

(and my amendment to that is ...

or ones that have the potential for any of those things..)

Stay tuned for the finished drops of my Fairy Tale.

May we all realize that sometimes Pigs can fly if they have the right kind of wings..

Immersed in ART

Rocks, Wings, and Precious Little Things!!!

A workshop for anyone who wants to find the creativity that lies inside.

Fear Less.... Dream More

Never underestimate the transforming effects

of creativity on your life..

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Spend a few hours with 2 women who will take you on a

remarkable journey of creativity.

Bring your camera, your laptop, an open mind, and a heart full of fun.

By learning a few simple techniques in Photoshop

my precious friend from Italy (now Doha), Sherry Patrizi and I

will take you on

a Soul Journey.

Spend a day and a half with a room full of hearts who want to create.

Learn to use layers, textures, and script to create your own

personal piece of ART..

Turn something Ordinary into something Extraordinary..

A bit of art lies within us all..

The workshop will be held

at an amazing Bed and Breakfast near Austin, Texas.

in her ART Bodega

http://debdiditforyou.blogspot.com/2009/07/phototography-workshop.html

What a wonderful way

to spend a night away from home.
Workshop participants will be given the special room rate of only $50.00

For more information contact Deb Taylor

at 979-830-7866

only 10 spots left.. call soon

Garage Sale GLORY

I know to half the world...

including both of my parents -

The mere words Garage Sale

send hair standing upon end ....

To ME however....

They make me so excited I almost WET my PANTS..

Yesterday... My friend April and I set out on a

glamorous day of Garage Sale Glory..

She is from Ft. Worth and knows this area....

So our adventure was all the more exciting.

April.... who is the world's greatest organizer..

Had us a list of 38 places arranged by zip code and direction.

We left out of here at 9 a.m. and started out on the quest

for the person who was accidentally selling their most wonderful possessions.

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NOTICE how after only a few sales her SUV was almost already loaded down..

Next time we are taking Brad's truck...

I found the greatest.. Most wonderful things...

I can't wait to redo them and make them come back to life as something

OVER THE TOP INCREDIBLE !!!!

WE only made it to about 2o of them and I had to ride all the way home with a table in my seat... HENCE the stopping of our adventures..
There was no more room for another purchase.
I even had to go back for a chest of drawers and desk I bought.

Here are all of my items unloaded...

Not counting the antique chest and desk I got for 15 total. WOWOWOWOWOWOW

As we were unloading the SUV,

cars were stopping by my house thinking I was having a sale.

Now that is funny!!!!

YES...... all of this fit in that car we were in..

HOW I AM NOT exactly SURE...

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Here are Little Brady's treasure...

You've just got to love having a child young enough

that Garage Sale toys make you jump with JOY...

Notice the worst looking animal

(the brown monkey in the middle)

was already ours.. MR. Monk Monk

Brady carries him everywhere...

So I bought some new monkeys to add to our pack..

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Now if that's not a fine day of living...

Then I just don't know what a girl is looking for..

May we all find a treasure that make us sparkle with JOY..

River Wonderland

I've already posted some of these pictures in other places...

but wanted to share them on my BLOg...

This BLOg

is my very favorite of all communication venues..

It gives me a space to release the Joy that is in my Heart..

And a place to share with all my friends

how incredibly fast "Little Brady" is growing up.

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Here is my little man on his big boy bed at the river.

Brad and I have spent the past 3 weeks working off and on

(Mostly ON) out there getting it ready

so we can spend the rest of our summer on the water.

We have sweated buckets, seen several copper heads, killed a couple,

Brad's been bitten by a brown recluse, and we had to dig

an entire new water line and septic system....

But... Now that it is all done... it fills us both

with such an awesome sense of WOW

knowing we did it ourselves.

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Here is the tiniest bathroom in the world..

But.. it's got everything you NEED so the rest is just gravy..

This is our one and only bedroom..
The wall had to be torn down because a pipe busted inside the wall.
So Brad put me a new wall in and turned the panelling the opposite direction.
I just painted that little fellow, and called it a "headboard"
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Here is our living room in the trailer..
I traded a friend for this couch years ago...
and it's still the all time
MOST COMFY COUCH in the entire world..
It's gone through many slip covers, and pillows..
but the ole' girl is still the best sitting place around.
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We look straight out any of our windows and this is our VIEW...
Less than 30 yards away is the most amazing place to be.

We were all afraid that Brady would be scared of the water.
Little did we know that the child had "No Fear" what so ever.
Every morning he would wake up and say "River Please."
Now who could resist that..
So..... needless to say we spent a great deal of our 4 days in the water.
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As the days went on...
He got more and more brave.
He was falling down in the current and standing right back up like a trooper.
He'd laugh and say "Drink"... haha
We tried many times to tell him that this was not where you drink
but he said it every time he fell in.
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Watching water is the most peaceful, relaxing thing I know of..

I sat on our deck every morning and every night

watching the current flow down river..

Something about the sound of the trees rustling,

the unbelievably clean air

filled with the sound of moving water

gives my soul a place to rest..

To me it feels like it's HOME..

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To my precious son...

who will one day live on this river...

I hope your heart too is filled with the peace

that only Love and Nature can bring.

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May we all have a place that our spirit calls HOME!

Perfectly Precious

Words are not made to express how absolutely precious little 1 year olds can be..

What a treat is was to spend an afternoon with this little doll..

Here are a few to share with all my BLOg friends...

It honestly makes me want to go buy a tutu and wear it around my house...

Something however tells me that it wouldn't look quite the same..

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A water colored angel!!!

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Thank you Allie for sharing your little girl with me..
Pink cheetah never made me smile quite so big.....



Now that...... my friends - looks like a gal having some FUN.



Give a girl a new dress and a pair of high heels and watch what happens..
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What a wonderful job I have..
Watching little smiles break across puffy cheeks, arms flying in the air,
chubby little feet, and precious eyes beaming with the wonders of life
is a blessing I am grateful for each day..

May we all look into the eyes of a child and remember where our JOY began.