Wrong.

After church on Sundays, we usually go to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch with friends. At the checkout they have a tree made completely of these…

So of course, Riley smiles & claps while exclaiming “yummy ummy” & twists her daddy a little tighter around that cute little finger.
We buy one, she’s thrilled.
It looks kind of like this…

We blissfully walk to the car, full from lunch & the girl enjoying her sucker. As we start the loading process, I realize it’s going to be a little difficult to get her successfully strapped into her carseat with her holding her sucker.
I imagine that one of us is going to end up looking like this…

Naturally, I took it from her her & popped it in my mouth. Free hands, no sucker in our hair, & she could have it back as soon as she was all safely buckled in. Easy.

But no.

The mere sight of me with her sucker in my mouth?

Taking candy from a baby?
Not easy. Not even kind of.

I hope you will print this out, tape it up somewhere you’ll see it everyday & join me!

“Dreams take time, patience, a sustained effort & a willingness to fail, if they ever are to become more than dreams.” – Brian Linkoski

I enrolled in Photography school this morning.
That’s right folks! This girl is officially back in school!

Im excited & nervous, but mostly just excited to be taking this step towards my goal! Thank you for all your encouraging words the other day when I shared my dream with you!

Looks like Riley’s not the only one that needs a backpack!

Here is my baby girl ready for her 1st day!

After all your votes the other day, we went with the owl backpack & lunchbox! They are sooo adorable!

We found out yesterday that we got in, so now I’m off on the hunt for the perfect backpack & lunchbox!
Omg y’all, how is it possible that my baby needs a lunchbox? Time really is flying by, her 2nd birthday is in less than 5 months!

Anyways!
I *think* I have narrowed it down to my top 4 favorite backpack/ lunchbox sets, but I would love your input to help me pick the best one!

Here they are!

So help me decide!
Which one do you like best?

Those are the words that my grandfather heard this morning from his surgeon.
It has been 6 months since his surgery, and he has no more cancer & no more inflammation.

Praise the Lord.

He will be back on his boat in no time & I have every intention of being right beside him when he is.

That’s scary.

All of us would hope that we surround ourselves with people that would encourage, & help us accheive the dreams that we share with them but sometimes that isn’t the case. People can be mean, or even just careless, not meaning to hurt you but the damage has been done just the same.
I can be way too self conscious, I frequently choose to care way more about what people think than I should, I am my own worst critic & all of those things make it hard for me to go after the things I dream of.
The things that I hope to make my reality.

Growing up, I always had a camera. I went through more film than ever got developed. Disposable cameras were the thing I asked for before every field trip or vacation. I remember one time, my mom enrolled & took a photography class at the local college and she used me as a model. I wore my Easter hat and sat at an iron table surrounded by trees in our neighbors backyard. I thought her camera was awesome & I remember to myself, “I want one like that someday.”
I started showing horses in high school, but at shows, the one place I always migrated to was the photographers table. I adored looking through the shots that he/she had taken, not just of me, but in general, of everyone. How different light captured the muscle in the horses neck, made it shine like streaks of gold.
Time went on, and like most graduating seniors I started thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up. A degree in Photography seemed like a waste of money, and I still had dreams of being equine veterinarian, before my severely bad math skills showed me that wasn’t happening. So I switched majors a few times, moved to Kentucky, got married, had Riley and now, here I am.

So many things have changed over all those years, but one thing hasn’t. I still adore cameras. I still thrive on taking a photo & then feeling the print in my hand.
I thirst for more knowledge, reading everything I can get my hands on about ISO, aperture, exposure, & lighting.

My dream has evolved over time. A childhood love turned into an adult passion. Always there, sometimes more in the background, but still a part of me for as long as I can remember.

I want to be a photographer

I want to learn everything I can, & I want to feel worthy to call myself that name.
That’s my dream.
And 2012 is the year that I’m going to start taking the reins and strive towards reaching it.
It’s time…it’s past time.
Its still scary, but I don’t want it to stay just a dream.
I’m ready to turn it into reality.

“At any moment, you have the ability to dramatically change any area of your life, or follow your heart’s deepest desires. It’s yours to create, any way you want it. ” – Craig Townsend

This my moment.

I fought the urge to get up right then & organize my entire house. Starting with our junk drawer. Which basically looks like a leprechaun hoarders home.
Or it did.
Not now, because I cleaned it. Haha

But that’s not the point. Granted, my house is nowhere near hoarder status annnnnd I don’t even own any cats, the show made me think about the areas that could use some extra attention.
I don’t know about y’all but sometimes it seems like our clutter is everywhere! Some days I feel like I clean & clean only to open a cabinet & feel like “ugh, it’s in here too!?!”

SO, one of the things I’m really going to strive to do better at this year is erasing the clutter, tossing the junk, donating what I can & embracing the trash bag.
Because really, if I haven’t used or worn it in the past year? It doesn’t need to be residing in my house anymore!

I’m starting a daily Declutter program & I hope to blog about my progress to help hold myself accountable!
Week 1 was pretty easy, & this is what I did!

Jan 2nd – Set up donation station – Check! Boxes in corner of garage.
Jan 3rd – Declutter and dust the top of your kitchen cabinets – Done!
Jan 4th – Declutter one top shelf in your kitchen
Jan 5th – Clear out spices
~ I just did this whole cabined, it seemed silly just to do the top & bottom shelf!

Jan 6th – Organize your cans

I already feel better about this & am excited to watch the transformation. I hope some of y’all will join me on this.
Embrace the trash bag, you’re gonna like it!