MEMORY MONDAY--Desert Storm

Fifteen years old. Gilbert, Arizona. Monsoon season. 

This picture perfectly portrays the joy felt by Arizonians when water falls from the sky. It's like Christmas, rain is such a rare occurrence. 

Storms always roll into the valley in the same way: 

White, fluffy clouds build up on the horizon throughout the entire HOT, sunny day. Then, sometime after 5pm, a vast wall of desert dust a mile high, picked up by sudden winds, rip at palm trees and hinders sight on the freeway stacks. Next, dark clouds rumble closely behind, accompanied by a lightning display like none other. And finally, it rains. And it pours. And all the neighborhood kids run out into the street to dance, sing, and frolic barefoot on the steaming blacktop. 

*sigh* Happy memories. I miss monsoons.

SNAPSHOT SATURDAY--in the news

This was a couple of months ago, but Wal-Mart gave every teacher a one hundred dollar gift card, and our town newspaper deemed it as newsworthy material. So, here I am in the Standard Journal looking about fifteen years old among my co-workers in the school cafeteria.

I'm a celebrity.

FOCAL POINT FRIDAY--much needed break

Hello, again! How happy I am it's Friday!

Here are this week's focal points:
.

WORST

We had a field trip today. I hate field trips' stinkin' guts. They are never as fun for the teacher as they are for the kids, and I am TIRED.

BEST

We're going to a concert tonight!

.

I have been listening to Collin Raye's songs since elementary school. I have many memories of sitting in the back seat of our old, air condition-less car, on a blazing Arizona freeway, singing my heart out to these on the radio.

.

Here are a few I am hoping to hear tonight (that you'll probably recognize):

.
.
One Boy, One Girl--Listen/Watch HERE

Little Rock--Listen/Watch HERE

I Think About You--Listen/Watch HERE

That's My Story--Listen/Watch HERE
Love, Me--Listen/Watch HERE
.

.
.
And My All-Time Favorite:

{Listen for the violins in the bridge. Such a happy sound!}

WEBSITE WEDNESDAY--Wordle

http://www.wordle.net/

When I first discovered this site, I spent WAY too much time there playin' around. It is addicting.

The way it works: type in words about whatever you want. Here, I was selfish and chose the topic of me. Words that you want to appear bigger, you type it into the box multiple times. Then, you click on the GO button, and it creates a "word cloud." An artistic collage that you can scramble to format differently or change the colors.

Here's one to represent Andrew and I and our little life. {tilt your head--it's sideways}

I made one to represent our courtship months. It is kind of busy looking, but I like how it includes all the people, places, and things to tell the story of that time period. {also sideways}

You can create word clouds about anything. Here I made one using my favorite lines from my favorite Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing.

Using the same words, I just re-scrambled it and changed the colors to give it a completely new look.

I love this one.

This is an outdated creation {Brad, Nicole, Whitney, and Alex need to be added} representing the family {also sideways}.

I have this idea to form word clouds to print, frame, and hang as part of collage of pictures in my house. I think they look cool. And the possibilities are endless.

Go check it out! Have fun!

WE TOOK A DRIVE.

Andrew and I were feeling a little stir-crazy after a weekend indoors. So we got in the car and drove several hours to the north...just to take a walk.

Everything had that golden autumn glow.

The sun was warm and low in the sky.

And the leaves were shimmering with color. 

We found a quiet dirt road,

That eventually led to a bridge,

Where we watched the water float lazily by...

And took mushy, romantic pictures.

As the setting sun sank even lower in the sky,

we returned to our car huddled together...the final rays leaving behind a chill in the air. 

Fall is fast flyin' by, my friends. 

My favorite pretty pictures from this adventure are found HERE on my photo blog. Check 'em out!

ANDREW'S COFFIN

Andrew works for a general contractor that builds mostly luxury homes with fancy woodwork. Neither of us expected he would ever asked to help build a CASKET!
.
These pictures are from his cell phone. I can't believe how much detail and work and expense go into the building of these things...only to get lowered into the ground and never seen again. Just bury me in a pine box. That's what I say.
.
But when the local mortuary saw it, they put an order in for ten more!

Andrew was pretty proud. He came home and told me he was going to build himself one for later and store it in our cold storage room. I laughed, because I assumed he was kidding. On second thought...
.
I should probably double check on that. Anyway...




Happy Halloween, Internet folks!

SNAPSHOT SATURDAY--All you need is love

So, this picture is from an expedition we took a few weeks ago. We drove 2 hours to nowhere in particular, got out of the car, and took a walk with camera in hand. It was lovely. 

I wanted a picture with both of us, but there wasn't anyone on hand to help out. Instead, I took one of each us on this fence and used GIMP on my computer to combine the two pictures into one. Wa-lah! We're BOTH on the fence! 

It's was my first time attempting such a feat, and pretty pleased with myself...until I noticed a few important body parts that had completely disappeared in the process. Ha! Oh well. You wouldn't have noticed unless I told you, right? And who needs hands and feet as long as you get to be with the one you love?