Down & Dirty's Mayhave Monday- [white lies]

I am scary protective of my family and the people I love.  Don't talk about them. Don't say anything negative, unless I say it's ok.  I can be negative... but you can't.  My husband, poor thing, learned this early on in our relationship.  He picks on me about it still. I think it runs in our family.  One time I was telling my sister that I was afraid of people thinking I was a loser for quitting college, and she started crying and told me no they wouldnt, because she would beat them up.  Like I said, scary protective. 

So as for Mayhave Monday.... I may or may not have told a little white lie about a family member's success level.  Do you have someone in your family that hasnt quite gotten it figured out yet?  They are still searching for something... for happiness?  In the meantime, they are sort of just butchering their way through life?  I do.  And I feel like everytime someone asks me about this person, I say the same thing.  For privacy purposes, i'll say this person's name is Pat.  How's Pat?  Oh, he's just Pat.  Or, my personal fave... "Is Pat still working for ___?"  No, that was 4 jobs ago.  So this weekend... I may or may not have said that Pat was great and that Pat has been working at his job for a while now.  I wanted to say something positive about Pat, and I wanted to protect Pat from any negative or judgemental thoughts or perceptions.  Because everyone needs to be protected every now and then. We've all been there, butchering our way through life... searching.  Did someone believe in you?  Did someone protect you?  They sure as heck did for me (refer to the above crazy line from my sister). And I truly believe in Pat.  And I want other people to believe in Pat too. So sue me. 

Say something about Pat and i'll kill you. 

Seriously.

My Thing

In college, I had a friend who had a thing for Trees.  She seemed sort of mesmorized by them.  She thought they were beautiful.  She took pictures of them.  Well, my thing is the sky.  I have a thing for the sky.  Strange? Perhaps.  I get totally swept up in it.  I could probably stare at it for hours.  I love all types.  Cloudy, clear, blue and crisp, sunsets, sunrises.  I love driving over tall bridges because I feel like i'm about to fly off into it.  The picture above, was the other day on my way to work.  I happened to have my fancy camera with me.  The picture does it no justice.  None.  I was swept away at the beauty.  Maybe it's that the sky is untouched by humans.  It's still pure.  Painted perfectly by the Master's hands.  And we get to enjoy it's purity.  We get to breathe in it's beauty and be amazed and humbled at the creativity of the Author of Life. 

Recently, Stephen killed a 10 pt. deer.  Apparently, it's kind of a big deal.  He wants it mounted.  I told him I would be glad for him to hang it in the washroom.  Anyway, I went to the Taxidermist with him, and as he was talking about a bunch of stuff i didn't care about, he said something that grabbed my attention.  He said, I think of my job as art, a skill that I have been given.  I know you are thinking "he mounds dead dear heads on a peice of wood", but bear with me.  He went on about the detail he has to put into making these Deer heads look real.  Then he said this:  "You know, We can try to make these deer look so real and perfect, and we can even succeed in showing some of their beauty, but no one, no human, can make them look as beautiful as thier creator."  Because what He created is perfect.  He is the Master Artist.  The MOST creative that ever was or will be.  He IS. And He gives.  To us. 

Mister Townsend

 

This is Stephen aka Mister Townsend aka Mista T aka my husband.  He is a hunk of a man! 

He thinks it's odd that I like to frame pictures of him and put them around the house (only in places that are mine, example: my bathroom, my bedside, my desk).  Lately I have been a little overwhelmed with how blessed I am to have Mister Townsend in my life, as my husband.  As a little girl, you dream about your husband.  What will he look like?  What will his interests be?  What will he do for a living?  Where will he be from?  I was attracted to him immediately.  He was tall (to me), dark, and oh so handsome.  He was funny.  And on top of it all, he was interested in what my dad did for a living.  After I got to know him (he lived across the street from one of my best friends), we were looking out the window one day watching them play football and I said to Katie:  One day I am going to marry him.  No lie.  I really did say that.  And I really did marry him.  Anyway-- back to why I feel so blessed.  First of all-- He is the spiritual leader of our family and he takes that role very seriously.  He loves God more than he loves me.  He prays with me, reads the Word to me, and has conversations about Godly things.  Recently we got the opportunity to go on our first overseas mission trip together and it catapulted us into a whole new level in our marriage. 

Secondly-- He takes care of me.  I am very dependent on him, and probably should be a little less.  He is very much concerned with my health, how I feel on a daily basis, my feelings, taking care of things a man should take care of, etc.  Recently I broke my foot, so I am hobbling around in a boot and on crutches.  Instead of being insensitive to that, he has been the best nurse EVER!  He fixes my plate, brings me coffee, washes all the dishes, drops me off at the door, and even carries my purse for me!  Now that, my friends, is a real man.  :) 

And last, but not least-- We get each other.  My mom and sister pick on us saying that we are the same person in different bodies.  I know that opposites usually attract, but not so much here.  We laugh at the same jokes, have alot of the same interests, have the same sense of humor.  We are both morning people, which works out quite nicely.  He's my very best friend.  The other night, he was in rare form.  Growing up, I had a mother who acted very silly 80% of the time.  So naturally, I am the same way.  Stephen is too!  HOORAY!  I laughed my head off, until I was crying at him, and I love that we can do that for each other.  

Mister T has flaws just like we all do, but he's my Mr. T, and not perfect, but perfect for me.  Forgive me for the sappiness today.. He's out of town and i'm missing him.

Just Me and My Cupcake

"It's just me and my cupcake" is what I would imagine he's thinking to himself.  What do I love about this picture?  First of all... the fact that there is icing on EVERY single finger.  Secondly... how it looks like he's taking his sweet time, soaking in every delicious moment.  Probably my most favorite part about this photo is the fact that Wee man has his eyes closed.  Saying to his audience "I don't even care who's looking... this is my moment with Cupcake."  Today friends... enjoy your food.  I'm not saying be a greety pig, but I might would like to have this look on my face whenever I eat my supper tonight.   Be thankful for the deliciousness you are putting in your mouth.  It's a gift.  Meant to be enjoyed. 

Beautiful Wrinkles

Because I am not the "blogging" type... and so not a good writer, I have decided to start blogging in pictures.  It's what I know.  It's how I see.  My sister, Emily is the most eloquent writer that I know.  I think she sees something and thinks about it in words.  In beautiful descriptive words.  I on the other hand, see something and I capture the picture in my mind.  I see it's colors, I see it's lighting, it's boundaries.  I see it's beauty and in my mind, I push the little black button on my camera and capture it... hold it tight, and treasure it in my heart.  So instead of desperately trying to think of words to say... I am going to start blogging pictures and i'll write a brief description of the pictures.  K? Good... i'm glad you are satisfied too. 

Last week I did some work for my a nursing home company for marketing material.  I thought his man was so beautiful.  He was content, happy, and all smiles.  As I was trying to capture the nurse helping him, I couldn't help but snap away every time he looked my way.  How can you look at this picture and not want to know his story?  Who he was... who he is.  There is something about a weathered face that is breath taking and leaves you searching those wrinkles for a history.  Ladies and Gentlemen, embrace your wrinkles.  They ARE beautiful!

So there it is folks... that's the photo for the day.  Hope you enjoyed looking into this man's dancing eyes as much as I did.