The Sun is Shining!

Today is a gloriously beautiful day. The kind  where you wish you had nothing better to do than take a walk and soak in the wonders of the world around you. An invigorating walk, taking the time to notice the small things and spending quality time with those you love.

Work has been a bit stressful the past couple of days. The Christmas season has so many people in a bustle to do and buy and just go crazy. What happened to humanity that so many people are just caught up with themselves anymore?

I arrived home late last night after a rough day at work to find supper awaiting me and the house tended. I laid in bed and was warmed and loved by the Wind...that sort of peaceful night works more wonders than any Xanax ever could!

I cannot express enough how grateful I am to have such wonders in my life as my family. A rather large group of individuals fit into my family. We are a ragged, disfunctional, and always crazy group of people...but we all know that we belong together. I have 'adopted' family still living down south who I miss dearly, but who are never far from my thoughts. You all know who you are!

I must eat my lunch now (packed lovingly by the Wind for me this morning) otherwise I will have to face his wrath later.

Be well all my family...and bask in the sun todays

Love & Crayons

Love is like a box of crayons....it comes in so many colors, some break, some get all used up, some have to be sharpened with that really cool crayon sharpener on the back of the box. I feel sometimes that all my crayons have been broken into little unusable pieces, unfit for coloring anymore. But then, I remember that show I saw that tells me how I can still use them. I am to melt all the crayons and make one LARGE multi-color crayon...now I have a rainbow of a crayon to share with those around me. Or to give to one boy and his dog to go scribble in the walls with!

I do not know a more deserving person than my boy and his dog to recieve my rainbow crayon, it is all the little bits of who I am, what I love, the things I see and hear. I will gladly share it with him and watch the beautiful, intricate, sometimes WILD patterns he makes with it. I will not take it away from him, no matter the circumstance, if he wishes, I will color with him.

I love my boy and his dog like the tree loves the wind. The wind can sometimes be harsh, but the tree stands firm. The wind knocks off the leaves, but that is part of it's growth. If a branch breaks, it was due to it being weak, and weak branches sap the life from the whole tree. Most of the time though, the tree is caressed by the wind, it sways to the feel of the wind blowing softly around it. The branches and leaves make a glorious song in the breeze.

Spook-A-Look Halloween Photo Contest

I took this photo for a customer a couple weeks ago and it has to be one of my favorites ever! This darling little girl was such a cute little fairy...or as I found out when they picked up their portraits....a butterfly. Either way, she was the cutest little thing! The color enhancement treatment on it just adds to the fairy tale feel of it, and I think the bent wing adds such personality.

Now for the disclaimers...first and most important...I DID get permission from the parent of this gorgeous butterfly to use the image! Secondly, this is an entry to a photo contest at giveawayblogs.com for a chance to win some pretty cool prizes...I of course, am aiming for top prize of a $100 gift card to Target and a FREE 18X24 rolled canvas from http://www.uprinting.com I'd also glady accept the runner up prize of $50 Target gift card and a FREE 16X20 rolled canvas.

Now I ask you to PLEASE go vote for my image so I can win some cool stuff!

Beauty & Love

I see things like this every day now...well most days. It is breathtaking in it's beauty. I can't help but stare in awe at times at the beauty surrounding me. It is an amazing creation of God that we see every day, the world, the people in the world, nature, even man and man-made things....for who gave us the knowledge to create such things? I never want to be the person that brushes off such beauty simply because I have seen it before...I want to be in awe every day!

He may not look like he loves me in this picture, but I assure you his love is true...animals show such unconditional love. I find myself wondering why we humans cannot do the same. What is so hard about loving someone as they are, who they are, for better or worse? Why do people constantly try to convince others that they can do better? Who are they to determine what is better? I am guilty of the same such things and I realize now that my opinion is just that and you can take it or leave it. I am about sick and tired of having other people tell me what I should do, what I need or don't need, and how I should live my life. Only one person has the power to tell me any of those things...not even a person...so unless you are God, let me decide my own fate!

Stop and see the beauty around you, appreciate the love that is given to you and give it in return. We all want to be loved....

We Have a Winner!

Out of the overwhelming response to my business card giveaway I have managed to select a winner...it was a hard and trying process going through all those entries but I did my best. Sorry it took so long for me to make the announcement!

Congratulations Lynette! You have won the 250 free business cards! You will be recieving an e-mail with the information on claiming your prize very soon so be on the lookout! Thanks to EVERYONE who entered!

The Problem with Math

As I was driving home last night from work, my daughter is texting me to see how soon I will arrive at our domicile. Since texting while driving is super unsafe, I decided to call her instead to see what she needed.
Daughter - "I need help with my homework."
Me - "What subject?"
Daughter - "Math..."
Me - "What is the problem?"
Daughter - "Hold on...let me go where there is light." pause...shuffling of papers "I have to write 5/6 as a decimal and I don't know how to figure that out."
Me - "Divide 5 by 6."
Daughter - "WHAT?"
Me - "Divide 5 by 6..."
Daughter - "YOU CAN'T!" said while increasing pitch by at least 3 octives.
Me - "You can't....do it on the calculator!"
Daughter - "Hold on...now I have to go ALL the way upstairs just for a calculator." followed by stomping noises on the stairs "Ok...5 divided by 6 is .8333333333..."
Me - "There's your answer."
Daughter - "but that's not how we're supposed to do it...we have to make the bottom number into a 10, 100, or 1000, then change the top number, like 1/4 in the example. The 4 becomes 100 and the 1 becomes 25 so the answer is .25."
Me - "How exactly do you plan to turn 6 into 100 evenly?"
Daughter - "I DON'T KNOW!" said while increasing pitch 3 octives.
Me - "Ok fine...use your calculator and divide 100 by 6..."
Daughter - "16.6666666..."
Me - "Ok...now you have to multiply 5 (your top number) by that amount to make things match up right?"
Daughter - "What?"
Me - "If you have to multiply 6 by 16.666666666 to get 100 then you also have to multiply 5 by that number....right...."
Daughter - "Ok..."
Me - "What is 5 times 16.6666666?"
Daughter - "83.33333333"
Me - "So what is your answer?"
Daughter - "83.3 repeated"
Me - "How can 5/6 be a whole number...the whole object of this lesson was to turn it into a decimal...5/6 is less than 1 so how can the answer be 83.333333?"
Daughter - "I DON"T KNOW" gaining 3 octives again...
Me - "When you did the 1/4 as an example, the result was 25/100...right?"
Daughter - "Yes...in the example"
Me - "and you had to move the decimal 2 places to get the proper answer right?"
Daughter - "huh?"
Me - "WOULD YOU LISTEN TO WHAT I'M TELLING YOU!!"
Daughter - "I am but it's hard to hear you..."
Me - "When you figured up the 1/4 example, it turned to 25/100...and the answer was .25 which means you moved the decimal by 2 places...right?"
Daughter - "I just don't understand this...hurry up and get here so you can help me."
Me - "I AM HELPING YOU IF YOU WOULD LISTEN TO ME! If your new top number from 5/6 is now 83.333 and you move the decimal 2 places then you get .83333 repeated...right?"
Daughter - "I guess...but what do I do with the 3 that was after the decimal?"
Me - "The 3 is repeated...it doesn't matter which one."
Daughter - "OHHHHH....OK"
Me - "Now I want you to do me a favor...get your calculator..."
Daughter - "ok"
Me - "Type in 5."
Daughter - "ok"
Me - "Press the division key."
Daughter - "ok"
Me - "Type in 6..."
Daughter - "ok"
Me - "Now press the equal button...what is the answer?"
.......silence..........
Me - "What was the answer?"
Daughter - "be quiet..."
Me - "So the answer was...."
Daughter - "You know what it is!!!"
Me - "THEN WHY DID WE JUST SPEND 20 MINUTES WORKING THIS OUT????"

So I have determined that the problem with math is that children expect to not be able to understand it and that in turn there is no way their parents could unsderstand it and help them with it....she should have just listened to me from the beginning!!

When I Grow Up

When I was a young child I remember wanting to be a palentologist, a veterenarian, and of course a photographer. The dreams of a child have no limits at all. Now that I am an adult, I still wish to be a photographer, I happen to be pretty good at it if you ask me. So how do I let people know that I am available as a photographer, well, right now I just tell them. Now I have the chance for a better way to show off my talent and you can too.

Designer Cards, blogger cards and so much more… From marketing materials to personal cards, business cards have developed from the plain boring to a more modern and rounded corners, square cards and slim cards.

Here is your chance to win 250 die cut business cards. As seen above, these are not your standard rectangular cards. These are neat and interesting. I am partial to the 'leaf' shape (seen in green in the picture above). Visit UPrinting to take a look at the different types of business cards they have available.

250 Die Cut Business Cards for One (1) Winner

2 x 3.5”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.75 x 3.5” (slim card)

Die cutting options available: Rounded Corners, Leaf, Rounded One-Corner, Half-Circle Side, Circle

Paper Type: 14pt Cardstock Gloss, Matte, or High Gloss; 13pt Cardstock Uncoated       

Color: 4Color Front, Blank Back; 4Color Front, Black Back; 4Color Both Sides            

Limited to US residents only  18 years old and above

To win, all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what you wanted to be as a grown up. The more details, the better. I had considered picking what I thought to be the best story, but I will probably end up using a random number picker instead. I am hoping to get lots of interesting stories, and I am not sure I could pick a favorite.

There is no way to get an extra entry, and you are not required to follow my blog to win. Just make sure you give me your e-mail address so I have some way of contacting you should you win. The winner will be selected on October 13th.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!! Oh...and I will also be recieving 250 business cards from UPrinting for hosting this giveaway!

Seasons Change

I just recently returned to the north after a long stretch in the south. I knew upon returning that I would be seeing more trees and a true change in the seasons once again, but it still does not prepare a person for seeing it in real life. I remember being newly amazed at all the green I saw upon first arriving, and water everywhere it seems. There is always a lake, river, stream, or creek not too far away. Since green is my favorite color, I wanted to be outside immersed in it constantly. This led to a lot of forrays with the kids and a lot of new pictures taken.
Now it is full fledged Fall and the trees have begun to show it. The wide array of colors that can be seen is nothing short of spectacularly breathtaking, and the leaves aren't fully turned yet! Now I find myself taking still more pictures of the beautiful colors so I can share them with my family of friends I had to leave behind down south.
Here's to change...of seasons, of life, and hope that everyone will stop for just a moment to enjoy the beauty that surrounds them.

The Digital Age

So I sit here waiting to go inside to work and it strikes me that I haven't blogged in a while.  I had a dream last night that strikes me as funny and typical of the times. I was proposed to through a text message. Now I'll not say who it was doing the proposing in my dream, but I would say yes in real life if he asked me (and even if it was a text message to) because I've never felt more love and peace than when he and I were together. I still talk to him almost daily and he says he misses me as much as I miss him. I am currently working on getting him moved up here so he and I can be together again.
Anyway, so he proposed in a text message, kind of in the middle of a conversation, and with no real warning. Needless to say I was shocked, I also recall being slightly dismayed that he would propose in text until my dream self remembered that he lives half the country away and that his phone service cuts off every time I've tried to call him. So what did I do, well I said YES of course!
Now I wonder if it is considered appropriate to propose in a text message, the digital age has made keeping in touch with people so much easier. In the olden days people were proposed to in letter so is this really any different? What are your thoughts?

No Smoking!

It has now been about 60 hours since I last smoked a cigarette. I have been working on quitting for about a year or longer now. I always had some excuse or another for not managing to actually quit, either I was too stressed, or it was too hard to just up and quit. I tried getting on those meds to quit smoking but my insurance wouldn't pay for them. Since I've moved I have been a lot less stressed not to mention it costs almost double for a pack of cigs here than what I was paying. I was steadily cutting back, going from a pack or more a day to a half a pack to about 5 a day. Then I'd suddenly start smoking more again and would have to work my way back down again. It was frustrating for me and for my family and I began to doubt that I had the willpower to quit at all. Then one morning, Friday morning, I stopped at the store to get gas, drink, and cigs before work. I had already smoked one that morning, and I had two left in my pack. I pumped gas, went inside for my drink, paid for drink and fuel and left. As I pull out of the parking lot I remember that I was going to buy cigs, oh well, I say to myself, I can get them later. At work, I have lots of calls to make for my manager so I forgot to go take a 'morning' smoke break. At lunch I smoke some, then I smoke half a cig that afternoon for break. As I am leaving the parking lot and heading home for the night I smoke the last half of cigarette thinking to myself, I really shouldn't buy any more, I can do this, I can quit! And even though it's been only 60 hours, it has seemed a lot longer. The struggle is not over yet I fear, but I am doing better already.

Ayvea

Welcome To My World

Welcome to my own little world on the web! This is a new blog for me as I had to abandon my previous blog for personal reasons. Due to those reasons I will not be sharing my real name, pictures of me & my family, or a whole lot of information about me and my family. What will I write about you ask? I will do my best to keep people entertained and informed on matters of home and life as a Christian. I have learned a great many things in the past couple of months that I wish to share with people. If you are easily offended then this is not a good blog for you to read...or perhaps it is the blog for you to read. I will be turning on comment moderation and hateful comments will not be posted. Legitimate questions, opinions, and ideas are all welcome. I hope to create a place for discussion, and free speech. Enjoy!

Ayvea (pronounced 'Ivy')