by Amy | Feb 21, 2013 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Remember Lydia? Her sneak peek was up on Valentine’s Day. Well her session is finished and a disc of images is on its way to her proud mommy and daddy. I have to say, this little girl has personality…and I love a girl with attitude. She’s all smiles and giggles. She laughs out loud at herself and made us laugh along with her. I cannot wait to see her grow!
This session was shot in my lovely friend, Ellen’s home while I was visiting Louisiana a few weeks ago. I’d love to set up shop in your living room. Drop me a line…let’s set up a session! And, as usual…to see more of this adorable session go on over to the Facebook page. {You might as well like it while you’re there.}
by Amy | Feb 20, 2013 | Blog, Crafts, The Art of Projects
Pretty right?
This may be one of my favorite wreaths ever. I’m kind of a wreath junkie…so that’s kind of a big deal. It’s pink and romantic {a little late for V-Day} and just so gosh-darn pretty. I needed something to replace that awesome Pottery Barn knock off snowflake wreath from Christmas time. It’s really time I begin looking forward to a day with no snow and blooming flowers. This is a perfect fix.
I’ll tell you this: It was easy, but it wasn’t fast. Commit a few hours or a few nights of TV watching/multi-tasking and you too can be the proud owner of a wreath just like this. All for the low, low material cost of $9. Here’s what you’ll need: (more…)
by Amy | Feb 19, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Fitness
Here’s the problem with skiing. They give you a map of the trails before you go up the lift…but the map is 2D. Sure the trails are color coded…black diamonds are the most difficult and clearly marked. But alas, the map is still utterly flat.
After a sufficient warm up at Huff Hills, where Derek and I skied over the weekend we began hitting the harder trails. Now, as you can imagine, I’m not a pro. I’m even a bit on the clumsy side {go figure}, yet all that taken into account, I’m a decent skier. After going down the hills marked with circles and squares I got more adventurous and went down one of the black diamonds.
It went great. Fast, fun…I didn’t even hit anyone.
Now, back to this 2D map. Skiing is a sport about three dimensions. Especially the vertical dimension. As in steep drops. We did really well on the hills we went down and made it a goal to hit all of the trails offered. Fine. Just fine. Until…
We found ourselves going down a trail called the Cougar. I then found myself faced with another problem of skiing: Once you start down a hill, you are committed. The flat trail map didn’t clue me in to a drop that seemed to fall off the end of the Earth. It didn’t tell me that the hell, excuse me, hill was a death trap.
The slope started off fine. An exhilarating drop much like the other diamonds we’d gone down. Then the trail leveled out for a moment. So level I was able to come to a stop to look at the view. After taking in the scenery I noticed that the slope seemed to have disappeared. I was now standing on the edge of a cliff {at least that’s how it felt…my story, I’ll exaggerate at will}. And here is where the second problem of skiing came into play. Once you go down, you can’t turn around and pick another trail.
It’s not like at the amusement park, where a kid stands in line for the scary roller-coaster, only to chicken out at the last second. That’s an easy fix. Skip the ride, go out the exit.
When you are on skis, you have one choice. Go down.
After freaking out for a moment, I gathered my nerves and pushed off. Swoosh…one drop down. A small level out, then another big drop. Knees bent, stay cool. Then, the world became a big jumble. It was like I was inside the plastic case of a game of Boggle. Everything was totally shaken as I tumbled {sans grace} down the hill. You know that scene from The Princess Bride when Wesley falls down the hill toward the Fire Swamp yelling “As…you…wisshhh”? {Watch it here.} Yeah, I’m pretty sure it looked like that. Or at least that’s how it felt.
The skis were off, my hat was off, I was a big snowy mess. Luckily there I was now at the bottom of the hill, just a slight easy slope back to the ski lift. I laid for a few moments, then put myself back together and met Derek at the bottom. He hadn’t fallen, but he did say, “Yep…wasn’t expecting that.” Needless to say, I was a bit gun shy for the rest of the afternoon. Overall I was okay, too. Nothing broken, just one bruise across my back. I’ll take it.
The warm weather was only a special weekend treat, though. Today we are back to a high of -9. Seriously? I hear things start to thaw out around April.
On a totally different note, thanks to all of you who were so kind and supportive yesterday when I opened up about my new ministry project. I’m totally jazzed to tell you more about it. I just love you all so much.
And speaking of things we love…remember Lydia? Her full session will be featured on the blog Thursday. So be sure to come back. And tomorrow I’ve got a killer wreath tutorial ready for your enjoyment. See you then!
Amy
by Amy | Feb 18, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Faith
Pretty bold graphic, right? But read the bottom…don’t get crazy, and please don’t leave the blog. I assure you I haven’t lost my mind.
If you’ve been around a while you know that my life can be some what unpredictable. I’m a hobby/skills/learning/adventure junkie, so I tend to try all kinds of things. Let me be perfectly clear: I’m not going to be working as a stripper. (more…)
by Amy | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog, The Art of the Moment
Hey all! Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ve always liked this holiday…even though I spent a lot of V-days dateless at home or out with the girls. Yes, believe it or not, this Awkward Annie wasn’t too popular with the boys growing up. {Crazy, I know.}
At any rate, I hope you find something to fall in love with today. Even if it’s just a new series on Netflix. {I recommend Pretty Little Liars or Revenge…or Freaks and Geeks–If you are looking for a date with the boob tube.}
While I was down in the dirty south I fell head over heels for a baby named Lydia Joy. Holy smokes this is a cute one, folks. Her momma and I are friends, and tragically I headed to Practically Canada before she graced the world with her presence. So while I was in town we set up a portrait session for her. I’m so glad I did. Enjoy this LOVE-ly sneak peek. The full session will be coming to a facebook page near you next week!
by Amy | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Living
As a kid I liked cats. They were cute and cuddly. My dad was {is} a dog person and our dog at the time {Chip} was not a kid person. If we had a dog that acted more like Chance from “Homeward Bound” I’d probably have been partial to dogs.
But Chip wasn’t Chance. He never saved me from a muddy well. Instead he growled every time I tried to touch him and gave me rope burn around my ankles from winding me up in his leash. {I still have the scars to prove it.}
I’m getting off topic. Back to cats. I liked cats. I wasn’t obsessed, but soon people started getting me cat things. Book ends, stuffed animals, books, you name it. Then suddenly when relatives were wondering what Amy would like for a gift they just looked around my room…got the idea I was totally into cats…and added another item to the collection. {This tends to happen with some things…like light houses, John Deere paraphernalia, and angels…I call it contagious collecting.}
I don’t know when it happened–maybe after I took down my cat posters {that I chose from the book fair at school}–maybe after having three barn cats of my own all die within a year of my ownership {to this day I call that the cat-curse}–but the whole cat thing settled down. Chip mellowed out once I was about 14 and I liked dogs again. After my experiences with cats getting hit on the road or dying of weird causes I decided dogs were more durable.
And I stayed a dog person for a long while.
Which is why it’s so strange that I’m now head over heels for this cat that I’ve named Panda. You know her. She’s made appearances here on the blog before. And if you have been reading a while you remember her antics from Shreveport. {If you didn’t read those…not sweat, just follow the links below.}
To refresh your memory, there was the day I took her to the vet and she pooped right in the front seat of the car. The time she peed in Derek’s dad’s lap…or maybe the time she pooped in her car carrier then laid in it and needed a bath. She really hates the car. And her hatred comes out in the form of poop. {But sometimes pee.}
When I got home the other day I noticed that Panda’s left eye looked funny. Her pupil was dilated and didn’t react to light. The next day her iris looked red and irritated. Worried that the cat curse was upon me again I called the vet. He saw us today. He rocks.
Panda was great on the 6 minute trip to the vet. She was a gem while she got her yearly vaccines and allowed the doctor to prod at her little eyeball. Then, 30 minutes later I got in the car to head for home. No sooner than I’d shut my door and “Killing Kennedy” on audio book had cued up…I smelled it.
“Oh please let that be a fart.” This was my deepest hope. Let’s be honest…nothing in the world smells worse than cat poop. Nothing. Oh, wait…except cat poop embedded in cat fur that you have to touch with your hands.
Once we got home I hauled the carrier up to the bathroom where I discovered things were as I suspected. I had a poopy Panda on my hands. Not to mention an angry Panda once the bathing experience started. I got wet. She got wet and mad. The bathroom got wet and smelly. Just another day in paradise.
Is there a morale to this story? No, not really. Other than to marvel at how funny out love for our pets can be. I’ve cleaned up poop and given a cat a bath more times than I’d like to count over the last year…all for a cat that was a beggar-stray 18 months ago. For the next two weeks I’ll pin her down {probably get scratched} and put eye drops in her cat eyes twice a day. How do they do that? How can they be so darn loveable without even trying?
I may never figure it out. And if I do I hope it doesn’t require another round of cat carrier poo patrol.
Amy
by Amy | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Living
Here is a throw back post from my move to Minot…enjoy!
Well. I’m here! Panda and I made it safe and sound. However, it was one crazy journey. Here is an overview of what our last day in Shreveport/first hours in Minot looked like.
Monday June 11
9:30 a.m.
Movers came and loaded all the furniture and boxes onto the truck. Leaving Panda and me in an empty house.
7:00 p.m.
I decided to take Panda with me to Megan’s house to spend the night since she was scheduled to see the vet at 9 a.m. the next morning.
7:05 p.m.
We aren’t even out of the neighborhood. Panda has pooped in her carrier.
7:07 p.m.
Panda lays in her poop.
7:30 p.m.
We arrive at Megan’s. I dry heave because the cat poop smells so bad. Panda gets a bath and it really mad about that.
8:30 p.m.
An ice cream sundae eases the moving day jitters and cat-poop-stomach-churning.
Tuesday June 12
12:30 a.m.
Exhausted, I turn in for the night.
3:24 a.m.
Panda has been walking on me all night and I’ve barely slept. I hear thunder and see a flash of lightning. Could we finally be getting some rain? Doubt it…it hasn’t rained in months.
4:40 a.m.
Dozed off once or twice…only to be woken by a loud clap of thunder and the sound of rain slapping at the windows.
4:41 a.m.
I remember I left the windows down on the car.
4:45 a.m.
Windows are up and I am soaked.
7:45 a.m.
Alarm goes off.
9:00 a.m.
At the vet. Panda gets a clean bill of health and medicine to make her sleepy on the plane.
4:00 p.m.
Bank account is closed, donations dropped off, good byes said, bags packed, and headed to the airport. Panda is groggy.
4:45 p.m.
I have to take Panda kitty out of her carrier to pass through security. She hates the sounds and it terrified. She panics and scratches my arms and chest and rips my shirt. Thanks TSA.
6:22 p.m.
We arrive in Memphis. Just enough time to walk to our next gate and board straight away.
6:50 p.m.
En route to Minneapolis. Doing some word jumbles, reading Radical and chatting with the coolest seat buddy I’ve ever had.
8:03 p.m.
I ask a Delta desk attendant where the USO is. It’s too far to get to before my next flight. She apologizes and gives me three free drink tickets for my next flight.
10:10 p.m.
I’m in the last row of the airplane. The last one to get drinks and snacks. I order a roman Coke with one of my drink tickets. The flight attendant says I get double snacks because I had to wait to be last served. Two packets of peanuts and two packages of cookies. Score.
10:56 p.m.
The plane is descending and Panda’s drugs are wearing off. She starts meowing a bit and struggling to get out of the carrier.
11:15 p.m.
Derek meets us at baggage.
11:37 p.m.
We arrive at the Select Inn {our home until we close on the house}. Panda is super happy.
One long day. I don’t recommend traveling with a cat unless you really have to.
I’m excited that things have slowed down a bit. I’ll show you photos of the house tomorrow!!
Amy
by Amy | Feb 14, 2013 | Blog, The Art of Adventure, The Art of Living
Here’s a throw back post about the first time I took Panda cat to the vet…
Yesterday I had one of those moments that makes me think, “Only in my life…”
Let me elaborate. Hopefully if your day isn’t shaping up, this will help.
Yesterday I told you that Panda cat had her first vet appointment. Well, I’ll start by telling you she hates the car. I felt like some kind of monster while I drove the 15 minutes to the clinic. Poor Panda was in the back seat meowing her head off in the cat carrier. I looked back at her at a red light only to see her poor little paws sticking through the wholes in the side begging to be let out. (more…)
