Reality Is Overrated

I'm blogging as we speak while my toosh is planted in the lovely sand of Gulf Shores. Ahhh yes, vacation time! It's definitely been much needed.
I'm so grateful for it too! 2012 has been quite the year so far!

And well since being here, I've fallen victim to the Fifty Shades trilogy.
It's true. And I'm not proud.
Smutty erotica is what I affectionately refer to it as.
But it's soooo good. I just can't put it down.
Book one was great. And after you get over the shock of a few things it's not terrible.
But then book 2. Book 2 I read all on one day - it's so much better than the first.
And now, well I've had to take a slight break to come back to reality before jumping into book 3!

Isn't that what fiction is all about?
Creating an a story that you can escape into, escaping your own reality?
Funny how that works.
And I'm guessing it's kind of like a high that you have to come down from. You get so wrapped up in this fictitious world wishing your world was that interesting and great......
But then you come to the reality that it was just that.
Fictitious. Made up. Not real.
I did this with the twilight books too.
Both written by females who know what draws the attention of other female readers.
Ahhh...reality.



-- Posted From My iPhone

A Lil' Mother's Day Love

Today, my choice of celebrating and being happy went surprisingly well.
But I posted all about it over at our photo blog.
Please check it out - it's a message you need to hear.
Xoxo.

TOP 5 FRIDAY: Instagram!

Happy Friday!
I am so super excited that it's Friday!
And that means it's officially 1 week until I leave for vacation!
Aggghhhh!!!!

So in the spirit of happiness, I'm joining in the fun over at Annie Blogs for her Top 5 Friday.
Today it's all about your favorite Instagram photos.

Can I just say how much I heart Instagram?
I la la love it!
I'm a professional photographer and I still love it.
I love that it makes awesome pics so accessible to everyone, and I think that a life full of photos is one well-lived.

Ok, so onto my pics.
These are just a few of my recent favorites.

1. Faces Of Me


I was bored one night waiting for Chris, and well, this is what happened.
I use an app called pic stitch which makes the collage and then you can export it to Instagram for the filters.

2. God's A Show Off


This was on my way home from work a few weeks ago. It was cloudy and eerie and then you see the sun poking through. I like to think it was a little glimpse of God showing off ;)

3. My Favorites



This is me with a few of my favorite peeps. I have a lot more favorite people, but these peeps just so happened to be photographed on my phone!
We've got me and chris, me and granny, me and leslie, and me and bobbie jo.
Love them!

4. Date Night



Me and the hubs like to randomly take pics of us.
We were on date night for this photo.
Please notice how completely out of control his beard has become. It's his obsession.

5. The Driving Range



A couple of weeks ago we had date night at the driving range. This was the first time I ever hit a golf ball.

So now it's your turn! Join in the fun and link up over at Annie's blog!

Mother's Day Is Coming

Sunday is Mother's Day.
For the past 5 years, it has been my least favorite holiday.
I usually stay at home and don't leave for anything.
It's like my one day a year to grieve with no other thoughts.
To just spend the day in mourning.
And, well, I kind of feel like 5 years is enough, and that just maybe, this 6th year, I might try something different.

You see, my mom has been hanging out with Jesus since May of 2006.
She passed away the week before mother's day, so you can understand my hatred for the day.
While planning my mother's funeral, everything in life was bombarded with "great mom mother's day" ads.
And mine was gone.
And since mine was gone, I didn't want anyone else to have one.

Funny how selfish we can be sometimes.
However, I think your mom is something worth being selfish over.
I mean seriously....she was my very best friend in the whole wide world.
So not only did I lose my mom, I lost my best friend and a part of me.
I was forever changed.
My "normal" was forever changed.
After her funeral, everyone else's life went back to normal.
And 6 years later, mine never has.

But this year.
This year I don't want to wallow.
This year, I want to celebrate.
Celebrate her, and how awesome she was.
Celebrate how she loved me like no other.
Celebrate our memories.
Celebrate her smile, her hugs, her laugh...

Maybe, just maybe, this year I'll finally start my scrapbook of Mom.
It's time for a new chapter.

Wedding Love.

This weekend I took a little trip to Savannah to shoot a wedding of my dear friend Bonnie and her love, Mike.
It was the perfect southern wedding.
I absolutely can NOT wait to get through a few more so I can post some, but I just had to share this one.



Ahhhh....so lovely!

I just love a good wedding!