Family Time

Best thing about Christmas...family time.  Now I have two families!  And the best part is that both sides of the family are incredibly hilarious.  We laugh so much, never a dull moment, usually complete sarcasm fills our conversations, and we all love each other so much.  I give credit to my father-in-law and to Adam for these photos that I'm posting...I haven't picked up my camera this entire holiday.  Just living in the moment I guess..

 Meet Cody.  He is so smart, well-behaved, and patient.  Here he is posing anxiously with a treat on each paw and one resting on his nose.  Those eyes say it all.

 On the day that Adam and I arrived, my family drove up to Adam's parents home in Atlanta to spend some time with us.  It was a houseful of smiles.  This was an epic day.  Nat and I were warming up in front of the fire while visions of sugarplums danced through our heads.

 This is the next member of the family with 4 legs, Bruno the boxer.  He is not quite as patient with the treats, but he did sit for the photo..

 Adam captured some shots of us on the couch looking at a book full of puppies.  So cute (we are!)

 

 Love the candids, but of course you have to have some posed family shots.  It's tradition.  Good times.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and will have a great New Year.

1000 Cranes

http://www.1000cranemission.com/

a mission of peace, patience and papercuts.

Christmas Cards!

With so much time on my hands, I decided to use my hands for something productive.
Well, Christmas is almost here...and I love crafty stuff.  So I went to the local hobby lobby, picked up some ink, grabbed the brightest greens and reds, and the most important component Modpodge.
It took a lot of time, but here are the results!

Recycled treasures

Check out these awesome recycled treasures!

http://www.readymade.com/

With all this time on my hands...I'm finding some really cool stuff on the interweb.  I will continue to share!

Putting on the brakes

Man..I was looking back on some older blog posts and realized how fast and full my life was for a while there.  Now it has really slowed down so much, that I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with my time.  Isn't it funny how sometimes it feels there just aren't enough minutes in the day, but when you aren't really utilizing them, the days feel so long.  No job prospects.  Driving back to GA for Christmas ...it will be his first time home since March, so we are getting very excited about it.  I'm feeling the artist in me finding my pen late at night to sketch out the latest daydream.  A project will be coming on very soon.
I'm trying to study Japanese, beginning with notecards.  Here's what I've learned so far:
Ohayou Gozaimasu =  Good Morning
Konnichi Wa = Good Afternoon  (thank you Kill Bill, I already knew that one)
Konban Wa = Good Night

Genki Desu Ka? =  How are you?
Genki Desu = I'm fine.

I LOVE YOU comes in many forms...not sure when to use each one...so I'll use them all!
Suki desu
Suki dayo
Daisuki desu
Aisheteru yo

I'm not even attempting the characters yet...woah

Readz

Gabriel García Márquez

He was born in Colombia, and he writes about Colombia;  the wildly enchanting life of his parents, and his own adventures from childhood thru adulthood...some embellished in the most outlandish extraordinary ways...I found a torn apart One Hundred Years of Solitude early in the year in a used book store for $4...a maze of crazy adventures too fantastical to put life aside for an hour but then go on as normal with your day. 

Living to Tell the Tale his Nobel Prize Winning Memoir of sorts, gives a lot of insight into his other books. His stories of banana plantations, smoky train cars, and an abandoned childhood.

Of course, there is Love in the Time of Cholera..a romance so heartbreaking, so lovely.  The first line of the book is a hook and reel-- 

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love."

A classic that is SO classic, I'll probably buy a copy or two for Christmas gifts.  So worthy.

Crayon Sculpting

Perhaps you've seen these inctricate sculptures before...they must be carved with pins!

Texas

I moved!
Wichita Falls, TX...a town with an Air Force Base and a small college...where my love just so happens to be based at the moment.  I just couldn't wait any longer.  I had to come out here and keep him company.

This little guy just so happened to come with the apartment :)

Brilliant light

Nat called me to come to the front porch and see the sky.
I walked outside and wow...

Turkey Day!!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!
We're frying a turkey over at our house today.  Thanksgiving Day Parade is on.  We should give thanks that all those Native Americans didn't kill off all the Pilgrims.

As a sign of gratitude, we should definitely bring back the old style of the Indians...they looked SO cool.

I have some Indian in my blood...I just need a feather in my hair.

Come on pilgrims..get it together.

Hiking through fire

The fall weather is so perfect for picture-taking..  I had a good visit with two of my favorites, Alicia and Ella.  We went for a North Georgia mountain hike...in hopes of discovering something new.  Which we did!  James H. 'Sloppy' Floyd State Park...we met up with the Pinhoti trail for a while, found a marble mine, and walked through a forest on fire with color...it was amazing.  Not to mention Ella was also decked out in her fall best.

Marble Mine

Ella almost blended in with the woods

We started hiking under a canopy of yellows, oranges, reds and every few steps we would stop and look up...uuuhmazing.

Aww..family shot.  (I'm Ella's god-mother)

Sunset over the lake before heading back for some bbq, mac n cheese, biscuits n honey at Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell...a successful day back in Georgia...

Capilla San Eduardo

This Capilla (or chapel) sat at the top of about 50 or so stone steps overlooking the gorgeous lakes of Nahuel Huapi. Everything about it was quaint except for the magnificent views. The old stone architecture had a golden glow, and the stained glass windows told stories through colors as the sun shown through illuminating the small interior.  Gardens were on all sides, and there wasn't a bad view from the top of the hill.  I imagined a picturesque wedding here...it was so beautiful.

 Rose bushes full of thorns climbed the stone walls at the back of the church..I can only dream of what this photo would look like at night with the one bulb illuminating the doorway.

Can you imagine the church bells chiming as you walk down the stone steps overlooking the white mountain peaks of the Andes and the blue lakes glistening with the reflection of the morning sun...?  Deep breath.

This is hotel Llao Llao, a 5star resort hotel that overlooks lakes and mountains in every direction...honeymoon destination perhaps?  Maybe one day..  The architecture was designed by Bustillo who is the same guy who built the church in 1938.  He also built the huge hotel, one of his greatest accomplishments but it burned down a few years after completion...MAN, all that hard work.  He rebuilt it with a more modern flair, now it's what Llao Llao is known for... http://www.llaollao.com/ing/

After exploring Llao Llao, I went back to Bariloche, greeted by a beautiful sunset.  I bought some chocolate and dulce de leche ice cream and went down to the lake.  This is the last photograph that I took in Argentina.  This country...my new favorite.  So many amazing memories, stories, experiences.  I'll be back!

 Volvere con mi esposo en el futuro...y con mi camera tambien.