My Wonderful Husband

I'm not going to mince words here, or sugarcoat it...

My husband has put up with a lot of crap from me in recent weeks,

and I just wanted to publicly thank him for sticking by me and

loving me through it all.
I can be a bear to live with at times, especially lately.

I'm re-posting this from over a year ago, please meet my 

amazing, long-suffering, altogether wonderful better half!

*****

Meet my Handsome Husband...

I felt a bit guilty that I had no photos of my own 

from Warrenton which featured HH, 

but Theresa Cano of Garden Antqs Vintage came to the rescue! 

She was gracious enough to snap this pic 

of HH and myself in her beautiful space, 

and doubly gracious to allow me to use it here on my blog.

Now let me preface this bio on HH with this disclaimer: 

He is not really in any way shape or form into the whole 

antique-vintage-flea markety-junking-Warrenton thing.

Not a bit.

But boy oh boy, is he ever the go-to guy 

when you need someone to either push your 

Wonder Wheeler all stinkin' day long, cart heavy furniture to and fro, 

repair a wonky drawer so's I can sell it in my booth,  

listen patiently while I prattle on endlessly about all my bloggy friends....you get the picture.

Heck, he was an avowed lifelong cat hater 

who has grudgingly come around 

to loving my girl, Winnie (although he'd be loathe to admit it *grin*).

So yeah, in many, many significant ways, 

he truly is the man behind Fiona and Twig.

But he is an astonishingly accomplished gent in his own right.

He was a world ranked swimmer in college, 

and made it to the Olympic trials twice. 

At one point, he was ranked 10th in the world!

{swimming a triathlon a few years back}

He is an accomplished thespian, having performed community theatre for years 

(and with the awards to prove it).

He has tirelessly taught High School Chemistry and Physics for many years, 

as well as coached swimming. In fact, 2 years ago 

he was named Coach of the Year for his region.

But his greatest achievement? 

It might just be putting up with me.

{grin}

Love ya, HH!

Anticipation

So, how was your weekend, lovelies?

Mine was cold.
Hella cold, as in 20 degrees on Saturday morning.
Yep sports fans, it really, truly gets cold in Texas.

Let's see, what else?
I worked, worked and then worked some more, but hey...

the old man was in Houston visiting family, and with the overtime I raked in, 

I'm that much closer to affording my pricey new camera lens.

And that much closer to something....

exciting !

I can't tell you just what it is....yet.

But soon !

 Have a wonderful week!

Giving Thanks

It is a couple of days early, but that's okay...

I'm in a mood to give thanks, anyway.

to all of you, who have left comments and

sent me private messages

who have encouraged

uplifted

and

rooted for me

and to one very special long-distance friend and mentor...

I thank you.

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

P.S. all images snapped in my lovely friend Marta's former shop

P.P.S. I'm leaning towards stepping out in faith and going for the photography gig!!!

A Clarification and a Thank You...

Where better to begin than to say 

thank you 

to each of you dear souls who have taken the time

 to lift me up here and send me words of support.

I love you all, and thank you seems like such an inadequate word sometimes.

In my previous post, I communicated
the frustration I have been feeling,

 with the pressure I have placed on myself of late.

I realize now that due to omitting some key facts,
I mistakenly led you to believe that

 it was blogging which was taking a toll on me.

Not so.

Without divulging too much just yet,
I am being presented with opportunities to take my

 photography to a much higher level.

There are very real opportunities available to me which

 could lead to something big.

But....

{there's always one of those....}

I am acutely aware that right now,
I don't have the proper equipment to get
the job done on a professional level.

When you are shooting interiors for editorial work,

you need more than just an entry level DSLR and kit lens.

And right now? Can't afford to upgrade.

And renting equipment?
A viable option, but only if it comes with a helper
to come along and help me figure it out.

Remember what I cryptically alluded to in my last post?

Do you ever feel like your opportunities and ambitions
exceed your talents and abilities?
( or in this case, equipment)

Hence my dilemma.

Lots to think and pray about.

I tend to believe that if I'm being offered these things now,
that the opportunities

 will likely be available once I upgrade my equipment.

Or maybe not.

But that's where trust and belief comes in.

Trust in God and belief in myself.
And some days, I don't know which is harder.

Usually the latter.

Back to work now.

Have a beautiful week, my beautiful friends!

Believe

I pose a question to each of you...

Do you only post when you have something

happy or upbeat or edifying to share...

or do you open up your heart and

let what's really brewing underneath the surface out

for the world to see?

My dilemma.

 

I've been frustrated quite a bit lately,
and came this close to deleting my entire blog this afternoon.

Just hitting one simple button
and erasing any and all evidence that this blog ever existed.

Having a bit of a tantrum, I was!

Frustrated with myself, and many of the unrealistic expectations
I have placed on myself.

Do you ever feel like.....

your opportunities and ambitions exceed your talents and abilities?

*raising hand*

I am right there, right now.

Trying to decide if I need to seize certain opportunities,
or wait until *I* feel that I am better prepared.

So very tired.

With rest comes clarity of mind, this much I know.

Forgive me for being absent this week and next, t
he moving and work responsibilities continue.

I almost always get back to each of you,
but it's just impossible right now, I am so sorry.

Just know that I read and appreciate every comment.

I leave you with one thought and a wish...

Believe in yourselves.

{struggling to work on that one myself}

Inspiring

My friend Debra at Common Ground

hosts a wonderful weekly party,

Vintage Inspiration Friday....

I didn't think I'd be participating this week,
what with packing and moving, as well
as working 12 hour shifts today and tomorrow at ye olde coal mine.

But it hit me on the drive home tonight
just what inspires me the most these days...

all of YOU.

You lift me up

You make me laugh

You pray with me and for me

You challenge me

You truly do help me to be a better person.

That's all.

I just thought y'all should know that.

:-)

Linking with Debra at  

Common Ground

Christmas Whispers

Around the brand new Twig homestead,
a few soft little whispers of  
Christmas
are starting to make themselves known...

Nothing grand, or dramatic

Just little peeks

of the blessed season to come.

Back to packing boxes, have a beautiful Wednesday!

Linking with Kathleen at Faded Charm

Glorious Garden Antqs Vintage

So here's the deal...

A more organized blogger, like say, Tracey,
would have gotten all her show photos posted

boom, boom, boom....on to the next subject.

But not me, nosirreee.

I am disorganization personified these days,
which explains why I'm still posting my Accumulations

show photos that I snapped over two weeks ago.

Sorry, peeps.

But I promise that these are worth the wait!

They are of my good friend Theresa Cano
of Garden Antqs Vintage's space, and she not only fulfilled

but exceeded every expectation.
Theresa is featuring the wonderful creations of Brenda Harding of

Penn River Designs these days,
so pay special attention to Brenda's lovely pillows, 

lampshades and altered birdcages.

You've waited long enough,
so I'll zip it and let the pictures do the talking...

  

Hey, pretty girl!

Yep, you !

Well done, my talented friend!

Lots more packing and moving this week,
so I hope this post holds ya for a few days!

Have a great week!