Artful Blogging Giveaway Winner and Exciting News!

Happy Monday!

I am truly under the gun this week,

as I have just completed a DREAM photo shoot,

which has been picked up by a dream publication
for an upcoming issue!

The catch is, I have four days in which to get 

the article written and completed, too!

Yep, this will be my baby from start to finish,
I'm both photographer AND writer,

and I'm freaking out ever so slightly...

 what if the words don't come?
What if it, ( pardon my French ) sucks ? )

I'm proud of the photos I shot,

but I soooooo want to do them justice with

an excellent accompanying story.

Wish me luck!

Send up a prayer!

Send some good juju my way.

Thank you!

Anyway...

the winner of my  

Artful Blogging Magazine

giveaway is...

Vickie at Ranger 911

Congrats, Vickie!

Send me your contact info and I'll get that copy right

out to you!

I hope you enjoy, Vickie!!

See you all again soon!

The Friend I've Never Met...Revisited

I am re-posting one of my very first blog entries
in honor of a lady who has become quite a dear friend
in days of late...this past week especially.

We have still never "met" in the physical sense,
but know one another quite well via e-mail,
texts, and phone calls, and I'm not ashamed
to admit that I'm still her number one fan
and a gushy fan girl.

From September 2009....

When I visit a blog, I have no set rules on what I hope to find there....

a little eye candy is nice, usually in the form of something vintage or whimsical 

or just slightly off-kilter.

Even more so, I truly appreciate someone who can turn a phrase well,

who can draw remarkably vivid word pictures with such clarity

that I feel as though I've known them for  ages.

     Elizabeth Maxson of The Adventures of Elizabeth

   is just such a person.

I remember well the first time I came across her blog. 

I was hooked instantly, this gal had it all! 

Impeccable style, 

unerring grace, 

the uncanny ability to transform the ordinary

into something transcendant.

Yep, she had all of those attributes in spades.

But that wasn't what kept me glued to my monitor reading her posts 

for the better part of an afternoon and into the evening. 

It was her willingness to get real, to risk vulnerability, 

to share her hopes, her dreams, her fears.

All the rest, the striking visuals and the lyrical prose, was just icing.

I will likely never meet Elizabeth Maxson in person, 

but ultimately, that matters little. 

To borrow and tweak her customary sig line, 

she has sent so much of herself to all of her readers,  

from her house to ours.

That's the sort of blogger I want to be, too.

No pretty pictures in this entry, 

save for the one of lovely Elizabeth,

along with the hope and encouragement that you too

will get to know this amazing lady yourselves.

Have a wonderful weekend!

P.S.

Be sure to enter my friend Debra's wonderful

All Things French Giveaway

over at

Common Ground

My Artful Blogging Giveaway!

Giveaway Closed

I've heard from so many of you that you're not

able to locate the wonderful magazine

Artful Blogging in your area...

inconceivable!

so it is my pleasure to offer

the latest issue to one lucky reader

in my latest giveaway!

As you know from my last post,

I was fortunate enough to have an eight page feature

in the brand new Winter issue, and this is just my way

of sharing the love a little bit.

No hoops to have to jump through to win,

just leave a comment.

If you decide to become a follower or blog about this,

leave additional comments to let me know.

I'll pick a winner
Monday, November 14th.

Good luck, 

and have a wonderful week!

all photos from my artful blogging article

Honored to be in Artful Blogging Magazine

I think the title of this post says it all...

I am so unbelievably honored to be featured

in the new issue of Artful Blogging Magazine,
on newsstands this week.

For those who might not be familiar with how it all works,

those of us who are selected to contribute 

write our own article and our own photographs
and / or artwork are featured.

I was blessed to be given eight pages in the current issue
of this gorgeous publication ( one of my faves! )

to share some of my innermost thoughts about blogging,

and to open up a bit about how it has forever changed me
and enriched my life beyond measure.

It is a joy and an honor, but a bittersweet one, too...

I sent the completed article off to the editor
only 4 short days before my mother entered the hospital
for the very last time.

She never got to read it, she didn't even get to see a rough draft.

I think of the tears of joy she would have shed over seeing

that two of my photos even made the front cover!

But still I know....she sees. She knows. 

She's smiling down, so very, very proud.

So to Artful Blogging,
I say thank you so very much.

To the readers and friends of this blog,
I treasure you beyond words.

And to my dear mama...

as I said in the dedication of a book
I once wrote for her...

" For Mama...I learned to read
and write
and draw
and dream
on your lap...
I love you."

If you like anything at all about me
or this blog, thank the lady in the photo above.
She's the reason.

I hope you'll grab the issue,
as I'm pleased as I can be to be featured alongside
some pretty impressive company...
my friends Tricia of A Rosy Note,
Tracey of French Larkspur
and Mary of Urban Farmgirl.
Congrats, ladies!

For those who can't locate the issue in their area,
I plan on offering it in a giveaway
in the days ahead.

Have a wonderful week!

linking with

inspiration friday at the picket fence
feathered nest friday at french country cottage

vintage inspiration friday at common ground

One Week

One week
since I last posted.

Time flies.

 I wish I could report that I've been engaged in
some manner of

thrilling adventures and escapades,

but the truth is...

I've been reading.

Yep, reading.

 

Well, not  just  reading, as I work a full-time job.

But the bulk of my free time 

has been spent on my new 3G Kindle, 

a most thoughtful birthday gift from a dear friend.

Been taking in the classics

and some old favorites.

But mostly, been spending time immersed in

spiritual reading. The scriptures mainly, seeking answers,

guidance and peace.

Just slowing down and indulging in a bit of "me" time.

No crime in that, right?

Maybe I'll see you all again before another week passes.

Maybe not.

That's the beauty of my life these days.

My terms. 

Blogging without obligation.

Realizing that life is way too short and precious

to ever do otherwise again.

Happy Week!

Madonna of the Barn

 The fact that we even have  barns cracks me up.

We are not rural folk by any stretch of the imagination,

although the Mr. sometimes fancies himself to be.

I fancy myself 10 pounds thinner,
so it all evens out.

 We have three long, rectangular chicken-type barns,

although one of them looks to have harbored goats in another lifetime.

The barn closest to the road has been dubbed the "wasp and cat poop barn",

as it has produced a never ending stream of pesky wasps all Summer long,

and a feral cat seems to like to make her "deposits" inside.

One day, with a lot of patience and elbow grease, this will

be the future Man Cave.

 Our middle barn is actually a semi-gutted barn which serves as

a three-car garage.

Outside of this barn is where my beautiful barn Madonna resides,
alongside an assortment of rusty old farm implements and fire wood.

She just "fits" out here, her delicately weathered patina

blending seamlessly alongside her rustic companions.

 Our third barn is also the infamous storage barn y'all have been

given glimpses inside of in posts past.

Truth be told, it's the mother of all storage units, and I'm still

holding out hope that a barn sale of some sort can take place here,

perhaps next Spring. 

I had hoped to do this in the Fall, like now

but then...well, readers of this blog know what happened.

Is she not lovely?

She gets more and more beautiful with age.

Speaking of...

not the beautiful part, but the age thing.

I endured celebrated another birthday yesterday, and to all those 

amazing Facebook friends who wished me a happy one, thank you!

And to all of you lovely folk who still
operate under the misconception that

I'm much more of a Spring chicken than I actually am,

far be it from me to burst your bubble.  ;-)

Off to face the day.

Hopes yours is blessed and joyful!

Yo Mama...

Everybody thinks that their mother is, or was, beautiful.

We're just hard wired that way,
to believe that our mom's are the fairest of the fair.

Now far be it from me to talk smack about anyone elses mama,

but I'm pretty sure that my mama ranks waaaay up there.

 Not just your garden variety pretty, 

but movie star beautiful.

And my goodness, her brothers, my uncles, confirm that she was
the hottest catch in all of Dallas back in the day.

I came upon this priceless stash of photos this past month,

as I was sorting through her belongings...what a find!

 My mom and her mop-top,
tow-headed little brother.

What a darling pair!

 Sweet, smiling eyes.

She had those until the very end.

It's been a month since she passed,

and the stages of grief still sneak up on me in random order,

at often inopportune times.

Still, I know she is with me.

My beautiful, beautiful mama is right here...

...forever in my heart.

linking with

at the picket fence

and

feathered nest friday