My dog is a creeper

I am not a nosey neighbor whatsoever.  I care about my neighbors… but could really care less about what they are doing.

However, Jebediah is the nosiest creature I have ever encountered.

And if my neighbors knew how much he watched them they would probably be really creeped out. LOL

Dog Days Of Summer...

...That is what I am calling my 30 day photo challenge.  

So why did I decide on that?

I’m glad you asked…lol

I thought…

What do I photograph the most of? …dogs

What do I HAVE the most of? …dogs

What is this blog mostly about?...dogs

So that’s how I came up with… 

Starting August 1^st 

Brilliant, huh!

And now I know your asking... so what’s the challenge Anna banana?

Wow, you guys ask the greatest questions...lol

Well I took a photo challenge list meant for a person, but I am somehow going to incorporate a dog into each shot….and I will try to think out of the box.

So here is the list…ohhhh the pressure. 

Girls gone wild

The other evening I thought it would be nice to take Shannie down to the lake for a walk and some pictures. I took Glory along since she had such a rough week….poor baby. But she is feeling better.  The side of the lake we normally go to was closed, so I took them to an area I wasn’t very familiar with.

 And we were just having a blast in our own little world...

Until I looked through my lens and saw this face below…and I knew something was wrong.

This girl better never play poker…lol

 Well, turns out it was the park rangers motioning for us to come to their truck. Where they proceeded to give me a scolding for having a dog where they were not allowed.

When I earnestly told them “no sir I did not see any signs”

They gave me such a displeasing look.

But it wasn’t till I got home and went through the shots that I understood why …lol

I’m sure they thought I was lying through my teeth.

And I know all my friend and family who know me completely believe I did not see that sign…lol

I don’t understand it myself….how I can be a person who is so visual and so complexly oblivious to my surroundings at the same time.

 Yes, I think they even called for backup as we quickly left.

 Must have been that big mean Pit Bull I had with me that had them so on edge.

Poor Shannie…She's the only girl whose Grammy gets her in trouble with the po po…lol

Silent Sunday Thoughts

What's in a name...

 My logo :)  

 I found this great shop on Etsy to make my logo…Style Me Sweet ...super great to work with!

The logo is very symbolic to me.  The little white doggie is a reminder of my first heart dog Binny… the reason I got into dog rescue. And the bike of course is symbolic of the very last gift Richard bought me before he passed away. Which will forever remind me of my beloved. :)

  Thank You Mandy you did a super job!

Be back soon...

...Peeps....just taking a blogger break for a few days :) 

Wearing my heart on my lens

Some days can still feel so overwhelming.  Like yesterday….not because of any one happening, but the reality of trying to run a world created by two people, that really needs two people to run it.  But now I’m only one.  I feel pulled in so many directions …things I want to do, things I have to do, things I SHOULD do.  And on days like that the only thing I CAN do to cope, is snap.

So I grab my camera and do just that.  For whatever reason, it helps. I think because it gets my “focus” somewhere other than the big old pity party I’m trying to have. 

But what truly amazed me yesterday was later when I was feeling MUCH better. I looked back at the pictures and I could see my mood through the subject matter I chose to snap.

Like this…It’s Kiki…the sweetest dog in the world, but in this shot she looks like a wild dingo dog out on a hunt…lol

 Or this shot of the storm clouds rolling in. It depicted my soul pretty well at the time.

Or this lone bird… out on a limb all by itself.  Pretty much was how I was feeling…out on a limb all alone…I told ya I was having a pity party…lol

Sigh, I guess I just wear my heart on my lens.

Holding life by the face

Well I might be a little bit country but this girl is just downright …

 Actually this is just Shannie and I having WAY too much fun at Hobby Lobby over the weekend.  We played… I mean shopped in that store for about 4 hours!  We were getting our supplies for our daisy chandelier. Which, we are now calling the teal swan ;). Shan help me pick all the colors, and the trim that we hot glued onto the shades. Honestly I don’t think I’m going to hang it anywhere right away. I think it's going to make a great prop for a photo shoot. And with different lighting it comes out so unique in shots.

It was a fun project to do together and I hope it will be a great memory for my sweet Granddaughter. 

As I was looking through shots I had taken of her this weekend I saw a glimpse of this young lady she is about to become.  Although she is still all little girl….when I see pictures like theses I pray to some degree she will always be just that, and that she will always find joy, wonder, and delight in the world that surrounds her. 

 Well with all the fun we had this weekend we did have a bit of a bummer Saturday night. Glory got me up about every hour wanting to go out because she was not feeling well.  She has never done anything like that so I was immediately concerned. Then Sunday morning she wouldn’t eat, which really had me worried.  But she was drinking so I felt we could wait it out a day. My vet is very close and open 24 hrs.  But thankfully she ate for me by Sunday evening and although she is not 100% yet she is better and we both got a much better night sleep last night.  So please say a prayer for Glory Peeps. She is such a sweet dog…and although she is technically still a foster.  We have really stopped trying to place her. She has just been through too much and to move her after being here for so long would just be cruel at her age. And well, we just love her.

Hold life by the face….and say, yes, I will take you, and yes, I will love you again. ~Ellen Bass

Silent Sunday

Over the river ...

…and through the woods to grandmother's house we go…Well, actually it’s much closer then that.

Waylon’s Mommy and Daddy ( a.k.a my Daughter and Son-in-law ) closed on a house this week about 5 minutes from Grammy’s!

Now my sweet boy can visit all the time to learn great life lessons…like these …

Ahhhhh fuzzy orange is my favorite color. 

Yes, he is going to be a great wise one just like his cousin Shannie… for sure!  ;)

The ugly duckling

Maybe ugly is just what most people see when they look at this chandelier.

It sure was what my aunt and uncle thought when they bought their new home...because they couldn't get it off the ceiling fast enough. But when I spied it in their garbage I fell in love.  I asked my uncle if I could have it… he laugh and said. "You know when I took it down I though Anna would probable love this"...well he sure knows me... But then I thought about that statement and wondered...do most people think I love garbage?...lol

 Well I see potential....and its daises!  I just think they are the happiest flowers ever!  And now I'm on a mission to make this ugly duckling light fixture a beautiful swan. And Uncle Fub you’re not getting it back when I'm done.... 

It's my garbage now.  :p

It is finished!

The floor is in and I have moved into the studio!

Yup I'm 

doing a little silly happy dance!!! 

 Also thought it would be a great home for some of my vintage camera collection.

 This one is my favorite…just because it still has its box… and what’s on it. ;)

Well the wee whittle one is back from the beach so it’s going to be a play in the studio day as I catch up on all her adventures.

Richard my love, thank you!…your still making all my dreams come true….love lightning baby!

Hot dogs and Watermelon anyone?

Well it sure has been some dog days of summer in our neck of the woods …so I decided some nice refreshing watermelon was just what we all needed.

 And the pups sure did agree.

 I had to bring in the big gun to finish it off.

And I got me watermelon kisses the WHOLE rest of the day :)

Gone fishing but eating crow

I have inadvertently trained Lil Ricky that camera means treats. So every time I’m trying to photograph the other dogs she cries this pitiful cry because she does not want anyone else getting her treaties.  So after one of those munchkin size hissy fits I decided fine, you want a treat girlfriend you are going to work for it. ”

Well, by the end of the shoot I was the one that learned a lesson….this dog really trust me...and...  

The best proof of love is trust.  

I turn to you

Our sweet friend baby Evan went home to Heaven and Jesus yesterday. Some of you may remember him from a blog post back in April. 

Click here for the link.

He had to have surgery and something went dreadfully wrong and

his little body could just no longer keep fighting.

He was born Christmas day of last year….and has been fighting so hard.

And even thought we were only blessed with him for these few short months, He has left his footprints on my soul. And I will never forget him.

Please keep his parents and family in your prayers… 

They are completely heartbroken.

As I held Evan’s Mommy in my arms yesterday she whispered in my ear…

"I’m letting him go to Richard."

The reply below I gave to a dear friend in a text as she was remembering the first time we meet and held Evan... is what I know Richard is doing right now with that sweet baby.

And you all know me well enough now…when life makes no sense I turn to the only one that does….

Silent Sunday

A soldier's cry

I shared this story at church on Wednesday...however I just felt like I wanted to share it here as well.

As I was driving down the road the other day the lyrics that are posted on the photo above came across the radio. The thought of going home hit my aching heart so hard I started to cry to the Lord….”I want to go home, I want to go homeeeee”… But as I saying those words with tears streaming down my face.  I was also interjecting…”I’m sorry Lord I know you have work still for me to do and your plan for me is not done…but this longing to go home is still so deep in me”. And ever so sweetly inside my heart I heard the Lord say… “Anna it's ok for a soldier to want to go home”.  My immediate thought was… how true that is. There is not a soldier stationed anywhere in the world that does not long for home. In fact that hope of home can often keep them alive and give them the will to keep going on. So if someone needed to hear that today I hope that is the word you were looking for and God touched your weary heart just as he did mine.

Here it is by the way…the whole song is beautiful…

Going Green

Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.  Psalm 50:10

 I found one of those hills when I was taking a ride to the store.

My brain is still mulling over Sundays service at church.

The minister spoke about how often Jesus broke away from the crowd and went to the mountains.

The name of the message was called “Go Green” and even though I spend a large amount of time outdoors it has almost become mechanical for me and I realized I have stopped appreciating it.  

So a few times this week I made it a point to “go green”.... (Although MY crowd is a pack of dogs…lol.) ...and instead of just driving by this beautiful view I pulled over spend some time in the Fathers presence…took a few pictures and then went on my way to the store feeling totally refreshed.

Yeah, I’m going to start going green a lot more. :)

What I want to be when I grow up

Mowed the lawn.

Washed the cars.

Finished power washing the house.

Cleaned out the shed.

Threw a load of laundry in the washer.

And when I sat down to finally take a break I got a good look at the dogs and had to chuckle …

Looking at them you would think they just did all that. 

I want to be one of my dogs.

3 Is A Magic Number

So the winner is number 3! Thank you everyone for your comments, emails, texts and phone calls.

Lil Ricky however sealed the deal.  And thank you Jo for the idea…of course I should have thought of it…which one does Miss Ricky look best on!  LOL

Seriously, I just went out in the studio and took a ton of pictures. And this was the one that shows up the best. The lightest ones, along with the white walls reflect the light too much and washed everything out.  The oak one gave a yellow tint I didn’t like….and the darkest one was just too dark. And number 3 was the one most voted on :)

 But I’m just glad that’s done! 

However it’s amazing what you learn to do when you don’t have the one who use to do everything around any longer.  

I’ve hired contractors, learned to replace a sink, use equipment that I was once scared of….but I’m learning…..sometimes the hard way. Like the other day I was using the power washer to wash the house and didn’t realize you CAN’T get the hose to the gun near the machine… because it’s HOT…and it will burn a hole in it…. Oh and then, DO NOT put your hand over it to try to stop the water from gushing out….I nearly power washed my skin off…lol.  And ohhh the poor gentlemen at Lowes who helping me find a replacement hose and the right attachment so it fit my machine. Says to me “You will need to get your husband to tighten this up for you.” And without think I blurted out ….I can’t do that my husband’s dead.  I know I made him feel so bad….but I didn’t cry….I think he would have cried with me if I did…lol. Well, you have to laugh or you will cry.  Richard was a man of joy and I’m sure he is looking down and loving the Annie show…lol 

And why???? I have no idea…. and I have ceased trying to explain my brain to the world. But every time I hear the number 3 this song goes through my head…

Help me choose

Well today I don’t have a pretty picture or story to tell but I am coming to the masses for some help.

I’m trying to pick out my flooring for the studio. Again things that make me REALLY miss Richards’s wisdom.

Floor guys suggest I go with a lvt (Luxury Vinyl Tile) because the room will not always be climate controlled….which makes my choices limited. But maybe that’s a good thing…lol

So which one do you like?

Thanks peeps!

Challenge ahead

I watched this delightful movie last night about, of all things… a woman that blogged. Although I could not relate to what she blogged about… which was a one year challenge she gave herself to prepare all 524 of Julia Child’s recipes from her book Mastering the art of French cooking. Yes my eyes even glazed over as I typed that. Mastering the art of PB&J is about all I care to master as far as the kitchen is concerned. But what I found so delightful about the movie was the process she went through as a daily blogger.  Like, does anyone read her?… was there anyone out there? And then when people began to respond to her post the feeling of obligation she started to have to a people she didn't even know but now somehow felt connected to.  All of that felt very relatable to me. I found myself actually becoming anxious this weekend when I wasn't able to post my blog due to a computer issue. When I finally was able to get it up very late in the day… I felt this crazy self imposed weight lift off of me. And the question of… “why are you doing this?”, comes up again. Which often does when you blog daily… and especially on days like today when you feel you have nothing to share.

So as I was thinking about last night’s movie I thought I really like the idea of a giving myself a challenge. I have seen photo challenges and I think I’m going to try one. Not a one year challenge but I think I will start with a month…. and I’m going to start in August. 

The Lord has already been comforting my heart as the one year date of Richards departing approaches.  I don’t want to dread a month or a date …. I’m believe God for it to be like this scripture in Esther… as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday… I believe this photo challenge is a God timed thing for me….so now I’m on a hunt for one. I’ll post it before I start on August 1^st.  Please feel free to share any ideas you have.... I would LOVE to hear them.