Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing my whole entire family clan a great Thanksgiving this year. I'm thankful for so many things it's hard to put into words or pictures but I just might try...

John

He really is a genius. He makes me laugh every single day and loves me regardless of my flaws. He makes my life better, period.

Griffin

Griffin is unbelievable sweet and witty. He understands my humor and is in tune with everyone's moods and feelings. His sarcasm is second to none and I feel blessed everyday I get to be his mom.

Burke

Burke makes me question time. He's my baby after all. He's sensitive and inquisitive and a ball of fire. He makes me try harder and think longer and if you think about it, how can that NOT be a blessing?

My Mom

My mom has a great laugh, fab smile and the ability to cook all my favorites and still self-depricate herself each and every time! She's been through a lot and stays strong everyday, awesome!

Kim

My sissy Kim is loving, dedicated and laid back. Although she is not a fan of decorating for Christmas, there's a lesson in that, simple sometimes is better. She is a great sister!

Becky

Becky is hilarious, super smart and a survivor. I miss her constant sarcasm! She makes me proud to be her sister!

David

David is passionate, smart and cute all at the same time. I'm so grateful I've had the opportunity to have a brother!

Maury

Sure he walks so fast he's always ahead by 20 feet and he's opinionated but he's one of the most generous people I've ever known. Underneath, he's a sensitive and loving soul. I'm grateful that he is in my life because I've learned a lot about myself because of him.

I know there are spouses to include in my Thanksgiving summary, but I'm out of time and my stomach is aching for the spread I'm about to partake in so please know, Robert, Scott and Amanda, you all rock too!

Windmills on Acid (for Becky)

Recent photo's edited in the classic acid style.

Halloween...

If you don't know what a black mage is, here's a photo for reference....

This is a video game character and Burke's choice for his costume this year. Here's his interpretation.

I do love it that he refuses store bought costume concepts and always chooses his own get-up.

Slightly depressing that Griffin didn't participate at all. My own pre-teen is growing up!

Panic Attack...

For months I've been meaning to head to the stockyards. Why? Well, here in SD, the stockyards have been a big part of our fair city. Always have been. They are right next to the big meatpacking plant and consist of rickety old buildings and animal pens. Completely foreign to me since I'm a 'city' girl. Visually, it is a very interesting place with it's odd colors and mascot. The smell is something else that could become a short story in and of itself. The point is, I thought I'd better take some kickin' photo's of the joint before it gets torn down. I headed out and drove smack dab right up to The Pig Arena. It's my favorite building by far with it's pastel stripes and appropriate signage. To my shock, the LIGHTS were on in this place. Someone actually works in there! I totally panicked with my little Toyota running while in park at the front door and my camera slapped around my neck. Then I heard PIGS, tons of them, screaming for dear life! I couldn't believe it. Suddenly, I had the urge to bail in case some actual cowboy ranch hand man came out and started asking me questions about my business at their slaughterhouse! I'd only snapped three pictures before I whipped the car into reverse and headed around the corner.

Then, I saw pink. Pig pink. In 30+ years, I've never seen any actual animals from the street. I thought about the chance to photograph a large pig (think Charlotte's Web) with my fancy fandangled camera. The risk of getting questioned by any western dressed rancher seemed rather worth it. I swung the car around and hopped out to visit the nice little piggie. To my horror, it was injured! Bloody and shivering. SO depressing! I'm an animal lover. LOVE them. This situation was completely disheartening to say the least. My trek to the stockyards was a complete and utter disappointment with so-so photo's, a memory of a pig that needed a blanket, and an unsettling desire to quit bacon.

Figuring it out...

I have two digital cameras. I decent pocket size one and a really nice big one. The big one is tricky with it's dials and options and quite frankly, it intimidates me. For example, the 'A' option would logically be automatic to a simple minded person like me. Apparently, it's for aperture. The 'P' option is for program, which in this camera's world means automatic. Go figure. Then there's the whole shutter speed settings and bokeh dials, manual focusing vs. automatic. The list is long. Thanks to Google and a manual download, I'm working on figuring it all out. Now, if I could just afford Photoshop, my life may just be complete.

This is for my mom...

Check it out mom! You would have had a complete heart attack and ran like an Olympic runner to the car! This snake was fast, albeit tiny and Burke even picked it up! Yikes!

It's okay mom, deep breaths should calm you down! I'll leave you with a nice quiet duck to look at instead....

Five Days...

Five days straight with sick kids at home has brought me to my computer to search for some contentment. This photo was taken on our mini trip to Omaha and for me says ' relax ' .