Nothing comes between me and my vans

Do you have that one pair of shoes that represent you, that you love soooo much that you wear them even when they have holes in them and should be thrown away? That is what my vans are for me, the one pair of shoes that I buy over and over again once over thirty people have told me I need new shoes. I don't buy a new pair of vans until my old pair has big enough holes that either my heel falls out the back or my big toe is sticking out the front. They are like old friends, they are always tried and true always ready for what is ahead and never leave your side. They are there when you need a little pick up and remember who you are, you never have to pretend to be anyone else when wearing your favorite shoes. The vans pictures above are my wedding shoes, and this picture was actually taken the day before my one year annivesary. They have holes in the heels, so when it rains my feet get wet...but I will never get rid of them. They are the shoes that I married my soul mate in, I feel lucky to have been able to wear shoes that represented me during my wedding day cause not all brides take that opportunity. I will always wear black and white checkered vans until I have loved them more then they can handle and I know they will always love me back.

Snowmageddon 2010

I moved to Northern Virginia a year and a half ago from Southern Minnesota. I thought by moving a little more south, that the winters would be warmer with less snow. The first winter was just that and what a nice break it was from the below zero, windy, cold winters in MN. This year though, it feels like we are back in MN! This weekend we got 3 feet of snow in 36 hours, it was crazy. I didn't leave the house for over 48 hours, until I decided that it was to beautiful outside with the snow covering the trees and I couldn't let it go by. I love snow, I do..I just hate having to live with it, the driving, the shoveling, the me being cold..that I don't like. I do believe snow is one of the beautiful things that comes from the sky. Who doesn't love looking at trees that once were bare and ugly over night be transformed to beautiful, magical trees covered with glistening white snow. Snow can make anything look breathe taking. When I was young my mom told me that snow was God's dandruff...I laughed when she told me that. This weekend I giggled again thinking about how much dandruff God must have, maybe he needs some Head and Shoulders! Kids LOOOOVEEEE snow and living in VA they don't get to see it that much. This weekend it was great to hear their giggles when climbing upon little plow piles thinking they are kings of the world, sliding down the little mountain, to climb up and do it again. Think about how you were a little kid and a snow day was the best news you could receive on a winter morning. I loved playing in the snow, I have a permenant reminder with how I would play and play not caring if I was cold and needed to warm up. On the tip of one of my fingers I have a red spot from when my finger got frostbite from playing out to long in the snow with my wild imagination. Now as an adult I have to shovel the 3 ft and more away from my car and pray that the streets are plowed enough..but I still make sure to run around in the snow a bit, throw a few snowballs at an unexpecting husband or roommate, and make sure I never forget the joy it brought me as a child.

Bright Pink Houses Bring Warmth

This weekend Northern Virginia I have heard is estimated to get 12-20 inches of snow...that is a lot of snow for us east coasters. We have already had about 25 inches this winter..I would say that is 20 inches more than last year and its going to continue! AARRGGHHH!!! But when it's snowy and cold outside, I like to look at pictures that bring me warmth and happiness. When looking at this picture of the bright pink house with contrasting bright green shutters I immediatly feel the warmth of the Bermuda sun on my face. All the houses in Bermuda are painted brightly, which is one of the things I love about the country. The houses could also be one of the reasons why all the people in Bermuda were happy and friendly while I was there or it could be my great personality! Maybe when I own a home I will paint it a bright cheery color and bring warmth to my neighbors, or on the other hand maybe I will just paint a little dog house in a cheery color!

music = love

Music is theraphy, music is love. Music can take you away from it all, it can inspire you, it can move you, it can be all the things you are searching for and looking for...it is the way we communicate..it is everything and can mean different things to different people. For me personally music is life. Concerts are therapy, for two hours you are taken to a different place, moved, inspired, or able to dance and let go! My favorite thing at a concert is when in crowd to shut my eyes, listen to the music, and truly feel the music. The crowd disappears and its just me and the music..its the perfect feeling. This picture reminds me of the music. This picture comes from Bradley Hathaway's performance at MSU, Mankato. This is the accodian, cello, guitar playing band member..I found him cute during the performance..oh and he played keyboard too! The photo being in black and white with a grainy texture makes the picture feel more personable and bringing you back to the moment it was taken.  

trees trees trees

Trees..I LOVE them! You can find probably over a hunderd photos of trees alone on my computer. I feel like trees say and mean so many things..it's really up to the viewer how they interpert them. I love fall, cause the leaves start to change colors and slowly fall to the ground leaving the branches bare. It's like the trees are shedding the part of them that is thought as beautiful, and exposing themselves for what really is beneath. I think when a tree has lost all it's leaves, it is the most beautiful. For me it represents mystery, strength, sadness, and sometimes it leaves me with an erie feeling that stays with me. I think my love for bare trees is due to Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams is one of the best black and white nature photographers of all time, for me nothing compares to his earlier shots. The first thingI ever got professionaly framed (which started an addiction for me..an expensive one at that!) was Ansel Adams Flat Lux. Its a photo of an Oaktree during the sunrise in Northern California. The tree is the main focus, it is large and strong, reaching outwards with the light sunrays lighting it up. In the distance you can see the cows eating the dewy grass in the pasture. I will never be able to take photos like Ansel Adams, but I will continue to try. At least while trying to do so, I will be taking photos of things that I truly admire and love.

Connections decades apart

I didn't take this picture...the picture was taken many many years before I was born, before I was even a thought. The girl in this picture is my mother and I assume that it was taken outside on the lawn of the family farm. I love looking at old pictures of my family and my mother. Pictures of our past help guide is and tell us stories that others haven't shared yet, while at the same time letting us daydream about how it used to be. My mother is no longer with us, therefore I can't ask her questions about the pictures and the experiecnces they caputured. Since I can't do that, I like to make up my own stories about the pictures, tying in stories I have heard in the past and placing them in the pictures. The reason I love this picture is becasue it is so simple and beatiful, plus I love the shoes that my mom was wearing. I never knew she used to wear converse like shoes, I love my converses! When I look at this picture, I think of my mom being in her teens spending a lazy sunny summer day. On the farm, there isn't much to do at times, so she decided to play with the farm cat's kittens. This is something I also did when I was younger and living on the farm. When looking at pictures of my mom when she is growing up and before I knew her as "mom",  I realize how much we have in common and how she grew into the person whom I knew as one of the strongest, nuturing, mother and woman.

You ain't a fool for going to school

Tomorrow I go back to school and work, I've had a great month off. Sometimes it's hard to go back after such a long wonderful break, but it must be done. I will be starting my last semester of graduate school, in May I shall be getting my MAIS in Higher Education. I can't wait to begin my career, but I have loved being in school. During my undergraduate years I wasn't sure I what I wanted to do, but I found the Program Board ans started planning events and becoming a leader. It clicked. I wanted to do this for my career, I wanted to assist students in their leardership abilities and continue to plan events for entire student bodies. That is what I have been able to do thus far in the graduate assistnatship and I am learning a lot about diversity, student services, and finding passion all over again. I will be the first person in my WHOOOLLEEE family to get a Masters degree!! It makes me proud that I have been able to follow my dreams and maybe I will inspire my nieces and nephews to do so too!