Saturday, November 10, 2012

Weekending

This weekend has been.... glorious. 
Seriously. I'm  not even exaggerating. 
Indian Summer in Appalachia is beautiful. 

Today we stayed in and read while it warmed up, then headed out for a hike behind our house in Wayne National Forest. Mallory is very much into maps, so she always studies trail maps as we head out, her lagging behind, reading, reading. 
Our hikes are spent with Mal listening for birds and trying identify each one. Jools carrying a large stick to beat away any thorn bush out of place, and Liam running and jumping off logs. 
Me, trying to breathe in the silence, and then listen to my children laughing happily. 

Upon returning, we were met with an impromptu get together. 
Lots of food was eaten, 
games were played 
(serious 'Guess Who' marathon was had)
fires made, marshmallows eaten, and candles lit.

Hugs and love everywhere. 

Hope your weekend is just as full.




















Thursday, November 8, 2012

Sick Day = Idea Day

Mal is home sick today. 
Stomach flu. 
Winter is near... which means, with three kids and one mama.... lots of sickness, continually. UGH.

She also was bashed in the face a couple days ago in gym class (ran into a kid wearing glasses... the glasses broke and gave them each nasty cuts)
Poor girl.

I'm staying home from work to be with her, and it's been nice. The little kids went on to daycare/preschool, and Mal has been reading and watching movies, we've been snuggling, and I've been able to catch up on some housework (booooo) and also work on and solidify some ideas I have had milling about in my head.

As if I weren't busy enough, (you know, with all the kids, being a single mama, a new job, and also working seasonally for my friend Kristie in my 'spare' time ;-)) 
I have a couple personal projects that I really feel the need to do. 
I need to commit to, and do, my 'Faces of Marietta' portrait project. I'd really like to complete this by summertime, and have a showing. 
I also have some ideas I'm working on for a project on children. More on that later. 

I ALSO, have decided I will be taking 8 commissions for the upcoming year (2013). 
These will all be lifestyle portrait sessions. Family, children, etc. 
No weddings. 
No posing.
All natural light. 
A session will last around 2-3 hours, and will be $500 and include a disc of around 30 high res digital images, with the copyright released to you for personal printing purposes.
If interested, feel free to contact me.
More on that later too :-)

Hope everyone is having a lovely day. It's cold, but sunny here.... 




Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Day

Hello from a frosty election day!

Frost covered the ground today, and the kids ran outside yelling, 'snow!' .....

soon enough.





Monday, November 5, 2012

Corners of my home

Our little farm cottage is quickly becoming a place we are all happy to come to. 







Sunday, November 4, 2012

Cha-cha-changes (yes, more!)

There has really been much going on here. Exciting things, but things that make me nervous too. 
I've quit my job. My last day at my current work is Friday.
I'll be starting a new job the next Monday.

My old job was::
strict hours
very low paying.
BUT::
lovely co-workers
stable, long term- could have retired there
health insurance.

New job is::
flexible hours!
higher pay!
BUT::
length of projects-- iffy
no health insurance

I am very excited. I'm also very nervous. I'll be going about a month without getting paid, for starters. And for someone recently divorced, who had a low paying job for a year.... well, that's a real hardship for me. 

But, we'll do alright. We have become quite adept at finding our way, these kids and I. 

On another, and completely different note, Autumn has been beautiful and amazingly fun for us! The new house has come along wonderfully, and the kids are loving school, their friends, and everything. 

I look forward to trying some new recipes lately and sharing them. I've been into Japanese food lately. 
Garden planning for the spring is already (already!) in the works. 
Between a garden and chickens, I'm hoping to grow at least 1/2 our food supply. 

Can't wait to share :-)