It's Saturday, Do You Know Where Your Locusts Are?

"I don't love you like I did yesterday." - My Chemical Romance

Tonight was baked chicken, sliced up and put on salad with feta cheese. I personally had caesar dressing on it, yum. Earlier for snack I made cinnamon drop biscuits. I was going to make chicken and waffles but I had no idea I had no eggs (locusts!) and I'd already put the oil in the flour so I went ahead and made the biscuits.

Tonight I'm running a quest for OH. I was going to play some Champions but it's already 9pm and my quest'll start in an hour so there's really no time to even get going. So instead i'm listening to youtube. A while back someone showed me how to make channels on youtube so I have a "Favorites" and a "Wizard Rock" channel. Depends on what I feel like. The Favorites channel has a bunch of odd stuff, just as I find it I add it, I'll probably need to go through and delete at some point cause there are some that after I listened I didn't really like... like the Kontrust song. Too weird. I like weird but that's just really weird. I think it's called Hey DJ.

Nirvana - Pennyroyal Tea is playing.

I am taking my big Tut book tomorrow when I go do my Tut Ambassador stuff. I get too many questions I can't answer and I know I could if I had my book. By the time I take my docent class I'll already know a ton! I hope to be a docent and lead tours of the King Tut exhibit. I wouldn't mind some of the other areas either, the history stuff mostly. Not really interested in dinosaurs, or the science area (I mean science is cool but I don't wanna talk about it to kids - I'm a history buff!).

My demon cat is rubbing against my legs. Wonder what she wants. Probably food. My kids aren't the only locusts in this house.

Thirty Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens is playing.

Andy will be off work soon enough, and I'll get to talk to him. Always look forward to that. Randy has a gig tonight, he left several hours ago to go play with Brent I think. The boys are in their room. Jet is probably curled on Hudson's bed. Demon cat just curled on back of the couch. All is well for now.

Game of Thrones theme by Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens is playing.

Nice way to end this entry, and think about my little quest in OH! And right on time...phone call!

Steaks, Sneezes and Barbarians

Tonight I made top round steaks in the oven. I put pepper, adobo and cilantro on them. I sauteed green bell peppers and onions with garlic and olive oil and pepper to put on the steaks when they came out. I had these fresh baked hot dog buns so I split them, cut them in half and put butter and garlic on them and baked them. Both boys enjoyed it! So did I. I want to make a homemade chicken pot pie this weekend.

My allergies are killing me today. I woke up having trouble breathing, so I'm pretty tired right now and I'm sneezing like crazy and I got that horrible itchy nose and itchy eyes feeling. Ugh! Took a claritin several hours ago so it's eased a little but not enough for my liking.

I've been playing Champions: Return to Arms on PS2 here and there lately with my barbarian woman named Astrid. Astrid is the name of a Zorcan in the online writing game I run called Obsidian Heart Adventuring Company. Fun game. My parents play it. So funny to be calling my mother to ask for game tips. That reminds me, I should call her now and see how to deal with this Plane of Valor quest I'm on. My mom is the best.

30 Blog Challenge

I never got far with the 30 Day Challenge, so to make it more do-able I'm making it a 30 BLOG challenge! And starting over!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

Day 02 - Talk about the person you have been closest with the longest

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Day 04 - Talk about your night

Day 05 - Tell about a favorite memory

Day 06 - Someone you respect, and why

Day 07 - What's your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - Tell about someone that has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - Tell three things that you doubt people would believe about you

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - Tell about someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - Something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity or fear

Day 19: - Take a picture of a letter you have written or someone has written to you.

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 21 - Talk about something you wish you could forget

Day 22 - Talk about something you wish you were better at

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 24 - Talk about something you wish you could change

Day 25 - What did you eat today?

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Beginning Again

I've always been the stop and start kind of person, and sometimes it really gets on my nerves. Like this blog, I was doing so good for a while then STOP. Now I've pressed START again, and I guess that's ok but there are other stop and start things that bother me more. Like the books I've tried to write, or my second poetry book I've tried to finish. I went hard and heavy with this latest book and got lots of chapters done, got it all worked out as far as outlines, worked out character information then STOP. And I haven't really been able to pick it up again.

Well let's see if I can do a quick recap of my life since I haven't been on in a while:

1. I took way too many vacations this year. By the last one I was worn plumb out. I went to Savannah, Georgia. Then Omaha, NE. Then North Carolina. Then Washington DC. Then Myrtle Beach. This was from April - June alone! Yikes! By Washington I was sick as a dog and ended up barely making it back to the hotel room after the first day and wasn't able to go out again, threw up all the way home, and boy it was not fun being sick. Myrtle Beach wasn't bad though cause I slept the whole damn time pretty much!

2. Couple years ago I met a wonderful friend named Andy, and he has become a very dear best friend. I have visited him in Omaha twice now, and he's come to see me once and will be here again in end of September. We are going to see Kamelot. We went to see Nightwish last time he was here.

3. I've done some pretty fun photo shoots over the past few years, including one which almost ended me up in jail! Apparently the cops don't like it when you trespass (I didn't see the sign) and take photos of a naked lady. Ha!

Well, that's all I can think of right off. My boys are bigger than me now, Josiah is over 6 feet tall, good grief! They did well in school, Joe was in marching band last year. They are starting school soon, Hudson in 8th grade and quite the honor student, and Josiah in 10th grade, taking two different band classes. He's a great musician.

Now if I can stop them from turning into locusts and eating me out of house and home...

30 Day Project - Day 1

Ten Facts About Me

1. My middle name is Ann.

2. I haven't worn regular deodorant in over 5 years. I've probably talked about this before. I don't stink either!! I use a crystal deodorant. I would never, ever go back to regular deodorant.

3. I like an eclectic assortment of music from Tool, Counting Crows, Nightwish, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cruxshadows, Rage Against the Machine, Yes, U2, Sting, and tons more as well as classical (esp. orchestra / stringed - not so much piano) and bluegrass. I do not like modern country.

4. I collect postcards from all over the world, all written on, stamped and mailed to me.

5. I love to cook. My favorite things to cook always include chicken.

6. I love to roleplay, it's a great escape. I am involved in d&d 3.5 campaign and it is AWESOME as is my DM.

7. I have been married for 15 years this year, though not all spent together. We were separated twice, the first time 18 months, the second time a little over a year. I had a legal separation the second time, but we ended up back together before the divorce.

8. I am allergic to most perfumes and colognes, soaps, shampoos, etc. Which makes my newly turned teenage son upset, but it gives me a horrible headache and sometimes a migraine.

9. I love to travel. I've been overseas several times. Been on the castle ramparts on the Rhine River in Germany, watched a jazz concert in an ancient ampitheatre in Cyprus overlooking the Mediterranean, walked the supposed steps of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem, went inside to the very center of the middle pyramid on the Giza Plateau in Egypt as well as been to the Cairo museum to see all of King Tut's stuff amongst other things. Been to Bethlehem in Israel. Parasailed over the Mediteranean. Got my picture with the post in Paphos that St. Paul was tied to and whipped. Got mistaken for a terrorist going to Israel and was detained. Also been to the Niagara Falls when it was all snowy and icy, went to Biltmore House a few times, once during Christmas where the tree was so big full sized tricycles hung from it. Been to the Angel Oak Tree in SC, oldest living thing this side of the Mississippi.

10. I have two tattoos. One on my back, one on my right forearm. Back is a triskele with dragonflies and celtic knots, forearm is a lotus with a knotwork on the stem. I am getting another tattoo in a few months.

30 Day Project - Intro

I saw this on a friend's facebook and decided to tug it over into my blog. If anyone wants to do this with me, go for it.

Here's what I'll be doing...

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
...
Day 04 - A picture of your night

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

Day 19:Take a picture of a letter you have written or someone has written to you.

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

My 40th Year

It has been quite nearly a year since I've blogged, and I'm not really sure why I've been so ..gone.. this past year. I stopped using deviantart much, I haven't done much with facebook, I haven't done many shoots with my photography, and I stopped doing as many crafts and using swap-bot for the time being. The best word to describe the past year is probably "blah". I've just been blah. I have been sick it seems for most of the year. I feel much worse than normal for the past 3 or 4 days. My mom had me check my sugar and it's been high I guess. 160 and 169 2 hours after eating, and 90 fasting. I dunno, time to see the doctor again.

I thought about this idea though, to blog during my 40th year about not only things happening to me, but what has happened to me in the past to bring me to this 40th year. I am hoping this allows me to not be so depressed about getting OLD.

Battle for Columbia 2010

We recently went to a Civil War reenactment outside of Columbia, called battleforcolumbia.com - it was great! I actually went with Hudson on the Friday before the battle, on a field trip with his Eagles group, and we decided to take the family and my mom on the next day to actually see the battle. I believe they said it was a reenactment of the Battle of Cedar Creek. The top image is one I took on Friday when they shot the cannon.



These are some of the reenactors that were part of the cavalry on the confederate side (I'm pretty sure). I love the bw treatment I gave to it, I could just about swear that this was taken a really long time ago! The photo below was taken during the battle, of the confederate cannons shooting out towards the union infantry.



And this is one of my favorites from the battle, this lone rider on the field with the gunsmoke behind him... just liked it much better in color than bw for this one.

3Jay Style Exhibition

Saturday night Mr. Quick Lawrence and I attended the 3Jay Productions Style Exhibition at the Galeana car dealership. I was especially interested in seeing Ms. Maharet Bloom walk the runway as she is a regular model for me, and she did awesome. I had a great time, we had VIP seats and due to getting there early we were seated right at the end of the runway. I honestly think I had a better seat than the "official" photographers! Sometimes you get what you pay for huh? I took sooo many photos, I have been working all night on them and I'm only halfway through editing them! Yeesh! But I love them! This one I've posted is one of my favorites.

Want to see all the fashion photos? Check out my photography fan page on facebook. And if you're on facebook, feel free to add me and my page!

It was especially cool to see a couple of the designers, as I'd had a shoot with them that morning. Luck (Go Realla Street Couture) and Da'fron (Alexander Lawrence) were great guys with some really wonderful clothing, and I had a great time shooting them in their clothes as well as Quick.

I wish I'd been an official photographer and been able to go to all the pre-show events and such, but being an audience member wasn't so bad. I think I need to buy me a nice point and shoot though, because I think sometimes I get defined by the camera and flash I pull out when that's the only camera I have, so whether I'm shooting for official reasons, or just for fun, they see the camera and automatically name me a professional photographer. Which I am not, at this time, because a professional is someone that can support themselves by their job/hobby and I rarely make any money with my hobby -- hopefully that will change but for now, I do it for fun!! I'm still in school for my craft, which reminds me... I need to do my project and send it in!

Don't Blow It!

Good Planets are Hard to Find!

It is now officially "Earth Day" in South Carolina. Though as aptly put on the most famous quote about Earth Day - "Every Day is Earth Day". This photo was taken last Saturday down by the river, and I loved how the light was sparkling on the water so I tried my best to capture it. Not as good as being there in person but it's still rather beautiful I think.

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~William Shakespeare

Take time to walk outside today, and look at nature around you. Find a sermon in a rock, or a tongue in a nearby tree and listen to what it has to say to you. The earth is a wise mother with great wisdom to tell you if you will open your ears and eyes and heart.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." ~John Muir

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison