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“Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.”

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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Spikes day to Swim

Spike came to us years ago and now he's (or is it she's) a big part of our family. Jake has been taking this fella into our pool for a few years now and he/she just loves it! Here she is on a kick board right before she dove off and had a grand old time in that big ol pool. And, of course, Jake liked it too.

Other than that, the day has been pretty good. I'm up late trying to write. Ugh. I've been asked to lecture again on the 16th and the topic is something I haven't lectured on just yet... so I gotta bust my ass to got that done. Sigh... and I thougt I'd have time to finish my long-overdue column and a book that is begging for a trip to the publisher. Too many words and ideas floating around my head. I'm getting a little stuffy in 'da head and a good purging is in order.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Graduate part 1






Pics from his party.

Alex and his little cousin Rachel

Lake Hope

Alex's showing off his new body. He lost 70+ pounds over the last year and now he runs for MILES and MILES... he's a health nut who's totally fit.

It was REALLY hot... so some of us sweated, a few of the kids went to the lake, and the youngin's played with squirt guns. Silas was soaked... but at least he was cool. Look at Chrissy's face. She was burning up!

The Graduate (party) part 2






Heather's boys (Austin & Justin) with Jake. Don't they look rotten?

Sweet Amanda flashing her big grin. And I just love her glasses. She's such a bookworm.... and really looks like one in these frames. She's such a peach!

Heather - who's giving me her "Why are we friends??" face because I was teasing her.

Shannan Star, my now-grown foster daughter, who is definitely a star in her own right.

And Shannan's daughter, Shelby. She's been featured on this blog several times. Isn't she beautiful?

More from graduation




I'm waiting to get in photos of him actually graduating. And the pretty girl with the braces is Cassi.

And then he graduates







Alex is a high school graduate.
I now have two children who are high school graduates.
I have another child going into the 8th grade.
Only one toddler remains.

I am both happy and sad.

Friday, May 26, 2006

20 Questions & Answers from Terri Jean

I was sent these 20 questions on-line (you know how these things get around the internet and sometimes you actually want to fill them out??) well, I thought I'd just post the answers here so ya'll can see.


1. Where were you born? ZANESVILLE OHIO

2. What is the last thing you watched on TV? CSI

3. What was your nickname in Junior High School? TOO TALL TERRI

4. What did you want to be when you grew up (when you were 10-12)? AN AUTHOR OR PHOTO JOURNALIST

5. What are you now? AN AUTHOR / PHOTOGRAPHER / COLUMNIST (so I was close)

6. If someone forgot your name, what did they falsely remember your name to be? KELLY

7. What is your favorite a) color b) flower c) moon phase d) drink e) book f) food g) season g) animal h) gemstone

hunter green
daisy
full moon when socializing, new moon when stargazing
tea
whatever book I'm into at the time
chinese
fall
just about anything
turquoise

8. What is the last thing you ate today? A SALAD

9. If you could go anywhere, where would it be? ITALY

10. What is your biggest regret? I ONLY REGRET THINGS I DID NOT SAY, DID NOT DO, DID NOT SPEAK UP FOR, PARTICIPATE IN OR INVESTIGATE MYSELF

11. What is the 1 quality you dislike most about people? NEGATIVITY

12. If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be (right this very moment)? AT HEATHER'S WATCHING A MOVIE... OR THE TWO OF US IN ITALY!!

13. What scares you most? MY KIDS GETTING HURT OR HAVING THEIR FEELINGS CRUSHED

14. If you could go to school for something, what would it be? DOCUMENTARY FILM MAKING

15. What is your biggest professional accomplishment? FINISHING A BOOK AND THEN SELLING IT

16. If you could do anything professionally this year, what would it be? GET MY HEAD ORGANIZED SO I COULD FINISH ALL THE BOOKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY STUCK INSIDE MY BRAIN

17. What TV character are you most compared to (personality wise, not looks)? ROSANNE

18. If you could change the world today, what would you do? PUT GOOD, HONEST, TRUSTWORTHY LEADERS INTO POSITIONS OF POWER AND THEN HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

19. What do you like best about your culture / hometown? THAT WE'RE SIMPLE FOLK

20. What one task do you hope to accomplish within the next 24 hours? FINISH MY COLUMN


List 20 things about you that most people do not know:
1. I sometimes snort when I laugh
2. My eyes go from green to hazel
3. I've never lost at strip poker
4. I will never wear gold or diamonds
5. I was once thrown off a horse and onto cow poo (the back of my head)
6. I was president of our local Students Against Drunk Driving chapter for 4 years
7. I usually bite my nails
8. I still like to cuddle with my mama
9. I like to drive really fast and would love to race in a race car - just once
10. I did a modified bungee jump and now want to do the real thing
11. I can be a hermit sometimes
12. I consider myself an anti-social social butterfly because I hate to go out, but once out, I have a great time
13. I collect Sex & the City DVD's and watch them when on writing retreats
14. I used to get worms and sell them to my grandpa's bait store for $5 quart for extra pocket money
15. I have no sense of direction
16. I cannot, for the life of me, understand algebra
17. One of my biggest life goals is to finish a movie or TV script
18. I secretly love John Denver
19. My birthday is February 9th
20. I have 3 ferrets, 1 turtle, 3 cats and 1 dog

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The big night... Lecturing at OU




Well, here I am at the lecture. I've been so freaked out about it that I almost made myself sick just thinking about it. But, it was great. I had fun and my family was there (they made up a big part of the audience) and I actually had a good time. I have no idea what I was so worried about !

Here's 3 photos. Two are before the lecture when I was goofing off. The other was during the lecture. Can you guess which is which?

Getting ready for the big show



I'm lecturing at Ohio University tonight - "Mama What's an Indian" - and even though I've been practicing it all week (and I know the material inside and out) I'm still nervous! And then, of all things, a sparrow came into my front door and was freaking out (trying to escape through the window) and I thought "Hmm.... maybe that's a bad sign" 'cause I remember some superstitions about birds coming into the house and how they're signs that something bad is going to happen. And it flew in within an hour of me having to leave. So, I had that in the back of my head for most of the night. But, here's a photo of me and my little birdie omen. (Hope it doesn't have the bird flu!) and the other is little Silas on his way to Grandma's for a sleepover.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Scholars at Alexander High School



Alex and I attended a scholarship banquet this evening and he received two of them for college in the fall. He'll be taking culinary arts and hopes to be a chef. I was so very proud of him. I think, when it's all said and done, he should be going to college for free. Yeah!! And the buddies in the photo with him are Kye (on the left) and Aaron on the right. They received scholarships also. They are as smart as they are handsome. The sunset photo is of their mascot, a Spartan, and the other photo is myself and my little Alex.

Monday, May 22, 2006

The sun has come out... finally!




it's so beautiful outside! And I know I'll regret saying this later, but it's hot and it's wonderful here in southern Ohio. We were wearing jackets yesterday and shorts today. Yee Haw! It actually feels like summer!!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

A few more pics from this weekend

Just a few odds and ends photos of kids and such. The one with the boys and the hatchet isn't real, of course. They're just being butt-nuggets.



A Day for Mom




Headed out to my hometown - New Lexington, Ohio - to visit my folks today for our own Mother's Day outing. Good time. We haven't been down home in a good while and it was fun to hang out with my parents and my nephew Deakin. It was a beautiful day and I took some cute pics of the kids. Chrissy looked especially beautiful that day. But then again, I think she's always an absolute beauty. The two youngest liked coloring on the sidewalk, but it also entertained the oldest - Miss Chrissy - too. Alex couldn't make it, but Jake brought his friend Shawn - who, oddly enough, looks a lot like Alex did at that age (12-13).

Friday, May 19, 2006

Week's photos... continued







The farm sunset and two buzzard photos are my favorites this week. Actually, the buzzards fascinated me to no end. If I could have climbed a nearby tree to get a better shot, I would have. But they were already looking at me kinda funny... so I opted to just shoot them from the ground.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

All dressed up and no where to go

























When I was younger, I wanted to be a photo journalist. My plan was to work for Life Magazine and travel to anywhere and everywhere... all over the planet. But my life took a different turn and I ended up taking the mother / wife route instead. And since I believe that I should be at home raising all 4 of my children, I'm not out there chasing my photo journalist dream. But that does not mean I don't still want it. I do... and slowly my life is taking that path. I write, I take photos (here's some from this week) and I still plan to travel and see the planet once I have a few more books published (and practice up on my lecturing). The difference is, now I work for myself (and not Life magazine) and I'd have a whole crew of kids to travel the world with me. How wonderful is that?

And with each airplane that passes over head, and there are countless since I live within the flight plan of many airplanes coming into Columbus, that old travel bug pinches me a little harder. The bites are starting to itch something fierce.