Who am I?

I have been participating in a flickr group called Focus 52, a picture a week for a year. Jan from twoscoopz is amazing at managing such an active group! This week our optional prompt was "You". We were to try creating an image of who we are. If someone were to describe me I'd guess the first thing out of their mouth would be "always busy". They might also say "strong", only because I have survived the death of two of my three children. Oddly enough, I chose to post an image of a muffin. OK, it's really my son holding a muffin for the camera while he kisses me in the background. I went with it because when I ask myself "Who am I?" the word mom comes to mind first. I am a mom of three, not one. I still have my daughters in my heart, my mind, & my soul, every waking moment. While trying to decide what to share in this long overdue post I thought I'd take that prompt & go with it. So, by my own definition, not others, this is who I am:

I am a woman.

I am an identical twin.

I am a wife. WOW, that's an OLD picture of us!

I am a mom.

I am a free spirit (OK, I try to be)

I am a bereaved parent.

I am a high school drama teacher & theatre director.

I am photographer.

I am a scrap-booker.

Now, my question is this: Who are YOU???? Share with me how you define yourself, add your links to your blogs, facebboks, flickr, etc... & I PROMISE I will visit you there!

Sneak A Peak From Yesterday!

 I got to start my weekend off with a photo shoot in the most beautiful home, with the most beautiful two young women (mom & daughter), and their stunningly beautiful two great danes! Take a look & leave some love if you like what you see. I love the feedback!

 A hint of Miss Millie. What a sweetheart she was!

 Meet Mr. Mojo. Nothing more than a totally gentle giant.

 These black & whites were actually salvaged from overexposed color shots. I love what b&w can do to bring out the dramatic qualities of an image!

 Young miss "N" is an actress and singer. We created a few possible headshots but I want to go back & do more before she picks one.

Two new FREE Bokeh Textures for you!

I have two new bokeh textures for use as layers in photos. Feel free to take them and use them, but please don't reshare or sell. If you can't get them to download to your computer let me know & I'll send it to you.

Leave some love & let me know how you used them. I'd love to see the results!

Crafty BIrthday!

Today is my birthday...I feel more comfortable saying OUR birthday. I am an identical twin. Life has always been plural to me. My sister is 2500 miles away & two hours behind me, so at midnight my time I was a year older than she for two hours...hehehe! It gets pretty wet & cold where she lives so I made her a pink fuzzy hat & scarf. I had to play with them first though!

Since our day falls one day before Valentine's Day I often overlook the fun craft opportunities as a mom and wife. Our new house & my bigger craft room offers the chance to decorate & do that crafty valentine's thing. The only problem is that I have a BOY. I'm lucky to get him in the craft room for 15 minutes. I can get him to paint or glue, but not decorate. I decided to utilize his love of trains & dinos as a way of getting him more involved in the artistic side of his genetic gifts. It worked.

But there is still that hole. That empty place once filled by my two sweet girls who lived for only a short time in their physical forms. I miss the pink. I miss the girly girl stuff. I miss them. The awareness in the back of my mind that one week from now, one week from a very happy time of birthdays and love, is a time of darkness & sadness as we embrace yet another anniversary of Emily's passing. But that will be another blog.

This year, as we crafted valentine's, I kept their pictures close by & imagined I was playing with them & making them sweet pink surprises. It helps a little. It gets me through. My boy does the rest. The pink dino mobile was a success, as was the heart banner he helped me make. We hung it on the banister at the top of the stairs. Now....time to make the cookies!

Passing on the love

Jan 31st, I was awarded the Stylish Blogger Award from Tammy Lee Bradley in her Bliss & Folly blog. It has been nearly two weeks, so I am way over due passing the love forward but I am glad to say I am ready to do it. I spent much of that time pouring over blogs and even the Facebook Notes of a friend and have found my 15 favorite blogs to share with you.

But first I have some rules to include as they were for me.

*Link back to me as the person who gave you the award.  

*Share seven statements about yourself.
*Award fifteen bloggers.

Now for the seven statements about me:
1. I am an identical twin. 2. I love chocolate to the point that I swear I can live off it. 3. I am a twice bereaved mom. 4. I have a Masters of Fine Arts degree with a specialization in Costume Design. 5. I love to travel but don't get the opportunities as often as I'd like. 6. I teach high school theatre. 7. And I am obsessed with Lord of the Rings, LOST, and Star Trek.


Now for the best part. My 15 picks for the Stylish Blogger Award...


Diary of a Mad Fat Woman, by Julianna Wathen is the most inspiring and humorous blog I've ever read....and it's actually not yet a formal blog. Julianna is writing in Facebook Notes & soon to transfer to an official blog. Stay tuned for the announcement when she is up & running.
Little Blue Chairs by Laurie is a major source of my inspiration. She is redoing her house one project at a time and following her before and after shots along with how she does the work is what gets me going on my own home projects.
The Creativity Bug appeals to the crafter in my soul. I love scrapbooking & Sue & Sandy provide great tips and tricks to make crafting even more exciting!
It's a Darn Good Life is simply yummy! Megan's photos are like chocolate for me eyes...so yummy!
Fabienne's brilliant art work with paper crafts & scrap books simply takes my breath away. I adore her work & I'm even learning a little french as I read!
The Mortal Muses are a group of artistic ladies who collaborate on their blog and invite creative input and guest contributors to participate with them. It has been an honor to be chosen as a contributor, and they have the most inspiring work among them.
Shadowhouse Creations, by Jerry is the most amazing resource for PS work. He is creative & generous beyond comprehension. I love everything he offers.
The Coffeeshop Blog is another great source for free downloads & tutorials. Rita is a sweet & creative source of strength. I love reading her blogs, and following her help. It was Rita who helped me create this blog design!
I started participating in a Focus 52 project over at Two Scoopz with Jan. We have quite a talented group & you can join in anytime. Check out what it's all about, It's great fun!
Arlene Harris is a wonderful photographer. I love her blog, Walk With Me On This Journey for the beautiful & very personal images she shares. I find great inspiration in how I live my everyday life there.
The Inspiration Studio, by Kim Klassen is amazing. I love how she turns her photos into such beautiful art. I love the way she shows us where she gets her inspiration and how we can find our own.
At Kat Eye View the reader is invited to share their own images on her blog topic in each post. I love her eye and the world, and her way of taking me to Europe through her images.
For the scrapper in me I love my friend Emily's blog, Through Emily's Eyes. Her paper crafts, great photos, and wonderful sense of humor warms my heart. Go Pink Ninja!
Judy and her AMAZING social networking blog over at Simply Scrapping & Crafts is an entire world of everything you need to know, want to , don't know you know, and even more! SHe has a shop for supplies, tutorials, participation posts & networking opportunities.
And last but certainly not least, Susan, at Mac Thoughts is a brilliant artist trained in traditional film imagery and classic style cameras. She has an incredible way of sharing her city, NY. 


I hope you all find time to brows through these great blogs, full of inspiration for the soul. Be sure to leave them a note & tell them I sent you. And finally, thanks again to TammyLee Bradley at Bliss & Folly for the award, & I am sorry it took so long to Pass the love forward. 

Newborn session

OK, I know I rarely post images from my photo sessions here in my blog, & I promise to do more of that as they unfold. That said, here is a sweet little two week old. She was sooooo good & tolerant of all the posing & changing we did! These are a few of my favorites. Her mom & dad love black & white photography so that's what they got.