The Journey To Love

Hey, Hey Ballerina

2009-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I'm Listening to "Marvelous Light" by Charlie Hall.

"Resting in Goodness"

I took these pictures of Catherine at Breakaway, our youth retreat. It was just one of those times when I had my camera and she was wearing the right thing and we walked past the right place. Strange how that happens.

Catherine, I always think of you when I hear "Marvelous Light". I love the way you use your voice to praise the Lord. Don't waste that talent that He has given you 'cus I know when I hear you sing, I wanna sing too. Let me challenge you to live this song. Embrace His goodness. Let Him be your all-sustaining power. Let Him be your light. Lift your hands and spin around, Catherine. Praise God with your all. You know these words to be true. You know it in your head. I'm challenging you to know it in your heart. When you know it, you won't wanna stop spinning around and praising Him. He is so good. God is good through all circumstances, remember that. He is your satisfaction, your all. Trust Him, Love Him. He won't let you down. He promises.
Remember that in Psalm 57, God promises to send His faithfulness. That means that when things suck, ('cus they will), when it's definately not going your way, God is still faithful. His plans are better and He won't ever cheat you and He won't leave you. He is always faithful.

I love you.

"Ballerina"

"Ballerina 2"

Wow, The Sun Sets Here, Too!

2009-05-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

What I'm listening to: Here Without You, by 3 Doors Down

I admit that I was not thrilled about the spur-of-the-moment trip I took with my family last weekend. 9 hours up to Indiana to camp with a bunch of people I don't know for 3 days didn't sound like fun to me. It's not that I mind driving, I like long drives actually. And I don't really mind camping either especially when there are woods to be explored and s'mores to eat. But in this case, there were no woods to explore and no one to play catch with. There was an awesome tree that I climbed and spent a few hours reading up in its branches. Yes, this trip was filled with lots of reading. 6 books in 4 days, a personal record. But the most beautiful part of the trip was the drive. We came up through the Tennessee River Valley (that would be a beautiful place to camp!) and proceeded to drive past spacious land that was more often then not bordered by a white fence. There were lots of horses to look at, to my delight. I love horses. I miss riding. The falling off part I don't miss so much, but I figure maybe I've fallen off enough to fill my quota. Anyway, the landscape gave me some new dreams to ponder and a couple new story plots to work out. None of that however has anything to do with the pictures in this post.

Ok, so who knew that Indiana could offer one of the most beautiful sunsets ever? I certainly didn't. I'd never been to Indiana before. Dad and I drove about 15 miles from our campsite to find a grocery store. Once again, God surprised me with His beauty by showing me that even a hicktown somewhere in Indiana to which I had been reluctantly dragged, was capable of putting on a show. Amid all the bugs, bordum and uncomfortable sleeping ground, here's the beauty.

"Down the Road A Ways"

"Set"

"Around the Hedge"

"A Sunset In My Mailbox"

And the Award Goes To...

2009-05-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

What I'm Listening To: Citizen/Soldier by 3 Doors Down

"Huggable Soldier"

Meet Sean. Soldier Defender Warrior Handsome Gallant Strong Fearless Ready Gentle Affable Funny Caring. All of these words I would use to describe my Christ-Brother.
Sean is headed to the Military Academy this summer and will be joining the Army in a few years. He is our soldier. Sean isn't violent necessarily, but the aura of safety and protection that he carries is what makes him, (to me, at least), a true soldier. Sean is not afraid of our tears. He doesn't mind when we break down. He takes the time to talk to us when something's wrong. He'll listen and he'll give subtle advise but he never presses for details. And one of the things that I think is most important, Sean knows that sometimes the solution to a problem is just a hug.
Sean, I will miss you terribly but I am so proud of you. We've decided that you win the best big brother award. Be strong. We'll be waiting!
1 John 2:14b "I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

My Atlanta Sunrise

2009-04-27T07:38:00.001-07:00

What I'm Listening To:
Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

"Quiet"

I woke up at 6:45 the other morning with the (what I thought was brilliant) idea to watch the sunrise from my backyard. Sure, that paper said that sunrise was at 6:58 but what I forgot was that it would still take a while for the sun to make its way through the tall pine trees surrounding my house. But being the wonderfully stubborn person that I am, I sat outside taking pictures of a barely lit sky, waiting for a couple sun rays to greet me. That only took about half an hour. I used to think that you could only watch the sunrise at the beach but here are some pictures of the sunrise in Atlanta.

"And I Say It's All Right"

"Returning Smile"

"Golden Touch"

"Mr. Monet, If You Please"

"Sun, Sun, Sun, Here We Come"

"Here Comes The Sun: Little Darlin'"

A Lazy Friday Afternoon

2009-03-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

"Sun in the Sidelines"

Meet Ruthie, my third Christ-Sister. She came over on Friday and we hung out on the trampoline and took some pictures. I loved the way the sun was coming over the house next door and hit her hair and face. While taking these pictures, the thought "When did my baby grow up???" passed through my head. Ruthie has always prized her tee-shirts and shorts over any other item in her closet and would definitely prefer running around outside then shopping the mall. I am incredibly proud of the way she has taken charge of her new world at a new, much bigger school. I have watched her positively explode into a gorgeous, talented, graceful - (yes, graceful! As in, not as clumsy!) - thoughtful and unique young lady of God. Ruthie has always brought joy into my life and the life of our Family. She's very good at picking out the silver lining from a big, terrifying storm cloud. Ruthie is like a golden retriever, she just wants to be happy and everyone else to be happy and come out to play!
Keep growin', Ruthie! I love you!

"Shining From the Background"

"My Personal Smilie-Face"

"Classic: PYT"

"Laughter"

"Ruthie's Eyes"

A Room With A View

2009-03-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

"Sunset"

On my most recent trip to Naples I took 412 pictures... 307 of them were of this sunset. It was breathtaking. The Naples Pier is one of the most famous places to go see a sunset and I certainly hope that some of my pictures can convince you why. As I walked up the Pier, I saw a very old couple sitting on one of the benches. They were holding hands and looking out to the horizon. A few paces more and a woman wearing white and a man in dress clothes were leaning against the railing, watching the sun go down. A group of girl friends laughed and stuck out their tongues as they took pictures of themselves with the sunset being them. A mom held her baby daughter who was reaching out with chubby little hands towards the bright orange ball sinking into the blue blanket of water. Then the scene was totally lost 'cus I walked up on this guy who was gutting a really big fish. It smelled gross, not to mention the guts spilling everywhere. Poor Nemo... Anyway, there's something unexplainable about the mood a sunset brings. For me, it was primarily joy. I hope my spot in Heaven has a veiw like that.

"Steffi In The Sun"

"Tender Tide"

"Cotton Candy Sky"

"Pillars"

"On The Pier"

"Reflection"

"A Peephole"

Beauty and the Beast

2009-02-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

"Encore Roses"

My high school put on a production of Beauty and the Beast this weekend. It was absolutely incredible! I took roses to some of my friends who were in it. One of my best guy friends played Lofou and was totally perfect! Several other friends were in the chorus and pieces of furniture in the Castle. Another guy friend, who is extremely talented, got picked for the Beast! It was fun to see people I actually knew play the parts. Anyway, the musical was amazing. I love performing and love watching it, too. Here are just a few of the gazillion pictures I took. (As you can see, I have a bit of an infatuation with Gaston... he was fantastic).

"Marry Me, Belle"

"Gaston and Lofou"

"Gaston and Lofou 2"

Colourful Naples

2009-02-02T12:35:00.001-08:00

"Pink and Blue"

Here are some more shots from my trip to Naples. As you can tell, I love the colours and the architecture. I like to look at these sunny pictures on days like today when it is wet, cold and gray outside. Hope they provide you some colour in a bleary, dreary day!
Oh yeah, and happy birthday to my brother, Mac! And happy ground-hog's day for all you other people.

"Popinjay Yellow"

"Secluded Colour"

"Bungalow"

"Decoratin' the Fence"

Taking Notes

2009-01-30T05:39:00.001-08:00

"The Art of C.L.Moore."

Some people take really great, detailed notes. Some take short, abbreviated notes. Some people colour-coordinate their notes. Me, I doodle on them. Especially math notes because they are the most detestable, (next to science). I love to doodle. Most of the time I just have doodles in the margins or the top of the page...sometimes class is just exceedingly boring.
I love how monotonous these shots are. The only colour is the dirty, orange-ish pencil and even that is not very eye-catching. Hm, what a good analogy for school. Monotonous with an occasional orange-ish pencil that provides what little colour it can.
As you can tell, school isn't exactly on my favourite things to do list. I love to learn; I relish it. But the whole "sit down, shut up and think the way I tell you to" part of school is what turns me off of it. Oddly, I'll find myself doing late-night Google searches, desparete to know more than my shelteredly biased history book miserably fails to teach. The Glorious Revolution, William of Orange. The Irish Potatoe Famine. Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx. The Bronte Sisters, Jane Austin and Charles Dickens. I know, I know, I'm a dork. My elder sister has informed me of that several times.
So, all this to say, when in doubt: dOOdLe!

"Jailbreak"
(I wish!)

"Nearest and Dearest"

Naples...Florida

2009-01-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

"Island in Eternity"

I went to Naples, Florida over the long weekend with my mom to see my Grandpa. Naples is one of my favorite places in the whole world, especially Old Naples. It is elegantly quaint and gently sophisticated. In Old Naples the streets go north and south and the avenues to east and west. Shops and restaurants boarder the roads and the beach is about twenty-feet away. Naples competes with Atlanta and Cincinnati for my three top cities. I have no idea which is my ultimate favorite. But Naples, it definitely has the best sunsets! It's great for staring into the wild blue yonder and sailing off into the sunset on the...the, um... THAT BIG BLUE WET THING?!?

"Freedom"

"Following My Father's Footsteps"

"Barcelona? Is That You?"

"Sundown"

"Chasing the Sunset"

"Buoy in the Blue"

"Radiance"

"Captain, We Have a Problem"

Catherine the Beautiful

2009-01-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

"Black and White Sunshine"

This is Catherine. One of my Christ-Sisters. She's got that kind of raw beauty that I find incredibly beautiful. Catherine is one of the most talented people I've met. She sings, she dances, she acts, she writes. Pretty cool. I love watching her perform because she does it so well. Maybe a little bit of a perfectionist, but hey, it pays off in a lot of situations.
I took these pictures last April. She had come over to my house so I could test out some make-up ideas for her prom. It was really fun 'cus Catherine hardly ever where's make-up so it was exciting to be playing with someone who had no expectations. When we went outside to take pictures, I couldn't get over how gorgeous she looked. I kept quoting A Knight's Tale, when Chaucer is introducing Will and the crowd goes wild for his words so he exclaims to himself, "Gah, I'm good!" Catherine found this particularly funny. So I'll give the glory of her beauty to the One who gave it to her.
I love you, Catherine.
And, yes, her eyes really are that colour.

"Gorgeously Green"

"A Gentle Lioness"

"A Gentle Lioness {Remix}"

"Standing in the Sun"

"Goldie Locks"

"Catherine"

"Hello Beautiful"

My Shoes Are Talking

2009-01-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

"Standing on my Feet"

I am a Chuck Taylor, All-Star kind of girl. Converse are my shoe. They're classically cool and "tuff". The 1950s are my my favorite decade. The Outsiders, baseball, poodle skirts, saddle shoes and bobbie socks, getting pinned on the school bus, leather jackets, Conrade Birdie, Marilyn Monroe, Rock 'n Roll, Elvis, the Jitterbug. And the love of my life, James Dean. High tops are the kind of shoe that never go out of style. They tell stories from the past. Not only are chucks made out of canvas, but they are also a canvas for me. As you can see, I like to write on my cons. I write words or phrases on my shoes that have meaning to me. It might be complete jibberish to someone else but for me, nothing is on accident. Everything has a meaning. My shoes talk about who I am.
So pay attention! If you're trying to find out about a person, look at their shoes. People can talk with more than their mouths.
Have a rockin' Wednesday!

"All Stars"

Here's to the New Year

2009-01-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

"Pink Drink"

Happy New Year Everyone! I spent New Years Eve with my family at home. It was small but definitely not quiet. We set off fireworks in the street and toasted the New Year with Shirley Temples and Chocolate Covered Oreo's ... and maybe a little champagne. It was pretty cold out so I put on my awesome blue striped gloves. I love the colour contrast between the pink and blue in this picture. I hope everyone had a good holiday and makes the most of this new year!

"Fire Show"

"Fire Fly"

Come On Home

2009-01-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

"My Brother's Shoulder"

My Christ-Sister came back to Atlanta a few weeks ago. She moved to Birmingham at the end of the summer and it was pretty devastating to our little family. It's kinda like sandblasting the mortar out from between the bricks in a wall. She denies this fact but when she does I just remind of how when she came home in December, everyone showed up. Strange. I love this picture. That's Casey and our brother Mac. They are both two of the beautifullest (if that's a word) people in my world. I love them to death. I'm just gonna say that it's really cool to see how love grows and evolves.
Peace.

Hearts and a Rosary

2008-12-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

"Heart"

Hey hey! I Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the holiday season. We finally brought our tree inside today. I named her Fredricka. She looks like a Fredricka. Pictures to come, in all likelihood. We'll be decorating tonight. Fun fun. Decorating is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I have no idea why though. It just is.
One morning a few days ago I was walking past the coffee table in the living room and my little sister's necklace was lying on it. It was twisted into the shape of a heart. The pendent on it is also a heart. My mom and dad got it for her when they sent to the island St. Croix over the summer. It was so perfect already and all I had to do was take the picture. Hearts are very important things. And I mean that literally and figuratively. Without hearts how would we love? So today I am thankful for a brave heart that has the capability to love lots of people.

"Prayer"

My dear friend made this leather rosary for me. My grandma was Catholic so rosaries have some sentimental value to me. My friend went on a missions trip to Honduras and he made a bunch of rosaries for the kids. He had some left over so he gave one to me. It's is friends like these that make me think of Philippians 1:3. "I thank God every time I remember you."

And so, friends, Philippians 1:3. Merry Christmas!

The Fabulous Fox Theatre

2008-11-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

"Fabulous Light"

I took this picture at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, (hence the name "'Fabulous' Light"). My aunt and uncle got me a ticket to see Wicked for my birthday so I went with them, my cousin and her boyfriend and my other cousin, Wyndi, who is my age. It was a blast! During intermission, Wyndi and I went down to the bathroom. For all y'all who have been to the Fox, you know how incredible it is. As usual the line was long so Wyndi and I had some time to fool around. I love this picture of the light sconce on the wall. It turned out cool with the redish and blueish colors and the light and dark. I love the Fox Theatre because of how when you go into it, you can really feel like your in an Arabian Palace. It's one of my many dreams to perform there. I love the ambiance of it all. Very cool, very cool. This second picture... well, I'll let it speak for itself.

"Telephone Tourist"

This is my cousin, Wyndi. There's an old telephone booth down in the lounge outside the bathroom. We found it very cool. Wyndi lives in the middle of nowhere so she had her camera out all night for the sites of downtown Atlanta, my hometown. The phone booth was held a great deal of excitement. And, even as a native and a frequent visitor of the Fox Theatre, I must admit, I still get awestruck at the magnificence of this place.

Have a Relaxing Sunday!
~The Fake Professional