MIA

Sorry I have been gone so long. I tend to post a few days in a row and then just go missing. I decided I would post some photos on what has been going on verses many, many photos about each event that I want to share with you.


I posted this because I have been spending WAY TO MANY hours looking over thousands of my favorite photos. Like over 5,000 if you really want to know. I about pissed my pants (sorry, but true) when I got an email from a very cool lady named Patty. Patty and her partners are opening an art studio in Culpeper. She has asked for some of my work to hang and to commission.  I was like a giddy school girl. I have some of my work out there in stores, but I had to go there and ask them if they would be interested. So this is my first time to be asked and an art studio at that. I'm just honored and thrilled. With that being said, and me being me, I have caused a little more stress then needed over this. Just pick the damn photos and mat and frame them already geeeeesh.

We have also been a bit busy with our foster dogs. Yes dogs. Fran and her six pups. They are so stinking cute!!!!! It has been allot of work making sure everyone's needs are met. So when we are not cleaning poo and pee we are getting puppy kisses and man oh day I love me some puppy kisses! As you can see from this photo we are not enjoying having them here at all. :)

Some very exciting news for those of you that do not know, Mikayla is going to Romania this summer. She is going to work with the children at the Ruth School. She is going with five others from our church. I'm so excited that Mikayla wants to do this. This will be life changing for her.
This next photo is a necklace that my friend Kristol made for me as a gift. Kristol is a very talented lady.She has been so kind to agree to teach us how to make these beauty's so we can mass produce them and raise some money to send these lady's to Romania. So please let me know if you would be interested in buying one of these beautiful bird nest necklaces. The cost is $10. You can leave me a comment.  Also April 14th we will hold a yard sale. So get a jump on your spring cleaning and donate your stuff to our church. All the money raised will be put toward the cost to not only pay to get these lady's to Romania but also to help purchase items for the children while they are there.
Here is the link to Kristol's blog so you can see all the cool stuff she can do.                  .  http://themagicofordinarythings.blogspot.com/

Basketball season is over and soccer started. Wow time just flew by. March????? Where did you go? I only brought my camera to one basket ball game. Don't get me wrong. My favorite sport is any sport that my children play. But how many photos do I really need? What am I gonna do with them? Not a great photo but this just happened to be the first one I came across.

Of course while I was MIA there were a few dog's I took photo's for. They need a forever family. As do many other dogs. Take a peek you may just have to have one. http://www.petfinder.com/index.html
There are many more dogs that need adopted or a foster home. Here are just two of my favorite photos from this month.

                    Meet Elwood. His where's waldo scarf makes his eyes pop don't ya think? 

                 This beauty is Suzie. She is very shy, but looking for her forever home as well.

Hope to post sooner then a month. See ya soon.

Before and After

My last post I posted this photo of my neighbors front yard. I posted it up on facebook and people started to comment. After someone said how beautiful it was I said something like can you imagine if I could make the sky blue or pink for that matter.

Bammmm, my friend Denise, granted my wish.  I have always been the person saying, well if the sky was gray that day then the sky is gray. It's Gods world why should I be the one to change it.  Well, the sky is blue now and I think she may have made me a believer!!!!!!!!!!

The Snow

 

It's still snowing here. This was at the start of the storm. The snow was like rain right about now. So I just saw a few things that looked neat & snapped the photo. They are kind of dark and these were with my crappy lens. Maybe if I get my butt out of the bed before the snow melts in the morning I will have some better ones to share.

Hearts Day

Today's photo of the day heart.  This photo is really bad. That rice crispy treat was red when I ate it. This sadly was my plate in pre school today after I had already ate a few things off of it.

Blue

When I saw today's photo for the day I knew what I wanted to put up here. It's not a new photo and some of you have already seen this but lot's of blue :)

The UN words

                     When life gives you lemons, make something pretty out of them before you turn sour.

I have been a little depressed lately. It's not the winter blues, because personally I love all the seasons, as long as the sun is shining. Really, I do not even have to look very deep to know what my issues are. I know them, just not sure how to fix them. I told myself I would not post any depressing post on here about myself. But if there is one thing I can say about myself that I am truly proud of is that I always keep things real. Well funny I should say that because that is what is bothering me. I'm having a very hard time being true to myself and not offending certain people and still being part of somethings that I truly enjoy.  Having a Disease that only attacks your self esteem teaches you early on about self-worth. You have to learn what you love about yourself because it surly is not your looks in the mirror. Also having this disease I have learned to seek out friends who are also not worried about their outer appearance.  Years can go by and sometimes I'm not even challenged by it. And then sometimes EVERYDAY you have something thrown in your face. It's what I call people feeding me poison. And when I'm drinking in their poison, I then start to face the UN words. The UN words are not kind. They show up everywhere I go. I hear their teasing voice in my head.

 Unworthy~ Ungrateful~ Unlovable~ Undeserving~ Unattractive~ Unkind which all leads me straight down the path to Unhappiness.

Don't worry I do not plan to walk down this path very long. I'll get back up soon straighten my wig and find an antidote.
                                                  Meanwhile I'll leave you with a question for yourself. Can people see your heart or just your reflection in the mirror?

Justice

                                                                              Justice

Last Wed at 10am we had to do one of the hardest things we have ever done as a family. We had to say good by to our family pet.  Our beautiful Justice. Having three dogs, Loner 11, Xena 9, and Justice only 4 1/2 we did not think we would have to say our goodbys so soon. Justice was just a stunning dog. Anyone who met her would tell us how beautiful she was. Her mom being a purebred Rottweiler and her dad a Golden Retriever Chow cross made for a very beautiful dog.

 

This was her boy. Her BFF. Her bed-mate.  And this photo makes me cry.

Stephen is doing ok. He is a very active child. But when he is bored, then he thinks about her and is sad. He understands why she is gone but yet, just wants his dog back.

Being the dog dork that I am, this has not been easy for any of us. It's very hard to look at these pictures and know that this is still so fresh, so fresh, that I can still smell her. Also while I'm dealing with my own pain it's so very hard to see your child hurting and sad and know there is nothing other then time that will make this any better. Justice you were a great pet. Thank you for loving us!

My sister sent this to Mikayla's facebook page. Not sure if she wrote it or where she got it from. I coped it and for some reason it doesn't get any bigger. Hope you can read it.

                                           RIP JUSTICE 4/9/2007 ~ 1/18/2012

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly, he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...

Christmas card 2011 gone bad

 

Well I got a few photo's of them together on Christmas day, this may be the best one I got. At least they are having fun right?   I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas with their loved ones. Longer post to follow soon sis promise.

Wine lables

I love wine. I think I may have said that a time or two here before. I'm a member of the Virginia wine of the month club. I also sometimes just buy wine because I love the label.  Sometimes I don't even buy the wine. I have been found by customers and sometimes friends in the wine aisle taking pictures of labels I like and sending them to the BFF. 
This is my table. We have a very cozy, small, TINY dining room, and at the time I thought this wine bar would be great. I had a sheet of glass made for the top because I got sick of cleaning crumbs out of cracks.  Now four years later (yes I know four years, that's like a record for me) I would not choose this same table.

I'm hoping that maybe someone reading this may know how to get labels off wine bottles that I have been saving for far to long. I want to cover the top of the table under the glass in my collection.


Ps. Allison got a rug under the table now. Its that rust color like the half wall and black:) keeping ya up to date ;)

Help a dog find a forever home

It's time for me to pull on your heart strings a bit. Being the photographer for the Humane Society is not an easy job. It's not the work or time that I put into it, its the will power to not take every dog I take a photo of home with me. I have fell in love with a handful of dogs. Some just do not make it easy on me.This one dog jumped in my car after his photo shoot.  It may have something to do with my pockets full of tiny bones, or maybe it's because I arrive smelling like the three dogs I already have at home. Some just know I'm a sucker and they work their magic on me. Well, have you been thinking about getting a dog? Don't think to much longer, because all of these dogs are looking for a family. Look in their eyes, and let them work their magic. If you feel a tug on your heart after looking at any of these photos please send me an E mail to: sarahyoungclingman@yahoo.com 
There are more dogs in this area and other areas you can view  at www.petfinder.com

A thought on a photo

Last year for Thanksgiving I was home and very Thankful to have my family. This year our very sweet neighbors took us in and made us their family.  It was wonderful and there was not an inch of room at that table for another guest. There was so much food, laughter and love. A full house, just the way I have always thought a holiday should be.  Yet that feeling snuck in many times throughout the day. That empty feeling in my heart that I know only my family can fill. I ached for the family that is to far away and I ached for the family that has passed on.

I took this photo and fell in love with it. It was late afternoon light, you know when the magic light is out?!  Something about it was saying cover of  Southern Living to me.  This photo is (SOOC). To you non photo people that means straight out of camera,(nothing has been done to it).  Then I sat and looked at it for awhile and all of a sudden, all I could see is the white porch post beam. Like how come I didn't see it till now?  Does that ever happen to you? You think you hit the nail straight on the head, then you step back and ask yourself how could you have missed that? This just keeps happening in my daily walk. People say "Give it to God".  I'm pretty sure I gave him the wheel long ago. So why does he keep setting me down with these rose colored glasses, and then rip them off for me to see, I still have so much more work to do before I will ever see past the white post. No, I'm not really talking about taking photos at all here. Nothing is what it seems, and sometimes you get hurt in thinking you thought you knew what "things" really looked like.

Basketball to Bokeh

The other evening I was outside with my youngest playing basketball and taking some photos because the lighting was Amazing!!!!  I looked at this photo and (sorry Stephen) almost deleted it. I looked again and something caught my eye in the Holly tree back there. Sure enough I put the photo on my computer and to my surprise I had some really cool Bokeh going on. The more you stare at it, it becomes a Christmas tree with white lights.
Bokeh is a term used when aesthetic quality of the blur produced from a shot with a shallow depth of field.
Just wanted to share my glimmer of light's.

Help my friend & Win a Wii

Sign up win a Wii!!!!! Please help!http://enteringtheborderland.blogspot.com/2011/10/win-wii-warm-orphan.html

Pampas Grass

                                               I have a love affair for pampas grass.

                                             I love how the sun hit this one just right.

                        I love that when you look closely how they look curly and fuzzy almost.

                                  I love how one strand can be so beautiful all by itself.

                                                    Or how beautiful it is as a whole.

                                                                  At sunset

           Isn't it funny how one day you can walk past something without even knowing how truly
                                                            beautiful it really is.

                               And how another day you walk out and are stopped in your tracks,                                                                                 because it is glowing with beauty.
                                                                      

                                              Can people see Gods beauty in you?

Here we go again

After trying my hand in the blog world a few times and not being very successful, I realized that as long as my sister reads my blog post and enjoyed them, I was happy. Being about 700 miles from my sister and most of my family, this is a great way for her to see and read what is going on in my life. As well as it is for others. So Allison, I made this blog just for you! As others find their way here, I hope you will enjoy my passion for nature and my many natural light photos that you will see. I will also post many photos of dogs in need of their forever family's. You will read that the hair upon my head is only there because I bought it. I suffer from a disease called Alopecia. I have the worlds worst grammar, spelling and handwriting, but I love to write. I believe my writing is my own way of avoiding the high cost of professional therapy. I am a woman of faith, a mom of three. I teach four year old's at a Christian preschool and also do freelance writing and photography.  I live in the middle of town on a half acre lot, but I'm a country girl through and through. You will read of my love of Vermont and about my Gypsy soul that seems to have a real hard time accepting a forever home here in Virginia. I say things as I think them, and have been told I lack tact and seem to forget to use my filter.   ~I say I'm just keeping it real.