Harns Happenings

New Purse!

2009-09-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend mom and I went to the quilting store...she and my aunt wanted a pattern for a Christmas tree quilt. While there I saw a pattern for a purse that I thought looked wayyyyy cute! Here's how it turned out!

I had so much fun making this purse & I know it wouldn't have turned out as well with out mom's help. Thanks mom!

What is this...Day 4?

2009-06-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we started out leaving Mammoth, with the intention of driving to Vegas. We stopped in Bishop for lunch, and figured we'd stop at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest too; after all it's on the way. The Ancient Bristlecone Pines are the oldest recorded living things.I was surprised once we were inside the park how desert like it was. There were really cool rock formations.I love the way trees can grow out of rocks. Isn't it crazy, trees can grow out of rocks and I can't keep anything alive?

This is a picture of a pinecone skeleton. Pretty cool huh! At this point it had starting raining on us. Notice the rain drops on the rocks...So we hop in the car and drive up to the big trees. By the time we reach 9,000 feet it was SNOWING on us. Wait a second, isn't this June? Yep, and 29 degrees. I was wearing carpi's and Jeff was wearing shorts.

Here's where you'd get out to go to the big trees. We made it there and it was snowing BIG time. Jeff took a look at the sign and it was a 4.5 mile loop to get to them. Needless to say, you won't be seeing any pictures of the big trees.

We sure had fun - and what an adventure driving down the side of the mountain with little visibility (and no guardrails). Needless to say, we never made it to Vegas. It took us 3.5 hours to get through the park, so we turned around and went back to Bishop for the night. So here we are this morning, with no idea of where we'll go next. Who wants to guess where tomorrow will find us?

Hugs,

Aub

Day 3

2009-06-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

So we stayed another day in Mammoth. This is the view out our hotel room. Can't beat that - plus the temp is 53 degrees...man, it's great. We went out to see if we could find some trails we could drive. While out on one Jeff spotted this stump. He thought it was pretty cool looking, so I took this picture for him.

We then drove through the town of Benton Hot Springs (you're seeing most of it here). It was a pretty neat little place though.

Then we went back off-road. Jeff wanted to get some pictures of some cows that were out in a field. Turns out we were on someone's property, so as we were trying to leave we spotted this outhouse - you've gotta take a picture of that right?

While driving out to Hot Creek, I saw this tree. It lined up so beautifully with the clouds, I asked Jeff to back up so I could "make its picture" (in the words of my late Granny).

I took a bunch of pictures, but there's only so much you guys want to look at and Jeff's ready to hit the road. I'll try and update today's events tonight.

Blessings,

Aub

Vacation Day 2

2009-06-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

We got up this morning and drove around Tahoe for a bit. It is REALLY pretty there, but it seemed all the roads were under construction - and we quickly got frustrated. So once we had lunch at the local brewery - we left town. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures there.

So we decided to head to Mammoth. It's one of our favorite places. While driving I asked Jeff to pull over so I could get this shot of the road. Jeff hopped out while I was doing this to take pictures of something else...I look back and tell Jeff "the truck is moving" so at this point Jeff and I are chasing the SUV down the road. Luckily Jeff caught it before it went down this big hill on its own. Little tip folks - always put it in park! :)

Just another view from the side of the road - this was on the road between Bodie & Mammoth.

We stopped by Mono Lake. We got there just in time to capture the pretty light - what a stroke of luck!
Here's some of the Tuftas.

They built a boardwalk to get you out to the lake - they don't want you walking on/destroying the wetlands. I thought the boardwalk itself was cool.

Ok, so now we're in Mammoth - I'll be taking pictures there in the morning - thanks for putting up with my long posts!

Blessings,

Aubrey

Baby Needs A Break

2009-06-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

Jeff's been working awfully hard lately - and I told him he should take some time off and just relax. So he took 9 days off and we figured we'd go somewhere. Only problem was, we couldn't figure out where we wanted to go. I wanted to go up where there'd be trees, and streams, and trails - and Jeff was thinking more along the lines of Tombstone, Bisbee, different ghost towns, etc...

So we packed, loaded up the SUV, and stood in the driveway and flipped a quarter...heads we go north - tails we go south. It was heads. So we drove for a while and ended up staying the night in Merced.

We woke up and thought we'd head to Sonora to go see my sister, Jennifer. Well somehow we got distracted, drove right past our exit, and ended up in Modesto. (That's taking the long way to get to Jenn's house!) So we stopped at a fruit stand (to find out what town we were even in). Got some great strawberries and cherries there.

While trying to get to Jenn we saw this cool barn - the road is littered with scenes like this!

We eventually made it to Sonora and had lunch with Jennifer and Quentin. We stayed and visited for a while and then we were back on the road. We drove the 108 to the Sonora Pass. Here's some of those pictures.

There was a beautiful field of flowers - the light was so beautiful.This was taken under a historic wooden bridge - lovely!Even the roads are cool.
I don't know if you can see it, but there was snow on the mountains - this was some of the run-off.
It was raining/snowing on us - but I had to hop out of the car and get the shot of this tree. It smelled amazing out in the forest with the rain.

This was at the end of the Sonora Pass. The light and colors were amazing. We turned off here and went to Lake Tahoe for the night. I'll let you know how that goes!

11th Grader

2009-05-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my...my baby is an 11th grader now. It seems like I was just in the 11th grade. Running around with my friends, talking on the phone, NOT doing homework. I can't believe that my kiddo is in the 11th grade. He's had an excellent 10th grade. He got great grades, was captain of the football team, and earned the first letterman jacket at his high school. I'm so proud of him.

Another Desert Drive

2009-03-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted some pictures from our drive through the Anza-Borrego Desert. I promised to try to go back and catch the desert in bloom...here's some of the shots I got Saturday. Last year I purchased a pamphlet called Wildflowers of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I used it as sort of a scavenger hunt to see how many I could find and photograph on this trip. Of the 57, I found 21, (not so hot huh!). Oh well, it was lots of fun anyway - plus I had a great day with my family. Here's what I found: (*plant name under each photo*)

CACTI

#4 on the list: Beavertail

#6 Gander's Cholla

#7 Teddybear Cholla

TREES AND SHRUBS

#10 Mohave Yucca

#12 Chuparosa

#13 Ocotillo

#17 Indigo Bush

#23 Desert Cassia

#24 Brittlebush

#25 Creosote Bush

ANNUAL WILDFLOWERS

#26 Desert Lily

#33 Desert Chicory

#34 Fremont Pincushion

#35 Popcorn Flower

#37 Desert Star

#40 Spanish Needles

#46 Sand Verbena

#47 Wild Heliotrope

#50 Arizona Lupine

#52 Desert Dandelion

# 55 Fiddleneck

It was a really fun day. And I think if you pull off the road sometime - get out - wander around...you'll be surprised at what you can find. There's real beauty to be found...sometimes in the most unlikely places.

Blessings,

Aubrey

Desert Season

2009-03-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

About an hour from our house is a great State Park - the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. At the beginning of Spring each year the desert blossoms and it's so beautiful. I grew up in the state of Arizona, surrounded by desert. I have to admit, I never paid any attention to whether the desert was blossoming or not. I definitely paid attention when it was over 110 degrees out. I loved to be outside when it was storming (rain was so rare!). But now that I've grown up and moved to San Diego, when I get the chance to drive through the desert and see it blooming, it amazes me with it's beauty. Isn't funny how something can be right in front of you for years and you never notice it?!This first shot is of the Ocotillo. These are so pretty and can grow to be quite tall. Below is a close up of their blossoms.

I don't know what type of flower this is; but they were everywhere. Jeff really liked their red center.Here's another cluster of flowers. I'm not certain of their name either but I'm sure Bob Ross would say "there is a lovely flower with a bunch of his happy friends!" Miss ya Bob!

I loved these cactus. It was so cool, we were driving by at just the right time to catch the light hitting their tops so that they looked like they were glowing. It was so neat.

Now out in the midst of all this. What did we run across...power lines. But you know, even though they're out of place out there, they do add their own architectural contribution to the scene. Besides that, if they weren't there I probably wouldn't be able to share these pictures with you! :)

Here was one of the last shots I took on our way out.

I think we were still a couple weeks early to catch the desert in full color. Usually there's lots of white, orange, red, purple, and yellow flowers. We really only saw the yellow & white this trip. Plus there were lots of buds that hadn't opened yet. If we get the chance I'll try and go back in a couple of weeks and show you how pretty it really can be.

Blessings!

Aubrey

Updated Blog

2008-11-02T23:45:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been a while since I've been on here - sorry about that! I thought I'd pop on here for a quick second to let you know I've updated my "Photography By Aubrey" blog (no, not the daily photo challenge blog). There's a new wedding or two on there and a couple of family sessions. The weather has been great in San Diego for picture taking lately and I've been taking advantage! http://photographybyaubrey.blogspot.com/

Friday Addison's football team played Pine Valley. They beat them 24 to zero. I felt bad for the Pine Valley kids but the kids from Alpine were on cloud nine. Here's a couple of shots from the game.
I love this shot of Tanner running in the touchdown. He can really fly. His feet aren't even touching the ground in this shot.
Addison is really good at blocking. Here's a shot of him holding this kid with one hand.

This was a great play by Addison. As soon as the other team tossed the ball Addison took off.He broke through their defenses.

And pulled the guy's flags before he ever even had a chance to throw the ball.

What a play!

Good catching up with you. Check back in soon!

Blessings,

Aubrey

ROUTINES & VACATIONS

2008-09-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well it's back to school time - that means back to routines! Here's my standard 1st day of school pictures. Addison is totally used to this now. He's grown so much, I can't hardly believe he's in 10th grade!My sister and her son came down in August for her vacation. We had a great time. Everyone (except me) went to a Chargers Game. Please see Jenn's August 10th blog post: http://www.jennsgems.blogspot.com/ for pictures and details. I can tell you they had an excellent time (I did too because I didn't have to go to a football game!) :)

We decide to go to Sea World and the Zoo while they were down. Here's some shots from the zoo.

Here's a shot of Addis & Q in front of the SD Zoo sign - (another must take photo).

I saw this bird right away as we went into the kids zoo. What fun lovely colors.

I thought the light on this camel was lovely, even if he does look a bit sad.I've always loved the flamingos. They're so cool and different looking.This lovely smiling face is a man named, John. John was truly a blessing to us on our trip to the zoo. Quentin was on a mission to see an armadillo and John took us back the VIP area and not only brought out an armadillo for us to see and pet, but brought out an alligator too. HOW COOL IS HE?!

Don't ya just love Meerkats?!Here's a shot of Addis on the verge of a smile at the zoo.Here's a peek at the Bell Tower in Balboa Park. You can see this from the SkyTram at the zoo. Another shot from the SkyTram.
Thanks for reading!

Blessings,

Aubrey

VACATION SHOTS

2008-07-30T15:31:00.001-07:00

We got back from vacation - and had a wonderful time. It's always nice to have a little time off. We started off in Big Bear. It was lovely there. I didn't take many pictures but I shot a couple of flowers - I thought I'd post this one for my sister.We left Big Bear and drove to Bishop. If you haven't been to Bishop - you should check it out - it's such a neat little town. On the drive to Bishop we came across this beautiful set of clouds (I think I'll post these for my friend Leah, who is a lover of cloud shots.)

We left Bishop and drove up to Mammoth and had breakfast and then went on to the ghost town of Bodie. The place itself was neat - even if all the visitors there weren't exactly well mannered. Below is a picture of the sheriff's house (if I remember right).Here's a shot of a door to one of the houses in the town. I loved that you could see the clouds reflected in the glass. This was shot looking through the window into one of the houses. Can't you just see two old guys sitting there shooting the breeze after a long day at work?!When we left Bodie Jeff asked me where I'd like to go next - I told him all I wanted was to stick my feet in a stream and I'd be fine. Guess what he found 5 minutes later? "Come on in boys, the water is fine!" (quote from Delmar-Oh Brother Where Art Thou).We went back to Mammoth that afternoon. We found a brewery there, where we had dinner and FANTASTIC beer. Really, if you're a beer lover - you should definitely try their Amber, IPA, and 395 which is a double IPA brewed with Sage and Desert Juniper. VERY GOOD stuff. Jeff picked up a pint glass and the t-shirt pictured below (amongst other things)!!
From Mammoth we decided to drive up to Yosemite (one of our favorite spots). Along the way we stopped and checked out Mono Lake (pronounced Moe-No). This is a look from the South Tufa area.
And here's the view from Highway 395.From there we made our way to Yosemite. We just sort of drove through. We've been there so many times. It never fails to amaze with its beauty though. Even though the falls were pretty dry they were still beautiful.

Here's a shot of the Merced River. I don't think that we've ever gone to the park that we haven't stopped and played in the River.
From here we left and had dinner with my sister, her son and my brother. It was wonderful to get to see them, even if for just a little bit. It was a great vacation. I'm glad I got to share a couple of pictures with you.

Blessings,

Aubrey

ANOTHER WEDDING

2008-07-18T10:58:00.001-07:00

Today we're supposed to be leaving for vacation (I obviously do not have my stuff together/ready, etc...) I figured I'd do a quick update...My friend Melissa and I shot another wedding 2 weeks ago. Such fun! Here's a couple of shots of Mike and Melaine:

About to kiss - Mike tenderly holding onto their baby! One of the bridesmaids - she really got down!
The guys were soooo much fun! They had a blast!

A tender moment... Yep, they really do like each other.

We had a great time capturing their event.

In other news: Like I said, we're going on vacation - no idea where yet. Umm...our Guinea Pig "Switch" passed away. He was 7 years old and a really cool pig. We miss him daily. What a treat it was to have him in our lives. He was a cool guy.

Well I better get back to my dictation so we can get out of here!

Blessings!
Aubrey

Yes Jeanne, It's An UPDATE! :)

2008-06-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been accused of being a bad blogger (if the shoe fits...) so I figured I'd finally give my two readers an update. I promised to post pictures of the second wedding my friend Melissa and I shot. They were the sweetest couple, Aaron and Ericka. Here's a couple of our favorites.Here's a shot of the bride before the wedding. She looked so pretty!This is the groom, Aaron, what a fun guy!Aaahh, the wedding kiss. Here's a couple of shots after the ceremony, but before the reception - aaahhh love.... Yep, time to start the honeymoon! Here's a shot of the wedding cake and the bottle of champagne. Gorgeous cake! Below is a shot of the cake topper - so pretty!

Finally here's a shot of their wedding glasses. It was a beautiful wedding with a stunning family. LOVED THEM!

I know I haven't been blogging much, but honestly there's not been much going on. I've been feeling a bit under-the-weather, so I've been taking it easy. Addison finished 9th grade and is vacationing at grandma's house. We put in a wood floor upstairs in the living room and got rid of the carpet (BIG IMPROVEMENT). Now you're all caught up. I promise to try to do better at keeping current.

HUGS!

Blessings,
Aubrey

WEDDING

2008-04-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

My friend, Melissa, and I shot a wedding for a friend of mine, Jessi. I've been working on getting her photos sorted so that I can get them too her. My mom simply can't stand the waiting...so here's two - that's all I'm going to share until Jessi & Josh get their set.

We had a great time photographing this wedding. We've got another we're shooting this Saturday - wish us luck. Pssst....aren't they a lovely couple!

Blessings,

Aubrey

IT'S A CREATIVE WORLD

2008-04-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

It sure is ... or at least it ought to be. I think about what being creative does for someone and I'm so grateful to my mother for helping foster that in me. My mom has always been very creative and encouraged that in me and my siblings. Having some sort of creative outlet has been proven to reduce stress, reduce high blood pressure, etc... (How do you relieve the stress of having too many stress-relievers? Hee hee hee just kidding!)

I've been invited to be a Guest Designer for a day at It's A Creative World on April 19th http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/. I was so honored when Diana asked - thanks again gals for the invitation! Here's a shot of Diana and I together when I met her in South Africa. I know you'll just love their site - take a minute and check out all the different projects!

On a personal note - I always meant to go back and finish my South Africa blogging, which is why I haven't posted anything recently, but you know...life just keeps getting in the way.

For Easter we went for a drive through the Anza-Borrego desert. I got some lovely pictures of the desert in bloom.

Last night I just finished the most intense photography class I've ever taken called In Focus 2 - man!!!

My dear friend Melissa and I were lucky enough to be able to shoot my friend Jessi's wedding (sorry Jessi - I'll get those photos to you this weekend.)

So it's been busy...I'm off on some unknown adventure this weekend - I'll post later and let you know where we ended up!

Blessings!!!
Aubrey

AN UPDATE - FINALLY!!!

2008-03-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
We are back home. Been home for about a week now (it's taken that long to catch up on sleep)! Just kidding - although I did have some serious jet lag. But I am back home now and went right back into the full swing of things. I've been debating on how to do the next post. There are so many pictures we wanted to share and I didn't want it to be a HUGE post, so I guess I'm going to break it down the way I would've if I were able to blog in South Africa. Today I'll finish the safari post. I know we left off on Day 1 of Safari, to continue that story, we woke up early the next morning and went on the sunrise safari. It was gorgeous!!! We went to a different area of the game lodge - we went up the mountain and checked out the animals there.

This is where we had all our meals. It was so beautiful, and nice and quiet. I especially enjoyed eating outside - it was wonderful.One thing that I thought was really cool, was just about everywhere we went folks used skeleton keys. How cool! Even in the hotels. I think they're such neat keys.When we got back to our room there was this big, green, bug in our room. So we called one of the gentlemen over to remove the bug. He kind of laughed at us - and then told us a Praying Mantis is considered a good luck sign if you find one in your house. Obviously we are foreigners - we just wanted the bug out.Day two we started out on the Sunrise Safari. It was beautiful. I actually much prefer the sunrise safari to the sunset safari. We came across this pond on our drive out. It was so beautiful. There was steam on the water and the sun was just coming up. The water reflected the surrounding scene - it was almost magical. As we went up the mountainside we came across some Kudu. These are beautiful little animals. (They also make a tasty Biltong! *Biltong is their version of Jerky - it's way better too.)Next we saw the Rhinos. VERY cool. There were 4 of them all traveling together. At one point we were so close I took a picture of one of the Rhinos and my shadow is on the Rhinos face - we were that close.Then we were driving around and I saw these Wart Hogs coming out of the ground. There was a whole pile of them in that hole! They just kept coming out. As ugly as they are - I think they're just super cute!Here's a shot from the front. Aren't they cool looking!?!Here's a shot of Leah and I being silly.We came upon a herd of Zebras. They were beautiful. They seemed very peaceful and content to graze in the sun. Michelle told us when her family goes on safari the kids get points for each animal they spot. But if they spot a zebra they get docked points because there are so many zebras around. (So here's my zebra picture, you'll have to dock me!) :)Directly after spending time with the peaceful zebras we came upon a group of Water Buffalo. The ranger told us more people are killed by each year by Water Buffalo than any other creature in South Africa. So as we came upon them this buffalo started to charge us. Luckily his friends took off the other way and he got distracted, but it was really scary there for a bit!We stopped for a restroom break and just outside the walkway to the bathroom was this little beauty. It's called a Black and Yellow Argiope Spider. Thank goodness none of us walked into it's web!Here's a picture of us in the Land Cruiser.

After our encounter with the Water Buffalo and the big spider, Leah and I decided we needed to relax. So we signed up for a massage and one of the neighboring camps. We were driven over and along with an amazing massage we got to enjoy this view. It was so peaceful and quiet. What an absolutely wonderful time we had on safari!!!

BUMMED!!!

2008-03-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, we're seriously bummed. We've got some great photos to share - that help tell our South Africa story and Blogger won't let us upload!!! We leave Friday for Jeffery's Bay, so maybe we'll have a stronger connection there. Sorry guys. We can say, we're having a fantastic time, we've made PILES of new friends and we've never eaten so much meat in our lives! We visited a winery today - we came back to the hotel room and ate cheese picnic style right off our bed. Yep, we're party animals. We promise to post pictures as soon as we can.
Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SOUTH AFRICA UPDATE

2008-03-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's taken so long to update. The Internet connections here in South Africa have been inconsistent. We've only just been able to get a pretty steady connection. And it seems blogger refuses to let me upload any photos right now. I have to give a quick shout-out to my good friend, Melisa Sanchez. It was Melisa's b-day on March 4th - and I promised I'd post her a happy b-day note on her b-day, but unfortunately I was unable to get internet 'til now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELISA - love ya chickie!

I will say we have had a WONDERFUL time here in South Africa. The people are incredibly FRIENDLY! The women have all been so sweet - and very, very creative. What a group of genuinely hospitable folks. I can't say enough about how kind they are.

Our classes have been going well. I think we've sold out everywhere. We've been incredibly blessed. Michelle has really put on a snazzy event. The ladies have been pampered and really treated - that's the way these things should be I think - it's those things you remember.

We've been on safari, we've been to Johannesburg (which they call JoBurg), we flew to Durban, and now we've flown to Cape Town. We're in Cape Town for a couple more days, then we're off to Jeffery's Bay. I believe we're flying into a place called Port Elizabeth. So we're excited to visit there.

It's been so neat getting to really see the different regions of South Africa. JoBurg is kinda big city - with it's different sections of town. Great restaurants and shopping. Neat things to see. Durban was near the sea and had it's different sections too. It was very humid in Durban. The people at the hotel we stayed at were wonderful! I also had the best shrimp I've ever had in my entire life in Durban. Yum!!! Now we're in Cape Town and their Wharf reminds me of the Wharf in San Francisco. Very nice. The weather is PERFECT! We even got a tiny bit of rain today. (Folks that know me, know that I LOVE RAIN! - product of being a desert girl.)

I will try and post again in the morning. I don't want to give away too much because I want to post notes with the pictures. Leah and I would like to thank you all for your prayers while we're away - and your interest in our travels. We really are having a good time together, and we're happy that the Road Show is going over so well. Michelle has been the best hostess - no one could've asked for more. I also can't tell you what an incredible staff Michelle has - they've all worked together to make this trip incredible.

Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SAFARI PICTURS - DAY 1

2008-03-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

Let's start at the beginning shall we?! As we entered the gate to the game range the first thing we saw was zebras, a giraffe, and monkeys. The monkeys were way to fast to catch a picture of, the zebras were so close I didn't get a great picture, but the giraffe - ahhh...the lovely giraffe, he posed very nicely for us. (This picture is especially for our friend Kate!!!)Next we checked into the lodge. They greeted us curbside as we pulled up. They unloaded our luggage, offered us fresh juice, and took us to our tent. Here's a picture of Leah "going in". It's really a super cute tent. We feel like we're back at summer camp!We had time to get freshened up a bit, then it was time to head out to safari. Michael introduced himself and said he'd be our ranger during our entire stay. The rangers really do everything for you. They come by your tent to give you a wake up call in the morning; if you have to drive somewhere - they will take you. They have all their meals with you as well. Michael has been very nice.The first animal we came across on safari was an Impala. They're so beautiful and there's tons of them out here.

The animal we saw next was an ostrich. The ostrich came right up to the truck and was pecking at it. It almost got our friend Sindy's bottom. When we left it ran right beside the truck for a long time.We were on our way to try and find lions and we had to cross over this little pond. It was the most incredible pond, the water almost seemed to be magical in how well it reflected everything around it. The water itself was not pretty or even clean, but the reflection on top of it was astounding. **Coming back that night we were using a big searchlight to look for lions and shining the light on the water we were able, even then, to get a reflection of the trees around it.**It was getting pretty close to sundown and we came across this Wilde beast. He had his back to us and then it was almost as though he realized we were taking pictures and he posed to give us this great shot. I really like Wilde beast - I think they have incredible faces.

That's it for Day 1 of the safari. We ended the evening without seeing lions, but we did see:

Impala

Ostrich

Monkeys

Giraffes

Kudu

Hyena

Jackal

Wart hogs

Thanks for checking in on us. We're having an amazing time and appreciate all your prayers. Every one here has been incredibly kind and the food is terrific!

Blessings,

Aubrey & Leah

SAFARI

2008-03-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

I keep getting kicked off the Internet, so I am going to keep this post very small. We LOVED the safari. We are staying in "tents" on the game reserve. We're not allowed out at night by ourselves because the wild animals are roaming around out there. We've heard the lions tonight. Apparently there are 8 of them on the grounds. We saw all kinds of animals. (Not the lions though). Here's a couple of quick shots. Ok, scratch that, Blogger won't let me upload any photos right now. I promise to try tomorrow morning. We have a 5:30 AM wake up call for the 6 AM sunrise safari. So, I guess we ought to try to get some sleep now.
Blessings,
Aubrey & Leah

SOUTH AFRICA

2008-03-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, we made it. We're here safe and sound. Our flights were incredibly long, but not bad. Customs took us 2 hours to get through once we arrived, but now that we're here it's just wonderful. We were picked up at the airport by Michelle. She took us to our hotel where we freshened up and we were whisked away to dinner. Here's a peek out our hotel window.We ate at a restaurant at the Nelson Mandela Plaza. It was terrific. We had Ostrich and Crocodile for dinner. I also had a beef jerky salad (SOOOO good). All of the food was wonderful. Here's a shot of Michelle and her family. What a wonderfully sweet, beautiful family they are.Here's a shot of Michelle being painted before dinner. This was so much fun. They also came by with a vessel and bowl to clean our hands at the dinner table.

Here's a shot of Leah and I with our face painted. This was a lot of fun.

This is a shot of the restaurant where we ate. There were no outside walls. Just to the right of us out the center of the plaza. There was a water fountain (the kind with the water that spurts up) for the kids to play in - and lots of shops. What a neat place. The hotel we'll be staying at Friday is right near the plaza. I'm hoping to have more shots then to share.

This is going to be a short post. We've got to get downstairs to leave for safari. We'll be at safari for a couple of days. I'm hoping to get great shots. We're having a great time and are doing well. Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,

Aubrey

FANTASTIC FEBRUARY

2008-02-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

Well, where do I start? Everything has been moving a mile a minute here. I don't feel like I've stopped even for a little bit since the start of the year. Good things though, all good things.

FEBRUARY 10:
I took another photography class called "Into the Action". It was supposed to help us with action shots. Here are a couple of shots of our lovely model, Holly.

This was Holly jumping (no trampoline or anything - just her jumping) and us shooting from underneath and freezing it so all you see is her in the sky. These were a lot of fun.
In the next shot we were freezing the action. Her hair is frozen; the tassels on her shawl are frozen, etc. I really like the shadow of the design on her skin.I really like this next one because she's in focus but the background and her wrap (in the foreground) are blurred.This was just another freezing shot - tassels and wrap frozen.I love how long this photo seems to be. The colors are a lot of fun too.FEBRUARY 14:
On Valentine's Day we were all treated to a wondrous surprise. It actually snowed at our house!!! We don't get snow in San Diego, so this was a huge treat. Here's a shot of Addison and his adopted brother, Chief Forest Eagle, outside enjoying the snow. It was really coming down!On his way back inside Addison looked up and was trying to catch some snowflakes in his hand - I was lucky enough to snap this shot then.I wanted to snap a shot of the moutain covered in snow (which it was - top to bottom!) but there was so much clouds/overcast it's hard to see. We still had snow and ice on the ground the next morning. This is a shot of the grass - I loved the way it looked.FEBRUARY 17:
My sister-in-law and niece came down and are visiting with my mom for a week so we drove over to Yuma for a visit. I really wanted to snap some pictures of Lily but she didn't want her picture taken. So clever Auntie Aub suggested we go to the park - that worked! She was all for going to the park - and once she was there, having a good time, she didn't mind having her picture taken at all. Here's a shot of her with Addison (her "best buddy"). I love this shot of them - she's so cute giving the camera a wink!Here's just a shot of Lily. Isn't she darling?! So cute - and such attitude!FEBRUARY 18TH:
Jeff bought me a new wide-angle lens for my camera for my upcoming trip to South Africa. So when we went to dinner with a friend that night I loaded up my camera and snapped this picture of the sunset with my new lens - LOVE IT! (Thanks Baby!!!)

FEBRUARY 22:

I was going to try to post last night. I actually even started the entry but I looked over and saw Roscoe all cozy and snuggled in - I had to stop and take his picture. Isn't he cute? Gotta love our pets - they're such a blessing!

I know I sort of skimmed over the fact that I'm going to South Africa, but I am!!! I'm super excited about it too! I leave March 1st and am going with my good friend, Leah Fung. We're going to go teach at the Champagne Road Show. We're SUPER excited!!! I am going to try to post every day, if I can, while I'm there. Check back in for pictures and updates!

Blessings,

Aubrey

New Year -- New Things

2008-01-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy New Year everyone. (Luckily I got this done in the month of January, so the greeting is still appropriate - cutting it pretty close though huh?!) Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Lots of things have been going on...let me see if I can get you up to speed...

The day after New Years I got to hang out with my friend Melisa Sanchez for a while. She's crazy for the Cranberry Margaritas at Chevys - they only have them during the Christmas season so of course we met there for a drink!
We had a great time. Left with our tummy's full and our checks hurting from laughing so much.

On the 13th we went to the La Jolla Indian Reservation MotoTrack with some friends. Jeff and Addison rode - I took pictures. Here's a shot of Jeff & Addis riding together.

Melisa came back down on the 18th so my friend Crystal and I loaded up our scrapbooking stuff and met Melisa at her cabin in Julian. I don't know that any of us finished a project but we sure had a great time.

On the 24th I decided I was FINALLY going to learn to knit - I've played around with it before, but never got down to really learning. So, I got a video and sat down and taught myself. I'm almost through with a scarf. I'll post it when I'm finished.Last Saturday, the 26th, I went to Redland to help my friend Leah teach some make-n-takes for a charity crop. We had a really great time. It was just a quick trip up and back, but what a nice drive. There was snow on the mountains (you know we almost never get to see that.) The people were super nice and everyone looked to be having a good time. Part of the reason we had to hurry back was because Jeff and I needed to go to one of his co-worker's retirement party. It was held at the LaValencia in La Jolla (the pink hotel). It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL inside. We had a wonderful time at the party.

It was raining buckets here Saturday & Sunday (still raining too). We went out and I snapped a couple of pictures ... here's a couple favorites.

This is all rainfall - we don't typically have a waterfall!
Again, all rainwater - that's why it looks so brown!

Well, thanks for hanging in for all the info...next time I'll try to update sooner!

Blessings!!!

Aubrey

WHAT'S IMPORTANT

2007-12-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas and I still don't have all my shopping done - none of my baking either! We still don't know what's going on with Jeff's work and what days he'll have off. Consequently, I don't know what I can tell people about where I'll be and when...but, I woke up this morning and decided I wasn't going to stress about it. As long as I get to be with my family that's what counts. And I know I'll get to...eventually. So maybe I'll turn my Christmas music up a little - count my blessings (be grateful the good Lord gave me two hands to count them on!) and call it a happy day.

Speaking of happy day - it snowed in Pine Valley on Saturday! SNOW!!! I was so excited. We were on our way to Yuma to help my mom with some stuff - where I can guarantee you there was no snow! And we don't get snow at our house, so you can imagine how excited I was. I had Jeff pull over so I could snap some pictures. Here's a picture of one of our cactus type plants with snow on it.

I did get to take a photography class last Friday...it was how to shoot your Christmas photos in low light. Here's a picture I took of the Christmas tree at my mom's office Christmas party. It was a completely dark room. I was so excited to have been able to capture this shot - before I would have put the flash on and ruined the picture with bright white light.I've really enjoyed all the classes I've been able to take this year - I love photography! When I think that at the beginning of the year I was stuck on the "AUTO" feature all the time (and didn't know a thing about manual focus) - I'm so happy I'm able to play with all that now! If you're in San Diego and want to take classes the people to see are Rod & Robin Deutschmann. They're an amazing husband/wife team - not to mention - A LOT of fun!!!

Well, I've bought Christmas cards - but haven't got them out yet. Please be patient with me...I'm hoping to get them out before Christmas this year. What do you think? Can I do it?! Maybe I'll work on those today. Before I go, I just want to say to all my friends and family - that I've had an incredibly blessed year and I know that you are all a part of it. When I thank the Lord for my blessings you're included in that list. Merry Christmas!

Aubrey

CHRISTMAS (SHOPPING & PHOTOS)

2007-11-29T12:49:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

I've been slacking on the blogging front! (Don't have to tell you that though huh?!) My sister recently came down for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time. Jeff's brother, Wayne, invited us to his campground at Lake Jennings for the day - we brought Jenn, Quentin, Rob, Mom & Grandma and we all had a GREAT time!

The following day it was black Friday of course - Jenn & I were up at 1:45 AM and in front of the Wal-mart by 2:20. Here's photos - sorry they're yellow - it was pitch-black outside and we were under a yellow security light.Here's where we were in line. It looks worse than it is. We did pretty good. People though that showed up after 3 AM were not in great shape though.Dude, I love this picture of Jenn. She's such a good sport to pose for all my dorky ideas!Yep, she got me back. (Oh, BTW - yep, that's me eating Chex Mix at 3:30 in the morning because the only thing open was the gas station - not a lot to choose from there.) Anyhow...we did awesome with our shopping this year - we got EVERYTHING on our list - and at the discounted price - we're a powerful team!

My girlfriend let me take pictures of her kids for their Christmas cards so I thought I'd share this one. Aren't they the most GORGEOUS kids you've ever seen! Man - sooooo cute - and funny too. I like this one because it's a bit silly and I think they look darling.

I hope you all are doing well and the sun is shining on you!

Blessings,

Aubrey

BIRTHDAY, FRIENDS, HOMECOMING

2007-11-12T15:09:00.000-08:00

My sister and mother came down for my birthday weekend. We had a great day Saturday. We went shopping and out to lunch. We celebrated at Chevy's where I got to have a sip of a Cranberry Margarita - YUM! Here's a shot of Jenn with her drink!

Later that day my friend Crystal came over and we scrapbooked. It was great. I actually got 4 LOs done. I never get that many done at once.

Thursday a friend we met in Canada, Cindy, called - she made it to San Diego. So I picked her and my friend Leah up and we did some shopping and had lunch. It was nice to get to see her again and visit.

Lastly, Addison's school had to reschedule their homecoming game/dance to Saturday due to the fires. Here's some pictures of him and his girlfriend, Katelyn, before the dance.

And here's one of them after the dance. Aren't they cute!

I hope this note finds you all well and happy!

Blessings,

Aubrey

WILD FIRES & HAPPY THINGS

2007-10-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

We survived the wild fires! Boy it sure is scary when you see that wall of flames coming over the mountains...this is a picture my friend Kathy sent me. It pretty much speaks for itself. Luckily we, nor anyone we knew, suffered any damage to our homes due to the fire.

Ok, on a happier note...there's an author I love. Her name is SARK. I was on a date with my hubby, (at the bookstore of course), and happened to be flipping through one of her books (that I don't have) and read this little tidbit:

"Be on the lookout for someone that just looks like your friend. The other day I was walking on the beach, and saw a woman with striped socks and a curious hat. I immediately thought that she looked like my friend."

I can relate to that so well. Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Are you on the lookout for "friends". The Lord blesses us with friends, companions, mentors, etc... I think we should celebrate our friends and the blessings they represent in our lives. If you want a feel-good book any of SARK's are great. They're colorful, full of vibrant colors, and inspirational messages.

I think I'll end on a happy note. Maybe I'll go and get this book today. Maybe I can send it around and share it with my friends when I'm done.

Hugs,
Aubrey

CANADA -- NOT SO WEIRD -- JUST PRETTY

2007-10-14T05:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday after classes Leah and I rented a car and went out to see the town. We'd asked just about everyone we came across what it is we should see while we're here. It was always the same answer - "The Forks!!". So we went to The Forks. It really was beautiful. Apparently it's a spot where two rivers meet. They have neat little shops and restaurants. Here's some shots of us there.This is Leah showing her Tim Horton's cup. We were told it was the best coffee here - that they line up for it. We just had to try it.

Here's a shot Leah took of me near the two rivers. It was such a beautiful day out. The weather was wonderful. We sat on the steps for a bit and just took it all in.This tree was AMAZING. We drove by it on our way to dinner. It was in someone's front yard and just seemed to GLOW. It was sooooo beautiful. I have to apologize to my friend, I think I embarrassed her - I'm pretty sure of this since when I was snapping the picture she was crouched down in the seat so people couldn't see her! Sorry Leah! This is where we had dinner. We both ordered the prime rib. It was the best prime rib either of us has ever had. OMGosh - so good, melt in your mouth good. **I borrowed this photo from their website since I forgot to snap one of my own.**Here's the Welcome sign. Not a great picture, but it's the best I could do, working quickly. This completes your photo tour if Winnipeg!
Blessings,
Aubrey

IMPORTANT NEWS!!!

2007-10-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

Most importantly - today is my son's birthday. Happy 14th Birthday Addison. I love you and am very proud of you - you're such a neat kid!
Love,
Mom

WEIRD CANADA THING - DAY 2

2007-10-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had breakfast with a couple of ladies who were so nice. They invited us to spend part of the day with them going to different scrapbook stores - so of course we went! We got to see some really neat scenery, beautiful trees with different colors. We talked about the stuff we say that's different: we say someone's been in a wreck - they say someone's had an accident. I told Terry if someone tells us they've had an accident we think they've wet their pants. Anyhow...we had a good time. Terry stopped by the local "market" so that we could buy some fresh "Gala" apples that had just been brought in fresh from the Orchard. (only .57 cents a pound!!!) I took a picture of their market - it was bigger than CostCo honestly! And she said that was their small market - the bigger one was on the other side of town. Here's a picture - it's gigantic!

See I could hardly make the whole building fit in the picture. Ok, still all this pretty normal and cool. Then Terry tells us we have to put a Looney in if we want a cart and we'll get it back when we bring the cart back. First of all we were wondering what in the heck a Looney was - turns out it's their dollar coin. So yeah, you have a pay a dollar to get the cart, but you get it back when you put the cart back where it belongs.

What a trip huh! Ok breakfast has just arrived so I'm gonna go. Oh, I'll post a picture of the view out of our room. I meant to do that yesterday and forgot.

AWESOME HUH?! It's ok - we're having a great time. Plus we're hoping to go out today after classes and see some of the town. I'll try and post good pictures then.

Love ya!

Aubrey

WEIRD CANADA THING

2007-10-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, we're up. We're getting ready for the day. I ran downstairs to get some coffee and I snagged this picture just as quick as I could. This is right at the edge of the lobby - so there were all sorts of people hanging around and I didn't want them thinking I was the "weird American girl" taking a picture of the vending machine. Check it out!

Looks like a normal vending machine right? Well look under the KitKat bar - would that be a box of TROGANS?! How about under the M&Ms...a box of TAMPAX?! It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. Each time I walk by I crack up! Ok, we're off to have breakfast with some girls. Hope everyone is well. (Note for family-my fasting sugar was 84 when I woke up this morning...so I am taking care of myself!)

Love,

Aubrey

CANADA

2007-10-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Welp, we're here. We made it to Canada. The flights went really well. We ended up being on a tiny commuter plane from Denver to Winnipeg (luckily it was a little less than 2.5 hrs.) It's nice here. Brisk weather. I've seen some weird things already...I promise to tell more later! I'll be back later with pictures and stories!
Blessings,
Aubrey

MY PRECIOUS MUGSY FRIEND

2007-09-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

So we went to Yuma overnight Friday, and got home Saturday, to find our dog, Mugsy, had passed away. He was such a good dog. I had a whole list of reasons why I loved him, but here's just a few of the special things about Mugsy:

1) He gave hugs (and always knew when you especially needed one).

2) He talked (loudly!)

3) If you were laying in the floor - he'd come by and rub his head against yours

4) He would go swimming whenever he could

5) He was always in a good mood

6) He was just 3 days older than Addison (he would've been 14 - Oct. 10th)

We got Mugsy from a German Shorthair Pointer Rescue place. He had been abused and starved and the rescue center rescued him. When we adopted him he was still quite thin and very nervous - but he warmed right up to us - and what a blessing he's been in our lives. Lord we thank you for the gift of Mugsy - that we could be a blessing to him and that he was such a blessing to us. Here's some pictures of our good friend.

RELATIONSHIPS

2007-09-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Addison has a new girlfriend (well, actually they've been going out for about a month - he could tell you the exact number of days!) She's the sweetest girl. Her name is Katelyn. I snapped some pictures of them together - I thought I'd share one.Here's another picture of a good relationship - me and my sister. She's one of my dearest friends. This was taken last weekend at Disneyland. Hope today finds you happy & healthy!

Blessings,

Aubrey

IT'S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT IT

2007-09-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Does this picture scare you? Or when you look at it does it look like a "gift" a "blessing"?

I got news yesterday...my sugar levels have been high - even though I've been sticking to my diet and taking the medicine I was prescribed. So I've been placed on insulin. This isn't a scary picture for me and I'll tell you why. Anything that is going to get my levels into a normal, HEALTHY range -- I'm all for it. Shots do not scare me, and never have, LUCKILY. So I was told I have to have one shot, every night, for a month - then I go back and see how I'm doing. If my sugar is down - and has stayed down consistently, then I may get to go back on oral medication. That's my prayer! I'm hoping to only have to go this route for as short a time as possible. I find it truly ironic that I decide to lose weight, get healthy, and then I develop diabetes. Although my doctor tells me it was really a blessing - he said, "Think of how miserable you'd be with all that weight back." TRUE! I know there are blessings, and silver linings, I'm grateful for my gifts. This medicine is a gift that will hopefully propel me to better health. I plan on taking advantage of it! At least this is how I choose to look at it! :)

Blessings to each of you!

Aubrey

That's It, I'm Old Now

2007-08-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Well today marked the day I turned old. My "BABY" went off to high school today. No hugs and kiss on the check for mom. Just a "Hurry up dad, I don't want to be late." And he was gone in a flash. He was so excited. Except of course when I made him pose of our traditional first day of school pictures.

I couldn't get a smile out of him. He really didn't want to do this this year. He was anxious to get to school (we'll see how long that carries on huh!?). He's gotten so tall over the summer and football really helped him to slim down. He loves football. He's been told he's going to be a starter. He's very excited about that. I went to watch his practice yesterday and they had two guys try and tackle Addison. They couldn't budge him. He was standing there and they couldn't move him. Another time they had two guys try to keep him from crossing a line and Addison broke through them and made it past the line and all I heard was the coach shouting, "Yeah! Way to power through Harns!" Cracked me up. Addis walked back to the line all puffed up. So fun - can't wait for the games to start. Anyway, I'll leave you with another shot of him!

Hugs,

Aubrey

Bumper Card Society

2007-08-02T21:24:00.001-07:00

I've been tagged by my friends Vanda and Pokettiger. Now my job is to also ask 5 more people to participate. I nominate: Krissie, Ginnie, Johanna, Melisa, and Melissa. This sounds like a lot of fun - hope everyone will enjoy participating!

The full story behind the Global Bumper Card Society can be read here. Here is the basic idea though: 1) Send ONE card to someone you know within 7 days! (family, friends, associates, cyber people, etc.) ANYONE!!! Doesn't matter who... Can you imagine the smile on their face when they open their mailbox and see a card from you? 2) Tag (yes, I know, but this is the only way to spread this) 5 people you know to do the same thing (Tag means tag them to send their own cards to their own people). 3) Proudly display this on your blog to spread a little sunshine and pass it on.

What Can You Find 30 Minutes From Home?

2007-07-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

I've gotta say, I love living here in San Diego. Everything you could want is within a 30 minute drive. Yesterday we drove out to Jacumba and I got to take some really nice desert pictures. We were only out for a bit, I got tired and we came home, but I captured some really great shots.First we came across this building off to the side of the road. There wasn't a sign, but I think it was probably the first school house in Jacumba. It stands next to the existing school now. What a really cool building!Then we kept driving and I got this just general desert shot.By zooming in a bit you can see that we have mountains here that are just enormous piles of rocks (I know, most mountains are!) but I thought this was a cool shot - you can see the cars going through on the freeway there.As I was getting back in the car from taking the previous picture I noticed this little beauty. Isn't she pretty with the sun shining on her?!So we went down the road a piece and came across these wildflowers. They were so pretty I just had to take a picture of them.We went up to McCain Valley and were going to go look at the views of Carrizo Gorge and found this cave on the way. I was so excited. My dad and uncle used to take us out and drive around the desert when I was growing up and we'd find caves and different things and this reminded me of that. Cool cave huh!! This was taken near the end of our ride. This is the overlook to Carrizo Gorge. What you can't see behind Jeff in the bottom of the valley (or mid-way down the valley) is a set of train tracks on stilts that go through a set of tunnels - VERY COOL! What a lovely day. Tomorrow I'll show you some more pictures 3o minutes from home.
Hugs,
Aubrey

Late Breaking News!!!!

2007-06-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our chickens that we mail-ordered back in February, just laid their first eggs today! That's right, we have eggs!!! Only three today, but three on the first day isn't bad. We have 26 chickens and I'm sure within the next week or two they'll all be producing. Yippee. I'm so excited. Quentin (my nephew) is here this week on vacation - he came running in, "Auntie Aub, look, the chickens laid an egg and I went in and got it!" I had to snap his picture. He was just as excited as I was. Here's some photos...

We're back to having fresh eggs - they really are the very best. Oh, and since there's only 3 of us - and we'll be getting 26 EGGS A DAY - if you save your egg cartons and come by I'll fill them for free!

Have a blessed day!

Aubrey

Catch Up

2007-06-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well not too much going on...(Do all my posts start off that way?). There's always plenty of stuff going on, I'm almost never home, or have time to loaf, but it's just run of the mill stuff that folks do everyday and no one would have any interest in reading...you know...yep, thought ya did!

Ok, so I ordered my passport renewal - waiting on that - then we can purchase our flight tickets to Canada. Yippee!!! My girlfriend, Krissie, is coming down from Colorado at the end of August and then we're going to go stay at a fancy resort in Phoenix for a scrapbooking event. Yippee!!!

My last photography class in this session is Saturday - how can it be that time already? I need to ask the guy if we can buy a year pass (like at Sea World) where he'll just promise to meet up with us every weekend and teach us new stuff. Think he'll go for it? One can dream...

Addison graduated 8th grade Friday. He started high school summer school and football practices Monday. Man - he only had the weekend for a break - how bad does that stink? He doesn't think so though. He's just so excited to be playing high school football. He's such a cool kid. Gotta love him! Here's a shot I took of him at practice yesterday.

I shot this next picture after they finished one of their drills. Addison and this boy, Sager, walked up to one another and put their arms up and hit them.
As soon as they did, all the other boys standing around came and did it too.

I guess that's it for today. I hope everyone is well.
Blessings,
Aubrey

Photo Prompt

2007-06-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share my photo prompt here today. This is my dear friend, Chief Forest Eagle. Chief walks two-miles every Tuesday morning to come volunteer at the church. He vacuums and cleans. He said the Lord told him to do it as a labor of love. He's so faithful to be here every Tuesday. He'll be 60 years old next month. When I asked if I could take his picture he said he wasn't really tired, but he had worked hard. That's probably the best "tired" I know of. Bless the Chief.

Short Post

2007-06-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd play a little catch up. Not too much has been going on. Addison had his 8th grade graduation dance - the Harbor Cruise. He and his friend Tyler had so much fun! They were all excited - shirts and ties - they both shaved! Here's a couple of quick shots of them.A close up of those clean, close shaves!
How cute are these two? Gotta love them both! They both graduate 8th grade on Friday morning at 8:30 AM. So proud of them!

Photography class this week was all about Depth of Field. We did a couple of trick pictures.

Sorry, it's a bit blurry!

These were fun - I better get out there and practice this week! Just thought I'd say a quick "Hi" to everyone.

Hugs,

Aubrey

New York, Photography Class & Scrapbooking

2007-06-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

It occurred to me today that I haven't updated this blog in forever (well, close to a month anyway). A lot has happened since then. I went to New York May 17 - 19th. It was a lot of fun - more than I thought it would be honestly. It was so neat to go see all the different things. The Statue of Liberty was inspiring, Ground Zero was moving, Times Square was bustling...and the view from the top of the Empire State Building was amazing!

Those cab drivers are SERIOUSLY scary! I just knew we were going to be in an accident every time we got in a cab. We made it home though, no injuries. Thank you every one who prayed for our safe return. We had a terrific trip.

Our friends Eric & Mikkie came down for Memorial Day weekend. This is their 7th annual Memorial Weekend trip. It's exciting because we know they're coming - and it's something to look forward to. They went on an overnight fishing trip, we had Sushi, spent a day at Julian - we had a wonderful visit.

I also started a follow up photography class this past Saturday. It's with the same instructor. I really learn a lot from him. We got out in the field, he's there with us, instructing us - looking at our pictures on the spot and helping us if we need it. It's really a great class. Here's a shot I took Saturday.Now here's the same thing - but I changed the white balance in my camera to add more blue - here's how it turned out.

Cool huh! Who needs Photoshop?! I'm hoping to learn LOTS and LOTS in this class - I'm so excited about homework - who would've thought it?!

Ok...not too much more going on other than that - I've been updating my daily photo blog and I've actually scrapbooked 5 or 6 new LOs. I've posted them to my 2Ps gallery.

Other than that - everyone is well. Sorry for the long post - but now you're all caught up.

Blessings to you,

Aubrey

Tagged Again

2007-05-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

1. Where is your mobile? In my purse
2. Your Partner? At work
3. Your hair? Kinda limp today
4. Your mom? At work
5. Your dad? At work (any one noticing a pattern here?)
6. Favourite thing? My Family (possession: camera)
7. Your dream in the last night? Dunno...can't remember
8. Your favourite drink? Venti, Iced, Sugar-Free, Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Non-Fat, No Whip
9. Your favourite Car? Audi TT
10. The room where you are? Church Office
11. Your last partner? Jeff, for life
12. Your fear? Something bad happening to my family
13. What would you like to be in 10 years? Happy
14. With whom did you spend the yesterday evening? Addison
15. What are you not? Quiet
16. What was the last thing you did yesterday? Turn off the TV to go to sleep
17. What are you wearing right now? Faded Jeans, Colorful Shirt and Flip-flops
18. Your favourite book? Anything by SARK
19. What was the last thing you ate yesterday? An apple
20. Your life? Just how I want it
21. Your mood? Pretty good today (subject to change) :)
22. Your friends? A blessing to me
23. What are you thinking of right now? Thinking I should be working on what I want to see when I go to New York Thursday
24. What are you doing right now? Filling out this questionnaire
25. Your summer? Working, trying to come up with stuff to keep Addison busy
26. What plays on your television? Supernatural, Two and a Half Men, The Shield
27. When did you laugh the last time? Last night
28. When did you cry the last time? Last week
29. School? Last photography class was 2 days ago. Boo-hoo
30. What are you hearing right now? Me, pounding keys (as my old boss, Don Phin would say)
31. Favourite weekend activity? Scrapbooking
32. Dream Job? Being good enough to be a pro-photographer
33. Your computer? Dell
34. Outside of your window? Big Palm tree and the Fellowship Hall
35. Beer? Amber
36. Mexican food? Just about daily
37. Winter? Love it
38. Religion? Religion - not so much - God, Jesus, Holy Spirit - ABSOLUTELY!
39. Vacation? Count the days until it's here
40. On your bed? Sheets and a quilt
41. Love? Life is not worth living without it

Ok, are you sick of hearing stuff about me yet? I know I am. I'm gearing up for my trip to NY with Melody. I am starting to get excited about it now. I finished my photography class on Tuesday, so I'm excited about getting some good pictures while I'm there. I think I'm getting a polarizer for Mom's Day. (Whoo-hoo!) My mom, grandma, aunt and their two friends are coming down this Saturday. Mark Roberts is going to be in town signing his fairies. My mom loves his fairies and has a pretty good collection of them. So we're going to go down there and to a couple of other collectibles shops. It should be fun. I hope everyone is well and has a Happy Mother's Day!
Blessings,
Aubrey

What'd you do today?

2007-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

My day consisted of work (we had two folks pass away at the church this week - which means two more funeral bulletins to prepare). Past that I came home and did a little photography homework. That class is so cool!!! Love it. Love it. Love it. Today I worked with white balance. Some time this week I'm going to have to spend 30 solid minutes photographing a single flower. (We'll see how that turns out.) I'm hopefully going to get to go with my friend, Melissa, so if we're doing it together - hopefully we won't look SUPER silly photographing the same flower for 30 minutes. (Maybe if there's two of us, they'll think twice before calling the guys with the white coats!) I've been having a blast doing that "her space-my space" challenge. Have you guys checked it out? If not, you should - so many cool photos. I love learning new stuff. Working that brain. Feels great to put that big sponge to work God gave us. I'm going to post some of my photo class work on my other blog. You can check it to see what I learned last week. Fun!
Blessings Everyone.
Aubrey

Vanda tagged me! 7 Random Facts About Me

2007-04-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

I've never been tagged before, but one of the wonderful ladies who participates in the "her space--my space" blog just tagged me. Here's the rules: Start with 7 random facts/habits about yourself. People who are tagged have to write their 7 things on their blog. Then choose another 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment to tell them they have been tagged and to read your blog. Ok, here goes...

1) I grew up on a cotton ranch in AZ. (My first paying job was at 13 - chopping weeds out of the cotton field.)
2) I have 5 dogs, 1 guinea pig, and 26 chickens.
3) I've been friends with my best friend for more than half my life. (Hi Ginnie!)
4) I have so many first cousins that I don't know all their names. (True story)
5) I was once timed as typing 174 words per minute. (Are you sure?!)
6) I love to travel. (If the car is moving I want to be in it.)
7) I look just like my great grandma Suzy. (Never met her, but the photos say it's so.)

I'm tagging Diva KMM, KelliDarr, Johanna Peterson, Leah Fung, Jess (A Mile In My Shoes), Melissa Ross, and Ginnie Baker. This was fun - can't wait to read the little snippets about each of you.

Blessings to you,
Aubrey

Scrapbook Lifestyle

2007-04-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

The designers at Scrapbook Lifestyle made a heritage album for my sister and me. Yesterday was the beginning of our "airing" week. I have 3 friends that are designers are the show: Leah Fung, Johanna Peterson, and Melisa Sanchez. So it made it extra special knowing that my friends would be there. My sister and I had a lot of fun going up and shooting this. We spent the day together driving up to LA. We did a little shopping, I had my hair done - we had lunch together. It was really a fun - wild day. Here's a link if you're interested in watching. As I said, it will run this week. Each day has a new video that's 3 minutes long. They start off showing how the album was created and then Jennifer and I will be on Friday for the "reveal" when they give Jennifer the album. Hope you enjoy. (Thanks my friends for this great experience!) http://www.scrapbooklifestyle.com.
Aubrey

Lessons?

2007-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

I know yesterday I was a bit preachy...life is what you make it...blah, blah, blah...and I still 100% believe all of that is true. But what I'm thinking is not only should we believe it, but we better make sure we're living it. You guys know that I recently lost my friend Ray. Well today as I was walking into the church office (unlocking the door) an accident happened on the road right beside me. I saw it out of the corner of my eye - the collision was SO loud, it sounded like a gunshot going off. I stood for a moment, just kind of paralyzed and speechless. A white van had smashed into this little white Honda Civic type car. She was sitting at a stop sign and the white van swerved and smashed into her so hard it picked up her little car - lifted it over the sidewalk - and bent it around the telephone pole. I just was stunned. When my brain started functioning I thought, do I run over? Do I call 911? What should I do? Right then these two guys are running down the sidewalk (they were on the correct side of the street), and they ran to check on the people. One guy screams - "HE'S HAVING A HEART ATTACK". They were trying to get the guy out of the van, but his doors were locked. They were pulling on the door trying to yank it open and the guy inside the van is slumped over. The poor woman in the car was trapped between the telephone pole and this guy's van (it had rammed right into the driver's door) - she couldn't even open the door. They were still trying to get the guy out but all his doors were locked, people were pouring out of buildings, there's shouting "FIND A CROWBAR, BREAK THE WINDOW". The scene held me captive. I felt like I couldn't move, like I couldn't hardly breathe. Finally an ambulance came, fire trucks and police came. They got the old guy out. I don't know if he made it or not. They worked on him for a long time. I prayed everyone would be okay. I just think - you never know what's going to happen. I mean even if you aren't the guy in the van having the heart attack you could just as easily be the woman T-boned between the van and the telephone pole. (Here's a picture of the scene - both vehicles are behind the firetruck.) LIVE life every day. Tell family and friends you love them. Try to do good works and things that make you happy. Live a Good Life.

Life Is What You Make It

2007-04-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with a huge headache. I didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to move, or even open my eyes. But I thought...this is ridiculous. The sun is shining. There's things to do today. So I got up, got myself going. And I was blessed with a husband who brought me a glass of cold water and some aspirin. I was blessed with nice comments on some things I had posted yesterday. I was blessed with a phone call from my best friend Ginnie. See the day is what you make it. I've decided mine is going to be a sunshiny, friendly, fun day (even if it involves a little aspirin taking). I hope you've made your day a good one. Remember don't let the bad gunkie get at ya and you're good. I remember when I was in Jr. High my mom was watching this preacher on TV and he said "Don't let the devil steal your joy." Sometimes it's not the devil. Sometimes it's a jerk on the freeway - or some old lady who swipes your spot in the parking lot - whatever it is, whoever it is - they only have as much power as you give them. It's just as easy to wish them a good day - turn up the stereo and keep going. As my friend Ginnie says, "Smile and Proceed."
Blessings to you!
Aub

Wanna Know What I Was Given?

2007-04-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!

It's such a beautiful, cloudy, overcast day. I love those - they're my absolute favorites (besides rainy days of course--nothing is better than one of those). It must be a product of growing up in the desert and only having 3 days worth of rain that would happen during monsoons in May. That's all we'd get for the entire year. Rain was definitely celebrated...I've jumped in my share of puddles. Anyhow, I digress. Do you want to know what I was given? Can you guess what my Aunt Cindy nabbed for me? A library card catalog file cabinet. My terrific mom was nice enough to keep it for me until I could come pick it up. I love it. I just thought I'd share a picture of it and send a shout out to my Aunt thanking her for my new treasure. I love books - and the fact that this little unit held the key to finding so many different places one could travel to on a page - I just think that's cool. I'm excited to have it around - inspiring me. I hope you have a blessed day!

Aubrey

Guess What Tomorrow Is?

2007-04-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my first day of photography class! Yippee. I'm taking a course at the Community College. It's not a super heavy duty class, but it's designed to help you learn to use your DSLR. If you're a beginner (like me) in the manual photography area it's supposed to get you through that. It's also supposed to help you be able to know the difference between an ordinary shot and an extraordinary shot. I'm really excited about going. I've never taken any manual photography classes (or ANY kind of photography class for that matter). I'm hoping to get a lot from this class. It's going to be for 4 weeks. One class each week, each lasting 3 hours. I'm super excited! Wish me luck!

A Great Man

2007-04-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

I got news yesterday that I lost a very good friend of mine. His name was Raymond Schellenberg. He was 43 years old. He suffered a massive heart attack Saturday and was on lifesupport until he passed away Monday night/Tuesday morning around midnight. Ray was a friend to anyone who met him. He was genuinely a nice person. He loved the Lord and it was evident in the way he lived his life. I feel blessed to have known Ray. I know my life was enriched for the time spent with him. He contributed a great deal to making the world a better place. How lucky we were the Lord shared him with us for as long as he did. I know life is precious and the "here today, gone tomorrow" saying is true. Stop and take the time today to tell your friends and family how very much you love them. Leave someone a hidden note telling them what they add to your life. I talked to Ray right before he went to the hospital and I told him that I loved him. I love all you too my friends & I think the Lord each day for you. You help to make up what my world is - a rich, warm, loving, environment. Thank you for that.

May your day be blessed!

Aubrey

Not Much to Report

2007-03-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hello All!
Not much to report on my end but I'm bound and determined to post at least once a month - who can't stop and do that? (Obviously me - but I'm making an effort now to try and pay attention!) Hee hee.
Well let's see, what's happened since I last wrote? There certainly hasn't been any more snow. And as a matter of fact, when I got home from work that afternoon, at about 1:30 all that beautiful snow had already melted. God just gave us a quick snow flash that morning then took it back. What a tease He is. It's been hot lately. Cold in the mornings and hot in the afternoon. It's nice though, I'm actually enjoying the sun this year. Since I got diabetes (or maybe it's that I've lost 60 lbs.) I get cold. I've never been cold in my whole life. But I totally get cold now. I actually have a space heater I keep next to me when I'm working. What's THAT?! I was kind of mad about it at first, but "life is like an onion donkey - there's many layers" (said in my best Shrek voice) and I guess I'm just working on another layer now.
The scrapbook part of my life has been exciting this year. Jenn and I just went up and filmed a segment for the Scrapbook Lifestyle series. I'm not sure when the webispode is coming out - but we had a lot of fun. It was neat because three of my friends are designers on the show and I got to see them all at the studio that day - how cool. They're all so different but just really fantastic people. They created a heritage album for us - I'll be sure to let you all know when to tune in. I am now creating layouts for Current's scrapbook sales catalog "Times to Cherish". I'm getting to do that with my sister and friend's Krissie and Crystal. It's been a lot of fun so far (some challenging - but mostly fun)! Then I'm going to Heidi Swapp's Creative Escape in September. I'm going with my aforementioned friend, Krissie. She's going to fly down and then we're going to drive to Phoenix together for the event and she'll fly home to Colorado Springs from there. I can't wait. I'm so excited. She's so much fun and we get along so great - I know it'll be a blast. It also looks like I'll be going to Canada with my friend Leah in October. She's such a wonderfully nice person. I can't wait to go.
In other travel news - I'm going to New York in May (17th - 19th). I had the opportunity to go to New York once before with my friend Ginnie - neither of us had any desire to go there so we didn't go. This time one of the girls at my church won a radio contest for an all expense paid trip to New York to go see Omarion in concert (no clue who he is). She gets to go on a private jet and go back stage and meet the guy. Only thing is - she's 17 so she needs someone over 18 to go with her. She asked me if I'd please go. How nice to be asked! I better try and get some photography lessons in before then!
Ok, I've rambled on long enough. Drop me a line - let me know how you're doing.
Hugs!
Aubrey

It's a Snow Day

2007-02-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,

It's officially a snow day. Well not here of course. My sister has the day off work and her son has no school due to snow. We had snow on our mountain though when I woke up this morning. Here's a picture of it. Sorry it's not the best picture. I snapped it as I was running off to work. It's still really cold and the wind is blowing a bit but I love this kind of weather. The rain has been wonderful! Pretty soon everything is going to be all green and pretty again. Well, I'm going to keep this one short. Oh, I added a link to my Two Peas in a Bucket gallery off to the right. Feel free to check it out. I try to remember to post every now and then.

Hugs!

Aubrey

More New Things!

2007-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Ok...I've been trying to do a better job on keeping this thing current - aren'tcha proud of me! :) It's been so busy here I haven't stopped to return calls, e-mails, etc...but it doesn't mean I don't love you all! I got a new haircut. My friend took a picture of me (I was told I needed a new avatar) so I finally changed it. You can see it listed under my Profile. That's the new haircut me.

And in sadder news my little red car died. I actually cried. I took a lot of teasing for loving that little car like I did. It was a 1997 Ford Escort (nothing fancy) but I liked it for a lot of reasons. It was always a very reliable car. It was my first new car that I bought myself. (My Grandpa went with me to help me get it and he co-signed for me...Grandpa's gone to heaven now.) I don't know...lots of reasons. I really, really liked that car. It will be missed. In a little happier news this means we got to get a new car. We got a new Ford Fusion. (My girlfriend Krissie's husband, Mike, works at Ford and we get a special "friends" discount). Whoo-hoo! Here's a picture of the little beauty. This isn't a great picture. There's actually lots of shadow on the car so you can't see the true color but it's really very pretty.

For my third new: have I told you all about Duke yet? I hate to admit it - and I'm only admitting to being a "foster" but we have another dog. Duke. Duke was found outside our home - wondering the neighborhood. I believed he was "dropped" off and left. His hip bones were showing he was so thin. You could tell he had worn a collar but he didn't have one on. So I saw him out in the yard and I gave him a bag of dog food and he was in our front yard when I came home from work so I gave him another bag of dog food & some water and he's just sort of stayed. He's pretty cute and what a nice dog. However, I don't want to be the lady with 5 dogs!!! Man! Here's my favorite picture of him and Hanna together.

I guess that will wrap it up for me. I know this was kind of a lengthy one. I hope everyone has a great day!

Aubrey

New Things!

2007-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Well Spring isn't quite here, but I've had the pleasure of encountering more "new" things than normal in the last couple of weeks. First I got to go to CHA (Craft & Hobby Assoc.) show in Anaheim with my friend Crystal at the end of January. This is where all the new craft & hobby merchandise is showcased by manufacturers and retailers purchase it. I was so excited to see all the new scrapbook stuff! We got a few "free samples" [Crystal remind me to give you yours!] -- we got to do make n' takes, see the scrapbook "celebs" etc... We had such a good time. Here's a shot with me & Elsie Flannigan! Isn't she cute?

Along the line of new things: I got new babies (chicks that is). I ordered them online and the post office called this morning at 4:30 AM and said, "This is the US Post Office. We've got your live chicks here." Jeff said, "Ok, I'll come pick them up." He was half asleep - we couldn't figure out why they called so early then it hit us - he said, "You could hear your birds chirping in the background." We have 27 new babies. One passed away this afternoon. Pretty little girl - she was so nice, but she was weak, and just didn't make it. On the up side - the rest are thriving and running around and eating - I can't wait for them to be big enough to be out in the coop. They're so great. We'll have plenty of fresh eggs in a couple of month - let me know if you want any!

Hope you enjoy all the new things to be found this season!

Love,

Aubrey

That Kinda Day

2007-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hello All!
It's that kinda day - I've decided I'm not having it! I woke up with an incredible headache (it's actually the same one I went to bed with) and I was freezing so I thought I'd stop and get a hot latte, it'd be yummy, hopefully help with the headache - warm up my hands, etc...however I get there, stand in line, place my order - and as I'm getting my drink, realize that I ordered the iced version - what a TARD! Anyhow - it was time for a little Metallica - (I really needed a hit of Kid Rock but I couldn't find my CD) so James is taking care of me this morning. I put in my "Load" album and I've been jamming all morning - "Ain't my bitch" "King Nothing" - AWESOME songs for days like today - I'm totally in a better mood! Here's wishing you all good moods too!
Aubrey

New Year

2007-01-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

I just looked at my blog and realized it's been October since I've posted! To tell the truth I've written plenty and it's just been hiding in the "Draft" folder. I said I wouldn't post again without having the pictures to upload at the same time because I always talk about stuff and say I'll come back and post the pictures and never do. So I guess that means I didn't post anything about the last quarter of the year. Oh well...it was sorta just the same ol' stuff anyway. How was everyone's Christmas? I had such a good time. I was ALL over the place. I was back and forth to AZ 3 times in a week; but on one of the those trips I got to see my best friend Ginnie Baker. We've been BFs for 20 years now (more than half my life!). She lives in MO now so I don't get to see her too much. It was so good to see her and the girls. The girls have grown up so much and I really wanted Addison to get to meet them. He and Kira got along really well (when she wasn't attacking him!!) :-)

I got to go to the Hobby Lobby. Have you ever been there? It's an amazing store. Crafts - decorations - etc... I love it. The first time I went was in Arkansas when I went to visit my Granny, but they never had them out here. Now there's a brand new one in Phx. on 99th Ave. and McDowell. Love it!! I read on 2Ps they had a coupon out last week and I'll tell you I seriously considered driving down for the sale (how sick am I?)

In recent evnts - Friday I scrapbooked with Addison and one of the girls from the church. (I'm going to try to get a few more to come.) I got this book about 2 months ago called "The Self-Centered Workbook" - I never would have looked at it - Jeff actually pointed it out to me. It's really very cool. It's designed to help you create a "Book of Me". And I got to thinking and thought, how cool would it be to work with teens and let them answer all the questions in this book - and essentially do a little inward reflection and then creatively express all the things that are important to them and help make up who they are. The first session was really cool. The layouts turned out great and we had such a good time. We started with our opening sheet which was really just a single picture and some vital statistics. Addison wanted a current picture for his LO so I snapped a couple of quickies out in the yard at the church. Here they are!

I'm so proud of him and the weight he has lost. He's worked really hard at it. He's joined track this year - and anybody who knows Addis knows that he's had a hard time running since he was a small boy. He broke his leg when he wasn't quite 2 and I'm not sure they set it right - he always had a hard time running after that. (He also has Scoliosis and that may contribute to the hard time running thing.) It used to frustrate him that the other kids could run fast and he couldn't. He'd go out in the front yard and run drills - just to practice running, hoping to get better at it. And I've got to say he's done it. He did his first track meet this year. He ran representing the 8th grade boys and he did his mile and a half in 11 minutes 2 seconds. I thought that was great. Well I should get back to work. I get to go to CHA with my friend Crystal in a couple of weeks - I know I'll have plenty to write about then! Until then - God's Blessings on you all! Aubrey

YARD WORK!

2006-10-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

If a yard ever needed work it was ours. We are refinancing and needed to do a little yard work to get it up to snuff. Monday we threw out 4 garbage cans and 14 bags of yard waste. I went home yesterday after work and started raking. Jeff started bagging when he got home from work. So by the end of last night we had another 13 bags of yard waste. These are the full-size hefty yard bags. Man...and believe it or not there's plenty more to do. And this is just the front yard! We bought lots of little decorative things for the yard - it looks a million times better already. Mom came down and really helped put it all together. I'll try and go home today and take a picture and post it.

New & Old

2006-08-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been about as busy as it can be here. There's been so much going on and it seems like there's a lot of changes. In the "New" category: Addison has gotten a couple of yard jobs this past week. He's worked 3 times and made $56 - he's so excited. I hear he's a terrific worker. I'm so proud of him. He's excited to have money to put into his savings account to - I think he's saving to get an IPOD. He's really into music right now. I went and got my hair cut. It was at an "Aveda" salon on University. When I was in beauty school one of my girlfriends worked for an Aveda Concept Salon in Phx. She was awarded the "Aveda Makeup Artist of the Year" Award that year. She was a very talented esthetician. It just kind of made me miss her walking into that salon and seeing all the product. It was kind of wild being back in the serious "salon" mode...I missed it for a bit. Even thought, geez, maybe I should get my license in CA for just doing nails - and stick with just doing manicures and pedicures - all natural - no acrylic. Ahhhh...doing nails all day in a fancy salon...doesn't that sound like fun?! Fun hair cuts - fun people - I really do love the salon environment. Oh well...in the "Old" category I've dropped 40.8 of my old pounds...hopefully to return no more. I need to keep going - I can't believe I'm doing so well...it almost feels like I don't have to think about it too much anymore. I skip aisles in the grocery store that used to be my old haunts and I don't even miss them. I don't feel like I'm being cheated out of anything - it's just that I don't really want that stuff anymore. I'm so glad I finally got it together and started doing this. I'm so proud of every pound my family has lost. Jeff has lost 40 lbs., Addison has lost 17 lbs., mom has lost 51 lbs., Jenn has lost 23.9 lbs., I'm not sure how much Aunt Cindy or Margie have lost - but I'm so excited for everyone - everyone is looking terrific. I hope whatever you're doing today - you can do it with a smile. I wish for you wonderful, peaceful, rests on a wonderfully shaded hammock above a thick, cool, lush, bed of grass...(that wish of course comes equipped with a wonderful novel and a terrificly cold glass of tea!)

We're Back

2006-08-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, we survived it. Actually, we LOVED it. Vacation was awesome. We always have a great time on vacation. We're the type who get excited about seeing the "World's Largest Rocking Chair"...if you are too, you can see it just outside of Canon City, CO. We went and spent a couple of days with my girlfriend Krissie and her husband, Mike. What fun! I miss that chick already - wish you could all know her - she's a blast. On our trips I love to take pictures of all the old barns we pass on the side of the road - I love them. I got a ton on this trip. I'll try and get some pictures up soon. Since we've been home we've been working on cleaning out the house - throwing stuff away. So of course the scrapbook room is being worked on again. It's been rearranged and gone through. I am actually getting to the decorating portion now. Whooo hooo! Word is my sister is coming down for Labor day - can't wait. I've only seen her once this year - doesn't seem right! Well hope this day is a productive one for you all.
Love,
Aub

Vacation Countdown

2006-07-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

I CANNOT WAIT FOR VACATION!!! I'm so ready to be out of here. Out on the road. Seeing the sights. Taking pictures. Enjoying God's country. It's going to be great. Everything at home is plugged in being charged. Cameras, game players, music players, etc... I need to stock up on magazines and books for our trip. I think we're going to try to make it very picnic style if we can. It should be a lot of fun - I'll be sure and share pictures as we go.
Aub

Get Up - Get On Up...

2006-07-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

It's a James Brown kinda day. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I finally napped around 4:30 AM for a little less than an hour - and when I did wake up it was with James Brown's song "Sex Machine" in my head. You know the one...

Get up, (get on up)
Get up, (get on up)
Stay on the scene, (get on up), like a sex machine, (get on up)

And then, shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker

So I've been Shaken my money maker over and over in my head! Ughh! "Right on! Right on!" All that being said, I get to church this morning to count the tithe and Buffy is there to help and I keep singing/humming that song and by the end of counting she says "Oh great now I'm singing it too!" Oh well, at least it's a good song (Don't know that it's church office appropriate but oh well.) At least today is cooler. It's almost 10 AM and it's 75 degrees out. Not too bad considering what it's been lately. I hope everyone is "Getting On Up" today and doing something worthwhile!
God Bless You!
Aubrey

Freaky Friday

2006-05-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ok SOOOO Lame, but I've been wanting to use that title FOREVER! I'm super tired, have had an ear ache for over a week - am SUPER grumpy, but other than that feeling great. I got to talk to my best friend Ginnie today - that always puts a HUGE smile on my face. Love her! We can sit and chat like no one can! I need to pull myself out of this weird funk I'm in. I am tired (did I say that already), I have a pile of dictation to do (and I feel like that's all I've been doing lately)...we've got guests coming to town this weekend and the house isn't clean. Aaahhh... Actually I know how to get out of it, quit focusing on all that - focus on getting it done and quit bitching about it right? Ok, I get it. In separate news today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday mom! I have yet to call her, but it's on my list. I wish I could go visit for the weekend, but we're having company. Eric and his wife Mikki are coming down for the weekend. Addison's so excited. Them coming down means a deep-sea fishing trip for him. (And pictures for me! Yea!) Ok, I'm getting ready to leave work, thought I'd send a little blurb out and say Hi!
Hope everyone is well!
Aub

Slacking!!!

2006-05-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ok guys - I've been slacking. My room isn't done. I have cleaning up to do - and there are things that are just about done, but not quite finished. I can't wait for it to be finished. I'm so excited about it. I've been a little tired this last week and I just took on a new client. His name is Dale - he's a crack-up! Tonight I'm going to scrapbook with my friend while Addison is at youth group - looking forward to that. Nothing else too much to report here - it's overcast out today, those are my absolute favorite days. I hope this note finds you all well.
May the Lord Bless You!
Aubrey

Scrapbook Room

2006-04-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working on decorating/organizing/cleaning up my scrapbook room. (Excuse the terrible photo! - Click on the photo to get a bigger picture.) I finally got my "room title" up. (Courtesy of my fabulous sister, Jenn!) I've had these things for a while - only just got 'em put up. I did pick up the flower over the weekend at Target in Yuma - they have so much more at that store than we have at ours here. I've been told I should alter these in some way - paint or decorate, but I'm kinda afraid. I'm sure I could do something to make them look cute, but what if they look good now, and then I don't like them in 6 months! Plus the wall is so busy - the way it's painted - I kind of like the starkness of the white. Maybe I'll add some ribbons to some of them. That way if I get tired of the color - or want a change - it'll be easy enough to swap out. Wish me luck on getting this room done. I'm hoping to have it complete by this weekend.

CLEAN UP!!!

2006-04-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I went to Yuma this past weekend to help my mom clean out her garage. She's just recently moved and, like the rest of us - or maybe it's just me, hasn't gone through all the boxes yet. We worked all day Saturday on it (6AM-9:30PM). It looks much better now. This was good. It gave mom more space in her garage - it gave the homeless shelter 3 truck loads of donations, and it gave me some exercise. I've been working on cleaning out my office/scrapbook room. The local scrapbook store is having a garage sale Saturday and I've signed up for a spot to sell my things. All this cleaning and purging is really making me feel good. I feel like I've been buried under "stuff" for a long time now. I can't wait to finish getting it cleaned, sorted, organized, and decorated. It's going to be so nice it that room! I'm about 3/4 of the way done. My goal is to have it done by Saturday. Wish me luck! To all of you out there Spring Cleaning - I hope the end result brings you much happiness.
Blessings to you!
Aubrey

Easter Sunday

2006-04-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

Harns Happenings
How was everyone's Easter? Ours was nice. We went to Church Sunday Morning. Then drove to Pine Valley after for lunch and took the back way home. It was so pretty out. I love it when everything is green. I didn't get any pictures - I kind of feel guilt about that - but it was nice to just go and enjoy the day. When we finally got home we sat down and played Monopoly together (Jeff kicked mine and Addis' butts!). It was nice. We'd spent Saturday cleaning the house (Addison ended up having his friend come over and then going home with him - he got home around 9:15 - so Jeff and I went and ran some errands). It was just a nice weekend. Cleaning was work, but it's always so nice when it's done. We've actually started our Spring Cleaning - we've gotten rid of 3 big trash cans full of stuff this week. We ended up re-arranging the office; it's finally coming together. Maybe I'll post some pictures when we're through.
Hugs everyone!
Aubrey

It's A Cold One!

2006-03-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Well it's Thursday. It's TOTALLY cold out tonight. Word on the TV is it might snow here. Can you believe it? Addison's totally praying for snow. His gym teacher told him if it even snowed a little they were going to cancel school. (He's on bended knee!) Jeff had me put the camera on the charger tonight - just in case. The dogs all came in early - we have a fire going and are snuggling under blankets - who knows, I may even cave and make some hot chocolate! Today was nice and quiet at work - I was the only one there and we only had a couple of phone calls so it was a nice easy day - I enjoyed it. I did a little scrapbooking today. I did my very first mini-album. I never had much use for them - I always thought they were kind of cute but looked at them more as clutter than anything. Well now that I've done one I love it. It's about our dogs. We have 4 dogs: Shelby, Roscoe, Mugsy, and Hanna. I love, love, love it! I made it for the Design Team at the Poway Scrapbook Store - I hope no one steals it. Small books have a tendency to walk off. I'd like to get this one back. I'm going to make a mini-album for my mother. (Not of our dogs of course) This one will be all about her Grand-babies. I guess I ought to go - get back up to that fire - it's cold here in the office! I'll write more later!
Hugs,
Aubrey

Harns Happenings

2006-03-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Wait, It's March?!
Ok, so much for being diligent about updating this on any sort of regular basis. I am so envyous of those ladies who can do this every day. You know the ones...the one's who wake up, read their bible, do the dishes, run a load of laundry -- all before they wake the kids up and get them off to school. HAGS! Always wanted to be one - never will be. I'm more of a "oh I've got 30 minutes before I have to be there - that means I can sleep for 15 more!" Speaking of which, I guess I ought to get into service. We're supposed to be in there in 3 minutes - I better get out of the office. I will write more (sooner - rather than later!)
Love,
Aub

February Already??!!

2006-02-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's February already? January went by so quickly - perhaps it's because I was buried under a mountain of work?! I guess the good thing is though, that I conquered the mountain (which is a good thing - it's the only "mountain" climbing I've done in years!) Not too much is going on. The boys have a trip planned for camping in the desert over president's day weekend. I plan on going to the Scrapbook Expo with my friend Crystal next weekend. I can't wait to see all the latest and greatest scrap stuff. I actually managed to get 8 LO's done in January - almost 9 - can you believe it?! Of course I haven't done a darn thing in February. I've got some ideas though. Addison is doing terrific in school and Jeff took a much needed break Saturday. He went for a day ride with his friend Randy. Jeff's been working really hard and has been a little stressed out - I think the ride did him some good. I hope this little note finds you all well & knee deep in the Lord's blessings!
Love,
Aubrey

Harns Happenings

2006-01-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Harns Happenings
Ok, so it's been a while since I've written anything. We've been busy. Christmas and New Years were wonderful. We went to Yuma to my mom's house for Christmas. Then spent New Year out in the desert riding ATVs. I absolutely love being out there in the desert riding around on the quads. I love the exploring, camping, hanging out -- no TVs! It's so much fun to ride and play and visit. I look forward to it each year (this was the third year we've gone out). When I ride I borrow one of my cousin's quads. Jeff and Addison have their own bike (in fact Addison got a new bike for Christmas). I think I'm going to be so bold as to state I want my own bike and I'd like to have it by this time next year. I guess I'll have to start saving my pennies! I haven't got any scrapbooking done in a while & I have things due for Design Team. Ughh...someone out there throw some creativity my way. I've got a DT crop tomorrow night and I'm not prepared at all. I guess I better get to it when I get home this afternoon. I better get back to work and I'll try and be more diligent in updating my blog.
God Bless!
Aubrey

It Certainly Is MONDAY

2005-11-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Uughhh...today SUCKS. I'll be getting off work in about an hour. Work has been really good for me today. We started the morning off with a meeting at Addison's school with the Vice-Prinicpal, Addison's bus driver, the head of transportation, the head of Special Ed, and Jeff, Addison and I. Needless to say the results were less-than satisfactory. (Trying to be nice and not say a bunch of ugly things here.)

On a better note - my family was down for the weekend. I truly believe that family is one of the best gifts that God gave us. I wouldn't trade mine in for the world. We had a scrapbooking crop with a bunch of girls at our church Friday night. I had a lot of fun. Didn't get a thing done, but had a great time. I was trying to think of a name for our group and couldn't come up with anything. Two of the girls came up with calling our get togethers "Holy Scrap" time. I thought it was really cute. I think we'll go with it.

This is going to be short today. I'm not feeling great, but am working to feel better. I refuse to be negative and I'm working on being positive. I refuse to let those folks get me down. I'm going to be positive and thank the Lord for this blessed day. I hope the Lord has blessed your day and this note finds you all in good spirits.
Aubrey

Thursday is Here!!!

2005-11-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

I know I'm posting later than I usually do, but Thursday is finally here. That means my sister will be here tonight!!! If you can't tell, I'm SUPER excited. My mom will be here tomorrow - SUPER excited again. I can't wait to have us all together. I think mom is bringing grandma too - so we're going to have some fun. Tomorrow night I'm hosting a crop at our church in the Fellowship Hall. I can't wait. There'll be a bunch of girls there and it should be a lot of fun. I made some clipboards for Addison's teachers Christmas presents yesterday. Just put the ribbon on them this morning. I think they turned out cute. I was able to use up my scraps and ended up with a cute-inexpensive gift. These were a bunch of fun to make and I can't wait to do more!

I was so excited about "the girls" coming over that I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up about 4:45 AM and figured if I layed there I'd go back to sleep. At 5:15 I woke Jeff up and told him if he wanted to wake up I'd give him a hair cut - and he did. So 5:30 this morning there I am in the kitchen cutting hair. (Do you think I'm excited?!)

I hope everyone has a great day!
Blessings to you!
Aubrey

Wacky Wednesday

2005-11-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so carpooled with Jeff again. I like riding to work with him in the morning. Don't like not having my car when I leave though. Hmm...still haven't figured out how to have both! :-)

Today is a kind of a weird day. I feel "loopy" - I do absolutely love that it's overcast out today though. Overcast days are the best. They're best spent home, under a quilt, reading a good book. Luckily time is passing relatively quick this morning. I need to get home, unload the dishwasher, re-load the dishwasher, fold some more laundry, and get ready to come back to church tonight. Addison's in the youth group and is running for President of the group. Elections are tonight. (They were officially held last week but they tied, so any kids who weren't there last week get to vote tonight and hopefully break the tie. Keep your fingers crossed for him.) Also Jeff has a Trustee meeting and I have to be there to take notes.

I wanted to try to add a picture to the blog every now and then and since I haven't taken any lately I thought I'd look through my photos and see if there are any that I took exactly a year ago. I found some that I took of Roscoe & Mugsy and some of the trees at the intersection in Alpine. Here they are. It looks like it was an overcast day that day too. (I love November!)

Hope today finds you all well!
Aubrey

Totally Tuesday

2005-11-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my first post. I've wanted to start a blog for a while. I think they're neat - helps to play "catch-up" with family and friends. I'm at work today. Got here a bit early. Jeff and I are carpooling since the little red car broke down again. We just picked it up from the mechanic Thurday night and Jeff drove it to work Friday with no problems, but coming home Monday night it died again. I'm thinking it's the alternator. (We'll soon find out I'm sure.)

We went and voted this morning. It's done there in a local church in Alpine and they always seem to have the cutest little old ladies working the polls. What a privilege to live in America where our voices can be heard!

Addison is doing well in school. It's Parent/Teacher conference week so they have minimum days all this week, except Friday, which they have off because of the Veteran's Day.

Speaking of Friday - I am so excited. I'm going to host a scrapbooking crop at our church Friday night. I've invited a lot of FUN girls and I think we're going to have a great time. This will be our first time getting together at the church but it's a nice central location for everyone and an opportunity to get out of the house. I'm especially excited about this one because my sister, Jennifer, is going to get to come down for this one. She was going to come down for my birthday (11/3) but we postponed it a week so that we could wait for the 3 day weekend.

I guess I ought to wrap this up and get back to work!

God's Special Blessings to You!
Aubrey