Friday, August 29, 2008

Jenny The Bloggess

The other day I had a strange conversation with my husband, Cameron, on the way to work. It made me think of Jenny "The Bloggess." Whenever I read her posts I always think, "I never have funny or interesting conversations like she does." After this morning, I began to rethink that...


Me: I had this dream last night that you had come in from jogging and you were all sweaty and you tried to hug me and I ran away. You chased after me trying to get sweat on me because you thought it was funny. I hate sweat. It grosses me out.


Cameron: What if someone peed on you? Would that bother you?


Me: Not really.


Cameron: Why are you grossed out by someone getting sweat on you but not grossed out by someone peeing on you? They are essentially the same thing.


Me: Pee is sterile, so it really isn't the same thing. Sweat gets mixed in with all of the germs on your skin. It's gross.


Cameron: It's still the same idea.


Me: I'd rather have someone vomit on me than sweat on me. However, baby sweat doesn't bother me. Like when Connor (my nephew) falls asleep on me, he sweats but that doesn't bother me.


Cameron: You're weird.


Me: I don't mind baby sweat or baby vomit even. I'd rather not have an adult vomit on me, but I'd rather they vomit on me than sweat on me.


Cameron: This is a strange conversation we are having this morning.


Of course this isn't verbatim, but its pretty close. It also probably isn't as witty or funny as Jenny would write it, but it was funny to me at the time. (If you aren't offended by a little profanity, then you MUST check out Jenny's blog! http://thebloggess.com/ )


It just makes me wonder how many similar conversations Cameron and I have had in the last 10 years. I think I'll pay more attention from now on.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Flowers and Friends

Flowers are a staple of my photography. Everywhere I go, I'm always looking for flowers to photograph. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a gardener. I just document the gardening skills of others. However, these particular photos are actually from my garden. They are flowering bushes, which don't require any real gardening skills. Just water and sunshine. Just the way I like it!


I recently signed up for an account on facebook. I had heard about it before, but I had never visited the site. A friend from work had mentioned that she had a facebook page and she began telling me how she was able to locate some friends from her high school and college years using facebook. I began thinking about how I would like to speak to my friends from high school and see how they are doing, thus, this is why I now have a facebook account. I'm still learning how to use facebook so I don't have a whole lot going on there yet.


I remember being in high school wishing that I was finished with school. Now that I'm a little older and a little wiser I look back and have fond memories of my high school days. I would never want to go back to high school because it was a difficult time for me. It was also a lot of fun at times and I had some great friends. I still remember the excitement of the first day of school and wearing new clothes, new shoes, and carrying new school supplies. I remember how nervous I always was on the first day of school. Thinking about thinks like: would any of my friends be in my classes, would the teacher be boring or interesting, and would I be able to make new friends. After a week or so, the anxiety and excitement would go away and then I would just be frustrated at having to get up early in the morning.


I think getting up early is the thing I hated most about school. If school had started at noon, I think I would have been a straight A student my entire school career. I'm a night owl and I like to stay up late and sleep in. I work an 8 to 5 Monday through Friday job, so I try to be in bed by 11 pm. It is really difficult for me though. On Friday and Saturday nights I am usually up until 1 or 2 am (or later). More businesses should accommodate people like me who would rather work from 10 to 6 or 11 to 7. That would be awesome! Oh well. I guess I'll just have to settle for 8 to 5 until I can pursue photography as a career.


Here are some examples of my amateur photography skills. Some day I'll get a degree in photography and then I can do the thing I love most and choose my own schedule.

Pink Bundle

Hot Pink Blooms

Friday, August 15, 2008

Feeling Prickly

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to create any new posts. I usually try to post something new each weekend, but I just didn't have the time this past weekend. Forgive me for taking so long to post new photos.


I chose these cactus photos today because I'm feeling a little prickly. The main reason I'm feeling prickly is because of something I heard on the radio yesterday. I was listening to a Christian talk radio show called Jay Seculow Live. Jay Seculow is an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice (http://aclj.org/). They are kind of like the ACLU, except they defend religious freedoms that the ACLU tries so hard to curtail these days. Yesterday their discussion was about a new organization the United Nations is trying to setup. The purpose of this organization is to prevent Christians from discussing the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) in public because it may offend Muslims. I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing such and such may offend so and so, so you can't say that anymore. WHO EVER SAID EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT NOT TO BE OFFENDED?? I just don't get where this mentality comes from. It is time for people to stop trying to sue everyone just because someone said something that offends you. So what?! Are you going to drop dead because someone offended you? I sincerely don't think so. I believe there should be laws to prevent discrimination based on sex, religion, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, and weight (which isn't in the law books, but should be). However, I don't think we need any laws to protect us from being offended by something someone else says. If people continue on this path of thinking that they have the right not to be offended, then this country will soon lose the right to free speech. What is worse, being offended by something someone says, or not being able to express your opinions at all for fear of offending someone and therefore breaking the law? If the United Nations is able to create this organization they are pushing for, then Christians (especially in the middle-east) may no longer to be able to discuss their religion in public. In some countries, breaking the law by speaking openly about the Holy Trinity (which some say offends Muslims) will be punishable by death! We need to work together and be proactive to promote free speech for everyone in all countries. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and every other religion should be able to discuss their religion openly without fear of persecution. Even if we disagree with someone's religious views, that doesn't give us the right to prevent them from speaking in public. Thinking about how ridiculous and thin-skinned people are becoming has really got me feeling prickly today.


Aloe Cactus

Prickly Cactus Spines

Sunday, August 03, 2008

H2O

Water is one of the most important things to life. Growing up mainly in Kentucky, I never thought much about how important water is. Louisville normally gets plenty of rain and it also sits along side the Ohio River, so water was never much of a concern for us. Even during a drought, the Ohio never goes dry. When I moved to Arizona, I learned how important water can be. Once you've lived in a desert area, you really begin to appreciate water. Don't get me wrong, we always had water running from our tap, but it may not rain for months there. Tucson uses groundwater for drinking water. Sometimes so much water would be pulled from a certain area that the ground would literally drop a few feet in that area. My husband would jokingly tell me how the government tried to prevent using too much groundwater by creating The Central Arizona Project. The government dug a trench beginning at the Colorado River in northern Arizona and ending near Mexico. They lined the trench with concrete and diverted water from the Colorado River to this trench. He said it was the most horrible tasting water you've ever tasted and soon the citizens of Tucson lead a revolt. The government relented and began using groundwater again. They now use the water from The Central Arizona Project and use it for irrigating farmland and to replenish the groundwater. After living in Arizona for 2 years, the things I missed most were an occasional rainy day, green trees, and especially running water. If you head up into the mountain areas in Arizona, sometimes you can find a running stream. Here are a few photos I took in the mountains of Arizona.

Sabino Canyon in the Catalina Mountains


Ramsey Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains