Halfway There!

As of Wednesday afternoon, Yemma is halfway through chemo! She is feeling pretty weak and tired during the days, but has been having some trouble sleeping at night. She told me that the other night, she was awake until 3am (my mom is one of the "early to bed, early to rise" types so this is really unlike her). She is still able to get out and about, thankfully. I spoke with her while she was visiting one of her best friends yesterday, and it sounded like they were having a good time.

Her boss and coworkers have been extremely understanding and supportive throughout Yemma's illness and treatment. It makes her feel bad to not go to work, but they are making sure she is guilt-free. Yemma has never liked not having much to do so this has been a struggle for her, but as always, she has plenty of loved ones' company to keep her busy.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

A Dream Come True

For as long as I've wanted to be a nurse, I've wanted to be a school nurse. I love kids, and schools always make me happy. I just love to be in any environment where kids are learning, thriving, and expressing themselves. Besides, kids at school are healthier than kids in the hospital, so it's not a sad, stressful environment.

Well, friends....I've kept quiet about this because the more public I made the fact that I applied, the more public I would have to make the fact that it didn't happen if it didn't. But....I sent my resume to my local school district on a whim (I had no idea whether they were hiring) and got a call back from them that very day. Since then, I've been in the application process, and last Friday I had an interview.

This morning, at around 9am, I got a call....I got the job. I am now a school nurse!!! I will be in charge of three elementary schools and I can't wait. (There are health aides at each school so I won't have to be in three places at once - not that I could, anyway.) The man who interviewed me is incredibly nice, and I can't wait to meet some more of my future co-workers.

Aside from the actual job duties (record keeping, seeing kids that come into the office for various maladies, checking up on kids' management of chronic conditions, health screenings, basic education) that I am excited about, there are so many other reasons I'm looking forward to this job: any scrubs I want (hello, Cardinals scrubs at last!), weekends off, every holiday off, summers off, returning to watching the TV screen in anticipation of snow days....it'll be kind of like going to school again!

I am so psyched. Thank you SO much to all of my family and friends. Your love and support surround me and lift me up so much.

Kristena's House

My friend Kristena asked me to take some pictures of her house for Vintage Indie. They evidently picked up on her insane crafting skills and chic-and-unique taste, and I was honored to be able to help capture it! Plus, her kids made for some adorable photos too.
The quilt was a team effort - Kristena made some of the squares, and some blog friends of hers made the others and shipped them to her. I think that is so cool! Kristena also made the awesome appliquéd art above the bed.


Kids' bedroom.


Sweet Jacob admires the banner that I believe Kristena made.


I LOVE the sweet bunny in the front - another Kristena project! I'd love to be able to make toys for my kids someday!


Quite a unique and quirky art collection on the wall of the dining area.


Lovely Emily enjoys a cinnamon roll....


And eyes another. :)


Childrens' profiles :) By now I'm sure you won't be shocked to learn that Kristena made these, too.


Livin' life. That's the crafting goddess herself in the background (wearing this shirt - also note Emily's dress). I feel like I'm joking, but I'm so not!


:)


This lady is truly all that.

Ain't She a Beaut?

I got this baby by running into the corner of this:

It only LOOKS innocent with its Harry Potter lunchbox and autographed Matthew Lewis picture (wha what?).

Getting bruises like this always makes me want to watch a certain movie. Can you guess what it is? If you can, I love you for how well you know me (or this movie - or both).

Graveyards, Grasshoppers, Greyscale

Okay, so I cheated. The bug in this picture is 99% likely to NOT be a grasshopper. But it started with a 'g' so I went with it.

I discovered him right outside my front door last Friday. I like finding interesting bugs around my house (as long as they stay on the OUTside).

On Friday evening, we went to a graveyard to get some pick-up shots for the movie. I love graveyards. I think they're so peaceful and beautiful. The golden light that the sun was casting on everything didn't hurt, either.
So I've gotten into this weird habit of taking pictures of only the edges/tops of things against the sky. They are weird and kind of quirky. They are probably pointless, but I like them anyway.
Graveyard friends!
And that's all, folks!

Photo Phun

Along the country road that my husband and I take to church, there are a few things we drive by that I always think, "I need to get a picture of that some time." Today, since I was out that way mailing a few things, I brought my camera along so that I could finally stop thinking about it ;)

One of the gates at which I like to envision doing a photoshoot really isn't interesting on its own, so I didn't shoot that. Maybe when I have a human subject to work with. But without further ado, here are the shots I got.

I had never seen this tire before. I'm not sure if it was recently placed there or if I just never noticed it. I went a couple of different routes with the editing, but I like the second one better.
I LOVE the patina on this gate. I couldn't get out of the car to take a picture of it because the road was narrow at this point with nowhere to pull off. So I quickly shot this out the window with a very anxious person in the SUV behind me riding my tail. I happen to like the effect :)
I added an antique layer for funsies. I'm pretty happy with it.

Filming This Past Weekend

Last weekend, the pick-ups, reshoots and additional scenes for Greyscale began. On Saturday, after I slept off working my LAST night (!!!), I joined the crew at this really cool, creepy place where they were shooting a new scene that Ryan wrote.


Okay, I have no idea why this is so disgusting and upsetting to me, but it just...is. It's a bunch of airsoft pellets stuck in a cardboard box. I just think it looks sick!
The building was filled with all sorts of weirdness.
Uh...all right, then.
On the way back from the set was an incredibly YELLOW building. I got a blind shot out the window. I MUST do a photo shoot here. Anyone game?
Later that evening, we went to the Wesley building on TU's campus. That always brings back fond memories. Since it was golden hour, we took some fun pictures.
Okay, so while we were at the Wesley I had to film something very briefly. It required me to wear a long, wool coat. If you live around Tulsa or anywhere that it has been over 100 degrees every day lately, you will understand why, while I waited to be filmed, I was holding my jacket out from my body and doing a little dance. (Well, maybe you won't understand the little dance part unless you know me personally.) Anyway, someone pointed out that it looked "really terrible from behind." We all got a good laugh out of it and decided to take this hilarious picture. (Yes, you had BETTER BELIEVE I am actually clothed under the coat!)
Hahaha. Oh, man. Maybe you had to be there. Moving on...

On Sunday, we got a few random shots that we needed and enjoyed hanging out together all day.
(Ryan was not angry. He was just hot. Ohhh, yeah.)
While they were filming, my dehydrated self sat in the shade and took some random pictures. This is a turquoise bracelet that I bought from a guy that I used to work with (he makes awesome jewelry).
This is the beautiful ring that my father-in-law generously gave to me. It had been his mother's.
The lovely sun shone through the trees.
I tried out a blue tint. I think it looks kind of cool.
Now that I am soooo finished working weekends, I am looking forward to joining the Greyscale crew on the weekends to come!