October SunBathing Beauty

A HappyWife original.

Actually, the flower is a Hubster original, considering I have a brown thumb. (We have a joke in our house.... whenever I bring home a new houseplant, my husband looks at it and says "Welcome to death row".... unfortunately, that's almost always the case unless HE takes care of it. I have a knack for killing plants.)

However, he grew some lovely sunflowers over the past month or so and I snapped the above photo in the late afternoon. The sun was hitting the petals in such a way that it truly looks like it was painted. It's not retouched at all.... this is just the way the flower looks. Pretty cool, huh?

"All American Beauty"

That's what I've entitled this photo - "All American Beauty"....

Last night inspired it: 30 minutes of daylight left...... reading a good book on my front porch..... while drinking an icy cold Mountain Dew (Suz, you don't know what you're missing, girl).... and counting my blessings, instead of my wants.....

Realizing how fortunate I am to live in this great country, to have a nice roof over my head, good food in my belly, two healthy and happy children, a husband who loves me (and whom I love), enough money that all our needs our covered (and many of our wants as well), etc., etc., etc.

It's all in how you look at it.

To Capture The Sun

Today's Equestrian Meet-and-Greet

So, this morning I took my new camera and headed out in search of a photo opportunity.

(In my mind I imagine I'll find amazing photos like Michele posts everyday.... alas, it wasn't meant to be this morning.)

However, I did make a little stop near my house at the "compound". The compound is a very mysterious (and very oddly shaped) housing structure where quite a few folks live. It sits on about 10 acres or so and backs up to my neighborhood. As you can imagine, it's a constant source of curiosity to all who live in my subdivision.... is it a cult? a nudist colony? a militia training camp? (Personally, I think it's probably something as innocuous as a family compound with several generations who wanted to live under one really big - and really funny looking - roof.)

Regardless, amongst the widely varied livestock they have roaming about on the grounds, they have several horses. I stopped to say "Buenos Dias" to the above beauty who was nearest to the road and she came right over to inquire if I had carrots (I did not, but we had a nice little chat).

I also snapped a photo of the below lovely munching on grass.

I love horses.

Attention Photographers!!!

Since so many of my Blogger Buddies are also Phabulous Photographers, I need some advice from y'all! :-)

My camera (which was old-old-old.... we're talking a first generation Kodak "EasyShare" from way back when) finally gave up the ghost at the beach last weekend. It lived a good long life.

So now it's time for me to move on to bigger and BETTER things. Yesterday, I had to go to Sam's Club to pick up a case of water, a huge bag of Puppy Chow (since Diva now eats THREE times a day) and I was perusing the camera section but realized I know NOTHING about camera equipment, so I thought I'd ask the Experts in the Blogosphere.... so c'mon D'Arcy, Sugar, Sheye, Carin, Laurie, Michele, Louise, and everyone ELSE out there who is a photographer - offer up your advice!

What do those of you who are photographers (either professional or amateur) suggest?

Keep in mind I like to keep it somewhat simple (I don't want to drag a big bag full of lenses and accoutrements everywhere I go), but I also want something that is going to take really good pics, and be fairly user friendly. (I also like the cameras that have the option of taking little short video movies...)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Breathtaking Visuals (Rocky Mountains, B.C.)

Stumbled upon this AMAZING photo-blog (once again, I'm astounded by the people I'm "meeting" in the blogosphere!!) and I was blown away by these photos!

Just looking at these I feel so serene and peaceful.

What a magnificent creation God blessed us with..... I'm constantly in awe when I see photos of places such as this!

(Thank you, Michele!) :-)

Snow Dusted Peaks, Yosemite National Park

WOW. No need to really write much about THIS, is there?

I think WOW sums it up quite nicely.

(And to think God gave us this planet's amazing natural wonders for our enjoyment.....)

As nature photographer John MacMurray says.... 'nature's outrageously unnecessary beauty points directly to a benevolent Creator...'

WOW.

Early Morning Peace

Found this photo on my hard drive... it's a couple of years old now (pre-drought....).

I took this shot at sunrise, up on Lake Hartwell, which is on the GA/SC border. It was a really beautiful, really still morning; the sun was just coming up and there was no one out yet.... just me and some early morning ducks and geese.

I love early mornings. It's the best "God time" for me. The day is fresh, full of promise.... stretched out in front of me like a plain white canvas. Brand new and totally up to ME what I'm going to do with it.

And it's nice to start it with the Creator of all things....

Niagara Falls Photo-Blog-o-rama

High Roller Hubster (note the empty pockets!)

Seneca Niagara - Our Swanky Hotel - Photo #1

Seneca Niagara - Our Swanky Hotel - Photo #2

Even the Elevator Bank at the Seneca Niagara was swanky - check out the stained glass

The Happy Couple on the American side of the Falls :-)

Pretty daffodils on the Canadian side....

Spring is on the way, despite the ice still visible in the Niagara River.

Took this photo from my barrel right before I went over the edge (bumpy ride on the way down, but obviously I survived...). :-)

Who is Happy Wife Happy Life?

So.... who is Happy Wife, Happy Life? And why the heck does she have a blog? And what in the world is she going to muse about, anyway? HWHL is a stay-at-home-mom-of-two (and wife-of-one), entrepreneur, chauffeur, maid, psychologist, referee, etc., etc. I am also a committed Christian who loves God and strives every day to walk with him (without wandering off). Wandering off to do my "own thing" is a daily issue for me, and I find myself reading Romans 7:19 regularly and being very thankful that Paul shares his own struggles with the flesh. (Hey, if Paul struggled with this stuff, I guess we should all just chill out and realize this battle between spirit and flesh is going to be a lifelong issue for all of us....)
As far as hobbies, I love to hang out with my husband and kids, read, cook, take pictures, sing (usually in the shower), joke around, tell bad puns, and just generally be goofy. I go to the gym and work out from time to time, but I'm hardly a "hard body" (more like a "cream puff" to be honest). I love animals and (almost all) people. The arrogant and rude people really get on my nerves, and I just have to keep reminding myself that Jesus died for them too. So, why the blog? Well, now that I'm a freelancer from home while my children are in school, I have a very thin slice of free time. It's either channel my creative juices into "blogging" or watch yet ANOTHER scintillating episode of Montel (NOT). Also, I recently discovered (and was deeply moved and inspired by) a lovely blog called Holy Experience, written by Ann V., who is the wife of a Canadian farmer. Her writing is much like little raw gems, glittering in the dust. I stumbled upon it by accident and was amazed by the profound beauty and grace in her words. So, I thought I'd give blogging a shot. Our styles are obviously very different. I'm definitey much more of a smart aleck, but still think I have some observations I'd like to share (read: INFLICT upon you, gentle reader...). I look forward to posting some thoughts and ideas. Maybe some poems and photos. Perhaps an idea for peace in the Holy Land....? That would be nice. But I'm not holding my breath.
Until next time.... TTFN!

PS: One of my hobbies is photography. I took the above photo, at sunrise, on the Georgia coast just as the sun blazed over the horizon and a flock of seagulls flew overhead. It was a glorious, moving moment, and I was the only one on the beach to witness it. It was, to my mind at least, another gentle tap on the shoulder from the Father that "Yes, I'm still right here... and I still love my kids". God is good.