Volunteer!

Hello all!
I am very sorry it has been a while. I have been so busy. I wanted to share what has been going on with me lately. I have been co-leader of a awesome project. My friend Dee Dee Lambert and I have been volunteering at our local pound in Dublin, TX. We have been working our tails off to get those wonderful dogs homes. The Dublin Pound is a kill shelter so we don't have much time to waste on finding the dogs forever homes. We have adopted out 27 dogs so far in about a 2 month period. Mostly mutts but a few purebreds here and there. Mutts are Great, Don't Discriminate! Anyway, I feel like I have finally put myself to use for the greater good! I am not an animal rights activist by any means, I grew up showing cattle and on a farm for goodness sakes! But I do truly have a very soft spot for dogs! Anyway, I would encourage you all to give some of your time to something that benefits another. No matter what the cause, a helping hand is always needed. Give your time to something that needs your time! A bunch of pound puppies just happened to be where I have been lending a hand, but you can do anything you please. I do suggest volunteering in an area that you are very passionate about. I love animals and especially dogs and as a kid I always wanted to be a Vet. Maybe I was suppose to help animals in a different way. Maybe my calling was to connect loving families to needy dogs! I have known every dog personally that has came through that pound. I have seen them find loving homes and nothing could be more rewarding. I want to share with you all my very favorite personal story about volunteering. Connie. Connie is a white pit bull. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met! I loved her! She had been at the pound for a very long time. The animal control officer was asking if it was her time to go. I was so heartbroken! I was going to bring her home to live with my pack of dogs but then a email came in from a wonderful person that was interested in Connie. We drove Connie all the way to Denton to meet her new family. As I put her in their back seat she turn around and put her paws on my chest. I knew right then that she knew that I had helped her. I will never ever forget that! Connie is doing great and she could not have found a more perfect home!
I could ramble all night long about my volunteering but I am going to sum it up right here.
There will be happy moments, rewarding times and many other positive things you will experience. You will also experience defeat, sorrow, and other negative aspect but it is all worth it if you can save a few dogs! You never know you might save a few people too!
I leave you with a quote:
"Service to others is the payment you make for your space here on earth."
Mohammed Ali

Here is a little video I made of some of the dogs we have gotten adopted. Remember this is just some of them there are more!

ABOUT ME

Ok this post is gonna be a little different than usual. When somebody ask you about yourself, what do you say? You probably give the usual response of where you live, what you do, and your relationship status. But think about it..... what do you really want people to know about you? We all know where we live, who we are married to and of course our jobs do not define us!
Here is my new answer and I can't wait to see people's faces when I lay all this on them.....

You wanna know me? Here it goes!! I love the smell of my husbands side of the bed after he leaves in the morning for work! I sleep on his side just so it feels like he is still there! I love quotes and things that inspire me. I love the rain, the way a horse smells, and the company of a good dog or two! I love to drive other peoples cars, yes I know this is weird but I just like it! I love when my friends need me, because sometimes I forget what a good long talk with a girlfriend is like! I love hugs from my brother! He gives the best hugs in the world! My Grandparents are the most cherished people in my life right now and I want them to know how much they mean to me. I love going home because I miss farm life so much! I love it when my husband sings "you are my sunshine" to me know matter how bad his voice is! I love a great picture that really makes you look twice! I love when my Dad shows that he is proud of me! I love to here my neices and nephews laugh because it is the sweetest sounds! I love when my Mom gets all gushy over me because it makes me feel like a kid again! I love the look in my sister's eyes when she says she loves me because I can tell how much she means it and she has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen! I love steer shows because it makes me remember how much I miss showing! I love happy people that just bounce through life without a care and I hope to be more like them! I love my friends because without them college would have been boring and I would have never made it over life's most hightest hurdles! I love the smell of new books! I love to look at the stars and the moon. I am a dreamer of all kinds mental and emotional. I know that hugs could save the world! I believe that smiling is the best thing you can do for your body! Music is like a outlet for me, my life is my own soundtrack! I believe that hard work is something you learn and never forget but use forever. I dislike almost every vegetable in the world yet I managed to grow up just fine despite popular belief! I believe that love finds everyone in one way or another. I know that if I had a place for all of them and the money to feed them I would take in every needy animal in the surrounding 10 counties. I love snow although I have not seen very much of it! I believe that I can achieve great things in life and that my true destiny awaits in the distance. I believe road trips feed the souls need to wonder and those who roam always cherish home! That is just a little bit about me, if you wanna know more just ask!

From now on tell the truth! Be defiant against social standards and be you!! YOU is the best you can ever be so you should show everyone who YOU are!

Leaving you with a quote as usual....

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

Chances

Have you ever had a chance or opportunity just fall in your lap? Sometimes someone is looking to just help you out! When such a chance comes to you like a present on Christmas morning you can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. There are wonderful and caring people in this world who truly want the best for everyone. These people make me believe that goodness does overcome credentials. These people also become supporters of your personal strife to succeed, just by believing in you and your capabilities. They don't need to see your GPA or your resume to know that you could do great things if only given the chance or break you really need. So thank you to all the people out there who truly are the stretched out hand to help you get to the top of your mountain. In closing, be optimistic, keep hope alive and just maybe you will get your shot to boost you to your personal greatness! Thank you Brenda!
In keeping with tradition here is my closing quote....
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history -- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience -- laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death."
-Robert Fulghum

Christmas to me.

Hello All!!

I know it has been a very long time since I posted a new post so please forgive my procrastination. So Christmas is coming up! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for that is for sure! Today is my Momma's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMASITA! To catch up I have been really busy working on photos that it has pretty much taken over my life! I have a full time job during the day and a full time job after I get home. Ha Ha! But anyway back to Christmas....
Christmas is my favorite time of year! It isn't about the presents at all for me! I love to be with my family and I mean all of them. Something about being snuggled up on the couch at my parents house that just makes me feel like I never left or grew up! My family is very close so everyone is so happy to see it other even though we don't live far apart.
One of the funniest things is my Dad! I am a huge Daddy's girl! He gets so into finding everyone the perfect gift. He loves it! I swear he listens to what you say all year and stores stuff that you said you want in the back of his head until December. What else is funny is he is pretty tight with money but he seems to let that go when it comes to Christmas! Sorry Dad! But the gift he picks out is always my favorite out of all of them.
My Momma is the most loving and caring person I have ever known and just being around her makes me feel safe and loved like no one else could love me! What is funny is she buys all this food and stocks up on everything we like so it will be there for us. She also gets us all pj's and gives them to us on Christmas Eve, it has kinda became a tradition. That is one of my favorite things, everybody models their new pj's. ha ha!
My sister spoils me to death! She always gives me way too many gifts! She is my best friend and it is so great to get to hang out with her on the holidays. She also gets in the kitchen and starts whippin' up all sorts of stuff like she is Martha Stewart, it makes me laugh because I don't think she cooks much at home but that tells you how much she loves us!!!
My brother, which I adore always wrestles with me or plays around like we did when I lived at home! He is always so much fun and has never acted like he was too cool for me even though he is getting older!
Hayden, oh Hayden! Hayden is my sister's son, my only nephew on my side of my husband and I's family! I have never loved a child so much! I think he kinda likes his Aunt Amber and I will keep brainwashing him until he is 40 that I am his favorite person in the world! His laugh and smile make everything better and I could not imagine life without him!
Last and definitely not least is my husband. He is my true love the one person besides all those listed above that really accepts me for who I am! I am very lucky to have met him and I will think that forever or until he finally gets tired of me!! Ha Ha!
So in closing, love is what Christmas is about for me! The greatest gift I could receive is a couple of days with all of those people listed above! My complete happiness revolves around them and I am very lucky that they all feel the same about me.
So for you, look around the room on Christmas morning before ripping apart those boxes. Look at those people who made you, who love you and who will never ever
leave your heart! They are the true gifts in your life. They might not be shiny, new, have a bow, or be perfect but they are much better than some technical gadget, clothes or whatever it was you ask Santa for this year!

Dreams never forgotten!

Ok this is two days on a row!! I guess I should try to post on my lunch hour more often! This edition of random rambling is about dreams you never forget and finally finding out who you are! Since a kid I can remember wanting to be an Aggie! My Grandpa was an Aggie, my Dad was an Aggie, my Aunt and my cousin. Have you ever had a dream that you just can't let die? This is the one for me! I graduated college from Tarleton State University and I am very proud of that but it is not what I ultimately wanted. I was such a social butterfly in college and all my life and that seemed to get in the way of my school work. I cannot say how much I regret that! I regret wasting time and money but having tons of fun! So do you just let a dream die? Or do you think that maybe just maybe there is a way to finally accomplish something you have wanted so bad for so long? I don't know but a Dream is a Dream and I think it can never be forgotten. I had a "dream" in my sleep last night that I applied to A & M for a second degree and Christopher and I even up and moved there so I could do it! Is this a fluke thing or am I trying to tell myself something? So as I sit here writing this to you while listening to the Fightin Texas Aggie Band CD on my computer at work I sincerely think that I have gone CRAZY! I am old, I already have a college degree, I own a house and have a full time job, what am I thinking? What else is crazy is I wore an Aggie shirt to work today that says "Texas Born, Aggie Proud"! In my eyes I am an Aggie to the bone and I don't need a degree to show it but the dream of being an Aggie is never going to go away! So what do I do? Do I try it again? Momma and Dad if you are reading this do not think I have jumped off the deep in! I can here you both now "WHAT?". But here is the thing I only have one life to live and why not conquer all you can while you can??!! So I don't know what my future hope of being a real Aggie holds but I can say that I am a very different person now than I was in college. I think if I wanted to sincerely do it I know I could but the idea of it is so crazy that everybody would think I was an idiot!!!
In closing.... here is to dreams never forgotten and a will to never give up on your dreams! Gig'em Aggies!!!

“Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.”
-Author Unknown

FINALLY!!!

Hello all! I promise one of these days I will do better at posting on here! Well, I am really excited and feeling accomplished today. So excited in fact that I am posting during my lunch hour from work! For those of you who know me this will be things you already know about me but for others here it goes. I grew up on a farm/ranch in Olney, Texas. I know for a fact that growing up the way I did made me the person I am today and I am so grateful for that. My Dad raises show steers so I have been around cattle my whole life. I have seen it all when it comes to farm life. My parents never sheltered me from the bad parts of farm life either. I have seen death and common events that happen within a small cattle operation. My Dad is such a natural with cattle. I like to think that I got my cow sense from him. I think being good with cattle it something to brag about because you really have to understand them to be able to work with them. My Dad's Dad, my grandpa Clyde was also very good with cattle so it is in my blood. I grew up helping my Dad with everything that related to our little herd. My sister, brother and I all showed steers. My sister, Laura had the highest winning steer that our family raised.... Grand Champion Steer at the Houston Livestock Show in 1986 with a Char named Pancho.
I had pretty good luck as well...I got to walk on the floor of that sacred place to all steer exhibitors "The Astrodome"... not just once but twice! Thanks to my Dad and my hard work. My brother has also seen some purple ribbons and has not done to shabby either with his cattle. So now to the punch line! I am excited today because I recently took some pictures of a bull that my Dad and brother-in-law (and also one more partner) sold. I finally got to take some pictures of something I am very interested in. I was so excited!! My brother-in-law told me today that they were very happy with the pictures and I did a little dance! Ha Ha!
I miss farm life so much!! I hope someday I can move home and buy a little place of my own (and my husbands) and maybe I can carry on what my Dad has done plus my photography!

"I wanted to be a cattle rancher when I was young because that is what I knew and what I loved." -Sandra Day O'Connor

Are you Creative??

Hello All!
So sorry it has been so long since I blogged....life interupts! Anyway, I have been thinking about the word creative. What exactly does it mean? By definition creative is --- originality of thought and expression. But is that really what it means? When researching similar words that compare to "creative" some interesting results come up. Here are some examples.... gifted, original, visionary, inventive, innovative, ingenious, stimulating and productive just to name a few. Ok now that we all have an idea what I am going to say next might sound complicated so don't let me loose ya! I have seen articles and studies saying that you are born creative but I have also seen many articles with ideas that creativity is self taught. In my eyes everyone is creative in some way. Just because they aren't visually creative does not mean that they are not an artist in some way. Therefore the phrase "Born an Artist" belongs to everyone! I feel that you can teach yourself to be creative as well. I think if you work hard and find something you are interested in you will find your inner artist no matter what the outlet may be. So the articles and research I was refering to earlier are both right! Let me give you some examples of people I know that are creative in different ways..... My brother is musically creative because he loves music and that is his passion so he has taught himself to play the guitar, My sister is a graphic designer and that just screams creative-- She taught herself to use the programs and how to use the computer in ways I have no idea how she does it----
So here is the punch line of this rambling! Are you born creative? YES Is creativity self taught? YES So I encourage everyone to find something that you truley enjoy and work hard to make it original, inventive, or innovative and find your nich because when you do you will know it and you will love it!
This quote is at the top of my quote list! I think everyone should live by this and we all could reach our full potential.
Oh and by the way it is a quote from a famous fashion photographer and designer.
"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaganative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary."----- Cecil Beaton