there you go...

a small post. a few thank you's. a small announcement. and a generator.

i don't remember if i posted monday--i think i did. it was a great day. my uti hell was over and i finished cleaning and organizing my scrap/sewing room. (which i moved to my bedroom). then monday afternoon it was all down hill. oh, i tried to keep my positive attitude going but due to forces beyond my control i could not keep it together. i cried, i couldn't sleep, i cried some more. and before you know it i was in a hole i didn't want to crawl out of. frankly--i didn't even know how.

and that's where the thank you's come in. i can honestly say that for the most part of my life, my close familial relationships have been hard, stressful and difficult. they haven't been all horrific--i have had some good, fun moments too. but the scales are outweighed for sure. but one thing i have always had is good friends to help me through. and for me as a woman--those are critical. hell, for all women. especially if you're a stay at home mom i think. you don't get out of the house every day and associate with adults. you're basically at home doing the same thing day in and day out. cleaning, cooking, laundry, more cleaning. more laundry. and even though i love it and wouldn't change it, yeah--it has its frustrating moments.

anyway--as i was going through hell week here, furiously emailing back and forth with kerry, she sent me the link to her blog post. care bears blog post . it made me laugh. it made me cry. it made my day.oh hell--it made my whole week! and i wanted to say thank you to her. and shanna. and erin. and everyone else that helps me. even if they are just sending a funny email cough*coughkaelenecough*cough. so thanks to all my friends. the new, the old. and everyone in between.

so my small announcement is that i have decided to become a photographer. one that takes pictures for other people. for money. i have been trying to decide what i could/should do now that all the kiddoes are in school. and stampin' up was one thing i started. and i love that. i haven't really tackled it head on yet. just a little here and there. and i want to still do that. but that's a business that takes time to build to make any money at it. and with this economy and the housing market and the fact that my husband is a builder; a little extra money would do some good. i have thought about doing this before but doubt and fear crept in and i pushed that thought aside.

and then i was at my cousin's house this week scrapping with his wife brenda, and as i was leaving i noticed their new family pictures. and i knew who had taken them and i told her how beautiful they were. and she said to me "lisa, i've seen your pictures of your girls. they are just as beautiful as this. you could do this if you wanted to." and that little comment started smoldering in me and the flame hasn't burned out yet. i have all the equipment. i would need very little to get this going. all i'm investing is my time. and i remembered a quote at the SU convention. fear is the crusher of dreams. so i thought. hey--what have i got to lose. absolutely nothing. i talked with shanna and my husband and they were very encouraging. so look forward to some new developments, hopefully i can get a website, some business cards and some appointments.

so i lied. this wasn't a small post. and we're off to cali tomorrow to see dave's sister and have a much needed mini vacay for our family. and since i didn't want to wake up dave since he'll be driving, i just grabbed his laptop and the only pic i could upload was one i took of his generator. and dayum, that generator never looked so good. have a great labor day weekend everyone--my mesa ho's scrappin', my hick mississipi and kentucky sisters, my son who started school and is happily awaiting his girlfriends arrival on saturday and brianne and jeff who are off to NEW YORK CITY!!

i love you all...L

and david--i love you the most!