Snow Day!

Hey y'all!

I know it's been forever and day since I've posted anything on my blog, and I'm a bit ashamed. I don't know why it's so hard for me to post to my blog on a regular, but I guess it's because I hadn't really found my niche in blogging... I still can't say that I have, to be honest. But... I'm gonna try.

If you don't follow me on Instagram or subscribe to me on YouTube I'd just like to let you know that my family and I have moved from Southern Louisiana to Northern Tennessee. A drastic move, mainly due to the weather. It actually snows and gets cold here, unlike the few days of the year that it gets cold in Louisiana. Needless to say that my kids (and maybe even myself) have been waiting for snow and we finally got it in what the news called a "Winter Storm". I don't know about the storm part, but we got snow! Here are a few pictures I'd like to share with y'all.

First Carnival Cruise = Best Birthday EVER!

This post is PIC HEAVY... you've been warned.

I've never been the type to go all out or "turn up" as my generation says, for my birthday. Even as a child, birthdays were just that, the day of my birth. I don't remember having too many birthday parties (that I didn't have to share with my brother). Even when I became a teenager, my birthday didn't hold much weight as far as partying. I was lucky enough to get some ice cream and cake and a few birthday wishes. And once I had kids, their birthdays of course overshadowed mine and my husbands, so I never got out of the "no birthday celebration" rut until this year.

Seeing as how God is allowing me to see these birthdays, and people are dying left and right, I decided that I wanted to have a fun birthday, something memorable, while I still could. And what better age to start than at 27 right? Forget 16 , 18  and 21. 27, for me HAD to be memorable. I'd gone so many years without giving a second thought to my birthday, but I figured, God gave me this life, so why not enjoy it while I'm here. I can celebrate my birthday and have good, clean Christian fun, right?

Well, my husband made sure that I was going to have a memorable birthday. He decided to dig deep into his pockets and take me on a seven day cruise! My first cruise ever at that! We went to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel and we had a great time, just he and I. Living on a cruise ship for seven days wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. I was a bit worried that I'd be prone to seasickness, because I'd never been on a boat to know it or not and I'm glad to say that I didn't. I got a little queasy every now and then with all the rocking, after I'd stuff myself into uncomfortability (not a word, but it should be) with all the free food, and lets not forget the free ice cream. But for the most part, I'd feel the ship rocking and rock right along with it. My hubby didn't hold back either, whatever I wanted to do or get, he didn't bat an eyelash. I'm not very materialistic, so I didn't ask for much, but just the thought of knowing he'd be willing to go broke for me and my birthday meant a lot more than coming home with an extra suitcase full of souvenirs.

Our first stop was in Roatan, which is an island right off the coast of Honduras that is actually a part of that country. We'd set up a shore excursion for once we got off the ship to "Discover Roatan" (that's what it was called). We got to ride an island style boat as they showed us some of their shipwrecks (not the best thing to show people who have to get back on a ship and sail into the middle of nowhere, but it was nice to see nonetheless) and other things in their beautiful waters. Then we hopped onto a small bus and were driven around the island, sightseeing and stopping to shop along the way, before we wound up in a village to meet some people from the Garifuna tribe and to watch them sing and dance in their native tongue. It was an enjoyable experience, I felt like I was in Africa. After the song and dance they'd offered us some of their traditional food which was pretty good!

Our second Port of Call was in Belize. This stop was tendered, so we had to get off of the ship five miles away from the shore, onto another boat that would then take us on a fifteen minute ride to land. That was an unpleasant excursion in itself. But once we did reach land, we'd boarded a chartered bus to take us on a two hour ride to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins, which were a sight to see. Afterwards we were taken to a restaurant where they served us their traditional "Sunday Dinner" meal, which consisted of Stewed chicken, beans and rice (with coconut milk) and potato salad. Yum!

The last and final stop was in Cozumel, Mexico. We didn't have an excursion set up for this stop, so we decided to make our own way around the city. We rented, yes rented a car and my husband became our chauffeur. That lasted maybe 30 minutes and we quickly took the car back. Why you ask? Because driving in Cozumel is dangerous! Seriously. If you're not driving fast enough they will attempt to run you off the road and the pedestrians take no caution when crossing the street and will not hesitate to walk out in front of you, no matter how fast you're driving. So, we decided to take the car back and bear with the heat and walk around the shops that were near the ship. It was still a beautiful experience. Oh yeah, and I also learned that ripe coconuts are green, and become brown over time. Who knew? I sure didn't. Don't judge me.

All in all, from the entertainment on the ship, the free food (don't forget, the FREE ICE CREAM too.), the one on one time as well as visiting these three countries and learning about some of their cultures, it was a very memorable experience, and my best birthday to date. Bravo to my husband, and of course bravo to God for making it possible. Now I'm ready for my next cruise!

Photo Journal: Relaxing at Home

Hello loves! As I said before on my iPhone Photo Challenge post, I was searching high and low for a photo challenge that would put my "skills" to the test, and I'm sad to say that I still haven't come across one that has piqued my interest. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been any photo op inspiration.

After getting my kids their breakfast and feeding myself as well, the kiddos ducked off into their own area to play, and I had nothing to do. So, I decided to just go outside and enjoy the fresh air, though I wish there would've been a little breeze. But in Louisiana, summertime means stifling humidity, even in the mornings. I had no intention of taking any pictures, I was sitting back, listening to Donald Lawrence's channel on Pandora and happened to see a beautiful bird land in the tree directly in front of me. So, what would any photographer do? I hopped up, went into the house to retrieve my camera bag and came back out to hurriedly snap a picture. Only the bird was gone. My feelings were a bit hurt, but not for long since the bird obviously likes my yard, it came back, again and again. So I snapped what I could while it would be still and then I noticed a lizard staring at me as well, so took his or her glamour shot as well.

Photo Journal: Welcome to The "Big Easy"

New Orleans… a city rich with culture and beautiful architecture and food that's to die for. Also one of my favorite places to photograph, the French Quarter. There’s always something to see and do, always something going on. Sit back and take a virtual vacation to the “Big Easy”. (Also, these photos are available for purchase HERE.)

Boudin Balls, Thin Fried Catfish, Fried Gator Bites

Through My Lens: iPhone 5 Photo Challenge

Those who know me personally know that I rarely, if ever go anywhere without at least one of my DSLR’s. Being an aspiring photographer, one of them is always within arm’s reach. However, my family and I went out of town for the weekend and when leaving the house I just knew I’d forgotten something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I don’t know how it came to my mind, but it did, I’d forgotten my camera bag that housed not one, but BOTH of my cameras and all of my lenses. I was heartbroken, I suddenly felt naked and vulnerable ( kinda how I feel if I leave the house without earrings or lip gloss…weird, I know…eh) We were too far down the road for me to turn around, so I kept on going, saddened of course. I’d planned on taking photos of my mom and three out of four of her grandkids, plus much more and now those plans were shot!

This was taken before my impromptu challenge, but still one I liked, taken with my iPhone. 

Then it dawned on me. I’d been saying that I was gonna go out into the world and see just how good my iPhone 5 camera was (well, the camera app that I downloaded anyway). I had yet to actually do it, but here I was now, forced to have to do it. Our trip was cut short due to my husband’s unpredictable work schedule (he works in the Gulf) so I didn’t get to take many photos, but I did snap a few while we were there, and I was very pleased with the outcome, even though I did use some photo editing apps to spruce them up a little (ok, maybe a lot on a couple of them, but Oh well). That motivated me to search Google high and low, mostly on the first page of the results (lol) for an iPhone photo challenge. I found some inspiration, but not exactly what I was looking for. But that won’t stop me from creating my own challenge…I’ve been inspired! I hope you have too.