dec. 31-time together.

i had not intended to do the entire month of december, and the last entry was going to be our lunch on dec. 26-which (major bummmer) was cancelled due to the weather.  i can't think if a better substitute entry than this one. am looking forward to getting better at digital scrapbooking, and will have to make sure i limit myself when it comes to downloads and time spent "playing", i'm hoping my blogger friends will keep me posted on freebies they come across to add to my collection. happy new year!

becoming a mary.

This posting will make sense so bear with me.  First off, the painting (photo credit: here) by velazquez is one of my absolute favorites. I did a paper on this for an art history class, and I had the privilege of seeing it in person at an exhibit a couple years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston-i was giddy with delight. Discussions about this work include the idea of a picture within a picture- modern subjects that have the picture hanging in their home, or is the artist depicting the story in real-time?  Either way I love the story it tells, and the subjects of the painting are Mary and Martha and the visit Jesus made to their house-(Luke 10:38-42).  I’ve always seen myself as a Martha-a doer, and this is something I’ve wrestled with recently as an Elder in our church, and specifically when I’ve stepped into the role of Chairman for our ministry.  While I believe one of my spiritual gifts for service is administration/organizing, etc. what I’ve become both administrator AND the volunteer-gets a bit old after a while.  I also feel that if I put a volunteer need in the bulletin and newsletter, I shouldn’t have to issue a personal invitation as well.  Some may be okay with that, but not me-a bit of a rant, but necessary.  Fortunately there will be a new chairman in March, and I’ve decided that once my term as Elder is over, I’ll be stepping away from any and all leadership roles until Andrew is in college.  I have found some of the things I’ve become involved in have distracted me from worship and spiritual growth.  I’m looking for other ways to serve my church and community and I don’t want to feel guilty about saying “no”.  When Mary suggested doing a Bible study together in 2011, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.  Then suddenly it came to me this morning while I was drying my hair-i’m very serious about this, that I’m being called to be more of a Mary and less of a Martha. God does have an interesting way of speaking to us, and I love having affirmation that I’m heading in the right direction.   The study (and the cleaner plate) is exactly what I need, and I think we’re going to learn a lot from each other.   I also think that God puts people in your life at certain times because we’re not supposed to struggle through life alone.  I feel like a burden has been lifted, and I’m confident that on my road to becoming a Mary- my Mary will be there to share the journey (and continue to let me copy a few things from her too!)-am really looking forward to what 2011 has in store for me.

monday moment.

mary's always one to encourage and inspire, so for 2011 i'm hoping to be more consistent with blogging and more inspired by what's around me. so i'll join mary and beth with 10 for tuesday and i'll see how wordless wednesday works for me (sorry, no links-not working for some reason) . those ideas have lead to one of my own-here's  "monday moment". have enjoyed watching the birds this morning, saw an unusual one that i think was a woodpecker, along with some beautiful blue jays. they "ran" when i got my camera, but a few hung around below the feeder-they're regulars or they just like having their photo taken!. i love that our couch faces this window that faces the backyard where we have the feeder, i so enjoy watching the birds not only for their beauty, but it also reminds me how God takes care of  His creation- meeting our needs and loving us-even i hope to continue to be amazed-

dec. 25.from our house to yours

dec. 24-a few of my favorite things.

another attempt at layering with photoshop. my invest in some digital downloads

dec. 23. lollygagging and a random photo.

i love the term "lollygagging", i heard it often enough when i was a kid, but find it even funnier that pj text'd me that this was the reason why he missed the bus several weeks ago. the kid's hilarious. anyway, my boss very generously let us leave the office at noon today, i knew this the day before, so i had already begun strategizing how i was going to use the time. i "lollygaged with lunch" thanks to a groupon i walked to piola-it was very good-salad caprese and chicken and mushroom pizza with very thin crust-tiramisu to bring home for the boys (along with the rest of the leftovers!)-then i walked back to my office to change for my normal lunch time walk the weather, while chilly was beautiful-blue skies and sunshine. the really great thing about this is i didn't have to rush back and change, in fact, when i was done, i stayed in my comfy yoga pants and jacket to do the rest of the errands for the day which included picking up a book for pj for next semester-how to read literature like a professor-seriously! it was really awesome getting to lollygag for a few hours.  now onto the random photo. since i've been a bit slack on the last 2 days, i needed to make a better effort. on yesterday's walk i saw lots of folks going to the fox for the afternoon matinee of the nutcracker. i absolutely LOVE seeing the nutcracker at the fox, so my plan was to get a photo of the theatre goers, but never thought i see such an adorable sight! a dad and 3 girls dressed alike off to see one of the most spectacular ballets. for many folks this is a holiday tradition, i've been a couple times for christmas and hope to go next year. now for the rest of the evening and until about 3:00 tomorrow afternoon, i plan to do a bit more lollygagging (and knitting!). can't believe tomorrow's christmas eve!

dec 21 & 22. just routine.

no photos for these 2 days, didn't see much that was new or christmas-y. as i've mentioned interior shots are pretty worthless once i get home from work.  the last couple days i've had to run errands after work making it a bit later than usual in attempting to do any photography. as of now, i've gotten caught up with my normal shopping, house cleaning, food shopping, the last of the christmas cards, and yes, christmas shopping. work has been the typical stuff, just fewer people around. i think i'm officially ready for christmas. hopefully over the next 3 days i'll have something to share, ideas are in my head, just need to photograph them. i'm including our girls italian feast on the 26th as part of my dec daily project as that'll be the last holiday celebration-which i'm sooo looking forward to BTW. not much by way of knitting, but i have made some progress on que sera, and i finished my boss' reversible ga tech-virginia tech quilt and vt table runner.  it was well received and i'm very glad to know that it'll be appreciated.  hope everyone who is well on their way to finishing up shopping and celebrations.