Life is.....

Xavier made this table for me and I have carried it from place to place, refusing to get rid of it. I made J and I breakfast one morning and thought the set up was cute and didn't even realize how awesome it all looked on the table.

Yes, this has Jason written all over it. I love it when he surprises me with some random flowers. Take note of the table they are sitting on. Someone was giving this away at my apartment and I am going to do my first art project using it.

I remember back in college when a dear friend and I were having a Life Is conversation. I used to be the most analytical person I knew. We came up with, Life is like a roller coaster, you have your highs and your lows….

Well, that is what I used to say, but gosh I sure have been on a high for a good while now and am pretty excited about it. I want to take a few moments and make sure I account for all the things that have been taking place in my life right now. I wished I could get the “journal” like entries caught up, so I could do some writing just for fun. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I hear it only goes quicker the older we get. No wonder our clocks go tic toc.

I finally got all my credit card debt paid off. I can’t believe it. I am so proud of myself. I thought the day would never get here. Now, I move on to the next mess to clean up. I wonder if there ever gets to a time you get to stop cleaning up messes. This one is going to take me a bit longer I do believe, but the point is I will get there. Winning the lottery seems like the better option, but guess the side job will do for now.  Side job you say, yes I do have a second gig that I really enjoy doing.  I also applied for a third one as well. Don’t get all excited and conjure up some crazy ideas. It is just babysitting, but boy the things I have learned about myself from just babysitting is an entry all alone. I even got some business cards to pass out. The families that I have given them to just think they are awesome. My friends even said I was creative. I have to be the most uncreative person I know. This compliment could have made me question the truth in the comments, but heck no I had a smile from ear to ear. It was a bit surreal when I realized I was getting paid to watch these sweet children. When I feel like I should be paying them for helping me escape reality a little bit. I am not sure if I will ever have any children of my own, but I fear how scared I may be as a new parent. I find myself obsessing over the baby monitor and going in to take peaks on them very frequent. It is kind of funny. It has just over all been a great eye opening and learning experience for me.

Moving right along, I CUT MY HAIR. It has been two weeks and I am still in shock. At least I donated it for a good cause. I am still using too much shampoo and conditioner. I can’t style it worth crap and I am constantly touching the back of it to make certain there really isn’t any hair there. I know exactly what a pooch feels like when their owner shaves them for the summer. I find myself wanting to hide under a hat. I am glad I got it hacked off. I mean it has been about 8 years. Good for the soul. Now if I can just not mess with the color for awhile I can learn what my real hair color is.

We made our way to the Dallas Arboretum. This would be my first time and I can not believe it has taken me so long to make it to this little piece of heaven on earth. It was more beautiful than I anticipated. We didn’t even get our foot in the garden and I was instantly engulfed with such pleasant aromas. They have In Bloom going on right now since a lot of the flowers are In Bloom, get it? (Awww hahaha) They also have seven whimsically designed castles based on the original classic fairy tales on display. This was pure greatness. There were one or two that we weren't even sure we really knew. Here are just a few pictures of one. Since the Little Mermaid is and will always be my favorite. I was partial to these.
  

There were so many beautiful girls wearing these gorgeous gowns and carrying uniquely made bouquets. I thought we would see more brides, but there was only one and she did not look very happy. We were thinking maybe it was because there was no sun shinning. I thought to myself what a bummer to be so upset and not even enjoy the day. I would rather have some happy memories and pictures in the gloom than disgruntled and anger. I think you got to go with what nature hands you. She is one thing there isn't any point in getting upset with.I may need to think of some other people and situations in my life as being the same as Mother Nature. Great example would be if it rains on your wedding day, just embrace it. Maybe easier said then done.

I think one of my favorite parts was going through the exhibit that has little houses, a church, a school and a tepee. It was explaining how towns were built, migration took place, original farming and the way of life. I think this exhibit is up year round. I could have easily stayed all day. J was probably thankful it was cold; we didn’t wear the most comfy shoes or prep the best we could have. Since it was our first go around we did well enough. We had some delish food, tasty coffees and a boat load of fun taking pictures.  We are looking in to possible getting some Concerts in the Garden tickets. I know we will for sure be back. Shoot maybe even become members. Yeah, I liked it that much.

I had no idea how amazing Wisteria smells. I think I will refer to it as Wonderfully Wisteria!

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get
-Forrest Gump I think I am going to go with this quote for now and leave the roller coaster on standstill. I can use a a medium vs high and lows. Life is beautiful and I am so thankful for mine and YOURS!

Just for fun-Authors Unknown
Life is like photography; we use the negatives to develop
Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish,
but you only spend it once
Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents
determinism; the way you play it is free will 
Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still

Some of my Favorite Photos

This picture was taken in Busan, S. Korea in September of 09.

I have been going through and organizing all my photos on my USB and came across this picture. I love it so much that it inspired me to write this blog and email it to the people that I was on the trip with when I  took it. It only takes a moment to let someone know you are thinking about them. You should never underestimate what the smallest act can mean to someone.

FR:krbsmile-My Fav Pic of the day and it made me think of you guys. Hope all is well. :*)
TO:jgaines98, ct_sigchi
FR:jgaines98-Love it. What good times we had. I think of that trip often!
TO:ct_sigchi, krbsmile

When taking this picture I was trying to grasp the mountain on the back side and the beach I was standing on. I didn't even realize that there was a boy there, looking in the water. I wonder now what is he looking for, maybe a pretty shell or a living creature. Maybe he isn't looking for anything, but is just watching his toes twinkle in the sand while water is rushing over them. Whatever it may be, he is an exact replica of  me and what I do when I first walk up to the water.

I have decided to keep adding to this blog so that I have one place to keep my favorites. I take so many I can easily get lost them and I have learned all to well that time is our enemy. Well, it gets away from us quickly. I have always loved pictures I can't think of a better way to capture memories. I don't have any pictures from my child hood and I am working on trying to get some. I can't wait to see them.

Picking just one picture is going to be hard and good for me. Hard cause I love all pictures and I think each and everyone has something favorite about it. Good because I think it is healthy to challenge yourself with only being allowed to have one.


"A picture is worth a thousand words"

Jason took this picture with some sort of app on his Iphone. I instantly thought this one needs to be framed. This is the view of San Jose, Costa Rice from our hotel room. August of 2011.

My lil Pieces

Another entry for the record books.

Amazing is going to be hard for me to describe in words.

I am going to do my best to try, it went by so fast.  This birthday weekend was part of the surprise I ruined at Valentines Day. Whaaa waaaa…. That is all behind us now. Friday March 4^th I left work at 3:18 sharp. Met J at The “Cottage” it has transitioned from being The “Cave” now to The “Cottage”. I think this has something to do with the fact we have been redecorating it. Anyhow, we packed up and headed out to The Country. My Country, the core of who I am and what had a huge part in making me the person I have become. This is where I spent 18 years of my life and 6 of those years I worked at First Monday. I was kind of excited to bring him in to it, but with a little more style than I had while growing up.

It was a pretty flawless drive, interstate 30, to highway 80 on to freeway 20 and ending on county road 198! Okay, the prefixes for the roads taken aren’t necessarily correct, but I couldn’t resist. We drove down Plum Lake and to our Cabin. It was better than anticipated. It couldn’t have been more perfect. We were both famished, but opted to wait on our scallops and kabobs that we had planned to cook on the grill. So, this was the first order of business. We arrived just before sunset and had to make sure and capture the essence of dusk to dark. Jason took some great pictures.

http://www.plumlake.com/cabin_2.htm

It was time to get the party started. We got some good ole MJ, Pink, Norah Jones and a few others cranked up on the radio, cocktails poured, snack tray out and grill on fire. There was a book that I found as soon as we walked in the cabin that was a journal of people’s experiences in Cabin #2. I wished I would have had enough time to read the whole darn thing, but cherished the stories that I did get to and certainly made a few post myself.  Some of the stories were so sad and I could feel the tears through the words. I found myself wondering how this little piece of heaven couldn’t cure them of the love lost. On a lighter note, we had an amazing dinner, relaxing in the hot tub was beyond amazing, popped open some bubble, most importantly J blew out his birthday candle and hopefully made a fantastic wish. I can’t imagine how much fun this year is going to be since we had just a great one last year. We couldn’t stay up too late; we had a big day ahead of us.

http://www.cantontradedays.com/alphalisting.html

J-Here I can open that for you. Just a lil tug.

J-No, No I can get it. Give me just a second.

J-Shew, see I told you I could get it!

J-Now lets try this out, not bad, not bad at all.

We started with yummy breakfast, gourmet coffees, a sinful morning snack, shared a so so lunch and had a terrible dinner. HA, it just went from great to worse. We were striking out left and right on this day of food. We managed to find humor in it and learned the true pros of sharing meals. Dinner at the winery was an experience to say the least. The wine was awesome and I even purchased three or four bottles. The food on the other hand was, well, I don’t know really how to describe it. I think we will just leave it at that.

http://www.savannahwinerytx.com

It was a long chilly day and we were ready to get back to our cozy cabin. We managed to put in a good seven miles, spend a couple hundred bucks and eat a variety of foods. That makes a day well spent. However, when I think it just can’t get any better it does. Since the cold front swept in that meant we would want a fire. Awe man, I just now realized in this very instant that we didn’t get a picture of the place of fire. Anyhow, the fire was awesome and letting your muscles take a beating from the jets after a strenuous day is something everyone should have the luxury of experiencing on a daily basis, if I do say so myself.

Sunday was upon us and we used the last few hours we had wisely. Sleeping and taking pictures that are here for your viewing pleasure! There really isn’t any coffee in these mugs. You had no idea I was such a creative photo op planner, did you? We were sad to say good-bye and maybe we will be back someday. Per the book it seems as though a lot of people come back to this place. We made our way down to Canton square for some lunch and then to cover as much of the grounds as we could before closing time. On our way home we stopped for some Cajun food and cold beers. It was delish and a great way to end this adventure.

http://www.fatcatzkitchen.com

I had no idea J was focusing on the photo prop!

I know you are thinking wow; she did such a great job at planning him the best birthday weekend ever. (I kid I kid)  Jason made my birthday so special and I had no idea how I could ever “re-pay” him for it. As a child I always felt bad when it was my birthday, because it was at the end of the month and my mom never had money to do anything for it. I felt sad mainly because I didn’t want her to feel bad. In my early years of college I had a realization that birthdays are a joyous occasion. It is the one day a year that is all yours, well and everyone else that shares the same birth date! Regardless it is the day you were born and that should be celebrated. I have been celebrating every since, I think everyone else should as well. Sometimes I look back over my photos and I have 100’s of birthday pictures and I giggle. I laugh at the fact of how many birthday parties I have been to, how terrible I feel for the ones I miss and thankful for the ones that I made happen when they didn’t want to have one. I feel like I did do an okay job on the weekend plans. This was his first time “full” experience of Canton and it made me feel good knowing that something that was such a big part of my youth was also something that he enjoyed.

or so J says!

“Cheers to you, Cheers to me, Friends forever we shall be, If you should ever F*#& me then F you and Cheers to me!”

Green is good

March is making me smile. Something about the spring that awakens my inner self. I think it is because I have so much Irish in me. I know I know everyone is some sort of Irish come around March time. I really am, Google Burkley. Speaking of, have you ever Googled or researched your last name? I did and found some rather interesting things out about Burkley. It is finally getting darker later, so I can enjoy more daylight.  There is nothing more depressing to me than getting off work, going home and it is dark outside. Time change is around the corner.

I am already planning away our summer and getting ready to get moving on the vacation to come. I have become addicted to getting involved in the community and finding all sorts of different things to do. I am so thankful that Jason is a trooper and doesn’t mind going with me. He has even found himself really enjoying some of the things we have done.

I am not sure which event started the trend, but I knew I better start writing about them before they all got ahead of me. Jason signed us for the Dash Down Greenville 5K. I have always wanted to do this, so I got very excited. I started looking at the website and found out that they were also hosting “fun runs” each week to help motivate people to get ready for the March 12th DDG. They have themes that go with the weekly runs as well. I have enjoyed this tremendously. The first few weeks were canceled due to the bad weather.

Our first one was the Red Light Run. Wear red if you are taken, yellow if it is complicated and green if you are single. FREE EVENT

The second week was a Prediction Run. We just had to predict how long it was going to take us to complete our run. I predicted 27 minutes, Jason 28 and our actual time was 28:40. It was funny how wore out we were. We felt like we went so fast. It is hard for me to remember what it was like to run that in 13 minutes back in my cross country days and him in his army time. Youth is such a beautiful thing. FREE EVENT

Third week was Mardi Gras Run. This was great practice for getting us ready to be able to wear stuff while running. Jason wasn’t feeling well, so we didn’t push ourselves. It was kind of nice just enjoying the walk/jog/run. Next week will be the last one and hopefully we can make some good timing. I will be covered in green in head to toe thanks to J’s mom. FREE EVENT

We made our way over to this restaurant called Smoke at The Belmont Hotel on a school night (this is huge for me) for a FREE event they were hosting to get people to vote for a local Chef Tim Byres. Monica and Meredith joined us. We had some great BBQ, Oysters and Potato Salad. Most importantly he won!
FREE EVENT

I read in one of the local magazines about the Dallas Contemporary Art Museum and how Sour Grapes was going to be on display and we could go see it for FREE. I had seen these artist month’s earlier on the news and have wanted to see the graffiti art they do. We had so much fun taking pictures and looking at everything.
FREE EVENT

These Free events are turning out pretty swell. I also found out about Penguin Days at the Dallas Zoo. We could go for 5.00 a piece instead of 15.00. It was crazy crowded and maybe we should have taken as many pictures of the people as we did the animals. They were kind of one in the same. It was beautiful weather and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. More than 1/2 Price Off

We have lots of things added to the list for Spring and Summer. I can’t wait to see and share all of them. Here are just a few!

      The Dallas Arboretum ( I have never been )

      The Dallas Museum of Art (J has a school project)

      Warrior Dash (3.24 hellish miles)

      Texas Theater (My first independent film – TY Groupon)

      Chelsea Handler Comedy show (Verizon Thearter)

Personal Note: The past few months have handed me a lot of heartache and a few hills have now managed to grow in to mountains. I know I am not remotely close to getting to the top, but I do know there are a few more philosophies I have acquired to help me get there.  

As morbid as it may sound I have learned that when people say negative things to me or act out in a manner that causes me to question who I am as a person I say to myself…. How many people will be at their funeral and or wedding compared to mine? If I can clearly see there will be many more at mine than there’s; I instantly flush out any questioning of who I am.

I have learned that it is vital to care less about things that you can’t change. Getting all upset/angry/frustrated is only going to bring you down.

I solely focus on being happy and taking every day to the fullest and the fullest being what I choose it to be. I make sure I am completely okay if it was my last day on this earth and firmly believing that life is too short to not spend it being happy.