Fish Out of Water

Here's "Licking" at You

Just my sweet kitties in a reflective mood after the rain yesterday.

World Famous Photographer Now Shooting in Exotic Locations

As you can see, I've just been on a whirlwind shooting spree today on Grand Cayman. Lucky for you that I could take a few minutes from my busy shooting schedule to post up a sneak peak before these shots get snapped up at $20,000 apiece by some famous glamourous magazine. Awww, shucks!! I can at least dream a little, eh???? So if you want to try your hand at being a hot-shot photog, too, check out this website: www.directdaniella.com

Hog Heaven

Truffle Pigs Jigsaw Puzzle

Today I wallowed in pure Belgian dark chocolate truffle heaven . . . and finished the Special Olympics Basketball slideshow.

The Lady Panthers' Finale

Yellow Feet Jigsaw Puzzle

Today the Lady Panthers ended their perfect first season: 0 for ? It's a shame that the scores don't tell the whole story. These little girls played the entire season right up to the last minute with so much heart, courage, and enthusiasm. I am so proud of them!!
Here's the slideshow.

And here's some action:



What team can do without some really cute cheerleaders???

Whacky Fun

We had fun with boomwhackers at rehearsal today, and that reminded me of this picture of some "whacked-out" boomwhackers.

Short Pump Garage

In Style

Remembering the Good Old Days

Lilless, Amber, and I spent today in Blacksburg visiting our Aunt Mary. Lilless conducted a 2 hour long taped interview of Aunt Mary sharing her memories and insights of her family history. At 92, she is the lone survivor of that generation of Pendletons, and indeed, the crown jewel of the family treasures.

So, here I am trying to think of something sage (and short) to sum up my thoughts, but this picture that I found on the "Because I Said So!" blog is the only thing that comes to mind:


Dawn and her sister were not the only two little girls masquerading around as boys in dresses:
Charming little women, eh????

Now here's a REAL boy;
Twin Shooters Jigsaw Puzzle

Sing it, Brother!

I'm Blessed . . . I'm Blessed!!!

Oh My Heavens!!! I've received so much love today!! Here's just a sample:




Check this out: Raspberry wine made by one of my ringers paired with my favorite chocolates straight from Germany (thanks, Amber!). How freakin' awesome is that!!

Isn't that just the sweetest little poem from a 6 year old?!?!?


Yes, Briana, I DO know how hard it is to write a thank-you note!! It means the world to me that I have been able to touch your life in even a small way.
So, yeah, right now I'm having some difficulty trying to say thank you in a way that fully embodies all the gratitude in my heart. I pray that each of you have had a special touch of love this Valentine's Day.

Your puzzle today is another hand-crafted gift to me from Audrey, who is a ballerina in her other life.

Basketball Preview

Here's the first half of the basketball tournament. Special Olympics Basketball at Virginia Tech Just a foretaste of things to come.

Sparkle and Shine

No time today to sit and edit 735 pictures from the basketball tournament, so just have some fun with this puzzle!

Brittany's All-Star Day

What a thrilling day of basketball for our Special Olympics athletes!! The Cavaliers lost their first game, literally at the last second, as the Tigers broke a tied game scoring at the whistle-blow; and they tied their second game. The All-Stars didn't fair quite as well, but they played valiantly against some really tough teams. As you can see, Brittany had her shining moment in the limelight carrying the torch in the opening ceremonies.

Touch the Sound

Tonight I had the profound experience of seeing, hearing, and feeling Evelyn Glennie, world-renowned solo percussionist, perform with the Winston-Salem Symphony. Evelyn Glennie is deaf. I am inspired by her phenomenal success in adapting to her handicap; geeezzz . . .what handicap?!?!?! And I am challenged to be more passionate in my musical and artistic endeavors, and to think outside of the box about how I use my senses. SO, if you'd like to know a little more about Dame Evelyn Glennie, you can check out her website here or listen to her inspiring speech, "How to Listen to Music With Your Whole Body."

Just a Puzzle Tonight

Girl Powered

This is one of my all time favorite shots of one of my all-time favorite daughters. She surprised us last night with the delightful news that she is in Blacksburg (quite a bit closer than her home in Germany!) and will be coming to Agape's big basketball tournament this Sunday.

Cathedral Rock

A flashback to our Great "Out West" Vacation in Sedona. This is the Cathedral Rock as seen from the Red Rocks State Park at sunset.

Lady Panthers on the Prowl

Lady Panther Jigsaw Puzzle

Meet my other favorite basketball team: The Lady Panthers! They play in a homeschool girl's league. Who says Homeschoolers don't get to socialize and play sports??

Camera-less in DC

It's sad but true: I spent all last weekend in Washington DC (including a whole day of bus touring!) with the foreign exchange students, and this is the only photo I have to show. Friday, the day of our whirlwind bus tour, was a dreadful, rainy day; not at all worth risking damaging my gear for the sake of souvenir shots. So I carried my digicam, instead. After I took this shot, it gave me the blue screen of death. And I thought only PC's could do that!

Window Art