Spikes day to Swim

Spike came to us years ago and now he's (or is it she's) a big part of our family. Jake has been taking this fella into our pool for a few years now and he/she just loves it! Here she is on a kick board right before she dove off and had a grand old time in that big ol pool. And, of course, Jake liked it too.

Other than that, the day has been pretty good. I'm up late trying to write. Ugh. I've been asked to lecture again on the 16th and the topic is something I haven't lectured on just yet... so I gotta bust my ass to got that done. Sigh... and I thougt I'd have time to finish my long-overdue column and a book that is begging for a trip to the publisher. Too many words and ideas floating around my head. I'm getting a little stuffy in 'da head and a good purging is in order.

The Graduate part 1

Pics from his party.

Alex and his little cousin Rachel

Lake Hope

Alex's showing off his new body. He lost 70+ pounds over the last year and now he runs for MILES and MILES... he's a health nut who's totally fit.

It was REALLY hot... so some of us sweated, a few of the kids went to the lake, and the youngin's played with squirt guns. Silas was soaked... but at least he was cool. Look at Chrissy's face. She was burning up!

The Graduate (party) part 2

Heather's boys (Austin & Justin) with Jake. Don't they look rotten?

Sweet Amanda flashing her big grin. And I just love her glasses. She's such a bookworm.... and really looks like one in these frames. She's such a peach!

Heather - who's giving me her "Why are we friends??" face because I was teasing her.

Shannan Star, my now-grown foster daughter, who is definitely a star in her own right.

And Shannan's daughter, Shelby. She's been featured on this blog several times. Isn't she beautiful?

More from graduation

I'm waiting to get in photos of him actually graduating. And the pretty girl with the braces is Cassi.

And then he graduates

Alex is a high school graduate.
I now have two children who are high school graduates.
I have another child going into the 8th grade.
Only one toddler remains.

I am both happy and sad.

20 Questions & Answers from Terri Jean

I was sent these 20 questions on-line (you know how these things get around the internet and sometimes you actually want to fill them out??) well, I thought I'd just post the answers here so ya'll can see.


1. Where were you born? ZANESVILLE OHIO

2. What is the last thing you watched on TV? CSI

3. What was your nickname in Junior High School? TOO TALL TERRI

4. What did you want to be when you grew up (when you were 10-12)? AN AUTHOR OR PHOTO JOURNALIST

5. What are you now? AN AUTHOR / PHOTOGRAPHER / COLUMNIST (so I was close)

6. If someone forgot your name, what did they falsely remember your name to be? KELLY

7. What is your favorite a) color b) flower c) moon phase d) drink e) book f) food g) season g) animal h) gemstone

hunter green
daisy
full moon when socializing, new moon when stargazing
tea
whatever book I'm into at the time
chinese
fall
just about anything
turquoise

8. What is the last thing you ate today? A SALAD

9. If you could go anywhere, where would it be? ITALY

10. What is your biggest regret? I ONLY REGRET THINGS I DID NOT SAY, DID NOT DO, DID NOT SPEAK UP FOR, PARTICIPATE IN OR INVESTIGATE MYSELF

11. What is the 1 quality you dislike most about people? NEGATIVITY

12. If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be (right this very moment)? AT HEATHER'S WATCHING A MOVIE... OR THE TWO OF US IN ITALY!!

13. What scares you most? MY KIDS GETTING HURT OR HAVING THEIR FEELINGS CRUSHED

14. If you could go to school for something, what would it be? DOCUMENTARY FILM MAKING

15. What is your biggest professional accomplishment? FINISHING A BOOK AND THEN SELLING IT

16. If you could do anything professionally this year, what would it be? GET MY HEAD ORGANIZED SO I COULD FINISH ALL THE BOOKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY STUCK INSIDE MY BRAIN

17. What TV character are you most compared to (personality wise, not looks)? ROSANNE

18. If you could change the world today, what would you do? PUT GOOD, HONEST, TRUSTWORTHY LEADERS INTO POSITIONS OF POWER AND THEN HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS

19. What do you like best about your culture / hometown? THAT WE'RE SIMPLE FOLK

20. What one task do you hope to accomplish within the next 24 hours? FINISH MY COLUMN


List 20 things about you that most people do not know:
1. I sometimes snort when I laugh
2. My eyes go from green to hazel
3. I've never lost at strip poker
4. I will never wear gold or diamonds
5. I was once thrown off a horse and onto cow poo (the back of my head)
6. I was president of our local Students Against Drunk Driving chapter for 4 years
7. I usually bite my nails
8. I still like to cuddle with my mama
9. I like to drive really fast and would love to race in a race car - just once
10. I did a modified bungee jump and now want to do the real thing
11. I can be a hermit sometimes
12. I consider myself an anti-social social butterfly because I hate to go out, but once out, I have a great time
13. I collect Sex & the City DVD's and watch them when on writing retreats
14. I used to get worms and sell them to my grandpa's bait store for $5 quart for extra pocket money
15. I have no sense of direction
16. I cannot, for the life of me, understand algebra
17. One of my biggest life goals is to finish a movie or TV script
18. I secretly love John Denver
19. My birthday is February 9th
20. I have 3 ferrets, 1 turtle, 3 cats and 1 dog

The big night... Lecturing at OU

Well, here I am at the lecture. I've been so freaked out about it that I almost made myself sick just thinking about it. But, it was great. I had fun and my family was there (they made up a big part of the audience) and I actually had a good time. I have no idea what I was so worried about !

Here's 3 photos. Two are before the lecture when I was goofing off. The other was during the lecture. Can you guess which is which?

Getting ready for the big show

I'm lecturing at Ohio University tonight - "Mama What's an Indian" - and even though I've been practicing it all week (and I know the material inside and out) I'm still nervous! And then, of all things, a sparrow came into my front door and was freaking out (trying to escape through the window) and I thought "Hmm.... maybe that's a bad sign" 'cause I remember some superstitions about birds coming into the house and how they're signs that something bad is going to happen. And it flew in within an hour of me having to leave. So, I had that in the back of my head for most of the night. But, here's a photo of me and my little birdie omen. (Hope it doesn't have the bird flu!) and the other is little Silas on his way to Grandma's for a sleepover.

Scholars at Alexander High School

Alex and I attended a scholarship banquet this evening and he received two of them for college in the fall. He'll be taking culinary arts and hopes to be a chef. I was so very proud of him. I think, when it's all said and done, he should be going to college for free. Yeah!! And the buddies in the photo with him are Kye (on the left) and Aaron on the right. They received scholarships also. They are as smart as they are handsome. The sunset photo is of their mascot, a Spartan, and the other photo is myself and my little Alex.

The sun has come out... finally!

it's so beautiful outside! And I know I'll regret saying this later, but it's hot and it's wonderful here in southern Ohio. We were wearing jackets yesterday and shorts today. Yee Haw! It actually feels like summer!!

A few more pics from this weekend

Just a few odds and ends photos of kids and such. The one with the boys and the hatchet isn't real, of course. They're just being butt-nuggets.

A Day for Mom

Headed out to my hometown - New Lexington, Ohio - to visit my folks today for our own Mother's Day outing. Good time. We haven't been down home in a good while and it was fun to hang out with my parents and my nephew Deakin. It was a beautiful day and I took some cute pics of the kids. Chrissy looked especially beautiful that day. But then again, I think she's always an absolute beauty. The two youngest liked coloring on the sidewalk, but it also entertained the oldest - Miss Chrissy - too. Alex couldn't make it, but Jake brought his friend Shawn - who, oddly enough, looks a lot like Alex did at that age (12-13).

Week's photos... continued

The farm sunset and two buzzard photos are my favorites this week. Actually, the buzzards fascinated me to no end. If I could have climbed a nearby tree to get a better shot, I would have. But they were already looking at me kinda funny... so I opted to just shoot them from the ground.

All dressed up and no where to go

When I was younger, I wanted to be a photo journalist. My plan was to work for Life Magazine and travel to anywhere and everywhere... all over the planet. But my life took a different turn and I ended up taking the mother / wife route instead. And since I believe that I should be at home raising all 4 of my children, I'm not out there chasing my photo journalist dream. But that does not mean I don't still want it. I do... and slowly my life is taking that path. I write, I take photos (here's some from this week) and I still plan to travel and see the planet once I have a few more books published (and practice up on my lecturing). The difference is, now I work for myself (and not Life magazine) and I'd have a whole crew of kids to travel the world with me. How wonderful is that?

And with each airplane that passes over head, and there are countless since I live within the flight plan of many airplanes coming into Columbus, that old travel bug pinches me a little harder. The bites are starting to itch something fierce.

Storms, Silas and Sighs

It's been chilly lately. Raining a lot, which is helping the plants but I'm starting to run out of rainy day activities for poor little Silas. We played a little outside before this storm came in. Then we sat in front of the picture window and watched the rain come in. It was cool. Most of my evenings have been spent working on my exhibit and lecture. It's taking up a lot of my time because it's an illustrated lecture. Wish I could figure out Power Point. I need to work on that because - I'm sure - that would save me a LOT of time.
Sigh... back to work.

Alex's Senior Prom... AKA: The Funk Fest

Alex is home safe and sound following his senior prom. He went stag with some guy friends (as seen here), and said he had a great time. Alex's school is getting more and more conservative with prom rules, and now they HAVE to wear gowns, tux's, high heels, dress shoes, etc. Not wanting to conform - nor should he have to (and I've taught them to fight against such things)... he wanted to design his own outfit. So, he went to some vintage thrift stores, found an old 70's white tux jacket, black pants and gloces, and a vest. He painted the jacket and it turned out really nice. He said he had to pose for a lot of photos when walking into prom, and he thought it was a big hit. But how could it not be? I especially like the faces of himself and his friend that's on his sleeve. Oh, and he did most of this in 1 night.

A Few pics from this week

To see more photos go to http://picsbytj.blogspot.com/

To write or not to write...

I am to lecture May 24th for 2 hours at Ohio University. The title: MAMA WHAT'S AN INDIAN.

Summary: Summary: Exploration of what children see and hear about indigenous people from contemporary media, literature, television, music, toys, advertising, and so forth. Will examine the images, their messages, the inaccuracies of these messages, how children perceive what they see and hear and how if affects indigenous people today, plus how to counter those messages and the truth about Native American people of past and present. Lecture will include: an exhibit and handouts.

And so I have less than 2 weeks to write the lecture (and turn it into a Native Truth column), create the visual aides, try to figure out what's wrong with the mosaic program because I really wanted to take that in (it's about 5 foot high and made of nearly 3000 images), create the handouts and send press releases. And I also need to practice it a few times.

Needless to say, I've been swamped. Ugh!

Upon A Rainy Day

It was so warm for so long, that I forgot what a cold, rainy spring day actually feels like.

It's okay... though I hope the warm sunshine returns soon. I really love going barefoot. ... Si does too. Here's a few shots from our ventures outside.

To see more photos go to http://picsbytj.blogspot.com/

Grandma's Birthday

I am in LOVE with many people. No, I don't love them... I'm madly, passionately and completely in love with them. And it's probably not what you think, either. I'm not just referring to my husband.... I'm talking about my parents, my children, my best friend, my brother, my other "kids" (etc), but also my great grandmother, Dorothy Derr Whitlatch. Yes, I am completely in love with this little old woman - who passed away in 2004. She was so very important to me, so much so, that my heart still aches whenever I think about her and how much I would give up for just one more conversation with her. One more slap on my arm when she's telling a funny story, one more snorting sound she made when laughing, or one more inappropriate comment that totally embarrassed us kids whenever we were in public. She dragged me off to every reunion, to her and grandpa's pond many a'weekend, and even off to Oklahoma when I was 12 years old. That's the day she asked me if I had to pooh - from clear across and airport terminal. And I did.

sigh....

So today is her birthday and I am, as always, thinking of her. And I am still completely and passionately in love with her... and I know she was - and still is - completely in love with me.

Happy Birthday Grandma! Kisses to you... *muah!!*

Not so lazy Monday

Whew! What a day! Busy, busy, busy. Chores, spring cleaning, washin', errands, etc. I'm pooped but I'm not even done. Ugh! But it was a beautiful day though. And these old quilts looked so pretty hanging on the line. Oh! And check out this sunset. It was amazing. Wish you could have seen it.

Two of my favorite blogs...

I thought I'd give a "shout out" to my mom and my best friend and their really nice blogs. Both are into photography (mom taught me, at an early age, how to set up a shot... so she was my one and only teacher) and both have unique styles. Mom is more natural, like my work, and she often illustrates her poetry with her own photos. It's really cool. And Heather takes her photos and turns them into works of art. It's Digital Photography Art and it's really fascinating to see (and sometimes hard to figure out how she did it.) So if you get a chance, pop in and check out their work.

http://heatherscreativephotography.blogspot.com
--- Heather's


http://riverrat.blogstream.com
my mom... plus she has her actual website at

www.sculpturesbyconnetta.com



and even more blogs at:

http://buckeyelady.blogstream.com
http://campconnie.blogstream.com/
ttp://cjean3.photosite.com/
http://ohiosunsets.blogspot.com/
http://riversandcreaks.blogspot.com/
http://papermacheart.blogspot.com/
http://buckeyesculptor.blogspot.com/
http://angelicthings.blogspot.com

Note: my mom also does sculpting work and Heather is also an artist.

Does the early bird always get the worm?

If so... I'm sunk, because I'm more of a night owl. Actually, this robin wasn't much of an early bird either. I took this right before dark.

Photography as Procrastination

Okay... so I'm procrastinating. I really should be writing right now. And I know this. I am completely aware of my procrastination, and yet I continue.

So, this will be it for tonight. After I post this one last entry, I'm going to write something.

Adventures in Picture Taking - part 2

Here's a few more. I LOVE the barn shots.

I try not to tweak the photos too much. I might over or under expose them - and use sepia or black and white - in my software program. But for the most part, I try to keep them as raw as possible.

Adventures in Picture Taking

Heather, myself and Silas ventured out today and went on a "shooting spree" with our cameras. We had a lot of fun... too much, perhaps. We went to this out-of-the-way graveyard in Athens, one I've wanted to see for quite some time, and inside the big, black iron gates were fallen tombstones - some from the early 1800's. One man died in the War of 1812. A female slave was honored for her role as assistant to General Custer's wife. Several stones were no longer legible, some were in pieces (stacked together as best as possible, to somewhat look like a headstone still), and others were nothing more than crumbled stumps of dusty rock. A beautiful angel looked over those who slept there, and my heart went out to those markers with names and ages of beloved children who died far before their time. My little Silas skipped alongside graves of children his own age, having been dead for nearly 2 centuries. And several 'Silas's' lay there, and I smiled because I actually found his name on the headstone of my great-great-great grandfather, Silas Derr. Funny how life carries on..... from Silas to Silas.

Then we drove around town looking for odds and ends. We found a few things, but much more was waiting to be photographed on the outskirts of town. Baby geese, old barns, critters of all sorts, and so forth.

It was a great day.

Saturday Night Sleep Over

Heather slept over last night. My Miss Chrissy Kay too. We had a lot of fun. Chrissy bought me "The Family Stone" (she took me to see it for my birthday in Feb) and we all watched it - and I, of course, cried. Chrissy too. Great movie, by the way, if you haven't seen it. These were taken this morning - before we were fed, coffee'd up, or fully woken up.

Last but not least... more pics from this week

The log in the water reminds me of a monster... so i call the photo "The Water Monster!"

The weird lights are me wiggling my camera around - really fast - and letter the shutter stay open for just a moment. I thought it was neat.

And the pup is my darling baby girl - Maddie Mae. She's sleeping at (on) my feet as I write this.

More...

And even more ... Part B

More photos from this week - part A

And an evening at the park

After the Art Festival, we went to the bike path so the boys could ride around. This was Silas's first time on his bike, at the bike path, and Jake was trying to get the hang of skateboarding (though he has the look down already).
I took a few extra shots, of course. I especially like the sunset.

A Day of Art & Music

Alex was playing drums and exhibiting his work at this year's Spring Arts Festival - at his high school. He played with his friend, Kye, and they were fantastic. (Both are in their own band, but together + friends they call themselves Civilian). Their version of War Pigs was especially good. Here are a few of his pieces - some of which placed in a state competition. (I love the head statue). He's super talented and it was a fun day. And the watercolor painting of the bald guy... that's mine. He gifted it to me.

Me? A Professional Photographer?

Today, I went to Walmart to pick up some copies of my son's senior photos and the folks behind the counter were refusing to give them to me because they thought the pics were professionally taken and I had copied them, thus scamming the photographer and saving some bucks. It took some talkin' to, but I proved that these were my photos.... and I was told by 3 different lab folks that they were professional quality. One gal suggested I take portrait photography as a career. What a compliment! It made my day. Here are the photos they were talking about.... Personally, I think they're pretty darn good. (My favorites are the close up in the brown shirt and the one in the gray hoodie.)

Isn't Alex a doll?

Wednesday ..... hump day

Ugh. And is FEELS like hump day. Been working on Alex's school invitations all day and TRYING to get my latest Native Truth column out. I think I'm trying to do way too much at once. I did take a minute and run outside to smell the honeysuckle that's lining my bank, and then the newly blooming iris. Beautyiful, huh?

Lazy Day Monday

Today was absolutely beautiful, so I got my chores done early and spent most of the day outside with the kids. I did some yardwork, took a few photos, played with Silas (as did Alex - whom Si calls Bubby) and grabbed my camera when taking a break to sit and wait for this particular blue jay to show his face. He did... and here's he is. (PS... I just love the cloud pic)