Guess Who I Found?

I am at my daughter's home and found an old friend here this morning. I am sure he has been here all along but I just realized this morning who it was in the background when I'm here that seems so familiar. It turns out to be someone who used to live at my house but went missing shortly after all of my children moved out and I became an empty-nester. My former tenant is alive and well, living at my daughter Dee's home in Bossier City and still goes by the moniker Nobody.

Yes, indeed, Nobody is alive and well and is found every time Dee wants to know who left the milk out... or who forgot to empty the dishwasher... or who left the cabinet doors open... or who left the mess on the bathroom counter... or any one of a myriad of questions involving responsibility for one task or another. One, or two or all three girls are quick to let her know that it wasn't them so apparently my old buddy Nobody was responsible for it, right?

You know what? That little sucker hasn't changed a bit!

Unbelievably Proud

I know. I just posted that I try to avoid political posts, but this one is more about my granddaughters taking a stance and expressing their points of view than it is about politics. It is about the character they show by the statements they made that I am proud of.

The first statement was made by my oldest granddaughter, Erin, who just turned 16 a week ago. I think it took guts for her to stand up and make this statement on her MySpace page.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

If you don’t have anything nice to say...
Current mood: annoyed

Alright, look. I'm really tired of hearing about this election.
It's Over. Obama Won.

I'm disappointed about the outcome of the election, but some of yall are being ridiculous. I wasn't an Obama supporter because I don't agree with his view on things like abortion, the economy, and the border control between America and Mexico. It had absolutely NOTHING to do with his race or his religion.

I'm a Christian. I believe very strongly in Jesus Christ and in God's word, and I take what the Bible says to heart. But to all of you out there saying that the world is going to end, the Rapture is going to happen, Obama is the anti-christ... You've obviously never paid attention in Sunday School. You see, God says that we will not be able to predict when the Rapture will happen. We're not gonna see it coming. If you say that the Rapture is coming in the next few years and you know it, you are basically arguing with God's word. Only He knows when the time is right, and it'll take us by complete surprise.

Yes, Obama is different. He's young and he's fairly inexperienced, but who knows? He may do this country some good. We're already screwed at the moment; how much worse could it get? I don't agree with the man's politics but that doesn't mean that I'm going to disrespect the leader of this country. If anything, he needs our support.

Everyone's talking about how horrible he is. He hasn't even taken office yet, so how do you know, exactly? How do YOU know that Obama is so horrible, and that he's going to kill us all and destroy the earth and reveal himself as Satan during the 7 years of Trials & Tribulations? You don't. Most of you are just repeating what you've heard your friends, family, and the TV say anyways. You don't even know enough about McCain or Obama to form your own original opinion on the matter that you're so ignorantly debating. I didn't want him to be president one bit but I'm not going to sit here and bash him, either. Because I don't know what good, or bad, he can do to our country.

I say suck it up. He won, and there's nothing your whining can do to change it. In four years the world will still be here, America will be bored with Mr. Barack, and we can all move on with our lives.

Agree or Disagree. Doesn't bother me one bit.

The post below was made by my granddaughter Emily, who put this on her MySpace site the day before the election. I'm not certain, but I doubt that she will have a career in politics... what a shame... a little more blunt honesty might be just what the political arena needs.

Date: Nov 3, 2008 9:39 PM
Subject: oh my bama
Body: obama isnt even black!!!!!!!!!

my gosh if your gonna tell me im not voting for someone because they're black, make sure they actually ARE.

he's half black..he's also half white!
if a black person said they werent voting for obama, i could say "your racist, your just against him because he's white"

but everyone would think i was crazy.

and why? i dont have a clue.
but he is just as much white as he is black so DROP THE WHOLE RACE ISSUE!

i dont like obama or mccain . mccain is better, but i dont like him. theyll both mess up our country so it doesnt really matter who wins.

so get over it! it doesnt matter who gets elected. america is screwed.

Their political views do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog's management but I can say this, I am definitely proud of them for having the courage to take the high road where character and doing the right thing matters. Oh and that I am a little concerned about Emily's grammar... honors student huh? must be a myspace thing!

AHS Homecoming 2008 - Friday Night

I'm a little upset with myself as I missed getting photos that I would like to have taken, specifically some special poses of Emily, since this was her first homecoming dance. Unfortunately, time was at a premium and we were rushed most of the day. I am glad that I got to share this time with girls, even though it was hectic.

Erin and Nick left Dee's early to go to his parents for photos there and Dee and I got pictures of Dustin and Emily at her home before we left to meet up with Erin and Nick again at a friends house. Several couples met for photos before they all headed out to whatever restaurants they chose to go to before the dance.



Here's Emily and Dustin at Dee's before their first homecoming dance. After seeing them mostly in t-shirts and baggy pants or shorts most of the time, it's a real pleasure to see how well they clean up! Curls and pedicures were the order of the day. Poor Dustin worried so much about the hot pink tie not matching right that he decided to go with the white shirt and black tie to make sure he looked okay. I think when he saw the other guys later on he wanted to change back but it was too late. If he had brought them with him he might have had time to change but we just didn't have time to take him home. He is such a good looking young man, I don't think it matters. Of course when you're 14 or 15, everything matters.


I like this picture of the two girls together. I loved the dresses they chose. Their dad took them shopping to get them and I think they did a great job choosing colors and styles that suited them well.


A group photo of the couples who met at Amy's house before the dance.


The guys checking out the girls...


checking out the guys!


Erin and Nick


Emily and Dustin


and one last photo before they left to go eat before the dance.


Dee had chauffeur duty this year with Emily and Dustin. Sarah and I followed her to Ralph and Kakoo's, a local seafood restaurant, where they chose to eat and met up with another couple. I liked this picture of the two of them walking in together.

Dee, Sarah and I went to eat Mexican food where we waited for them to call and tell us they were ready to go on to the dance. My ex son-in-law Will, picked them up after the dance as the girls were spending the weekend with him. I did get to see them briefly on Saturday as their dad was kind enough to come over to Dee's and change my tire, which had gone flat. Thankfully it happened before I got on the road to drive back home.

I think it is safe to say, they all had a good time and they made me happy by letting me be a part of it all.

AHS Homecoming 2008 - Thursday Night

These photos were taken at the football game Thursday night. School was out for fall break so everything moved up a day this year. I didn't get any pictures of Emily this night. I'm not sure why but I didn't. She chose not to join the band as she wanted to be in the pep squad (or whatever it's currently called), then dropped out of that and plans to rejoin the band next year. I understand that she is quite talented on the clarinet so I hope she does.



This is a picture of Erin sitting in the flute section before the game. She's the one looking back up at me with the please don't embarass me look on her face. She is a sophomore this year and plans to go to LSU and wants to be in the band there. Her new boyfriend is a senior and captain of the drum line. This is the first time I met him. He seems like a really nice young man and they seem well suited.



This is Nick, aka the new boyfriend. We sat near the band, right next to the drum section and were able to watch him perform while we were there. He seems to be quite talented and respected.



This is Dustin. He is Emily's boyfriend. He is so sweet and just like one of the family. He plays the french horn and I got a kick out of watching him perform in the stands as he sat just a row or two above Nick.

The Airline Band is really good and has an outstanding reputation. They performed a show this year called Urban Pulse which was written specifically for them and I loved the music. They move so much on the field that it is almost impossible to follow individuals.

I have a lot more pictures of the band, both in the stands and from their performance on the field during the pre-game show. I may try to post more of those later but just wanted to get some pics of the kids out here for now. I'll put the pictures taken before they left for the homecoming dance on Friday in a separate post.

Fourteen!

I am posting this just a little bit early. Emily's birthday is tomorrow, the 23rd day of March, one day after mine! I adore Emily. She is one of my five favorite granddaughters!

Earlier today, I decided I wanted to do a scrap type page of a picture of Emily and I together from almost 8 years ago. That summer, each of my granddaughters who live in Bossier came over to spend a weekend with me. The memories and pictures from those weekends count among the best in my life. Each one of them came separately, which was and still is a big deal as they were all mama's girls and real homebodies. I tried to do special things with each of them while they were here and let them choose how we spent most of our time together. The pictures were a lot of fun, because I took them while posing with the girls trying to keep the camera still and focused while holding my arm out far enough away to get the shots. The girls took a few shots too.

As I looked through the photos from those weekends, I realized that the memories had started fading for me. It bothers me to feel like I'm losing those times and the older I get, the more I seem to need reminders of what took place at certain times. I'm glad I have those pictures! Those fading memories also gave me the tag line I used on this image.

I love you Emily. I am so glad to have the memories from this long ago weekend with you. There are so many more that I hold dear and I look forward to all those that will come in the future. You truly are a cherished member of my life.

(click on the image to see a larger version)

Happy Birthday to my sweet Emmy!

Bragging

Here's a blurb from the Cope Middle School website about the Math Counts Competition this past weekend in Shreveport. Cope won the Parish-wide competition and my granddaughter, Emily, came in 2nd place individually. They will compete in the regional competition in February.

Congratulations to our MathCounts team for their first place finish at the parish MathCounts competition on Saturday, Dec. 15th. Cope Mathathletes won the Target Round, the Sprint Round, and the Team Round. We also had the top 3 individual scores in the parish. Cal Davis was the top individual scorer in first place; Emily Fisher finished in second place; and Meagan Speck took third! Way to go, Cope students and Mrs. Wall, their MathCounts coach. The students will now participate in the Regional Competition on Feb. 2nd.

Way to go Emily!

More Playing With Paint Shop Pro Effects

These files are of two of my favorite subjects.

The first one is a sketch effect I applied to an old photo of Sarah Grace, who is now 11. She was maybe 4 or 5 in this picture. What a girlie girl she was in her feather boa!




The second one was a little more complicated. It is of Emily and started as a black and white shot that I selectively added color to. I added green to her eyes and a sort of soft reddish pink to her lips and a light brush of the same color to her cheeks. I duplicated layers of her photo, created one with a gradient fill to dramatize the original bw then applied blend modes to get the end result. I really just played around until I got tired of messing with it I was happy with the result then added simple line borders to finish it out.


Either way, I seem to be coming out of my creative doldrums a bit. Maybe I'll eventually get more creative with the entries to this blog!

Emily

Credits

Photo of Emily was 'lifted' from my (former) son-in-law's web site. Thanks Will! I have to confess to having trouble with this picture... she looks far too mature here for a 13 year old, especially a 13 year old who happens to be my granddaughter. But she is too beautiful to not want to show her off. She also happens to be a straight A student throughout her entire scholastic career. She has it all - looks, brains and of course ATTITUDE! She is 13 after all!

Tracey Caudle Allure Kit

Credits for original Word Art (I created my own based on word art in tutorial), curled ribbon and stained tags can be found with the tutorial I based this creation on.

Tutorial by Imaginative Mindz.

A Busy Week

The past week was busy for me. Just catching up after being gone for three weeks was hectic enough. Laundry, cleaning, clearing away the mail that accumulated.

I also missed my son's 33rd birthday while I was gone. I finally got around to making a birthday dinner for him and his favorite yellow cake with chocolate icing on Wednesday night. We had half of it after dinner and I sent the rest of that home with him so I wouldn't be tempted to eat it myself. I took the other half of the cake with me to Dee's on Thursday night and it was pretty much devoured that evening.

Here's a few photos from my time with my kids last week.

John blowing out the candles on his cake... not very fancy, but it was good!

Dee on the phone, talking to her sister Jamie, my other daughter in Florida.

This is Emily, 13, (a good photo of her other than the finger, which would not clone out easily. I could have cropped it out but would lose part of her chin... oh well.)

This is Erin, 14, taken on the front porch swing. She was sitting with her friend Amy, who I cropped out of the photo. It was a nice shot of them both and I will send the original photo to be shared. They will start high school this year... sigh.

and of course, Sarah Grace, almost 11.
I can't believe she is moving to middle school this year... another sigh!

Meet the Fisher Girls

Erin Elizabeth Fisher
14 years old
One word descriptions: smart; beautiful; talented; loyal
She is: an artist; a musician; a writer; a poet; a daughter; a sister; a granddaughter; a niece; a friend; a computer geek; a teenager; a leader; most like her mama

Erin is my first grandchild. She was the first one who brought tears to my eyes because... well, no other reason... just because. By virtue of being first, she changed my path in life. I was no longer content to go down the same road because now I had a granddaughter; someone with whom I could bake cookies; that I could take shopping; that would sing Beatles songs with me, not caring that I couldn’t sing a lick; a precious, perfect baby to hold and love.

One thing I won’t forget: that she sang Blue Bayou to me on the phone when she was only two years old - the whole song.

Emily Virginia Fisher
12 years old
One word descriptions: smart; beautiful; unique; insightful
She is: an equestrian; an animal lover; a straight A student; a daughter; a sister; a granddaughter; a niece; a friend; most like her daddy; a pre-teen only days away from that magic birthday number 13.

Emily came second and my heart melted completely. How I loved my sweet Emmy. What a perfect baby she was; so sweet and loving. Too often, she played second fiddle to her older sister, not because she had to, because she chose to. She often hesitated to step out on her own; afraid to risk; afraid to try but never afraid to love or to offer a part of herself to others.

One thing I won’t forget: Her Tea Party Birthday

Sarah Grace Fisher
10 years old
One word descriptions: smart; beautiful; funny; charming
She is: the baby of the family; a shopper; a daughter; a sister; a granddaughter; a niece; a friend; a mix of her mama and daddy; the easy going one in her family

Sarah loves being the baby in her family and is well suited to the role. She is open to the world but took the longest in growing close to me. I think she may take the longest time in growing apart from me now that we are close. Gosh, I hope so!

One thing I won’t forget: The scratch on her finger after our accident.

It's hard to believe that over 14 years have passed since I became a grandmother. It was never a role I chose. It was not a position I sought but one that I give thanks for every day.

Thank you God, that it came to me in the form of these three Fisher girls and their cousins, Anna and Kayla.