Book Signing and Doctor Who

Book Signing...

Here is my flier for the book signing! I cannot believe it is only one week away!!! At this time next week I will be mingling, and talking about my book! That is unbelievable!!! I am truly blessed!

Hollywood Interview

Excitement...

            Yes, my dear readers, the time has come! I have my first official book signing in two weeks!!! Sunday, June 6 at Borders on 10100 W. McDowell Rd. Avondale, AZ at 2pm. Those of you who have friends in Arizona please let them know!

            I am so excited, and also quite terrified. Maybe a bit overwhelmed as well. I’m also very much amazed at the whole concept. Never in my wildest dreams have I ever actually imagined myself having a book signing. I never even thought I would get published! But here I am, 13 days away from my very own book signing event. Every time I say that, book signing, I get chills. There is so much work to be done in the next two weeks. I want this to be the best experience not only for myself, but also for all my readers. Borders is doing a lot of the press release and advertising, however, I am doing a lot of my own. I’m also planning a few “goodies” for all the people coming out to support me. I really have nothing else to say today. My brain is completely filled with ideas and amazement. James Broughton once said, “Amazement awaits us at every corner.” Well, today I turned a corner. I hope you find one of your own!

Venice Beach Day 2.mov

Looking...

Well, today was another one of those days. You know the day when everything is going so well and then BAAM! Something happens. Now, let me ask you a question and please raise your hand: Have you ever made a mistake? Look at that, I bet there are hands going up all over the world. Now why do you think that is? Why do we make mistakes? Is it because we are programmed for that inevitable, or is it because we have no self control? Controlling oneself may be the part that keeps us from falling, and yet sometimes that is not enough. Don’t we all strive to be better individuals? Don’t we all want to be the perfect person? While God is there to help us find the right path in life, we sometimes simply forget to look to His leading.

            I want to be a better Christian. That’s just it. I don’t ever want to get to busy for God. There are so many different decisions that I must make in my life, and I do not want to make a mistake. I only have one life to live, and I want that life to be spent to live for Him. My best friend told me today, “Get totally lost in God.” Yet, that often seems to be the problem. It’s the getting lost part that we, I, struggle with so much. Our lives seem to be so busy, filled with so much, that we forget to make the time for the One who gave us life. So today I am making a commitment. I am sharing this with everyone because I want you to know how important it is to have Jesus in your life. Through every crazy, stressful, trying time that I have ever had, He’s been there. And I want to give something back. I hope this is an encouragement to all those out there that struggle some days with being who they ought to be. Please remember, as I must do, He’s there to see you through! :)

Apologies…

            Let me start of by saying that I am so sorry for slacking. It has been crazy busy with the trip and wedding, that I have been forgetting to update my blog. As you see I have started to post videos to keep everyone updated as promised. It’s a weird experience for me because I’ve never tried that before but there you go. I had to create a youtube channel in order to post because my blogger wouldn’t allow it for some reason. So I ask everyone to please subscribe to my youtube channel as well. The more networking I do the better.

            Well, as you can see from my videos the trip was a blast! There are still a few to edit and post so keep checking back. Over all it was an amazing trip. We had the opportunity to see all of our friends and have the adventure we planned for. Then, May 17^th was the long awaited wedding. Every time I’m a photographer for a wedding I feel so absolutely privileged to be part of such an event. It still amazes me that these people would allow me to be part of their special day. Some couples I know, and some I don’t. But every time these families just swallow me up and make me part of the whole celebration. As exhausting as it is, I always walk away with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude. I mean, its their wedding day, why would they care if the photographer ate anything that day? Granted, they don’t want the person who supposed to be documenting their day fainting, but its always more than that. I walk away with having more friends. And that is a lesson all in itself. No matter what we do, where we go, we should take the time to care about the people around us. Someone once said, “Friends are stars that make your life sparkle.” Wouldn’t you like to be a “sparkle” in someone else’s life?

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Castle at Ashley Manor

Wedding!

California Road Trip

California Apple Store Fun

Wonderful World of California...

I cannot believe how fast time flies! This is day five of our road trip adventure, final day in California. It has been a blast! I have to say that we have been blessed with such wonderful friends and family. This stay in California would not be possible if not that. They opened up their homes to us and I want to say a public thank you to Mrs. C and family, and Aunt Nadine! What would this world be without friends? I hope that I will never have to find out. Today was our Hollywood trip. The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and the streets werent crowded. Now how often does that happen in Hollywood? We even made our own adventure of hunting for the Hollywood sign (which we found).

We climbed a hill to get a better view and it was worth it! Better pictures are coming along with the video. Once the video's gone through the editing process, I will be posting it on my youtube channel. Please subscribe and enjoy!!!

Greetings from California...

So I've been here for three days and its been a blast! Day one was mostly driving. We started out having troubles with the rental and ipod car system. Once on the road we flew! We stopped on the way at an outlet mall and spent some money there. I have to say I'm completely in love with road trips! Especially the ones you take with your best friend. :) I have started taping daily blogs from this trip and I will be posting those after some editing. The videos are something new for me so we'll see how well that's going to work. I'll be posting a link to my youtube channel once its up and running.
Day two was Venice Beach. We drove out there and spent the day walking around. I love being outside. Often we forget that there is a whole world out there. Just walking down the beach, feeling the sun against my skin with the smell of the ocean all around, was the best kind of therapy you can get sometimes. With life spinning around us in full disarray, little things become huge, but when we take a moment to appreciate the beauty around us, the world makes sense again. I challenge you to take the time to appreciate the beauty.

Music for My Soul

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful day. I did! My best friend is home and tomorrow we are taking our first ever road trip together. Yes, I know we’re a bit of late bloomers but this is the first opportunity we have and we’re taking it. I’ll try and keep this blog going as we’re on the road for a week.

            Now that you’ve been updated on my goings let’s talk about something else. It’s actually pretty funny as I never know what I am going to say when I start these things. I tend to just type. Sometimes it’s the best.

            Quite often people ask me, “Why do you write?” and I tend to answer, “Why do you breath?” “Well, I have too of course.” “Well, so do I.” To me writing is like breathing. It comes out automatically because it is vital for my survival. Maybe that’s going a bit overboard, but in the end that is how I feel. I don’t know what I would do without writing. It is the outlet for my crazy thoughts. It is the music that puts my soul to rest. It is the greatest gift God has given me. Sure I’m a singer, photographer, and an artist. But no matter how many weddings I do, or how much that’s a part of me, I still come back and write about it. I miss my photography sessions. I can’t wait till May 17^th and the wedding of my new friends! I get to be a part of that and do their pictures in this beautiful castle like place (www.valialindphotography.com if you’re interested). Yet, even at the end of all those days, I write. John Jakes once said,"Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish." At the end of the day, that’s what I do.

High sounding words...

Did you know that today was Teacher Appreciation Day? Neither did I until this morning. Do you know how I found out? My manager brought me a red rose even thought I’m not teaching at the moment! How amazingly sweet is that? People really do amaze me sometimes.
Today is also 170th birthday of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Shout out to my Russian heritage! Brilliant man with a lot of problems.
So, surprisingly I have nothing to say tonight. In letter to John Adams (1774) Abigail Adams said, “We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond them.” I will leave you with a thought, or two. Remember, actions speak louder than words. Even though we need words, we need actions just the same. Have a wonderful weekend and make somebody else’s day brighter!

 And this is my beautiful flower on the table in the break room! Wouldn't that make you smile at 7 am? :)

Happiness is a choice...

It’s been four days since I last posted and I sincerely apologize for that. As you may recall I was having computer troubles. It seems to be fixed for now, but with all of these viruses surfing the vast unknowns of the internet, I will never know.
Before I forget, I have a book signing coming up! I am so excited! This is my first official one. It will be held at Borders in Avondale, AZ. The day and time will be determined in a few days and I will be posting that as well. But I have to say I’m pretty nervous about that. It’s a big deal, a big step, and sometimes I’m terrified. However, I do have an amazing support system, and you my dear readers, are part of that. I wholeheartedly thank you!
Friendships are so important in our lives. I don’t think I’ve ever met an individual who was ecstatic about being alone. We thrive on the people around us. You know that feeling, when everything seems to be falling apart, and a friend walks over and just puts their arms around you and smiles? No matter what’s going on in our lives, that little gesture makes it better, if only for a moment. Those special moments are what makes are lives beautiful. Yet, what we receive, we must give back. Everyone needs a friend at some point in their lives. Wouldn’t it be an amazing accomplishment to be that friend? I was on a receiving end of that kindness just yesterday. A few very special coworkers took it upon themselves to donate a few dollars for my trip. The money was given with a smile and a kind word, and that was as appreciated as the money itself. When are we going to stop worrying about things that really do not matter? When are we going to stop and be an encouragement to someone? A friend? A sweet hug? A smile? We all live in this world together, so why not take the time and share the kindness with our “family”? I’m not saying we should all sit around, hold hands and sing. But I am saying that there are people in our lives that we take for granted every day, and its about time we stop and tell our best friend, our family member, our coworker that we are thankful to have them in our lives! Take the time to share a smile with the people around you, you will never be sorry. Someone once said, “Happiness is a choice we make every morning – a promise to ourselves, sworn on a waking smile.” I encourage you to share that with your loved ones today.

Unrecognized gift...

So my computer is on a weird frenzy. Nothing was working so I shut it off. This blog is officially written and posted via my iPod. I knew this would come in handy. 
Today was a good day! Busy, tiring, frustrating, but good. The reason being simply that I was here to enjoy it. Sometimes we forget the fact that every day is a gift from above. No matter how trying or difficult the day is, we are given it as a gift. One of my favorite songs begins with "My best friend gave me the best advice. He said each day's a gift and not a given right." If we would only remember that, we would smile more often. And we all know how I feel about smiling :)
It is unbelievable how fast time really flies. It seems yesterday my countdown was at 50 days and now I'm down to 7! Proves my point exactly. If you were gone tomorrow an you looked back over today, was this day worth it? Did you touch anyones life today? Did you make a difference? If today was the only day you couldve given someone, would they remember you? Even in the darkest moments of our lives, we can be a shining light in somebody elses! To quote someone wise, "When a kind heart comes smiling, an angel is never far behind." May you be somebodys angel tomorrow.