Gratitude...

Butterflies Journal, $7.99 Peter Pauper Press

Yesterday was a weird day, that I'm still trying to make sense of...

Spent the beginning of the day on a plane, coming home from Memphis, where I was working all weekend. (That's another story...)

I came home to several checks for which I've been waiting, which was good, but one of them opened a big can of worms, was for far less than it should have been, and long story short, slapped me across the face with a professional - and personal, because when isn't it? - betrayal. 

I have felt like I've been on the verge of a cold all weekend, probably something I picked up on the plane.

My sister met with a medium at a party over the weekend, and got to speak with my beloved late grandmother, who had all sorts of interesting things to say! It was an experience that was sorely needed by my sister, who is going through a rough time right now. But it made me think of how much fun she would have had at my wedding, were she still with us, and how I wish things were easier for my sister.

Anyway, I'm feeling a little blah, and I hate feeling that way, because what do I really have to feel all that blah about? I have a career I love, a wonderful marriage (to a husband who picked me up at the airport with a grande pumpkin spice latte at the ready!), a healthy family, food on the table and some money in the bank. 

I write in my gratitude journal often - not every day like I want to, but I strive to do it more and more - and I find it to be the single most important way to remind me of how blessed I truly am. On the days that it seems like a struggle to find gratitude, it illuminates those things in life that are truly important - your family. Your friends. Shelter. The ability to breathe. It refocuses my mind on the good, the positives, and spins the negatives into gifts, too.

Try it! Five things for which you are grateful, each entry. See how much more important the "little" things actually become.

Icons - Jackie Kennedy

Came across some lovely pictures of Jackie Kennedy Onassis today...


Such beauty and grace...


But I bet she had a wicked sense of humor under her proper public facade.


Think she knew any good pirate jokes?


I bet she did.

Indigo Peacoat

Oh my holy I love this peacoat so much... This gorgeous piece is actually from Target's Go International line. $59.99! Since I live in Phoenix I have a limited period of time each year to wear coats, so each piece has to really make an impact. I love the deep indigo color and the soft velveteen fabric. It's a stylish alternative the plain black wool coat we all usually turn to in the winter.

Seattle Color

Photo Copyright Bloom Creatives 2008, All Rights Reserved.

I spent a long weekend in Seattle last week, staying in a lovely hotel within walking distance of a lot of wonderful Seattle sights. But having been to the city before and done the tourist thing - Space Needle, Pike's Place Market - and this time being there on business, I preferred to spend my down time on some details. This little garden was outside of my hotel. I loved the long, thin red leaves, which fell from a nearby tree.

Justin Timberlake on SNL

I find Justin Timberlake, the musician, to be mediocre at best. However, Justin Timberlake the comedic actor is hilarious, y'all. He really should give some serious consideration to hanging up that microphone and accepting a cast position on Saturday Night Live.

Last weekend he gave us this gem:

And who can forget holiday fave "Dick in a Box"?

And let's not forget The Barry Gibb Talk Show and Homelessville (a close relation to "Omeletteville", but far funnier).

So wuddaya say, JT? I won't buy your albums, but I'll definitely Tivo you every week.

A Beautiful Day: Ursula Graham Photography

All photos copyright Ursula Graham Photography 2008. All rights reserved.

This wonderful man decided to make an honest woman out of me last month (Wednesday is our one month anniversary!). We wed in Grayton Beach, Florida, right on the Gulf of Mexico. Mother Nature was kind and gifted us with gorgeous weather and what turned out to be the last warm days of the season.

Ursula Graham was our photographer. She came from Pensacola, two hours away, and stayed with us for eight hours - what a trooper! Her prices were incredibly reasonable -- she charged a third of what others of comparable quality in the area charge, for twice as much time.

My father walked me down the aisle -- more specifically, through the sand to the water where my groom awaited.

We made our promises to each other...

And we're married! Our officiant was Alison Hand, who I also highly recommend. Contact me for her info if you're interested in having a non-denominational, meaningful ceremony full of love. She's game for anything -- I put together our entire ceremony and she loved it.

These were our delicious wedding cupcakes. I had every intention of making the cupcakes myself, ha ha ha. All of a sudden it was two days before the wedding and I knew there was no way on Earth cupcakes were going to be made. Publix to the rescue! They are not fancy $5-a-pop cupcakes that some bakeries will charge, but they were absolutely delicious. My new mother-in-law topped them with fruit for us.

My parents live on the Choctawatchee Bay, and have this old swing by the water -- perfect for a bridal portrait.


My new husband and his mother share a moment after the ceremony.

A detail shot of our wedding rings and my bouquet - roses, rononculous and chrysanthemums from Fifty Flowers. I got a ridiculous amount of flowers -- enough to make three large bouquets for me and two bridesmaids, smaller bouquets for my mother and the mother of the groom, and 12 table arrangements -- for $300. I highly recommend this flower vendor!

A fun shot outside of our reception tent! Luckily the cars didn't mind waiting.

And we walked into the sunset, to live our happily ever after.

Change has come to America

On election night, I flew from my home in Phoenix to Seattle, and the flight took place in the midst of polls closing and the first real stats on what was happening on this incredibly historic evening.

I collected my luggage from baggage claim and hopped into the first cab I found, driven by a friendly Sihk man. He was just as excited as I to hear the latest news. He tuned his radio to the first station he could find, just as John McCain was broadcast giving his concession speech.

"What does that mean, 'concession'?" the cab driver asked me.

Through my tears of joy, I explained it to him.

"It means that McCain lost," I explained. "It means we have a new President, and it is Barack Obama."

And the man shrieked like a girl given a new puppy. He grabbed my hand, and I grabbed his back, and this stranger and I shared this historic moment of joy and hope in a cab (A Prius cab, first day on the road, fittingly).

I am a very spiritual person, although not religious. Despite this distinction, tonight, and for my nights to follow, I will remember the Obama family in my prayers (for lack of a better term), that this man continues to have the strength, dignity and fortitude to carry this new dawn of American leadership; for his wife, for the strength she will need to support her husband through the greatest trial of his lifetime; for his daughters, whose father was turned from "Daddy" to "Historical Icon" in the course of what seems to them to be the blink of an eye, but to us took hundreds of years. And finally, for the rest of us, to continue to blow these winds of change across our country, to remember that this fight is not over, that there are still many oppressed not just in other parts of the world, but on our own shores. That our children deserve the same change and progress that we've been blessed with in our lifetimes. That the American dream, despite seeming to have taken a breather, is still alive and well and always will be, but not without fighting for it each and every day.

Welcome back, America. It's so good to see you again.

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."