"Should auld acquaintance be forgot..."

In an effort to mark the New Year's festivities, I decided to look back at my writings from January of last year.

I had just visited my favorite historical city and was a week and a half from resuming classes. I dreaded having to begin the necessary internship application process and lamented the fact that there seemed to be no clear direction. I was excited over my bodhran, penny whistle, Elvish ring, and Department 56 additions.

My next writings were marking the passing of my grandmother. "There's an added degree of peace, somehow. One of the best aspects was getting to know my grandmother better through stories and photographs of her life. The other great aspect was hearing of her devotion to the church and relationship with Christ. It makes me want to get more involved with studies again. I also want to keep ties with family. We have always been close, but more and more, I'm beginning to realize how much I want to maintain that in the future." I feel that Grandma still influences me in many ways. She is one of the main reasons I continue writing, photographing, and documenting memorable moments. I feel that efforts to keep close ties with family members has been much more successful this past year, and I'm thankful for every precious second spent with loved ones. The one area that makes me hang my head is having lost the drive I felt for studies. Despite attempts at regular church attendence, I feel like my experiences are a roller coaster of highs and lows. I know where I want to be, and I have such a desire to get there, but I always seem to get bogged down. I suppose I will always be working to get there.

This year, I'm thankful to have completed classes and long-since determined my internship position. I never would have anticipated stepping into the family role so soon, but it is now impossible to imagine life any other way. I'm very excited by the year that lies ahead. Today is a beautiful, damp, unseasonably warm day. It almost seems like Spring, and I feel infected by the niceness. The tire swing across the yard and the lazy drone of an airplane are calling me outdoors. This year, I'm looking forward to much sunshine, fragrant damp mornings, and open windows with limitless possibilities.

A Nation Remembers

Whenever our country loses a former leader, the period of national mourning makes me solemn and reflective. I find myself stopping on news channels to respectfully watch the arrival ceremony of a man I know very little about. A man I have never met. A man whose term in office began and ended before I was a distant thought in my parent's minds. This week, former President Gerald Ford died. Perhaps I should know more from my latest history class, but really, the only information I know about our thirty-eighth president is that he pardoned Nixon and is the only president never sworn into office. I know of his wife's struggles with and contributions to the treatment of substance abuse. As I looked through a slide show of this man's life, however, the most striking thing to me was the normalcy of family moments captured at Camp David. I think it's easy to forget that despite six days of mourning, national recognition, assassination attempts, and world politics, this man and his family are just like you and I.

In breaking news, another nation's leader just met his end in a very different way. There was no national mourning when former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein was executed for war crimes. This man has been in the news for as long as I can remember, and at the risk of seeming cruel and unfeeling, I'm glad it's over.

"...making spirits bright"

Tis the season to be engaged, I suppose. In my latest tally, I know of nine couples who have agreed to tie the knot within the past month or so. Nine! It's strange how things seem to come in waves, but at least these are happy waves.

Speaking of happy waves...David has a cold, so I gave him some children's cold medicine. Apparently it makes him drowsy. He came over, curled up, and laid his head in my lap. He has only been here a few minutes, but I just looked down to see him fast asleep. My lunch is rapidly cooling in the microwave, and I'm in a rather uncomfortable position, but he looks so content that I can't bring myself to move.

My career path is pretty well paved for now, and family life has been established, but I've been considering what else I can do to make sure that I'm content in years to come. I'm referring to the little dreamy things. Perhaps I'll start writing a book that will never come close to a publishing house anywhere but my dreams. Or perhaps I'll begin collecting loose change in a splurge jar. I'm slowly beginning to build a tiny photography portfolio. It may never be used for anything other than personal use, but one never knows. Of course there's always the option of volunteering within the community, and I hope to eventually find a church to become involved in. I just feel that beyond work and the daily grind of living, there needs to be some other purpose.

Always pictures

You knew they were coming! Hehe. Apparently I'm picture crazy, but below are photos of the holiday. Just click the thumbnail to see the entire album.

by alatariel184

Merry Christmas

I was reading articles on MSN and stumbled across one that listed the origin of common holiday traditions. I found it interesting, and in light of the day, wanted to share.

I knew that the Christmas holiday was too raucous for devout Christians during the 1500s, but I didn't realize that the extensive public celebrations persisted into the 1800s. It wasn't until the 1820s that American citizens opted to turn Christmas into a more family-oriented holiday. It was also during this time that the jolly American Santa Claus emerged.

Ancient Egyptians first decorated houses with greenery during winter, and German immigrants introduced our country to Christmas trees.

Saint Nickolas was a real saint who was known for his kindness and generosity, dropping coins down chimneys "to preserve his anonymity and the dignity of his recipients."

Candy canes originated in Germany and were once straight striped sticks. Eventually, they were eventually bent on the end to remind children of a shepherd's staff. This was meant to keep them quiet during church.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

There are always more pictures

Yeah, so webshots is being incredibly annoying and the only way I can post pictures is to link to the larger picture with a smaller thumbnail image. Sorry guys. If you want to see each picture bigger, just click the thumbnail and it should take you to the larger image. I never got around to uploading some of these older ones, so they're in order from oldest to newest, starting in October. Enjoy.

Much-belated Halloween photos of a little train conductor

Checking his pocket watch

From my November Sea Island trip with Mom. The back side of The Cloister.

The interior of The Cloister. This is the reception area, or Colonial Lounge. The more than 600 rugs are hand-woven in Turkey specifically for the resort. The chandeliers are twenty-one feet tall and weigh more than one ton. There were special notes about the stone, tapestries, and ceiling as well, but I don't remember the details. My favorite piece was a table situated on the back wall, located between the two lamps...underneath the framed painting. It was a beautifully ornate table, crafted from some exotic-looking material.

This was my favorite room. The solarium. An interior fountain babbled happily while sun conures chirped in their cages. Morning, afternoon, and evening refreshments were served, and I distinctly felt that I could never be unhappy in a room like this.

Morning view of the palms beside our balcony

Obviously not used to a life of luxury, I took a picture of my crazy fancy room-service breakfast tray.

A signature Brittany shot. I like playing with light and shadows.

Another signature light and shadows shot. Boat dock overlooking the marsh.

Sleepy David, traveling on Thanksgiving Day

Raking leaves the day after Thanksgiving

He was definitely posing for this shot. It was very obvious.

Family-ness. The day after Thanksgiving.

Our first Christmas tree.

Remy in all of his holiday splendor. December 10th, 2006.

They look so angelic when they're sleeping... December 15th, 2006.

For those who have been asking (Lori P ;-)), here's the baby bump. And for those who might not have known, Johnathan and I are expecting a baby girl in March. :-)

Wedding Pictures

Here are the long awaited wedding pictures. There were more than 400, but in order to promote viewer sanity, I narrowed them down to 35. Just click the picture and enjoy!


by alatariel14

Website

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. David's old website was swallowed up by geocities...just logged in one day and it was gone. So! I built a new one when I should have been studying for finals. Hehe. CHECK IT OUT! It has a lot of pictures from birth until now and even has some really fun videos.

Poor Blog

Poor neglected blog. I cut back my posting here because I'm not even sure anyone reads this journal anymore. Most people seem to be more closely affiliated with livejournal, so I mainly update there. This journal was always my favorite as far as layout goes, however. Its original purpose was to serve as a canvas for my dreamy, imagery-laden ramblings rather than mundane updates. Perhaps the silence is merely an indication that I should start dreaming again.

Christmas seems the perfect time for dreams. I have always loved the warm glow of lights, whether it be Christmas lights, home lights, or even candlelight. The amber sparkle seems to capture all that is magical, inviting, and content. Snow flake ornaments are glittering lightly on the tree, and as always, the happy windows of a village house beckon.

GPTV is airing music program after music program in the evenings as part of their pledge drive, and each performance only seems to enhance the niceness of these December nights. Last night featured Andrea Bocelli, and tonight's performances have been Celtic Woman and Chris Botti. I hadn't expected to feel very jazzy after the clear, lilting Irish tunes, but there's something incredibly relaxing about it. A Parisian cafe type of relaxation.