Go West Youn Man!!! err... Woman!

“Wait, you’re moving?” “Where?” “Why?” “To Teaxas?!!?”

These questions have bombarded me the past month or so as people have begun to find out that I am moving… and not just moving down the road but to an entirely difference state! I realize that it may seem kind of “out of the blue” for many of you to find out, but for those closest to me – It’s not quite the shocker.  J

You all have followed my travels and trips across the years. The travel bug bit me when I was a teenager and it has never left. In fact it keeps drawing me to more travel, especially when I add the photography bent that has blossomed in my life! The fact that I do love travel so much is rather an oxymoron considering I have lived within the same 15 square miles my entire life. My childhood years were spent ten minutes the road in a tiny house with a fabulous backyard and a “taco shell” tree (magnolia tree) in the front. And my teen/twenties were spent just ten minutes down the road in another direction with a huge backyard and wonderful grandparents across the street. My thirties have been in a small apartment 5 minutes one way, or a larger apartment 5 minutes the other way, and currently my ISP is plopped right in the middle of a wonderful pasture with cows, gorgeous sunsets, coyotes in the distance… and a barn house. The bubble of my life is truly small. And yet, the bubble of my passions is vast.

And it is the passion that has grown, slowly but surely over the years, that is calling me west.

To be continued… 

Dreams

One of my friends had this quote as a post back this past spring, and it has resonated with me every since...

"We all have dreams, but they don't mean much if we don't act on them. If we put them in a drawer we label "someday" for when we think we'll have more time."

Time is precious.
Dreams are precious.
You are precious.
I am precious.

Don't wait.
Dream your dreams.
Then live your dreams.

The Sounds of Silence

It is without a doubt, been a horrendously long time since my last blog post. Time passes so quickly these days, although often it feels quite the opposite. Regardless, tonight I was inspired whilst sitting outside, beside my tiny little fire pit, with words that would not end. They flitted through my mental synapses so vividly that it warranted penning them to paper... 

"The Sounds of Silence" may illicit feelings of being an oxymoron, yet there rarely ever is TRUE silence. So what were the sounds that assaulted my senses this evening? The crackle of the wood burning in my fire. Crickets chirping in the fields. An owl singing its morose, rhythmic song in the far distance. Coyotes beginning their cry a little closer than my liking prefers. The jingle sound of my dog pacing anxiously behind me, quite unsure about the whole "fire pit thing." My evening progressed with more of my senses being touched as the smokey smell of the burning wood instantly connected me with numerous other fond memories of my times around a fire pit. The colors of the fire reflected in my eyes, as they danced the night away. The tendrils of rolling fog that swirled above me causing the yellow light of the security pole outside my house to radiate more warm tones. The darkness of the sky above me, any stars hidden from my view by the giant tree whose branches spread above me in a canopy of darkness, under-lit by the fire and yellow tones. The coolness of the October air danced across my skin, causing goosebumps from the chill on one side, whilst the other side of me basked in the warmth of the fire.

These sounds of silence reached into my soul this evening - causing me to embrace the silence, the solitary moments, the alone time. I've learned a lot during my times of silence, and discovered so many parts that contain beauty. It's helped me become strong, confident, and to believe in myself. So, dear sounds of silence, I thank you on this first day of October - a month in 2013 in which I embark on a new path on this journey called life...