The leaves have fallen...

Windy Leaves, originally uploaded by The Brothers Wright.

Off the trees and into my camera! I have taken so many photos as of late it has been great! I have made a vow to not go anywhere without a decent film camera close at hand. This is a recent little craft I was able to put together. It's a continuation of a series my brother and I put together a few years ago. It reminds me of why I love photography so much. It's so easy to get caught up in the chaos of living the dream of doing what you love for a living that sometimes you actually forget to dream? Don't ever forget to dream! Do what you love and if you can get paid along the way, go for it! Just don't forget to keep loving it. Just as in any real love and relationship with someone you have to make time to develop and go deeper more intimately with the person in order to sustain it's life, the passions of the soul are no different. Treat your love like an obligation or chore and the love will die... Quickly! Cherish your love! Live life without measure or regret. And never brew anything without mixing in some serious passion and a little bit of everyday, tender hearted, too gleeful to notice the scoffers, old fashioned joy!

God Bless!

Make Us Clean

I love the colors that come out after the rain... Rich earthy browns and the subtle greens of new life... The yellow rays of new sunlight contrasted by the pale blue unsoiled sky. The rain washes everything away. If only it could wash away those pollutants in our lives that keep us from doing and being the children that God has made us to be. Those things that keep us from doing the things we really ought. The things we love and those things of virtue that generations past used to know... once. Before technologies and entertainment became God. Well I hope this Christmas we all find time to do the things we love and love the things we do. Bless others and share in God's gift of life creativity & life.

Office Games

Adventura

Remember this?

A Puritan Prayer

"I live here as a fish in a vessel of water,
only enough to keep me alive,
but in heaven I shall swim in the ocean.
Here I have little air in me to keep breathing,
but there I shall have sweet and fresh gales;
Here I have a beam of sun to lighten my darkness,
a warm ray to keep me from freezing;
yonder (yes, yonder) I shall live in light and warmth forever.
My natural desires are corrupt and misguided,
and it is thy mercy to destroy them;
My spiritual longings are of thy planting,
and thou wilt water and increase them;
Quicken my hunger and thirst after the realm above.
Here, I can have the world
there I shall have thee in Christ;
Here is a life of longing and prayer,
there is assurance without suspicion,
asking without refusal;
Here are gross comforts, more burden than benefit,
there is joy without sorrow,
comfort without suffering,
love without inconstancy,
rest without weariness.
Give me to know that heaven is all love,
where the eye affects the heart,
and the continual viewing of thy beauty
keeps the soul in continual transports of delight;
Give me to know that heaven is all peace,
where error and pride raise no head
Give me to know that heaven is all joy,
the end of worrying, fasting, praying, mourning, humbling, watching, fearing, repining;
And lead me to it soon."

The Calm after the Storm

Photo by Serra and her trusty cell phone.

Joy

"The earth laughs in flowers."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

-Photo by Brandon

-Plant from God

-flower watered by Serra

close your eyes and remember

I miss being a kid...where anything was possible..really the sky wasn't even the limit. I felt like the world was so big and that i alone could conquer it. I planned on having ten million careers plus traveling every inch of the world. I made the best dirt and stick cities in the world and I collected black fuzzy caterpillars until i had a hundred and then they all died and i sat on my back porch and grieved the loss. I remember when i was five and i had this best friend Christopher who thought it was a good idea to kiss me in my amazing plastic pool one day. I got out immediately and told him he was gross and then he cried..and well that began a whole lot of bad luck...anyway, I had chickens too..only because every time we went to the feed store i had to have a chick. I carried those chickens everywhere...time just disappeared when i was little...i created an entire world of my own and told stories and when i got a little older wrote stories. One time i thought i was going to be a detective so i wrote mystery novels in my journals.when i was little the bigger picture didn't make sense and that was fine..i just went on.during Christmas i would always cry..Christmas eve my mom would sit by the tree and just look at it for hours..it was just the two of us and i just felt so sad for her..for me..in general..when i was 8 i met my one of two cousins Jeremy..loved climbing trees so we did for hours and hours and then played old maid and i won...only time i ever saw him... i loved to learn too starting in kindergarten because i hated preschool and sobbed all day until my mom took me home and said ..forget this..haha but kindergarten was great..i knew how to read already..my mom read stories to me ALL the time and i read to...i learned a billion things and liked my teacher.. I made homeade ice cream and walked around and around the playground with my best friend telling each other all our secrets.. and i was a cheerleader for one day until i found that i wasn't peppy and i preferred other things...then whenever my dad was around i would fall asleep just so he would carry me to bed...I had four huge trees in my backyard that were 4 different worlds...i dug at least 5 feet to prove to my friend that you couldn't dig to China....i wore a tshirt that said 'I live for Saturdays' when all the other girls wore fluffy dresses....i was competitive and adventurous and shy and emotional and smart and selfish and rebellious and had no sense of style...and it was beautiful.

This life we live is beautiful..exquisite really. It's filled with the deepest hurt and the deepest pleasures..times of letting go and times of gaining more than we could ever imagine or dream. Our lives are stories themselves and should be told often. A childlike heart is the key to heaven..don't let it go.

Over The Rhine In My Head

So last night we saw again, me for the fifth time Serra for the second, what I would consider the most significant and influential bands for me personally still here on God's green earth at an extraordinarily intimate venue with some really good friends. The band was Over the Rhine and I would highly recomend anyone who appreciates good music to look them up. Paste magazine named them as one of the top 100 songwriters alive. It was their first ever west coast Christmas tour in their 20 years of performing and we were fortunate enough to see them at special performance at Fuller Seminary. Before their performance they had a question and answer session that I thoroughly enjoyed. The topic was "spirituality and creativity." What really impresses me about them is their accessibility amidst their absolute brilliance. I have never before seen more talented musicians demonstrate their gifts with such sincerity and joy. And the joy that comes from songs of sorrow, pain and regret is inexpressible. I feel as if every time I see them it is a once in a life time opportunity. I am so blessed! And so excited to see them again!

Over the Rhine are the husband and wife duo of Linford Detweiler & Karin Bergquist.

Check them out at OverTheRhine.com

Christmas Creative

Upside Down from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

Honesty

So I looked up the literal definition of awkward today and after all the clumsy, uncomfortable, nervous..blah blah blah I found this jewel: A situation requiring great tact, ingenuity, skill, and discretion. Personally, I enjoy awkwardness..I find it thrilling and most of all challenging. Someone who allows themselves to be awkward, allows themselves to live....

Superhero lovers.....

Photos by uh...US obviously.

Look

If you haven't checked out my list of favorite things...you should..and make sure you visit Girl Meets NYC. She has a wonderful sense of style and a beautiful heart. She writes encouraging words that have moved me many times and I would love to share these words sooooo check it out:)

A snippet of her latest:

"If you want to influence those around you to be more optimistic, be optimistic. If you want to influence those around you to work hard, work hard. If you want to influence those around you to be be more compassionate, be compassionate. If you to influence those around you to be ambitious, be ambitious without doubt."

Inspiration

"A garden. I've stolen a garden. But it may already be dead, I don't know."
"I'll know."
"Promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Promise."
"No one?"
"Not a soul."

"The secret garden is always open now. Open, and awake, and alive. If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden. "

-The Secret Garden

Thankful for the Squirrel

Twas the day of Thanksgiving and I headed, a bit deliriously, up to Big Bear. Every time I head up to those mountains it seems as if my whole life flashes before me and I am continuously stunned at the beauty that I experienced for most of my life living there. (Was it this amazing then?) Driving in thick fog is one of my most favorite pastimes and a gift on my drive. It's just so mysterious. Half the drive was fog filled and even snowy at times. I drove alone.. and for the first time in a long time just let everything sink in. People say that you never are thankful for what you have until it's gone. Well, as cliche as that may be, that is one of the emotions I feel about my mountains. As I reached the top of the mountain I sighed...and then I hit a dang squirrel which sent me into a torrent of negative emotions that I only recovered from when I hit Maple (the street..not a tree) and complained for the 40th time why they put a light there. Anyway, I spent the day with my adopted family which was great as always...played some Redneck Life...drank some good wine..spilled some secrets..and some wine ;)....watched James Bond and munched for days on Kettle Chips and the same dip that we've had every year since I met them...I slept on the most uncomfortable bed on the planet (but amazing at the same time...thanks Aaron)..and I woke up to a graphic poster of some Operation Ivy guy glaring at me...creepy... And after a nice breakfast of "champions" I went for a drive..laughed at the quirks of my small town and then left it behind again smiling as an old friend invited me to go out that night and see all the people who had eventually given up on city life and moved back. As much as the mountains will always make me smile....I have no plans on returning long term...because if I returned it would be taken advantage of again and instead of writing my favorite things I would be listing the top ten reasons why small towns are a chasm impossible to crawl out of. :)

The holidays for me are naturally melancholy & strongly reminiscent. My life has changed immensely over the years and thankfulness has become an overcoming emotion that always lies upon my heart. I'm thankful for the family that even in the most dark moments took me in as there own and love me consistently through my flaws and hurts. I'm thankful that no matter what direction my life has taken, God has been there strong and steadfast. I'm thankful for the little things...the people that make me smile when smiling is the last thing on my mind...the dream that I get to wake up to everyday....the stillness and beauty of nature untouched by man....a child's belief in God....the feeling of the best fuzzy blanket in the world....and so much more than I could never explain..but enough of this sappiness......:)

Social Classes and the Demise of a Once Thriving Society

As I rolled out of my roll out bed this morning (I can't sleep in my bedroom when it's messy..call me crazy...or lazy), I realized hallelujah Jesus. I was off today. FINALLY I wake up to the fluffiest grey clouds in the world and I'M OFF! Being off work for me is a means to celebrate. So, I proceeded to clean the house. Two hours later..the party was still on...still cleaning. Now I don't want y'all to think I'm compulsive in this area...because if you saw my bedroom on a regular basis you would realize that I'm not one of those people. But, alas, I do love the sight and experience of organization and cleanliness...the smell of fresh antibacterialish air. After my cleaning frenzy I succumbed to the computer just in time to inform the world (facebook) that I was off (gotta update that status) and also to peruse some blogs which in the end only made me realize how much I don't contribute to my own blog..but whatever. After all this I decided that the only way to make my day would be to go to Target. Target, my friends is the place you go when you need a lamp for 8 bucks. Lamp in hand, I also grabbed two fluffy white pillows and checked out. Sitting in my car, I suddenly noticed that my hair was greasy. NASTY! In my utter horror, I headed to Walmart in order to feel better about my appearance but only found myself to be more depressed and almost run down by an angry tatooed person. Then, to make matters worse I walked slowly and patiently to the 12 items for less line and BAM..lady in front of me with 1200 items complaining incessantly about people who talk on there cell phones when checking out. Feeling more than a little perturbed, I picked up my phone and sent a few text messages while glaring at her PILE of things. 2 hours later I left with a smart water and a pack of gum and a migraine and the realization that I will never step foot in Walmart again. Now, I am home....ahhh..for only just a moment and then I'm off to see the wizard and some AMAZING graphic design work after I pay $1.95 for gas and reminisce of Thanksgiving holidays past.

Wisdom From a Bearded Russian

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, no one thinks of changing himself."

-Leo Tolstoy

Must Be Politically Active

Last week one of the most morally important propositions for our blue blue state was able to pass due to some major public support from thousands of concerned citizens including yours truly! :) Unfortunately another terribly important Prop slipped through the cracks and was allowed to fail. Prop 4 concerning minors needing to have at least one parent be notified before a doctor could perform an abortion failed. The sad thing is that most of the "liberal" demonstrators I met were in support of that proposition. It seems that it may have failed because of lack of public awareness. Usually when someone doesn't know what a proposition is all about they default to "NO" just to be safe. Prop 4 should have been common sense! But since no one stood up and declared it to be so, it failed. :(

Lesson learned!

shade

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

-Anonymous Greek Proverb

Ode to Monday...

Wisdom From Dick and Jane

“We're all just cavemen, trying to protect our little patch of land. Well now I've got a club, and I'm gonna take what I need”

Support the Little Guys

I am currently saddened watching friends lose their small businesses due to the economic problems at hand. I have long been a supporter of small businesses and creative people who not only bring unique items onto the market but also bring a sense of neighborliness that we don't see too often these days. We live in a society of recovering excessivicity. I may have made up that word. Anyway, at one point (a few months back) we could throw our dollars at stores like Target where we'd walk in to buy shampoo and leave with two dvds, a shirt, another shirt, sunglasses, chips, an amazing scented candle & and 5.00 chapstick from the aisle only to glance back and grab a magazine at the last second before we checked out. We left. We realized..Oh CRAP. Forgot the Shampoo. The focus hasn't been on what we need so much as what we feel we deserve or what we want. We became people of excessive waste. Everytime I grab 8 million paper towels to clean something I remember. I am brainwashed. I don't need a whole roll of paper towels to clean a spot. The past few months we have seen such a sharp downturn in the economy that people have lost homes, retirements, businesses etc. and what's left is brokenness and a sense of helplessness but in turn a return of creativity and trust among neighbors and among business owners..where people need and offer help out of understanding and love. The beauty of "how it used to be..." where people were more important than things and where once upon a time it was a woman's honor to keep the house, cook & make clothing...where men worked hard to take care of their loved ones, where we actually ate the leftovers and where working hard just to make ends meet was the way of life. ..But there was joy...and accomplishment...and love....and family.... So, buy what you need, spend more time with those you love...and support the little guys;)

Lousy Hunter

T-town Farmers Market

Neal's Peppers

muahhahahhaha

5 Ways America can Fight the oncoming Depression

1. Exercise. Just because you're the strongest and best looking country in the world doesn't mean that you don't need exercise! Sure, it's easier to just pay Mexico as a day worker to care of all the hard labor or to send American pennies over to China to make everything you need so that you can afford to hire Mexico in the first place. But what about the satisfaction that comes from making something with your own two hands? If America isn't careful she could let herself wasting away into a deep pit of depression! But, there's still time! Once you get in the exercise habit, it won't take long to notice a difference in your mood. Come on America! You can do it!

2. Nurture yourself with good nutrition. What are you eating America? Put down that twinkie! No more fast food! No more hormones and chemically enhanced foods! Depression can make you not care and overeat or even not eat at all! (No money... No eat) But that will just feed the demon. Even in the midst of depression America needs to make an effort to restore it's physical health through nutrition. Smoking doesn't help either so lets work on those carbon emissions! OK?

3. Identify troubles, but don't dwell on them. Try to identify any situations that have contributed to your depression. When you know what's got you feeling blue and why, talk about it with a caring friend. The UK is a good standby when no one else can stand you anymore. Or you can pen pal with Yugoslavia? If there's no one to tell, pouring your heart out to a journal or blog works just as well. Try some poetry? Once you air out these thoughts and feelings, turn your attention to something positive like nation building or socialized government. Take action to solve problems. Ask for help if you need it. Even though other countries may hate you and try to kick you while your down, in the end they will realize that they really need your consumerism. China will come through!

4. Express yourself! With depression, a country's creativity and sense of fun may seem blocked. By exercising your imagination (painting, drawing, doodling, sewing, writing, dancing, composing music, etc.) you not only get those creative juices flowing, you also loosen up some positive emotions.

5. Look on the bright side kid! Depression affects a nation's thoughts, making everything seem dismal, negative, and hopeless. If depression has you noticing only the negative, make an effort to notice the good things in being a westernized nation. Try to notice one thing, "Hey, I am still the biggest country in the western hemisphere!"; then try to think of one more, "Canada may be smarter and healthier than I am but we still got Alaska sucka!" Consider your strengths, gifts, or blessings. "Let's see... No money to spend... No money to borrow... We're still really good at printing it so who cares! :)" Most of all, don't forget to be patient with yourself. Depression takes time to heal. "You can do it America! Yes you can!" :)

Professionally HOT

So a little know fact about Serra and I is that she and I both actually have backgrounds in modeling designer swimwear. I had a long and tenuous relationship with Speedo and Serra worked on a campaign with Billabong at her peak. What? You don't believe me? Well it's true! And so that you can't call me a liar, here is some proof!

Not so long ago I lived at a place with a pool. One day I though it would be a great idea to do a little photo shoot, you know... for old times sake. Well, my house was in Menifee so the day was hot and the models, well... They were hot too, of course! Please don't be stumbled by my bulging biceps or Serra's seductively beautifully styled hair. I assure you it is all in the lighting. We really are everyday people now, having left our modeling days in the dark past of yesteryear. We like to do normal everyday things in our spare time. Gardening... Shopping... Hanging out with old friends... Not too unlike you. Except our old friends are hot models!

So, though we may night look it on an average day, always remember, you are are dealing with professionals here! When the light is right on the weekends, we are free from the burdens of the everyday working man's toil, prepare yourself for the shock and awe of sheer and utter glorious modeling hotness!

Never trust a Bird to sell you a Burger!

So I went to lunch today with the guys from work planing on splitting a burger and filling up on fries to save money. Well... Of my 3 goals, I can tell you that two were successfully accomplished. I did split a burger. Though it was not the full half a burger I expected to receive, I was glad to contribute to my good friend Kenny Center's developing waist size. Second, I think I ate more seasoned steak fries than I have in the past decade, traditional and garlic! (Side note: Stay away from the garlic fries!) But spending 9 dollars for a third of a tasteless burger and greasy stake fries was not what I would call saving a buck!

The moral of this story? When invited to go to lunch with fellow staff always expect to pay more than you would eating alone, to be gone much longer than is scheduled for a traditional meal break and to always have a story to tell by the end of it all.

Exposed

As I sit here working..translation: watching an idea that I had bouncing back and forth between my staff like a ping pong ball... I feel like a child in the center of one of those games where they keep throwing the ball over you and no matter how hard you try you can't get it even though it was your ball in the first place. Maybe that's how the net feels. Anyway, through this I'm not stressed out or anything..just wondering where I'll be in two months or two weeks according to some.

Feel like doing this....see photo.

-Serra

On a morning like this....

Bob

As I was strolling out to my car this morning, I glanced up and was face to face with the cutest..not that little..bobcat. I happen to love unsuspected wildlife sightings especially when I am feeling a bit on the gloomy side. I was hoping he would start purring and become my new exotic pet but nope...ran away into the hills.

Fairpoint Diary

i can't see my hands in front of my face on a night like this

i just look back on my life and think of all i've missed

i grew up south of here in towns

they tore apart for coal

as if to excavate the darkest secrets of my soul

so it seems

life is just a troubled sea

that we sail for free

don't let me drown

if the rest of the world's goin' down

you've got to breathe your breath in me
everybody's story is more interesting than mine

it took me twenty-some-odd-years to see i'd been born blind
so i just feel my way to you

i try to keep you close

i'm never very good at getting what I need the most
so it seems

life is just a troubled sea

that we sail for free

don't let me drown

if the rest of the world's goin' down

you've got to breathe your breath in me
the darkest part of every night

is just before the dawn

the sun begins to rise

when we admit that we were wrong
so here i stumble home to you

to find the words to use

it seems the voices in my head

i seldom get to choose
so it seems

life is just a troubled sea

that we sail for free

don't let me drown

-Over the Rhine

http://www.overtherhine.com/

Sometimes words are best left to the greats.

My Birthday!

Thank you! I can't wait to open my hordes and hordes of presents!

Brandon

To mine

And by the way,

Happy birthday my love... :)

Love,
Yours

MAC attack....

Some people watch football…I watch the lifestyles and mating habits of animals on none other than Planet Earth…the best show in the world…better because I don’t have TV and barely ever get to see it but when I do I am continuously awed…and by the way, yes..I do want to save the rainforest. I am willing to lie down in a fern and chain myself to a fig tree if that means that contractors will not tear apart our beautiful world.

Now, I’ve always wondered why boy birds get to be so much prettier than girl birds. It makes no sense. You barely see this brownish smudge floating around in the pond (girl duck) and BAM! A purple, red, green, yellow, white, blueish mauve one comes flyin in like he owns the lake. (male duck) The best instance of this that I have seen in a long time is the Bird of Paradise. Notice photo. Boy bird looks like an icon on a mac computer..girl is BROWN. What the heck?! Anyway, Brandon is convinced it is because girls are meant to be modest...and boys are meant to be??.......

Ahhhhhhh........

Hello,

A few weekends ago Brandon and I took off and went to Santa Barbara. It is a great place to go if you want something fun and kind of sort of nearby. I recommend vacation rentals or camping as opposed to staying at a hotel though aaaaand I also recommend being prepared for A MASS SPENDING FRENZY in downtown SB. I escaped this frenzy only due to the fact that I actually prefer farmer's markets/antique stores. The farmer's market in SB is EVERYDAY and has so many organic veggies and people that I almost cried with joy. We stayed in an amazing place about a few houses down from the absolutely beautiful beach and really just relaxed...well I did..as Brandon went on a high fashion photo shoot with some hot seagull. After the SB we headed to Ventura which is a whole different vibe. The stores are interesting..a great antique store that we liked and I found some amazing shoes from an almost hidden shoe store owned by a very sweet lady with wonderful taste. I am extremely picky with my shoes. I rarely like them and when I find a pair I wear them until they die..or till someone glues them back together..shortly before they die. When I find a store with said shoes life just gets a little brighter. Evening time in Ventura was spent with a great friend of ours, Lee Koch, who plays amazing harmonica and also Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies with a little bit of Sally Jaye who I loved live but not so much on CD.... All in all, fun weekend getaway....on to new adventures...

-Serra

Timeless Beauty...

So, I have this constant desire to travel. I should change it to insatiable desire because probably 90 percent of the day at work I spend dreaming up where I'm going to visit next. At least 5 emails that I send to Brandon each day consist of pictures of ...other places. Anyway, this whole economic crisis thing is causing a small uprising of fear in my heart....WHAT IF SOMEDAY I CAN'T TRAVEL?!!! This is a horrible thought..I may have to be satisfied where I am already at. Due to this unfortunate gloom that has rested upon my current "rutty" position, I've decided to research Europe. Why? Because it is extremely expensive and exquisitely beautiful...Always set your standards high. Also, Europe has this strange draw. The history is so fascinating to me..mysterious. The buildings have been constructed by real artists as opposed to people who got their inspiration from a cardboard box. ie: the track home. The architecture is intricate...built over the course of many years. How beautiful time is....
-Serra

Shear Excitement

Serra here,

Well I guess I should probably begin writing on our blog...but inspiration comes quickly and leaves..well..quickly also.. so enjoy. :) My days lately have been spent wedding planning...oh wait..no..... GARDENING:) For some odd and at the same time fairly common reason, gardening calms my heart and makes me happy. After two days of building and filling and planting we have a very cute little herb garden to add to our already flourishing tomato plants and squash and zuchini aaaaand cantelope and red bell peppers. Soon, we hope to have strawberries and lettuce. To my sheer excitement, I discovered that we also have an apple and a pomegranite tree on the property (we have a lot of land..uncharted apparently.) Due to this gardening obsession i have become slightly antisocial (my apologies) but it is becoming a very peaceful and needed season. Back to the wedding planning, it's coming along slowly but surely. What a process! All I would like is to have all our friends and family come and enjoy our home and encourage us into our new life together. Everything else is fun and important but not as important as stepping into a new (not single anymore) life of new challenges and joys. Be prepared all you single people, it is a journey filled with a million different emotions but one that is given from God and tendered by God. For some strange reason, when i'm gardening I realize the care and time that God put into creating this world and creating us and watching us grow and the sadness he must feel watching us run away or watching us give up and die, the anger he must feel towards weeds and bad soil and pests that push his creation away from their beautiful potential. So, stay alive in your walk with Him..enjoy life:) don't let the world get you down:)

Gardening

Bell peppers? Yeah... We got those!

"Come one! Come all!"

Welcome to our blog:) We would love to share just a bit of our life with you ...so don't be silent......