My good friend Tanya and her Jared were married a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful affair, with the ceremony held at Immanuel Baptist Church and reception at the gorgeous Cactus Hotel in downtown San Angelo. It was quite the honor to be a part of the event, and I’m so blessed to have gained several new friends throughout my time spent with Tanya. Thank you to you both for having me, I enjoyed every minute!

Here are some of my favorites from their special day. I would also like to give a big thank you to one of my greatest friends and second shooter, Kim Rollwitz of KR Fotos in San Angelo. If you’re located in the San Angelo area, you couldn’t ask for a better photographer to capture the memories of your life. I love her dearly and admire her so much! Thanks again, Kim!

small town, big weekend | {10 on 10}

Most likely, if you’re reading my blog, you know that I am from Sweetwater, Texas.

Did you know…

Sweetwater is the home of the World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup? If you’re from Sweewater or the surrounding area, you definitely know, and more than likely, you either:

a) look forward to it every year. Absolutely, 100% “Red Solo Cup”, die-hard, party rockin’ weekend marked for the second weekend in March every year on your calendar.

b) specifically plan your vacation during the second weekend in March, because you want absolutely NOTHING to do with those *@#$&% snakes, all the rowdy teens at the carnival, and the weather always stinks on the Roundup weekend anyway, so might as well be on a beach somewhere, right?

My family tends to land somewhere in the middle.

My father-in-law is a Rooster Jaycee (meaning he’s a lifetime member, although I think it’s been quite a few years since his last appearance), so we typically get free or discounted admittance. And let’s face it, who can resist all the FOOD?! Funnel cakes, sausage on a stick, turkey legs, funnel cakes, fried twinkles and other various “you fried WHAT?!” items, and did I mention funnel cakes?!

Well, for those of you who aren’t Sweetwater natives, you’re in for a “treat”. I will say though, I had my uncooperative nearly 5 year old in tote, so these aren’t anywhere near as creative and fun as I would have liked. Nor did I get to peruse the flea market(s). Maybe next year. We’ll see.

Usually, the festivities are kicked off with a parade, but of course, there was rain this weekend, so no parade. It didn’t put a damper on the pageant, though, and I’m so glad, because that’s my favorite part!

This young lady did a glow in the dark dance number, and I LOVED it, and this shot!

Our 2012 Miss Snakecharmer

Then there’s the Friday festivities! Inside the actual Roundup…

Konnor and a friend of ours, Larry, with one of the “nasty snakes!”

Didn’t your momma teach you it’s not nice to stick your tongue out at people? These snakes have been measured and weighed, and are in a big trash barrel waiting to be milked. The venom is harvested for anti venom. From there, the snakes go on to be deheaded, then skinned. They do various things with the meat, ranging from frying it to selling it (from what I understand, it is considered an aphrodisiac in eastern cultures, and I myself have witnessed this being eaten raw by some Asians in attendance). The skins are, of course, sold to various vendors to be used in the making of different things, such as boots, belts, etc. People from around the world come to the Roundup every year. There are also prizes awarded for the longest snake, shortest snake, and the most pounds brought in. I do believe the going rate this year was $10 a lb.

You wouldn’t believe the things some of the vendors sell…and they DO sell…

Waiting for the information booth show to start.

This little hisser is HOT!

This is David Sager, the face of the Sweetwater Jaycees, and my husband’s cousin’s dad. Very, very brave man, but also very, very knowledgeable. Yes, he’s holding that snake in his bare hand.

The BEST hand squeezed lemonade you’ll ever have. Just ask Jar Jar Binks…LOL.

I would have liked to have gotten a few images from the flea market, but again, the 4 year old’s meltdown prevented it, so I’ll leave you with one last image, and a little note. Leave them alone, and they’ll go home, rattling their tails behind them…
Seriously though. Be careful out here in the wild, wild West Texas!

Be sure to jump over to Krista’s 10 on 10 to see what her crew has been up to!

around our house… | {10 on 10}

This month’s 10 on 10, I decided I’d like to share 10 things going on at my house these days. I believe the expression is “my plate is too full”. Ha! While photography is a major part of my life, there are of course many, many other things going on here all the time. My husband swears I have “commitment” issues, because I have 40 projects I’ve started, and only a few I’m still working on (although he will admit, there are MANY that I have finished! Which is the goal, right?). So here’s the skinny on the current happenings in the Womble household.

Dressing Himself – I’m in the process of teaching KonKon to dress himself. We were heading out the door soon, so I interrupted his playtime and snapped this quicky of his dirty little socks as he sat on his feet while attempting to put his pullover jacket on. Such cute socked piggies…

Super Mario Brothers – Right before asking him to put his jacket on. He’s VERY into Mario since Christmas. Hubby bought me Mario for Wii (because I’m a Mario NUT.), and KonKon is following in my footsteps. He LOVES Mario. So the little Toy Story alien on top of the ball? Yeah, that’s one of Bowser’s minions from one of the castles that balances on a ball. My sweet, sweet, creative little guy. I have no idea about the car or the train car though…lol!

Shelf Buddy – I’ve been thinking a lot of my hubby’s grandmother that recently passed lately (she and I were very close – I considered her MY grandmother, and she quite often referred to me as her granddaughter.). This came from her home (as well as several other pieces in my home), and for some reason, it gives me great comfort.

Decisions, Decisions – my new office/studio coming soon but for now…a gazillion choices and decisions!!

Accomplishment – I finally painted this piece (another from Gram), and hung it on our chimney. LOVE my drill-free brick hangers!

Major Headache – Ugh. Not lying. MAJOR headache. I’ve been scraping our front porch for DAYS trying to get the carpet glue off. Apparently, underneath the hideous blue carpet that was on there, at some point, there was green. TWO layers of carpet glue, plus red paint. Awesome. Not.

What to Do?  - this fun little gate is now mine since we got my grandmother one that actually functions. Hmm…will have to consult Pinterest.

New Friends, Meet Old Friends – I’ve never known exactly what to do with this little guy. I know now. He matches perfectly with our new DVD storage chest of drawers that I painted a week or so ago! Yay for new homes and spray paint!

Heavenly Scent – After a month of waiting, and about a month of ridiculousness with the fireplace people, we now have a working fireplace. There’s absolutely NOTHING better than the smell of oak in my beautiful fireplace.

Upcoming Attraction – This is my next furniture project. It will be every bit as funky as the yellow and turquoise/white chevron DVD chest. I call it FunKitfying. Corny, I know.

Now, scoot your booty over and see what Dana Cubbage has in store at her blog, click the  link below! And don’t forget to leave some love while you’re there!

http://www.danacubbagephotography.com/blog/?p=5623

these are a few of my favorite things… | {10 on 10}

So, I missed last month. I was miserably sick with the nasty crud. I had thought I would get to post a late 10 on 10 submission, but as we all know, life happens. Crazy things have been going on, especially over the last week, but even though I’m way late getting this posted, at least it’s posted. My apologies to my 10 on 10 gals for my lagging, I promise to try harder!

This past month, KonKon and I have been busy preparing our new home for Christmas. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year (although my husband doesn’t exactly share my love for the holidays), and I love being able to get out all of the decorations, get all the presents bought or ordered (thank goodness for Amazon), and of course, trying out different recipes before the big day. I haven’t gotten started on that last one just yet, but I have been ordering and decorating! Ha!

So while listening to the Christmas country music station on tv the other night while I edited,  I heard Lori Morgan’s version of “My Favorite Things”. Now, technically, I don’t think this is considered a Christmas song, but if you’ve ever seen the music video, it is very wintery, and I’ve always loved it. It’s well on up the “Christmas music list”. That said, I thought I would share some of my new and old favorite things.
10. My new abstract art with a bunch of spray painted deer antlers.

9. My new ornaments, especially this one. I love it’s retro feel.

8. Cricket, our Elf on the Shelf. Keepin’ my kid in line. Woot woot!

7. My old ornament made from one of my old baby shoes. It was one my dad made into an ornament, and is very dear to my heart.

6. My iPhone. Holy moley does that thing keep me in line.

5. My last professional portrait of my dad. It reminds me of “The Bachelor”. But it was the very last one he had made before the motorcycle accident that took him from my sister and me.

3. Our Scooter boy. Oh my goodness, the joy this little dog brings to our house. Funniest. Dog. Ever.

3. Our Scarlett girl. She’s been so special to us. Such a sweet cuddler.

1. My husband. No, no image here. LOL. He was not home at the time I was taking the pics for this, but I can guarantee, there’s no way he would have happily let me take one. Such a scrooge. But I love him, and he is one of the two greatest things in my life.

1. My biggest love in this world. He stole my heart. Mommy loves you forever, and you’re my favorite!

Don’t forget to complete the circle! Please head on over to Heather Humphreys’ Up A Notch Photo blog and check out what she’s chosen to share! Happy Holidays!

puddles of fun | {10 on 10 project}

Well, first things first…
PRAISE the LORD for the rain. Thank you Heavenly Father for answering our prayers by blessing us with a wonderful 4.5″ of rain. Beautiful, drenching rain.

I also know a few kids that were also incredibly thankful for the rain, and the wonderful puddles it left behind.

This month, I decided to document only the time from this one particular event in our day as opposed to the hourly events. After the scorching hot summer, many of us here in West Texas didn’t dare complain about rain on a Saturday. Weekend plans could wait. While Kon and I ate at Subway for lunch, one of the local paramedics came in to pick up the crew’s order. When mention was made of the relief from fire from all the rain, the firefighter replied, “Yes, it’s wonderful, but now we’re busy with accidents. It seems as though we’ve been without rain for so long that we’ve forgotten how to drive in it!” Yes, folks, it’s been that dry. My father-in-law is the chief of one of our local volunteer fire departments, and I can’t count the number of times he’s been out this past summer fighting wildfires, one that came close to taking his home that his grandfather built.

Yes, we’re very excited about the rain. And we still wouldn’t complain if we got another 4.5″ more.

So before you see these images, I must explain. I do NOT like mud. I do NOT like being wet. And I typically don’t allow my child to play in puddles, because I don’t want him muddy and wet.

However, today was an exception.

Today, no holds were barred. Today, we made a short trip to Roscoe to play in the mud with our friends. Today, I held back my urge to keep my child clean and tidy. Today, we had FUN. We laughed, we played, and most of all, we truly enjoyed one of God’s blessings. And I only got a little dirty.

Special Note: These are by no means my “best work”. Some are slightly out of focus, some the white balance is off. This month was for me. I promise to follow closer to the rules next month.

Be sure to complete the circle of blogs from my fellow 9! Next in line is Pam from

http://www.psquaredstudios.blogspot.com

sheet castle king | {personal}

This past Thursday, Konnor and I decided to fight our boredom. While I was thumbing through my brain for little art projects we could do, I started thinking about things I enjoyed as a kid. Then it hit me. Sheet castles. Draping sheets and blankets and the like across chairs, the couch, tables, etc., then crawling through it and pretending to be the princess (or the king in Kon’s case) of the castle. That’s exactly what we did. What a time we had. Crawling on the floor (although somewhat a little more painful these days than what I remember, ha!) spending time with my sweet baby and our sweet puppy, Scooter – these are the moments that I know I will treasure forever. To remember his sweet, innocent face just as it was this past week, that’s what I want to remember all the days of my life.

my sweet baby | {personal}

Konnor anxiously awaiting the mailman the other day. He looked so sweet, and the light coming through the front door was wonderful, and luckily I’d left my camera on the entryway table. I quickly snapped this shot, one of my new favorites of my sweet baby.

Yes, my baby is in nothing but underwear. That’s just how we roll in this house.