weebles wobble challenge!!

yes, you read that right!! weebles wobble BUT they don't fall down. and yes, that's ME as a weeble!!!
isn't it fun to play with a weeble? i love to roll them around with my grandkids and what a delight when they always pop right up and sway a bit. makes me smile every time.

so why am i posting a julie king weeble? here's the scoop -- work has been kind of tough lately. many employees are discontent. we continue to struggle with processes and we have way too much re-work. several employees have given notice and are moving on to supposed greener pastures. me, i continue to hang in there. yes, i wobble but i so try to keep a smile on my face and a positive outlook. one day i was thinking about my efforts to be steadfast and strong and i thought of a weeble. plus every day my width seems to be vying to match my height; i just keep getting rounder and rounder. :)  i asked our intern to create me as a weeble in illustrator. and this is what she created. i love it so much! thanks to the very talented paige farwick for this tres cute design!!

so i'm throwing out a challenge to each of you. if you find yourself wobbling a bit, trying to remain steadfast and true or trying to keep your head above the proverbial water, be like a weeble and keep popping back up. and i'd love it if you'd participate in my weeble challenge!! create your own weeble and post it on your blog!! link to me and leave a comment here so we can all come see your adorable weeble!

layers

on my home from work one evening i stopped at an old cemetery. it sits right next to a quaint old church with the classic steeple and stained glass windows. it's the kind of picturesque place you see on old postcards or on a lazy sunday drive in the country. i love cemeteries. you can be alone with your thoughts there and let your imagination run free. i like to imagine what the type of headstone says about the person buried there. and the engraved inscriptions can be quite quaint and sometimes downright odd. but my favorite thing to do at cemeteries is to take photos. on this particular evening the sun's angle was casting such lovely light on the headstones and i happily snapped away. some of the very old stones were weathered and pocked with various shades of yellow to green moss adding extra texture. many of the photos were close-ups of the stones to be used as textured layers on other photos. the 4 flower photos above all have gravestone texture layers added in photoshop. the last photo shows one of the gravestone photos by itself. i just love how the texture layers add so much character and dimension to the flower photos. you can take something bright and shiny and give it an aged patina, making it better than the original. isn't that what life does to us? i can look back over my life and see how each phase and experience shaped me into the person i am today. yes, there are lines and scars and age spots. gray hair and thinning skin show my age. but they also show the character i've developed and the wisdom i'm willing to share. gone is the bright shiny penny and i wouldn't change a thing. not a single thing.

capturing time

i caught 

a fleeting glance

of you

yesterday

as i dallied

in the flower beds

you were scurrying

as always

in a hurry to go

well wherever it is

that you go

you whispered

catch me if you can

i smiled 

my patient smile

and whispered back

i've already caught you

i've learned my lesson

life is about living

savoring

breathing in

letting go

holding on

relishing

loving

living

capturing time

life is good, my friends, and yes i am rested. thanks for all your sweet words and well wishes for my break.

the photos are of the anniversary clock that my parents received as a wedding gift in 1950. i shot these early one morning as the sun streamed into the east bedroom window at my folks' house. it was one of the final days' of my dad's life and they serve as a reminder to me that time is fickle and relentless and easily wasted. a reminder that work is just work but family is to be treasured. a reminder that you only get once chance to do things right. life isn't about the number of breaths we take but the number of times that life takes our breath away. make each moment count.