Sam's I Am

I Heart Christmas!!

2011-12-20T06:54:00.004-05:00

Holiday bokeh I Heart Faces submission.

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Yes, I am still alive!

2011-07-20T11:01:00.007-04:00

Well, hello blog readers. If you are reading this, you truly are a loyal blog reader since I have not updated this blog since November. In any case, thanks for sticking around and I appreciate you sticking with me!!

There have been quite a few developments with me of late. First of all, I would like to announce that I opened an Etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ktart569?ref=si_shop

Secondly, I have recently become a grandma!! Yay!! My sweet granddaughter, Destiny, was born on June 10. I just got back from visiting her for the first time and got in lots of spoiling! Here she is!!

The last bit of good news I have to share is that in a few weeks (August 5 to be exact) my son will be getting married! I am so excited for him. He will be coming home from Korea next week and then after they are married, him and his wife will be stationed in Colorado which is where my dad and brother are. Just got back from visiting them and forgot how much I love that state. Here are a few shots I got while I was back home.

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment if you feel so inclined!

I Heart Faces - Fall

2010-11-01T10:42:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about fall are the beautiful colors that we get to see. My family

recently visited the mountains of North Carolina and the colors were at their peak! This was

taken at one of the many pull-over-to-the-side-of-the-road-for-a-photo stops on the

Blue Ridge Parkway. Gorgeous variety of colors!!

When a baby laughs for the first time....

2010-10-29T14:21:00.002-04:00

.....a fairy is born!

Texture

2010-10-28T13:21:00.002-04:00

Been experimenting with textures today. =) FUN STUFF!!

I Heart PINK!!

2010-10-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

This week's I Heart Faces challenge is pink in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness month. I thought I'd enter this photo because I just love the location and my beautiful model Josyln (who is only 13 by the way!); and I just love that crotcheted hat!! I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my boss, Marla Osborne, who is currently in the battle. She was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer earlier this year, right after her 50th birthday. It is an uncommon, very aggressive type. She is a strong, courageous fighter and has valiantly underwent her first set of chemo treatments and is currently undergoing radiation. She is a very strong, God-loving woman and I am so incredibly proud of the way she has fought this tough battle. She continues to work every day, coming in after her radiation treatments. She has been a true inspiration to me and so many of my coworkers. It is people like her who truly show just how strong a woman can be, with the help of the mighty hand of God. I have lost a grandmother to breast cancer and earlier this year, I lost my mother to cancer as well (though not breast). Thanks I Heart Faces for supporting NBCA month!

At the orchard

2010-10-19T06:35:00.003-04:00

This week's I Heart Faces challenge has to do with orchards, so I figured it was a great time for me to enter since I just visited the Orchard at Altapass in western North Carolina this past weekend. Lots of great-tasting apples and of course yummy apple butter!! We had a great time!

Misc. Monday

2010-09-21T09:12:00.004-04:00

Went outside with the kids yesterday because it was just a beautiful day. Took a few random shots of them and found a wasp's nest that I thought I'd explore closer....with my camera of course! :)

Pageant portfolio

2010-09-07T08:11:00.005-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of doing a session for my friend's daughter who is going to be competing in our county fair beauty contest! It was so much fun and she is stunningly beautiful. I can only pity her mom for the line of boys that must be stretched out her door!! I wish her the best of luck in her competition!!!

Keens

2010-07-20T18:33:00.002-04:00

Just got these in the mail yesterday! I love them. They are so comfy and lightweight. I am excited to test them out on the trails in a few weeks at Nantahala!

When you're bored....

2010-07-12T13:49:00.003-04:00

....you do things like this!!

Twinkle...twinkle...

2010-07-06T12:32:00.004-04:00

This one reminds me of the old nursery rhyme..."Star light....star bright..."

Got this one of my daughter this weekend. I like it, even though she is not smiling.

Is it strange....

2010-06-17T10:00:00.006-04:00

......that I took 45 shots of muffins yesterday? It was my day off, so I decided to bake some blueberry muffins and some chocolate chip muffins. They looked so pretty when I was done, I couldn't resist getting some shots of them. The best part is, they taste even better than they look!!

First the bluberry ones!!

....and here are the chocolate chip ones!!

In case any of you want to try them for yourselves, here is the recipe.

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

A splash of orange juice

2 pints fresh (or frozen) blueberries

2 cups milk chocolate chips

fresh orange zest

Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs one at a time and blend. Add vanilla and orange juice. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Fold in berries/chips. Add zest. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes. Makes approximately 18 muffins. I doubled the recipe to make 2 batches and then just halved the batter before adding the chocolate chips and blueberries.

For the blueberries, I put them in a pan and added about 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 cup of sugar. I also added a little orange juice (a splash) and a cinnamon stick. I let that cook down until the blueberries were soft. Then I drained them before I added them to the muffin mix. I also added a little of the blueberry liquid to the batter as well. That's it!! Hope you enjoy them!! I have to say, I think I like the blueberry ones a little better than the chocolate chip. They are more moist, I think because of the added juice.

Something's bugging me.

2010-06-06T16:06:00.004-04:00

Poll

2010-05-31T06:49:00.002-04:00

Thank you so much, all of you who voted. I have closed the poll. I appreciate all the great feedback I received. I have ordered the top 3 (lilly, hummingbird and daisy) and will see what they look like when I receive them. Then, I will chose which one to enter into the art show. I'll let you all know how I do! Thanks again everyone!!

Art show poll

2010-05-27T08:41:00.004-04:00

The hospital I work for is having an art contest and is asking for submissions. I was thinking about entering one of my photos, but I need help deciding which one. I am only allowed one entry, so I have picked some of my favorites and need your help in voting which is the best. However, if you have another suggestion on one of my photos you have seen, please let me know! Thanks for helping me!!

"I once was Lost, but now I'm found."

2010-05-24T08:31:00.002-04:00

Tears. Intensity. Joy. Sadness. Laughter. Pain. Love.

LOST.

The finale.

It had me reduced to a

crying, laughing, blubbering, sniffling, tear-wiping mess!!

Some will hate it....some will be confused....some will love it.

I am in the latter group. It was such a beautiful

way to say goodbye.

Theories will rise and people will still be confused. There will still

be unanswered questions and mysteries unsolved.

In the end, we all die....so make your life worthy of

going on to be with those you love.

Thank you LOST for an amazing show!

Across the sea...untangled.

2010-05-12T12:10:00.003-04:00

Taking the easy way out again this week as I am swamped with work today. The one thing that is not mentioned in this video is the Adam and Eve reveal. I am happy with the reveal that it was "mother" and Jacob's brother in the cave....I'm not convinced MIB = the same person who died and Jacob placed in the cave. I think when he turned into the smoke monster, he may have turned into a whole different entity all together.

A good theory going around now is that Desmond may be immune to the light and if he is exposed to it, he will not change into the smoke monster. It may be that Desmond will have to go there or bring MIB there to return the light to its origin, and thus return the order of things. Maybe by doing this, Desmond will show MIB that people can be inherently good and this will free him from his smoke prison. I actually am kind of hoping for his release now after watching Across The Sea, but may change my mind when we see him being evil again as Flocke.

In any case, here is a recap via Lost Untangled.

Sneek peeks for next week's Lost.

2010-05-06T09:49:00.001-04:00

Let the tears begin....:*(

2010-05-05T08:41:00.007-04:00

Is it really true?? Did we really lose so many of our beloved Losties in last night's episode? I guess it is inevitable as the end draws near that we will lose some, but it is still heartbreaking to see. However, it still seems there may be hope for them in the ALT timeline. Let's talk about The Candidate.

In ALT time, Jack has operated on Locke and discovers that he can fix his paralysis. John tells him no, but doesn't explain why so Jack takes it upon himself to unraval the mystery. He starts by visiting John's dentist who turns out to be Bernard. Bernard gives Jack a name for him to follow up with to find out about John's accident and that name is.........

Anthony Cooper. Turns out John's dear old dad in ALT timeline is in a similar state as John. Wheelchair bound. As Jack discovers, John was trying to get his pilot license and begged his father, whom John states "he loves more than anything" to be his first passenger. John crashed the plane and so he blames himself for his father's condition. This is the reason he will not let Jack fix him. A few tidbits thrown in here and there were the fact that as John was still coming out of the effects of his anesthesia, he was mumbling about "pushing the button" and "I wish you would have listened to me." Then, as John is leaving the hospital, Jack tells John, "I wish you would believe me." How the circumstances have been reversed!!

Back on the island, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Jin, Sun and Lapidus are taken captive by Widmore's people and they take them to the cages. Smokey, Jack and Sayid break them out of the cages and then head to the Ajira plane.

At the plane, Flocke arrives first and wipes out the guards and then boards the plane to find it is rigged with C4. Of course, he always likes to have a little extra C4 to have on hand, so he grabs a bundle and decides that now they need to take the sub as the plane may still be rigged with more explosives. They arrive at the sub and there is a gunfight with Widmore's people as they are trying to take it over. Kate is shot!!!! {gasp} It looks to be only in the shoulder area, so I think she will be okay...but we shall see. Jack (who up to that point was not getting on the sub) grabs her and helps her onto the sub. Everyone boards the sub safely...except Flock and Claire. Poor Claire....always getting left behind.

Turns out, Flocke was setting them up all along as he had taken the C4 and fashioned a bomb out of it and placed it in Jack's backpack. Sayid and Sawyer are trying to figure out how to diffuse it.

Jack tells them not to touch it as nothing is going to happen. Jack tells them maybe Flocke is not able to kill them so he wants them to kill themselves. Sawyer thinks Jack is full of it, as usual, and so Sawyer pulls the wires which triggers the bomb. Sayid tells Jack that there is a well on the island and Desmond is in it. "Locke wants him dead so that means you need him," he tells Jack. Jack: "Why are you telling me this?" Sayid: "Because it's going to be you Jack." Sayid grabs the bomb and runs out the door.

RUN SAYID RUN!!!!

:*( SAYID!! I will say I am glad that he was able to redeem himself in the end and that he died valiantly saving some of his friends. Still....{sniff}

FRANK!! The blast from the bomb causes the sub to start sinking and the pressure causes the sub door to blow knocking Frank out. Though we do not have absolute confirmation that he is dead, I fear he is. {sniff #2}

SUN AND JIN!!! But, they just got back together!! When the blast occurred, it knocked a cabinet onto Sun and she was trapped by some metal. Jin tries and tries to free her, but he can't. Sun begs him to leave, but he tells her he will never leave her again. Insert Titanic moment here...

"Near......far......where ever you are...." Okay...I'll refrain from singing. RIP Sun and Jin. {sobs...sniff #3 and #4}

Jack, Hurley, Sawyer and Kate make it back to the island where Jack tells them Jin and Sun did not make it. Hurley sobs....HURLEY?!? {sobs, heartbreak}

Jack, overcome with emotion himself, steps into the ocean, looks up to the heavens and sobs. This was one of the most emotional scenes I've seen Jack do. {sobs, sniffs, tissues strewn everwhere} Okay, I'm a little overly emotional!!

What an episode. You can really feel the end is coming. Only 1 more regular season episode and then the 2-1/2 hour series finale. It is going to be fantastic, but sad to see it end. If this episode is any indication, stock up on the Kleenex folks!!

**************SPOILERS*************

I have some spoilers but don't have time to post them right now. Check back later.

Lost sneek peak for The Candidate

2010-04-30T07:37:00.000-04:00

This one looks GOOOOD!!

2010-04-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

The Last Recruit

2010-04-21T08:08:00.004-04:00

So, I decided to do my recap a little different this week...(sorry for the absence last week. I was out of town). This is a funny recap of everything that I would have talked about. Enjoy.

***********SPOILERS************SPOILERS**************SPOILERS***********

I won't leave you hanging without something to tide you over for the next 2 (yes, I said 2) weeks!! Here are some promo pics from the next episode, The Candidate (courtesy of DarkUFO).

Ummm.....that doesn't look good!!

Steak salad via Chef Mei!!

2010-04-20T10:31:00.002-04:00

One of my very good friends, Chef Mei, is a personal chef here in Fayetteville. She is amazing at what she can do in the kitchen!! You can find her on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Chef-Mei-Personal-Chef-Service-LLC/369968042942 This is a recipe she posted yesterday that I tried last night. Steak Salad. It was simple and delicious!! Give it a try for yourself.

For the birds!!

2010-04-19T20:03:00.003-04:00

Sweet nectar of life.

2010-04-09T11:51:00.003-04:00

Easter lilly shots. A funny side story to these...at the dinner table last night my husband said, "Do you dare me to taste that nectar?" I said, "No." He then put some on his spoon and proceeded to touch the spoon to his tongue. Now THAT is when I needed the camera out!! I'm still wiping the tears away! Ha ha ha ha!!

All you need is LOVE.

2010-04-08T08:07:00.004-04:00

Or is it Hume? I guess after seeing Happily Ever After, you could say that you are getting both, since Desmond now seems to be playing Cupid. So, let's recap.

We start off the episode with Desmond waking up on the island. Widmore proceeds to tell him that he had to bring him back to the island because it wasn't finished with him yet. Then, he takes Desmond into the giant pink donut electromagnet room (okay, that's what they looked like to me) and proceeds to do a test on Desmond. He says he wants to see if he can survive another catastrophic EM exposure. Then they turn on the big donuts and poof.....

Desmond winds up at LA X. When Desmond finds his driver, we see yet another familiar (yet deceased on-island) face. It is George Minkowsi. In case you were thinking, " I remember him but I don't know where we've seen him before," let me refresh your memory.

We saw George in The Constant. He was on the freighter, and was the one who was experiencing the skipping in time as Desmond does.

George takes Desmond to his boss' office. Notice the painting on the wall...a balance with white and black stones. Just like the balance in Jacob's cave. Hmmm...

We also see Desmond looking at a sailboat model, which seems identical to the one that brought him to the island. It turns out that Desmond is working for Widmore, and they are best buddies. Aww...Des and Wid = BFFs. Widmore tells Desmond he has a special job for him. He wants Desmond to pick up a member of Drive Shaft and take him to his home to join his son in a special benefit concert merging classical music with rock music. Seems pretty trendy, Widmore!

Of course, our Drive Shaft band member is none other than Charlie!! Oh how I've missed him. Charlie is a bit changed by his near death experience on the plane. He tells Des that he experienced love at the moment he "died." He saw a vision of what can only be interpreted as Claire and he felt the connection and love they shared on the island. Now, it seems Charlie is determined to find her. He tries to convince Desmond of this by "showing" him it was real. He causes the car to crash into the water and {see above photo}. A bit creepy but effective Charlie.

After the accident, Desmond goes to the hospital where he ends up getting a MRI. Ha! An excuse for me to use my medical terminology knowledge. MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging (in case you didn't know that). The MRI triggers Desmond's memories of Penny and their life together. Now, Desmond understands that the life he is living might not be the one he is SUPPOSED to be living.

Desmond goes to Widmore's house to explain to Mrs. Widmore (i.e. Eloise Hawking) that he lost Charlie. She is fine with it. I don't think she is a big fan of You All Everybody. Desmond is leaving when he hears the waiters discussing the guest list. He hears them mention Penny's name. He asks to see the list but Mrs. Widmore says NO WAY JOSE. He needs to stop looking for whatever it is he is looking for and just live his wonderful life. Desmond goes back to the car and pours himself a drink when there is a knock on the window. Enter....

DANIEL!! In case your keeping count, that is 3 zombies in this episode!! Daniel describes to Desmond that he felt the same "love connection" Charlie described about a redhead who works at the museum. He then shows Desmond his notebook with all of his mad-scientist scribbles. He thinks perhaps he caused his alternate reality by setting off a bomb. Hmmm...well it wasn't actually you who did it Daniel. We can thank Juliette for that.

Desmond now understands what he must do. He asks Minkowsi to get him the flight manifest of Flight 815 because he wants to show all the passengers something. He wants to show them how to live Happily Ever After. =)

**************SPOILERS**************SPOILERS*************SPOILERS*************

For this weeks' spoilers, I have a sneak peak of next week's episode, Everybody Loves Hugo. It is a Hurley-centric episode. In the cast for next week, both Michael and Libby are listed to be in it! The end is coming too fast though. Soon, it will all be over. =(

The AWESOME "Package"!!

2010-03-31T08:58:00.004-04:00

Okay, so the episode might not have been up to last week's standards (how could it compare), but any LOST is good LOST right?? There were still some very exciting parts this week, so let's get started!!! Oh, and for the record, I did not like the V in the bottom of the screen telling me how much LOST I had left. No one was interested in how long it was until V came on, we were just watching it saying, "Only 5 more minutes left!!! NOOOOO!!"

This week was all about Sun and Jin. We start off learning that in FS, they are not married. I was not surprised by this too much. It seemed to point that way in the season premier. It also seems that neither Sun nor Jin can speak English in this episode. I am not sure what significance it is, but it does seem to come into play later in the episode when Sun runs into a tree and bumps her head on the island (while being chased by Smokey/Flocke). She then forgets how to speak English, seemingly tying the two timelines together.

On island, Team Flock is ambushed by Widmore's group and they take Jin. (BTW, they were only able to ambush them after Flocke and Sayid had left to go to the other island. Otherwise, I'm sure Smokey would have had them for lunch). Jin finds himself in Room 23, which is the "torture chamber" (for lack of a better term) that we have seen previously. Jin hits the switch on the wall and starts the torture process. We see some images pop up shortly on the wall before Jin finally turns off the switch. The above image is one of the ones that poppped up.

Zoey then comes in and tells Jin that she needs his help to try to find some concentrated electromagnetism areas on a map she has that seem to bear his signature (probably from Dharma). He tells her he's not talking to anyone but Widmore. Widmore comes in and tells Jin that he found Sun's luggage on the plane and there was a camera in it. He gives it to Jin and he gets to see his daughter for the first time in the pictures. This part was awesome but had my eyes welling up. :( Poor Jin.

Could the pylons represent a literal line drawn in the sand here? It would seem so, as Flocke so much as says the same to Widmore, stating that the war has been brought to the island. I am wondering how the pylons keep Flocke/Smokey out though? My husband thinks they emit a sound wave barrier. What keeps him from just going over the top of them though? Any thoughts??

Back in FS, Jin and Sun meet up with Keamy who, as it turns out, is working for Sun's dad, Mr. Paik. Keamy tells them that he needs the money that Mr. Paik sent with them (which was confiscated at the airport). They try to explain this to him but he cannot understand them, so he calls for his interpreter, which turns out to be Mikhail. Sun tells Mikhail that she has money in her account and can get it for them. To be safe, Keamy takes Jin with him and Patchy takes Sun to the bank. At the bank, they find out that Sun's account has been closed by her father. Uh oh!!! Sorry, daddy knows Sun!!! They go back to the restrauant to find Keamy and the other men shot (by Sayid). Jin manages to free himself and tries to escape with Sun, but him and Patchy fight over the gun and Jin ends up shooting Patchy in the eye! (Again, timelines are crossing). However, in the process of the fight....

Sun is shot too!!! WHAT?!? As Jin is trying to get her out, she tells him, "I'm pregnant." Oh Sun, I hope you make it. I am beginning to think that FS is the result of MIB being released from the captivity of the island. It seems that we are starting to see the FS story lines becoming a little less happy as time goes by. However, the title of next week's episode is Happily Ever After, so maybe I'm wrong. Oh yeah, next week's episode also happens to be.......

DESMOND-CENTRIC!!!! Yes, that's right. Desmond was "The Package" that was locked up in the submarine (just as I thought). I am sooooo happy that Desmond is back. He has always been one of my favorite characters. I cannot wait to find out what is in store for him and how he ties into everything. However, creepy zombie Sayid is there lurking in the water, so who knows what Mr. Hume's fate may be.

***********SPOILERS******************SPOILERS****************SPOILERS**********

Can't leave you all without something to tide you over until next week, so here is a sneak peek of Happily Ever After.

Purple.

2010-03-30T07:54:00.002-04:00

Nic Cage as Jack Shepherd

2010-03-30T05:48:00.001-04:00

This is a link to a blog I follow, Nicholas Cage as Everyone. These are so funny, but this one was Lost-related, so I thought I would share it here. :) Happy Lost day!!

http://niccageaseveryone.blogspot.com/2010/03/nic-cage-as-dr-jack-shepherd.html

Had to post this!!

2010-03-24T14:54:00.000-04:00

Find more videos like this on The Twilight Saga

Ab Aeterno: "From the beginning of time."

2010-03-24T09:03:00.008-04:00

I am still reeling this morning from last night's Lost! I have not yet wrapped my brain around everything that transpired in this episode. I am glad I am off today, so I have time to rewatch it and try to figure things out a little bit more. From the beginning of the show, we (the fans) have been told the island is not Hell, Purgatory, or anything of the like. However, after last night, we are all questioning that I'm sure. So....here is my take on the fantastic Richard-centric episode, Ab Aeterno.

Richard's story begins in 1867 when we discover that his wife is very sick. Richard is determined to do anything he can to save her. He tells her he is going to get her help, and then she gives him her necklace. I love the love stories on this show. They are so real and pure, which is a true testament to the actors, I think.

Richard goes to find the doctor and gives him all the money he has as well as Isabelle's necklace. The doctor says that is not enough and tells him that the necklace is worthless. In Richard's anger, he pushes the doctor who falls and hits his head on the table, thus killing him. He takes the medicine and runs away.

Unfortunately, Richard is too late when he returns with the medicine and Isabelle has already died. In his grief, he is arrested for the doctor's murder and imprisoned.

In the prison, Richard is visited by a priest. Upon asking the priest to absolve him of his sins, the priest tells Richard he cannot do this as Richard must atone for his sins and he does not have time to do this as he is to be hanged the next day. Is this priest for real?? There were so many reasons I disagreed with the priest, and I was crying out to Richard...telling him that, yes, he could be absolved and forgiven, but my heart was breaking for him as the priest told him that the Devil awaited him in Hell.

Luckily (?), the next day, Richard is instead sold to a slave trader (working for Magnus Hanso) and boards The Black Rock. After being at sea for a while, there is a storm/hurricane/tsumani (take your pick) which leads to The Black Rock crashing into the Tawaret statue on the island! Awesome!!!

After the shipwreck, Richard is found alive with the other slaves in the hull of the ship. The captain comes in and kills everyone because he thinks they will eventually kill him.

Just when the captain is about to kill Richard, we hear a very familiar noise. Smokey shows up and kills everybody on the ship, and then he approaches Richard. He "assesses" Richard, and determines not to kill him. Instead (here is my theory), he read Richard's thoughts and discovered what has just happened to Isabelle, learned what he was told about Hell, and so Smokey decides to use this to his advantage.

I think Smokey then took the form of Isabelle to try to manipulate Richard into helping him try to kill Jacob. Some people are questioning how Isabelle could be trying to help Richard out of the chains, when Smokey noises were being heard from above. However, we have been shown in past episodes that Smokey can "divide" himself. Therefore, I still feel that Isabelle was in fact a manifestation of MIB. Shortly after Isabelle is "taken" by Smokey, MIB shows up and frees Richard from his chains. As a condition, however, MIB tells Richard he must do something for him....he must kill the Devil. He tells Richard that he is in Hell and that the Devil lives at the statue that his ship crashed into. He gives Richard the Dogen knife and tells him again, "Do not let him talk to you." Richard heads off to kill El Diablo.

Of course, El Diablo, is in fact Jacob. Jacob tells Richard that no, he is not dead and he is not in Hell. He tells Richard that the island is a cork that is keeping the evil contained. He tells Richard that he has been bringing people to the island to try to prove to MIB that people have an inherent nature to choose to be good. Then, he recruits Richard to be his liason to the people he brings to the island. He asks Richard what he would like in return for his service, to which Richard asks to have his wife back. "I can't do that." He then asks to be absolved of his sins. "I can't do that." Then he wants to live forever. "That I can do." Jacob then touches Richard's shoulder.

Back in the current time line, Richard goes looking for the spot where he buried Isabelle's necklace many, many years ago. Hurley follows him and when he catches up to him, he tells him that Isabelle told him to go after him. Richard and Hurley share a Patrick Swayze Ghost moment with Hurley telling Richard what Isabelle is saying (I'm just glad they didn't kiss like Whoopie and Demi did in the movie...UGH!!). She tells him he is not responsible for what happened to her, etc., and then she tells him he must not follow MIB. This seems to be enough to convice Richard to remain on Team Jacob...even though he had been calling out to MIB, saying he had changed his mind. Hurley must have arrived just in time as the screen then cuts to..............

DUN.....DUN....DUN.....sinister!!!

Finally, we see Jacob and MIB (wish we could find out his real name) back on the island. MIB tells Jacob that he will eventually kill him, so that MIB can be released to which Jacob says that someone will just replace him. MIB then tells Jacob that he will just kill the next person too. That doesn't sound too good for our candidates. Then Jacob gives MIB the bottle of wine to pass the time. MIB then smashes the bottle on the rocks.

Soooo.....the question we are all having is...are they truly in Hell? Have they been dead all along? I do not believe they are. I believe this was just MIB's manipulation of Richard's religious beliefs and playing on his guilt and shame of killing a man, as well as his grief from losing his wife. I do believe that MIB could be some form of the Devil, or at the very least some form of evil or Hell, so I believe Jacob or the island is keeping him/it contained so it will not be unleashed on the rest of the world. If the island is destroyed, then it would seem feasible that he would then be set free (just like him breaking the bottle of wine on the rocks). Therefore, I can see why Smokey would want a hydrogen bomb to be brought to the island, and I can see why he would want the island to sink to the bottom of the sea. I am sure there are many other aspects of these new revelations that could be discussed, but I will leave my thoughts here. Great episode as I knew it would be. :)

**************SPOILERS**************SPOILERS***************SPOILERS*****************

I don't want to leave anyone without some kind of spoiler, so here is the latest from Watch with Kristin as posted on DarkUFO's site. Once again, I have to thank DarkUFO for the pics that I post. If you have not visited his site, you can find it at http://darkufo.blogspot.com/

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More Four-Play: Just what you wanted (no?) a new four letter word that will be revealed in two weeks which is very important. If you want to play along, here goes: This word has no A's, one E, and as of episode 11 it will be clear that this four-letter word is what this series is ultimately all about. It's also the word that just might end up connecting the two worlds (the island and the Flash-Sideways Los Angeles) we've been seeing all season long.

Scoop on next week's episode:

- There's a reveal about Jin and Sun that will shock you. They are *o* *a*****!
- We'll see Daniel Dae Kim shirtless. (You're welcome, Josh Holloway, who lobbied for that. And you're welcome, world.)
- Fake Locke reveals why they need to leave the island.
- We learn that a female Lostie is "expendable."
- There will be a "package."

Signs of spring!!

2010-03-19T11:48:00.003-04:00

Detective James Ford

2010-03-17T15:25:00.004-04:00

Recon....the Sawyer/James-centric episode. Well, I have to say...even though I am a HUGE Sawyer fan, compared to some of the other episodes we have seen so far this season, I didn't like this one as much. I guess because it followed such an epic Ben episode last week and is preceding the mega-epic Richard episode next week. Still, any Sawyer-centric episode "aint half bad."

So, in Sawyer's Flash Sideways, he is a detective for the LAPD. (With his partner being Miles)Surprising to say the least. Though, it does seem that he still has some unresolved issues regarding his parent's death. He is still consumed by finding Cooper and in fact we learn that he still went to Australia to find him. It is strange though that Cooper seems to have a good relationship with Locke in FS time, but was still conning Sawyer's mom when Sawyer was 9. Thus, Cooper still = the bad guy in my book. Maybe FS Locke just hasn't figured it out yet.

For those of you who didn't already figure it out....this was Liam, Charlies brother, asking where his brother was who was brought in for drug charges. Yay! More Charlie soon to come I hope!!

Meanwhile, back on the island, Flocke addresses his crew and Claire gets a little nuts. She goes after Kate with a knife and Flocke pulls her off of Kate, slaps her down and tells her to "go sit in the corner." Well, he doesn't really say that, but he may as well have. Okay dad...but she started it. >:( Flocke then has a conversation with Kate, telling her that he has "mommy issues" and that his mother was crazy. Really? No kidding?? I never would have guessed. I think his real ploy here though was telling Kate that now Aaron had a crazy mommy, thus trying to make Kate and Claire enemies. I don't think it worked though....

....or is Claire just keeping her friends close and her enemies closer???

Sawyer goes on a recon mission for Flocke to the Hydra island. While he is there, he finds the Ajira plane and also runs into the "only survivor" Zoe. She tries to con the con man but he doesn't buy it and eventually finds out she is actually part of Widmore's crew brought to the island on the submarine. She takes him to the sub to meet Widmore but when he is down in the sub, he sees this.

Hmmm.....I'll trade you for what's behind door #2. Any guesses on what's behind the locked door? I can definitely see Widmore dragging Desmond along, kicking and fighting, and only being contained because he is locked behind this door. Come on...bring on some more butt-kicking Desmond!!!

So, FS Detective Ford goes on a blind date and the blind date ends up being Charlotte. Miles tells James that she "works with his dad at the museum." Interesting. Now I am wondering how Miles and his dad got off the island. Or maybe Miles meant his step-dad....but I'm betting not. In any case, James and Charlotte hit it off and wind up going back to Ford's place and....{insert censor here} Afterwards, Charlotte is innocently looking for a t-shirt in his dresser when she stumbles upon...........

....his Sawyer file. He flips out and tells her to get out. The next day he feels bad and tries to woo her back with a sunflower and a case of beer. (Sorry James, that only works on Juliette). Miles finds out he went to Australia instead of Florida which is where Miles thought he was. Miles tells him he's no longer his partner. James then tells Miles the truth about why he went to Australia and they work things out when all of the sudden their parked car gets hit by another car and someone gets out and starts running. They run the person down and discover it is Kate. Dun...dun...dun...

***************SPOILERS**************SPOILERS************SPOILERS**************

Next weeks episode is all about Richard!!!!!! YAY!!! I cannot wait for this episode!!! Here is a sneek peek for next week!!

A few pics from my trip to OK.

2010-03-16T18:05:00.004-04:00

My dad with all 5 of his kids.

Me and my beautiful family.

"It's Dr. Linus actually."

2010-03-10T08:55:00.002-05:00

As some of you may know, I have been on a 2-week hiatus from updating my blog due to my mother being called home to the Lord. It has been a tough couple of weeks, but we are making it through. I appreciate all the love and support I have received from all of my friends and family. Due to missing 2 weeks of LOST, I am going to just start my recaps with last night's episode, Dr. Linus, and continue from there. Lighthouse and Sundown were excellent episodes though. The most interesting thing I think about Sundown was seeing Jin in the freezer at the end. Very curious about his involvement with that crew.

So we start off this episode seeing Ben in the Flash Sideways teaching his history class. I have to say that I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this episode. It has confirmed my suspicion that all along Ben has been inherently a good-hearted, kind person at the depth of his soul and it was just awesome to see it finally come through.

Just as interesting in this episode was the Jack, Hurley and Richard story line. So, Jacob has given each of those he touched a gift...much like I had suggested back in my blog post about Touched By An Angel. Does this mean that all 6 of the candidates can no longer age such as Richard? Also, what did Richard mean when he told Jack and Hurley that they would not believe where he has been? Was he in the future...in the past...or something else altogether?? It was great to see Jack grasping on to the faith that Jacob did, indeed, bring him to the island for a reason, even though he still doesn't know what that reason is. I am really liking Season 6 Jack. I can't wait for the Richard-centric episode as I think we will see him in those chains he was looking at in the Black Rock.

Ilana finds out that Ben was, in fact, the one who killed Jacob; so she makes him dig his own grave. However, Flocke pops out of the jungle to offer Ben the option of coming to "the dark side" and he will give him the power over the island that Ben has always wanted. Ben decides to take that option at first, but when presented gun-to-gun with Ilana, he tells her the truth about why he killed Jacob and how he is truly sorry for it. When Ilana told Ben, "I'll have you," I have to admit I had a lump in my throat. That was just awesome to see Ben finally being redeemed and forgiven for the things he had done.

This seemed to flow over into the Flash Sideways as well. Instead of being manipulative and greedy for power, Ben chooses to let it all go for the good of Alex. I loved seeing how Ben's scale was tipped from dark to light in this episode. It makes me think that all of them have the option of making their scale tip, just as each of us, depending on the choices we make in our own lives.

The reunion at the beach at the end of the episode was so reminiscent of Season 1 episodes, that it had me tearing up. Sun finally seeing Jack and Hurley again, with renewed hope to see Jin again; Jack and Lapidus; Hurley and Miles and even Jack and Ben giving each other that small acknowledging look at the end. It was just awesome and I love how this final season is going!!!

So lets look at the sides.

Team Jack consists of Lapidus, Miles, Hurley, Sun, Ilana, Richard and Ben. Team Flocke consists of Sayid, Claire, Sawyer, Kate and everyone else left over from The Temple. So which side would you be on??? I'm still with Team Jacob. I still feel he is the good guy.

And finally.....

"There are people on the beach." Widmore is back. Is he the man that Jacob wanted Hurley to help bring to the island?? Or is there possibly someone else in the submarine with Widmore?? Someone by the name of......Desmond??? :) I'm hoping so!!!

***********SPOILERS***********SPOILERS***************SPOILERS

A sneak peek of next week's episode...Recon.

Locke Lives!!!!!!

2010-02-17T08:15:00.002-05:00

Well...at least he does in The Substitute. I love Locke-centric episodes (or in this case Locke/Flocke-centric). They always seem to be the episodes where we get the most questions answered, and we weren't disappointed with last night's epi. Though, we still don't know why the polar bears are on the island. I did read a spoiler recently that said Charlotte was filming again, so perhaps we will get that question answered yet!! (for Mr. M) :-}

In the flash sideways, we get to see Locke in what seems to be a happy life. He is still with Helen, who is very much alive. It seems he is still on good terms with his father as they are planning on inviting him to their wedding, and he has a pic of them together on his desk.

But he is still plagued by the fact that he seems "trapped" in his wheelchair. He gets fired, goes to Hurley's temp agency (how awesome was Hurley by the way!!) and while there, talks to Rose. Rose and Bernard still seem very important to the show, and I am still on board the Rose/Bernard = Adam/Eve train. Rose tells Locke that she finally stopped dwelling on the past and started living her life. This seems to be enough to push Locke out of his rut and he finally starts living. One of the best scenes of the night was when substitute Locke meets European History teacher Benjamin Linus. Again, it goes back to my theory that they all will interact with each other regardless of being on the island or not. It is their destiny. Another thing I was wondering is, if Locke is still on good terms with pop, then how did he wind up in the chair. Obviously dad didn't push him out of an 8 story building??

Meanwhile, back on the island, it is "game on." Flocke is recruiting...but recruiting for what? The first thing that comes to my mind is "the war" that has been talked about for so long. Black vs white, this time represented by rocks on a balance scale, once again comes into play. But Flocke takes the white rock and chucks it into the ocean. Flocke takes Sawyer to the cliffside cave, which he tells him was Jacob's cave. Hmmm...Jacob's cabin. Jacob's foot statue. Jacob's cliffside cave. No wonder Flocke is upset. Jacob gets everything . {stomps foot and kicks at rock} On their way to the cave though, they meet a cute, sweet, little boy......

Umm....make that a creepy, blood-covered young-Jacob-looking boy. What is up with this kid? I am thinking either this is, in fact, a young Jacob or it is Aaron. I like the idea that it is Aaron, but what is his significance and why is Flocke so afraid of him? Richard apparently could not see him but Sawyer could. Could it be that Sawyer could see him because Sawyer was one of the candidates? Also, why does he tell Flocke, "You know the rules. You can't kill him." Who is he talking about? Richard? Sawyer? This was an interesting twist on things.

Speaking of the candidates...we finally got a little explanation of what the numbers are!!! The people that Jacob touched are his candidates for replacements to take over as island protectors. Apparently Jacob assigned numbers to all the candidates with the specific numbers (Hurley's lottery ticket numbers, the hatch computer numbers...etc) corresponding to some familiar names. Interestingly though, Kate is not on the wall. Neither is Aaron. I wonder if this means that Kate was not supposed to leave the island with the Oceanic 6. Maybe she was supposed to jump out of the helicopter instead of Sawyer. Or maybe she has a different purpose altogether. All the people on the wall were people that Jacob touched (physically) at some point in their lives, so this was his way of choosing his candidates. Flocke tells Sawyer there is nothing that the island needs protection from, but I think he is lying. I am still Team Jacob (not in Twilight though) so I believe that inherently Jacob's team and his plan is the one that is for the best for everyone.

I heard an interesting theory about the final outcome of the show. This person said, "What if the end of the show has Jack and Sawyer sitting on the beach, just like Jacob and MIB with Jack taking the role of Jacob and Sawyer taking the role of MIB. Sawyer says that it always ends the same and Jack says, it only ends once. Everything else is just progress." Interesting theory I had to share.

*****************Now on to spoilers******************

Next week's episode is called The Lighthouse. I believe it will be a Jack-centric episode. Matthew Fox (Jack) was quoted in an interview saying this was probably the most important episode of the series for Jack as he is finally coming to terms with what he is truly meant to do on the island. Also, we will get to see more of Bindi the Jungle Girl Claire next week! Here is a Sneek Peek for next week's show!

What Karen Did....yesterday.

2010-02-11T09:02:00.003-05:00

She sat in her house, with no power for half the day. Sorry about the delay in getting my recap posted, but all this rain caused some trees to fall in our neighborhood and our power was out half the day yesterday. If you ever want to discover just how dependent you have become on the internet, just go without power and access to Facebook for a day!!! I could never survive on the island...well, maybe in the hatch. At least there was a computer in there. :)

Now.....on to the good stuff.

So, Kate is a gun-wielding convict again. After she gets away from the cops, she jacks the cab that Claire just so happens to be in. Are we to presume that no matter what the circumstances, all of these people are destined to be in each other's lives somehow? I'm beginning to think so.

Kate takes Claire to the house of the couple who are supposed to be adopting her baby, only to find out that the woman's husband has left her and now they do not want to adopt the baby. Claire goes into labor and Kate takes her to the hospital. A familiar doctor is there to perform an ultrasound on Claire (see 2nd image below). The image above is curious because it gives a date of 10/22/2004 as the date of the ultrasound (i.e., the day the plane landed in LA). This would make it 1 month later than the date the plane crashed on the island. Hmmm....

Poor Sayid. First shot, then drowned, then dead, then tortured and finally almost poisoned by this little pill. Why is it when I see this pic, all I can think of is "I get by with a little help from my friends?" In any case, Jack decides not to give it to Sayid and instead tries to pop the pill himself only to have Dogen (Kung Fu Panda guy), Heimlich it out of him. He tells Jack it is poison and it is meant to cure the darkness that is slowly "claiming" Sayid. He then tells Jack that he knows this happens, because, "It happened to your sister." Wha?!?!

Insert creepy doctor pic here. Ethan?!? Seriously?? Don't let him near Claire OR Aaron. I would not be surprised to find out that Ethan is in fact the sleezy husband who left the woman who was supposed to adopt Claire's baby. Everything still inter-connects somehow.

Speaking of Claire.....SHE'S BAAAAAAACK!!! The question is, will she be on the side of good, or the side of evil? That is the inherent question for everyone on the island, I suppose. At least she did help Jin get away from the Others. But now what will she do??

**************SPOILER**************SPOILER****************SPOILER************SPOILER

Finally, here is a pic spoiler for next week's episode, The Substitue. It is a Locke-centric episode!! Can't wait. It should be really good and hopefully we will get some good answers out of it!!

Umm...yes that is Locke with his creepy, jerk father...and they look happy????

How you can help Haiti!!

2010-02-08T16:10:00.002-05:00

FilterPure Filters

http://www.filterpurefilters.com/donate.htm

Every donation of $30 (US) dollars will provide clean water for one family (up to 6 people) for 5 years! Please consider donating a filter or two to a family in need.

On the donation page for Haiti Disaster Relief, choose Michael's Orphanages from the drop-down menu to directly help Michael and Mathieu's orphanages. Please consider donating one or more of these filters today!!

http://www.filterpurefilters.com/donate.htm

The beginning of the end.

2010-02-03T09:02:00.006-05:00

Finally!!! After so many long months, LOST is back!! I don't even know where to begin to talk about last night's premier because it was just packed full of such great stuff!! Ummm...the island is under water(?), fake Locke is Smokey (but WHO is he???); alternate timeline story is awesome (seeing all our beloved Losties again like Boone and Charlie), THE TEMPLE, Juliet dies (for real this time), Hurley is AWESOME, Kate seems more like Season 1 Kate again, and a possible fountain of youth??? And this was just the first episode of Season 6!!!

Okay, Desmond was on the plane??? Ummm....I don't even know what to make of this. I guess if the bomb went off, the hatch was never built, so therefore he couldn't be in the hatch to push the button and so therefore, he ends up on the plane. However, after Jack saves Charlie in the bathroom, he disappears. Does that mean that Desmond dies in alt. time instead of Charlie?? Very curious, but soooooo happy to see Desmond again!!

It seems that Jack was wrong in his thinking the bomb would work as the Losties are still on the island and the hatch did, in fact, get built. (so there goes the Desmond on the plane theory) However, they are not "lost" in the '70s anymore. Sawyer is pissed at Jack for being wrong...again...but then they discover Juliet is actually still alive and try to get to her. Sawyer gets down there but sadly, she dies anyway but this time in his arms. :( Just before she dies though, she says some curious things. "We should get coffee sometime. We can go Dutch. I have to tell you something....." Okay....what is it Juliet? Juliet??? JULIET!!! NO!! You can't leave us hanging like that. Oh wait, it's okay because Miles can talk to dead people. Miles, what was she going to say?? Miles: "She said it worked." My theory is that while Juliet was there dying in Sawyer's arms, she actually time traveled to the alt. time (like Desmond does) and was having that coversation about coffee with alternate Sawyer. I think we will see her having that conversation with him again at some point...perhaps in the finale?? Maybe they will get to live happily ever after. :)

Now Jacob is dead too which makes me :( because I really, really like Jacob. But that's okay because Hurley can see AND talk to dead people. Good thing we have Miles and Hurley on the island this season!! Jacob tells Hurley he has to get Sayid to the temple to save him...oh and bring the guitar case with you Hurley because it has an Egyptian relic in it that the Kung Fu guy has to break open and get a piece of paper out of. Wha???

So he does...but get that red shirt off of him already!!! We cannot have a Hurley death. No red shirts for Hurley!!

So at the temple, we meet some more Others (Kung Fu guy). Good thing because that's just what the island needed was more Others. In any case, we finally get to see what the infamous temple is and see what is inside it. Very cool!!

The new Locke (or Flocke as he is now being affectionately referred to...Fake + Locke = Flocke) seems pretty evil. He is, in fact, Smokey as it turns out!!! Best line of the night...Flocke to Ben: "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Poor Ben though. He has been a pawn in this all along. Curious what Flocke said to Richard towards the end. "Nice to see you with those chains off." We are supposed to be getting a Richard back story this season, so I'm sure that will answer lots of questions (see spoilers below). Though it seems we may know why Richard doesn't seem to age now. Could it be because they have.................

............a possible fountain of youth??? Maybe not exactly a fountain of youth, but definitely something with healing properties. "Why isn't the water clear anymore?" Hmmm....perhaps because Jacob is dead now??? In any case, it still had enough power to bring back...........

.....SAYID!!! Speculation is that Sayid is now Jacob, but I'm not sure on this one. In any case, thank goodness we didn't lose one of our favs...right Tearz!!!

************SPOILERS**********SPOILERS************SPOILERS*******************

And now for some spoilers!!! (courtesy of DarkUFO http://darkufo.blogspot.com/and Kristin)

Next Week Will Blow You Away: After you see the final 10 minutes of next week's episode, it will become increasingly clear what the entire final season of Lost is leading up to. (I smell a war coming on!)

Get Ready for Two Surprising Reappearances: (1) A certain someone you thought was dead will be back, and how he or she returns, and what it means for the future of the other Losties on the island, will have your brain spinning. (2) Someone else appears in Los Angeles next week that I did not know was returning at all, and it's awesome.

There Will Be Some Shipper Moments Next Week: Kate will have a tender moment with Jack, and she'll also have a revealing moment with Sawyer, and there will definitely be some clear indication as to where the romantic storylines (or lack thereof) will be heading this season.

Richard Alpert Was a Slave?! Flocke mentioned that Richard was in chains. There has long been talk that crew of the Black Rock (allegedly a mining vessel) were slaves, and when we've visited the ship in the past, skeletons were found shackled together. So was Alpert on the Black Rock? The good news is we will find out. Nestor Carbonell (Richard) tells me: "You're going to get all your answers: Why doesn't he age? Where's he from? What his powers might be? Who he is? And there is one specific episode that deals with all of that. I was blown away by what they wrote."

Claire and Sayid Will Have Something in Common. Something big.

Slow down.

2010-02-01T10:10:00.005-05:00

Confused daffodils.

This weekend offered us a chance to slow down a bit as the weather had us "shut in." It was nice to be able to just relax and enjoy my family. After the things I have been seeing and reading about for the last week, it was nice to be able to just enjoy spending time with them. Here are a few pics of our wintery weekend.

BTW, don't think I have forgotten that our beloved LOST premier is tomorrow night!! I hope you all are as excited as I am!!!

What a week it has been!!

2010-01-25T15:23:00.006-05:00

A week ago, I don't think you could have told me that I would do any of the things I have done in the past week. As many of you, I have been gripped by the images and video coming out of Haiti for the past week. I have watched and cried as they pulled the survivors from the rubble and have watched and cried at all the images of the dead. Like you, I wanted to help, but what can you do when you are so far away and unable to be there to help hand out a bottle of water or comfort a scared child? Of course you can go to the many donation sites and offer your monetary help, and I strongly encourage that and have done that myself. Often, however, you still feel a need to do something more.

I have a friend who is on the ground right now in Haiti. His name is Michael Andrew. (http://www.michaelthemaven.com/). I could write an entire blog about Michael, but if you visit his website, you can learn what a great person he is all by yourself. Michael has done amazing things since he has been in Haiti, but the most important thing he has been doing is searching for and finding orphanages. Once he finds the orphanages, he then finds out what needs they have (i.e., food, water, diapers, milk, etc.). The hard part, however, has been finding an aid agency willing to help Michael in distributing this aid to the people (in this case, children) who need it. One orphanage he visited had over 300+ orphans alone. They have had no contact and no supplies.

This has been where I came in. I have relentlessly been trying to find an agency that will allow Michael to partner with them to distribute this aid. It has been extremely frustrating trying to get big agencies to listen to me. After all, I am not a big corporation, or the military, or a news agency. I am just a regular, SAHM who works at home full time and was bold enough to step up and volunteer to help out my virtual friend (oh yeah, Michael and I have never met face to face). In any case, in the past week, I turned into something I never would have imagined. A beggar. I have sent out emails, and text messages, and phone messages, and Facebook messages and Twitter messages to many different agencies in an attempt to find help for these children.

As of the writing of this entry, I may have someone to finally accept Michael's outstretched hand. I received an email today from the Program Director of Stop Hunger Now which is a NC-based association partnered with Mission of Hope in Haiti. He has given us contact information for people in Haiti for Michael to hopefully (God-willing) team up with. I ask for all of you to pray that this can happen. Pray that another day does not go by without help for the children of Haiti.

Nic Cage as Everyone.

2010-01-18T11:56:00.002-05:00

I had to share this site. These are soooo funny!!

http://niccageaseveryone.blogspot.com/

Check this out!!

2010-01-08T06:34:00.003-05:00

Saw this on Jorge Garcia's blog. This is so funny yet awesome! Wish I was at the CES in Vegas so I could see all the cool stuff there. This guy won't be out until March, but can you imagine watching the season finale on a polar bear TV!?!?! You gotta love LOST.

A Christmas kiss!

2009-12-30T10:50:00.002-05:00

Some LOST stuff! The big day is getting closer!!

2009-12-29T10:36:00.003-05:00

We already know John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is dead—and we are über-pissed at Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) for doing the deed—but could another Lostie be joining Locke very soon in the myserious island show's ever-growing body count?

When Lost returns Feb. 2 to ABC, there are more than a few stomach-churning surprises in store, and our latest dish from Kristin (as part of the 12 Days of Lost-mas) involves the life-or-death fates of two Losties we love. Word of warning: This is the final season, so anyone can be killed off.

Read on for the dish...

According to my spies, the following statements are both true:

One Lostie we've known for a long time (a dark, handsome and mysterious someone) will die within the first four hours in the first shocking death of the year.

Another Lostie we've known and loved since day one of season one will come this close to dying—at his own hands—but the good doctor (Matthew Fox's Jack Shephard) will save him.

Who will die? Who will nearly take his own life? (I know the presumed answers if you want to know)

Some Christmas history.

2009-12-23T10:26:00.004-05:00

Josef Franz Mohr was born to an unmarried woman, in Salzburg, Austria, in December of 1792. His father deserted her before Josef was born. An illegitimate child of that century and culture had very little advantage unless God intervened. Josef's mother found him a sponsor who provided him with a chance for higher education. Josef chose the priesthood as his profession. Ordained in 1815, he was sent to pastor a church in a remote Alpine village.

Three years later while preparing for Christmas services at St. Nicholas Church, Josef experienced an event that would prove to not only bless him and his congregation, but the world over. The church organ was broken, which in Father Josef's mind made it very difficult to plan an effective Christmas celebration for his congregation. The young priest took his problem before the Lord. God reminded Josef of a poem he had written several years before. Father Josef quickly jotted down the words, took them to his organist who composed a tune.

December 24th, 1818, with just a guitar for accompaniment, Stille Nacht was sung for the first time. Shortly thereafter, the organ repairman heard the story, took a copy of the song and began to spread it throughout Austria. It eventually came to the attention of a local tailor, Herr Strasser, whose children were singers; local celebrities. Much to the delight of their audiences, the Strasser children added Stille Nacht to their repertoire. The fame of the children and of the song began to spread to the point that the Strasser's were asked to give a performance of Stille Nacht before the king and queen.

In 1838 Stille Nacht was published in a German hymnbook for general congregational singing. Germans who moved to America brought their songs with them to the new world. It wasn't long before Stille Nacht was translated into English, and Silent Night became America's most beloved carol.

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and Child.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,

Shepherds quake at the sight;

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ the Savior is born,

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,

Son of God, love's pure light;

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Silent night, holy night

Wondrous star, lend thy light;

With the angels let us sing,

Alleluia to our King;

Christ the Savior is born,

Christ the Savior is born!

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”(Romans 8:28 )

My momma

2009-12-19T23:05:00.003-05:00

I haven't updated my blog in some time. It has been a difficult time for me and my family. My mom has not been doing very well and I recently went to OK to visit for a week. While I was there, I took this picture of her. I was relunctant to share it because it is such a personal, private shot but I think that is what makes it so beautiful.

More from the Britt family.

2009-12-03T07:40:00.003-05:00

Sneak Peek

2009-11-21T17:54:00.003-05:00

I had a blast today with the Britt family. They are very dear friends of mine and it was such a pleasure to be able to capture some of their family moments! Here are a few I have finished editing. More to come!!

Fall stuff.

2009-11-19T12:27:00.003-05:00

Give yourself breathing room.

2009-11-13T11:40:00.003-05:00

One of the first things I learned about photography is to always leave room around your subject (breathing room). I am guilty of not doing this from time to time. Sometimes I fail to get it right in-camera, and other times it is a PS crop issue. Luckily, if it is a PS crop issue it can easily be fixed by undoing your crop. However, if it is in camera, you don't really have a lot of options. That is what happened in this image of my kids.

I cropped too tightly on the left of my daughter's arm. I really liked this shot though and wanted to find a way to make it look a little better. First I increased the canvas size about 5 inches. Then, I grabbed another shot of them sitting in the same spot and merged a little bit of the open area from the other pic onto this one. I used the clone tool to blend the two and this is what I got.

It looks and feels much better to me. What do you all think?

A few more from the park.

2009-11-09T10:15:00.003-05:00

This was an action. Not sure about it. What do you guys think??

A day at the park!

2009-11-07T14:17:00.007-05:00

I love having Friday's off because it gives me a chance to spend quality time with the kids. I took them to the park Friday for a McDonald's picnic and then we played on the equipment. I also got some shots of them on the nature walk! It was a great day!

My Heros!!!

2009-10-29T11:14:00.004-04:00

A couple of things...

2009-10-28T08:38:00.001-04:00

Back in the saddle!!

2009-10-22T10:31:00.004-04:00

After what seemed like YEARS to me, I finally got my camera yesterday!!! HOORAY!!! I was so happy to go out and test it this morning. I am still learning all the new tricks but I LOVE this camera. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning! I am so happy to be able to share my passion with everyone again. Hope you enjoy these.

LA X (LOST spoiler, kind of)

2009-10-20T09:36:00.004-04:00

Not sure if I have posted this yet, but the first two episodes of LOST Season 6 will in fact be titled "LA X". Speculation is that we are going to be seeing the Losties actually landing safe and sound in LA as they were supposed to (in an alternate reality sort of thing). I thought I would post these two set photos from DarkUFO. Not much longer to wait!!!

Look what I ordered yesterday!!!!

2009-10-18T13:45:00.000-04:00

Proud.

2009-10-06T08:51:00.004-04:00

As most of you know, my son graduated from basic training in Fort Jackson, SC, this past weekend. My husband and I took our two little ones down to visit with him and it was soooooo great to see him. I have never been away from him that long in his whole life so needless to say, I was missing him just a little. ;o) He has changed so much in these past weeks. He was so excited and happy to see us, and he was so proud of his accomplishment. Of course we are extremely proud of him too. He will be at his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) station for 18 weeks now in Fort Gordon, GA. Luckily he won't be under such tight lock and key here, so we should be able to talk to him more and he gets to come home for 2 weeks at Christmas!!! Maybe I will have a new camera by then so I can practice on him!!! (thinking seriously about the T1i). I will keep everyone updated on his progress. Thanks for all your support.

Amazing artist.

2009-09-28T15:26:00.002-04:00

I came across some artwork that I just had to share. These are really amazing and done with graphite pencils. If you want to see more, go to http://hatterandharestudios.deviantart.com/

Embracing the challenge

2009-09-22T13:33:00.006-04:00

Well, as most of you know, I had a recent accident with my camera and my beloved friend is gone. This has forced me to once again turn to my point and shoot for the time being until I can save up the money to get another (upgraded) camera. In any case, I decided to embrace the challenge of going back to my PNS and took a few shots with it today. I was surprised to see that it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. I managed to doctor them up some in Photoshop. My Kodak EasyShare (6.1 MP...yes, I said 6.1) actually has some manual functions on it. I can adjust the aperture, shutter speed and ISO (100, 200 and 400 only). The aperture surprisingly goes down to 2.8 and I can adjust the Exp. Comp. in Priority mode. Who knew??? It was interesting to see so many options that I didn't know existed. In any case, here they are. BTW, I shot the B&W in B&W mode on the camera...again, who knew???

On another note, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time in losing my sister-in-law. Tina was truly loved and will be truly missed.

Random stuff

2009-09-07T15:48:00.002-04:00

Here are a few shots from this weekend. I love the one of my daughter on the slide, with that hair going every which way! ha ha!! The hawk was just being such a sport, posing for me. He was awesome!

I love the '80s!!!

2009-09-02T10:51:00.004-04:00

In the past week or so, I have been astonished to see how much of "my" decade has been coming back...in particular, the clothing. Within the last week, I have seen ALL of the following out and about town. Makes me wonder why I ever got rid of any of my '80s stuff. Now if we could just get MTV to actually show videos again, that would be fantastic!!!

A few more from the beach.

2009-08-25T07:16:00.002-04:00

More beach pics.

2009-08-22T22:23:00.003-04:00

Myrtle Beach sunrise.

Our hotel.

Sunrise again.

My footprints.

A few from our beach trip.

2009-08-22T10:59:00.003-04:00

Just posting a few for everyone as I am still going through my pics from our trip to Myrtle Beach. It was great to spend the week with my sister, my niece and my great niece. I miss them already. :(

A few more I edited today....

2009-08-11T14:48:00.002-04:00

My senior.

2009-08-10T14:55:00.003-04:00

I took advantage of the fact that I have a senior this year to practice some senior portraits. We went to our local botanical gardens and I loved it there. It is a really great location with lots of backgrounds and textures to choose from!!! Here are just a few. I really have a beautiful daughter and she is a great model. :D

A few more from the wedding...

2009-08-06T11:07:00.002-04:00

...some of the essentials, like the ring, the wine, the cake and the food.

This is just awesome!

2009-08-05T11:06:00.003-04:00

As most of you probably did, I followed this story from the day these reporters were arrested. This was just a great thing to see them released and reunited with their families yesterday.

Sneak peek, wedding.

2009-08-02T07:48:00.003-04:00

I am still going through the couple hundred shots I took from my wedding this weekend, but I wanted to get a few up for everyone to see. Had a great time and learned so much. Hope you all enjoy them.

Thank you, Jesus.

2009-07-29T10:29:00.002-04:00

Glad I thanked Him before I ate any of it!!! :D

Fast little friend.

2009-07-29T10:01:00.004-04:00

I've been trying to get this little guy for a few days now, but he is so fast I still haven't managed to get the shot I really want. So, I thought I would post the ones I did get. He seems very comfortable with me and comes right up to the feeder even with me standing fairly close. Maybe I will get that "still" shot I am looking for eventually.

Lost Comic-Con memorial video

2009-07-27T14:28:00.003-04:00

This is a video the producers showed at Comic-Con of all our dear departed Losties. After this, Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) came out on stage and waved to the crowd, just long enough for them to catch a glimpse of his hand. Can you read it???

Another birthday.

2009-07-27T12:17:00.005-04:00

This is Rain. She has the sweetest personality. She is another friend from dance class, and it was her birthday Saturday. I took the camera with me and got some shots of all the fun. These were some of my favorites.

Hugging each other goodbye.

Aftermath of the broken pinata.

Because I miss it so!!

2009-07-22T08:22:00.002-04:00

New B&W conversion.

2009-07-21T15:41:00.004-04:00

I've been working on a different black and white conversion I read about, so I thought I would post a pic of my attempt. I know, it's not completely black and white because of the tomato, but I like the little pop of red. :D

365

2009-07-21T11:42:00.002-04:00

What I've been doing all weekend.

2009-07-20T10:33:00.003-04:00

Here she is.

2009-07-17T15:01:00.004-04:00

Alyssa Rylie. My daughter's best friend's baby. Like I said, I didn't get too long with her since mommy had to run due to an emergency, but I am hoping to get the chance to capture some more sweet moments with her some time in the future.

Slacker!!!

2009-07-17T11:45:00.004-04:00

That's what I've been. So sorry to all my faithful viewers. Here are a few to make up for my absence.

Cherry tomato.

Some 365s.

I had an opportunity to get a couple of shots (literally) of my daughter's friend's baby. She got an emergency phone call after I had only taken 3 shots. In any case, I will try to post them later today. Also, I have been hired to shoot a WEDDING on July 31st. OH MY!!!!!!!! Looking forward to it!!

365s

2009-07-09T10:06:00.002-04:00

My cherry tomato plants have finally started turning red!!! 214/365

Morning routine. 215/365

A couple outtakes from my morning routine.

Day 1

2009-07-07T12:52:00.006-04:00

Today my son left for 9 weeks of basic training followed by 18 weeks of AIT training. It is a bittersweet feeling. I am very proud of him and I am so grateful that he will be serving a country that supports its military so heartily. I look forward to updating you all on his progress. Keep him in your prayers, along with all the military. :D

PS....I only cried for like 10 minutes...which is good for me. :*(

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-06T11:09:00.004-04:00

Trying to get back on the 365 wagon that I fell off of...here are the past 3 days. :D

Peace!!!

Yep, I chopped it off. :D

Parades, fireworks and cookouts. That's what our weekend consisted of. It was nice to see the fireworks at the lake again this year (the dam broke several years ago and they finally finished fixing it last summer.) Here are some shots of the fun.

The bright "star" on the right is actually the moon. :D Slow shutter speeds are FUN!!!

Photo contest.

2009-06-30T10:22:00.003-04:00

The forum members from Michael Andrew's photography school started holding a photo contest a couple of months ago, with a different subject for each month. The subject for the month of June was "red." I entered the daisy below and won for the month of June (yay me!!). This means I get to pick the subject for July. This means a lot because I highly respect the opinions of all my forum friends. :D

PS....the red door was my other entry.

A friend's birthday.

2009-06-29T11:31:00.005-04:00

Took the kids to a friend's birthday party Saturday. Made a slide show of some of the shots from the day.

Some of my favs from the day.

Books

2009-06-25T08:52:00.005-04:00

Another great love of mine, aside from photography, family, food and LOST, is reading. Although I can be a bit slow in getting a book read, I am rarely without some kind of book being absorbed. I wanted to blog about two special books that have really touched my heart. They are A Thousand Splendid Suns and Three Cups of Tea. Both books are about life in Afghanistan (and Pakistan), with ATSS being fiction and TCOT being a true story. If you have never read either of these books, I HIGHLY recommend them. They will surely open your eyes and your hearts to see a different side of Afghanistan and Pakistan than what the media portrays.

This is a picture (not mine, though I would have loved to have been there) of the authors of the books, Khaled Hosseini and Greg Mortenson at the WRD (World Refugee Day) fundraiser held recently. Angelina Jolie gave a speech there.

I am currently reading Called Out of Darkness by Anne Rice. It is her personal story of how she went from being a devout Catholic, to being an athiest, to finally refinding her faith again after 38 years. I have always been an Anne Rice fan, and recently she started writing only Christian fiction which I have come to love even more than her early work. Though I will always love her vampire stories, her Christ the Lord series have quickly become some of my favorite books to date.

More from Charleston!!

2009-06-24T07:32:00.004-04:00

A few more...this first one is the neighborhood our best friend lives in. The houses are beautiful and so colorful.

I shot this one as we were going over the Arthur Ravenel bridge. I was inside the truck when I shot this one, and the other one of the bridge below.

The US Custom House....built in 1879.

Another view of the bridge.

One of the many boats docked across from us in Shem's Creek, where we were getting a bite to eat at Reds Ice House. www.redsicehouse.com

And finally, my 365 shots.

Let's all do the Charleston!!!

2009-06-22T17:13:00.003-04:00

This weekend, we went to Charleston, SC, to celebrate my husband's birthday and of course Father's Day. We had a great time and I have tons of pics, but I'm still going through them. Here are a few I managed to get to today. Charleston is a beautiful place....if you ever have the chance to visit, you definitely should!!!

Line of benches in the park that face this.....

The famous multicolored shops downtown.

Beautiful downtown church.

Fountain in the park.

Carriage rides downtown.

Basket weaver in the open market.

Blackberry cobbler (a.k.a. Poison Pudding)

2009-06-17T11:49:00.003-04:00

So, I'm still in the land of the living today after having eaten some of my homemade blackberry cobbler yesterday. Thus, I have once again proved that I am right, and my husband is wrong...lol!!! As you know, I had wild blackberries growing in my yard. I got enough to make a cobbler with them yesterday and it turned out great and was very yummy (added a scoop of ice cream too!!) However, my husband was still skeptical to eat it (calling it Poison Pudding), so I had to get shots of him trying it. I made them into a little story board. The quality of the shots is not the greatest, but I'm sure the humor of them will be worth it.

....and of course, I had to use one for my 365. :D

Birthdays and ballerinas!!

2009-06-16T13:02:00.004-04:00

A few from our busy weekend...we celebrated Dylan's 3rd birthday and also had Emily's 1st dance recital.

A couple 365 from the weekend

2009-06-15T21:53:00.002-04:00

My little dancer...in her recital costume. 205/365

A pretty sunset. 204/365

202 and 203

2009-06-12T08:51:00.001-04:00

Catching up on 365.

2009-06-10T09:21:00.004-04:00

196-201/365...yay...I broke the 200 mark!!! :D

196

197.
I know I haven't updated on my mom recently. She is doing great and the docs say that her chemo is working good. She has been on it for quite a while now and has only recently started having some mild side effects. She has been a super-trooper in her treatment, and I am sooooo incredibly proud of her. Keep going mom. Love you!!

198...my new remote!!!

199.
An accomplishment for me. I have had a bad habit of biting my nails since I was a kid. I think I have finally kicked the habit.

200.
Wild blackberries from my yard, though my husband says they are "poison berries." When I get enough, I am going to make a cobbler with them. I'll make sure he takes the first bite...lol!!

201.
Rainy days and Mondays.

And a couple random shots.

Wait for it....wait for it....

I was lucky enough to capture this lightening strike in yesterday's storm. I love thunderstorms, though the storms here in NC are nothing like they are in OK. "Tuck and run!!"

Got this one of the moon a few nights ago.

Soooo behind

2009-06-08T08:05:00.003-04:00

I haven't taken a 365 in such a long time. I have been sick, AGAIN!!! UGH! I'm sick of being SICK!!! Anyway, I am posting these "outtakes" from the painted portraits to try to catch up a little. As of today I am feeling a lot better, so I hope to get back on track.

Teaser trailer for New Moon.

2009-06-02T06:12:00.000-04:00

In case any of you haven't seen this yet......

Painted portraits.

2009-06-01T16:15:00.007-04:00

These are not the painted portraits...just some I liked.

I have been trying to finish watching my Photoshop Crash Course video, made by my mentor, Michael Andrew. In it, he shows how to do painted portraits in PS. These are my first attempts at the technique.

Before...SOOC.

After.

Before....SOOC.

After.

This was a 365 of me and Sam on the bus at the zoo.

Let's go to the ZOO!!!! (picture heavy)

2009-05-25T19:32:00.007-04:00

We took advantage of the holiday weekend and took the kids to the NC Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it. Here are some of the shots from the day. :D

Lizzzzzzzzzzzzard.

2009-05-22T11:03:00.002-04:00

There are two new photography things I'm learning this week. One is how to use my new RC1 remote for my Canon, which is awesome (a gift from my husband for my birthday). The second is shooting in RAW. I have to say that I LOVE using RAW. There are so many more ways to tweak a photo. This was my first attempt, but I will be shooting this way more for sure. This guy was hanging out on my sun catcher, so I thought I'd try to catch him....which I did...in a photo and in my hand....but he wiggled his tail which broke off and then he ran away. Darn it. That would have made a cool 365!!!