Flowers, Girls and Curls

Hello all!!  I have a wee post for you!  I have been very busy with many fun things.  Flower markets have started again for me this summer!  My friend Stephanie and I are having a ball together!!  Yes, we are both Stephanie's.  We are getting quite the reputation.  I don't know what it is...but people think we're funny!  We say it's a Stephanie thing, you might not understand us or get our way of thinking, but things are always perfectly clear to us!

I took Charlie (aka my camera) along to our Wednesday market.  It was a really nice day out.  We've been having some really bad weather.  Lots of rain.  Lots and lots!!
This pass week was lovely out.  Not too hot, not too cold, just right!  ;)   

This is us in the morning at about 5:00am on our way to our market.  We like to say, "Dark and Early!!".

It's kinda fun getting ready together at 3 in the morning.  Doing our hair, putting our makeup on, trying to decide what to wear....*sigh*, it's such a hard life.  ;) 

With it being so humid out hairspray is a girls best friend.  I do love our 4:30am Walmart runs to find something for breakfast besides eating McDonald's every morning.  Cuz you know we like to save that for lunch.  ;)

We enjoyed seeing the beautiful sunrise!!  It was breathtaking!

Lots and lots of flowers!!  These lilies were SO pretty and smelled SO good!  The only thing with lillies, is that their pollen gets everywhere!  The yellow stuff.  Now if they were only sitting in a vase, it would be fine.  But we had to move them all over while setting up and taking down, and just brushing up against us a little bit, we had yellow powder all over us.  I'm sure the bees thought us to be quite charming. 

This is what we do to entertain ourselves with interesting pictures!  Smiling sunflowers!!

Stephanie.  Don't be mad!  I just HAD to post this!  You are too cute!  Thanks for being an awesome friend and doing crazy poses for me!

This is her, "Yeah sure, I look good!" face.

You know you've made too many bouquets when your driving along, and you see a tree with huge broken branches and go, "Hmm, they need to trim up that bouquet, it has some dead stems!" 

Isn't she lovely!!  My dear friend Stephanie is beautiful inside and out!  I am so blessed to have her as a friend.

The whole display.  We were able to have the two tents last week.  It really helped our display to feel open and relaxed, and not cramped.  Hopefully we can have two again tomorrow!

Have a lovely day!  Think of flowers!

~Stephanie~



poems~

Here are a few poems I think are beautiful and sweet.  Some of these poets are a little quirky. 

But I do find that a bit of quirkiness adds charm to a poem.  ;)  Enjoy!

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come.

~Emily Dickinson

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile.

~Robert Burns

MY friend must be a bird,

Because it flies!

Mortal my friend must be,

Because it dies!
Barbs has it, like a bee.
Ah, curious friend,

Thou puzzlest me!

~Emily Dickinson

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends. 

~Shel Silverstein

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

~William Wordsworth

As I wandered the forest,
The green leaves among,
I heard a Wild Flower
Singing a song.

'I slept in the earth
In the silent night,
I murmured my fears
And I felt delight.

'In the morning I went
As rosy as morn,
To seek for new joy;
But oh! met with scorn.'

~William Blake

Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro' my garden-bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o'er the wall
Stole the seed by night.

Sow'd it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried
`Splendid is the flower.'

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

~Lord Alfred Tennyson

~Stephanie Lynn~

New post up on my photography blog!  http://stephanielynnphotographyblog.blogspot.com/

Check out some of my portraits of my peeps from IPS!  They were the best models a photographer could have!


~Steph

Missing Colorado

Colorado.  Is a beautiful place.

I was SO very blessed to be able to visit it for a short while.

I attended a photography school there, and met the most amazing people!

Kindred spirits!

I miss everyone so much it's depressing!  It is strange not seeing the people you spent every hour of the day with!

I have a TON of pictures, and I would like to show you ALL of them!  But that would be a lot!  So I'll only post the best!

But for now I only have time for one.

This is my beautiful friend Lauren, who I had the pleasure of rooming with for the first week, and I got to know her very well.  I miss ya roomie!

We had many laughs, so much that we cried!  I love my IPS peeps!

Have a good week ya'll!  ;)

Stephanie~

evening thoughts~

As I sit here resting this evening, I think of what a busy week I have had!  Many things going on, new and exciting things in the near future.  Some not so good things....  I officially have decided that my theory on myself, about me being electronically challenged, is a definite problem...not just me blaming myself for lack of computer savyness. 
Well, to start from the beginning, I am going to a photography class and I am VERY excited!  For this class I wanted to purchase some things for my camera.  Like a new camera bag. (check out these fabulous bags  http://www.epiphaniebags.com/#/shop-1/  I'm getting the Lola bag, so cute! :)
A filter for my 50mm lens, a battery grip, some other small things.  Then, my computer decides it needs a new battery!  So I'm like, ok....I can deal with this!  Find a new battery that is compatible with my computer, ok, did that.  Everything is bought, and shipped. 
Then, I check into my camera thats been having problems.  I called Nikon to see if we could figure out what's wrong over the phone...and...not so.  I need to send in my camera, to Nikon, in New York, two and a half weeks before I'm leaving, to be fixed because it is something internal.  Our family printer is out of ink, so I go over the my neighbors to use their printer to get the shipping label to send in my camera, got that shipped on Wednesday. 
On Thursday my Mom comes in my room with a flat rate envelope asking me should there be something in it, it had a huge rip in it, a big hole, and nothing in it.  It was supposed to be my new computer battery.  Why they sent it like that, just in a envelope, I don't know.  At first we thought someone must have stolen it out of our mailbox, but after further thought, talking to the post office, and a police report later, we think it must have been taken or fell out in route to my house.  Thankfully the battery company said they would replace it.  Big answer to prayers that they said will send me a new one!  Also Charlie (my camera) is going to start getting fixed tomorrow morning, and with many prayers I hope to get him back before I leave in two weeks!  Plus I think my computer has a virus.  I have anti-virus software so I don't know how that got in.  I don't know whats wrong with it.  It keeps freezing.  I am very anxious to have everything come safely and in working order before I leave.  sigh.

That is the end of the bad part of my week.  ;)

I think God used all of this to teach me this week.  I haven't been trusting Him with everything in my life.  I have been letting stress and waiting on things to take over my thoughts and my very being.  I made myself almost sick with worry.  Then I thought, why?  What really is the big deal?  It's just stuff, all replaceable.  Nothing that I can bring with me to God's kingdom!  He is what I should fill my thoughts with.  He is who I shall place my trust in.  So, I took a deep breath and asked Him to take my burden away.  And guess what!  He did!  All I had to do was ask Him, really give it to Him, completely lay my fears at His feet.  He then filled me with such joy, and peace!  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 
Phl. 4:6-8

I know all will be well.  He is in control of my trip, everything will turn out just fine!  :)  I am looking forward to two weeks of wonderful fellowship and lots of photography! 

A good part of my week was all my awesomely talented  students!  On Saturday I had a recital for all of them.  They all played SO BEAUTIFULLY!  I am very very proud of them.  My little ones were so cute, and so very confident!  With their adorable bowing and curtsies.  And my older students all performed with sophistication and grace.  I loved each and every song. 

This week is going to be a good week.  I daily remember to give Him the pen to my story.  Sometimes I try to take control of things because I can't see what the future holds.  I need to remember that He is in control.  He will write out the most beautiful story for my life.  More beautiful then I could ever have imagined.  :)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  Phl. 4:8

Trust, and delight in Him this week.  God is here with each of us, leading us in His path.  <3 <3

~Stephanie~