Thursday, December 31, 2009

My favorites from 09..

Well, my initial thought for this post was going to be "Best Shot of 2009.." but seeing that I can never make a final decision, here's a clump of my favorites from this year:


Moments
:

(what I love about these is the realness of the moment... maybe not perfectly focused, but they are my favorites.)


















Nature:



















Portraits:








And my all-time favorite:






I hope your new year is filled with all the blessings of 2009, and then some.

Cheers to a wonderful 2010..

-suzyQ

Monday, December 28, 2009

Afterwards




The tree is wilting; the dressing is long gone... toy bikes and barbie dolls start to lose their magic; cousins travel back to their homes...
but the joy- it lives on...

May the joy of the season make its home in your heart this year.

(picture taken with my cell phone and edited online)

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Away in a Manger


Merry Christmas, dear friends.

-suzyQ

Monday, December 21, 2009

Magical togetherness





Togetherness.
We are heading up to my grandparents' for the holidays. Christmas up there is filled with cousins, warm fires, soft light, and plenty of family time. My grandma puts up a stocking for each person in our expanding family, and on Christmas morning each one is filled with knick-knacks and fresh oranges.Christmas Eve is when we head to the little church on the hill for carol singing and candle lighting. All of us kids are complete in our satin dresses with big bows and our shiny Mary Janes. Soon after the service, we scurry to bed where our grandfather reads "The Night Before Christmas," topped with wacky voice animations and fuzzy pj's.

Christmas morning, well that is just plain magic.


May your Christmas be filled with love, warmth, and magical togetherness with those special ones.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

little did she know




He worked next door to her... the girl with the auburn curls and rosy cheeks. She lived in the big white house with the navy shutters while he cleaned the grease off the stove and took out the trash next door. Her maid, Bee, had raised her since she was born. Her dresses were always crisp and bright. His trousers were slightly wrinkled and covered in soot. He would often sit out on the back porch and he would hear her music... it would come from the front room in the big house. He gradually would make his way to sit under the big oak tree and sit by the hydrangeas beneath the window and listen as her fingers glided up and down the piano... it was so peaceful. Sometimes, he would glance up without her noticing. When she played, she would tighten her lips and squint her eyes, almost as if they were closed. He saw a joy and a serenity in her as she played... he could tell it was her escape. Often she would look out into the distance as if seeing something far away, but then she would start right back playing again. She would repeat this for hours... sometimes he wondered if she even had a family inside that big house. He would almost be asleep under the oak tree when he would hear Ms. Wilkins whistling for him in the kitchen- another load of garbage waiting for him.... at night, sometimes he wouldn't even go home to his empty house full of soda cans and old magazines. Sitting under the big oak, knowing she was somewhere in that house- that was where he wanted to be.

Sometimes they would see each other at school. She would usually have four or five girls decked in plaid skirts and twin braids hovering around her to soak in the radiance.. she would always do the same thing she did at the piano- glance into the distance, as if searching for something... except here at school, she didn't snap back into the moment... the girls crowding around were almost a buzzing in her ears.

Little did she know that he was always there. Always in the background, always there to catch her if she'd fall. Around him, she wouldn't need to stare into the distance- all she had been searching and grasping for had always been right there under the big oak with the dirty hair and the greasy jeans...

Little did she know...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Silence




Sometimes silence is the only road to the soul. . .

Friday, December 11, 2009

It's always here




she touches my hand

then comes that smile i love..



no comfort beats mama's

love... is always here

. . .

I was just fooling around when I took this shot, but I somehow keep coming back to this one moment, filled with the subtle peace and beauty on a simple drive to dance lessons one rainy afternoon...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

How can you not smile?






I hope the rest of your week is wonderful.

-suzyQ

Saturday, December 5, 2009

wait...



When you make it to the top,

wait for me.

Friday, November 27, 2009

I dream.




I dream...

of fields, white with a blanket of snow...

of taxis gliding down busy streets on a rainy day...

of black and white movies topped with happy endings...

of sunny days spent outdoors...

of crafting snowmen and making snow angels...

of my whole family together, our backs warm and cheeks pink from the fire...

of walking down a French street in a summery frock, holding fresh vegetables and bread in hand...

of butterfly and eskimo kisses after bedtime stories...

of driving for hours with nowhere to go...




of wishing with all my might in a field of dandelions...


Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thankful goodness





Things I am thankful for on this lovely Thanksgiving:

Pumpkin pies.
My family.
The warmth of my wool blanket.
My camera.
Natural light.
Christmas decorations ready to be placed.
Mac & cheese and fried chicken (the southerner's Thanksgiving meal)
The touch of a loved one.
My crochet needles.
My friendships.
Saturday mornings.
Fuzzy socks when the draft in my old house is too much for my poor feet to handle.
Dad's encouraging words.
Joking around with Mama.
My brother's blushed cheeks.
My sister's warm hands.
My golden retriever's precious head on my lap.
The amazing readers of my blog... I thank each and every one of you...
Who would have thought that a crazy 15 year old could love blogging this much?... and that would be because of all of you...

Most of all, I am thankful for this hectic, sticky, insane, crazy, wonderful mess of a life that I am incredibly blessed to have.

May your Thanksgiving be absolutely perfect.

Great love and thanks,
suzyQ

Sunday, November 22, 2009

It's the simple things... (a few days late)



Steaming apple cider in the chilly mornings.
The smell of rain...
My moccasins.
Brushing the hair out of my brother's sweet eyes.
Staying inside all day watching Christmas movie marathons- I love this time of year.
The smell of chili throughout my home- making me anxious for tomorrow's supper.
The fact that Thanksgiving is arriving...
Scribbling the beginnings of Christmas lists with my sugar-filled siblings.
The heat from the fire that is warming my toes at the moment...
The preparations for a pumpkin pie.
The freckle-nosed little girl smiling up at me in the choir loft at church this morning.
Going to sleep every night with the comfort of having my sister beside me throughout the night..

and the beautiful kitten that curiously watched the crazy teenager going camera-wild at the sign of leaves...

go here for more simple things.

Much love,
suzyQ

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I am in love.














I am in love... with fall. Pumpkin pie, blazing fires, and the smell. Oh yeah, that is my favorite part. I am on my way to jump in a pile of leaves and crochet myself a scarf.

Hope your fall is as lovely as mine.

Much Love,
suzyQ

Sunday, November 15, 2009

on and on...



We were thirteen, on the brink of high school. Everything would soon be changed- our friendships, our schoolwork, our shoe sizes, our teachers, and our lives. But on that warm, humid summer night down by the dock with the crickets humming us a tune and the fish quietly splashing in the pond beneath us, nothing mattered- nothing mattered at all. It was just the four of us; me, with my braces and sun-kissed cheeks, the two boys- 12 feet and battle scars between the two of them, and my best friend, with her sandy feet and over sized t-shirt. Fishing poles in hand, casual conversation, and bubble gum that lost its flavor the hour before; this is all that was on our minds that night. Our palms were sticky, the bonfire was dying down, the fish were long asleep... but we didn't mind. We sat out there for hours with no light but the moon.

On that summer night, the world's end wouldn't have bothered us. That night, on the cusp of young adulthood with our scraggly hair and torn blue jeans, a special, everlasting bond formed between the four of us... those clumsy country kids will never disappear...

no matter what.

and the crickets hum on and on...


-suzyQ

Monday, November 9, 2009

And a little more...










Here are a few more sister shots... enjoy!

-suzyQ

Friday, November 6, 2009

Portraits









Have been really busy lately, but here are some glimpses of some of my portraits. (click on each picture to get the full view... I hate how small they turn out on my page! They also look clearer when you click.)


This beautiful girl is my sister- how lucky am I to have such a fantastic model living right at home??

Have a marvelous, blissful, serene weekend.
Much love,
suzyQ

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Saturday Mornings


Waking up to the smell of pancakes. Hurrily putting on my wool moccasins and bathrobe to grab one before the rest of my family devours them. Sleepy eyes and scraggly hair. Orange juice on the back porch. Cartoons constantly showing on every t.v in the house. Good ole Log Cabin syrup on sticky fingers. Browsing blogs to my soul's content. Finally changing out of my pajamas around noon. Then gradually doing the dishes... usually around one or two.

This would have to be my favorite day of the week. Lazy mornings and late nights filled with fun- what could be better?

Will be looking forward to next Saturday all week....


Have a great day.
-suzyQ

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pink Thursday (4)


Ahh. We come to an end of Pink Thoughts. I hope that even though October is ending, pink thoughts will still continue to buzz in your mind.

I hope that you continue
to remember,
to pray,
to cherish,
to hope,
and to love for those affected with breast cancer.

May there always be a special pink place in your soul.

Much love-
suzyQ

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

It comes


the rain comes.

and comes.


and comes.


despite the cold and wet, it sure makes for a good picture.


-suzyQ

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Take a leap... lessons from the trampoline



Do you sometimes feel like you are just living your life robot-style? Like you are just going through your regular ole every day routine; like you are in a car going 200 miles an hour watching your life pass you by outside the window? Are you bored with yourself?

My new challenge: Take everything slowly. Live your life by the edge of your seat, eagerly grasping every exciting opportunity that comes your way. Anticipate. Get giddy over the little out of the ordinary happenings in your everyday life. Take risks. Try something new. Bake a cake, go roller-skating, try a new instrument, get a pedicure. Scrounge up every last crumb of your day (who cares if you get a little bloated in the end?)

Just take a leap into life again. Jump as high as you can-
just have the ride of your life.

And don't forget to take notes along the way.

-suzyQ