Happiness

Alternately titled- "This is the post that never ends."
Happiness is something that we should not rely on from people or things, but instead I think we should look at happiness as a bonus if we feel that way.

I certainly feel happiness when I use my camera to capture pictures of God's creation.
I love the colors of the flowers against the green grass.

Lilacs are one of my all time favorite flowers for smell.
I took these next pictures with a close-up or macro filter.
Speaking of my macro filters...

...it was Christina from Pooh's Corner that told me about them.
And I am so very happy that she did.
I love snapping photos of God's creation close up.

And see this dandelion? I edited this using a preset for Lightroom that Christina made and shared in her blog- you can see that post here. I also have an example using that in a picture of Bradley in my community-here.

Christina designed my blog for me and I am so very happy with the way it turned out.
I am not very good at picturing how something will be and I was very happy when I saw it in completion.
Through the end of May she is having a blog designing special for $40- check out her post here. I highly recommend her. :)

I also want to acknowledge that Julie from The Peanut Gallery...Exit Here was kind enough to pass on a blog award to me- the Happy 101 Award. Also, a while ago, Lisa from This and That tagged me in another award. I think this is the first time I have posted about an award. So, if you choose to continue reading about me, you have been warned, it might be a little boring. ;-)

10 Things That Make Me Happy
1) Getting my son up from bed in the morning (on the weekends-David does that during the week) and getting him from his nap. I actually miss him when he's asleep! :) 2)Taking pictures and also viewing beautiful pictures. Usually it is scenery pictures that I can't get enough of and they catch my breath. 3) When my family is in harmony and everyone is working together 4) Worshiping God 5) Ice cream 6) Going on an adventure with David and Bradley 7) Reading a good book 8) Going for walks with friends and my mom 9) Sharing favorite meals with my family 10) Days when Brad and I have nothing to do and get to stay home all day.

1) My all time favorite sport growing up was soccer and I had dreams of playing in college one day. That never happened as the community college I went to didn't have womens soccer. However, a few years ago before I had Brad I played indoor and some outdoor for a little over a year with a Mom's soccer team. It was a lot of fun! If it wasn't for the late nights (occasionally games would start at 9, 9:30 or even 10pm) I might still play.
2) I grew up on a lake and loved to catch frogs, pet snapping turtles (did that once and was bitten!!) and tadpoles.
3) I am a cat and dog person and have always had both growing up. My husband was not so much in favor of either when we married. I had to wait two years(seemed like a long time to me!) before getting our two cats and I am so very thankful that he let me get them. :)
4) David and I have always enjoyed taking pictures and got our first DSLR this past Fall. Throughout our history since we have met we went from disposable and disposable b&w cameras to a Canon film zoom camera, then a Fujifilm Finepix digital camera and now we have our Canon Rebel. It is amazing looking at our pictures throughout the years now and seeing the progression.
5) I am a procrastinator. Not because I don't want to do something, mainly because I'm afraid I won't be able to do it right. Sounds like a pride thing I need to work on....
6) I'm slightly addicted to buying books. Mainly self-help Christian and inspirational books, and also Christian fiction. I have helped feed my Christian fiction addiction by joining Book Sneeze (Thomas Nelson Publishers) and Bethany House Publishers and reviewing books I choose and they send to me for free.
7) I love to bake and cook but sometimes I find that the time factor gets in the way. I suppose I could make more time for it. Also, the money factor. There are so many dishes I would LOVE to make but the ingredients are very expensive.
8) A few years ago I became more obsessed with using all-natural personal and cleaning products for my family. I try and find the best bang-for-my-buck products and buy those. I have an aversion to chemicals so that is why I lean towards natural and organic.
9) Speaking of aversions, I am afraid of germs. Yes, it's true. I have to admit that it has gotten better since having Brad. I realized that I cannot control everything I touch and that I might not be able to wash mine or his hands right away, so I just trust in God a lot now. :)
It was really getting that bad.
10) I drink my coffee black. When I was a young teenager someone gave me a heavily sugared and creamed coffee and I thought it was way too sweet and was turned off by that. Ever since then it has been black. Yes, occasionally I will get a coffee drink from DD or Starbucks, like Mocha or something but not typically. Oh, and a few times I've gotten flavored creamers just for fun, but only used a little.
That was actually a lot of work thinking up those things.

I'm going to tag some people and pass on the awards. If I tag you, please don't feel you have to do anything with the award. :)
Happy 101

Lisa @ This & That Christina @ Pooh's Corner
Rachel @ Reaping What I Sow

Honest Scrap

Lara @ The Farmer's Wife Tells All Jamie @ Mommy's Camera
Traci @ Ordinary Inspirations for the everyday Wife, Mommy and Homeamaker