Goodnight Moon

I love the night sky. I have an obsession with the moon. I am fascinated with it's phases, craters, shadows and light. I'm fortunate enough to live out in the middle of nowhere, with no light pollution. I can see the Milky Way and every twinkling star in the sky. Sometimes I sit out in my driveway and just stare. When my friend Amanda was here last week, she taught me how to photograph the moon. What I mean by that is what settings to use on my camera. Shutter speed, f-stops, ISO. All the good stuff.

This first photo was taken one of the nights she was here. It was my first attempt!

This was taken on the 9th, when the moon was full (or at least I'm assuming it was full).

This one was taken last night. It's a waning moon, and there was a little bit of cloud cover.

Now that I kinda know what I'm doing, I hope to do a study of the moon. I plan to photograph it every single night for a month! Or at least the nights it's visible. Won't that be cool?

Thanks, Amanda, for all your tips, for bringing your stuff with you, and for teaching me almost everything you know. You ROCK!

Changes in Lattitude - A look back, part 3

You can read the first two installments to my Changes in Lattitude series here
and here.

When we made our offer on the house in Leakey, they didn't accept it, but we expected that. We went back and forth a couple of times and finally agreed on a price. All of the paperwork was signed and submitted! We were well on our way to our dream - owning a piece of the Texas hill country! That's when the reality hit!


There were so many variables flying around. Would we be able to sell our house in Houston? Where would Brian stay during the week in Houston? Would I be able to get anything besides dial-up Internet at the new house? How would we fit all of our stuff into a smaller house? A house with one less bedroom and no pantry or garage or laundry room. Where would we put all the extra stuff?


In the end, we knew it would all work out. We had faith in our decision. We closed on the new house a little over a month later and started getting it ready for move-in. Getting it ready consisted of cleaning it and um, cleaning it. We bought it furnished, which meant that it came with bare bones stuff like a dusty futon and pressed wood end tables. Mmmm-hmmmmm. Our budget was pretty much shot since we now had 2 mortgages, so needless to say, we couldn't afford to hire an interior decorator ;)


A month later we put our house in Houston on the market. Boy, that turned out to be a long haul. It didn't sell for almost a year.


Everything started to fall into place. One of our first weekends at the house, we met a great couple who had also recently moved to the area from Houston. Meeting them was an unbelievable blessing that we wouldn't fully realize until after we'd completely moved in.

Over the next three months, we would drive back and forth from Houston to Leakey with car and truck loads of our belongings. Sometimes I would stay during the week with BJ while Brian went back to Houston. It was fun and new and exciting.

In November, three months after we closed on the house, we were completely moved in and I was ready to make the transition from living in Houston to living in Leakey, full-time. It was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. It was exciting because we'd finally be living our dream, full-time. But making this transition also meant that our family would be separated during the week. Brian would be in Houston during the week, coming home on weekends.


You see, I didn't take into account the loneliness I would encounter after the move was final. I knew it would be hard to be away from Brian, but I never imagined how hard it would be. Those first Mondays are imprinted on my brain forever.

On Mondays, Brian would get up at 4:30 a.m. to make the drive the back to Houston. Most of the time I would get up, make coffee for him, and see him off. I would put on a brave face, but most of the time I would cry myself back to sleep after he left. It was tough in the beginning. But it got easier. And better. Each and every week.

BJ had just turned 3 when we started living in Leakey. He was a little confused and he really missed our old house. I think the hardest and most confusing part was when we'd go back and stay in the "old house" with Daddy in Houston. He just didn't get it. And on the weeks we stayed in Leakey, Brian would tuck him in on Sunday night and tell him he'd see him 4 more night-nights. Each and every night, BJ would talk to Brian on the phone before bed and (and still does) ask "how many more night-nights until you come home, Daddy?" Sigh.

BJ and I kept very busy during the week exploring our new home and we went on so many adventures. We hiked and drove and went to this place and that. All along I wished that Brian was there with us, but we both knew that none of it would be possible if he was anywhere but Houston. The weekends were filled with fun activities with Brian though. Lots of time spent in the river and hiking.

While Brian was always a great dad, he's really shined since we've made the move. He carves out time for us each day for phone calls, mainly at dinner and bed time. BJ loves our "conference calls!" And when he's home, the kids and family time are #1, which is awesome. He is the most "present" dad I've ever known.

So now, it's a little over 2 years later. We've added another child to our family and we just celebrated our 3rd Christmas in our hill country home. Two years and 4 months later, and our life is pretty much the same. Brian comes home on the weekends and we make the occasional 5 hour drive back to Houston to visit family. We look forward to holidays when we know he'll be able to spend a little more time at home. I still long for the day when we will all be together everyday, but I know it won't happen for a long, long time. Unless we get lucky and win the lottery. But that would mean we'd actually have to play the lottery, right?

I like to joke that we've added years to our marriage by being apart so much! I can say that our marriage is stronger than it's ever been. And it gets stronger every day. Every.single.day.

Changes in Latitude - A look back, part 2

If you didn't catch my first installment, go here!!

That was a long, long, long week. A week of what ifs and why nots and ohlordhavemercyareweREALLYthinkingaboutdoing this. We scoured the internet looking for more information on the area. We knew we loved it, but we wanted to make sure it was really all we thought it was. Schools - check, taxes - holy-motherofGodYES check, crime rates - check, etc. So, on paper it looked good.

We reached deep into our hearts and talked about our marriage and our family. We knew we were strong enough and our trust was great enough to handle the distance, but the thing we worried most about was BJ. He wasn't even 3. This move would benefit him so much, but would it also devastate him to not see his father during the week? That's some big stuff there folks. Believe it or not, we researched that topic as well. Whether a father's absence for work would have a lifelong affect on a child's emotions and behavior. There are always two sides, but it seemed like most of our findings indicated he would be fine. After all, children of military parents deal with much longer absences, and how many fathers work long hours and don't even see there kids before bed or in the morning? We decided as long as our family time on the weekends was quality time spent together, it would make up for the loss of time during the week.

The other issue I faced was whether I could handle parenting by myself during the week. Being the sole parent kinda scared me. Not that I thought I couldn't handle it, but it sure sounded exhausting. And then there were the nights, after BJ was in bed, with no one to hang out with. Would I be lonely? Brian would have his friends and family in Houston during the week. I would have basically no one.

With all of this on our minds, on Friday we packed up the truck again and headed out to the hill country. Saturday morning we met with a realtor who showed us a slew of properties. It seemed that once we started looking at properties all of our inhibitions flew out the window. It was exciting and beautiful and almost a dream come true.

The first set of property was part of a ranch which was being broken up. There were 6 lodges on about 3 acres each for sale. We kinda fell in love with 2 of them. One was perched on a cliff with the river flowing 30 feet below. The other was perched on a hill with the river about 150 yards away. Of course Brian fell in love with the first and I the second (being that I'm a little more practical when it comes to child safety and all ;). We looked inside and out. Upside down and right-side up. Front and back. You get the point.

There were so many wonderful things and so many not-so-wonderful things. They were vacation lodges, meaning they were small and very bare bones. Bare bones isn't bad when you have a redecorating budget, but we were about to drop it all on buying the house and land. Two bedrooms, two baths, no garage, no pantry, no closet space (well a little), no laundry room all wrapped up in a 1000 square foot package. Sheesh. The house we were living in wasn't much bigger, but we had 3 bedrooms and a garage.

After we looked at several more properties, we called it a day. We had lots to think about, and there were a few really good options. After weighing our choices over dinner and after we got BJ down for bed, we had pretty much made up our minds. We could do this and we found the house we would do this in. Just to make sure, Sunday morning, before we hit the road for Houston, we drove back out to the house to look one more time. We walked the entire property, walked along the banks of the river, and enjoyed the peace and beauty and the view. OMG, the view!!! And then we went home.

That week, we called our realtor and made an offer on Cabin #6 of Deer Rock Lodges.

More tomorrow!! This story is turning out to be much longer than I thought. I know I'll be so glad to have it written out though, so bear with me ;)

Changes in Latitude - A look back, part 1

When we moved out to the middle of nowhere, our lives changed dramatically. That's what we wanted. We were so tired of the hustle and bustle of the city. The traffic, the crime, the smog, the rude people. All of it. When we found Leakey, we felt like we'd found a slice of heaven.

We'd been vacationing in Leakey for several years. Every long weekend, every holiday, we were here. It was our utopia. So quiet, peaceful, scenic, friendly, safe. Everything we were looking for. What cemented it for us was the prospect of raising our children in a place where they would have the opportunity to just be kids; to roam, have freedom, be one with nature without the big, bad world breathing down their innocent necks.

We planned and schemed for years. Would be able to do it? How would we make a living? Where would we live? How would we live? And then slowly but surely all the pieces started falling into place. Brian was laid off from his job and started his own company. I was laid off from my job and decided to become a stay at home mom. Our finances looked more and more promising as we paid off debt and built up a nest egg. And then it happened.

We had plans to spend Brian's birthday weekend in Leakey in a little rented cabin on the river. We had an amazing weekend. Relaxing and recharging in the peaceful Frio Canyon. Only this time we carved out a little time to drive around and look at property. We'd seen a few listings online that looked promising, so we sought them out and were pleased with what we found. On our way home we decided to start looking in earnest.

Upon arriving home, we were both glued to real estate sites, and there isn't a shortage of them out here, trust me! We found some more homes and property that looked really good and the prices, on some, were even better. We also discovered that there weren't many actual homes (and the homes that were available were homes I wouldn't let my dog live in, or they were so outrageously priced Warren Buffet couldn't afford them), mostly land. Raw land with no services like water and electricity and phones. We researched and realized that getting connected to all those necessities would probably cost more than the land. And then there was the whole house thing. We certainly couldn't afford to buy land, set up the utilities AND build a house. We spoke with an agent and made plans to come out the next weekend to view properties with existing homes and some land that had services already installed. Well, we fell in love.

On the drive home we were so giddy and nervous and crazy. Could we do it? I mean really do it? Could we move 5 hours away from where Brian had grown up, and where I'd lived for almost 13 years? From our friends and families? From Super Target and Starbucks? There were so many things to think about. What about Brian's company? As it turned out, that was the real clincher in our decision. Brian couldn't afford to move his company. It's roots were too deep in Houston's oil and gas industry. It was far too much of a risk. And since he was a one man operation, there was no way he could be away from the office all the time. So we were left with some tough decisions. Decisions that would change everything.

To be continued tomorrow (because I'm too tired to type out anymore coherent thoughts!)

Fall on the Frio

Today after I picked up BJ and his friend from school, we headed over to the Frio River to hunt for rock treasures, build a dam, and admire the beautiful fall foliage. It was a perfect day, although at 72 degrees, it was a little warm for my taste. But hey, it's Texas and that's the way it is.

BJ and the Cypress Trees

Cypress Foliage
Look Mommy, it's seaweed!

Impromptu dam building

More colors

I'm really having a good time getting to know my new camera. I adjust the settings and make the same shot several times so I can see what I get. It's fun and a great way to learn. I'm also getting back into Photoshop and relearning some editing techniques. It's amazing how much your forget when you don't use a skill for a long, long time. It's coming back though, and it doesn't hurt that if you Google Photoshop, you find hundreds of sites with free information and downloads and techniques. Wonderfully amazing.

I hope to find a little time everyday to stop and admire my surroundings. To photograph them in an artful way. To share them with you.

There really is beauty in everything, sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see it.