happy / sunshine

L- scannography / T - phone

"The purpose of this life is to enjoy every moment."

I like the quote that was on my Yogi tea tag last night. I opened the tea bag while I was in the process of making some scannography images with the little bunch of daffodils Taylor and I picked up from Trader Joe's. For a mere $1.29 you can pick up 10 stems of budding daffodils and in a matter of hours they will open up in a vase of water - pure sunshine. And for me they bring a lot of pleasure on this cloudy cool day. It's not quite Spring here but I guess officially we have a few more days. I looked at the forecast for the first day of Spring - it looks perfect - sunny and 66. With a few days of sun I bet the trees will be blossoming by the weekend. / spring break went by way too fast and i was upset that mom had an extra long week at work (she had to work one night til 1 am) but we had a fun weekend together. before heading back to athens she took me to trader joe's (how can i get them to open a store in athens?) and bought me some of my favorites and a bunch of daffodils to brighten my room. but i went off and left it all. makes me sad. i'm coming home again this weekend so it's ok.

20 years of joy

solo post - L

Someone on FB wished me a happy day today, as well as Taylor. And I appreciate that. I think this is as much my day for celebrating as it is hers. My daughter has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined possible. So I celebrate this day she came into my life 20 years ago.

When they told me I had a baby girl I wasn't really surprised but when they said, "and she has beautiful red hair!" I couldn't believe it. I always imagined I would have a quiet little girl with soft brown curls. Never in a million years did I imagine I would have a red head. I thought, "are you sure she's mine?" Yes, she's my daughter. And she isn't quiet like me (but for this I am glad). She has some of my traits (hope the good ones), and some from her dad, and I guess from someone generations back who had red hair. In her 20 years she has grown from guidance and support from both sets of grandparents, gained knowledge from many, many teachers, matured through friendships and heartbreaks - learned to stand on her own two feet in more ways than one and has developed into a beautiful young woman inside and out.

Taylor you are uniquely wonderful and strong, a most loving daughter, and I thank God for you every single day.

The joy of my life

solo post by L - T at age 2 / age 18

Happy Birthday Taylor!
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
- Dr. Seuss
Tomorrow is T's birthday - she'll be 19.
I'm not the mushy type and unfortunately I'm not eloquent either, so writing a birthday wish is hard for me. This will be the first year we haven't been together on her birthday. I don't know if that will bother her as much as it does me, but it's made me a little sentimental so I got out old photos. Remembering...... the Old MacDonald birthday party I had for her when she was 2, and the Nursery Rhyme party when she was 3 and we played "pin the mitten on the kitten" (my mom made her the 3 little kittens, stuffed dolls). When she was 7 I took her 6 friends to the circus. When she was 10 we had an old-fashioned bowling party - I made her a cute red felt skirt with a black pom-pom poodle and a black satin bowling jacket with her initials on the back - she wore her hair in a high pony tail. The other girls wore 50's attire and they had a blast - lots of giggles that night. When she was 11 she asked for money, in lieu of gifts, and donated $200 to help animals at Noah's Art, an animal rehabilitation center. When she turned 16 it was a big deal of course. I rented a limo to take the girls to the Hyatt Reqency downtown. The girls, in their fancy dresses, rode to the top of the town and had dinner up on the spinning blue dome, it began snowing as they had their photo taken with the limo driver once they arrived home. Inside I had a chocolate fountain with strawberries and angel food cake for dipping (they devoured it in less than 10 minutes I think.) Lots of chatter that night. Now she's an adult for the most part and parties don't include the parents. But as parents, their day is always special to us. In fact, I think as parents, our children's birthday is certainly more special than our own. For me, I know, the day she was born, was the day pure joy was brought into my life. She has been a continuous source of pride and delight for me and I grow more proud of her every day.
Sorry, Taylor, to have embarrassed you. Happy Birthday!!

so true

solo post - L, iphone pic at work

I took a break and walked over to Starbucks around 3 today (about a 5 minute walk in the brisk cold air). I got a London Fog Tea Latte. Have you had one yet? It's my new favorite afternoon drink. So good. The quote on my cup was perfect. So true.
"Success in life is that your kids want to spend time with you once they've grown up." - Paul Orfalea (founder of Kinko's)

I think right now I don't feel completely "successful" in this regard but she's not really grown up yet either is she? It doesn't count yet does it? I mean, as long as she's in school I don't think it's the coolest thing to spend a weekend with your mom. There are much more appealing offers coming her way. I do feel blessed however - T and I have a wonderfully close and open relationship and I cherish that more than anything in this world. When she chooses to spend time with me, over her friends, now that's pure joy.

This is Taylor / this is my mom

I want to thank all of you who have visited us so far and the kind comments you have made. It is appreciated more than you know. I feel like I have met many sincere and warmhearted women through this internet world of blogging. It's fun and addicting so I'll keep at it. However, some things were brought to my attention...
My good friend, Trevor, shared with me some observations he made about our blog today. I have known him for over 10 years and as someone who knows me well he felt there were some things missing from our blog - it's possible that others might not feel the warm, tight relationship my daughter and I have because I have been a little impersonal in the way I write. But the main thing he noticed was that it is difficult to discern the different voices - where I leave off and she, Taylor, begins talking. I was so thankful to him for pointing these things out to me. I was too close to it to see.
So I hope this will clear things up a bit if people were confused. I'm, Leslye, the primary blogger. My photo "postings" are on the left and Taylor, my daughter's photos are on the right. Also my voice is first and her's is second (now in purple). I'm sure our blog will change over the course of the year, but for now this will be the way it will be laid out.

So that you can know us better.
This is my daughter, Taylor. She can always make you laugh. She has a creative mind and an incredible "eye" for photography, loves music and going to concerts (she's become known for her band photography). She likes cool weather... likes to wear scarves and hoodies ... likes chai soy lattes and hanging out with friends. She is open-minded, independent and full of potential. Taylor is my joy.
this is my mom, leslye. mom doesn't like having her picture taken (i secretly took this one). mom is accepting and understanding. mom is the one behind the camera when i am in front of it and is the one that sparks the majority of my inspiration. she needs to paint more. mom loves red and black (fitting since i go to uga now, haha). mom listens to my advice and never ceases to give me some of her own. she has never made me feel unloved or separated. she has never held me back. mom has watched me grow and has been the fertilizer for me. without her i wouldn't be anything like the person i am today. i love her.