Still..."Party of 1"

This is not a pity party. Just a party of one. I like being single. Wait! Let me restate that. I've learned to like being single.

My time is all my own. I don't have to check in with anyone, cook for anyone, clean up after anyone. I can eat Fruity Pebbles for dinner in my bathrobe and slippers and go to bed at 8:30 if I want. I don't do that, but I can. Okay, maybe I do that every once in a while. :) I'm free to go and do whatever God calls me to. I'm a modern day Paul-ess. I get to focus 100% on God and not be distracted by a husband. Although I will say, there are some mighty fine not-my-husbands out there that are still a major distraction. I digress. I am seriously boy crazy right now. (Which should not be allowed for anyone over 30!)

All this to say, something about this time of year makes it really tough to be single. It's cold and I would kind of like another warm body in the bed with me...even if it snores. I put up the Christmas tree this past weekend and just about broke my back trying to drag the darn thing up the stairs and then put it together. A Mr. would have come in pretty handy right about then. And then there are all of the holiday invitations that are pouring in for Ms. Prewitt & "guest". Umm...guest? If I take anymore girl friends with me to company events, they are going to think I'm gay.

The biggest blow came from my company. Let me preface this: I love my job and am pretty sure I work for the best company ever. BUT...if you are single, they only allow you to bring one guest to the company Christmas party, whereas, if you have a family, you bring them all. If I had a Mr., this would be perfect. But I don't. I had invited my mom and dad to come before I knew about the "1 guest" rule. Did I mention that I am going to be featured as the "employee talent" this year and will be singing a solo in front of hundreds of people? People that I don't know. No personal cheering section for me.

Once again, this is not a pity party. I'm just hoping that one day I will be able to cheerfully say "plus one" instead of "party of 1".

I'm live! (again)

So my new website was FINALLY launched this past weekend and I was so excited to get the domain that had my whole name in it this time. Something about 'jaimepphotography' just didn't roll off the tongue quite right. So, with no further ado, let me introduce to you...

http://www.jaimeprewittphotography.com

I was finally able to upload all of the pictures I've been taking over the past year. And I can guarantee you that many more will be showing up in the near future, as my little side business has been booming. Thanking God for giving me this fun creative outlet that I love so much and for all of the people who are giving me the opportunity to showcase my gift!

WE DID IT!!! WE ACTUALLY WON!!!

That's right! Me and my gorilla from the Dallas Zoo took away 2nd place in the annual Feathers, Fur and Scales Photography Contest! To say I'm excited is an understatement. I've never won anything for any of my pictures before. Of course, I've never entered any of them into a photography contest either. But in a small way, this was confirmation.

Just last weekend, as I was sitting at Stabucks recharging my camera battery due to a small glitch during a photo shoot, I was questioning myself and God about whether or not I should pursue my love and passion for photography. It seems like every time I've scheduled something lately, chaos has ensued. But as I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself, a friend of mine called and left a message saying her sister was getting married and would I want to be the photographer. Now, maybe that wasn't God audibly speaking to me and saying "Go forth with your camera and capture the world", but it was a realization that I have a gift, there are people who need this gift, and if God continues to provide opportunities for me to share that gift, why in the world would I let a few chaotic moments take that away from me???

And to top things off, there will be a reception in my honor (well, actually it's for everyone who won) at the Dallas Zoo on October 24th. Can't wait to see my big gorilla blown up and on display for everyone to enjoy. :)

I might have a crush!

I recently finished reading a book by Donald Miller called "Through Painted Deserts". It wasn't intentional. I had gone to Barnes & Noble a few weekends ago looking for another book by Luci Swindoll, since we all know I've had a girl crush on her ever since I picked up "Doing Life Differently". If you've never read this book, I would highly recommend it.

But back to Don. I had read his book "Blue Like Jazz" years ago and remembered enjoying his different take on life. Don is a theorist. He doesn't live within black and white lines like most Christians. He questions things that are often in the gray. And he's not afraid to question God. His new book that I picked up was no different. It is the story of a road trip he took with a new friend from Houston to Oregon.

A few things to note. Now, more than ever, I am determined to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon one day. I've had the desire to go there and camp ever since my old friend Scott sent me pictures of Havasupai Falls from the bottom of the canyon. There are not words to describe the color of the water there. And what a rewarding trip...to be able to look back and see what you have accomplished afterwards. Don and his friend Paul did this exact thing. They were better men for it.

They also realized the joy of living life without things, one day at a time. They literally sold everything they had, loaded up in an old VW van and headed off on the road. Sleeping in the van, eating rice and beans, and counting on the generosity of the people they met. I can only imagine what it would be like to not have to worry about "things". I don't consider myself to be a materialistic person, but I do long to have a home of my own someday, maybe a nicer car that has heated seats. :) But all of these things are a chasing after the wind. The only thing I am guaranteed is today. I am blessed and am grateful for the reminder Don. Not to mention...I think you are adorable!!!

I smell fried food...

Yep, that's right...it's time for the State Fair of Texas. I'm drooling all over again thinking about the Fletcher's corn dogs, funnel cakes, fried frito pie, candy apples...the list goes on and on. The fried frito pie won 1st Place for the fried food award this year and it was so stinking good!!!

And thanks to my amazing job, I got to go to the fair for free this past weekend. I took my friend Andrea along and we made the most out of the rainy day. We saw the "Monsters of the Sea" show at the IMAX, looked at all of the new cars, and lusted over this super cool Mustang pool table. This would look so awesome in my (future) house!

And speaking of my future house, we went to play Bingo with my company that afternoon and I won a 26" flat screen HDTV. I never win anything, so you can only imagine how ridiculously excited I was. It turns out that there were 4 other people that bingoed at the same time as me, but because I threw my arms up in the air, everyone saw me first. Guess being an expressive person is a good thing sometimes. :) It's still sitting in my closet in its box waiting for the day that I have a place to put it.

And it only seems appropriate to end this happy blog with a friendly wave from Big Tex. It was yet another wonderful year at the State Fair of Texas!!!

A Day at the Dallas Zoo

A friend recently told me about a photography contest that the Dallas Zoo was holding called Feathers, Fur and Scales. So, a few weekends ago we headed off to the zoo to get up close and personal with the animals. I must say, the new Giants of the Savanna exhibit was beautiful! This friendly giraffe got so close she was nudging me. I think she thought my camera strap was food. I love those long eyelashes and chin hairs! :)

The elephants were pretty friendly as well. Although, I think this one might have been playing hide and seek. She put on a show for me while we were there...eating, drinking and just being plain cute!

Next up was the aviary, which was full of birds of all kinds. This one in particular caught my eye with its vivid orange color. And lucky me caught a shot right as it was flying away from its nest. I get to submit three pictures for the contest and this was the first I chose.

I love meerkats! I don't know if any of you have ever seen the TV show "Meerkat Manor" that is on the Discovery Channel, but these little guys are so much fun to watch. They always have one that is on the lookout, and this guy was working hard to do his job. I love that he is covered in dirt and almost looks perturbed at the fact that I was taking his picture. Can't you just see him tapping his foot and saying "Are you done yet?" This was my #2 picture that I submitted.

And last but certainly not least...I could have stayed in the gorilla exhibit for hours. One of the zoo keepers had just put a bunch of hay in the enclosure for them to play with and they were incredible to watch. This one big boy in particular captivated me. I don't know if it was those intense orange eyes or the humanlike hands but I'm pretty convinced we bonded.

And then he got tired of me taking his picture and I'm pretty sure he was pondering ways to escape. You know...that did actually happen at the Dallas Zoo once?!?!? The picture below was my favorite from the entire day and was the 3rd one I submitted. How anyone can look at all of these beautiful animals and not think of our Creator and His endless imagination is beyond me. It was such a perfect day and now I will just wait to see if any of my photos were selected. :)

What does a perfect day look like for you?

I don't know about you, but I dream of days like this:

• Waking up early (and rested) and enjoying a Starbucks hot chocolate or Peppermint Mocha out on the patio while enjoy some quite time with God in the crisp morning air
• Getting all of my laundry done, sheets washed, home cleaned and everything left in order
• Going for a long drive or bike ride with no destination or time constraint
• Enjoy a nice lunch on a patio where I can journal and soak up everything around me
• Go for a mani/pedi/full body massage
• Visit the Arboretum where I can walk around in solitude, curl up on a blanket with a good book, and photograph God's beautiful creation
• Meet up with my favorite girlfriends for a night of dinner and dancing
• Soak in a long, hot bubble bath with a glass of wine
• Curl up on the couch with one of my favorite chick flick movies until I can barely keep my eyes open
• Crawl into my bed between clean sheets and drift off into dreamland

Sounds pretty dreamy, huh?