"I was unavailable. I was on location..."

Thursday was a great day! For those that know me fairly well, they will know I have a little project I am working on. Its been on my little project list for a long time. A couple years to be exact. 

What is it you ask? I am so glad you did. 

I have wanted to create a professional cd. I have messed around with bits and pieces of songs, incomplete albums and only shared the music when pressed. But, that time of teetering around is all over folks. 

I have about 7 complete songs on my way to ten for my pending album "This thing called love." In conjunction with recording the album, I wanted (and have wanted for some time) to do a quality photo shoot for the album cover. Today was just that day.  A friend from work is a graphic design grad and a photographer. I had shared my vision for the shoot and she got excited! A collaborative effort was born.  The only difficulty was getting our work schedules together.  

Today the stars aligned and we went on location to shoot the album cover. It was amazing.  It was so much fun! Her grandparents own about 2000 acres of land past Lincoln.  There were orchards, fields, rice fields, a stream and everything else picturesque you could wish for.  I cant wait to see the frames.  

What is the look of the shoot? I am so glad you asked! It is whimsical, high-contrast type scene.  Tim Burton meets project runway. Through in a little alice in wonderland and you have yourself a picture!

Keep posted for more behind the scenes info & the actual pictures!

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Officially Christmas....

On Sunday I was able to enjoy dinner with my Bishop and his wife.  It was a lovely evening complete with trimming the tree! I was able to ring the Christmas season in by helping Robin trim her Christmas tree. It was just the thing I needed to start the season off right. And her tree looks beautiful! Hooray for the Christmas spirit! I love this time of year!

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dye-ing for a change!

Yep. I was. Sometimes a girl needs a change. It wasnt prudent to change my employment, residence, vehicle, social status, skin color, eye color, or shape. I couldn't very well change my name, mailing address or family. So, I did what any reasonable woman does...I dyed my hair. Its not too big of a difference, but it did the trick of satisfying my need for a little spice. I am waiting for the before and after pics from a friend so that I can post them. I am officially a brunette!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

There is an old adage that says "better late than never." Good thing there is the word better in front of late...

Thanksgiving was great this year - filled with a lot of love and warmth.  I was able to cook, bake and play bingo (twice!). What more could a Simmons girl ask for?

The day started off  in the kitchen with some extra baking of delicious pumpkin cupcakes. 

 Diane was cooking up the turkey and it smelled delicious. I thank the bird for sharing his oven warmth with my cupcakes. It is a Simmons tradition to deliver "gratitude" plates to dear friends.  I delivered a few that day...

I then continued the festivities with an early dinner (2pm) at Brian and Andrea's 

The meal was delicious and the table looked beautiful.  I was responsible for bringing the cranberry jello - grandma Kupfer's traditional Christmas dish.  I wont be in Sacramento for Christmas, so Brian requested I bring it to the Thanksgiving meal. (he really loves it!)

Andrea's family came to dinner as well. Hannah was delightful - she is starting to put words together in sentences -absolutely cute.  I did however, create a bit of a monster during dinner.  

She discovered the tastiness of great grandma Kupfers jello.  

She would point to it on my plate and loudly state "Jello!" 

To which I would say "Do you want some?"

She then said "YES!" (again, in a loud voice)

I stopped feeding her the jello for a while - to eat my own dinner. She then made noises (much like a growl) and loudly shouted "annon - Jello!" I tried to get her to say please, but all she would say was yes. She happily slurped her jello and I was able to get a thank you from her. 

After a rousing game of Bingo, the party was complete and I was off to round 2.  This was at Aunt Dianes.  It was such a fun gathering! The house was filled with happiness & warmth.  I arrived just in time to play bingo. (I cant play it too much!) There was plenty of crazy gifts and good sparkling cider to be had.  I will mention that later in the evening we played spoons. Oh, what fun it is to carry on traditions!

It was a great evening and the desserts were amazing! I didnt want to stop eating.  I also must give recognition to the fantastic sweet potatoe pie that came from the Dunnaway family. I think I dreamt about that dish for two nights in a row. It was so tasty. 

After some music, with Aunt Diane at the piano - I was off to round three at Sharelle & Ambre's house. They had a little desert party.  Lots of laughs were had and I continued to eat. I was full for the next two days!!!

I am reminded that I have much to be thankful for. Good friends, family, food, traditions, love, and happiness. I am especially thankful for my parents who are serving a mission, my Aunt who is an amazing woman and has been so generous and kind to share her heart and home with me, and to the Lord for blessing me richly. I have noticed his hand abundantly in my life - he truly has kept a watchful eye upon me and taken special care of me through the last few months.  I am thankful for so very much!

love & faith

Shannon

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