Obsessed!

Here are some things I have been obsessed with lately.

Greece.

How beautiful is that??? Pure blue water, rolling hills landscape, Tzatziki sauce!!! The list goes on and on. I imagine a blissful day strolling along little path ways, stopping to say hello to the locals who invite you in for some wine and olives (if I am lucky I will also find the ones who are roasting a pig in their back yard).

This girls blog

I want to be her when I grow up!!!!! except that she is two years younger than me..... what am I doing with my life???
But anyways, I love all her posts. She lets you in on all the great small places she finds, and her quirky sense of humor make her posts  a wonderful read. She also has a lot of great tips for traveling.

Martha Stewart.

Yes I love her, her and all her nifty creative ideas. UGH! why can I not be more like Martha?!! I have been getting her Living magazines for years now, they are full of beautiful pictures, tasty recipes, and great ideas for everything. I really like this months magazine, it has some fun recipes for entertaining and some great organization ideas.


Scones. 

These are scones I made!

These are another thing I got out the Martha Living magazine. I like them because they do not require eggs and my mom is deathly allergic to eggs. I use this recipe for the base of the scones and then put whatever I would like in them. This week I hope to try out maple bacon scones :)


Hey Brother.

Don't know what got to me in this song but I love it. I think its surprising that its done by the same guy who did Wake Me Up.


Jcrew Factory

My super cute Jcrew flats!

 I love shopping online here, you can find some really great deal if you watch for them. I recently bought a pair of black Italian ballet flats for $25, regular price was $128.



Old Movies

Mainly, Funny Face. As an adamant lover of Audry Hepburn I have no idea how I missed this movie. Fashion, photography, Paris, Audrey, Dancing, what more do you want in a film???



This Photo.

Photo is by K. Photographie on Your Shot.

This photo was one of the winners in the National Geographic Your Shot Family competition. Its so beautifully nostalgic, it depicts the innocents and charm of youth.

A Look Forward and a Look Back

     So lately I have been thinking a lot about what 2014 will hold for me, where will I go, what will I do, who will I meet, will I still have my same job, what will my photography be like this year? and so on and so forth. But with looking forward I have also been thinking back on 2013. I cannot lie, 2013 was a rough year, there was a large amount of stress. There were some melt downs, a hand full of complete insane freaking out moments, and some very sleepless nights. But I also know you must go through hard times to get to the good, and that you can also learn a lot about yourself when times are tough. For the people that don't know what my full time job is its working with my family, I have been doing this since December 2012. Both my grandmas live with my parents, they are bed ridden and one cannot feed herself. My job is many things, I help feed, cook, clean, grocery shop, move them around, doctor visits, bathroom visits, take meds, pay bills, etc. Then this past October my great aunt Lucille moved in as well. All of this adds up to some crazy days. On top of all this my mother has been sick, its a long story but prayers for her to get better are greatly appreciate. The amount of stress has been overwhelming at times, but like I said I believe you must push through and learn what you can. I have learned a lot about myself in this past year;
1. I cry A LOT, I will cry over the smallest things. Its like I have no control over my tear ducts. But I have excepted it happens and deal with it.
2. That I have to watch my words, I can be very harsh but also I will say things with out thinking, resulting in me sticking my foot in my mouth a few times this year. I've realized the full amount our words can mean and that they can ruining friendships in a matter of minutes.
3. I have learned that a lot of what I have thought about my future might not be the best anymore, that maybe I have to look at life in another light. This one is kind of hard to explain, but the way I have been viewing many things has changed .
4. I learned to "get over it and get the job done". I can be a pretty finicky person, I don't like feet, I don't like finger nails or toe nails, mostly anything to do with other peoples bodies. But with daily life as it is now I will look back at what I would freak out over a year ago and now do it without thinking twice. Its a good thing really, and I am kind of proud at what I can over to get the job done.
     These are just some things that have been going on. But 2013 has not been all bad by any means. I have had some really great moments.


 I went to Guatemala for a month.

I turned 26 :)

I made some new friends.

I photographed my childhood friends wedding!

Went to some great brewery's.

Ate some great food.

Took one of my favorite photos yet.

Survived 4 days snowed in (I actually had lots of fun).

So, what dose all this mean for 2014? What have I learned from 2013 that I can carry on into the new year? Well, I have learned that life happens, sometimes not at all the way you thought it would work out. But you have to find the joy in the here and now. We only have this one life and I want to make the best of it and all its situations. I will most likely be doing this job for the next year or more, after that I am not sure what I will do next. Hopefully my photography work will be fully sustainable by then. But sometimes not knowing makes life more interesting, and instead of stressing out about it, having continues melt downs, and a some dramatic spells, find the joy. And make sure you are happy with yourself and the person that your are, that will get you through a lot.

                            “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”
                                                                                        ― Allen Saunders         

My Bucket List

So, a few years ago I started a bucket list, to my delight I have been able to check off some of those goals. I always liked the idea of a bucket list because unlike making New Years resolutions and trying to fit it all in in a year, a bucket list lets you set some life goals. Places you must go, things you must do, experiences you must have, all before you die (so hopefully you have a good amount of time to fulfill them). One of the most important things to me in life is to be able to travel, so many things on my list all involve travel. I am a fairly late bloomer in the travel world but hey! better late then never right????
Now my bucket list is pretty long so I am just going to share a few on the list or we would be here for days.

                                 “The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.”
                                                                     ― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild 

#1. Cage dive with a great white shark!
Now I am a bit terrified of water and sharks scare me to death. But, I also think both the water and sharks are some of the most interesting/magnificent beings on the planet. So with being a little afraid of both (terrified of the shark!!!) I want to get up close and personal with both. I think it can be good to face some of your fears, can you imagine the exhilaration you will feel?

#2. Bicycle around Paris.
Yes, this one sounds like something out of a romantic comedy where the young American girl goes to Paris and falls in love with a beautiful Parisian man. Okay maybe I wouldn't mind that happening. But back to my bicycle. Since I was young I have had an obsession with Paris, when I first started to love photography my dad gave me a box with pictures he had taken of his tour through Europe. My favorite picture was one of him standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, from that day on I knew I wanted to travel and most importantly go to Paris. So what better way to see Paris than on a bicycle I ask you?

 

And yea, I will be looking this chic while I do it.

#3. Spend New Years Eve in New York City.
So this one is just one of those things I watched on TV as a little girl and dreamed about being there for. Watching the ball drop in Time Square from my TV as a girl I thought it all seemed so glamorous and beautiful. I mean who doesn't want to be in that crazy mess of confetti and people??? In the middle of New York City?!??!

#4. Cave Diving.
One of my favorite photos is from National Geographic is one of a cave dive. And one of my favorite movies to watch is Sanctum (I even bought it). I have an obsession with underwater caves since going to Mexico in 2007 and diving into one. I was terrified at first, the idea of going into a dark hole and not being able to come straight up for air has been a nightmare many a time for me. But once I mustered up some courage and dove in it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. I fell in love with the beauty of the water, the fish, the whole cavern. How could there be something so magnificent underneath us? I have many day dreams of going back.

The NG photo. Taken by Wes C. Skiles.

#5 Hike to Machu Picchu.
This is another one from hours of looking at National Geographic magazine. Who wouldn't want to see the great Mayan city???? To sit and marvel at how those people long ago built such a place would be one splendid afternoon.

Yes, my wish would be to go up with Anthony Bourdain. Not very realistic but a girl can dream!

Winter snow! (really more like ice)

     So as many of you know by now, Texas has had a BIG winter storm. Well, big for us. But really it has shut down schools for a week, and we started to run out of gas because trucks could not make it on the ice, restaurants started to run out of food resulting basically, in an end of the world apocalypse for Texas. My luck (not!!!!) is that I live on a hill and until today haven't been able to get my car out of the driveway because the sun never hits the drive and it has been a sheet of thick ice (next year I am parking it off the hill the minuet I hear we are going to have "snow").  I managed to have a pretty good time though, I live right in the middle of Denton so there were a lot of places in walking distance for me. I had about four days snowed in, but in those four days I think I was more active than I have been all year. I walked several miles each day to get food (by that I mean I went to restaurants or bars so they could feed me), walked to the gas station for Redbox movies, and all over UNT to find hills to slide down on my skateboard. All together I think many of us made the best of it all :)

Think this describes us Texans pretty will
This was really sad though, and creepy. I am terrified of bridges so this has not helped.
 It's EVERYWHERE!

All of the photos are from my phone, I recently discovered VSCOcam and had a lot of fun with it.

All the beautiful trees and snow covered streets.

The pups at play.

First day of snow was a success! I did not fall :)

      

Cats. If you look closely you can see the black and white one inside the shed

Me and my one true love :)

Cora looks good no matter where you put her.

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I hope everyone was able to enjoy their holiday. Personally Thanksgiving is one of my favorites, mainly because it centers around food and fall colors :) This Thanksgiving was my first to organize, normally my mother does most of it and I would wonder in with a side dish. But this year my mother was too busy with all the grandmas so I knew it was going to fall to me to make this dinner happen. I started with such high ambition. Then reality hit. Shopping for the meal was AWFUL! I even went on the Monday before and the stores were picked clean and chaotic. Many tears happened this past week, being overwhelmed with the planning, cooking, shopping and cleaning. But luckily my aunt offered to bring the turkey which took a load of work off me (so grateful for my aunt!). As hard as it all was and with all the break downs I had it was still worth it (though next year I still might opt out for Chilies take out). But Thanksgiving lunch was a success and overall I was quite proud of how the day unfolded. My aunt Nita and uncle Joe came over with one of their friends and their four dogs, that made a grand total of nine dogs in my mothers tiny house. But it was like having a house full of very lively children, who had no inside voice. That is how my family rolls, with a little chaos and a lot of love. I learned that day however, that I should stop worrying so much about how everything will look and to take in the time I have with my family. The fact is we are all alive and reasonably healthy, I am so grateful for being able to have another Thanksgiving with my family. To be able to eat great food and laugh with them, is what I treasure most.
How was your Thanksgiving? what are you most grateful for this year?

Got to my parents bright and early thanksgiving morning, frost cover the ground.

Got started cooking early!

Every year I try to make something new, this year it was a smoked salmon dip. It went over very well :)

Dad helped me out by cleaning the windows.

Goodies to munch on.

Pippin chillaxing in the sun

Mr. John carving the turkey!

Mom and aunt Nita sat with their mother (grandmamie)

Everyone else at the table!

My wonderful grandma.

Sweet aunt Lucille was so excited to have everyone over, she is blind but that does not stop her from being the life of the party.

My brother Jon and his girlfriend Chloe.

I think the last time we had a family photo was Christmas 2005.

Pippin getting after  the leftovers.

Aunt Nita and her pups.

Krissi rolled in something outside so she had to have an impromptu bath.

From left; Aunt Lucille, my mom Ruthann, Grandma and aunt Lucille.

Dad taking a little coffee break.

Family time :)

What my aftermath of cleaning looked like, but so much good food and great family.

Fiji Prison

     Right at this time a year ago I was in Fiji with a group of other IPS students photographing several prisons. Me and two others were sent to photograph the Nasinu prison.  It was an experiences that I will never forget.  My time there changed my life, so for a year anniversary I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the prison. 
To see all the photos from the prison Friend me on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/susan.dietz.39

or to see my other photos go Like my photography page www.facebook.com/SusanDietzPhotography

A guard looking over the days schedule.

 

     

This is possibly my favorite photo I have ever taken.

Can you believe they are in prison? Everyone is so happy.

This man just finished washing up the lunch plates.

The Nasiun prison grow their own food and food for another prison who does not have a garden.

 

                          

Fiji prisons are unlike others thanks to the work done by Peter Schultz and the Fiji government. In prison the inmates learn life skills and can pursue an education to better themselves. They are well treated and encouraged to be better, to pursue God and to live a life of giving back.

If you would like to learn more about the work going in Fiji visit http://www.operationfoundation.org.fj/