Abide with me tis even tide

This is my favorite hymn. It expresses the prayer I have held in my heart many times. This is the plea I send to our Savior in faith knowing he will abide with the Children and families of yesterdays tragedy.

Abide with me; 'tis eventide.
The day is past and gone;
The shadows of the evening fall;
The night is coming on.
Within my heart a welcome guest,
Within my home abide.

O Savior, stay this night with me;
Behold, 'tis eventide.
O Savior, stay this night with me;
Behold, 'tis eventide.

Abide with me; 'tis eventide.
Thy walk today with me
Has made my heart within me burn,
As I communed with thee.
Thy earnest words have filled my soul
And kept me near thy side.

Abide with me; 'tis eventide,
And lone will be the night
If I cannot commune with thee
Nor find in thee my light.
The darkness of the world, I fear,
Would in my home abide.

Listen, and please pray no matter your religious, political or other views keep a thought a prayer or a plea that we can find peace among so much chaos and that all those who may be suffering can have the spirit of peace in their hearts. 

California Weekend

I haven't really mastered the self portrait with my new camera. So my head looks abnormally large in both pics but I like to prove to myself I was there. That is Octavio Dotel, Ben met him he is a pitcher who helped the Cards win the world series last year. Props to ben for taking the cool shot of Dotel against the fence. Props to me for the baseball stadium shot ( I'm allowed to tutee my own horn occasionally.) 

Peace, Connection and Movement

I travel... Why so much a friend asked, don't you miss home? 
Yes. I do, but it makes me love it so much more. I love my family and my job more because I leave it on occasion. Some may disagree with me, however in my life I find this and the following things to be true. 

I am a stranger to boredom I don't allow myself to sit still. When my life has slowed it is then I am afraid I will lose touch of who I am. I am afraid I will become the person I was a few years past, the person who questioned the worth of her own life. I am afraid I will become content and careless, hurting ones I love and myself.

 I admire the souls who can sit in their home and be at peace. I am not that soul, I was born to do, to see, to taste, to experience, to love and to feel. I cannot neglect the energy that runs through my veins, I cannot retrain my heart to stop longing for the ocean air or the open road. I get a thrill when I leave all I know, and for instance am at the mercy of strangers, to trust the human spirit to befriend and  to direct. A conversation with a stranger at a ballpark, or in line for a hotdog in New York is conversation and opportunity to hear somebody who you'll never hear again, to connect the human spirit not through anything deep or unusual but through something common. This reminds me that each of us no matter our race, gender or beliefs is human. We are humans. Humans simply looking for other humans to help them figure out what makes their soul soar. 

I travel to move. Not always to go somewhere certain but to get out and move, to feel the earth beneath me and see the sky above me. I am happy to not rest if this means one more day of looking at something I don't get everyday. I look for the chance to just escape the fear I have when I don't see life changing. It's natural for energy to move. We are energy, its natural for us to move. I travel to move.

Finally traveling is my vice, I do not smoke, I do not drink, I am not promiscuous but I leave, I run away and escape. The thing about any vice is it will become something you need. No longer is it something you hope for or occasionally want, but your thought process turns it into a passion, an obsession. when do I leave next? where else can I go? If I had millions of dollars and endless hours my travels would exceed the space I can make in days and become the space I can make for years.  

I know I am not alone in this need of traveling I found a partner who too wants to be somewhere fresh wants to sit in the ocean and feel waves. I was blessed to find a like soul. Life is so short Mark Twain summed it up pretty well, he said something along the lines of in 20 years we will not regret the things we did but the ones we didn't. Maybe I'll regret not staying still, but if I feel peace when I travel then I feel like if I go against this desire that will be thing I regret most. 

Girls Trip Picture Montage

Magic Wand... Keep, Donate, Trash!

   Do you watch "Hoarders; Buried Alive?" I do. I am in constant awe of how much stuff those people have... How? How do you get so much stuff? 

   

   I am moving in with my grandma, since my grandpa passed she has been very lonely, it will help us save for grad school/house and give her some time to adjust to the idea of being alone. It really is a benefit to us both, plus if you refer back to previous posts you know my grandma is very cool. My Grandpa in all his greatness did have a weakness, like all mortals do he overcame many of his vices but kept one... or maybe a should say one of everything. Yes my grandfather was a hoarder. No, not as bad as you see on TV but yes,  he has piles and piles of stuff! If it were up to my Mom and Myself we would order a huge dump truck and throw it all away, however it is not, rightfully my grandma wants to go through it ALL. That is fine, I am more then happy to pull boxes and clothes and treasures from the nooks and crannies of her house. I do however wish there was a magic wand that just by waving it over items would tell you keep, donate or trash, that would make things speed along a little faster. 

   I asked my grandma how and where all this stuff came from, she replied it just adds up. So after a day in "Hoarders; The Experience" I go to my own home and begin compiling a list of keep, donate and trash... I have come up with a few things. I've gotten rid of 2 boxes of clothes and next I go through the decorations... I know I have some Chinese decor that HAS to go. What was I thinking when I bought it in the first place? I don't decorate with an Asian flare unless you count the Hideki Matsui rookie card in the "dugout"(room much like a man cave but I think the word cave makes Ben seem primitive and unintelligent plus dugout is so much cooler and our style. Currently the dugout is our guest bedroom.) So my list is building and I am going to be one simplified lady come October 1st (Moving Day.)

   Maybe the key to not hoarding is moving a lot, forcing you to go through all your things. Maybe I'll be a gypsy. I think I have a little of their blood in me I can travel from town to town only taking what I need, and my husband. It would basically be impossible to be a hoarder if you were packing up and moving yearly. Who really wants to apartment hunt yearly though, not me deposits, refunds, painting, figuring out a way to remove the spilt orange soda stain, no bueno. I think I'll just name September the month of the anti hoard... Goodbye to all the old crap you haven't touched in the past year and hello simplicity, space and style.  

   Now if any of you are hoarders. You know who you are. Take this advice from a granddaughter in distress and a family in dust. GET RID OF IT! Technology has allowed us to store so much information on our computers there is no need for files of bank statements, or receipts, no reason we should have boxes and boxes of books we read once and will never read again, no purpose to News Papers in print stacking high or VHS's covering walls. Free yourself and your posterity. Buy a laptop and a scanner and dejunk. (Being a photographer I do recommend you keeping pictures, they do tell a story and you never know which picture will touch whose heart.) 

Now enjoy the National Month of DeJunk. (Not an actual accredited month, but sounds good) 

Goodbye Facebook, Hello Blogger.

Does anybody read my blog? I doubt it, however I don't care. My blog will be my main internet presence.
I'm done with Facebook, every time I get  on Facebook I am disgusted with the selfish inconsiderate posts. I end up playing the compare game because so many people are "fakebookers" what I mean is they make their lives seem completely different then whats really going on, very few people are truly genuine on Facebook, however on Blogs people seem to open their hearts a little more.

No I will not completely leave Facebook, as much as I would like to shut down my account and never go back, I do a lot of business through Facebook, I plan on keeping that form open and will pop my "face" in every now and again.

I do tweet. follow me @ishigotsch I like to tweet, the idea that someone important somewhere may read my thought is kinda exciting.

Point is, I'll be blogging my opinions, pictures and stories way more often then I am sharing them on other social medias.

So back to my original question does anybody read my blog? I guess if they/you are curious what is going on in my life they/you will, that or call me or better yet stop by sometime I'd love to catch up, but if your life, like mine is super busy, I understand if you're keeping up with the Gotsch's through blog!

So a few things for those of you who are not familiar with my personality or writing style. I am sarcastic, I will be honest, I do get sappy, I do/will make typos ( I try not to, but when I only have 5 minutes and I want to vent, well... it happens.) and finally I will NOT cover it with pink daises to make you feel better, if its shit, I'll say it, if I'm sad I'll share it, so naturally when I'm happy, its truly happy.

Looking forward to blabbing... I mean blogging.

ONE LAST THING- for those who only stay in contact with me through Facebook...
(You know who you are!).... I will post that I updated the blog so you can see, maybe not every time but occasionally.

Dear Grandpa.

Dear Grandpa,

I love you so much. I will miss your stories, your facial expressions and your wisdom. I will always remember the way you treated the earth with such love and kindness. I will teach my children the importance of all living things because you taught it to me. I will look for the beauty on earth and rejoice even in the smallest rock. 

I know you will continue to watch over me, and when God see's that Ben and I should have kids you will watch over them as well. 

I'm no longer afraid to speak my mind and to let my light and knowledge grow and shine, you always shared how you felt or what you believed and I hope that I can too.

When you were in the hospital and I saw you there so weak. I could look in your eyes and see the strength that you had always had was still in you and you weren't weak you were humbled before the Lord. I know you have a greater responsibility in the next life. I am in awe at the peace that I have and the comfort the Savior has given me to know that I will be with you again, that I will get to feel your scratchy beard on my cheek as you hug me once again. 

Thank you for the many things you did for me that I'm sure I never even knew. Thank you loving my Grandma and Mom. Thank you for being a Dad to my Mom so I could in turn have an amazing Grandfather. 

Thank you for teaching me how to work hard and help others enjoy their families. Thank you for the jeep and the blessing it was for me to have a vehicle down at school. Thank you for bailing me out in hard times without me even asking, and helping me find my path. Thank you for believing in me, from the time I was a baby to pageants to college and finally when I decided to marry Ben.

I love you. I miss you. 

Love your higamire,

Ishi. 

Fact and Crap

wow! I think this the longest I've ever gone without blogging. I love blogging and happy my life has slowed down enough to find a minute to express my feelings and life experiences from the past few months!
I guess I can start with a Fact and Crap session (Crap is not necessarily a lie just stuff that has happened I think is total crap.)

Fact
I opened a studio with a business partner
Crap
People don't just line up at the door to try a new business
Fact
They will because we have a good product and great service

Fact
I went to illinois for a week
Crap
All Ben's Friends now live there and we are here.
Fact
We Miss Them.

Fact
I am currently in a bunko group
Crap
Not really any crap here I really LOVE it.

Fact
I still work for Valley Mental Health
Crap
We don't get as many days off as we originally had been told.

Fact
Its summer
Crap
NEED MORE TIME OFF TO GO PLAY:)
Fact
I still plan on playing as much as I can.

Fact
My hair is very short
Crap
I miss my long hair
Fact
I get a lot of compliments on the short hair

Fact
I have sat close enough to hear the ball hit Yadier Molina's glove
Crap
We missed Matt Holiday's home run.
Fact I made it back in tie to see Yadier Molina's home run
Crap
The Cards Lost due to some really bad calls
Fact
There was a streaker

Fact
I'm still and forever will be married to the most AMAZING man in the world
Crap
That means house guests
Fact
I have anxiety with house guests

Fact
I am tired.
Crap
I'm REALLY Tired.

Thats a quick update. I'll post some pics from the game it was SO fun. Hoping to take another adventure soon, even if its just an overnighter. :)