Yesterday, I left my warm comfortable farmhouse (and my warm, comfy sweatpants) to bring home some bacon.

But before I left, I had to cook some bacon. I’d have had some mighty upset little girls (and boys) if I hadn’t.

You can’t fry bacon AND have plans to leave the house looking presentable without an apron. You just cain’t do it.

And since I let my second blogging anniversary slip by (why didn’t y’all REMIND me???), I am having a giveaway for any apron of your choice from B Doodles. The pic below will take you to their adorable-beyond-words Etsy shop.

In order to enter, share with me anything you have on your mind. Pretty simple, huh? And in some cases, I think I might be asking for a little bit of trouble!

The random winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 3rd.

When I was a little girl, the local paper was delivered by a man in big silver hoop earrings and a large-print floral dress.

The sad part is that he looked prettier with his five o’clock shadow and his Revlon Red than I did when I bought that same paper last night.

I only went to pick up prescriptions in my yoga pants and black t-shirt with baby slobber covering the left shoulder.

I wasn’t even wearing any Revlon Red.

But the paper – with the article about my photography – happened to be delivered yesterday evening.

And so the ladies at the drugstore made a fuss while I smiled a lipstick-less smile and thanked them while shifting my baby to hide the drool stains on my shirt.

The above are some photographs that will be featured at the photography exhibit (March 6th at 7:00, if you happen to be in Wakefield that evening).

And here is what my friend Kelly wrote in her article that I will cherish forever and ever:

By Kelly Donnell

WAVERLY – Cotton blossoms and freshly dug peanuts on the vine.

Fields drenched in summer sun or newly fallen snow.

Love shining on the faces of parents and their children and recently engaged couples.

Local photographer Jennifer Griffin Warthan captures the clear, simple beauty of these images her photos, which will be featured in her first show at the Wakefield Foundation.

The Wakefield native’s photography will be on display beginning next weekend. The exhibition continues through the month of March.

“It’s all about life on a farm, life in a small town, and life in the country,” said Warthan.

It’s that rural lifestyle that inspires her. Her photography work suits her life as a self-described “farm wife and mama.” Her daughters Shelby, Maggie, and Avery Ruth, and son, M.K., are naturally among her favorite photo subjects.

Her family could be credited with getting Warthan started in the photography business.

“My kids wouldn’t smile for anyone else,” she explained. Taking her children to a photography studio usually resulted in tears – not pretty portraits.

“I decided it wasn’t worth it, and I started taking pictures of them around the house.”

Four years ago, her husband, Keith, bought her a digital camera. She began to experiment, and to take photos of different scenes that caught her interest. Warthan later upgraded to a digital SLR camera. She began studying online tutorials and blogs about photography techniques, and is self-taught.

By last summer, friends started asking Warthan to do their family photos. From there, her photography has garnered many fans. Her “Warthan Farms Photography” has now become more of a thriving business than a hobby, with an online blog, gallery, and more recently, contributions to online magazine Small Town Living.

“My blog is heavy on the photos – I’m not a writer,” Warthan laughed. Picking soybeans, taking soil samples, and various antics of four healthy farm kids are among the subjects of her recent blog entries.

“I find inspiration everywhere around here – the fields, the crops, the different lighting in places I see every day,” she said. Those places familiar to Warthan often become backdrops for her photography.

Warthan’s online photo gallery is filled with a mix of photos of family life on the farm, plus wedding portraits to multi-generational family photos and high school senior portraits, many taken right there on the farm.

A glimpse of these photos – a snapshot of her work, even – is open to the community next Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. The opening night at the Wakefield Foundation’s gallery will be comfortable and laid back, Warthan said, much like the photos on display.

Warthan Farms Photography is available online at www.thecottonwife.com. More information on the photography exhibit is available by contacting the Wakefield Foundation, (757) 899-2365.

Although the Cotton Husband and I technically work together in the family business, our day to day lives are completely different.

For instance, he gets to sit on a tractor all day long every day and listen to the radio in total peace.

He can eat M&M’s without having to share and make phone calls all the live-long day.

I have my suspicions that in warm weather, he curls up under a tree and sleeps for a few hours.

And in his version of events…

I get to cuddle with happy, docile, chubby babies all day.

and while they are taking their five hour naps simultaneously, I eat bon-bons and surf the internet and take wonderful naps along with them.

According to him, I never have to change poopy diapers.

And lots of times I forget that equipment breaks down

or gets clogged up.

Or gets stuck.

Maybe we should trade places for one whole day.

I feel confident the kids would bounce back but the farm may never recover.