I know, I know...but look at this!

Can I just say that I really love my new camera, and I really, really love taking photos, and the Pioneer Woman helped me do this: I downloaded the PW actions for Photoshop Elements...this one is "seventies" and I love the look of it. Brenna and Pa had been riding the tractor and they stopped just long enough for me to get the shot.
Yes, I need to post more often but life has been just plain busy. School is out on Friday and then hopefully I'll have more time. I had every intention of doing Photo-A-Day for May but it just didn't happen...I'll get there. Have a great Memorial Day!

It Arrived!

My new camera came today...so excited to start shooting with it! I only took a few shots today because I had to wait for the battery to charge. No fun! Like a 3 year old with a pile of Christmas gifts, but being told you have to wait a few hours! It's definitely going to take some getting use to but I can't wait to see what comes of it! Yes I know it is a boring post without a pic, but I need to get some more before I post something!

Learning new things...

So I tried something new with my PE6 today...thanks to this tip from Ree...check it out!

Before
After
Love it...I need to tweek it to really perfect it but not bad for my first try! I may even have to go back and edit my Week One layout to reflect this new little trick...I love that the snow is white, not gray!

It's Time for the 12 days of Cookies!

Tomorrow starts my Photo-A-Day for December. I'm going to do my best! But it also starts the Food Network's 12 days of Cookies. While I haven't ever made the cookies, it puts me in the mood to bake and decorate and really get even more into the spirit of the holidays. I'm even looking forward to seeing some snow!

The Other Thing

I would love to have more time for lots of stuff...spending time with Sean and Brenna, family, friends, scrapping/crafting, and photography. Here are a couple of my faves from my recent trip to San Diego.

A monument for Veterans at the top of Mount Soledad in SD. Definitely the place to go for a 360 degree view that looks down on the entire area.

Mast of the Star of India.

Not bad for my little point and shoot huh?

Dreaming of the day I can even think about getting a DSLR!

Finally

So I finally figured out how to load simultaneous album slideshows that won't disappear when you upload a new album. Yea for Picasa! Like it so far. I have even tried doing a little photo editing and managed to do this to a shot of Brenna that I love.
There may be a secret photographer hiding in me somewhere?!

Just hanging out today, had lunch with Freddy and are going over to bbq at his place and play at the park. Tomorrow will probably be sightseeing and playing with our trip to Sea World Scheduled on Friday.

Oh and I finally got to go here earlier in the trip...I've been waiting for six months to visit this shop and was NOT disappointed...it is a cute litte papercrafts shop that I found online when we setup our trip out here. I found some great summer paper (Cosmo Cricket - Snorkel) and of course some new Thickers and some fun sparkly brads, for the album that I am making from the first trip that we made out here two years ago. I even managed to complete one layout...I'll be saving that for later when the camera isn't in with a napping B!

More photos as we go!

Snowy Saturday

We're sort of snowed-in today. We might venture out later for food but other than that I think a quiet Saturday at home is in order. I put B down for her nap at 10:45 and she has yet to wake up - almost 3 hours later. Sean's been working and I am currently burning back-up CD's of all of our digital photos. I'm finding that in my attempt to back them up to flash drives I have multiple copies of things but I guess it doesn't hurt to have that either. I know, I know...the only true way to not lose these files is to get them printed but I am not excited about footing the bill for the over 3000 photos I took in 2008, let alone the previous 2 years of B's life. While I know I won't print them all (lots of them are blurry, dark, etc), there is still a quite hefty amount that need to be printed and scrapped or put into photo albums. I think I need to do it methodically so that there is some order to the albums. I did manage to sort them by date taken so each month has a folder. There are the few hazy months before we got the new camera that are date questionable because I dropped the camera in a baby pool while on vacation in Californa 2 summers ago. Luckily I didn't lose any photos and believe it or not the camera still worked - not well - but we were still able to capture the important moments. Thankfully we received a new camera for Christmas last year and the photo organization has been much easier. So far I have everything from when Brenna was born to May of 2008 - I had already backed up some of the photos previously and forgot that I had done that...saved lots of time!

Enough about that...here's a funny photo to brighten your day...Thursday, while getting ready to head to daycare...B decided that this was how she wanted to brush her teeth.

Some Photo Favorites

I've been working on better photographs and strive everyday to get better and better pictures. So here are a few of my recent favs!

Tuesday 10 Spot

1. It's spring break for me which means:

2. Spring Cleaning ~ at least my version of spring cleaning ~ getting all the cleaning done in the same week!

3. Spending extra time with the little girl ~ she's still spending a few days at day care this week but will spend some time at home and visiting family and the Ear doctor for a hearing and tube check-up.

4. Turning 32. Tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about that yet. (Hey Marie...any chance the boy might make an appearance tomorrow? I'm more than willing to share my day!)

5. Relaxing here and there. Catching up on tv past and looking forward to BB9 tonight and tomorrow night and Lost on Thursday!

6. I painted my toes. Yea! That means that if I wanted to wear flip-flops I could. Not that I want to in 45 degree weather, but I could.

7. I am going for a haircut. Something I don't do as often as I should. I am looking forward to checking out the new location of Michael Christopher Salon. I have been going to them since Sean & I got married. I love what Carla does with my hair...at least someone can get it to do something.

8. Playing with the camera. Still trying to get great shots. Taking hundreds in the process. I have been able to get a few good ones. Like this:

And this:

And this:

And this:
And then there are a ton like this:
pics that would be sooo cute if they weren't so grainy. I am thinking grainy might = not enough light. Advice appreciated!

9. I am moving right along in the quest to catch up on some really good young adult fiction books. The books I have read so far really spark a great deal of thought which isn't always easy to pull out of middle school student minds. It may be time to do some adult reading at this point. I may actually have time to head to the library this week. I'm hopeful anyway!

10. I'm a lurker! I have been catching up on the lives of friends and friends of friends and wondering what the etiquette behind blogging truly entails...

Random Thursday Thoughts

In my attempt to try some new things with the camera I was able to grab a couple of shots of the ice covered trees at school this morning before everything melted. I love how the morning light filtered through the clouds.






In the tradition of then and now photos with Brenna (the same towel)

Her first bath at home (about 3 weeks old):

Her bath last night (almost 20 months):

Someone asked me today "How little was she when you brought her home?" This picture puts true perspective on just how far she has come in 20 short months. To know that this picture is three weeks to the day from when she was born reminds me that yes, she was even smaller than this. And yes, she is the most amazing little girl I know. I know, I know, I get to say that because I am her mom, but really, she was a fighter from day one and she has beaten every odd that was stacked against her and I am so proud and blessed to be her mom. (It's ok to insert tears here, I did.)

Love you, Bug!

Tuesday 10-Spot ~ Wednesday Edition

1. We had an ice storm last night...made the morning commute interesting and the afternoon commute rather pretty.

2. Brenna is 1 week post-tube surgery and is doing wonderfully. No major drainage and they don't seem to be bothering her in the least. It also seems as if she is picking up more words. I wonder how differently things sound to her now.

3. I am doing well on my reading list to this point. I was able to read both Gathering Blue and The Messenger over the weekend. The great thing about young adult fiction is that it is usually a quick read for me. I feel like I actually accomplish something when I can manage two books in one weekend.

4. Needless to say, between the Birthday Celebration for Liam (I can't believe he is 7 already!) and the Cleveland Auto Show (very helpful in allowing us to do research for our next vehicle), I didn't accomplish much else this weekend. NO Laundry...it's going to haunt me this weekend for sure! A little cleaning. Lots of time just the three of us which was fun.

5. Today was almost another SNOW DAY. Almost.

6. Brenna has learned the art of being a tattletale. Already. Someone at daycare today had gas and the teacher asked "who has gas" in a fun way. Brenna pointed to the little boy and calling him by name, said "osh gas". Oh My!

7. I am so looking forward to the summer when we can have lots of play dates with friends! The school year has been great so far but I do miss the time spent with friends. It just seems that there is always something going on that keeps us all from spending time together.

8. I am on to The City of Ember beginning tonight, after Big Brother of course!

9. Did I tell you that pucker kisses for the first time (complete with the sound effects), from our little munchkin, are wonderful?

10. I would like to learn how to take better photos with the digital camera. It seems they are always too close, bright, not bright enough, and always on the unnatural side. I know that our camera is capable...it's the user that's not doing so well...suggestions are welcome!