tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13981139748855035762023-11-16T03:58:47.482-08:00Adventures in Munchkinlandesianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-8513335055696989992010-05-17T22:33:00.000-07:002010-05-17T22:37:53.263-07:00New URLI've moved the blog over to a Wordpress format. I'm tired of how time-consuming Blogger and Live Writer make it for me to create a blog post. I'm loving how the new blog looks, and I REALLY hope you'll join me over there. I've made it easy to subscribe to the blog by posting a link in the menu bar as well as the sidebar on the left, so I hope you'll subscribe or bookmark me, or whatever you do to follow your fellow bloggers. :)<br /><br />Here's the link to the new blog - I imported everything from this blog, just in case anyone wants to look up an old recipe or something. ;)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.adventuresinmunchkinland.com">www.adventuresinmunchkinland.com</a><br /><br />Hope to see you soon!esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-55737861653871513502010-05-11T10:05:00.001-07:002010-05-11T10:19:06.216-07:00Easter<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> I know I'm really late sharing these, but I've been busy making headbands and editing other sessions, and my personal pictures have fallen behind on the priority list. These pictures are clear back from Easter.</p><p><br><br>Easter was really nice this year - Sasquatch's mom was here, and it was wonderful to be able to share a major holiday with family. The girls were a little bit spoiled - new dresses, new jammies, and a couple of new toys for each of them. The Princess received a book/CD called "The Composer is Dead." The story was written by Lemony Snickett, and the music is done by the San Francisco Symphony - I HIGHLY recommend it if your kids are into music - it's a great way to introduce kids to various musical instruments, and the writing is hilarious.</p><p><br><br>We were invited to dinner with several other families in the ward, and it was so much fun to spend time with friends on Easter. One of the things I miss most about being back home is the fun holiday get-togethers where the girls get to play with their cousins, so it was great to be able to spend time with a big group of people - it helped me feel a little less homesick. I'm so grateful that we were invited.</p><p><br><br>The munchkins all participated in an Easter egg hunt, which was lots of fun. The Princess was too busy hunting for eggs to let me take pictures of her, so I followed Sparky around instead. She refused to look at the camera, but it was fun to capture her first experience hunting for Easter eggs - she thoroughly enjoyed picking up the eggs and putting them in her bucket - she had to look in the bucket every time she dropped an egg inside it. Once she verified it was still there she would move on to the next egg.<br /></p><p></p><p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWtc6mYuezPUOBx85_1yoVGRh1WszWrC2CI05nDy2ooKvSkFIqL30LXtHEOCp3lKn6SjYRr2InlyyMjOUAZRSHBv_EdrPdRpOI4FhReFRhTipNWVihBcE0aWfWGpn6Fa3bmPy7uey5pukt/s1600-h/DSC_1217%5B8%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1217" alt="DSC_1217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRMI7Qts2zEKGU5WWY_x9OSbqedlHBMPZMQulKvJ2UUK9fzU828i_B_376jGx3UmOg-fab28dJS7Xe5iILBuHvCQOoWPvPks7dfRSWJrHQOjON6Navb0KgLd-cZkmZIGYlv49M2vgGUru//?imgmax=800" width="364" border="0" height="535" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAI9_0hiHBUGbCQEFjzDJHD_srcVThQ8eDGom4blJz7Yr6WEURPABWymKMMhUp196zqOjXGwHjMBqBGfSPBWQKX16s7WVKSO4K7Z-x7OcC8rtXw5-u0iOECVu4JAQzf2ksS3MlsDB_u5gH/s1600-h/DSC_1223%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1223" alt="DSC_1223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsOCF57T9St2q4qFWuk3QA0EaUM9ngEKHdjeA3BLcpbyJ8_eNtKAJI6ln-Gfwo49nZ_VpOHPBIVs3Y2fUfNpJhxsTmr09_ozygJT5pO_PfPIAmromUWOuEA5aE7dcw9shIPAc8rAC2HOcb//?imgmax=800" width="366" border="0" height="534" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Vn2JTn55Fq5RYT4QK3dM2691WX2zJ9qfeFIyKIx1p6fEq69MxgKlZ13D1w_O3Mp_fiqetJe4DttDMbArkY70L9UdvN0BsAPhvw-7p5OVnIdSGngILyhPRWHB8Kw2007hsb3y9q5WIHgF/s1600-h/DSC_1224%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1224" alt="DSC_1224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHVcua8LCWeUUoKGDlMLe5_k7iQf0tf-75ry5TOFWpBLPVRyL6XswaX_ZYtLwezv4IXCYumkTyp-9s2-j2iNPyEL_I6Ssgh70OS4cf9DNF7ll1TwM3MnQFMq0qGlLZGW15iUL77ELIjiP//?imgmax=800" width="367" border="0" height="537" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkuHtRfR687XlCloxBX7BmtQp6gI5N5Gu41pLfjfbfYEApgUG4rpwkF6cG0Cc2roxkpbVGI_hS9xzCpmf-THdvrZyQsFQiGSKz-ohiGRsohiL-fYOgXJhRXmHXdUhi1PqPjCmtv2waHRX/s1600-h/DSC_1227%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1227" alt="DSC_1227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAgPvmbLMXX6RJ4d3Xcyf5yhfz19WHLHNZ7t31DcMAAgUAKVLTnH5z3VMHU1Rx92evq8dud4qYOgH7bYVwV6pj1W8YAV814SIR6MYEk-aVQg4fFVGTRasl4ddrkCP6-X835WENNo-dPMW//?imgmax=800" width="455" border="0" height="312" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsk0slCk22Zj1mMEZ9M23zFc6M8KuP2qUpmItYWFR2Z21LBJbUJ6KDJO9EwiXG1c6f_RMqBoGuoMpGgGBuXI_kJ3cBOiLDobD8M7U19FCGR7Hm6n08pqpqS_Jv35eXAur3A8D_FK4VG2H/s1600-h/DSC_1231%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1231" alt="DSC_1231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEj7itCKvAc3Ad-Q7ixJwvDjI0M4xojP4DMeubhscPv2h-EbZPkK_8bIEkTwytLEi1KVrPPJP1dhhyqzeIDpO7WHXgE5TfhTCFL8lg4j2XpOd-3qRFsLXJdTVEdthooWOEq2uEWlgpWJWz//?imgmax=800" width="454" border="0" height="309" /></a>She agreed to stop long enough to pose for a picture, but you can see she wasn’t thrilled about it. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPHJpF2ERq763c36a1UVG9fJXQsKa3ce4Go4FkEKvVlTDa4LdZ4Olk_r4ojYHlxzWZpB3pVeG_QIpe5qg-WxsZOitvtCsy064VkkCYqP84djzW9Nl-t5L34M9HzmxLRWoAu-27fGpwhON/s1600-h/DSC_1242%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1242" alt="DSC_1242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm2jFWSyaj-DNNx8lKRcq3NjpsazFGksLNILFPujiVVm6QIt3f4o63sa5E9Qhs3gyiYLUbkEgXOMQX5AaFy_4cyPTDRiKC1Dxej68EtY9lA04uJivHvdDXy8BYKjfLHEkD2bMFXYQBRuWT//?imgmax=800" width="356" border="0" height="522" /></a> I love soft, hazy sunset-ey pictures. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZf7EvaBoGbbTTiGz0BPQl8dUBqL70Jj7cx9DkffAa_kQGJj5eIlYzfc84wGISHUWi08xbfZCkV_zOeRfTP6LCdmzRZadZCwY571hmcQjUUkxSqyc9A5GKSmzUh0pc4l8otRrjET8Vy2e/s1600-h/DSC_1243texture%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1243texture" alt="DSC_1243texture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcA1Ofg7T6yxLv9gVK4T9mq59GCRpxwocoKT6ZO03O6bX6-RA_hikl9jjYU6vfCdnxX4p6AFpy5SaWegPZ5gJ78TEqXKvg5maDqzuN4NcaAmLFIqtm8hB-iltWnU4puG3UGVmallyLkK4//?imgmax=800" width="363" border="0" height="530" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCvYpq5dIRvtkyOOvbloIrnwv_-FhFT2PgzWk66dGrpbdZ5CEmBJXy5bYEZujPRShYUwC1qdI3rEkQsLcG0NKQBsQ9BcH43viHwPuP2_w7FKwf45uexXBtLag_FedGXocs2BiU6Riba1G/s1600-h/DSC_1247%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1247" alt="DSC_1247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_VhC9bSGCmfx_ZQkV9RcyoREB7tMBC4Bu0v1bT6tjKvgWK1UR_k68mPl0Yywz60yQMxAYsk1XU62OfXMzvHCNTC3Pef81sPVUZWHmpB8PXHuvH7VyZLyER8lFX51TgOHad8mtXkwrkcc//?imgmax=800" width="359" border="0" height="525" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJMsCJUJmOH9fmTk4YwJePnP3djb3521chnbCbAL4SNRdRR7zhfKoxDz4pXpSwXxsi4tP4fVn4DTQ5CNoPFPAENO-3NwIH4oJLu_ToBdgvCoJhwioQxX7xiSIIQJeaYIK3C-scnTwFYsqF/s1600-h/DSC_1253texture%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_1253texture" alt="DSC_1253texture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTwyhwprvbyJwGSBu8Ju5RLdevQ3vabd2zrSL0ik7Nm3InSWwCKdbHTsQIyZIQhIBnr-UWf63o3iwx9zO5enzRcuFcG62jDEMeZEVDWesi_kW421vPAvJ1kmXRX63jQwW_jHLSkpLo6S0//?imgmax=800" width="361" border="0" height="528" /></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-9578164884233527992010-04-24T21:13:00.001-07:002010-04-24T22:12:39.390-07:00Sparky's Favorite WordsIt's after midnight, but Sparky's still wide awake. I think she's teething. We tried to get her to go to bed around 10 because she was all sorts of grumpy, but when she was still screaming an hour later I couldn't bring myself to make her stay in there any longer. Hopefully the Ibuprofin kicks in for her soon. And with any luck she'll have a full mouth of teeth by the time she starts Kindergarten.<br /><br />Since Sasquatch lets me sleep in on Saturday mornings, I decided to be nice and stay awake with her while he turned in "early." I think he deserves that every once in a while - especially since he's been working SO hard these last few months. AND he watched both of the girls all afternoon while I had fun downtown doing a family portrait session (I LOVE it when families opt for urban sessions!!).<br /><br />So, Sparky's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and she's talking up a storm and I'm trying to keep things quiet and low-key to remind her that it's time for sleep. All the talking made me realize that I haven't been very good about documenting her favorite words. She started talking like crazy while Grandma Rosie was here, and now there are some actual words mixed in with all the gibberish. Some of her favorite words are:<br /><br />DAY-doo (thank you)/WEH-come (she has to say the two words together - it's never just "thank you")<br /><br />Pwease (please) - Not quite as cute as The Princess' version (she used to say "Beeps" for please), but still pretty adorable - especially when she signs it at the same time<br /><br />Boop (book)<br /><br />SEE-see (Seriously)<br /><br />BAY-bee - She refers to all of her stuffed animals as babies<br /><br />PUPpy - Sometimes she's referring to an actual dog, but it also means "goose," "squirrel," or any other random animal we see while taking our daily walk<br /><br />KEY-key (Kitty) - The only animal she does NOT refer to as a "puppy"<br /><br />Oof-oof - This is what a (real) puppy says<br /><br />Meow - What a kitty says<br /><br />Cack-cack - What a goose says<br /><br />Tweet - Treat<br /><br />Coo-kie - She distinctly pronounces each syllable and stresses the "k" sound in the middle - I'm not sure why she can't pronounce the "k" at the end of "book"<br /><br />Soos (Shoes) - She tries to put them on several times a day and gets upset when I won't take her outside for a walk<br /><br />Soss - (Socks)<br /><br />BUH-boos (Bubbles)<br /><br />Bap (Bath) - Don't make the mistake of allowing her anywhere near the bathroom unless you want to indulge in her chronic desire to strip down to her birthday suit and take a "bap"<br /><br />She also has an adorable way of saying her sister's name any time she sees a picture of her (or sees my camera - she thinks any picture on my camera's LCD is her beloved big sister) or thinks it's time for her to be home from school.<br /><br />She loves to say DAH-dee and Ma-MEE, and I love how she pronounces all the consonants - so cute!!<br /><br />Up - She says this when she wants to be picked up<br /><br />Hep - Sometimes she asks for help instead of screaming in frustration - usually she screams<br /><br />WIH-ga? (What's that?)<br /><br />Hi - It's so adorable to go in and get her when she wakes up from a nap. She always says "hi" in the most nonchalant manner.<br /><br />Buh-bye<br /><br />DOH-stay? (Downstairs - with a question mark at the end) is still a staple in her vocabulary - she hates to be cooped up in the tv/computer/playroom<br /><br />I'm sure she says more than this, and probably MEANS a lot more with her nonsense words (she repeats the same ones over and and over), but these are the words that stand out because she says them most often these days.esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-52876981743794276922010-04-21T14:20:00.001-07:002010-04-21T14:24:21.621-07:00Random<p>It’s been a while since I’ve shared any images of The Princess. Here are a couple of  images I captured of her at the pond near our house.  The pond isn’t really much to look at (although we walk down there just about every day to feed the geese), but I LOVE how well it photographs. I thought I’d already shared the wing  portrait, but I can’t seem to find it, so I must have just shared it on Facebook. If you’ve already seen it, here it is again. It’s still one of my all-time favorites.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD0vzE5VYWyd4-jDgYxj3QvKWb7C74Rw2R06HD7Q7PvAHZn_LQcoSh6V1D8aOzcHi6rw6anbnqUNsO2O-yCvHT98tVcAanTihpA7P8z-YYiKm9ugR41t6OlPI8T4RaD-mxDIXAqD8LzjU/s1600-h/Shadeleaf65texture%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Shadeleaf65texture" border="0" alt="Shadeleaf65texture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVZo7IkKpEjjOl-_UTl-TJnjSzErwO7gGXL2cGdSlOTq2m-rJZIPhqvEXRexgCl5OX4w5woZ-iRZ04tBKKB121raZZP8V5_DbYSM5WrQGhCUuyaihMYobpNyXrb0Bug88Uy5-rQJofQ6Q//?imgmax=800" width="453" height="313" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU43QEb4TZVPnCMLFBp5gSvxXxeoKrEiHgsZpkbXaEYEPS899k-ZiLtsY1X8hqXWLzkPdU6X2BI78hdkYSoAVNDcLf5bVGaIaMHVHUuW3rElyaB9qLUlNcutIoMB93RaBJXnukL7dQ8RWB/s1600-h/DSC_9950%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9950" border="0" alt="DSC_9950" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6q3uVBPLk1CGeV0SYJXgPCaz0oE0ALL86pwcMomUZixfDmOFfYZYO1DfH0p1nNLbFC2TPacoGfVp0ShsrcAne2w0mePu-81eXHeoaPAfyE4-mmlWWGhfOX-4qECTVpRlmLVDwaI-ELTn//?imgmax=800" width="459" height="563" /></a> </p> <p>That’s it for now. Hopefully I’ll have my new computer up and running within the next couple of days. Sasquatch built my current computer when we’d been married for about 2 months, so it’s really old and runs slower than molasses in January. The new computer should be MUCH faster, and I’m hoping the speed will make my editing process faster, so that I can share pictures on the blog more regularly.</p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-10223121024570547782010-04-17T10:30:00.001-07:002010-04-17T10:33:31.695-07:00Cupcakes<p>There are few things that I love as much as photography, but baking probably comes pretty close. More than baking, I love <em>decorating</em> – especially cupcakes and sugar cookies. It’s so much fun to decorate sugar cookies with royal icing, but it tastes pretty awful (I prefer cream cheese frosting for eating), so I usually only decorate sugar cookies when I can take them somewhere and leave them there. </p> <br> <br> <p>I wasn’t terribly fond of cupcakes - especially after I took all the time to pipe homemade butter cream on a bunch of cupcakes and the Princess took one bite and told me the frosting made her want to throw up. Thanks, Alton Brown. You and I usually have a pretty good food relationship, but you failed me on the butter cream.</p> <br> <br> <p>I’d given up on butter cream, but somebody at playgroup suggested that I try making Italian butter cream instead. Holy crow! Sooooooo much better! You use regular sugar instead of confectioner’s sugar (making a simple syrup of sugar and water and then pouring it into the egg whites), and I think that makes all the difference! In some ways, piping frosting onto cupcakes is even more fun than decorating sugar cookies with royal icing. :)</p> <br> <br> <p>A couple months ago, when Sasquatch was in Utah with Miss Sparky, The Princess and I went on a photography outing with our friends Larisa and Foster. As bribery, I promised The Princess a stop at our favorite bakery if she agreed to have her pictures taken and gave me nice facial expressions. She obliged, so we made a stop at the cupcake cupcake counter at said bakery. I usually can’t bring myself to drop $3.50 on a single cupcake (we usually share one), but I think it’s okay to splurge on occasion. </p> <br> <br> <p>On this particular day, they had some adorable cupcakes on display that looked like ice cream sundaes. Chocolate cake and vanilla butter cream topped with chocolate ganache and sprinkles and crowned with a maraschino cherry. They were almost too cute to eat!</p> <br> <br> <p>I decided I had to replicate them at home. The Princess was impressed when she saw them. Without being prompted, she told me that they looked <em>just</em> like the cupcakes at the bakery. That was a nice little boost to my ego. </p> <br> <br> <p>I also made some plain-looking but oh-so-tasty chocolate cupcakes with hazelnut butter cream. They weren’t quite as pretty as the sundae-cakes, but they were my favorite on the taste scale. </p> <br> <br> <p>I couldn’t go to that much effort without taking a few pictures, so here they are. :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjah-PqW1A7wjyBdD0piC5kt4HzQ2sL0qugaO-zh1W0X_iLZyi3EcEynDOiMAN16psHOnQxLq2RHOjL_dQED3SnLUWp3Zjj6K8QU8JFxnt4TZPHEkLIJcAdc57k-HhUnRgS267c-C7O1mpI/s1600-h/DSC_9385a%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_9385a" alt="DSC_9385a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cgjpGRxb5x6vJRZ1dZtfZ9XWUPYVF3SknckXZAjojEt4eRfRGw0SpI1vDwFFro71fCpIxuq4VtvxCLFNVZ1rBetLygk1mGzjlb_R2TgOReDAQSmEInjqy7hyphenhyphenRtbx6b6ky9lErmenqQJh//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="376" width="550" /></a> </p> <p>Don’t you just love the “catchlights” in the cherry?</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG-qVlt64htuJL-qDg8a8JEKZzoySpCc0KSplayfRsMO9PNNZ2dZ6MS0rlH0i-aTvVdMVUPEZBTyK11j48nAruGHf1t12CnlVRrGpIoQ8m2UDTiZH8besYCkNPMxaXoIp0wEcZJ8hwkxm-/s1600-h/DSC_9394a%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_9394a" alt="DSC_9394a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUU0XCVT4JHI-ai4wM3x_RYMotsfLweBiJMYXebD-9zmLG9Yj3jMZ0enyaY9_LCgwrr4hx7botP7kn5DTP-NbqftIgt085MWMsrpCr7EJSC0TXrXxWxV-MXiw-G7iJXJSg56OfPqMtyl_//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="383" width="559" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>And the hazelnut… I’m not much of a food photographer, but you get the idea.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPR3365rtAUVzXptPWpHgqms7p0e2EzPKB4LknLicj4EnxPQexF1BF48LgZhYqL9rNBbX9zq7xUbgQoRUghfgd8F_wdEZgVP9Wp_qqWzLOoCYGH4_ybo6jNf_1V32WukI8n3tSyxroUcP/s1600-h/DSC_9413a%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_9413a" alt="DSC_9413a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1VE1qjPsgq6IIv8Bze0YQZMZX76ocqQYBSosnG1jeYr5VzsiAto1RtfUCJ3MwSNI27QybN1EvKd-uE32xxouwpTW1JABRfBqbCDO458bnpjaBEBMqRX6heZteAZzyIk10NTKRxOb8eFF//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="386" width="568" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHshSiR22Ucs1tA5l5kxQtkv0aBPJJ6KVgHQvo0SDmlPPcu8ReHvZf4Th85UJCXL3kZ64UWtLqmQ0kLFoA4HVaqbLeC5qdJbiMO_ai2kgtcCI4sU6fX2CbdSWGu0NHU73w4Jr6aP-_gwLp/s1600-h/DSC_9422a%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_9422a" alt="DSC_9422a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPW7JwOqF7nR0u8wkuEW8K1qXff2qnyCLgh9S3rWYFazR4cM0Vx7zlTFFPoNEMHgnIggBm5fnQnkiqQKJCiQ3tbHCvKNKRovJAXYHCB4_5cya8-gWcYp5MIhJ_UTemrkV6-Vr38VokC7wM//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="526" width="361" /></a></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-7106627216441251022010-04-13T09:24:00.000-07:002010-04-13T09:47:13.904-07:00Glee!!I'm so excited that Glee starts again tonight!<br /><br />I know it's totally geeky (or should I say "Gleeky" - ha! I'm hilarious, right?!?), but I love this show. I think it's probably my all-time favorite TV show.<br /><br />Part of it probably stems from my high school choir days. Although at my school, it was actually considered socially acceptable to be in choir. I was in Madrigals, which was our version of show choir (we didn't get to perform any mainstream music like they do on Glee, but it was still SO much fun). Most of the Madrigals were pretty popular (I wasn't - I was too painfully shy and didn't know how to flirt - most of the members of the group were notoriously talented at flirting), and none of us ever had Icees thrown in our face.<br /><br />But in spite of the differences between the show and my personal high school experience, there's still so much about Glee that reminds me of one of the few things I actually loved about high school - music; particularly singing. I wasn't a great solo singer in high school, but I was great at singing in a group (matching pitch, sight reading, all that fun stuff).<br /><br />One of my favorite memories about Madrigals is the weeks leading up to Solo and Ensemble festival. We used to practice our pieces in the hallway near the gym - the ceilings were really high, and the acoustics were amazing. When everyone matched pitch<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">just right</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span></span>you could actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">feel</span> the notes bounce off the ceiling - it was so cool! We'd occasionally practice the school hymn in that hallway as well - just for the fun of it.<br /><br />I also loved Christmas. It was so much fun to practice beautiful Christmas music and then perform at various events around the valley during the months of November and December. We had the opportunity to sing on the stairs inside the church office building during my Junior year. While we were singing, President Hinckley came into the foyer and stopped to listen to us sing. He said a few words to us (I think I wrote them down in a journal somewhere), shook a few hands (I was too high up on the stairs to get to shake his hand), and left a lasting impression on our hearts. I still miss being in a choir when Christmas rolls around each year.<br /><br />The actual show Glee is so different from my high school choir experience (the music is much cooler and better produced and there's a bit too much drama), but it still evokes some of the positive feelings that I have when I think back on high school.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>It reminds me that there <span style="font-weight: bold;">were</span> actually a few things that I enjoyed about school (photography was my other love, even back then - I still miss the darkroom!).<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>I'm pretty excited for the show to start again tonight. I'm feeling a bit melancholy and homesick since Sasquatch's mom went back home on Sunday, so it will be a good distraction.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>And it's so much fun to watch Sparky dance to all the musical numbers!<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-5729187491347640322010-03-17T12:29:00.001-07:002010-03-17T12:30:50.508-07:00Flip-Flops and Funny Faces<p>Sorry for the lack of blog posts recently. There are some things going on in my non-existent social life that are really bugging me. I naively thought that high school ended after high school and that at some point in my life, I’d actually “fit in.” Not that I want to be like “everyone else” – I’m still a fan of being unique, but still!  </p><br><br> <p>I really want to blog about the specifics that are bothering me, but Sasquatch and another good friend have managed to convince me to be the better person and just leave it alone. I’m REALLY trying to be the better person, but for some reason, it’s all led to a little bit of a creative block. I’ve struggled to come up with anything else to write about, and I haven’t really wanted to edit any of my personal pictures in a while.</p><br><br> <p>I’m determined to get over the whole thing, though. I desperately want to figure out how to be happy regardless of the circumstances. I’m still holding onto the hope and faith that certain things in our life are going to change soon, but in the meantime, I know it’s not a good attitude to say “I’ll be happy when…” </p><br><br> <p>With that being said, I decided to edit some pictures of Miss Sparky last night. She LOVES to steal other people’s shoes and socks. Her very favorite shoes are a pair of The Princess’ flip-flops. She manages to clomp around in them remarkably well, but she’s prone to stepping out of them. This causes her no end of frustration, and when she’s frustrated, she makes that lovely little scream that sounds like a bottle rocket going off in the living room. Since I’m not a huge fan of high pitched noises reverberating off the vaulted ceilings (and amplified by the uncarpeted floors), I’ve asked The Princess to please keep the shoes in her bedroom. </p><br><br> <p>I had to take these pictures first, though. When Sparky is actually willing to look at the camera (which isn’t very often), she gives me the funniest little cheeser grin, which I LOVE. I know I make a point of telling my clients to PLEASE refrain from telling their children to “say cheese,” and I’ve never uttered those words to my own children, but somehow they figure it out anyway. I think it’s kind of adorable in an only-every-once-in-a-while-on-camera sort of way.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMu7p-DTC1c8EwagKT8JdkSqhtnuZY9m-hxdhdwpM1yCmntDvyPJRe3X7uyFUahXPUTqXqxPkAJG9Ztp0q4rece3JjKqTnX2VbWoMTwFndvofn0BzRVepkNy7Pv_0wq-k1ItnGs_q4wcKV/s1600-h/DSC_9152%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9152" border="0" alt="DSC_9152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRosucD2KGs27_G8aliEW33eu28WFsTXaBN5HwzOSX3_zaWwsIINvzlDfyG_peFSttTAMzwG_r070hSD04G6WP76rKrfCPR1wbw6UQli1vtfqGuYrBIHhfKYGI8dM-D0q3iFKQQ4KO-3y//?imgmax=800" width="351" height="516" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNnJXZK8hN3XQLZbuEEC2lyEs8mi6Fep-xuWvjMWwQKfvd7pGfcxm7xpHZXzahyphenhyphenMdzV2j-41vUapxDmlPbylssK3wbP8PPZGrK7f228Lf-aHkyIJi2eLy6lbhWzk0bA5q0OAl-nk5iop-/s1600-h/DSC_9164%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9164" border="0" alt="DSC_9164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83B6cqCw3IsRQ0a_A-qQzw3pz2A4I74JFZqMoLZshwHzMxrxsvkSq2kRc5rPK7FqmnxI3PjvPLlyMdI_C_8H8CwKlDFqTpJDHDloYnrUlvzTLFX3ssU9WyUqXZbd44xJY2JMxRNfX4lIJ//?imgmax=800" width="356" height="520" /></a>Gotta love Sasquatch in the background working on code in this next one.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxhYdIg3K8vItkerFM_UbgD84yZLDYMF8Q4PBB7o0gr1ikhR-UpeUUFV2f15eMZhF65i_CeRP5v0dpeoLxemU90pnjIxN1CF0cIbX3d1FZX0pQsRZMx-yyDpUK2Zsq2Qzz6VDE4PdWizR/s1600-h/DSC_9140%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9140" border="0" alt="DSC_9140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8gaqJOQLjLxPJBHZ0F4veq9fWfEUKw-H4AOHK3P92nR9PjE4YmipULPnMTABeWRbQYxFnWiJgUMtZ3JpLLMQ9KnSE39gdUjuqhh8GWFAvqShNXBN0W6GWjus6X-clmBQ_h6RtY7FyA_a//?imgmax=800" width="364" height="529" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge21NHbUSFkb1OTspPNV7uyCKRx9ZSat0HqfjeqEk-TxS8uEAwW69s5KPyiJJu1bm2oI67JRBFXKgt4G8rKw1cQXaUQ9BhmBjWGq6wvSjr-TYPeDw8ptHrJTAuguBgk-Hbe9FNxUqVwiX4/s1600-h/DSC_9147vintage%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9147vintage" border="0" alt="DSC_9147vintage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GFUA1BRiE4kHS7MpzomKNsnEqXfRTdp7KOYWObgbspuSTjCp6bPBxrMYmuo5jWLsKS_w3OGgwf2A6dHmZ_UV4W1sMen0gKI-CdAcwfRtboSlUR9qPl_1RKxb473xIQuGBNbzS-6xSx6H//?imgmax=800" width="509" height="352" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkP41gb2xlVmkOqa-2AnVJ7orfW89g5DXoaSO8YEiYRpsUXOgRMhhVpl5ekFxfJJt6SDisnQ75cNsrmnJWj0g9pBJdoVUPEm8mXzoWvxChOmltRaimy9CIVqtuQI7InjkGvKOp3Spysfw/s1600-h/DSC_9172%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9172" border="0" alt="DSC_9172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKWguJCWc1NwiVkKYSL696IwEpUl5YmEfiG4xgaGawiVT1AT_7cR_VBlLALJXqOHB0p87pp6VIbmUwqGVGtVBa-jhYdOtTxoScb37e1ADuskwa1hAkr56nfNyL_uEnt_AuQQ6izjeS7KL//?imgmax=800" width="362" height="532" /></a></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-90393000398750907732010-03-06T10:11:00.000-08:002010-03-06T10:18:24.898-08:00The Princess is Going "Old School"The Princess and I were in the car the other day listening to one of the 4 not-so-great radio stations that can be picked up by our car's half-broken antenna. <br /><br />"The Boys are Back in Town" began to play, and The Princess said, "Mommy, I really like this song." We listened to the song for a minute, and then her little voice piped up from the back seat, "Mommy, this song is old school, isn't it?"<br /><br />Makes you feel old all of a sudden when your six-year-old starts telling you that music is "old school." At least she wasn't talking about Pearl Jam, or Korn, or Alanis Morisette. Although that's probably just because I don't have access to a radio station that plays them.<br /><br />Speaking of old school, she came home from school the other day and was so excited to show me a "new" dance that she had learned. She then proceeded to perform the Macarena.esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-31969593182895876432010-02-19T10:03:00.001-08:002010-02-19T10:03:09.535-08:00Winter Still Life<p>Some images from the night I took The Princess outside to play in the snow. It’s been a long time since I’ve photographed non-people (even though in high school I swore I’d NEVER photograph people because I wasn’t any good at it), and it was fun to get back in touch with my artistic side. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5OsjezGm2Io_tdLFjXC3AkvxIraOR9z1nuvUSpUEg6GLot4TKSltgv6IwqUKTh9IVbT7XYaBNttcQzv8oLUW0KtI_5qTj8CLclQ9YC7W0wlmSjQlqfbr-AyPHlB62KvclKQFm0PbWrko/s1600-h/DSC_9031%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC_9031" border="0" alt="DSC_9031" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaV9iFzpPIJlvl9VEmHQZSiglwyq-QXz6yw-aXuZLym2dxnn2f5q_qRp_2gu6jUjFAdEYJs8mw0g4OcHfhvPsQ6Z8aXdIg6sTudqojjsVT338SyzHsQkvQWqIj9StsqRFBxuM0lzyvZvJ//?imgmax=800" width="416" height="283" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpMvHJNlgwDyzU83fLfndiESHxLv4p4YgLazwo2tMY9ZLLVm3yGQwwcobKO0QfraOZXiYX8MjF5m3DEh_MIZGTWiRZrLnI1I0AA2HYjcTRFis3KtYqSDYeZwOJHeGhkzmoaQrYgOLAR3f/s1600-h/DSC_9035ax%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC_9035ax" border="0" alt="DSC_9035ax" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxQPSYrw3y3ZcRBVgs76Bt4hCt3Vouiyp7HjonNGNKTqBQHsyG9lSNvomF3xW5SZmA6mkonSeO7XagFhpdT9cwxl-rYAipoqdQZH4rcv1EYdDffwZg0LlhonQ_INWyfDE5JDmwZOksLk_//?imgmax=800" width="426" height="290" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLl-rkw-dns0cCxRsId2sTArmGYzjjkHRvRMyU6t97sFVt2ajhY47KYic35WesrnYaIJicRd4KSCdZtW3UTUypm8EzIFvsOKAWq5JSWJKjR1NoQSdN1eQ8oUNJRniLZhShmp432aP5UFO5/s1600-h/DSC_9050%5B14%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC_9050" border="0" alt="DSC_9050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEJWwZ6BVLbI9fpWs0NzsJMVtRXsYRC3FBwcHq7e06bJmaov73uxJh-0EKvm6ZqkIbIuqJtfCnGTQrfdlJxigSl8hU-p1g1rIG9ne0KEJwrKohkjk_BfmV4OdAEMeNkqYsj3oie43gG0J//?imgmax=800" width="430" height="297" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8qn_MFKyhWBR7oCX5G_DbiRxpFdlTsKop6pxoGJmqj2N7mk47rInMAbf81aieoRgWk2aOTWw_32nKdx4TXi2Iek-vs_wAGjkLnSLWwKdZzzTPA4zWi0hAycBAIVJeh10z5RWt0-GefXi/s1600-h/DSC_9058afaded%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="DSC_9058afaded" border="0" alt="DSC_9058afaded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8gnATZNNRtYjeilMhlNnThIeY9Sv7tVoa_r0VZbGnghI0R8KxP-20kjUpSswzjZdIc5ra3zj7aPUusVh35vvqFKoh0YSS-OtKnE493L1Ay-cluNdiB3AoXz-lZmlol-vIEZbI5jXLMuT//?imgmax=800" width="435" height="301" /></a> I <strike>stole</strike> borrowed Larisa’s 105mm Micro lens for these images, and I do NOT want to give the lens back to her. It takes such yummy closeups – both for abstract photography <strong>and</strong> babies (you should see some of the images I captured of Sparky’s eyelashes – maybe tomorrow). If anyone has an extra 1K lying around and you want to buy me a gift, I can tell you <strong>exactly</strong> where to purchase my new lens. :P</p> <br /> <br /> <p>As usual, these images look much better in any format besides Blogger. I’m still feeling pretty tempted to switch over to Wordpress for the better image quality, but I don’t want to lose all my cute little sidebar widgets (or my few loyal followers).</p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-81396760984204662752010-02-18T19:00:00.001-08:002010-02-18T19:05:43.632-08:00Snow Day<p>I know I’m super late posting these pictures, since it snowed a couple weeks ago, but I wanted to share them anyway. The grandparents will appreciate my efforts, if nothing else.</p> <br> <br> <p>I’m still getting used to this whole snow in the South thing. It seems so strange to me that 2-3 inches of snow can shut down an entire city for half a week. You should see the grocery stores on afternoons when a snow storm is still a mere <em>possibility. </em>You’d think the apocalypse was just around the corner the way people jam the bread and milk aisles.</p> <br> <br> <p>To be fair, it usually only snows once a year around here, which makes the expense of hundreds of snow plows rather unnecessary. However, since our government <em>doesn’t</em>  “waste” money on snow plows, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature when the rare snow storm occurs. We have to wait for it to melt to be able to leave our neighborhood.</p> <br> <br> <p>The Princess was super excited to hear that snow was in the forecast. I was worried that it was going to be another situation where there was lots of  hype about a storm that would never deliver.  So when I looked out the window right before The Princess’ bed time and saw that the snow was sticking, I told her to put on her coat – we were going to enjoy the snow even if it didn’t stick around until morning.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZN3JyvGsru8XuIko9of-q6mC4oipniRUo93zNRuVmnJAQc3rNmjXdMJpPaP17FlpOvqsL9rpsxhlhgIC6d-qK__q_w649ZVpdRTqs307mtCugG4UyybPquTdpJzbYqYu3IwhlMvEja_q0/s1600-h/DSC_9040%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9040" border="0" alt="DSC_9040" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tJwuEuaAQK-aAl7XZkij8bS2ojuIjQpnfD2GeYkFeVM2jbj8tHZoVQv5nZ-Tskm98au2GK7wPIIlLmLFvyFHlGgFXm3ted2Gy8xixSAo8JsFSj9Aovk7sTM_EvIZBZcNNN8AZ7qln6ml//?imgmax=800" width="472" height="321" /></a>We were pleasantly surprised to wake up the next morning to several inches of snow. Both of the girls were thrilled at the chance to play outside in our wintery wonderland. Unfortunately, due to the rarity of snow, we were poorly supplied in the winter clothing department. The Princess wore her daddy’s gloves and a pair of too-small rainboots that quickly filled with snow (and made her cry when she wanted to take them off 10 minutes later – I thought it was because they hurt her feet, but after the hysterics wore off she informed me that it was because she was afraid I was never going to be able to get them off her feet). After reading the blogs of some more experienced Southerners, I’ve since learned that the proper foot coverings for playing in the snow are bread bags or grocery bags. At least we know for next time.</p> <br> <br> <p>Sparky wasn’t sure how to walk in the snow. She made it about two steps off the front porch before face-planting a snow drift. I took her back inside to warm up, but she quickly wanted to go back outside and try again. Notice the adorable <strike>socks</strike> mittens she’s wearing on her hands.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_85znGNin4BNKCSwECW024DiKE4BArSrqWf2f2Hqvp_me3IfKbWjkf-BXt3FaqVy6vzhfj_y-5ObNsrA1r92jZvl4Hh7yw13ojfx7WNI5PjBp6-YnpPur0qVxCq6XVixYYAhACbtyp9PJ/s1600-h/DSC_9072%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9072" border="0" alt="DSC_9072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi30L-GuV3rJNUC3Iis26NCNBBriQCAS_PWn29Sn3oqtlCgTqtO17_4Twnkj7Z9kJeTzfN5pTp5WuUS7DyUTxVWNAHtU2zQTny2XcJGDvOo3iaYch9eTV736PnPHsG_IjG0Lg9RMy0CZZ//?imgmax=800" width="343" height="504" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCttOQCKbuQ9tw0aJCEmA2WMElpGMzLcGh-vE4WTSzHckxzCHpQbFbRvLpeFykCwhytuzv5r4kt1vJ9n3dqY0BFQOvH7MdksC__tfhA-ovAO8gvgDg9vOyI-_0pUTJRas4KZfc1Mlzgaje/s1600-h/DSC_9062%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9062" border="0" alt="DSC_9062" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1Lq5RSO0WpaekDqjeSAsXF2W04t-vBp8zDGoslR-YSSr_47rR1qo5If1w9hyphenhyphen3PPgSuP6noMk5IK1BusG-cjhgBxPh8FowPR26dx6aDnTEjfOdSfeuLIBkTsFu9oLzFx0PbErXdatKxJS//?imgmax=800" width="531" height="361" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8Y2AxDXBYI-_v-NOL6jnWEn5aaN7NJwb-IacOq7jyIVmHz-2cvmsdE8pACykORshmASoEj91SvqJwhA7xLX00ZgYyl2kJXZXWE8uFni6KHxjtL1-Earmpp4l4tCwr92dAUAMaHFU-k8H/s1600-h/DSC_9066%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9066" border="0" alt="DSC_9066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSVESyCxqfOHhNHk3QyCN5OTYOEw-RjETLX0neFjDa0TNKV_OjHjXSzH-nNXgXyQIszaXvPGlb5UoMym0m6leLN3Br1Zd_hL9BC7yycXZbpC9MFLZvsBXXd8wCcby6Iuro_kqC7MZ3ncH//?imgmax=800" width="351" height="516" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1j5HvLA4kS1cySgv2fU0xnK7Ok25EAh-e9dUz4cDnlq050lA_YKcQa8bvDRb9jO9xDKhvxtzQEz7r7K9Yq5T6BCqDQ15sv2KxdRvA6vmCrWP7553KM-kDb1AXInMewxBMIwbeippnnhB/s1600-h/DSC_9083%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9083" border="0" alt="DSC_9083" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbMyZg27Erw5NLdSX7OgNJMlnJ8ESe7V3eRa2jtXq0e7vMF0KMCzCTPk-tJR4dGW-VH1Qa45EZIk2a0MxmtrzYuQAHZ1jMnzFYAgQ6ue9K_nbJE0XQVsoNCFY29yo4sjKlIEW0P7lq_Yw//?imgmax=800" width="525" height="357" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfUT8Fs5AagAjire-zAqbCGUZ4YDwQPXrJ7p3bcJ6Cg1hW6mvQeaxskizYZaJD-S4gwcB5wQa9wwQBD_QeX8T1lznBTCY5WsdcD7FSlU2i1pzZGvMwXB7kL_qJObdztrGG6Z3siPxA23D/s1600-h/DSC_9079%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9079" border="0" alt="DSC_9079" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4iGb1zzXgfbMV4utB3kboFdg3IlBr8SnzHlWwSe_UPHIoOOL7RnqX5vFCuqnAapn1tru0bblSF4F1NTRV_4bZmhge0U1b8d7UKieFtPFhjB3DxUi3yKiRSdV6ZtG11nb_JMR6_M-QMWZ//?imgmax=800" width="339" height="499" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAg_3H3o0Y2qP_cwqFgpYloTIatzRCE8N0c-nNqBx86FuyDSPveSqrrZe_2jMd2Bisj1jT21BBule7qjnUInBW0Ypd0zNeTBiVd7M1cXCootOqIPr-PUSkvhVv_v4HBiTpW5qi-pmknNpc/s1600-h/DSC_9080%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9080" border="0" alt="DSC_9080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJbxgpsRjOOT6p73hUfu6ZTbHFtrK5ay6twcAE6wSWv-ErxoyWks_t5fC1_6O5FSZcRJuM1bo89dv5Wp5xMx979NIttU67WOwZvAc5UEfXBL2nMT-lOLWFnbHZE5YfRHFLMBgIIb1HQfN//?imgmax=800" width="343" height="501" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkZjmsJsDPeUxZdos7m0CKGblNtDyNTzMbuRmdkOrFtsXHuTaC7XTYvcrIymAzBeph7_7KTjnxFKftw7tviQjiLXWkSzviytfMxjyI9ka_w-dIeLga_-SAk52j31WY4O7mGBLaMsA9Jfqh/s1600-h/DSC_9084%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9084" border="0" alt="DSC_9084" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL51s2jzGnL7VmIcvkmFUjmBpMocVG-s32SZAhVI87kArz3JlrAjE8ahU8xezartTAD9Pxwrc_-NQ8WmVEHc7WBuuzmlGujoxj6Lpk7mKYX6mTrKnyeTvxf7wGR4BgGK7_KhqLZDTJXzFw//?imgmax=800" width="346" height="346" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm7jsOGgRCXVceOCnCDLRwCCjgneFR1k6H0oylkem3YmEGIYqxdiw1s10TznkOHo8bFX_byzvVDE2Vv9HjiDV2iqPExrjdO6GpLmOfSY5fPdu_MtgiWeZzP_oVJ5ZB_Ww9rfwhE3fmk-K7/s1600-h/DSC_9061%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9061" border="0" alt="DSC_9061" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94rdvyaYOnA08ijFioyrvcp4Bd1lTCgrkn9qAlyTbpiUbEQ5F9SmfIgsCOXEcG1nbMPQ8u-Bfu3Y9OYeUJnxst0eobNq_q1CvW5g_Fp0Q3NOhSsr3p_bpYaLGysBi_mwKrmcRjeKY7FLa//?imgmax=800" width="455" height="310" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>The weather actually stayed below freezing for several days. Church was cancelled (a first for me), and The Princess missed three days of school. We all had a bit of cabin fever by the time the roads were clear again.</p> <br> <br> <p>While it still seems strange to watch the world shut down at the first fluttering snowflake, it’s kind of cool to enjoy the “magic” of a snowstorm again. It’s neat that my girls get to live somewhere that “snow days” actually happen sometimes, and we’re forced to slow down and just enjoy the day and our time together.</p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-16181287273998939692010-02-13T11:56:00.001-08:002010-02-13T11:56:58.597-08:00Puppy Love<p>When Sparky went to Utah with her daddy a few weeks ago she <strike>stole</strike> adopted a stuffed puppy from Grandma Rosie’s house. This puppy has now become a fixture in Sparky’s life. She insists on taking it to bed with her, and won’t allow you to remove her from her crib until she’s secured the puppy in a <strike>death grip</strike> snuggle to carry him around the house while she fully awakens. Thank you, Grandma Rosie (and Aunt Lizzy) for allowing a nice Valentine’s gift to become the new best friend of our little redheaded girl.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2P26Aj3XPIO35rGR64nIeu6DxBKXhi5Nq7F39A6CVfX8wej5JyJVQwzHbMQqdBKA0xMGZ0bYH2QfEiojf2cs-zG7SD2fDkF7_tYWeXeagae7ygcJDqZx8oG9n0b9XQjFtTbb_9pYjKmK/s1600-h/DSC_9133bw%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9133bw" border="0" alt="DSC_9133bw" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbdjXR-x8TDzQ1gsNBOLx9nFBQphw0C3Fl0hg_tJaO-ejUMtzsDlTdIvkSkOLlota1hi4VrQlcdXpIx8L3wBgBFlbuGzp5s_1H93jzAk07qA9l9aHbloz3OZt72MmdqmUfgj1OFKNcIpQ//?imgmax=800" width="538" height="392" /></a> </p> <p>I really couldn’t decide between color and black and white on this one. I love the contrast of her red hair and pink shirt in the color version, but I adore the vintage look of the black and white. I wouldn’t trust the black and white version to print correctly (for some reason, most brown-toned prints end up with a purple tint when they’re printed), but I think it’s adorable online.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzifl3ulmtexQriaf-0Fq81M2yNIwenP7wr4sWqZNYqSLH8d_66k0M5-zlNwpxr3L5OwTrWbLKlgiaCjHht8WDzRwQX91g6FeaIrkVW07fFuv182oV_3m3L3ItsVO7nBrESol1fPjLS_YB/s1600-h/DSC_9132a%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9132a" border="0" alt="DSC_9132a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixCwxByZCWwcQA5Ig8tR2nnD9CkW5HEgvPyBJA_IITMh6nz2zFjKUaEp9eb_NXta_Y177qFvtpIsJtFf_UfKJK49M3nsegwH6J1uDkXxNEb1NPFSB3P1i6wyKPjpBKnD_ManozsmpwU30Q//?imgmax=800" width="531" height="531" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBWZ1zw_JA57kkDqZQaYg4mY-8p-npDJsokmLggiw2AzX2u0pXT3UAvXOa_vI10nBGIMFY-lsUYGTGKeXXj5pzmp77cVtEmrO2KBk3HwHKtYQFgVQXU6K1Ay-G-kFJZDaENXjR0-AWQUJ/s1600-h/DSC_9132abw%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_9132abw" border="0" alt="DSC_9132abw" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtstxzUtjIQeB2aDIycD2AGATukZaXOdpAQciQ9WWVeRW5i7IXBaySykJYW3QticHtYYKv7wIq2enw_kdXU_uYA_14JD4nSX5OfiodYOrUiliIo5zDI6L5dsR6mGkDJ0HDga4qXpcEuEkT//?imgmax=800" width="538" height="538" /></a></p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-88856187580341893372010-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:002010-02-12T14:02:57.251-08:00All You Need is Love<p>In an effort to avoid making a bunch of snarky remarks that I’ll regret later (let’s just say I’m feeling rather homesick and lonely again), I’m going to focus on an enlightening blog post I read a few days ago. Natalie Norton (one of my new favorite bloggers) recently made a guest appearance over at <a href="http://www.thecoterieblog.com/2010/02/love-meets-crazy-guest-blogger-natalie.html">The Coterie Blog</a>, and the things she said have really stuck with me this week (in some ways – in other ways I’m still feeling snarky and sorry for myself, lol).</p> <br /><br /><p>If you don’t feel like reading her blog post (you’ll be missing out – she’s a great writer), the main gist is about various ways she shows love for herself and her family. Really basic things like doing a load of laundry each morning, sorting the mail on the way in from the mailbox (rather than allowing it to form a pile of epic proportions on top of the microwave – oops, did I say that out loud?), taking care of her body (daily shower, exercise, etc), and making sure to schedule a weekly date night.</p> <br /><br /><p>While everything she said made perfect sense, the one that stuck with me the most was the laundry.</p> <br /><br /><p>I’m so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a stay/work-at-home-mom. I love being able to watch my babies grow up and being there when my oldest daughter comes home from school each day. It definitely presents it’s challenges, though, and I’d be lying if I said it was all smooth sailing. I struggle a lot. I struggle with feeling like my business isn’t successful enough to allow me to genuinely provide for my family. I struggle with boredom and loneliness and a general feeling of isolation. I struggle to keep my house as clean as I would like, and from there, I struggle with a feeling of resentment that I’m the “only” person in the house who “cares” if anything is clean (this is absolutely not true – my husband and oldest daughter really DO care, and it hurts them every time I say those words out loud – I’m trying to get better about how I vent my frustrations). Which in turn leads to me feeling like I’m not good enough – I’m not patient enough, I’m not easy-going enough, and I’m not doing a good enough job to keep the house clean so that I *don’t* feel bitter about the mess.</p> <br /><br /><p>Obviously, my perspective is all sorts of messed up. I’ve been looking at things the wrong way for a very long time. Natalie’s comments about the laundry were what really helped me to see the error of my perspective, and this week has gone much better. In her blog post, she states:</p> <p>“Loving myself means putting one load of laundry in every morning, FIRST THING.<br /></p> <br /><br /><p>Laundry is the ultimate SUCK, and I HATE nothing more than hearing my husband and my kids say "Mo'om I can't find any clo'othes!"<br /></p> <br /><br /><p>I've decided that I love myself too much to allow myself to get behind. Having clean clothes to wear everyday, well, it shows my man and my boys that I love them too.”</p> <br /><br /><p>This was the proverbial 2X4 to the head for me. I REALLY don’t enjoy doing laundry. I don’t mind the sorting or the actual washing and drying. It’s the folding and the putting away that makes it the epitome of tedium in my world. It’s one of the few thorns in my SAHM side. I just don’t enjoy it. And I tend to feel bitter that I’m the “only” one who “has” to do the laundry (again, not exactly true). Especially when it comes to the white load and matching up all the endless pairs of socks (and the annoyance of realizing that half the socks no longer have a match). Laundry is the chore that I avoid more than any other, which causes me to always be behind. The piles of laundry in my house are so big, that I become overwhelmed, and I avoid them even more diligently.</p> <br /><br /><p>Natalie’s statements about LOVE really helped me to look at laundry (and dishes, and picking up after the baby) in a whole new light. Is laundry ever going to be fun? I’m not sure. But I’ve been trying to do at least one load of laundry first thing in the morning (including folding it and putting it away). I’ve been telling myself that I’m doing it because I LOVE my family, and I want them to have nice, clean clothes to wear. And guess what – it REALLY works. Even the folding and putting away hasn’t been as bad as I’ve always made it out to be. It’s a wonderful feeling to realize that I’m doing my best to make life pleasant for the people that I love – even something as simple as clean clothes makes a difference in the day-to-day routine. If I do one load a day (rather than waiting for everything to pile up for weekly “laundry day”), it’s not nearly such a daunting task.</p> <p>I’ve been adopting the same perspective for dishes, and it’s making a world of difference. Now to just get the routine down to the point that I can start focusing on other areas of the house – like the bathrooms. :)</p> <br /><br /><p>I totally agree with the other things she says (date nights, etc). I know Sasquatch and I are much happier as a couple after we’ve spent time with just the two of us. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of a regular free babysitter around here. I have a couple of friends who have been willing to watch the girls in the past, but I don’t want them to feel like I’m taking advantage of them. At one point, I had hopes of starting a babysitting co-op and trading sitting services a few times a month, but that hasn’t ever come to fruition. Paying a babysitter is most definitely out of the question – as is actually going anywhere (it’s too cold to go for a picnic in the park right now). My parents and siblings gave us a “date night” for Christmas (dinner and movie gift certificates), but we’re saving it for Alice in Wonderland (I can’t wait!). However, as soon as Sasquatch’s company is earning a good income, a weekly date night will be a guaranteed happening at our house – happy, sane parents result in a happy, sane household.</p> <br /><br /><p>Changing my perspective and focusing on LOVE being the reason that I do certain things around the house has made a significant difference in my attitude this week. I’m going to continue to focus on love, and think of my beautiful family every time I start a load of laundry or sweep the floor, and I know it’s going to help me be a happier and more grateful wife and mother.</p> <br /><br /><p>The Princess just came home from school, and while my house isn’t perfect, I’m going to stop what I’m doing and go spend some time with her. That’s one of the perks of being a SAHM. She had a Valentine’s Day party at school, and we’re going to sort through her bag of treats and read all the cards and focus on LOVE again.</p> <br /><br /><p>XOXO</p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-15901657779850198322010-02-10T10:35:00.001-08:002010-02-10T10:44:03.809-08:00At Least She’s Looking at the Camera<p>There are a few things I’d like to blog about, but I’m going to take some time to develop my thoughts before posting them. So for now, I’m just going to share a couple pictures of the littlest monkey. She was reaching for the camera – hence the pained facial expressions. I’m trying to get better about looking at the bright side of things, so I’ll just say I’m glad that she was willing to look at the camera for these images. And I’m grateful for bounced flash which provided the nice catchlights (I’m a sucker for a great catchlight) and modeling on her face. ;)</p> <p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1IJWyTYendDzQeOMCm22VwsD-Nj-DHVSt7kLOYaolxH3-YAz8HRxojnG8WM5VDZb-tq7usoew5JI5Gh7VT_kkTpUZtYAfET5Ofg3SuSxr5V0legUGtXlamZFtjDNR0LhyxwF-pZhd5Cf/s1600-h/DSC_8970%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8970" alt="DSC_8970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWxVlhYbmfoZwUqAzA3PWdwlO-YJnuRReJJjP0Dwyt9X3EaMTjHVcEnCZW23Ohe9bE6UFLuUuhtXTdMG6mgmem68I89clhsv36f0c567ZwqZAj_mqdUTXRZFGS2QsebUeAG46fO3oX1PG//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="299" width="440" /></a> <img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8971" alt="DSC_8971" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixvVw1GzVGdsTg25-w8yTmDEnDODAb2NxqpJGxxrOSLMxenfrz2joDAJz715YBiHL6zLQ45HP-XK_-ZrHj8WZAQeBjl5VJlitu3jncBz3CnAtx23Kyqff3LZMQHjmpAcc-Q7cV-kf-Tua7//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="299" width="440" /></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mFm4y21r3oDSKUqmUGGeFDFkNoEDXhBQIcaPHVlgyQrR6_f0inIJxNFNaPM-7FOByxNT_U-YYLL9IBsFgcR1Aa3_48mIBllIvGwvR92UOtxosnXi57nNAwgWbPHmiwlpg0bPYs07R3Gs/s1600-h/DSC_8972a%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8972a" alt="DSC_8972a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiDnnjsxTS1puCEmDGdZPLaHBfsvdfs-ezUAhw_JGHaZQBg3xtuttqlkJ9mXb2ogysxqj6-Pp5r71W-Sv9znc5jv7BT4YPzHHM4dVX7t6OD4OvTeDq6MFCCU5T5pbvr51xuKEhL6a6vUn//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="296" width="435" /></a></p><p>Oh, I’m also grateful that it looks like her hair is FINALLY going to start growing. Although I probably need suggestions for easy hairstyles to get her through the mullet phase.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mFm4y21r3oDSKUqmUGGeFDFkNoEDXhBQIcaPHVlgyQrR6_f0inIJxNFNaPM-7FOByxNT_U-YYLL9IBsFgcR1Aa3_48mIBllIvGwvR92UOtxosnXi57nNAwgWbPHmiwlpg0bPYs07R3Gs/s1600-h/DSC_8972a%5B4%5D.jpg"></a></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-78474565688833727112010-02-06T17:45:00.000-08:002010-02-06T18:00:22.373-08:00If You're the Praying Type...Last Saturday, <a href="http://stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/">this family</a> experienced a tragedy in their home when their youngest baby boy was found unconscious in the bathtub. I cannot begin to fathom the fear they're experiencing as they watch their little boy fight for his life at PCMC. If you get a chance to read the blog - I highly recommend it. You'll need kleenex, for sure, but your faith will intensify 100-fold.<br /><br />I read all of these amazing stories about the angels who work at PCMC (and every other children's hospital), and I pray daily that my husband's company will take off SOON. We have some ideas for ways to utilize the program that would really help the families at PCMC and every other children's hospital as well. I can't wait for the day when this company is more than just a concept, and we have the financial means to donate certain aspects of the program to various children's hospitals in order to help the families of the children staying there.<br /><br />In the meantime, I'll continue to pray for baby Bronson, for my cousin's little boy Carter (who will be going in for major heart surgery next week), as well as <a href="http://www.natalienortonphoto.com/">Natalie Norton</a> and her sweet family.<br /><br />If you would like to help a GREAT cause and get a beautiful handmade keepsake in the process, be sure to check out my friend Brae's <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Spoonsforscarlet">Etsy Shop</a>. They are selling "Spoons for Scarlet" in order to earn money to donate a tree to this year's Festival of Trees (the proceeds of which benefit Primary Children's Medical Center). The spoons are fun and whimsical, and you won't regret checking out the shop.esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-3332329034537580042010-02-05T09:16:00.001-08:002010-02-05T09:41:40.300-08:00Sparky's New WordSparky still doesn't say much. She definitely <span style="font-style: italic;">communicates</span>, but most of it is non-verbal right now. Her pediatrician isn't worried about it - she makes eye contact, and she definitely understands what we're saying (her ability to do the exact <span style="font-style: italic;">opposite</span> of what we ask her is uncanny!). She plays "pretend" amazingly well (you'd think she constantly had something in her mouth the way she eats pretend food, and she can turn anything from an actual cell phone to a shoe into a phone and have long pretend "conversations).<br /><br />Besides, her big sister was a late bloomer in the verbal department as well. As much as I wanted her to hurry and grow up and learn how to speak (for some reason I thought this would magically make tantrums less severe - ha!), there are times now that I wish she'd stop talking for just a moment or two. (I'm sure that once she's a teenager and never wants to talk to me, I'll be wistfully looking back at the days when I was hoping for a little peace and quiet).<br /><br />Sparky says a few words, and signs a few more. She's quite adept at saying "Da-da," she'll <span style="font-style: italic;">occasionally </span>say "Mama" (although she knows how much I want her to say it, which makes her less willing to do so unless she's in just the right mood), and she's attempted to say her big sister's name a few times. Sasquatch said that while they were in Utah, she took a huge liking to her Uncle Joe and would try to say his name in the middle of all her babbling.<br /><br />She's very skilled at signing "please," "more," "food," "milk," & "finished" and she's created her own weird little sign for "juice." She also loves to wave "bye-bye," and it's quite adorable to watch her blow kisses to everyone she meets.<br /><br />Her very favorite word right now is "touch." She loves to be picked up, and then she'll point to various objects around the house and say "touch" so that you'll take her up to said object and allow her to touch it (she's particularly fond of light switches, thermostats, and anything else with buttons - just don't tell her it's a button, or she'll lift up her shirt to point at her own little "button"). Her second favorite word is "downstairs" (although it sounds more like "Dolce," or "dont touch" and Sasquatch makes her mad by saying "Dolce & Gabana" every time she asks to go downstairs - which is about every 30 seconds if you dare to attempt to keep her upstairs in the loft with all the toys).<br /><br />She learned a new word today. I was making her the only thing she'll eat for breakfast (waffles), and she was getting impatient for the toaster to finish. I pointed to the toaster and said "waffle" and then she pointed to the toaster and said "waff-uh." We did it a few more times to verify that she was actually saying the word, and she said it every time.<br /><br />We've also been practicing saying "baby." The first time we tried it (she was in the car with me running errands and she was getting tired and fussy) she repeated it every time I said it. Now it's more hit-and-miss. Sometimes she'll say "baby" and point at herself. Other times I'll say baby and she'll just sort of wave at herself.<br /><br />She may not have a full vocabulary yet, but I'm trying really hard to just enjoy her babyness and allow her to grow up at her own pace. I should probably be doing alphabet flashcards or at least working on colors or something, but somehow I'm just not structured enough to do that at her age. I guess she'll just have to settle for a regular preschool rather than a genius preschool if that's in our budget by the time she's old enough for preschool.esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-75895626328439293662010-02-04T16:06:00.001-08:002010-02-06T12:38:32.775-08:00More Valentine’s Pictures<p>Here are the rest of my favorite pictures from The Princess’ Valentine’s Day session. I didn’t really like the tutu after I finished making it, but it photographed better than I expected.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5CyjxJ3WHDoMMSqeiioInIMrDKRkT4rkrQpOkhbgGsippXy-kVEgJ0gLVPzyt4H5-X6nF9WRoQ_vwGWmWit4Pmz97Da9uT-MJ5e9qeg3u6GXrE0nkSQ361Y7nreQYAPqARt32DShUzEKP/s1600-h/DSC_8862%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8862" alt="DSC_8862" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeo7JNDpMfX3Ns7OnBW0-G9OvRZh0iXs1hd4-gAcYNkE8BLFBQCY7-LqvRnfO75FS3BI9klXrsWtUkoSzigD3fN4lZR0uuMlZ8uMmgkfFhOGrP9ST8_Tqg6O7Bkzkq32oHbPegxpUmCVi//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="482" width="482" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNwKhbJGWkTCJWXt_peruPeq1pjQlqXR0MI4VVSTMWGrm9gPYrRh7CcrBQ3UPZEs-29D9An2yQcaujvWZte06JtDmFWzstfVgnBK5hSXsqq4ii4_yiIjwqtE-NKo01-76TeukWPCuTX8R/s1600-h/DSC_8867%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8867" alt="DSC_8867" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWJXyajXnIQeB4Zz145i4KCIIzpP0SUXT36N5Y9nzdwtsDsgEhpPnYqu1zkWWlYiYl6XGXT3uHQ5aR4aLsHwnPLFzPGXgqgg_vUx-h06RGh2GeyP2NAlH-34xYjm9xZu8dQtRqR5aupnS//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="486" width="486" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc2VUBsoeSgzLbAEtXvBR9WimRGbo8tIX9lOiSS6vSG8kjEnRGCef72VRITXYq0umh7eK3hU8ToRLuasvfVG8wcy6mXvPjXYxzKeiRucucPxBZysx1r8QCxG2y2uLB9ZgwBH6RYFlQWDH/s1600-h/DSC_8877vintagecool%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8877vintagecool" alt="DSC_8877vintagecool" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0s9FyZWGMcc6OE4NEE3rNUyd09NNrIsdcwn4t3PaFWAu0yAmVhYm69BgL2N1gveYYOPai1el2gSmjTz_5kjVVKfHW2TPxf7U-tqRl8DIsOpGwZgeQmwf8zZLyDbI3yswz53PYUHHBJvS//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="725" width="495" /></a>I edited out the graffiti on the image below, and left it there on the next image.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhBnxTeT3KX4YM7hurRnrFPv5fkwCxHTFuA9MeQDLoxmbtqAD5ohdHk0J4Nyv7iUQ7zKEHDNTPONwY8dSxXLPHquoAmrl2EyOg2kbx3SLje2HO4IzfZDVjIvj_ZComirMSIizAf0-80ak/s1600-h/DSC_8888a%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8888a" alt="DSC_8888a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlDTAW-8sVJCGiZUUFjYKiCk20hcN7CHBGoRzjeRB4R5edRL0ebhIdqEZ5pECAgFVMFfPZCpDz4z8qS6jtHQDOa4jCnkZ9ePWQ0EPQ8OSl98VsAYQzvPkGgbRJNOiFLtPA7HDO0IsTEJB//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="374" width="546" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnQBz8bBLfNdKfSYl5GSSOIr6d2QplJD-atyVrUwSIE9iBbw8R50dgZeDajra72PVUkivhbO_zxEF_QXx5Vt7rHJsXG7SJfxYZjAHxBpLBRp918VFQKENIJ1D3J3OHuIBRZ_-h9AvxVDV/s1600-h/DSC_8897pool%5B16%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8897pool" alt="DSC_8897pool" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf9jbECVdHbuHCKgrx1shF26JbSNtwPJ2tIV8yyT5f14PWvHCTsR7XZ6i5f6wQO9yn3NoeSArqTdidwc23nkt_tp41RueZWcVWDJZopJoDo58Dd4GuHdB7F6Z1CyMmZHQtOpnbbyUvj5o//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="382" width="550" /></a> The color on the image below looks a little off on here, but it’s cute in Photoshop. :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GzEItLnt1EAyCUilHbYL2R3dk1DWk7cb8qY71V31ICU3jYuU472Hxwe5nes3QYHwW9jWW6gxIYt6Gk0UN7wXXGvxB_yWW4mYw_YL5MVJO9zZnSSMqb3yYD1qs9_oDdPooG4uZeC30CQu/s1600-h/DSC_8928brighta%5B15%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8928brighta" alt="DSC_8928brighta" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06SQ1FQhTbL-lx0HkrDK2W5R7cVc14xV-Z0-RrAfM1bfg-bKgzJqkJTCq4FH6Vf81ubzIzyXW8ELD4dYl0V-zTILcucvJc19SHYHgK4QYIuOKyW1qAdCbJ3IhXuPJmhImtkjZ0LnThdyf//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="763" width="522" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1GA5tnB_dZnga_ff6vi9FqQBCLf2OdoS9Ne89LKSUyuJ0rfLYfdjZN53eFVl40Y8YixZxd9ChsP98rvBkLI9AchDFhBwDyopqq3TQHvXUEJ7rxqxGvzJL-XbsdKqFRWGhvdKisqHKVAo/s1600-h/DSC_8954%5B15%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8954" alt="DSC_8954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcJFBhQiFqxUfTxiWFw5mtRszx9vz77Ursg_AuzORP8TZMEeY0BLRDN3TwaS3BvfXJVZRr08D3N7OsSV3mYe_YIYgTHxKZ0tsKA1FQEjvRZzLWOlcAMjQqqfuyXBTbJ29yVGrGMS90Rrf//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="387" width="565" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxuSkgiXY4ul_treXgIuqwYmZs5NFP9uTHW8Eq7FXYKW6fAkJH0LjBFO4FHCoUpKMQX5OY8pzBdcBOI0tCSLRyKOVvaF-oPXgYzzCF-yYtXDS5xaR3dggvqqRWNNKLMOZW2J-iTYgOmVK/s1600-h/DSC_8956bright%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_8956bright" alt="DSC_8956bright" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6By3UDDCd2ZERCMG-WBZjE64FQgl4GVfYotwJpbp2MVAsls_BlV66IWXPcZMmhXXfacY1gkf-qyMeK0BqxatdTYu81vTmeIvTXSMnjVrmq0JKUe07lTLUqQ79D0kEbAt_pVgcLKVqgcvX//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="767" width="528" /></a></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-41109345055638053552010-01-31T13:22:00.001-08:002010-01-31T13:23:07.091-08:00Valentine’s Day Portraits<p>Since the Valentine’s Day mini sessions ended up being a bust (I booked a big fat ZERO sessions despite my various marketing efforts), Larisa and I decided to take our kiddos out last weekend for their own special Valentine’s Day portraits. While I’m disappointed that I apparently can’t even give my work away for practically free right now (the mini sessions were a REALLY great deal – maybe I was giving away too much), it was really fun to take The Princess out for a portrait session. Sasquatch and Sparky were in Utah (keep your fingers crossed that his new business takes off soon), so it was just me and The Princess at home and we needed to get out of the house.</p> <p>Here are a few of the Valentine-themed portraits that we did for the Valentine cards she’ll hand out at her class party. Which reminds me – I need to make a final decision on which design we’re using and get the order sent to the lab.</p> <p>I’m playing around with various vintage looks – the goal is to develop an editing style that’s instantly recognizable as “mine.” Larisa and I were talking over the weekend. As much as I LOVE the bright, humorous, FUN style of so many child photographers, it’s not really “me.” So I’m trying to find a niche that really is me and makes me more marketable as an artist. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbh7CvUQ8tW0A5DzHe5BpnLOohL7am1Ayr9TCu1gitf5ePCYtiBuTwKB9igKk4CnM3tKV_qSkhpcLPS_sxjf60Djc_sAywPXqd1bd4e3JMT4t6yOLjYNoD3F97SDUReatjAHtYQwsve8RS/s1600-h/DSC_8772blue%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8772blue" border="0" alt="DSC_8772blue" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtV8yjftIKQoekmL4rDi_xC10bvN7QTf2ipSC1HZL1y8UA6I0Yjh41oLM7IpNVgE0KLZ8WeIBGcBjbx-Qm9GgFFJVdn4WuvlEJOOdoUDPlCe93arynbtTBmRZIY9vNVVMdPQDy9nUIYDk//?imgmax=800" width="346" height="509" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGD9xii0EXPvwqhqEYtY4aZXpmf3tg3WOdBXN1VLcDiMcUIauWsyLnvk0d1RRKg7vMoy1RPWwF-GUgvN18OWk2lPOsLiJmjeMr6HuQrLvBD2M15GoRpI1u-BgrB6uQzqEVW3E0BGbXpTt/s1600-h/DSC_8777atexture%5B13%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8777atexture" border="0" alt="DSC_8777atexture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctc6iq9S5U7Ny1XTkO7ZGGElxdiPzhoaZyAJKnWkVHt1NpOyhOvX6XRqZo0CHPqbt9ebts7i1xRvsxFhvqEgwwYVTHuPO8nn0hRfhmYmj2s3r6jztuqQnekz08G3Ka2eizAaRMu1kHeZU//?imgmax=800" width="350" height="502" /></a>The morning shade made it absolutely freezing in this wind tunnel of a stairwell, but she was <strong>such</strong> a good sport about the entire ordeal. We walked over to Starbuck’s afterwards for a hot chocolate. That’s right – I’m not above a little bribery to get nice portraits of my own children.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ_OLXe0TzuOj7v2Qfs7KlmwO4NPRfKgc9K52G6CbZyh4hkdD3M2HlC3v35vB54AyGs9-WlDQFdqyvJZ_BUBVWaFlYp3X6d3LdXTCdG-ISVtfQvse0OuK_FQg_VZ9rJmM787ovL-zCBwdc/s1600-h/DSC_8798blueray%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8798blueray" border="0" alt="DSC_8798blueray" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yzRbiGqRKVEiOimcLPVMD-hbqCZuZppH-7FgpOd2CCashimY92NrIy4UeLZSs1fecm3DQJJN8gEVy0IbZUsVz9joocmOTBtlMqy33nwwhMe4slgdZICDaznEWf21Cao7jiRzB-vpTHAf//?imgmax=800" width="352" height="517" /></a>  I can’t decide if I like this image better in black and white or “vintage,” so I’m sharing both.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxlp-L6ZeT9AR8SgMB5WFjsm1ixRZ96fM4CzpjlmwaIg3QHVqdAgVYB4qQscxw5bpyKebYlgZG5Vo6T-vlNzkIPu_rDDNGRroupMSSKuqSBJME73iBNrQ-0vQ0Nmohy1m6TT52ainEkvd/s1600-h/DSC_8801bw%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8801bw" border="0" alt="DSC_8801bw" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-WHgoBDRFA1n6vx60vuGiWoisXC6RksvlqlcBkJQb9WvzCgcp9mhwQWtlYtPvEaE0rE8SWEQIKtnzFl8eAYPjKA5BewyyYy2WpwRAjxbapEg-86qnXJnE93QLC6e5boozh3ZZ3ntUDrP//?imgmax=800" width="343" height="505" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zaVavgjaYmlZQQ2O6rNFA4T37fhq0Mvh40nher3rl6JJxrfnHTcge6xk5O1b7R9xLOpT_u6UXR1npaZTKYooka4wGNZMm3pAaW7C-6QYrKhI5L-YZlhfC6_SECWebS6eFL0W6AVds3U9/s1600-h/DSC_8801pool%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8801pool" border="0" alt="DSC_8801pool" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80zcK9PhKiqA6X-MMmzl8toqoFn_u3lVY4gdVmXTPNexxDTyh4ax1B80cmC3hRFtmX1IRKR0KMPQpjrQ9tmSJwO12t5Bo6BJggDVNx9V0EZSoBiBuTGRfU46ES4kiPXimxZOblGbSIep9//?imgmax=800" width="343" height="505" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWbdWS9F7-2i7bYg2LSZIlo_6_MUL69S9ZldxJQ50mzmrPL6QmgV5TIborJOVlSEPoS62fGHcGwkC_u6TdSTKCMGqf1oA-oM3Sy4z6YMUSCylkxqr2E7WhdjI_bEF5ogrqSs44W2zfXVb/s1600-h/DSC_8804faded%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8804faded" border="0" alt="DSC_8804faded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQF-2JGtyRURHjRghq4dzoo7INMzCICU3Qm2PHzD6nsE161TG5wjY7SM2uYuCmlui_ImlSLPJQgpKzlX5pGWg7EUORwG7LwBQNrcjJX-nLkAe4xvv7wW1s9UZRXYTjJO8flfpnk2pZ2wof//?imgmax=800" width="550" height="374" /></a>I absolutely <strong>adore </strong>the combination of these shoes and tights and felt that they deserved to be featured in a picture all by themselves.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHiTYByWUv2cDYp9HhVMfG4GZ61isYmd52H2CgHHx6H9VALanWKhBfA-cH_gquQZl64Hvg8DPf-MrlQ7LE1ZLDDJ_7-jA8BKLcM-R1D8HrGOE-V39dH5XQUBl9N-z5Rpbtvzn-HbO9fKL5/s1600-h/DSC_8844vintage%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8844vintage" border="0" alt="DSC_8844vintage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3XpA2F_jkGH1TRUc7XLGya7FhFquHSupUAxDdkPBc_YZFHANo3eb3-ojTDlHx9CwCx0MrEhxBfG1b-Vm2jvwHwra1IlkD527_vsupxW3FtQzwoCTVEzstkApD2oTUTtNMqyqfsspfI7u//?imgmax=800" width="567" height="388" /></a>After the hot chocolate break, the weather warmed up considerably. We found a couple fantastic urban areas and created some tutu portraits which I’ll share later in another blog post.  </p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-83530511881543733272010-01-17T11:07:00.001-08:002010-01-17T11:07:05.535-08:00Finally Got “The Shot”<p>When it comes to wall art, I feel like certain things need to be balanced. One of the reasons there are currently no portraits on my walls is because I have favorite wall portraits of The Princess, but no coordinating prints of Sparky. </p> <p>One of my favorite images of The Princess was taken when she was about 9 months old and I was experimenting with my studio lights for the first time. She was sitting up, but didn’t know how to crawl, so she wasn’t mobile yet (as a sidenote: this is the very best age for photographing babies!). I surrounded her cute little bare body with lots of white tulle and placed a long strand of pearls around her neck. At one point, Sasquatch walked into the room, and she leaned forward just a little bit with the cutest “I love my daddy” smile on her face. That was the first time I felt like I captured “the shot” with one of my own children. Of course I had to have a wall portrait created. I don’t have the file on my computer at the moment, so there’s no way to share the image in this post, but most of you probably remember the image.</p> <p>The print has never made it onto my wall since we moved out of our house in Stansbury Park. After we moved from that house, we never seemed to stay in one place long enough for our walls to be decorated. Since we’ve moved here, it seemed unfair to have a “shrine” of portraits to one child, while not having any large portraits of our other daughter on the wall. So for a while, we waited for me to capture a similar image of Sparky. The image was finally captured a few months ago, but for some reason, I’ve never had the wall portrait printed. My goal is to take care of that this week. This image has been shared on the blog before, but here it is again. It’s not an exact match of The Princess’ 9 month picture, but they’ll look cute on the wall together. (It looks a bit red on here, so I think I might fix the color a bit before sending it to the lab).</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUnVKDnERTsOZZ8Bhyc3s-8hW-C92VLcLEJJh38LSB3p3iggyyILqCU92qqvIKD7lrRotJz3cXYBfy2wiS0iSrTCzEHN8znEB_H9P6hKYgllcMckwYTqqlhJokNCIdf09tMJeJe1S_4zn/s1600-h/PosterSmaller%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="PosterSmaller" border="0" alt="PosterSmaller" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPtflqt9NJuDiOJ8rgLiTnG5Xm8ANtnwtw6nWV7fPRdQ2RCAWdvSSBmP234rkJivq3aWbPHnRLjxgvIGT-C_mfohBYa2uENbjXHerkIkAO52pCG-S3jYdT3fXhxZcOEhoNlDjQnYsPXW9//?imgmax=800" width="400" height="495" /></a> While living in Stansbury Park, our breakfast nook had AMAZING light. I captured a beautiful series of images of The Princess while she was standing on our kitchen table. I printed a 16X16 wall portrait of one of my favorite closeups, and while going through boxes a few weeks ago, I unearthed it again. Since then, the challenge has been to capture a similar closeup of Sparky. This is no small feat, because Sparky absolutely refuses to look at the camera. If she’s looking in the general direction of the camera, she’s running at full steam with hands outstretched to touch the lens before I pull the camera away. </p> <p>The fates smiled on me the other day – we had good light in our loft upstairs (I think I only had to set the ISO to 800 – thank goodness for a camera that performs well in low light!), and Sparky was in a particularly cooperative mood. I finally managed to capture a closeup that I like.  Hopefully Sasquatch will be willing to help me get some art up on the walls once the new prints arrive later this week.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvlN1o7XGrrD9Ya7_s0SSlLI9pYi8sSEqFyQSpJMShXGCFs2ZG_v5LiZzBuG7nvdDWXTVtQHNFknzHMlXxp01pNDpGJR2CW8BFz3t4cmx39VCCKPMZv9GOSYhGPzfUdisvvZniHmY8ZH-/s1600-h/8554bw%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="8554bw" border="0" alt="8554bw" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRgrra6Od8qNhbbN3rbaGSracBSPqLKhyHuMl2iZ8JTta5kQAGqCsxl9q5dfLRuE2u5ZXUbL1vrBnY7sUWRkfpQ_bKWE-0M2TWY_yN7u7lILKcWkF_yrAN7EAYNuSnnfT7AsgyDbf1TT8//?imgmax=800" width="415" height="415" /></a>I’m sharing this last image just because I think it’s cute. Since the intention was to create a black and white print, I used the pink blanket as a backdrop because it wouldn’t matter with a black and white image. During post processing, I decided that I loved this particular image in color. It’s so rare to capture her looking at the camera with a happy expression on her face, that I may decide to get this one printed large, too.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdrpNGZinbONP8yLZvVfsBS5O8_RaP7pWjKY87iGrbONc4lUeIp6bbf5u0wCxRUfkYrpIefLGFlpH0byRCJb1-wLS6oFy6QpLBNMM80uAVVmKRu8LRWy2avfA8IstVkAPZswJpv_KXPDZ/s1600-h/DSC_8569a%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8569a" border="0" alt="DSC_8569a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-gZ-V_Fd-rUCwR0-EeHmiPoF28xji1pUnQCqA5pA-LXc4PfHvBYuO4LqkDO0tzKXi6-7WvHPSNiv31hx2wI-8XNmih_JQe4rxfvfsisUE3OWTOOzDeSC5ElPSP-5XOXGrGdFhp-R6WvK//?imgmax=800" width="540" height="367" /></a></p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-2105858828277370542010-01-15T09:30:00.001-08:002010-01-15T09:30:07.808-08:00Silhouettes<p>I’ve wanted to create a silhouette wall in my house for quite a while, but never got around to taking pictures of the girls to make it happen. I finally captured a good shot of each of them, and I’m so excited to share these! Aren’t they adorable?!?! Now we just need a silhouette of Sasquatch and me, and maybe we can actually get some framed art on our living room walls. </p> <p>I’m still debating on when to create a silhouette of Sasquatch – right now, his hair is down to his shoulders because he’s growing it out for Locks of Love again. It can’t hurt to take a picture and see if his silhouette looks weird with long hair (I like his hair long, but I don’t know how it will look in a blacked-out silhouette) – if it does, his hair should be long enough to cut pretty soon. Do you think the damask background works for all of us, or should I find something more masculine for Sasquatch’s silhouette?</p> <p>The goal will be to create a new silhouette of everyone each January. It should be fun to see how much the girls change each year.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2h7C4W3aKebI3kdUJpuELu7QHL-2kJOgaeDSX6MW8A9xSFplBEIAZQqRKd1uPnyvoWd8RkHk1FZY0v5NViFppXOnMNofIqxEiJRqC3BK-KcUNobwpXms0uT2h03uUkQ6yViNN4HqOacg/s1600-h/PrincessSilhouette%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="PrincessSilhouette" border="0" alt="PrincessSilhouette" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjul56c3XerC2KcAYkhAMbechNMGRgilDnBPHRDaLA1Q3eqH6T23w_hG3dgK7XC31VXTK9XJ0TlrK_s7F0b0rWCCX91w2yW6Q1STS_jkh6paQX9q9ycvbe4EHGn9XMGprhjIi_BHSC7q4fP//?imgmax=800" width="388" height="480" /></a>  </p> <p></p> <p></p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOGdN6cPIlzDhOJXr6ChM4dqwZwUZocfPqn-rWrxVYGNmj52RthtLIFxrst1KPrgn3jepqoZoOglgnkArHVPLCXJ5D9tt7SWRgKQS0zmU9WHltdpqq7hK-_CAq0nfunLFJpCCn770HeEh/s1600-h/SparkySilhouette%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="SparkySilhouette" border="0" alt="SparkySilhouette" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYM8L0NQM2ABaqKycEXL-bpduZsU0DNV1QWSa5HxDcdNAvb1fCj5UqsRzEi7EhnVyCJeo85A3NnvsrP0w6e93A021Kx5XdlL-7t_sUMKN9I0NyJbAD_KB3G22AoTZYXk0myAHJlP1f8aG//?imgmax=800" width="394" height="487" /></a> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-31770751802479720182010-01-13T13:57:00.001-08:002010-01-13T17:41:21.224-08:00New Favorites from Last Autumn<p>I was digging through some old files to find a sample image for a client, and I came across a couple of snapshots of the girls that I really like. I need to get better about organizing my files – I’m sure I’ve “lost” a lot of great images of the girls because I never took them out of my client folders.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVuWoGPaYJftsnQP4RHxbhv35N1kfQ2gbi73cjatVpSMBW3aT2ahqg4qcsDTtlZ-VS35ZqMNtds1e2GJc3HgEfHkM6BURP30dHfQy2CtNvcs9D-SsZF8llnmQCKGJnL-LC5V-2XNlxB2a/s1600-h/DSC_6657honey%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_6657honey" alt="DSC_6657honey" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_2xq8QZ48Q7VI5sIoWSnMgkY1MxYCVpNCEf8O1Jb2DRr2w7YG67n4Mgvv1S-3H6z_R7tNpTUReTN_2aRmWsFEkvSAhfJZkWu3lavcGscemQGetjioIw4UVq1XnoayHXa97DfUaAcQi62//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="341" width="497" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSoxonghVvzK9-w69x5me1VZ8mgrZ1rG26ElaF6adX-6uXuJ3cCunXfX7X0vveIxDQWRGlkP7q5msBgiY-xyyE7ePueoFgYxS09bfQHMXdznNjUtO47JsaUtjUlnwKDY9Km3JdxVuHQCr/s1600-h/DSC_6659texture%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border: 0px none ; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DSC_6659texture" alt="DSC_6659texture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvH4o_XOQ47PFKRRbmLyUg2JigA2WtvZHrHiHEQ8XvVfXvyl8Wo7xAoPsGysJPPM1EXRhqQNGAIgkTQ2_1Nbjc7oGcNFqTa9V49Wn1CfrDwHkmrYlehKcUV1JPn9JhU02mjcfAL9k7agM2//?imgmax=800" border="0" height="519" width="356" /></a></p>esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-81746023025903922042010-01-08T13:01:00.001-08:002010-01-08T13:01:42.449-08:002009 Recap<p>I have to be honest here – I’ve totally stolen these questions from my friend Ashlee’s blog.</p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#ff8000">1.What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?</font> </font>I did a lot of cooking and baking that I’d never attempted before. It was neat to discover that I actually enjoy doing both. It was also pretty cool to discover how much better baked goods turn out when you don’t live at a high altitude. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#ff8000">2.What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?</font> </font>I would LOVE to have a second car. It would be so nice to have the option to pack up the girls and go to playgroup or the park without having to make special arrangements. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#ff8000">3.What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory?</font> </font>I don’t know that there’s anything specific – the trip to Colorado over the summer was wonderful, and it was great having Grandma Rosie come visit. The year was pretty uneventful for the most part. <br /></p> <p><font color="#ff8000">4.What was your biggest achievement of the year?</font> Probably that whole learning how to cook and bake thing. I’ve also gained confidence in myself as an artist – it hasn’t made the lack of bookings any easier, but at least I’m not doubting my abilities as a photographer any longer. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">5.What was your biggest failure?</font> I’ve really been struggling to have faith that Heavenly Father has a reason for us being out here, and that he’s going to make sure there’s a way for us to provide for our family. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">6.Did you suffer illness or injury?</font> Nothing major. I caught a cold about a week before Christmas and I’m still dealing with the cough and accompanying rib pain. Super fun. The girls managed to stay healthy for the most part – I definitely don’t miss the inversion and the resulting respiratory illnesses that happen in Utah each winter. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">7. What was the best thing you bought?</font> We didn’t buy much of anything this year. The deterioration of image quality in my old camera forced me to buy a new camera with some of our tax return. I was able to get the D700 and I LOVE it!! <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">8. What behavior merited celebration?</font> The generosity of our families this Christmas was really amazing. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">9. What behavior made you appalled and depressed?</font> It’s depressing that Sparky still doesn’t sleep through the night (or at least doesn’t go to sleep until about 2AM) most nights. At some point, we’ll get her out of our closet and into her own room, right?  <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">10. Where did most of your money go?</font> Groceries, bills, diapers. Nothing exciting. <br /></p> <p><font color="#ff8000">11. Compared to this time last year, are you</font>: <br /><font color="#ff8000">a) happier or sadder?</font> I’m trying to be happier, more faithful, and more optimistic. <font color="#ff8000">b) thinner or fatter?</font> Probably about the same. We need to get generally “healthier” as a family <font color="#ff8000">c) richer or poorer?</font> About the same – although that’s not saying much. :)</p> <p><font color="#ff8000">12. What do you wish you’d done more of?</font> Appreciate the little things, and spent more time playing with my children. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">13. What do you wish you’d done less of?</font> Waste time on the computer and television. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">14. How did you spend Christmas?</font> We had a very quiet Christmas at home as a family. We talked to family on the web cam, but I hope this year we’ll be able to spend time with family members in person. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">15. Did you fall in love in 2009?</font> I fall more in love with my husband and children every day. <br /></p> <p><font color="#ff8000">16. What was your favorite TV program? (See question 13).</font> “Good Eats” is always a family favorite. I was happy that my favorite won on ANTM, although I almost can’t watch it any more because Tyra is so dang annoying.  “Lie to Me” was pretty good this year, and I don’t think they gave “Dollhouse” enough of a chance. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">17.Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?</font> I try not to hate anyone. I actually read a really good talk by President Monson over the holidays, and I’m trying really hard to genuinely let go of all of my past grudges.</p> <p><font color="#ff8000">18. What was the best book you read?</font> “The Lovely Bones.” It was so beautifully written! <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">19. What was your greatest musical discovery?</font> Owl City - “Fireflies” is getting pretty overplayed, but he has some other really great music, too. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">20. What did you want and get?</font> A new camera. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">21. What did you want and not get?</font> A lot of things – I feel like I have way too many “wants” right now, and I’m trying to figure out a way to be satisfied with what I have. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">22. What was your favorite film of this year?</font> The Blind Side <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?</font> I turned 28 this year. I was in Colorado with the girls. We went to a street fair type thing and had dinner at Costa Vida (I miss that place!). <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">24. What one thing would have made your year better?</font> Being closer to family and friends “out West.” Not owing anything to Sallie Mae. :P <br /></p> <p><font color="#ff8000">25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?</font> Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I’m a very “wash and wear” jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I dream of having the budget for a vintage Anthropologie-esque style. Maybe one of these years… <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">26. What kept you sane?</font> My husband’s never-ending faith. <br /></p> <p><font color="#ff8000">27. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most:</font> Nobody, really. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">28. What political issue stirred you the most?</font> Healthcare – I’m really worried about what’s going to happen to our healthcare premiums with all these requirements being forced onto insurance companies. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">29. Who did you miss?</font> Too many people to mention anyone specifically. My parents, siblings, and in-laws definitely top the list, though. <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">30. Who was the best new person you met?</font> I met a lot of great new people in 2009. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by leaving anyone out, so I’m not going to name names. :) <br /> <br /><font color="#ff8000">31. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:</font> As difficult as it may seem, it <strong>is</strong> actually feasible to survive without having family members nearby. Our little family has really been forced to learn how to support and rely upon each other in the last year. As lonely as it is sometimes, it’s still been a good experience to learn how to be our own little family. </p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-15512581265925440672010-01-04T11:27:00.001-08:002010-01-04T11:29:44.985-08:00Christmas Miracles<p>There are so many things that I want to say about our Christmas. I’m not sure where to begin.</p> <p>Suffice it to say that my family was extremely blessed to have a number of angels in our lives this year.  Santa wasn’t sure how he was going to provide the girls with much of anything besides dollar store gifts. He had actually decided to just give one or two gifts to The Princess and leave Sparky out of the gift giving, but he was worried that The Princess would notice that Sparky didn’t receive anything.  He was also worried that The Princess would notice that she didn’t receive any gifts from Dad and Mom if Santa delivered all the gifts. This was beginning to cause Santa a lot of stress.</p> <p>December ended up being a month of small miracles. Various family members contacted me to say that their Christmas wish this year was for my girls to have a nice Christmas. They asked me what the girls wanted, as well as what they needed. Soon, the nice people from UPS and USPS began to deliver packages to my door. I was told to choose which items came from Santa, which items came from Sasquatch and me, and which items came from family members. Not only did my girls receive some fun toys, games, and art supplies, they also received various necessities such as jammies, tights (The Princess loves wearing skirts to school, and all of her tights were a couple of sizes too small), socks, and shoes. Those of you who helped us – I can’t tell you how nice it was for The Princess to have nice warm jammies (her room is freezing for some reason), tights, and new shoes.</p> <p>There are a few close friends here with whom I’ve shared some of my worries (I’m so sorry if I’ve dwelt on it too much in conversations – I’m working on that for the new year), but I didn’t think I had specifically mentioned Christmas to anyone. I really tried not to – especially since I knew our families were going to be helping us. Well, a few days before Christmas, a member of the bishopric came to our house to deliver a package of wrapped gifts for our family (for the girls as well as for Sasquatch and me). I was out running an errand at the time, and when I came home, Sasquatch sent The Princess to her room (after informing her that she was <strong>not</strong> in trouble), because he had an idea of what my reaction would be when he showed me what had arrived. He was right – he showed me, and I instantly burst into tears.</p> <p>It was kind of a strange night. I was soooooooo grateful that someone had thought of us at Christmas. But at the same time, I felt an awful lot of guilt. For one thing, we had already received some help from family. And for that reason, I felt certain that there was someone else in the ward who could have surely used the items more than we could. </p> <p>To be honest, it also felt kind of strange to be the person who needed to be on the receiving end of someone else’s kindness.  I guess it’s one thing when that kind of help comes from family – you still have a sense of anonymity when it’s your family helping you out. But when the help is coming from an anonymous outside source, all of a sudden, you realize that maybe your struggles aren’t quite as private as you thought. I guess there was a sense of embarrassment along with the guilt. I was also racking my brain trying to figure out if I had told anyone about my Christmas worries specifically – I felt so bad that I had put that burden on somebody else. But I couldn’t think of anyone I’d told. </p> <p>After a while, I called my mom to ask her if she’d called my bishop. I knew she was worried about us, and knowing my mom, she wouldn’t be scared to call my bishop (I had already told her that with the family helping us out, we were “covered” for Christmas, lol). She told me that while she’d considered calling him, she hadn’t actually called him. I began to tell her about the guilt I was feeling (that whole idea that there was someone out there who maybe could have used the help more than us), and she reminded me that my willingness to accept the gifts that we’d received was allowing someone else to have the blessings that come with serving somebody else. Sasquatch told me that maybe part of the reason we had been chosen to receive the gifts was because Heavenly Father wanted to remind me that we are <strong>not</strong> alone or abandoned living out here without any family members nearby – as much as I sometimes allow myself to feel that way.</p> <p>Another reason that I felt guilt (for the known and unknown givers) is because I have been tormented by a missed opportunity for service a few years ago. While Sasquatch was in school, we went to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert. During the concert, I received a <strong>very</strong> strong impression that there were a couple of families who could use our help during that Christmas season. Since we were living on student loans and my full-time income from the U of U at the time, we had a bit of “expendable” income. Not a lot, but enough to provide Christmas for The Princess and help out these other families that I had in mind without putting any debt onto our credit card. </p> <p>Well, I had this concern about how to keep the whole thing anonymous. I didn’t want to feel bad if the money (I felt the need to donate money rather than gifts) was used for something other than Christmas, and I didn’t want to feel bitter if our kindness was never acknowledged. (it’s so embarrassing  for me to admit that – I now realize that I was not willing to give out of the kindness of my heart to those particular families at that particular time, and it haunts me to this day). I wanted to keep it anonymous so my feelings wouldn’t be hurt. But I could never figure out how to do that and make sure that the money was safely received by the families rather than by somebody else (I didn’t really feel that I could put an envelope on the doorstep and leave it there for them to find). Like I said, I was working a (very stressful) full-time job in a pediatric clinic at the time, and before I knew it, Christmas had come and gone, and I’d never offered the service I felt so strongly prompted to offer.</p> <p>This missed service opportunity has made it so much harder for me to accept the amazing service that we have received this year. It makes me feel that much less worthy to receive it. At the same time, it’s made me <strong>so</strong> grateful that there are people in the world who care enough about my family to want to make sure that we had a wonderful Christmas experience this year. I have promised myself that if Heavenly Father decides to bless my family with greater financial means in the future, I will be helping my girls to provide Christmas for someone else in need every year that we can possibly make it happen. It’s also given me a very strong desire to help people throughout the year, rather than just at Christmas time. I don’t have the means to do much right now (it’s hard to even get out there and help people when you only have one car), but as soon as I do, I’ll be helping as much as I possibly can.</p> <p>To all those (known and unknown) who helped ensure a truly beautiful Christmas for my family this year, I just want to publicly thank you. The clothing provided by the anonymous givers was so absolutely needed by all of us, and the girls enjoyed their toys as well. And to my family members, well, I know I’ve told you thank you a few times already, but I just need to say it again. The clothing and the gifts were amazing. I can’t wait to start sharing videos of the girls (although Sparky seems to have an innate sense of when the camera is turned on and stops doing whatever cute thing she was doing at the time), and I’m beyond excited to find some recipes to try with my new dutch oven (I’m thinking I might try some sort of braised short ribs if they go on sale soon).</p> <p>I feel bad that I didn’t take any pictures of the girls opening gifts on Christmas. We were a bit preoccupied with separating out the gifts from Santa and from family (family gifts were being videotaped and Santa gifts were being set aside for a web cam with Grandpa & Grandma Clover and Shayne & Erin), and my current illness decided to catch up with me in full force that day. The combination of excessive coughing and sitting on the hard floor wrapping gifts the night before had caused one of my ribs to slip, and I was in too much pain to do much of anything, let alone take pictures. </p> <p>Here are the few pictures I managed to capture from that day. Sparky still refuses to look at the camera, so I don’t really even try with her right now because I just get frustrated. It was really rainy that day, which made our house was too dark to get any “action” shots of her and I had no intentions of messing with the flash when I was feeling generally awful. The Princess was willing to give me a Christmas morning bedhead shot at the kitchen table.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtO-6qBqIbXbyqjH7j4Mba0SbnbjX5ij3I8IpDps9O2AtJTDIE1GFuR3omviwSRE1KawVaQ6iGdDLaLmAbvvxCXYaYK8b_TvX0Ftk0dTGXVHaXpmtAsqGXSOXE77F9arTJLVVw2fjeKMsL/s1600-h/Christmas01%5B11%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Christmas01" border="0" alt="Christmas01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsr1KJketaOZ8ivmrPDCWLk4NoXqnbw2KiT2at_7B47m00pBpENtdtNMFlZo-fica6QILIwTxJBIrCtHapfJ4yEI4imDN_UjLuPYKYX6Fm_0kYDAQxMrhM3HGSNlPo1NxWRnMoPLKHFY2//?imgmax=800" width="420" height="610" /></a> </p> <p>Here’s a shot of the kitchen window on Christmas morning. I love the combination of the raindrops and the pretty colors in the background.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_nFX3CujDn9w-WJ0zbr4EJxOuMy-xGC1KCGrfmdmV7QrcO9OR5rP1XlEIGPepCaVYY1Ynzvuqgt-zfbSnvwrZN7bMuFEXNyJZRpLeobAzMQuVIALIpdk652gpWfadGtQMI1WjF31FU9Q/s1600-h/Window01%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Window01" border="0" alt="Window01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzakJ7Cd4ga5Ixk2Ayqe0KJPEPEMCA9BhGV_Hqx_cMGXuYX3RLMGPR_Hxa3a1hpRGwy-MPpVNgEmfxcpjuRkgkimKXubfNHNarPDPGKoc_ZbZ24wfleiTEpwwMtr-PlzV0YBw17rsOoi7//?imgmax=800" width="434" height="634" /></a>After the girls went to bed that night, I spent some time blog surfing and came across The Pioneer Woman’s blog post about Christmas bokeh. I felt inspired to create some bokeh shots of my own.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTIZfSlABd-1FvYN2mtrjhPH-qXL-2Zwvhjb0hQ68RHoMwOIqZy74qnUWL00u1AQXbCCExd2lW-z_rojTtyqoo99vRRRSQuiuFDgbkAoOW42lPjOB4FIUYBJ8cMatMRiIuEswi1UVvtak/s1600-h/bokeh01%5B4%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="bokeh01" border="0" alt="bokeh01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylzU3OILgt8vSlZADTHs-DF96pFC8ZteVfhidueT6arCo_uTCNNBZVU8bORJUlRnZSVwnqAgAwrrMiVBI9GI9kfP8fdFqJtdMcxoejDAaNBh9Q3XTxf5566sunSJFlEB4OgHFt_Xst1Gf//?imgmax=800" width="573" height="463" /></a>  </p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKj59pTNBxUe2SXP75q_cxQYQPWUqGx2FpcxbQcJNW9xfs4U7Xz_zqn-iID6k74HN9GMmvaV8tmwkMAKxYLmzyFmtl84F8WtH7NFE-iQYjSKUuk7HUcZzF_Dxnv9Sah7fjv_ZET4VhXYr/s1600-h/Bokeh02%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Bokeh02" border="0" alt="Bokeh02" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpDYsVyL5elN0zX-u42sSQTKpR0JcVh0bkFCDeNOmOPOA3-a-P9RyKx9krgWoMTe7zBT70O5n8xViF7JLRFa6qyLTdUS_buLwu0YVz7jmy-D28gzN9jspM697xnm7Gu21fABqobRifX2M//?imgmax=800" width="421" height="519" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSACUOnaZ6SHQkXtbcn1dAYvOOkIyDN4VBPfnLjXaENdco3g4bejU0zzx-NX3CBFlrHE852S4KDcmPDxPnkEgU7DLviOmP9qjx8dPvfPM2MWQcLJ9iSOU9guKxIeFg2Pgmoyokg3tgErNw/s1600-h/Bokeh03%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Bokeh03" border="0" alt="Bokeh03" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5x5Fh1PJabEwUSoA5pbLgPcsKbeNJqA56hGMz_pYtDeQKT74fE8WasizCMwTHeppm-tRYZxdMFetGF-MENucYBmaI6URqeTMRw9YAWl5PcdxHrlR2Uikgz4JBNGVyo9GDD3hKxeMcZfIo//?imgmax=800" width="630" height="511" /></a> </p> <p>Finally, if I didn’t have a chance to mail you one of our Christmas cards (I really had to limit the number I mailed this year), I’d like to share our family’s Christmas card with you. Hopefully our situation will be a bit better this year and I’ll be able to make yummy press-printed cards to send to everyone. :) I’ve had a few people tell me that we look sad in this image, but I think we just look serious – and at least Sparky’s in the frame and not screaming – that was the best we could hope for this year. I love the backlighting on our hair. The names at the bottom have been changed for the blog. ;)</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gzh9pEeVuvhviLrTbhAbs80rvLvkazcMT8Ns_CraL9Q_unxi4DXzjVBwPc71ZSZlZdKA5pVVk94S2z4FRH3X68P8zYfcOWBkXOYrRJlbtwstlOFIvmvYRnoW5JE94pmSk3ROw6oCVf9r/s1600-h/FamilyCardblog%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="FamilyCardblog" border="0" alt="FamilyCardblog" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenEr-Et_e-LRpmiCnBQf1rcyUgAng4VyIvPDioCj5xMCHRwg4C4RBbfKUE3DmsszcQBa0ihoiYBIuGjUV-JSzlI46sjF1aYq5dNHf4d-xPgOp67J_YHtkSxW-RNPUBR6Z1XkPCwFZWU1g//?imgmax=800" width="647" height="482" /></a></p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-47376832138405732772010-01-01T12:27:00.001-08:002010-01-01T12:38:02.833-08:00Random Christmas Snapshots<p>I was going to do several blog posts highlighting our various Christmas activities, but as usual, time got the better of me. Since one of my New Year's resolutions is to be a better blogger (on both my personal and photography blogs), I figure better late than never, right? So if you feel like reading a novel, grab some cookies and hot chocolate (unless your New Year's resolution is to start a diet, in which case, I guess you can grab some carrot sticks) and sit back and read for a bit. Otherwise, there will be a bunch of pictures, so feel free to scroll at will. ;) <br /></p> <p>We had an amazingly blessed Christmas this year - so much more than I ever could have hoped. Even though I missed our extended family desperately, I felt like they were here with us this year in so many ways.  And while it was difficult to not have any grandparents or cousins around to share in the Holiday traditions, it also forced us to enjoy our own little family and create some new traditions for ourselves. <br /></p> <p>Due to a number of various factors, we spent a lot of time at home this December. I debated putting up the tree, because I was worried that a certain busy little toddler would spend her days removing the ornaments. I was right – Sparky was entranced by the lights for about 1 millisecond before she noticed the various baubles adorning the tree. She spent the next 3 weeks removing every ornament she could reach and hiding them in various cubby holes around the house. The closer we got to Christmas, the higher the ornaments were being placed on the tree to prevent her from removing them yet again. This caused the tree to look very imbalanced both in color (I like my ornaments placed <em>just so</em> to ensure that there aren’t too many ornaments of one color in any given place) and ornament placement. However, I was glad that we put the tree up – it just wouldn’t have felt like Christmas without it.</p> <p>I didn’t manage to get a full-length shot of the tree that I liked this year. We put it in front of the window, but it’s such a wide window that there are two sets of blinds as window coverings, and I couldn’t get a shot without the funny blinds and the bookcase in the background. Here are a couple of “detail” shots, though.  Next year, if finances permit, I’d LOVE to get a white tree – I think my candy-colored ornaments would really POP against a white backdrop.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4AK13FPCrHorKww0J2vqLxcCbTzuyafxWI-weB_vphfPbCoNzNDEZzFhSCdK_2fU3PiZMP1vVjWJV5DlzIFdRn7PJHa_ehL7fDA_c-PttYOT6W_C3ecXIGlr7-CeQOCCwBFTDepMJmpf/s1600-h/Ornaments01%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Ornaments01" border="0" alt="Ornaments01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpaoHTAv44l1iaw7-M-JPApBvlG6tBUs5fWDj_0YUxFv63IpCHK6EP_v2pmf3lFwpR62qmuJZn29xqgEuJCINDVBV5fbNz2BXb0ukUXui-vMTsCAtegf8STjez6Xm32weJugdLYiZ-bOB//?imgmax=800" width="541" height="371" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagrOG2qW6ToyHzmqs4LI4SPZoQqLVAEOglvdgJM8nYGpogOHuOoc4YvUHWC9NM8X-QnbifNz2AZpViFRiL1WqOPbNIWOgKHrD7YTt6DpdjhQ0wWW_6d3eog0mLBlTxyeTGiwJzfB12_B3/s1600-h/Ornament01%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Ornament01" border="0" alt="Ornament01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2YKO6WFyyoE4PwTYMKX89GMeqkgxh0kwewmvt79ZxEhY3VVmLq66y75eDy5Y-G3auLrgXiMgeuv3gSvQvSZSPoejsZEA_Bl6VEdZ4XwEPxpZTjpE5ebwV5ZKS3VvuGHvt6xwrMcKkRBh_//?imgmax=800" width="548" height="382" /></a></p> <p>It was so much fun to have a mantle this year. It was a great place to display the nativity sets that my mother-in-law has given me over the years. We also used the mantle to display the Christmas cards we received in the mail (The Princess LOVED going to the mailbox each day in the hopes that we had received another card). Next year, I’d like to get some more of the sparkly, candy-colored snowflake ornaments like the ones on my tree and make a garland to decorate the mantle – I’m thinking I want to go all Winter Wonderland next year.  </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPzkIg-iMA6jkiJ2HZpHp36PY43uy1x3QSwr33KKO5KikIVRjcwnHr_4EU_W7tFLAcLIt1cM3To2qcu5ZT8yRBMRH7PTQ2d42-Iv25Mpnd1vxWQ2ELQ5TpGNODB4n1Dp6M4Loxr0VTIxf/s1600-h/polaroidnativity%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="polaroidnativity" border="0" alt="polaroidnativity" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXzCL-YEmbHciuHimN7QxDRZhWsOaQ_IbmFcJ2X48FUwaev4Q_i-VLPXRen-41y4M7a60xzYy7up4iyu4GfHh0dHmgT0TWJONc11F4B_ebu-eiO-vuz6dYcCOoqc1p96pWo5DiNCQXUlN0//?imgmax=800" width="572" height="402" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFuIDZdJTPD0pxYtmQTodbDsRpCrTD0kBGUnnS2BJUNf4QDtMxR1Ti7yocLy5B_MlVPxoFhSHWqBVsCaSuJAGJk06jSRdkv-h2HGWB7_LYDoLkp3f-2kMISA_rhTOhPvw_st3oHIIXP94X/s1600-h/Nativity3%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Nativity3" border="0" alt="Nativity3" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsIJoWFmfqCVdEbhg6NgfIppxsDBOVudAFx47rAx5Idj_jYOp9-uX0WYebxhKUoJIY-pMKZgj4sBlmnI6O4tgQZoR6_ITHq_pZF3R9bxcYdhdWgjvAB6PnFHZabmzo_KlDVA0WMQYXiW3//?imgmax=800" width="415" height="558" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6H75fhdNblL1fQ0C50daDvUXyIFWY5tQeFxyFtoAM3ch4NwrDta7IwD2w6bNKJIctQpJoS4GRC1VxDE85xdiONDzkZz6XtjlYDZtUIsZR4xb0kiZyjidLID_B4-OvVYur2CXj6Q26cEw/s1600-h/Polaroid2%5B10%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Polaroid2" border="0" alt="Polaroid2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOvDjHnXkEleWcsLvHJqQVMNfYTenTK-xn1BI2n-ovbTJ3vQ9rDRG29KuzeL7P5LDuxEieKt5kRnBl3hMjgndg-jiHLkNI8qAvekTuMRYRGKabZOsieqq6J3A6rzE1nEC1QeqiGPYKvWy//?imgmax=800" width="616" height="385" /></a>    </p> <p>I did a lot of baking this year – both with a good friend (we delivered plates of goodies to some friends – something that I’ve always enjoyed doing with my mom and was glad to be able to do again this year) – and with The Princess. I’m still learning how to relinquish control and my need for perfection when I bake with The Princess. I’m still a work in progress, but I think I’m getting better. I’m trying to tell myself that she’ll never learn how to measure/stir/pour/etc correctly unless I actually give her a chance to <strong>do</strong> rather than just observe. </p> <p>This year, we baked homemade gingerbread to make gingerbread houses. I learned that I don’t like the smell of molasses (somehow, I’d always thought it would smell sweeter – it reminded me of Mr. Yoshida’s sauce – which is fine for cooking savory food, but not what I was expecting when I was baking something sweet). But when the gingerbread came out of the oven, the house smelled heavenly. I think I’m going to bake gingerbread every year.</p> <p>The whole point of making gingerbread rather than buying a kit was to save money. We had plenty of leftover Halloween candy (as well as candy from Easter <strong>and</strong> last Christmas), but for some reason, I felt like I just HAD to buy egg white powder to make the royal icing. I’m not sure why, because none of us like royal icing, and it’s not like we would actually consume it so regular egg whites would have been fine – but for some reason, I felt obligated to follow Alton Brown’s instructions to the letter. I found egg white powder at WalMart, and when I glanced at the shelf, I saw a price tag of roughly $1.50. However, when I finally made it through the checkout line (I picked the line with the checker who felt the need to discuss her Christmas vacation drama in every minute detail with the colleague she was checking out before me), I realized that the egg white powder was quite a bit more expensive than that (somewhere around $6.00). At this point, Sasquatch was still in the car with the kids because I’d promised I’d only be in the store for “ten minutes,” so I didn’t bother going back and checking the price. When you consider the fact that we didn’t make our gingerbread houses until Christmas Eve, and most stores had their kits on mega sale at that point, I didn’t really save any money on the gingerbread house in the end.  Although I <strong>did</strong> bake enough gingerbread for two houses, so I guess I still saved a bit of money. And I now have enough egg white powder to pipe sugar cookies for every major holiday in 2010 (I LOVE decorating sugar cookies with royal icing – I just don’t like to eat them).</p> <p>The reason for making two gingerbread houses was my aforementioned need for perfection in certain things (this perfection obsession is the reason I gave up scrapbooking before The Princess was even old enough to sit up on her own). I knew that The Princess would want to be very involved in the decorating process, and I’m not very good at sharing. So I made one house for her, and one for me. I think next year, I’ll make the pattern about half the size of the houses we made this year, and hopefully I’ll be able to get Sasquatch and Sparky in on the decorating action. Just maybe not on Christmas Eve. :)</p> <p>Here’s the gingerbread house that The Princess decorated. I especially love the landscaping she created with green and white Nerds.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYzpXIxJwPz8jecngIDUILEWHofUIqV_9DO_AaFyIjeYDP4ORlYkz3jYlIw5hot5p9fOQnXzezaqY5ouhMuoW95Jqb5k3f2mXDMTb6W_RAW_hNBtssmC_J1fMVkjnTU_kL_lqXuQo8rzJ/s1600-h/Gingerbread01%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Gingerbread01" border="0" alt="Gingerbread01" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY7EU6Ous2ZuJTGegTFbup57i7IJ_Dx9g7CkjTSl2XH8S6MP5u71U5wiQBo7K1mL1f6lHdYOsVP_gVtscaKLXYXIoYVaMJzYf5l3n5HcNbW0Vdx7jFgzG9gAA3dRUPgOcxt1Dqk4x14rDd//?imgmax=800" width="596" height="485" /></a></p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajsDnNtxZn6gwH5qgRBsPQEYP3iayGd4nzqkR80rasqFPaMNaAilHwoyl7uT09Ej5dJ8O8mncolp4n8rZNgCfV81OpkIbXD7KW41ho1NuIfkfagoACo16-t_MtFh8_9Tt28d1KuEwADYs/s1600-h/Gingerbread02%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Gingerbread02" border="0" alt="Gingerbread02" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc8Oeoa-U_WoOxqoV6rDaF_3_-HNoillm1nBpjvq0lGPIraFz1lhaQCaghtDCpd-gjv7IbbfSuauRpkfcbiKfaFeJLYnfp3XJlNd8wKJt_BA_2d7yrJsk-DW4ciccYNB5QIVLzfyjp5gp//?imgmax=800" width="591" height="591" /></a></p> <p>Here’s my house. I’m kind of giddy over the little Christmas lights and the royal icing icicles. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlvhV9clRGcHvSE4cW9q4kF4ebxRu-i6Fi8mZpyHfwre6KY6LNjkBpkLu_Uu89ybilkURFQIO58A5S-LUs_QKD4KDYa23X73CaKpaqn-FLwMBrDiKPeyE4fiutjd73Gx94elChKFHL4sV/s1600-h/Gingerbread03%5B7%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Gingerbread03" border="0" alt="Gingerbread03" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03iWyVtnsIz-M1wUFxoVuNAF08vPs7dmA5PMpsrE1-9eEBhvDC69c2-GRl5f2g7qtq2RZedt_wcf124GsLKRBI7P1HYIjZ4OyNBqeAHjLGHn-O8bK-FShgb0yf3p2hO9glcBsucDvL8CW//?imgmax=800" width="616" height="503" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7DPiFkrl40LwUMYvIuqiDqkiFnhmtTmoi4vg3nccGwuk23Cw33f2YeQjAyVs-LD0VDH-gpwjUatBGJZhzr8y3BGaPh7JRYnGf-RDFVLb2evFcolL_BpOtLgxSGbDShnUZ20-fvbDJNwn/s1600-h/Gingerbread05%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="Gingerbread05" border="0" alt="Gingerbread05" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRixZJIQpTBaZVNCeJHjDLM447xmZbqGhk6k_zmsi7O4K0Jwc5DM1W2G5I9ch4PPluZPmPMVj64Zmx9NsYZqZi9jwBkzs-dbso9-gat3qA4Slpf625bwr6MFkZQXeTDiANQkeK_M8vuZc//?imgmax=800" width="623" height="511" /></a></p> <p>I think this is enough of a novel for one blog post – I’ll talk about Christmas day separately so that I don’t bore everyone to tears.</p> <p>In the meantime, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. And I truly hope that 2010 is a year of peace, joy, love, and prosperity for every amazing person who has touched my life in some way this past year.</p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-23658267058066892512009-12-16T07:40:00.000-08:002009-12-16T07:42:12.029-08:00LeeLou Swag Giveaway - Whippy CakeOkay, I'm so not a headband person. But I LOVE the Glamour Bands that LeeLou Swag is giving away from Whippy Cake. I really really want one, so I'm linking y'all to yet another giveaway (but don't enter, because I want to win, lol).<br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.leelouswag.com/2009/12/whippy-cake-wednesday_16.html">here</a> if you want to see the giveaway on LeeLou's blog.esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1398113974885503576.post-48570155883750871562009-12-05T13:53:00.001-08:002009-12-05T13:55:40.281-08:00Family Portraits<p>We had a friend take family portraits for us last weekend. My children did not cooperate. We did manage to get an image for our Christmas card, but I’m not going to share it yet, because then it won’t be a surprise when you receive your card in the mail. :) </p> <p>Here are a few non-card images I can share.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0vx86psH_6sFd9ZGbzt8nxcMB60zVqrRge2iXS-HM2EC0M_HXjuVCfV-STUsp3T2M7aoCKigbxIGnKkqUdkQ1JqFNzUr_XnjKYuHawZCPxeiD_4-rTLXhNBFT8jrf-mdtV39Zzv3puOW/s1600-h/_DSC8824asmallginger%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="_DSC8824asmallginger" border="0" alt="_DSC8824asmallginger" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-5H-_lgYBJ71VNklJDWJ5oWzvWYmLlcS9QglIuLTuZ1UDUN7wmbq3vT4P1fVuGVpPmsBUKtSMm7pSMPCwCtpM0sJdmFEpO-ToklCD5K9MwBurnohkfeQVMufKxzriz9OTv2jT2aiVku0//?imgmax=800" width="403" height="354" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielfARmGukYDXOn-JXO_HYxoG5wKx1xYnnkrUoJw8nriOTd_m7zrqQILJBuctdJhiigw6JxeWrd2AHJVEfhMsIUDo7EqYwwDH20Y-fErY4oLaxMCnXAaEDblE2QWIjjAMDa-hR0BHfy7kf/s1600-h/_DSC8898%5B5%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="_DSC8898" border="0" alt="_DSC8898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wT9NMA6nC3chC0FNn_SU2Z5psFMfhGzOmPtv6NpKcvPVIqs7sbzJ_D6PvwM4-rJl03ZjXX0i6vBHE1KLd3YTOcMMU0dFcn9F8-_fQmyHOMhyphenhyphenpzkUzwDAQf1kq5Elm8X_awxe9m196jmz//?imgmax=800" width="406" height="563" /></a> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6GuLa6d31if4kIYx7zfNXWH-KL6uJA_sHNrbZCwZ-v-qtqHq7fGoHJyixRXcIqERfBaQymOdcYH2z-NDyP7b93OoeOIJz8Gxbe9FYLfM4zN8FLVS91l2CkUxe-5wm0l4PTHJ0DguClLd/s1600-h/_DSC8980a%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="_DSC8980a" border="0" alt="_DSC8980a" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zIIxsv8bl3kJ24qf_Jh1MyDVy-oAH_VHpsQ7mQ9DrHfca-ZNlsR0MnJHcQR_eHBRdPneBuu7rnH9NdQY2n5t0_G1NqfCHy3zwTDUey5rjroefLzUbx2Ho_owW0gyImeaJHk2VGSWIY2P//?imgmax=800" width="405" height="594" /></a> </p> <p>And here are some favorites I took of The Princess that day while I was borrowing one of Larisa’s lenses to test the focus on my camera. I thought it was the lens, not the camera, but after spending money we don’t have on a new lens, I’m not 100% sure.</p> <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMulG41_3u7BhvJ3mPHxwLhIejqKDfx4HWopm5GowXzNsS03MR4BYZpqNa5zuK5-Qaq6y_nqTf20IKt96ouopYnn7z82NHaqsC7MHKp6o-DnMU9r6SGGeJ3yr_IvcxPeWy0BN_aAwYNrW/s1600-h/DSC_8028%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8028" border="0" alt="DSC_8028" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVHG9CKMj8_5lxczvNDYZm_SVz8iyur2Sgh35VoU1_LUHXDoLw2M7czz8LtDNuzLtOxixKSTOjeh4HQb7GEHgwdmaDE-Pds0qCJZt_VTu3VDsqEGTmdMTHleqINKAX5Ayqd4wc2qbvj9q//?imgmax=800" width="407" height="596" /></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGToi2wJC9taH_L-FGb7HuPM8eLhrGSv06Kfm5brvkmMVMRZym9nN8Lfqk2oP7xN9qUgsMTWsQeLaqRHqUlsz-RTeq4cmwgmAKJEyHPtwZ0R2LMJpTi6oWi3sAYL_RPExEGmHQ2mW6wkj/s1600-h/DSC_8029aab%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8029aab" border="0" alt="DSC_8029aab" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzeC-97Tj7d8-RpvmKvbrfhvFd7aUp0Fv-oRq_Hl__K5XprbaoEkYYVtqqNqD0rkbO-sjkx95lDAXmIVmoyxokShrtfXKVLuI9LChqWPHZC403VgjsPzLOJAw1BIqWkR8EVjpI68LNI0p//?imgmax=800" width="409" height="279" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQCmgDp6PP1Uq8caY6QMNASTG7bj7vXeZF38AxxP2WVlnUVTfjC_bk-spmaHw6-50lwBFcCGYLu1d8b-3uvhdHx7aCDkwujRu0lzV-BYulMm_yEdFppDpsuPjR5HIKpiG3crgomETTqKN/s1600-h/DSC_8038texture%5B6%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="DSC_8038texture" border="0" alt="DSC_8038texture" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLRlKyXtxZwGF62TyDh2twZb46A4btic34ZgwYZX9ruIGR-MIOlZA1yAmj3Gy4weP-mUBE3AdEVhyOowFfqTs3wBrpwx0xdJR8LqqJMXav6aiCa5i1SA2KJM_4SipPETSxAkDOuV07Yn6//?imgmax=800" width="403" height="591" /></a></p> esianoyam3http://www.blogger.com/profile/05971389152584088132noreply@blogger.com2