Hugs & Shrugs - Christmas Lights & Brownie Pops

HUGS:
1) Christmas lights; although they don't give off any heat, or at least they shouldn't and if yours do throw them out immediately, seeing them all lit up makes me feel all warm and cozy, 2) Random hugs and kisses from my three year old; it's hard to believe one day she won't want to be with me 29 hours a day, 3) Businesses who treat their customers like they want to see them again; trust me, there are not many of them that do!

SHRUGS:
1) Getting into your car on a super cold day and greeted with the sweet scent of antifreeze blowing through the heater. Although the scent is easily mistaken for maple syrup and at first is quite pleasant, I am  pretty sure there is no pancake factory under my hood, which leaves only one possiblity which I do not want to put in writing, 2) Buying a new iPod only to discover you can put 13 more songs on it until you have to start deleting other songs, 3) The peppermint brownie pop at a super expensive chain coffee shop, the idea and title sound divine, but in reality it tastes like brownie mush covered in white chocolate, save the amount of money you would spend on this one pop and go buy yourself all the ingredients and make your own version, trust be you will be saving money.

And now for a random pictures I found on Pinterest, how cute are these little cupcakes???

http://iambaker.net/tangled-christmas-lights-cupcakes/

 

 

Happy Sunday!

Who Lives Here?

I found this post, which I wrote over a year ago, hiding in my blog that I never published. I don't know why, maybe I am a little embarrassed to admit I was like this. As two close family members begin new chapters of their lives with their own home purchases, I found this post timely and perhaps some of you out there can relate as well.

For almost a decade I lived in my house which someone else decorated. No, nobody broke in one night and hung up pictures and I certainly did not hire an interior decorator to come and do it for me. I decorated my house based on the opinions and perceptions of what other people thought looked good. We built our house 12 years ago and for the first year or two I was scared to death to put a nail in the wall, let alone splash a little color here and there. But when I finally decided it was time to make this house a home, I was terrified to do what really wanted to do. I mean what if no body like it? So instead, I decorated my house based on what was “in” at the time. I had adopted this ‘theme’ that everyone was doing and because it looked so nice and homey in their homes, why not try it in my own. So I gave it a try. I would pick up a few things here and there, items I loved individually, but all together... not so much. I always felt like something was missing, I would often look around and wonder 'who lives here'? To make a long story short, I eventually gave up and did nothing inside my house for years.

About a year ago I decided to put on my big girl coveralls and reclaim my house. Instead of waiting to win the mega bucks so I could mirror every room printed in a Pottery Barn magazine, I decided to start a little bit at a time. First I replaced my boring shower curtain with a flashy one and bought a few matching towels. Whoola! For under $100 I had a new bathroom. For the playroom, I bought two rolls of funky wall paper and created an accent wall and POOF a new room was born. In my kitchen, I steamed off my border and painted over the antique white walls with a bold gray, printed and framed printables I found on Pinterest, found a bunch of funky frames which I love, love, love, actually put pictures in them and wouldn’t you know I LOVE MY KITCHEN!! Is there a theme; not really. Does everything match/coordinate accordingly; errr, sort of. Would the Pottery Barn want to include a picture of my kitchen in their magazine; he-lll NO! But you know what, I don’t care because, as my three year old would say, "I lub it"!

Maybe it’s because I am more confident at 30, ah hem 31, than I was at 20 and I really don’t care what people think of me or my house, or maybe because I realize striving for perfection was smothering my creativity and taking away my individuality (I am getting deep, I know), but now when I come home from work or maybe when you come over to visit, you can look around and know exacly who lives in this house!

It was love at first sight between this fabric and I. Not knowing what to do with it, I sat on it for close to a year. Than I took that term literal and covered my dining room chairs with it! HA!

LOVE IT! 



Happy Sunday!

Hugs & Shrugs, By YOU!

A few weeks ago I asked you readers for your Hugs & Shrugs and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of responses you left. I have read through them and have pasted some of my favorites below.

Hugs:
1) Have grandchildren for a sleepover, 2) My 2 year old's "I Luff Mommie", 3) Realizing that you have married the man of your dreams and he has help make your beautiful baby (babies) possible!!! 4) Becoming Grandma J what I have wanted since kindergarten when we had to choose what we wanted to be I chose "Grammie", 5) My forever friends
　
Shrugs:
1) Sunday mornings when you go to make your coffee and all the k-cups are gone, 2) Going to empty the dishwasher this morning only to realize that it is broken, so 1.) I need to wash all the dishes by hand and 2.) I might need to go buy a new dishwasher, 3) GERMS!! Waking up with a sore throat AGAIN after having a nasty cold only 2 weeks ago. I think I need to start drinking purell!! 4) Gray hairs growing back in after a really nice hair color, 5) Lady Bugs!

Side note: I saw this image on Pinterest back in July, I thought it was hilarious because I sawthis outfit everywhere! It is now November and I am still seeing it!! It's either cold enough for boots or warm enough for shorts... It can not be both.

Happy Sunday!

Mmmm Meatloaf

I have been craving meatloaf lately. No, don’t even go there, I just happen to be a big fan of beef baked in a loaf pan. I love the texture, the smell, how it is baked in a bath of gristle, and owww the next day when the gristle has congealed you slice it up and put it between bread slathered with mayo. Are your taste buds watering yet, I know mine are.

My Dad makes the best meatloaf, it is absolutely delicious. I often ask him for the recipe but he insists he doesn't have one, he just uses a little of that, a pinch of this, and slides it in the oven until it 'looks' done. Why are the best family recipes, not recipes at all? How much exactly is a 'little', a 'pinch', and about how long does it take to 'look' done??

I also love the singer Meatloaf. I don't have a whole play list dedicated to him on my iTunes or anything, but I do gasp and crank it up when I hear him on the radio. Some of my favorite Loaf tunes are listed below in no particular order:

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad (my favorite)

 



 

I Would do Anything for Love

 

 

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

 

 

It's All Coming Back to Me Now

 

 

Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth

 

 

 

I gotta ask:

 

How do you prefer your Meatloaf?

 

Like This:

 

 

Like This:

 

ORRR Like this:

Happy Friday!!

 

Oh Mornings, How I Loathe The...

Waking up in the morning is hands down, the hardest thing I do all day. My husband on the other hand is one of those who wakes up before the alarm and is ready to go! It makes me want to smack him harder than my snooze button.

Due to my lack luster love affair with the early morning, there are a few steps in my morning routine that are done incorrectly or not at all. If you choose to keep reading, don’t judge me because I am sure there are a few on the list you are guilty of yourself.

Ten Things I Do, or perhaps more appropriately,
Don’t Do in the Morning

1. After slapping the snooze button, immediately think “I should call in sick”,

2. Continue assaulting the snooze button at least six more times, for those of you who just did the math, yeah it takes almost an hour to for me to drag my sorry you-know-what out of bed,

3. Forget to brush my teeth, don’t look at me with those eyes, you have done it too,

4. Forget to put on mascara. For anyone who takes the time to extenuate their facial features with make up knows lushly lacquered lashes (say that 10 time fast) are the staple to any good face,

5. Throw on a pair of my husbands’ socks because I am too lazy to look for my own,

6. Curse myself for telling myself the night before, ‘you worked hard today, don’t worry about making a lunch for tomorrow, you can do it in the morning’,

7. Plug in my curling iron, only to find out 15 minutes later I never turned it on,

8. In the event #6 does not occur and I do in fact have a lunch ready, I will most likely forget it in the refrigerator, on the counter, on the stairs, in my car… you get the idea,

 

9. Leave my heels, you know the ones that match my outfit, on the stairs resulting in me wearing clunky Danskos or flip flops with a dress all day,

10. Forget to turn off the TV, so when I come home at night I hear it and immediately think someone broke in the house and watched Nick Jr. all day


Did you nod your head in agreement with any of these? Why do I hate waking up so bad, is it just the way I am programmed, am I lazy, or is my bed too comfortable? I am going with 'that's the way I am programmed' because you can’t change genetics.

And for those of you who are grossed out at the thought of me going to work with unbrushed teeth, not to worry, I have a back up plan!

Happy Sunday!

Scentsy Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to...

ANGIE HARRIS!!

 

 

Angie has won a Full Size Doodlebud Warmer valued at $30 courtesy of Tonya Picard, Scentsy Consultant.

 

Thank you to everyone who commented with their own version of "Hugs & Shrugs", I enjoyed reading what you had to say and agreed with quit a few of you!!

 

Congratulations Angie once again and a BIG 'HUG' to Tonya Picard for donating the warmer!!! Please keep Tonya in mind if you are looking to order some Scentsy during the upcoming holiday season!

 

https://tonyapicard.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Home

 





Hugs & Shrugs: Scentsy & Split Ends (and a Giveaway too)

HUGS:
1) Scentsy: I love it and may have a small addiction but so far it is not affecting my work or sleep schedule so I am good. 2) Raising Hope: Are you guys watching this show? If not, you should really start. It is kind of like Modern Family, only there is one family and no sexy accents. 3) The ability to breath out of both nostrils; it's the little things people!

SHRUGS:
1) Smoothies: I know they are all the rage, but I don’t like them. If I am going to take the time to blend something up and then suck it out of a straw, it will be loaded with calories, saturated fat, and will most likely have a little alcohol in there too. 2) Rejection and/or exclusion; that's right kids it happens to adults too and it still feels like sh*t. 3) Split Ends: They look bad and for some reason I feel to need to search each one out until I am cross-eyed and then methodically pluck each.one.off.

And the best part!! I contacted my awesome Scentsy Consultant, Tonya, to see if she would be interested in participating in a little giveaway for you readers this week, AND SHE SAID YES!! I may have squealed in excitement and there may have been a fist pump or two… but I was alone and there are no witnesses to confirm or deny either of those things happening.

Tonya Picard has graciously donated to one lucky reader a:

Full Size Doodlebud Warmer

(value $30)!

How to Enter:
 

Either leave a comment on the blog or leave a comment to this post on Facebook telling us about one of your “Hugs” or “Shrugs”. On lucky commenter (is that a word?) will be randomly selected on Wednesday, October 24th!!

After you leave your comment, click over to Tonya's Scentsy website and order me a Christmas present!

https://tonyapicard.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Home

Happy Sunday and Good Luck!

Advice for the 1st Time Lady Hunter

Last night I went hunting with my husband and for all of you who just had to re-read that, no I was not hunting, he was and I tagged along. You see years ago we went bear hunting together and within the first 30 minutes we saw a big bear come out, so apparently I am good luck. Or something.

Ladies if you have never been deer hunting or any other kind of hunting with your hubs here are a few words of advice.

1) Your husband will try to make you shower with some no-scent soap before going, but hold your ground. If he can spray artificial deer piss everywhere, the Pantene ProV you washed your hair with 9 hours ago should not make a difference. (Confession… I didn’t actually see him spray the deer pee, but I saw people do it once on a hunting show and my stance remains the same.)

2) It is not appropriate to assemble, pack, and bring along an assortment cheese and crackers.

3) Squirrels rustling in the forest sound like 800 pound bears and make sounds that will scare the cameo paint right off your face, don’t be alarmed.

4) Practicing your "LOOK!” complete with elbow jerk is HIGHLY discouraged.

5) It will get cold, so when he says to put on another layer, do so.

6) Make sure your phone is on silent, or better yet, just leave it in the car because checking face book is also looked down upon.

7) You will wonder how he manages to stay awake staring at nothing for three hours in his tree stand, yet falls asleep during the first 15 minutes of every movie, but don’t ask about it.

8) Pee before you leave the house, even if you don’t have to, try!

9) Any time after 5:45p is considered ‘prime time’, for what exactly I never found out.

10) Not many husbands want to take their wives hunting and not many wives would actually go; so if he asks, go with him, it really is a great experience and well spent time with your hubs.

For the record, we heard what sounded like deer but never saw one come out. Maybe next time we will have better luck.

 

HUGS & SHRUGS: Tootsie Fruit Rolls & Egg Rolls

HUGS:
1) Downy Unstoppable in-wash Scent Boosters; have you tried this yet? If you haven't OMW, go get yourself some. It's like little pebbles of fabric softener you put in the wash and it makes your clothes smell ah-may-zing! But amongst friends, I will buy any gimmick that gets me excited about doing laundry. 2) Starbucks Salted Caramel Latte - ahhhhh the sweet caramel flavor blended with a tang of salt, Mmmm 2) Tootsie Fruit Rolls; they have forever been my absolute favorite and Hannaford has them 50% off making them $1.44, so I bought seven bags. WHAT?! They are hard to find!

SHRUGS:
1) People who flip YOU the bird because THEY don't know which lane they are supposed to be in, 2) Egg Rolls; they look okay, smell really good, but taste - BLAT! Every time we order take out one of these are included, each time I think 'I will give it another shot' but my opinion never changes. 3) iTunes; no really I love iTunes, but it is so easy to buy music.. like a lot of music that I would never usually buy, but because they have everything and it only takes a click of the mouse to purchase it, I tend to do it... a lot and my checkbook just called and told me to stop or else she is going to bounce baby out the door...(ohh, I love that song... I'm going to Tunes...)

 

And because you now have that song in your head...

 

 







Ride this Subby

I can not get these songs out of my head!!

Jason Aldean - Take a Little Ride (confession, when I sing this in my car I substitute Subby for Chevy, try it for yourself, it's pretty catchy!)

Hunter Hayes - Wanted (Ladies, how much do you love this song??)

 

 



Maroon 5 - One More Night (looooooove this sooooong!! and it makes me drive really fast!)

Creepin' - Eric Church (this song makes me want to dump my next three paychecks into a kickin' system because it sounds best super LOUD!)

What are you lovin' on the radio right now??

Happy Birthday!

I love...

• That you tell everyone I painted your fingernails, even if I didn't,
• How you try to sing louder than the radio,
• When you cuddle,
• When your first question on a Saturday morning is 'When are we going shoppin?',
• Watching you grow.

I hope you...

• Always know you are loved,
• Stand tall even if it means at times you are standing alone,
• Stay healthy and safe,
• Know that we love your more than anything in the world,
• Don't grow up too fast.

I believe you... 

• Have the most beautiful smile in the world,
• Light up a room,
• Can do anything you put your mind to,
• Will eventually sleep in your own bed,
• Are amazing!

Happy Birthday Peanut Butter Jelly Pie!!

Drop Out

Marks

My husband gives me an A

for last night's supper,

an incomplete for my ironing,

a B plus in bed.

My son says I am average,

an average mother, but if

I put my mind to it

I could improve.

My daughter believes

in Pass/Fail and tells me

I pass. Wait 'til they learn

I'm dropping out.

- Linda Pastan

 

What's the Grey Big Deal?

In case you have been living under a rock for the last six months you have probably heard some of your lady friends talk about the book Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James.

It seems as though everyone's sister's cousin's co-worker's hairstylist is talking about this book! After reading an article on public libraries banning the book due to its' ah hem… graphic nature… curiosity got the best of me and I bought it. I knew nothing about the author, little about the plot or the characters, all I knew was that everyone was reading it. I love to read, granted I don’t get to do it often, but when I do I tend to reach for a John Grisham/ Dan Brown type books, so needless to say this was a bit of a 180 to what I am used to…

The book starts off a little slow, but when it gets going, it really gets going (ladies you know what I am typin’ about). To put it mildly there is a whole lotta:

Some people I know flipped through the book in less than 24 hours while it took me about three weeks. I liked the book, but am not IN LOVE with the book like others. To me, the whole plot is far fetched and Grey seems to be a bit stalkerish. I mean yes he reads to be a total beef cake, yes I went out and bought my husband a white linen shirt, but I am not jumping out of bed (hehe) to go buy the next two books. What do you think? Have you read the book(s)? Why do you think so many women are ga-ga about this series? If you are too embarrassed to put your name with your comment, be anonymous.

While you are thinking about what you are going to leave for a comment, enjoy some of Grey related ‘pins’ I have seen on Pinterest.







Someone even made a batch of Grey cookies!!



Happy Friday!

1st Day of Summah!

Happy 1st day of Summer!!! If you are like me, you have waited nine long months for this day to come and boy she is coming in with a large HELLL-O! I accentuated the helll in hello because that is how hot it is going to be around here for the next few days.


Take a look for yourself.

So like a true Mainer, I am complaining because I haven’t sweat outside in over 150 days and now I am complaining because I am sweating outside…

Anywho, there a quite a few things I am looking forward to this summer; Miss. E’s third birthday party, a road trip the Mystic Aquarium, the 4th of July, friends visiting from Colorado, completing two more classes toward my M.B.A., and most importantly I am embracing the fact that I don’t have to search for matching pairs of socks every morning!!

Happy Wednesday!

EAT

Here is a little project I completed a couple months ago, I don't know what it has taken me so long to blog about it, but the time has come. It is a simple project anyone can do, cost under $20, and can be completed in 23 hours or less.

It all started with a paint tray and an eager little helper.

Three little wooden letters.

Ummm... tea is okay and all, but this girl would rather:

A little sponge brush and once again, a little helper.

Some metallic paint followed by ... the wallow of disappointment.

Look at that coverage. I am sure after 14 more coats I would have received the results I wanted, but let's face it people, it took me almost two months to make it to the craft store to buy the supplies, do you really think this girl is going to apply 13 more coats? So I sat and thought about it for a second, then I remembered I won a bunch of tole paint from DecoArt back in December!! I sprang to my feet, dug out the box and applied the paint on a different letter and look at the difference!

That's what I am typin' about!! 

The following day we hung my little letters over the stove in my kitchen. Pretty darn cute if I say so myself.

Love it!

Someone made a smart comment and asked if I was going to put the letters "P E E" over my toilet next, I said no, but I may consider  "F L U S H" or "S E A T  D O W N". 

Happy Monday!

What to get the Old Man

If you are like me you dread any event that involves buying the men in your life a gift. It’s not that I don’t love and appreciate them; it’s because I never know what to buy. As we all know Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday and I have been spending the good part of this week racking my brain on what to get the Dad's in my life. Seriously party people, what do you get for these men who have EVERYTHING!? And don’t even try to ask them what they want, because you will receive nothing, not even a morsel of information. I had the conversation with my husband last night:


Me: Is there anything special you would like for Father’s Day?
Him: No.
Me: Nothing? Can you at least give me an idea; do you want to go somewhere for the day, go out to eat? Anything.
Him: Nope.
Me: COME ON GIVE ME SOMETHING!
Him: Errrr how about some new socks.

See, those conversations are about as useful as an SPF 4; the effort was applied, but in the end I still got burned.

So, here are a few gift ideas I found while poking on the web that the Old Man will sure to love.

 

http://www.tipjunkie.com/what-to-make-for-dad/

http://parenterest.com/2012/06/05/fathers-day-crafts/

http://www.colleenscookies.com/default.asp

http://creativelychristy.blogspot.jp/2011/06/worlds-best-pop.html

(Soda Pop (IBC Rootbeer), Popcorn, Pop-tarts, and a Blow Pop lollipop)

Get creative with your camera!

http://www.tipjunkie.com/what-to-make-for-dad/

http://blog.thecelebrationshoppe.com/2012/06/07/photography-idea-for-fathers-day/

http://www.itsoverflowing.com/2012/06/awesome-and-creative-fathers-day-photo.html

Make a Sweet Gift Basket!

Here is the link to this project, it includes FREE PRINTABLES!! AWESOME!

http://www.kmckaydesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/soda_bottles_copy.pdf

I found this super cool web-site with a bunch of neat gift basket ideas.

http://www.justforguysgiftbaskets.com/

 

What ever you decide to do for the Dad's in your life this weekend, nothing will mean more to him than knowing that you love and appreciate him, so take time this weekend to let him know both!

Hey Mr. DJ!!

Play my motha ___ song!! (You need to channel your inner JLo to understand that).

Here are five songs I can NOT get out of my head:



1) Flo Rida feat. Sia – Wild Ones

2) Gotye feat. Kimbra – Somebody That I Used to Know

3) Christina Perri – A Thousand Years

4) Carrie Underwood – Good Girl

5) Blake Shelton – Drink on it

What you are listening to??

Happy Friday!

Now I know...

How my mother felt when I wore black hi-top sneakers complete with flashy gold laces with all my dresses.

Happy Tuesday!

It is safe to say...

1. It’s time to lay off the potato salad if you have to pull your shorts up over your gut in order to sit comfortably in your lawn chair,

2. Wearing a string bikini is strongly discouraged if you have to do the above,

3. Running away from a three year old armed with a loaded water hose will not guarantee you stay dry,

4. Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce is the best BBQ sauce on the market,

5. If you hang two loads of laundry on the line, someone next door will spark up a campfire,

6. Tearing off the top of a 12 pack and pouring ice on top is one of the best ideas of our time,

7. If the last time you wore that sun dress, you had a matching banana clip in your hair, it’s time to go sundress shopping,

8. The hair line on your forehead requires sunscreen, especially if your hair is pulled back and you plan on bronzing in the sun for 8+ hours,

9. I am already over the Presidential election,

10. I am addicted to Scentsy.

Happy Sunday!

Something has to give...

A few months back I decided to do what I should have done five years ago, go to Graduate School! Sounds exciting doesn’t it? Well, it has been a transition. First of all, who do I think I am? I work full time, have a daughter (who is three!), a husband, a house that needs to be cleaned, flower beds and gardens that need weeding, craft supplies that need using, a mildly successful photography business, a blog, family and friends I want to hang out with, brownies I want to eat… the list goes on…

Two weeks into my educational adventure, one thing became crystal clear; something had to give. It was a hard decision, but when the options were laid in front of me the choice was obvious, the photography had to go. As much as I love photography, it is soooooooooo time consuming. Many people assume the only time a photographer commits to their session is the time spent shooting and we all know what ASSuming does now don’t we … Let me be the first to tell you shooting is the easiest part. The real work begins when you get home and to start going through hundreds of images, then picking and choosing which ones to edit, then the editing (real work) begins, the lightening adjustments, the cropping, color enhancements, cloning/patching, then blogging about it, posting to face book. Ugh just thinking of all of this work is giving me carpal tunnel.

Let me give you a prime example of why editing is so time consuming. You wake up on the morning you are scheduled to have your pictures take, you wake up excited to start the day until you look in the mirror and see a zit with a heartbeat grew overnight on your forehead! The entire morning you spend feverishly applying layer after layer of concealer (if you are a girl, boys don’t put in this effort) on that juicer which is still red and is now oozing. Three weeks later you get your proofs back and notice that the zit is gone! You pat yourself on the back for your awesome makeup concealing efforts, or admire what a stud you are, when in real life you should be kissing the hands of your photographer who was up till 11:25pm cloning that zit out of 120 pictures!! But I digress...

Bottom line is I am giving up photography for the short term; any session I complete now and post about are from clients who booked earlier this year when I thought I was wonder women. On a side note, the graduate class is going very well, one thing that I am finding with this class is that there is no right or wrong answers, as long as you can back up your statements/thoughts with facts and real-world experiences you will do fine. I think I am really going to like graduate school.

Until next time… which may be a while… but stay tuned none the less.

Hugs & Shrugs: Mother-in-Laws & Mud Season

Yes. I am still alive! I am having severe blogging block and every time I think, 'oh I should blog about that' when I actually get the time to start doing it, American Idol comes on and poof another day is gone. So because I have nothing super exciting to report, I will do an old stand by post, a Hug & Shrug!

HUGS:
1) Mother-in-laws who call the house at 7am on a Saturday (keep reading, yes this is in the right catagory) and asks if your almost three year old can come over and spend a couple hours with her cousin - ummm YES! She is on her way right NOW!! 2) Bath & Body Works - True Blue Spa Refreshing Face Scrub w. Peppermint - it comes out of the tube super smooth, rubs on a little rough, but not so rough it feels like it is ripping my face off, and it smells like it leaves my face, cool and refreshed. 3) Pinterest: I have avoided you like Ben & Jerry's Coffee Toffee ice cream for the past 6 months, and after pinning for 46 straight hours, I know why. I am in love and don't be surprised if you see less posts in this blog, because ever 32 spare seconds I get, will be spent pinning!!


SHRUGS:
1) Pinterest, see #3 above, I.CAN'T.STOP. 2) Mud season in January and February, look mother nature, my car can not handle 6 months of mud season and if mud boots are going to become a staple to my wardrobe, I may have to go buy a pair that I actually like! 3) Laundry, does it ever end?

Texaco, Texaco

Warning: This is a totally random post.

Yesterday I was sitting in the truck waiting for my husband to get out of the bait store and I saw this sign across the parking lot and it made me smile. Maybe it was because I had spent the previous 24 hours selling Buick's to my toilet or maybe it was because I have some really fun childhood memories which have this word in it. I will let you decide.

Girls, you know what I am typin' about, come on sing it with me:

Ovah head to Mexico!!

Another totally random point, this is same picture, the first one is SOOC (straight out of camera) and the other is after being edited in Photoshop. As you can see I did some cropping, straightened the image, cloned out the building in the lower right and some poles in the lower left, added a Boost of color, and then added a texture to the image (Dirty Diana from Totally Rad). I am by no means a Photoshop editing professional, but I am thinking of posting a few before and after images on this blog just to show you how much a little (or sometimes a lot) of editing really enhances a photo. More on that later. For now, have a Happy Sunday and if you are in Maine - stay warm!!

I hab it Momma

For Christmas this year, one of my favorite gifts was a Canon Point and Shoot camera from my parents. For those of you who are not familiar with the term 'point and shoot' it is a digital camera that does not have interchangeable lenses, it doesn't weigh five pounds, and it fits it my coat pocket. I own a DSLR and that is what I use for my photography, but sometimes I just want to take something with me (like on the boat) that is a little easier to carry around. I loved this camera from the moment I saw it, unfortunately I wasn't the only one who experienced love at first sight.

Yeeep, she loved the camera and as soon as I took it out of the package, this little arm was reached out and all I heard was "I hab it, Momma". So what did I do. I let her have it. She was in heaven! She snapped photographs all morning, 87 to be exact. I had almost forgot I let her use the camera until I popped the memory card on my computer and saw her images. Her vantage points were low, the focus and white balance was off, but the photos tell a story; a story of Christmas morning from the eyes of a 2.5 year old. Perhaps I am a little biased, but I thought she did a great job, and what does every proud Mom do, they share the story! So here I present to you Christmas by Baby E.

First she starts off capturing the location, including Memere's new curtains.

A little lower we find the nativity scene, Christmas cards, and wait?!

What's that to the left?

Owwww, it's the most beautiful Santa baby on the planet.

Who rocked it out all morning.

Nice action sequence Baby E!

On to the Christmas tree... humm not quite in full frame...

Change locations and adjust the zoom and there you hab it!

Working the room and getting shots of people opening gifts.

Including close ups of the loot.

Then like a true professional, she worked the room photographing guests looking beautiful, overly excited to be there, and brushing off shoulders because that's how Mommy rolls on Christmas morning.

I am pretty sure she posed him, why else would he make that face - haha!

And then, with a quick rip of some Santa paper, 412 twisty ties later; baby Santa, the Christmas tree, and all the guests were no longer on the photographer's agenda.

I will spare you of the 52 photos that were taken of .... the twins!

In for the close up, or as I like to call it, the "Mommy Shot"

Getting those cute little toes on film.

Okay, I will spare you the rest, because literally there are 47 more pictures of these babies.

Pretty impressive right?! I laugh every time I look at them. For 2011 I did really well printing photographs and putting them into an album, I will have to print this series and include a little write up, because well... it's too funny not to and what a great memory these images will resurrect each time we look at them.

Happy Tuesday!