Come to momma . . .

That's right, I got a new camera. A Canon 40D. I'm in love people. That's all I can say. I was going to wait until I had the full amount in cash, but the impatient side of me thought it was no big deal to charge the last $300. Can you say INSTANT GRATIFICATION? So I did it. A lot to learn, to be sure, but I'm up to the challenge.




And here is one where I was playing with the settings, familiarizing myself with where everything is on this camera as opposed to my old-school Rebel. Have I mentioned how much I love this camera? Still need work, no doubt about it. I guess I can no longer site faulty, outdated equipment as a reason for a bad shot. Hmmm . . . it's not sounding so great after all. Dang. Something I had not considered.

Peace out.

A few holiday photos

And a Christmas decoration update. As of 9:15 a.m. there is absolutely no trace of Christmas to be found. Bah Humbug. Seriously, it felt good to get my house back to normal. Now I can enjoy the rest of my vacation knowing everything is DONE. Done, I tell you! We did brave the malls for Em's IPod Touch. Seriously cool. I'd buy one if I wasn't saving my pennies for the new camera. The one calling my name . . . can you hear it?

And did you notice I even included a few pictures of me? It pains me, because in my head I don't look like this. I avoid mirrors (AKA reality) at all costs. And here it is staring me in the face. But for the first time Em and Bill volunteered to have me in the shots, and I figure I owe them for being the paparazzi and having a camera in their face 24/7.

And that handsome man, well he's my dad. (Pardon the toothpick in his mouth. LOL!) I think the world of this man. He has Parkinson's, and it's one nasty disease. His attitude however is nothing but positive. Sometimes evenings are hard for him . . . he tires easily and has trouble staying in conversations. But he was so sharp, and we shared stories of memories of traveling to his hometown in Wisconsin. It was the highlight of my Christmas, to be certain.

And after all of the singing of "I want a hippopotumus for Christmas," Miss J received just that.

A rocking Christmas, indeed.

Emily's big gift this year was Guitar Hero (or as Jenna calls it "Kitar Rock.") There is nothing like jamming to Aerosmith to get you in the holiday mood. It brings me back to my concert-going days, when my friend Craig took me to see Aerosmith. Five bars into "Sweet Emotion" Steven Tyler passed out, falling off the stage. Concert OVER. Good times, good times. This was before he became drug-free, of course. So we've been jamming out in our household. Funny how the songs of my youth have become "hip" again. Can you spell O-L-D? Yeah? I thought so.

Miss J was in rare form. This morning while waiting for Em to crawl out of bed, (who moped down the stairs with guitar-hero-weary-eyes), she assessed the loot that Santa left. She turned to Bill and I and exclaimed, "See? Even though I was naughty Santa brought me LOTS of presents!" True dat, my girl. True dat.

So it's all over but the cleaning. And over all, I'd mark it a success. I just cannot wait for the Christmas decorations to be safely returned to the crawl space and the house back in order. I have already removed the ornaments and lights from the tree so Bill can put it out to the road in the a.m. I'm hoping for some Kay time. Wish me luck on that.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Santa is coming!

Well, I made it through my last week with kids at school. It is such a stressful time of year with trying to keep up with teaching, home life, plus add all of the stress of Christmas prep. I have been such a scrooge for Christmas anyway, but I'm happy to say at this moment I am all done. Gifts are wrapped, food has been purchased for the meal, and I'm ready to go. I'm excited for Miss J though . . . she is really embracing all things Santa (except for the being good 'cuz Santa is watching. That part just isn't sticking.) It sure looks like she's good in the picture, doesn't it? Not so much.

Here is what makes me happy today. 1) I have received three Christmas cards with photos that I have taken. Now is that cool or what? Add mine to the mix and you have four. Cool beans, I tell ya! 2) Emily is home. It's fun having her around, and she's such a big help. She had her annual friend's Christmas party at our house on Thursday night. They truly enjoy each other, and it's great that these high school friends take time to reconnect. 3) I was asked to stay on the Provo Craft Design Team for another year. I'm happy about that! 4) I am loving all of the visiting and family and friend time of the holidays. We have been busy with holiday gatherings, but it is so much fun to see everyone and reconnect. 5) I bought a Speedlite for my camera with my birthday money. It may just give me something to do this winter that will get me through the holidays without offing myself. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter? 6)I have had former students who are in college in visiting me all week. I am so lucky to be in a profession that brings me in contact with so many amazing people. I do love my job.

OK, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I'm shedding my inner scrooge and am off to have fun. Peace out!

BRING IT, Mother Nature.

That's right. I need some snow, woman. And not just enough to make life miserable, I need the school-stopping, wind howling, must stay home variety. And the timing must be perfect. None of this starting on a Friday or Saturday nonsense. What is up with THAT? I need the Sunday night through Thursday variety. Because without the hope of a snow day, what exactly is the point of snow? These are the things I ask myself. Yes, we're under a winter snow warning. And it's all I can think about. I know, I really need to grow up. Don't count on it though!

Anyhoo, I've been busy. As have we all, I assume. Here are a few of the highlights of the last few weeks:
~Jenna has another ear infection. Good times.
~took Jenna last weekend to a pancake supper with Santa at my school. The high school kids did a fabulous job with the wee ones, and it was fun to see.
~took pics of my neighbors daughter and her friends and experimented more with studio lights. It was fun, and another reminder of how much I have to learn.
~took pictures of my sister's neighbor, Luke, who is around two. He wasn't feeling well, but what a sweet kid! Loved him!
~turned 42. 'Nuff Said.
~had Aunt Max and Uncle Fred over for pizza. They got me a yummy bottle of wine and two gorgeous wine glasses.
~celebrated Christmas with my high school friend and her family. Had a wonderful time. Took their Christmas card photo.
~my girl came home from college. She is a little exam-weary, poor thing. Went yesterday to get her a new bed for her empty room. Three weeks on a pull out couch is too much.
~Went and picked out our tree and decorated it. Now it feels a bit more like Christmas!

OK, that's about it. Check out my photo blog for some of my recent faves. And happy holidays to you all!

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

Christmas! I say that like it makes me happy. Truly it does not. You see, we got a small little snowstorm last night. ON A SATURDAY. Therein lies the problem. You see, I'm a fan of the snow day, so a storm on a weekend is a waste. Plus the snow coupled with the fact that we are now in December is making my holiday denial a little hard to pull off. We are cutting way back on buying gifts this year with one in college and one in daycare, so the fun is rather gone. BTW, that is not a real photo out in the snow, it's a photo effect. You like?

Let's see. Went to IKEA yesterday on a power shopping spree. I needed two more Expedit shelves, one more for my scrapping area and one for the family room for Jenna's toys. My sister needed some things as well. I was on a time crunch because we had a dinner at one of Bill's shooting clubs. I got home with 15 minutes to spare. We went to the Long Rifleman's Club where they wear authentic garb (?) and shoot muzzleloaders and older guns. What a neat bunch of people. The party was in an old log cabin with no electricity, and an outhouse. But the food (including two deep-fried turkeys) was amazing.

Today Jenna woke up with a migraine AGAIN. It is so upsetting. I hate that I passed this tendency on to her. She wanted me to lay with her and rub her back, and felt like she was going to throw up. At 10:00 she finally got back to sleep, which is the only way to get rid of them for us. I feel I have to talk to the Dr. again about possible medications, not that any worked for me when I was younger. I never know if she is going to wake up still feeling sick, so I decided to get some things done around the house while Bill went and cleared snow for everyone and their brother.

First, I put up the shelves. It took me a while, but the real fun came when I had to sort and organize what I was going to put on said shelves. WHEW. I organized for a good 7 hours today. I swear, I'm not a slob. (OK, maybe I am.) But everywhere I looked there was something out of place. And Jenna's toys/books/crafts was a huge task. I feel better now that it's done, but what a waste of a Sunday.

No scrapping for me AGAIN this weekend. But you can see my work for the December Newsletter at ScrapSupply here. I did have fun looking through my magazines today for one of the new bookshelves and seeing the magazines I've been pubbed in. Those were the good old days, when I made scrapbooking more of a priority. I've GOT to get back into that habit. I mean it.

OK, have a great week. And pray to the snow day gods if you're the praying type. I could use a day for myself. KWIM?