not much to talk about

There isn't really a lot to update on. The girls and I have had colds for the last week and a half, but I think there's finally some light at the end of that tunnel. Kelsie and I are feeling a lot better (Ashlin, too, but she's still a bit sicker than us). Daniel managed to avoid a cold this time around, which is great, especially since he worked overtime this week. He was scheduled for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (today), but he got a call last Thursday asking if he could cover someone so he went. It's tough on him to work three days in a row, so it's worse to work four. He works twelve hour night shifts...it's a pretty tough schedule.

I've had an interest in making bows (for the girls, not to sell) for a while, but I'm not great at it. I got some ribbon and some alligator clips the other day and I made several that I really like. I think I'm addicted now...lol. Oh! Kelsie's been completely addicted to dress up lately. She's dressed up every single day this week...I'm talking dress, shoes, sometimes tights, and yesterday she wanted a skirt on, too...under her dress. She has fashion sense, let me tell you! She's even wanted to sleep in her dress up dress at night. Guess who's getting more dress up as soon as we can...lol.

As far as photography goes, I haven't done much picture taking. It's been really cold out and with colds, I don't want to get the kids out to play. I've been playing in PSE, though. I figured out clipping masks and I'm thrilled! I bought my very first set of actions yesterday!!! My Four Hens released her newest actions yesterday and they rock! Anyway, I don't know what I want to tackle next in PSE. I need suggestions for what to learn. Ok, well I guess this is all for now. I'll post a couple of pics, too.


Kelsie, Ashlin, Daniel, and I went to the park a week ago since it was so pretty out.http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4395949424_4bb3e1f349_b.jpg


Ashlin sized hair clippies!

One of M4H's new actions. Part of the "Little Yummies" collection, this is "celery sticks"

Don't forget...if you have any ideas for what I should tackle next, leave me a comment and let me know :o)

my first portraiture session of 2010

The sun is actually out today! Hard to believe, I know! Since it was sunny today, I decided to open my new backdrop stand and do a little portraiture session. I originally wasn't going to take Kelsie's pictures because she's sick, so I didn't think she'd be in the mood, but she asked to be so I couldn't tell her no. Before she asked to be in the pictures, I told her that Ashlin was going to be our model and she was going to be my photography assistant. She wanted to be my student, though...lol (she's so cute!)! I know it's only in the low 40's outside, so it's definitely not spring, but I wanted to put bright springy clothes on the girls, so I did just that. I'm really happy with how the pictures turned out. Let me know what you think! (Don't mind the scratch on Kelsie's face. The cat scratched her. I cloned it out of the others, but left it in one.) The links directly above each picture are the links to the larger versions.

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Enjoying my new camera

So I'd been waiting as patiently as I could for our tax return. I did really well for about a week and a half, but I was getting really excited and impatient for it towards the end. Finally, February 5th arrived and our money was deposited! Why was I so excited for this return? Well there were several reasons, but one of the most important to me was that I could finally order my new camera! It feels like I've wanted a DSLR forever, but I think it's actually been a year and a half or so. My dreams of owning one were finally coming to fruition and it felt so surreal! I ordered my Nikon D5000 on Friday, February 5th and it arrived in the mail on Monday morning. Holy cow, that was fast! Definitely didn't expect that! I love this camera even though it's a lot to learn. I'll get it one day, but it may take a little while before I venture out of auto...lol. Even in auto, it's a million trillion times better than my p&s. I also got PSE 8, so I've been having fun learning that. I was introduced to the world of actions and I'm in love! You'll see some of my camera and PSE fun below. Another reason I was so excited for our return was we could put a down payment on a car. We've been driving a 1987 Toyota Camry for over a year now and it's definitely seen better days. Before the Camry, we had 3 other cars in our 4 and a half year relationship...almost a car every year. We were so ready to get a nice car that will last us a loooong time! We went to Carmax and found a 2007 Dodge Caliber. It's really nice and I'm so excited to be able to say it's ours (even though we'll be paying on it for a while).

Picture time again! As always, click on the link to see the picture bigger or just click on the picture to see the whole thing.

Our new car!http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4366256632_874753114f_b.jpg

Little baby pine coneshttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4365524271_9069d82983_b.jpg

My first time using an action!
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Ashlin eating snow...that's all she was interested in doing...lol.http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2774/4346584207_70717fe865_b.jpg

This was my first attempt at using a texture like this in a fantasy type picture
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Kelsie, Ashlin, and Daniel posing for a picture
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My wonderful hubby, Daniel
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Insert creative title here...

I'm clearly not in a very creative mood...at least not creative enough to come up with a nice title...lol. So I finally have something new to post about! I went to the doctor on the 4th to see if my broken foot was better. It's not healed, but it's healed enough to wear a normal shoe again. I have to wait to start running, but I think I can live with that :o). Daniel and I got our tax return yesterday and he bought me my Nikon D5000!!! We bought it online, so I still have to wait to get it, but it should be here in less than a week. I haven't been taking many pictures at all lately. This winter has been so dreary/cloudy/rainy/sometimes snowy. I miss the sun. I may have forgotten what it looks like :o(. I hope the sun comes out when I get my camera so I can play around and learn it (I heart natural light). Daniel also bought me my macro filters and uv filter, a 62" tripod, the D5000 field guide, Understanding Exposure, a Lowepro camera bag, SD card, a backdrop stand, and Photoshop Elements 8. I was going to get a black and a white muslin backdrop, but they're expensive so I'll make due with sheets. I don't do portraiture much, so I suppose it's not necessary right now. We're going car shopping tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have a new car by tomorrow night. I'm excited, but surprisingly also a little nervous. I'm just ready to get it over with. Oh! We also bought Kelsie a booster seat yesterday! It won't be here for 6-8 weeks cause we ordered it from Daniel's work website, but we got it for half the price we would have paid in stores so I'm happy. Here's what it looks like...it's so cute!
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-High-Back-TurboBooster-Seat/dp/images/B00190G874/ref=dp_image_text_z_4_0?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&img=0&color_name=4

Ok, now for a few pictures. They aren't great, but my babies are cute so I have to share! The links under the pictures are the links to see the pictures bigger.

Super baby Ashlin! She kept wanting her blanket around her so I clipped it to her shoulders with her paci clip.
Kelsie rarely takes naps anymore, but she just got sleepy.
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One of the decent January days...we went to the park and here's Kelsie being a ham!http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4291235571_71c5d2ea9f_b.jpg

Kelsie and Ashlin watching the Charlie boy and his brother on youtube ("Charlie bit my finger!").

Ashlin chewing on her straw...she likes straws...
Kelsie wanted her hair put up like mommy's after a shower. She's so cute!

My first post of the new year!

It's a new year, so I thought it was fitting to have a new look. My old blog was pretty boring, but a friend of mine, Amy, posted about a site called shabby blogs. I heart shabby blogs...lol. Now I have a pretty new background and header.

Anyway, so what to update about? Hmmm...well, Daniel and I signed a new lease at our apartment. One more year. I really, really hope it's only one more year. I don't like living here and I haven't for a long time. We signed the new lease so we wouldn't have moving expenses. Our plan is to buy a new car (probably not new new, but fairly new...the newest we've ever had, for sure). We wanted to have as much money as possible to put down on it, so we decided we'd save moving for next year. The plus side to not moving is I told Daniel that if we stay here, I get a dslr with income tax return (and not just any dslr, but the one i want...I don't want to settle and not be happy with it). I've been waiting at least two years for this camera, but I keep putting it off for one reason or another. Well no more! I'm so excited!

So, guess what?! It snowed yesterday! It doesn't snow much here and when it does, it either doesn't stick, or doesn't stick for long. It stuck last night! Daniel was supposed to work last night (he works 12 hour night shifts. He leaves at about 6:20pm and gets home usually 7:45). He left last night and then came back home about 10 minutes later. He said something like, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Apparently the roads were pretty bad. He said people were driving 5 mph and one car had slid off the road and an ambulance passed by him just in the few minutes he was gone, so he came home and called in. I don't blame him. He decided since he wasn't going to work, he would go outside and build a snowman...lol. I bundled the girls up and we went outside to help him. I don't think I've ever seen snow like this where we're living. The snow doesn't usually stick to the parking lot, but it did this time. It was really pretty. I had to take Ashlin inside after a few minutes because it was too cold, but Kelsie stayed outside and helped finish the snowman. It was a really good one. I was going to get a good picture of it the morning since it was dark last night (and put a mouth on it since Daniel didn't put a mouth on him), but someone thought it would be a good idea to steal Kelsie's first snowman. It was gone this morning (one more reason I hate living here) :o(.

When we woke up this morning, one of the first things Kelsie said was she wanted to go outside and play in the snow, so I went ahead and took her out. Ashlin was still sleeping. She didn't actually play in the snow. Instead, we just walked around in the parking lot...lol. I found a spot where the snow hadn't been touched and I suggested Kelsie make a snow angel. She'd never made one before, but she knew how, so she got on the ground and made one! When I helped her up, she told me to make one, so I had to get down there and make one, too. We came in after that. It was too cold. We've had a blast with our little bit of snow and I got some cute pictures. Ready to see them? Yeah, I thought so! (click on the picture to see the full size)

Kelsie and Ashlin's first snowman! Daddy helped, but just a little...hehehe.

Ashlin after playing in the snow. We couldn't stay out long cause of how cold it was.

If I ask Ashlin where her nose is, she sticks her finger in her nose. Every time...lol.




These are from playing in the snow today (1-8-10). The first is Kelsie's first snow angel next to my snow angel. The 3rd pic down is Kelsie making her first snow angel.

Click these links to see the large size-
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Well, the year is coming to a close...

This is it-the last day of 2009. I've heard a lot of people say that this year has sucked for them. It makes me sad to hear that. There have been a lot of difficulties, sure, but I can't say if (for my family and for myself) there's been much more than normal. God has truly blessed me more than I could ever imagine. I certainly don't deserve it. Daniel lost his job this year. He lost it for a month and then got called back because they needed him. Huge blessing right there. He didn't need to learn a new job or meet new people. He has the same pay he did have and the same schedule. It's familiar and comfortable. My mother-in-law, father-in-law, and their six kids still living at home finally got their new house put on their property this year. Another huge blessing. They were living split up in 3 different houses for months waiting for this house to be finished (it was several months behind) and finally they got to move in. Our little 1987 toyota has lasted us over a year since we got it. That's HUGE. It seems like since Daniel and I have been married we've gone through a car a year (close anyway). Hopefully this little thing can last us until the end of February. Then there's always not having a lot of money, but God still provides for us. We have everything we need and a lot of things we want (even if those things aren't brand spankin' new). To sum it all up, I'd say 2009 was a good year! Here's hoping for a great 2010!

Now for some pictures! Sorry for the picture overload... (I uploaded a new way today, so most of the pictures are cut off. Just click on the picture and you'll be able to see the whole thing.)

weekly-ish update 1

The girls were sick for about a week and a half. They're finally over it, thank goodness. I hate when they're sick. I feel so bad for them when they can't breathe through they're little noses. So we haven't put our Christmas tree up yet. It's killing me! I'm the kind of person who likes it up the day after Thanksgiving and Daniel's a Christmas eve kind of guy. We (well, he, but it's pointless to argue with him) decided that we'll wait until December 21st to put the tree up so the kids won't get into it. I can't wait!!! I want to take Christmas-y pictures soooo bad. Maybe it's a good thing we're waiting since I hurt myself (if you don't already know, more about it in a minute). Mamaw put her tree up already and the girls saw it. They love it! Daniel did almost all of our Christmas shopping online this year. We have a little left to do so last Saturday (Dec 12th) we were going to finish. I was carrying Ashlin to the car and stepped wrong or something, twisted my ankle, and fell. In order to keep Ashlin from getting hurt, I twisted mid-air and hurt myself worse. Ashlin didn't get hurt at all, though, thank the Lord! I went to the doctor today (14th) and the x-ray showed that I have a broken foot. Yay....lol. 24 years old and I have my first broken bone ever. I have to go to the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday to see if I need a cast or a boot. Kelsie's been cute with this, though. She'll randomly come up to me and say, "Mommy, you k now?" or when I get up to do something (hopping or with crutches, of course), she'll say, "don't walk, mommy!!!" Ashlin's getting to where she tries to copy almost everything we say. She's learning to talk sooner than Kelsie did. She's not great at the words she does say, but just her trying is adorable. Mamaw has 2 goats (a baby and her momma) and they were bleating and so Ashlin tried to do it, too. It was so cute. She said Papaw for the first time today!!! She still says "bah-bah" for Mamaw, but she'll get there. Here are some pics...enjoy!

Ashlin seeing Mamaw's tree lit up for the first time. Her Uncle Mark is holding her.

Mamaw's Christmas tree (I didn't even try to get a good pic...sorry for the poor quality)

Lil' Ashlin

She wasn't smiling, but I wanted to include a picture of Ashlin in the butterfly wings. She walked around for about an hour in these things. She loved them!

Kelsie on the bouncy zebra...even though she's a bit too big...lol.
I don't know why I'm putting these up, but I felt inclined to add pics of my injury...lol. Excuse my ugly foot, but please note my ankle (that there is one). This is my good foot.
This is horrible quality, but this is my broken foot. You can't see how bad the bruise is (it covers most of my foot), but the break is where the bruise is the worst. Also, no ankle...my foot is too swollen.