14/365

Day 14 here...






Maggie in her beloved Princess Jasmine costume. Santa Claus (and Mikkel Milhrad, who so sweetly acted on Santa's behalf--thanks, Mikkel!) rocks!

Nikon d70, 52mm, f4.5, 1/60, ISO 800, Neat Image

I love this one, too, though the lighting isn't great.

Nikon d70, 52mm, f4.5, 1/125, ISO 500

13/365

We had the best time this afternoon! Chris' parents and aunt and uncle were here, and we went over to Lake Gunthersville State Park and took a little hike...very little, as Katie insisted on walking by herself. lol Maggie and I went ahead a little. It was fun. :)

So today's pics...

Katie was busy with 1-2-3-whee!! (it was the fastest way to get her from point A to point B!) Doesn't she look happy? :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f6.3, 1/250, 200 ISO

and Maggie was acting as "Tour Director" in the woods. hehehe

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/160, 200 ISO

11/365

Here I am on Day 11 of this 365 challenge! :)


Today's pic is a closeup of Miss Katie:

Nikon d70, 210mm, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200Just ran Unsharp Mask on this one. No other editing. :)

Thought I'd throw in one of Maggie, too. :)

Nikon d70, 210mm, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 200 and Unsharp Mask

11/365

Day 11...

Today was Katie's first day of school at the same Mom's Day Out that Maggie goes to. Think she was ready to go? lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/1250, ISO 400

And later Katie was eating Spaghetti-Os. Think she enjoys her food? :)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/10, ISO 640

10/365

Today's pictures aren't the best, technically, but I LOVE the look in them just the same. Check this out...

Nikon d70, 90mm, f4.5, 1/20, ISO 400, Neat Image

and I LOVE this one! Look at Katie's super cute little feet peeking out from under the princess dress!

Nikon d70, 90mm, f4.5, 1/20, ISO 400, Neat Image

9/365

Whooohooo! We had a great time today! It was really pleasant here, so I took the girls outside this afternoon. Whooohooo picture time! ;) Ignore Maggie's seasonally inappropriate swimsuit. Who knows what goes on in her head sometimes. lol

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 crop and unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 unsharp mask

I love this look on Katie's face!

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, 1SO 200 unsharp mask

Nikon d70, 210mm, f5.6, 1/160, ISO 200 crop and unsharp mask

And poor Katie had had enough at this stage. Time to go inside for dinner, Mom!

Nikon d70, 135mm, f4.8, 1/100, ISO 200 unsharp mask

8/365

Here I go again. :) Day 8! whoohooo!!

I'm sick of grainy pics. Our mornings are usually pretty busy, so I don't get around to getting the camera out until the afternoon and then I have to bump the ISO way up so that I don't have to use the flash.

This first one is Katie trying to kiss O'Neill (one of the cats) through the window of the door.

Nikon d70, 18mm, f4.5, 1/15, ISO 1600


Another of Miss Katie playing with one of her blocks. At full size you just barely see her reflection in the little round mirror.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/15, ISO 1600

6/365

Day 6 of the 365 challenge...

Here's this shot of Katie...It's not the best shot in the world, but I love the look on her face. I ran Dave Jaseck's Midnight Sepia action on it.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/30, ISO 400

and just for kicks, here's another one. Again, this is mega grainy. I didn't take the pic until nighttime, so there wasn't much light, etc. It's Maggie's attempt at "decorating" the ball. lol

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/6, ISO 800Andrea Burns' "Color Pop and Black & White action"

6/365

Day 6! Boy...This is 6 days in a row of posting on my old blog. Who'd have believed that! lol

Today's pic is of O'Neill out in the backyard.

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/250, ISO 200

Day 5/365

Here's my Day 5 shot:

Nikon d70, 70mm, 1/20, f4.5, ISO 1600

Day 4/365

I'm on a roll! I've got two pics today for Day 4. ;)

Katie, my most willing subject:

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/200, ISO 1600 (and Andrea's Color Pop and Black and White action)

And I thought I'd try this. I like the texture. ;)

Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/25, ISO 400 (and Andrea's Color Pop action)

3/365

Two pics today because I couldn't choose. I'm not completely happy with either. The light was bad for both, so to compensate I had to bump up the ISO, which created lots of noise. Oh well. I need to take pics in the am before we head to school and the gym, but our timing isn't that good. lol

So here's Katie (with chopped off hands--oops!)

Nikon d70, 38 mm, f4.2, 1/1000, can't remember ISO

and one of Katie's toys (with chopped off ears. I'm bad today!):

Nikon d70, 70 mm, f4.5, 1/30, can't remember ISO

2/365

I've made it back here two days in a row. Whooohooo!!

Here's Day 2 of my 365 challenge:

Nikon d70 (Nikor 70-210mm lens at 155mm), f5, 1/40, ISO 800

I liked this shot, too, though:

Nikon d70 (Nikor 70-210mm lens at 135mm), f4.8, 1/40, ISO 800

Feel free to leave any constructive criticism!

Project 365 for 2008!

In an attempt to get better about blogging every day and to (hopefully) improve my photographs, I thought I'd jump onto the Project 365 bandwagon and commit to taking a photo every day of 2008.

Here's the picture that I'm going to start out the year with:

Miss Maggie was cheeseing it up for me. Settings: 70mm, f4.5, 1/125, ISO 400

The side of her face is a little blown out here, but her eyes (especially that right one!) are super sharp. Yay! The only photoshopping this image saw was a change to Black and White (using a change in mode to Lab Color>Lightness and then back to Greyscale, just in case you're interested!).

Of course, I can't leave Miss Katie out:

Check out those catchlights! She's such a cheeseball. Settings on this one: Nikon d70, f4.5, 1/60, 400 ISO (I think...can't remember).

Here's another one where she was cheesin' for the camera:

She was playing peek-a-boo with the camera and I caught her just peeking her head around the corner of my lens. lol Settings Nikon d70, 70mm, f4.5, 1/60, 400 ISO (I think...)

So maybe I'll be a better blogger. lol

Let's see...a quick update. Maggie is in a nice place right now. Her behavior is mostly good and she's so sweet. She's very good with her sister and is having a great time at school these days. She learned "Away in a Manger" for her Christmas program and has been singing it nonstop lately, especially if Katie is upset. Too sweet. Katie is walking and bordering on running, and I've gotten her weaned. She's adjusting quite well and is just such a happy little kiddo. Not to say that she's always easy...the child has a SCREAM that could pierce eardrums, and she's not shy about letting loose if she thinks she's being wronged. lol On the whole both girls are super independent and definitely clear about what they want or don't want. I keep telling myself that this will be a good thing as they get older, though sometimes it's a struggle right now.

Chris and I have been working out really hard lately and have both lost some weight. yay for us! Chris has lost about 25 pounds and I've lost 40. I've still got quite a ways to go--80 pounds to get to my ultimate goal--but I'm working hard and doing well. I've been working with a personal trainer (Brandon ROCKS!), though my last session with him will be later this week. Hopefully I'll continue to be successful on my own. Chris and I are going to walk/run in a 5k at Nashville Zoo later in January, and I'm planning to meet some super cool digiscrap chicks from my Biggest Loser group in Maine this June to run in a 5k up there. WhooohooO! I'm so excited!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to post another pic. :) I hope you're (whoever might be reading this!) all doing well and that you have had a great beginning to this New Year!

ps--OH! Totally forgot the biggest news!! My brother (Dermot) and sister-in-law (Aimee) are expecting another baby! They will add to their family in July and sweet Will will be a big brother! Yay! Congrats, guys!

Halloween fun!

Another year of Trick or Treating has come and gone. I thought I'd share a couple of pics of my little Minnie Mouse and ballerina.





Here's Maggie as Minnie Mouse:

and Katie as a ballerina:

and the two of them together:

Katie, cheesing for the camera. She's still pretty pleased with herself about being able to stand up. ;)

Do you think Maggie loves her sister just a little bit? :)

Not the greatest pics, but at least we have some memories. :) Thanks for looking!

Long time no blog

Angela called me on not blogging, so I figured now would be a good time to update the old blog. Life's been busy lately. I've been completely consumed by my quest to change my life. I've tried to lose weight before, but my efforts fizzled out after a few weeks. I've been at it for months now (and going really hardcore for 8 weeks) and I'm seeing some real success. I'm down 35 pounds overall. Whooohooo! I have been lucky enough to be part of the Biggest Loser Digi-Style (which is a group of digital scrappers attacking weight loss Biggest Loser style...without the vote-offs) for the last 5 weeks. Just during that challenge, I've lost 12 pounds and 41 inches. Yep, you read that right. 41 inches!! I'm so proud of myself!

I've been working out every day and pushing myself hard. I've been working out with a trainer for 2 weeks now and I'm enjoying that, too. Brandon (my trainer) is a great guy who's really good about pushing me hard and encouraging me, too. Oh, and not only have I been working hard, but Chris has been inspired and has been working out, too. He's lost about 15 pounds in the last month. I'm really proud of him, too.

On to the girls...

Maggie is her usual hilarious self. She's so sweet these days. Every now and then she'll wander by and say, "Mom (or Dad...whoever's there), I love you." What a sweet girl. :)

Katie is almost walking. She takes 2 and 3 steps at a time and just laughs her head off. She's such a happy little baby. I can't believe she's almost a year old--not really a baby anymore, is she?

Wanna see some pics? Sure ya do!

Miss Maggie. :) Auntie Fi came over when we were at my parents' house last week and brought mini pumpkins, glue, and glitter. We painted the glue on the pumpkins and dumped glitter over them. What a fun way to spend the morning!

On the way to my parents' house we made a pit stop in Clanton at the pumpkin patch that we've been going to for the last couple of years. Our wonderful friends Debbie and Delaney met us there and then we went back to their house for the night. Katie was being particularly cute, so I snapped a couple of pics of her while Maggie and Delaney were playing in the hay loft.

These are straight out of the camera. I probably should adjust some of the levels, but I think they're pretty good for SOOC.

Katie was happy to see her buddy Mrs. Debbie.

Maggie and Delaney on one of the wagons at the pumpkin patch.

The best shot of the three girls together. It's not a great shot, but when you're dealing with two 4 yr olds and an almost 1 yr old, I guess you take what you can get. hehehe

So that's what we've been up to. How about you? :)

A couple of pics

I got a few minutes to take some pics yesterday and today and I thought I'd share...

Here's a pic of Maggie at the Botanical Gardens last weekend:

and Katie today:

Couldn't you just eat those cheeks up?!

And here's a sneak peek of a normal afternoon here at our house:

It's not the best picture, but it does capture these days for us. Maggie is completely fascinated by swimsuits right now and wants to wear one all the time. She gives in and wears a dress to school, but as soon as we get back home it's off with the dress and on with the swimsuit. I guess she thinks of her little trampoline as a stage--either that or she just enjoys being able to jump and bounce around WHILE singing and playing her guitar. Like we needed more activity here, right? lol And usually Katie is perched there at the edge, gazing up adoringly at her big sister. I feel sure this sort of thing will be repeated and mimiced by Miss Katie in a couple of years. hehehe

whew...sleep woes!

Oh boy, it's been a rough weekend! Chris' parents and aunt and uncle came up from Georgia and Panama City (respectively) and we had a terrific time with them. We went to the Children's Museum and Constitution Village in Huntsville on Saturday and then we went to the Botanical Gardens on Sunday. The girls had a great time with Nana, Grandad, Aunt Ree, and Uncle John. However, being out and about and going all day meant that Katie didn't get all of the naps that she needs, which means that her nighttime sleep has been off, too. Top it off with a snotty nose and congestion and poor Katie is struggling. Oh well...she's still a sweet little monkey. I'm not even going to mention Maggie and her whole sleep issues. Oh well...she's pretty cute, too.

So how about a couple of pictures? :)

That's Maggie enjoying some watermelon at Grady's birthday party the other weekend. Do ya think she liked the watermelon?

How stinkin' cute is Miss Katie? She wasn't much interested in actually eating the food, but she was way into just chewing on the spoon itself.

Speaking of Katie, guess who got some new food experiences this weekend? Miss Katie was CHOWING down on rice at Rosie's Mexican Cantina on Saturday--we're talking fistfuls of rice heading right for her mouth. Sure, there was tons of rice on the floor, but lots made it into her mouth, too. (and we left a big tip as well as trying to pick up as much of the rice as we could.) Then on Sunday Katie and Maggie went with Nana, Grandad, Aunt Ree, and Uncle John to a German restaurant for lunch and Katie ate her fill of the German Rye bread. Who knew!?! I am still trying to give her baby food at meals, but she's getting less and less interested in that. Zwieback Toast? Oh yeah. Baby applesauce? Not so much. No wonder she likes real food. She's cutting her 8th tooth!

Maggie is riding her big girl bike like a pro (with training wheels, of course). She loves to ride it around inside the house, and she and Daddy go on rides down the sidewalk after dinner. :) I'll have to upload a picture of her proudly riding her bike tomorrow. :)

Ok, enough from me. I'm heading off to bed. Have a great night, all!

Holy COW!!!!! Maggie's on CK's Home Page!

Ok, let me tell you how super duper excited I am! I've been away from the computer all day and I come back to see a message from sweet Michelle at The DigiChick telling me that one of my layouts was featured today on Creating Keepsakes Home page as a Featured Layout! WHOOOHOOOO!!! I can't even describe the ginormous grin on my face!

Here's a screenshot:
And here's the layout:

"School Rocks"

Click on the layout to see a bigger version in my gallery at The DigiChick. I'm so stinkin' excited!! (For those of you who don't digiscrap, Creating Keepsakes is THE scrapbook magazine--predominantly for paper scrapbooking, but they do some digital stuff, too. This is their online website, but wow, what an honor to be picked out of all the layouts that are posted each day!)