Day 26: Sleeping Angels

The reasons I live and wake up every day :) Not a whole lot to say today, but here's my BEAUTIFUL babies showing off their best behavior :)

Have a good night everyone and enjoy your day tomorrow :)

Day 25: Nada

Nope, got nothing today... Nothing but a whole lotta drama. That's all :)

Day 24: New Toy :)

Got a new toy today :) It's called a flash flip bracket :) I don't have any picture of the bracket itself, but here's what it does...

:

Picture one. Camera in portrait orientation, flash "next to" the lens just as if it were either the pop up flash or on the hot shoe:

Picture two: Camera still in portrait orientation, flash flipped to be "above" lens as if it were attached to the side of the camera

See the shadow behind and to the right of her head in the first picture??? It's not there in the second :) These are both straight out of the camera :) No editing or anything done :)

Day 23: Phone :)

I was just playing around and decided I wanted a picture of my phone and the pretty background I had on it :) So, here it is :) lol

Have a good night world :)

Day 22: Another Snow Day!!!

Yay! I finally got my "big" snow! We have a total of 13" of snow and I am ECSTATIC! :) Anywho, I love to take pictures in the snow and I love to build big piles and stuff with the kiddos :) I also love the way my mom's fence looks when it is covered in snow :) Kind of remind me of a barn door :) Anywho, here's a picture of the fence in all it's snow covered glory :)

Enjoy your snow filled day (if you're in a snowy place today!) and have a good one :)

Day 21: Love...

With no regrets.

Today's "photo" isn't a photo at all. I made it in Photoshop... It's a little bit funky and definitely didn't come out like I wanted it to, but hey, it gets my point across.

Everyone has loved and lost at some point. Whether it has been family, friends, relationships, or what ever else. Every time you lose a love, your heart is scarred and hardened. By the time you find that last love, the one who is the best and the one who makes all the other heartache in the past worth while, you will probably have a ton of scars on your heart. Don't regret any of those scars. Look at it this way (well, not about me, but you get the point..)

"I set out on a narrow way many years ago hoping I would find true love along the broken road. But I got lost a time or two... Couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you... Every long lost dream led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true; that God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to you..."

One of my favorite songs of all time :)

Yes, I feel like I could have made better decisions in the past, but I don't regret anything that has happened in my life. For all I know, the one thing I would choose to regret would mean I wouldn't have one of my kids and would have COMPLETELY changed the outcome of my life.

So, the short version of the last 2 days... Live with no excuses and love with no regrets. Every scar on your heart is there for a reason. God blessed that broken road that eventually led to your happiness :)

Day 20: Live...

with no excuses.

This is only half of a quote that I found in a background on my phone this morning. The rest of the quote will be finished tomorrow. Live with no excuses... What does that mean to you? To me it means not to make excuses for why you didn't do something you really wanted to do. Don't make excuses for why you stopped talking to someone. Don't make excuses when you forgot to do something. Just say, "I forgot"... It's really not that hard to not make excuses. But definitely don't make excuses when it comes to your family. Your family is the only family you'll ever have and they deserve better than excuses for any reason. Anywho, here's the picture :)

Have a good day everyone :)

Day 19: More (fake) Macro :)

I got inspired finally! I decided to do some random macro because that's what makes you a "professional"!!! Well, at least according to some joke that I read, but hey, it inspired me :) LOL So, here's a macro shot of the top of a Mountain Dew Throwback can :) LOL

That's all folks! Have a good day :)

Day 18: Another Eye

So, my best friend's daughter spent the night last night and she reminded me this morning to take my photo for today. So, her idea was a picture of her. My "eye"dea was a picture of her eye :) I'm a little bit obsessed with eye pictures right now. I think they are a person's most beautiful feature. You can see a LOT in someone's eye and you can learn a lot about a person through their eyes.


     “The eyes are the mirror of the soul” ~Yiddish    Proverb

So, here is Sierra's eye :)

 Enjoy and have a good rest of your day!

GO JETS!!! :)

Day 17: Sicky Boy

Yup, Caleb is a little bit sick. I think he was actually worse yesterday. He had a pretty good fever yesterday but today it is down a good bit. He is still a little warm, but is acting completely normal :) So, I was really hoping to get a clear picture of his beautiful baby blues, but that didn't happen :/ I told him to open his eyes nice and wide, and this is what I got!

Have a good day everyone :)

Day 16: Back to the books!

Back in the books today! This time it's Biology :) Today has been a pretty normal day for me. Other than Caleb not feeling well. It's going to be a long night, he hasn't really eaten much at all today :/

Anywho, here's the picture :) I need to finish reading 2 more pages, then start cracking down on Western Civ & Cultural Anthropology :)

I added the grain and slight vignette on purpose. I like it :)

Have a good night everyone :)

Day 15: Introducing...

My eye!

Yup, it's beautiful and I am happy to finally have a very close up picture of it! Not really much else to say other than that my eye is pretty tired and would like to finish reading for Western Civ and then go to bed!

Selective Color :)

Full color :)

Have a good night everyone :)

Day 14: Becoming a History Buff

Well, not by choice at least. I am taking a Western Civilization class and a Cultural Anthropology class this semester and I have spent as much time as I could today reading my text books for both classes. I am bound and determined to actually read like I'm supposed to and REALLY strive for A's in all my classes this semester. If I get A's in all of my classes, my GPA will go from a 3.425 to a 3.635. I would love to get my GPA back above a 3.5 and eventually maybe back to a 3.8. I have no chance at a 4.0 thanks to my school not realizing that I was totally not "equipped" with the right "knowledge" for African American Literature last semester. So, here's what I've been focusing on all day :)

Absolutism in the Reign of Louis XIV. This chapter is basically about absolutism in general.

Yup. Exciting isn't it? Have a good day :)

Day 13: Don't forget to...

Exfoliate!

On my mission to feel better about myself, I have started  using some products from Lush (http://www.lushusa.com/shop). I have been doing this "treatment" for about 4 days now and I have seen a MAJOR difference in my skin!

Here's what I do (Thanks to Beth Haneke for teaching me this!):

Products:
Ocean Salt
Aqua Marina
Eau Roma Water
Celestial

Process:
Use warm-hot water and get your face wet. It is important to use the hottest water you can because it helps to open your pores. Take a "fingertip" full of the aqua marina on your index finger. Then on your middle, ring, and pinky fingers get a finger tip full on each of the ocean salt. Mix all 4 fingertips of product together in the palm of your hand. Once it is all mixed, scrub it on your face just like you would an exfoliant or facial cleanser out of a tube or bottle. Once you have scrubbed all of your face, rinse off with the warm-hot water again. Remember to use the hottest you can handle. After you have rinsed off all of the aqua marina and ocean salt, spray your face with the eau roma water. Once that has dried, apply the celestial just like you would any other facial moisturizer :)

Just in case you are wondering, all of Lush's products are all natural and some of their products are even vegetarian or vegan. They are all handmade by real people and when you purchase a cup/bowl of product, there is a sticker with a picture of a person along with the date the product was made and the date it expires. The person in that picture is the person who ACTUALLY made that specific container of product. I LOVE LUSH! I've always been very happy with their products and Lush is the only place I get bubble bath for the kids. If they decide to eat the bubbles, they won't get sick. Awesomeness!

Oh, here's the picture! :)

Have a good day everyone!

Day 12: A New Me :)

Well, I think I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to get past my negative self image problem without make up. It really sucks because I have been trying really hard to teach Anna that she doesn't need make up to be beautiful and here mommy is putting make up on :/ Well, anywho, here I am :) Next step to the new me: Get some contacts!

I think it's pretty darn awesome that you can't tell I have any make up on other than eye liner and probably mascara :)

Well, that's it for now. Have a good day everyone :)

Day 11: Fail.

Gah. I failed again :/ Oh well, try again tomorrow!

Day 10: Double Fister!

So, my sister drinks almost nothing but Wawa's Lemonade Iced Tea. My son LOVES it and "steals" it from her all the time. It's really pretty cute. So, here is Caleb finishing off one bottle and getting ready to pick up the one in front of him that still has some left in the bottom.

The little double fister himself! 

Aunt Peppy is teaching him well! :) LOL

Oh, and disregard the craptastic jersey and please don't make any crappy comments about the crappy game that the Ravens lost today. Ugh.

Have a good day :)

Day 9: Babies, babies, babies!

I had THREE newborn photo shoots today :) So for today's 365 post, I am going to include one photo from each baby :) In order, they will be Brayden, Kaylee, & Haylee :)

Brayden: Born January 3, 2011

Kaylee: Born December 22, 2010

Haylee: Born December 28, 2010

Have a good day everyone :)

Day 8: January 13, 2011

Got nothing :/ But I have something for Day 9 :) LOL

Day 7: Me!

Well here we are! My record for how far I've gotten on a 365 project is tied! I actually took this picture shortly after midnight and I did it so that I could practice my skin smoothing and air brushing techniques. I did a few other things that I am sure you'll be able to notice :) I am showing the original photo and then the edited photo so that everyone can try to figure out what I did :) I was up until about 2 a.m. working on this :) Had lots of fun and was very proud of myself in the end!

This is the original. There were some minor adjustments made to this, but nothing that would really "help" the photo lol 

This is the edit. I know there is a slight mistake on the bottom right side near my jaw line but I got to a point where I was going faster than my computer could and things were showing up like a minute after I did them. 

Well there we go :) Have a good day everyone and enjoy the snow! :)

Day 6: Conehead Roxy

My darling Roxy is a conehead for a while :( She isn't happy about it ONE BIT! She has these two scabs on her chin and we don't know why. She continuously scratches at them and they bleed and they get blood all over the floor, the kids like to hold napkins on her chin when she bleeds so she doesn't get blood everywhere, but it's just annoying and frustrating. And the scabs are NEVER going to heal if she keeps scratching at them... So, I got her an E-Collar so she can't scratch at them and make them bleed anymore. Here she is, poor girl...

Hopefully these scabs will heal quickly so she doesn't have to keep this on for very long. She isn't liking it at all but she is adjusting.

Have a good day everyone :)

Day 5: Baby Ballerina

Well, today's picture didn't quite go as planned. Anna was pumped to have her picture taken as a ballerina and we tried a couple different quick poses and she just wasn't feeling it! It was freezing cold and mean old mommy told her that she couldn't take picture with her coat on! I mean, come on! They're "Ballerina Pictures"! You don't see ballerinas taking pictures with their coats on! So, needless to say, we didn't get much lol. I got her to do a plie (pronounce plee-ay, and I looked it up in the dictionary for spelling!) and put her arms in the first position where it looks like she's holding a beach ball in front of her, but it looked more like she was squatting to, well, you know, LOL! So, we ended up with just a normal little smile, head tilt, and very "Anna" pose :) We will try again when it gets warmer :)

Well, that's it for today :) Have a good day everyone!

Day 4: Ravens Victory!

Disclaimer: For any photographers who are following my 365, be warned that today is "snapshots" and not photographs lol. These were fun pictures taken as a memory of my Ravens winning their first play off game of the 2010-2011 season.

Today, as my disclaimer states, the Baltimore Ravens won their first playoff game of the season against the Kansas City Cheifs. Not only did we win, WE KICKED SOME ****************!!! :) What an amazing game! Can't wait to play the Steelers next week! So, the best part about today was that I got to spend some much needed time with Brigitte and her girls (only one of her girls is in these pictures :/ We took pictures after she took her youngest to her dad's house). It's been a while since I got some quality time to hang out with just Brig & I :) Was very nice to hang out and watch football with her since my brother and I are the ones that got her addicted!

So, here's the pics :)

The Ravens Kids :)

The Ravens Gang :) Brigitte & I in the back, Caleb & Sierra (Brig's daughter) in the middle, and Anna (my daughter) on Brigitte's lap :)

After we were done taking pictures. I asked my brother to take the picture of us as a group and he got a little camera happy and just kept taking pictures. This is me saying, "Alright Ben! Stop taking pictures!" :)

Have a good night everyone :)

Day 3: Snowy Birds

Well, the majority of my day today was spent either cleaning, or trying to get some pictures with my "Bubba Lens" of the squirrels and birds that my mom feeds. Well, I learned that taking pictures even through clean glass can make them come out looking like crap. I was pretty disappointed! I had over 100 pictures, and this was the best one I got.

I guess it's not really a terrible picture, but it's not what I'm used to getting! So I think I might try and clean all the windows inside and out tomorrow and try again and see what happens. The windows aren't perfectly clean, but it's not like they're grimey either...

Well, tomorrow's another day and another shot :) Have a good day everyone!

Day 2: Anna & A Snow Day :)

Well, 2 days in a row :) I am catching up to my record of 7 days! The first picture I am going to share for today I don't think needs any explanation. Well, if you don't know Anna you might need some explanation so I will explain anyway. But let me show you the picture first :)

So, here's what we have on going from head to toe  :)

1. A "princess crown" made out of a styrofoam cup from Sonic (Yes, the restaurant Sonic)...
2. A pink hoodie with horses all over it to "keep warm".
3. Under the pink hoodie, we have on a white tank top and a green crocheted shrug over top (My sister bought this outfit... The skirt goes with the white tank top and green crocheted shrug).
4. Then we have the skirt that goes with the shirts under the hoodie. Green and blue with some kind of floral pattern.
5. Jeans to "keep warm" because mommy told her that it is too cold to wear a skirt and you can't wear a skirt when there is snow on the ground.
6. Her socks are white with pink toes and pink hearts on the sides.

Yeah, she dressed herself this morning. Yes, I let her, but she had a lot of fun doing it and she went to school a happy camper :) Now to "explain" Anna... Anna is a very girly tomboy lol. She LOVES dresses and will argue and do whatever she can to wear a dress every day. At the same time, Anna is a bug lover :) In the spring, summer, and fall, you are very likely to find Anna outside trying to catch bugs and she will want you to hold them, she will show them to you, and she gets very excited when she finds a new bug. I learned more about bugs from her last year than I learned through my entire life! LOL So, this is the simple story of why Anna is wearing a skirt with jeans underneath :)

And here's my "Snow day" picture :) This one is more photography type looking :) lol

As soon as I woke up this morning and saw the snow, I knew I wanted to take a picture of snow on an evergreen branch :) Mission accomplished :) I LOVE how this picture came out :) The only thing I am not liking about it is the out of focus branch in the bottom right corner. Caleb & I played out in the snow for about an hour this morning and then came in for some grilled cheese and milk to warm up from outside :) And now it is nap time for the little man :) Have a good day everyone!

Day 1: Roxy

Well, I guess I kinda cheated here. I decided today that I am going to try the 365 thing again :) I know you can technically start any day of the year, but it's more fun to start on the 1st. So technically, I'm not 5 days late starting, I'll just have to make my 365 project go through January 6th of next year :)

Oh, here's Roxy:

We adopted Roxy from Goldheart Golden Retriever Rescue in February of 2010. She has been the most amazing dog ever! She is the first dog we have had that likes to play with toys and it makes her so much fun! The kids love to play with her and she is very patient with them. She loves to cuddle, too. She also seems to think that she's an 80 pound lap dog. She likes to jump and she likes to get half way up on your lap when you're petting her. She is the sweetest dog EVER! She sleeps with the me or the kids almost every night; and yes, she sleeps in bed with us :)

So, there's day 1. Finished :) Have a good day everyone!