For Lilly Rose

A friend brought to my attention that I need to put more pictures of Natalya Shea on the blog. Actually, I've heard this request before. So I went through iPhoto to find the best of the best. Doing this I noticed that the Matthew:Talya picture ratio is way out of whack.  Matthew is much easier to photograph since he'll pose and hold still (well, that might be a stretch) but that is no excuse. To remedy this, I'm going to post atleast one picture of Talya each day for the next week. This will entail many photo sessions that I'll surely enjoy. 

For now, here are some goodies of my baby girl. The above pictures are in chronological order, beginning on August 17th, and evidenced by the length of her hair. ;-) She is such a wonderful, happy baby. Her personality is complex and she is always studying EVERYTHING. Yesterday was her 11 month birthday. I can't believe how fast it has gone. I try to enjoy every moment and I know that this extensive photography "assignment" will help with that. Thanks Lilly Rose!

Re-post for Momma Mo

My mom's computer is out of commission and she wasn't able to view the halloween pictures in slideshow format from her work computer. Let me know if you still can't see the pictures mom.

Pumpkin Tips

I heard great pumpkin tips on DIY Network and thought I'd share...

1. Spray the inside of your pumpkins with plain water daily to avoid mold growth. Since pumpkins are naturally moist inside, spraying them with water will prohibit mold spores.
2. Spray aerosol hair spray on the raw edges of any cuts you make. This will seal the edges and help to avoid shrinkage on pupils, teeth, etc.
3. Sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on the lid of your pumpkins and rub it in with your fingers. When you light the candles the lid will warm up and activate the scent. I tried this and it created the most wonderful smell. Matthew has been craving cinnamon toast ever since.

Halloween Carnival

Matthew had a blast at the Halloween Carnival held at his preschool. It was packed and there were a ton of stations with crafts, story telling, face painting, and games to win candy and prizes. Matthew went as Ghostface from the movie Scream and Talya was the cutest bumble bee known to man. She didn't like wearing the hood, but once I put it down she was all smiles. Oh, and the picture of Talya's butt was on purpose. My favorite part of her costume is the cute little stinger!

Our Ballots are IN

My vote is in! I loved voting from home, instead of having to go to an election site, wait in line, feel hurried while putting my vote it, and not having the voter information right in front of me. I took my time and really thought about what I was doing. The media and the Obama campaign reminded me of the importance to get my vote in early, so i did. Hurry up and wait. I'm so anxious for November 4th, to find out who is our next president. Go Obama!

A Day Full of Laughter

Unfortunately I don't have time for a longer post. I have some great pictures of Matthew's Halloween Carnival held at his preschool on Saturday that I wanted to get up. Using borrowed time, I wanted to share a few things that made me laugh today. 

This afternoon, Matthew was bopping around the house singing, "Sometimes I feel like a nut. Sometimes I don't."

 from the old Almond Joy and Mounds candy-bar commercial. It was highly amusing. And just now, out of the blue, he came up to me and said, "I like to do this (followed by a friendly kick to my butt) and I like to drink catsup." I love this kid. He brings so much laughter to my days and I thought I'd share some...

Fun with Photoshop

Pumpkin Patch 2008

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday and had a delightful time. My mom was visiting for the weekend and we all went out picked the best pumpkins ever. It was a gorgeous day- cold, but blue skies nonetheless. Honestly, it was perfect. We all had a blast and I got some great pictures. I can see the scrapbook pages already!

Gossip Girls

Art Everyday Month 2008

Inspired by a book I am currently reading, "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron, I have been thinking a lot lately about creative living and what that means to me. I've always been a creative and spiritual person (to me, those traits are inseparable) but, somehow, daily demands have weaseled there way into the top spot of my daily to-do list. For me this is a HUGE problem. I need inspiration constantly, because without it I become an irritable, pessimistic kind of person- exactly what I don't want to be. But when I'm creative, creating, I'm so much more fulfilled and that daily to-do list doesn't look so bad and is, in fact, conquerable. In my search to inspire more creativity in my daily life I came across a great website, www.creativeeveryday.com and specifically, www.creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/art-every-day-month.html. 

November begins the Art Everyday Month, where readers are challenged to create some art every day, for the entire month. Readers are also invited to post their art on the blog and browse other participants work. It's exactly what I was looking for and wanted to spread the word to anyone else who might be interested. The great thing is there are no rules, only the gentle nudge to live a more creative and inspired life. 

I think I'll post my art here, so stay tuned!?! And if anyone participates too, let me know. And check out the book, "The Artist's Way" because it's phenomenal!

Don't Vote

Oregon voter registration deadline is October 14th... what about your state... are you registered... you're gonna vote, right!?!

Mourning My Loss

I didn't want to tell anyone this but I joined Weight Watchers about 6 weeks ago. I suppose I kept it a secret because I was afraid I wouldn't be successful and to avoid comments like "You don't need to lose weight" since it sure didn't feel like that to me. I've lost 9 pounds so far and would like to lose 8 more to reach my goal weight. Most days I am super excited about this- I'm trying out all kinds of new recipes and eating great food, and I feel like I am on the road to success. But here's the bummer- my FAVORITE pair of jeans don't fit anymore. You'd think this would be a happy thing but I'm actually quite sad about it. They were the pair of jeans that I put on when I felt like crap about myself and every time, without fail, they turned my day around and made me feel like a rock star. I love clothes that can do that for me. So I'm sad. And though this may be a strange post, I felt I owed it to my favorite jeans for one last tribute before I donate them to someone who, I hope, will get the same self-confidence boost when they wear them that I did. 

Jumpin' the new BMX bike

Carlos recently got a new BMW jump bike and has been putting it to good use. I am amazed at the things that he can still do. Naturally, Matthew thinks it's the coolest thing in the world that his daddy can do jumps and wheelies down the entire street. He's been practicing so hard to emulate him that Matthew has got the wheelie down pat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a good picture of it. 

Gorgeous Hair

Talya's hair is so thick and gorgeous- I love looking at it and touching it. But I've always wondered one thing... why do babies hair always fall towards their foreheads? I've been trying to train it to fall backwards so I can do a ponytail or pigtails one day, to no avail I might add, and one evening after her nightly bath, this was the result. It was a great laugh and my goodness, that girl looks cute- no matter which way her hair falls. Enjoy!