Stopping time...

I *wish* I could stop time! We've been easing into our "summer schedule" and it's been HECTIC! I thought summer was for RELAXING - I must be doing it wrong, lol. ANYHOW...I've been a bad blogger! Hoping to get caught up now that we are getting into a routine...

I've been getting LOTS of practice with my new lens - and YES, it is possible to get a bad photo with it, lol. BUT - I am learning it, and getting used to the weight of it, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the crisp sharp images I can get with it! This photo of Mad (I stopped time with my lens!) was taken while she was SPINNING on the tire swing - she was SPINNING people - it was a great excercise for practicing exposure, focus, and keeping a moving subject in frame (with a very heavy lens on board, lol).


As of last night, these guys (in the photo below) are OUT OF TOWN at GRANDMA'S for a WHOLE WEEK! The house is SO QUIET! I vegged out and goofed off ALL DAY today and it was FAB.U.LOUS! I miss 'em though...that's how it is. When they're around, they're makin' me crazy - when they're not around, I miss 'em!


Mmmmm...don't these look YUMMAY? We have a li'l strawberry patch in our backyard, and this was today's harvest! I had to take a picture because this was a TON of berries! That's my LARGE Longaberger mixing bowl people! I *never* get this many when I send the kiddos out to pick. Hmmm...


That's IT for today! I hope y'all are having a FABULOUS Saturday!

It's HERE!!!

*Happy Dancin'*

I had to rip into the box IMMEDIATELY and try it out!

This lens is HEAVY! Oh my GOODNESS! I will be pumpin' iron just to hold this baby UP! Hmmm...

While I was working today, Mad had her friend "E" over, so I snapped a quick couple of pics. This was my favorite...(mainly because they weren't making FACES at me, lol)

I *cannot wait* to have time for some serious play with my new baby!!!

Happy Friday!

Come to Mama...

...here is my new baby! (Picture is linked to the lens review at The Digital Picture)

Yeppers! I *did it* - I hit "submit" on my order last night at B&H and now I just have to stalk my email for the shipping notification, lol.

NOW - anyone who knows me, knows that I don't drop this kind of schmack without analyzing every detail and option, and obsessing over alternatives and etc. I am ANAL! So I have been looking at this for quite awhile - long enough to have actually SAVED UP enough schmack, lol. But it was still a thrill to just order it! I feel like I've made an informed choice, and I am BOUNCIN' just thinking about getting this baby on my camera! This is my first "pro series" lens, and I can't wait to put it to use and see what it can do.

Happy dancin...

June Desktop Freebie!

How cute is this June desktop??? I change mine out every month, and just had to share this one! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bright colors on this! I added a family picture from Sea World taken on our vacation. YAY!



Check out Sara Amarie's new design blog *HERE* to download this cute desktop!

AND! The matching kit, Be Amused is available at Sweet Shoppe Designs. PLUS for a limited time, you get a matching Abby Album with it. FABULOUS DEAL!

Sea World...

Just a quick post today, and then I have to get to work! I am still playing "catch up" from vacation, but I am just about there! YAY!

I did manage to scrap again last night, so I'm sharing another page from our vacation. YAY! I wish I would have had more time - I have at least 2 more pages from Sea World in mind! We had such a good time on our first full day of vacation! I guess I will just keep plugging along, lol. I am still pretty new to digital scrapping, and I have lots to learn, so I'm not quite as "speedy" as I'd like to be. (GRRRRR!) I think the only way to overcome that is to practice, practice, practice - am I right???

Page Credits: Fondest Memories kit from Shabby Miss Jenn, bracket border and ribbon flower accent from the Twirl Collection from Shabby Princess, notepaper scrap from KSharonK at 2 Little Pixels, Courier font.

WHOOHOO I scrapped!

YAY! I was *so excited* that there was zero to watch on tv last night, lol. I know I know - I gotta get my priorities in order! I've just been feeling like a blob and wanting to veg out in front of the television lately! Vacation hangover maybe?

ANYWAY...I took some time to scrap last night - and put together this page from our vacation. I am *determined* to scrap this trip and get the pages printed so we can all enjoy them in an album! I usually get overwhelmed by these "bigger" projects (like vacation) with lots of pictures, and they end up getting overlooked for smaller, one-page scenarios with a shorter time committment.

ALSO - I am trying a new approach, and so far, I LOVE IT! Instead of winging it, and pulling photos and page kits and etc from all over (and wasting a TON of time searching my files), I printed out thumbnails of all my vacation pics, and wrote detailed journaling notes about what I wanted to scrap from our vacation. This was eas to do, since it was still pretty fresh in my mind, and I am making it a goal to jot notes from now on, WHENEVER I dump the camera memory card onto my computer. I think I will keep a little journal just for that! I am trying to be better about including more journaling on my pages too, so this will help with that.

This page layout is a scraplift from a page that is featured in the May/June Scrapbooks etc. magazine. It was a paper layout, but I thought it worked well as a digi page too. I tweaked it a bit to work with my photo composition, but the basic layout is the same. I just love the bracket template with the notepaper - the perfect place for journaling!

Page Credits: What Dreams May Come kit from Studio Flergs at Scrapbook Graphics, bracket template from Jen Caputo at Scrapbook Graphics, Notepaper from Heather Ann Designs, stitched photo frame from KSharonK at 2 Little Pixels, Happy Alpha 3 from Marcie Reckinger at Funky Playground, Courier font.

Our day at Epcot...

Now - I'm not a fan of spending an entire day at Epcot, I'd prefer to combine it with Magic Kingdom because there aren't as many "attraction" type things at Epcot. BUT I think for this trip, some of my favorite pictures are from Epcot! It just so happened to be the Flower and Garden Festival while we were there, and it was BEAUTIFUL! My pictures don't even do it justice. Everything was just LUSH and STUNNING. And they have added quite a few attractions since I was last there...

I'm calling this photo "Shark Bait"...lol. Of course you all know Bruce from Finding Nemo (Fish are FRIENDS, not FOOD!)...

Snow White, and the Seven Dwarfs, formed from living plants. Isn't that FABULOUS? They had all different "characters" all over the park, mixed in with gorgeous foliage and flowers. I have *no idea* how I managed to snap this without ANY people in the picture - my lucky day!

We bumped into Pooh while shopping in a shop...the kids at first thought they were "too cool" for Pooh, but AS EVERYONE KNOWS, you are *NEVER* too cool for Pooh! AS IF!


Daisy and Donald (and us too) - another fun photo op...

DAVID COOK!

DID YOU WATCH??? I was so excited to see David Cook come out on top - I think he has a great future ahead...Here are a few hightlights:



My favorite commercial of this season...


Love Carrie Underwood!


Top 6 guys with Bryan Adams...

More from our Florida Vacation...

On Sunday (5/11) we headed out to Universal Studios again - our tickets were good for the entire week, so we could take our time, and do shorter days. That was really nice, because it was fairly crowded and I don't like dealing with that for a 10 hour day! 5 or 6 hours is PLENTY of hot and humid and crowds for me!

Of course, the Jaws attraction is a "classic"! Here we are, posing with the big shark.

We had to stop and say "Hi" to Curious George! Later in the week, we saw the Man with the Yellow Hat too, but didn't get a picture (I think we were racing to catch a show or something?)

AND - the NEWEST ATTRACTION at Universal is the new Simpson's Ride. We didn't get to ride it until our last day (and we were on a MISSION that day) because the lines were SO LONG. Like 90+ minutes of waiting to get on...DOH!

(I can tell ya, though - it was WELL WORTH the wait, and I think it was possibly my FAVORITE RIDE.)

BUT - we did meet Homer, Marge, and Lisa this day! (This picture cracks me UP!) I asked Marge for some beauty tips, because I have *NO IDEA* how she keeps her hair looking so "fresh" in the Florida heat and humidity! She wasn't sharing though...sigh...

I'm BAAACK!

Well - SO MUCH for bloggin' from Florida! I decided to just relax, and enjoy the vacation, rather than try to edit and post pictures, lol! We had a FABULOUS vacation in sunny Florida! I'll share my pictures throughout the week...but right now it is BACK TO THE RAT RACE! BLAH!

We got to Orlando at 11am on Friday (5/9) and since we couldn't check in until 4pm, we decided to head straight to Universal Studios and ride a few rides (and meet a few "characters"). It was busy - DID YOU KNOW that if you live in Florida, and attend school, you get to take a FIELD TRIP to one of the theme parks at the end of the year? I have *NEVER* seen so many elementary, middle schoolers, and high schoolers all wearing matching t-shirts in my entire life. LOL. It made for some crowded lines! On that first day, we pretty much stayed in Seuss Landing and enjoyed all the Dr. Seuss attractions...

Here is a photo with Thing 1 and Thing 2 (and Thing 3 and Thing 4 - rofl)...

And Miss Maddie on the Caro-Seuss-el...I just *love* all the bright colors at Seuss Landing! It's really more for the younger crowd, but we had a good time anyhow.

We also saw the Grinch, and the Cat in the Hat, but they each had super long lines for photos. AND we were anxious to get to our condo and check it out and hit the pool!

Here are my favorite pool shots from the week...the kids had a blast swimming, and we hit the pool every afternoon for a swim. A great way to cap off the day with a "beverage of choice"!

Bloggin' from Florida!

WHOOHOO - here I am, blogging from sunny (and HOT!) Florida! For our first full day, we went to Sea World. This was Maddie's pick, and is a fave of mine as well. It was humid and 96 degrees today, a BIG CHANGE from Minnesota! Our pasty white bodies are now rosy sunburn red! On our way into Sea World, of course we had to pose with Shamu for a photo op!


Feeding the dolphins was a HUGE HUGE hit! Wyatt only dropped one fish (hey, that is pretty good for being only eight, and OH SO EXCITED!) The dolphins come *right up to you* if you have a fish for them! We could even reach out our hands and pet them! I am now officially going to give up my photography hobby and studies, and switch to marine biology so I can be a dolphin trainer at Sea World! (Okay - maybe not, lol)


And of course, no trip to Sea World is complete without seeing Shamu! Here he (or is it she?) is with one of his trainers during the show...isn't this a sweet picture?


I hope to be able to blog all week - we'll see if the wireless internet will hold up! Hope you are all having a FABULOUS WEEKEND!

Baby Announcement...

Just a quick post today, and then it's off to work I go!

I just wanted to share this baby announcement I did for my friend Sara (Hi Sara!). Isn't this the sweetest baby EVER??? I just want to kiss on those cheeks!

I did a little digi shoppin' over the weekend for NSD (National Scrapbook Day) and scored two DARLING NEW KITS from Melissa Bennett - Bundle of Boy and More Sugar Than Spice. Aren't they sweet? Be sure to check out all the matching QP's and brag books - SO CUTE!

Credits: Bundle of Boy and More Sugar than Spice kits from Melissa Bennett, notebook paper from Shabby Miss Jenn, MA Sexy font.

HEY! I SCRAPPED!

YAY for ME!
LOL.

Hey - it has been *awhile* since I took time to scrap, so I was thrilled to get back to it! It has been a busy spring! (Are you sick of me talking about how busy I am???) At the end of April, I sneaked out of town for my bi-annual girls weekend. This time we headed out to Wabasha, MN. What a cute little town! I'm not sure they were prepared for 5 rowdy gals let loose from jobs and families for a weekend, lol. We got more than a few "looks" as we were out and about! My only complaint, was that it wasn't the best weekend for weather. BUT - we had a BLAST! I am already looking forward to the Fall 2008 Mandatory Meeting!

Page Credits: What Dreams May Come kit from Studio Flergs, Bradley Hand ITC font.

Song in my head...

Ever since I saw this on Idol last week, I've had this song in my head, lol! Luckily, I like the song! Sorry I've been such a bad blogger - I'm trying to CATCH UP before I go on vacation (and subsequently fall way behind again). I am itching (or is that just spring allergies? lol) to digi scrap - so I hope to have some pages to share this week!

Meanwhile, enjoy this encore of Leona Lewis!

Miss Abigail Amy...

PHEW!

Long time - no blog! It has been BIZZY around here! Mom (MamaFab) was down for a nice long weekend, so I took some time to just relax and enjoy her visit. This week, it is BACK TO THE RAT RACE! Except it will be a short week for me, I have Friday off. Does a 4-day work week count as a "rat race"??? Hmmm...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to "practice" my photography skills (do I even qualify as having skills yet???) on my friend Sara (HI SARA!) and her darling new baby girl, Miss Abigail Amy. HOW CONVENIENTLY FABULOUS to have this sweet baby girl to practice photography on! Sara is FAB to help me out by having a new baby, lol. Methinks this won't be the last you will see of this little darlin'!

Here are a few of my favorites...Isn't she sweet? ENJOY!

Puttin' it to the test...

Lunch blogging today! It's my BIRTHDAY today - whooHOO! It's possible that I have been goofing off a *little*... heh heh...

Did you visit the Pioneer Woman's Blog this past weekend? Are you still over there, reading about Ree, her four "punks", and life on the ranch? Did you try the Marlboro Man Sandwich???

I had a busy weekend - we had Mad's swim party Saturday night, so there was LOTS of GIGGLY GIRLS at the pool! I didn't want to bring my big "fancy" camera, so I made do with my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 point and shoot. It gets the job done, baby! And I love the 12x zoom! Off topic a bit, but since I bought my Canon 30D, I have really come to appreciate all the "bells and whistles" that are on this Sony point and shoot. I wasn't really using this little camera up to it's full potential! Now that I know a little bit about photography (lots to learn still, lol) I am glad that my P&S camera has some creative modes and settings to work with...

ANYHOW... I wanted to mess around with the Pioneer Woman Action Set, so here are some more "real life" examples of how these can help you out in photoshop.

Here is my SOOC shot of the girls at the pool - yeppers, that is the unflattering, dull indoor swimming pool lighting. Nice, huh? Notsomuch. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but it was a cloudy and gloomy and snowy stretch of weather we have been in.

Here is my edited version, cropped just a smidge, and applied the Pioneer Woman Fresh and Colorful action. Very subtle, but very nice color improvement. Not too much...JUST RIGHT.

And for another play - here is the same photo, with the same Fresh and Colorful action, PLUS the Pioneer Woman Boost action applied over top of that, and then finally the Quick Edge Burn action. See how the Boost action gives it even more vivid color saturation? I like it. A LOT! And the Quick Edge Burn makes the "busy" background seem to disappear, and the focus is on the subjects.



What do you think? I think I will have a *LOT* of fun playing with these actions, in lots of different combinations! Thanks Pioneer Woman, for this great set!

Hope you all are having a FABULOUS DAY!

Are you lookin' for some ACTION?

ROFL. How's that for a title to GRAB YA' and REEL YA' IN? Heh heh heh...I'm talkin' about PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS here people! Git yer minds outta the gutter!

Have you been reading The Pioneer Woman's blog? If you are new to The Pioneer Woman, grab your cuppa (joe, or whatever your sipper of choice is) and settle in for some FUN READING and then allow time for daydreaming about life on a ranch with cute cowboys and FABULOUS eats!

I've been a fan for awhile now, and she has just reworked her website, and it's now really super duper easy to surf the various sections. I love her recipes (even though I don't cook, lol) and am DYING to try that Marlboro Man Sandwich! Does that not look OVER THE TOP YUMMAY??? I think I could rope a steer if I had a few bites of this sandwich. (Okay - maybe not, lol).

ANYWAYS...I have been spending some time in her photography section, she has a LOT of great photoshop tips if you are a newbie. I have learned a lot of little tricks for improving my photos just from reading her blog. And yesterday she introduced her Photoshop Action Set (and I love that it's called "Set 1", which *totally* implies that there will be more! YIPPEE!) Sorry though, the actions are not available for use in Photoshop Elements, but stay tuned, because she is working on an action set that *will* work in Elements. The best part? YEPPERS. This action set is FREE. Is that not FABULOUS??? Be sure to leave her some love if you download the actions! (And no - I'm not affiliated with her, just a fan of her blog...)

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Now, I've been using various photoshop actions for awhile now, and I am BY NO MEANS an expert, but please be aware that you will achieve varying results depending on what your original sooc (straight out of camera) photo looks like in terms of exposure and etc. Actions will not "fix" every problem. They should enhance your original, which hopefully already has a lot going for it! Have fun playing around with them, and then make use of the "Start All Over" action that she has included in the set, which will take your photo back to it's original state, if you need to. LOVE THAT ONE! Thank you. This concludes the public service announcement portion of the program. Ü

Have a FABULOUS SATURDAY people!

P.S. Here is my example, using the Soft and Faded action included in the set on one of the photos from yesterday...what do you think?