Our New Years Plans

I've been quoted in the newspaper, probably two handfuls of times in my life. Each time - I always manage to say something flippant and smart-assy:



My words are here. Sure hope we didn't forget to invite anyone....

Kenzie's snow guy

Snowman Junkadoodle: Kenzie painted, Mama assembled

Kenzie and I finished our Snowman Junkadoodle as one of our advent activities. I dressed him up (in photoshop) a bit as a final holiday wish to you.

May your holiday season be all you wish it to be. We're certainly looking forward to ours... I'll be back a little fatter, more fulfilled, and a lot more ready to disassemble the Christmas clutter.

Be well.....

(more big and little art found here ).

Merry Holidays!

I suspect this little blog will be neglected while I enjoy a week of having my husband at home, our family festivities, and... finally forcing some "nesting" to occur!

I'm looking forward to a fun and full new year. I wish the same for you... Merry Holidays to you and your cute little families!

P.S. Don't forget about the photo challenge! I'd hate to have to keep my little prize. all. to. myself. :) Just kidding! There are actually some pretty darn cool photos being dropped into the "group." Some I invited, and some invited themselves. Some I need to kick out as they don't meet the rules - but I'm being a weanie.

Click the button to check them out!


A refresher of the rules:

1. The photo subject must be contained within a Christmas Ornament or reflective holiday decoration, of some type.
2. There must be at least one person/animal in the shot. It can be a self portrait - or it can be a family. It can be your pet family.
3. Ahem, no offensive content! Your photo must be safe for everyone!
4. Photos must be posted by January 1 to be eligible for a wee little prize.

P.S. only blog visitors are being considered for the prize.

Maybe you've heard??

..all the Midwestern bloggers whining about the ice?? Yep. I bet that's getting old.
However, I've been itching to take some pictures of our frozen tundra (too) and finally made it out tonight...



I think my neighbors were laughing at the fatty pregnant girl tromping around in her frozen front yard taking pictures. Especially when I almost fell - twice. You know, the kind of near fall where you're standing there waving your arms like a maniac to keep from falling...

I dunno which is dumber?
...Walking on ice - when terribly pregnant??
...or when holding an expensive camera in your hand??

___________
As you might have guessed given the psychedelic holiday light color scheme - our 3 year old played a big part in embellishing the out-of-doors this year. :)

A Whiny Frozen Day

My world is encased in ice, preschool is canceled, my daughter found some unwrapped Christmas gifts, & I've just discovered my garage refrigerator isn't working. I've tried flipping every breaker and GFI switch I can, and the problem remains.
All that was once frozen, is now thawed.

Which is ironic isn't it? My front yard isn't supposed to be frozen, but it is. My frozen goods, are mush. Hmnn.... What's for dinner??

I also spent a great deal of time making this little image (minus the pixelated last name) for my Christmas card, only to discover that it does not print correctly as a 4x6".



As result I'm feeling a bit scrooge-like .

Fortunately we have things like this to entertain us. Turning my family into elves is fun. And, heck I even get to look skinnier!!

Okay, if you skipped the links...go back to scrooge and elf your own family!
(And, can someone tell me how to save the images of these to my Mac and/or how you can save the image of a entire webpage???)

Thank you....

I love fun little surprises that say "oink."



A sweet little gesture (that keeps magically disappearing from my tree). It seems this little guy would rather play with my daughter's wooden animal toy collection. The bossy little sow.

Thank you Laurie.

The Challenge

As mentioned below - one of my favorite traditions is an annual family photo taken in the reflection of a Christmas Ornament. I've been driving about the city the past couple of days, obsessed with finding the perfect ornament. I haven't succeeded yet. Oh, but I will!

I challenge you to a little photo challenge as it pertains to this type of photo, and thus - a new flickr group has been born. Feel free to join in the fun at: Ornamentz

A refresher of the rules:

1. The photo subject must be contained within a Christmas Ornament or reflective holiday decoration, of some type.
2. There must be at least one person/animal in the shot. It can be a self portrait - or it can be a family. It can be your pet family.
3. Ahem, no offensive content! Your photo must be safe for everyone!
4. Photos must be posted by January 1 to be eligible for a wee little prize.

It's on.....
Here's a button if you like that sort of thing. It's also linked to the flickr group!

Ornamentz Photo Challenge

I feel as if I've been busy running myself in circles. My shop and especially custom orders went CrAzY after my last post. My part time job was demanding some significant hours...my kid was well, ahem, just demanding.... And, this pregnancy continues to pass at an alarmingly quick rate. These are all good things, but I lost motive and time for blogging.



Things have calmed down a bit recently, and I'm playing catch-up in all aspects of my life. It's December 3 and although I've got the house fully glammed up for Christmas and the majority of our Christmas gifts purchased - I was slow on getting our 2007 Advent festivities in order. I just finished that up yesterday!



I really enjoy one of our advent activities which is a family photo in a glass ornament. I find it extremely challenging to take the camera away from my face and still hit the target - so it involves some practice (for me). Especially since my family members aren't the most patient of models. I get a few tries and then the game seems to be over. The shot also makes for really great and unique Christmas card photographs!! (albeit, only when I get around to actually sending Xmas cards!)

So, today, I set about playing around with the ornament I thought I might use, taking some snaps in different rooms due to the light supply. My daughter had her digital camera and was mimicking my every step. The distortions can be hilarious - and I started getting caught up in what my pregnant belly looked like in the shots. Suddenly, Kenzie reached up and was patting & kissing my tummy and being immensely sweet. I managed to steal a few shots of that, and then forced her into some staged yet similar shots.



As I was loading these, and not feeling like I did a great job on any of them - it occurred to me that this would be a really fun Christmas Photography Challenge! So, here's announcing my Ornamentz Photo Challenge.

If you'd like to join my shenanigans there are a few simple rules:

1. The photo subject must be contained within a Christmas Ornament or reflective holiday decoration of some type.
2. There must be at least one person/animal in the shot. It can be a self portrait - or it can be a family. It can be your pet family.
3. It must be submitted by Jan. 1, since you'd better be putting your Christmas stuff away by then! :)




Leave me a comment if you're interested in playing. I'll open a Flickr Group later today or tomorrow, if there seems to be enough interest to justify it. I'll determine a contest winner following the New Year. And, I'll even send them a prize.

Wanna play??