Best Friends forEVER: 365 day 32

A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.  ~Lois Wyse

btw, I read the other day that if I take pictures in manual, expose for the face once, as long as lighting conditions were the same, I wouldn't have to adjust my exposure for each shot.  So I tried it and it worked!!  Love learning new things.  

Vacationing: 365 day 31

I've been neglecting the blog because I'm on vacation.  I'm still taking pictures and I'll post them all soon but in the meantime here's one of my friend Nicole who I'm vacationing with... 

One Month Down: 365 day 30

Yeah, so many reasons to celebrate!!  I'm on day 30 of Project 365--I wasn't perfect, I missed some days but I still stuck with it so yes, I'm celebrating!! Also tonight is the official start to our Holidays so... cheers!! "Wine is bottled poetry" ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Btw, this was my first attempt with a tripod in low light... I think it turned out pretty nice!!

Lazy Sunday: 365 day 29

Naomi hanging out in her room watching TV on a lazy Sunday morning... 

Snow Play: 365 day 28

Devin and Naomi in the snow after ski practice...

True, isn't it? 365 day 27

Quick post of one of my favorite ornaments on our tree--love the phrase on it!!  Every time I get down on myself I have to remind myself...  "Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same."  ~Francesca Reigler  

Holiday Cards: 365 day 26

It's that time of year again and so many of us send Holiday cards and I try every year to get in on it.  The problem, I'm the ultimate procrastinator and that's the Holiday cards worst enemy.  Last year I had every intention of sending them out, I even got addresses from everyone, had the cards ready but they sat on my kitchen counter for well past the New Year... huge FAIL!!  I'm hoping this year will be different.  I got postcards this year in the hopes it would be easier for me--we shall see!!

More of the same: 365 day 25

Too lazy to take a picture today so here's one I took the other day...

My dad's funny: 365 day 24

Devin was making Naomi laugh as I was trying to take her picture!  Absolutely love the expression on her face in the 1st picture just wish it was as 'in focus' as the 2nd one...

First day skiing: 365 day 23

Our ski hill Mont Ripley opened today so Naomi and two of her friends took to the slopes!  They had an absolute blast!!  One of the best things about living in Houghton is having a ski hill 5 minutes away from our house.  Hopefully for Christmas I will get a Canon EF 70-300mm IS Lens so I can take some action shots of her skiing--hint, hint ;)

Father daughter LOVE: 365 day 22

Winter Concert: 365 day 21

Naomi ready for her school winter concert...

Animal: 365 day 20

Our dog 'Animal' who's been with us for 13 years!  He's a Husky/Golden Retriever mix... isn't he gorgeous?  We love him... 

 

Christmas Decorating: 365 day 19

Today we worked on our Christmas decorations.  Our tree is up and the entire house is decorated.

We get a family ornament every year--this was our new addition...

14 years: 365 day 18

November 30th was Devin and my 14 year wedding anniversary and he bought me roses!  They bloomed today!!  Just fyi I'm not a flower person so he made sure they were cheap $5 flowers from Walmart.  If he had spent anymore I would have been really mad.  I'm one of those people who thinks flowers are a waste of money because ultimately they die.

I'm back: 365 day 17

Naomi and her mom... do we look alike? 

So Behind

I hate that I've gotten so far behind on my Project 365!!!  The Thanksgiving holidays really took it out of me and of course life has just gotten in the way.  I'm going to do better... I figure it's alright because it's my project so it's my rules, right? 
I'll start posting again either today or tomorrow... stay tuned!!

Ohh I got a smile: 365 day 16

Devin very rarely smiles for the camera so of course when I captured a smile I had to post them.  The first picture is a typical Devin picture and the other two, well as you can see, he's smiling (sort of) :) btw, he's gonna be super mad when he realizes I posted these...

Chaos: 365 day 15

It seems like I keep updating every other day instead of everyday.  Real life is getting in the way of my photography!  I will strive to do better.  Here is a picture of my dog Chaos--yes, he looks very calm in this picture but trust me, it's all just an act of the camera 

Winter Wonderland: 365 day 14

So I'm being super lazy and posting this picture I took on my iPhone!  Not my best picture and not very proud of it but I said I would keep posting no matter what so here it is...  

First Snow: 365 day 13

November 13th and we finally have our first snowfall.  Last year our first snow came an entire month earlier on October 10.  Lots of people around here were really anxious for it to come including Naomi so we went out and played in it for a bit! 
Yes, that's snow in her hair...
Getting ready to say goodbye to the grass till April...
**btw, I posted 2 pictures because I didn't post one yesterday!

Just me: 365 day 12

Decided it was about time I posted a picture of me... 

I believe I can FLY! 365 day 11

Capturing flight...

I'm cheating: 365 day 10

Ok so I was super busy today and didn't get a chance to take a picture so I'm cheating.  This is a picture of a leaf I took the 1st day I got my camera... I know, I know I need to stay on track and I'll do better tomorrow but in the meantime enjoy this picture, it's one of my favorites and it's actually my screensaver on my computer... 

Keeping Close with Technology!! 365 day 9

Here's Naomi on skype talking to her friends Beck & Jack (our ex-neighbors) who live in Canada now.  Skype is a software program that allows you to use your computer to make free voice and video calls over the internet  It still amazes me how easily we can stay connected through technology.  It's next to impossible to lose touch with friends or family because we have so many different social media avenues at our disposal!  I absolutely love and embrace it entirely... 

Beer in Plastic?? 365 day 8

My friend Anne moved to Canada last month and this is how their beer looks!  Her husband Karl was here visiting for a conference so he brought me a bottle... hopefully Naomi won't mistake for soda ;) btw, can you see my reflection on the bottle?

The Eye is the Mirror to Your Soul: 365 day 7

Playing around with Depth of Field... wanted to just focus on her eye and blur everything else!

Too much Halloween candy in the house: 365 day 6

Congratulations Dr. Harris: 365 Day 5

Devin found out today he was selected to receive the "ACI Young Member Award for Professional Achievement".  Super proud of him so we went out to dinner and celebrated!!  Go Devin!! 

Halloween Madness: 365 day 4

Yesterday was our annual Halloween Party so I didn't get a chance to blog a picture.  Was too busy partying.  We had about 35 people, all in costume just having a amazing time!  Here's my favorite picture from the night... (taken with a point and shoot camera not my XSi)

Can you tell we're trying to bring the sexy?  Btw, that's me in the middle as smurfette--Kim to the left of me & Victoria on the right!  This was the 4th picture we took trying to get it JUST right... lmao, too much fun :)

Annual Halloween Party Prep--365 Day 3

a small sampling of what's available at our HUGE Halloween party tomorrow... can't wait

365 day 2

yummmmmm, quiche Margi made for our Thursday 'Naughty Mommy' outing.  It was Laura, Margi and my birthday this month (October) so us NM got together to celebrate.
Thanks Margi, even though it turned over, it was super delicious, as you can tell from the picture!!

Project 365

I've had this camera for almost a month now and I can't seem to put it down and am still so enthusiastic about it.  It's been a long time since I've experienced this much joy and passion about something new.  I spend all my free time either taking pictures, looking at other peoples pictures on flickr or watching tutorials on YouTube.  Yes, I'm obsessed, obsessed, OBSESSED!! So I thought I'd start doing something called 'Project 365'.  Curious about what Project 365 is?
What is Project 365?  

Pretty simple, I take a picture a day and post it--that's it!!  I know, sounds easy enough doesn't it?  But I've been told it gets pretty hard as the days go by and the new-ness fades.  I plan on sticking with it though... of course I say that now.  We'll see how it goes--wish me luck ;)  

Why you ask? 

• Well imagine being able to look back at any day of my year and recall just what I did, who I met, what I learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)
• A year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document my travels, accomplishments, haircuts, relationships etc. Time moves surprisingly fast.
• And most importantly taking a photo a day will make me a better photographer. Using my camera every day will help me learn its limits. I will get better at composing my shots, I'll start to care about lighting, and I’ll become more creative with my photography when I'm forced to come up with something new every single day.

So follow along a journey through family, friendship and photography!!

So here we go: 365 day 1

We were in the mood for Dairy Queen after dinner so we took a ride and yummAY!! Banana Cream Pie Mini Blizzard!!

Through my Camera's eye!

Recently for my birthday I got a new DSLR camera-- a Canon XSi.  I've always been interested in photography but I didn't know just how much I loved it until I got this camera.  I've had this camera for a total of 10 days and I've been taking pictures non stop.  So I thought I'd post some of them for you to enjoy...
It's fall in the Upper Peninsula so... enjoy it through my Camera's eyes--This picture was taken right outside my house, on the deck

A short 10 minute drive and this is what you see 

Ok so the last 3 aren't fall pictures but come on how cute is she? and I absolutely had to add a picture of Chaos...
Wanna see more? just visit my Flickr page!  

Disney Marathon? What was I Thinking?

It's official folks, I've signed up for my 1st half marathon.  I'll be running the Disney Half Marathon on January 8th 2010.  What was I thinking, you ask?  Hmm, let's see--back in February 2009 I tore my ACL from a skiing accident and had surgery to repair it.  I went nearly 6 months without exercising which nearly killed me.  With every month that went by I found myself getting less & less fit. So when my friend Nicole asked me if I'd be interested in running a half marathon with her I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity for me to get my butt moving again. Not to mention lose the extra weight I've gained since the accident.  30 pounds to be exact--yes, even personal trainers/fitness instructors can gain weight.  Most of us eat and drink too much which is why we work out so hard.  At any rate,  I'm a goal oriented person, I accomplish nothing if I don't set goals--so really if you think about it, I had absolutely no choice but to sign up!!  

But truth be told, this half marathon has my heart in my throat just thinking about it; the excitement pulsating through my veins at the thought of breathlessly crossing the finish line, accomplishing that humongous task, falling to my knees, weak and proud. Invigorated yet exhausted with an icy cold beer in my hand!!

The past year...

I've been completely neglecting my blog--the last time I posted was June 19th 2009, yikes! A year and 3 months? So, what have I been doing this past year? Bear with me as I cram as many pictures as I can in one post

Naomi and I took a trip to sea world & of course they picked her to be on stage for the Shamu show! I wish I was more prepared & took a better camera but this is what I got...

We got up & close with the dolphins too!! It really was an incredible mother daughter trip...

Naomi also discovered a brand new passion... Downhill racing

My brother got married so I have a new sister-in-law which makes me very happy!

Their wedding was in Tampa and it was one of the BEST weddings I've ever been to & I'm not just saying this because it was my brothers.  Naomi was the flower girl but she was sick during the actual wedding but she felt much better during the reception as you can tell...

Hope this picture sums up just how much fun we had

I took a trip to Atlanta to visit Caro (left) & ended up meeting up with Desiree who I haven't seen since Freshman year of college!  It always surprises me how time doesn't change friendships... it was almost like we never lost touch

One of the most exciting things about this year is our brand new boat which is still nameless because we can't decide on one, maybe you can help...

So we spent the ENTIRE summer on the lake