How Did I End Up Here?

Can't a girl catch a break?

So it's been the week of sick. Started last Saturday, intensified Sunday, kept me home from school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning. No voice, feeling like crap, but back to school I went. 20 minutes into teaching my first class of the week Jenna's teacher calls that Jenna has a migraine. Oh great. Particularly since she was supposed to be Mrs. Claus in the school play the next day, and tends to get headaches in pairs.

But Thursday a.m. we were both up and at school. Jenna made it through the day fine, but my ears started to ache. So besides not having a voice, more pain. Off to the Dr. I went. Throat and ear infections. GREAT. Went to the play last night, and came home and took the first two meds of the zpack. Only to be woken up in the middle of the night by Jenna who had another migraine. She was up from 3 - 7 a.m.

Can't a girl catch a break? Enough of the sickies, already. So here I am, home again, feeling guilty about it.

Anyhoo, here is Mrs. Claus, flushed after the play.

And here are some scenes from the play. It was "The Littlest Christmas Tree," and they did a fantastic job!

OK, that's it. Off to take another nap. It seems to be all I'm good at these days! LOL!

Or just shoot me. Take your pick. Another year of goofy girls, leading to laughing, leading to Jenna crying because she's SURE we're laughing at her specifically. This year I was laughing at Em's inability to make decent cross-eyes. Jenna rocks them out, however. Here are a few before the "Christmas Card Picture Meltdown of '09." Oy.

Gingerbread and Snow Day

Whilst contemplating all the ways I hate Michigan winters Mother Nature allowed the ONLY redeemable quality of winter, the snow day. It was a gift indeed. No pics, too busy getting some much-needed household tasks done. Spent the day in pj's watching Gilmore Girls (the best show EVER) while working. What could be better? Oh yeah. Summer.

Went to Jenna's school today for the annual making of the gingerbread house. I was so full of icing by the time I left it was comical. Here are some pics from the day.

Walked around the house tonight looking at the signs of Christmas, trying to talk myself into enjoying it. Here are a few I took tonight. 

I have a collection of Dept. 56 Dicken's Village buildings, and I love to look at them at night.

Here is a candle set I love by my favorite picture of Em and Kevin.

And the tree that Em and my niece Mags decorated over Thanksgiving. Tried a slow shutter speed to get the lights to flare. Like?

And a few of the ornaments. You could say I'm a touch, well, obsessive about the middle one. Em makes fun of me because I personally HAVE to put it on the tree myself. It's one from my childhood, and it means a lot to me. 

And my santa collection. Love these guys!

OK, that's it for now. Have a great weekend, and think snow. I need another day off. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

Was yours as family-filled as mine? Bill and I tag-teamed the meal, and everything turned out great. I was most proud of the stuffing, as mom has always made the most amazing stuffing, and the bar was high. It turned out great though. Above is Bill's bird. He prepped, stuffed, and basted that thing within an inch of its life. LOL!

Here are Jenna and Beth putting together a puzzle pre-dinner. 

And here is the "maker of the pies" since Mini-Martha (AKA Emily) wasn't with us for dinner.

Jenna and Mags had a great time together as well.

It was hard for me that Em wasn't with us the day of the dinner, but she and Kevin made it home on Friday, and we spent some time gaming (and beating) the kids at Euchre, pool, and darts. It was a fun weekend, and a very welcome 4 days off.

Now the hectic December holiday schedule kicks in. Good times.

Here are some layouts that I did last weekend using some of the new goodies from Fancy Pants Designs. The first is a layout of Em and Kevin using the new line called Vintage Valentine.

 

And here are two layouts using the Frosted line.

 

OK, that's it for me. Have a wonderful week, and let the Christmas games begin!

Two Words for You . . .

Bu-Sy! OK, maybe busy is one word. Just feels like two.

I've been busy with photography, mostly. Went to a Lighting Seminar through my local camera shop for one day. Learned a ton about strobes and posing. You can see some of those photos here.

Then  I took my Midland High Photography Club students on a field trip downtown. You can see those photos here.  I have so much fun with this group. They are so inspirational!!!

Then I went to ANOTHER lighting seminar, this one for two days. Had some of my photography club peeps come and model, and Em and Jenna helped out as well. Here are some of my photos from the day.

Yesterday I went on a photowalk with another local photography club to Frankenmuth. Here are some of those shots. I have met some of the members of this group in different workshops and also from the Kelby Photowalk, and it is an amazing group. Had a lot of fun! Turns out one of the new members was a former 7th-grade student of mine. Small world!

Besides all the shooting, I got together with an amazing group of ladies I used to teach with at the middle school, had dinner with my cousins, had parent-teacher conferences at the high school, then attended Jenna's conferences. Santa parade yesterday, and extra mommy duty while Bill is hunting. Plus after a lot of deliberating, I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Did I mention I've been busy?!?!?

In scrapping news, I was asked to do a layout for this site: Got Sketch? Also, had a Sassafras Lass layout picked up for pub in Scrapbook News and Reviews. Lots of deadline work, but no time to scrap for myself. Especially not with all of my the shooting I've been doing.  But while the weather is decent I feel I have to be out and about.

OK, that's it for now. Another shooting trip planned for today. Have an amazing week!

Happy Day After Halloween!

Why am I always so happy when it's over? I am. Especially this year, since Jenna was freaked out about anything even remotely scary. She even decided on Friday night, at 3 a.m. no less, that she was NOT going trick or treating. Nightmares woke her up again, and she came in and gave me the news. Poor thing. Then I agonized all day yesterday whether I should make her go, or let it go. Bill and I talked and agreed that she should at least make her way around the court, knowing the neighbors would like to see her. We told her, and right away she agreed. I figured if she didn't go out of fear, that fear would just grow, and I didn't want that.

So here is a picture of she and daddy heading out. Note the fake smile? 

 

She went around the court, and headed home to pass out candy. Sat on the front porch passing it out for about 20 minutes, and decided she wanted to trick or treat some more. YIPPEE!!! She came back and Bill was grinning from ear to ear. He explained that there was a house decorated really scary, and Jenna stopped right in front of it. Bill explained to her she could skip the scary house. Apparently she looked up at him and said, "Dad, I HAVE to do this." Rock on, my girl. Way to face those fears. The first thing she said this morning though, was "Hurray, Halloween is over!" Like mother, like daughter I guess. I'm proud of her!

Here are some Halloween layouts for Fancy Pants Designs. They were on the blog this week.

 

 

Speaking of FP, have you seen their new releases? One is called Frosted and the other is Vintage Valentine. Cool, huh?

Here are some random things from the last two weeks.

• Last weekend I hosted the October birthday parties. My girl is 23!!!! How the heck did that happen?
• Pulled something in my neck last weekend. Laid around writhing in pain for three days. Good times, this getting older business.
• Went on another field trip with the MHS photography club. Man, are they talented!!!
• Taught Elements the last two Thursdays. FUN group of students. Love it when everything works out well! Decided I may teach Lightroom next. I'm ready for a new class, and developing the class will help me learn more about the program.
• Another busy week ahead. But good busy. Fun busy.
• Jenna had her last soccer game yesterday. She had such a great coach this season, and a great season. She is becoming quite the defensive player. But boy oh boy was it cold for her last game. I mean bitter cold. And Jenna got a ginormous chocolate bar which was the highlight of her season. LOL!

Peace out.

Weekends go too quickly.

Way too quickly. If only there was one more day in a weekend, I swear I would not complain. OK, maybe I would complain a little bit, but that's just my charming way.

Not a lot going on the last week, besides feeling a bit under the weather. Nothing obvious, not the flu or anything, but just feeling a bit yucky. It's probably due to the cold, dreary weather we have been experiencing. Took Jenna to the school play. It was called "Leaving Iowa," and was it sad. I love seeing school productions like this because the talent of our youth is amazing.

Today was typical weekend madness. Went to mom's for coffee, to the local camera store for an exposure workshop/photo walk, then ran home to get Jenna ready for a costume birthday party, missed her soccer game, and Bill and I went out to dinner. Then I cranked out one layout for good measure, as I did the laundry. No wonder I don't feel rested when I go back to school on Mondays!

Here is my girl in costume. She was trying for scary, but I know better!

In scrapping news I had a mini-album picked up by Scrapbook Trends for an idea book. I'm excited because I just don't have a lot of time to submit to magazines but happened upon this call and sent the images. Glad I did! I need to make more of an effort in the submitting department. But the same stack of layouts that I haven't had time to scan is still sitting by the computer, growing exponentially. Again with the extra day in the weekend . . . THEN I would have time.

Here is my favorite photo from last weekend's road trip in search of fall colors. Wish there would have been more red, but not so much. Maybe tomorrow I can shoot some more. I love fall. Hate the cold, but love everything else about it.

Have a great weekend!

 

It's been a long time, indeed.

Busy busy busy. That's my life at this point. Back in the swing of things at school, and trying to find balance in my life. It's better, for certain. My back is finally feeling better . . . you just take your health and well-being for granted. Bill was out of town for a few days last weekend into the week, and I was single mom for a few. That's a real eye opener.

At school I sponsor the photography club and on Thursday we went on our first field trip of the year. I had so much fun! And I am continually in awe of the talent of the members of the club. I know I will learn so much from them this year.

Em came home for the weekend, and Friday night we went to dinner and got to hang together. We talked school a lot, and I know from our conversations she is going to be a really good teacher. She did say she was tired a lot. Welcome to my world, sweetheart. Saturday we went shopping, to Jenna's soccer game, to lunch as a family, to a local bakery for caramel apples, then to a farm with baby animals. The favorite animals were the kittens. Here are some of the pics.

Then I went shooting last night with Alison for about an hour. Michigan is so beautiful in the fall, and I really wanted to capture some of the colors. Here are a few from last night.

Today we went on a road trip in search of color. We cut it short though because Bill's back was hurting. Will share those photos soon.

Not much new in the scrapping world for me . . . not enough hours in the day I guess. I feel I need to be outdoors now as much as possible since soon enough we will be trapped indoors from the cold. I have TEN layouts needing to be scanned and uploaded, but no time to get to them. Some day . . .

Have a fantastic week!

A very busy week indeed.

With open house at my school, soccer practice, Jenna's fall harvest dinner, and Bill's birthday during the week it was HECTIC. Plus, the death of a classmate sent me to the funeral home, and had me down all week. Rick was just too young to die. Way too young.

Then this weekend was equally busy with Em and Kevin coming home for a wedding, along with some of Em's old college roomies. Then a birthday party today for Bill and Kevin. BUSY. Did I mention the trip to Urgent Care? I have been in crazy pain since Friday night. Wrenched my back, and probably have swelling somewhere. Getting old is for the birds, I tell you. Hopefully the muscle relaxers will kick in soon.

Here are some pics of the kids over the weekend. And can I just say I LOVE the picture of Em and Kevin? Well, I guess I just did.

Some pictures to share!!!

These are some pictures from the 2009 Michigan Renaissance Festival. Good people, good fun.