Team Up Thursday????

Anybody interested in being my photo partner for Team Up Thursday?  Not sure what I mean?  Check this out!!

I love seeing Carissa and her photo partner's diptych's. And my friend Lee's.  Such fun....

So if you are interested give me a shout and we can get started right away!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Lake McDonald

Wordless Wednesday: Avalanche Creek Gorge Glacier Park

Creativity Bootcamp - Day 4

Today lots of photos of flowers, leaves, grass, wood, hot air balloon, my sweet dog, and the sky - oh the clouds were spectacular this day.  Just look at them.  Puffy and ruffly in their shades of white, gray and blue.  And just look at that bright blue sky shinning through.  This photo was my favorite - out of all the photos of the day - and out of all the clouds shots - I would go for this exact shot again if I were able. 

(random editing of the same photo)

A few favorites from Christmas

Color Inc is having a giveaway

Color Inc is having a very generous giveaway on their blog Go check it out!!! You could be the winner! Go sign up!

Oh and don't forget this:

How about 25 free prints

Well not from me - but from Color Incorporated
I just ordered mine - can't wait to get them - it's nice to have a reliable lab for printing needs - think Christmas cards!!! :)


Use promo code: cur09
Offer good 1 per household.

A Picture Taking Nature Walk with Xander

Steve ran out at Platte River on Sunday and invited us to tag along - it was a beautiful fall day. I decided to bring my camera so I could snap some photos. Along the way I decide to offer Xander the camera - what a great eye the little guy has. He took some really cool photos and several shots of me and I think they are some of the better photos we have of me - you can't help but smile big for the little guy!

Here are some of my shots:










And here are some very cool shots taken by Xander:








This is the stuff that perfect days are made of!

My Sweet Connor

Found photo - my dad must have taken this while we were at Scott Park waiting for Steve to finish up the Big Horn Mountain Run.
I absolutely love it - it shows Connor's wonderfully sweet smile - which is a VERY HARD thing to capture on film!!!!

Falls Here

Sandal weather may be coming to an end - WOOHOO!!! Not that I don't love my sandals - but I LOVE FALL!!!!!!!!!!! I really really do. I love the cold nights and mornings - I sleep like a baby. I love the cool sunny afternoons. The colors of the leaves make me swoon - and giddy! Even the smell is so comforting. This is my season - I just can't help but be happy!

I am not sure if I told you all or not but I have a new job - I have been at it since the end of August. And here is a little secret - I love this job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As far as outside the home jobs - this job is truly the best job ever!!! I am an assistant preschool teacher - I know - I am so lucky!!! This was one of those things I thought might be too good to be true when I interviewed for it. The ladies I interviewed with were beyond wonderful. When I got the call offering me the job I was beyond thrilled. So there ya have I work outside the home now with two bunches of absolutely adorable kiddoes, and alongside some really fantastic teachers. I only work mornings so I still get to create like a mad woman in the afternoons - which also makes me giddy!!!

Life is good!

So I was reading on Scrap Happy her list of things she would like to accomplish in the next few months - and I thought it was brilliant - I have a growing list of things I want to do - so what better than to post them here - maybe some of the items will inspire you to do something different - or maybe not.

Make hot pepper pizza.

Make tomato pizza.

Go to wildlife safari for the Halloween festivities.

Go to Fontenelle Forest for their Halloween festivities.

Make a pumpkin roll.

Make new jewelry - lots and lots of it.

And hoping I sell lots and lots of said jewelry!!!

Do a layout a day in the month of October.

Go make more pottery.

Make squash soup.

Bake a pumpkin for the first time ever.

Learn to crochet - and secretly hoping I am as good as my mom!

Make Christmas gifts for my sisters, my mom, my grandma and my mother in law.

I have ALWAYS (or at least for as long as I have known Martha Stewart (yes we are bff's))wanted to have a beautiful Harvest party outside in the beautiful cool fall weather - with a perfectly decorated table in the yard dressed like it should be inside. Complete with soup in a pumpkin - maybe this year I will get around to it. A girl can dream.....

Umm yeah a date with my hubby would be nice - it's been a while.

VALA's here we come - I love Vala's pumpkin patch - we will be going at least twice possibly three times this year.

Make new friends!!!

Get together with the wonderful friends I have.

Send care packages to my 3 nieces and 2 nephews.

Send a letter - via snail mail - it has been sooooooo long since I have done this!

Read lots and lots of books - like My Sister's Keeper and all the rest of Jodi Picoult's books and The End of the Alphabet.

Watch The Family Stone over and over again and Goonies - cause I LOVE them.

Family Movie night - we are overdue - thinking it will be Where the Wild Things Are.

Go to Halloween 2 with my hubby - cause we like scarry movies.

Rent Trick R Treat - reason see above.

Decorate our house super spooky and ghoulish for Halloween - cause we love Halloween. And we sort of love spooky! Steve had a great idea to put a full sized Michael Myers behind our gate in our backyard - the street light shines right on that area - it would be freaky - might a scare a few little ones but it would be cool - the having it there not scaring the little ones!!!

Make homemade egg rolls.

Run with Connor.

Commit to walk or run at least 3 times per week - ideally 4 or 5.

Read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs with my Xanderman.

Complete an altered canvas (like Jayne)

Go to New Moon with Xander!!!! DUH!! We both can't wait! The rest of the family are welcomes to come - the other two boys are just not that in to it and the girl - yeah we are just not cool enough - she will not doubt see it with her friends.

Etch some silver.

Etch some brass.

Make more super cool leather cuffs - I wear mine pretty much daily - love the smell of leather and it looks SOOOOO cool!

Laugh a lot.

Maybe even dance a little.

And love much!!!!!

If you have a list made or will be making please do share with me!!! I love to read these fantastic lists - it inspires me to try new things!!!

I hope you ALL have a beautiful fall.

A Beautiful Life

I have to say this is probably one of the most undesirable summers I have ever had. I know what a way to start a post. But really I have been in a terrible funk - missing friends and family back home - wishing I had more friends here. Trying to figure out what "job" I am supposed to be doing. Wishing I had the courage to present my jewelry to galleries and shops. I so DESPERATLEY want it - but to try and sell myself - which I would be doing since sooooo much of me goes into each piece - it makes me shake in my boots. Pathetically I have been feeling SOOOOO sorry for myself - and poor Steve and the kids feel it. They probably don't like me too much right now, I don't like me too much right now.
So last night as I was feeling sorry for myself yet again it struck me - if this is one of the most undesirable summers I have ever had - I should be jumping up and down thanking God - thanking my lucky stars that this is what I consider bad! We are so blessed - I am so blessed - I have a wonderful husband and three wonderful children, Steve has a wonderful job, we have our health, we have lots of family and friends to miss, we have a beautiful home, air conditioned days, food on the table, clothes on our back, and creative talents to busy our hands. Soooo.....I am going to climb out of this fog - I am going to STOP whining and feeling sorry for myself - I am going to STOP focusing on why I might be sad and remember:
JUST HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS LIFE IS!!!!

Swoon

So I have a tree fetish - I like all trees but I really dig bare trees - they are just soooo cool!!

I took this picture out at Platte river and I LOVED it!!! Yes this is a Stacey Curry original! :)

So I did a super cool effect from picnik called cinemascope and had a 12 x 18 poster print done from Walgreens.com for under $12.00 - bought a cheaPy frame from Walmart with mat included for under $20.00 and it's love!!!

It will go perfect in my living room along with my Past Dreams Print by David Winston from Art.com - I think mine is just as good if not better! :) I'm just sayin....

Later this week I will show you the super cool poster print of the kids I had done also. Readers this is an AWESOME gift idea if you like to take pictures. I used a point and shoot digital camera (Canon Powershot SD1100 IS) and the quality of the poster prints = BEAUTIFUL!!!

Oh SOOO Fun!

(Blurry photo by very nice stranger)

What fun we had in Vegas. I am sooo glad we just agreed to go. We have never had a trip before - just the three of us sisters - it was good to do and we will do it again. Vegas was amazing - overwhelming - but so many really cool things to see. We were there three nights - I think two is perfect - we were exhausted by the third night. The first night we got back to our room at 2 or 3 am (the sisters flight didn't get to Vegas until almost 10 pm), second night midnightish and the third night I think it was 8 pm. We played the machines and did a lot of sight seeing and a TON of walking. And we laughed a lot - cause when we three get together we get goofy! Oh I miss those two tremendously - so good to bond.

By the way - did I tell you where we stayed? Hooters - mmm hmmm - yes three women by ourselves at Hooters - way cheap is all I can say - and the rooms and casino were fine - although we didn't spend a ton of time there. And this is about all I photographed of our hotel - the background for this pic.

And cause this was our view

Favorites:

When Jamie called dad to ask if he could wire us some money - he gets our humor.

Doing the 40 Year Old Virgin lines Bockness-style.

New York New York - Such a cool place inside and out. I wish I would have been brave enough to ride that roller coaster.



HOT SHOTS - oh we were sure one of those big progressives pots were gonna be ours!




Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens - the smell - oh the smell was perfection - like Jamie said - if only I could bottle it. Everything about the Bellagio was beautiful - if we go back to Vegas I am staying there - the price is worth it.

The Bellagio "water canons" (as Jodi called them).

Pearls out of the shell


Lunch on the patio at Border Grill in Mandalay Bay

It was just a great trip - with great company!!! I missed Steve and the kids terribly and am so glad to be home with them, but I am so thankful I was able to get away for a refresher!!!