Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 12/14-12/20

Last week started out with my birthday.  On Sunday I turned 29.  Again.  The rest of the week pretty much consisted of me helping make candy to give out to our church family.  It was a lot of work but it was fun.  We managed to get it all finished up and boxed on Saturday morning.  Just in time to hand out on Sunday morning.  Whew!

Tuesday we had a Christmas party at Bible study.  I had to leave right after I got there to deliver Keira some ibuprofen for her headache.  She ended up asking me if she could just go home because she felt so bad.  Migraines stink.  So I took her home and got back to the party in time to make a pretty ornament craft.

Wednesday night at church we had our kids' Christmas party.  We sang Christmas songs, listened to Pastor tell a story, had pizza and veggies, and played a gift exchange game.  It was fun.  Mostly.  :)  We are on a break now until 2015.
Our Youth Pastor left on Saturday.  He got a job offer at another church and decided to take it.  The kids are bummed.  They all really liked him and his wife and kids.

Now that things are slow on the business front, I have been enjoying some down time.  I discovered the show New Girl on Netflix.  It is really hard to just watch one episode at a time.  I find myself staying up way too late watching just one more.  :)  I don't really watch TV so I don't even know if that show is still on.

During Christmas break I plan to do some learning.  I bought a couple classes on Creative Live that I really enjoyed when they were broadcast - but I missed parts of them - so I will be watching them again.  I also want to learn more about lighting and camera flashes.

Anyway, here are the photos for last week's prompts from Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge ..

{December 14:  Drink}

Since I am celebrating yet another anniversary of my 29th birthday today  I figured I'd better incorporate a photo of myself in today's prompt. So here I am.  Drinking a nice cup of hot cocoa after tucking the boys into bed. I'll probably be up all night now, but oh well.  

We had a really nice day today. After church this morning, we went to the science center where there were a bunch of train displays set up. My youngest LOVES trains. Then we went to the botanical garden because that's what I wanted to do. Lastly we stopped and picked up dinner because you shouldn't have to cook on your birthday, right?  Keira wasn't feeling well so she stayed home to rest.  :(

P.S. I hate selfies!

{December 15: Super!}

There were some super-sized Christmas lights on display last night at Phipps. If I could have gotten one of my boys to pose by them, you would have a better idea of their super size. But, alas, they would not cooperate.

{December 16: Beautiful}

I may be biased but I think my girl is beautiful. Inside and out.

(Archive photo as she's still not feeling well today.) 

{December 17: Sunshine}

This is the closest thing to sunshine that we've seen here in about a week. A Dale Chihuly chandelier in the Desert Room at Phipps Conservatory. Oh, how I miss the sun. I hope it makes an appearance again very soon!

{December 18: Sign}

This sign was on the bathroom stall of the science center. It made me chuckle. 

(Archive photo as I was making candy all day and didn't get to take the photo that I had in mind.)

{December 19: Something to be happy about}

Monarchs make me happy. Planning my butterfly garden for next summer makes me happy. Thinking about all the butterflies I will raise makes me happy.

This is obviously an archive photo. Now that business has slowed down I am able to get caught up on editing personal photos so I'm slowly working my way through - starting with my gazillion Monarch photos.  :)

{December 20: Food}

Chocolate - the 5th food group. 

So that was my week.  We are gearing up to celebrate Christmas on Thursday.  The kids have school tomorrow and then they are off until January 5.  I hope to have a nice, quiet, relaxing break.  A girl can dream, right?  :)

Have a great week!  And a very Merry Christmas!  
And Happy Hanukkah to our lovely host, Tamar!

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Our 17th Week ~ 2014

Whew!  Last week flew by!  We started out with Easter Sunday church service where Keira played her violin accompanied with Josh on the piano and Sean on the bass guitar.  They sounded great!  My mom, sister, and nephew, who was on leave from the Marines for a week, came to hear her play.  She was so nervous before she went up.  Then afterward she said she wondered why she was so nervous.  Here's the link to the video I made.  (Very non-professional - just a proud mama recording her daughter.  At least it is in focus!)  :)

Sunday after church we had our Easter dinner and then celebrated Nick's 11th birthday.  The weather was soooooo nice that we were outside the majority of the day.  We had a fun egg hunt with Jordan and Christie.  Kyle, my nephew, and Doug threw a football around with the kids for a while.  And we just enjoyed each other's company.

Most of the pictures I am sharing today are from the Photo a Day challenge I am doing this month.

{April 20 - Egg}

My sister gave each of my kids one of these cute little M&M eggs for Easter.  Like they need more sugar after having cupcakes and Dairy Queen ice cream cake for Nick's birthday.  :)

{April 21 - Close}

The lilacs blooms are getting close(r) to opening!

On Monday afternoon my friend, Melissa, came over and showed us some skin care items and did my and Keira's makeup.  Once we were done, Keira thought we needed to do a mini photo session.  This is her favorite shot from that session.  She says she looks "fierce."  )

I also got this sweet one of Nick.  I have figured out that we can't do a full-blown photo session with him.  He prefers if I take his picture in smaller chunks of time.  He seems to cooperate better that way.  :)

{April 22 - Four Things}

Four things ... that are no longer.  YUM!  :)

I was having a good hair day (before going out in the rain anyway), so I decided to take a few selfies.  I needed an updated profile pic for my facebook page.  Selfies are not my favorite thing.  I truly hate taking pictures of myself.  I always feel like such a dork.  Maybe some day I'll share the ones that didn't make the cut.  Or not.  :)

I was trying to hold a branch on our maple tree down low enough to take a picture of some of the blossoms when Nick decided to help me out.  He climbed up, broke one off, and handed it to me.  Not exactly the way I wanted to get a photo of a maple blossom.  :/  I still like how colorful they are though.

{April 24 - A Pop of Color}

One of the buds on our neighbor's bush.  I don't know what kind it is.  I just know I like to photograph it while it is flowering.  :)  And I'm really into negative space in my photos lately.  Could you tell?

{April 25 - Remember}

The photo challenge was created by an Australian woman and I guess April 25 was Anzac Day, which is like America's Memorial Day.  Hence the "remember" prompt.  Many people were posting pictures of war memorial type stuff.  I took this picture of my photo books because I created them so we can look at them and remember the good (and bad) times we have had.

{April 26 - Enjoy the Little Things}

This little violet was growing in our yard.  It made me smile because it reminds me that spring is here!  See why I like negative space?  It leaves room for a quote.

Some things I did last week that were not photographed ... Bible study, boys' dentist appointments, Keira's dentist appointment, Keira's violin lesson followed by worship practice - now that she is playing with one of the worship teams at church on Sunday mornings, a piano recital that one of our Wednesday night church students was performing at and invited me to (she and all the other players did a great job!), and Keira's Strolling Strings performance Saturday evening.  I actually did take pictures of that - just haven't processed them yet.

How was your week?  I look forward to stopping by for a visit!

Linking with Tamar.

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Our 16th Week ~ 2014

From what I can recall, last week was kind of crazy.  We experienced several seasons as winter came back for a couple days.  It was around 80 degrees on Sunday and Monday, then a cold front moved in and brought rain and then snow on Tuesday.  Wednesday it was still chilly only to warm back up again for the rest of the week.  Then we had an awesome weekend, weather-wise.  Couldn't ask for better!  So, yeah, summer, winter, and spring all in one week.

I didn't leave my house Monday through Wednesday.  Tuesday I woke up with a nasty headache, probably from the drastic weather change, so I stayed home from Bible study.  :(  And Monday and Wednesday I just didn't have anywhere I needed to go, so I stayed home and got some things accomplished.

Thursday I had a dentist appointment and got my permanent crown put on.  Then I ran some errands since I hadn't left the house in a few days.  :)

The kids had Good Friday off so we went to the zoo.  It was crazy busy!  And the down escalator was not working, so we had to wait in line for like 10 minutes to get on the elevator to get out of the place.  Only to have the elevator not work.  Thankfully there are two elevators and we got off the one and the nice folks at the front of the line let us get on the other elevator with them.  By that time the line was about 200 people deep and if we had to go to the end, there would have been much weeping and gnashing of teeth.  :)

Saturday we cleaned since we had company coming for Easter Sunday.  I cleaned my office thoroughly.  It was much needed.  I moved some things out that I will be trying to sell soon - LOTS of Stampin' Up stamp sets and some scrapbook stuff that I don't use.  Then Keira and I did a little shopping.  She wanted to get a new dress so she could wear it on Easter Sunday.  She performed a song on her violin and wanted to look her best.  :)  I'll post the link to it probably next week.

Anyway, I am still participating in the April photo a day challenge, which has been fun.  There is a private group on Facebook to share your pictures.  If you are interested in joining, let me know and I'll hook you up.  These are the photos I took for the challenge - except for the first one.

I shared a post last week about Nick turning eleven on April 13.  It is so hard to believe that he's getting so grown up.  Someone really needs to slow time down!

April 13's prompt was "more please!" so I took this photo of my hyacinth blooms with the sun in the background.  More sun and flowers would be great!  Thankfully we are just at the beginning of spring, so there's a pretty good chance I will get my wish.

April 14 - dirty.  Nick was willing to help me out with this one.  Despite the look on his face, he doesn't usually mind getting his hands dirty.

April 15 - I'm reading this.  This is the latest photo book I made.  It is for Winter 2012-13.  I kind of jump around when I make photo books.  I don't typically do stuff in order.  I think all of 2012 is done and in photo books now.  Yay!  Now to go back and do 2011.  {sigh}

April 16 - My vice.  The definition of vice ranges from "bad/immoral behavior" to "a minor bad habit."  So I went with the latter since I don't think I succumb to any immoral behavior (praise God!).  Anyway, the Hershey Candy Cane Kisses are pretty tempting to me, so I will occasionally give in and have a few - along with the milk chocolate ones.  Though I much prefer dark chocolate.  :)

April 17 - Something I learned.  I have learned that if you don't ask, the answer will always be "no".  Take a chance.  You might just be surprised at the response you get.  What does that have to do with this picture?  Nothing really.  This is just a picture I took this particular day when it was getting late and I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet.  :)

April 18 - Good.  The kids and I went to the zoo, as I mentioned.  Doug had to work.  :(  We like to go through the zoo backwards (not that there is a rule that you have to go a certain way but it just seems that everyone goes a certain way) because that way the polar bear tunnel is one of the first places we visit.  And the chance to see the bears in the water is better.  Well, this day did not disappoint.  There were two bears playing in the water for quite a while.  Apparently there is a female visiting from another zoo in the hopes that she will mate with one of Pittsburgh's male bears.  This photo is of one of the males and the female "flirting" in the water - according to a zoo worker.  They were so fun to watch!  It was a good day, indeed.  (I will share more photos of our zoo visit - hopefully Thursday).

April 19 - Money.  I was totally clueless for this one, so this is what I ended up with.  I did try something else but it didn't work out.  Not enough light.  I will try another day.   Which is why I'm not telling you what I tried.  :) Anyway, it was cool to see the money the people shared from all over the world, since the FB group has quite the variety of folks participating in it.  These are the gold dollars and quarters my kids gave me to pay for the DQ Blizzards we got on the way home from the zoo.  (They begged and begged to go and were willing to pay for their own, so I payed with my debit card since none of them actually brought any money with them and they paid me back when we got home).

So that was my week.  Hope yours was a good one!

Linking with Tamar.

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Week 51 in Pictures

Merry Christmas!!!  We had a wonderful day full of family, good food, laughter, and love.  And way more presents than we ever deserved to get.  We got to spend time with my nephew, Kyle, who was on leave from the Marines.  That was a great gift!

With a winter storm heading our way, we will probably be outside playing in the snow over the next couple days.  The kids are so excited and I'm excited for them!  They will get to use their new snow gear already!  We did have a little snow left over and had a somewhat white Christmas.  But it will be great to get out and play!  Other than that, we don't really have any plans for Christmas break.  And I like it that way.  I need a few days of relaxing!

Having said all that, let's take a look at last week ...

{Sunday}

Alex asked me to photograph his Polar Express engine for his sharing day at school.  The kids aren't allowed to bring in toys, but are encouraged to share a picture or a story.  Alex is still obsessed with The Polar Express and chooses to share about it any chance he gets.

{Monday}

Spent the day masking, priming, and painting our living room.  See that rusty orange color in the background?  It is no more.  It is now a lovely neutral color called Biscuit.  I love it!

{Tuesday}

One of our yearly traditions is to let the kids each pick out an ornament.  This year Nick picked Darth Vader Christmas style, Alex picked a Polar Express ornament (remember that obsession?), and Keira got a Smart Cookie ornament since she is one.  :)

{Wednesday}

Just playing around.  I love how you can see the tree (upside down) inside the ornament.

{Thursday}

I took a break from painting to watch the birds in our feeder.  I never tire of watching them.

{Friday}

I got to help at Nick's classroom Christmas party this afternoon.  It was a lot of fun.  He was doing his usual avoiding the camera ... by pulling his Santa hat down over his face.  But as you can see, I was able to get him anyway.

{Saturday}

Have you tried these Candy Cane Kisses?!  They are amazing!  I took this for the guilty pleasures prompt for the Scavenger Hunt.

So that was my week.  One more full week and a couple days to go in this year's Project 366.  WOOT!  Have a wonderful week!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 12.23.12

I've been so busy this week, I almost didn't make it for the Scavenger Hunt.  But I wanted to make sure to participate in the last hunt of 2012.

We are almost ready for Christmas.  Keira helped me get most of the wrapping done today.  One of the blessings of having a teenage daughter.  :)  Actually I thought I was done until I found a few more things in my office.  We plan to bake a few cookies tomorrow, enjoy a Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church, then relax with family at our house on Christmas Day.

Now onto the hunt ...

{joy}

Aside from the joy that comes from my Lord and Savior, Jesus, and the joy that my family brings (sometimes!), I am finding joy in the fact that I'm done painting my living room.  :)  These beige walls were a rusty red-orange color for the past four years.  I masked, primed, and painted the entire room all by myself ... finished up Friday afternoon.  The room seems so much bigger and brighter now!

{tangled}

This Woody ornament is tangled up every year when we take it out of its box.  It is one of Keira's ornaments.

{silver}

This reindeer ornament has a silverish tassel with a silver charm attached.

{guilty pleasure}

Have you tried these Candy Cane Hershey Kisses?  Oh.my.goodness!

{angel}

The kids performed in our church's Christmas program last Sunday night.  The lady in charge asked me to take a few snapshots before the kids performed.  They were dressed like angels, however they don't look all that angelic in this photo.  Well, maybe a few of them do.  :)

Scavenger Hunt Sunday is taking a break next week, but Ashley has a couple other things going on so be sure to head over and check them out!

Have a blessed Christmas!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 11.18.12

I almost didn't make another Scavenger Hunt, but I managed to scrounge up the last couple photos just in time.

{vision}

A sweet young woman hosted a girls' masquerade at our church Friday night and asked me to be the photographer.  She had masks made up for the girls attending.   The evening was lovely ... with good food and an uplifting, inspiring message.  I am honored to have been a part.

{strong}

One from the archives ... bumble bees must have very strong wings in order to be able to fly those big bodies around.

{buttons}

At least my scrapbooking stuff is getting used for something.  :)

{map}

This was the hardest prompt for me.  Who still uses maps when we all have GPS?  :)  But I did remember that I had this map of a local park in our county's visitor's guide.

{favorite fruit}

Orange, grape, cherry, lime, and lemon Skittles.  While they are not technically fruit ... at least they are fruit flavors.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  If you want to check out more great Scavenger Hunt finds, be sure to visit Ashley.  And if you want to play along for next week, these are the items to look for:

1. Home or Thankful
2. In the Kitchen
3. Couple
4. Bubbles
5. Trees

Have a great week and a Blessed Thanksgiving!

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Week 43 in Pictures

It is Monday evening.  Hurricane Sandy is upon us now.  It has been raining almost non-stop since yesterday.  The strong winds are just arriving and we are bracing ourselves, praying we don't lose power (or if we do, we don't lose it for long).  Since we are in Western Pennsylvania, we don't expect to have too much damage - at least not nearly as much as our neighbors to the east. But the powers that be are predicting wide-spread power outages due to trees pulling down power lines.  The kids have a two-hour school delay tomorrow and are hoping school gets cancelled altogether.  We are keeping all those affected by this hurricane in our prayers!

On a lighter note, my new laptop is almost up to speed.  There are still some things I would like to transfer from my old laptop, if I could only get it to turn on.  I try it several times a day - no luck yet.  But I'm not giving up.  One of these times it will work.

Aside from having a cold this past week and really starting to feel human again on Thursday, not much happened around here.  The weather was gorgeous all week, which made it even harder to be sick.  Thankfully I was able to get out and enjoy the warmer temps and sunshine on Thursday and Friday.

Here's what last week looked like in pictures ...
{Sunday}

My new laptop was delivered on Saturday, but I was on my way out the door when it got here, so I didn't get a picture that day.

{Monday}

Even though I wasn't feeling great because of the cold I had, the kids and I went to a local park where I managed to get a picture of them together.  It's not the greatest, but at least it's something.

{Tuesday}

After we played in the leaves for a while, Alex posed for me with his pumpkin.

{Wednesday}

Picked up some Indian Corn and mini pumpkin candies today.

{Thursday}

Starting to feel human again so the kids and I went to a local farm.  We had fun playing in their corn maze.  Keira took this pic of me to prove I was there.  :)

{Friday}

I went to Living Treasures to get one last peek at the baby leopards before they get moved to another zoo.  I didn't get to see them since they were hiding, but I did get treated with some up-close views of the lions.

{Saturday}

The only photo I took this day - for yesterday's Scavenger Hunt.

I almost forgot to include my favorite photo for October.

I really had a hard time choosing a favorite for October because I took LOADS of pictures, but I kept coming back to this one.  This is totally not my normal style, but I love this hazy photo of Natasha.  Especially since I was able to achieve it IN CAMERA, not in post processing.

That's it for me.  I will really have to push myself this week to take pictures.  Cold, rainy weather zaps me of my photo mojo.  :)

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