Shock and Awe!

I have been around but I have been trying to get over the shock and awe that was my weekend!  If you are on Facebook regularly you already know, but for those of you not on FB,  I got the news on Saturday that we are expecting an addition to our family!!  Yup, you heard right, I am pregnant!  There I said it and it does help to make it more concrete in my mind!  Don't get me wrong, my body is already telling the story and now it is confirmed my multiple tests!  No denying it!

So I spent the majority of the weekend in shock and the rest of the weekend was spent in awe!  I still cannot get over it!  You see, we tried FOREVER with for the Diva!  14 years to be exact which included infertility drugs and one miscarriage!  I was also working out each time I got pregnant but not this time!  LOL!  At 42, I am considered advanced maternal age which is OK by me because I know I am old!!  Ha!  Ha!

I am starting to get excited but I have already begun the battle with gestational diabetes which means I could very well have to go on insulin before all is said and done!  I go to the doctor next week and we will chat about all of this I am sure! 

I will keep you all posted on the happenings around here but for know we are car shopping!  Something bigger is in order......SUV, Minivan, something to carry 3 adults and 2 car seats!  LOL!  We found what we want and now we are just waiting for the dealer to agree to the price point and since today is the last day of the month and they want to make sales, I am sure it will be all good!  I will let you know about that too!

Now that you have all experienced shock and awe with me, I hope you have a super day!!

Finding Beauty Where You Live

As most of you regular visitors know, I have a passion for photography!  OK, it boarders on obsession but who cares right?  Anywhoo, I am lucky because my obsession is also my business which can sometimes get in the way of the passion I feel!  All I am saying is once in a while you have to take a step back and do what you love just for the love of it!  I take breaks from the business of my passion and just go out and shoot to shoot! 

Many people ask me where I get the inspiration for some of my shots and ask where the locations are but most of the time are disappointed when I tell them my own backyard!  I also include the city in which I live my own backyard!  I am never far from inspiration and that was proven on Thursday morning when I walked down my front steps to see my Gerber Daisy (my current fav) had given me another beautiful bloom!  I ran in got my camera and sat on my steps to do some shooting in the early morning light!!

I also need to make another confession here!  I am in LOVE with my camera!  There I said it!  I would marry it if I could because it is an extension of me!  I have never felt this way about a piece of gear before except for my iPhone which is a close second!

Back to business!  When I had taken a million shots of this one daisy, I turned to go back up the steps and saw this:

I love the shadows that the sun shining from the east creates on my humble abode!  So next time you are looking for some inspiration try walking out your front door early on a sunny morning and you just might be surprised at what you find!  Try getting up just before sunrise for a special treat for your eyes and your senses! Happy shooting!

The 5th Season in Illinois!

You've all heard of the 5th season right?  It's called construction!  To be more specific, road construction!  Which basically translates into a delay when you want to travel anywhere!  It is annoying and it gives me road rage!  There I said it!  I get road rage when I am in a hurry and I get delayed by 30 miles of road construction that drops the speed to a slow crawl and makes everyone in the car cranky!

I can handle it on the interstate but when it is in town, fagettaboutit!  So the powers that be have decided that NOW is the perfect time to tear up some city streets and lay new asphalt!  Right now they are working around all the entrances to the pool (the busiest place in town due to 105 degree heat index)!  As if that wasn't bad enough, they are now working on a side street by my house which means I have to go several blocks out of my way just to get to my house!  Did I mention the road rage?  Just sayin'!

Summer on Steroids

I am referring to the heat, first because it has been horribly hot here lately with a chance of pop up storms because of the heat!  It is a viscous cycle!  Then there are actual steroids!  The poor Diva had a reaction to something a few weeks ago that left her with a rash!  A doctor (not her normal pediatrician)  said it is eczema put this cream on it and use lots of lotion!  OK, I did what she said but seven days later, she was covered from head to toe and I called the doctor's office again and got her into her regular doctor!  He told me it was an allergic reaction and put her on steroids.  Fine, not a problem!  The rash went away but seven days later it came back!  Ugh!!  The only difference was that I finally knew that it was her sun screen that was causing the reaction so I called the doc on Friday and asked if he would call in another round of steroids?  Here is where it gets interesting!!  Friday evening I gave her 1 tsp. just like the last perscription but Saturday morning I read that the bottle tells me to give her 2 tsp. twice a day for five days!  OK, maybe he thinks she needs something stronger so starting Saturday morning, I give her 2 tsp.  I repeat the same 2 tsp. in the evening and on Sunday morning!  It is then that I realize that something is NOT right at all!!  She looked like she had 2 black eyes and she was pale as Casper the ghost!  Right after church she fell asleep until Aunt Angel and Grandma got to the house!  She woke up and played with them but you could tell she did not feel good!  After they left she went back to sleep for a few hours!  I had already decided to call the doctor the next morning because my girl does not act like this unless something is wrong!  Sunday evening I cut the dosage to 1 tsp.  Monday morning she was up at 5:30 AM and back asleep by 6:30 and slept until 10:30!  NOT normal at all so I called the pharmacy to confirm what the doctor had called in and the Pharmacist said in his opinion the dose was way to high and advised that I call her doctor!  I called the office and left a message and the nurse called me back and confirmed that the dose was, indeed, too high!!  It should have only been 1 tsp. twice a day for 5 days!  I was overdosing my child!!  I was angry because I did not know where the mistake was made:  the doctor (nurse) who called it in or the pharmacy!  I am still upset that someone did not catch it in a double checking process somewhere!  I have all my meds filled at the same pharmacy so they should have checked her age and weight somewhere along the line!!  Poor girl!!  She is feeling better now!  I am so thankful that I called and stopped giving her too much!!

On a happy note, the Diva has discovered a love for corn-on-the-cob!!  I think the photos speak for themselves!!

 

Celebrating Teens - Week 25

What to use, what to use?  Well, how about an urban, gritty photo of my nephew who is home visiting from Florida?  I did his Senior Shoot last week and this is one of his favs so I thought I would use it!

We did his shoot in an old, abandoned warehouse here in town!  I tried to find out who owned it to no avail so we just went for it!  I told him if the police showed up, I would take the heat!!  LOL!  No one even stopped to see what we were up to so we were fine!  LOL!  If you want to see more from this shoot you can go here!  Now head on over to i ♥ face to check out the other teens!

Fix-it-Friday 59

I am a sucker for a fun fix and a cute baby so today I get both in the form of fix-it-Friday at i ♥ faces!!  Here is the original shot:

Is she not the cutest little thing you've ever seen?  Back on track Jo!!  You all know I like my photos just a tad lighter so I decided to pull it into Lightroom 2 (no I still have not upgraded to 3, but soon) and lighten it up a bit!  I also worked to make her eyes pop and did some cropping!  Here is what the export looked like:

I then pulled into PSE 6 and ran the PW action Lovely and Ethereal and cleaned up some little spots on her face and added some text!  Here is that final edit:

And, of course, a black and white conversion was in order!  I was going to add a texture but thought better of it at the last minute!

Now join in the fun or just see what others have come up with over at  i ♥ faces!  Busy weekend on tap here with family visiting from Florida and my nephew's senior shoot before he flies home next week!  I still cannot believe that he and the Moody Teen are Seniors already!!  My how time flies!!

The Skies Were a Brewin'!

"They" say it is good luck for it to rain on your wedding day!  BUT, what about storms with wind and hail?  MMMMM, not sure on that one! 

Everyone was having fun and I was keeping an eye to the skies!  This sight did not seem to bother anyone but me!

 If you want to see more from this amazing day of fun and weather you can go here!  I hope you are all having a wonderful week!!!  Now get out and take some photos!

Wordless Wednesday - Post Storm Skies from Sunday

My Fix

When it comes to photography, I try to get my exposure correct 100% of the time but sometimes when I am shooting a wedding at a fast pace it doesn't always happen! This past weekend, I shot a wedding that was outside and we were racing mother nature and several lines of storms that were preparing to hit our location! The bride threw the bouquet and this lovely young lady caught it and I knew I needed a photo of her! Here is the shot straight out of my camera:

It is a pretty good photo but I like things a little brighter so I could have raised the exposure but there was not time because the rain was starting to fall!  So I decided to work in post production to fix it!  The first thing I did was import into Lightroom 2 to raise the exposure a little and I also cropped the image to get a tighter shot and get rid of some unnecessary stuff in the background!  Then I exported to Photoshop Element and ran the Pioneer Woman action  Lovely and Ethereal.  I also did some skin smoothing and I was good to go!  Oh yeah, I also brightened her eyes a bit!  Here is the final edit:

And ya'll know how much I love me some black and white so I did a black and white conversion!

Now, happy shooting to you!  Grab your camera and go out and go for it!  Remember to fill your view finder with your subject for a great shot!

All About Babies - Week 24 at i ♥ faces

The laundry is waiting to be done and the photos from the wedding are waiting to be edited while I play!  Actually, I have been agonizing (LOL) over which photo to enter at i ♥ faces today!  So many cute baby photos are coming to mind and it is really tough to decide!  After much contemplation, I decided to go with this little 13 week old cutie!!

There you have it!!  Now head on over to i ♥ faces to see all the other cute babies!!

Who Turned the Heat On?

Yesterday was oppressively hot!  It was one of those days where it was really hard to breath the minute you walked out the door!  Then there was the matter of really hard rain storms!  I heard one DJ refer to them as "frog stranglers", which made me giggle!  Anyway, we stayed inside most of the day!

Today is just as hot and just as muggy with still a chance of storms only today I am shooting an outdoor wedding!  This should be fun!  I hope they have a place to put people when it starts storming!  My niece, Lindsey will be second shooting for me and she just may end up being an umbrella caddy as well!  We shall see!  I will let you know how it all turns out and share some photos from the big event soon!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The Big O!

No I am not talking about Oprah or the other big O! I am referring to Overstock.com but I got your attention right?  Fewer things make me happier than shopping!  Unless, of course, it is shopping and saving and Overstock.com is the place to be!  So what does a girl like me like to shop for?  Well at the top of the list is anything related to a Digital Camera,  like you had to ask right?  I also like to browse around in the Laptops, looking for my next great buy because editing photos requires a good computer to handle the workload!  But the thing I love to shop for the most is Children's Clothing for the Diva!  I love all the cute things you can buy for a little girl because I love all the compliments I get on her clothing!  People cannot wait to see what I will dress her in next!


I especially love the boutique type of clothing and they have some really cute ones at Overstock.com!!  Take a look:

Tell me these are not the cutest clothes ever? I know they are right up my the Diva's alley!  She is so much fun to dress!  Ok, now you know what I shop for but I want to know what your shopping weaknesses are!  Come on don't be shy!  We all have something that tempts us when we shop!!

A Look Back

I was looking at some older posts yesterday and this one stuck out like a flashing neon sign!  I could not get the words I wrote out of my mind so I thought I would share it with you since most of you were not around when I wrote it!   The photos, however, are new with the Diva playing the part of my little model!!

Editing Our Lives

Originally Posted: October 1, 2008

I love to play with my photo editing software because it can do so much for those of us who are not perfect ;)! I can make you thin and tan, remove zits and whiten your teeth all with a stroke of the mouse. I can restore a photo from 1903 and make it look new again! I can turn your photo into a painting! Heck, I can even remove your ex-boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife from a photo and add your new love interest right in like he or she was there the day the photo was taken! Pretty cool, huh?

If only life were so easy! There have been many times I wish I could edit a portion of my life so it never existed to the naked eye! There are comments I have made and hurtful things that I have done to people I love in the heat of the moment that can never be edited out or cleaned up to look pretty. They just don't make software for that! What we do have, however, is the ability to admit that we are wrong and apologize for the wrong we have done or the hurt we have caused! I know what you are thinking, I can't do that! I will look bad in the eyes of others! I can't admit that I am wrong! I'm telling you that you can and you should! The weight that is lifted off your shoulders will make you feel 100 lbs. lighter! Your words can change someones life for the better or for the worst, it is up to you! Maybe we should just learn to edit what we say BEFORE it comes gushing out of our mouths like a great wall of water that once on the loose cannot be stopped before major damage is done! What a novel idea that would be!

The moral of today's lesson: think before you speak or act! It can make a difference in your life and the lives of those you come in contact with every day!

Does any of this sound like you?  I know it has sounded a lot like me lately!  I am trying to edit myself on a daily basis and it is becoming easier because the Knight has changed his ways!  After our near fatal motorcycle ride he has 11 days under his belt!!  Some of you will understand, others will not but the point is things are getting better on this end and not a minute too soon!!  

Just A Little Look

Before you look at these photos I must swear you to secrecy because they are a Father's Day gift!  No he does not read my blog!  LOL!

If you want to see more of this cutie and the rest of the family you can check out my photography blog!

Play - Week 23 at I ♥ Faces

What better form of play is there on a hot summer day than water play?  The Diva LOVES our pool and all of the fun stuff to play with keeps her busy!  Now go check out to see how others define play over at i ♥ face!!

BTW, this was not taken with a DSLR!  It was taken with my point and shoot because I would not take my Nikon d60 or d700 into a pool with tons of kids splashing around!!  LOL!  This is proof positive that you can take cool pictures without a really expensive DSLR (even though they are fun to play with)!

Silent Saturday - From Where I Sit

Get Paid For Things You Do Every Day!!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

WeReward is a brand new app, for iPhone, that will pay you for tasks that you do in everyday life! WeReward.com has all the pertinent information that you need to check it out and make an informed decision about what you need to do but I am here to tell you that this is a really cool way to earn some extra cash just for doing what you do anyway! You can Download the App and give it a try for yourself! The app is FREE so you have no reason not to try it out right now!

I downloaded the app earlier as I was taking off to run errands today and I used at my first stop which was for lunch! It was so easy to use! I just chose my location and followed the directions for check-in and that was all there was to it! Don't believe me? Check out this video:



See, I told you it was easy!!  I even used the app a second time when I went to the grocery store!  I am getting paid to do the things I normally do anyway and all it requires is a few taps on the old iPhone to make it happen!  What are you waiting for?  Download the App right now and get started!!

Week 22 - Barefoot

Here is my entry for i ♥ faces!  I call this one new feet because he was only 10 days old when we did this session!  He is one cute monkey!!  Now go check out the other entries and raise awareness for Soles 4 Souls at the same time!!

A Close Call and The Final Call

WOW, what a weekend!  What started as a fun, playful weekend changed in the blink of an eye and forever changed my life and the way I look at things!  The Knight and I went on a Memorial Run on Saturday but somehow got separated from the group which could have been a deadly mistake for us!  We had a close call on the bike but are both fine!  Somehow he managed to keep us from laying it down!  All I could think about was the Diva and let me tell you, I cried........hard!!  I have NEVER been so scared in my entire life as I was then!  When we got home, I hugged the Diva and cried some more!  Sleep has been sparse and when I do sleep it is fitful with lots of waking moments!  But wait, it gets worse!

We went to church on Sunday and when I got home I got the call that my BFF, Maggie, had lost her boyfriend, Brian, in a motorcycle accident involving alcohol!  I cried hard, again!!  It was Brian's first Saturday off in a while and he was out with friends and he missed the curve and, well, you know the rest!  He had been drinking!  In fact, he was getting ready to head to his class reunion and suddenly it was over for him!

I was in shock!  I could not believe all the events of Saturday!  I could be the one that was being prepped for burial (horrible thought but true!)!  No, I have not been back on the bike and I am not sure that I will be able to do it!  We will just have to wait and see!  For now, I am thankful to be alive and trying to comfort my friend, whose life if forever changed!