Scrappin Fool today!

busted my butt tonight and got 2 pages done.. I can't show you of of them because the kit is top secret, lol. no but its not up for sale yet...its the Watermelon Patch kit that I gave you a preview of a few days ago...YOUR GONNA LOVE This kit!...I can't wait to show you the LO!..LOL But we have to wait til April before I can show you.

And then I did this one. I have had this footprint for over a year now. We did it when Jackson was 3 weeks old. I have been waiting to scrap it, but just didnt know how to..then I saw the 'Blue' Kit at Elemental Scraps and I knew it was time to scrap it. I went with a more graphic style than I usually do, I found some inspiration from an article in a shape magazine ad. Gotta love magazines.


Foal Update....NOTHING...lol.. EDD is 12 days away and counting. She is starting to bag up a bit, so thats good! This waiting is gonna kill me!

A few quick pics from today

Did some really good reading on ILP again last night, all about the 50 mm f 1.8 lens and DOF. If you are having grief with this..I would totally recommend checkin it out! I think that its FINALLY starting to make sense to me.. I hope.. Plus I found a super online DOF calculator that lets you enter in the focal length of your lens, plus the distance to your subject and it tells you the DOF! Just do a google search and you will find a ton!


Just a few from today while I was practicing with my new knowledge. Practice practice practice right! I'm still really stumped on my black and white conversions.. THEY SUCK. They always seem to look really flat to me, I have tried a wack of Black and white conversion actions, and so far my favorite is Jinky's by far. Good thing I really prefer eye popping color ( at least for now). I don't want the only thing that my images have on the positive side to be eye candy color.


What do you think? Like the color version or the black and white? I think that this conversion is one of the best I have done so far ....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
so much to learn! Its one thing to learn your camera, but the you need to learn lighting, and then you need to learn photoshop! Its never ending! Good thing I love to learn!

And Last but not Least Neiko... Having some fun in the snow! SO far he's been a really great dog. He has only been outside unattended for 45 minutes at a time, but its a start. And my worst fear is that he will run away. I kind of like this image, such a black dog with the snow on his jowls, and snow all over his body!..Im SO SICK OF IT SNOWING!....

TGIF!

Yippee! lots new today..

First of all, we went last night to pick up our new dog. Here he is...WORLD...Meet Neiko!
Neiko is supposed to be a bull mastiff/St. Benard cross, but Im not too sure on that. His face, and jowls are definately bernardish, but I have no clue where the white spot on his chest is coming from. He is 13 months old..and get this he weighs in at a whopping 132 lbs! KRIKEY! thats more than me! As you can see...he is just a bit shorter than my 2 1/2 year old when he is sitting!

First night went well! NO barking no nothing, easy as pie! We have him on a 2 week trial run, so hopefully he will bond with my old dog as well as he has with Rylee, b/c he is an outside dog (I'm allergic). He seems pretty sweet so far, doesnt seem to mind the kids at all. The only kicker will be if he will be ok outside, im gonna have to ease him into that, and only have him out when we are for a while.. I'd hate to have him run away. i havent let him be around Jackson too much yet, I figure one kid at a time!

Cant wait to take him out today, see what he thinks of the horses, and the cats! Should be funny!

He's a bit of a drooler, but mostly just after he has eaten or had some water!

Ry couldn't wait to get up and see him this morning, she really wanted to give him a big hug and a smooch!








Did some scrappin this AM while the kids were still sleeping Yippee its really the only time in the say that I can even try to scrap. Oh well I should be glad that they both usually nap at the same time! Here is a preview of the kit I used, It's available from ScrapsyDaisy
you just need to attend the birthday crop to get the pw! Super neat Kit, and a great designer that Lori Barnhurst is! Hope to see some of you there!

My child is done!

I have been neglecting ILP. Its such a shame, its such a super resource. I need to make it my homepage so I remember to browse thru it each day. While there are lots of pro's, there are probably more beginners like me there, all in the same steep learning curve as I am in! At the very least its SOOO worth just snooping thru everyone else's images, some members there are amazing.(Not sure If i should post names or links here)

After seeing a funny post on ILP today I wanted to share with you some of my DD Rylee.
This is what happens when she doesnt want her photo taken any more...Alas..poor photographers kid! LOL.. at least I got some good DOF on these! LOL and I did decide that I like the flooring and the white base board too, so at least not all was wasted! She's such a HOOT!


Then I dug up this one... I was really just trying to get her to wear her tutu, so I could show it to a friend in a pic. Made the tutu myself, pretty easy actually! And this one of the first pics that I took using the chinese lantern, as you can see I need more reflector on the off side to remove that shadow..but overall Im liking the softness that this cheap lighting option is giving me! The crop is bad on this.. I really needed to get all ov her leg in the pic, and I didn't, plus she is too centered. I can't wait to have happy kids again to take soem more pics of! Anyone want to send there's over for a while?

Have I mentioned how ready I am for spring? I cant wait to get this tutu outside! LOL

Found this Hilarious blog

HERE


OMG its funny...weddings, marriage, birth control!

OK Movie Review (Caution X rated wording below)

OK so I had a date night with one of my bestest long time friends, who I never ever see. We have one of those relationships that just work, KWIM. Like we can be busy with our lives for a month or two, then just call and get together and pick up right where we left off. Anyways she calls me up and begs me to go to the movies with her.

We meet up in town, start off with a melonball martini, then off to the theatre to see BrokeBack Mountain. Now I'm gonna speak for most red blooded women on earth.. HEATH LEDGER is HOT! yummylicious infact. Heath in A Knights Tale... oohh baby... So being a Alberta girl that I am, the idea of Heath as a cowboy.....wowowowowowowoy even more dreamy. Boy oh boy was I mistaken.

ok so without a word of a lie...The first 5 minutes of the movie, not one single person says anything...Nothing...All I can hear is the other people in the audience munching popcorn and slurping the sodas. (feeling a bit weirded out already, bad sign 5 minutes into a flick). Then finally you see Heath, and then you hear him speak, he talks as if he has a mouth full of marbles (or maybe balls). Totally garbled, and so hard to understand.

Now have I already said Heath Ledger is hot, he truly is BUT.... Heath kissing Jake...Not so hot... But Heath and Jake doing it doggy style...Totally loosing all sex appeal. Now I'm not trying to come across like a homophobe or anything, and (don't get me wrong, there is no porn in this movie, just lots of skin and moving, so you KNOW exactly what's going on) but seeing Heath like that was way WAY WAY more than I could take. This scene only happened once in the entire movie, but it was early on, and I just couldn't get myself over the scene. You betcha small town girl here. And like I said earlier about the lack of vocals in this movie, after I saw that scene, all I could think about was Heath with a mouth full of balls (and I'm talking the male kind, not the toy kind). It was really bad, really bad, Kyla and I were always asking each other what he said, which after 2 hours got to be quite irritating.

. yadda yadda yadda... 2 guys stuck on the range, get lonely and connect. Good thing the scenery is nice, because there really isnt alot of vocals in this movie at all. Maybe they were trying for the strong silent type? who knows..?? Anyways, they both fight the urge and leave and get married, have kids, then after 4 years they start meeting up again. "Fishing buddies" they tell the wives. Michelle Williams is the first to find out, she sticks it out for a few more years, then they divorce, blah...I had some emotion here... Poor girl! I can't imagine seeing your husband in a necking with another guy.. ( BARF). but basically that was the extent of my emotional contact with this movie.



Now there were some neat parts in the movie, but that was only because it was shot in Alberta. Most of it was shot in the Kananskis Area, which happens to be a super popular recreation area to go camping with your horses!Infact many of the areas that you see in the movie, Kyla and myself have ridden out own horses thru, so that was pretty cool. Some of the mountain shots are actually the 3 sister mountains just outside of Canmore, Alberta. ( about 3 hours south and west of me!) This image is of Mud lake. The main bar in the scene is actually Ranchman's a well known country bar in Calgary ( ah yes...many a TIMES have I been the drunken idiot there! Always a good time at the Ranchmans)

So in conclusion, LOL... save your money. Dont even rent it. Heath is hot, Heath kissing Jake...not so hot, Heath in a sex scene with Jake....yuck. Needless to say, Heath better get doing some new movies to quickly vanish this one from my brain..he has totally lost some hotness factor! Now if you want to go check out where I live, then go see the movie! all the stuff in it is only about 3 hours ( with truck and horse trailer) from me! Infact...I should try to take the same pic as above this summer while we are camping!!

phew...sorry i got so wordy!

**FREEBIE ALERT**

Yipee! we all love freebies I found a great lil freebie on Amanda Rockwell's blog
Be sure to go check it out! I had no clue she was even gonna offer up some Freebies..but apparently she is gonna keep adding some quite often, so be sure to keep her on your list of regularily visited Blogs! Im gonna scrap something tonight with her freebie..and I will post it up later!

LOL I got another link to another Freebie..its by another friend of mine Joedee Matsler..I didnt know she was gonna start designing kits, so hence why I didnt have her link up here sooner. sorry gal...gotta keep me informed of this stuff! Here's the link to her blog

ENJOY!

Happy HUMP day!

Wanna see what I got last night? Its a neat little photo album that I am gonna use kind like a portfolio for the 1st while. Its all leather and super nice.Its neat b/c it has slots for landscape and Portrait oriented pictures.

It's originally designed for quick scrapbook LO's, but its screaming to me to use for my pictures..like a Brag Book.
Its from Creative Memories and its called a Pic Folio. Its super neat and way more professional looking than a stupid lil pocket album. Still a far cry from a REAL Portfolio, but hey its a step in the right direction. The only down side is that it only accepts 4x6 photos, which more often than not don't command the attention that you want in a real portfolio. I'm so pumped, it holds 160 photos, so I guess I really need to start shooting more, and getting more printed also. I might have 40 to put in there.

Im sad, im done photography classes, but the instructor is offering 2 more classes, that he is trying to squeeze me into. One is an advanced studio lighting class, and the other is a studio lighting workshop, where you go in with your own model, he sets up his lights, and you shoot under his watchful eye!

Im so excited, Im doing ok with the lighting thing, Im really liking the pics I am getting with those Chinese Lanterns, i cant wait to get some more healthy kids to get taking some more pics. But while I am needing to learn the lighting, Im finding myself liking the unposed natural shots more and more each day. Nothing I hate more than a pic that you CAN TELL the smile is forced, or the pose is set up. To me it shows real lack of creativity, well maybe more lack of reality I guess. Photography is a form of visual communcation, and the forced, posed pics just dont communicate anything to me. I really try to avoid that at all times, I do set my kids up, with a few props..(lol like the fishbowl) but then I just shoot..I let them do what they wish! I totally enjoy the laughs and giggles we get, while Im taking their pictures. I dont think I could do it if they didnt enjoy it. Infact some days, Rylee will say, "hey mom, wanna take my pixture?".. now how could I resist that?

Well tonight is the last night of Photography school

Im so bummed..I have learned so much..i dont want it to end..He is offering some others in a few months..so I will wait until then..I made a couple really good aquaintances right now. Im I know that one of them, i will see alot more! She is a super photography and does all her work with film still. She mostly does her own family, and friends, but she has done a few weddings also! You should see her yard, she has the neatest old stuff in it. Im so envious of her natural props, like old barns, old cars, you name it! Maybe I can beg her to let mo come out in the spring and shoot a bit for myself!

One of my all time best friends just came back from Dubai and she brought Rylee this little dress! Its too big for her right now...but I cant wait to snap some pics of her in it! The pics just dont it justice..its a wonderful gold and pink colored dress, and the pattern is amazing! Who knows maybe some kit designer can grab onto that and copy it!


Then I got up off the puter this AM and I go out to the living room and I find my old keyboard set up and my DD is doing 'some work'. (Notice she even has it 'plugged' in?) Needless to say...that is all its gonna take for me to get my ass off this puter and get doing some stuff with my kids.

Happy Monday!

Well I hope it is at least for you all!..My kids are crabby, whiney and so tired of being stuck inside! We all cant wait for spring to come...Its just around the corner. My dd will be 3 in July, and she is really struggling with being 2 and a half right now. Her emotions are up and down constantly, its truly taxing on the mind and body! She wakes up in the morning crying, then within 2 minutes is happy! And small things really seem to set her off, Like yesterday, at nap time, she wanted to change out of her clothes and put her pj's on, of course I let her. But when she woke up, she had a complete melt down because she couldn't find any pants to wear..She brought out of her room about 6 pairs of pants, and none of them "felt" right. She was in complete hysterics ( I was in AWE, first time for this for me) I didn't really know what to do, so I just encouraged her to pick a pair she wanted, and then gave her a big warm hug, told her I loved her, and that I knew she was feeling mad, and that it was ok to feel mad. The I did a quick redirection of her thoughts, and poof..She was all better! Not so sure if that's the right way to deal with it..But it worked this time! Any tips for 2-3 year olds?

Update on Cynnder...Nothing..LOL..False alarm. I am on nightly foal watch tho!

Just got a phone call from DH he just bought a used Motorhome! IM so pumped! I cant wait to get outdoors and get camping. I miss it so much! Its gonna ROCK!...yippee mountains here we come! There is nothing better in the world than taking your family and friends and going camping. Getting away from cell phones, computers, and all the annoying people in the world... ahhhh I'm feeling relaxed as we speak! Its a 28foot so it should be good, its plenty big enough for me to haul my horse trailer, so now I can take it with me to my horse shows! CAN YOU SAY! YYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!


Did a challenge at ScrapMommies this afternoon, while the kids are sleeping...I'm typing quietly...I just got them both to bed.This is my mad scrappin time! I get about 2 hours! LOL..shhhh no giggling...It will wake them up! It was an ad Inspiration Challenge. Those are my favorites, sometimes they are so hard, and other times they really get my creative juices flowing.
The kit is "Fresh" by Amanda Rockwell, and fresh it is! The kit will be available at Elemental Scraps pretty soon. I think I'm gonna do a few more LO's with this kit, and get the rest of my fishy pics all scrapped too! It's such an ease to scrap with Amanda's kits, its like she picks everything that is My Favorite! Its almost like I have a personal kit designer! LOL



I have been a scrappin fool today!
Here's a LO I made with a kit from Scrapsy Daisy
Its called Natural Chick. Its available at A Cherry On Top, Scrapbook Shoppe
Wonderful Kit with amazing colors!










And this one I did with Scrapsy Daisies "The Locket". It was just perfect for this image of my late puppy Sarge. We miss him Dearly. :(

10:30 pm

Looks like some false labor, she was really uncomfortable this afternoon, but things have eased up. I just went outside and checked her quick before bed. Tossed her another bale of hay..( she can use it to sleep in if she needs). I will probably check her once or twice a night from now til birth!...Yipee! my HORSE ( LOL @ Lauren) should be having her baby soon. EDD is April 2nd.

WOWHOOOO

for some reason, my mare is acting funny today. I just ran outside and so far no impending birth yet...but she is walking around LOTS, and laying down etc...and my Gut is telling me to keep a careful eye on her....COULD IT BE????


here's a quick LO I did using Amanda's Girlz kit..man I love the colors in it...wonderful..very spring themed!

Today...

Well the hockey game was good, we lost :(..so it looks like our team will be out of the playoffs. It was fun tho, It was our turn in the private booth, so all eats and drinks were free! YIPEE!..cant wait to watch a concert from that baby!




My goals for today, nothing much, try to scrap a LO or two, Im excited to unzip Amanda's new Watermelon Patch kit..I so love the colors in there. Isn't it just plain YUMMY!!!!! Since I am on Amanda's CT team, i get a sneak peek at it. It will be available at www.digitalfreebies.com
in April!..be sure to check it out there!

I have to go thru a few more of yesterdays fish challenge pics, and OH YEAH!...

We may be getting our new dog today!..Im so pumped...he is a bull mastiff/st bernard cross. He is 13 months and 130 lbs..fricking dog weighs more than I do!. The people that are adopting him out are gonna come by this afternoon and check out our place..so hopefully we will pass the inspection!


Yippee! I just tried Jackson in my new Mei Tai that My friend Kara made for me! Not sure if I have him in there right..but he really likes it on my hip here!

Please excuse me...im still in my pj's and i havent even brushed my hair yet(left over do from last night! LOL). I was too excited to try this thing out! LOL and I had to figure out how to use the timer on the camera....WOHOOO! learned something new already today!