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My cutie cousin!

Remember this cutie? My baby cousin. My cousin brought her baby down from MI to visit last weekend so I took some cute shots of him. Love him!

My little girl....

...gave me quite a scare yesterday. She fell down a few steps at her dad's and passed out twice! Nothing like this has ever happened before. I drove over there to see her and took her to the ER just to be sure she was OK. They ran some blood tests because she was really pale and x-rayed her arm to make sure it was OK since it was hurting.

We don't know why she passed out, but I am keeping a close eye on her. She was quite the trouper and was even a little excited to show off her hospital bracelet in school today. :-)

I have to add that when we first arrived at the hospital Madison said "Well, *this* will be something to tell my kids someday." lol

Happy Valentine's Day!

I really think Valentine's Day has lost some meaning somewhere. It shouldn't be for presents and pressure to make the day perfect. For me, it is a day to stop and think about and appreciate your loved ones. I gave my children chocolates and visited a single friend this morning with an African Violet. (Side note, she is 46 and very pretty! ) Last night I had dinner with my amazing boyfriend and I made him some brownies. Time with him was all I wanted - although he insisted on an upcoming shopping trip so who am I to argue. ;-)

This afternoon I talked to my friend, Sheila. She is just one of the nicest people you could ever meet so I had to mention her here. We discussed something really special we are going to do together with our children and her husband. I adore both of them and love their children like my own. God definitely works through all 4 of them in such an amazing way! They never judge and always have the best advice and words for me. Thank you for your friendship, both of you - I hope you know how much it means to me.

So, use this day to reflect and show people around you just how much they mean to you.

Oh, and listen to some Natalie Grant - her voice is amazing and uplifting. "Held" is one of my favorite songs!

Be Green!

I really try hard to live as green as I can so I thought I'd share what I do. Or try anyway. :-)

I use canvas bags when I go to the grocery store and love them. It sure beats having hundreds of plastic bags at home!

I use the canvas everyday shopper. http://www.ecobags.com

Water bottles. When manufacturers make plastic water bottles they use about 5 liters of water to cool the plastic . Crazy! My girls love using these: http://www.kleankanteen.com/ SIGG also makes great water bottles.

Plastic in general isn't good for you. I'm slowly getting rid of my plastic containers and using glass. I just read that if your plastic has the number 2, 4 or 5, the plastic is safe.

Napkins, I just read on Oprah's site that if we reduce our napkin usage by ONE a day, it would make a difference. We use 2,200 a year, per person on average. Giving up one a day would save a billion pounds of paper in our landfills!! Wow. Good thing I use my hand. haha.

CFL Lightbulbs. Nearly every lightbulb in my home is energy-saving.

Cleaning products. I'm not quite as good about this, but I make my own cleaning solution for quick clean ups of countertops, floors, toilets and sinks.

It would make such a huge difference if everyone did at least ONE of these ideas! There are many more than I am slowly switching to, but it takes time.

My latest addiction

I will have some photos to post soon, but wanted to share my latest addiction. :-)

http://www.websudoku.com/

I do a puzzle nearly every night before bed so my brain can wind down a little. Enjoy!

Gotta love the internet!

Don't you just love the internet?? Today an "old" friend found me through my cover at www.compleatmother.com and it was great to hear from her! She is one of my friends back from my mama crunchy, baby-wearing days. I still strive to be a "treehugger" (lol), but I'm out of the baby phase now. :( Anyway, it was awesome hearing from you, Kat!

And, this morning I had coffee - well, really super hot tea from Starbucks - with a friend I seem to only keep in touch with online. She is also from that same baby-wearing group and I just adore her! We need to do that way more often, Sue! Dinner SOON!! I love having amazing girlfriends.

Also, a few weeks ago I found my friend, Carrie, again. She is one of those people that just always makes you feel good. I'm sitting here amazed that I have found 3 friends just when I needed them most!! Isn't God's timing awesome?

Random acts of kindness

I really LOVE this commercial! Learn from it!

Outside the box...

Today, think outside the box. Do something you wouldn't normally do! Sometimes I get stuck in a daily rut and feel so ordinary. I know it is easy to fall into the pattern of getting the daily chores done, but sometimes it is just fun to do something different! What are you going to do today? What am *I* going to do today?? Hmmm....I'll get back to you on that.

On a side note, I am getting so many cool hits from places like India, Iran, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Canada, Switzerland, etc. It is really fun to see this everyday! Leave me some comments! :-)

Susan and Dan

I have known "Susie" since we were 5 years old! She doesn't remember meeting, but I remember it so well for some reason. We were in my family room playing, laughing and doing somersaults while our dads were talking about the construction of our new home. We were instant friends and even though we lose touch occasionally I still consider her a friend.

In December I had the honor of photographing her wedding. I love the photo of Dan's girls kissing her son. After this shot I got several photos of him wiping his face and making icky facees haha. So cute! I hope you guys enjoy this little sneak peek. :-)

Family from France

This sweet family flew in from France to attend a wedding I photographed just after Christmas. They children were so adorable and sweet that I couldn't resist putting the camera in from of them several times...they didn't seem to mind haha. I know their mom back from our high school days.

Some tips

Today I thought I'd share some tips to help your personal pictures look a little better.

Don't stand over your subject; get down on their level. Your subject doesn't have to be directly in the middle of the picture. Put their eyes in the upper thirds of the photo - or to the right or left. Don't center their eyes.

Watch your backgrounds. Make it as simple as you can and watch for poles and trees, etc sticking out of their heads.

Don't stand so far away! Get up closer to your subject or use the zoom on your camera.

When you use a flash make sure you aren't too far away. Your photo will be too dark. Check your manual to see what your flash range is.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am having a great hair day today. hehe. Its a girl thing!