Been awhile, eh? It is kind of a BIG giveaway when the "blog goes quiet" that I might be out of town ... or really really really busy. This time it wa the former, I was out of town. I packed up my things and had intentions of blogging, but I was just having too much darn fun. ;) What have I been up to? I'm glad you asked!
1) Last week two awesome things arrived on my doorstep. I LOVE deliveries! (Luckily I have them often throughout the week since my only way of shopping ... is via the internet!) The first? A new camera body! That was in "the plan" this year and with last years success I was able to save some money for this big purchase. My old camera body will stay in my stash and be used in conjunction with this camera. The new one is faster, more mega-pixels, more options and more capabilities such as higher ISO. SO HAPPY!
Many people ask me about cameras and here is what I have to say. A)if you are looking for a new EASY and fast camera, my advice is ... get an iPhone. ;) Super quality and ease of use AND comparable in price to cameras. B)A better camera doesn't make you a better photographer. C)read your manual! Twice! I do this with every camera I've owned and it is so helpful! D) Shoot in auto to get the feel of your camera before playing with the other functions.
This is a picture (from my iPhone) that I took of my new camera. Now THAT is modern day photography for you! :) I'm already in LOVE.
2) The second arrival in the mail was my PROJECT LIFE 2012 ALBUM!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?
I have to say, it is beautiful. I am in LOVE with it. The quality is awesome! The pages are super thick, the pictures printed out beautifully. It was so wonderful going through it, sharing it with my family and listen to the kids giggle while they looked through it and shared their memories. I will tell you, I have since questioned my need or desire for the tactile 2013 Project Life album I am doing ... this one was/is pretty awesome and the EASE of adding photos is so appealing. Again, another plug for using Shutterfly!
3) Armed with my new toys in hand, we headed for Kansas City. It was my dad's 60th Birthday and we SURPRISED him by showing up on his doorstep!
It was precious. Grampy was surprised, the kids were over-the-moon and Grammy was in her glory to have all her babes under one roof. My brother and sister-in-law joined us as did Zach too. Super fun.
4) Being home makes my heart happy. Coming back to my home makes my heart happy too. Is it possible to have your heart be in two places at once? I think I might be living proof!
5) So we went Ice Skating at Crown Center. I grew up ice skating there so taking the kids was really special. We had so much fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Noah was FANTASTIC on skates. Not really on the ice, but on the ground! He walked in those things like they were tennis shoes! Luke did great too and steadily made his way on the ice. But the real star was ... drumroll ... BELLA. I swear! That girl tackles anything and makes it her own. Some people are just naturally gifted (had she been my bio daughter she likely would not have this same skill!)!
6) While skating I had to help the kids on the ice (duh). I was skating with Luke around the rink and took a serious tumble on the ice! We lost our balance and I was unable to recover. We fell forward and I was trying not to land with all of my weight on Luke and took all of my weight by landing on my right knee cap. OUCH!!!!!!!! It hurt so SO bad. I thought I had shattered it. At least that is what it felt like...
7) I told my mom "I should have just stood on the sidelines and tried to look pretty!" :) I was wearing some new Skinny Jeans from the Gap and the bubble necklace my mom had gotten my sister and I arrived so I put it all together on Saturday. My outfit didn't look as cute as it started after a spill on the ice shattering (felt like it but really just bruised badly) a knee and taking a skate blade to the thigh! Here's how it started ...
(Tori and I took that picture trying to be all Pinterest posting in our non-challant posing! HA! Those always make me giggle!)
8) My brother and sister-in-law make the best photo subjects, especially with a new camera in hand. I was able to take some fun shots of them and practie a bit. LOVE.
(let it be known, as I suggested to you, these were shot on auto! This was the first day I had actually USED my camera! Edited in Photoshop though.)
9) I CAN DO ANYTHING FROM MY PHONE. On the drive home I worked like a maniac. I read my manual, practiced settings, journaled, cared for the kids, read 3 magazines, ordered and loaded my pictures to Walgreens via my app and Facebooked, WWF and IG'd the whole way. It.was.Awesome.
10) And finally. You don't know cold until you survive and Minnesota winter. They are COLD. So so cold. My diaper wipes froze in the car overnight, like brick solid. Our garage fridge doesn't work because it is too cold and after a visit to the car wash your doors and windows freeze shut. The best is frozen boogers. For real, it happens. Happy to be back in Minnesota ...
...not as happy to be back to the frozen boogers. No worries, we are having a warm front this week! You know highs in the 20s and stuff! Hee hee! Happy TUESDAY!
I'm a silent stalker of your blog! I love it and find many similarities. I have been doig physical project life and I would love to know what the photo book has that you might have liked more now. I go back and forth and always land on physical so I can put the "stuff" in it. Just curious!
I'm also hoping to get a new camera but I'm just starting out as want to to go from a Nikon d60 to maybe a Nikon d7000.
Thanks again for writing what you do!!
Posted by: Brenda | Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 06:05 PM