Okay, I'm Not Very Patient

This beauty is going to be ONE very soon.

So of course I begged her mama to let me take her picture.

Then talked her mama into bringing the whole brood up to see us.

Then I took their pictures too. As quick as I could because her daddy wasn't real excited about it. ;)

And I know these photos haven't even made it out of iPhoto and into Photoshop yet (seriously, those eyes haven't even been to photoshop yet, and when they get there I wont be touching them!). I know I'm going to want to play with them (and about 300 others) even more in Photoshop.

But I'm not patient enough to finish editing before posting more.

And I was just sure you would want to see more of her too.

Because she's adorable.

Delightful.

Gorgeous.

And her family is pretty darn cute too!

AND just as fun as they look in photographs!

Coming Soon...

....more pictures of this beauty. And her brothers. And even her mama and dada.

Isn't she adorable?

I Love Saturdays

I'm actually up and (almost) ready for church on time today. So I thought I'd post an update of what we've been up to (since the rest of today is pretty full and will deserve it's own post later)!

Friday- I can't remember what my excuse was for not blogging. I can't even remember what we did that night....

Saturday- Started with a photography class. It was a lot of fun. I already knew a lot of what we did, but learned some fun new stuff to try out. Also learned I was going all about macro photos completely wrong.

And now have a better way to take them. I've been using many of my lenses for the wrong situations. Switched them up a bit and got much better results. SO much fun.

After class, I couldn't find my keys. This is not typical of me. It stressed me out. I retraced my steps and looked everywhere. Turns out they were in my ignition with the doors unlocked. Not so much fun.

I ran some errands after class (to finish some prep for this afternoon...). When I got home, Rusty and I ran out for a bit. Mostly to get groceries but we made a couple pit stops before the grocery store. I'll post pictures (as soon as I take some) of what we brought home. It's not a big deal, but something I'm really happy about!

We then went out to eat with Sara and James. We hadn't seen them since October so we were long overdue. We went to the ISU basketball game. James gave me another photography lesson and has me wanting more accessories for the Canon. (I know.. I'm fixing my eyes on things above right now and not on things of this world.)

Rusty's cousin's daughter (did you follow that?) performed with her gymnastics group for halftime. She is a little stud.

And I'll have to post about today later... but I'm excited about it! :)

Nubs

Tonight I'm missing a lot of somebodies.

I'm missing my husband who is off at basketball.

I'm missing some gal pals that I haven't gotten to talk to much during this busy season.

I'm missing family that lives too far away.

I'm missing my niece who I haven't seen nearly enough of lately.

And I'm missing this little guy.

Who left his book about Nubs at our house.

Ready, Set, Action!

Okay. I thought I may become a little obsessed with my new camera.

But I'm not so much.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my camera. And I do take pictures every day. In fact, there are weeks that I take hundreds of pictures of pretty much nothing. But that's not what I'm obsessed with right now.

Turns out I'm obsessed with photoshop instead.

Yup. I have no clue (okay, maybe just an eensy clue) of how to use it.

But I love it.

Actually. The truth is tonight is the first night I've actually used it to edit photos (as opposed to digiscrapping).

But I love it.

And I may have not actually done any editing myself, but rather clicked an action button and let that do all the work.

But I still love it.

Seriously, check out just a few of the simple actions you can do with it. The ones I applied here are free from Pioneer Woman. The first photo is SOOC/unedited. (I probably could have magic brushed his darling little cheek but I didn't.)

But seriously. Look at what you can do just by clicking one button.

Don't you just love it? Okay, I realize his eyes are easy on the camera and that helps. But seriously.

Updated:

The day after I posted this, I was on Pixel Perfect and saw she had a blog hop going for edited pictures. I linked up to it because I love seeing all the different editing styles. You can check them out here.

Blessings

Sometimes I feel like sitting around and whining about things that aren't blessings. Then I look around and see all of the great things in my life. It's those times that I feel bad for whining. And it's those times that I praise God for all that He blesses us with everyday.

Like when my husband unexpectedly brings home pineapple from the store in the middle of a long winter.

And then makes breakfast dinner and only asks for a teeny bit of help.

And lets me bum around all day when I don't feel good (yes, he picked the camera up unbeknownst to me. yes the next picture is of me looking at him with the "what the heck?" expression. yes those photos encouraged me to shower the grease out of my hair.).

And to top off those blessings in an otherwise crummy day, God blesses us with a beautiful sunset. From a sun that we haven't seen much of lately. Isn't God great?

Recipes

I'm still collecting recipes. I (finally) ordered my first book (thanks for the freebie, Jen!). And am finally working on the next ones. Here is a sample page. If you would like to contribute, I would love your recipes! And pictures!

Here is a copy of the last dessert book I made (pre photoshop!).

Happy Birthday, Papa Kev!

We were at R's dad's today for his birthday lunch.

As always, Colson was workin' the camera and I got a few good shots of him. His big brother, on the other hand, not so much. Although I did get a picture of big brother Coop today where he wasn't scowling at the camera. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Dakota always loves going to play with his "cousins" while we are there. It's great for us because he comes home worn out and just wants to sleep.

It was nice to get together for Papa Kev's birthday. He's done so much for us (like build our house) and we appreciate him a ton. Happy Birthday, Papa Kev!

Cooking Onesies on a Saturday Night

What to do when home alone on a Saturday night? Cook onsies, of course!

Remember that fabric that was begging me to stay home last night? Well It actually got attention today.

My original, original plan was to make a onesie for our friends' little girl. She turns one next month and I begged her mom to let me take pictures of her. Since she's the only girl in a family of tons of little boys, I wanted to make her a pink onesie. I originally was going to do an iron on design like I'd done in the past. Then opted for appliques instead.

When I went to the store, there were some toddler shirts on clearance for just over $2. I couldn't let them just sit there; I had to bring them home.

So my new original plan was to make shirts for my niece and nephews and cousin's kiddos too. Because Valentines is coming up (or something...).

So I made a few boy shirts, a couple girly shirts, and had some dyed onesies leftover.

They were okay.. but the cupcake onesie was lacking something.

So the new plan was to add ruffles.

I like ruffles.

So there ya go. The exciting life of a basketball coach's wife on a Saturday night.

Did I mention I like ruffles???

Total project cost: $18.80 for 6 shirts.

PS- Amy- there's (some of) the fabrics' new homes. (And Jett can thank me when he is older for restraining on the ruffled onesies.)

Good Night for Hot Cocoa

I had planned on being at R's basketball game tonight.

But.

My fabric was begging me to stay home.

And then the computer was beckoning me away from my fabric.

When all of a sudden the flying chunks of ice hitting the side of our house distracted me.

Which reminded me that I was cold.

And wanted some homemade hot cocoa.

Sometimes I feel like the mouse that got a cookie.

It's Here!

Jessica over at The Mom Creative posted about a free canvas offer online. Yep, I said free. So you know I had to get one. I ordered one of Dakota. I hung it above his space today. I think he likes it. Or maybe he was just hungry. Either way, I like it. Of course now this means I have to find a new place for his puppies calendar the vet gave him for Christmas. (You think I'm joking? I'm not.)

Want one? (A free canvas, not a puppies calendar... although if you are in the market for one of those too, I'm sure you can have Dakota's.) Check out Jessica's here and link up to the Canvas People from there. Then show me what you got!

Speed Scrap

Yesterday, The Design Girl hosted a Speed Scrap (no, I didn't know what it was either). Even though I had no clue what it was, if you participated she was giving discounts to buy her design kits. So of course I decided to participate. Basically it's a chat and they give you directions on how to put together a digital scrapbook page.

Thanks to my very awesome cousin, I recently got photoshop (but I have no idea how to use it). They were so patient with me and helped me out a lot. I'm sure they thought it was ridiculous how slow I was and how simple my project was but I was so excited about what I was learning. I put together one (very simple) scrap and Danielle (The Design Girl) was gracious enough to give me the freebie code (seriously, she is great. I like her. and did I mention my middle name is Danielle? it is.). The Speed Scrap hosts also sent me to a new site to take online photoshop class. I did the free tutorial today and did another scrap template. I'm so excited to take some classes, get some kits, and get going! Imagine how much more fun Shutterfly books will be!!

Winter

I could whine about how long this winter has been or how cold it is or how we will be in school till July... or I could give thanks to God for all the blessings in my life and appreciate the beauty around me that this cold weather and long winter bring. It really is beautiful, isn't it?

Give Me Jesus

This is my 'go to' song. I could add some lyrics to it, but I don't think Jeremy (yes, we are on a first name basis since he sent me that free t-shirt) would appreciate that.

Of course I doubt he is going to read my blog tonight so.....

When I'm sad.

When I'm thinking too highly of myself.

When I'm frustrated.

When I'm alone.

When I'm afraid.

When I'm getting a big head.

When I'm overwhelmed.

When I'm wanting more.

When I'm not sure what it is I'm wanting more of.

Give me Jesus.

Just give me Jesus.

Fonts Please

During my not so productive day yesterday, I spent a lot of time updating the blog. I was happy with the way it looked at the end of the day. I went to bed and all was well with the world (okay that's far from the truth, but things were okay as far as my blog header/posts were concerned...).

I had spent hours on this fancy little blog

yesterday downloading free fonts and changing the way my fonts appeared on my navibar, post titles, and side bar. It looked pretty nifty when I was finished (if I do say so myself. and I did. I never really got that...).
Then. I pull up the Hickstionary on the MacBook. And.... I'm seeing what most of you are probably seeing. The same old fonts that were there before. Only sizes and colors are different (and not in a good way) and I have no idea why they look that way. Since I don't have those new K&A fonts installed on this computer, I understand why the fonts are showing up as they were there, but why they are looking way out of whack here (and probably on yours too)- no idea. So if you want to get some fancy smancy fonts of your own (and enjoy my blog just that much more), check out K&A's site and download them for free. Or just use the squint method when you look at my blog because I like the way it looks from my end too much to change it. Sorry. :) Maybe I'll update a photo of it for you later so you can enjoy it for a second too. Or maybe not. ;)
Happy Monday, ya'll!

UPDATED:

This is what I see when I log in... cute, right?

Dirt Ball... I mean, Cup

Today was not the most productive day in my life (but let's be real... it wasn't the least productive either). I woke up with my eyes nearly swollen shut. I have had a headache for the last few days that I just couldn't shake (yes, I'm still considering it a headache.. upgrading it to the migraine status would mean admitting I need to take stronger drugs). Remember that busy January calendar and lack of days to sleep in? I'm blaming it on that. So after a full Saturday of work (yes, on a Saturday) and in-laws, I reluctantly skipped evening plans with my dear friend (sorry Jen) and stayed in to be a bum. Didn't help. So we reluctantly skipped church this morning (yeah, I know.) to be a bum. I slept in. Took a nap. Then I drank some Pepsi (I know. For those of you that think I haven't had pop since junior high... you probably feel like you don't know me anymore. I blame Ang. Although I really haven't had enough to call it a bad habit. Yet). And started feeling better. But apparently not better enough (sorry Lisa... I know you are an English teacher... please don't ditch my blog because of my poor grammar and red squiggly marks everywhere) to get caught up on my Bible study for the week. Just better enough (shh Lisa!) to do some updating of the blog. I finally have a navibar up top. Please use it so my efforts aren't wasted. Oh and better enough to enjoy a make-shift dirt cup. But not better enough to get out of dirt ball mode. Yet.

Life in January

Life in January consists of a lot of this.....

...and this.....

...and this...

...and this...

...and {hopefully} a lot of this.

There is a Reason

And when he came to the place....

...where the wild things are.....

...they roared their terrible roars....
....and gnashed their terrible teeth...
...and rolled their terrible eyes...
...and showed their terrible claws...

..till Max {Isaiah} said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick {book}.