What to wear...

I have a huge dilemma, I have nothing to wear. I have lost 15 pounds since summer, okay so not a great loss, but my clothes are getting to big. So whoohoo for me!!! Back to my dilemma, clothes from last year are too big as I said, but my prepregnancy clothes are well not my style anymore. Most of my clothes are 3-5 years old and I just don't like them. So you would think a shopping trip would be in order, I do like to shop. But when I go to the store I can't find anything I like. My hubby says I am being too picky, maybe I am. I swear though, the fashions right now, look like the 80's early 90's. I should know I grew up in this era. Now don't get me wrong, I thought I was stylin back then, but at 34 I really don't think the long sweater and stretch pants look is very flattering on me. My other dilemma is that I like junior clothes, but I am 34 and I am not a size 4, see the problem, and the womens clothes, well let's just say I am 34 and not 64. It is so frustrating I could just scream. So what should a 34 year old, not size 4, want to be comfortable, but also trendy, on a budget wear????? I need help......

She's Two....

It's so hard to believe that my baby is two. I know most parent's say this when their children get older, but it's hard to believe. One minute a baby, the next a little lady, who is now throwing fits. Gotta love the terrible two's. For her 2nd birthday we had an all pink party. I soooo love pink and so does her sister, so hopefully Bitsy girl will love it too.
I don't like to spend alot of money on decoration, why spend money on stuff you are going to throw away. Yes I could keep it for another party, (1) would I remember where I put it (2) would everything be smooshed. Well I lucked out I went to Michaels and they had all their pink princess themed decorations on sale for 90% off. So I got everything even the gift bag treats for under $10. Now that's what I call a great deal. And let me just say that if you don't have a cupcake stand, go get one. I got mine last year and love it. It's a great center piece and who doesn't love cupcakes.

And now the birthday girl.....

Isn't she so cute in her little outfit. It was so cute when she first saw the cupcakes, she pointed at the them and said wow. I know honey, so yummy.

So the day was pretty chaotic, 20 plus people in my house, most of them kids, my house a total wreck, tons of dishes, but it was totally worth it. Happy Birthday my sweet little girl. Mama loves you.

hello are you still here...

So in the last 3 weeks I have had computer problems, 2 sick kiddos and I caught the cleaning, decorating and organizing bug. I should be back this week. I can't wait to post the outfit I made for Bitsy girls 2nd birthday. So cute!!!!

hugs
*a*

Wordless Wednesday - a special bond

....she just adores her older brother and he loves it.

The photo wall

I have always wanted a photo wall, I see them in magazines, websites, and other blogs, and I love them. So after our vacation I ordered a whole bunch of photos all different sizes, this was my first mistake. After I got the pictures back from the printer, I loved them, but since I order them all willy-nilly there was symmatry to my photo wall I hated it. I didn't even get them up on the wall, so behind the couch they went until I came up with a plan. Well a plan I finally came up with and with my wonderful hubby's help, I finally have a photo wall in my family room.

The verdict, I LOVE IT!!!
Since I was putting up a photo wall, I had an old window in the garage, that I saved from our remodel, boy I wish I would have saved more, I added some photos from 2009 of my kids and then I added a some rub-ons directly to the glass and some flowers. All I did to the window was clean the glass, that's it. I think it's a perfect addtion to my family room. Plus I can change the photos out every year.

On the wall opposite my photo wall, I hung a shelf and added more pictures. It looks great. The best part of all of this was the price, both my shelves together were under $10, window frame, free, picture frames all found on clearance, under $40 for everything. Having all my memories on the wall to enjoy, PRICELESS. (I know so cheesy, but I couldn't resist hehe).




hugs,
a

A good day....

A good thrift store day that is. I love yard sales and thrift store, searching through piles of junk to find a treasure is just so exciting. I don't get to go the thrift store as often as I would like because it's 20 minutes in the wrong direction, there's nothing else there to do in that area. Since the kids are back in school and Bitsy girl and I had some free time, I decided to go and see what they had. I am redoing my bathroom, (hopefully this weekend) and needed to find some stuff to decorate with. I found some great stuff.



All this for under $30. I needed a stand for my living room, and found one for $2, it reminds me of something in my grandmothers basement, but with a little paint it will be fabulous. I got the blue shelf for $2, the towel rack $1 and I have an idea for the glass dish thingy. I think it's a cheese dish, so no there won't be any cheese in my bathroom. I also got a tablecloth, for recovering 2 pillows and a nice sheet. Sheets are an inexpensive peice of fabric, this is a queen sheet, no stains for only 2.99. I also got some shorts for Miss Pie, bogo, and a skirt for Bitsy, 2 pillows and an embroidery hoop (I have a project planned for this). I think that's everything there, and did I mention how much I love to go thrifting.

Stay tuned for some projects coming up in the future.

Happy thrifting,
*a*

Here I am....

My poor, poor, neglected blog, I just noticed it's been a month since I posted last. Where has the time gone? Since I have been gone so long, I thought I would do a recap of the last month:

1. We went to fair with my mom, 8 people in a 5th wheel good times. Hubby even brought our pop-up down and we stayed in it a few nights in the over-flow. How I love the fair, sorry no pictures, they are on my camera and I'm too lazy to go get it and upload the pictures.

2. The kids went back to school. Everyone was set, new lunchboxes, bookbags, shoes, clothes, school supplies, check, check, check. And then there was 2 at home. I am a routine oriented person, so the summers and all the chaos get to me at times, so I really look forward to the routine of school.




Everyone loves their teacher and so far is having a great couple of weeks. Miss Pie is in the band and loves it. My mother-in-law got her a clarinet at a yard sale for 10 bucks and we bought her book and she been teaching herself all summer how to play, she is actually pretty good. This summer I think I am going to teach her how to play the piano since she'll already have the basics down.

3. We went camping over Labor Day, sorry no pics once again. I really wasn't ready to go on this trip and so I wasn't in the bestest of moods and was just ready to go home.

So that pretty much sums up the past few weeks, not too exciting I know. So you may be wondering what Bitsy Girl has been doing since her siblings are at school most of the day.....
she excited to be sitting a the new bar all by herself eating ravoli's like a big girl.

My kids are home from school, so you know what that means HOMEWORK!!!!

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday

.....on Saturday. I know I am a day late, but I had to fix this photo because it's mine.


I know it an awful picture, this is right after I got my camera and had no clue what I was doing. I also didn't realize that my apparel could affect my picture, but it can... See here....

It's not only my red shirt, this picture is severely underexposed and to be completely honest with you if I would take a picture like this now, unless it was really special to me I would just trash it. I wouldn't even mess with editing it.
But since the title of this post is "Fix-it Friday" here's my edit.


Go check out I ♥ Faces and see all the other edits of my picture of Big B.....

out for not...
*a*

One summer day...

What do you do on a hot summer day? Go to a local amusement park of course. Yesterday we met my mom and had a fun day together riding rides, eating and then going to the water park. Boy was I exhausted when I got home and a little sunburnt. The kids all had a pretty good time, so all my exhaustion was well worth it.



Oh mom, aren't you glad you made a silly face when I was taking pictures.....

have a great day,
*a*

I get too.....

Do you ever get into the mood of I have to, I have to do the dishes, the 5th load of laundry, clean the floor and so on. Not only saying I have too, but saying it in a grumbling matter. I am so guilty of this, whining and complaining about having to do things. Well today I got a good kick in the butt, a friend of mine from church passed away. 3 months ago she was fine and then got a strep infection which entered her blood stream and affected her heart. She had surgery 2 weeks ago, but things didn't go as plan and she is now in heaven with Jesus. She leaves behind a husband and 3 kids, her youngest is 1 month older than Bitsy Girl. Her death has hit me really hard, I think it's the fact that we are around the same age and that it her illness came on so sudden. Also that I am sit here complaining about things that I HAVE to do, instead I should look at it as things I get to do. I am able to cook for my family, I have 4 healthy children that play hard and get their clothes dirty and they need washed, I am able to stand and wash my floor and so on. Sometimes we can all get caught up in the complaining that this isn't right or I have so much to do, but we should be thankful that we are able to do it and that God has blessed us with another day on this beautiful earth.

I just ask that please keep the P. family in your thoughts and prayers as they are dealing with the untimely death of their wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend.

hugs
*a*

Weigh-in Wednesday

Today is the last weigh-in day over at Sisterhood of the shrinking Jeans, boy did that 7 weeks fly by. I wanted to post every week on here, but life got in the way and you all know how that is. So anywhoo I lost a total of



Drumroll please.......


8.8 pounds, not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it. Not that I am making excuses, but I did have a vacation in there and a couple camping trips, 4th of July and several birthdays. So all in all not to shabby. I am ready for the next challenge.

I just wanted to give a shout out to my fellow Orange team-mates. You guys and girls did a fabulous job, keep up the weight-loss!!!!

hugs
*a*

I'm still alive....

I know, I haven't posted in what seems like forever. I don't know who came up with the phrase "lazy days of summer", because they were way off, our summer has been anything but lazy. It has been very enjoyable, I am not a fan of the heat and so far (thank you Lord) this has been one cool, non-humid, rainy (non-drought), breezy summer. I absolutely love it, usually at the end of July I can't wait for August to be over and for fall to be here, for some cool air. This year I don't want the summer to end. So what have we been up to, well I'll tell you.

Right after school we went on vaction... I need to post more pictures of our vacation, I promise soon. I finally got through about 700 pictures, ditched some and then edited the rest and printed a photo book and did some prints to hang up, plus friends of our went with us and I took their picture and had to edit them, my first session with non-family members, I loved it. Though I have alot to learn about photography and editing. Here's our family picture...

After vacation my mom took the 3 older kids for a few days, my mom is such a saint, she still has 4 kids at home and then add my 3 to that. Calgon is all I have to say. They had a good time at gram's and look forward to it every year.
I only had Bitsy girl at home and we just enjoyed being outside smelling the flowers...

Bible school was next and during Bible School Big B broke his collar bone. You may be wondering what kind of church we attend, let me assure you it's a down to earth Baptist church. The teens however were having extreme nights and he loved it up until Thursday night, the boys were playing football, tackle football and he got tackled and well you can guess the rest. I get a phone call, mom can you come get me I think I broke my collar bone, a late night trip to the ER and yes they confirmed it was broke. So his summer hasn't been the best, no riding dirt bike, bike, running, lifting weights for football, horsing around, the only thing he can do is swim and well it hasn't been the hottest around here, but we are not going to complain about that one bit.

We also had a birthday, well several, July is a busy month for birthdays. Miss Pie turned 11, she is growing up so fast I can't believe it. For her birthday she got to decide what she wanted to eat for all three meals, and no helping around the house and then a little party in the evening. Nothing big, but she had a great day...
Daddy also had a birthday, so did Pap B and Meemaw F. Happy Birthday everyone.....

We have gone to the park...
You think Bitsy girl would have loved the slide, yeah not so much....



I am so glad they humor me and smile when I have my camera, unlike this little lady....

But look she is sitting, we went down by the creek (but in this neck of the woods we call it a crick) and she wouldn't got near the water so she sat and she sat still. Now why didn't I come here before. Hehee!! Anywhoo I got some great shots of her actually in focus.
and a picture of my 2 beautiful girls.

We also went to an amusement park, had lunch with friends, some fun days with cousins, camping trip to a state park and another camping trip planned this weekend. Plus to top it off we are siding our house and doing a small kitchen remodel. (whoohoo) We are just down right busy and lovin it.

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Let's hear it for the Boys

Here is a picture of all three of my boys on vacation.



Click on the I ♥ Faces button at the top to check out all the other great picutes.

Weigh-in Wednesday

Today is weigh-in #3, last week I didn't weigh-in due to vacation. I was really afraid to weigh-in, I was active during my vacation and tried to eat good, but you know how those things go. I was shocked when I stepped on the scale, I lost and then I really watched what I ate during this week, so I am down a total of 4.6 pounds. Whoohoo, I am really happy, atleast the scale is going in the right direction.

Last week I really struggled with my snacking, I love those 100 calorie packs, but the goal is only to eat 1, not 5. So I really have to work on healthier snacks, I went to grocery store and bought some fruit, so hopefully that will help ward off the munchies. I also have problems getting in enough water, I can't stand the taste.

My goals for this week is to get into a regular exercise routine, drink enough water, or just more and stay on target with my points.

By the way Orange Team, you rocked this week!!!!

Here's to getting fit one day at a time
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Sephia Toned

This week at I ♥ Faces the theme is sephia toned photos, now to be honest I don't use sephia tone very much, well really not at all. My favorite is chocolate black and white or just plain old black and white. I decided to give it a try and you know what I liked it, I really liked it(I sound like the old Life commercial). Here ya go, a picture from our vacation last week of my oldest and youngest....



What a sweet moment, not really, I think she was trying to bite his shoulder, oh well, I love this photo, loving moment between siblings or not....

Make sure you go check out all the other great photos at I ♥ Faces .

hugs
*a*

We're home

Ahhhh, home sweet home, I do however miss the beach. We had a fantastic time, the weather was perfect, the waves were great for boogie boarding, the water was a tad cold, but that's what you get in the beginning of June, the food was yummy, and the company was awesome. Sounds like a good time, doesn't it. I am still in the middle of editing and going through 700 pictures so hopefully by Thursday I will give you all a run down of our wonderful, awesome, fantastic vacation.

Now you don't think I would leave you hanging with nothing I do have a couple that I have edited, here you go.....




That's all I have for now, I know not much, but friends of ours went to the beach with us and I did a family photo shoot with them and have been editing theirs first. Hopefully tonight I will be done with their shoot and then I can edit some more of mine.

hugs
*a*

It's my Birthday and I'll cry if I want too....

The reason I am crying is because today is weigh-in day over at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants. So I had to weigh-in Yippee, not.

Starting weight - 185 this is not good folks and I really hate typing this number in, but I need to be honest with myself.
Goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds, I would be happy with more but I don't want to set an unreasonable goal. Plus I am leaving for vacation on Friday. ((Yikes))

This morning I Shredded, boy that Jillian can kick my butt.

Here's to a fit and fabulous life and a happy birthday to me!!!
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Pets

This week at I ♥ Faces they want to see pictures of your pet. So here is our Otto: Just being himself, taking a nap out in the yard, now that's a good life.

Don't forget to go check out all the other cute animals over at I heart faces.

*a*

A chubby mama.....

Lately I have been so discouraged about my weight, it just seems that I can't lose anything or I try for a little and then eat ice cream (do you know how much I love ice cream) My birthday is coming up in a few short days and once again I am hating how I look and feel. So I am going to do something about it I joined The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Pants challenge. My goal is for my 35th birthday next year, to be the happy about me, to have energy to run and play with my kids, to not have a muffin top when I wear jeans, to not have my favorite pair of pants be yoga pants (though they are so comfortable)and not to dread vacation and my bathing suit. I need to take time out for me, I only get one life and hating how I look and feel is not a way to live.

So please join me on this journey, I need all the encouragement I can get. Since I am a photographer-wannabe I will include pictures throughout my journey to a fit and healthy me. Wednesdays are weigh-in days, so on Wednesday, I will blog about my week, trials and accomplishments, and weight loss. Maybe even some healthy recipes I stumble upon.

here's to getting fit one day at time,
hugs *a*

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday

Here is the original picture posted up at I ♥ Faces
Isn't she just a doll...

Here's my edit, I working in PS.

My Steps....
I ran it through Noiseware
defog
curves
adjusted the levels
and then converted it to BW and adjust the contrast and brightness, till I liked it.

If you want to see more fix-it's on this photo go check out I ♥ Faces.

*a*

Rain, Rain....

You know the song, but there is something about spring rains that I love, maybe that everything is green and after a rain the outdoors just seem so refreshing. Or the sound of the rain hitting the roof, peaceful. Last evening we had a thunder storm, after the storm past it was just so beautiful outside I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

See what I mean, refreshing, there is no other word to describe it.



Maybe a little singing in the rain too, she was dancing around alittle, but of course I didn't have my camera ready. This was all taken in front our house. We decided to go out back and this is what we saw....
Breath-taking!!!! It's so wonderful to see God's beauty right out your back door!!!

hugs
*a*

I ♥ Faces - Silhouettes

This week at I ♥ Faces the focus is silhouettes. I have tried for the last week to get a decent shot, but I haven't had much luck. My problem is that we live in the mountains, and it's really hard to get on the same plain as the sun. Today I was going to try to one with a window, but it rained, now I am not going to complain about the rain because we really need it. So here is my shoot, not the greatest of silhouettes, but it will have to do.

In two weeks we are headed to the beach so hopefully I will get some good silhouette shoots of my family. Make sure you go check out I ♥ Faces for some awesome shoots.

out for now
*a*

A camping we did go...

Our first trip of the season, and it went pretty well. Last year we only went on one trip, because camping was not Bitsy girl's thing. This year, though, she did pretty well, so I do believe more trips will be in our future this summer, which everyone is really excited about.

Our Memorial Day tradition is to go camping with my parents, it is really nice to spend a few days with them and the kids had a blast.


We took the bikes, so they had fun riding all around...

and then they played a little whiffle ball

But it wasn't all fun and games, daddy had to do a little studying


and no camping trip would be complete, without playing in the dirt with your bestest buddy in the whole wide world

then after a full day of playing and getting filthy, a basin bath was in order

it was also really nice to cuddle with meemaw
Bitsy girl was just eating up all the attention, but I am pretty sure Meemaw was lovin it too.

Now if you think I wasn't there, you are sadly mistaken, no I have no actual pictures of myself due to fact that I am the official picture taker, but I did manage to get in one picture.
Look closely in my dad's glasses, see that shilloutte, yep that's me. I was on a family camping trip after all.

After all that fun, food, and family it was time to pack up and go home. Can't wait till next year....

hugs
*a*

Week 19 - "Favorite Photo Ever!"

This week at I ♥ Faces it's more of a contest. We are supposed to pick our favorite pictures. Well I have only had my camera for a little over 2 months and the whole month of March I was sick so I don't have much to choose from. While I was purusing my photos I found this one of Big B that I love, it's so him.


Go check out all the other fabulous entries over at I ♥ Faces .


I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb book photo contest. If chosen, I grant I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

I do think it's impossible...

I have been trying since December to get a good shot of my 4 kids together. I want to make a photo wall in my family room. I've seen a few ideas I like, but we'll talk about the photo wall at a later date, right now the problem at hand, my lovely children. They will not cooperate, it's not so much the older ones, it's the itty bitty one, that girl runs when she sees a camera. When she is by herself, I can usually get some shots, by calling her name, asking her to show me her teeth, or making silly noises. Usually half the shots are out of focus, but I can get 3 or 4 decent ones.

Here's take 1:

I think Miss Pie is going to pull Bitsy arms right out and yes that big blur is my darling 18 month old, she wanted to run.

Now take 2:

Does she look happy??? Also everything is horrible, their skin is blown, no one looks happy. Arghhhhh!!!!!!!

I am not throwing in the towel, I will keep trying until I have the perfect shot. I'll keep ya all updated.

Oh by the way, my crafty self must have read my letter, because she showed up this weekend and we have been busy, we redecorated and painted my kitchen, altered an old picture from the thrift store, and made Bitsy a quilt and it's only Wednesday. I'll upload pictures tomorrow.

hugs
*a*

P.S. Please be praying for the The Freeman family their little baby Kayliegh passed away on May 11 and they need all the love and support right now. I encourage you to go read their story, it is very touching.