Is October almost over? Already?

Wow! This month seems like it has just flown by so fast! I suppose it's because we've been super busy, the hubby and I have both been out of town (him -- a LOT) and I've just put blogging on the back-burner. (Yeah, as if you couldn't tell already...)

SO, I thought I'd post a little update about us and what we've been up to lately.

Earlier this month, the kids and I took a trip up to Utah so that I could attend and also teach at the ScrapGirls convention. It was a long road trip there and back, but it was also a lot of fun. Not only did we get to hang out with Matt, Shayne, Remi and Corr, but I also got to take some fun pictures of their family! It was so nice to have somewhere to sleep so that we could break up the trip a little.

Then once we were in Utah, I got to hang with my ScrapGirls friends, see my sister and her hubby, visit with my aunt Mary, and just have a generally good time. Lots of good sleep was had, which is coveted these days. Here are some pictures from the convention:









Those ones at the end are some fun portraits my friends asked me to do while we had spare time here and there. It was so fun to get to photograph them and hopefully give them some new avatars! :) Because really, as women (and especially moms!), how often are we in front of the camera instead of behind it? Not often enough, I tell you! So I was glad to give these women a brief chance to have their photos taken.

I urge you to do the same! Ask a friend, your hubby, even your kids to take some photos of you once in a while. Even if you have to bust out the tripod, just DO IT! You won't be sorry. Your kids will actually have a photographic record of the mom they love! :)

And because I suffer from the same predicament, I'll show you my own portrait that my friend Caroline took:


So yeah, that's my soap-box moment for the day. :)

I hope you're all having a wonderful week and getting ready for a great Halloween! We are going to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat activity tonight, but that's another post.....

(does that keep you in enough suspense? check back tomorrow for our big costume reveal!)

happy

Seriously, if this song does not make you smile, then there is nothing I can do, you're terminal. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKnQjBf8wM

I've watched it a few times and every time I do, it just makes me happy. It helps that I took ASL in college and I can totally relate to the facial expressions and everything. I love it. :D

Conan Love

I just had to share this because I think it's the coolest thing, and OH SO crafty.

Cool pins by batzie09

And it doesn't hurt that I have a crush on Conan. It's okay, the hubby knows. He's down.

LIVE

from the ScrapGirls Digital Scraplink Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah!

I am just too excited to be around all my favorite ScrapGirls and be able to reconnect with friends that I've missed all year! And even if I don't have a laptop and I'm stuck with my HUGE iMac monitor, I'm still going to enjoy being here, LOL!

I miss my kids terribly but I know they're in good hands. Thanks Ali!! Love you! And thanks to my aunts that are going to go above and beyond by watching my kiddos. I know they're in good hands, and I don't have to worry (even though I still will. What can I say, I'm a mom!).

So anyways, yesterday was filled with sitting around with everyone, chatting up a storm, getting ready for the convention to start today! Now it's all about taking photos, setting up the tables, getting prepared for the members and attendees to show up and have fun! Can't wait!

(Oh, and tomorrow will find me teaching a photography lighting class to this big group and I won't lie -- I'm a little nervous! But I'm sure it will be great.) Wish me luck!! :)

Linkin' Up

Since some of you have asked for some great DIY blog recommendations, here's a little list of the ones I've been reading lately. They're so inspiring and make me want to get my butt in gear and decorate this house! (Once we're back from Utah, that is.)

Enjoy! (There are also TONS of inter-linked sites and stuff that you can find just by searching around on these blogs. I swear, I can get SO lost in internet rabbit holes when given then chance!)

The Nesting Place

A Soft Place to Land

Living with Lindsay

U-Create

The DIY Show-Off

Have fun and be crafty! We're leaving tomorrow and probably won't be blogging for a good week or so. But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and I'll want to update you on my trip. We'll see... :)

hi there

Can you see those two little toofers? Yep, those (and the four on the top that you can't see) are what has been giving me early gray hairs for the past couple of weeks! That's a major reason I've been MIA here as well.

What have we been up to lately? Well, this past weekend we took a nice little walk around our neighborhood and had a lovely time. We've also been busy running errands,

setting up a tent in our living room,

(and yes, this is an older picture because I haven't taken any of the tent today. but it's still the same tent and boy, just imagine shorter hair, lol!)

taking pictures of my little crazies,

celebrating a dear friend's birthday,

learning how to clap,

and just generally having a good time. I've also been working on getting some inspiration for decorating the house a little more. I am just lazy and need to get my butt in gear and do it! And for cheap! :) I love the whole DIY idea, and I follow a few blogs that embrace this thinking. It's fun to see the before and after photos. Maybe one of these days I'll have some to share.

Anyways, I'm off this weekend on a roadtrip to Utah with my two best boys (they hubby has to work, boo!) and I'm going to be soaking in the FALL they're having up there. I'm a tad bit jealous, but I'll keep it to myself. Maybe one day we'll live somewhere where the leaves actually change! And I don't mean in January! :)

i LOVE my family!

so, as i'm sure you've noticed (or maybe not. maybe i'm just narcissistic to think that you'd notice me being gone, LOL!), but i haven't been blogging in a while. mostly it's because i've had lots going on, some of it is because we haven't really done much lately to blog about, but it's also because i've been trying to figure out where i am with this and the photography thing and what i want to get out of it. for a while there i wanted to blog and post about everything in my life, and lately it just hasn't been that way. maybe it's just an 'i am tired of blogging' phase that i'll grow out of, or maybe it's just a stepping away from this to do more important things at the moment. or maybe it's because the hubby's been out of town more often and my go-to camera lens is broken! whatever it is, i'm just going to roll with it and not worry about expectations, real or imagined. :) so you can stay with me and read all about it if you'd like. if not, that's cool.

so anyways, about this title, i really do love my family. and while i do love my immediate family, that's not who i mean. i'm talking about my extended family -- my aunts and uncles and cousins. specifically, this day, i'm talking about my aunt debbie, my aunt mary, and my little sister. i love them because they are helping me out with a situation that is really stressful to me, but knowing that they are there for me and able to help is just taking a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

they're going to take turns watching my beautiful boys while i'm teaching and participating in a scrap girls convention* coming up in october. this has been a huge deal for me because i knew that if i was going to go to the convention, i would have to give away my kids to someone(s) for a while, and i hate not only burdening someone else with that task, but also being away from them and not having control of what's going on. i know i need to let go more often, so this is good for me, but it's still stressful trying to make sure they'll be well-taken care of all of these days i'll be gone.

but in step these amazing women who are here to help out and i am just SO grateful to them for their cheerful countenances and helpful attitudes. it's seriously nice to know that i won't have to worry about the kids because they'll be with family they know and love and i know they'll have a blast.

from left to right: grams, aunt debbie, my seester ali and me
(totally fat and about 11 months pregnant. or maybe it just seemed like that. but i really was about to pop, so be kind to the horrible picture.)

so thank you, family, for all of your help, love, and support. especially to someone who hasn't seen you in years (debbie!) !

oh, and shayne, you're awesome. thank you for being willing to help, and i know we'll have a chance to take you up on it some day.

and grams, you too, i know would be one of those helpers if you were going to be in town, i know it. :)

*PS: if you're at all interested in joining me at the convention this year, i suggest you do it! i promise, you won't be disappointed. i'm even teaching a great photography lighting class that you'll get lots out of, and there will be LOTS of amazing stuff to learn. trust me, you won't regret it. join us! :)

Travelin' Man

I can think of about 3 reasons why it's great when the hubby goes out of town.

1. I don't have to cook dinner because I can eat a bowl of cereal and E is fine with PB&J
2. I can watch whatever sappy, girly, old-fashioned movie I want (in last night's case, Sense & Sensibility) without any protests
3. I can work on some crafty projects without feeling like I'm ignoring him
   

But then again I can think of at least 800 reasons why it is not very fun when the hubby goes out of town.

We miss you, babe. All of us. E keeps asking where you are and when you'll be coming home. I know, I know, it wasn't a very long trip, but still. :)

Can't wait to welcome you home tonight!

Very Wild

Anyone who loves Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are will just love this blog I stumbled upon. I can't believe how many awesome artist renderings there are! The styles, the colors, the shapes, the emotions all rolled up in such visual splendor! Not to mention childlike whimsy. Can you tell I love the whole idea of this? Can't wait for the movie to come out and see what it's like.

So yeah, check it out if you love this book as much as me. And even if you don't, but you're just a fan of good art, you can check it out too.

Now.....

Dealing with the Pursuit of Perfection

Oh man, this post over at Simple Mom really hit me on the head today. It's all about how aiming for perfection tends to make us less productive because it's so overwhelming to reach perfection that we end up not doing anything. Talk about my life!

Lately I have been having balance issues. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I shot my first-ever solo wedding (and it was family, so there was added pressure there, plus attending all the surrounding festivities), I launched my website/business/blog, E's been potty training and the laundry just keeps piling up. Man, there has been a lot going on.

So this week I've been trying to be better at getting my home 'work' stuff done before my computer 'work' (real work or funstuff) stuff gets done, which is hard for an email/Facebook/blog junkie like me. And trust me, I haven't been perfect and finished everything I've wanted, but I have finished some things. Baby steps, right Bob?

I am sure that many (if not all) of you reading this blog deal with this same kind of thing, once in a while, if not all the time. What have you done to help you get past the idea of perfection? Is there something you tell yourself every day to motivate you? A routine you have that works? I'd love to hear from you!

Oh, and PS: I've announced the two winners of the giveaway on my photo blog. Did you win? Go check it out to see! :)