Life's simple things

Today is my Birthday and I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately on things in life-I seem to do that often:) I am a day dreamer and very nostalgic and at times I can get totally lost in the past. Sometimes thinking of the past makes me laugh and sometimes it makes me cry...I feel that I had a very memorable childhood and teenage years-some great times and some not so Great times too but they have made me the person I am today and in one word I would define that as BLESSED!
I am a Mom, wife, sister, aunt, friend, cousin and most of all just Me. They all define me but when it comes down to it I have to be me first and foremost before I can possibly any of the others to anyone. There is a quote that I have loved through many years just for the fact that it says so much in a few words-it has to do with Life and Art-two of the most precious things there are. Life is defined of many things and so is art-they actually go hand in hand and...They Make Me the Person I am Today! The quote is this: "Live one day at a time and make it a Masterpiece". Live every day to your fullest and find the joy in the simple things! These are some of the things I have learned in life that have touched me or made me the person I am today and I can honestly say that there haven't been times they made me cry or laugh or just really ponder what I was seeing or feeling inside. Have I ever said how sentimental I am? :) yep, about maybe too many things in life but it is precious you know?

1. Stay up all night and watch the sun come up-over the ocean is amazing!
2. Chocolate is good at any time of the day
3. Beauty really is deep inside a person-it's the outside that people judge
4. Long lost loves are not always lost
5. childrens laughter really Does make you feel good
6. running on the beach with your kids is amazingly fun
7. you're never too old to be Daddy's girl
8. You can count your true friends on one hand
9. sunsets are not all the same-bright orange, purple, pinks are all beautiful
10. a long drive with music can calm the soul
11. being alone is ok once in awhile but togetherness makes your heart full
12. rain and thunder go hand in hand-listen to the sound of them both
13. girl days with the girlfriends is therapeutic
14. crying is not always a BAD thing-it cleanses you
15. there are not many flowers that aren't beautiful-my favorite..the rose, even the thorns play their part.
16. getting a letter in the mail from a good friend brightens your day.
17. color is such a fun thing to work with:)
18. sun tea is so good with ice and lemon
19. my heart breaks easily but can be mended just as easy
20. paper, ink, stickers and pictures can tell a great story
21. True friends will be there for you NO MATTER what time of day it is.
22. whether you say you can or you can't-You are right!
23. playing in the leaves is FUN:)
24. snow is beautiful but Winter can be very depressing-sun is so welcoming
25. The days of our youth are so carefree
26. seeing new places when traveling makes you wiser
27. the kinds of ice cream you ate when you were a kid were so good
28. wear makeup even when you aren't going some place:)
29. reading a good book can "take you away" for a little while
30. breathing in the fresh mountain air can really rejuvenate you
31. lap dogs are so loveable:)
32. bubble baths are a little piece of heaven :)
33. I am always..A work in progress

Editing is a good thing:)

Today I edited some photos that I had sitting in my history folder at Picnik.com and I used to play around with my photos there quite a bit when I first signed up and I thought I should do something today with some of them so..I fixed up a couple with my cute girlies in them. I keep seeing all these photos that people are editing with their photos a lighter shade like they are faded and it has really caught my eye so maybe I kind of got that look I wanted and maybe not but I do love how they came out. The first one I put a frame on it-like the "older" polaroid frames-I loved that camera my Grandma had and the way the pictures came out right away and kind of appeared like magic on the frame:) and the second one is lightened and last photo has No editing-straight from the camera. Which one do you like the best?

 

My Goofy Girls-they make my days so bright with all their quirkiness..Love Em!!

Hooked on Digital

Have I said yet how much I love Digital scrapbooking? Ever since I got Storybook Creator 3+ I have been HOOKED-I never knew digital was so easy. All you have to do really is play around with papers, embellishments and words and the rest is pretty easy. I love that with digital you can Undo things if you don't like them whereas if you do paper scrapbooking whatever sticker or word you write on your page is pretty much there to stay.I have done a few pages in the last few weeks and the more I do it the more I like it. I just want to do more and more:) This is the most recent page I did of my Son. I am really liking B&W pictures/pages right now and I think it turned out pretty good.

This page was done with Creative Memories papers, embellishments and the font I used was called Sandals-I chose this font just as a challenge to use a font with the same letter that my sons name starts with.

Catching Up & New Camera

Wow!! It feels longer than a week since my last blog but that is probably cause I have Spring fever and I am feeling couped up and yes Dreaming of Spring but...I know it's on it's way:) it is finally March and a great month. March is the month that I celebrate my anniversary, birthday and Spring all in the same month. This weekend my two youngest kids are in the Spelling Bee-one of them is pretty excited and the other is more nervous than anything I think. Being a parent I am just excited all around for both of them that they are the two going from their school. Our oldest daughter is getting ready to start track and this will be her first year going out in High School-she didn't do track last year as a Freshman. I am looking forward to going and watch her compete :)

I got a new camera a couple weeks ago and Wow...I love it!! It's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. The pictures it takes are amazing and clear. The manual to it is quite detailed and there is a lot to learn with it but I am sure looking forward to that especially seeing what this camera can do.My favorite setting on it so far is the Macro mode-I have always loved close up photos and with this camera it captures some great shots. Here are some that I have got within the last week.

Beautiful yellow flower that was in my daughters bouquet

Winter Blahs

I admit it-I am NOT a Winter girl...I don't like the cold and the slick roads but especially hate that the wind seems to blow constantly and then creates a white out where it's hard to see anything. I do love the look of the frost on the trees, fence posts, windows and etc. It makes for some really good photography but the rest of it I can do without.
This Winter has been so long too and I have cabin fever already and am ready for some warmth on my face from the welcoming sunshine. I keep telling myself, it is one day closer to Spring and that keeps me going-Yes, I am really an optimistic kind of girl even though most people don't really know that about me by some of the complaining I do at times. I always try to have something to look forward to and right now that is Spring:)
These are a few of the photos I have taken this Winter and looking forward to those beautiful new beginnings of Spring to capture behind my lens.

This is what Winter looks like in Montana!