Hello Everyone!!!

Well, did you think I could totally forget about my blog???  I didn't at all!  Life has been busy here and for my new job, I write blog posts!  Ha!  It has gotten in the way of me writing my own, but I am back and ready to continue documenting life!  :-)

I am going to back track and do several posts of last year and lead up to this year so I don't forget anything.  It is my plan to keep a book from year to year!  I better get moving!

All is well and we are settling into our new home and starting to decorate!  Yeah!

Winter FINALLY ended.  Holy Moly!!!!  This was not the winter to move from the beach in my lovely Charleston to Minnesota!  Snow in May... seriously?!?

I hope y'all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and I am so glad to be back!

My heart is breaking...

My heart is breaking for those families in Connecticut.  I cannot even begin to fathom the depths of grief, pain and despair that they are feeling.  As the mommy of a 1st grader this seemed all too real to me and I have cried so many times through the day.

As I was driving I heard "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and I just broke down for those poor parents who will never have a normal Merry Christmas again.

It took all I had not to go get Jemma from school today, but I wrapped her in my arms and said a prayer of gratitude for her safety as she got off the bus.  Jemma's smile is sweeter, laugh is funnier and hugs are more precious tonight.

I pray for comfort for these families and the responders.  I pray for strength of those left behind to push on.  May God wrap his arms around these poor families.

Hello Friends and a Google question!

Hello everyone!  I am so slow with blogging!  I truly thought when Jemma would go to school that I would have all the time in the world!  HA!!!!!  I am so busy!  I started an online job working for Chic Critique.  It is a photography forum with awesome info for any photographer.  They are launching a Giveaways page and I am the Manager!  I have been busy contacting vendors and scheduling the giveaways.  I will be blogging them each day and announcing the winners.  I am excited and it is fun to have a little money all my own for my frivolous things I want! I have also done 4 more photo shoots!  I feel like the magician in Frosty who says, "Busy, busy, busy!"  I am loving it!

We hosted Thanksgiving here and my MIL, SIL and her fiancee came to the great white north and white it was!  It was 54 on Thanksgiving morning but sleeting and snowing by that night!  It was a wonderful feast that they prepared.  I made appetizers and desserts.  The experts were in charge of the turkey and Grandma's Italian dressing recipe!

Okay... so I went to upload photos and it tells me all my storage has run out.  It used to be $5 a year and now it is $2.49 a month!  Do you guys pay this or do you do something different?  Aaargh...

HGTV and ... ME!!!!

What is this?

Why it is the new HGTV magazine?  It just came out today!  Isn't it festive and lovely?

Oh look at this!  An interesting article on houses that sold quickly.  Hmmm...

Who's house is right there on page 91?  That is MY HOUSE in Charleston!!!!!!  Who took the picture?  ME!!!!!!  I guess I can say I am a published photographer now!  :-)

Our realtor was excited but upset.  Our blurb isn't what he really said or even focused on in his interview!  He really pushed the blue hour shot we had taken and then they put this one in.  Oh well, I can still say my house was in HGTV Magazine!  Wooo hooooooo!  

This is a pretty awesome little magazine if I do say so myself!  This was the first time I had seen it and I am pretty impressed!  

Thank you Stephanie from Conversations from the Cul-de-Sac for alerting me 

that it was in there!  You rock!  

Well, I am a happy girl!  Carry on!!!!

My Photography

Happy Sunday everyone!  I have had a few people ask me about my photography and what I have been up to!  Since moving, I really haven't done very much.  Photography is a lot of word of mouth.  I was starting to do more in Charleston and when we moved, that stopped.  I did start introducing myself as a photographer and one lady asked if I would be interested in doing her newborn photos!  Heck yeah!!!!  I was so excited!  I have a wonderful office in our new home that I work in.  It gets lovely light and was perfect for the shoot.

It was a 2 1/2 hour shoot and I loved every minute of that sweet boy!!!  The key to newborn photography is just patience.  I still have a long way to go and editing newborns is a whole new ball game!  They have red splotches, yellow noses, and purple/blue feet!  Woo!  I did a lot of researching and Youtube watching, but was very happy with the results and the parents were too!  He was a doll!  

A friend of this family saw my work and asked me to do a Halloween mini session of their son.  I said, "YES!"  They have also booked me to do his 6 month/Christmas photos and his one year!  

I love this last one!  I call it... Did Someone Say Candy????

So word is spreading and I also have a new gig working with Chic Critique Forum!  Kelli France is an amazing photographer who has designed a forum for photographers with so much information!  She offers a 4 week critique from celebrity photographers.  You sign up and they critique your work.  It is so wonderful to hear what a pro in the business thinks of your work!  I am going to run their Giveaways page that we are launching in December!  I am so excited!  Between all this and volunteering in Jemma's school... I am a busy woman!  And I thought I would have all this free time!!!!

Happy Halloween!

We had such a great Halloween!  It was a little cooler than what I am used to!  Jemma was a Native American Indian princess.  She had on long underwear, a turtleneck, sweatpants, and her costume!  We went with a big group of kids and everyone had a great time!  

The neighborhood crew!

Our sweet neighbor, Sam, who handed out candy so the BHW and I could walk with Jemma!

I made luminaries that said Trick or Treat, but they didn't show up as much as I wanted them to.  I will have to work on that for next year, but our new wall was perfect for a display!

On Monday night we carved our pumpkin!  Here they are assessing the situation...

Let the scooping begin!

She kind of liked it this year!  

I swear, next year, I am going to put makeup on and fix up to carve pumpkins!  Every year, I look like I just rolled out of bed!

Murphy is checking it all out!

Random mantle shot!  I was very simple this year!

 The finished pumpkin!  I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Random...

It is hard to believe that October is almost over!  I swear I am busier now than ever!  And to think I thought I would have all this free time with Miss Jemma in school!  Ha!  Here is a bit of randomness of what we have been up to!

We made a quick decision to go to Tennessee to celebrate my FIL's 70th birthday!  The BHW was planning on going but at the last minute, Jemma and I decided to make the trek!  It was a wonderful weekend where we got to be with the whole family!  We surprised Dad with a XL Big Green Egg!  He has wanted one for a while and we all chipped in.  He was so surprised and so so happy!

This thing weighed about 400 lbs!  That is not being sarcastic or joking!  The guys were working hard!

The BHW is checking out the mammothness (yes, I just made that word up!) of the egg with my SIL's new fiancee!  Welcome to the crew, Nathan!

He immediately called his best friend to brag that he is now a 2 egg family!

The grandkids eating the rib feast!

His cupckakes!

My MIL created a scrapbook for him where family and friends all wrote letters and sent pictures.  He was truly touched.

With his favorite grandchild!  :-)

Beautiful leaves and view from my MIL's backyard!

I took a walk around a local lake with a new neighbor!  Do you ever meet someone and you just like them?  I did and her name is Marie!  She is a hoot and she loves photography!  It doesn't get better than that!  We shot the gorgeous leaves and talked just a bit!!  :-)

What we won't do for a great shot!

I got to meet a fellow blogger, Suzanne from Privet and Holly, at the Mall of America for lunch!  If you have never visited her blog, you have to.  She is one of the most talented writers that I know.  Every post she writes touches a part of my soul and makes me stop and think.  Not only is she a great writer, but such a sweet person!  I am so glad I got to meet you, Suzanne!

This one is for Nana!  She loves her dress and of course Felicity had to get dressed too!

Jemma has decided she if very much a part of this election.  She wanted to watch the debates!  Really interested or ploy to stay up late?  Hmmmm... I don't know but it is so fun to discuss this with her!  

This last shot is hard to see, but there it is snowing!  We had bursts of snow on Thursday!  I couldn't get a good shot, but I promise you, it is there!  October is a bit too early for this snow business for me...

There is a bit of what we have been up to!   I hope all of you are well and have a great week!