Ain't it Good to Know...

... You've Got a Friend?

It makes a girl feel good to know that she has a friend who knows her this well:

Could there be a more perfect card for me? :) Vintage? Check. Makes me laugh? Check. Compliments me three times? Check. Check. Check.

And since this friend goes the extra mile, she also brought me beautiful flowers (which I promptly photographed and tried to channel florabella in editing) AND took me to Cafe Rio! Love you, Tari. :)

Awww, You GUYS!

It's 8:00 a.m. on my birthday and it's already been a wonderful day. I woke up to something pretty special on my google reader... yeah, it made me cry. Brenda's hilarious poem... Jason's words from the heart that really made me cry... Geoff's short and sweet and just like him post... Adam's great memories that I would've never remembered... and Mom and Dad's letters of love... I can't think of a better birthday surprise. Thank you... I love you!

Fix It Friday at I Heart Faces

On Fridays iHeartFaces has a photo for everyone to play with and "fix". This one was a great one to begin with, but I thought I'd play a little bit... I love the colors! Click on the button to see more fixes. :)
I don't love this edit... I'll probably play with it more later. I use CS4. Added another without texture (don't love the texture on this particular photo). It's still not what I wanted, but I like it a little better. :)

Your Photos... Candace style.

I just LOVED this photowalk photo from Candace... amazingly sweet!!

Just Another Boring Blog Post

Are you all a little sick of photography photography photography on my blog? Sorry... I have no excuses. I took this photo a couple of mornings ago... I was so glad that I caught this sunrise. Pretty amazing, isn't it? I just wish I had a home in the country that I could stand on my front porch and take a picture of a sunrise with nothing but maybe a few trees and a horse in the way.

I'm really excited for my birthday... Brandon is working, Aubrey's going skiing with a friend, Tyler has basketball practice and a birthday party for a friend... now if I could only get rid of Cooper I could be all alone for the day. Every mom's birthday wish, right? ;) If my entire house could be sparkly clean and meals would magically appear it would be the perfect day. Noooo.... I'll miss them all. Really, I will.

I have been so excited to watch Emma on Masterpiece Theater, then realized I had missed the first episode. I nearly cried, then found that I could watch it online. I couldn't figure out how to make it bigger though, so I had to watch it tiny... I'll make sure I don't miss it on TV this Sunday and next! :) It's a beautifully done movie... I wanted to take photos the whole way through. If you like that kind of stuff, you should definitely catch up online and then watch the last two episodes on Sundays. Sigh. I love Jane Austen.

I forgot a sequence on one of the sides in Silver Sneakers today, and they had to correct me. One of the ladies said that she learned at her "brain gym" that 35 is when your brain starts the downhill process. They thought it was hilarious that I am turning 35... I guess it's true. I don't know how to explain away all of my senility over the past years, but at least now I have an excuse.

52 Photowalks: Week 4

Aubrey, Cooper and I went sledding with Jake, Hannah, Molly and Annie, and I decided it would be the perfect photowalk opportunity. I wanted to practice my panning skills, and also put my life in danger for a photo, so yeah... it was perfect.Cooper is an animal... no fear, and no sense. He won't leave his gloves or hat on, even though I told him he'd get cold. Guess who was right? Mom. MOM is ALWAYS RIGHT. Hear that kiddos?

Molly enjoyed every minute too... I don't think this grin ever stopped.

Hannah even braved the hill with the cuties. My best run down the hill was the last one when Hannah and I jumped on together. We must have balanced the sled perfectly or something, because we went WAY better than any other time before. Too bad the cameragirl wasn't available to take pictures...

Check that out... Jake and the girls sharp, everyone else blurred. Yay, panning! (I know, it could be better, but hey, I'll get there!)

Perfect timing on this one! You better get out of Aubrey's way... or else! Instead of moving out of Aubrey's way, this girl decided to use her sled as a shield. Seriously though, some of these kids were ridiculous. They'd walk right up the middle of the hill, and they wouldn't care how much you yelled to MOVE!!! I had to lean forward once, pick a kid up and set him to the side as I whizzed past him. This is packed snow, so stopping isn't a very easy option.

This is what you look like if you're incredibly adorable and you take off your stocking cap... still incredibly adorable with incredibly messy hair. :)

My favorite photo of the day... blurred, yes, but if this doesn't show you what sledding feels like, I don't know what will!

Bye for now! Hope you enjoyed the walk this week. :) As always, I love to know which ones are your favorite.

I Heart Faces... Texture Challenge

I knew the photo I wanted to use for this one... I love Valerie! :) Click on the iheartfaces button to see more great texture entries!

52 Photowalks: Week 3

This week I went on a grand adventure for my photowalk... into the wild and dangerous land of boys. I've wanted to get better with different lighting situations, so these indoor "walks" have been good for me. Thanks, Keaton and Christian for letting me into your world for a bit... you're both incredibly great models! :)

Cooler than Cool

Yesterday was a good day...
I got to do an awesome photoshoot with two of the coolest guys I know and their guitars...
and then I went shopping with their mom. Toni is one of those inspiring people... her home is gorgeous, and I came home ready to tackle my projects and make my home more lovely. (Although it will never compare to hers. :) I definitely need to hang out with her more often... my house will surely thank me for it.

Laundry? Yeah... it's piling up a bit. I'm going to beat it with a stick tomorrow. Scripture reading? Haven't missed a day yet, and I've had some sweet moments. Yelling at the kids? Well... let's just say I kind of lost my voice a little bit today. I love those naughty kids, though... I do.

Aubrey turned 14 today... I am so glad that she's my daughter... so glad that I have a daughter. She's such a good girl, and she grows more beautiful every day. I find myself asking her opinion on my clothes, or hair, or makeup... and really caring what she thinks. I enjoy talking with her... it's a wonderful side effect of having your kids get older. We're going to the orthodontist tomorrow. Pretty soon you can all call her brace face. She'll love that. ;)

The Oylers came over for a little party... cake/ice cream and all that fun stuff. It was fun to have them over, and it made Aubrey's day a little more special. She also got cupcakes from her friend, Jessica... she's got some sweet friends.

Well, I think I better say goodnight...

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Grandma Howell's One Hour Rolls

Combine:

¾ cup HOT water

1 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. melted butter

¼ c sugar

Cool to lukewarm.

Add:

2 Tbs. yeast dissolved in

¼ cup + 2 Tbs. lukewarm water

Add 1 egg

Beat well and add flour (3 1/2-4 cups, approximately) until easy to work. Knead.

Roll out and cut. Brush with melted butter.

Cover and let rise until double (about 30-45 minutes).

Bake 425° for 12 minutes.

Thoughts on a Saturday... Early

Well, here we are, halfway through January. The laundry beast has its little wins, but overall I'm doing better. Aubrey's the only one who has yelled at me that she doesn't have any clothes, and I really think that's not a laundry issue. It's an almost 14 year old girl issue. Brandon also informed me that I hang his shirts up wrong... I happily turned that task over to him. I'm not crying over it, I can promise you that.

Winter is getting to me a little bit. Okay, a lot bit. Living in a place that is 20 degrees colder than everywhere else makes it even harder. I am getting used to running in single digit temperatures, but I think my toes aren't enjoying it so much. If I run in 20 degrees I feel like stripping all of my clothes off.

One of my young women or their moms must've read my post about feeling uncool. The last activity was awesome and they ALL wanted a ride home. Hey, whatever works. I think they had fun. We made my grandma's one hour rolls. One thing I know about my grandma is that she does everything quickly. She's efficient. She doesn't waste time. She gets a lot done. She can whip up a 5 course meal in minutes. I need to learn from her. She's an amazing woman.
I love this color... this robin's egg blue. I can't believe I still don't own anything in this color. I think it's because I'm lazy and I hate painting. I also love turquoise and red together. There are so many things I need to repaint, and so many colors I love. Why am I so lazy?

Aubrey is turning 14 on Tuesday... when did that happen? When did she go from being a 4 1/2 lb. baby to a woman... taller than I am? When did I get old enough to have a teenager? Oh, and she's the reason I was up at 6:45 a.m. on a Saturday. I had to take her to the rec center to meet with her coach to drive out to the swim meet today. That's another thing... I can't swim, and I have a daughter who is a fish. It's beautiful to watch her. I'm amazed.

Brandon and I are going to go to St. George next month for a late 15th anniversary trip. I am so excited... we're going to go to the Parade of Homes down there, we're going to run, we're going to hike, we're going to eat, we're going to be WARM... we've just got to find a place to stay. Brandon just heard that all of the motels were already booked for the parade of homes. That's my task today... to find one that isn't. I'm confident that I can. I'm wonderwoman, and I have the internet.
I think I need to step up the intensity of my power toning class a little bit. My goal is to have the "hard class" and make people cry. I have too many regulars now, and they're crying less than they used to... we can't have that now, can we? ;) I'd like to be one of those personal trainers that makes people cry and sweat and hate my guts... but end up in awesome shape.

Things are going well with my flexibility goal too... I can touch my toes every time now with my legs out in front of me. This is amazing to me, since I've never been able to do that.

I guess that's it. No more thoughts. Maybe I should go back to bed.

Week 2... Your Way

I had to show you a couple of the photowalks from my fellow photographers for week 2...Alison's adorable snow family....
And Jessica's adorable baby kiss. Great work, all of you!!!

52 Photowalks: Week 2

I got my photowalk done a little bit early this week... I was too excited to try it to wait any longer. :) My goal was to take photos of my shoes with very careful thought... in the set up, the framing, the lighting. I didn't allow myself to snap 50 photos of each pair and then choose. It was a good exercise, and a heck of a lot of fun to edit. :) Which photo do you like best?



And yeah... I might be a little bit obsessed with high heels. A girl can never have too many pairs. ;)

Approaching Halfway to Old

I'll be turning 35 soon, and I've been having a lot of thoughts about being "old". I don't feel old, most people tell me I don't look as old as I am... I really am just the same me I was 20 years ago, except with a few more zits, a lot more ornery, and maybe a little less immature. ;)

I've been the yw president (youth leader for the girls in my church) for over a year and a half now, and I feel SO uncool... in other places where I've been a leader I've felt like they liked me, they wanted to be with me, and I had great connections. In this ward? Not so much... seriously, they'll do anything to avoid riding in a car with me. If I sit by them, they move. If I ask about their lives, I get one word grunts. They're good girls, they're nice, they're sweet, I love them... but I feel like I have leprosy or something.

Here's the scary thing... my Silver Sneakers class (the oldy-goldy fitness class I teach) LOVES me. They laugh at my jokes, they give me hugs, they tell me all about their lives, they CLAP for me at the end of class for pete's sake.

So, am I just plain old getting OLD? Am I just too old to be "cool" anymore? I'm so old that I relate better to people twice my age than people half my age? I'm serious here... I need help! I want to reach these girls who I work with, and I want them to know I care, but I also don't want to bother them with my uncoolness. So, any ideas? Please?

Your First Photowalks

Not many of you have photos up yet for your first week of our 52 photowalks challenge, but I have faith that you all will! :)

I've had a couple of questions, so I'll see if I can clear things up a bit here.

1. You do NOT need to be a professional photographer to do this. This is about improving your photography throughout the year, not about showing off. ;) There are all different levels of photographers represented over there on the side.

2. You don't have to "walk" anywhere, or go someplace really special or out of the ordinary. The challenge is to find photo opportunities wherever you go... to train your eye to see a great photo where others might not. You can go on fun snowshoe walks, but you don't have to. ;) Ultimately you'll find at least one day a week where you can take photos just for the sake of taking photos... whether it's inside your house, around town, or across the world.

3. I won't be posting all of your photos on my blog. I just have your name linked over there on the side, so if any of you want to see what the rest of the photographers are doing, just click on the name. :)

However... I'd like to spotlight a photo or two each week here on my blog!

4. If you let me know that you ARE going to be "playing", I won't remove your link if you haven't posted for a couple of weeks. If you don't say anything to me, I'll assume it's something you've decided not to do.

5. You can have your weeks be whatever you want them to. I'm going from Friday to Thursday for each of my weeks, since January 1st was on a Friday. If you want to post more than once a week, knock yourself out. :)

6. Anyone who would like to can still join... there's no deadline for "signing up"... we're glad to have anyone anytime!

Okay... now to share photos from a couple of on-time contributers! These are NOT my photos, although I'd be happy if I had taken them. ;)
This was my very favorite from Leslie Mae (you can see more if you click on her name on the side). Isn't it gorgeous??
She also went snowshoeing... and I LOVE the colors of her snowshoes!

This sweet little guy was snapped by Amy... I love the eyelashes!!

Sooo.... get busy! Start taking photos, would ya? I want to see! :)

52 Photowalks: Week 1

My first photowalk of the year! Brandon and I went up to Flaming Gorge and rented snowshoes... what a perfect day! 40 degrees, beautiful, wonderful company... we would've liked a little more snow, but all in all it was perfect! I'd love to hear which photos are your favorites. :)This was my view most of the walk... I'm not complaining one bit. ;)
To prove I was there... Brandon took this one. Notice the snow clear up to my bum? I was WET!! For some reason I flipped snow clear up every time I walked but Brandon didn't... I'm not sure if it was my smaller snowshoes, my boots, or maybe that I walk funny.
There is no way to capture the vastness and majesty of this view. What an amazing place... and to think, we live just 45 minutes from it.


We saw quite a few deer.... Brandon was hoping for more wildlife, but other than the deer we just saw scat and tracks. (And a mouse at the place we rented our snowshoes from...)




Brandon likes to live on the edge...
Seriously, this doesn't even begin to show what it looks like... if anyone wants to come visit, we'll take you here!
Does this make you a little dizzy?
I couldn't have asked for a better way to start off my year long project. Next time we have the opportunity, we're going to go cross-country skiing. :)