Best Face of January 2011

I Heart Faces is having another photo contest (they have a new one every week) and the theme is Best Face in January.  Well, this would have to be the best face this month.  

Don't ya think?  

Say hello to my new little nephew.  Isn't he just the cutest?  

He was born a week before Christmas and in this photo he is almost a month old.  

Go on over and visit I Heart Faces to check out all the submissions.

UPDATE:
I am #497 if you would like to cast your vote.  

It seems I have found a new addiction

photo contests

I keep finding them online.  Most of the time I don't enter, I just like viewing all the wonderful submissions.  But, recently I find myself entering them.  Maybe I'll get some feedback on my photo.  Some constructive criticism is always helpful.

The above photo I entered in Amy Nickerson's Winter Photo Contest.

Check it out and enter a photo.  It ends Wednesday, January 26th.  Good luck!

One of the things I like about this photo is the droplet of water coming off the second icicle from the left.  Plus, it just brings back memories of the enormous snowfall we got at the end of '09 and another huge snowfall in 2010.  We always get icicles hanging off our house.  One year they ripped the gutter right off the house.  Good times.  They usually hang outside our bathroom window so I can easily get some close-ups of them.  This was the great meltdown of 2010.  I think we had about a million feet of snow and some icicles were about 5 feet wide.  It was nuts!!  My kids had a blast though.

Go check out Amy's blog and enter a winter photo.  Don't leave me all alone in my addiction!

xo

Winter Wonderland

One of the many blogs/websites I like to peruse is I Heart Faces.  It's a great photography website that was founded by two bloggers and it mostly has pictures of, you guessed it, faces!  They have weekly photo contests which I have never participated in, but when I saw the title for this week's contest I just had to participate.
It's called...(drum roll please...)

Winter Wonderland!

Who doesn't love that?
Okay, there are plenty of you out there who do not like the snow, and are shouting 'ME ME I don't love that!!'  But, can't we all just get along?  Just pretend you love the snow and go over to I Heart Faces and check out all the submissions.

Since I love the snow and love taking pictures of snow all over the place I decided to look through my photographs and submit one.  Since the website is I Heart Faces I had to make sure there was a face in my photograph so I chose this one:

However, I really have no idea if I submitted it properly-there are quite a few rules and regulations and I am not sure I comprehended all of them.  So, I thought I would share it here as well.  What do you think?

Menu Planning

One of the things I love to do is read blogs.  I don't know how I was turned on to the world of blogs, but I am thankful for it-however it happened.  There are so many great blogs and websites out there with tons of wonderful tips and information.  Most of the blogs I read (actually, probably all of the blogs I read) are authored by women.  Mothers.  A few of the ones I was perusing this week were talking about menu planning.  Apparently there is a huge subset of mothers who plan out their family's weekly menu (mostly dinner) and even have a budget for the grocery store.  I would like to study this subset of the population more and maybe partake in a few of their rituals.  This 'menu planning' (is that how you pronounce it?) sounds very intriguing and I think it may be very beneficial to my life.  My whole entire life could change.  So, if any of you have any tips or advice regarding menu planning and budgeting I would love to hear them.

Isn't this pretty?  I love how the berries are still clinging to the branches and the contrast with the snow.  It was a little tree in a bank parking lot on some road on our way to a skating rink.  I made my husband stop so I could take a picture of it.

Guess What Peeps?

It's snowing again.  It's late, it's dark, but I can see the snow sparkling outside.

It's beautiful.

I can't wait to see it in morning's first light.  I am sure I will take a gazillion photos.  I just can't help myself.  Every year I say, 'baby-cakes.  you don't need any more photographs of that tree covered in snow.'  But, then I see the freshly fallen snow and I am like a kid in a candy store.

Or a bull in a china shop.

One of those.

Strong like bull.

ahem...where was I?

Oh, yes, gorgeous, beautiful, freshly fallen snow.  It's reminds me of the pile of confectioner's sugar I sift when I make my famous carrot cake.  Yes, it's famous.  You haven't heard of it?  Oh...  hmmm... I could have sworn it was famous.  How many people have to like something in order for it to be famous?  oh...

I am starting to get confused now.  It's late, it's dark...

Ah, yes, as I was saying, it's snowing again in these parts.  I just can't wait to take a photo of that tree covered in snow (again).

Here is what it looked like last time it snowed:

It's just one of my favorite trees.  Makes me smile.  It's also my daughter's 'climbing tree'.  Maybe that is why I am so attached to the tree.  When she was little she grabbed hold of those branches and would not let go.  

 Small fry was determined.

And, if you please, shall we all just have a moment of silence for the diaper sticking out of the back of the pants.

Is it not delicious?  Doesn't it make you want to wear outfits with peter-pan collars?  

Why I didn't have 100 babies I'll never know...

What doesn't happen when it snows...

There is no al fresco dining:

no sunbathing:

no reading outside in my chair:

But, that's okay.  I love the snow.  I sit by the windows and watch it fall.
It's better than going to the movies.  Isn't it?

Plus, my dog loves it.  This is his kind of weather.

If it weren't for Hoss we would never get the back deck cleared of snow.
He's our canine snow plough.

What happens when it snows...

The trees look lovely:

The birds eat what's left on the birdfeeder:

The birds eat what's left of the halloween pumpkin:

The squirrels eat what's left of the halloween pumpkin:

Did I mention the trees look lovely?

Children wear snowboots to school:

Oh, and some people lose control of their vehicle
swerve on the road
and crash into your mailbox:

Thank you.

Thankyouverymuch.

What's the Word?

The word is the bird

Grease is the word


When did you first hear about having a word?  For me it was either whilst reading the book Eat, Pray, Love or whilst watching Oprah.  Maybe it was while I was watching Oprah while she was talking about the book Eat, Pray, Love.

hmm...

Last year my word was ACCOMPLISH.   I love that word.  I love it I love it I love it.  I really wanted to use it again this year.  I just want it to be my word.  Mine.  ALL MINE.  Nobody else's.   However, I decided that I need to come up with a new word.  I can't use the same one year after year.  However, I will allow myself to use it along with a new one.  So, while accomplish will still be part of my daily mantra I do need to come up with a new word for the new year.

Oh, but I just love accomplish.  Please can I keep it?   It can mean so much, or so little.

Actually, the correct definition is:

to bring to its goal or conclusion; carry out; perform; finish:to accomplish one's mission.

I have never been one for setting resolutions.  They seem like a recipe for failure.  People seem to have grandiose ideas of what they would like to achieve for the New Year, but never really make a plan as to how to achieve said goal.  However, I love the idea of a word.  I really think about what my resolutions/goals would be (if I were to 'make' some and then actually stick with them) and then try to think of a word that would help define those resolutions.  And I mean I really put some thought into it.  I sit quietly and pray and meditate.  This is no half-assed word retrieval.  This is the real deal.

I really do use my word as part of a mantra.  When I pray I know to ask God to help me accomplish.  It's really wonderful to have a word.

And, please, do not say your word is balance.  Please.  Are you with me?  Hasn't that word be done to death?  Don't get me wrong--it's wonderful to have balance.  And, I love balance as much as the next person, but if you say your word is balance I know you have put no thought into it.  Think about what balance means to you.  What is it that will make you feel like you have balance in your life?  Really think about it and your word will come to you.  Honest.

And, so, after much thought and consideration my word for the new year will be FAMILY.  When I first thought of family I dismissed it immediately.  But, it kept coming back to me.  The more I thought of it as my word the more I thought it would be the perfect word for me this year.  As my children are getting older it's easy to get stuck in certain ruts, or to let things slip by, and I really don't want to let anything slip by.  So, family it is.  Doing things for my family.  Doing things with my family.  Doing things because of my family.  It will involve doing new things together as well as continuing on tradition.  It will really mean so much: big things and little things.

One of the definitions of family is:

any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents,children, uncles, aunts, and cousins

So, what is your word?  Will you even think of a word, or just set a resolution?
Or neither?
Or both?

Good luck!

Happy New Year!!