My Life As A....

Photoshop skills....

2009-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

I got those! hehe Well, I am working on obtaining them. Photoshop is it's own universe with an infinite amount of possibilities. So much so that it can be overwhelming but I am working on increasing my knowledge on the subject.

Here are some samples I finished today, Enjoy!

Increasing My Exposure and Spending Money!

2009-02-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

I have spent the last few days really working with various sites to increase our exposure.

I have advertised on Atlanta Bridal for several years but am now increasing our presence on their site with various ads as well as being listed in their featured vendors (beginning in May 2009). I am in the process of revamping my brochure on My Atlanta Wedding (member since January 2008) and have recently purchased space on The Knot Georgia's home page for the next year!

I am really excited to see where this will take MyLife!

This is the ad that will appear on The Knot until I find or take a better image.

I am also in the process of submitting a wedding to a magazine and I am also beginning the process to submit weddings to The Knot, Atlanta Bridal, and Weddings Unveiled for their "real weddings" features! I will keep everyone posted on our progress.

Here is my new purchase! It is a digital balance card. I am planning to use it in conjunction with the light meter I already have in order to obtain even more well balanced light in my images! I will let you know how it goes! It is in route and should arrive in a day or two!

My light meter by Kenko. It is a great product for not a ton of money.

Here are a few more of my Party Booth (photobooth) trials. They are so much fun! I hope all my brides start to take advantage of this feature!

Playing in the dirt again!

2009-02-08T16:21:00.001-08:00

Today I took Owen outside to play! The weather was beautiful! Owen loves his new playhouse he received for his birthday and I got some great shots of him! He is really hard to photograph, very energetic I think is how people put it :)

Owen has also recently started digging in the dirt. He didn't do this last year and it seemed like an amazing new discovery the first time he did. Needless to say he took a long bath tonight! However, we had a great time.

If I posted a link for this blog for you please look and the entry below :)
Thanks

Photobooth? Phototag?

2009-02-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Input please!

I have seen a trend going across the wedding world for photobooths at the weddings. Often set up by the photographer. I am thinking of adding this to my services. I set it up in my studio today to try it out. Basically it is a backdrop about 5ft wide and 8ft high with a camera on a tripod and strobe (light). The people control their own photos and use a wireless remote to snap the photo. I think I can figure out a way to tether the camera to a monitor and have the images pop up so that they can be viewed immediatly but may just go on and try it out first without the monitor hook up. I do think people will enjoy it more if the images can be viewed instantly though.....hmmmm. Tricky.

My issues:

it takes up a good amount of space and often I have found that coordinators at weddings sometimes have an issue about photographers invading their space. The overall dimensions would end up being about 5ft x6ftx8ft(high). Too big?

Pricing.....it takes a few minutes to set up and take down, I would need someone to man the photobooth aka guard the equipment, and then all the extra editing from the images taken. People can take as many images as they want. They don't have to just take one they can take several so that leads to some additional editing time.

Would you want one of these at your wedding? What would you pay for it? I have a price in mind but I would love to hear from all my readers first :)

Here are my trial photos from today. Sorry....I am still in my pjs and without makeup :) oh well!

I am hoping that this would encourage silly, funny photos from all the guests.

Here is my phototag from Heather

The 4th photo in the 4th folder of your pictures

This is me and Big Nick Calhoun, he is famous around these parts and is one of my greatest friends. Nick comes to our house atleast 3 nights a week and it often seems weird and empty if he stays away too long. He is very smart and funny and maybe one day will rule the world. He loves Owen and is like an Uncle to him. He has even babysat him before just so I could go get a pedicure! No joke!

Nick is our: Chuck buddy, Guillotine and Risk opponent, Political dictionary, Philosopher, Playhouse helper, Food critique, and best friend.

I love you Nick!

Here are my tags! Have fun!

Owen't 2nd Birthday Party!

2009-01-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

This is what Dustin has been doing a lot lately. We bought Owen a cedar playhouse for his birthday which has required a great deal more work than any of us anticipated! It still isn't done but Owen already loves it!

The birthday boy before all of his guests arrived!

The party theme was Spongebob! I left a few decorations up so that we could continue to celebrate a bit :)

We rented an 18ft inflatable slide. As you can see in the photo it had been raining in the early part of the day but thankfully it stopped at 10am and the party was at 2pm so we were set! We did have to slide down a time or two with towels underneath us before the kiddos got on!

It seemed that Owen really loved everyone singing to him :)

The presents were a hit too! Thank you so much to everyone!

Some sliding goodness! The slide really was worth it! We had a ton of people here and this truely entertained everyone. I somehow didn't end up with a photo of everyone playing on it. The day was a little chaotic but so much fun! It was so much better to me this year than his 1st birthday. He was playing and into the presents and the other kids seemed to have a lot more fun with the slide and the toys! I really can't express how great it was. Thank you to everybody that came!

Owen's Birthday...officially.

2009-01-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

Today is Owen's 2nd birthday! We aren't having the "real" party until this Saturday but we did manage to have a little cake today!

It only took one bite....

...and then it was on!!!!

More to come after the weekend!

New Year's Eve!

2009-01-03T06:02:00.001-08:00

It was a blast and I am very lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends. They are there for all the times I have: good, bad, funny, tragic, drunken, and sober :)

I love all of you!

Our first photo of 2009!

Me and Heatherbean!!

Happy New Year and I am excited to see what happens for all of us in 2009!

Christmas Week!

2008-12-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

This week is filled with lots of exciting events.

Tuesday the three of us went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was Owen's first time and he was amazed! The last time Dustin and I went to the aquarium was the day he proposed to me. So it is a special place for me. Dustin did great taking lots of photos and this was my favorite.

Also this week Owen graduated to a toddler bed! He is growing up so fast. He really likes his new bed and has taken to it well. I was worried about him constantly getting out of it but last night was pretty good. Today he is taking his first nap in it and is still fast asleep! Yay!

Tonight Santa comes! I will add to this post later.

Later.....

Santa has come! He was really good to us this year!

Thanks Grammy for the tricycle too!

Owen loved his giant tent...which we somehow stuffed into his room with all of his furniture. When I told Santa that Owen wanted a tent I didn't really mean one soooooooo big!

His favorites were Buzz and Woody!

The aftermath!

I took this with my new Nikon cool pix that Dustin gave me. Thanks babe!

Santa!!!!

2008-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

Owen and I got to see Santa today! It was great, a little hectic, but great! We went at 11am this morning thinking that the line would be short but I must have been an idiot to think Santa wouldn't have a line a mile long no matter when or where he was! :)

Owen did really well, ok pretty good. No crying atleast. I was half expecting to walk out of there with the classic kid screaming on Santa's lap photo. But as you can see we survived!

It was his first experience with Santa Claus in person and I am glad it went well. He even gave Owen a candy cane.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Growing up...or atleast pretending....

2008-12-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

This morning Owen sat at the table all by himself and ate his breakfast. I have been pushing his highchair up to the table recently but today he sat in a big person chair all by himself. You can tell he loved it!

Also his latest obsession is wearing Daddy's shoes and walking all over the house. Pretending to be Daddy I suppose, but it is so cute!

Christmas Time is Here!

2008-12-01T20:03:00.001-08:00

It is Christmas time and I love it! I am super excited about it this year. Owen is nearly 2 years old now and I am looking forward to seeing his reactions to all that is "Christmas". I can't wait for Santa to come and watch Owen come into the living room for all that awaits him!

We started our family traditions after we returned from Thanksgiving in Statesboro with my sisters this past week. We always decorate our tree on the Saturday after the turkey holiday. We bake cookies all day and listen to nothing but Christmas music. Owen was very involved this year, it was wonderful.

Dustin making his famous ham for Sunday dinner with the Park family.

The sugar cookies were Owen's favorites!

CB and Nick were here to help.

CB even brought Joy a present....hehe! It was a picture of Obama....funny but not Joy's favorite I am sure.

Our tree is a collection of memories. This one from 1982 that I made as a child.

These candles are atleast 20 years old. They were in my parents home when I was growing up and this year we placed them on Owen's book shelf.

My favorite from my childhood. (The last unicorn)

The finished product of our living room. You can see that I am way ahead on my Christmas shopping! I am not usually one to put things off and I am nearly done with all of my shopping! Yay!

I hope all of my blog readers have a wonderful holiday!

New Kids and New Experiences!

2008-11-01T12:13:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday night me and several of my girlfriends went to see the New Kids On The Block! We had so much fun. We screamed so much that I don't know how I spoke for the next two days! Many of us that went have been friends since middle school and remember the days of teen beat covered walls, puff paint, jelly shoes, and new kids tunes! It was unreal to be there, this had been the soundtrack to our preteen lives, memories almost forgotten. I was so happy to be there with my girls and can't believe it actually happened.

We were so close it was amazing. When they came down of the center stage you see here I actually touched Donnie and Joey! OMG!

Our new experience for the week was trick or treating! Owen wasn't even a year old last year so we spent the night passing out candy in 2007. This year, however, we went downtown to the fall festival and received candy from the local shops in our community. Owen ate 4 suckers while we were there and would not reliquish the pumpkin filled with candy for anything! It was cute.

My Little Superman!

We also had our family portraits made this morning by Heather! Thanks girl!

So needless to say it has been a crazy busy week with all of that and just our normal lives. Will we slow down? Not yet! We are off to my friend Jessica's tonight for another Halloween bash with the kiddies! Wish us luck!

Wedding Weekend!

2008-10-22T10:20:00.001-07:00

This past weekend me and my girls went down to Jekyll for a wedding for a woman that is very special to me. My little Lori who's not so little anymore. We had a great time and enjoyed the sights, seafood and the freezing water!! I acutally worked too! I photographed the wedding :)

This picture is how I think of Lori (2004). Me, on the other hand was dressed up for an 80s party so please excuse the makeup and hair! :)

I taught public school as an art teacher for 6 years and one of the greatest connections I made during those years was with Lori, my student. Never did I think seeing her sitting in my classroom paisting and painting that we would become such great friends, peers, and confidants. I love her so much! I do believe that meeting Lori was worth all those days of stress, tears, and begging for art supplies.

This was Lori last Saturday!

I am so happy for the both of you, as I told you "twice" this past weekend! haha! I love the both of you and I am looking forward to the future and being in our 70s while still having our monthly cookouts!

Four girls, one hotel room, one bathroom, causes for extreme closeness! haha! Love you girls!

The view from our room (sunrise).

Freaky Friday!

2008-10-13T10:45:00.001-07:00

Friday night me and three of my friends gave Lori a bachelorette/lingerie party! We had so much fun!

We had the best cake ever made by April , Lori's Sister. It was AWESOME!

Here is Lori modeling the cake for us!

The four best hostesses ever and the guest of honor! Kristin, Joy, Lori (the bride), Catherine (me), and April.

Lots of great presents. Some I wouldn't want to post for all the world to see.

Lots of pretty drinks to quench our thirsts!

We had another guest of honor! ;)
I have censored to photo to protect his identity!

Apparently Kristin can't drink Jessica under the table....only herself! :)

The last ones of us that made it to the end, a.k.a. the wee hours of the night, somehow ended up on the floor. Always a sign that it was a great party!

The Perry Fair!

2008-10-07T05:28:00.001-07:00

Owen and Daddy

We took little Owen to the Perry Fair on Sunday! It was a blast! I was truly suprised at how much he loved riding all the fast stuff! I thought we were going to just ride simple, easy kid rides...oh no! He loved the crazy kid rides! I am so glad that he is getting to the age that he is so interactive and loving the world.

Owen and his Papa on our way into the fair.

Me and Owen riding atleast one easy ride!

Getting ready to go for a drive!

Yes. That is me and Owen on a roller coaster!

Who knew 1 1/2 year olds liked this kind of stuff?

Heather's little girl....

2008-09-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

I took some photos of Heather's little Mallory today. Here is my favorite! You can see a few more on my photography blog.

So cute!

Random Photo Of The Day!

2008-09-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Biggest Mushroom Ever!!

Weird! We found this in our yard today!

Encouragement...

2008-09-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Check out my photography blog. I spent last night photographing an adoption finalization party for a sibling group of 3 children. It was truly encouraging for me to see them all there with all their friends and family. It gave me a boost. :)

Shooting like mad and a new website!

2008-08-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

This is what I have looked like for a while now. I know that I am working like crazy but I must say that I love it. I am a work fanatic, I always have been. The weddings are going well, I still have a ways to go before a decent break. I just have 3 weeks left with my art history students so we are on the downhill slope of the quarter.

The best thing I have done lately is finish my NEW WEBSITE!! I am super excited about it! I just got it going live late last night and you may not be able to see it yet. It takes 72 hours to propogate. But you might! You may also need to clear out your cache on your internet or simply refresh the page if you have been there before.

You should go to a black screen.
I really love it!

Here is one of my favorite photos from last weekend. We got some really lovely ones yesterday as well. I will post a blog on my photoblog in a day or two.

:)

A day in the life of a wedding photographer

2008-08-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

As I was going through the images from my weddings this weekend, yes I shot two weddings, I began to really think about what an unusual job I have. I really do love the act of shooting a wedding. It is a day that is always filled with joy and celebration. I never have a bad day, some may be more stressful than others but really I have a good time at all of them.

Here is a glimpse into my thoughts as a wedding photographer:

I imagine that I go to more weddings in a year than most people do in their entire lives (somewhere around 30 for 2008).

I am very organized and it is all business until the reception where I can let things unfold in front of me.

During the Mother and Son dance I always wonder what it will be like on the day I have to dance with Owen. The last act of him being mine alone.

I often feel invisible. I am in the thick of the conversations, laughter and celebration but do not take part in any of it. I am often not acknowledged and am given freedom to move in and out of the crowd. It is an unusual feeling, almost like watching a movie, seeing intimate moments of strangers without consequence.

I place increasing pressure on myself to be a better photographer.

Numbers of exposure times, ISOs, focal lengths and light outputs run through my mind constantly while shooting which makes it increasingly difficult to just let my self be creative.

I have a weird thing about photographing people taking photographs or looking at them. There is something about their desire to stop the moment forever that I want to capture.

I often dance as I am weaving in and out of the dance floor for those upclose party shots!

I will on many occasions sing along with the music.

I usually long for a martini but resist.

My neck aches after carrying 10lbs of equipment around my neck and on my hips for 9 hours.

I truly enjoy going through the completed photos, editing, and have a feeling of accomplishment when I see that one photo that captures the atmosphere of the whole wedding in a single shot!

I am lucky to have a job like this one. I am thankful for it.

Quick update!

2008-08-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Dustin came home yesterday! Thank goodness! I feel so much more at ease with him here.

I begin a 12 wedding marathon tomorrow that last until the last weekend of October! Wish me luck and that I keep my sanity! :)

Biting Nails and Sleeping Alone....

2008-08-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

This week has been very busy for everyone I know! So here is the quick rundown!

Sunday, August 3, Dustin left for LA and won't be back until Thursday August 14!!! I am not too happy about being alone for that long. I think it is beginning to effect Owen and I can tell he misses his Daddy.

Tuesday I spent the day scurring around for a sitter so that I could rush up to the hospital because Heather was in labor. It was a hurry up and wait situation. I took my uber camera so that I could get some decent shots for her and in return I got some interesting looks from others waiting in the lobby! haha Really the camera is huge! ha

Me biting my nails in anticipation!

Owen also received a baby pool from his Papa!

I have been meeting with clients and booked 2 more weddings for 2009! I am also trying to resist purchasing the new Nikon D700!!! Ha! I have a weakness for new cameras!

Today me and Owen are off to his cousins birthday party in Thomaston and tomorrow we are off to visit with Heather!!!!

It has been a tad bit insane around here and probably more so since I have been playing single Mom all week.

No one really reads this anyway...right?

2008-07-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so I posted a blog the other day about our adoption and took it down because I felt it was too personal. But then just now I was thinking...."no one really reads this stuff anyway"....so I might as well vent out my excitement and frustration.

We are still waiting, waiting, waiting, to finish our classes with the state. I had thought we would finish this coming February 2009 but it is kind of like those moments when you are young and you think "I'll do this when I am 25". Twenty five seems an eternity away but then you turn around and you are 31! Yikes! So even though I complain about waiting and time being very slow it is actually very fast! February seems so soon!! I am already booking weddings for March and April of 2009 so it seems as if it is around the corner. I am terrified of adding a new child....just the unknown....trying to balance it all. But I do find myself longing for her. I see other children, of all ages, and think "I could love her". I am not so much worried about the attachment to her, although others in my family circle somehow think that is the biggest issue, I am more worried about balancing time, activities, attention, ect....between the two of them. I think I have that Mom guilt where you love your child that you have now so much that you can't imagine loving anyone else that way or somehow sharing/dividing that love. I know it is common and I will get over it but it is a weird feeling.

In the meantime we have deceided to sponsor a child through AHOPE! AHOPE provides support, medicine, and education to children in Africa with HIV/AIDS. I am so excited about our photo and info on our sponsored child coming! I received an email today saying that everything should arrive within a week. I am one of those people that are adopting because I want to give a child a home, love, tradition and opportunities that might otherwise not have them. I feel that this is something I am meant to do...that it is part of my purpose here. I can't really explain it. Anyway, I feel that by becoming a sponsor the pain/anxiousness of my waiting may be eased. That my soul will be able to rest a little knowing that there is a child out there who's life I am contributing to in some small way. I plan to sponsor as long as possible!

Here is a link if anyone is interested in finding out more about AHOPE.

4th of July!

2008-07-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great fourth of July this year! We were originally going to head toward Savannah to visit with family and enjoy the beach but due to a nasty virus going around down there we stayed home. I was a bit bummed about it and still wanted to do something special for the holiday. I searched and searched the internet and found Callaway Gardens! So we all loaded up and headed south for a road trip! We had a great time! Owen played on the playground and had several firsts for his little life!!! He saw his first trapeze artists, his first experience with a sandy shore, and his first fireworks! He loved the fireworks by the way!

Dustin, Owen and Me

My best friend Joy went with us too!

Trapeze Artists and Ice Cream went well together.

Owen loved the water...that is him on the bottom right!

The fireworks were nice and Owen loved them!

Heather's Maternity Shots

2008-06-28T06:59:00.001-07:00

I know almost all of you follow Heather's blog so I wanted to let you guys know I did her maternity shots yesterday! Check them out on my photography blog!

They turned out really great!

So Heather,
I am working on them!!! I promise!!! hehe I will have them all done soon!
Love you.

New Blog

2008-06-19T06:48:00.001-07:00

I have started a new blog that is connected to my work website! Please go take a look!

Random Update...

2008-06-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here it is in a nutshell:

I just finished teaching another quarter of art history at the college. There are talks of a photo program beginning in the fall and I am a candidate for the job so keep your fingers crossed.

I have shot 5 weddings in the last 7 weeks and have 3 more in a row (every Saturday) to come. So needless to say much of my computer time is spent editing instead of posting blogs and surfing myspace :(

As for our adoption news. We are at a slight stand still. My husband is worried about the ecomony and supporting two children and I am worried about age differences. We are accepting 14months or younger but I have it in my head we will be presented with a 14 month old. I don't know why but that number is just stuck in my head. Owen is nearly 17 months old and I would like them to be about 2 years apart. So the question is....When do we finish our classes that are required by the state? After our classes are done we could wait a day or months, there is no real timeline. Our social worker wants us to go ahead and finish the classes ASAP. She says that we could reject the presented children until we were ready.....uhhhh...I don't know that I can do that. I can't imagine being presented a child that needs a home and saying "Umm I think we will pass and wait for the next one". So I kind of want to wait until we are absolutely ready and then finish our courses.

So that is where we are.....

Here is a photo from last weekend! Enjoy! This one is for you Julie!

Me, hard at work on June 7

Cake and a Movie!

2008-05-31T05:34:00.001-07:00

This week my husband, Dustin turned 31. He wasn't all that thrilled about it. He was however thrilled about his birthday/father's day present. Owen and I bought him a brand new set of golf clubs. They were well needed. We also baked him a home made cake! I love to cook and do it all the time but I never really make sweets. I had never made a cake before Wednesday so I really had my fingers crossed! However, it turned out great! Owen couldn't really help a lot but he did enjoy eating the mix off of the spoon! It was cute but I had to toss everything into the wash straight away. It was worth it though for such cute photos!

We also had our monthly girls night out. We all went to Heather's house and watched P.S. I love you. It was a bit depressing, when I say a bit I mean a ton! ha! We were passing toilet paper all around the room (we didn't have enough tissue). It was a good movie, not one I would want to watch over and over, just because of the subject matter, but still good. Regardless, the best part was hanging out with a bunch of ladies and no men, no house, no work, and no diapers to change at least for a couple of hours.

The phabulous ladies!!!

Me, Lori and Joy! I threw this in to prove I was there cause I am not in the above photo! haha

Memorial Day Party and a Dead Computer!

2008-05-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was the annual Memorial Day Weekend Pool Party! It was a lot of fun swimming and playing. There were many more children there this year than just a couple of years ago. Owen enjoyed the water. It was a bit cold for May here but once he was used to the idea of it, he was all over the place. He was climbing in and out, running off the edge and splashing like a pro.

I sat there thinking about how fast all of our lives have changed. I do miss the mixed drinks, partying into the night, and occasional activities people dare not mention the next day! haha!
Oh well! Running after a toddler maybe not as relaxing or adventurous as those days but way more fun!

On another note, it was discovered today that my computer has a fooping foop foop virus!!!!! Now I am OCD enough to back up my images when I get home from a photoshoot or a wedding but, I have been working on a wedding I shot over a week ago for atleast 20 hours and have yet to backup the edited images!!! FOOP! FOOP! FOOP!

We shall soon see if I have to do ALL that work over again! Keep your fingers crossed!

This may soon be the fate of my computer!!!!!
Foop!

Latest Computer Update:

Does this bride look peaceful and content???? She should! Why you ask? Cause I have the greatest husband/computer genius that saved her images from the evil Trojan virus!!! WOOOHOOO!

I am still going to have to purchase a new computer but atleast all my work was saved! Thank you to the computer gods!

So.......

2008-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you give a 1 year old two Oreo cookies.

Flamingos, Flowers and Fire Ants....

2008-05-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend this past week. Friday, Owen and I drove to the Atlanta Zoo to meet up with my friend Kristin. It was super packed with field trip kids and some bigger families! Owen was much more involved this trip and surprisingly enough Kristin had never been to the zoo before in her life! Owen particularly liked the elephants, giraffes, and panda bears. I think his most favorite part of the day was playing on the playground.

He loved being able to get up close!

Owen and his playground buddy driving the school bus!

Playing the drums!

Saturday was filled with waiting rooms and frustrating pharmacy experiences. Owen has had what I thought were bug bites for a few days. I noticed on Friday they looked a little redder and irritated by Saturday morning it was much worse. His entire left hand and right foot were swollen and a large radius of the skin around the bites was bright red! He was also having a great deal of trouble walking on his right foot due to the swelling. I was stuck at home without a car seat and freaking out a little bit. I finally got him to the doctor at 2pm. Apparently Owen had a reaction to the histamine in what the doctor thinks were fire ant bites. We had a whole experience at Rite Aid that I won't get into so in the end I didn't get home until almost 6pm!

These photos were taken after 2 full days of antibiotics....

Once I did finally get home my husband surprised me with a date in Atlanta, we left Owen with reliable people :), I was happy but felt a bit rushed. We had hoped to get by to Jessica's graduation dinner before heading to Atlanta but weren't able to make it (see above story), sorry Jess :(. We had a great time at a very nice restaurant and bar which was well needed for us. We were going to see John Stewart Live but never made it, we opted out for a relaxing environment and martinis. Dustin and I have only been out of the house together without a baby twice in the last 5 months!!! How did that happen?

Dustin and Owen gave me two beautiful cards, flowers and a gift certificate to go shopping...what else does a girl need?

Anybody Out There????

2008-05-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today for some strange reason I don't feel particularly like blogging but here it goes.....

My life is extremely busy right now with work!!!! I have my own photography business, for those of you that didn't know that, and I am shooting 8 weddings in the months of May and June!! WHAT WAS I THINKING? I also teach art at a small college near my home two days a week. Any of you out there that have ever taught know that the work is always more than your scheduled time, planning, preparing, buying supplies, figuring out how the heck your going to explain the material so that it is understandable and at least a little interesting to your students.

So that is my life right now! Mothering, Homing, Shooting, Teaching.....BUSY!

I feel so overwhelmed I think that it isn't worth taking the time to blog...does anybody really even read this? So, just out of curiosity I want to do what many have done on these blogs before......ROLL CALL! Who is out there?

My artist hard at work....and play!

2008-04-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Here is Owen working on his painting skills today! I think it is so cute how he has to have two paintbrushes, one for each hand. He really loves to paint and that makes his artist mama very happy!

You can see how messy he gets! We go straight to the bath after painting!

He likes to use my professional paintbrushes...no kiddie brushes for him...he means business!

Mountain Memories!

2008-04-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last week was insane! School started for me which is a whole other story and we also left for a mountain vacation. It was Owen's first really big trip! We went with our friends Heather and Jessica and their families to the North Georgia Mountains.

Dustin and Me!

The Ladies!!! Heather, Me and Jessica!

It rained most of the weekend but that didn't stop us....oh no!!! We arrived late Thursday afternoon and on Friday we all went fishing and caught 9 rainbow trout. We then cooked them for dinner that night. It was the first time I had ever eaten anything I had caught. The food was good all the same! On Saturday we went for a 1 mile hike! YES! In the rain!!! With a baby, ok 14 month old, strapped to my chest!!! YIKES! The view was beautiful though but I was glad when we got back to the cars! Finally on Sunday we took the scenic route to Helen, Ga for some beer and bratwursts! Yummy!

She wasn't upset when we were eating them later that night!

Getting ready for our hike!

The reason for the hike! A beautiful waterfall!

Helen, Georgia

It has been a busy week back home as well. I still have felt all week like I am not in a routine for school yet, and my sister came to town so we spent most of the week at my Mother's house. Thus my home is still in disarray and there is mucho laundry yet to be done! Here's to getting back to normal life: teaching, mothering, photographing every bride known to man, editing every photo know to man, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, housework....wait...can I go back to the mountains!!???!!! :)

Busy day...Tired Mama!

2008-03-23T19:15:00.001-07:00

Easter was great!

I spent most of last night boiling and coloring eggs, which I completely forgot to take to the egg hunt today! I also sat at the kitchen table and filled 96 plastic eggs with juicy fruits, bottle caps and sweet tarts!

At 7:30am this morning the Easter Bunny had come.....Owen...not impressed! haha! Completely bypassed it for his breakfast!

We then spent much of the morning at church followed by an Easter Egg hunt. We ran home, ate lunch. took naps and then out the door again! This afternoon we trucked over to our friends' house for another Easter Egg hunt with all our friends and their children! Owen really was excited at the hunt this morning but by the afternoon it had lost it's sparkle and he spent most of his time running and playing (not picking up eggs)! We then came back home, scurrying to clean the house because Owen's Papa (Dustin's father) came by to visit! He came with gifts which Owen loved!

I am now truly exhausted! What a day!

Randomness.....

2008-03-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ok so Heather tagged me.

So here it goes 10 random things you may or may not know about me:

1. I was an Oyama full contact karate fighter in my early to mid twenties. I fought with competitors from all over the globe and even have a couple of division trophies stuffed in my closet. I would go to Japan fest every year in Atlanta and do board breaking demonstrations. It was really cool when the little girl's would ask for my autograph! hehe

2. I have posed nude for fine art photographs and my body has been cast into a sculpture.

3. I have never flown on a plane. I have however ridden in a hot air balloon and on many boats.

4. I have a real fear of growing older. I think it is more about the fragility of life itself rather than the prospect of not being young.

5. I have sung on stage in front of thousands of people at the Omni in Atlanta (when I was a kid).

6. I began acting in plays with my father when I was just 5 years old.

7. I wish I was as successful and adventurous as I am in my head.

8. I was married before (yep I am now on my second marriage) to a musician and traveled on tour buses and met many interesting people. Mostly band members and artists. I once ticked off Lisa Loeb and Adam Ant. hehe

9. I have a real impulse to touch artworks that I see in galleries and museums. I have set off a few alarms in my day. :) I like to touch them because I feel that I am somehow connecting with the artist who used their own hands to create the work. It is indescribable.

10. My secret Hollywood crush....drum roll please......Tim Curry!

Tag your it:
Jennifer
Tracy
Julie out in LA
Laura
Julie
Erin
Chevella
Patrick
Lindsey
Carrie

Babes and Balls!

2008-03-15T10:59:00.001-07:00

Last night we had another girl's night out! My girlfriend's and I leave the husbands, babies and boyfriends at home one night a month to have our much needed girl time! We do something different each month but we always have a blast. The best thing about it for me isn't so much the activity but being able to hang with my ladies!

We went for high class this time and ate at the American Pie in the Walmart shopping center and then ventured across the street to the fabulous Magnolia Lanes Bowling! Hilarious! We all had a wonderful time and some outrageous photos! Please enjoy!

I wasn't doing to well and was willing to try anything at this point!

Me and Jessica! We are planning to spend much or our summer this way! :)

Go Laurie!

Kristin was super excited about her game!

Fight for it ladies!

Heather enjoying her own pitcher....just kidding! She didn't really drink it!!!!

Sisterly love!

Jessica's Heather imitation.....or maybe secret desire??? hmmmmm.

Play Dates And Scissors!

2008-03-06T13:41:00.001-08:00

Owen is loving on Charlie or at least making an attempt to love on him!

Heather and I have been planning play dates for our boys once a week. They really have been so much fun! More fun than I expected! Not only do the boys get to bond, play, learn to share and socialize, Heather and I get to hang out and have some adult time (while still watching the boys of course)! Here are some photos!!!

Charlie and Owen playing together!

Owen and Charlie painting ! Yay!

Also this week Owen got his first professional haircut! I had attempted to do it myself twice but needless to say I am no cosmetologist! haha!

He did much better than I expected! No crying! A few whimpers here and there but overall a good experience!

Front view

Side view

Picasso....ummmm more like Pollock!!!

2008-03-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

Ok so it has been a super busy, activity filled weekend but I had to share this!!!!
Owen's first painting!!!!

Like his predecessor, Jackson Pollock, I think he enjoyed the activity of painting just as much as the finished product.

His Masterpiece!!!

Busy Day for Baby Owen......and Mom and Dad!!!

2008-03-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Me and Owen!

Today was a busy busy busy day! We took Owen to Kangaroo Kids. It is a place full of slides and ball pits, trampolines and tons more. I was all excited about taking him, this being one of those toddler activities I had wrote about earlier. Unfortunately it didn't quite turn out as planned. Although the ages listed say 1 year and up.....I think Owen was still a bit young for all of it. The slides made him nervous and the trampoline, mixed with all the other kids, terrified him...so sad.
However he loved the ball pit!!! Yay!! Of course after all the trauma of the other contraptions Mommy had to get in with him, but it was fun. We sat there forever throwing the balls around and he loved swinging his legs and arms back and forth to make them fly all around him!

All in all it was a good day....oh wait.....that wasn't the end of it......

Me and Owen at the top of the slide. He looks nervous doesn't he?

He did like the kiddie toys in the baby area too.

Also today, once we got home from Kangaroo Kids, Daddy happily put Owen's swing set together! We attached his toddler swing and then he was off! He loved it! He smiled and laughed the whole time. I imagine this will become a regular activity for us, especially since the weather is really starting to warm up!

Daddy and Owen

Happy, yet exhausted Baby Owen!!!

On a side note, these are images of Owen's bedroom (for Tracey)!!:) All those years of art school paid off!!! haha

Happy Days......well....sort of.

2008-02-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

So Owen is now 13months old. He is in the transition of baby to toddler, if he is not there already and I am just in denial about it. Whatever the case, we began cleaning out his drawers and closet for all the clothes and baby toys that are useless to him now. It was a bit sad to know he isn't that sweet little infant that I loved to hold and kiss. Now he has become this rambunctious little boy that loves to give hugs and kisses as if it is a pit stop from his high speed playtime. I am excited however at the possibilities his toddler years bring. We are looking forward to lots of activities with him this summer that weren't possible last year.

Today signified an end to one stage of Owen's life and the beginning of another. A little sad yet a little exciting.

Owen in the midst of the mess.

OK, He looks a bit tired of cleaning.....or perhaps he is holding the Sneetch captive for more vanilla wafers.

We really needed more compartments. I didn't realize how much stuff we needed to pack up. There were also about 4 other bags in the garage I had bagged up last week....geez!

Cowboys and Jager.....

2008-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

Joy and Me!

It isn't often that I experience new things anymore. Partly because I have done more in my short life than I would probably like to admit but it is also due to the fact that I don't get out much anymore.

My longtime childhood friend Joy and I were exactly alike growing up together...boy crazy, swapping Sweet Valley High books, listening to New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson....but somehow around the age of 17 the two of us ventured down different paths...her country, me rock and roll. Despite our differences in music and men (she is obsessed with guys in cowboy hats with enormous belt buckles) we have remained inseparable.I have always considered myself a little bit artsy and strange, a child of the grunge era. But somehow this past Friday I found myself for the first time ever at a country concert. Yep you read that correctly....COUNTRY!!!

She convinced me to go to Wild Bill's with her to see Chris Cagle in concert. Our closet country girlfriend Kristin met us there. We were right up front full of excitement and Jager!!!! Kristin and Joy sang all the words while I attempted to catch onto the lyrics. We danced the night away, made drunk phone calls to Lori and I swear Chris Cagle waved to me! We screamed and laughed so much some guys beside us got a little freaked out! Needless to say we had a great time! I enjoyed most being with my girlfriends and letting loose. Oh and the music wasn't so bad! ;)

To Joy I would like to say I had a blast and I love you, despite your taste in music ;) Also I really think we should go see Billy Ray in March!!! haha

To Kristin...I miss you. I miss your craziness and wish I could experience it more.

Chris Cagle....Chicks really dig him...or so he says!

I would like to say..................

2008-02-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

GO HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please go read about her perspective and plans on all this issues on her website.

A Burden On My Heart That I Just Couldn't Shake....

2008-02-02T18:13:00.001-08:00

For a few months now I have had a heavy burden on my heart that I could not get rid of no matter what I did. I have felt this tugging on my soul to explore in detail the idea of adopting a child from the foster care system. I kept thinking about all the students that passed through my doors while I was a teacher that had been failed by society and how their lives could have been so very different if only for different circumstances. The main reason that Dustin and I want to adopt is not due to infertility issues, we simply want to give a loving, stable home to a child that needs one. A family is built through love and I do not feel that I need to give birth to a child to love them from the deepest parts of me. This is what lead us to adoption in the first place.

As most of you know we had been pursuing an Ethiopian adoption for an infant girl. Today however, we went to an Orientation meeting with our local county to learn more about adopting through foster care. All I can really say is that I felt as if a huge brick had been lifted from me. I began to cry talking with the social worker about our future daughter and the path to building our family. She was wonderful and understanding about my fears and hopes with following this particular path. After a lot of questions, discussion, and research me and Dustin feel this is the path we need to follow. I do feel a bit saddened about the little girl we would have had from Ethiopia but for our family this feels right.

We are still going to request a girl 0-14months. We are open to any race and most likely will receive a presentation for a child of African American decent, meaning AA or biracial. The reason for this is that the majority of children in foster care are of AA descent in our state, one website said 51%, and since we are open we will most likely be matched with a non Caucasian child (the Caucasian children are often adopted much faster and matched more easily with other families).

I hope that as we follow this path that we retain the friendships we have acquired through our Ethiopian support group. I hope that all our children will become friends, although our daughter may not come from a foreign country she will still be in a multi racial family and experience many of the same situations as our Ethiopian counterparts.

Thank you to all of you that have and are supporting our family through this journey.

Please continue to use One Cause! It not only helps with our adoption it helps others through the National Adopt Foundation complete their own families!

Eight Track

2008-01-23T01:33:00.000-08:00

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

My family
My friends
My photography/art
Teaching
Football
My business MyLife Photography
Expanding my family
Painting (which I suppose could go into the art category but it is worthy of it's own for me)

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

Live to be an old eccentric grandmother with funny glasses.
Adopt a child
Travel to see art/culture around the world
Publish a book incorporating storytelling and art/photography
Be an amazing photographer (still a ways to go...)
Obtain another Master's Degree
Learn to belly dance
Get another tattoo! :)

8 Things I Say Often:

That's funny. (without laughing)
Dude.
No No!
I love you
I need a break.
I'm exhausted.
What did you say?
Give to Mommy.

8 TV Shows I've Recently Watched:

American Idol
Anything on Disney Playhouse
Maury(sorry haha)
NFL Football Playoffs and an Amazing Superbowl!!! Go Giants!
Project Runway
Springer ( I don't really know how that happened!!! help!)
The Shot
Anything on Bravo

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over:

Sitting (Cat Stevens)
Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley)
Prophecy (Remy Zero)
Carry the Zero (Built to Spill)
California Here We Come (Phantom Planet)
Sampson (Regina Spektor)
Game Over (yep, by NSync)
Waiting on the world to change (John Mayer)

8 Things That Attract Me To My Friends:

Loyalty
Honesty
Trustworthy
Faithful
Funny
Understanding
Creative
Forgiving

8 Things I've Learned (or been reminded of) This Past Year:

Life is too short
Patience is harder than I thought.
My husband does more than I give him credit for
Life often throws you a curve ball.
My body is never going to look like it used to! ;)
Other peoples negative thoughts about my life, family or decisions don't really bother me.
I sometimes need to focus more on the positive sides of things. (weird statement after that the #6 revelation...hmmmm)
I am a pretty darn good cook!!! Just ask Joy or Lori....except don't ask Lori about the Greek salad...hehe...just kidding, but not really...really don't ask her!)

8 People I Think Should Do "8":

Chaos and Cake!

2008-01-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 20th was our son, Owen's 1st birthday. We had his party this past Saturday.It was a frigid snowy day and we thought that maybe most would not venture out but to our surprise it was truly a party! We had enough cake and playtime for everyone! Family and friends drove from all over to be here for his special day. He is still learning the concept of opening presents but trust me we have been playing non stop since Saturday night. We have also had animated movie marathons that cause Owen to burst out into fits of funky dance steps!!!

He was a bit delicate with his cake until I encouraged him to just take a big heaping bite!!! After every successful mouthful he would clap and then everyone would join in!

It was a bit more chaotic than I had expected and I think that perhaps our party next year will be at Chucky Cheese!!!haha We had a good time nonetheless.

He got some amazing gifts: movies, bath toys (which he loves), a wagon and bike, and They Might Be Giants "Here come the ABCs" a must for any child of a generation X Mom and Dad!!

Dive In!!!

OK, now everybody clap!!

Home Cookin' via Africa!

2008-01-10T04:42:00.001-08:00

Last night was my first attempt at cooking an African Meal! I want to start incorporating these meals into our lives so that they will just become apart of us. So once our daughter is home this will be our normalcy. Just another meal. I want to blend our cultures so that our family will have it's own culture and traditions.
I was a little concerned about how it would turn out. I used lots of different spices that are not a typical blend for the foods we are used to here in the US. It was a lot more complicated and time consuming than my usual Rachel Ray recipes but, to our surprise it was really good! My husband had two huge plates! I will most definitely make it again and am looking forward to more experiments in the kitchen!

Chunky Mashed Veggies
Sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans and a lot of spices including berbere!

Bobotie
As I was making this I thought it would end up to be something like a meat loaf but turned out to be something different completely. I am not sure how to describe the taste but trust me you should try it!

The finished result. I did serve it with soft bread too just in case it was a little too much spice for my guests!

It was a little too spicy for baby Owen but he was happy just the same!

George W. and New Year's

2008-01-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here is Owen helping Mommy take down the Christmas tree. It is what he had been hoping to do the entire time it was up and was euphoric now that we were finally ripping all the glittery stuff down! I took photos to remember his first destruction of a Christmas tree. My only regret....why didn't I put him in a different shirt? Now forever when he is 20 showing his girlfriend baby photos from his first Christmas he will see himself in an Anti Bush shirt. Don't get me wrong this household (Daddy especially) is not a Bush fan, thus the shirt, but I didn't really want him to have Christmas photos in it! Stupid me....but I guess it will make for a funny story later in life.

!!!!KABLAM!!!!

Now on to New Year's Eve.

It was nice, quiet, and I did have some alcohol (which doesn't happen much any more). We had a few friends over for some 7 layer dip, vodka and pyrotechnics. We had a good time talking, drinking, playing games, and setting things on fire.

This New Year's made me a bit sad though.

I must admit that I miss the old days, the single days, the before children days when we all got together for these events and random poker parties. I miss Friday night movies. I miss the old Lot One days where we might be known to do a thing or two we regretted the next morning. :)

Life changes so much after marriage and children and I love my family. I especially love being with Owen every morning to watch Higgly Town Heroes and talking to my Husband while he half listens because he is playing WOW. But even though my life has changed drastically in the past two years I still feel like the old Catherine and the old Catherine misses her old life sometimes and her old friends.

Big Nick and Dustin running for their lives!

Joy, Kristin and Me

Big Nick, Dustin, and CB

PS
Check out that thermometer on the right!!! It is movin' on up!!! Yay! Only $9,900.00 to go! ha!

Crazy Christmas Days!!!

2007-12-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Santa has come!

Christmas this year was great! Exhausting, but great! Owen became interested in the presents once he realized there were toys underneath all that colorful paper. We had a busy couple of days, traveling to visit friends and family and I am still drained from all that occurred. Here are a few photos from Christmas day!

I think Santa left the train more for Daddy than Owen!!! :)

He really loved his Fisher Price toys although it isn't that evident in this photo!

Freaking Out About Finances!

2007-12-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

Ok so here it goes, We have nothing really standing in our way of adopting except money. It is expensive! I want to raise $10,000 and think we can swing the rest on our own but that amount seems monstrous to me right now! I have ONECAUSE (SEE TOP RIGHT OF BLOG) and we are planning a big yard sale in the spring, more on that later, and now my newest scheme.......recycling!!!

Yep you heard it right, recycling. I know this is something I should do anyway but this adoption has pushed me over the edge into a huge pit of aluminum. I am collecting cans and going to turn them in for cash. I guess it helps me and the environment at the same time but I must be honest. As I was crushing cans in the cold on the back patio this morning I just felt overwhelmed about all that we will have to pay......HELP!

So if any of my friends want to collect cans at their home I will pick them up, crush them and put the money towards our goal!!!!

Ladies Night Out!

2007-12-21T06:31:00.000-08:00

It is often difficult with all the life changes, mainly babies, for all of us to get out. But last night thanks to the organization of Heatherbean we all got a night to ourselves! It felt a bit like old times, if you don't count the phone calls to all the husbands checking on the little ones!!! Haha! We went out to dinner at Moe's, my fav, and then ice skating at Centennial Olympic Park. I was truly terrified and made close friends with the wall. Despite my fear of falling I had a great time! I really appreciate the times I have with my friends and am grateful for these relationships even if I did have to risk my life to hang out with them...:)

Heather, Me and Jennifer

Way to go ladies!

Me and Jessica pretending to be pros, she was much much better than me!

Heather had the task of carrying a little bun so she was our cheerleader on the sidelines.

My Sleepy Boy

2007-12-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

I have often heard that there is nothing more beautiful than a sleeping child. I believe this statement to be true. They seem so innocent and pure while they lay there dreaming. I snapped these photos the other day of my little Owen, just thought I would share them.

Family Photo Shoot

2007-12-01T19:10:00.001-08:00

Dustin, Me and Owen

This was our first family photo shoot. I don't know how we waited so long to do this, Owen is almost one year old now. My friend Heather took the photos, THANKS girl! Here are a few!

The love of my life!

Owen is a very happy baby. We make jokes about how he is going to be a comedian when he grows up because life is hilarious to him.

This makes me really nervous!!!

Ok so...um.....this is going to be harder than I thought!

2007-11-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have been trying for the past month to ween Owen off of his pacifier. He loves them so it hasn't been easy. I would put one up and then another would somehow magically appear in his mouth as he rounded the corner of the hall way. Where were they coming from????
I had come to the conclusion that my son was stashing his pacifiers for later use with the knowledge that Mommy wasn't going to give them up so easily.
Well, yesterday I found them! The stash! Set neatly in a pile under his crib behind a toy basket!!!
When I asked him about the stash he gave me an innocent smile.

The photos themselves are incriminating.

Needless to say, this is going to be harder than expected. I don't think Owen is going down without a fight.

A Renewal of Spirit

2007-11-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

We put up all of our Christmas decorations yesterday and I must say that I feel different. The last several years at this time I have felt a little saddened about Christmas. It just hasn't been the same. That feeling of pure excitement, human connection and giving has eluded me. I used to love the Holidays as a child and young adult but I suppose all the stresses of daily life, career, bills, relationships and my views about the world just hasn't allowed me to regain that feeling.

Until Now!!!

I feel so excited! I know this renewal is because of our son Owen. The amazement in his eyes looking at the tree, him dancing in the living room to the xm holly station and knowing that Santa is truly coming to our home this year is invigorating. I feel like a new person, a different person. I can't wait for Owen to wake up Christmas morning and see what Santa has brought him!

I feel that tingle you get at Christmas, that connection to all people.

In short, I am happy and excited at what this holiday season brings to my family.

Owen Dancing!

Peppermint Goodness!

Our Christmas Tree

Owen's first pro Christmas photo!

A Litte Pick Me Up!

2007-11-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

We are at the very beginning stages of adopting. I am reading a ton of literature about trans racial adoption and planning how to deal with the paperwork and finances. In the meantime I often have dreams about us seeing our little girl in person for the first time. I am excited. I think about Owen and his sister playing, us at the park, the zoo, or dancing to the XM Ethel channel in the living room.

Needless to say I have told many about our decision to adopt. I guess I expected people to react in a joyous manner but that is not often the case. People generally respond "oh, yeah I heard about that", "you can't have anymore kids?", "isn't that expensive?" and one actually asked what children from Ethiopia looked liked and once I told her they are African, her response...(long pause)"oh".

But today I went to my old job to drop off a wedding album for a client (she works where I used to teach) and saw many old friends and coworkers. As is often once you start having children the question on everyones mind..."you gonna have any more???" Once I told them about the adoption many of the above responses followed.

However, two of my coworkers were particularly excited for us. They asked about the process, about the children of Ethiopia and talked about Owen becoming a big brother. I told them of some of the other responses I had received and one of these women told me that we were going to bring a little girl into our home and love her. She will be loved and that is what matters and will make us a bigger and more complete family. She said she knows our little girl will be beautiful, just beautiful.

These women I respect and spent a great deal of time with while I was employed there. Their words meant a lot to me.

If they read this I want to say Thank You. It gave me a boost to stay excited and motivated through the very long process that awaits.

I would like to say thank you to Heather and Laura too for all the encouragement.
Your excitement for me from the both of you means a lot.

Now lets start buying cute sun dresses and overalls so that at least my kids will look cute when I am at Walmart in my sweatpants!!! haha

Bubbles and Mohawks!

2007-11-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

Owen loves his Bath time!

Mommy loves giving Owen interesting hairdos during bath time!!! :)

Spiders!

2007-10-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I had resolved not to get Owen a costume this year. He is only 9 months old and lets face it, he doesn't care one way or the other if he has a costume. But somehow I was in Walmart today and my cart directed me toward the Halloween isle! I couldn't resist. I saw a dozen little pumpkin costumes and one lone spider costume beckoning to me. So here it is. Owen as a spider.

I have been tagged!!

2007-10-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Heatherbean tagged me so here it goes.

Jobs I've Held:
Bank Teller
Gallery Coordinator to a nonprofit gallery
Manager of a profited gallery in Atlanta
Art Teacher of Middle and High School
Photographer
Business Owner (current) of MyLife Photography
Art Professor at a small college (current)

Places I've Lived:
Griffin, Ga
Statesboro, Ga
Atlanta, Ga
and back to Griffin again
Nowhere fabulous for me either Heather, sigh....

Foods I Love:
Cilantro, I cook with it a lot
Cheese, any kind!!! mmmmmmmmmmm
Black beans
I pretty much will eat anything and I always love to try out new Rachel Ray reciepes!!!

Places I Would Rather Be
Almost anywhere in Europe or some beautiful Beach.

Movies I Love:
Victor Victoria
StarWars (the originals)
Harry Potter (the first 2)
Bridget Jones Diary
I am kind of stuck on this one. I don't get out to the movies much anymore.

TV Shows I Watch:
The entire Buffy series
The entire Angel series too!
Top Chef
Project Runway
Pretty much anything on TLC and Bravo!!
I find myself somehow watching the occasional Maury paternity test show too (sorry to admit that)

Tag You Are It:

I don't really know anyone to tag. I need to make more friends that post blogs...:(

Here is a photo of Owen in his Halloween PJs though...too cute!

Owen..9 months old

Fall Fair Fun!

2007-10-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Me and some of my friends took all our little ones to the state fair in Perry this past weekend. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun. Things have changed so much for all of us in the past 2 years, marriages, babies and more babies!!!! It took us nearly an hour after we got into the fair to get settled in feed all the little ones and begin our site seeing and riding of the not so secure fair contraptions! It was a different kind of fun for me than we all used to have. It was more special and endearing to see all those little faces so mesmerized by the lights and sounds. Life has gotten sweeter and I am looking forward to a little more sugar soon!

Charlie, Chase and our little Owen!

Jessica, Me, Heather and Marlena

Our men and our little men!

Big Decisions!

2007-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

We have been debating for a very long time the option of adoption. I believe we have reached a decision to do it! We received our adoption packet last week and are reading tons of literature on the subject. We are still reading and talking about the different programs available to assist us in this venture. I am excited about the possibilities.

We are hoping to adopt a little girl and begin our paperwork next year. We want Owen, our son, to be near the age of 3years old when she will come home to us.

Names have become a big topic in the house as well: Zoe, Rory, and Dustin's favorite Meg...I am not sold on this yet.

We have also registered with OneCause which is a fund raiser to help us pay the enormous expenses that will rack up with the whole adoption process. We would love for any of you to register with OneCause on our behalf. It is a way for you to shop and also help us with our adoption while also donating a portion of your purchase to the National Adoption Foundation. You must register our email in order to aid in our fund raiser: catherineritchie@bellsouth.net

We are excited about our growing family!