Somebody stop me...

from taking so many pictures of Daisy. I can't help myself...she's just so damn cute!

Flax seed and Photo Friday

Why flax seed and photos? I just discovered the wonders of flax seed and I have been working on my first photo homework for class.

The flax seed thing I just kinda stumbled over. I remember my grandma talking about how she sprinkles some every day on her cereal and yesterday I just happened to be in the aisle where it was so I picked some up. After reading about it on the internet, it is like a wonder food. It's good for so many things. I put some in my yogurt this morning and it didn't even have a taste. You can't beat that. If you just put it on something you're already eating, easy peezy. You know me, I'm all about easy and pain-free. Research it yourself. It's good stuff.

I did end up going to my class last night. I'm glad I did because, as I said yesterday, I would've hated to miss a night. Our first assignment is to take 10 pictures of something we like to take pictures of. Well, you know my first choice is a cute, little, chubby baby or toddler, but since neither one of those is available, you know what that means...more pictures of Daisy, my sometimes reluctant, but ever available, subject:

As you can see, I was experimenting with a lot of different angles--some I even shot with the camera sitting on the floor and me not even looking through the lens--and different kinds of light.

What really caught my eye to start out the day was how the sun was shining off the ice in the trees:

Here's the big icicle that's hanging outside on our deck. Now that could put your eye out!

Thawing out

Well, it seems the storm has passed...at least for a little while. There's supposed to be another front coming in soon, but I don't think it's supposed to pack the punch that this one did. Mr cleared off the driveway last night--quite the chore, I might add. He left for work this morning. I miss him because he's been working from home for the past 2 days. It was nice having him here with me during the day.

Tonight is supposed to be my first photography class. Although I've been excited about it for weeks, due to the weather, I'm hoping it will be cancelled. Where the school is located is on a hill. I'm sure the roads will be a lot better today, but it's going to be nighttime when I travel and I'm not exactly sure where I'm going. Plus, I don't like going to Cincinnati. It scares me...especially at night...especially alone. I certainly don't want to miss a class, though. There's only 6 so every one counts. I'll let you know what happens.

Here is a picture of Daisy, thrown in for fun. This was the first day of "Winter Storm 2009". Like the video, you can see she was really torn up about the weather.

Ice, Ice, Baby

What it was like here today

My artsy fartsy shot of the snow.

Another artsy fartsy snow shot. I was bored...what can I say?

Daisy is all distraught over the snow and ice we've had today.

Check in

Well, today I weighed and didn't lose a pound. I know part of it is because my monthly visitor is getting ready to come--sorry, probably TMI, but just keeping you up to date! I was expecting that I wouldn't lose or maybe even gain due to that, but still...it's disappointing.

I've decided to take Girl Child's advice and start measuring. Since I'd started the weighing thing, though, I thought I'd do both. I took my measurements yesterday so that's a starting point now.

I know my body is changing. My "muffin top" is most definitely smaller and so are my hips. That's very exciting.

I have been working out to a DVD I got from the library--30 day shred with Jillian Michaels. She is the hard-ass trainer from Biggest Loser. Let me tell ya, this workout is hard. It's deceptive because the workouts are only 20 minutes long, but let me tell you, they are an intense 20 minutes! There are 3 levels and obviously you start at Level 1. I guess you do each level for 10 days and then move on. I am only doing it every other day because a. it's hard and wears me out and b. I think it's better to rest your body after such an intense workout, esp. your muscles. I can't believe how much I have improved after only 3 workouts! It's so cool how your body responds even when you've (I've) been sitting on my ass for so long. That's real progress!

So, that's where I stand on the "Healthy Living 2009" front.

On another note, I've decided to only do "YouTube Tuesdays" when I find a video I like. The theme days aren't cutting it for me and I've decided that I will write whatever strikes me that particular day. Having said that, check out this video. It cracks me up. I'm soooo lucky that Mr isn't like this when he gets sick.

Christmas--a month late

Yesterday some members of my family on my dad's side got together to celebrate Christmas--a month late. My one aunt lives in Toledo so she doesn't come down a lot.


Right before I was getting ready to leave to head over there, it started snowing like crazy. In a matter of probably 15 minutes, the road was covered. I do not like driving in the snow. When it comes to snow driving, I usually stay at home, hunkered down. If I'm out in it--by some unfortunate circumstance--I drive about 20 mph. I'm the one that people get ticked at for driving so slow. I figure it beats being one of those idiots who drive the normal speed limit when the road is covered. Mr was stuck at home peeing in a bucket so he couldn't go with me and drive (sorry, you will have to wait until another day to find out the story on that one.) Anyway, I headed out. I figured if it was too bad, I would just turn around. After traveling for an hour on a trip that usually takes about 20 minutes, I arrived. I was so glad I did.


You know me, I took this gathering as an opportunity to flex my camera muscles. Can you believe I took 125 pictures?! I'd say 100 of those were of one of my favorite subjects--my cousin's little girl P. Just look at the pictures and you will see why.

Couldn't you just eat her with a spoon?! (No pun intended based on the above picture) I feel kinda bad because my cousin has 4 kids--all of whom are adorable--but come on...who can resist a 15-month old with a face like that? Not me anyway. Here are some pictures of 2 of her other cuties.

This is V and he's 4. Right after I took this shot, I showed it to him and told him that he was very handsome. His response: "Yes, I am!"

This is her other son--C. He is 7. What a cutie pie.

To be perfectly fair, I have to show pictures of all 4 of her kids, so here's her oldest, A, right after she ate some truffles.

She'd probably kill me if she knew I was posting this, but....it does make for a funny shot, doesn't it?

And of course a picture of my Grandma lookin' sassy!

You can tell I have a ways to go before I get this whole photography thing down. NOTE: see the A1 bottle in the foreground of the picture. I'm still learning that I need to survey my entire shooting area and not just snap away at the slightest whim. If I had Photoshop, I could take care of that baby, but for now, this is the way it is.

Boobs and Bras

Yesterday I discovered my boobs have grown. Well, I'm not really sure if they've grown exactly, but I've definitely been wearing the wrong size.

After going to Victoria's Secret to find something to spend my gift card on, I decided I needed a new bra...probably several...but the g.c. was only going to get me one. Long story short, I let the woman measure me, which I'm not sure I've ever done. I've always just guessed at what size bra I wore based on comfort. I've probably been doing this since I went from a training bra to an A. I've heard you should be measured, but frankly, I didn't want someone fiddling around with my boobs and back fat. Yesterday I decided to give in.

What she did was move me up a cup size. She actually had me try on a bra 2 cup sizes bigger than what I wear. I thought she was wearing her underwear too tight so she must not be getting any blood to her brain. If you know me in real life, there's NO way I could go up 2 cup sizes, but since she's the boob expert, not me, I humored her. Can you believe that it actually fit??!!! It wasn't gapping or anything. Now I don't know anything about bras, but apparently if you go down a number size, you can go up a cup size, or something like that. I thought the number size was too tight so we settled on keeping the same number size but increasing the cup.

So, yesterday was a momentous day in my life. I'm moving on up the alphabet.