A Blog Award!

I've been blogging for a little over 2 years (est. Jan 2008) & I just received my 1st blogger award. WOW! Thanks to Amber over at Handmade by Amber, I have been tagged with the Master of Karate & Friendship Award.

So, as a receipiant of this award, I'm supposed to list 6 things that I'm a master at & then tag 6 fellow bloggers.

I'm pretty sure I'm not really a master at anything, because everyday is a learning adventure (yes I said adventure, I do have 2 children at home, under 3, soon to add another) & when we stop learning its just no fun.

There are some things I am pretty good at & even enjoy, so I'll go with those skills & talents. I will call them the things I am a Master (in training) at...

1- Crafting--be it sewing, scrapbooking, jewlery making, etc.. I have been spending probably way too much time doing these things lately (it must be the 'nesting' in me)...

2- Photographing--an always evolving, changing, & incredibly addicting art form. I haven't been spending nearly enough time on this as I should be.

3- Cooking -- my husband would probably say that's #1 (when we first met he didn't eat 1/4 of the things he will eat now) From baked goodies to oh so scrumptious meals (did I mention it's one of my favorite hobbies)

4- Motherhood -- with 2 (almost 3) children in this world, I should be very proficient at this job, but as anyone with children knows, it's definately never the same, never easy & never mastered. The little buggers always find some way to work around, what you've decided will work...

5- Avoiding Housework & Domestic dutys -- probably one of those things I am a master at... it's my least favorite duty of being a SAHM, because there's always tomorrow to clean this or that, today should be enjoyed with the kiddos..right?!?!

6- Observation -- I am usually pretty quiet & spend most of my time 'out & about' just observing. People watching & learning from what's going on around me. I take a lot in, but don't always give a lot of output.

Now to tag & award some fellow bloggers, but first...

The Rules:

1. List 6 things you are a master in.

2. Pass it on to 6 bloggers you think are masters at friendship, and make blogging so awesome.

& the recipiants of this award are:

1. Jaz

2. Heather

3. Mommy & Me Photography

4. The Beautiful Miss Bing

5. Stacey J Photography

6. Christie

Thank you ladies for being great bloggers & wonderful people. Hugs!

January Looks Like {Scrapbook Page}

I spent most of yesterday working on our famly album for 2006-2009, I managed to get through the year 2008 (which ended up being about 20 2-page spreads). Yes that sounds crazy, but it really didn't take that long, I'm just doing a basic squared layout, no embellishments & a little bit of journaling.

Once I got a couple of things accomplished this morning, I worked on my 1st page for the 2010 album (following some guidelines for a challenge at the Sweet Shoppe), I hope to get a couple images each month looking out my back door to include in the book.

So this is challenge #9--What January Looks Like:

For credits & more info check out this post: http://aprattphotodesign.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-scrap-page.html

Now off to get some 'real' work accomplished so I'm not in too much trouble when my hubby gets home.

More on the Birthday Girls {Card Sample & Project 52}

As promised, THE birthday invitation:

To view design credits view this post: http://aprattphotodesign.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-birthday-invite-card-sample.html

Project 52 theme of the week is: Girls & Pink

Birthday Girls {Childrens Portraits}

This morning I had scheduled into our calendar (it must be on the calendar or it won't happen), taking my girls' birthday portraits. Anna will be 3 & Grace will be a couple of weeks. Hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly.

We did a quick little session around the yard & came out with some super cute (I could be partial) photographs. Anna is quite into getting her portraits made...Grace on the other hand would rather run around and eat dirt, sticks & whatever else she happens to find.

...Our little Cowgirl...

...Miss Dimples, who actually has more hair than her sister did at age 1, so she gets to sport some piggie tails now...

...sisters...

...& they're all smiles, ready for the adventure to begin...

I will post a sample Birthday Invite as soon as it's completed. And possible get to Project 52 once again this week.

Be sure to check back this week for photos of a super cute 6 month old baby boy! We had to reschedule our session from last week, due to some extreme snow (only between 4 & 6 feet) in the area.

Snow Day {My Life}

Happy Snow Day!

My hubby, for anyone who reads this and doesn't already know, drives truck. We're having some crazy weather in our area & he got a snow day today (yay for family time, boo for paycheck time). The freeways' been closed, snow is piling up & wind is blowing like crazy (when it's not snowing). We were discussing it earlier this morning, that we haven't seen weather quite like this for sometime.

We actually got some snow at our house & Daddy helped Anna build a snowman. She couldn't wait & watched the snow until it started sticking. As soon as it was, she was dressed in her snowsuit, boots, & the whole 9 yards, headed outside to build a snowman.

Daddy & Anna's Masterpiece

5 Senses--part 1 -- {Project 52}

Week 3 for Project 52
Theme: 5 Senses

I'm actually going to try to get something for all 5 senses this week, so that means 5 photos for this theme, a challenge to remember to get them done...

You can't touch, smell, hear, or taste these weather wonders... but you most definately can see them.

Sense 1: Sight

It's the pits having a cold or head congestion. My biggest complaint this week, is losing my sense of smell, which also leads to not being able to taste much... when I thought of smell yesterday, the only thing I could think of was not having it & trying anything & everything to get it back...and on this day 3 of congestedness--no relief!

Sense 2: Smell

Hopefully I will have a few more senses to post this week. Today we are cooped up inside, the weather is dreary. Cold, rainy, windy & some parts around here even have snow...

Remembering...{My Life}

Remembering.

It brings tears, & sadness, but also allows us to rejoice in the good & happy.

It's hard to believe how quickly 5 years has gone by, and how so much can change in such a relativly short amount of time.

5 years ago today, we lost our Granny. She was more than Granny, she was incredible, & thinking about her tonight, makes my heart swell with love & happiness.

Remembering all the good that we shared in the 20 years that I shared with her on earth. All the laughs, and smiles...and even the tears. Many nights staying up late playing Rummy, eating a bowl of Corn Flakes (extra sugar), watching & listening to TV. Hearing her sing, songs by her favorite artists & attempting to teach me the guitar (not very well, cause I still can not play). I could write pages upon pages of memories of my Granny.

I will just share a photo, one of my favorite photos.

Granny helping me adjust my gloves for my Aunt's wedding. This framed image was given to me as a wedding gift & sat in the front alter at my wedding. It is definately very, very special to me.

(niether of these were taken by me, the original photo is one from my aunts wedding, & the photo of the photo, was taken by Rare Images at my wedding.)

There are a couple more images of Granny on this post:

I still miss & love her so much. Until we meet again up where the angels fly...

Rainy, windy days...{My Life}

The weather has been some of my least favorite. Super windy, drizzly cold rain & days with neverending grey clouds... It makes for going out of the house, especially packing the kiddos up, miserable & very discouraging.

An occasional break in the clouds to let the sunlight through, is very welcome.

...Week 2 : Weather: 2 ....Saturday mornings sunburst...

I've been spending lots of time organizing cupboards and paperwork, getting all those lovely end-of-year tax things in order & getting ready for Baby B to join our world.
I really have been enjoying my days & evenings with my family, doing...a whole lot of nothing important. We had our first real movie night on Friday. For the first time, ever in our relationship (almost 5 years) we actually rented movies to watch at home. We don't watch movies very often, so it was a real treat. Anna picked out Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs something she saw on a commercial & wanted to see. We had a "Pizza Place" and enjoyed our evening in.

...Posing with her newest love...baby dolls....

It's hard to believe that in less than 1 month, my girlies are having a birthday! 3 years has passed so quickly, but not nearly as quickly as the past year. Add party planning to the to-do list, along with birthday portraits (hoping for some decent weather this weekend)...

...A 'horsey' party is on the horizon....

Grace is so full of personality, I love watching her change & learn new things. Her big sister definately teaches her a lot... a lot of what she shouldn't do....

...at 11 months, she gets her first ponytails, and something was incredibly funny...

In a few (hopefully) short weeks we'll be welcoming our 3rd & final (yes for reals this time) child into our world. Baby B should be arriving mid-March. I can say that my body is fully ready for pregnancy to be over. It's offically difficult to do most simple things (like breathing & sleeping). I, however, am not ready for more sleepless nights & starting the routine over again. It will all be a blessing & I'm sure at this time next year as I reflect on the wee-ones, it will be a happy time.

...taking advantage of getting dressed up for date night, I employeed my hubby to get a few belly pics for Brody's book.... 31w1d (or something like that)

Now off to finish up a couple of cupboards & work on the Christmas, turned birthday quilt...

Check back by the end of the week for some new portraits of a super cute 6 month old baby boy!

Weather {Project 52}

One of my goals this year is to take at least one photograph per week. So I've adapted a challenge to suit my style & schedule, and instead of taking a photo a day, I've assigned a 'theme' to each week of the year, 52 of them, hence the name Project 52.

The first week, theme was Affection, I posted a couple 'affectionate' photos from last week.

This week the theme I assigned was "Weather".

...We have a GORGEOUS view of Mt Shasta from our home, and lately, we've been awaking to fog, yucky, wet, gray, depressing, fog. However, somedays it's amazing...amazing that it doesn't settle into every little place, or even reach into the highest places (those would be clouds right?!). Sunday, the fog was having one of it's better days, and graced us with this beautiful framing of the Mountain. About 30 minutes later, it was completely socked in & we couldn't see any of this...what a way to start the day....

I may get a couple more 'weather' shots up this week. The winds here have been crazy, at one point we were having 42mph winds with gusts up to 49mph. The fence line surrounding our house & the property, is currently disguised with Tumble weeds, so many in fact, that the County road crew was out this morning, with a plow, front end loader & dump truck, clearing the roadway...it's quite a sight.

Next week there won't be the lengthy explanation, just the photo, theme {5 senses} & a little about the image(s).

Newsletter {Client Connection}

Here is the 1st edition of the new monthly newsletter, Client Connection.

Newsletter

I am putting the 1st edition up for everyone to view, but future editions will only be sent by email. Each month there will be a special that is only offered in the newsletter. There will also be a session highlight or two, and a little about whats going on in our house, some product spotlights & lots more!

My goal is to have this delivered to inboxes the first week of every month.

You can subscribe by sending a quick message to me here: SUBSCRIBE