Almost the End of the Year . . .

Family

Wow, I can hardly believe it is the end of another year.  It's been an interesting one - with lots of highs and lows, lots of drama and moments of quiet.  It's been busy and slow, fun and hard.  And, now we are on to another one.  Are you ready?  How do you celebrate the beginning of the new year?  Are there things that you are looking forward to in the upcoming year?  Things that you have planned or are you just going to wing it and see how the year progresses?

Since, I'm pretty sure that I will not be on my computer after the stroke of midnight tomorrow evening, let me wish you all a very Happy New Year.  Now, let's all be smart and very safe on New Years Eve.

The future is not something we enter.  The future is something we create. ~ Unknown

Oh Man . . . Did I Really Jinx Myself?

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What a busy couple of days it's been.  And just after I was commenting - or dare I say bragging - about how smoothly Christmas went for me this year.  I guess I did jinx myself after all, it was all waiting until after Christmas to hit me.  Way too much to do in an extremely short amount of time to do it all in.  I do believe things have settled down - a bit at least and so I am back to post again.

As a side note, I really missed getting these postings out.  It was like my day was not complete.

And I could not leave you without a quote for the day, hope you enjoy this one:

You never know when you are making a memory.  ~ Rickie Lee Jones

Happy Holidays from my Family to Yours

Happy Holidays from us to you!

Getting Ready for the Busy Night

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Can you believe it's just one more evening and then it will be Christmas?  And here, Mr. and Mrs. Claus are taking a moment before all the craziness begins for them.  And don't they look great, ready for their busy season?

These are Christmas decorations that my mom made when I was just a little girl.  I remember very fondly seeing them out every year.  And, just a few years ago, she gave them to me.  Thanks mom, I love them very much and have enjoyed seeing them sitting on my shelf.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

An Old Fashioned Christmas

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I guess this year I went a little heavy on the ornament pictures.  I hope you don't mind.  And, I actually have quite a few pictures to get ready for next year - that is if I don't take any more holiday pics between now and then.  And really, what are the chances of that happening?  Pretty darn slim.  I am already planning some more photos that are going to take place over the next few days.  Those however, will have to wait until Christmas 2011 to be shared because I already have the next couple pics planned - which is unusual for me, to be planned out in advance.

And now, a quote to leave you with:

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not so good with Plants - taking care of them that is

All About Red

Yes, last night's post was a poinsettia.  An interesting plant.  I really was unaware of all the varieties out there.  This one is now living in our home.  Let's hope we don't kill it right away.  I am not so good at taking care of plants.  I did not get a green thumb from my mom.  So far, my husband has been tending to it & that is very good.  He's WAY better at keeping plants alive than me.  I almost felt sorry for it when we bought it for picture taking.  Poor thing . . .

On a different note.  I found myself with some spare moments today.  Not sure how that happened, but I will take it!  Anyway, I spent that time updating the gallery on my website.  I have added a couple new sections - Christmas 2010 and Macro.  And have also added a few favorites to just about every category already there.  It was kinda fun looking through the gallery again.  It's fun to see where I've been and where I am now.  So, if you'd like, go here to check it out!

Flower for Mom

Flower for Mom

This one is for my mom.  I will always think of her whenever I see this Christmas plant.  When I decided to shoot new holiday images for everyday of this month I knew that this plant had to be included.  I'm hoping that you can tell what it is.  And if not, I may be sharing another tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy this image today Mom (and everyone else out there too!)

A Bit of Bling Makes Everything Better

Bling Some?

I'm telling you, everything is better with a little sparkle to it. Add that little touch of glitter and bam - puts a smile right on your face.

I think it's pretty safe to say, I've had a bit of fun with this ornament. And I think it has had it's 15 minutes - or several days - of fame and it is time to move on to something different.

It's been pretty overcast here - and even rained the majority of the day today. Lighting is great when it's overcast. Yesterday I pulled out my rather large "photo box" full of all sorts of goodies, went out in the backyard with some fun holiday items and set out to create some fun images. I downloaded them today and . . . well there is something to work with. In the meantime, enjoy this crazy, blingy, springy ornament one last time.

Oh . . . and enjoy this quote for the day:

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. ~ Mark Twain

Angel

Angel

This is a favorite ornament.  We have quite a few of them.  These angels are ornaments from when I was a kid.  I cannot remember when we got them, but I know that we did not always have them.  I loved to put these angels on our tree, and always made sure they were near a light so that they would catch the light just right. 

A few years ago, my mom was going through our old ornaments and gave me several that were special ones to me.  And, these angels were a part of that.  This year, it was fun to watch my son put the angels on.  He took care in placing them close to lights because he too, wanted them to have that special glow.

The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.  ~ Bruce Lee

It's a Good One

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Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out. ~ Anton Chekhov

Be Inspired

My Little Curly Q

I am loving this ornament.  It's so fun!  It was THE best Black Friday find ever!  Well, okay maybe not the best, we have gotten some great deals years ago - but this was the best find I had this year.  (Especially since my Black Friday purchases consisted of this ornament and one other.  I was such a big spender this year!)

I decided I needed to add some quotes to my selection.  Well, honestly, I am always on the hunt for quotes to add to my ever-growing file.  And while searching I came across this beauty:

Every man dies.  Not every man really lives. ~ William Wallace

Love that one.  I mean really love that one.  And I cannot help but think of the movie Braveheart when I hear that quote.  Now, I know that Hollywood is not necessarily the best at getting the stories right.  And honestly I could not tell you if they did or did not in the case of the movie Braveheart.  But what I can tell you is this - they did get something absolutely right in the making of that movie.  It is extremely inspiring.  If you have not seen it - and do not possess a squeamish stomach (there are some very bloody scenes), I highly recommend this movie.  Be entertained, be inspired.

A Merrier World

The Man & The Tree

And this brings the end to the Nutcracker photos - at least for now, unless I decide to revisit and shoot some more.  More holiday images to come though, so don't worry about that!

And now, for the quote of the night - I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did when I first read it:

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Drumming Again, Just A Little Bit Different This Time

Drumming From The Top

Anything you’re good at contributes to happiness. ~ Bertrand Russell

Drummer Boy

Drummer Boy

Looking at all these holiday images, I cannot help but really start to get excited for the holidays to come.  This year I have many holiday projects planned and if I'm not careful, I am going to run out of time to get them done. 

And part of those projects is to shoot more holiday images.  I hope you are enjoying them so far.

The Face

I'm pretty sure I could get just a little bit closer to this face than I am, but I don't think it would be too pretty. Here is Day 7 of the Holiday Images. I hope you are enjoying them so far. This little guy is a part of a series of guys in our house - with a bit of a story - that I will share with you at another time. But first, I would like to share a few more images from him.


I'm really hoping that I didn't get too abstract with my macro fascination right now, and that you can tell what this is. Or at least are not disturbed by him. He's not that scary of a guy - that is when you are not all up in his face staring him down in one blue eye.

This one takes me all the way back . . .

Old Time Snowflake

This image takes me all the way back . . . to . . . this past weekend.

Sorry I just could not resist.  This image has such a yesteryear feel to it, at least to me.  What do you think?

Over the weekend, I finally broke out the camera and the tripod and spent some good quality time with our Christmas trees.  At one point I was even laying under the tree, on my back shooting away.  I have made the commitment to myself that everyday in the  month of December is going to be dedicated to holiday type images.  Now, some of those images may be one or two of my favorites from over the years.  But, for the most part, I am planning on shooting, shooting and more shooting during this month.

I did have the opportunity to shoot a good friends family portraits the first weekend of December and really had fun with them.  I can't wait to share them with you . . . that is after the new year.  Can you believe it is almost 2011?  I have some ideas of things that I would like to do - photography wise in 2011 and need to get those ideas written down, organized and researched.  So many fun things to look forward to!

Until then, I hope that you are enjoying my sparkly snowflake!  (And I'm guessing that's not something you hear everyday?)

A Single Ornament

Ornament

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Round and Round We Go

Round and Round

Okay, so I've pretty much been inside my house for two straight days.  Going nowhere but to take my son to school and then home and either bed or work.  Fun stuff.  There is only one thing worse than a winter cold - a summer cold!  And right now I am right smack in the middle of a full-on winter cold.  Complete with lost voice, or super deep voice, whichever one decides to make an appearance at the moment.  I spoke with my mom earlier tonight and she told me that if I had called her she probably would not have recognized my voice - and it was actually doing much better at that moment.  Yikes!

But there is light at the end of the tunnel - I have not felt the need to take anything for the sore throat and head congestion since much earlier this afternoon.  And I am feeling pretty good.  We will see how it goes in the morning.

And, why is it that whenever you are sick you feel your worst in the morning?  You wake up all miserable and then when bedtime rolls around you are actually feeling human again . . . that is until you get up the next morning.  Wish me luck on maintaining that feeling of being a human again tomorrow when the sun is coming up.

Until then, enjoy one of our newest ornaments.  Bought this year on Black Friday.  Yep, that's right I went out shopping for a good chunk of the day and came home with two ornaments.  Not that I needed the ornaments, but they were on sale and too cute to pass up.  And had I not bought them, I would have come home with nothing.  (Although I did enjoy the time shopping with a good friend, and going to a movie and having some great food to eat - thanks for the great time Di!)  And, I'm glad I got this ornament because I've been having a lot of fun photographing it.  (And more holiday goodies to come for the rest of the month - woohoo!!!)

Hustle & Bustle

Wrap Around Shine

Can you  believe it is already December 1st?  Wow, where on earth did this year go?  It was a busy one for us, as I'm sure it was for you too.  Get ready for the hustle and bustle of all the things the holiday season brings . . . 'cause it's here!

The Begnning of the End and the Beginning Again

Twinkle

Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm and joy are things that make life worth living and exploring. ~ Denise Austin

It's that time of year.  The time when we are supposed to get all caught up in the magic of the season and to have good will towards mankind and all that jazz.  Well, there's one thing I have never fully understood about this time of year - and that is why do we have to be all those things this time of year.  Shouldn't we be doing all those good things every single day of the rest of the year too? 

I have always had mixed feelings about Christmas.  It's fun to see all the decorations go up and enjoy the twinkling of the lights on the trees.  It's fun to put away everyday items and put up Christmas decorations.  And then when it's time to put away those Christmas decorations I always put the old, everyday decorations up in a new way.  And that is fun.  To me, it's a sort of fresh beginning, but with all the old familiar things. 

And yet, for that month that they are put away, there are these items that move in for a bit.  They get brought out the same time every year.  They remind us of all the "good" things we should be doing . . . and then they get put away until next year.  And while they are gone, in those other 11 months of the year, do you continue the "good" things or do you pack them away until next year?

I hope I am not sounding to cynical or full of skepticism or such.  Actually I think I am quite the opposite.  I am ever hopeful.  The person that is always looking for the good and the rainbows and the unicorns (and glitter like Flo from the Progressive commercials says). 

And here is my hope on this the beginning of the last month of the year 2010 - that we, each of us, will carry forward from this day forward good tidings to all.  That we will look for the good, and especially in those times when finding the good is very hard to do.  That we will spread love and peace and joy.  And that as we are putting up our holiday decorations and listening to that very inspired music that we will commit to being who were are in this very moment for the upcoming year.

And please forgive me if my thoughts seem to be a little jumbled - I seem to have caught a wonderful winter cold - so is it me talking or the cold medicine?  I guess we'll never know.