favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• this is my youngest brother, his bride & their oldest son...they asked me to take their wedding photos a few years ago
• i had no idea what i was doing...
• taking wedding photos was stressfull & made me sweat like crazy
• ps... i am not a wedding photographer...those people are brave souls
• this is one of 2 whole shots i had thought up before the wedding, i wanted them walking away with their son following after them, he was not real sure about the grass, hence the bear crawl he's doing...
• the little guy's so cute in this shot...it seems like a keepsake to me!
  

*this image was shot @ f4.5, 1/80, iso 100 with a 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 52mm with fill flash

check out picnik

hey, if you're looking for a resource to edit your photos, there is this neat little website called picnik that you've got to check out. over there you can do standard editing & other fun things like add fonts, frames, special effects, make collages - all sorts of cool stuff and it works with your photos in lots of places like flikr, facebook, photobucket, picasa or just straight off your computer.

so even if you already have photo editing software or if you're considering a change/upgrade, check this place out!

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because...

• these are my guys...i love em'
• this was a spontaneous shot, didn't set it up, might have had to tell them to stay that way for minute though...:)
• i took this the first week i had my new dslr, very excited, not really taking very good images though...practice, practice, practice

*this images was shot @ f4.0, 1/20, iso 200 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 20mm

i'm opinionated

i'm sure i've been described as many things, i'd like to hope they've been good things, but that may be wishful thinking...

my best friend once described me as "opinionated" to another friend of hers. and this is my best friend, mind you...

so i had to ponder on that one. i related the story to troy, to which he said something very insightful. (i love it when he does that)

he said "everyone's opinionated, some people are just more willing to share their opinion than others". (i wish he was always that smooth)

so hey, at first i was feeling sort of insulted, but actually, i think i kind of wear it as a badge now.

you know the saying "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"? well, i totally agree with that. as a matter of fact, there's probably not a truer statement!

i would rather be completely committed than wavering every which way the wind blows, depending upon who's company i'm in.

so without further ado, these are my opinions today:

1. american idol has gone done the toilet this year. that's all i'm going to say about that.
2. spending 15 minutes outside in the sun each day is all you need to get your daily allowance of vitamin D. how simple is that? so go outside and see how much better you feel afterwards!
3. green tea is good for you, for many reasons. just 2 of those reasons: it boosts your metabolism & decreases your chances of a heart attack by 40% - so go get some!
4. love does NOT mean never having to say you're sorry...apologizing does wonders for you & your apologee (i don't think that's a word, but i'm using it)
5. all crimes are "hate" crimes & every human being should be protected equally under the law
6. "just because god's sovereign doesn't mean you lean on a shovel and pray for a hole" *i'm quoting pastor tommy nelson here
7. you can never have too much good mexican food in one week

so there you have it. my opinionated opinions.

and just because you've taken the time to read my rantings, i'm sharing a recipe that i've received from my sister & modified until i got it the way my family really likes it.

mexican haystack dinner

1 sleeve saltine crackers or tortilla chips, crushed
3 c. cooked rice
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can chili beans, undrained & heated through
1 packet taco/burrito seasoning
shredded lettuce
tomatoes
onions
queso cheese sauce

place crushed crackers/chips in 9x13 pan. top with rice. after browning meat, add taco seasoning & cook according to package directions. top rice with meat, then chili beans. sprinkle with onions, lettuce & tomatoes. heat queso cheese sauce with some milk to thin it out a bit, then pour over the entire pan. serve with tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream & guacamole if you like.

i ♥ faces week 19 blurb photo book contest

this week's contest at i heart faces is asking us to enter our best or favorite close up photos.

this week's winners will have their photo included in the i heart faces blurb book & win a free copy of the book also.

until i saw this contest, i had never really thought, "what's my best ever photo?" because i think more along the lines of my "favorites" rather than best. so i dug deep & found a couple of shots that i thought were worthy.

this has definitely got to be one of my best close ups, one of the beautiful girls i have photographed.

as they say, the eyes have it here, don't they?

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

i can't wait for Land Of The Lost

i love will ferrell.

ok...there. i said it...

it's a problem, i know...

but i can't help it. he cracks me up!

if you have yet to see the previews, here's a pretty good one.

we can't wait to go & take the boys. fortunately, they share my affinity for mr. ferrell so it should be a definite thumbs up.

when you're strange...

i don't have a lot to say about this, it was just one of those moments, seemed right at the time...to him anyway...ahh well, i love my baby boy..

sometimes i think a ring in the nose would be handy, especially during those "not so cooperative" moments ...

and his eyes just mesmerize me in this one...he has these blue/grey/almost green-depending-on-what-he's-wearing eyes & when we're sitting close & he's talking to me, i tend to be analyzing "just which one of those colors are the eyes today"...