What's a Girl to do?

What's a girl with 3 bigger brothers in the house to do?

Is she more likely to follow her genetics... or learn from her environment?

It's the old conundrum of nature versus nurture...

....an unconscious decision this little chica faces each day....

Rough and tumble or prancing princess?  Wrestle or dance? ....or a little of both?

This little chicka follows nature.... everything programmed into her brain from an early age.
Oh she can learn from her environment, but only to a certain extent.....
she will still come running when the rooster calls, and she will still find a nest in which to lay her eggs.

This little chica however, changes daily...
sometimes more feminine, sometimes more masculine...

....from playing in the mud... to nurturing Charlie...

Case in point:  over breakfast this morning..... this little chica crinkled her nose and waved her hand in front of her face and exclaimed, "Stinky cow poop!" as the ketchup bottle made it's questionable noises.

That, my friends, is a fine example of nurture... she has her brothers to thank for such lessons learned.  And then not 5 minutes later she melted into a puddle of tears when Momma told her it was time to settle down and actually eat the ketchup and hashbrowns.  That is so unlike her brothers.... turn it on and turn it off, just like a thermostat.... hot, cold, hot, cold.  Hmmmmm.....

Having a little girl to love and raise and learn from, has been quite the adventure for me.

Sometimes she's soft and cuddly, and very feminine; and other times she's just one of the boys.

And I think that's a good thing.... because sometimes girls need to be strong and tough and self-reliant....
just as boys need to be tender and compassionate and nurturing.

(We could skip the laughing hilariously at bodily noises however.....)

Heart attack

I had too much fun to not share more photos from Winona's heart attack.

Randy and the boys helped me trace and cut hearts from scrapbook paper, and then we strung the hearts on hemp twine in differing lengths and combinations.

It was just before sunset, and the wind was calm.

I carried out the heart garlands ever so carefully..... and still spent half an hour untangling.....

ah well.... it was worth it, wouldn't you say?

She was excited by the magic of all the hearts hanging unexpectedly from the bare lilac branches....

her eyes sparkled and her smile spread from ear to ear.

Here is Daddy putting her in the middle of the hearts...

(like the ruffle pants? *wink*wink*)

She might have got a little crazy... 

she might have run around like a crazy garden nymph..... 

she might have hammed it up for Daddy a little too much.... 

but ultimately she got cold.

(I could make a bad joke about heart attacks and blue lips.... but I won't.... )

If you have to have a heart attack....this is the kind to have.

Wouldn't it be fun to surprise someone you love with a "heart" attack?

(PS. My mom is doing much better today... I think she's turned the corner and is on her way to health and strength again.  Thank you for your prayers.)

Winter Wonderland -- I ♥ Faces

My sweet baby girl exploring {briefly} the winter wonderland we had a few weeks before.

It was cold.... and so was she in about 2 seconds ;)

 Ah....... where does the time go?  and can I still call her my "sweet baby girl" for a couple more years?

Click on over to I ♥ Faces for more Winter wonderland photos.

Winona's Butterfly Cake

Baby girl had a party yesterday. 

Although she turned two last week, we (insert I) didn't have time to make her cake and purchase presents.... 

so we waited until yesterday to celebrate.

(I know.... so mean!  I won't get away with that next year, I'm sure!)

For each birthday, we have a tradition....

Mom makes a *somewhat* fancy cake.

Sometimes the child gets to pick what they want.... 

and sometimes Mom gets to pick.

Since Winona doesn't know about picking cakes... the choosing fell to Mom this year.

Honestly, I wasn't very inspired yesterday... I had an idea of colors I wanted to use, but nothing else.

So a rather square cake was tricked out with butterflies and flowers made from candy melts.

I almost feel like I cheated..... ;(

And you know what.... she loved it!

There were candles and icing and singing and blowing and eating....

what more could a girl want?

The boys made the banner with a little help from Mom and Dad

And then there were presents.....

Let me say, there are certain advantages to being the only girl.

New clothes, shiny red shoes, and a whole Little Mommy kit.  Woohoo!

Such excitement!  

(even the boys enjoyed all the "dolly" stuff.... whether they would admit it or not ;)

{linking up to Mosaic Monday and Macro Monday today}

Two Much....

Yesterday was Nona Girl's birthday.

She had no cake, she had no presents, she hadn't a clue...

But come Sunday.... baby girl will be rockin' the par-tay ;)

It's not to say that she didn't have fun yesterday...

She celebrated with two much cuteness and two much chocolate...
and two much of Momma's bad hair cut (got that fixed...sorta)...

(I swear... I don't know how to cut her hair!!! Boys are easy.)

She celebrated with two much fun outside on the slide...

which led to two much blood from a bit lip...

which was followed by two many hugs and kisses from Momma...

Two too much!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

I love you two too much!

(even with chocolate and blood all over you ;)

This and that....

Soooooooooo.......... you might be wondering if I fell into the sinkhole (otherwise known as the toy room)....

...or maybe I was carried off by the Great Horned Owl (much like we thought the black duck had been)........

...or maybe I was scared to death by all the little monsters running around the house...

(the little x-ray, the knight, the duck, and the veterinarian)
... but no.... nothing that exciting...

(please ignore the lousy flash... I'm trying to learn how to use my SB-600)

...just a little of this...

...and a little of that...

(she's eating a chocolate...bribery)

...and scrubbing floors from the one end to the other after a certain little girl (who shall remain nameless) decided to decorate the floor with a certain brown "paint" that should really remain in the toilet or in her diaper.... while her brothers "didn't notice a thing" and Mom was doing "this and that".....double ugh...

...{the floors were in need of cleaning anyway}...

And now, since I most solemnly pinky swore to provide some answers to your questions.... here they are:

1} Are you using storyboards to get multiple pics side-by-side on your blog?

Yes, I sometimes use storyboards that I've purchased from digi scrapbooking stores. However, most often I either just pull all my photos onto a transparent document in Photoshop and then line them up the way I want and flatten them. Then I resize for the web. Also, I sometimes use the print templates in Lightroom and then "print to file" and save them that way.

2} Do you have a Flickr account?

Yes I do, but I only load photos into it that I need loaded there for posting on other sites... such as Pioneer Woman's contests.

3} Does your daughter smile all the time?

Yes, most of the time..... she is quite the cheerful little girl.... even when she's "painting".

4} I love your photos... do you do any editing?
Yes, I edit every single one of the photos you see on my blog. I import my photos into Lightroom 3 and since I shoot in Raw, every single photo needs boosted and sharpened. So at the very least, I do this. From there I may play around more in PSE7. I highly recommend resizing your images to the exact size you will be posting them on your blog and then sharpening them. This makes a huge difference in the way they look on screen.

5} Did you create your blog layout?

Yes, I did. I started with the Blogger Minima template (almost two years ago!) and slowly added and tweaked until it was to my liking. I followed many different tutorials I found on the web to get the look I have right now. But, what would life be without change? The winds of change are blowing and soon there will be a new look.... ;)

So there you have it! I hope you have a safe and warm weekend!

PS -- the little black duck that was missing since Sunday (and presumed carried off by the Great Horned Owl) magically appeared yesterday!!!! Yea!!!!!

I have no idea....none.

Love that Shot

I know I've posted this photo before.....but I love it.

To me it speaks of the tenderhearted girl that loves to kiss her pets...

... it speaks of the complete trust that can exist between an animal and human...

... it speaks of beauty, love, and companionship....

...and the heartache that comes with owning farm animals.

That is why I selected this photo to enter into Love that Shot contest.

Here's where I talk about how I took the photo and processed it:

Nona and Laddy were standing just inside the barn with the soft light from outside streaming in.

I shot the photo with my 24-70 f/2.8 lens at ISO 1250, f/4.0, 1/100sec.

I slightly adjusted exposure, contrast, blacks, and sharpening in Lightroom and then exported the photo to PSE7 where I ran Florabella Morning Glory excluding the lighten and soft center light layers.  Then I added a texture from Kelsey Anderson, soft light at about 55% opacity, selecting the area of Nona's face with the lasso and changing the texture in this area to Gaussian blur.  Resized for web and added my brand. Done.

His love....

He said, "Come away and be my love....

....and share this life with me."

She took his hand...

and together... 

...they explored, and believed, and shared, and loved.

He took her face in his hands....

and kissed her breath away....

until their love exploded into great, rolling waves....
of unquenchable laughter.

{You + me = love}

{Happy Anniversary}

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(one for each year)

all papers, frames, and templates from {Sassy Designs}

More Shades.... and using a reflector

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo of Reid wearing his shades.... I also took photos of the other three at the same time....all wearing their shades.
Here is the cutey-patooty herself.... man, could she get any cuter?
It's a good thing she has three older brothers...

...with piggies .... double cute (if I do say so myself)

Did you notice that she is back-lit, but also very well exposed on her face at the same time?
No? look again.....
If you do much photography, you will know this is difficult to achieve without a little help from another light source...

Want to know my secret?

...look at her sunglasses....
Do you see the half-moon shapes reflected in her glasses?
That's my reflector....
my dear assistant (husband) is holding the reflector so that it bounces back the light from the sun to illuminate her face.
Magical? Hardly, but VERY helpful.
I really like using the reflector as it doesn't look so "flash-y".

Oh, there I am....
Hi, crazy-in-your-face-with-that-huge-macro-lens-photographer!

And just because the skin tones and white-balance in this photo was DRIVING ME CRAZY....
I slapped a Florabella action on it and added a little scrapbook fun...
(a little strawberry short-cakish don't you think?)

Not to be left out....
here are the other two in their shades.

I ♥ Faces -- Purple

The theme this week at I ♥ Faces is purple...... Purple, eh?
Funny, I have very little in the way of purple to work with......
I guess this will have to do.
I find that even if I can't get the idea I have in my head to translate into the digital file....
it is still good practice for me to enter these contests.....
I get inspiration from so many of the other contestants.....
and I have fun practicing!

(I also am a poor editor...sorry!)

Miracle Toddler Diet

Good morning! I hope you are having a wonderful day!
I have been trying to get pictures and a scrapbook page put together from Reid's birthday, but it is slow going today..... so I thought I'd post this humorous email someone sent me.
I think it fits pretty well.... maybe I should try it!

Behold.... the miracle toddler diet!
People are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet), you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet) or you go broke (the all-meat diet). Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3 days. Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet.

Over the years you may have noticed that most two year old's are trim. Now the formula to their success is available to all in this new diet. You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this diet, otherwise, you may be seeing him after wards. Good Luck !!!

DAY ONE:

Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly.

Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor.

Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.

Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, 4 sips of flat Sprite.

Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO:

Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it.

Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch: Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.

Then bring inside and drop on rug.

Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat with spoon.

DAY THREE:

Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat one with fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake in glass.

After breakfast, pick up yesterdays sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, put it on the cushion of best chair.

Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.

Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red punch.

Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.

FINAL DAY:

Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add half a cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.

Lunch: Eat bread crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner: A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on plate. Stick of mascara for dessert.

PS-- Sorry if you don't find this terribly amusing..... I find it hilarious... maybe because it describes Nona perfectly.... especially the spilled milk, eating crayons, and the pancake in the milk!

Deep Confessions

Dear Onondaga Cave,

I'm sorry we didn't obey the rules. You know, the rules about not leaving anything behind......
"Please, take everything out with you."

No, no -- we didn't chew gum, we didn't take food or drink in, nor did we drop any coins in your beautiful pools of clear water. We didn't even touch any of your beautiful stalagmites or stalactites
(as far as I know -- but it was awfully dark in there and with 4 kids...... well, you know....).

But, I'm sorry to confess that we did leave a pink binky behind. I'm not sure where we lost it..... somewhere between temper tantrum one and two.... I think. You see, my normally sweet and compliant 18 mo old (turning 12 years old) wasn't impressed by your beauty or your peaceful and quiet rooms. She terrorized the poor bats..... she terrorized the other tourists...... and she terrorized her mortified mother. I guess I should have known not to take a toddler girl into a cave. (She was not nearly as impressed as her older brothers were...... her older brothers that for once were the perfectly behaved children.)

Oh, and there is one more thing to confess...... we *might* have also left behind a teeny-tiny bit of vomit. You see..... to amuse herself, my sweet little girl stuck her fingers so far down her throat that she puked up her lunch. I dearly hope that the teeny-tiny bits of vomit don't kill all the "popcorn formations" on the ceiling..... that was Reid's favorite thing about the whole cave. Maybe the mysterious pink chunks of something.... (I don't quite know what) .... will cause beautiful pink calcite formations to start forming. Wouldn't that be a nice change from all the yellow and brown?

In closing, I just wanted to tell you that I loved your beauty because it gave me a chance to play around with longer shutter speeds. Although I didn't take my tripod, those railings are just perfect for steadying my camera (except for when those other tourists happen to bump them!). I sincerely hope the good folks that work within your chambers will let us come back and tour again. Maybe in five years Nona will appreciate your beauty more. Of course, by then Reid will be too cool to go on a cave tour with his family. Oh well. Such is life.

Sincerely yours,

Wendy