Days 272 through 278

Day 272: Inundated

This is the pile of mail that greeted us when we got home last night.  It's about half as big as the pile of paperwork on my desk when I returned to work.  I am thoroughly overwhelmed.  I have no idea where to even begin with everything I have to do now that I'm home.

Help!

Day 273: Glory in Imperfections

I got this penguin at the flea market in Cabo.  I picked him out amid a bunch of other, better looking, trinkets because I liked his little gimpy fin.  Being unique is something of which we all have the capability.  But here's the secret: you can't be unique when you're trying to be.  You can only pull it off when you are truly yourself - when you are no longer concerned with how you compare to others.

That is the challenge.

Day 274: The End of Something

Month 9 is complete!  That's right, I only have 3 months left!  The end is near...finally.

Today as I took pictures of the sunset, I was sad to know they would be the last pictures I took with this awesome lens I rented from Borrow Lenses.  I rented this same lens last summer for my family reunions, and I can't express how much I wish I didn't have to give it back.  It's too expensive for me to justify the purchase, but if I rent it any more times I will completely nullify that excuse.  The rentals aren't cheap, and soon I'll have paid the same amount in rental costs as I would have if I'd purchased the dang thing.

One day...

Day 275: The "Little" Things

I'm so glad RoseAnne came over tonight for our regularly scheduled girls night!  She was all dressed up for an appointment she had before she came over, and she looked so cute!  Jack was his usual adorable self, chasing the cats around the house in his speedy crawl, making faces at us, and being generally captivating for the camera.

I really love my family!

Day 276: Red Trees

I'm used to seeing trees turn red during the fall, but I'm not familiar with red trees with no leaves.  I saw these today in a parking lot and had to stop and capture them.  In the slanting winter sunlight, the bark on these trees shone a vivid red - almost fuchsia.  I wish I still had that lens I rented because it would have been able to capture these better.

Ah, well.  No use thinking about it.

Day 277: Note to Self

Note to self: put makeup on before taking an extreme close-up of your face.

If I had taken any other pictures today, I would have posted one of them instead.  This picture required an obscene amount of touch-up to make it even slightly acceptable, when all I needed to do was dab on a bit of cover-up and eyeliner before I hit the shutter button.  I guess I'm still shell-shocked from my return to work this week.  I can't believe how busy I was, and yet how little I got done!  So frustrating!  I guess all I can hope for is to do better next week.

Day 278: The Old Standby

Whenever you see a picture of my cats on here, you can almost be certain it's because I forgot to take a picture until right before I went to bed.  The cats seem to be my last resort subjects.  If I'm too tired to think of something original, I just run upstairs and snap a few of the cats and call it good.

I need a new standby I think.

Day 229: Quizzical

Jack

Tonight was RoseAnne's birthday party, and a bunch of the family got together at her house to help her celebrate.  It was so fun to hang with the family and see all the babies.  I was so stressed out all day, and even though the thought of the party stressed me out, I knew once I got there I would have a great time.

And I did.

Knew it.

I laughed until my face turned purple and I lost my voice!  We traded the funniest stories that only my family knows how to tell.  My favorite one was the story Mom told about Dad embarrassing her to death on their cruise to Alaska.  I promised her that I wouldn't re-tell it though, so tough luck.  I doesn't translate well in writing anyway.  There were hand gestures and facial expressions that were crucial to the story.

Day 225: Ice

A frozen snow drift.

I went to lunch today with the express purpose of getting a picture because I knew I wouldn't have time this evening.  I drove around until I was almost out of time before I finally stopped and settled for this picture.  It's not the most eye-grabbing thing I've seen, but it's not horrible.

I went to the Jazz game with my family tonight and we had a blast!  It was great fun to go out to eat at a fancy restaurant first and then hit the game.  I would have taken pictures at the game, but I was too worried about my camera being damaged or stolen in that big of a crowd. So...maybe another time. :)

Day 222: My Momma

My gorgeous mom.

She did not want me taking this picture, but since it turned out so well, she gave me permission to use it on my blog.  I think the reason I don't take more pictures of people lately is because I know none of them want me to take pictures of them.  They always get that panicked look when they see me aim my camera at them, with the immediate hiding of the face with their hands or ducking behind someone.  It's very disconcerting and doesn't encourage me to take pictures of people.

I blame the blog.  Apparently none of my friends or family want to be famous. :)

But mom was a good sport.  She laughed and said, "Don't you dare!" But she still smiled for the picture and didn't hide.  That's nice.  But then again, mom is always a good sport about stuff.  She is so kind and always willing to help everyone all the time.  And I never tell her enough how much I appreciate her or how much I love her.

So Mom, this one's for you.  Love ya!

Day 209: Happy Birthday Christine!

Christine's birthday cake

Today was Christine's birthday, and it was super fun and very busy.

Some of the fun stuff we did today:
*Shopping with the girls
*Tasting the deliciously evil rum cake that Christine insisted on baking herself
*Lunch with the girls
*Movie and dinner with the fam
*Reminiscing over Christine's childhood
*Laughing over dessert
*Eating and spending way too much
*Family night movie at home with our new Blue Ray player: A-Team

Day 207: Merry Christmas Day!

Dad/Santa

This is my favorite reaction of the day!  This is Dad's face after he opened his Christmas present from Dave (an iPod Nano).  I didn't catch the initial reaction he had which can only be described as a mixture of disbelief and chastisement.

It was so funny!

He asked for an iPod for Christmas a while back, but promptly took it off his list because he thought it was too expensive.  So when he saw that Dave got him one anyway, he was shocked and a little worried that Dave paid too much.  This is the face he made after he found out that Dave didn't spend anything on it because he won it at work. Ha!

I hope you all had a great holiday!  I'm sorry for being so remiss in my blog posts.

Day 206: Christmas Eve Party

Becca

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!  I had a great night with the family tonight.  We went over to my sister Sherry's house for Christmas Eve dinner, and it was great to have some time with the family.  Usually when we get together, we fill to bursting whatever house we are in, but since half the family is out of town for Christmas this year, we had a comparatively small party.  It was nice to hang out and open a few early presents.

It was especially nice because I'm out of time on the present issue, so now I just have to let go the stress and enjoy myself.  Usually that's easier said than done, but I'm feeling pretty good right now. :)

Day 194: Strawberry Shortcake

Esther.

I love my nieces and nephews!  RoseAnne and her family came over for dinner tonight, and it was so fun to hang out!  I was being a bit of a recluse for most of the evening because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I did hang out a little bit, and I got to hang out with the kids downstairs.  Because we won't see RoseAnne or her family before Christmas, we exchanged gifts tonight (I wish I had realized this, because I'm not finished making my gifts yet).

RoseAnne gave me these awesome homemade soaps, and mom gave the family a card game.  Mom also gave each child a coloring book and it was so fun to see their reactions!  RoseMarie was my favorite.  She kept hugging her book of Minnie Mouse coloring pages and saying, "Ohhhh!  I love her!"  She thanked mom at least twice for her Christmas presents.  It was adorable!

Hyrum and Esther loved their coloring books too...especially the stickers in the coloring books.  Esther's coloring book was of Strawberry Shortcake, and RoseAnne told Esther it was a coloring book just for her since she was Strawberry Shortcake.  The second RoseAnne said this I realized just how much like Strawberry Shortcake Esther actually is.  She's got the hair and the cute personality to boot!

What a fun night!

Day 187: A Case of the Sundays

Lauren

Today is quite possibly the closest I came to quitting the photo project.  Not that I was contemplating failure in any way today.  I simply didn't feel like picking up my camera, and when I did pick it up, I couldn't bring myself to take anything.  I completely spaced the fact that I have to take a picture every day to keep up with this project.  I would have been lost completely if I hadn't taken one, pitiful shot of Lauren tonight when her family was visiting.  I tried to take better, clearer shots of her, but like I said, I lacked motivation.

That's not to say that I didn't have a great time with Lauren around.  In fact, I think I was so busy cracking up at her playing house with our toys and making up stories that I forgot about my camera.  Shocker, I know.

At any rate, I did survive the photographic lethargy of the day, and I'm still on track with the project!

Day 186: Family Portraits

Robert and Lindsey and baby Davis.

So I got to take Robert and Lindsey's family portraits today and it was so FUN!  Coincidentally, we went to the Riverwoods shopping center to take the pictures, and I was so excited, having traipsed through its deserted streets with glee just last night.  I was able to pose them in front of all the sites I drooled over last night.  And even though we took the pictures during the day, the lights were still amazing and provided a very festive backdrop.

I noticed today that when I get into the groove of taking pictures, I don't notice much else.  For example, I was so hyper-focused on getting the right angle for one of the shots with the family that I didn't even notice that I'd stepped in a very sticky mud patch.  I was walking all over the mud, taking pictures here and there, and not noticing that my boots were getting more and more glued to the ground.  It wasn't until I tried to move from the mud to a rock that I realized my boots were so gunked up and gooey that had no purchase when I stepped onto the smooth surface of the rock.  Luckily I didn't slip or fall, and luckily my boots weren't real leather, so cleaning them off at home wasn't that difficult.  I found it very funny because I honestly didn't care about the boots - I was more worried about slipping and falling - all I wanted to do was move on to the next location and get more pictures, but Robert and Lindsey were so worried about it.

The shot above is not one of the "portraits."  I just like candid shots so much that I decided to pick it for the photo project.  But we also got some really good portrait shots of the family that hopefully Robert and Lindsey will be able to use.

Day 178: Tree Hunting

Mom at the tree farm.

So we're still in Washington for the holiday, and today we got to go pick out a Christmas tree with Vic and Mona!  We got to come with them last year and it was so much fun.  This year Mom and Dad came, and we had a blast trudging through the snow, looking for the perfect tree.  Unfortunately for me, I was wearing the wrong shoes for wet snow puddles.  After about 15 minutes I couldn't feel my toes, so I left early to warm up in the front store.  But not before I got some cute shots of the family walking among the trees.  Mom was so cute in her snow outfit!  I especially love the Santa hat beanie!

Great day!  I'll be sad to leave on Sunday.

Day 177: Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday may have been a bit of a nightmare, but I was worth it just to be here with the family.  We had a great day today hanging out, watching a little football, watching some movies, and eating our yummy turkey dinner!  The food was so good and I ate way too much, as happens on Thanksgiving, and I loved the whole day.

Today I'm thankful for cars that work, safe journey's, and the ability to visit family - even in tough economical times. :)

Day 173: Great Grandma is My Friend

Mom and Baby Davis.

Robert and Lindsey came over to visit tonight, and mom got a hold of little Davis and wouldn't let go.  He was perfectly content to stay on Mom's lap all night as we made faces at him and visited with one another.  I was lucky to get this shot, when he suddenly  leaned in to Mom and grinned right at me!  What a happy boy!  He loves his great-grandma.

It was so fun to hang out with the family tonight and talk about nothing, really.  Sometimes the best evenings are spend doing the most normal things.

Tonight, I am grateful for quiet evenings at home with the family.

Day 171: White Trees

A tree with a few leaves left at the top

Tonight I went out to dinner with my family before heading back to work to finish a project (I know, really fun Friday).  When we walked out of the restaurant, we noticed this awesome tree!  I did not use a flash on this tree.  It was literally glowing white with what looked like flaming red tipped branches.  I wish this shot better emphasized the red leaves, because they were really what made this beauty stand out, but I still like the way looks.

Since Thanksgiving is on it's way, I've been trying to keep in mind the things that I am grateful for.  Even the little things that make up each moment of each day can be really good.  And well, today I'm grateful for freakishly white trees and family time.  I may have to work late, but I don't mind at all because I got to hang out with the family a bit and take a break. :)

Day 170: Mo Bros

Steven's 'stache

So I guess there's a thing promoting cancer awareness for men during the month of November.  It's called Movember, and it's worldwide, believe it or not.  Apparently during the month of November, guys are growing out mustaches and somehow that's supposed to remind people about men's risk of cancer.  I tried to read up about it on the Movember website, but I'm ADD and didn't last long.  Take a look for yourself for more info.

Anyway, I had lunch with my sisters and my nephew Steven today and heard all about it when I asked him who was going to save that girl he tied to the railroad track (OK, I didn't actually ask him that, but I did ask him why he was going for the pedophile look).  After some serious thought about the great idea that Movember had, I starting trying to remember some of the funny one-liners I've heard about mustaches...as I said, I'm ADD, plus I like to make fun of my nephews.

And since a bunch of my nephews are doing the Movember challenge, I've just got to wonder, is this like a contest?  Because even if you win, you still loose.  ;)
I'm going to have to start calling them new names, like D'artanian, Magnum P.I. or maybe Amber Alert.
And for you single guys out there, was meeting women not challenging enough for you?  Because even if they're saying what a great idea this is and how awesome you are for stepping up to the challenge, all they're really thinking is how to politely remove themselves from your company and secure they're houses at night. ;)

But seriously, all joking aside.  It's a great cause, and if it gets people thinking about men's health and getting awareness out about cancer, it's worth a few babies getting scared. ;)

*Note: Since there's no such thing as a sarcasm font, I put little winking smiley faces to indicate that I'm just poking fun and am in no way being serious about these little jabs at mustaches.

Day 150: Daisies and Blackouts

Mom and baby June.

I'm sorry for the lack of posts this weekend, and even more sorry for the next part.  I'm way past my bedtime on a school night, so I'm just putting the next few posts up without an explanation on them.  I'll update them tomorrow because I have some fun stories to go along with them.

UPDATE 2 Nov:
So on Friday we had a family Halloween party, and most of us dressed up.  It was fun to see everyone's costumes and to visit.  And with what seemed like very little effort on RoseAnne's part, she was able to - once again - pull off the perfect party, complete with an unscheduled blackout in the middle of dinner.  The only thing we were missing was a thunderstorm and maybe a hunchback of some sorts.  Unfortunately I was having one of those panic-in-a-big-crowd nights and we had to skedaddle a little earlier than expected, but it was still a great night.

And I got some fun pictures out of it too! :)

Day 143: Family Fun

Baby June

Tonight we had a little get-together at Sherry's house.  Almost all the family in Utah came, and it was so fun to be able to hang out with everyone!  My favorite part of the evening was taking pictures of all the babies.

I had a really hard time choosing a picture from the great shots I got, but I finally decided on baby June because of how all the women at the house seemed to melt when they saw her.  Baby June has the most captivating eyes you've ever seen!  No matter how many times I see this little girl, I'm still amazed at how bright her eyes are and how expressive they can be!  She has the cutest, gummy smile too!  I tried to get a good picture of her smile, but they all turned out blurry.

Day 135: Junior Chef

Esther helping her dad make sandwiches.

I went to visit RoseAnne today, and I got some great shots of the kids just being kids.  But more importantly, I had a great time just hanging out.  I'm not the type of person to drop by unannounced.  I get extreme anxiety just thinking about texting people back half the time...let alone visiting or calling.  But with family it's always a bit easier, and with RoseAnne it should be easier still because she's the type of person who loves spontaneous visits.

And I've got to say...it's REALLY fun to just drop by for no reason.  I don't feel an invisible presence pulling me toward the door, or making me steer the conversation a particular way so that I can get my business done.  I'm so neurotic sometimes, that I can't ever enjoy the moment if I know there's a goal that is not being met. :)

Anyway, enough about that.  I'm dead tired and I wanted to be in bed BEFORE 11pm tonight.

Oh well.  At least I'm close this time.

Day 122: Seeing Stars

Mom's bling. :)

Ok, first thing's first.  That is NOT a cross on Mom's neck.  I did not intend for the lens flare to look like a cross.  Had I noticed BEFORE I downloaded this picture, I would have fixed it.

So....today is the end of month FOUR!  Yay for me!  I'm pretty proud of myself, but also face the next 8 months with a little trepidation.  I'm not sure how I'm going to keep myself interested in the project for another 8 months, but I'll think of something...and probably several more times.  :)

Thanks to the few of you out there who not only read my blog, but comment on it every once in a while.  It always helps my motivation to know that someone out there is interested in reading my (sometimes) pointless thoughts.  And even if you don't usually read my posts, but you just check my new pictures, I appreciate that as well.  Although, I suppose that if you don't read my posts, you'll never see this thank-you so it's kind of pointless.

Anyway, it's late, I'm tired.  So I'll just leave you with this.  My beautiful mother is a great sport for changing into her beautiful dress shirt at my request just so I could take a picture of something sparkly.  And I love how it turned out!  I don't know why, but I always seem to prefer mom in black and white - even when her face isn't showing.  I guess she just has that classic beauty about her that makes me feel that black and white is the only appropriate medium.  :)

Day 117: Peeking

Lauren after dinner tonight.

She was playing some game with her napkin, and singing tunelessly as she rubbed her face with it.  It was so cute!  I was undecided between this picture and one I took of the dessert Christine made for dinner tonight, but I finally settled on this one because - well, frankly - I like it better.  And since this is MY blog, I decided I can do whatever I like.

So even though there's hardly any red in this shot, and even though I posted a picture of Lauren just 3 days ago, I don't care.  :)

I was going to list the things I loved about today, but I have a monster headache that just keeps getting worse, so I'm logging off before it turns me blind.