Happy Halloween and 30 Days of Thankful

Happy Halloween, Peeps!  Hope you all enjoy your evening of trick or treating if that is your thing.  We're planning on running through the neighborhood tonight, ha!  I will post some pictures sometime this week.  My Internet has been atrociously slow!  I tried posting earlier this week to no avail.  I had to call Century Link to report a problem and they were supposed to send out a technician.  Anyhow, moving on...

I am going to do 30 Days of Thankful this month.  I'm not going to make a whole album out of it.  What I plan to do is jot down what I'm thankful for each day.  Maybe take a photo daily of what I'm thankful for and then compile it all into a two page layout.  After this Halloween Debacle is over, I plan on having a minute to get a sketch up and then some Silhouette Cut Files as well.  I'll will aim for this weekend, or Monday.  I've just had NO time to get any photos edited this week, and I have a huge event that I have to finish up by next week.  Yikes, I just realized it's Thursday!  Well, off I go.  Have a Happy Halloween...also, sorry for pictureless post.  You know I'm against them, but I haven't taken any pics.

Desert Layout

All Supplies from Studio Calico, except red chipboard.  It's Bobunny.  Marker is a Copic.

Just a little different take on a layout.  I wanted to use a lot of words rather than photos.  I loved the wooden letters, until they kept snapping and I had to piece them back together.

I got nothin'...Some Photo App Info and other stuff

Don't you love the proper grammar of that title?  It's not even capitalized.  I really have nothing to post today.  I just wanted to post, and so now I am.  And you will listen to the randomness...unless you don't want to.  Anyhow, I found something out today.  Apparently Instagram and other photo filter apps shrink down your photos to low resolution so that you can share them online.  So that is why, when I go to print my photos they give a low resolution warning.  Who knew?  In fact, I was searching for that for quite a while.  I found a photo app called Vintique that allows you to purchase full size filters and textures for an additional 99 cents.  The cool thing about Vintique is that you can customize how much of each filter you want to use.  You can add layers and textures as well.  So, the original app is 99 cents.  If you want the full resolution files, it's another 99 cents.  That's not bad, especially considering how much I use Mariphone to take photos.

I am also considering doing sort of a Day in the Life via Instagram.  So, what I would do is choose a day, and then every hour on the hour, take a photo of something that represents what I'm doing at that exact moment.  I'm thinking of creating some Silhouette Cut Files to go with that as well.  

I have some layouts to post, but I haven't gotten around to photographing them.  Maybe, I will do so tomorrow.  I'm am so swamped with pictures right now.  That's a good thing, but it leaves little time for anything else.  As soon as things settle down, I will do some more scrapbooking.  I also have to go through my pictures and pull stuff off of my backup drive for my annual photobook.  This idea has me wanting to smash my head against a wall.  It's not actually a very fun process.  Also, I will have to convert ALL of the photos into JPEG files since I shoot mostly in RAW.  That should be a super fun...not!  I guess, I will share just a few of my favorite pics I've taken this month.  I love them, and I don't want to post a pictureless post.

My Step Sister

 Cute little twins...not my step sister's babies.

Lot's of babies, pregnant mamas, weddings, and anniversaries this month.

So, I guess this post covered a few topics...But, I feel better now that I posted.  Hope you guys are all doing well out there.  Have a great Sunday!

5 Minute Friday-Laundry

Five Minute Friday

Laundry:

Laundry, you are my nemesis.  No matter how many times I do you, or how many clothes I wash...you keep happening, over and over.  You put on a nice little mask with your wonderful smelling detergents and softeners.  You're all warm and cuddly on a winter day, but you never mentioned the socks.  Matching them is my worst nightmare.  Plus, no one mentioned that you have to put all of the clothes away.  What about those times that you forget that the clothes are in the washer and you have to wash them again?  No one else mentioned the sweltering heat that comes out of the machines on a hot summer day.

Though, I do have to say thanks for the money I receive sometimes...loose change someone left in their pocket.  I consider it my payment for all of the "torture"  But on the flip side of that you also give me kleenex and papers that are wadded and torn up...and what about the rocks or chap stick and pens...This is not looking good for you at all.

So, my faux friend, I know we will meet again...daily or weekly, where we will spend a lot of time together,  if I let you pile all the way up..You are not my friend that is for sure.

My laundry helper.

Instagram Addiction

So since I opened up my Instagram Feed, I've found that I have become quite addicted to it....I mean, I seriously have a real problem.  It also doesn't help that there is now video capability.  I don't know if that's new or not.  It's new to me.  I love looking at everyone's pictures and posting my own.  I happened to start following a user because I liked their pictures.  I was quite surprised to find a few days later that a whole bunch of Marijuana leaves were in my news feed...Then I looked at the user's name.  It had something to do with Marijuana.  Eeks!  I've deleted it, but if you find out I've been part of some Marijuana drug bust, this is the mostly likely reason.  I kid.  So, I thought I would share a few pictures and videos that I took just for fun.

 Little Tiny Frog in the jar

 Mazzie

 Siri is a genius!  That is a true story.

 THE LAST SANDAL/DRESS SHOE that I own courtesy of Mazzie.

 What can't duct tape fix?

 New eyeliner and lip gloss.

 Hag's night!!

 I curled my hair for the first time in like three months.

 Claudee took this one of me.  That is Val and Julie photobombing.  We were at the races for Hag's Night.

Dinner with the Hags and my husband and two of three children.

And just a few of my favorite videos.  They are only 15 seconds each.  I hope they work.

This one is "Boredom while driving"

Here is my Instagram feed if you're interested.

A Week Lost

Sorry for the long hiatus from blogging.  Last week, my school grandma passed away.  She worked with me for 6 years, since JoJo's birth.  I was really quite upset about it.  She and I were really pretty close friends.  Her funeral was Saturday.  Erik and the boys, and I all went.  I was asked to speak to the church by her family, which I did.  The entire ceremony was beautiful.  The church was small, but it was standing room only.  I thought it was very nice to see how much my friend, Erma, touched other people's lives.  

So, I'm hoping to get back to a normal routine this week!  Hope you all have a great day!

Last Lake Hurrah

We went to the lake on Thursday.  It was the last day that Erik was off during our Fall Break.  We decided to make a day trip down the lake.  It could have been an epic fail considering we forgot the sunscreen...towels...and beach toys.  Thank Goodness boys are entertained by sticks, dogs, and large chunks of styrofoam.

 A little fun with the passenger side mirror on the way.

It may be time for a new EZ UP??

 Thanks styrofoam chunk!