I love the sky in this image – it was seriously so perfect for this shot (and others… you just wait!)

Wouldn’t this shot make a gorgeous canvas? (Check these examples!)  Seriously!

More on Ryan later, when he gets a full post…

Now, I have another question for you, my blog-readers.  I’m thinking of changing my official watermark. If you’ve never noticed it, check out any posts that aren’t Tuesday Posts, like this one or this one.  I want the watermark to be subtle but readable, and I’ve begun to decide that my old watermark had trouble achieving that (plus, it works much better on the bottom corners than the top corners but if the image has grass or pebbles or any texture in the bottom, then it has to move to the top).  So, I was thinking I might simplify to something more like the watermark in the image above.  After all, it’s the New Year, right?  And a whole new decade.  Changing at least a little something seems logical. ; )

Anyway, if you have any opinions, give me a comment.  : )

That’s all for this Friday.  I have some processing to do and some fun to have with my husband (his school starts back up  next week).

Okay, so remember this post where I said we almost never get snow?  Well, we got some!  On Christmas Eve (after it fell, my family drove to the desert for Christmas… I was sad to see the snow vanish), but a few days later we got a sprinkling of flakes again.  We got more snow on Christmas Eve when I had to drive away, but twice in 2 weeks is pretty good!  : )  Anyway, here’s my documentation of some snow… here, in Abilene… who would have guessed?

Look, you can totally see a snowflake falling!  : )

Footprints in the Snow.

I’m super happy with the water droplets.  Pretty, yeah?

The only downside to the entire experience was the realization that I have NO snow-proof shoes… so now I’m on the search for cute galoshes that also fit me… because I can wear them when it rains, too, instead of only twice every few years, lol.  If you know where to get some, let me know!

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!  Hope you have a fun celebration planned.

The weather outside is almost snowy (it turned more sleety this afternoon), but its still very pretty.  I’ll have some shots for you of the loveliness on Friday. : )

But for today, I hit the archives to find an image that I could convert to black & white (which my brother requested for Tuesdays a while back).  I think the texture here is just… fun!  (And for once I mean the texture of all of the elements in the image instead of the type of texture I add in post-processing).

The image is taken with some dried flowers from the bouquet that my sweet mother-in-law sent Chris & me as a house warming present.  The vase is a present (it came with other matching vases) from my aunt years ago that I finally got to put up in my house. And the ring is mine. : )

Happy Tuesday.  2010 is coming quickly!  : )

So, this image makes me think of the quote from Ecclesiastes 1: Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Of course, that’s mostly because of the brand name (which is fabulous brand, so don’t get me wrong).  : )  Anyway, I was loving the shadows on this image.. and then, of course, as always, the nice little bits of texture. : )

It’s getting closer & closer to Christmas.  Chris and I set up the Christmas tree yesterday & wrapped presents. We went shopping together for each other’s presents this year, which we haven’t done before.  It felt a little like cheating, but it was fun because I actually managed to drag him to a store with me. : )

Well, more Christmas shopping to do today. I hope everyone’s a little further in their Christmas planning than me, haha.

Happy Tuesday!

Well, we got about 1/2 inch of snow here about a week ago… can’t ask for more than that in Abilene, right? : ) At least not in a regular winter.

So, all this lovely brown grass is what I consider a “Winter Wonderland”… and the cold, cold wind. I thought, after living in Lubbock & walking to class in the freezing cold, I might become immune to it. But, no, the fact that the biting wind still gives me a headache if I’m out too long hasn’t changed. Which is why I love scarves & mittens & beanies. : )

Now, how about less of the rambling and more of the picture showing?

As you can see, these images were not taking in our powdering of “snow”…. it all melted within a few hours.

So, as I’ve said before, I’ve always been fascinated by self-portraits… I’m glad I tried them for that run of Tuesday posts… I maybe became just a little better at them. : )  I like doing them myself now a lot more. Now I just need a remote for my camera instead of the self-timer… then I’d feel super-duper awesome, lol.

You know, despite the lack of snow, I still think the Texas winter is very pretty… lots of nice warm colors (not just whites & blues, lol)… even if it is dead grass, it’s still a nice, friendly brown color!

Thanksgiving. : )

We only took a few shots & half of the family was out running a”Black Friday” related errand.  I’ll be bringing my photo stuff to the next family gathering, as well, so we can get that family group shot that Terry wanted… isn’t it funny how we forget to do that until the last minute & then someone is in a hurry so it either doesn’t get done or one of the family members looks a little grumpy?  lol. I’ll definitely try to get it done earlier next time we see everyone so we can actually fit it in.

Tyson & his Granny. I know you can’t see her face well & I almost didn’t post this one, but I just love the look on his face!  You can tell he loves her… and I just couldn’t pass that up!

Yes, that’s right, it’s me, my hubby & Tyson. : ) I got Tyson to say “cheese” with me, which was absolutely adorable!  I don’t usually recommend the “cheese” trick, but he liked it.

Terry took this image. And she did a wonderful job since I handed the camera to her, said “press that button” and forgot that most people have no idea what to do!  haha. But she did a perfect job!

It was a fantastic Thanksgiving!

I’m a bit behind on posting (again) but in my defense, it’s holiday time & my husband’s final crunch time (for at least 2 weeks) and I’ve been trying to help him get his work done. I’m his “typing bot”, haha, because when he gets his ideas going, he dictates to me & I avoid his love of typos. : )

Otherwise, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family (I’ll have a picture or two of the cuteness that is my nephew Tyson to post soon). Yummy turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, that’s right, all of the goodies.  And my pumpkin cheesecake came out right this time! : ) I also got to try some Apricot White Chocolate bread… it was awesome!  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for food.

Also, on Saturday & Sunday, we got to see my side of the family when they came back through for a bit.  Noah has gotten bigger, for sure. 3 months already. And he opens his eyes up *really* wide when he’s watching something specific – including the wall.  It’s so cute!  I can’t wait until he starts to talk… (I admit it, that’s one of my favorite ages, who can resist those half-formed words?)

Well, I have a paper to proof for my husband (on Thomas Aquinas, yikes!)…

Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!

Squares.  I like square images.  : )  I’m so used to shooting rectangles (exactly 4×6) that its nice to sit down & look at a picture in different proportions.

I felt like playing with Textures a little bit this morning, too.  : )  Although not Thanksgiving-related, I think prickly pears are pretty awesome (in fact, I like most kinds of cactus as long as they keep their distance).  And, if the Pilgrims had landed in Texas instead of Massachusetts, we’d probably have a traditional dish of Prickly Pear Jelly instead of Cranberry Sauce.  ; )

This afternoon, I’m going to make my second attempt at Pumpkin Cheesecake (from scratch).  The first one was a bit undercooked & my husband & I ate around the edges where it was cheesecake-y but the middle was still too raw & with un-cooked eggs, I went ahead & threw it away.  But I’m doing it a second time & will up the cook time (I’ve started to wonder if my oven is a little colder than other peoples?  Most recipes need me to add cook time or the center is a little gooey).  Otherwise, all the other Thanksgiving cooking is going to be managed by my sweet sister-in-law who is much braver than me, since I’m still a bit too afraid of my kitchen to take on an entire Thanksgiving meal!  : )

I won’t be posting anything else this week, since I’ll be with family.  Hopefully, you’ll be busy too & wouldn’t be able to check it anyway!  : )

I hope everyone has a yummy Thanksgiving!  : )

Well, last self-portrait!  : )  I spent some time with my tripod out on my mom’s property.  I hope it’s a good ending.  I wanted to make sure I got in a shot of my face (not just my eye) so those of you that don’t know me didn’t feel like I was cheating since you never got to see my face.  Here you go!

I’ll be sharing my 2nd Inspiration: Self-Portrait post later this week.  My husband looked over the first one & immediately asked me: so you only found 3 guys’ portraits you liked?  The answer is, no, there’s another installment coming. : )  And, besides, I had to split the number of pictures (somewhat) evenly & still not post too many images!

On Saturday, I went to a choir concert here in Abilene to listen to my cousin Ryan, a Lubbockite.  Well, while looking over the program I was so pleased to see Emma was also singing!  It was a fabulous concert (and I’m not overly knowledgeable about music & choir).  : )

In other news, I did update my prices recently.  I know, I pushed them through just a little earlier than promised, but with the pre-holiday rush over, it seemed silly to wait, since November & December are full of family events (for me and you, I hope!)  : )  Besides, if you had discussed a particular package with me before this week, your prices are locked in.  That’s only fair. : )

Thanksgiving is coming!  I hope everyone is so very excited!  I love Thanksgiving, it’s a good thing we only have it once a year, all that food is so tasty.  : )

Have a happy Tuesday, everyone, mine is looking very busy!  (good busy!)   : )

Installment 2 of the Self-Portraits.  Cowboy-boots.  My dad’s old camera.  A frame my husband’s grandmother gave us.  My Bible.  His Bible.  Our back-steps.  And, of course, in the corner, my favorite cardigan (which I wore until I took the images since it was a little cold out).  : )  I’m pretty pleased with the image.  I hope everyone enjoys.

If you keep up with me on flickr or facebook, you’ll see a few more of these.  They’re a little similar (more so than images would be for a portrait session) since it’s hard to move the camera around too much when I’m on the other side of it.  : )  But I’m learning this self-portrait thing.  It’s fun.

On another note, I’m sharing a little news. : )  I’ll be updating packages & pricing in January of 2010.  Don’t be too scared, but if you know you really like one of the packages I offer now, book before I change it on you. ; )

I think that’s about all the news I have for this Tuesday.  My husband’s birthday is later this week & I still need to wrap his presents, but they are hidden here in the house. : )  And for the rest of today I have an album to design (which is just peachy with me, I love design!)…

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday.  I’m planning to. : )