Winter

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. Cybrill

Dancing with the Stars ROCKS

Wow, who would have guessed that "Dancing with the Stars" could make a house divided! My six year old has been wildly in love with Marie Osmond since the first night she saw her dance. She sat there, mesmerized saying how absolutely beautiful Marie was and what a wonderful dancer she was! It was so cute, how devoted my child was to this woman. I wasn't sure if it was the big hair, the wild makeup with sparkles on the eyelids....the blinding Osmond smile...that had her cheering Marie on? I even liked the fact that despite my cheering for quite a few dancers other than Marie, G still held fast to her devotion to Ms. Osmond, which I think speaks highly of her confidence in herself that she doesn't feel the need to think what the rest of us in the house are thinking!

By the finale though I was really freaking out at the thought that Marie could win this competition. I mean C'MON!! She is a great entertainer, I won't take that away from her. And yes, she overcame many obstacles in the course of the season. But she was not even close to being on par with Helio and Mel B....and I believe my exact words were "If Marie wins this show I am going to FREAK OUT." That doll dance was such a trainwreck that I am still not even sure what to think about it. Sometimes I wake up in the night sweating after a nightmare that I'm being attacked by a giant dancing Marie doll NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I really had to go with Helio and Julianne. First of all they are so stinkin' cute! I have never seen two happier people. Like little rays of sunshine!! When Mel B. described them as two cute little dolls that danced it was perfect. I loved how driven Helio was to win. If he messed something up he busted his butt to make it better. And while I was a huge fan of Mel and Maks for me it was a clear win for Helio!

And now I am hearing that Helio and Julianne are perhaps an item.....interesting. I give them my blessing to be a cute little couple! :)

G did not find out her beloved Marie had lost until last night when she watched the tape. We heard her yell out "OH NO MARIE WAS ELIMINATED!!!!!" then we heard this "SHE ONLY GOT ONE VOTE AND IT WAS MINE!" Where she got the idea from that Marie only got one vote was freaking funny! And I'll have you know that she did vote for her, and as hard as it was to keep a straight face and not rip the phone out of her hand yelling "SHE CAN'T DANCE FOR HEAVENS SAKE!" we let he proudly cast her vote for her beloved Marie. And we reassured her that despite Marie's loss of the title she still came in third and will always rock the dance floor in our hearts!

ITunes

So apparently I have very very random taste in music that I purchase on itunes because the other day they had this special grouping of tunes they had put together that they felt I would really go ga-ga over!! I actually had to read over the list multiple times it was so confusing. They had "Just a Spoonful of Sugar" from the original Mary Poppins soundtrack in the same grouping as Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford "Close My Eyes Forever" which I vaguely was able to recall the video from the 80's. A video that cracked me up when I was a kid and if I think about it still cracks me up now! So much passion from Ozzy! *HA HA HA HA HA*. These two fine tunes were among eight or nine others, most of which I had never heard of.

This had me looking into my own I Tunes library, songs that I have chosen which I feel make perfect sense! Songs that make me smile and rock out....songs I can put on full blast when the girls aren't here and sing at the top of my lungs....or some songs that I can sway back and forth to while imagining myself, lighter clutched in hand, front and center at a concert, the lead singer filled with angst-y-ness.

I have about 300 songs on there right now so I can't name them all, but I'll just toss some artists out there and see what sticks!
Beyonce'
Death Cab for Cutie
Coldplay
The Pussycat Dolls
Guns N Roses
Gwen Stefani
Lily Allen
The White Stripes
Pink
Sting
Girls Aloud
Seal
Kelly Clarkson
LOTS OF MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
Highschool Musical Soundtrack (not for myself but I must say occasionally I like to
put on Sharpay and Ryan singing "Always Right Beside Me" and break out in a jazz square)
The Used
Avril Lavigne
Billy Ray Cyrus featuring Miley Cyrus (ummmmmm did I just type that? It's one song alright....and darn if it doesn't just tug at your heartstrings.....)
Damien Rice
Sheryl Crow
Britney Spears Greatest Hits
Music from Riverdance
Black Eyed Peas
Fergie
Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Yellowcard
Sting


Okay, looking back over my list of artists I can sort of see why itunes isn't sure what to do with me?
The ones I've been running over and over this week are
Seal...."Amazing"
Pink...."Who Knew"
Girls Aloud...."Sexy No No No"
Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus....."Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go"
The White Stripes...."You Don't Know What Love Is"
Britney Spears and Madonna...."Me Against the Music" (Seriously, you know you twitch to it when you hear it!)
Fergie...."Big Girls Don't Cry"

I can't imagine a day without music. Maybe my random taste comes from the fact that my parents exposed me to a wide variety of music. Everything from Frank Sinatra to Rogers & Hammerstein....Folk music to Instrumental....Keely Smith and Bing Crosby. At some point I branced out on my own (or maybe my brother lead the way?) and took the foray into the wonderful music of the 60's. The Beatles became a constant, and with the wonderful musical collection of a woman I babysat for named Ardis, who would let me borrow everything from Crosby Stills and Nash, Cream and Buffalo Springfield to great old blues singers that she had seen in concert growing up...I found my own musical ground. I feel fortunate to have had the music of the 80's as a background for my youth! C'mon The Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, just thinking of these groups brings a smile to my face!!

I always love to keep on top of new artists and still stay in touch with the music that I have always loved. One minute jamming to My Chemical Romance and the next popping in some Dead or Alive to twirl around the room to!

So keep trying itunes, at some point you'll come up with a list that I might bite on. But for now put away the Ozzy and Lita and dig a little deeper for a great set!!

New Colors

Honestly that blue on the last blog color update was making me want to barf everytime I came online so it was time to change it. I don't know that this one is much better but hey at least the banner cracks me up so that's a plus!

Betty Part Deux

Betty has been an easy house guest. We talked extensively about her desire to get into modeling, she was anxious to learn from a pro so Erica set an afternoon aside letting Betty borrow one of her sassy Anthropologie jackets and set about teaching her the ropes.


At one point a large bird and a frog jumped into the shoot? They might be from the Ford modeling agency but we couldn't be sure?


Betty got the modeling thing down fast, and the girls were happy to pose with her....





Sadly by Sunday Betty had caught the dreaded cold that was festering in the house, she laid low with some tissues and chicken noodle soup.





Now that she is back on her feet she's ready to catch her flight home. We've sure had fun with Betty and hope she had a good time with us!



Good luck at your next destination our flat sparkly friend :)

Betty's Come to Visit!!

We have a visitor! She arrived on Friday afternoon with a smile on her face, sporting some snazzy Creative Outlet jeans!
It's Flat Betty!! The girls were quite curious about Betty and excited by this awesome diversion from the days they've spent cooped up and sick in the house.
Betty wasted no time in getting acquainted with the house and everyone inside of it. She even managed to cozy up the mean and vicious Mr. Cody, who was unable to resist her charms and sparkly jewels!
The Barbie clique was in full force when they spotted her strutting around, eyeing her from their spots arond the room Sharpay was the first to approach our new visitor. After a few minutes of girl talk they were fast friends, soon Erica decided to come over and say hello and that was all it took! Betty was soon surrounded by her new BFF's. They all chattered away about fashion and whatnot, and who was dating who and who was getting married and which one of them had just purchased the snazzy new red convertible that was parked at the bottom of the stairs.


Stay tuned for more to come on Betty's visit!!!

Things this week that made me smile....

*Vince Vaughn filling in as guest host for Regis on Regis and Kelly
*My girls fighting in the backyard like Jerry and Elaine on Seinfeld
*A mish mash of Slurpee flavors in a giant Slurpee cup
*Willie waving to me with a stiff hand Frankenstein wave from the backseat of his mommys car
*Little One working it for my photoshoot with her. Funny what the word "Ice Cream" will get out of a child
*"If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball".....classic movie
*Little One's first parent teacher conference
*The song "Umbrella" by Rhiannna

*In no particular order

New Client Posts :)

I have been trying to catch up on posting Octobers clients on my Photography Blog. I just added two new ones and I am going to try and add one more tonight :)

Okay...I'll Catch You!!

(A little taste of the whacky day we had today! And absolutely no Halloween candy was used in the making of the madness nor were any persons harmed.)
*click to enlarge*

Sure to Become a Classic

G: Well Lucas, you're going to be my boyfriend now!

Lucas: Oh no! Now two girls want me to be their boyfriend. You and Audrianna.

G: So figure it out Lucas, are you going to marry me or Audrianna?

Lucas: Well G I will marry you!

G: YES!!

Audrianna: I guess I'll go and see if Curtis wants to be my boyfriend.

G: Awwww Audrianna you can have Lucas if you want to.

Audrianna: That's okay, maybe Curtis isn't marrying anyone so I'll take him!

(*Recounting of story as told by G at dinner last night)

Thus far in her young life G has done quite a good job at picking her beau's. The boys seem to always be cute as well as smart! Last year her "true love" was Charlie. Charlie came up to her shoulder and was wise on all things Saturn. When I asked what she and Charlie would do G would tell me in a wistful voice that they would sit together in the reading area and Charlie would tell her all about Saturn.

This year she has already had one boyfriend Victor. Victor is adorable with bright red hair and a cute smile.Then there was drama one day when Victor was calling out his goodbyes to G and ran headfirst into the playground gate, slicing open his face. G quickly called a meeting with the other girls to discuss what would happen. Would he ever come back to school...would he look the same after he had stitches...She promptly announced the following day in school when Victor had indeed returned with stitches that "I hope all of you know Victor is my date!" She made him a drawing and recounted the story for all who would listen of the fateful day his goodbyes to her caused him injury.

Perhaps due to the stitches she has now moved onto Lucas. I told her that I could appreciate that both boys were very smart (as I've worked with them in class on my volunteer day). I asked her today why she moved on Lucas she replied "Well he's very talented. Plus, when I asked him today if he remembered that I was going to marry him he said yes!"

There you go! It's like a little soap opera. Wouldn't it be great if Charlie was suddenly trasferred to the school, sporting a I "heart" Saturn shirt and a smile. Imagine the drama of her having to choose between her "true love" her "date" and her "future husband"!!!!

Happiness Is......

Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister?
~Alice Walker

Halloween Festivities in a Nutshell!

Happy Post Halloween Thursday!
I've been reading peoples feelings on Halloween and I tend to fall somewhere in between. I love October, because of fall...not because of the goulish holiday. From the time I was little I remember dreading the Halloween season because I didn't (and still don't) like to be scared. I hated Haunted houses, just thinking of Dracula's castle at Lagoon gives me the shakes. I hate people decked out in costumes that are meant to make me stop in my tracks with my heart pounding for fear of having to walk by them. I don't dress up but I do like to have Halloween decorations around the house and I'm all for some pumpkin carving.
The girls were excited for Halloween this year, especially G who thought long and hard about who she wanted to be. Little One was very confused about this "Halloween" we all spoke to highly of. She wanted to be everything from Barney to a cat.....we wound up this year with...........drum roll please...
Princess Leia and a Sassy Little Red Riding Hood!!!

Pose like Princess Leia would pose....





After a fun filled day at school stuffing their faces with candy and running around the girls came home and our friends Cindy with "K" and "C" joined us to head on down to the Food Bank to celebrate with Auntie "L". Cindy and and "K" were dressed up as Daphne from Scooby Doo complete with sprayed orange hair and some groovy apparel and "C" was a cute little witch.




The girls were excited to see their Aunt! She took them around to all of the office where they shouted trick or treat and were showered with the most amazing Halloween yummies I have ever seen! They also got a fork lift show from the fork lift operator, were able to weigh the four of them with their bags of candy on the giant food scales and participate in a costume contest.



There was an absolute adorable girl there dressed as Snow White, she was so sweet and posed with the girls for a picture.... For Little One it almost made up for the little kid dressed in a horrible skeleton mask with a 3D chest that he was able to pump fake blood through the see through bones while menacingly blocking her path. From that moment on she didn't smile or let me put her down until I suggested we see Snow White for some cheer!



Then it was off to pack up a box for one of the people Cindy delivers to and we headed home.



Let the Halloween Party begin!
The kids played out back with the dads while we got the food ready and chatted inside. We have celebrated Halloween with Carin and Danny and the kids since they lived across the street from us many moons ago. I told Carin last night that this would have to be a tradition even when we had grandchildren...so that means I have her locked in for at least three or four more decades! WOO HOO

This year I made a chilli style soup and purchased a second soup with bread sticks. Carin brought a yummy salad and our new Halloween compadres Rick and Jen with their daughter came and brought fantastic munchies for appetizers as well as a delicious cake!



Joining us as well was Princess Aurora....



Fiona from Shrek.....



A Spooky Little Witch....



A Sweet Angel...



And Edward Scissorhands and her husband!



What a fun night....see you all again next year!!