I Heart Faces: "Anything But A Face"

My Dialect Vlog

Well,  This is my first ever Vlog.  I was inspired by The Paper Mama to do a dialect Vlog so that other bloggers can hear how I speak.  I forgot to mention in the video that I am from Western Nebraska and have lived here all my life.  People not from around here tend to think we have a bit of a twangy accent but typically I don't hear an accent at all but I suppose we are used to ourselves, right?  (But then again, there are those around here who say "warsh' so maybe they're right.)

So if any of you want to do this here is the list of words and questions for your reference.

 

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught 

 

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball? 

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? 

What do you call gym shoes? 

What do you say to address a group of people? 

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? 

What do you call your grandparents? 

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? 

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

 

Before & After: Miss Jasmine Blue Eyes

Before (SOOC):

After (edit): 

Photo taken with my Canon 5d Markii.  Edit done in Paint Shop Pro 9.


1. Adjusted Brightness/Contrast.
2. Ran unsharp mask.
3. Adjusted Color Balance.
4. Copyed & Pasted new layer.
5. In background layer I adjusted Gamma Correction & Upped Saturation level.
6. In raster layer I used eraser tool on eyes.
7. Merged layers (flattened)

Productivity

Yesterday was a good day.  You know it was one of those days when things went my way and I got motivated and accomplished everything I set out to and then some.It was especially nice since last week I had one of the opposite kind of days where I didn't accomplish a single thing and just felt like the whole day was a waste.  But yesterday was a good day and I want to relish in all I accomplished.  :)

My Day--

Got up.
Talked to Russ on the phone. (He is working out of town for a couple days.)
I fed the kids breakfast.
Fed the cat.
Got dressed.
Unloaded the dishwasher.
Got the kids dressed.
Loaded them up and went shopping at the natural food store.
Dropped Eden off at dance class.
Made a return at Wal-mart.
Dropped something in the mail.
Picked Eden up from dance.
Stopped & got the girls lunch from Sonic.
Came home & ate lunch.
Put Acacia down for a nap.
Had Jasmine pick up her toys.
Got Eden started on some homework.
Had a red bull.
Swept the kitchen.
Straightened up one of the guest rooms.
Started some laundry.
Loaded the dishwasher.
Wiped down the counters.
Helped Eden with more homework.
Picked up the living room.
Rearranged the furniture.
Got Acacia up from her nap. Swept the living room.
Vacuumed the rugs.
Had Eden pick up her toys.
Put in another load of laundry.
Gathered up and took out all the trash.
Got the girls supper.
Cleaned out the fridge.
Made myself a nutritious salad with some leftover steak.

Ate it while watching 'The Biggest Loser'

Sorted through & put away all my 2010 Christmas cards.
Put Acacia to bed. Prepared some documents for an insurance claim.
Entered receipts into my computer.
Let the girls watch a half hour of tv.
Sent the girls to bed.
Put on my jammies.
Talked to Russ on the phone.
Put in another load of laundry.
Finished all the misc. cleaning/picking up in the living room & kitchen.
Brushed my teeth.
Did my Bible reading/devotion.
Went to sleep.

:)  This is what productivity looks like.  :)

Jasmine's Family

It is fun to watch a child develop artistically.  Jasmine is 3 1/2 and it is fun to see her style emerging.  She recently drew pictures of each of us and I thought it would be fun to scan them just like I did with Eden's drawings a couple years ago and then post them here for posterity.

Daddy 

(The round things are his knees.  And she was excited to point out that daddy's "shave is purple!" He was wondering why he has an extra nose hole.  She didn't have an explanation.)

Mommy 

 (I don't have knees.  Or a nose.)

 

Eden

(Her knees are also pretty prominent, I guess.)

Jasmine

(Her self-portrait is just lovely.  She laughed and said, "I look silly!")

Acacia

(Notice how baby sister has no hair and is noticeably smaller than the rest of us.)

So cute.  :)

Before & After: Sweet Heart

Before (SOOC):

 After (edit):

I took this photo with my new Canon 5D Mark ii.  

Did the edit in Paint Shot Pro 9.

Our Valentine's Day Card...

Cute things my kids have said--Part VII

It's been awhile since I updated my "cute things" series so here it is.
(as a reference for those who do not know us well Eden is 5, Jasmine is 3, & Acacia is 1.) 

Oct. 7, 2010:  I asked Jasmine if she knew what 'awkward' means. She said, "Yes. 'Awkward' means when you take pictures."

Oct. 9, 2010:  This morning Eden told us that Russ has red rivers on his eyes.

Oct. 9, 2010:  Jasmine: "Mommy, I really want to touch a cloud in the sky."

Oct. 9, 2010:  We drove by the hospital and there was a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair and Eden says, "Mom, I saw a broken guy."

Oct. 10, 2010:  Acacia has had a language explosion this week! In the last several days she has really begun to talk and has said lots of new understandable words...a few being (in no particular order): "Eden, egg, nose, hair, ear, I love you, too, Whereisit, Russ, yes, baby, write, Jasmine, papa, up"

Oct. 11, 2010:  We couldn't find Jasmine's "Woobie" last night so this morning she went outside to look for him...she comes back without him and says to me, "Woobie's in danger of bad guys."

Oct. 15, 2010:  Jasmine waved a magic wand and comes up to me and says, "Mommy, I turned our house into Magical Land."

Oct. 18, 2010:  I got to meet Eden's new imaginary boyfriend, "Wyatt" today. She told me that he has brown hair, blue eyes and likes to wear a green shirt with blue pants. After further questioning I'm pretty sure this is her guy...

Nov. 1, 2010:  Btw...my baby Acacia is walking. :)

Nov. 2, 2010:  Eden: "When I grow up and become a mom then I will make the decisions. I will boss my kids around. I will tell them to pick up their room. I will tell them to come eat supper. I will tell them not to eat too much candy or it will rot their teeth out. I will tell them everything that I learned."

Nov. 6, 2010:  Eden: "All this yawning is making me want coffee."

Nov. 6, 2010:  Jasmine: "Daddy, all my cheerios look like traffic lights."

Nov. 8, 2010:  Eden: "Mom, I love band-aids. Do you know why? Because I can touch them & look at them & peel them if I want. That's why I like them."

Nov.  11, 2010:  I mentioned to my girls that today is Veteran's Day and Eden says, "I can't wait until it is Saint SpongeBob's Day!"  (I think she got that because of St. Patrick's day...as Patrick is a character on Spongebob.)

Nov. 13, 2010:  Jasmine: "My elephant needs more juice for it's batteries."

Nov. 16, 2010:   So cute hearing Acacia try to say "applesauce" :)

Nov. 17, 2010:  Eden is just insistent that I have 10 kids! (She's been saying this for a year...) Tonight she was saying it again and I said "But what if I don't have any more kids?" "No." "But what if I only have 4 kids?" "Then I would be sad." "Why?" "Because I don't want to have that low of family."

Nov. 17, 2010:  Eden just said.. "Jasmine, come on! My heart necklace will keep us safe from nerds." When I asked her about it she said, "Nerds chase us and we say 'Eeeww' and run away."

Nov. 17, 2010:  My kids are on a roll tonight. Apparently Jasmine's "boyfriend" Arthur broke up with her and they were calling him a stupid jerk. I could here them downstairs yelling at him. They told me he said he doesn't like her anymore but now she's with Alpha Pig who does love her and said he wouldn't break up with her. :)

Nov. 19, 2010:  Eden: "Wearing lip balm turned us into Hickinchicks. Hickinchicks are really pretty girls."

Nov. 21, 2010:  Another thing I never thought I'd say: "Girls, no more throwing underwear into the tree."

Nov. 22, 2010:  Eden is learning about Vikings today and I asked her where Vikings lived. Her answer "Denmark...Milwaukee"

Nov. 24, 2010:  Today Eden was writing and she said, "Mom, how do you spell JT? JT is my cousin from Grandma Veda."

Dec. 1, 2010:  Yet another thing I never thought I'd say: "No! You don't need to spank the soap."

Dec. 8, 2010:  Eden: "I got something that tastes like Reese and is a buttercup."

Dec. 9, 2010:  Teaching Eden the difference between odd numbers & even numbers...and she got really upset with me because she likes sevens..."They are NOT odd!"

Dec. 19. 2010:  During supper out of nowhere Jasmine says to me, "I love you, Mama. I like everything that you do."

Dec. 21, 2010:  My kids have started making up their own jokes. For example: "Knock, knock. Who's there? Potato. Potato who? Potato I want to spy on you. *giggles*"

Jan. 12, 2011:  Jasmine-"Mommy, I look like Hannah Montana. I got sparkly pants!"

Jan. 26, 2011:  I asked Jasmine what she wants to be when she grows up...she said, "I want to be a mommy. So I can do dishes."

Jan. 27, 2011: Today at lunch the kids were doing the "What if" thing and Eden said, "What if we had candy boogers. Then everyone would eat their boogers!"

Feb. 10, 2011:  This morning Eden was showing me some Valentine's she made and I told her, "You are a creative little girl." She smiled and said, "Yeah I really am creatable."

Feb. 13, 2011: Caught Acacia blowing raspberries on the toilet seat.

Feb. 15, 2011: This morning during breakfast I was listening to Nicole C. Mullen and Jasmine asks, "Is this Fresh Beat Band?" Oh, Nickelodeon what have you done?

Valentine's Day Poetry

A Valentine's Day Poem to my Husband

by Gina K. 

I started a love poem to you today

It was as purty as could be.

But I couldn't make it say

Just what you mean to me

and how special we are together.

It said that we are like a poem;

that we are like a song.

It told of how much love we share

and how our relationship is so strong

that it makes the angels sing.

Such cliche's are meant for Hallmark

so I knew it wasn't right.

A poem about us should be different

Quirky, unexpected and light.

So here's to us...

You are peanut butter.

I am jelly.

Together we make one hell of a sandwich.

Happy Valentine's Day, my love!  :)

I Heart Faces: "Red"

 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I'm Dreaming...

I'm dreaming...

...of using my camera to preserve the precious fleeting moments of life.
...of capturing the inner beauty of people as well as documenting their outer beauty.
...of making people feel good about themselves while photographing them.
...of giving people something to treasure for years to come.

I'm dreaming...

...of taking photos completely on manual all of the time.
...of being creative with my photography in new ways.
...of saying, "I'm a photographer" when people ask, "What do you do for a living?"
...of feeling confident in my ability to take photos for others that they will be excited to hang on their wall.

I'm dreaming...

...of investing in more photographic equipment.
...of starting my own business.
...of making money doing what I love.

I'm dreaming...

And here is why.   My new Canon 5D Mark ii.   *smile/excited squeal*

I Heart Faces: "Hearts"

Before & After: Birthday Girl

Today is  my birthday...I'm 31.  There is nothing really all that special about today...but it certainly is a day to reflect on the life I've been given and how I can use my remaining time on earth most effectively.  I am excited  because I can see already that God has taken me seriously when I resolved to grow closer to Him this year.  I am plainly experiencing His hand at work in my heart.  It is especially neat how He is using my love of reading to bring His message home.  Yesterday I was blessed to see in such a powerful way how the things I'm learning during my S.O.A.P. study of James were made even clearer as I read Ted Dekker's book 'Green'.  (I just love how easily & seamlessly God weaves his lessons into many aspects of our lives.)  Anyway...for my birthday this year I want to give praise to my Maker who knit me together in my mother's womb and who knew me before I was born; to my Savior who died so I might live; to my Master to whom I will be loyal all of my days.  Thank you, Jesus, for your indescribable gift!

A photo of me that my daughter took this morning, edited by me in Paint Shop Pro 9.

Before (SOOC):

After (edit):

"Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 103: 1-5