I ♥ Faces~ Happy Birthday

I have mentioned before that special events like birthdays are often not very well photographed by me.  I simply can't find the opportunities to take nice photos while running around making sure the party is going off well.  

I was very pleased to have captured this sweet shot of Miss Sugar on her last birthday.  She got such joy out of being sung to this year.

I look forward to seeing more Birthday Shots over at I ♥ Faces this week.

Camera Critters~ Sunday Citar~ The Nose knows

"It takes little talent to see what is under

one's nose, a good deal of it to know

in what direction to point that organ." ~W. H. Auden

Photo Hunters~ Book

When looking at the theme for the week, I couldn't help but think of a set of vintage Sugar Bear shots. This set was taken back in 2005 with my original Fugi Finepix 4 megapixel point and shoot camera. That camera is now Sugar Bear's. We have come a long way baby! 

These photos feature a classic children's BOOK, Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown. It has a favorite in our home for quite some time.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some vintage Sugar Bear, as much as I enjoyed reminiscing about those delightfully chunky thighs. Forget the BOOK.....look at that baby fat. sigh.....Good Stuff.

Have a happy weekend, everyone.

Photostory Friday~ Lying down on the job

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

If you are paying attention, you might notice that this week, it appears I have lying down on the job..... A LOT. THREE posts in the last 5 days have featured photos taken from a VERY low perspective. This post is no exception. 

I have been feel a tad on the GRUMPITY side for the last two weeks. I am well aware of the reasons and it's affects. I am honest about it, and hope that it will soon go away. 

This has left me feeling sort of glum about my photography, and in an effort to liven things up, I challenged myself to "take it lying down."  I know that sounds funny. You'd think I'd so the exact opposite, but instead, I have forced myself to lie down and look at the world from that perspective. 

These photos of Tiny, our mini horse, was a perfect opportunity to mix it up a bit. See that animal from an angle most do not. Not only did I find it amusing, so did Tiny, and Sugar Bear. It really wasn't as easy as it might appear. Tiny seemed to come towards me quite quickly, and be TOO close before I had a chance to get a nice shot. Let's just say, I spent a great deal of time lying in the grass that day. 

Then we have the recent silhouettes. I found it really sad, that I had not attempted one of these shots since the summer of 2007. In an effort to drag my photo boredom off of the couch, I found myself laying in the grass again, looking up at Sugar on the picnic table, and Sugar on the deck railing. You see, everywhere I turn there are mountains. There are pluses and minus' to such mountains. I really do love their beauty, but they also hide a few things like beautiful sunsets, and wide open sky. To achieve a photo with only the sky behind the subject, I must lay on the ground and look up. Even the failed attempts required this position. While I found nothing to funny about these attempts, Sugar Bear still mustered up some giggles about mama laying on the ground so much.

The flowers in this post grow in abundance in my front yard. I love them, I have tried often to get pleasing photos of them, but have failed to capture them as I would like. They have such frail stems, and sway in the most gentlest breezes. This makes it difficult to get a nice clear, close up shot of them. However, this day, as I lay in the grass looking up at them, I found a simple way to make the photo something special. If not for my "take it lying down" challenge to myself, I might never have discovered it. There is a reason for everything, my friends. Even a bad case of the "grumpies" has a silver lining. 

I know how to spell silhouette

Okay...I'm still not entirely certain what's the trouble with my Internet, but I think it has something to do with Chrome, my browser. They updated to a newer version about 5 days ago....and coincidentally THAT is about when things started going south around here. Okay...so not entirely, as Blogger has a bug with their "followers" gadget as well, that only some folks are having issues with (me included). 

Anyhow, here are my Wordless Wednesday photos I had intended on posting. 

The other night AFTER posting my old silhouette shot, I tried some new ones. The baseball ones......didn't work, as Sugar was in the sun, and the sun was to the left of her. If the sun had been directly behind her, it might have worked. Later we tried again in a different spot, and low and behold...it worked. I played a bit with tinting though...because I just couldn't help it.

 tee hee

So there you have it. Some success! I think I like the green one best. Something about it.... ♥! What do you think?

I hope you like silhouettes, because I'm feeling inspired. Stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday~ I know how to spell Silhouette

I'd LOVE to be wordless today, but seriously......the Internet HATES me right now. 

Blogger told me to remove my "followers" gadget and folks wouldn't get the "operation aborted" error anymore.  I did so this morning, and I think it worked. 

Then today Flickr is being a total @$&*@&*@& and will not let me upload my photos...and if it does...it won't let me get to the URL to post them here.  

I can't even remember my username or password for Photobucket, and uploading them directly from my computer to this blog makes my photos about the size of a stamp.  

Seriously people.....I give up on this.  My frustration level is about 11.79 out of 10.  

I need a break.  I'll be back when the Internet stops hating me. 

For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE and HERE!

How NOT to take silhouette photos....but still ♥ them

These shots totally did NOT turn out the way I intended, BUT I love them none the less.

Sugar Bear and I had a great time today working on her batting skills. After several minutes she was hitting the ball about half the time. Mama needs more practice at pitching.

I am asked fairly often if I'd post the Meta Data from my photos so that others could learn. It really is a pain in the hiney to remember to do, and I am usually so pressed for time. I do want to help others learn, when at all possible, so I wanted to let anyone know that they can click on any photo on my blog and it will take you to Flickr. There you can click on the "more properties" to the right of the page (usually the third bullet down), and it will tell you everything you want to know about that shot. Feel free!

I have removed my "followers" widget from the bottom of my blog, as blogger says it MIGHT help with the problem I've been having here on my blog. Please let me know if you are still having trouble. livingandlovingblog AT gmail.com

i ♥ Faces~ Silhouettes

Most of my regular readers will have seen this photo of me and Sugar Bear before, but when the theme of Silhouettes came up over at I ♥ Faces, I couldn't resist this shot. 

I set this shot up after MUCH searching for the perfect spot to master a silhouette. I meant to take another one last summer but never made the time. I am totally MAKING time this summer. I have some fun ideas swirling in my little head. 

I can't wait to see all the fun silhouettes over at I ♥ Faces this week. Silhouettes are the bomb.

Camera Critters~ Up close and Personal

What happens when you have nothing better to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon....

Have a Happy Sunday. 

FFFFFFFrustrated!

My Internet connection, computer, or blog (or all of the above) is giving me fits, and won't let me do hardly anything with my blog.  I think my lollipop post is messed up...and the one with Sugar and the tree too.  I have no idea.  my blog freezes on me nearly everytime I look at it.

Please be patient if it is giving you trouble too.  Also it would really help if you left me a comment to know if it is working for you....or what problems it is giving you.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!  Hopefully, my blog will be straightened out soon.  

CROSSING FINGERS!

Could you be any sweeter?

My dearest Sugar Bear,

I find myself feeling particularly sentimental these days. I feel as if my heart may burst at the seams with adoration, each and every time a thought of you drifts through my mind.

I find myself desperately trying to hold on to these special times. So many parents are in a hurry to rush their children through the stages, eager to be "done with diapers", or "off the breast or bottle". Not I....and from your history, I see not particularly you either. You always take you own SWEET time in doing things, and I appreciate that in you. I cherish how you are your own person, and rarely let others force you to do things you aren't ready for. It is my hope that you keep this attribute as you grow.

There are so many days I long for a "pause button", so that I might capture you at this very special stage, and I would give the world to have THIS Sugar Bear forever.

You are incredible, just as you are. You are thoughtful, caring, and genuine. You are perceptive, and amazingly brillant. It is music to a mama's ears to hear from your preschool teacher that "everyone loves Sugar Bear!", and I see the truth in the faces of your friends when we arrive each morning.

You are slow to warm up, but once you get going, there is no stopping you. You have already honed your skills at physical comedy, and I think very much that you might end up being the class clown. You know exactly how to get the smiles to errupt from everyone you meet.

You constantly amaze me with your generous spirit, and ability to share whatever you have with whomever is in need.

There is so many things that tie my heart up in knots, and make me feel so very lucky to be HERE with you. From the way you call a Skunk, a "Stunk", to the way you proudly announce that you are "A princess.....for real life, mom!"

May you always wish to marry me when you grow up, insist on lots of snuggles, and lovingly invite to me sleep all night with you. I cherish all our inside jokes, and can hear your giggles, and belly laughs everytime I close my eyes. You love to tell me something silly, and imediately announce, "I'm just kidding, Mom!" before I hardly have time to react. Life is fun around you.

I may be biased, but I think you are as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside. You glow with happiness, and your eyes melt my very being.

I am beyond honored to be given the extreme pleasure of being your protector, your confidante, your cheering section, your guide......your loving mother. It is my goal in this life to raise you in a home that honors you for who you are, gives you the opportunities to be who you want to become, and have the strength to let you fly.

There are days when the thought of you growing up, and going off on your own is enough to bring me to my knees in tears. The other day you promised, "I will take you with me, Mama, wherever I go!"

I hope you go far!

You have my heart, Baby Girl, and as you would say, "I love you more than all the dinasaurs, the monsters, the ghosts, the giants, and the bugs in the WORLD, stacked up on top of each other!"

Now that is quite A LOT!

***linking to the You Capture MEME for the theme of SWEET***

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Wordless Wednesday~ Something to look forward to

For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE and HERE!