My week 12

The first shot was taken on December 19th........love the pretty heart bokeh!

The second shot was taken on December 20th when I was capturing even more shots for a local physical therapy office.

The third shot was taken on December 21st while I was on an extremely stormy drive along the coast. I was bummed to have such ugly weather that day, but I have to admit that I think the ocean is beautiful no matter what the weather.

The fourth shot was taken on December 22nd at my neighbor's house, during our gingerbread house making party. BEST DAY EVER!

The fifth shot was taken on December 23rd. I had so much to get done before Christmas, and Sugar spent the day playing by herself. She isn't a fan, but did a good job keeping out of my hair.

The sixth shot was taken on December 24th. Christmas Eve......leaving out the cookies for Santa.

The seventh shot was taken on December 25th. I'm not sure if you can tell or not...but was pretty excited about opening presents. ♥

Whew...okay...we are all caught up on this project. :) Yea me!

My Week 11

Oh my heavens...how did I get so far behind on this project? Here it is nearly the 1st of January, and I haven't even posted about so many wonderful things we've done in December.

The first shot was taken on December 12th, while Sugar Bear was decorating the tree in her room. This year we slowly added ornaments as we gathered them for a box here....or a box there. This one is a new one from her Grandma. What a darling little angel.

The second shot was taken on December 13th. This week is observation week at the Dance School. What a treat to be able to watch Sugar Bear do her thang, in class. Her bridge is getting better and better. ♥

The third shot was taken on December 14th. The Hubby was a little bored waiting for the Pacific Coast crab season to start, so he busied himself setting up setting up A LOT of Christmas lights around our yard. It really made coming home from a long day at work more fun.

The fourth shot was taken on December 15th. This picture just cracks me up. Sugar is doing a pop-up with her dance teacher. The look on her face is just priceless. :)

The fifth shot was taken on December 16th. Oooooo lunch out with friends. sigh....good stuff.

The sixth shot was taken on December 17th at Sugar Bear's school Christmas Party. It was such fun, and I'm so glad I have a job that is flexible enough to allow me the time to be a part of it.

The seventh shot was taken on December 18th at my niece's 6th birthday party. Woo Hoo....can you say, "POOL PARTY!" good times!

More Snowy Captures

These have been sitting in my drafts just waiting to be shared since Thanksgiving. I just haven't been in the blogging mood these days. So busy with life....and not really finding the time to share. Life is so good...and these pictures remind me of how I've been feeling lately.

Blessed......so very blessed. I mean, seriously, it doesn't get anymore more amazing. What a wonderful world in which we live. We couldn't even dream of anything more incredible than a sunny, yet snowy day.

The mix of the beautiful, white snow....and the sparkling light....sigh......perfect!

Then, as it begins to melt you get those wonderful drops of ice cold water all around, hanging from anything and everything.

I love capturing those orbs of H2O.

Lastly, the mix of the whitest of white....and the greenest of green, and the pops of RED. sigh.......it is fabulous.

Love love love it!

P.S Blogger has been a bit of a jerk lately, and won't make my font bigger. :(

Some Christmasy Moments

Playing with my camera, a paper with shaped cut out, and my Christmas lights.

Gingerbread House making party! ♥

Mine on the left, and Sugar's on the right.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Despite the look on her face....she was overjoyed!

It has been wonderful.....and joyous.....and so very, very full of laughter. Gosh I love Christmas! ♥

Twas the Night Before Christmas......again

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

This is a repost for the THIRD time. I simply can't let a holiday go by without sharing these photos from our 2006 Christmas card photoshoot. Isn't my Sugar the cutest little Mouse you have ever seen?????

My week 10

I'm wishing I wasn't so far behind in sharing "my week", but it is better late than never, I say. :)

The first shot was taken December 5th. Sugar and I ventured out on a new adventure. We went several cities east, to a really fabulous Festival of Lights, and really enjoyed ourselves. Santa was there, and as you can tell, Sugar Bear isn't all the comfortable with the big guy, but she handled herself pretty well, and asked for a puzzle. ♥

The second shot was taken December 6th, and yes....it is a really odd shot. Here I am holding my dog's muzzle, trying to get a picture of her gums and teeth. She had horribly bad breath, and swollen bleeding gums. Not good. We brushed her teeth for a week, and took her to the vet, and all is well, now.

The third shot was taken December 7th, at work. It was a normal....long.....boring day at work.

The fourth shot was taken December 8th. This is Sugar and her little friend, "M", at our local newpaper's office, helping to decorate their tree. So much fun for the little ones. Sugar's daycare had the honor this year.

The fifth shot was taken December 9th, the day of Sugar Bear's Holiday Concert. This is her and her friend, waiting in their class for the show to begin. They sang, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and it was just perfect. ♥

The sixth shot was taken December 10th, the day of my holiday party for work. I love the game, "apples to apples". I could play it all day. Wanna join me?

The seventh shot was taken December 11th. Saying goodbye to the last batch of fall bunnies. Hard day for Sugar Bear, but she understood. We miss this cute little face.

All in all...another really wonderful week. I am so very blessed. ♥

Christmas Bun Buns

You might remember that our dear Miss Loppy, once thought to be a boy bunny.......had a batch of SEVEN bunnies this fall. The only thing better than THREE baby bunnies.....is SEVEN baby bunnies. Oh the joy of raising these little honeys. ♥

Like the last set, they grew oh so very fast, and it was a delight to see them go from tiny little fragile beings to these fluffy little puff balls.

Recently, we took them to our local grange to be sold. I just didn't have the time to try to sell them myself, so I hoped they could do as good of a job as they did the last time, and they sure did.

Within 4 days, all of them had gone to wonderful homes. All to regular customers. What a blessing. So good to know that they will be cherished and well cared for.

It isn't hard to see why they were snapped up so quickly, huh? Who wouldn't want one of these little darlings under the tree?

Unlike that last time, we did not have more baby bunnies waiting at home for Sugar to love on, so it was a bit harder for her to give them up. Especially her favorite one. sigh.....oh the lessons she is learning.

She held on tight, and asked me more than once if we could please just keep her, but I had to hold firm. We already have 5 bunnies, and do not need more. It wasn't easy on either of us, but I like to believe that in some sort of way it was GOOD for us.

There was one thing that made it just a tiny bit easier though. My friend ended up grabbing this one up, and took her home. She is well loved, and we can come visit if we want to. It has been over a week, and Sugar hasn't asked about her, so I think she has settled into the idea of her having a new and loving home. It really helped knowing that other little children will now have a bunny to love.

Oh.....and of course I promised that we'd have more baby bunnies this spring. That is something we all can look forward to. In the mean time.....we like to think that many folks are enjoying their fuzzy little Christmas bun buns! ♥

Sending Christmas Wishes

Every year, I look so very forward to creating our Christmas card. Some years, a great deal of thought goes into the entire process. Other years, I find myself just throwing it all together.

This year, I had something all together different planned, but when we got a touch of snow a few days before Christmas I knew it was too good of a chance to pass up. I had to forgo the fabulous Christmas dress I had just finished making, and threw a quick outfit that was a bit warmer on Sugar Bear, and we went out to play in the snow.

It is also important to note that I can NEVER decide which card I like best, so I usually end up ordering at least three different ones. THESE are the final choices this year.

This year, I'm participating in the 3rd annual Bloggy Holiday Card Exchange. What a wonderful thing. Head on over by clicking the button above to see everyone's Holiday creations!

Merry Christmas, my friends! ♥

Sunday Citar~ Confused

Welcome to Sunday Citar! This blog quote meme was created byhttp://www.freshmommyblog.com. You can stop by her blog to see the quotes and photos that she and everyone else is loving right now.

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”
~Albert Camus

A bit of Snow

I mentioned a few weeks back that our area got a bit of snow, and I took full advantage of the two days it was here. One never knows if snow will emerge again in the same winter season, so you have to make sure and enjoy it while it lasts.



Luckily, I ALWAYS have my camera with me, so I was able to take a break from my work, and head outside for some fun. The time I had was brief, but I think I spent it well.




There is just something so fascinating about snow. I don't live where it snows often, so I find myself thoroughly enthralled with it when it's here. If I had to deal with it day in and day out, I'm sure I'd feel differently.



Whenever I have the privilege of watching snow fall, I get this incredible sensation that somehow time is slowing down......almost as if the earth is literally ceasing to spin. Everything seems to be in slow motion. I adore this feeling. I could just stand there and watch the flakes gently float to the ground all day.


While watching the snow make their way to the ground is a favorite pastime, photographing it as it accumulates on anything BUT the ground is a passion. What fun I had walking around looking for little piles of snow on the fence, trees, and bushes.



Snapping away....finding new angles to look at it.......letting the light shine in.


What a moment to treasure. For a minute, I wasn't at work......I wasn't responsible for anything....I wasn't hurrying to the next thing. I was just THERE......and just ME.



I was just so very blessed. What an amazing world in which we live. I love that I can have those moments, and capture them so that I might never forget......



Just how lucky I am! LIFE IS GOOD!