This book contains nine images I submitted to Lark after they saw my letter projects on Flickr and approached me. (Sidenote: While some of our flickr photostream is organized, it could be better, I know!) I submitted them at the eleventh hour during the haze of getting our house on the market. I wasn’t even sure if they would pick any of the pictures, let alone nine of them! I have pictures from Chattanooga, Wichita Falls, and Asheville in the book.

I think this is my favorite submission.

The book brings you through the entire alphabet (they didn’t leave out a single letter!) as seen through the lenses of 115 photographers from 26 different countries. It is a kind of coffee table book, or as I like to think of it, a gallery of 250 photographs bound in a handy carry-around size.

If you are so inclined to order the book you can check out Focus: Letters on Amazon or Focus: Letters on Barnes and Noble. (Family members, please contact me before you order.)

I’m a little giddy over this… please share in my giddiness too!

[tags]published, Lark Books, Letters, Digital Photography[/tags]

Tonight’s DPP represents me letting go and being ok with something not so exciting.

Dinner was kind of scraping the barrel tonight. I need to go to the grocery store, but I didn’t have the car today so I really had to make do with what was in the house. And honestly, I have to tell myself that over and over sometimes because really, it’s ok to have a meal that isn’t worthy of five stars. And if we don’t eat it now, it will go to waste and that is money down the drain.

So, I pulled out the skillet, threw in the last of the chicken, made some rice, and dinner was served.

Now I need to make a list… I’ll be hitting a grocery store tomorrow.

[tags]December photo project, dinner, grocery shopping[/tags]

In the last few years I have noticed a trend in my cold weather wear- I put on gloves, but they never stay on. I am constantly taking them off so I can better do something like take pictures, buckle kids into their car seats, or work my cell phone.

I’m kind of crafty and have the ability to crochet. I have often said, “Self, you need to crochet some fingerless gloves!” I never get to it.

On Halloween it was chilly and I knew I was going to want gloves but since I would be taking pictures I wasn’t going to keep them on. So I bought three pairs of the “stretchy” gloves for $2 at Big Lots. When I got home, I cut the tips off the fingers. And the gloves stayed on for a lot longer.

So, that’s what works for me… I have cheap texting gloves and my hands still stay warm while I’m taking pictures.

[tags]works for me wednesday, texting gloves, fingerless gloves[/tags]

First, I can’t believe I forgot to post this yesterday. I took the picture, uploaded it to flickr, and then got distracted.

As has been mentioned in the past, making Christmas cookies is not high on my list of fun Holiday activities. But my husband asked me to make some for his office party and since he purchased some kick-butt cookie cutters, I said “Sure!”

Since the dough requires refrigeration I made the dough yesterday. And when transferring it from bowl to plastic, I snapped my spatula. And not a cheap 50 cent spatula. It was a Pyrex, high heat spatula. And the handle just SNAPped while I was working.

Here’s hoping I can remember to post today’s picture today.

P.S. Having a blog is a great way to keep track of things you might otherwise lose or forget. For instance, I couldn’t find my copy of the gingerbread recipe (I moved, remember?) but I had it posted on the blog! Do you want my gingerbread recipe? Here it is!

I love taking pictures of my boys. Getting them in the same picture together is a rare occurrence. Usually Tebow ends up crying, but mainly because he isn’t the only one in the picture.

Today I took a drive to Atlanta and spent a few hours at Ikea, picking up some needed closet organizing and possible gifts for Damon to pretty up. It was fun, stressful, and tiring all at the same time. The boys seemed to like it as well.

1. A 5th generation iPod Nano. This is a cop out since technically I already have it. Damon bought it for me back in September as an early birthday gift. I love it because it has a small video camera. I just need to learn how to convert the files to something I can work with. (Of course, I would take this protective case for it, since they finally seem to have some on the market.)

2. The Nikon 35mm lens I have been wishing for. I learned that a 50 mm lens that works with my camera is really expensive. But a 35 mm prime lens is cheaper and just as good.

3. Wii Fit Plus – I have the Wii, I have the Wii Fit, why not add Wii Plus?

4. This Kodak printer because our printer has problems and I want a cheap way to print some photos at home.

5. An all expense trip to Blissdom, including being able to take Damon and the boys, who would love hanging out at the Opryland Hotel. There is a boat ride in the hotel! Fuller would love it!

6. I would love an eye-fi card for my camera. I got to see it in action at Type A Mom Conference when I saw Rick Bucich (from Tiny Prints) using one. He was really great about explaining how it worked and it made me want one a lot!

7. The latest version of photoshop so I can really know what all those photoshop tutorials are talking about.

8. I have a crush on Burberry. Some women like Coach. I like Burberry. It’s the plaid. I want this purse. (See, I said some were outlandish.)

9. I think our family could use a Netbook for travel. Love my laptop, but traveling with it and the baby stuff and the camera is a bit much.

10. Someone should send me (and my family, I guess) to Hawaii. I want to photograph volcanoes, coffee plantations, and surfers. Anyone want to send us? We love to travel!

11. (Ok, this is a bonus.) I would love some of these photo mailers.

So there it is. The “what I want for turning 33″ top ten. Want to see other Top Ten lists? Check out OhAmanda for the linky!

[tags]top ten Tuesday, birthday gifts, digital photography, eye-fi, Nikon, Blissdom[/tags]

Yesterday was Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s. Our family made sure to be there for our free ice cream. We went last year and it will probably become a family tradition.

When I was taking the kids downtown (with visions of ice cream in my head), Damon called to let me know the deli across the street from his office would be opening today. And because of this, they were having their rehearsal and all the food was free. Everything from bottled water to the desserts and all the sandwiches in between were free. So, before we were enjoying free ice cream, we were enjoying a family meal at Chattanooga’s new Sweet Peppers Deli.

We didn’t go overboard and order one of everything (though based on how nice the staff was, I think we could have), but ordered as if we were paying and ended up with about $25 worth of lunch all for free. The food was good, the service was attentive, and the deli itself was very nice. I have a feeling we will be paying for lunch there some time in the future.

So, we all left the house today, despite the frigid temperatures. (According to my weather widget, we are one degree above freezing right now.) We had to gather some things for a project of Damon’s, and then there was the trip to Wal-Mart where we returned things and bought things.

Getting out of Wal-Mart was terrible. We had the slowest cashier I have ever seen. And it seemed as if she didn’t know how to operate the counter to keep it moving as she bagged the groceries. As I was standing in line, I had to wonder because she had a “ten year” ribbon on her name tag. I didn’t complain, but she did offer an explanation- she was from automotive where they only use scan guns and don’t have conveyor belts on the counters. Wal-Mart was so busy they had pulled cashiers from other departments, and we scored one from automotive.

It made me realize that as a stay at home mom who has a lot more say about when I can do shopping, I should really make it a resolution to not do any grocery shopping on Saturdays. And if we didn’t need dog food, I probably would have been able to stay home all day.

I hope tomorrow is restful, because we have a really busy week ahead of us.

It is hard to keep resting when I know there are so many things I have to do tomorrow. Most of the chores are in the house kind of stuff, but looking at this fridge makes me think a trip to the grocery store is definitely on the to do list.

A lot of photography websites I visit are covering all kinds of photo related gifts and greetings for this time of year. And they all have amazing advice on how to get the perfect family/ children pictures to show off in all kinds of ways.

Our family hasn’t been that great at sending out holiday cards mainly because I always feel like it requires a photo of some sort and we get lazy or busy with other holiday related items. Last year I managed to pull off a Photo Calendar to give away, but I did everything by hand- photo editing, layout, printing, and even binding the twelve pictures into my gift.

This year, if I decide to do it again, I plan on getting some printing help. Vistaprint is one of many websites that offer items like photo calendars and cards you can personalize with your own pictures. And if I act quickly and order now, they are 50% off. Man, checking out the website makes me really, really wish I had used Vistaprint last year.

Vistaprint also has an excellent variety of photo card templates to choose from, including my favorite form- the postcard. The ease and cost of getting 100 postcards is very affordable. And as a bonus, if a little more, they will mail the cards for you, which just makes me wonder where my address book is.

Are you sending out a holiday card or putting together a photo related gift? Let me know, I’m still mulling it over.

[tags]Vista Print, photo calendar, photo card, seasons greetings, greeting cards/tags]