snow, snow, snow

it started snowing here on friday night and we ended up with about eight inches before all was said and done. for those of us here in north carolina that's a big deal as it doesn't happen all that often. the boys were really excited when it started on friday evening and they both got up saturday (and sunday for that matter) ready to head outside! i just wanted to share some pictures from our weekend. enjoy!

he stayed busy making snowballs....



shoveling snow....



hauling snow in his dump truck....



and carrying "icebergs".



and he stayed busy trying to sneak up on everyone and plummet them with snowballs....



even though he was told to stop again....



and again....



and again.



then he ended up face first in the snow and when we decided he was ok, we explained to him the concept of karma ;-)

this is why i scrapbook: official entry post

i'm so happy that i decided to take part is shimelle.com's little adventure this month. i first wrote about it here and again here, and today's post is my completed mini album. this was such a fun album to create and i really love how it turned out - lots of meaningful photos, lots of bright colors, and it accurately reflects why i love of scrapbooking and taking photos. i hope you enjoy seeing it here as much as i enjoyed making it!!



journaling: this is my attempt to explain the reasons why...why i carry my camera with me everywhere i go, why i have to visit a new craft or scrapbook store every chance i get, why i spend hours reading scrapping and design blogs, and why i sometimes stay up until the wee hours of the morning playing with scissors, pretty paper, ribbons and brads....



to tell my story



and our story



and his story



and his story



to celebrate the past



and relationships



and the everyday moments



to remember the places we visit



and moments that pass in the blink of an eye



to capture this...and this...and this

this is why i scrapbook...

in preparation for the album i discussed here, i decided to make today's ten things thursday post about why i scrapbook. and you can also consider this a sneak peak at my mini album as well ;-)


1. to tell my story



2. and our story



3. and his story



4. and his story



5. to celebrate the past



6. and relationships



7. and the everyday moments



8. to remember the places we visit




9. and the moments that pass in the blink of an eye....



10. to capture this...




stop by again tomorrow to see my completed album!!

photochallenge wrap up, month 1

a couple of weeks ago i talked about participating in the year long challenge at photochallenge.org - the original post is here. since the first month has wrapped up (it officially ended january 23rd), i wanted to share my photos here on leaf puddles and airplane stars. i plan to do the same at the end of every month to keep you posted on my progress...

the theme for january was resolution. these are the photos i took and posted - my take on the this theme....

play more.



shed. shed some weight. shed the clutter around me. shed the bad habits.



eat more fresh.



walk my ass off - literally.



the theme for february is natural landscapes. this should definitely be challenging since i have no plans to travel this month and the landscapes around these parts are pretty bare and brown in february.....

ten things from the web (inspiring things!)

1. this set of vintage keys from pottery barn. they range from 4 to 7 inches in length and would look great on my wall!

2. this felt heart wreath. it looks so easy to make and would make a great valentine's day decor! i might just have to give it a try....

3. this new website - beyond snapshots. i've been a big fan rachal devine's work for awhile now and am so happy to see her offering tips and tricks and online photography classes!

4. this little how to on making a magnetic organizer. it looks super easy and could be modified to work with all of your magnetic organizing needs!

5. this article in psychology today about creativity. very interesting.

6. reading elizabeth gilbert's new book - committed. she's the author of eat, pray, love one of my all time favorites! her new book is all about marriage.

7. this recent post by ali edwards. by now you probably know i'm a hugh ali edwards fan and i am so excited to see what she does with her one little word (story) in 2010.

8. this program sponsored by the leukemia & lymphoma society. i'm thinking about training to walk a marathon in honor of my dear friend and her couragous battle with blood cancer last year. wanna join me??

9. the photo site called aphotoaday.org. i'm checking it quite frequently these days for inspiration for my own photo challenges.....

10. the amazing eye-candy on this site. my favorites are the bird cages and the mushrooms.

what things are inspring you these days? found anything interesting on the web? leave a link in the comment section so i can check it out!!

project 365 - photos i would have missed

i'm well into my fourth week of my project 365 for 2010 and i thought it might be a good idea to post some photos from my 2009 project 365 album. i talked a little bit about this project here, but probably the most important thing this project did for me was getting me in the habit of taking my camera with me everywhere. everywhere...i hardly ever leave home without it now. and i don't even carry it in my camera bag anymore - i just carry it in my purse. in my purse its more accessible and i'm much more likely to pull it out.

as i was going through my 2009 album i realized that some of the pictures in the album that were my favorites also happen to be photos that i could have never captured had i not been in the habit of having my camera with me. below are eight of them and perhaps they can be the inspiration for one of your 2010 picture-of-the-day....



i snapped this photo on my way home from work on evening last january. i was stopped at a stop light and glanced in my rear view mirror and this is what i saw....because my camera sitting beside my on the passenger seat in my purse i was able to grab it and take this picture.



i snapped this photo on saturday morning when my parents came up for a visit. we all decided to go to the mall and this was taken as we were walking across the parking lot. i watched from behind as blake coordinated the holding of both hands and was so glad i got that little moment captured....



my three guys after lunch on sunday. we had just finished and decided to walk around the corner to see if the ice cream shop was open. i love this picture because i rarely get them all three in the same shot....



this was another in-the-car-stopped-at-a-stoplight shot. we happened to look over and see this little dog riding on a motorcycle. needless to say the boys thought this was hilarious and continued to talk about it for days afterward....



another one of my favorites from this project....i was taking my boys for a haircut in the downtown area of our town. we were walking down the sidewalk with the afternoon sun at our backs and i looked down and saw our shadows, pulled out my camera and snapped away!



this one was snapped at the grocery store. again because i had my camera out i snapped this shot of both of them in one of those vechicle carts that i hate pushing through the aisles at the grocery store...but it keeps them occupied and quite for a few minutes....



this photo was from our local ymca family night...all three of my guys in a relay race!



and this is a photo i snapped at our local petsmart when michael and i went to buy him some fish. he had just asked the sales associate how you tell the difference between a girl fish and a boy fish and the associate is doing his best to point out the differences....

mini book....this is why....

have you seen this new project on shimelle.com?? if not, definitely check it out and make sure to watch her video about why she scrapbooks - which is the basis of this little adventure she's hosting on her site until the end of january. i love this idea and have actually been thinking about doing something similar in the form of a scrapbook page. i think a single layout would be good, but a whole mini book about why i scrapbook would be fab-u-licious. so count me in! and i've already gotten my cover page completed as i just so happened to have a 7 gyspies 5 x 7 chipboard album sitting right on my desk!





i'm excited to see how this turns out - both mine and shimelle's! and have you asked yourself why you scrapbook? have you scrapped your reasons? if not, this might be a great time....