Ten on Ten {on the 11th}

Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments. Then share your beauty with us!

 

Mark your calenders so you can link up next month at http://tenontenphotojournal.blogspot.com/

 

I have seen Mel at the Larson Lingo do this before and then a few days ago I just happened to stumble upon the website. Let me just say I have looked at a few other posts linked up and they are amazing!

Here's my ten on ten.......

 

Bag to donate to Goodwill, finally cleaned and organized my closet.

{notice Madi stealing the flowers}

The everyday.

She loves drinking from a big girl cup

please excuse this monstrosity of a picture. NO natural light and shaky hands equals seven horrible photos of my sewing machine and a dress I am making for Madison.

Walking to lunch to meet my mom at a local bar and grill.

cool fixtures at every table at the restaurant

checking the mail, her favorite time of the day.

cleaning potties, notice the hideous 80's tile floor. I can't wait to own a house!

Madison noticed this on our afternoon walk.

Doing this truly does open your eyes to what becomes the routine, I am going to pay attention to the small things more often, because the more I pay attention the happier it makes me!

MIscellany Monday

It's that time again, everyone ready for some more random musings!

 Go link up with Carissa at lowercase letters so we can enjoy yours.

1. Why is that I always run out of every beauty and bath product I use at the same time! Why are they all so darn expensive? I guess I will just do without, except for the shampoo and conditioner, oh and maybe I should "splurge" and get some deodorant, ha, I think my husband would be okay with that.

2. My hubby is comes in from checking the mail on Saturday and tells me not to squeal every time I turn the page of my new mini boden magazine. Go take a look at their too cute autumn/fall clothes!  I love everything!  Be sure to check out  the clothes for you and your man too, they are just as fabulous! I must say the prices are not so fabulous, but hey a girl can dream of having nothing but boden in her closet, right ?!

Here are few of my faves for Madison, love this knit owl dress,  this bold birdie dress is to die for especially with cute tights and a cardigan, and this gray peacoat at to me a very reasonable price of $40 would go with everthing.

3. While typing number 1, I figured out where the poo smell my husband and I have been trying to "smell out" all weekend is coming from. My daughter must have spilled her milk in between 2 couch cushions, lovely.

4. I am addicted to gum, especially orbit sweet mint. Some people have to smoke when they get in their car, I must immediately insert a piece of gum into my mouth. Weird I know, but that would not be the first time I've been called that.

5. Lastly, if I never saw an ant again, it would still be too soon. Every time I think they are out of my kitchen and bathroom I see them again. Madison will now squish them and say "look mommy I squish it" , lets me just say I am not proud of that, but I guess after seeing me killing them time and time again she picked up on it, oh well.

Happy Monday!

Ten on Tuesday

I cannot remember where I saw my first ten on Tuesday post, but I surely did not come up it. Since once again I forgot to link up to micellany monday yesterday I decided I'd do this today.

Here it goes...

1. I am soooo excited I have a new pair of running shoes, they are wonderful! I went running last night with them and I swear it felt like I was floating. I have super high arches and really needed shoes with more support. I got these shoes and these insoles.                                                                           Lets hope these babies keep me as motivated to run as I was last night.
2. I have been taking pictures of everything lately. I bring my camera with me EVERYWHERE now, I have captured so many special moments. I just need to take the time and go through and edit and delete and SHARE them. I think I am going to copy Meg from whatever and do some all picture posts, love those.
3. We were planning on having Madis 2nd birthday at the "party room" at our apartments. I was very excited because it is right off of the pool, has a nice kitchenette, is right at our apt. and where we live is in the "middle" of all of our family in the state. BUT, when I went to the office to reserve it she told me that the old policy of just giving them a $200 check and they give it back to you if nothing is damaged has now changed to a $200 deposit AND a $200 fee! What!?! I have been searching and searching for a place to have it that does not cost more to rent than what I wanted to spent on the entire party. I am so frustrated and now Eric and I are now leaning toward not having a party and just taking a little trip somewhere just us three for a weekend.
4. I got Madi an Ariel {The little Mermaid} nightgown on clearance last week and now she is in love with "aral". So yesterday at the mall her papa and nana got her a Ariel doll from the Disney store {aka the childhood paradise}.  She did not let go of her all night, she ate with her , told her a million times " I love you Aral"  and slept with her.  The only problem, Disney does not have the movie out right now and I cant find it anywhere. If anyone knows where you can buy a DVD please let me know.
5. Okay so I'm going to cheat a little and add some pictures from the past few weeks to finish off my 10 on Tuesday.

 One more picture.......... Our new car! Eric's 92' Mitsubishi mirage finally broke down for good this time, I like to call it "the cockroach" haha, it seriously looks like one. He is now driving my car so I get the new car with all of the fancy features like LATCH which I am very happy about, I feel so much safer with Madi in the car now. After many test drives and weighing pros and cons we went with a 2010 Toyota Rav-4, it is has a lot of room {to us anyways}, but I feel comfortable driving it, I did not want a really big car since I have only driven small cars. One more plus, it is actually pretty darn good on gas.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

A New Look!

I have made a lot of changes around here! I was in the process of designing a separate Photography website, but I decided (half way through) that I was going to just use  this blog as my site for the time being. I would rather wait to have a professional design a great website for me, instead of me never being happy with what I cannot can do. So click around and if you have problems with anything or have any suggestions please shoot me an email. 

I must say I am so glad today is Friday and my husband will be home this weekend, the terrible twos are here And we are working on potty training. Although I have been repeatedly telling myself to keep calm, that potty training takes time, lots of accidents, and patience on my part, it has really been stressing me out. This weekend I plan on working on my patience or lack there of.

 What have you been struggling with lately?

Miscellany Monday

Well it is Monday again folks! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, ours was pretty darn good! Here goes my miscellany......

1. Carissa who hosts miscellany Monday just had the most beautiful baby girl and she still made time to post today AND right after her daughter was born all from the comfort from her hospital room........ummmm.....can you say SUPERWOMAN!!! (go visit her and take a look the photos of her and you will really be saying shes superwoman, she is beautiful! )
2. My little brother is graduating from High school! I am so proud of him ,he is such a great young man. Where has time gone it seems like just yesterday we were playing with my babydolls together (haha)

3. This morning Eric found Madison asleep on the couch! The past couple of weeks she has been sleeping on her floor, of half way off her toddler bed, or beside our bed on top of the million pillows that go on our bed when it is made up (which it rarely is), and now on the couch. I know it is nothing to "worry" about but Eric and I both agree it's pretty stange or shall we say unique. 

4. I went to a great FREE photography workshop on Satuday, I learned so many little tips and tricks. It was put together by the organizer from one of the local photography  groups that I am a member of.  It was great to be surrounded by so many people with the same passion for photography as me, and to be honest being able to have an adult conversation without Madison was a much needed break. I came home feeling refreshed and ready to play with my wild girl, who by the way did not miss mommy one bit! She always enjoys her alone time with daddy.

5. If you haven't checked out Kelle Hamptons blog you simply must, RIGHT NOW, and start with the birth story of her second daughter.

I'm off to fold some laundry and unload the dishwasher before the hubs gets home, Happy Monday!

Four Facts for Planting Chums

 I found out about Planting chums while I was reading  Carissas blog, check her out shes simply lovely. Hopefully I will win one of the fabulous giveways! I have my eye on the necklaces, I am in desperate need of some cute jewelry to liven up my wardrope of nothing but solid colored shirts.  

Alright so here are 4 random facts about me!

1. I got a cavity filled this week and didn't get numbed up! I bragged to everyone for the rest of the day like I had just accomplished some major thing, haha not really! The dentist said that it wasn't a bad one and so he thought I would probably be okay without  those stinkin' shots that numb half of my face for 3 or 4 hours. I am so glad I stuck it out, it never really "hurt" it was just a really cold sensation. Plus it saved us some money.

2. I have been running  5 days a week for a month and a half now, I can tell that I have lost weight by the way my clothes fit but I still have not bought a scale, haha!

3. I accidentally scratched Madison's face this morning, I reached over to grab a bottle of cleaner from her and she jerked away and my fingernail scratched  her little cheek. I cried with her I felt so bad!

4. I have been drinking a smoothie every morning for the past week that consists of, 2 handfuls of spinach, strawberries and/or blueberries, a few ice cubes and orange juice. It is suprisingly good and it keeps me filled until lunch.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Springtime in my kitchen!

Here are a few things that I am loving right now, along with the beautiful weather that we have been having!

Simply Rasberry Lemonade- Madi loves this stuff and so do I! They make really good popsicles as well.

I got the Crate & Barrel catalog in the mail and on the cover was this adorable lemonade stand and glasses. But heres the thing, I am not paying $50 for the stand so I have been searching like crazy for a similar one for a better price.

Why, you may ask, for Madison's birthday, which is in September, hah!

Hey, there is nothing wrong with an early start! Right??

Alright, enough about lemons.....

I am also looking for a couple of cute cupcake stands for Madison's birthday. I think that I am going to buy 2 of these. I like the wymsical look of them.

Starbucks coffee- This is how Eric and I start off every morning, if we haven't watch out , because without our cup of morning joe, lets just say we are not the friendliest people.

right now we are drinking caffe verona, we like it strong!

I am so glad that I spotted these too cool snacks for Madison at Harris teeter. They are materna GoGo squeez applesauce, you don't have to worry about a bowl and spoon for these babies. They come in these little packets with a top so if she doesn't finish her yummy applesauce I can just stick it in the fridge for later. They come in different yummy flavors, right now we have applestrawberry.

 But wait here is the best part, the ingredients are apple and apple juice concentrate and thats all folks!

and my last love Trader Joes! Oh how I love going in there and discovering new and healthy goodies each time. I am loving the guilt-less tortilla chips and hot smoky chipotle salsa. Major yum for me and the hubby!

What are some things you are loving this spring?

I want to be a Birdwoman!

Ever since I was little I have always said that if I could choose one "super human power" it would be to fly!
 Well when Eric and I found this video on youtube from 60 minutes, one of our favorite shows, I found out that it's not so super human after all. 
I know the video is 11 min. but believe me you NEED to make the time to watch it and show your husbands too!

This is by far the most adventurous, amazing, terrifying, sports there is. Can you imagine souring through the air at 100-140 mph right alongside a mountain just like a bird!!! 

Wow what a Week...

The past week, well almost 2 weeks, have been so BUSY

 and thought pervoking

 and full of emotions

 and life changing!

I don't have time to type a long post so here is a very random, condensed, "top five" post!

1. My photography business is really starting to take off. I am so excited to have so many fabulous opportunities to photograph these amazing people!

2. Last week my husband received a fantastic job offer, with great benefits and pay, but he would have been gone FOUR days a week. We really struggled with this. We really needed the increase in pay and the health benefits BUT we want to be together as a family and Eric really didn't want to be away from Madison that much. Well we finally decided after a very emotional night of some serious debating that he should take the job. Guess what 5 min after we came to that decision, the man called him and said that someone was being moved from within to fill that position. I just busted out crying (not the first time that night either) and I was not upset because he didn't get the job, in fact I was glad in many many ways that it fell through. I just knew in my heart that God had made all of that happen and he wanted to open our eyes up to something, but what???

So the next morning after Eric left for work and Madi was still sleeping I opened up my bible (I have The Message,  the bible in contemporary language by Eugene Peterson)to a random page and this was I read:

"What I am trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with GETTING so you can respond to God's GIVING. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out! You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kindom itself!"

"Be generous. Give to te poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bandrobbers, safe from embezzelers, a bank you an bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

Luke 29-34

God never ceases to amaze me in the little ways he works! You see the whole time Eric and I were weighing out the pros and cons of the job offer we never once prayed about it! That was a huge mistake and it made both of us realize that we need to spend more time talking and learning more about him!

We were excited about the possibility of that job only because of it's benefits financially and he let me know when I was reading his word that all of those material things were not what was going to keep our family strong, we needed to be together and we need to live our life serving him! 

3.Eric and I have decided  to go as organic and all natural as possibe. I know a few posts back I had said that we had been taking small steps to "go green" but the more I read about the benefits the more I want to stop eating processed foods all together (although its not as easy as just typing it out )

We have been hitting up the wonderful  Trader Joes and buying all our meat wild caught, preservative free, MSG free, and hormone free.

4. I have been reading every book and  tutorial that I can find that has anything to  do with photography. One of my favorite books so far is The Digital Photography Book volume 2 by Scott Kelby. It is very well written and there are a lot of great tips and tricks, plus hes pretty funny to boot!

5. I am  going to post more than once a week, I promise! Between spending time with Eric and Madi, school, photography meetings, editing, and my impromtu spring cleaning last week I had to blow a few cobwebs off the ole' blog!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

G is for a Googleing Goddess

I am going to be participating in Alphabe Thursday from now on!  Click on over to  Jenny's blog to learn more and join in on the fun!

This weeks letter is G.

I instantly knew what I was going to post about!

I am a self proclaimed Googleing Goddess!

Whenever I have a question no batter how big, small, or embarrassing I have my trusty professor  to go to, GOOGLE!

I seriously don't know what people did before the internet came along!

Is it weird that I type in random letters and words to see what people have searched? Believe me theres some weird stuff that people search, quite disturbing actually!

This is what came up when I typed in why does...

Why does my eye twitch?

Why does my poop float?

Why does my belly button smell?

Why does my dog eat poop?

Keep in mind this is the exact order they were in too! Whats up with poop?

Weird People, very weird, and I thought I googled weird stuff!

Go check out what else people have searched, come on, you know you want to!

This googleing goddess is signing off for now!

Happy Thursday to you!

A little bit about me....

Here are ten things that I bet you didn't know about me!

Here we go:

1. 
   
   I am a left handed. I use to think it was cool that I was left handed until I read this article! My college couselor even told me there are even scholarships for left handed people!
2. 
   
   I grind my teeth at night like a crazy person! I wear a mouth guard, but every single night it somehow comes out! I wake Eric up in the middle of the night because I grind them so hard, my poor hubby!
3. 
   
   I was an Asst. Manager at Pier 1 Imports! I loved my job, I was only 18 when I was promoted to manager. I learned so much working their!
4. 
   
   Eric and I have been dating since I was 15! He got my number from my cousin after school, I was so excited when I found out, I thought he was so cool. I went home and held the phone hostage until he called that night! We talked for two hours the first night and we have been pretty much inseperable since then! I love him so much!
5. 
   
   I have been trying to "go green" these past few months. I am using reusable grocery bags, making my own household cleaner, trying to use less paper towels, (which is very hard for me) I've been using microfiber towels for dusting.We also switched alI of our lightbulbs to the energy efficient ones. I just feel like it is my responsibility to do what I can to help this beautiful planet that God gave us stay like this for my great grandchildren to enjoy! I also think that it is better for our health to clean with as much all natural cleaner as possible.
6. 
   
    I don't think that I  have ever told what type of camera I have! I have a Canon 40D, which I absolutely Love!
7. 
   
   I LOVE Rachael Ray, she is the coolest spunkiest person ever and she always makes me  smile! Meeting her in person it on my "to do before I die list".
8. 
   
   I go to Goodwill at least twice a week! I have so many fabulous finds from there! like these:

please excuse these pictures they are pretty horrid and of course I can't get them to align right! Grrrr...

9. I hate doing laundry. Actually, its not actually washing and drying that I hate, its the folding and putting away! So if you come to my house at any given time there will be a basket of laundry sitting on my bed.

10. I wear jeans pretty much every day of the week! I am totally bummed because my favorite pair of jeans just wore through in both knees. It's time though, I have had them since I was 17, plus I only paid like $20 for them from Target.

Well there you have it folks, ten totally random tid-bits about me! Hope you enjoyed!

Happy Monday to you!

I finally found it!

So after about five different backgrounds I promise I am not changing for a long time!

As soon as I saw this one I knew it was Perfect!

The name of it is Southern Girl another sign it was meant for my blog, hehe!

I got the 50mm 1.8 lens that I had ordered in the mail today! Get ready for picture overload!

I am so ready for it to warm up so Madison can wear all of her cute new spring and summer clothes!

Thats all for now, I'll be posting tomorrow!

 Please excuse all of my randomness!

Happy Friday to you!

Generic or Brand Name???

So yesterday while I was at the grocery store looking the shelves over for the cheapest of whatever item was on my list (I'm big on lists) I got to thinking  about why generic brand items are so much cheaper than brand name.

 I am very budget conscious,  and not just because I have to be, but because I want to be, and quite frankly its dumb not to be, especially in this economy,

Sidetracked sorry.... God now I'm lost...where was I ...... oh Yeah,

 I am big on buying generic I find that for MOST items they are just as good if not better!

 Here is one of my favorites as an example, I LOVE Wheat Thins, but one day while I was trying to get the heck out of the grocery store and fast, because my daughter was on the verge of a major meltdown on the snack isle, I just happened to see out of the corner of my eye a box of Thin Wheats, hmmm... I wondered could these be just as scrumptious as the Wheat Thins that cost almost douple? When I got  home and tore into those bad boys my mind was made up for sure, they tasted the same as the expensive ones!

There you have if folks a story about Wheat Thins and Thin Wheats, bet you were not expecting that!

  

 Here are a few things that I usually don't buy generic and why:

1. Paper towels- I need the most absorbent ones they make and generic are NOT absorbent

2. Toilet Paper- see above, Need I say anymore???

3. Tuna- Eric and I love tuna, talk about cheap and cheerful, but generic tuna is as Eric says "goey" EXCEPT for Harris Teeter

4. Dishsoap- I like the kind that softens your hands, haha!

5. Tea bags- We use Luzianne its the best, we make good ole' southern sweet tea at least twice a week, I'm drinking a glass now, YUM!

So my question to YOU, yes you sitting at your computer reading this wonderful post (ha)  is, do you  find a difference  between brand name and generic products. 

 Leave a comment, pretty please with coffee ice cream on top!

Lots Later,

Megan

A Bit of Randomness!

Well I have about 50 million random things on my mind that i could write about, so I am just going to type what comes to my fingers first ( that made no since, sorry) SO here it goes........ 1. I am watching Rachel Ray right now while Madison is taking her morning nap. I love Rachel Ray and I always tell my husband that I must meet her before I die! I used to say the same thing about going to see the Oprah show but sadly that will never happen since she is ending her show, and yes I CRIED when she made the announcement! my husband thought that I was crazy, but whats new!! 2. As you can tell from # 1 I need to get better about my grammar and punctuation, Sorry! 3. I had the most AMAZING dinner Experience Saturday for my birthday, my mom gave me a gift card to the Melting Pot so Eric and I went ALONE, whoo hoo, first date night since our wedding anniversary on May 10th!! We had never ate there before and it was so neat, here is a link to their site so check it out http://www.meltingpot.com/ , it is a fondue restaurant and it is truly an experience. It took us two and a half hours to eat which was great because with Madi when we do eat out we are always in and out in a hurry,I mean come on what 15 month old wants to sit quiet and still in a restaurant for more than 30 min, not my little lady! It was such a great night!!!! I love my husband!!! 4. Can you believe it is almost Christmas I have so much to do, we have my moms side of the family's big Christmas get together this Sunday and we still have to make presents for everyone!! AHHHHHH!!! just playing ,"everything will be perfect" (that is my manta for the next couple weeks) 5. I made the best pasta dish last night with chicken and cheese and tomatoes and lots of other yummy ingredients, by the ultra fab Giada de Laurentis the name of it is "Italian baked chicken and pastina" it is on the food network website !!! I ate 2 large servings and so now I am just going to have to skip lunch today, or maybe i could have some leftovers, Hmmmm? what should a girl who needs to loose 30 lbs. do?? 6.Madison is learning so much these days, she is literally learning something new everyday! About a week ago she started saying "how ya doin" is is so cute and she says it to everyone we pass. Then today she started walking everywhere backwards!!! I love her so much!!!! She is at such a fun age now. (I think that I have said that every month) 7. Everyone should go and take a peek at some of the amazing black and white photos at pioneer Woman's blog, there is a black and white photo contest and the entries are amazing, I entered 2 pictures but I basically have no chance. here is the link the group is on flickr www.pioneerwoman.com/photography below are my 2 entries. Isn't that little man adorable, here's the story, I was taking pictures of my mom and Madi at a shopping center and this little one asked me to take his picture I wish that I had some way to gives these to his parents because he is a little stud!!! The one of Madi was taken outside of our apt. with her build -a-bear that Eric and I made her when I was pregnant on our honeymoon! Yes, you just read that right, more on the whole story later. By the way if anyone has any editing tips let me know I NEED HELP!!!! More Talk Later, Megan In case you were wondering, I finished this post after lunch and yes I had leftover pasta BUT only a small portion and a nice spinach salad with it! I'm going jogging tonight!