See it bigger on my photo blog here!

Happy Sunday!

Just a quick post and hoping that the weather wherever you are is as beautiful as it is here in Southern Vermont! We're at peak foliage this weekend and you can certainly tell with all of the tourist driving around (driving 30 miles below the speed limit to look at the oh so pretty leaves.) Me and Dan spent our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday by going out to eat while Lillian spent the night at Nana's house. We were going to go to Saratoga, but Dan didn't feel like driving so we just went to Manchester instead. After dinner we continued a 3 year tradition......Carvel Ice Cream cake for dessert. I opted for the big $25 cake so we'd have lots of left overs......when did ice cream cake become so expensive?!! Lilly should be coming home soon which I'm happy about...it was a nice break, but I do miss her whenever she's gone! One thing I don't miss though is her little messes.......this child can make a clean house dirty in under 5 minutes flat! It's a good thing I love her!

Anyways, I'm going to get back outside and finish cleaning when Lillian gets back for her nap.

Happy Anniversary Dan.....it's been a great ride for the past 5 years and I look forward to the next 50!

A time to reflect.....

A time to remember.....a time to be thankful.....and a time to find beauty. Words cannot express how much I love Vermont. The people truly are the friendliest there are! I can't even begin to count the number of people that have stopped, either walking or driving their car's along the road to tell us how much they love what we've been doing with the house. I mean seriously, where else would you have complete strangers driving down the road pull into your driveway to tell you how much they love the color of your house?! It's this beauty, this sense of peace that I wanted to try and capture during my couple hour break I had yesterday. A break from what you may ask?! A break from my computer, a break from cleaning (which I admit I've been struggling with lately!) and a break from being a mom and wife. Two hours where all I thought about was whether or not to travel down a road that I've yet to drive down. A time to be thankful for what I have and a time to reflect on what on want for my future. This past weekend, the church in town had it's local Harvest Festival. I loved that I was able to load Lillian up in her red wagon and walk into town! I've been contemplating on possibly putting together some blank greeting cards with some of my photographs on them for some time now and it's when I heard about the festival that a light went off in my head that it's worth a try next year. So I decided to use my me time to take some images of the landscapes around me. I still have a lot more places to go and lots more to capture, but here's a small sampling.....

my bug

isn't she the sweetest little girl ever?!!!!! I thought I better take some photos of her in her Halloween costume while it's still nice out, so we went out in the backyard yesterday to grab a few shots! She was dancing and singing all over the place and it was really too cute!!!

I know, I know.....

I haven't been doing a good job taking new pictures of Lillian! You'd think that this blog would be full of them now, but I'm so busy that I forget to just take the camera out and capture her. She's really doing well if I say so myself! She started putting multiple words together and yesterday she told me "I won't do that!" which is more exciting that no for sure!! Her hair is still crazy as can be as you can see from the picture below. I decided that I'm going to let her bangs grow out and since the rest of her hair is starting to fill in I thought we'd wait a little bit longer until she gets it cut......or maybe I'm still just putting it off for some unexplained reason!

Business is booming which is fun, but a lot of work for sure. I take breaks throughout the day when I'm editing to play and read with Lillian, but I really need to make sure that I get out with her more often. I'm taking her to storytime at the library this week to see how she does with other kids. They have a playgroup that meets twice a week as well, but I thought that we'd start off small and go from there! I always said that we'd go, but I really need to make sure that I do it this time because she really needs the interaction with other kids.....especially since she'll be headed to pre-school next year (where does the time go!)

This week I have lots of things to do which include getting prepared for this weekend. I'm headed to Syracuse for 2 days of mini-shoots......eight sessions in two days! Lillian is going with Dan to CT so I don't have to worry about her and can just focus on the job at hand! Each time I've been home lately I've been so busy that I barely have time to visit with my family, much less my extended family! Anyways, I'm going to to do a better job of taking photos of Lillian from now on......promise!!

Wanna see new....

pictures of the house?! Head on over here to my photography blog where the photos are nice and big!!

Stampin Up Stamp Sets for sale

So D-Day has come......it's time to let go of the rest of my stamp sets! I haven't stamped in a little over two years and although I loved it, I just don't have the time anymore and they're just sitting in the garage asking to go to a new home. So, here's my list. Shipping for all of them is $5, US only. Set will be shipped via USPS. All sets may have some staining on the wood blocks, but all were cleaned using Stampin Up's Stamp Cleaner. Prices are non-negotiable. If you'd like to be able to see what the stamp set looks like, simply go to www.splitcoaststampers.com and hit gallery in the upper menu. Then select the Stampin Up gallery and it will let you browse the sets by alphabetical order. Most of my sets are retired and are no longer available in the catalogs!

Brighter Tomorrow- $7
Paint Prints- $5
A Little Love- $8- sold
Cute as a Bug- $8-sold
Right at Home- $10
Happy Hearts- $10
Simple Sayings-$7-sold
Beyond the Basics- $4-sold
Itty Bitty- $5
Handmade with Love- $3 (missing one stamp of set of 4)
Simple Wishes- $4-sold
Quick Thinking- $5
Small Script- $7-sold
Pocket Full of Posies- $5-sold
Wild About You- $12
Furnished with Love- $7 (two sets available)
Farm Fresh- $7
On the Farm- $25
Simply Sweet- $7

I only accept Paypal and item will ship same day I receive payment. Any questions, please contact me at carrie at carrieannphotography.com!!!

I still have more......just need to find the boxes in the garage! I'll also be getting rid of some of my cardstock as well and maybe some of my supplies as well so be on the look out for that in the future!

Still Busy, but

almost done! I only have one more session to edit and then I'm done for a bit! Then it's just ordering once my clients make their choices and I get a 2 week break before I'm at it again! I still need to put my holiday stuff together, but at least now I can focus solely on that! After I'm done with my last session, I'm going to start working on the garage. We're planning on having a yard sale Columbus Day weekend and I know that we have a ton of stuff that we can get rid of. We've had one side of the garage cleared for a little over a month now, but now I need to use that space to get everything into piles for the sale so I'll have to start parking outside again. I'm just ready for that side of the garage to be cleared out!

Not much else is going on here really so this is a rather boring post. I'm going to be going through some of my stampin up stamps tonight and pricing them and placing a list up on my blog. What doesn't sell off of the blog will go onto buy/sell/trade forum at splitcoaststampers and then those that don't sell from that will end up on ebay. It's just time for me to get rid of all of them because they're just sitting in the garage wishing that someone would use them!!

Two posts....

in one day....oh my!!!! So I'm taking a mini 5 minute break from editing and thought I'd give a little pimp to my friend Holly. She's already well know in the scrapbooking industry so it's not like she needs an introduction or anything, but she's back at designing digital scrapbooking stuff. Her new and fab stuff can be found over at Inspiration Lane here! And of course you can always pick up her paper designs from Pink Paislee all over the web!!

I recently had to remove myself from the one creative team that I was on, Lauren Grier from Sweet Shoppe Designs. I absolutely love her designs, but I wasn't doing her any justice by struggling to meet the month to month minimum which I was having a hard time doing with all of the time that I spend on the computer editing. Some of the ladies are able to crank out layouts left and right and here I am barely able to create the 3 layouts. I know that things are going to get better during the winter months and I'll probably be able to create more, but in the mean time it wasn't fair to her. So.......now when I get the chance and I'm able to have some alone time with no editing involved I'm just going to scrap for me. Not because I have too, but because I want too.

Anyways, I know that was another totally random post! Here's a 20x20 print I created for Matthew and his family.....

If you have a little girl.....

you need to check out my friend Gabi's Etsy shop here! She makes the sweetest little bows and Lillian absolutely LOVES them! They're actually the only bows that she'll keep in her hair. Gabi even made a little holder for Lillian and painted it with ladybugs since she remembered how much I love ladybugs (how can you not love something that means good luck!) Me and Gabi used to work together when me and Dan were living in Buffalo, NY and her and her husband have the most adorable twin girls that are the same age as Lillian. I was able to meet the girls last time I was out in Buffalo around 2 years ago, but we're working on getting out there so we can both catch up with some friends and finally have the girls meet. Every now and then me and Dan will miss something in particular about Buffalo, but half of the time it involves food which isn't a good enough reason to stay. We both had some great friends that are still out there though so it really would be great to get back there for a visit.

Other than that, we went to the VT state fair yesterday and let me tell you, I'm glad that we only paid $2 to get in!!! It was cute and all, but I would have totally bummed if we had to pay the $10 each for that!! It was even smaller than the Washington County Fair in NY! We did get to see a pig race though and Lillian absolutely loved it. Actually I should say that she loved all of the other kids jumping up and down more so than the pigs! It was nice taking a break from painting the house and editing! I have 4 sessions I need to edit so it will be a week filled with lots of time spent at the computer once again, but after that September won't be busy again until later in the month. Anyways, time to get to work!!!

It's my blog....

and I can talk about anything I want too!!! Dan always says "why'd you put that on your blog?" Because it's MYYYYYY blog and I can do and say whatever I want.......THAT'S WHY!!!! Anyways, Dan went to bed early so I was actually able to watch the convention. One word.....AMAZING!!! I am so ready for a change and when I cast my vote in November, I hope that millions of other voters will be ready for the same change!

Anyways, I was just looking at this blog and thought to myself.......I really need to change my blog header!!! Lillian was only a year old in that shot and wasn't even walking.........ahhhhhh.......the good old days!!! That's back when I didn't have to chase behind her cleaning up her mess (I give up on some days and just let her do her thing!)......or when I didn't have to worry about her getting up during her nap time and throwing things out of her crib and taking off her poopy diaper and throwing it on the floor while jumping and screaming "I pooh'd, I pooh'd." (I seriously almost died laughing when I opened up the door and saw her all naked jumping up and down!) I seriously need to go to bed now.......my thoughts are very random and I'm not making much sense!!!

Aggravated

I won't get into the details because that would just be wrong of me, but let me just tell you this......ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT!!!!!!! I wrote the fine print and expect it to be read........enough said!

Anyways, today me and Lillian drove up to Rutland to go to Jo-Ann fabrics so I could pick up a few more colors for backdrops for this weekend. We're going back to Syracuse for my dad's annual clam bake that he holds every Labor Day.....clams.....yuck!!! I'll just take a coney and corn on the cob please! I have 3 mini shoots on Saturday and then the bake is on Sunday. We'll be coming home later that night so that Dan can spend all day Monday painting the house. And would you believe that he took Tuesday off.......the man that never takes time off is actually using his vacation days........SHOCKING I KNOW!!! Actually Dan has been doing a really good job at coming home at 5 since we bought the house. And although he gets right to painting when he gets home, I'm glad that he's letting go of the fact that the stuff at work will always be there tomorrow. Anyways, I'm going to be working on Matthew's photos later tonight and tomorrow along with some other stuff. Nothing to exciting and no new pictures of Lillian.....sorry! But remember to check out my photography blog here from time to time......I post all of my sessions over there and the pictures are always nice and big!!

A long day (and week for that matter!)

Today was a really long day and I'm really sleepy, but it was well worth it. Today I drove 3 hours each way to visit a little boy named Matthew. Matthew has Mito disease complex l and lll and CIPO(chronic intestinal pseudo obstruction.) At 3 1/2 years old, he's about the same size as Lillian. As soon as I walked through the door and I saw him I could tell that he was just about the sweetest little boy ever! You may be wondering why I drove 3 hours to meet him and his family. If you haven't looked at the wording on the lower part of my home page for my website, I'm a volunteer photographer for the Littlest Heroes Project. As a photographer, I donate my time and some prints to the family of a child who is ill. Matthew was my first session for this project and I'm so glad that I joined. I don't know how my photographs turned out, but I do know that while I was there, Matthew's mom Lisa told me that he was the most active he's been all summer long and I'm happy that I was able to capture that for them. I offered to photograph their family once a year with the same stipulations that I'll offer all of my clients through this program......mostly because he was my first and because I'd like to see him again. The ride was a nice one and I think that the money I spent on gas and will spend on the prints out of my own pocket is well worth the memories I'm hopefully creating for them. Anyways, you can learn more about the Littlest Heroes Project here and you can check out Matthew's website here!

In other news, I had two other sessions this past week.....one is proofed and I'm starting the other one tomorrow. I'm trying to have everything done by the time I leave for Syracuse which shouldn't be a problem. I streamlined my proofing while I was doing the wedding so I'm a lot faster and efficient!! Oh and another little tidbit, I'm reading again. My friends kept talking about the Twilight series and how they couldn't put it down. I totally love it! I bought Twilight last week and have been reading a chapter a night. May not seem like much, but I fall asleep easily when I read. I always want to keep on reading, but I know I'll forget if I continue. I guess that's about it. Dan finished stripping the paint of one side of the house and he's going to be priming it tomorrow. And then later in the day we're going to go to the Washington County Fair.....maybe we'll win a fish for Lilly!

The house....

is coming along nicely! Dan has been working his butt off and it's starting to pay off. We finished the inside of the back porch awhile ago and I thought that I'd finally post some of the pictures. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but Dan ended up using a floor sander because the paint on the floors was in such shape that even painting over it would still be rather dangerous for Lillian (lead paint!) We still have to paint the floor in the upper rear porch, but at least now I can leave the back door open and lock the outside door so that Lillian can play out there. At the moment we can't go out there because Dan is sanding the house and the dust is all over the porch, but it should be cleaned by this weekend since he'll be painting (hopefully!) I really need to take a picture of the side of the house. It going to be such a huge transformation when we're all done. We still have to figure out when and who we're going to hire to paint above the front porch, or if we're going to rent a piece of equipment to do it ourselves......I guess we'll see!! Anyways, here's the pics of the back porch all done....I sanded and put poly on the picnic table that Tobias left us....

Just realized....

that I haven't had a rant in awhile!! When we were renting I think that my stress level was through the roof. I hated dealing with inconsiderate people. Now though, things are as they should be. We're the youngest couple in the neighborhood so they probably think we're the ones making all the noise. We don't make any noise to speak of anyways, although Dan pressure washing the house to get the paint off can get a bit loud! Dan finished painting most of the back side of the house and now he's onto the side. I pulled up some of the shrubs in the front yard cause they looked like pooh and I couldn't deal with looking at them anymore. That's kind of how I feel about the kitchen and the bathrooms at the moment as well! I don't spend much time in either of those rooms.....particularly the kitchen......that creepy wallpaper gives me the heeby jeebies! I'm ready for that part of the remodel to be over with!

In other news, when I said that my photography business is picking up......I WASN'T KIDDING!!! I have 3 sessions this week and 4 next week. I have 8 sessions next month and hopefully some more will be added. I've gotten 3 inquiries this week about shooting weddings.....one on New Years Eve which could be fun if I get booked! So fingers crossed, next year will be a good year for me and my little business. I'd be happy if I could pay the utility bills and be the one who buys the new windows for the house next year. Oh......and lets not forget buying a new camera.....time to upgrade baby!!!! I'm going with the D300 because I'm weak and don't think I can handle all that the D3 has to offer......maybe someday though! Anyways, I've got some proofing to do tomorrow and some more housework which seems to be never ending.......think we need to have a BIG yard sale at the end of the summer to empty out the garage.....wanna come help?!

A little funny.....

well not too funny! Last night we had some unexpected visitors in our house.......BATS!!!! Bats are something that we knew were around, mostly because of the river. Bats killing the bugs is a good thing.....bats in your house......not so good!! We know that they're in the attic and we'll be shooing them out once they're done roosting since we don't want the babies to die when the parents leave and never come back. They're not causing any harm at the moment, so we knew it was best to wait until they're ready to leave in a couple of months. So last night I'm sitting at the computer and Dan is watching TV.....all of the sudden he yells "Holy Shit." I look up and there's a bat in the living room!! He was able to make it go into the upper back porch and then get it outside. A couple hours later......another bat!!! This time Dan had had enough and he wasn't going to let this one escape. Long story short, he killed it. I don't think that you're supposed to kill them, but this one wouldn't go out to the porch so it's what he had to do. Where were they coming in you may ask? On the side of the air conditioner where there was a big old space for them to get through! So the air conditioner in the spare bedroom came out and we started trying to figure out what to do to make sure that they don't come back next year. Part of the repairs on the house is making sure that they won't be able to get back into the attic. But we also need to make sure that they don't try to get back in so we're going to be getting some of those ultrasonic devices that drive them batty to make sure they don't come back. So that's my story for the day!!

A little tip from a photographer....

Next time you're at a wedding, don't do this.....

Really......was it worth the quality of the cell phone picture to get in back of the wedding party? Are you going to blow it up and put it up on your wall.......highly unlikely! You wouldn't get behind the priest in a church ceremony so why do it outdoors! Can I fix this picture? Yes! But it's going to require some work on my part which I'm okay with........seriously though.......don't do this next time you're at an outdoor wedding!!!

Anyways, here's another one of my cutie....

A storyboard

We went to the park today and I took some photos of Lillian in her new dress.....


Check out the new blog to see it bigger!

A new blog

So I finally upgraded my photography blog and in time, I may completely transfer our family blog over there as well but I guess we'll see. The new blog is a lot more professional looking and it allows me to place full sized photos as well which is a huge plus in this business!

So you can check it out here (www.carrieannphotography.com/blog/)

Anyways, today is Dan's birthday........the big 3-0!!!!! We're getting old aren't we?! He's outside painting at the moment.....it was supposed to rain all day yesterday so he never painted.....we only ended up getting a few drops. I have some new pictures of the back porch all done and I'll download those later today.

A wedding in the park.....

Is such a beautiful place for a ceremony....and the Georgi Museum in Shushan, NY is the perfect setting!! Every first in your life can be such a rush of emotions. The first time you see your future wife/husband, your first kiss, your first walk as husband and wife......and last but not least, your first time photographing a wedding! Strangely enough, not a single bone in my body was nervous. My sister Betsy, also known as the assistant sent from heaven above was there to assist me and help me capture Tiffany and Leon's Day. And what a beautiful day it was! The sun was shining and love was in the air......corny I know! At any rate, I had a great time and I thought I'd give them just a little sneak peak of their day.....lots more to come. Thanks again for letting me capture your day!