Well....

unofficially, we're soon to be homeowners! I'm so excited I can't talk.....literally!!! I lost my voice early this morning because of a cold that I have and it's slowly starting to come back. Anyways....long story short we started looking at houses earlier this week. And when I say houses, I mean we only actually walked through two and peeked through the windows of one! So we went to the one that we're buying first. I've been looking at this house for awhile and thought that it was cute and what not. So we walk in and it has this beautiful staircase, wide wood floors and a lot of charm. It has a great backyard that has river frontage on the Battenkill and it's just outside of town, but basically still in town at the same time! So then we go look at the other house. Although it's cheaper and it's been updated, it didn't have the charm that I was looking for. For me, I like it when you walk into a house and you know that the house has so many stories to tell. Basically, I like really old homes!

So fast forward to yesterday, a lot of phone calls and further straining on my voice ends with a call from our realtor that the seller approved our bid. I dropped off the contract today and we're just waiting for the official signing of the papers on his side so we can go ahead and get the inspection done.

I'm not going to sugar-coat the house......it needs work! The kitchen needs to be completely gutted and walls torn down to open it up to the backyard. Both bathrooms need to be done as well. We're also going to sand and re-stain all of the hardwood throughout the house. But, I like the thought of making it our own which is why I probably didn't like the second house. The kitchen and bathrooms are totally liveable now, just not very appealing to the eye. I kind of like the thought that we're restoring the house........kinda like that tv show This Old House!!! Anyways, if you can't tell, I'm happy........we found a great house with lots of potential in a great village with a great school......and a great park right across the street......and outlet shopping 10 miles away.......and a great fly-fishing river in our backyard...........what more could a girl ask for?!!! So here's a couple of pics (not mine!).....

Front of house.....we plan on re-painting the whole house and garage eventually.

Love the staircase and built-in bookcase......charming I tell ya!!

This is the view of the back of the house from the river. The back of the house has upper and lower screened in porch.....and the upper one off of the master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling.....love it!!

Still yucky....

here and yet another not so nice day to go look at houses! We're going to another house today and back to the one that we liked from yesterday. If we don't like the new house today, it's likely that we "might" be putting in an offer on the one on the river. Even though it's a hard thing to do, I've detached myself from the house. I don't want to get my heart set on it and then lose it. It's a really cute house and although it needs some work, I really think that it has a lot of potential and I know that we could make it ours with a little elbow grease. This area certainly isn't cheap, but it's worth it! Anyways, send positive vibes for the whole house thing.....whichever route we go!

Check out...

my photography blog here for some new photos! I also have a new section up on my photography site with some more photos! It's a rainy and yucky day here today.....not the greatest day to go look at houses!!! Hopefully the rain will taper off later and we won't need to bring our umbrella's. I'm just really excited to get the process started......and hopefully finished!!

Making good of the bad.....

I hate today's date, really I do! Sixteen years ago today my mom passed away. It's hard to fathom that she's been gone for more than half my life! I try to make it just like any other day and not focus on the fact that she's not here, but the fact that she was here, even if just for a short while. Me and Lillian went to the bookstore today and to the park. I wanted to pick up a book on potty training and Lillian got a Cookie Monster hand puppet (although I rather enjoy it myself as well!) We then went to our favorite lunch spot, Zoey's, and got a turkey on rye to take with us to the park. We always have a good time at the park and I'm looking forward to finally owning our own home because I won't feel the need to take her to the park each time we go outside!! I think that my mom would have been a great grandma and I do get sad that the fact that she's not here to see Lilly and Marianna......after all, they are two of the cutest little girls around!! Anyways, I think I'm going to finally put Lillian down for her nap and do a little reading......and maybe a little crying.....and then a little nap for myself!!!

I despise....

disrespectful people! I despise selfish people. I despise people who think that it's okay to play their music at levels which makes the place you're living in shake! I'm the type of person that thinks about other people before myself. Sometimes I know that I really need to think about myself more, but it's just who I am. So say, for instance, I wanted to listen to some music. Is it fun to have your music turned up a little louder.....sure! Is it fun to sing along with your music and not be able to hear your own voice.....sure! Is it respectful to play your music or your surround sound at levels which is disrespectful to your neighbors......HELL NO!!! This my friends, is one of the main reason's we're getting the heck out of here! We knew this was going to be short term....we just wanted to make sure that Dan was happy with his job before buying a home. Would we be in as much of a rush to get out if we didn't have this noise problem.....probably not but we know nothing is going to change. We're not going to rush it as in make a bad decision and just buy a house to get out of here. We'll make sure that it's the right home for us and that we're happy. I just wish that people could have a little more respect.....and seriously......is it too much to ask! I feel like an old person (turning 29 this year.....for the first time!) but I'm seriously over renting!! Anyways, that's my rant for the day.....we're all allowed one every now and then aren't we?!

Think Positive!

So I'm a firm believer in positive thinking! I know that when I think positive, good things tend to happen and when I think negative....well you get the picture!! So keeping that in mind, I'm going to start the packing process! I have to go through Lillian's clothes and get all of the stuff that she doesn't fit into anymore into boxes. So while I'm at it, I figured I might as well get a head start! I HATE PACKING!!!! So I think that packing a little each week, even though we don't even have a house yet is a good thing. It lets me know that WE WILL have our own home soon. I'm hoping that getting a head start now will help me out in the end. The attic is full o' crap and it really needs to be organized and some stuff thrown out. We'll hopefully be checking out some houses this week so we shall see. Anyways, here's a pic of Lillian at the park on Friday. Lilly has been really good for the most part when I ask her to stop something, the funny part is her reaction. When Lilly misbehaves I always slightly raise my voice and say "Lillian Grace stop".........this is her reaction......


Anyways, if you could send some positive vibes to my sister and niece tomorrow I'd appreciate it. Betsy has to go back to work and while I don't know how it feels, I imagine that tomorrow won't be an easy day for either of them.

YAY!!!!

We're on the path.......the path to home ownership!! I can't even begin to tell everyone how excited I am!!! I think that the rest of the sentences in this paragraph is just going to be a bunch of exclamation points! Anyways, we got our pre-approval rate today and lets just say that I'm happy. We've gone through this process once before when we were in Buffalo. We had the perfect house, put a bid in and it was accepted. Then we found out it had a contingency bid. Let me tell you, I was crushed!!! But, everything happens for a reason. I LOVE where we are now. It's such a beautiful area and I wouldn't trade it for the world. We've decided to focus on homes within the Arlington School District. Arlington was recently ranked in the top 8% of schools in the country which I happen to think is pretty good, particularly because it's such a small school. I like the thought of my children knowing everyone in their grade, compared to me who didn't even know half the people that walked across the stage at my graduation! So although we haven't even walked through a single house yet, I have this huge smile on my face because it feels like we'll FINALLY be real adults!!!

In other news, me and Lillian went to the park in Arlington yesterday so here's a storyboard of our day.....

For Dan....

Dan always asks me "why didn't you post that photo of me and Lilly together?" So tonight I thought I'd actually post some!

We actually need to take some family portraits, but I'd like to wait until things start to get a little warmer. Plus I'm hoping we'll be able to take some on our vacation to Maine. I'm so looking forward to our time together. I've been going back and forth on whether or not to get one of those things that they have for kids that look like a back pack with basically a leash coming out of the back. I'm just really worried about her falling off a cliff or something! We'll probably carry her in the backpack thing most of the time, but I do want her to be able to run around and what not and actually enjoy herself. One moment I'm about to buy it and the next moment I change my mind. I don't know what to do! Anyways, wish me luck tomorrow. I have to call the NY department of taxes tomorrow and I'm hoping they won't be rude.......I hate rude people! Here's another photo of Lilly on the tracks.....I used a texture on this one to give it a vintage feel!

Spring is here....

We found these flowers underneath some leaves that we raked away yesterday. I just love spring don't you?!

So, lots going on here this week. I have lots of things to cross of my never ending to-do list. One thing that I wanted to mention is that if you're from my area and know of a junior in Southern Vermont (not doing NY just yet.....will be soon!) who needs some senior portraits, be sure to shoot me an email at carrie@carrieannphotography.com! I have a senior representative program that I'll be starting shortly and I'll be sending notices to the local schools. Each representative will receive special perks which may include cash incentives for every 3 referrels sent my way as well as print discounts. It's a pretty cool gig if you ask me!!! And if you're ready for a fresh new perspective on senior portraits, I'm the chick you need to call!!! Anyways, time to get back to my list!!

Day at the park

This weekend was a pretty lazy weekend which was nice!  Today we went to the park and broke in Lillian's wagon which she thoroughly enjoyed!  We took the loop around and then finished off at the playground.  She was having a lot of fun laughing at the other kids and running around....

Fresh Air

Me and Lilly decided that we needed to get outside today so we did!!! We did a little bit of yard work and moved the rest of the leaves and we also went to the park. There is a large pond/lake down the street from us where they held the Penguin Plunge so I thought that we'd go there and maybe get some shots along the pond. Well the land along the pond wasn't as flat as I remembered it to be so we really didn't hang out there too long. We did manage to get some shots along the train tracks.....and then when I went back towards the lake to try and get some more shots I tried to take the keys away from Lillian and she began to cry.....
We'll probably do some more yardwork tomorrow if the weather is okay. Then on Saturday I'm getting all of my hair chopped off.......yeah (hopefully!)

Well......

here's a story and a half for ya!  We've had quite the weekend here and I'll be really happy once the week is over and hopefully going better!  Last week when we returned home from Syracuse, me and Lillian caught a cold.  Nothing major, just some sniffles.  Lilly blows her own nose and all and actually enjoys the nose aspirator (strange I know) so everything was fine and dandy.  She was waking up in the middle of the night because of her runny nose, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle.  Roll around to Saturday morning.  Me and Lilly are by ourselves because Dan was spending the weekend at Stratton Mountain skiing with a bunch of friends.  Around 6:30 in the morning, Lillian wakes me up by standing on top of me because she couldn't breathe.  The poor thing just kept looking back and forth and getting on and off of the bed because she just didn't know what to do.  So shortly after I called my AMAZING mother-in-law because I was just freaked out.  We headed to the ER and were brought in right away......so strange being the ONLY patients in there!!!  They gave her some misty stuff (don't remember what it was called at the moment) that I held up to her mouth to help her breathing.  She took two doses of that and then they gave her some steroid stuff.  They ended up giving her some x-rays and a ct scan......the x-rays were by far the worst.  I'm still a little shocked that I didn't cry while they were doing it to her, but I guess maybe I was in mommy mode and I knew that I needed to be strong for her while I was holding up her little arms.  Guess crying now makes up for it!!!  Anyways, they sent us home at about 1:30 with no medication with a diagnosis of croup and just told me that I needed to make sure that she drank enough.  So when I called the Dr. this morning I told her that Lillian was still having a little bit of difficulty breathing still she told me to bring her in.  Dr. Orton said that her breathing was still too labored so she gave us some more steroids to give her over the next couple of days.  After two doses today, Lillian is already doing a lot better and hopefully things will get better here on out!

While what we went through is nothing major compared to what a lot of parents have to go through, Saturday was most certainly a day which made me value my family even more.  Seeing my child gasp for air is something I don't ever want to experience again.  Anyways, I don't want to cry anymore so I'm going to change the subject.  Thank you Pat for all of your help and for spending your Saturday morning with us!

In other news, I obviously haven't had much of a chance to edit with the both of us being sick!  Hope to get back into the swing of things tomorrow and finish everything up.  Hmmmmm.......what else?!  Oh, how about the fact that we're going to be getting a realtor shortly!  We're ready to move into a house of our own.......FINALLY!!!  I know a lot of people buy homes right when they move to a new location, but we didn't want to make a mistake.  I wanted to make sure that we were sending our kids to a good school and that Dan was happy with his job (he is btw) and that we liked the area.  Well I've settled on Arlington School District.  It's a small district, but it was recently ranked in the top 8% in the country which I'd like to think is a good sign!  So the search begins!  We're in no huge rush, just a medium rush......kinda over the whole renting thing (don't get me started!)  

Anyways, I think that's about it!  I should have some new pics to share tomorrow and hope to get a lot accomplished!

boo boo

Lilly has her first major boo boo :o(  

She tripped yesterday and went face first into one of her toys.  It hasn't turned black and blue thankfully.....just looks like she has a rug burn on her face!  She cried really hard for a few minutes and was back to her normal singing and dancing self afterwards.  We were planning on running to Saratoga today to run to the craft store, but silly me felt it was necessary to keep her home.  And what's even sillier is that I felt like a bad mother!  I thought that if I brought her out in public that people would think that I hit her or something.  So I'm over it now and we're going to head to Saratoga tomorrow!  The whole reason that we're going is because I received some prints yesterday and one of them was a storyboard that I printed for my sister.  I need to get some supplies for it so I can photograph it for my website and then send it her way.  I'm REALLY happy about the way that it turned out and I can't wait to make some more!!  Anyways, I need to get back to editing pics from this past weekend!

Free time

I finally have enough time to be able to scrap for the rest of the day today which is something that I haven't done in a long time.  I've been a one day scrapper lately!  I usually scrap 4-5 pages in one day because I know that if I don't get it done, it won't happen!!  Last week was a really busy one for me.  I have a few major things to still cross off of my check list, but they're things that don't really have a deadline so I can spread them out a little more.  I'm really looking forward to some warmer weather so I can start shooting outdoors.  Anyways, I need to scrap.......here's a storyboard of Lillian....

Easter

So I got Lillian dressed in her Easter dress that her Great-Grandma and Grandpa gave her so I could take some easter pics!  Well she wasn't in the mood!  And to top things off, I wasn't really in the mood either!  So this is the best pic of her in her dress....

Her hair has gotten a little crazy lately and I think it's time to just get it cut.....even if they have to cut some of the length off.  It's just all over the place and I can't stand how the sides look.  Anyways, I do have a couple more pics to share, but I'm not feeling so swell right now and I have some major cleaning to do.  My migraines have been back in recent months and whenever I get one it just completely wipes me out and all I want to do is sleep!

A new one....

So.....

Today had a plan but part of it will have to wait until tomorrow!  We headed to Staples this morning because I needed to print off some of my paperwork since my crappy Dell printer isn't compatible with the Mac.  So when I figured out how much it was going to to be to get all of the color copies that I needed it was going to be like $50.  Fifty bucks every now and then is one thing, but when I need to print up my contracts and what not, $50 each trip can add up.  So when I went there and saw the printer that I wanted, I figured it was time to just get it over with because it would end up paying for itself in the long run.  Today's plan was to get the copies and then come home and take Lillian's Easter pics, but since I really need to get some stuff printed, taking her pics will have to wait until tomorrow.  Anyways, here's the printer that I got....

It's the Epson 1400 and it prints bordless photos up to 13x9 and it even prints on CD's so I can make my own custom DVD's myself!  It's a beast of a machine at 24" wide.....takes up half of my desk!  All the more reason for us to buy a house so I can have my own office and have more space (I don't think I've mentioned that we started looking.)  Anyways, hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pics of Lilly!!

If you could see my face....

right now you'd see this big grin on my face!!  I'm a flickr girl.  It's the one thing that I check numerous times a day on the web.  For those that don't know, flickr is a community with millions upon millions of people that post their images to their online gallery.  There are groups that you can post your uploads too and gain tons of inspiration.  I just love it there and I just love looking at all of the images throughout the day.  Well......flickr has an explore page.  Basically it's the top 500 pics for that day.  A shot that you took 6 months ago can end up being on explore.....you just never know.  Well I started searching for my pics early last week and found nothing.  And now this week, two of my shots were in Explore.  I know it's a small thing for most, but for me it really meant a lot.  And isn't it strange that the first shot was of Betsy when she was pregnant and the next one of little Marianna?!  Now I just need to work on getting Lillian on Explore!!!  Anyways, that's my big boring news!!

Playing in the snow....

I'm just taking a break from some editing which has taken me a lot longer than planned because of new software I got for my computer this week to help me.  Anyways, this is just Lillian and Delaney sharing a piece of snow.  Lilly had such a fun time licking all of the snowballs!  I have a few more pics, but I'll edit those once I'm finished with the major stuff (almost done Corene and Betsy!)  Anyways, me and Lilly are off to the store to pick up a couple of things!

My sweetie

Isn't she the most beautiful little girl you've ever laid your eyes on?!  As soon as I brought this image up on my computer I said "finally"........I've finally been able to capture the color of her eyes!  They always look so dark whenever I shoot her, but she finally stayed still for me!  So this week will be a fun one for sure!  Gonna finish some editing, go see the accountant on Tuesday (talk about fun!) and work on my new contracts with my revised design.  I'm going to be working on some custom templates for cards and stuff so that I can offer them to my clients......may work on some digital scrapbooking stuff of my own as well so I can offer that service as well, but that of course is at the bottom of my list!  Anyways, I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!!