Vote for me (only if you like my pic of course!!!)

I got picture of the day earlier this week at Pink Ink Studios!!!!  I've had picture of the day there before, but it's only been of "things" and not people........I was getting a bit worried that maybe I wasn't meant to photograph people!  But getting picture of the day for this picture

totally made my day and made me feel proud of myself for what I've achieved thus far.  They have a weekly contest for all of the pics of the day on their blog and the winner gets a gift certificate to the store, but since I NEVER win anything I won't get my hopes up!  Dan has the best luck when it comes to winning things.......guess he's just a lucky guy!!  Anyways, that totally made my week!  And if you get a chance to swing over to the blog here, be sure to vote, but vote for whoever you like the most!!!

In other BIG NEWS........DAN IS SICK!!!!!!!!!  I think that the earth stopped revolving because Dan never gets sick........but when he does......look out!!!  Talk about a big baby!!!  I think men are weenies when it comes to getting sick.  It's that yucky 24 hour stomach bug that everyone has......no fun let me tell you!  I'm back to normal and Lillian is about 95% at the moment.  All week Dan was telling me "drink orange juice and you won't get sick."  While I know that the vitamin C is good for you and all, I don't think that it had much of a chance helping block this nasty germ.  I was really hoping that he wouldn't get it, but oh well!!!  So all plans for the weekend have been cancelled.  I hope that everyone else has a better weekend than we will!!!!!

Ain't it the truth

Still working.....

and editing pics!  It's been a busy week for sure, but it's certainly a good type of busy which I'm happy about!  Lillian is feeling better and back to her usual self which includes going down for her naps and at bedtime.  I was so worried that it was going to take awhile to get her to go back to her own bed after sleeping with me for over a week in Syracuse!  It's an absolutely beautiful day outside here with a blanket of white covering everything and I'd like to get out this weekend and explore a little bit with Dan and Lillian if it sticks around.  Anyways, here's a couple more recent edits.....

And the reason I'm sure most are visiting......my freebie!  It's been awhile since I've shared something and I thought that I'd share my best-seller when I was selling at My Digital Muse....

If you choose to download, please be courteous and leave a comment......if you have time to download you have time to say thanks!  So here's the link here to pick it up!  Hope everyone's week is going well so far!!!

Lots of editing to do.....

this week!!  This week is going to an official start of my business for me!  I'm going to try and only be on the computer from 9-5 (I won't be on the whole time!) so that I have business hours for myself.  I know it'll be tough with a toddler running around, but I think that it's at least worth a try!  So this week I have lots of editing to do of my pics that I took while home in Syracuse.  The next couple of days may be a little rough around here though since Lillian is sick.  We both caught that stomach bug that's been going around and Friday night was REALLY rough for me......  I thought I was going to die for sure!  I've had this bug once before probably like 5 or so years ago, but it just hits you like a ton of bricks!  One moment you're fine and the next your bathroom becomes your living space for the next 24 hours!  And then to top that of, Betsy and Justin got it as well, but thankfully they're getting over it.  Lillian was doing pretty well up until we got home last night.  She was showing the signs of the bug besides the fever and vomiting, but you would never know that she was sick.  Last night, she wanted me to hold her and her little tummy was grumbling so loud it sounded like there was a monster in there.......she even got sick all over nana when she came over to visit!  Anyways, I'm hoping that she'll take some more fluids for me today since she came pushing them away yesterday.  We weren't planning on coming home until later this week, but with us both being sick, I thought that it was best to get home.   So here's a little peak of Marianna......isn't she way too cute in the wrap....

A quick pic....

My niece Marianna Josephine born on Valentine's Day!

8lbs 1oz :: 20 1/2 inches long

I'll post more later since Lillian won't let me type, but just in case I don't get a chance I thought I'd finally share a pic!

How about another one....

I just couldn't resist posting another one!  Isn't she the sweetest?!  And have I mentioned that she's been such a good little girl considering what she's going through right now.......the poor thing has 6 teeth coming in right now......that's right.....6!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Talk about ouch!

Today we cleaned the upstairs bedrooms and packed for Syracuse.  We're definitely leaving on Thursday unless we get a call from Betsy.  I'm just so excited which I'm sure I've mentioned that before!  Anyways, gotta go clean the living room.......Lillian dumped everything all over the floor!

Valentine's Pics....

Today I thought that I'd try and take some pics of Lillian with the new fabrics that I picked yesterday for backgrounds.  I also happened to pick up a Valentine's shirt and lollipop so I of course had to take her Valentine's Day pics!  You would think that I would have finished these a lot sooner so I could actually send some out, but everything just kinda caught up with me.  Anyways, I think she's wicked cute!  She's in bed right now taking her afternoon nap.......I put her down at 1:30 and she played until 3 and she was just having a blast.......not sure what she was up to, but she was in her crib the whole time!  She is so good about entertaining herself and she laughs all of the time!  Of course she has her crabby moments, but don't we all!  So here's a few more pics from today....

Still recovering.....

from a long night the other night!  Wednesday night was probably one of the roughest we've ever had......tougher than when she was a newborn!  She would not go to sleep and she played in bed with me for almost 5 hours.  Yesterday was a a complete loss for me!  I can only imagine if I actually had to get up and go to work!  Anyways, today we're working on the laundry and getting our luggage packed  since we'll hopefully be heading to Syracuse next week.  Not sure what we have planned for the weekend, although I'd like to go to the fabric store and get some funky fabrics for backgrounds and such.  We're going to head to the store after Lillian's nap and pick up a few things and go Staples to get some clipboards so I can make an altered clipboard for the business.  I guess that's it for now......not much else to talk about....

Video Blogging

So I thought that I would give it a try and test out iMovie and see what happens.  I seriously should have made up a script because I think I said "just thought we'd say hello to everyone" like 4 or 5 times!!!  Anyways, here it is.....

Super Tuesday.....

So if you're in one of those states that's voting in your states primary today, be sure to get out there and vote!  Vermont doesn't vote until March 4th and I'm certainly going to be there!  I'll be the first to admit, that I haven't voted in the past.  That's going to change from this point on for me.  Politics is something that isn't discussed anymore in our house....Dan's a republican and I'm a democrat.....and proud of it!  I won't get into anything deep and political or anything.....I've done my research and I've made my choice, and whatever your choice is, I respect your decision.  It's one of the great things about this country......we're given a CHOICE!  So, here's a little video where you'll see my choice.....

Sleepy Gal

I know that I say it all of the time, but she's seriously growing up way too fast!  I decided to play with some textures on this one and I like the aged look!  So my sister Betsy is in need of some more positive vibes sent her way.  Her doctor decided against inducing her this week, which means less time with the little one once she arrives.   Maternity leave is something that really needs to be changed in this country!!!!!!!  Anyways, all of my photography gear is in a pile and ready to go, so we just need to pack our clothes and we'll hit the road as soon as we get the call! 

Being proud of myself.......

isn't something that happens often for me.  But when Dan brought in the mail last week and I saw the envelope, I knew that everything was finally falling into place.  For once in my life, I've followed through with something.  I've put my everything into it and I'm proud of myself.  I know that no matter what the end result is, I can tell myself that I tried my hardest.  For me and this business though, failure ISN'T an option.  We're in it for the long haul!  Anyways, that's just my Kodak moment.......or should I say Nikon moment?!!!

Penguin Plunge

Bennington had it's winter fesitval today and part of its festivities included the Penguin Plunge.  I just had to see these people go into that frigid water......and of course take pics...

I was finally able to finish up my contracts and what not and now they just need to be printed.  I'm going to need a new printer, but at this point, it really isn't high priority so I'll just have them printed somewhere.  Dan is helping his sister move tomorrow and I'm going to work on designing my business cards and postcards to send out to potential clients.  Everything from this point on is just getting all of the details together and start advertising and what not.  I designed a "flyer" to put up on billboards to get the word out and I have a lot of other things that I plan on doing that are on my to do list, which will hopefully all be done pretty soon.  Hopefully, at least for Betsy's sake, I'll be going home this week to help out once Marianna arrives.  If you're reading this, send some positive vibes her way that Marianna decides that she's had enough and ready to meet us all this week!  Betsy was taken out of work this week, so that's of course taking away from her maternity leave.  So the sooner Marianna arrives, the more time they get to spend together.  Anyways, I'm going to go try and cross another thing off of my to do list!

Time to let go and always check your settings......

So as I invest more and more time into my photography, I've come to the realization that it's time to let go of one of my past hobbies......stamping.  I haven't stamped for my own enjoyment for probably two or so years.  I did make Betsy's baby shower invites late last year, but other than that my stamps haven't been used.  I forget how many stamp sets I have now since I did sell a few last year, but I think that I still have over 75 sets.......all of which are taking up space at this point.  So the time has come to say good-bye to the majority of them.  I'll still keep a few of the essentials and such as well as all of my cardstock, but there's really no point keeping all of those if I'm not going to utilize them.  Someone else should actually be able to enjoy them.  So when I get back from Syracuse, I'm going to make a list and put everything up for sale on ebay.  Guess I'll put any money I make towards a new lens or something!

So the second part of my title......always check your settings!  I took this pic of Lillian and had forgot to change the ISO back.......so it's really grainy, but I still love it....

I forgot to mention something I picked up last week that the UPS man delivered.........My Marta Locklear wrap for newborn babies........isn't it yummy!

A dreary day....

It's so yucky outside today.....one of those days where you have to turn on the lights on......I hate those days!  Last night was another stressful one for me and my mac.  I encountered another bug that dealt with Photoshop and fonts.  It took me awhile, but I eventually figured it out.  So far so good and everything is in working order again (knock on wood!)  I guess maybe I just have bad luck or something......or maybe it's just testing me to make sure that I made the right decision switching from a PC!!!!  Besides those two glitches, I love my Mac!  It has a beautiful big screen where I can do a better job editing my pics and my back doesn't hurt from leaning over!

Anyways, we're going to head to the store to get some stuff for the homemade spaghetti and meatballs we're making tonight since Nana is coming over!!  Lilly's been saying mama and dada over and over again, so I guess it was just a natural progression to saying Nana!  

Just some pics....

Lots to do!

The week ahead is going to be a busy one and a lot of it will be cleaning.  Let me tell you.......Lillian gets into EVERYTHING!!!!  I know, I know........completely normal for this age, which is why I laugh it off most of the time and pick up after her.  But this week, I wasn't in the mood and this place reflects it!!!  The stuff that I used to take shots of myself on Friday.......yeah......it's all still set up in the kitchen!  I was going to take it down tonight, but thought that I might as well get some use out of it tomorrow.  I have this chair thing that was at my grandmother house that I want to use for shoots so I thought that I'd give it a try.  I've just got all of these ideas running through my head that I've been jotting down as I prepare to go live with everything and it's been hard to get to bed early.  Anyways, tomorrow we're going to run to Home Depot to get something to organize Lillian's toys a little better.  I'm thinking of getting one of those plastic tower things with the drawers and painting it with chalk paint so that she can draw on it.  She's been drawing on everything lately.........thank god for washable crayons!  Oh and another thing that she does lately is dance, especially when she has shoes on.  She goes into the kitchen and taps her little feet.  I'm thinking of checking into some dance classes for her......or at least see what age they start at.  We just want her to be active and not one of those kids that sits in front of the TV all day, and thankfully so far she isn't one of those kids.  I'd say in total she probably watches 30 minutes or so a day of TV......just bits and pieces here and there.  Every now and then she'll sit down for awhile is something really catches her interest, but she enjoys playing more which I'm happy about.  I'm also going to finally call the library down the street to see if they have story time........I've been meaning to call for ages, but always end up forgetting!!!  So it's 11:30 now and I think that I'm going to head to bed in a bit........I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Friday night.........haven't stayed up that late since college!!!!

ARE YOU VISITOR 100,000?!

I can hardly believe that I'll be at 100,000 shortly!  So if you are visitor 100,000 (count is on the side bar), take a screen shot and send me an email with the attachment to carrie@carrieannphotography.com and I'll send you a $10 gift certificate to the store (digi or otherwise) of your choice!!!!  Just one lucky winner though (for obvious reasons!)

Yay!

so I found my camera bag (thank god) in the laundry basket.  I knew that I needed to take a picture of myself which is certainly not something I like to do.  Let's just say that childbirth hasn't been kind to me!  I have a double chin like you wouldn't believe........even when I was skinny I had a bit of a double chin going on.  If I could get rid of that I'd be a happy girl!  I've slowly been losing some weight and Dan bought a trainer for the bike so we could use it indoors since I love riding my bike.  I actually love working out, but I usually prefer to work out at a gym.  Needless to say I haven't had a gym membership since living in Buffalo and that was like 3 years ago.  Anyways......we booked our cabin for Bar Harbor, ME and one thing that we love to do there is ride our bikes on the carriage roads.  There are quite a few large hills that I know will be tough for me, but I'd at least like to get a head start with this bike trainer, and maybe in the process say goodbye to a little bit of my double chin.  

So, I had to take a picture for my photography business.  I thought that it'd be a good idea to have a picture of myself in the About Me section rather than a pic of Lillian.  So here it goes (this is totally like ripping a band-aid off for me.......sooooo painful to share these!!!).......

A little freebie......

So it's been awhile and I thought that I would share!

Please be courteous and leave a comment if you decide to download.......it only takes a sec!!!!

Got Denim

In other news, I've been running around the house trying to find my camera bag......I have no clue where the darn thing is!  I'm trying to take a self-portrait for my website and I'd rather use my remote if I can find it.  Oh well......maybe I'll try without it once Lillian goes down for her nap!  We're going to run to the bank today and Home Depot for a few things and I'll pick something up for dinner tonight for me and Lillian since Dan is going skiing tonight.  We're heading to CT for the day on Sunday to celebrate Dan's Grandma's birthday and then tomorrow we'll just be hanging out at home.  Anyways, hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!