Time Out for Mom

As I finished my last Halloween shoot of the day, I thought how sad that I wasn't able to get my own kids. Slade is hard core about his trick or treating. There's not time for fluffy stuff like pictures.

But there was a tap at the door and in came my little kiddos. They had 1 minute to jump in and jump out so the next could jump in. They may not be perfect images, but I'm happy to just HAVE them.

And now I'm off to clean for our open house tomorrow. . .

Definitely a TREAT

One day, I'll get my h.h. watts photography blog up and running like it should be. But for now, our personal page will moonlight.

I am excited to introduce my 1st Annual Halloween Pictures! (Any ideas for a fabulous name for the future?)

Who: All those who love to dress up on Halloween

Where: My studio (3 different backgrounds)

When: Halloween

2:00-4:00 p.m.

Why: Fun, of course!

But all proceeds go to Parrott Creek Child and Family Services

http://www.pcreek.org/overview.html

Pricing:

$15

1 - 5x7

8 - wallets

Doggie Train

Our cute little niece, Savanah, counted down the birth of her baby for months by saying she was coming in the baby train. Sure enough, that Savanah was right on. Her little sister did come.

We may not have the "baby" train coming to our home ever again. But we have a very cute girl who has an aching in her heart for the chance to love and care for something. Although I fully admit I lack that desire, we have agreed to a dog. We've talked about responsibility. We've talked about our unwillingness to be the primary care giver. We may be loco. We may very well be proven wrong--our girl may grow weary of constant responsibility.

But, isn't love about putting someone else's feelings first? As much as I don't have the "ga-ga for dog gene," Kennah does.

So, maybe this entry is a pre-emptive record for me to come back to; a reminder of the WHY. A reference point to my current state of mind. A place to say, "This is where it all began." And hopefully, of no regrets.

Last stop, Watts' home. ETA: Saturday afternoon.

She's an Artist

One of our favorite lines from Toy Story is when Woody is taken next door to Sid's house. A Barbie doll reassures Woody that everything will be OK because he is in the great hands of the little sister. "You'll like Amy, she's an artist!" Then shows her chopped hair and drawn-all-over face.

I am a sucker for kids art. I have plans to make a book for each kid of all their art pieces that I just can't fit on anymore walls. I am excited to have the time to do it in 2009.

But, as we think about finishing off the basement, I saw this product and loved it! How cool would it be to just let the kids go for it? Plus, think of all the fun to see the ever changing wall.

For a sample of an entire wall:
http://www.landofnod.com/popup/zoom.aspx?url=%2fpopup%2fzoom.aspx&c=3144&f=4884&&fi=4884&t=room&n=%3cspan+style%3dcolor%3a%2372A541%3eNew!%3c%2fspan%3e+Frames+Wallpaper

Here's a more "permanent" adult option. I don't think I can give up that much control:

Here's the link to a full article:

http://www.kentucky.com/147/story/532854.html

Halloween Costume

This year, I think Slade should shed the grunge/gore theme and go trick or treating as:

Han Solo

or

Indiana Jones

or

Dr. Richard Kimball

or

Jack Ryan

"Why?" you ask. I'll show you why:

His locks are tamed. I love it.

A Little Advice

I am writing from the beautiful mountains of Utah. A chance to get all caught up with my photo life. But a day after arriving, my external hard drive (with all my sittings that I hadn't closed out) crashed.

I knew something like that would happen at some point. As much as I use technology, the odds are clear. Luckily, I have all my original files backed up on discs. The painful part is, all the editing to images, pages designed for albums and the last 2 years of my TIME are NOT backed up.

It is not a suicidal event. But it is still painful!

So, the moral of the story is: BACK UP, BACK UP, BACK UP!!

One Track Mind

If a stranger were to look at my postings over the past couple of weeks, they could easily (and rightly so) think, "This woman must live in a dive. She must have never cleaned in her life. Get this poor woman some help!" And this post would only add to that theme.

After telling my hairdresser about my newly cleaned house (see, I don't limit my cleaning conversations to blogs), she recommended one of her all-time favorite cleaning supplies.

Being the easily swayed person that I am, I purchase the product within 12 hours and tried it a few hours later. And all I can say is, "WOW!!" I thought our tub was old and stained--that's just the way the cookie crumbles. But, "say it ain't so Joe!" My bathtub is white. Shiny white. Gleaming white. And all for less than $2!

Christmas Early

Yesterday, being the 7th day of coverage with our new insurance company (ODS), brought a box on the porch addressed to Sawyer. It was his first month's growth hormone medicine.

No denials. No letters written. No appeals. Just the boy's medicine.

We are still waiting to be trained on how to properly mix, load the machine and give the shots, but we have the medicine and we're thrilled!

Sawyer was so excited he couldn't go to sleep. He unpacked the box and then packed it all up. A couple of times. Tonight's agenda includes watching the instructional DVD. Warm up the popcorn maker!

It's Official

After a long week of sprucing, cleaning and gutting we officially listed our house today. You may check out our RMLS link:

http://www.rmls.com and enter 8096199


I think it is a very LONG shot to sell in the current market. But part of me hopes it doesn't because I love it here so much. So, why list it, you ask? After all the work, that is a fine question.

One thing is for sure, I love elbow room. I feel like I am in a new house!

PS My clean oven is dirty already. I forgot to put aluminum foil in the bottom and lasagna bubbled over. I try.