a bag of chips

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, have a safe and merry holiday!

Get Spanxed.

Last night, this plus-sized mama bought a pair of Spanx. I got the Power Panties and can I please tell you how awesome these things are?  I went from having no waist to having a bit of a waist and I am jiggle-free and smooth from the top of my knee to the bottom of my boobs. 

What sold me on these things was that at the Lane Bryant store they had a video running on Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres talking about these things on their shows, and some amazing befores and afters and some interviews with plus-sized and not-so-plus-sized celebs (like Gweneth) who swear by Spanx products.  So I forked out the steepish price for a pair of the Power Panties.  Money well spent, ladies and germs. 

Santa just found a whole new something for some stockings this year.

The Simple Studio

Have you been there yet?  It's the place where the Simple Gals and the Editorial Staff post their never-before-seen layouts.  Click here to see what's new!

And this month, Marnie Flores is hostess of the Simple Studio Blog.  Love her! 

Whew.

I won't bother saying I've been busy since that has been the theme around here lately.  It's a good, wonderful, exhilarating busy, doing what I love.  I have CS2 now and I'm loving the improvement in quality and workflow over Photoshop Elements 3.0.  When I upgrade, I upgrade.

Next years' business plan includes buying the Canon 5D next year, another big upgrade.  Costco (my second favoritest place to shop - do you even NEED to ask what's the first?) has some smoking deals right now on the 5D and coupled with some hefty Canon rebates it's looking mighty attractive.  I also want to buy a new photo printer before year-end and would welcome any recommendations.

So, below are some recent faves (a big thanks to Tara Whitney for inspiring the Balboa Fun Zone photobooth shot - love it!).  I've still got a few sessions to edit and then I'm looking forward to a little break over the holidays which I hope will include some serious scrapping time. 

Thank you, and good night.  =)

Holiday madness.

Well, another belated post.  'Tis the season to be late with everything because of too much going on.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  This season should be about so much more than it is and so much less about what it isn't.  But, wait.  I'm not popping in to do anything really but share what's been going on. 

Aidan had his four-year check-up and is now on the charts after spending much of his young life clear off the top.  He is 46 lbs and 44 inches tall.  (Funny little story here:  My brother, when he was four years old, went to the doctor, too.  That day 32 years ago he was 44 inches tall and 44 lbs and happened, totally by chance, to be wearing a sports shirt with the number 44 on it.  I kid you not.  Freaky, man.  And why I remember this story when I couldn't recall MY OWN DAUGHTER'S NAME at her baptism is one of life's cruel jokes.  Haha.)  Aidan braved his shots with barely a whimper and aced his vision and hearing tests.  So now that I KNOW he can hear me he's going to be getting away with much less from now on.

And Miss Nadia had her two-month well-baby visit about a week ago.  Our Miss Chubbs weighed 11lbs 7oz and was 22.5 inches tall.  She has nearly doubled her birth weight and has grown over four inches in height.  However, she did not simply whimper through her shots but screamed bloody murder with tears and that kind of cry when they aren't breathing for a second.  I almost lost it myself, the poor thing.  Then she had a bottle and passed out.  And our baby girl keeps growing and changing almost daily.  Nadia is exercising her voice and is starting to chuckle.  She is sleeping much longer at night, usually two six-hour stretches with a bottle in between, and she's almost at the point where we'll start preparing six-ounce bottles at feedings. She drains four-ounce bottles quite often and sometimes needs a little formula nightcap before falling asleep.  She seems to prefer the color orange and still hates her carseat.

And Princess Makena (who is preferring to be called Makena over Booboo now that she's a princess) is looking forward to Christmas and then her birthday in January.  Our big girl will be three in just over a month.  Holy cow.  I can't believe that.   Makena is so smart and agile, funny and sweet and very sassy.  Makena loves her baby sister and squeels with delight when she gets Nadia to smile.  Love that!

Chris and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary on the 2nd.  We went to Morton's in downtown San Diego.  Oh.  My.  God.  The best food and the best service and the MOST EXPENSIVE meal I've ever had.  Total decadence.  My mother came down and the grandmothers babysat while Chris and I went to dinner.  It was great.  He is great.  My amazingly patient and loving man who has never failed to blow me away with his energy and faith and support in the more than ten years we've known each other.  We've been through a lot in the last six years and we've accomplished so much and been blessed with so much.  It makes my head spin and my knees weak to think about it all. 

I've had three photo shoots just about every weekend for the past month or so and this weekend is no exception.  I hope to post some of my faves from these recent sessions in the next few days.  So, in the meantime, here is a gratuitous photo of Nadia for your viewing pleasure: