Camera Talk

Lately I've been thinking of getting a more advanced camera. Currently I have a Sony that I've really enjoyed, and have a friend that would like to buy it. I like the size of the Sony, and don't really want a big camera like the Canon Rebel.

I'm really looking for something portable that takes great pictures!

I've been thinking of the Canon G 10 which has lots of features.

I would love to know which camera you use and would also like any advice!

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Photo Tag

Joanna at This Southern Girls Nest tagged me to do a photo Meme. The directions are to look in the 6th folder and post the 6th picture and write about it.

This is a picture of myself and three of my friends at the Riley Center Christmas party in 2006. From left to right are Robin, me, Karen and Ann. We had a great time! My son Jonathan, who was an intern there at the time, took the photo. We all like this picture-and that in itself is a miracle! LOL

I'm sorry Joanna it took me so long to get around to this. I've been in a blogging slump lately...maybe a little burned out. Hope to come out of this soon!

I would like to pass this on to:

Janie at Southern Lagniappe
Kelli at Sassy Southern Mom
Amber at Forever Amber
Lara at The Simpkins Family
Dawn at Dawns Daybreak
Sally at Smiling Sally
And to anyone else who would like to do this!

Family Foto Friday

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Foto on Friday These photo is one of my mom and dad with their first born-ME! My goal is to get all of these old pictures scanned on the computer-if I would do a little each day, I would finally get them all done!

Here's a picture of me in a little cowgirl suit. As you can see, my problem with weight goes way back. LOL I was a chubby little thing even back then!
Thanks for coming by and peeking at my old photos~

Family Legacy

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Fotos. Please stop by her blog to see the bloggers participating!

This picture is one of my dad and his two brothers. If my dad was still living, he would have been 82 today! He was born on January 23, 1927. We lost him two years ago in December of 2006. Can you look at the faces and guess which one he is?

He is the one in yellow standing on the bottom step. I can see the family resemblance in his face! His mother, my grandmother, died on his birthday January 23, 1955. Although I don't think I have much memory of her, I well remember the day that she died and how distraught he was.

This picture is one of my favorites. Although I didn't know my paternal grandmother well, I think I may have inherited her love of pictures! We have lots of pictures of my daddy as a young child. She must have been a very determined lady to get these three active little boys all dressed up and arrange for a photographer to come to their home to make this photograph.

We have so much technology available to us! I wonder sometimes what she and my other grandmother would think of a blog and computers! Can you imagine how many pictures we would have if there had been digital photography back then?

I don't think my dad would have been impressed! LOL

Thanks for stopping by,

Outdoor Wednesday: A Bunny Pic

Susan from A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday! Be sure to stop by and visit her for lots of outdoor posts.


This is a pic of a little rabbit on our back porch last summer. I had to take the picture through the glass because I knew if I opened the door the bunny would scurry away so excuse the funny color of the eyes!

It has been really cold here in the deep south, and I'm really longing for some milder temperatures so I can get outside more.
In the background is a prayer bench from an antique store that I use on the porch for plants, bird feeders etc. I bought this several years ago for almost nothing!

I am thinking of painting it white. But the project is going to have to wait til we have a few warmer days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Santa Pics!

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Fotos on Friday. Be sure to visit her and visit other blogs with posts. This was a picture made 10 years ago with a Santa in a pet store. Jonathan, Kelli and Lucy all had their picture made with Santa. That same day Kelli bought a dachshund just like Lucy! She was black and she and Chad named her Dixie.


We haven't taken Cooper to see Santa yet-but I have a feeling he is not going to like him. LOL Maybe we'll get a chance to take him this weekend. I'm anxious to see his reaction!

Here's one when Connor was Cooper's age. You can see he didn't like Santa too much back then!


Thanks for coming by and looking at my old Christmas pics!

Easy Christmas Photo Craft

I love my Christmas pictures from past years, and am always looking for different ways to display them.

Here's an idea that I found in a new Christmas idea magazine. To make these 'photo' candles, you need cylinder candles (these two both have come from garage sales), Vellum paper (plain white paper works too) and
Favorite digital Christmas pictures......
Use a photo editing program to crop the pictures to a size that will fit the candle. I think close ups are more effective. I used Picasa 3 and edited the photos to sepia tone. I printed one of them as a 5 by 7 and also an 8 by 10 to see which fit better.

Trim the pictures to fit the cylinders, wrap around the outside, and secure on back with clear tape. Place a votive inside and when the candle is lit, the photograph will glow!
Here are two that I made. It is hard to get a picture that shows the true effect with or without the flash.

I think this will be more effective in a grouping-I plan to continue to look for cylinder shaped containers so I can add to the collection. The one on the right already has a candle poured in it, so only the top half glows.
Before printing on the Vellum paper, try it on regular paper since the Vellum is more expensive.

I can see lots of possibilities with this project! You could use square glass holders and place a photo on each side. Also, wouldn't this be a great idea to display pictures for for a wedding, birthday or anniversary celebration?

Email me if you want to try this, and have any questions. I hope I made the directions clear.

For more Show and Tell Friday posts, visit Kelli at There's No Place Like Home.

And for more Friday Holiday Linky Fun visit Melissa at The Inspired Room.

Thanks for the visit!

Amateur Photographer

Here is a picture made recently of Connor with my old digital camera. I bought it when he was a baby and finally replaced it when Cooper was born. I've told Connor that he could have the camera, but he has to keep it at my house and use it with an adult. It is pretty big and bulky. The camera holds those little CD's. I don't think they make those anymore!

Here are some of the things he photographed one day when he stayed with me. We talked about 'interesting' things to photograph...and it was fun to see what he thought was 'interesting!'

This first one is the ripple in the water after I threw a rock in the lake. Of course he had to throw several rocks. That activity interested him for a while!
Here are some wild flowers in a vacant lot. I think he did a good job, and the camera still makes wonderful pictures.

And finally this one...his favorite...an armadillo headed for cover after he tiptoed outside to photograph it!
Please visit Deborah at Pictures, Pots and Pens for more Favorite Fotos on Friday.
Thanks for stopping by!

And stop by my daughter's blog Sassy Southern Mom for some older family pics she posted this week.

Family Foto: A First for Cooper

Recently I made these pictures of Connor and Cooper at the mall on those little riding toys that you drop the coins in. I love pictures that tell a story and record an event in order.

You can see from the first picture that Cooper looked at me in shock after we had deposited the coins and the little car in which he and Connor were riding started moving. I thought at first that he was going to start crying.

They say all kids are so different...and you can see from the 'shiner' on Connor's forehead that he is 'ALL BOY'! Cooper is a little more reserved right now.....but with big brother around, that probably won't last long!

In the second picture, we put him in another two seater thinking Connor would make him feel safer. Connor really wasn't too concerned about baby brother! I wonder what was going on in that little brain of his...he is looking at me like....'why are we going through this again?'

And finally, in the last shot, you can see the beginnings of a smile! He wasn't exactly laughing with delight by the end of this adventure, but you can see that he finally started enjoying himself!
Since I started blogging, I usually carry my camera with me just about everywhere. I'm so glad I had it this day so I could capture Cooper's first mall ride with pictures.

For other Family Fotos visit Deborah at Pictures Pots and Pens
Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment for the giveaway I'm having to celebrate 100 posts!

Kelli's Birthday Surprise- Friday Foto

Sometimes I can really be a little bit of an airhead!


This picture shows Kelli's reaction to a birthday present I bought for her a few years ago. She is looking a little exasperated because I gave her a frame just like one she already had.

To make it worse, I think I was with her when she got the first one! I love the expression on her face and the way Chad is sitting there smiling. He knows her and knows she was a little 'put out' over the gift.

I usually give her money and buy her a little happy to go with it. This year guess I had too much on my mind!

Hope everyone has a great day! Thanks for stopping by and looking at my Friday Foto. Deborah at Pictures Pots and Pens has other Friday Foto links. Be sure to stop by and see her.
Also, Kelli, my daughter, has posted some baby pics of Connor and Cooper at Sassy Southern Mom. Check it out if you have a chance!

Family Photo on Friday

Deborah from Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting a Favorite Family Photo. I have literally thousands of pictures...lots of digital ones, lots in scrapbooks and many in photo boxes. Picking a favorite is hard because I like them all!
Since I can only chose one, here is just the one for today:
This is one of Connor when he was 2 or 3 and my son Jonathan. Connor had just said something ...shall we say "inappropriate." I was able to capture this picture of Jonathan's reaction! From the look on Connor's face, you can tell that he enjoyed the 'shock' reaction he provoked!

I really enjoyed doing this post....my pictures and the memories they bring back are so precious to me!

Have a great day!

Take time to see the beauty!

This came from a good friend in an email. It is a little long, but worth the read. It really made me stop and think about taking the time to see the beauty around us!

HOW LIFE IS MEASURED~Author unknown
I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack.

About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, "Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important."

"Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent -- perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time...it can all be taken away." The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently.

That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. When you go home, go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream cone.

• "For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do."


• “Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened."


• "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
  -- Author Unknown

This story made me think of blogging and how I am always looking for a picture to take and something to write about. There is so much beauty all around us, and often we are too busy to take note of it! To me that is one advantage of keeping a blog...even if it is read by very few....it has helped me look at everyday things in a different way. I'm seeing so much beauty all around me! My camera is just a point and shoot...but I still can capture lots of beauty all around. Here are a couple of shots that I took recently:

The sun behind the clouds on the way home from a trip.

Natchez White Crepe Myrtle at the end of the front porch

And finally, a turtle lost in the middle of my front yard!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day....and take time to enjoy the beauty all around you!

Two Peas in a Pod!

These two pictures are of Connor and Cooper when they were 7 months old. They were wearing the same monogramed outfit, and sitting on the same wicker couch. Do you think they look alike?

Connor in 2003 at 7 months

Cooper in 2008 at 7 months

I love photographing Cooper and trying to recreate photos I have of Connor...which by the way number into the thousands!

Cooper spent the night and went to church with us in the second picture. Kelli sent this little outfit for him to wear, and it reminded me of the pictures I had of Connor wearing the same little outfit!

Since then, the couch has been painted green and is on the back porch instead of the front porch, and I have a new digital camera! I'm thinking of having these two photos enlarged to a 5 by 7 and placing them in a double frame!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Show and Tell Friday

Sometimes the simpliest things in life can bring the greatest pleasure...like photographing your grandbaby at unexpected times. I made these pics of Cooper one day when I kept him. My dresser was dusty so I took everything off to give it a long overdue dusting. While it was cleared off, I put him on top and photographed him smiling at himself in the mirror. If I had known that these would turn out so cute, I would have changed his clothes...they are wet from teething! And my camera picked up all the details...even the dust on the mirror! I wonder what is going on in that little brain of his. Do you think he knows he is looking at himself...or is he smiling at another baby?

These are two photos that I will always cherish! And I wanted to Show and Tell you about them this Friday! Show and Tell Friday is hosted by Kelli at There's No Place Like Home!