*baby, it's cold outside*

Today was Katie's first time playing in the snow! :)

She was so cute, as soon as we walked outside she looked around at everything with a huge amazed smile on her face! :) :) She even tasted her first bite of snow.
We didn't stay out too long, since it was so cold for her, but we did make this snowman! :)

That definitely brought back memories from my childhood.

Kevin made the bottom and I did the middle and head and decorated his face :) Isn't he cute? :)

Something new...

I am excited to share the newest project in my life, very very soon my new photography business will be up and running! :)
If you are around me much at all, you know that two of my passions are scrapbooking and photography, and lately I have been taking more pictures than ever!
I have several sessions lined up, and I'm excited to get started! :)
I will be sharing more as it happens, I will have my photography blog up soon.
Thank you to all of you who have supported me in this dream! :)
I will be starting small, but who knows where it will go from there?
Charin

I <3 weekends

Weekends are my favorite :)
I bought some new movies...didn't have time to watch any of them yet though :)
I have been wanting to watch Hairspray since it was out in theaters..any reviews? :) I am frustrated though, because it isn't compatible with our DVD player! Weird. Anyway, I will have to watch that one on our computer.

And I picked up Waitress, I have heard some really good things about it! I'm tempted to stay up and watch it..but it's almost 11:30 so that's probably not a great idea :)
If you're local you should go by Movie Gallery, they're having a great sale right now on pre-played DVDs! That's my favorite way to buy them :)

And I also got Memoirs of a Geisha, it is such a beautiful and sad movie full of beautiful colors and emotion! It's not for everyone, but it will definitely make you think and appreciate "normal" life more. Give it a try! :) I bought it for $4 at a local restaurant/movie renter. Love bargains like that :)

I also did some scrapbooking...*9* pages worth! :) It felt good to do that, it had been awhile! I will share those soon, need to get them uploaded.

I didn't get nearly enough cleaning done (of course!) but I did mop my kitchen floor. A Pepsi can exploded all over it and the fridge, nothing like that to force you to pull out the mop and sponges :)

Oh, and I had no idea, but I guess I look like Catherine Zeta-Jones! I tried this celebrity morph, fun! :)
%1

P.S. You may remember me saying awhile back that one of my friends was going to be proposing to his girlfriend soon...well I can write about it now! :) One of my best friends Aaron proposed to his girlfriend Traci, we are so excited for them! :) We had a feeling they were going to get married the first time we met them, just a few weeks after they started dating. :) I'm really happy that he found someone that is such a good fit for him, she seems like a really sweet girl and he deserves the best! :)

Charin

*Color*

New page :) Love me some color!

One page! :)

We got some of Katie's one year pictures back from Wal*Mart so I had a new picture to scrap!! Thank goodness! ha ha
It was driving me nuts, I seriously can't wait for my order of pictures to get in.
So just wanted to share that...we ordered a CD of all of the images from her one year session, but they didn't fill out the copyright release! I have been calling them about it for two weeks, I'm really hoping they get that fixed soon. I may have to just ask for our money back if they don't, and I don't like confrontation. :(

Well, I have a little girl yelling at me so I better get off the computer :)
Charin

Scrapbooking withdrawals...

I have been going through some serious scrapbooking withdrawals lately people! I haven't ordered pictures for awhile, and nothing beats a fresh stack of pictures to inspire me to scrap :)
I go through seasons where I am really inspired to scrap older pictures that I hadn't gotten to yet, but this week I just needed some new ones. I just placed an order at scrapbookpictures.com for about 50 prints...hurry up, mail! ha ha
I wanted to share a few of the pictures here that I hadn't posted before. :) I love the last one, Katie was playing in her room and when I walked in she was sitting there reading to herself. :) She is such a cutie!

So, has anyone been watching American Idol yet?? :) I am *so* hooked on that show, I love it.
I'm glad it's back on!
:) Charin

Random...

Hey there :)
I have a few minutes and thought I would post! :)
I am so ready for this work week to be over...two more days to go for me! :)
I have *still* been super tired, last night I went to bed a little after 9! *gasp* (My normal is around 11:30 or midnight!) so that helped a little.

Hmm...what else? I went into one of my favorite stores around here today and saw two adorable purses, one would be perfect for a diaper bag, and I didn't buy either of them! That is pretty huge for me, I'm really bad about impulse shopping. But I am so tempted to go back and get them before they're gone! ha ha

I have been cleaning my scrap desk tonight, first chance I have gotten to in awhile. I can see some surface space, and I love that! :) Maybe soon I'll get a chance to scrap, I need to place a gigantic picture order through ScrapbookPictures.com. I have literally hundreds that I want printed, that may have to wait awhile though :)

If the weather holds up this weekend I should have some pictures to show you all from an engagement session that I've been asked to do! :) I love doing couples pictures, so much fun :) Hopefully it won't be too cold...we'll see :)

And speaking of engaged couples, one of my best friends should be soon! I don't want to type a name...just in case he hasn't asked her yet. But he told me he picked out the ring! :) Love is in the air :)

Happy Friday everyone! :)
Charin

She had two parties because she's kind of a big deal :)

I just finished editing the rest of Katie's birthday pictures and wanted to share! :)

She has been playing a lot with her cute first dollhouse, I was so glad to find it! I didn't know that they made them for such little hands :) Kevin has been laughing at me playing with her, I have to admit that I kind of like posing the dolls :)

So at the second party she really dug into her birthday cake! :) She managed to stay really clean though, just got it on her hands and face. I had visions of it being in her hair, her belly button, feet...you get the idea :) So that was a pleasant surprise. :)

Well, I am about to go to bed. I am back to work tomorrow through Saturday and I have been *so* tired lately so I want to rest up! :) Not sure why I have been, but all I've felt like doing this week is sleeping. You can see more pictures here!

Be back soon! :)
Charin

Weekend love :)

I love weekends :) This one has been so relaxing, watched a marathon of America's Next Top Model, did some scrapbooking and some shopping! :) I wanted to share these cute new shoes, every girl has to have a pair like this, right? :) Katie wanted to play in them too, she's a girl after my heart for sure :)

I also wanted to share a few pictures of Katie, she's in her big girl carseat now! I love it, she's much happier facing the front of the car where she can see out. :)
The last picture shows just how much she has grown in one year! :)

I took a picture each month with her poodle that her Grandma and Papa gave her when she was first born, I am planning on making a mini-book with all of those pictures and journaling about her growth and milestones from each month. She has changed so much! :) So hard to believe that the first year is over!

My sweet friend Fauve just sent me a message to share that she used a picture of me for one of her pages for The Dozens Kit Club, I feel so honored! :) This girl has just been *exploding* on the scrap scene lately, she has her own article called "Trends for the Dutch scrapbooking magazine called "Scrap!" and is guest designing for The Dozens...I know she is going to be going so far and I am really happy for her! :)

Edited to add:

One more thing! :) My hubby started a blog, go leave him some comment love please! :)

Here's to a great week everyone! :)
Cheers,

Charin

I *love* Flickr

Makes me happy when I see pictures of mine being chosen for the "explore" award on Flickr! :)
So much inspiration out there, I love being a small part of it! :)

Have *you* joined Flickr yet? :) Do it, you'll love it! Literally thousands of pictures are uploaded every minute, lots of eye candy to look through.

And if you join you need to be sure to join the *love elsie* group, so much fun! :)

She is such a rockstar :)

My sister in law Brandi has been inspiring me so much lately with her cute creations! :) She always has the cutest ideas, look at this birthday invite for my niece and nephew! :)
I also wanted to say that I will be back soon with pictures and a bigger post, I am working until 7:30 every night this week and it has been a little hectic :)
Charin

What do they know? :)

Your Career Type: Artistic

You are expressive, original, and independent.Your talents lie in your artistic abilities: creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art. You would make an excellent: Actor - Art Teacher - Book Editor Clothes Designer - Comedian - Composer Dancer - DJ - Graphic DesignerIllustrator - Musician - Sculptor The worst career options for your are conventional careers, like bank teller or secretary.

What's" Your Ideal Career?

I appreciate them saying that I am artistic, but my career is in banking. Ooops! :)

Birthday pictures :)

I have lots more of Katie's birthday party pictures posted here!

We had a really good time at little Katie Shae's first birthday party! :) I just feel bad that we didn't get any pictures of my family with her! But there were about 4 other cameras snapping away so hopefully they got some :)

She had lots of fun opening presents and being our princess for the day. :) She was so excited that day that she decided not to take either of her naps! By the time we were ready for birthday cake she definitely *was not* :) We're having another party tomorrow though, for Kevin's side of the family, so hopefully I will have some cake face pictures to share :)

I was also tagged by Jennifer and Bekka to share 7 random facts about me, this is always fun! :)

1. Last night was the first time I made punch, crazy huh? It was yummy though, I must say! ha ha. My brother-in-law Jamie made me feel much better about it because he said it was the best he had ever had. Aww! :)

2. I am super excited about starting a new system for organizing my scrapbook pages! I ordered two of the American Crafts albums and I can't wait to get started! If you are interested 2 Peas shows how here. :)

3. I am very determined to start back on my goal of losing weight! It has been crazy busy lately, too busy to exercise but that should calm down after this week.

4. I need to paint my toenails. :) How's that for random?!

5. My house is the cleanest that it has been in *months* and I love it! :)

6. I want to go shoe shopping soon

7. I should be getting my photoshop elements study guide in soon! I am very anxious to learn more, I do quite a bit on there but a lot of it is just me playing around. It would be probably be a lot quicker if I would do it the "proper" way :)

If you are reading this consider yourself tagged! :) I would love to read your answers.

Charin

She made 2007 beautiful...

My little Katie Shae turns one today! Being a Mama has been the best journey, I have never had a year so filled with happy moments and sweet memories. I have loved every second of snuggling her, playing with her, changing diapers and cleaning her, reading books to her and singing to her. I have loved teaching her new things, her teaching me new things :) and I love how much she has blessed my life and the lives of everyone around her.

I prayed a lot before she was born...I prayed that she would be a blessing to everyone and that she would be happy and healthy. God has definitely answered those prayers :)

I have been pretty emotional about this day, it is so very hard to believe that she is already a year old and that my baby is growing up. I can't wait to see all of the new firsts that are going to happen, and at the same time I just want time to slow down a little bit!

I am so thankful for this precious gift of a baby, I love her so very much and I don't ever want to forget how much of a joy she is and how beautiful she has made my life. :)
Happy Birthday, Katie Shae! :)