August 2010 Contest

Nothing like a last minute contest entry right? I was introduced to Giveaway Blogs by my friend over at Crazed Mind when she sent out a mass e-mail to vote on her contest entry. Now I am entering one of my own in hopes of winning a 16X20 rolled canvas from UPrinting and $100. I like the idea of them both.

So the theme of this contest is Passion. What am I passionate about? God, Photography, and my children. Since I don't have a picture of God to use, I went with this one of my children.

How can I not be passionate about these gorgeous children?!?! Not to mention we were at a beautiful little creek when I took this shot, so perhaps there is a little bit of God in this image too.

This post is an entry to the GiveawayBlogs.com photo contest.

I Have a Job!

After being here one whole week, and I've actually been searching for a job since before I left, I finally have a job! I even start working...well training....tomorrow. I am so looking forward to this job as it is in a portrait studio. This is actually the second portrait studio job I applied for. It turns out that I will possibly be working in a town much closer to where I am moving. Which explains why I haven't gotten any of the other jobs I applied for. It is also a manager position that I am looking at. Good pay, potential bonuses bi-weekly and quartery, benefits, discounts....it's a really great opportunity.

Thank you to everyone who prayed and sent good thoughts my way. I appreciate you all!

As for the rest of things, I am enjoying the cooler weather for sure. The kids have been having a great time with their aunt and uncle who they have a hard time seeing as aunt and uncle due to the closeness of their ages. They have been swimming more times than I can count and are having a great time just messing around and having a good time.

We of course miss all of our friends from Texas. One in particular has been on my mind a lot lately. I hear a song today that reminded me of them...twice actually. The song got picked up on shuffle when I was listening to music on my computer then it played on the radio as I was trevelling to my interview. I miss the joking, the laughing, the general conversations...all the good times we spent together. I knew leaving all of my friends would be difficult, but I also knew we would be able to stay in touch through internet and phone. This friend however is different...we were close. Being away from my friend is like a tree not feeling the wind anymore.

Today is a good day though, so no more whining. I have a job, I am in New York where it's green and pretty and there are lots of trees, and I have my family. I can't really complain as I have a good life right now. Here's to hoping everyone has a  wonderfulo rest of the day and week!

Welcome to New York!

This picture was taken Wednesday evening as we crossed the state line into New York. It still took us a good bit of time to get to our destination, but knowing we were in our destination state helped us to get moving and stay awake. We were all very grateful to arrive when we got here. I have spent the last two days resting and getting a good look at this town I am staying in for the time being. The plan is for me to find a job and then move to the town I lived at when I went to High School. I have a couple of applications in at places and I'm hoping for something to work out soon. I still have not recieved my 401K money that was supposed to be my moving money (thanks Dad for coming through on that one) nor my final paycheck and payday was yesterday. Money is tight right now, but things will work out, I have faith. In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures that I've taken since I've been here, see why my kids and I chose to make this drastic move.

These are just a few of the pics I have taken so far. I will have to try to upload more later as I am unable to use my photo editing program on this computer to make the image sizes smaller. I am not able to edit any pics at this moment which is mildly depressing.

I Have Been 'Published'!

A few weeks ago I was introduced to an interesting site called HARO, if you are a writer or just a regular person even, you can check it out and sign up for free. HARO stands for Help A Reporter Out and they send out 3 e-mails daily with tons of requests for interviews on all sorts of subjects. One of the first e-mails I recieved led me to All Things Girl, an e-zine by women, for women. They were looking for artists and writers to submit art and writings for their upcoming editions. So I went and I submitted this picture for the July theme of "Men & Boys".

This image is titled "Just Around the Bend" and is a part of my ABC Photography series.
The really awesome part is, not only was my image selected to be in the issue, but it is on the 'cover' of the issue! Be sure to stop by All Things Girl to see my image and everone else's and take a look at the other articles and neat stuff they have there!

I ♥ Faces - "Pets"

Now I just could not pass up this week's challenge. It also helps that I am not working today so I don't have a whole lot else to do except pack for my move and that just sounds boring. :) This week at I ♥ Faces the theme is "Pets" and I just love me some animals! I scanned through the photos that have already been posted and I see lots of cute and furry pets! I did also see a rooster and a frog on there so there are a few oddball ones. I am torn at this point as to whether I should us one of the adorable pics of my cat, Drizzt, or one of the awesome pics of one of my snakes. Sadly, I can only choose one, so let me take a look at all that I have and see if I can decide.

Well...after much debating and some opinions of others this is the photo I have decided to go with:

This is my ball python Madmartigan right after he got done eating. Since a snake's jaws unhinge to help move the move the food down their throats they tend to 'yawn' afterward to realign everything.

If you want to see a bunch of other Pet pics, and most likely no more snakes, then click the I ♥ Faces logo below and check them out!

Update on the Move

We have just a little over a week to go before we move. Packing is going...well...so so. I have yet to start packing up my room, but there is mostly only clothes in there. The closet won't take long to pack and neither will the kitchen. The bookshelf has already been packed as well as the movies. The kids have done a wonderful job of getting their stuff packed up, so I think we'll be on schedule for load day.

I will be picking up my truck and tow trailer at around 10am on the 5th of July. Then with the help of, hopefully, a lot of friends I plan to get the truck loaded with our stuff and head out that afternoon. I will have to stop overnight somewhere to rest up. That and I will need to give my cats a break from riding in the Xterra. I am concerned that they will get overheated on the journey, but I'll be sure to make frequent stops to ensure they have plenty of water and are not getting too warm. I figure if I roll the windows down some they should get some decent air flow to help keep them cool.

I don't remember if I posted on here about my laptop frying, but it did. FYI...do not leave your laptop on constantly or you will fry the motherboard! :) I actually learned that it is not good to leave any computer on as it increases the risk of them overheating and thus frying bits that you need for them to work properly. I had hoped to have the laptop working so that I could post updates as I travel, but since that is not the case, I splurged and purchased a netbook. It's rather small, but it actually has a very large hard drive. I hope to be able to connect to a few WiFi spots along the way and post some blogs about the journey as well as some pics. I still haven't worked out my exact route, but will be doing that very soon. I'll probably purchase a new road atlas to help navigate our journey. At this point my main concern is that every route I've looked at has me driving through Ft. Worth and Dallas. To those who know me, I DO NOT drive through large towns like these as the drivers there are all crazy and scare the crap out of me. Now it appears that I will be doing so while driving a 24' truck pulling my Xterra! Just keep your fingers crossed that I will make it through there ok if I cannot find an alternate route.

I guess that's all for now. Have a wonderful day!

This Week's Featured Image Week 18

Last week...well actually a couple of weeks ago... I put up this image for the Weekly Featured Image. A few months ago I ran across a tutorial of how to create smoke images and decided to give it a try. I intend to create a series of these, but have not had a whole lot of success with them as I don't currently have the proper equiptment at the moment. This is one of the few that turned out somewhat acceptable.

I do not have any of my smoke images uploaded to my Gallery at this time, but there are still a lot of other images available for purchase if you are interested. On another note, the current image in the title has also not been uploaded to the gallery yet. I am trying to get a few more images together before uploading. Look for it in the near future, or if you just can't live without it and have to have it right now then leave a comment or send me an e-mail and I'll get it in the gallery for you.

Hope you enjoy the image this week and have a wonderful day!

Shutter Love Tuesday

I have been rather busy lately and haven't had a chance to participate in any of the photography contests that I love. However, today I am going to share my entry to Shutter Love Tuesday from The Trendy Treehouse. This week's theme is "Smiles" and I think the picture I chose shows a gorgeous smile. It is of my daughter after the pageant she was in earlier this year.

You just don't get much more radiant than this. The real reason I think this smile stands out as gorgeous is because she did not place at all in the pageant and still walked off that stage with this smile on her face and her head held high.

Be sure to swing by The Trendy Treehouse and see what other people are putting up for Shutter Love Tuesday. You can click the logo below to get there.

A Big Move

As I posted not too long ago, my kids and I will be making a move to the state of New York the first part of July. The kids and I have been working on getting things ready for the move and so far I think we are doing fairly well. The kids have managed to pack quite a few of their belongings already as well as the books, movies, and some other non-necessities. I have packed nothing as of yet, as I have been concerned with other matters. I have hired and gotten approval from the owners on a new manager to take over the store. This guy is a good friend of mine and I know that he will be able to keep everyone in line as well as keep the comfortable working atmosphere that I and my employees have worked so hard to attain. He has a lot to learn and only a couple of weeks to do so, but I have faith, both in my ability to teach him and in his ability to learn it.

I have also been looking for someone to buy my house, or at the very least, take over the payments. I have succeeded in doing so only yesterday. Yet another good friend of mine who has been looking for a place of her own made the final decision to take my house. It will be rather large for her and her chihuahua, but honestly, for the price, she can afford some extra room. I also made arrangements to sell my washer and dryer yesterday. I will, of course, be using them up until I leave as I have no wish to start going to a laundry mat this close to such a big move.

The kids and I gathered some items to have a garage sale Saturday and Sunday. We did pretty well on Saturday, but had only a few people stop Sunday. I made roughly $40 and the kids made out pretty well with their stuff. My friend who will be taking over my house is planning to have another garage sale after she gets moved in and has offered to try to sell my leftover items then and send me the money. I think I'll take her up on that.

I am almost through with Ashe's dresser, it has been wood-burned, sanded, and stained so far. I still need to use the wood-filler on it then seal it and it'll be good to go. That will be a project for next week since both the kids will be gone or busy. Amy has church camp this coming week and Ashe is joining the youth group to help out with the Community Rehab project. Community Rehab is where select homes in the community, usually low income families or people with disabilities, get some work done to the outside of their homes for free. Energy efficient windows, doors, etc, new siding, fixing proches and overhangs and such. It's a great project to be involved in and I am proud of my son for taking part.

I apologize for the lengthiness of this post, but that is the update so far. I have the truck and trailer reserved for our move. Everyone needs to wish me luck driving those as I have to use the largest truck available (24") as it is the only one with 3 seats. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, week, & month. I'll be sure to update again before I leave.

This Week's Featured Image Week 17

I know I have missed a couple of weeks and I hope that I have not disappointed too many people. The move to New York has been taking a lot of my time, well, at least the preparations for it. So here is last week's image:

This is one of the images I took with my phone after discovering that the digital camera I intended to use would not work. I was rather impressed at how well the images came out, and I think this might be my favorite of the Farm Life Series. I don't recall what all processes I used to attain this look, but it reminds me of some of the very old photos that were taken with some of the first cameras. I hope you enjoyed this image (especially since it was up for like 3 weeks...lol). This image and the other previous Featured Images can be purchased as prints at my Shop.

Note: the image for this week is for a series I have begun that has not yet been posted to my Gallery. Therefore it is not available for purchase at this time.

Spam Comments & Captchas

I just deleted my first spam comment. I have been blogging now for a little over 6 months, I don't require captchas and I don't moderate my comments. If the spam begins to start being a real issue, then I will possibly consider one or the other. Personally, I can't stand captchas. They annoy me, what can I say. Partially it was due to the fact that I used to do most of my blog reading on my phone browser (when I was at work and bored out of my mind). Now, I don't have such a great data plan on my phone and I don't get around to reading as many blogs either. Sorry everyone! So here is the lovely and interesting spam comment that I recieved:
     "Friday, May 28, 2010


I ♥ Faces - Fix It Friday #56

Yes it is Friday again, and besides the fact that I get two whole days off in a row now, it is Fix-It-Friday over at I ♥ Faces. I love to participate in these but don't always get to every week. This week's image is of the cutest little twins...well, they may not be the cutest anymore since my niece and nephew were born. ;) Here is the original image:







The submitter of this image loves the interaction of the twins, but thinks it's a bit dull. I agree...while I like the pattern of the background, I didn't care for the dingy gray tones it produces. Here is my fix:







Now for what I did, please keep in mind that I do not use Photoshop, but a program called PhotoImpact. If you wish to follow my steps I am sure that there is something compatable to the actions and such that I used to get these results.





First I went to Smart Curves as I usually do but I could not find a preset that worked well.

Having failed on Smart Curves I went to Brightness and Contrast and increased those to B +20 C +15.

I then went into Color Cast and added just a touch of green to diffuse the red in the image.

I applied a mask to the babies and the white cushion then cut them out.

I opened a picture I took a while back and cut out a little piece of the sky then pasted it to the original image.

I then returned the babies to the original.

I merged all the layers and used clone and blur tool to clean up the edges where I made the cuts.

Lastly I used a font called KRDecoFrames and added the frame to the image.





That's it...hope you enjoyed my fix and to see more click the I ♥ Faces logo below!







Posted by Jayde at 5:33 PM

Labels: Fix It Friday, I ♥ Faces, photo editing, photography

3 comments:

. said...

wow, that is totally different than everyone else, I love your creativity.



May 28, 2010 6:13 PM

Fabienne said...

Cool ! Even though I love the original background, I must say I like what you did! Great job!



May 28, 2010 11:19 PM

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I'm not really sure what it all means but I gather that it has something to do with sex...I could be wrong, but I feel pretty certain none the less.

So do you use captchas? Do you do comment moderation? Why? Just curious about other people's reasons. Hope you all have a great day!

I ♥ Faces - Fix It Friday #56

Yes it is Friday again, and besides the fact that I get two whole days off in a row now, it is Fix-It-Friday over at I ♥ Faces. I love to participate in these but don't always get to every week. This week's image is of the cutest little twins...well, they may not be the cutest anymore since my niece and nephew were born. ;) Here is the original image:

The submitter of this image loves the interaction of the twins, but thinks it's a bit dull. I agree...while I like the pattern of the background, I didn't care for the dingy gray tones it produces. Here is my fix:

Now for what I did, please keep in mind that I do not use Photoshop, but a program called PhotoImpact. If you wish to follow my steps I am sure that there is something compatable to the actions and such that I used to get these results.

First I went to Smart Curves as I usually do but I could not find a preset that worked well.

Having failed on Smart Curves I went to Brightness and Contrast and increased those to B +20 C +15.

I then went into Color Cast and added just a touch of green to diffuse the red in the image.

I applied a mask to the babies and the white cushion then cut them out.

I opened a picture I took a while back and cut out a little piece of the sky then pasted it to the original image.

I then returned the babies to the original.

I merged all the layers and used clone and blur tool to clean up the edges where I made the cuts.

Lastly I used a font called KRDecoFrames and added the frame to the image.

That's it...hope you enjoyed my fix and to see more click the I ♥ Faces logo below!

Been Pretty Busy

I apologize for not 'being here' much lately. I am working on quite a few things at the moment so my blog is being put on the back burner it seems. As you may have read in my Post #100 I will be moving to New York in early July. Therefore I am working on preparations for that, trying to find a buyer for my house, packing (well the kids have been packing), finishing projects before the move (such as completing my son's new dresser, pics to come soon), working on my business (feel free to visit my Gallery and help me out with that one! lol), and numerous other tasks. I have been trying to get someone hired at my job to take over as manager. I am leery about just anyone taking over that store as I and my employees have worked very hard to get it to where it is right now. I also want to make sure that whoever takes over doesn't turn into a crazed person with a God complex and end up driving my employees to point of quitting. It's a lot of work to make a move, especially one this far.

Here in the household, we are all doing well. The snakes are growing beautifully, the frog is...well sitting there cause that's about all he does. The cats just got bathed, treated for earmites and sprayed for fleas...needless to say they are not too happy with me right now. Obad-Hai, the water dragon, will be getting a new home. Not that we don't love him, but Kevin has no room for him where he is staying right now and he also needs the funds to help pay for the enormous vet bills that Bruno has been racking up. Which reminds me...anyone interested in buying a Quaker Parrot? He wants to find a good home for her as well as he has little time to give her the attention she requires. The kids are out of school and have been spending the days working on packing and doing there chores in the midst of playing and goofing off. But I didn't really expect them to do differently. They grow weary with the long time I am at work while they have nothing much to do here at home. This next week they will be with their fathers so perhaps they will not be so bored.

I guess that's all for now. I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful day, weekend, week, month, etc. I will hopefully have some nice pics of the progress on Ashe's new dresser soon!

This Week's Featured Image Week 16

Another week has gone by and soon I'll be making the move from Texas to New York. Here is last week's featured image:

I took this image at the park of some racoon prints I found near the tank there. As I was playing with them, I wanted to make the prints stand out and red was the best choice. Thus the name, Caught Red Handed. This image is part of my ABS Photography Series. I hope you enjoyed this week's image, and that you will also enjoy next week's. Once again, remember that all the images you see on the Featured Image, and more are available to purchase as prints by visiting my Gallery. Also, I am still offering a discount on purchases at this time so be sure to take advantage of that.

Post #100!!!

This is it...my 100th post. I started my blog a little over 6 months ago. I have grown to having 40 followers, not bad in my opinion, and I like to think I have put up some interesting stuff in 99 previous posts. I'll make a list of some of my favorite posts, but first, an announcement.

My kids and I will be moving the first part of July. We are going from our small town here in Texas to an even smaller town in New York. Why so far away you ask? Well, I lived in New York for the last 3 years of High School and I really liked it there. The town was small, had lots of trees, and a great school. I think it's time to get my kids out of this crappy town we're in right now. It's full of drugs and crime, and it is very predjudice againt people who don't have the "right" last name. We are all very excited about the move, the chance to 'start over' and try something new. I will be continuing my blog of course, it is one way for my friends here to keep up with my goings on once I move and I have come to love blogging. It may be a few days or more once we start the move before I can get online and give an update, but I'll be sure to post something once I am able.

Now, here are some of my favorite posts from the past 6 months. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around and helped me grow.

My first post, and some information about me and my family can be found HERE.
Some personal feelings about the Attorney General.
A list of things you can do to Alleviate Boredom.
A true winner can be found HERE.
Another list, this once centering more on working in a Convinient Store.
The time I got bitten by a snake complete with pictures is HERE.
My daughter and her Twisted Sense of Humor.
An interesting look at some 'Old Pictures'.

Also, for anyone who hasn't seen my Gallery, feel free to head on over and take a look at the images I've got available. I am currently running a sale, so if you are looking for some new wall art, now is the time to buy!

And if you are looking to start a business or expand your current business, there are a lot of really awesome products available to assist you at Unconventional Guides. Look on the inside left bar of my blog for some of the available items.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. New Featured Image will be up tomorrow, so be sure to come back and check it out.

Build Your Empire in ONE Year!

Now is the time to act! For 24 hours only you have the opportunity to get in on an awesome empire building tool. This tool, or program if you prefer, will assist you in taking the steps you need to sucessfully build your personal business. There are three levels of the program offered for businesses in different stages, so don't think you are too small or too big to get some use from this. If that's all you need, then scroll down to the link at the bottom of the page and act now.

If you are looking for more information about the Empire Building Kit, let me see if I can break it down for you. You will recieve daily e-mails with all sorts of helpful information, access to 15+ case studies of people who have built their very own lifestyle business and succeeded in ways most would only dream about, plus so much more.

The daily e-mails, for me, are a way to keep myself going when times seem down. I appreciate seeing that e-mail in my inbox everyday, and I know that I will continue to do all that I can to create my business. If you are tired of working for someone else, or waiting for the corporate office to decide when you should make more or advance, then this is for you! The EBK is like a strategy guide to that super hard video game that almost no one ever beats, it gives you the information, the assistance, and the ability to create your dream.

Please, keep in mind, that this product may not be for everyone. There is no pressure to buy, this is simply my way of letting you know about this awesome product. I feel that this product has helped me quite a bit, not only by keeping me on track (as I am easily distracted), but by offering some incredible insight to the world of self-employment. I don't want you to buy this product because I say so, I want you to buy it because you feel the need to take yourself to the next level.

Build Your Own Empire in 1 Year

That is the link to use to get your copy of the EBK for this 24 hour period -Starting 9am PST / 12pm EST

Now, I know some of you skeptics must be thinking that I am getting something out of this, right? The answer is yes I am. If you click on that link above and order I will earn a commission. I am an affiliate for Unconventional Guides. So if you want to bypass me altogether, if you believe that I am only pitching this to earn some money for myself, then go to empirebuildingkit.com You can copy and paste that into your address bar and you will be taken to the site where you can get more information and purchase your own copy without me getting anything for it. For any of you who think I'm crazy for offering a way around me, I do so because I believe in the products myself. If I make a little due to being an affiliate, great! If someone is skeptical because they think that is my only motivation, they will never see the wonderful products that are available to them at this site. Either way you choose, click the affiliate link, enter the address directly, or decide this isn't for you (or not for you at this time) I hope you have a wonderful day!

This Week's Featured Image Week 15

The featured image for last week was one of the newest from my Tree Series. I shot this tree (with the camera only) at the lake a few weeks ago. I really liked the composition with it, but I was having difficulty with my editing. When I would try one thing, it looked really neat on one side, but not so much on the other side, then I would try something else and the same would occur. That is when I got the idea to split the image. The left side (as you look at it) has had contrast and brightness adjusted and a monotone coloring of blue. The right side was simply the same, but inverted. I decided not to leave the edges of the image itself square, I felt the rough and unusual edge would create more interest with the texured background behind it. I have to say that this is possibly one of my favorite images at this time.

Here is the original image:

As you can see in this image the right side of the sky got washed out by the sun and thus caused a lot of the difficulty I had with the editing. All in all I am happy with the finished image. Keep in mind that all my featured images, and more are available to purchase prints at my Gallery. There is still time to take advantage of the current discounts as well.

I ♥ Faces - Fix It Friday #54

Yes, it is that time again. Can you believe I have missed out on this wonderful fun for the past TWO weeks? Well, as they say "life got in the way". Here I am this week though to share my process for fixing this photo. The original is very washed out and there is a bad highlight across the boy's face. I decided to be brave and did some retouching on the highlight to make it 'disappear'. So here is the original image:

And here is my 'fix':

So here is what I did to get here (As usual I must post my disclaimer that I do not use Photoshop, but PhotoImpact. I will be listing actions as they are in my program and hope that you, if you decide to follow my steps, can find similar ones in the program that you use.)

Smart Curves - the Kodak preset gave me the best initial lighting adjustment

Cone Tool- I used this tool to 'reconstruct' the area of his face and hair that were 'whited out'

                   I also used the clone tool to remove/reduce the blemishes on his face.

Colorize Pen- I used a deep blue at 75% transparency to brighten up his eyes a little

Contrast- increased to +10

Colorize Pen- I greened up the grass some to make it stand out better against his white shirt

Mask Mode- I masked off the background for the next step

Enhance Lighting- Increased Fill Flash to +40

Deselect All (to remove the mask)

Enhance Lighting- Increased Fill Flash +20

Contrast- increased to +24

And there you have it, a nice bright image of an adorable boy! To see additional fixes be sure to click the Fix-It-Friday logo below. Also, to see a 'reverse fix', check out my post When Was I?

When Was I?

I have a couple of images here to show you. A before and after. The question is...is this a photo from the 50s/60s era that I have retouched or is this a photo taken yesterday that I made look old?

OK...here is a hint...my retouching skills aren't THAT good...yet.

This is my daughter, dressed up for her band concert last night. The dress was very vintage looking so I fixed her hair and makeup to match. I am not a make up or hair artist so forgive me if they aren't quite right for the period. Either way, she looks fabulous, don't you think!

And for any of you who don't know...she's only 12. She tends to look older in her pictures.

This Week's Featured Image Week 14

Last week's featured image was of a rose from my backyard. The rosebush this one was on is a huge bush, it has been trimmed and it is still rather large. It stands taller than me, and I'm 5' 7". The roses on this bush are pink, I'm not a big fan of the color pink, but these are just gorgeous! And the scent they give off is heavenly. For this image, I decided to color the rose a different color. I have some other images in my Flower Series from this rosebush that I left pink and I wanted to do something a little different. I was actually asked where I found a blue rose by a commenter, so I guess I colored it pretty well. Here is the original image.

Hope you enjoyed last week's image and that you will enjoy this week's as well. Have a wonderful day and Happy Mother's Day!

Special Offer

For a limited time I am offering 10% off your purchase at my Gallery when you spend $25.00. There are also additional discounts when you purchase more. 15% off when you spend $50.00 and 20% off when you spend $75.00. It's not too late to purchase a beautiful print for the special Mother in your life, or just for yourself or a friend. Be sure to visit today and find that perfect print! All if my Art Photography is included in this discount, the Tree Series, Flower Series, Farm Life Series, and ABC Photography!

What Are You Doing For Mother's Day?

Last night I was texting with my wonderful boyfriend and he asks me "What do you have planned for mama's day?" To which I replied "I got nuttin, when is it?" Apparently, for those of you like me who don't already know, it's THIS Sunday! So, I really have nothing planned. I don't speak to my mother or have any other contact with her for that matter. (long story) My daughter has already asked to go to her father's this weekend to help with a garage sale there and my son I guess will be sticking around at home this weekend. I do have a suprise coming for the kids, hopefully tomorrow, though it's not really for Mother's Day, it just worked out to happen about this time. Can you keep a secret? (we're all getting new phones!) SHHHHHH! Don't tell them, I have a whole scare tactic planned for them before I reveal the phones to them. We all three have been using AT&T GoPhones for a while now, due to circumstances that are not entirely my fault, I was unable to get a contract plan with AT&T. Well, I go this e-mail about Verizon wireless and I decided, why not try, the worst that will happen is they'll say no right? Wrong, they said yes! So now I will have 3 brand new phones for us, and the kids will have unlimited texting for the first time. Exciting right?

Now, back to the story at hand. My boyfriend lives about 30 minutes away and with my work, kids, his stuff, and both our pets, we don't get to spend a whole lot of time together except on the weekend when I don't have to work. So after the conversation we had yesterday, I had assumed we'd spend some time together this weekend, be it for Mother's Day or just because. Here is the text conversation (just a short snippet of it) that played out this afternoon.

Kevin: You never really said if you're doing anything this weekend
Jayde: Yes I did, lots of time. I said I'm doin nuttin. Silly boy.
Kevin: see, thats not telling me what you are doin'. Nuffin aint doin nuffin. Youz gots to say what youz is doin. Not what ya aint. (yes that is how he typed it)
Jayde:How can I say what I AM doing, when I am NOT doing anything. How about, I'll be dressing up in leather and lace, rubbing myself with baby oil and watching NCIS.
Kevin: hmmmm, NCIS you say?

I love my man, he always makes me laugh! So, after some further commenting about the leather/lace & NCIS (of which I will spare you) we decided that we will be BBQing Saturday! YAY! I just love my Kevin's BBQ! He's spoilt me on BBQ ribs, I have not found any at a restaurant that I like near as much as his. I will also be making my famous (at least it's famous in my circle of friends) pasta salad. Can't wait! So what will you be doing for Mother's Day?

Future Emperors Wanted

29 days ago, I made the choice to purchase a year long program to help me build my own empire. I have been trying, unsuccesfully I might add, for many years to work for myself and this program is helping me do just that. The Empire Building Kit is full of case studies, examples of people who made their business work, resources and so much helpful information it is well worth the cost. There are 3 levels of the EBK, for those just starting out, those who have been at it a while, and those who already have a good business start and are looking for that extra edge.

The reason I am writing about the EBK is that Chris Guillebeau (the author) is planning his second launch of this program on May the 18th for 24 hours only. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is looking to start a lifestyle business (that is, doing what you love to make money so that you can do what you love!) Me, I'm a photographer and digital artist, I have always wanted to be a photographer and I have grown to love digital art (post processing images). To see my work you can visit my Gallery. (I know, shameless plug right, but what is a girl to do?)

So, if you are interested in starting your own business, working for yourself, having freedom to choose your lifestyle and your hours, then stay tuned right here. (You can also go to http://www.chrisguillebeau.com/ and watch for the launch there.) Chris is offering this second launch to his partners mainly, meaning that those who have become affiliates will have the unique opportunity to promote this second launch. Since little ole me has been deemed worthy to be an affiliate I am shouting from the rooftops about this product. Am I doing it just so I can make some money through the affiliate program? Not at all! I would promote this product regardless. However, should I pass up the opportunity to make a little money by promoting a product that I think is totally awesome? I think that would be stupid! So, however you go about it, either through me, another affiliate, or straight from Chris's site, be sure to check it out. If you aren't ready to take the plunge just yet, you can at least take a look at his blog and the awesome FREE information he offers there.

As we get closer to the launch date I will be posting additional information about this product and how you can get it for yourself.

I ♥ Faces - "Then & Now"

It's an interesting challenge at I ♥ Faces this week. I almost didn't participate, because I wasn't sure I'd have time to do this and get an accurate representation. For those who don't know what this week's challenge is, it is Then & Now. Meaning, you find a picture of yourself as a child, then try to recreate it in present time. I had to settle for some pretty uninteresting pictures since the cuter ones had a whole lot of people who live a bit too far away, or props that I don't have. So here are my entries....since this is not a challenge with winners selected, we are allowed to put up multiple attempts.

This picture is of me when I was in 6th grade, probably I was about 11 or 12. I was working on my homework and I think my brother took the shot, he and I shared a room. Notice the stone-washed jeans (that didn't reach my shoes). I didn't have any jeans that were that light or that short on me, since I can now purchase pants that DO reach my shoes!

This shot was taken in my son's bedroom, since his was set up the closest to how the original picture looked. I even hiked my pants up to show my socks to make it as accurate as possible, but then once I had it on the computer, I realised I forgot the pencil.

This was a school picture from 7th grade. My mother was meticulous about dating pictures so I know that it was taken in 1989 and I was 12 years old. (The same age my daughter is now.) Funnily enough though, at this age, my son more closely resembles me than my daughter (minus the make-up.)

Take into account, the fact that I unfortunately do not have studio lighting. Now in this picture, my daughter looks more like me. It's weird how that works.

I hope you enjoyed my Then & Now images. I would like to thank I ♥ Faces for offering up this challenge, my son for the use of his room, and my daughter for taking the pictures for me. She didn't mind too much though since she got a chance to get her hands on my DSLR for this. To see more Then & Now pictures, click the I ♥ Faces logo below.