i heart faces - silhouette

Well, here's my first i ♥ faces entry in many months. I happened to see on someone else's blog that this week's challenge is "silhouette" and I immediately thought of this photo and decided to come out of my self-imposed i ♥ faces retirement! It was taken last fall at the NY State Fair. It's not the best photo but I love the colors of the sky and the tents in the background, which I enhanced with Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo.

For more awesome silhouette photos, hop on over to the i ♥ faces blog!

Monday Mugs - Umbrella

Yes, it's true...I have officially returned to the blogosphere after...well, after a really long time. I have my reasons for not feeling bloggy this year, but that's another post. For this post, I am joining up with Oswald Cuties for Monday Mugs.

This week's theme is Umbrella.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you know who this is...my favorite sidekick and partner in crime, lil' J. She was 3 in the first picture. Second picture, 2 years later, same raincoat and umbrella! I love to look at those pics and see how much she's grown! Now she's 6 1/2, the raincoat is long outgrown and the umbrella broken.

Just a few more cute "umbrella" pics of my little buddy. We used to love going for walks in the rain!

I'm a bad blogger

OK, to all of you who actually read this blog, so sorry for the lack of updates! There's not really been anything worthy of mention going on in my life, and I've not been feeling particularly inspired by the i ♥ faces themes lately so I haven't been doing them. I do have 2 things to report, though. #1 my dog died which is very sad. #2 I got a new camera - a Nikon D3000! - which is very happy. Once I have that bad boy all figured out, I'm sure I'll be posting all sorts of pictures! Also mulling over trying out some new stuff in my etsy store, so stay tuned for that because it might just involve a Win-it Wednesday!

i heart faces week 8

Week 8 - "Hands-On Fun" Photo Challenge

It's time for some "hands-on" fun at i ♥ faces this week...no faces required! I love this theme and have been wishing for it for many months now...I love hand photos and what they tell about a person.

This is a photo I took of Lil' J last summer. She was helping my mom plant flowers in the garden, something she's loved to do since she was 2 years old. She was so excited when I gave her her very own pair of child-sized Dora the Explorer gardening gloves and could not wait to put them on and dig in! In years past she hated getting her gloves dirty...clearly she has now gotten over that!



For more "hands-on" photos, head on over to the i ♥ faces blog by clicking on the i ♥ faces button below or this link.

Happy Birthday I Heart Faces!

i ♥ faces just turned one year old! Here's to another year of awesome photos!

Week 2: Photo Challenge - "Best Face Photo"

This is my little cousin Cobi. I took this photo on Christmas Day. My dad has this organ in the hall and despite all the presents and decorations filling the house at the holidays, my little cousins are always drawn to the organ. On this particular day, little Cobi was pounding on the keys a bit too hard and had been told by his mother not to touch it again...but what 3-year-old can resist? I love his big, dark eyes and the deer-in-the-headlights look that spread across his face when he realized he'd been caught in the act!

Check out the i ♥ faces blog for many more "best faces."

I Heart Faces week 51

Week 51 - "Hilarious Outtakes" Photo Challenge

Here are all the details for our "Hilarious Outtakes" theme:
Have you ever gone through your photos and found some that were just too funny for words? Either the person has a weird look on their face, the child was picking their nose, the body was in an awkward angle, or...the possibilities are endless! This is your week to feature not one...but FIVE of those photos in your I ♥ Faces entry!Anyone is welcome to participate (only one entry per person though.)You can enter your post on Mon or TuesInstead of just having one photo in your entry, we are allowing you to have up to five. They must all be in the same blog post and if there are more than five photos in your post, you will not be eligible to win.
You need to put the I ♥ Faces button in your post.Pick the photos that make you laugh out loud when you see them. Tickle the judge's funny bone and you might see your photo featured on our site!

OK, this is quite possibly the best i ♥ faces theme ever. I ♥ funny faces, and have a few great photos saved up, so this theme is perfect...and long overdue!

Anyone who regularly checks out my photo challenge entries knows who this is...Lil' J. I got some really great photos on this unseasonably warm May afternoon while we were at The Knight Spot for our first ice cream cone of the season. At first she sat by patiently while I flashed the camera in her face, but eventually, I got this. I almost deleted it, but it cracked me up so I didn't...and I'm glad!

This is my cousin Emily. It was Cookie Day 2008. We were in the midst of frosting dozens upon dozens of cookies when Emily dropped one of the freshly-frosted treats face-down. We laughed til we cried when we saw the elf-shaped imprint on her shirt. What can I say...after a loooong day of baking (and much caffeine...), just about anything is funny.

Another one from Christmas 2008. This is my cousin Cobi. I only get to see him once a year, so I was trying to get some cute pics while I could. I managed to get a few good ones, including one of him in a Santa Hat, but of course, being 2 years old he did what 2-year-olds do best when the cameras come out...turn into a big ol' goofball. *sigh*


This is my wonderful friend Pam. Back in September I was on my very first trip to NYC and she, now a resident of the city, was acting as my tourguide. Being the mature 20-somethings we are, we had to make a stop at Toys 'R Us. We walked past a display of these odd looking dolls, called Therapy Buddies or something like that, and of course had to play with them. You know how the saying goes...Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional. :)

Last but not least is this little gem. My great aunt passed away in early September, and after the funeral my family gathered at a local restaraunt for lunch. Being a rather solemn occasion, with everyone nicely dressed, I thought I could get a nice pic of my mom (on the left) and her sisters. No such luck. She and my Aunt Donna immediately went into crazy mode as my Aunt Linda stood obliviously by and my sister Karla somehow slipped into the shot in back. Should have known...I have a nearly identical photo from my great uncle's wedding a few years back. Ditto what I said above about growing up... ;)

Think those are funny? Well then, hop on over to the i ♥ faces blog for more side-splitting, gut-busting, gasping for breath, tears rolling down your face, almost peeing your pants good times!!!

Pets Only

Week 49 - "Pets Only" Photo Challenge

It's "Pets Only" week over at the i ♥ faces blog. Not an easy week for me...I have literally hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of my dog and cat to choose from, with more being added every week! I finally decided to go with this one of my sweet Dixie dog.

We've had Dixie for over 8 years now. She came to us as a stray, so we didn't know how old she was then, but the vet said she was probably 5-8 years old at the time. As such, the poor old girl could be 15 or 16 by now. You can see by this picture that her face is going pretty white now, but it's still one of the prettiest doggie faces I've ever seen! At this point her hearing is pretty bad, her eyesight is going, she has terrible arthritis in her back legs and her appetite isn't too good. I think it's safe to say she probably won't be with us a whole lot longer. Despite all her problems, though, she's still the sweetest thing and it will be heartbreaking when she passes away. Even though we've only had her 8 years it feels like she's been a part of the family forever.

For more furry, feathered and finned friends, trot on over to the i ♥ faces blog by clicking on the i ♥ faces button or this link.