Not Me Monday

Welcome to the Not Me! Monday blog carnival, which was dreamed up by the fun, creative, and super awesome MckMama! Go to her blog to check out her what she and everyone else have been up to this week!

As for me...well, I certainly DID NOT talk Lil' J into going to the marina under the guise of having a picnic when really, I just thought it would be a good place to take some cute pics.



Also, I DID NOT watch Lil' J hurling herself down the slip n' slide and think, damn, I wish MY belly looked that cute hanging out of my swimsuit...

And while we're on that topic...I did not tell Lil' J to wear her Crocs that afternoon so she wouldn't step on a bee only to have one fly into my own Croc (and I'm NOT still wearing the shabby blue ones with holes in the soles) and sting me on the bottom of my foot.

I AM NOT sitting here (at noon, in my pajamas) watching Band of Brothers (for the millionth time) on the History Channel and Not Me! Monday-ing instead of doing what needs to be done...like laundry. And making an eye appointment because my glasses are trashed but its been too long since my last appointment so they won't let me pick out new ones without an exam first even though I know my eyes haven't changed one bit. And registering to take the NCTRC exam in October. And, um, showering.

I was not up waaaaay past mignight last night posting my entry for this week's I ♥ Faces contest and checking out everyone else's entry. I'm patient. I can wait til morning for that. Also, I'm not over the moon with all the wonderful comments I"ve gotten on my photos.

I did not take a ton of feet pics in an attempt to come up with the perfect one for an upcoming I ♥ Faces contest, only to be dismayed with my efforts.

Like I said, I AM NOT still wearing my falling-apart Crocs and the reason why is not because none of the local stores had them in the perfect color.

I WAS NOT utterly disappointed in the long-awaited movie My Sister's Keeper and did not shout out at the end, "I want my $9 back!" And nobody in the theater laughed at me.

And...I am not thrilled to have added 2 new blog followers this week for a total of 8, which is not only 2 shy of my short-term goal of 10 followers.

I Heart Faces week 25 Just for fun

Here's my "just for fun" entry for this week. I was disappointed when it was changed from the adult and kid categories for wedding to one wedding and one just for fun because I had 2 great wedding shots to use and it was hard to pick which one to use!!! But I was also glad because it gave me a chance to share this picture, which I love and have been waiting to show off for ages! (or like, a month and a half...)

This is Lil' J, whom you've seen here before. I love everything about this picture...yes, the lighting is good, the colors are great, the angle makes it a little more interesting, but the best parts? The missing tooth and the little smudge of chalk on her cheek from gymnastics class! We'd just come from there and I decided that her outfit coordinated so nicely with the colors of the playground equipment that we ought to stop and take some pictures (yes, I'm totally cheezy like that!)...but, observant as I am, failed to notice the chalk until I looked at the photos later that evening! Chalk or not, it's one of my favorite photos of Lil' J and I've been waiting and waiting for the chance to show it off ever since I started participating in the I ♥ Faces contests a month or so ago...it just never fit into any category. So I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share it with you all today. And check out http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ for many more fabulous photos!

Fix It Friday

Yes, I'm a few days late (and more than a few dollars short, but that's irrelevant here...) but here are my contributions to this week's Fix It Friday on the I ♥ Faces blog.

Original

Fix #1

Fix #2

Fix #3

Make sure you check out http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to see everyone else's great fixes!

I Heart Faces week 25 - wedding

It's I ♥ Faces time again!!!

WEEK 25 Theme - Wedding Bells
Tis the season! Those wedding bells are ringing like crazy this month.

Wedding Bells Category - Must have a face of someone (child/adult/multiple people) from a wedding celebration. (Entries must be fairly obvious that it was taken at a wedding celebration or you can explain your entry in your blog post.)

This lovely, romantic photo was taken last fall at my cousin Mark's wedding. I hemmed and hawed over dozens of beautiful wedding shots but I kept coming back to this one of him and his beautiful bride Erin because, well...look at their faces! It just makes me laugh every time. Not a great "traditional" wedding photo, but I love that it captures their personalities and the fun of the evening.

Like what you see? Make sure to hop on over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to check out the rest of the awesome entries for this week!

Wonderful, wet, wild, winning Wednesday!

Well, today was fun. Lil' J and I started out with a picnic at the marina consisting of pepperoni roll (I wanted PB+J, Lil' J wanted pepperoni...clearly she won), rosa maria salad, carrots, pears, yogurt, cheese(for her, not me...I'm not much of a cheese fan), and sour cream and onion chips. After lunch we blew bubbles and sat down on the dock for a while before playing frisbee (yes, I tossed with my left hand - I'm a righty! - and took pics with my right...what can I say? Mad skills.). When that got old we headed over to her friend B Man's house for some wet and wild fun. The kids had a blast on the slip 'n slide...I'm sure it felt great as the temp was in the 80's and humidity was high. I was tempted to jump in myself a few times, but managed to restrain myself. After 4 hours of water fun we headed home...and Lil' J promptly passed out, allowing me to enjoy half an hour of blissful silence before her mom got home.

In other news...I'm gonna be honest here, I'm a little dismayed at the lack of participation in Win-It Wednesday...but thanks to the 2 people who played along! The winner is - drumroll please! - Lissa, with her suggestion of "Orange Blossom Delight." The bracelet's yours. :) Cassie, thanks for joining in on the fun...feel free to join my list of followers if you'd like to participare in future giveaways.

I Heart Faces week 24

Week 24 Photo Challenge: “Let's Hear It For The Boys!”

OK, this was kind of a hard theme for me...most of the good photos I have are of Lil' J! Luckily I dug through my files and found a few shots I could work with, and I'm actually quite pleased with them!

Fist up, my kids entry. This is The B Man, a good friend of Lil' J. (Who was featured in last week's entry.) This kid is ALWAYS on the go, and seemingly allergic to the lens. He flipped his lid every time he saw me trying to take pics as he and lil' J romped around the playground. I did manage to capture this shot undetected, though, and I love it...I think it shows his sweet side (and his gorgeous long lashes!) and the lighting happened to be just perfect.

Here is my entry for the adult category. Like last week's entry, this one was also taken at the Great American Irish Festival. This is Brent Hoad, who plays fiddle (among other things) for my favorite band, The Elders. As with last week's photo, this was just a lucky shot on my part...SO hard to get a pic there without audio/lighting equipment in the shot. I could do without the microphone there, but at least it isn't covering his face.

Please head on over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to see all the rest of the fantastic entries!

Fix-It Friday

Just something fun for the I ♥ Faces blog...Fix It Friday. This is today's photo

original:

My fix: