Candis Chastain

Making something nice

2012-01-26T14:26:00.010-06:00

Well hello strangers. Its been a while I know. Obviously I have given up my challenge of gratitude. I'm disappointed but I have such a crap computer (I know your all sick of hearing it, believe me I'm sick of talking about it). Anyways so I've taken up sewing. I love it! It's so much easier than I expected. Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to learn how, but my mom never taught me. I'd beg and beg but she would always say she didn't know how, just the basics. Well I was never taught those either. She once made quillows for Christmas I thought they were fascinating. I should do that for my girls, its so easy.

So far without patterns I have figured out how to make- bags/purses I've made 3. One I plan on posting next week when I finish it. I've made small carrying protective carrying bags. For like the udraw, cellphone & such. The girls made a zebra & a monster. I've made key chains, bookmarks & 3 dresses. I'll post the vday one's when I get a good picture.

The things I'm gonna post are for my Aunt Cindy. I'm kinda hoping she doesn't see this yet because I want it to be a surprise. My Aunt Cindy lives in Anza California. She's an amazing person. No matter how crappy life can be, or how sad or depressed I am I can always call her & she will make me laugh, sympathize & make me forget why I called in the first place. I don't talk to very many people on the phone. I get nervous, stumble & I hate it. I can probably name you 3 people that I talk too. Cindy is one. I love her more than she will ever know. I know sometimes life isn't so easy for her or anyone for that matter, she always seems to turn negatives into positives. Smile and laugh it off. She's witty and understanding. I have not seen her for almost 7 years and I miss her & her family dearly. I'm glad she is in my life & every time we talk or text it feels like she's right next to me.

I wanted to give her something for always listening to my problems. Although maybe I should learn how to knit ear muffs lol. I learned she likes to read, so I decided to make her a book bag with a bookmark. The other one's aren't perfect but it's a first trying to initial the girls' name on theirs. Oh the bird is a cute little key chain I thought I would share.

Book bag

Inside

Bookmark

Book marks

Key chain

Have a good night!

The knot dress.

2012-01-05T15:14:00.005-06:00

Well hello. It's been a while! Our Christmas was great! Santa brought me a cold but besides that. It was fantastic. The girls got everything they wanted. L got his RC car. And the best gift I got was my sewing machine. Ever since I was little I've always wanted to learn how to sew. I was never taught so when L surprised me with my machine I was really happy. So far I've made a fleece/fabric case for our udraw, a zebra with R, Monster with K, camera strap & little pillow for R's LaLa Loopsey.

I've always admired the clothing by Matilda Jane. And the knot dress was really popular for a while. So I looked all over the internet for a free pattern. Because of course you can find anything on the internet right? (So I thought) Well it took me quite a long time to finally find one for this dress. I was really excited when I found a tutorial. Check out R's dress. She was so excited I made it. Her words were "It's beautiful". So it made me feel really good.

The knot dress.

(Don't you just love the vintage children? Oh I fell in love with it. Once I seen it)

Front

Back

Tutorial by Bridget Baxtor.
http://bridgetbaxter.blogspot.com/2008/04/happy-anniversary-to-you.html

I'm excited to try to make a new one for R for her V-day party. I just have to learn how to work with elastic.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

2011-12-28T15:44:00.002-06:00

So yesterday I was looking through mealsmatter.org for a new recipe. I had some cream cheese I needed to use so I looked up Cream cheese meals & came up with this really awesome creamy dish! You are sure to love!

Ingredients

1 can Cream-of-something soup (I used Chicken)
1/2 cup Chicken broth
Frozen chicken pieces
Packet of Italian salad dressing mix
2 cloves Minced garlic
Block of cream cheese (to add later)

Preparation

Put everything except for the cream cheese into the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and begins to shred. Shred the chicken with two large forks, and mix in the block of cream cheese. Switch the crock to high and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is fully melted.

Serve over pasta

Tinsel

2011-12-13T10:25:00.009-06:00

Last week Tinsel Adventures.

Tinsel found a girlfriend, Rapunzel. They were spotted underneath the Christmas tree with the portable DVD player. Any guesses on which movie they watched? If you guessed Tangled your correct!! They also had a drink for 2 & some popcorn. Too cute.

No pic. but our dog Miley stole Rapunzel & Tinsels popcorn. So the very next day Tinsel took Miley's favorite toy up high where she couldn't reach it. It was very cute. Sorry no pictures I was extremely busy that day.

Playing go-fish with a polar bear.

Tinsel brought back pencils for the girls. He left little notes saying how they were being very good. But the 8 year old needed to watch her tone with people. He made her promise before she got her pencils. She leaned into him before school and promised she'd try harder. (o;

Naughty Elf got into the toothpaste

It took the girls all day to find him on this day. He was in the freezer out in the garage sledding with the reindeer.

This Saturday the girls are going to meet Santa. They are looking forward to it. The Santa (husband of co-worker) has already been informed to ask the girls about how Tinsel was behaving. Should be fun! Last year Santa learned the girls bickered too much. And informed them they needed to work out their issues. They were shocked to hear the feed back from Santa. He really does know things, they once said. Oh the perks of knowing the wife of Santa! lol.

*Note please ignore the crummy photos. Still having issues with computer & these are from my phone*

Clothing-Scarfs

2011-12-07T10:30:00.005-06:00

"It's hardest to love the ordinary things, she said, but you get lots of opportunities to practice." ~Story People

13/30 Gratitude Challenge- Clothing

Since last winter season I've been really into the scarf look. I think it all started when I seen "Craftaholic's" website showing you different ways to wear a scarf. The way I got into T-shirt scarfs was from "Kevin & Amanda's website showing how to make a scarf from a T-shirt. T-shirt scarf? I thought to myself "What in the world?" Well I've been making them ever since. I've done so many as gifts & our family it's not even funny. But raiding my husbands closets is! It doesn't take long at all to do! And no sewing! Although I have been asking Santa for a sewing machine this year.

So anyways looking on Pinterest (Sigh that site is just addicting I get lost in the land of creative crafts & ideas it's like heaven.) I found MORE T-shirt scarfs! YAY! I made these. Funny story I ran into a woman the other day & she asked if I made my scarfs from Pinterest. I tell you that site is AMAZING! haha They're is a small tutorial on the bottom showing these scarfs. My next one I haven't done yet is the ruffled look. I am excited to try this. I am grateful for easy crafts so I can be warm in the winter.

This one's my favorite. (So is the dogs) If you have pets, make sure to keep this one high up.

This one I made a tad different. I didn't loop the loops twice. Just once & instead of tying one end. I tied both ends with scrap pieces from the shirt. Then I added my two flowers. (Really inexpensive each flower is like $4 from Hobby Lobby) Then both flowers will hang down in front side by side.

T-shirt Tutorial:

xoxo -Candis

Meet our Elf Tinsel.

2011-12-06T20:36:00.006-06:00

Meet our elf Tinsel.

Naughty Tinsel painted red noses on the girls to look like Rudolph.

He was caught zip-lining from the Christmas tree to the curtains.

He got into R's new stickers, flew up to the light & put stickers everywhere.

He also got into the flour & made angels. I didn't have a good photo so I didn't post one. That naughty elf.

When I first learned about "The Elf on the Shelf" it was from "oh so posh photography." She was doing a giveaway. Going to her blog I read more about what exactly this was all about:

And here is a little bit more detail about the Elf on the Shelf – Christmas Tradition that I got from the Elf on the Shelf website!!

Have you ever wondered how Santa knows who is naughty and who is nice? The Elf on the Shelf – A Christmas Tradition is the very special tool that helps Santa knows who to put on the Naughty and Nice list. This interactive holiday hide-and-seek tradition is perfect for children and families of all ages.

The tradition begins when Santa sends his scout elves out to Elf Adoption Centers. Waiting for their families to bring them home, these patient elves hibernate until their family reads The Elf on the Shelf, gives their elf a very special name, and registers their adoption online. Once named, each scout elf will receive its Christmas magic and become a part of the family’s Christmas each and every year.

Excellent listeners and even better observers, these scout elves are the eyes and ears of Santa Claus. Although they cannot be touched, or else they may lose their magic, the elf will always listen and relay messages back to Santa. Taking in all the day-to-day activities around the house, no good deed goes unnoticed; these scout elves take their job seriously.

Each night, after the family goes to bed, the scout elf uses his magical Christmas powers to fly back to the North Pole. Once there, the elf will make his or her daily report to Santa and visit with elf friends where they will tell stories about their beloved families, play with the reindeer, and of course, sneak some of Mrs. Claus’ cookies!

Before the family awakes each morning, their special scout elf will fly back to their home from the North Pole. However, since these elves like to play games, don’t expect to find them in the same spot! While some like to hide in the freezer (probably because it reminds them of the North Pole) and others prefer to sit on the fireplace mantle or hang from the chandelier, these elves love to play hide-and-seek with their families.

On Christmas Eve, the scout elf will listen for Santa’s bell and then fly back to the North Pole until the next season, wishing every girl and each boy a Christmas of peace and a year full of joy.

xoxo Candis

Eachother

2011-12-06T20:30:00.004-06:00

12/30 Gratitude Challenge -Eachother

The greatest gift I believe I've given my children is one another. How difficult it is to fathom, to describe, the deconstruct all this, the commonplace bonds of blood....We are like matrioshka dolls, one inside another. There is a sense of connection as powerful as rope---or those chains around the ankles that convicts wear when they're shuttled to and from prison. Lifelong, irreversible, accidental connection is like that. You can pick your nose, as one of my kids once told me, but you cant pick your family. Yet they are me. I am them. I say that now, knowing how different we are, knowing that some of us have almost nothing to say to one another that doesn't start with the word "Remember." I say that knowing that sometimes we have been enstranged, angry, uncaring. But I suppose that is part of it, too. It is easier to be cavalier when there is a bond that can never be broken....That is why we can never really lose them, or we have lost our history, our past, a part of ourselves that we cannot do without.

xoxo -Candis

Art

2011-12-06T20:22:00.002-06:00

"If I was a spider princess, she said, I would spin webs the color of sky & catch drops of sunlight to give to children who watch too much TV & then everyone would remember to come outside to play. If I was a spider princess, she said, things would be different." {story people}

11/30 Gratitude Challenge - Art

I am so grateful for my R's projects from school. Every week she brings home drawings & art from the whole week. If she's not reading you can always count on finding her coloring, writing or creating something. Her imagination just goes wild & it's so awesome to find it on even little tiny scrap paper. She's my everything. She can be very silly at times but be she also has her quiet soft side. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't write or tell me how much she loves me. She's so special to me from her hair all the way down to her toes.

xoxo -Candis

Words

2011-12-06T19:58:00.004-06:00

I am thankful for her....for her spirit, her expressiveness, her light that shines so brilliantly. I am thankful for the moments that she wraps her arms around my neck and whispers in my ear, "I love you, Mommy"

10/30 Gratitude Challenge - Words

A few weeks ago K came to me & told me she made something for Christmas especially for me. She said she is hiding it in the playroom. So couple week go buy & forget completely about it. As I was cleaning the playroom today I found this letter inside a cute decorated bag. In it the letter read, "Mommy, you are the best in the whole wide world. You are so so so so funny. You are nice. I am soooo happy that you became my girl scout leader with Aimee." I thought it was very touching & so sweet. Can you imagine getting this under the Christmas tree? Waterfall of tears start streaming down my face. It was very very touching. Well after school came & I wanted to take a picture of it for today's challenge & K saw it and started to cry. She was very sad that I had found the hidden Christmas present. I forgot. I felt horrible. I hugged her & told her I'd forget what it says & she can write me a new one. She wiped her tears smiled & said okay.

I am very grateful for my little girls. I enjoy all the small treasurers my children bring to me everyday.

xoxo -Candis

Memory

2011-12-01T13:08:00.017-06:00

9/30 Days of gratitude challenge- Memory

I have to say Guns N' Roses was one of the best concerts I have ever been too. It was the most expensive I've ever paid for a ticket & it was worth every penny. When I first met my husband he had introduced me to Rock music. Guns N' Roses was his #1 band. I told him if they ever come & toured the USA I would buy him tickets to go no matter where it was they were playing. So when he text me & told me I was on it. I was so excited to see they person he admires so much as an artist. I tease him a lot about my birthday. They only reason he remembers my birthday is because me and Axl share the day. lol. What are the odds of that? I can now say that I am happy to share my birthday with Axl because he is so talented & so amazing live. We had such a great time. Even though we stood for 12 hours straight that day without sitting it turned out to be a memory we will never forget together. The day we saw Guns N' Roses!

Enjoy some of our photos from the day.

The show opened up with Adelitas way. I couldn't tell if they were good or not because they were having horrible mic issues. So bad you couldn't hear him sing. I heard they have one song on the radio. I'm not sure what it is. Hopefully they will sound better when they open for Puddle of Mudd & Halestorm next week when we go.

Adelitas Way Front man - Rick DeJesus

I took this photo right when we were able to get 2nd row. For a while we were 3rd then the people in front of us left so we were able to see a whole lot better.

Me & my love in the middle of the concert arn't we sooo cute!

Cool angle of Axl.

I didn't capture a good one of Larry when Axl first got on stage but his face was like a little kid full of excitement. It was totally worth going just for his reaction!

We are such geeks. We were like fat kids eating cake going on the floor to watch the awesome party (concert). We were so thrilled and all smiles with our cool wristbands we had to stand in a special line for. Told you we're geeks!

This picture is from my phone. It was really cool to look over and see Johnny Dare, Radio personality from 98.9 the rock here in KC. Trivia: Did you know he's really good friends with Jesse James Dupree from Jackyl? He's also the narrator on Full throttle saloon. How about that.

Richard Fortus

Dj Ashaba. This guy was amazing. He is the crowd, he threw picks & sticks every 10 min. 3 people around us got guitar picks & one guy got a drum stick. We wound up with streamers in our hair and clothes lol.

And that's the show folks!

Guns N Roses' fb page they posted a photo of our section. We are right behind the guy throwing the "Rock" sign. 2nd row.

*************************************************************************************
I'd like to thank the following people who helped us that day & made it possible to go that night.
Amanda D. & Kristina R. for your understanding, hard work & taking my spot at that nights lock in.
Aimee B. for your understanding & working on getting my spot filled that day. I know it probably wasn't an easy task. You are a true friend.
Danny M. & Shelly W. for taking our 6 year old during the day & all night when you didn't have too. We love you both!

Thank you all again soooo much!
*************************************************************************************

Inspiration

2011-11-30T10:15:00.007-06:00

8/30 day's of gratitude challenge - Inspiration

"The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking." ~Brooks Anderson

Where do I even begin to talk about my dear friend H? She's so talented at many things. Photography, crafting, sewing, baking and many more things. She's a wonderful friend. She's not afraid to share her opinions and tell me when you wear too much black or a very slow driver lol. She's a friend you can text or email anytime when you need someone to talk too. We've known each other for about 4 years and the longest we've ever spoken on the phone is maybe 10min. within 4 years lol. I'm not really sure why, I think it's just we're not really phone conversationalist. We get our feelings and words out better & faster through writing them out haha. I also like H because she's not clingy. We both have very busy lives with our own families & we don't need to be with each other 24/7. I know when I need a friend H is always there to listen & at the end makes you feel better by calling the other person who did you wrong an a$$ hole. She's there when you had a phase you wanted to wedding photography & needed a 2nd shooter. Then she brings you to reality when it's over by saying well that sucked. Let's not do that ever again. And you wind up attempting 4 more. All ending with the same "Let's not do that ever again." She's your friend laughing in sprint center restroom when you both have a brand new concert t-shirt dilemma. She was there through my heartaches & struggles. Without judgement she'd type back something sympathetic. Her creativity, craftiness, indecisiveness, photographer, smile, obsession with nail polish & Jessica Simpson are what make her a wonderful person, mother & I am lucky to call her my friend & my inspiration.

Sunlight

2011-11-22T09:18:00.005-06:00

6/30 day's of gratitude challenge- Sunlight

"If I was a spider princess, she said, I would spin webs the color of sky & catch drops of sunlight to give to children who watch too much TV & then everyone would remember to come outside to play. If I was a spider princess, she said, things would be different". {story people}

(On my computer this isn't showing up crisp -- Click on photo for crisp photo)

Okay so I haven't been doing very well at my challenge. But I'm determined to finish. So although I'm not posting everyday like I'd like too I'm gonna cheat and post recent photos & still label them as my challenge. Again I'm determined to see the post 30/30.

Now on the post shall we? A couple of weeks ago H & I planned to go downtown Kansas City & take photos. It's been a while since we've went out & shot anything. So I was excited. I personally don't think I'm that good at just shooting random objects. So this was a challenge for me. H on the other hand is awesome, her work is beautiful. I really want to venture out & try new things. Isn't what this whole challenge was about anyways? I'm very partial to anything I shoot, that it has to be centered. I don't know why & I think personally it's a bad habit because I'd like to stop doing that. Try new angles look at something & turn the camera at a weird angle or even shoot the object off to the side. So all this was the task of the day. ......... I found it quite hard to do, because I'm just stuck in my ways. So H if your reading this. We need to go out again sometime not only to practice but because I have a lot of fun hanging out with you! hehe.

So today's word is Sunlight. I wanted to capture something else besides just the sun. The sun is magnificent & it shines on such beautiful things throughout the day. Things we take for granted. Small things we look past & not see the beauty in. Looking at this image yesterday on the computer, Holy Brown Cow I was happy the way it turned out. I tried quite a few times to get this shot & I was happy that at least one turned out! I think this image is amazing if I do say so myself. When I took it I wanted the water drops of the bird to look as if it was sparkling. And I accomplished it. The sun can do beautiful things.

XoXo-Candis

Organization

2011-11-15T15:20:00.004-06:00

5/30's days of gratitude. Organization

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries".

I really try to stay organized I do but for some reason or another it just never pans out. I organize something to the way that's easier to work with & a week later it's forgotten, added too causing chaos or I forget about it. So while looking through a couple boxes the other day that have been in storage I came across one of my favorite frames I never really put a photo in. So before I get a super cute photo of my kids or maybe one of these days a family photo. I decided to use it to stay organized during the week. My husband & kids are always asking what's going on this week so I decided to use the frame as a writing board. I got my frame flipped over the inside paper over to the plain white side, hung it & used washable markers to write this weeks schedule. I wipe it off with a rag & windex.

So this week I am grateful for knowing how to organize my life but not always using the correct tools.

Animals

2011-11-13T20:21:00.004-06:00

"The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much." -Thornton Wilder

4/30 day's of gratitude. Animals

I am grateful for Animals. I remember when I was little I enjoyed going to my grandfather's little farm & watching chickens & roosters run the yards. It's one of my favorite things when I was a kid.

Something New

2011-11-13T20:04:00.004-06:00

Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you
want done because he wants to do it. -Dwight D. Eisenhower

3/30- Something new.

The other day I became an official GS Assistant Leader. The Investiture service was really nice. There had to be 10-13 new leaders & co-leaders. With all of us standing there I look out in the crowd of women whom I didn't know & seen a very pretty little 8 year old's face looking so proud of her mommy. I am grateful & proud to be a girl scout again & being able to share this experience with my oldest daughter.

(The Yellow Pin represents a position pin. In my case a leader. When I get around to purchasing the rest of the pieces I will wear this pin on my Insignia Tab along with my GS Pin & one other pin.)

Leaves

2011-11-09T10:06:00.006-06:00

2/30 day's of Gratitude Challenge

{I want you to know one thing.}

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
{Pablo Neruda}

I am grateful for Autumn. I enjoy watching the leaves change to yellows, oranges & red. It makes for a beautiful scenery in a photo.

Nature

2011-11-07T16:59:00.005-06:00

1/30 Day's of Gratitude Challenge

"Small simple things that don't mean much to others, bring me joy."

I decided to do a 30 day challenge because I haven't used my DSLR in quite sometime, I'm not very good at capturing objects & I'd like to practice using manual. The first one I picked was Nature. Today was perfect for a nature photo because it was a beautiful fall rainy day. My favorite season is fall you can go about anywhere in the city & see a beautiful scenery of red, orange & yellow leaves. I also enjoy a rainy day. Cuddling up in warm pj's, blanket, reading a book, watching a movie or opening up the windows looking out & smelling the rain as it falls from the clouds. I am grateful for the things nature brings us.

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672392625588509842" />

Number touch point book.

2011-11-04T13:35:00.003-05:00

First I'd like to say I apologize for the horrible photos I've been posted. I've been using my cell phone & since I have a really crummy computer & a trial photoshop I've become lazy & ticked because of the crummy software so I apologize. I hope though next week just start a photo challenge for gratitude. My focus is going to be SOOC. I'm not fond of snapping photos of objects so this will be a challenge for me & I am looking forward to it.

Okay let's move on shall we?

A week ago I had parent teacher conferences at the girls' school. I've always enjoyed these looking and listening to what improvements our children have accomplished during the year. It gives me a better understanding on what they are doing well in & what needs to be worked on before next semester ends.

The 6 year old takes after me in being so horrible at math. The teacher said that Riley should by the snap of the fingers know all the addition facts to 10. It's kinda silly how when I was in school everything was so basic & now they are expected to do a whole lot more. Including reading in Kindergarten. Do you remember when you were Kindergarten? We didn't start learning to read or do math till 1st-2nd grade.

So the 6 year old's teacher suggested that I teach her the "Number touch points." It will help so much with counting. If you've never heard of number touch points it's a math tool. There is a specific place for each touch point, so if you try to work with your child and put touch points in different places on the numbers your child will be confused and will likely not want to work for you. The patterns on the numbers have to be followed carefully because one day they will memorize this pattern.

Each number has a dot or a dot and a circle. Say for the number two their are two dots so if your adding 6+2 then you say the number six and count the two dots on the number...7,8. Say if your adding 9+8 the eight has 4dots & 4circles. Counting clockwise you count the dot (1) then the edge of the circle (2) then follow it until your done so you'll say 9 then add the dots, 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17. The number nine was fun when I was in school. On the 9 there are 6 dots & 3 circles. You'd start at the outer dot then count the circle all the way down so you'll have the number six so far then you go up to the 9 where it circles around. There are 3 dots two eyes and one nose so you'll continue from where you left off 6,7,8,9.

When the teacher suggested it I was shocked because not many teachers teach this & for students who really struggle it helps tremendously! The teacher & my husband thought it was strange & they've never heard of it before. I knew what the number touch was because my teacher in 2nd grade taught it to our class. And to this day I still use it. How weird/cool is that?

Dear 1st grade Journal...

2011-11-03T09:11:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things is looking through my girls' backpacks after school. Looking through that day's work sorting through which one's we want to keep. I have two filling boxes 1 for each girl, that I put all saved school papers in.

Last night I opened up the 6 year old's communication folder. A communication folder with our school is a folder which the parents & the teacher communicate. On one of the pockets it says leave at home. So papers that don't need to be returned to school are put in their. The other pocket says bring back to school. So of course things that are needed to bring back are in that folder. So in the "keep" pocket there were lots of journal entries that the 6 year old had written from a couple of weeks. It was so awesome to look at what her imagination has helped her write & her improvement on writing through the school year. Me & DH looked through them with just all smiles & laughs. Trying to pronounce some of the words she was trying to spell were fun. There had to be at least a month's worth of work. Most of them started "I love" then it would follow with sister, family, dog, mom, dad ect... It was cute how they all started with "love". A majority of them also was about her sister how she loved playing with her.

I'm very thankful for my girls. They are so innocent with full of life. They keep me going each and every single day. I am so grateful that I am able to get the time to spend with my girls. I am thankful that my husband works & I am able to take them to & from school. I am grateful that I am able to stay home with a sick little girl if I need too. My family is very important to me, it's who I am & I wouldn't change a thing.

New Necklace

2011-11-02T09:37:00.004-05:00

For quite sometime I've always admired stamped jewelry. I always liked Vintage Pearl's stuff. They would have necklace's with your child's name & a pearl attached to it. Or even a picture of a camera hand stamped. But they're prices are outrageous. Now I know there are tons of other designers out there who make them a little cheaper too but I've yet to order anything from Etsy. I also figured out how to make them but I don't think I have the patience to do them.

Couple weeks ago I went to our girl scout counsel store. It was a pretty neat store tons of fun things to look at. Which I plan on going back & looking for Kaleighan things for Christmas! Anyways as I was checking out I came across this volunteer necklace charm. On the front it says "Girl Scouts Volunteers are all heart" On the back it says "caring compassionate giving". It was only $3! So after that I went to hobby lobby to get the chain. It was I believe $1.99 and then I got to looking at their charms and I came across so many! They had stamped charms saying "friends", "believe" and maybe one other one. It was soo cool! I think I'll make a few for myself & for Christmas gifts for the girls! So anyways I searched and searched for something to add to my girl scout necklace & then I found the cutest little pearl. I think the original price was around $1.50. It was half off that day! So for the entire necklace I spent under $7! It was awesome. And now it's one of my favorite piece of jewelry items!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

2011-11-02T09:15:00.002-05:00

My mother in law got this recipe from a good friend of her's at work. For weeks she's been bugging me to make it so last night I decided to try it. I was a little apprehensive because some of the ingredients but believe me this is really good.

What you need.
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1-14.5 can of diced tomatoes
1-10 oz frozen whole kernel corn bag
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 chopped yellow, green or red bell pepper (I used red)
1-10 oz can of enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1-10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cut up chicken breasts

Boil your chicken separately over the stove. Add everything else in the crock pot. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1-2 hours.

Top with shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream or crushed tortilla chips. If the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it's cooked. Enjoy!

I'm on the look out for great crock pot recipe's so please do share!

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670401925289315986" />

Mom + 2

2011-10-20T09:13:00.006-05:00

Me & my 2 beautiful daughters

I love my girls so much. They both have a love for school. They are always playing with each other & looking out for one another. They both are so good in & out of public. We always get so many compliments on their well behavior. They are true mommy's girls. They're funny, have great imaginations. Always looking forward to what ever it is we do as a family. There are so many more things I can write about them. They are both so awesome & are true blessings sent from heaven.

The 8 year old & I

Her likes:
Math
Church
Girl Scouts
Game-Spongbob
Best Friend- Sadie
Tv- Good Luck Charlie
Stuffed wolf from GWL
Color Purple
Sausage Pizza
Cherry Coke
Writing stories
Playing the Wii & DSI
Movie- Wimpy Kid series
Likes going shopping

The 6 year old & I

Her likes:
Spelling
Church
Game-Spongbob
Best friend- Emma
Tv-Smurfs
Stuffed animal dog
Color pink
Chicken Tenders
Sprite
Coloring
Playing dress up
Movie-Romona & Beezus
Likes going to the movies

Little T is 1!

2011-10-19T00:28:00.003-05:00

I have to admit every time I'm asked to do a 1st year photos I get a little apprehensive on getting the right shots. I'm not much for photographing babies but I wind up with the best littles ever & they all surprise me! Little T is my 7ish 1st year photos I've done and I had so much fun processing these. When I first met Little T I fell in love with his beautiful blue eyes & his smile. He's gonna be a real heart breaker one day!

It was a pleasure taking his 1st year photos. He's so outgoing & very energetic, hey he has every right too he's 1 & mo-bile! ha! Thanks guys for asking me to do his photos it was fun & he's soo cute!

This is my favorite from the day!

His eyes are so amazing!

J. Z. P. & S.

2011-10-17T23:51:00.006-05:00

When J called me to set up a session for her, her children, her best friend & her X-husband I was really excited. I've always enjoyed J's sarcastic, witty sense of humor. For her birthday she wanted to book this session. So I was really happy when she called. But like all things it didn't work out like we wanted. 1st our first location had to be moved because it was hosting a festival the same weekend. So our location was moved last minute. 2nd it was a complete surprise that J's best friend's boyfriend showed up & wanted a few photos taken with his gf S. But it all worked out! It was an entertaining day for sure! Thanks guys for letting me take your photos. Here's just a small sneak peak. Happy Birthday J!

I really love how this B&W turned out.

Z.

J.

J & S they have been best of friends since there teen years.

I really wanted to post more pictures but unfortunately I have a really crappy computer & it's not letting me do a thing. So I apologize.

The Miller's

2011-10-17T22:55:00.004-05:00

I enjoyed taking these photos. It's been a long time since I've taken the teens pictures & we've talked about it but I've never taken the father's pictures. This session was a long awaited shoot. It was a pleasure to take their photos. Just look at the teen boy Z he's such a natural to shoot. He doesn't need to do anything but stand there. His hair is pretty awesome too. Reminds me of vacationing out on the beach in South California watching the guys with awesome hair walk by. The teen girl P just has some awesome red hair. True ginger gem. Her eyes just pop & stand out. I wished she would of smiled bigger for me but she didn't. She was a beautiful smile that's rarely seen.

I hope you all enjoy the photos as much as I've enjoyed creating them for you.

M+S

2011-10-17T22:22:00.008-05:00

Mmm...Chilli is in the house!

2011-10-11T23:42:00.002-05:00

(Taken with MyTouch 4g)

The other day my husband, his mother & I were talking about different soups. How any kind of soup or crock pot meal sounded good. We then got on the subject of Chilli. She said she likes soupy chilli not dry chilli. I'm not sure how you can get dry chilli but apparently you can. My mother in law is a great lady she really is. But there are a few things she thinks she makes the absolutely best. As in Lasagna, Chilli, burritos & Tacos. I have to say her Taco's are really good. But I have perfected all of the above. Shh don't tell her it may hurt her feelings & I don't want to do that but I make some bomb ass Lasagna & I have perfected her secret recipe to her famous burritos. But that is a sacred recipe and will not share (sorry). But I will though share my Chilli recipe.

One day about 4 years ago I wanted to make up my own recipe to chilli. My dad was one of the best & so there I was in the kitchen one day when Kaleighan was the only child, asleep in her crib sound asleep. Away I went with the items I had in my cupboards in a huge apartment kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 bag of red kidney beans (follow directions on bag)
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can Del Monte Diced Onion & Garlic tomatoes
1 can whole or half tomatoes
2 pkgs McCormix chilli seasoning originals
1 lb ground beef (brown meat separately)
A fourth of a small can of green chilli's

Add as needed & taste for perfection.
Water
Pepper
Salt
Tabasco sauce
garlic powder
onion powder

Try it! We love to add cheese to ours. Serve with cornbread, tortillas or crackers. Let me know if you like & tell me your favorite chilli or taco soup recipe!

What the Diaper Cake!

2011-10-05T23:10:00.005-05:00

Quite a few months ago I made my first diaper cake for a cousin in law. I personally think it turned out fabulous for my first one. This video was one of the best tutorials I came across on how to make a diaper cake. I wish I knew lots of pregnant women so I can make these all the time!

This one I made cost me a pretty penny. Almost $100. But you can make them cheaper if you shop around. Most of the stuff was bought at hobby lobby. The brown ribbon was my favorite piece. It's actually fabric ribbon you buy in the upholstery isle. The letter I made myself by decoupaging. I loved the scrap book paper and knew that baby "L"'s room was yellow, pink & brown. The pink flower is a flower clip for your hair. The wooden L is held up with a small picture frame holder.

My Creation:

There are so many cute ideas you can do! I'd like to wrap the cake in scrapbook paper next time. Just because there are tons to choose from. I like sticking to the decoupage thing as well. I just really think it's fun to do. I just learned how to make a tricycle cake. I'm nervous but I think I'm gonna attempt it for a friend of mine. We'll see lol!

Kaleighan's silly hotel pictures

2011-10-02T17:20:00.002-05:00

Rock Art Ranch

2011-10-02T15:50:00.029-05:00

First of all I wrote this from the end to the begging so bare with me and if you get confused and lost I'm sorry.

We all decided to have a picnic with hotdogs, chips, macaroni salad & cookies. It was my dad's birthday after all & we all ate on the ledge it was nice. Uncle Terril & dad cooked hotdogs on a HUGE pan over a fire. It was pretty cool.

Side note* (My uncle Terril is just one of my dad's brothers. There are 6 boys all together & 2 girls)

Hike into the Canyon.

The girls seen their first lizard!

Grandpa

Larry bill on the look out point Brently & my grandpa built. It's really something.

Other side of the canyon. It's a pretty good hike up & down there. On the walls are some of the oldest Indian writings in the country. Archeologists often study here. My grandpa sent us on a pretty good hike through the brush. Me & Tashina were cracking up, we wanted to go out of site just to please grandpa because it was a good hike & I was done about half way through. So me Tashina & Larry stood there for a minute out of site then went back up lol.

Chevelon Canyon

My youngest brother Kristopher Robin.

Tashina & Uncle Terril.

Partners in crime.

My Grandpa.

The good old Mr. Brently Bared. He's the owner of the ranch & an old family friend.

The girls with their 90 year old great grandpa Clem Rogers. He's still going and out at the ranch as much as he can during the weekend. I love my grandpa he's amazing.

My uncle Terril talking to my cousin Tashina.

Rock house built many years ago.

Made from the Hopi's hundreds of years ago.

I've always liked the bad boys. Okay that was bad lol.

Pretty cool!

My stud. Sorry Ladies he's taken!

Check out these prices! Oh man! There were lots of cool things to look at out there.

These are from a long haired masterdon I wanna say it's a mammoth. They were found in Joseph City.

Girls spotted a cactus at the ranch. They were confused of why it wasn't bigger. I had to explain in the northern parts of Arizona the cactus' are smaller due to weather. You don't get big one's where it's cold. Down in Phoenix area they are much bigger and it's illegal to cut them down.

I'm not exactly sure who's jacket this is. I don't recognize it. I could easily be my grandpa's or his partner at the ranch Brently's.

My dad was telling us he remembers my grandma washing with this. How cool is that?

Totally over exposed but I had to post for the wagon behind. This is a wagon that my grandpa traveled to some where in New Mexico to Arizona. Not sure what for but this is what I was told. And the handmade horses are my grandpa's art. He's pretty handy when it comes to making cattle or horses for rope training. He's one cool GP! In the back was a jacket I remember him wearing while I was growing up. I couldn't get a clear picture, the room was pretty dark. But it was very special seeing that.

The girls

Hanging in the Rock Art Ranch building

This really creeped me out.

Laundry & Pizza

2011-10-02T15:32:00.005-05:00

In Winslow we had to do laundry & since I was no longer on speaking terms with my family we decided to go to a laundry mat. I wasn't aware that Larry took this photo & I thought it was hilarious.

While waiting for our laundry we went across the street to the famous captain tony's. As a teen it was a very popular place for teens to work. I hung out here quite often. While we were waiting for the delicious pizza the girls wanted to take some funny photos. So here they are: Riley, Kaleighan & my little sister Brooklyn.

Shooting in the desert.

2011-10-02T15:03:00.002-05:00

I remember when I was little my dad would take me & the boys out shooting. My dad was a cop back then and would confiscate beer from drunk drivers. He wasn't a drinker so he'd take the beer shake it up & it was perfect for target practice. There was nothing to distract us. Only us & the desert.
I contacted my dad and asked him if he could take us shooting. He said of course. So after a day at the rock art ranch we went to shoot. It was his birthday and despite all the previous day's drama we all had a blast. Riley had a hard time with keeping ear plugs in due to her small ear canals. She was scared at first to shoot as well. But after she seen all of us doing it she decided to try. It was a fun evening. Out of me, Larry & dad I was the best shooter. I had the same cop stance like my dad. Everytime I shot I at least got 4 out of 6. I was pretty awesome! Rifles are another story. I suck at rifles. haha.

Below is a link to my facebook to everyone except me of course. Larry didn't take a photo lol.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2451532487586.2142856.1230234526&l=f3c245cddb&type=1

Standing on the corner festival

2011-10-02T13:13:00.004-05:00

When we arrived in Winslow, the plan was to rest for a while since we've only had 20min. of sleep between the both of us that night during driving. So we got showered and dressed to go to my parents home. We visited there for a while. My awesome cousin Lelsey came over to give me our class reunion tshirt I had ordered and the kids got to play for a while. I was planning on taking more pictures later when we hung out but due to car issues that didn't happen. :( But then again we planned a lot of things that didn't work out...

When all my brother's came over we all decided that dinner was going to be ROOTBEER STAND! I never realized how much cheese they put on the chilli cheese fries but it was yummy!

We all ate outside in front of my parents home.

Around 6pm we all went to the standing on the corner festival. It wasn't like it use to be back in the day. It was okay. Vendors, music and food. The bouncy houses we found out flew over & hurting a few kids so we decided not to go on those. I was able to see a few friends & a few family but after an hour we were ready to leave.

This is my nephew Jesse. I got him a karate outifit and the whole night he was showing me his moves. It was so awesome!

Girls playing clapping games.

Me & my mom. I know I look horrible. Again going on like 10min. of sleep.

Aunty Brooklyn & her nieces & nephew.

Jesse

Larry & Jesse

Car ride to Arizona

2011-10-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

Kansas. Very boring but beautiful.

While in Kansas I decided to make the girls a map through the states we were traveling through to get to Arizona. Once we passed a state I had them color in the whole state. The loved the idea!

Girls in the car

Gorgeous sunset in Oklahoma.

The girls finally fell asleep about 2am. I think we were in Texas at this point. The only time they argued was trying to get comfortable while sleeping. "Her foot is in my face" or "She's pushing me off." So not so bad at all!

New Mexico

Linking up with HAL

2011-10-02T11:45:00.003-05:00

1. Do you apologize to your kids if you're wrong?
Yes I do. Hubby's a whole other story.

2. Do you have a class ring, Letterman's jacket, or similar obscenely priced high school "must have"?
I have all kinds of crap. My ring as my birthstone in it. My Letterman's jacket has my band stuff + I was the captain of the color guard. I was proud of that when I was in school. I was actually the one who brought the color guard back to WHS. So I'm really proud of that. I also have mugs & necklaces and ect...

3. If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what age would you choose?
Umm I like my 20's probably 26.

4. What is your favorite (unused) baby name?
Boy- Ashtyn, Preston, Kyzer
Girl- Ashalynn, Alyssia, Reagen

5. If you could make your child like something what would it be?
Hmm...I'd like to be able to have patience for scrapbooking. But I don't. Also I'd love to learn how to make clothes.

1 more day

2011-09-22T09:16:00.005-05:00

Corner

Ever heard of the Eagles song "Take it Easy?" Yup this is the corner they're talking about in the song. Being from there I think it's stupid...just saying. The town is very small if I could guess it probably stretches like 12 miles. Very small, not much to do very small boring town. A little while back my dad was talking about this sign in the ground they put in. I'm however looking forward to taking a picture of it when I'm in town. It's kinda cool. The corner festival isn't even on this corner anymore...how dumb! It is after all the corner that's famous. (Trivia did you know when the Eagles wrote this song. They were actually in flagstaff but thought it was Winslow kinda funny huh?). The town is run down & very dirty. I don't think my friend Heather would like this place because it would be impossible to keep her white shoes clean here. Red dirt doesn't come out of shoes very easily. Actually I don't think it does at all lol. Anyways I'm looking forward to the town though just because, I once called it home.

El Rancho

You cannot get real Mexican food in Missouri. I'm just saying. Reason being you asked? Because you can't grow chili's like you can in the southwest. It has something to do with the weather/temperature. I use to eat red chilli sauce like it was water. I bet now when I go my mouth will be watering and I will be sweating! This is one of the family tradition places we like to go. We have 2 all time favorite waitresses named Shauna & Joy. Shauna is a little overweight, tall and always have a semi french braid in her hair. Sweetest woman you'll ever meet. Joy is a petite small gal with fire red hair and loves to gab. I miss these women & I am excited to eat my favorite enchilada combination with a side tostada. YUMM!! This is located apx 30 min east of Winslow in a small town called Holbrook.

Wigwam Hotel

Also in Holbrook you'll see this hotel. If you seen the movie cars here's the famous tee-pee hotel. Also near here is the jackrabbit sign. In the movie cars it's labeled "Here it is". Watching those movie reminds me of home.

Beams from the twin towers

This is located on the east side of Winslow. It's the actual beams from the twin towers.

Clear Creek

Another true gem in Winslow is clear creek. Kinda cool huh? In the back are huge cliffs you can jump off straight into the water. The further back you go the higher the cliffs and I doubt anyone jumps from those they're freaking high as can be. A lot of fishermen fish back there in there little boats and the water is so beautiful back there it's gorgeous! This was a famous place for partying (not like I ever went) I was told. :) This was also the place couples would go and park.... um ya lol. At night it's so gorgeous. You can see so many stars. I told Riley I'd take her and show her she's looking forward to looking at all the stars. It's so peaceful out there. At night however the road to get to this place is very winedy several people have been killed out here including a old childhood friend. Me & a couple of friends of mine went for a drive out here once and we almost hit a cow. This dumb cow was just sitting in the road and you couldn't see it until you were literately 2feet away.
Cliff diving

Another view of clear creek. See how tall the cliff's are?

Darrell's Rootbeer Stand

My Kaleighan Michelle loves to eat. I told her about this place I use to go as a teen. They have the best chilli cheese fries & Taco Tangles around (Taco Tangle is like a taco inside a burrito). It's a old time favorite. Friends of the family own the business and keep the recipe to the chilli a secret. I would do anything to have it it's sooo amazing! My mouth is watering already. Kaleighan is excited. I remember after school an old friend of mine would always pay for any time we ate out and we would walk our way home with a cheese fry. Even though we parted ways many years ago I really appreciated how much of my friends would pay for my everyday lunches. When I say everyday it was literately every day. I do miss this town ever so often and today is one of those day's.

AZ visit real soon.

2011-09-21T14:01:00.003-05:00

2 more days! 2 more days! Then we leave on the really long car ride to my hometown. I haven't seen my mom since she had surgery to remove her leg due to diabetes. So seeing her is going to be very difficult. But I'll have to put on a front because I don't want her to be sad. So I have very mixed feelings about seeing her. My dad he works for the Railroad so I'll see him when I'll see him. He's promised however when he's home he will bake chocolate chip cookies with Riley. If you don't know my dad he's an amazing cook & baker. He got it from his mom she was so amazing in the kitchen. He's also promised me & Larry to go shooting. When I was a little girl my dad was a Sargent at the PD and he would confiscate beer from drivers. And he would take me and my brothers out in the mountains and shoot the beer cans. I love to shoot & it's been a really long time.

I'm also trying to convince him to help my grandpa (video is posted of him below) set up the saddles at my grandpa's house so we can take the girls riding. My grandpa he's so amazing. He's 90 years old and still going. He's an old school cowboy and continues to work everyday. He's part owners in a ranch called the Rock Art Ranch. Rock art ranch is; "One of the premier rock (Partetroglyphics) sites in the world". The significance of this site is amplified by rock art samples spanning 6000 years produced by Anasazi, Sinagua, Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni cultures. The site demonstrates an artistic evolution from simple geometric shapes to more complex human and animal form examples. According to NAU Archeologists who studied there for 8 years. Another amazing site is a make-shift staircase into the bottom of Chevelon canyon. It's so amazing! If you have time you should flickr Rock Art Ranch there is so many awesome pictures. You might come across my grandpa Clem as well :) Below is a video I found on you tube.

My brother Michael unfortunately won't be able to make this trip from San Diego. He's got a huge test he's studying for and can't afford to loose time. I was disappointed but what do you do?

I will however get to see my other siblings. Ant (Anthony), his wife and my nephew Jesse James. My other brothers Stephen, Kristopher & my sister Brooklyn. So I'm really happy about that.

Left to right...Kristopher, Stephen, Brooklyn, Mom, Dad, Mike and Ant

These were taken a few weeks ago when Mike was intown.

Left to right...Ant, Mike, Kristopher & Stephen.

The actual list from oldest to youngest is: Me, Michael, Ant, Stephen Kristopher and Brooklyn.

It's a great weekend to visit my hometown. I'll be able to see lots of relatives which I'm stoked about. Also it's my 10 year reunion. So lots of old classmates I'll be able to visit with. And on top of that is the corner festival. It's not as big as the festivals here in KC it's like not even a quarter of it. It's sooo small. Well it's a small town so what do you expect? So it should be interesting.

We are also planning on going to the grand canyon and meator crater.

Who's your Doppelganger?

2011-09-16T15:56:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago my cousin Cheri wrote me saying every time she heard "Rolling in the Deep" it reminded her of me. She said I looked like Adle. Adle? I said. Now everywhere I go people say I look like her. It's amazing how quick something catches on. lol. Someone said it might be my smooth baby like skin another says because our eye make up is the same. Hmmm I don't know what to think. I really don't think I do...
Me:

In my past I have heard I looked like the following: Brittany Murphy, A young Cybil Shepard, Anna Chlumsky, Meg Ryan & Gwen Stafani. I think a young Cybil Shepard is the closest... See...

So who's your Doppelganger?

Take time, to read.

2011-09-16T15:44:00.002-05:00

I love to read. I really do. I don't do it as often as I should but I do like to read. My favorite books are Auto Biography's. I just finished reading this the other day. It took me 2 days & at parts I wanted to put it down & not finish just because it was so heartbreaking. I encourage you to read this if you haven't. I can't say much just because it's a truly sad story.

Other books I've enjoyed are anything to do with the holocaust. I think it's became a favorite because in 1998 I went to Washington DC and visited the holocaust museum and I was so drawn to it. I guess you can say I like sad Auto-biography's. Another good series I read was the Dave Pelzer series. I'm still debating on reading his brother's book I'm still iffy. That is a true heart breaking series.

On a lighter side I really like Sophie Kinsella's fiction "Shopaholic" series. I find myself literately lol-ing. They are great. I was really disappointed when the movie "Confessions of a shopaholic" came out. It was horrible. Books are way better! Undomestic Goddess & Remember me were really good. So if your looking for some hilarious books I recommend these!

Happy Reading!

Come get your Tickets!!

2011-09-16T09:14:00.008-05:00

A couple days ago Larry text me and said that Guns N' Roses or you can call it the Axl Rose band was coming to KC. Re-reading my text thinking "Did I read that right?" When I met Larry I learned he was a HUGE fan of Guns N' Roses. He was disappointed he missed the '92 concert with Metallica. So I said if they ever came back here to KC I would buy him tickets & try my best to go all out for him. So I made that promise & now it was time to keep it. It was a bit hard because for a few months now we have been saving for our trip to Arizona. But like most things it worked out & I was able to come up with money to go. I knew the tickets were on sale this morning. But after farting around last night I was able to score the pre-sale password to ticketmaster. I went back to ticketmaster hoping there was some VIP passes or something. And I then found out you had to be apart of this "Sprint Club." Which I thought was ridiculous. So I bought him some floor tickets. I've never spent this much on a ticket...wait yes I ALMOST did for Celine Dion (her's was $90 in Vegas. But we won't talk about that because it makes me tear...like I am now). Okay wiping my tears now. ANYWAYS the tickets were $75 per person and with all the stupid fee's ticketmaster has we spent close to $200. I know he will enjoy the show. If Axl shows up that is. We promised each other that this year we would have a carefree FUN year & that is exactly what we've been doing! PS. Did I ever mention the only way my husband remembers my birthday is because it's the same day as Axl Roses birthday? Yup...lucky me ;)....

Reflection:
In 2001-2002 I believe me & Katie went to Tuscan with her cousin Curtis & Keith to it was ither a Blink 182 concert or New Found Glory Maybe both? lol. Sum 41 was suppose to be there but didn't show. The arena wasn't full & like idots we bum rushed security to get to the floor, which we made our way to the front of the stage. Hot, Sweaty & my dumbass was in overalls haha! Katie & her cousins stayed up front throughout the entire show. I left because well I was a pansy haha. That night we all went out to eat then stayed somewhere (still unsure where we were)with a bunch of guys in some apartment sleeping in our concert sweat. It was so gross but awesome! haha

Vans Warped tour 2002

This was my first multi-band concert I've ever seen. It was I believe in Tuscan and it was insane. It was unbelievably hot. People were pierced in many places. For a small town gal it was very different. I went with my best friend Katie & I think 2 of her cousins I can't quite remember. But it was fun I had a blast. The line up was insane there a ton of bands & you can get autographs after each show. The tour included:

9lives
10 times a day
3rd strike
Alkaline Trio
Allistar
Andres W.K
Anti-flag
Bad religion
Box car racer
Boy sets fire
The casualties
The Damned
Devities
District 7
The Early November
Every time I die
Finch
Five iron Frenzy
Flogging Molly
From Autumn to ashes
Glassjaw
Gob
GOOD CHARLOTTE
Gutter mouth
Homegrown
Hope
Hot Water Music
It's puring on our heads
JIMMY EATS WORLD
Lagwagon
Lillix
Manic Hispanic
Middle ground
MI6
THE MIGHTY MIGHT BOSSTONES
Millencolin
Motion City Soundtrack
The movie life
MxPx
N.E.R.D
NEW FOUND GLORY
Nofx
No use for name
Ozma
Quarshi
Reel Big Fish
Rx Bandits
Senses Fail
SIMPLE PLAN
SOMETHING CORPORATE
The starting line
Switched
Thrice
Thursday
Tiger Army
Trust company
Tsunami bomb
The used
West Beverly
YELLOWCARD

I want to say in 2006 Me, Larry, Danny & Nicole went to see Kid Rock. OMG he is amazing! He put on a great show!!!

In 2006 although I didn't go my hubby was at Harley Davidson on North oak & met the lead singer of Jackel. I thought that was pretty cool too add here. I've never met anyone famous. I just don't have that kind of luck. The closest I've ever came to someone big was at the warped tour and got the band something corporate members to autograph a sticker. If you haven't heard of them they are a really good band. Jacks Mannequin is a spin off band from them.

In 2007 I was suppose to go to Garth Brooks with Nicole, Ryan, Kathy, Roger & a few more people I think. And my sister in law Nicole had an extra ticket for me. I was so excited! But then all the sudden my brother in law said he wanted to go & I was kind enough to give up my ticket. Later we get all these texts from them saying. Some guy came to there seats & said "Do you want free floor passes?" Yup I missed out. But I'm glad they had fun. Me & Larry went a couple days later. And a matter of fact I posted these on Flickr & this girl Heather commented & that is how we became good friends! lol

In 2008 I went to Dancing with the stars tour. Which featured: Wayne Newton, Sabrina Bryan, Joey Lawrence & other's I cannot remember. Although it wasn't a concert it was still kinda cool. I got the tickets by just pure luck. Larry's aunt & uncle got sick so me & my niece at the time (we don't speak anymore) took there tickets and went with Connie & Barbara.

Also in 2008 I took my oldest daughter to a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert. That was just insane. SOOO many little girls screaming on the top of their lungs. We got these tickets by just pure luck as well. Earlier in 2007 the concert sold out. And 1 day before the show they released a few more tickets & we were able to buy some.

In 2009 me & my good friend Heather went to see Rascal Flats & Jessica Simpson. That was so fun! Heather LOVES Jessica & I LOVE Gary Lavox so it worked out great for both of us. I'll leave out our embarrassing T-shirt story & tell you we seen the tour buses which was neat. They both were really great performers!

In 2011 Me, Larry & Danny went to Rockfest. Which was so awesome. Parking sucked though we parked probably 3 miles away. The walking sucked because it was all up hill. I was really disappointed that we missed Halestorm. But seeing the other bands it made up for it. I want to say they said there were 55,000 people there. OMG there were a ton! Disturbed acted like a prick. Stone Sour was awesome. Maybe I say that just because I heart Correy Taylor lol. Papa Roach was so awesome. He's a hell of a performer. The line up included:
Disturbed
Stone Sour
Papa Roach
Alter Bridge
Sevendust
Hinder
Halestorm

Jose Cuervo Second Stage:
Black Label Society
All That Remains
10 Years
Red Line Chemistry
Hail the Villain
Art Of Dying
New Medicine
Evalyn Awake

I know I'm leaving a ton of other concerts I've seen out. Like Michael Montgomery & the Celine Dion fiasco. This October we are planning on joining Danny & Shelly for freakers ball. That should be fun!! My brain is going 100 miles a minute so I may have to come back and update. Anyways we are excited to see Guns N' Roses.

New Theatre Resturant

2011-09-12T09:19:00.005-05:00

I absolutely LOVE going to dinner plays! We always have such a wonderful time. We like it for date nights because they don't really allow children. You go & have a quiet evening with adults who just are there to have a good night.

We have been here several times. In 2002 I went with an aunt & uncle & 2 exchange students to see "Caught in the net" with Richard Kline. In 2004 we went to see "Barefoot in the park" with Happy day's own star Marrion Ross. In 2010 we seen "Cactus Flower" with M.A.S.H.'s beautiful lady Loretta Swit. I want to say we've seen one more but I can't remember which one it was.

This time we got to see Loretta Swit again in a hilarious comedy play called "Move over Mrs. Markham". It was a comedy of "chaos, it’s the misadventures of two book publishers, their wives, an interior designer, a maid, a children’s book author and several others as they all converge on the same elegant apartment at the same time." It was so funny about peed my pants a few times. It was so funny!

My mother in law got tickets for Christmas & she wanted to take Larry's Aunt Barbara so she asked us to come along & from there we bought our tickets. It's really not bad prices at all. We originally got tickets for $36 a piece. They stuck is right against a far wall. There isn't really a bad seat in this place. We just didn't want to sit watching the play from a side angle. (Didn't I tell you nothing ever goes right with The Chastain's?) So we upgraded to the middle section & I think it was $43 per person. So it's really not bad. The food is to die for. It's a small buffet style with gourmet food. My favorite is always the "Polenta" it's a house specialty, prepared with mozzarella cheese, basil and oregano, topped with a roasted red bell pepper sauce. The "Chicken tenders" are amazing, it's marinated with citrus and rosemary, served with a tomato hunter sauce. At intermission they have Dessert. They have many to choose from. Me & my mother in law chose "EX-MOTHER-IN-LAW CAKE" which was so huge I had to take it home. It was a spiced oatmeal cake, topped wit coconut pecan streusel, and freshly whipped cream. OMG it was soooo good! Larry got "CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE SUNDAE" Chocolate chip ice cream, layered with chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. You know how much he loves chocolate chip cookies! It was a great time! We all had a blast!

The whole cast.

L+C

Now everyone say "Awww".

Loretta Swit

Such a cute box for dessert leftovers.

One thing I love here is the art. This is on the wall.

You know it's a party when the Chastain's show up. (Okay not really) :)

I love going to places with player piano's. The statue is kinda cool too.

The theater. It quickly filled up after taking this picture.

Incredible statue in front.

Loretta Swit Poster.

Mother in Law & Barbra

911

2011-09-11T10:44:00.002-05:00

911 ten years ago. Its a question you dont even have to ask "Do you remember where you were". Its more so, a question of where were you when you got the devistating news?

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 18, out of school. For some reason I had fell asleep in the family room. I woke up with a phone call from my boyfriend at the time who was in college in Chandler Az. He told me to turn on the tv and he was frantic & was trying to explain to me at the time what was happening. As soon as I turned on the tv, two minutes later the 2nd plane had crashed. I quickly went to my parents bedroom, woke them up & turned on their tv in the bedroom. My dad quickly got out of bed & sat on the edge speechless. The room was silent. We were at war.

Couple of hours went by & at the time I was working at walmart. I walked in & the entire store was in dead silence. All the tv's & radios were all on focusing on the tradgic events. Everyone was quiet & polite. In my 28 years of life I havent ever seen a day where everyone was polite. While I was working there was this gentleman who asked for help. After getting what he needed, this stranger took my hand and said thank you. Never have I experienced such kindness from a complete stranger.

To all those that have lost someone that day, my prayers and thoughts are with you. A special thank you goes toall those service members who risked their lives to try to save another. To the military who risks everyday to protect our freedom, I thank you. I have several family members who serve, including my brother. And to them I am honored to know you.

It's a Circus in here!

2011-09-08T09:46:00.008-05:00

First let me start by saying. If you haven't already figured it out NOTHING goes right in the Chastain home... EVER! Which makes life pretty interesting around here let me tell ya!

So 2 weeks ago we bought tickets to go to the circus. We all agreed not to tell the girls anything & just make it a HUGE surprise. Picture this: We decided we wanted to go to Olive Garden before "The greatest show on Earth!". This is the girls' favorite place because they are huge fettuccine fans. We told the girls that because Kaleighan got her first A on a paper & Riley is now up to spelling 20 words we wanted to take them out to a nice dinner. They were so buying the whole thing! So we sit down & have a wonderful meal. There are probably only 6 tables occupied so it was really nice. Then we tell the girls oh let's go rent a movie! So we're driving & we're heading downtown. I distract the girls a little by taking goofy pictures (as you can see below). So we're downtown right & we pull into this parking garage. Sign says $10 for Sprint parking. So we park get out & start walking to the Sprint center. Well on our way there we notice a sign that says "Public Parking $5!" $5 bucks are you kidding me?!! So we send Larry to go get the car to park in the $5 lot. So then me, the kids & the mother in law start walking to the Sprint Center & guess what sign Candis read at the $5 parking lot? Yup you guessed it. "$5 public parking excludes events." So guess what the "Real" price was? $20! By this time Larry had already got the car from $10 Garage Parking & was in the $5 but really $20 parking lot. He calls and says he has no cash run to an ATM. I told him I refuse to pay $20 for parking so he needs to go to a new garage parking which was right across the street from parking lot $5 but really $20. So I run to get to the ATM run back to the 2nd $10 parking garage. I tell you this was absolutely insane! FINALLY we were done with that mess!
So next we're walking to the Sprint Center (where the circus is being held) & there's this huge bouncy house in front clearly says Barnum & Bailey Circus. At this point the girls STILL haven't asked what we were doing.... Okay?! So we're inline & people are talking circus talk left & right the $20 program lady is getting on my nerves because she keeps screaming in the microphone to get autographs. And we're standing right beside her. It's insane! So girls still haven't asked or said a word.
So now we're inside & of course I beep through the metal detectors. I swear it never fails. Then I look over & snap the reaction on Kaleighan's face when she seen the vendors. It then clicked where she was & where we were going. (Riley was still stuck on we were going to see a movie). Riley didn't get it until we were in the bathroom & she was on the pot. I of course didn't get that picture because well... she was on the pot. (Didn't I tell you nothing goes as planned?)
So we go inside & we got pretty good seats. The girls were just in Aww. So THEN those stupid vendors come by. You know the one's I'm talking about. The one's with the 7ft pole holding cotton candy, flashy lights guy, popcorn guy & ect. So then my mother in law calls them over. Now if you have never met my mother in law she's a VERY outspoken lady just like my husband & she speaks her mind (just keep that in mind for the next part). She first calls cotton candy guy over. she then asks the price & my husband & mother in law said very loudly... "$12 FOR COTTON CANDY!! YOUR OUT OF YOUR MIND!" I bow my head. Then flashy light guy comes over... again..."$22 FOR A FLASHY TOY!!". I cover my face. People are now starring & laughing. Then popcorn guy comes... "$7 FOR POPCORN!!!" By now my face is red & buried in my lap. And by now you can already guess who's on his way... Snow cone guy... Yup $10 for a snow cone. I finally told them this is enough buy them a snow cone & we're done!! lol.... Needless to say they got a snow cone.

Show started........we had fun......girls we're amazed.......and so were we.

Sessions in detail.

2011-09-03T22:11:00.008-05:00

Due to the overwhelming emails I have decided to list my photography details here.

Hello! My name is Candis Chastain. I'm a soft spoken gal with big hair. I live for creativity, love, art, beauty & music. Small simple things that don't mean much to others, bring me joy. I'm originally from a small town back West. I was a small town girl with big city dreams, so I decided to move to Kansas City. I wanted a change, discover myself and figure out my purpose in life. I've always loved photography & with the beautiful backdrops of Kansas City I knew that photography was what I wanted to do. Learning digital photography I have enjoyed not only taking an image but also every step in processing a photograph by looking at each photo & making sure all details are perfect.

I specialize in black & white photos. Color photos are available upon request. Sessions are held outside as the sun is my source of light. Natural light is what I prefer and I love to shoot in. I shoot only early mornings or in the evenings.

This is your session. Wear clothing choices that reflects your personality. Want to add urban funk? Add some layers! Want to go barefoot? Do it! Have a favorite prop or funky chair? Bring it!

Subjects I typically shoot: Children age 6 and up. Engagements, Couples, High School Seniors.

Sessions include digital images up to four persons for a fee of $125.00 up to 1-2 hours of on location time (Additional $5.00 per person after the allotted 4). Sessions are within a 30 mile radius of Kansas City, Missouri.

Please allow two weeks for your images to be completed. During that time you will receive an email containing a "Sneak Peak" link to some of your images that will be put on a CD.

Candis Chastain only accepts cash. If you would like your package to be mailed, an additional $10.00 will be accepted at the time time of payment.
You will receive 20 images on a CD. Along with that you will receive a print release for you to print at your convenience.

*Please note I do not shoot any events of any kind*

If you would like to contact me by email: CandisChastain@yahoo.com

Thank you, Candis

K&R take on 3rd & 1st grade

2011-08-24T10:53:00.009-05:00

SUMMER IS OVER! Let me say that again SUMMER IS OVER!! The girls were ready to start school today. So ready in fact they woke up at 7am saying "MOM IS IT TIME YET?" As I was tucked snugged in my bed I peaked with one eye at them I then looked at the time. With a scratchy voice, a yawn & a stretch I said "Only today will we be getting up this early, the remainder of the school year we will get up at 8:15am & I don't care if your wide awake you will shut your eyes & if you have too, pretend your asleep." With smiles on their faces excited for the day they both plopped on my bed jumping up & down & said "OKAY!"
So the children then ate a unhealthy bowl of cereal. Brushed teeth. Put on new clothes, new shoes & got there hair brushed nicely with a bow in one child's hair & a ponytail on the other child. We then go outside to take the "1st day of school photos." At this point they are very giggly & silly. I ask them to stand by each other. Next thing I see is Riley grabs Kaleighan to hug her then they both go tumbling down to the ground. Yes our freshly clean/new clothes now have GRASS STAINS! We have 2 minutes before the school bell rings so I say screw it, it's your own fault for being silly. Your off to school! So off they went. Grass stains & all.
So we pull up to the side street. I let the girls out & guess who starts whining & crying? Nope not me! THE DOG! Yes she decided she wanted to go for a car ride & as soon as the girls got out she is going bazerk! Not even a bark bark, like a crying bark. So then I'm sad for Miley & the girls' first day so then I start whining & crying. We were a mess! I then look to make sure the girls got to the crossing guard okay & what do I see? Kaleighan ripping out her pony tail & Riley taking out her bow! Uh I then gave up! Wiped my tears drove off & here I am blogging about the 1st day to school. How did your kids' first day go? :/

I just thought this one was pretty darn cute. (Before the grass stain)

Riley's ready for 1st grade.

Kaleighan's ready for 3rd grade.

Still on the search for some cute lunch notes.

What's for lunch?

Candis takes on funky lunch

2011-08-23T13:40:00.002-05:00

So last night I was browsing through one of my new favorite websites www.pinterest.com I am addicted!! Anyways I came across these funky lunches & thought hey! I'm semi creative let me give these a try. So these were what I came up with. Not that great, I need more practice. But for today I think they worked just fine. Kids didn't care they loved them anyhow. Which makes me feel like an accomplished mom today. I don't think I'll be making these for school lunches just because they will get ruined but I found some creative apple things (again pinterest) so I think I'll stick with those. So there you have it. My version of a funky lunch.

PS. I AM IN NEED OF BOTTLE CAPS!! SO IF YOU HAVE SOME PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY! I NEED A WHOLE BUNCH FOR MY CHRISTMAS CRAFTS! I DON'T CARE WHAT IS ON THEM I JUST NEED THEM!! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

Disclaimer: Please don't judge the photos I was in a hurry & well the kitchen lighting is really crummy.

Ms. K--Senior Fotos

2011-08-22T22:10:00.006-05:00

It's hard believe I met Ms. beautiful K.S. when she was around 8 years old. Now she's turned into a beautiful young woman & a senior in high school. Isn't she just beautiful! She's got such a wonderful, sweet, bubbly personality. Every photographer's dream to have a client who looks like this...

I hope you like them K it was a lot of fun editing these! xoxo

8 when I first

K&R Meet there teachers

2011-08-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

School shopping is officially done! Tonight we went to the school & the girls got to meet there teachers. It was a mad house! Tons of parents & little one's eager & ready to meet their teachers for the year. We first went to Riley's. 1st grade already I cannot believe it. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Pio. She's taught at the school for 8 years. Dear friends of ours have told us wonderful things about this teacher so we are excited. A few of her Kindergarten, library & T-ball friends were in her class so Riley was a bit excited about that. She's got front row table. After leaving Riley got a little scared. New Teacher, friends & classroom I think she really misses her Kindergarten teacher Mrs. York. She really liked her. I know it will take some time but I think she'll wind up liking Mrs. Pio. She's soft spoken like her other teacher so we'll see.

Kaleighan's new teacher this year is a first timer teacher & her name is Mrs. Mattson. She seems very shy & nervous. Only a few of her friends from other classes made it into her class so Kaleighan was a little sad about that. None of her Girl Scout friends are in her class. Her best friend Sadie she wished was in her class but it's a wonderful thing most of her troop is going to stay in scouts so she'll see them often. Kaleighan got front row as well this year. I was a little surprised that she didn't get to keep her school supplies at her desk, since everything was bought "special" just for her & not to be shared with the class. So I wasn't happy about that. Maybe I'll buy pencils & other things for the class & she can have back her specialty items.

I think it's going to be a good year we will see. I think I'm a bit scared just like the girls are. School starts Wednesday. Happy Year everyone!

Girls + Friends = spray park

2011-08-17T15:36:00.004-05:00

My dear friend Heather & her mom invited us gals to play at the spray park a few weeks ago. Okay well that's half true. My dear friend Heather & her mom invited us to Adventure Oasis. Ha! After my whining of how I didn't want to get into a swim suit we finally agreed to stick to the spray park. It was one HOT day. So hot in fact I got sunburned on one side of my body. It was refreshing to stick your feet in water every so often though. All the girls I think had a great time getting out of the house, playing with water & with friends. Well until the end that is. We are accustom to Z's unfriendliness after every single play date. Towards the end she ither A. Get's upset that the play date is over. B. Didn't get her way. C. Tired. So after Z cussed out Kaleighan, having the poor girl in tears it was time to go. I think this times words were "Your the worst friend ever." and "She has lots of friends who are nicer to her." So after the waterfall of tears Kaleighan was able to have friend Miss E over for the day & it made her feel alot better. Even though Miss Z is very outspoken we still love her, thinks she's such a cute little girl & is very friendly....when she wants to be. lol.

M+C=O

2011-08-16T21:07:00.006-05:00

So this shoot was suppost to happen a year ago. For some reason or another it just didn't happen. So with some last minute planning it finally happened. I'm so glad it did because this little one was the best baby ever to photograph. Full of smiles & never once cried! It was a fun long awaited shoot. Since I've been photographing it's rare to find people who arn't fake infront of the camera trying to be the "perfect" family. So this was a wonderful change. Good looking people with a good looking baby I might add who were just themselves & being who they are in a lifestyle setting shoot. It was awesome. It's been a while since I've had a shoot & I've truly missed doing what I absolutely love to do. Thank you M & C for letting me photograph all of you. It was great & we must do it again when baby 2 comes! Here are just a few of my favorites. I actually came up with 60 favorites which you will soon see, but here's a small sneak peak.

The one with an 8 year old & 6 year old pictures.

2011-08-02T16:34:00.005-05:00

Hello! It's been way to long since I've blogged. Like a month ago me and Heather took all the girls out to take pictures. Here are the results of that session. I've also included a little questionair at the end for entertainment purposes. ha! Enjoy!

{one} what is your dream job?
Women's Lingerie Photographer

{two} how many best friends do you have?
Hmm... I have several friends that I consider close but far as best friends? I'd have to go with L he's my "bestie". lol

{three} what’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
Missouri to Arizona back & forth several times. Urgh it's a long drive!

{four} if you had to do one single thing every day for the next year, what would it be?
Travel abroad!

{five} what’s one story your family always tells about you?
Classic first word. It was Doll & my mom came in and asked me to say it again & of course I didn't she walked out & I said Doll...again. And the stubborn personality began!

{six} how did your parents pick your name?
Well it was suppost to be Tabatha. But my mom heard Candis from Candace Burgan. And from there she made up the spelling. Middle name is my recent late great grandmother who passed.

{seven} what’s the one thing that scares you more than anything?
Any harm to my family.

{eight} are you a good cook?
I can read a recipe. Besides that no.

{nine} where do you see yourself in 20 years?
In Kansas with a house on lots of acres.

{ten} what’s your best childhood memory?
I'll pick one of my brothers. We would always play outside in dad's woodpile making houses & we would trade our toys or candy in these houses. My dad would be soo pissed his neatly stacked wood pile would be ruined scattered all over the yard.

Qustionair stolen lol.

2011-05-25T20:35:00.002-05:00

{one} what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?
Let's see we'll name him J. OMG it was horrible! Poor guy just showed up at my house. I wasn't attracted to him at all. But I liked his personality & I was bored so I went. It was like 8 at night got to flag around 9. Nothing was playing except that Jackie Chan movie. I don't remember what it was called. So we stayed only 1/2 through it & left he didn't want to stay. He was hot & sweaty. So we went to the Cd store walked around & he bought a porn mag. I did mention he wasn't my type at all! So I don't know what that was about but ya. Anyways the cd place was closing so we left. Then we went in search of something to eat & nothing was open. So we drove all the way back to Winslow & I was starving. He dropped me back at my house & he tried to kiss me all sweaty & just gross. I kindly said no & went in my house & never talked to him again. That whole thing was one of the worst. I could of wrote about another guy that started with a J who fell asleep every time we'd go watch a show. That was nuts too. lol.

{two} if you could be any other person for one day, who would it be?
Hmmm... I really don't know. Maybe a day in Amy Grace she's such a talented photographer & artist. I'd like to see what inspires her to be so freakn' talented.

{three} what is your favorite kind of cheese?
Colby Jack!

{four} do you remember your 1st grade teacher?
Yes she was mean as hell. Her name was Mrs. Watts. I'd miss my mom & cry almost everyday & everyday she'd dig her nails in my arm to go & wash my face. She hated me.

{five} who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
I hardly ever have bad days but when I do it depends. If Larry can't talk then usually my aunt Cindy. She always turns my bad days into good with humor.

{six} were you ever in a school talent show?
Nope

{seven} who is your favorite fictional character?
Does Barney off how I met your mother count?

{eight} can you open your eyes underwater?
Of course

{nine} do you look at the keyboard when you type?
No. I thank my 8th grade computer teacher Mr. Pate for this one. Who put a pillowcase over my hands to teach me to type without looking.

{ten} when was the last time you took a nap?
Actually today after I took the girls to school. It was nice & it felt great.

mark + sonya

2011-05-24T11:10:00.008-05:00

Questionair again? Geez

2011-05-23T00:36:00.003-05:00

(We both agree we look better in non smiling photos) ha!

I'll post photos of the wedding tomorrow. I took my sleeping pills 30min. ago & they just kicked in as I began to type. So I'm gonna do a simple question air followed by a photo of today's beautiful wedding.

1. People always tell me I look like... No one anymore. When I was younger I'd get all kinds of bizarre responses. Meg Ryan, young Cybil Shepard a lot, Gwen Stafanie & the little girl on My girl.

2. Friends don't let friends... look dumb in public.... I'm gettn' sleepy can't you tell?

3. A sunny day is perfect for... A walk around the block, kid time at the park, picnics.

4. My favorite accessory is... My wedding ring. Even though it's been missing a diamond for 2 yrs lol. I really need to get it fixed.

5. If I could afford it I would... Travel around the world

6. The cure for boredom is... Too be honest it's been a while since I've been bored. I'm always constantly doing something. But shopping would work!

7. I am currently "in like" with... My nose ring, my manipedi, a whole week & a half off to do NOTHING!and my new cute black wedge sandals.

Another Questionair I stole

2011-05-18T21:40:00.002-05:00

{one} what profession have you always admired?
Teachers, I really admire those who are creative in there classrooms & gets all the kids involved and those who have patience with kids even those that are hard to deal with on a daily basis.

{two} what would the title of your memoir/biography be if it was written today?
Would anyone read it is the question. ha! Uh... Memoirs of the big haired momma...??

{three} how far do you commute to work?
When I was a Nanny it was probably a mile away. My other job as a Direct Care giver or personal assistant as I like to say is 26miles to & from.

{four} are your earlobes attached or detached?
Attached

{five} do you eat the unpopped kernels of popcorn at the bottom of the bag?
No

{six} what is the strangest gift you’ve ever received?
Barbie watch when I was 16

{seven} what is one tv show that you wish hadn’t been canceled?
Two and a half men. And a long time ago there was this show with a photographer can't remember the name on lifetime it was really good but canceled the 2nd season.

{eight} what is something that you are saving money for right now?
Vacation in September back to the slow

{nine} what hobby would you like to take up?
Sewing. When I was little I'd hand stich my dresses into shirts.

{ten} how many times a year do you get really dressed up?
Usually 1 or two. Anniversary & usually there is at least one party or event we're going to.

Okay I'm done.

Suprise!

2011-05-18T17:04:00.002-05:00

I know I know. I haven't blogged in a super long time. The truth is ever since my laptop blew up I gave up on even getting on a computer. Now I'm using the DH's laptop since he doesn't use his anymore. He's got one of those cool generic type ipad things. It's super cool & I'm super jealous. I will take over it one of these days you watch. Well since I opened the laptop I decided I'll steal something from Heather's blog & start from there. Hopefully I'll keep my blog updated. Summer is coming I quit my Nanny job so with kids summer programs I'm sure I'll be able to update a little more. Okay here we go...

{one} when was the last time you used a pay phone (if ever)?
Let's see it had to be way back in high school when cell phone's weren't popular yet & I needed a ride home from work lol.

{two} did you ever fail a subject in school?
I bow my head in shame. I failed math & biology had to take the classes twice. It sucked. I obviously wasn't a fan the first round, but they thought I would enjoy it the 2nd time. Boy were they wrong! I passed with flying D's ha!

{three} where do you go to get your favorite hamburger/cheeseburger?
I really enjoy a good stacks burgers. It's disappointing they are moving to Independence but now I have an excuse on the weekends to eat at my favorite hole in the wall burger joint.

{four} have you ever served jury duty?
No. I don't think I'd like too. KNOCK ON WOOD!

{five} how old were you when you moved out of your parents’ house?
I want to say 18. Maybe 17.

{six} what is your favorite color to wear?
Really? We all know Candis loves black.

{seven} do you have a pair of shoes that you wear all the time?
I'm a fan of my new Ensy black & white giraffe print flip flops

{eight} do you enjoy talk radio?
I like Dr. Drews sex session. It's pretty entertaining. Other that it depends on the topic.

{nine} if you could turn one unhealthy food into a healthy one, what food would it be?
lol Enchilada

{ten} who is the best speaker you’ve ever heard in person?

Haven't heard many but who ever spoke at my high school graduation that person was memorable & very good ha!

Random scattered thoughts.

2011-03-25T09:45:00.004-05:00

Very sad that my laptop decided to die on me. Very sad I have no photoshop. I'm going to try and hack it one more time on my brother in laws laptop. So wish me luck! I'm quitting the 52 project. Kinda bummed because I had full intentions of sticking to it but oh well. Maybe next year. Also have a mentioned I lost my memory card for my new camera? Yup! I took it to Kathy's because I didn't know which memory card was her's stuck it in my pocket and well forgot about it. Who the heck knows where it is. urgh! So hopefully this weekend I can get a new one. Oh did I mention that Ryan's photos still haven't been edited? Bummed because they are really good too. So I can't share anymore of them. :/ My sweet niece said I could use her laptop. She's got CS5. But I always feel weird about borrowing from people and asking to use other peoples stuff. So urgh!
So I'm still searching creative ideas to destroy my laptop. Someone said shoot it with a paintball gun. One it would be pretty and two it would really ruin it. I like the idea! Anyone got a paintball gun? Did I mention I'm going to film it?! Well when I get a memory card that is. Because my video camera isn't computer savvy. Urgh I'm sick of electronics. FME. (F my electronics!)

10/52

2011-03-08T09:16:00.005-06:00

It has been far too long since I've done a photo shoot. With the girls school, after school activities, work it makes it very difficult. I miss my clients, I miss the work, I miss my website the whole shabang. I'm thinking this spring I am going to work slowly back into it. I'm going to stick to subjects I love to do though. My favorites are high school seniors, female & male models & couples & Boudoir.

Anyways back to this post. Below are photos of Ryan. I love working with Ryan. He has creative ideas & always up for a good time. We have been looking for an abandoned house for several months now and I am so excited we found this place. It's in the middle of nowhere & it had been in a fire. It was super cool to have an entire house to ourselves. We've been in abandon post office, Insane Aslyumn & now a house it was awesome. Now that we have a feel of this house we are going to go back for a Dr. scene. It's going to be gruesome. Think creepy surgeon! Yes it equals awesome. We are going to have to work fast because one day this house will be knocked down and we need to get a move on it! Eek bursting with excitement! Well here a a few shots from yesterdays adventure. Even though we are complete scardy cats this was totally fun! Enjoy!!

9/52

2011-02-28T20:13:00.002-06:00

Confession: I heart my cell phone.

Need I say more?

8/52

2011-02-21T22:06:00.003-06:00

"Cinderella is living proof that a pair of shoes can change your life."

Since I was out today having a girly day. I didn't have the time to take any photos related to my 7 year anniversary. Yay us! So I decided to take a photo of my new shoes. I have been looking for weeks for cute new shoes. Hello Spring! I really despise shoe shopping. If you know me I'm all about Chunky. We're talking stuck in 90's chunky. And now adays you can't find cute shoes.
The other day one of Kaleighan's girl scout leaders had some really cute shoes on. I asked her where did she get them. She said Target. So of course I've already been to target weeks prior and didn't find a single thing I liked. So I decided okay maybe spring lines our out I'll go check them out. A-HA! They're they were sooo cute! Not really chunky but it does have a little bit of a boost to help with my height issue. But arn't they cute?!! They are sage & I love them. I even found a super cute black top that goes underneath a green stripped shirt I also bought today! I only spent 50 bucks! Yay for my finds. I may begin to like shoe shopping...oh ya I shrunk a 1/2 size. Am I really shrinking? Great! :/

FOR SALE OR FOR FREE!

2011-02-17T16:59:00.005-06:00

Hello friends, family & strangers. This is a list for things that are for sale or for free. I am listing cheap because we need these items out. Catch is YOU PICK UP! And first come first serve! Okay let's get started shall we? Oh ya I don't have time to post pictures so if you want pictures I will text them to you! Also you know we don't smoke so all smoke free. Thank you guys!

$20 Table: 30"wx 60"L, White spindle. (No chairs)
$40 1 full size bed with metal frame Good condition. (no tears or stains)
$20 1 sectional couch. Little older but no rips or tears & sooo comfy!
(FREE) 4 big bags of 2T & up size girls clothing. Good cond. All I ask what you don't want please pay it forward. And I'd ask please do not re-sale these. Thank you!
$10 Light blue gliding rocker good cond. minus the foot stool
(FREE) 2 small coffee tables on wood. One marble & wood.
$10 blue infant car seat & stroller combo. Little older version. May need a little tlc. Has not been in any accidents. No base.
$40 wood toddler bed. LIKE NEW comes with mattress No rips no stains. It's already put together.
$15 Small white childs white drawing desk. It's super cute! You can even put a roll of paper in it. Super cute! Does have some pen marks but can be re-painted or scrubbed with some shout & they should come out.

I WILL BE ADDING OFTEN SO PLEASE CHECK BACK!! THANK YOU!

7/52

2011-02-14T10:03:00.004-06:00

"You're the girls of my dreams, the woman of my heart, and everything that means anything to me - I love you so much. Happy Valentine's Day." -It's what my card read.

When I was younger I always expected a gift on Valentine's Day. Rather it be flowers or candy. But as you grow you realize that Candy will be eaten & through the years you forget what was bought. Flowers will wilt with time & will be tossed out eventually. The old saying "It's the thought that counts". Getting older you really cherish those moments when someone thinks of you & went out of there way to get you whatever it is they put there hearts into. When I opened my Valentine's Day card & it read the above quote it brought tears to my eyes. It wasn't a 3 page card that went on and on about love. But rather just a few simple words that expresses one's love to another.

Last night we gave our Valentine's Day gifts to each other, because we wouldn't see each other on the morning. He reminded me that words can mean so much to someone if you just take the time to speak from your heart. Me & my husband met on a blind date & a couple months into dating he told me when he first saw me he was in aw. The sun was hitting my hair so perfectly like I was glowing from the sunlight & at that moment he saw me, he knew that one day he would marry me & I would be his. Some may think that those were cheesy lines but if you know me I'm a cheese ball so the lines worked for me. After he reminded me of our first date memories I of course had tears in my eyes, again.

In exactly one week we will celebrate our 7 year anniversary, so I am very grateful for him & the things he does. Everyday he tells me how beautiful I am (even when I don't feel I am) & he tells me he loves me every single day. I love my husband with all my heart. So Happy Valentine's Day sweetheart. I love you.

The one with a sickly Vday party.

2011-02-11T15:20:00.003-06:00

My poor Riley Paige. Last night she said she wasn't feeling well. So she cuddled up with Daddy until bedtime. All through the night she kept waking up saying how much her throat hurt. From what I heard Daddy held & rocked her this morning before he headed off to work. What a great daddy! This morning I went to wake her up to see if she was feeling well enough to go to school. She told me she only wanted to go for a few so she wouldn't miss her Kindergarten Valentine's Day party. My poor baby. So we opt. for her to stay home. I felt so bad her. My youngest missing her very first Valentine's day party. I decided to "try" my best to make this day special for her even though she was sick. So all morning while she was laying on the couch watching disney movies Mommy got the breakfast table ready for our Mini Party. I made soup with crackers & a heart shaped peice of bread. Since I didn't have sprite we opt. for OJ instead. When she finally looked up her eyes were so big & she gave me the biggest hug she ever gave me & said Thank you. So we ate our lunch together while chatting how much we love eachother. It was very special.

Here are our photos from our mini party. Enjoy. Happy Valentine's Day!

The one with a {POTD} idea.

2011-02-10T21:15:00.004-06:00

All over flickr you see {POTD} Challenges/ Ideas. I do think they are a great idea. They make you think & get creative. Although I haven't been on flickr for quite sometime. (Basically I really need to pay for my pro. account which I forget about haha) I do follow Becky Higgins on Facebook. Who's Becky Higgins you ask? You have to follow her if you don't already she's terrific. She sells project of life which is basically getting your butt organized to do your scrapbooks. But Becky is also so creative & DIY crafts. And since I'm a huge copy cat I love looking at her stuff! Anyways this weeks photo challenge was "Mommy view". Since I didn't really feel like switching my lens & I didn't have my own child around. I decided to give myself an idea. Get down on my belly & capture a toddler on his/her belly. We all know toddlers are always down on the floor playing so when Little miss O was playing on the floor it was a perfect opportunity to get my shots. I think this turned out quite cute. She's got such a cute little personality. AND she LOVES the camera! Bonus points for me!

The one with the birthday gift.

2011-02-09T13:57:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite things is getting packages by mail. Yours too?! Usually when my parents send me something it's hardly ever just in an envelope. It's usually in the biggest box you've ever seen. This time they sent a few things from my childhood along with my birthday gift. These 3 glass canisters where my present. I think they are really cute. I've yet decided what I'm going to do with them. I thought hmm... I could have red accents in my kitchen (since it's still up in the air what the heck I'm doing in there) put some candy in each container? Or I thought since the downstairs bathroom has red accents maybe I could just add some cotton balls or qtips in the canister? Hmmm... where ever I decide to put them I think they are really cute & unique looking. Kinda gives you that vintage feel. So thanks mom & dad all the way from Arizona for sending me these really pretty canisters. I love them!

6/52

2011-02-07T21:27:00.004-06:00

Childhood is the world of miracle and wonder... as if creation rose, bathed in the light, out of the darkness, utterly new and fresh and astonishing. The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us.
-- Eugene Ionesco

One thing I am so grateful for is the love of crafts my children have. We enjoy making things together. One time last summer our local library was hosting "junk art". It was all the leftover supplies from the classes the library held. They had plastic covering the entire back of the library. They had 3 tables full of "junk" & families all came & helped their children make whatever the little one's desired. WE LOVED IT! We made sailboats, puppets, masks I mean it was sooo much fun. I love how children's minds work. They are always racing & full of ideas.

In honor of upcoming Valentine's Day, today me & the girls made their Valentine's day cards. We opt to do butterflies but they liked the flowers better. We also decided to use foam instead of construction paper (which looks & stays a lot more easier). They were so simple to make. And so fun!

The one with my nose piercing.

2011-02-03T21:51:00.003-06:00

This one is for my friend Heather because she has a really crappy cell phone provider *cough AT&T cough* lol. And never recieves my picture messages. Just kidding Heather.

Larry took me to the tattoo place. I wasn't nervous until we pulled up. Then I was walking really slow. Then we got in & I was really nervous. I filled out my paper work & the guy smiled at me and asked if I was ready. (thinking to self) Ready? Uh... Now? You arn't going to stall & ask for money up front or talk about why or get to know me a little? *GULP* okay I got this I'm strong I can do this. *Gulp* he told me to sit on this doctor looking table. I look over there was the stud. There were the tweezer thingamabobs. And holy crap there's a really long needle. He then made a few jokes trying to ease me up. Then he said the clamps are the worst part (obviously he was lying). I closed my eyes I hear my husband say "HOLY CRAP" I opened my eyes and it was done. It didn't hurt really just felt like, you know when you get your blood drawn? Totally like that then I was good. The guy congratulated me and send me on my way. The whole thing took him 2min. it was awesome..until I walked outside in the freezing tempatures then it hurt like hell lol. But I did it. Happy Early Birthday to me!

5/52

2011-01-30T19:20:00.004-06:00

"When we choose to be parents, we accept another human being as part of ourselves, and a large part of our emotional selves will stay with that person as long as we live. From that time on, there will be another person on this earth whose orbit around us..
...will affect us as surely as the moon affects the tides, and affect us in some ways more deeply than anyone else can. Our children are extensions of ourselves." ~Fred Rogers

Instead of sharing every moment with you of my children I think I'll just list a few things of things I love about my children.

1. Our bedtime stories
2. Good morning hugs, I love you's & sweet kisses from bedhead girlies
3. Playing costumer. "Mommy what would you like to eat?"
4. Hugs & kisses every single day I drop my kids off to school
5. Great big smiles when my children walk to the car afterschool
6. Midnight scary dreams. I get to hold them and rock them back to sleep
7. Movie nights & watching saturday morning cartoons
8. Silly plays & concerts my children put on weekly
9. Random I love you's
10. Being very good in public places
11. Texts saying how much they miss me
12. Sounds of their laughters
13. I get to fix their owies
14. They are so helpful around the home
15. When I am sick they are so caring & try to be helpful
16. Our kids are very grateful for the littlest things in life
17. All the little doodles they draw
18. Random kisses
19. Having our girlie days of painting nails, pedicures & doing hair
20. Having so much fun doing whatever it is we do as a family. Seeing their smiles seeing their happiness & watching their joyful faces enjoying life.

I am very grateful to have two beautiful daughters whom which I love with all of my heart more than anything in this world. I love you babies. xoxo Mommy.

The one with the Navajo Taco Recipe

2011-01-27T18:28:00.008-06:00

Before you start you'll need to fry up your shortening & it needs to be pretty hot before you stick your dough in the pan.

What you will need for the fry bread.

3c flour

1 tsp. salt

3tsp baking powder

1c milk

2tbsp sugar

Mix all together in a bowl. I mix with my hands. Then I roll out balls probably half the size of a tennis ball if not smaller.

You'll need extra flour so your dough won't stick to your counter and your rolling pin. Roll your dough out into circles. The thinner the better. When you think you've got it thin enough through it into your greese.

You'll need extra flour so your dough won't stick to your counter and your rolling pin. Roll your dough out into circles. The thinner the better. When you think you've got it thin enough through it into your greese.

It's okay if you get airbubbles in your dough that's how you want them. Cook until light brown.

After you went though all of that you top it like a taco (kinda). The traditional topping is pinto beans & hamburger meat then you add your own chilli seasonings. The way I do it is I brown my meat then I add a can of western style beans to the meat. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and or onions. Whatever your heart desires. I included a picture of what it should look like. At the bottom. Now I wouldn't recommend saving your extra cooked bread. (oh ya I got about 8 breads from the recipe) What you can do is make a generic sopipillia. You just eat the fry bread with honey. Ive heard others do the whole mixture of cinnimon & sugar coating & then adding honey if you'd like. Enjoy!

4/52

2011-01-24T19:45:00.003-06:00

"Direct your eye right inward, and you'll find a thousand regions in your mind yet undiscovered. Travel them and be expert in home-cosmography." {Henry David Thoreau}

I love my porch swing. In the spring times I get to enjoy the sounds of my girls playing in the yards jump roping. In the summer I watch my girls riding there bikes back and forth on the driveways. In the fall I crack smiles of the girls pileing up the leaves and jumping in with huge smiles. From that porch swing I get to watch my girls play in the snow when it's winter. The sounds & visions from my porch swing warm my heart in more ways you could of ever imagined.

3/52

2011-01-18T08:57:00.005-06:00

This week I wanted to try & photograph a product. I didn't have a shadowbox nor wax so I just laid it down on this really cool scrapbook peice of paper I had. I know your sitting there thinking wax? What? huh? Well my sister in law's brother is a fashion/product photographer in NYC his website is www.fernandocolon.com. Once I was trying to photograph my wedding ring and I was trying to make it stand. I tried fishing line & super glue to get it to stand and nothing worked. So he told me the secret to how they get those wedding rings to photograph in really cool angles. Just cover it in wax and when you photograph it's clear! Really cool huh? Anyways if I had wax and if I had a shadowbox you'd have a really cool picture of a mascara brush standing, but because I don't we will just pretend.
Anyways I LOVE this mascara! I am so glad that cover girl made a product for your lashes to really pop. And bonus, it's waterproof!! Even better! I discovered this from a friend of FB saying how wonderful this mascara is. So I went to the store seen the mascara and bought two. It's a little high in price about $7 but it's totally worth every penny. I don't know what it is but when I put on my mascara I feel sexy. I love that it makes my eyes just BAM out there! Even though mascara is made of bat poo I still love it lol. If you haven't picked up or tried it I encourage you to do so. You won't be disapointed.

This week

2/52

2011-01-10T23:12:00.005-06:00

I'll start off with a quote.

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile."

Such a strong quote. I always try to make other's happy. I always go above and beyond for other's without expecting anything back from other's. I am a people watcher & I am a people pleas er. I am shy but I personally think I have a good heart. Trying to figure out who you are as a person is one thing I really struggle with. I get embarrassed easily, I can get really insecure about myself. I look down & hide behind my hair when someone talks to me. I had a stuttering problem when I was a child. What I hope to take from this year in this project, is not only see joy in the smallest things of life but discover a little more about who I am. Break out of old habbits & let the real me shine through.

I will let people see my naturally straight hair more often.

But although I have things that I don't like about myself there are a 100 more things I do like about myself.

The one with the letter "B"

2011-01-07T11:49:00.004-06:00

First I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my sister who turns 10 today. Despite my mom not being able to be there for her birthday today I hope she has a wonderful day today. I love you miss Brooklyn Kaydene & wish I could be there with you to give you a big squeeze.
A few weeks ago I text my sister asking her what books she likes to read. She had mentioned she likes Junie B. Jones books. I haven't personaly read any yet but our oldest has almost the complete series so I knew what she was talking about. After searching and searching several stores I finally was able to order the one she really wanted..."Boo...and I mean it". So for her birthday I didn't want to just give her a book I wanted to make her something for her room. Brooklyn recently has gotten into craft making...that's my girl! So I thought this would inspire her to keep on crafting, since her big sister is a huge craft fan hehe.

I told you I've been obsessed with decopauge. I loved how this turned out. If my name started with a cool letter like "B" I'd totally keep it lol. I found the emblishments of course at my favorite all time favorite store Hobby Lobby. Including the letter. I think it turned out totally cute. I seen on Etsy these go for $8 and $15 for more emblishments. Hmmm... maybe this is something I will eventually sell! lol. Any takers? lol

The one where I begin my 52 weeks of photos.

2011-01-03T22:46:00.005-06:00

1/52

My dear friend Heather gave me a challenge. She text me & asked if I wanted to join her in the 365 challenge. For those of you who arn't fimaliar with the 365 project, it's a challenge for you to take 1 photo a day for an entire year. It really helps beginners learn their cameras, photographers to challenge themselves & to improve on photography. I thought about it & said I'd try. Well I got to day 2 & well that was that lol. She also gave me another challenge 1 photo a week for an entire year. The theme was your children. I do love my girls with all my heart but if I was going to do this I didn't want to limit myself to a theme. So I thought about it & I thought how about 1 photo a week for an entire year of anything I wanted? Perfect! So Monday's usually work for me so Monday's it was. So here we go we are begining the 52weeks. Wish me luck! Maybe next year I can do 365??

Okay 1/52. For those of you who don't know me my one and only sister is of the age of 10. To be exact she lives 1,068 miles away from me which is a 17 hour drive straight though. She's perfect she's got a really pretty olive colored skin, light brown hair, beautiful big brown eyes & a freckle on the side of her pinky. Her name is Brooklyn. She's really into crafts, texting & dancing. She competes with a local dance group in her town called "Stars" I have seen her dance and when she dances it's like looking at an angel dancing on a cloud. She's been to Vegas, disneyland, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona ect for competitions. Brooklyn is a quiet girl who I love and cherish deeply.
Today was kind of a long day. The day before the girls went back to school, housework needed to be done & I was getting stressed. When I went to the mailbox I didn't expect to come across a letter from my little sister. As I went to open it I got a huge smile across my face, how thoughtful of her to just think of me & send me something. So I open it & it was a beautiful picture with one word written accross the page with different colors flowing accrossed it. "Love" one of the most important words I believe that is out there. I then went to text her telling her I got her letter. She text me back with these few words "I haven't gotten a letter from you in a long time." My heart felt crushed. My eyes filled with tears. Am I really that busy not to have a few minutes to draw or write my sister a small note to tell her I love her?
So this is my challenge for my 52 weeks of photos. I will stop more & look what's around me. Take moments & be grateful for the little things I have in my life. I will stop & enjoy life. I will photograph the things that mean the most to me in my life. Welcome to my journey of finding joy in the smallest but biggest things.

The one where we celebrated 2011

2011-01-03T11:20:00.008-06:00

Our New Years Eve 2010 was a lot of fun. Well from what I remember of it lol. My Husband's brother Danny was the host & we got some friends together & just had fun. There had to be at least 8 kids so the house was full lol. We were excited when our new friends Danielle & Eddie were able to join us. This year we also met Helen & Cheryl. (photos below) We had so much fun that night. This was our first year in 7 years celebrating new years outside our home & ourselves. That was really the exciting part for us haha. Well enjoy the photos & welcome to 2011!

The girls. Minus Helen.

Kevin pouring me a shot. Yum!

Aww Kevin & Helen get a room! lol

hahaha!

Little miss O.

Danny & Larry. What a good pic. I'm impressed by myself.

Apparently Cheryl likes to kiss when she is drunk. lol

Dani & Danny.

Little Miss R.

Who ever gave Kevin the firecrackers, that was a bad idea! lol

Helen's son Brandon

Eddie & Dani.

Little Miss K.

Aww we are sooo cute! lol

:o)

Danielle & Larry

See what I mean? She's a kisser alright lol.

Cheryl & Danny.

Our silly Girls

haha we are awesome!

Before leaving.

I would quickly like to personally thank my Husband for being the DD throughout the night & made sure everyone was safe.

The where I transform cd's into coasters

2010-12-30T20:19:00.008-06:00

So in this post I will be showing you how to make coasters. I totally thought of this myself & was quite proud of myself so I just had to share because it was so cute!

First I start out with old CD's

(This is up to you. Before I attached my fabric I decopauged a peice of scrapbook paper so that I would have a smooth surface underneath the fabric. And you can do that the exact same way I did in these next steps if you'd like.)

Next I spreaded Mod Podge over the complete upside of the fabric. (When I say mod podge I mean the fabric brand not the regular type) It keeps if from fraying. Let it dry 20min before continuing the next step.

I then flip it over & trace the cd pattern as many as I'm going to make.

After cutting I get these.

Then I continue to spread the mod podge all over the cd & fabric. Let sit for 30min. & then I get my finished product!

If you want a smoother surface on the opposite side as well just flip it over & repeat your process. I also store these in a tin that came with my husband's wallet I found. I just mod podged that too! hehe. Enjoy! Great for gifts!

The one where I begin Mod Podging

2010-12-30T20:04:00.003-06:00

I'm going to first begin by saying I apologize for the crappy pictures. I was in a hurry & I took them with my point & shoot. Anyways so yesterday I posted a tutorial from Amy over at Mod podge rocks. At the bottom of this post there is another video just for fabric use.

Like my letters? I'm becoming quite obsessed with this whole decopauge thing. I LOVE IT! So far I have done these letters & costers which I will post here in a few. But this is so much fun. I have a feeling this year for gifts everyone is getting a gift decopauged by yours truely! haha!

The one with Kaleighan & the pink splat wall

2010-12-30T17:32:00.005-06:00

Now it's Kaleighan's turn. How cute is she? She was also being so goofy with her new christmas things. Her big things for Christmas were a nintindo dsi, cell phone & a skateboard. She's so silly she looks awesome.

Getting to know Kaleighan:

Favorite movie: It takes two
Favorite Song: Wizards of Waverly place theme song
Favorite school subject: Math
Age:7
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite thing to do with family: All play with the dog

Best friend: Sadie & Braelynn
Favorite tv show: full house
Favorite place to go: Drive in
Favorite food: burritos

Favorite thing in the whole wide world: My family
Favorite place to eat: Giovanni's
Favorite place to go: When we get a hotel & swim

How cute is she?!!

And that's all for now folks!

The one with Riley & the pink splat wall

2010-12-30T16:36:00.005-06:00

I've had this idea for quite sometime. I painted our oldest's bedroom all sorts of colors with splats of paint all over them. It does look really awesome. So with the girls' new hair cuts I thought today we would have a little fun with the pink wall.

Riley's big things for christmas was a real microphone, walking kitty, cupcake maker & a new writting board.

Getting to know Riley Paige:
Favorite movie: Tangeled
Favorite song: Baby by Justin Bieber
Favorite school subject: writting, alpha friends & calander
Best friend: Addie

Grade: Kindergarten
Favorite place to go with mommy & daddy: Going to play with friends
Favorite place to go & eat: Big Baby's
Favorite food: burritos
Favorite snack: beef jerky

Favorite color: Pink
Favorite princess: Tiana, Rupunzel
Favorite thing to do at home: play out side on scooter

We had a great time it was a blast! It's funny to see my girls get all goofy & silly...there normal selfs.

The one where we have a girls movie date

2010-12-29T12:02:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks I've had free tickets to see the movie Tangeled at North Glen Cinema. Finally after weeks go by the perfect oppurtunity came. Dad was at work. Mom was off & the girls were out of school. That afternoon we went to walmart to "stock up" on movie treats. When we arrived to the theater it was so bare it was awesome. Only one other family was there. We brought our 2 cans which got us a free bag of popcorn SCORE!

The movie was SOOOOOOOOO CUTE! If you have not seen it I would recommend you seeing it with your children it was a very cute show!

We even hung out with justin bieber for a few....

We ended the night in the hospital visiting an Aunt that had just had surgery. We hung out with daddy, Mamo & Michelle before seeing aunt Barbra. We stumbled across this HUGE massive gingerbread house. I would like to say we made it but of cource I suck at making these so I cannot take credit! How awesome is this?! WHOA!

The one with lots of pink

2010-12-29T11:43:00.006-06:00

Fall is my ultimate favorite season ever. The fall colors here in Missouri are just picture perfect. Bright, colorful & beautiful. This year I didn't want to take photos of my girls in the wooded area where I usually go every year. I wanted something more with a wooded background and lots of open field. I then spotted this area on my way to work. It was perfect. It's located right on a major highway. So if my suv got smashed in the process it was worth it because I got the shot! ha!

Here are some with color & my favorite type of portriats ever black and whites along side.

Arn't my girls just so adorable? I have to admit I do miss their long hair though.

I also wanted to let everyone know I have decided to take down all my photos on facebook. I got sick of people stealing my photos without asking. If you ever want a print all you have to do is ask me & we will work it out. But please do not take without asking. It's not very nice. So most my photos will be posted here. :o)

Until the next photoshoot tata bloggers!

The one where Mod Podge Rocks!

2010-12-28T22:18:00.003-06:00

So I have only done mod Podge a few times. But since my tuturial really sucks I'll just show you one from Amy from Mod Podge Rocks.com She's so creative and awesome. So here's a tuturial until tomorrow where I can post a project that is from the wonderful creative Becky Higgins with a little "Candis" twist. I hope it comes out awesome btw! lol crossing my fingers. Okay here's Amy's video enjoy!

The one with 2nd grade gingerbread houses

2010-12-28T21:18:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago our oldest volunteered me to make gingerbread houses. I was weary at first thinking, my last year experience with a gingerbread house...let's just say it didn't work out at all. But since they had milk cartons it made it a whole lot easier. All the kids had such a blast. I was put to help two kids one my own so each parent helped 2 kids and that was really nice, being able to spend somewhat one on one with your child. The gingerbread houses turned out so darn cute. Everyone was so creative it was awesome to see all the different varations.

The one where the hair goes bye bye

2010-12-28T16:24:00.004-06:00

Well this post is strictly for my dear friend H. Because she's a butt head and deleted herself of FB I now have to resort to updating my blog regularly well also because my cell phone sucks & I can't for some odd reason send picture text. Anyways this is for you H!
If your a mother of little girls you probably have a morning routine. Well that goes for any parent with small children. Anyways our routine before school usually goes like this... Wake up at 8am. Eat breakfast, brush teeth. Put school clothes on. Put pj's away. Brush the hair for 15 min. listening to the child scream saying how much your hurting them. Meanwhile the neighbors are probably thinking your beating your child because of the child screaming bloody murder. Famous lines around here during this time are: OUCH! YOUR HURTING ME! (followed by waterfall of tears) CAN WE JUST LEAVE IT?! and the list goes on & on. So no one really cares about the rest of our before school routine so I'll cut to the chase......

I AM SICK OF IT ALL SO I CHOPPED IT ALL OFF! YUP ALL BY MYSELF! (We will avoid pictures of the back of the hair because well we need to let that grow in a little bit more so mommy can fix it...so maybe you'll get a picture in 2 months or so). So here are the pictures I will no longer hear screaming children in the morning! YAY!

The one with the work party.

2010-12-15T21:33:00.004-06:00

Last weekend L & the girls met me at my work party. I had to work that weekend so they had to face the bitter cold weather & meet me & my consumer up there. Despite the recent pass of a co-worker/friend the party went just fine. The company boss always goes above and beyond to make her clients & workers have a fantastic party. We all enjoyed some Smokehouse bbq. Which is my favorite all time place to eat for some good bbq. They had a craft table full of several different crafts for everyone to enjoy. Everyone left with a gift after seeing santa so it was a good time. Below are our photos taken with the new P&S camera.

The Modern Bird Studios giveaway

2010-12-03T10:01:00.002-06:00

I really really want one of these!! Check out this cool giveaway on Craftaholic from the very talented Modern Bird Studios. I can totally see this on my wall!

http://diaryofacraftaholic.blogspot.com/2010/12/modern-bird-studios-250-giveaway.html

Pineapple cream cheese dip

2010-12-03T00:00:00.005-06:00

When my family came down this summer my mom shared a few recipes with me & this was one. My first thought was 'oh no that does not look good'. Being a very picky eater that I am it took me an hour to build up the courage to at least smell it. 30 min. I tried it & I was in love. It's really simple all you need is:

1 can Dole crushed pineapple (squeeze as much of the juice as you can out before pouring into the bowl).
1 pkg of cream cheese
Optional ingredents to add is green onions chopped up & almonds to the top
Mix & eat with wheat thins.

It's to die for it's easy & yummy!! Since I don't have a photo of it yet I'll enlight you with a few summer photos because I am dreading this whole winter thing.

Wait for it....

SPLASH!!!!

The one with little miss O.

2010-10-12T15:21:00.008-05:00

I have to say this little girl is just the cutest little girl. She's got a great little personality & such character it's very entertaining with this little around. Isn't she just adorable? Enjoy looking she's a doll!

Because you know how much I love black & whites!

The one with MCP actions Lens givaway!

2010-10-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

I have been dying for this lens for a super long time now. I really hope I win but you have a chance as well! Check it out! Good luck everyone!
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2010/10/12/contest-win-a-tamron-sp-70-300mm-lens-for-nikon-canon-or-sony-dslr-cameras/

The one where it's mommy, daughter's day.

2010-10-11T14:57:00.004-05:00

I have been working so much I miss my girls. Everyday I only get to spend apx 5 hours or less with them. So today being Columbus day I took advantage of the day. We spent most of the morning making these cupcakes! I love you girls. Glad you were home today to spend time with mommy!

The one where you make a quick cape & easy sash.

2010-10-10T19:57:00.006-05:00

Finally the Chastain girls have decided on Halloween costumes. I have been working so much lately I just don't have the time this year to even think creativity. So we quickly came up with a few ideas & I think the overall outcome will look really cute. Our oldest decided she wanted to be a devil. Like I said I don't have much time this year to make too much of anything so we bought the pitch fork, headband & a mask that goes over the eyes. Then I thought eh that's not enough so I bought 3/4 of a yard, of black felt, red ribbon & red glitter glue. When you buy the fabric it's already folded in half so I left it folded. Then I folded down at the top about 1in. I then cut 4-5 slits on the new folded peice. Then I weaved the ribbon through each slots. I then tried my best drawing fire lol. Ya not the best at drawing those lol. But that's it. You tie the bow around the shoulders or the neck. And you have a cape. Another idea for say a vampire cape you can do the same thing accept when you go to fold to cut slots fold it down about 5in from top. Then when you get your ribbon weaved you'll have a little extra at the top & it will look like a collar.

Totals= The cape cost me $3 in total. The mask/fork & horns cost me $6. Grand total of $9.

Now our youngest wanted to so badly be a cowgirl. So I thought oh okay I'm sure we can make this work. When I bought her a necklace with matching earrings I thought let's make it a bit more glamorous. So we both decided to go with a "Rodeo Queen". So I went to the dollar tree & I found a pink cowgirl hat & glitter. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased 3in wide white felt. Ribbon works well too but it wrinkles quick. We already have a skirt or dress, a jean jacket & the boats to go with the outfit so I don't have to splurge there. And guess what I'm pretty much done. I already had the emblishments for the hat so she was good to go. I think she's going to be the cutest cowgirl around!

Totals= Hat & glitter $2. Sash= $.31. Necklace & makeup $2. Grand total of $4.31.

The one where I am sick of putting away laundry.

2010-09-29T16:32:00.005-05:00

One word most mother's hate. Can you guess it? I'll give you a hint, it has 7 letters in it. Still ain't got it huh? Okay hint #2 every household has it. Okay I'll give a minute to guess.................................................................................................................................................................................okay 30 sec.........................................If you guessed LAUNDRY you win. Okay you don't actually win anything unless your willing to come do our family's loads twice a week. Okay so my kids are getting older I'm getting more tired of doing household chores myself each day. Don't get me wrong, I love my family but with two girls who change there so clothes to every water drop spilt. A hubby who changes twice a day, & after 7 years of doing every one's laundry I am fed up! So I've came to a decision my girls are starting to do CHORES! Ah it feels so good to say it I think I'll say it again. MY GIRLS ARE GOING TO START DOING CHORES! They are going to start & they are not going to get paid. Yes you heard me they are not going to get paid. I don't believe in paying for chores I just don't. Growing up I never got paid it was just something I had to do & I actually became very proud that when I was older I had the skills to clean my own home...the right way. Now don't get me wrong I got paid in other ways like growing up in a home with 4 boys who never did they're chores right I would get paid $20 to do they're chores after they were done THE RIGHT WAY! And I got paid for doing things extra here & there so that is what I am going to instill in my children. Not getting paid to do chores because well you just gotta do it! SORRY! But if they want to scrub walls, clean basement or pick up sticks in yards sure I'll throw ya a couple bucks. haha. Am I mean or what?

Okay back to my laundry story. Like I said MY GIRLS ARE GOING TO START DOING CHORES! hehe. I love Martha Stewart don't you? I also love her color pallets. Just divine colors she puts together. So one day I was walking in Home Depot & saw these little pull out fabric storage bins. I LOVED THEM! So I picked up four...

OMG aren't they adorable? I still have to find a shelf or build one in my laundry area but here's my idea. On the fronts I put everyone's name including mom & dad's. On the backs I put our names again except I mixed the names. Examples On the back of Mom's card the name Riley is on it. That way Riley already has one bin & if she has more clothes & I don't have any needing to put away I flip the card over & she has two bins to put away. Pretty clever huh? So after I fold them & put them in there seprate bins, after school the girls will go find the bins & see if any laundry needs to put away. Then they grab there bin & put all their own clothes away and place the bin back on the shelf when they are finished for the next laundry day. Cute huh? Ya I thought so too!

The one with Broccoli & Cheese Soup.

2010-09-22T21:08:00.004-05:00

Ever since I discovered Panera Bread I have been hooked on Broccoli & Cheese Soup in the Fall/Winter time. Last year when I had my surgery it was very difficult time cooking. My husband was so kind when I got home he ran to panera bread & ordered my favorite warm soup & would even get it ready for me so I didn't have to lift but a spoon to eat. So it's been kind of a routine thing to do when ither one of us was sick we'd go on a Panera Broccoli & cheese soup run. So one day my husband got really sick & it was bitter cold outside. We were snowed in. So I decided to come up with my own recipe for Broccoli soup so here it is a simple quick recipe to share with your loved ones while they are sick & you can't run to your favorite resturant for soup. Enjoy.

What you will need:

1/4 C Butter
8oz pkg Broccoli
1/2 pkg sliced carrots
2 cans of chicken broth
1/4 c. corn starch
1/2 c. water
1c milk
1tbsp garlic powder
8oz Velveta Cheese

-In a large pot cook your butter, broccoli, carrots & broth for 10-15min. or until tender.

-Reduce heat & stir in cheese cubes, milk & garlic till melted & smoothed.

-In a small bowl mix corn starch & water until desolved.

Serve with peice of french bread or baggetts. Makes apx. 6 servings.

The one with Fiesta Chicken Pasta. Yummo!

2010-08-19T22:08:00.002-05:00

We tried this tonight and my family loved it. I'll tell you another secret at the end so keep on reading!!

2 cups rotini cooked in seperate pot.
1 lb boneless chicken breasts boiled in seperate pot.
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1 TBSP. chili powder
1/2 cup taco bell salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of shredded cheese divided
2 cups red peppers (opt.)
In a large skillet add your cut cubed chicken breasts then stir all of the rest of the items together. Toss your pasta with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with rest of cheese.

You'll be amazed of how this tastes! Did you make it? Did it remind of you of anything? It took me a minute to remember the familar chicken mixture taste. Then it came to me TACO BELLS QUESADILLAS! It's almost exact! So instead of your noodles get your tortillas put mixture in middle fold them and bake them in oven for 5min. or until tortillas are slightly crisp. Cool huh? lol

The one with No-Fuss Tex-Mex Roll ups

2010-08-19T16:52:00.002-05:00

We had this for dinner last night & it was divine. Soo good! Wish I had a photo but yesterday was so hetic I didn't have the chance. But I do have a recipe so here you go!

1 lb lean ground beef or Turkey meat
2 cups chopped red peppers (opt)
1 TBSP Chili powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheese divided
8 flour tortillas
1/4 italian dressing

Brown your meat in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain.
Stir in peppers and chili powder: cook 5min. or until peppers are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/4 cup of cheese. Spoon about 1/3 cup meat mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up and arrange in 13x9 in baking pan. Drizzle with dressing; top with salsa (opt) 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake at *350 3-5min or until cheese is melted.

Try it it's really good! Then tell me what you think.

The one with my little 2nd grader

2010-08-16T21:42:00.003-05:00

She is so cute isn't she!! She was so excited this year that she got a desk! For the past years she's had to share a table with other kids. So she was pretty excited about it. She said that a little girl came to her today asking if she wanted to be friends and she said yes and they played and talked all throughout school. She said she even helped her with her school work when the little girl was having troubles. You know one of the best feeling in the world is? When you pick your little one up after school and they have the biggest smiles on their faces and they give you the biggest hug in the universe. Love you girl my awesome little 2nd grader.