Hi! My name is Amy

It's been awhile.  In my defense I have tried the past few nights to download a cute video of my neice playing "i'm gonna get you!" with my youngest.  It took hours to download.  And still wasn't done.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong.  Here is a few pics instead.  Not the best quality but still adorable.

 Doesn't everyone eat their donuts like this?

Sorry for the short post.  I'm packing for Arizona tomorrow.  Going out of town with my boss this time.  Ready to mingle with the rich and famous.  In my sixty dollar JC Penney formal dress.  I'm not even kidding.  I will show you proof when I get back.  Have a good week!

iPhones and Pictures and Cameras...Oh My!!

by Ang

Ever since I got my iPhone, I've been using the camera on it, paired with various other apps.  I took a few pictures (below) of things around our house with my favorite new camera app - Camera Awesome.

I really like this app, and it's free!  I am thankful that my iPhone has a fairly decent camera on it, because my Sony digital camera is not doing well.  It's old, and while it has gotten me some great pictures in the past, I noticed a huge difference in our pictures from Alaska.  They all just seemed a little dull, not focused, and flat.

For the past probably 5 years, I've been pining after a nice digital SLR camera (a Nikon specifically).  I really like taking pictures and I like photography.  But it's hard to really get into it with a little point and shoot.

So tonight, my husband bought me my anniversary present early:

I cannot tell you how excited I am!!
When we left the store, it was in the cart (along with our other Costco purchases) and I took it out to carry it, like a little kid who wants to hold on to their toy and open it in the car.  :)

I am very grateful for my iPhone camera...it has gotten me by these past few months.  But I am SO EXCITED about this camera.  It came with a book and instructional DVD, which I will probably watch tomorrow.  I can't wait to start playing with it!
p.s. - my husband is amazing!!

The Heart of my Home

By Amy

BEFORE

 AFTER

This room is exactly how I pictured it to look like.  I love it. 

Book Love

by Ang

Last night, I went with a group of people to see 'Anne of Green Gables' at the Albuquerque Little Theater.  It was SO GOOD!!  I have only read the book...I haven't seen any of the movies or anything, so it was a real treat for me to see this play.

About a week before the play, I picked up a new hardbound copy of the book.  Now, I do most of my reading on my Nook, but I am a sucker for a nice, pretty book:

Barnes & Noble has a nice selection of hardbound classics...but I only came home with this one.  After seeing the play, I'm ready to read the book again!

I also picked up this one last year in an antique shop in Santa Fe:

The front and back cover are both illustrated in color:

Now, I read Heidi when I was younger, but I honestly don't remember it.  But I bought the book anyway because it was a nice, pretty hardbound book.

This next one doesn't really fall into the 'nice-pretty' category, but it is definitely in the weird and funny category.  My husband and I were at Anthropologie tonight just looking around, and I spotted this and had to get it:

It's Green Eggs and Ham in French!  Reason #712 why I love Anthropologie...you never know what you will find!

"Sam, it is me!"

"I do not like them Sam I Am, I do not like green eggs & ham."

I just love it.  I read it in the store and it makes me smile! 

Books are wonderful.  :)

My new toy

By Amy

I used to scoff at people who had one of those phones with a touch screen.  I always thought that they thought they were much cooler then me because of my small little slider with a keyboard.  I loved my keyboard!   I loved my phone! They could have there Angry Bird app and Internet access and instant weather updates!  Except...their phones had a really neat camera one it.  One that took really good pictures and received really good pictures too.  Not only that but there was apps to make really good pictures even better.  I was jealous.  I caved.  And I'm addicted.   My sister is such a dork because she actually named her iPhone.  I'm not that crazy.  Here is why I love it.  I took this at work.

I realize this may need some explanation.  I try to change the toilet paper rolls before the boss has too.  So I take the half used rolls and put them under the sink in the bathroom that I use and I use them up.  My co-worker doesn't do this.  She likes to make a tower on the exsisting roll which is dangerous because they usually tumble off and sometimes lands in the toilet.  She thinks it's funny.  The other day I walked in the bathroom and saw this.  My point is...If I didn't have my phone...well...how else would this memory be captured?

Another great thing is that now I am able to receive clear pictures and then share them with you!  Like this one!

 I took this one as I was running late and walking out the door.  I never would have had time to run back to my room, grab my camera and adjust the settings.  How could I not take a picture of this?

 "Have a nice day yall!"  Haha!  Are we country or what?

Here's another one at work.  I thought it was pretty.

 And here is a moment that I had to capture here and now because in about 5 seconds this room could be a disaster again.

So I am in love.  I think I shall call her Izzy.  (:

On a completely different note...please meet the newest addition to our family.

He was born in 1986.  His name is Chevy Scottsdale and it cost 1,300.00.  I'm sure the neighbors are so proud to stare at this beast in our driveway.  The poor thing is in bad shape.  Rusted out, cracked windows and oil drips.  It's a truck only a  16 year old son could love.   And love it he does. 

Life

by Ang

Long time no blog!  I don't want this post to be just riddled with my excuses for not blogging, but I do have really good ones.

My husband got a job outside of the home.  He used to work for himself out of our home, but now he's working for a firm.  Which is great!  It's a lot less stress on him, which is wonderful.  However, I don't think I realized how much I had gotten used to his flexible schedule.  And how much he did around the house during the day.  So it's been a bit of an adjustment.  But we're getting our routines down!

So because he's not working from home anymore, we're transforming his old office into 'our' office.  We moved out one of the big desks and I moved in a couple more bookshelves.  It's not quite done yet, but we worked on it over the weekend.  Right now it's just a bunch of mixed bookshelves and cabinets, but that's okay.  Eventually I'd like to get a small sofa bed for in there for guests.

School is keeping me busy too, even though I dropped one of my classes.  But the other one is still a bit time consuming.

And lastly, I've been sick.  I have a sinus infection that won't seem to go away, and I had a stomach bug today that kept me home from work.

So there are my excuses.  :) 

Because it feels weird to blog without pictures, here's some random ones:

Puppies watching TV:

And now posing for the camera:

They're awfully cute.

Awww Arizona!

Arizona was fabulous.  How could it not be?  I got to spend time with my sissy and my sister-in-law.

And my traveling buddy, Megan.

 The weather was perfect.  You know the kind.  When you can't even feel the air on your skin.  Not to hot and not to cold.
 

 Gorgeous sunsets

 We ate, drank and shopped.  Then we would lounge by the pool.   And then we ate and drank  some more.  Is drank a word?   I like it.  Look at my cute sis-in-law.  That's my nephew in her belly. 

My sister got to feel him kick.  I decided to be unselfish and a adult and let her feel every kick.  Even though I wanted to. Bad.  But I will have more chances then her. So I let her hog the tummy time.  

So ya, the trip was pretty much perfect.  The only thing that would make it more perfecter (I KNOW that is not a word) is if we all would have boarded a plane at the end and taken a brief jaunt to Paris.  I would love to do this every year.  I think it was just what we all needed.