Fiery Red Head

Well hello all of you blogger buddies.... It sure seems like I have been gone for a long time. So much has gone on since I have been away. I am not even sure where to start... lets see...

I dyed my hair! I went from being a blonde to a (somewhat) red head! I am not really sure how much I like it...

Here I am as a blonde...

The color is processing...

And here is the finished product! What do you think?

A Little Older and A Little Wiser

I am so glad to be back after a long weekend! This weekend I got to go on a date with my husband that was long overdue and I celebrated my 25th birthday!

I have to say that I actually feel like an adult now! In a way I am a little sad that my young and crazy days are behind me, but I am also excited that I am now realizing that I need to finally grow up. That's why I opted out of a night on the town with friends to go on a romantic dinner date with my husband who I have not spent enough time with lately. It was so nice to have a dinner where there was not someone screaming, throwing things or crying. I didn't know what to do with myself!

Then after dinner we went looking for me a new camera! I looked at the one that I fell in love with, but then there was an even better camera that I really like a lot. I just don't like the $1,300 price tag! Eeek! So now I am looking at even cheaper camera ($300 ain't that bad). I am still being very indecisive about the whole thing... it's a big decision!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend (and part of the week)!

Daily Photo: Backyard Suprise

Looking out the window into my backyard I noticed something that I had not seen before... I had these beautiful sunflowers growing out of nowhere! I have about 5 of them I am cannot wait until I can cut them and put them in a vase on my kitchen table.

Daily Photo: Coco the Horse

This is the horse Jacob has decided to name 'Coco'. She lives about a mile from our house and is just as friendly as can be.

Daily Photo: Flowers in Garden

Here are some of the pretty flowers in my little garden in the front yard. I was so excited to see them doing so well. I have kinda forgot about them a little and have neglected my yard. But they are doing great!

Daily Photo: Purple Sage

Here is my first day of my daily photo: This is the purple sage bush in my backyard. They say they only bloom when it is going to rain, but I have yet to see any rain in sight.

I thought this on was a good photo of the bee collecting pollen. If I had my new camera this would have been an awsome shot. But my little ol' Cybershot didn't do to bad.

Could it get any worse...

Some of you may remember me posting about Tyler's rash. It has not gotten any better, but it has actually gotten worse. I am in the process of trying to get him into a specialist because nothing has worked on making it go away. We have been through 2 weeks of benedryl 24/7, a weeks worth of prednisone and several creams and washes. But wait there is hope... my phone just rang and it was the pediatrician she got me into a specialist at 2:30 this afternoon. I am so relieved because we called and we would not be able to get him in until January!

Here is a picture of what his rash looked like this morning

Can't wait for.....

AUTUMN!

I absolutely love EVERYTHING about it! The colors on the trees changing colors, being able to cook a huge meal in the crock pot, the smell of fresh baked pumpkin pies...the list could go on and on but I will spare you that. I love summer don't get me wrong, but here in West Texas it gets so hot that it makes it pretty unbearable. I love it when the temperatures start to shift and the leaves turn the beautiful colors of golden yellow and orange.

My favorite dishes to cook during the autumn months and into winter is Baked Potato Soup. I don't have a favorite recipe, I just usually just throw the ingredients into the pot. You can even put your own little twists on it that make it special. Sometimes I like to make mine spicy. But most of the time I stick true to the original because my kids love their potatoes!

Another favorite is Chicken Pot Pie. My husband requests these little individual ones because he likes a lot of crust. Plus the kids feel really special that they got their own. I have a few recipes that I like but this one looks yummy: Lady and Sons Chicken Pot Pie.

And lastly I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I love sitting down with a good TV show or book and just sipping on these.

Looking at a new camera

I am looking at the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi 12.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera with Lens. It has a pretty hefty price tag on it though.... $699.99 at Best Buy. It comes with: a battery pack and charger, USB interface and video cables, wide strap and eyecup, EOS digital solution disk and of course the owner's manual.

Here are all the features:

12.2-megapixel CMOS sensorWith built-in RGB color filter captures high-resolution images up to 4272 x 2848 for images with exceptional clarity and tonal range.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lensFor incredible picture detail. EF lens mount for use with more than 60 Canon EF and EF-S interchangeable lenses (other lenses not included).

3" color Live View TFT-LCD monitorAdjustable brightness for viewing in bright sunshine. Penta-mirror viewfinder with adjustable diopter control for precise shooting.

DIGIC III image processorFor precise, natural color and accurate white balance in various lighting conditions. Sophisticated signal-processing algorithms for fast image capture and processing.

14-bit A/D converterFor incredibly smooth transitions from light to dark colors without banding.

Integrated self-cleaning sensorLow-pass filter automatically utilizes ultrasonic vibrations to remove dust from the sensor assembly ensuring the cleanest image possible.

Picture style settingsInclude standard, landscape, portrait, neutral, faithful and monochrome to maximize camera settings and minimize post-processing of images.

35-zone TTL full-aperture metering exposure controlsWith auto, manual, program (full auto, portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night portrait, flash-off), shutter- and aperture-priority, depth-of-field AE and E-TTL II auto flash.

9-point autofocusWith auto and manual point selection. Modes include one-shot, AI servo and AI focus. Live mode reads the sharpness of subjects right from the imaging sensor for sharper, more detailed pictures.

Continuous shooting speed3.5 fps with a maximum burst of 53 frames to let you get the best high-speed action shots.

White balance optionsInclude auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten light, white fluorescent light, flash and manual for natural tones in different lighting conditions.

Media slotSupports Secure Digital and Secure Digital High Capacity media (media not included

Playback modesInclude single image, 9-image index, magnified zoom, auto play and auto play after shooting.

USB 2.0 interface and A/V outputsEasy Print/Share button for fast transfer or printing. Direct-print support with any PictBridge-enabled printer to print photos without a PC.

Auto power offTurns the camera off after a selectable period of inactivity up to 15 minutes, conserving battery power.

I have only looked online so I am not sure what it actually looks like. But from what I can tell it is really purdy. I am going to try to talk dear sweet hubby into going and looking at it today. The only problem is that he told me if I wanted it I had to find a way to come up with the money for it. So this weekend I am having me a garage sale! I love going to garage sales... but I really HATE having them. Getting ready for them is a big pain and I just hate sitting out there all day and then having to keep up with the kids. Just thinking about it is making me twitchy. But I am going to do whatever it takes to get me that camera. I thought about looking on Ebay but if I am going to spend that kind of money on a camera, I am getting a brand new one.

If you know of other Canon's that are good that are around the same price I would love to know!

Wannabe Farm Girl

If you have read my blog you know that I live in West Texas where it is dry and desolate. There is not much here. The closest zoo is 3 hours away and they have groundhogs as an exhibit... and that would be okay except I can drive down the street and see 40 of them by the time I reach the corner. I almost hit a coyote driving down my street! I like it here because this is 'home' but I think I am ready to make 'home' somewhere else.

I know I said that where I live it is dry and desolate... but to be honest the past week that has not been the case. In the past week we have gotten almost 10" of rain! They said it is the 7th wettest July on record (I guess that's a big deal around here). There are parts where I live that are really pretty... but only in a 'look at the sunset behind that pump jack' kinda way. Right now it is all green from all the rain, but in a month when we have not gotten any everything will go back to the shades of brown and yellow that they always are.

Now moving on to where I want to be... I want to live somewhere where they have beautiful rolling hills and green countryside. Someplace that makes you think 'wow' when you look out your window in the morning. Personally, I think that place is Missouri! I have never been a fan of leaving Texas, but when I went to visit I thought it was the most beautiful place I had ever been. I am trying to convince Michael that we need buy a farm in Missouri and become farmers. I would love to live off the land and grow our own food.

The perfect life to me would be to sit on my front porch on my porch swing and and watch my kids play in the front yard with our dog. And it would be perfect to have actual seasons to look forward to instead of summer lasting until Christmas day. I mean here in West Texas it can be snowing one day and 90* the next.... NO FUN!

Maybe someday!?!?