I Heart Faces - Show me your green!

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I Heart Faces is using "Green" as its theme this week. So, far I've been having my fun from a distance looking at everyone else's photos, but when Sydney pulled a green Popsicle from the freezer tonight, I thought it was fate that I take a picture. I still have a little more light on her face than I'd like, but I'm still working out the bugs.




Go enter your own picture at I Heart Faces today!

Looking for Happiness!

It's got to be there somewhere! Today has been something else. Basically I spent most of today doing our taxes and putting together information for refinancing our house.

Happiness . . will be when we get our refund back and lower our mortgage.

I've also spent a little time today, between my normal chores to play with Gimp and edit some pictures. I'm going to post one, just to prove I learned something.

Here's the original photo:

Happiness is a clean face.... (It's really so much easier to see what I changed when the photo is large enough to see how much dirt, snot and drool I removed from his face. - I couldn't get him completely clean, but I got the big chunks!) Next step, clean up the background so it doesn't have a broom and a garden hose in it!

OK... The rest will have to do without editing.

Happiness is sneaking into Daddy's tools. Chase likes to hide out in our closet with a screwdriver from Jason's tool bucket and try to take screws out of whatever toy he finds. In this picture, he's got a play phone. You can tell he's really concentrating since he's got his tongue sticking out. He's so smart! Luckily, he doesn't know righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.

Happiness is Taylor coming home from his Dad's house. He's only been gone since Wednesday, which seems like an eternity sometimes. Although he spends most of his time at the computer or playing games on the XBox, I just feel better knowing he's home. Happiness is a little boy in overalls. He's such a cutie pie. He's acting like he doesn't see the puddle...Nope, not me. I'm not looking at that puddle. Who'd want to play in a dirty old puddle anyway???Me! ... Happiness is waterproof boots.

And not to be outdone.... Happiness is making the biggest splash!

Uh-oh.... looks like Chase took a tumble. I wish I'd had my camera ready when he went face down in the puddle. He just laid there saying "Uh-Oh... I fell down". Is that wrong of me to want to take his picture during his time of need?Happiness is catching Sydney trying to sneak cookies from the pantry. My first reaction was "What are you doing?... Get down from there!"... then I thought, "That's a cute picture.... Get back up there!"
Do you think Chase likes to ride on Jason's shoulders? He was all smiles.
I didn't take any pictures outside today. I was a little bummed that it was snowing again. To be honest, I wouldn't care it went away and didn't come back until December. Luckily, it started raining a little before noon and most of the snow has disappeared. Maybe the mini will make it up the driveway in the morning.

Diet update: I've made it another day, but let me tell you.... today was rough. Trying to do taxes with coffee and NO CREAMER! Just shoot me next time!

Fix it Friday.... on Saturday

Happiness is editing your first photo. I didn't do much because it took me hours just make these edits.... and don't ask me to tell you what I did! (I can say that I can find the "undo" button with my eyes closed).


If you like to edit photos, head on over to I Heart Faces and take a shot at it.

Here's the original:


Here's my edited version:

Finally getting around to blogging Friday!

Today was my day off and I still didn't find time to blog until late tonight and I still don't have any descent pictures to post.

Happiness is learning how to use more features on my camera than just the "auto" settings. So far, all my pictures are either bright white or have a weird blue tint. I wished I hadn't deleted them so quickly. I would have posted a few.

Happiness is celebrating a new blogger friend's 300th post. Check out Rachel's blog Once Upon a Miracle. Click on over and wish her Congratulations. I'm pretty new to blogging and wanted to see what other people were doing and low and behold if I didn't find someone who lives in the same town as me. What are the odds? I look forward to meeting up once the weather gets warmer (and dryer) and taking our kids to the park with another local blogger, Heather at Adventures of Aidanpod.

Happiness is starting up a new diet and making it 3 days without cheating. Yep... I've made it 3 whole days. I'm going to have to get in bed shortly to keep myself from cheating. I have to say that I already feel better. I've completely cut out sugar and I'm not having that crash in the afternoons. For everyone who reads this, please pray for my will power to continue!

Happiness is deciding to find a new home for one of your puppies and then deciding you want to keep her. Gizmo has been such a pain in the wazoo since we got her last Thanksgiving. She's not catching on to the house training thing at all. She chews on stuff she shouldn't and appears to be as dumb as a post. (that's Southern for "not very smart"). She likes to go over to our neighbor's house, get under their deck and bark up at their dog. Needless to say, they're not happy about it. To keep on good terms with them, we can only take her out on a leash. I guess we'll have to look into some fencing options soon.

Here's my favorite puppy. Bella (Yes, I'm a complete Twilight freak!) She's a pretty smart girl. She's lying here beside me on the couch right now while I'm typing.
Well, I think Jason is chomping at the bit to get on the computer, so I'd better let him have a turn.

Happiness is spending 5 days with family and friends at the Oregon dunes.

Happiness is having completely random pictures to post because I didn't think it through very well.

Happiness is having nice weather for such a long drive. The sign says "Welcome to Oregon"Skip ahead a day or so. Happiness is sleeping puppies who aren't tearing anything up, pooping on the floor or barking at your neighbors. Don't they look sweet?

Happiness is also little boys sleeping. Also not pooping, tearing anything up or barking yelling at our neighbors. : ) I had put Chase up in the front bedroom to take a nap. I told him not to come out of the room, so he got as close as he could get without leaving the room. I think his little fingers were sticking out under the sliding door.

Happiness is having somewhere to toast just one more hamburger bun once you've put your grill away! Yes... it actually worked!

Happiness is attending a Home and Garden show when the weather is too cold and rainy to ride quads. Chase and Sydney enjoyed looking at the baby chicks.

Happiness is a free hot dog and Pepsi.

Some of the best things in life are free!

Happiness is old rides at a 50's restaurant in town. Sydney and Chase both enjoyed taking rides in this little ferris wheel. It was only 10 cents per ride and lasted about 2 minutes. Good old fashioned cheap fun!

Happiness is 25 cent horse rides.

Happiness is trips to the dunes. You were probably starting to think we didn't go to the dunes at all, huh?

Although it's very difficult to see, Jason and Chase are riding the quad down that large hill in the middle of the picture. They look like ants from where I was sitting. It was a very long, steep hill. You can hardly tell that the ocean is in the background. I've really got to work on my photo taking skills!

Happiness is Jason and I introducing Chase to something we love. This was his first time out in the dunes on a quad. He rode in a dune buggy sort of thing last August, but this was his first time having to hold on. He did really great and seemed to love it. I think Jason only road once by himself and took turns taking Sydney and Chase out. What a great Dad!

Happiness is having a happy little boy! It was a great day!

Chase is ready to ride!

Happiness for Taylor is spending hours (no, I'm not exaggerating) on his phone, texting! Here he is in the back of the toyhauler, bent over so his phone could be plugged in and charging. That's serious desperation!

Happiness is heading home on Sunday! It's a long drive, but piggy kept Sydney company.

Happiness is taking a nap during the 5 hour drive. OK, so he's not really sleeping. You can tell he's smiling, right?

Happiness is your husband thinking your nuts to continue taking a bazillion pictures in the truck on the way home.

The drive home on Sunday was a bit crazy. We had sun, rain, sleet and snow. We were blessed to have made it home safely.

Happiness is God's promise....

Happiness is school pictures!

I guess these are all self explanatory, but here are Sydney and Chase's school pictures that we picked up today. My favorite of Sydney is the fisherman outfit and my favorite of Chase is the firefighter outfit (of course).

They're growing up too fast!

Happiness is your kids actually smiling for pictures!

Can it be Tuesday already?

Happiness is Tuesday being my Friday!

Happiness is staying up late getting ready for camping tomorrow.... OK, maybe not like the super, jump up and down kind of happy, but happy that it's finally here. We've been counting down since August.

Happiness would be a wireless Internet connection at the campground, but it will mostly likely turn into finding a wireless connection in a nearby town. : ) I hope to upload a few pictures while we're there.

Happiness is my entire family going together. (OK, so Taylor doesn't really want to go, but I'm happy that he's going anyway... he'll warm up to us : ) )

Happiness is a self-service pet wash that lets you bring both dogs in, bathe and dry them... and best of all, leave your mess behind! They clean up everything!

Well.... if I want this day to end happily, I'd better start helping Jason get the camper ready. He's out there right now with a flashlight getting everything hooked up.

And last, but not least, happiness is Rachel (Once Upon a Miracle) linking to my blog. My first link! Wahoo!