yummy homemade strawberry ice cream...

if ashton approves, then it's really good. ;o)

::sigh:: it's been a while since i've updated my blog (again). for some odd reason i haven't been in the mood to take pictures. my poor camera is sitting on the shelf begging to be used. :o/ i'm not sure what my problem is. whatever it is, i hope it ends soon. deep down inside of me i ache for the happiness i once felt when i would carry my big ass camera every where with me. :o( it took every ounce of energy for me to take the images above. 

fix it friday for i heart faces...

been awhile since i did one :o)






check their blog for more before and afters for fix it friday.

i know what you are thinking...

what was i thinking right? haha. let me just say, clean up involved a scrub brush, ajax, a ton of water, and two days later ashton still looks jaundiced and there are baby foot/hand prints all over our patio LOL! but hey. it was FUN! david came home as i was about to clean him up. i was pretty sure david was going to flip out over the mess we made (it was on our backdoor, patio furniture all over the patio, baby foot/hand prints all over the place. it was MESSSY) but the first thing out of his mouth was, "i hope you got pictures of him looking like this". you bet your butt i did!

plus we made a cute card...

so it was worth it in the end. next time though. we will be painting in the grass and i hope ashton has gotten over (doubtful) the whole, "wow painting my body, white patio furniture, doors, walls, is a LOT of fun" phase. hehe

david enjoyed his father's day. we stayed home the entire weekend, did some grilling, and a TON of yard work (i'm starting to think david loves yard work). as for gifts, david finally got a keg for his kegarator (that he built a year ago). some new work pants, (exciting i know, but the boy will not shop for himself...) a dartboard for the garage, and a edger attachment for his weed whacker. i would have asked for camera gear :o/. ha.

it really was an amazing weekend. he is an awesome husband and the best dad ashton could have ever want. ashton is going through a phase where he wants to sit next to him all the time. follows him EVERYWHERE. the love they have for each other is the best thing to witness. i love both of them so much and some days i can't believe this is my life/family. we are so blessed. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the great dads out there!

the best (imo) actions for a bargain.

i typically do my own editing in lightroom, it's my preferred method of editing (hello batch) and sometimes i finish up in CS3 with curves, levels etc to warm up and pop colors.  but every once in awhile i love to use actions for convenience. i have a couple of favorites, but one that really stands out are the 'actions by jude'. not only is she an amazing photographer, her actions are CHEAP ($5 a set)! and they are amazing (imo). easy to use & easy to tweak. before is the SOOC shot. i shot in RAW and opened in ACR instead of lightroom. the "after" is actually judes just released "golden light" action. my own edit (bottom) is what i would have done in CS3 (with my own workflow). "velvet color and b&w" "faded glory" are her two other sets she sells, (both $5). "golden light" will be released for sale shortly. she has a flickr group (private but anyone can join) where you can see examples of her actions from other photographers.

temptation.

we are back home now. two weeks went by way too fast and now i have a ton of images to process. i'm *suffering* from a photographers rut. i forced a lot of pictures in germany and now i don't feel like editing them. i wish i would snap out of it already. three weeks. is it normal to not want to take pictures for THREE weeks?! ::pouts:: at least ashton knows what he wants. ::grins::

an evening walk...

been awhile since i have updated. we are currently in germany for a few weeks. last night we took ashton for a walk to a nearby village to feed the goats and donkeys.




ashton has started finding rocks to toss. so cute. so boy.





he would giggle each time they took his offering.










on the way back we stopped at a park and had a few thrills. ashton really enjoys playgrounds. swings are his favorite.







when ashton doesn't want to go where we want him to go. he throws a tantrum by laying down on the ground. we leave him there and walk a way. except for this shot of course.