Morgan and Aron

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May 5th

It's been a month since my last post. Wow. Still no final word on my brother. They said up to 6 weeks so they must be going to honor that.
I've been beyond busy with Graduation Projects. I am doing projects for the local kids who I photographed. They are looking amazing. I'll share them as they get passed out to the owners. I don't want to spoil the surprise. Not that any of them would be reading my blog, but better safe than sorry.
I can't believe we only have three more weeks left of school. WOW. This year FLEW. We are done May 27. I have a Bridal Shower this Saturday, Sunday is Mother's Day. The following weekend is the last Middle School Dance of the year, and I think we might be moving into our new office at work! FINALLY! Then the next weekend is Will's class sleepover at his teachers house. And the weekend I should have been going to California. BUT, times being what they are, I just couldn't swing it. Which is a lucky blessing so I don't miss the Classroom Sleep Over. The families Restaurant is coming along nicely. I've been helping out when I can. It's fun. But A LOT of hard work at the same time. And ironically enough, I think it bring us all closer together. Didn't think we could be any closer but it seems like it.
Just wish my own family was closer to me. But life is not always what you want and just have to deal with it. Josh's family does a wonderful job filling in the void. Very Lucky!
And it just hit me the other day, I will have a TEENAGER in SEPTEMBER?! WHAT??? HOW? That's just not right.
Well, I guess this is enough to bore you all for a few minutes. See ya next month!?

Lost my Brother

My brother has passed away unexpectly. We are waiting for autopsy results. Visitation is Friday from 1-3pm at Eagles funeral home. This is my favorite picture of us. The only sibling that is missing from this picture is our Sister Brooke. This was taken in July at my Sister's wedding. Chris is the one directly above me. I love this picture because we are truly being US. Each of us in this picture are doing exactly what I would expect them to be doing. We are a very tight knit group of siblings. I am so proud of close we are. Most people don't have a clue that we are not all TRUE siblings. Some of us are half, some are step, some are whole. But we don't really care about those TITLES. To us....we are SIBLINGS! To us...we are FAMILY! RIP Chris. You will be missed and there will always be a void in my heart from your death. 33 years is not long enough to have walked on this earth. Please take care of us while you learn the ropes in heaven. Watch over us and keep us safe. We promise to never forget you. We promise to stay true to the 149 Crew! I LOVE YOU CHRIS! I will miss you more than you will ever know.

Ice Ice Baby

Well we just suffered through one of the worst ice storms that I can remember in Michigan. We were without power from Sunday night to Wednesday night. HORRIBLE, Horrible, horrible. I hope I never have to go through that again. My boss let us borrow his generator on Monday night. It got down to 48 inside before we got it up and running. Power came back at 6:36pm on Wednesday night. Ahhh...I took some pics. It was truly beautiful to see but man, I don't ever wanna see it again. They are calling for a snow storm to hit us tonight which could drop 4-8" on us. Wow, really? I love snow but I'm so over this winter stuff now. We had nearly 60 degree weather last weekend and now I'm itching to see springtime. Here's a few pics:Looking out my front door.Looking down the street.Thick thick thickSpring...where are you???

Project 52 is a dud

I suck...nuff said.

Project 52- 2011

So I've really been thinking about the Project 365 or Project 52 for the new year. I've tried many times in the past to do the 365/a photo a day but by the 2nd week of Jan I was done. So...I've thought long and hard about it and I really want to tackle it this year. I am going to do P52. A photo a week and I am going to take it one step farther still. I'm going to do a THEME. I am going to capture the people in my life who make me, me. I'm going to dedicate a week to a person in my life. I will obviously have lots of family members that will get used but there are also people out there who may not be aware of what they mean to me so I am going to search them out have my photo taken with them. There are a few people who I really want in my photo album but due to location...it may not happen. So if you do not show up in my album, it doesn't mean you are not loved. It means you are not near to me to have your picture taken with me! I'll figure out a way around that one! So...I'm off to make my list of 52 people who have helped make me, ME! Since last year was all about finding the new me "REVEAL"...this year is about sharing my life with those who support me. So my word of the year is SHOW. I'm going to SHOW people around me what they mean to me and how they belong in my life!

Work Christmas Party

He's not happy that his 18 year old car is dead but we are!
Cracked headgasket

Peggy, Rach, Melinda, Rachele

the Rachel's For our Christmas party, we went to Fat Fish Blue in Perrysburg, Ohio. It's a comedy club. It was super fun. The bosses car broke down on the way there and we left it at a Speedway Station for the night. Here's some pics of the evening. The four of us went down before the boss to shop at Levis Commons. It was a good thing we did so we could get the boss man back home!

Hudson Tigers STATE CHAMPS!

We did it!!! Er...I mean, THEY DID IT! Those boys won it all!!!! So darn PROUD of them. Best game I've seen in a long time and I can't even watch it again without screaming and I know the outcome. BEST SEASON OF MY LIFE!!! I love my football!This is my Cousin Drew, Me (on my 40th Birthday), Camden McCaskey, and Meiko McDaniel...my favorite players on the whole team!! These kids are amazing on field and off. True Champions in my book for sure!#22 is my Cousin!!! #24 is a wonderful kid and the one above #16 is AMAZING!#54 next to the coach is my new adopted son (I wish)...love that kid! Best heart in the world!

The bottom two pics are NOT MINE...Can't take credit for them.

I'm FORTY!!!

Wahooo!!! I made it to my forties!! And to top it off...I'm 80 pounds lighter!!! AMAZING! I'm so looking forward to this new decade! A totally new me! I did it!

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Black Friday, and GOOOO HUDSON TIGERS! State Football finalist! I'll be posting WINNERS soon!! GO TIGERS!!!! Stand Tall, Leave a Legacy! I love it, this is our year!

Wedding today

I have a wedding to shoot today. First one in a long time. I'm finding I like the senior pics much better! Not as much pressure, stress. But still enjoy it!

It is Digital Scrapbook Day today and I have no desire to even look at stuff??? What's wrong with me?? Yikes. So not like me. Hmm...

NOVEMBER!

It's november!!! I love this month the best out of the months! Crisp air, Football, Burning leaves, Turkey, Family, Voting, Shopping, Birthday. Seriously...what's NOT to love?!

I've been so busy with my photography that I have not scrapped in a very long time. I'm just waiting to be kicked off my CT's! LOL I've got no Mojo for scrapping it seems right now. Our football team is kicking butt still! We have game #2 of playoffs this Friday at home!! I'm in heaven and even if the big L comes...I'm totally ok with it. I've gotten a chance to know a few of those kids one on one and they are amazing! Of course my ever talented cousin is the main reason I go! Go Drew-der! #22 rocks!

I'm a huge football nut. Love it all at any level. Pop-Warner, HS, College, Pro. I'm good with any kind of football. Of the American kind, I must add. Not Soccer.
Anywho...work is calling my name. I'm wearing my new scrub pants! Size L!!! Wahoo! Go me!

Krystal, Libby, Misty-Felicity

It's a triple dip day!!! Krystal teamed up with Libby (my other boss!) and Misty to produce-Felicity. One amazing kit!! Love it!

Ettes-Reality Bites

Ettes are back designing! At a new location! They are now at PickleBerryPop.com! They've decided to let others deal with the behind the scenes stuff so they can just design! Wahoo!

I loved the idea behind this kit! I have so many thought on how I wanted to use this kit but didn't want to hurt anyones feelings! LOL hahaha So I twisted the kit to fit my journey memories!

And as an update: I'm down 72.2 pounds now!! It's finally moving again. I was stuck for a long time and it's finally moving...whew!

Happy WW Year Anniversary

I did it!!! I lost 70 pounds in a year!! That was my own personal MENTAL GOAL. I didn't really make it too vocal or known to anyone but I personally had this goal in mind on the day I made up my mind that I was going to start Weight Watchers. I did it...just barely...but I did it!
I'm so darn proud of myself right now I could burst! I firmly believe in their programs and will never let anyone else tell me otherwise. It works. If you do what they suggest, it will work! Ahhhh!!!! I did it! Now on to the next goal!! My High School Weight! 15 more pounds to go!!...then its heading towards my 100 Pounds GONE! Might take me another year...but I will get there! Promise!

Weight Watchers update

It's been awhile since I talked about my journey so let's visit that topic today!
It's my weigh in day! Every Tuesday! I am slowly approaching my year anniversary (9-28) and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where I am, where I came from, and where I am going...
I will not share my starting weight but I will share my losses with you: I have officially lost 66 pounds. And I have lost the following in inches:
Waist: 9"
Hips: 7.5"
Bust: 8"
Arms: 2"
Dress Size: 8
Thighs: 5"

So to put this into perspective let's add up all those inches lost from my whole body:
TOTAL: 31.5" gone from my body?! And down 8 sizes! WOW? I'm just finding this all out at this very moment so you are living my excitement with me!!!! That's more than 2 foot of my body gone?! I know it doesn't really work that way but in my head it helps for me 'see' it like that! Wowsers! It's no wonder when I walked into that school today people were talking. I lost count of how many people came up to me today to talk to me and say how amazing I looked. And for those of you who really KNOW ME, I HATE THAT attention. HATE IT. I just wanted to crawl into a hole. But then I got home and did my measurements and I GET IT! I see it! I can understand why they are all commenting. WOW! I still hate attention on me but THANKS! I DID THIS!! I am STILL DOING THIS!!! I'm just over my half way point. I kinda took the summer off from all the craziness of counting points to the right #. I did it in my head but not on paper. I still lost 10 lbs over the summer but it could have been better. But I proved to myself that I CAN MAINTAIN!!! I can do this! I WILL CONTINUE THIS JOURNEY!
So darn proud of myself!! Thanks for letting me rant.

Libby Weifenbach-All jacked up

Libby's got a new kit out called All Jacked Up! Halloween is coming! Love that holiday!

Winds of change are blowing.

My life has become so hectic that I am busy restructuring my priorities. I can no longer keep up with all that I am involved with. So with that said, I am going to be MIA for awhile. I seem to post on FB more and more and this poor blog gets less and less used. I'll still try to remember to post my layouts here but frankly, I haven't been feeling like scrapping much at all lately. I think I just need a break from everything for awhile.

Hot Summer lingers

Well, we've had an awesome summer. It was 92 today at the end of August. But I'm ready for fall. Love those cool nights and warm days. But again, 92 is not my idea of fall in Michigan.
I am dying to get out there and walk but have not been able to do so due to some issues with my right calf. I feel at my sister's wedding back in early July and I have no clue if it stems from that or what. But it will get better and then bam out the blue it will literally take me to my knees. It happened on Friday and I almost fell off the basement steps. Good thing the Punching bag sits there and I was able to catch myself on it. Ugh. I'm a mess.

Thursday was a day from hell. I can't even begin to post it here as it would take up too much space. But in a nutshell, if that is possible: My dog's de-worming took effect, my mom was ill and almost taken by ambulance to the hospital as she was the morning before but refused to go, my grandma fell and broke her clavical and I called 911 for ambulance transport, my sister Erin was in the SAME hospital ER that I arrived at with my grandma, my BIL passed out while driving and was taken by ambulance home, and my brother was having "issues". So...without going into full blown out details...that was my day thursday while I should have been at work so I lost a days pay. Good times, not really! And then the very next day is when I attempted to fall off the basement steps.

I have an ultrasound this AM and will let you all know how I fair. I pray it's just sore and no clot. I do not want to take coumadin. DO NOT! But I want to know when I will be able to walk with falling to my knees in pain. I can't get this weight off if I can't walk. I'm doing so well and now this. Time to re-evaluate things apparently. I know where I'm headed but I think someone wants to CONFIRM my intentions! Yes, God, I'm still committed to my goal. I know where I came from and I know where I am going! Life is still good and I truly needed the laugh last thursday. I am not kidding, I sat in the ER Waiting room and laughed so hard I had tears. I couldn't believe how my day went. I can find the best is every bad situation apparently! Because it was side splitting funny to me that all that was happening at one time.

Featured on SHUTTERFLY.com

ok so it's no secret at ALL that I LOVE SHUTTERFLY.com. Well, I get this email this morning from an account Representative that my book I created as a gift to my Sister and Don was picked to be featured on the home page gallery for 3 days!!! WHAT??? really???!!!! Some one pinch me now...what??!!!! ME? me? really? seriously?

I'm in heaven at this very moment. I told you in my last post that I love my life right and this is just another exclamation point on why! Things like this just don't happen to ME!

You can see it here: or here:

Or go straight to the book here:

Nutshell

My life in a nutshell: BUSY! Let's see. I have hardly created any layouts lately. My photography hobby has exploded in the last month for whatever reason. Funny how God pushes his way right in the middle of everything. When I really wanted to get my photography business going it just didn't happen. I decided to continue with the Scrapbooking and then bam...out of the blue I can hardly keep up. It's great but wow. I was not ready for this. Then on top of it all, we have added a new furry baby to the family. I affectionately refer to her as the ugliest dog in the world. And I do mean it! She's the kind that is soooo ugly she's cute...almost! Her personality more than makes up for her looks! She's a lover girl and a half. Taking her to the vets today to see what they think. I have no clue how old she is or what breeds she's made up of at this time.

My journey had just plateaued for about 6 weeks. Neither lost nor gained anything. Then this week alone, I am down over 3 lbs. Let's pray the scale doesn't get stuck again for that long. I have finally hit another goal too! I officially weigh less than my Hubby for the first time in our lives! We graduated HS and we was a whooping 120 lbs with all the clothes he owned on at one time. I think I weighed 120 when I was in the 5th grade?! LOL Doubt it though! LOL Probably younger! Yeah, I was never a skinny kid. Unlike my whole family. Go figure?! Anywho!!! Getting close to breaking the mark has eluded me for whole adult life. I know I will get there and I am hoping it's soon but all in due time.

Finished my Sister & Don's wedding book. Went a little artsy fartsy with it instead of standard pages. I loved it. Now I have the Murder Mystery photobook to do. I just can't seem to find the time lately. I want to enjoy summer too. So things are taking a backseat. I'm totally ok with that, surprisingly! I'm living for me right now. First time in a long time! Feels kinda good. I'm sure I will fall back into the old pattern/habits of helping others first but for now, I'm enjoying doing what I WANT!

Kids head back to school 9-7-10. Looking forward to it but at the same time not. Bitter sweet. I love having them around but I think they are both getting bored. Praying for an awesome school year this year. William is in a Split Class ( 3rd/4th) he's in 3rd. So it will be different but different is good, right! He'll do fine! His teacher is A-MAZ-ING too! So that makes it so much easier on me, mentally. Zander starts Middle School. Yep, Middle school. Wow...where does the time go?? Did I tell ya, I totally love my life right now!