Happy Halloween!

Here are my Halloween chickies!

Kate tried on 8 costumes before settling on the Polar Princess.

Reid tried on the Indian costume and was done!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween of years past!

This week I am combining my Photostory Friday post with Alicia's Flash Back Friday over at More Than Words.

I'm not being very original this week, but I wanted to share snaps from Halloweens past!

Reid was a Dalmatian for her first Halloween.
The next year she was a Razorback Cheerleader.

My mom bought Reid this cat costume and she HATED it! She cried when I forced her to put the hood on and then refused to let me take her picture.

A bunny and a 50's girl (tiger is our neighbor).

Those things on Kates head were my sad attempt at making bunny ears. Pipe cleaners don't hold up well when an 11 month old is involved.

Blue and Cinderella!

Lunette from the Big Comfy Couch and a Genie!

Kitty Cat and Snow White!

Kate wore that snow white costume at least once a week for several years.

Flower Fairy and a Pirate!

Spiderella and a Hippie Chick!
Pirate and Goth Girl!

Vampira and Greek Goddess!
Pink Fairy and a Doll!

Goth Girl (Reid's costume from '05) and a Crazy Doll!

This year for Halloween the girls are going to be............

Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

WW -- Photoshop

I have Photoshop CS3.

I have been known to be a little impatient when it comes to learning how to use new software.

I don't want to read how to use anything, I just want to use it.

You can't do that with Photoshop (well you can if you are into frustration).

So last night I opened up my hubbies laptop, sat it next to my iMac (which was a little grossed out because his laptop is a Gateway) and started watching tutorials on how to use Photoshop CS3.

Wanna see what I did?

This is the original shot of Kate jumping down some steps.

I decided Kate needed to be seen jumping elsewhere so I cut her out of the above picture and pasted her into a few other shots.

Here she is jumping in front of Mt. Rushmore!

Here she is jumping for joy in La Quinta.

Learning how to use Photoshop is going to be fun!

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Have a happy Wordful Wednesday over at
Seven Clown Circus!

PSF - Last minute costume idea

A few years ago I was looking for something different and fun to wear to my daughters Elementary School's Halloween party.

After a quick search on the internet I found an idea that was right up my dog lovin' alley.

Create a shirt for your very own Attack Dog Academy....only you are the cruddy training that has been chewed on one too many times.

You will need an old white shirt (I used a mans button down dress shirt), some scissors, needle and thread, a stuffed dog and sharpie markers in both Red and Black ink.

Take the scissors and cut/tear holes in the shirt so it looks like you have been attacked by your dogs. Use the red sharpie to add blood to the ripped areas.

On the back of the shirt add the name of your Attack Dog Academy.

Of course make sure to identify yourself as a trainer on the front pocket!

Finally, sew a small stuffed dog by the mouth to the edge of the shirt tail or sleeve.

This was so fast and easy to make and the kids thought it was hysterical.

Here are my real life attack dogs practicing on each other!

Another funny quick costume:

Take several Smartie Candy rolls and pin them to your pants.

You are now a Smarty Pants!

Do you have any funny quick and easy costume ideas to share?

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli

WW - Really?

As we relaxed at the La Quinta Spa and Resort this weekend, I sat down and pondered this question........

Is this really the best place for a telephone?

Wordful Wednesday

WW - Halloween Product

For this weeks Wordful Wednesday Angie asked us to show off our fall decorations.

I am entirely to lazy to put away my regular stuff and put up fall stuff, so instead I am going to share with you the killer colored hair gel we found last Halloween.

If your little ones (or big ones) want a hair gel that will give you great color and make their hair stick out in spikes stiff enough to poke out their siblings eye, Fright Night Spike and Color styling gel is the stuff for you!

These are the colors I picked up the other day!

This is what Reid looked like last year with streaks of pink and blue (the only colors I could find because I waited until October 30 to look for some)!

Even Kate got in on the action!

Best spiking hair gel and color I have tried.
It smells great and it was easy for the girls to wash out of their hair.

Reid wanted to use it on a regular basis, but the school policy specifically says no funky colored hair allowed. Shucks!

Click HERE to see more Wordful Wednesday entries over at Seven Clown Circus! or 5 minutes for mom.

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

I don't usually post recipes, but I found this recipe on allrecipe.com and let me tell you, it is about the best ham and potato soup I have ever tasted.

Not only is it really yummy, but it is fast and easy to make. I made a batch other day and we nearly woofed down the entire pot.

PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 25 Min
READY IN 45 Min

INGREDIENTS

* 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
* 1/3 cup diced celery
* 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
* 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
* 3 1/4 cups water
* 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
* 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
* 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

**My notes: I sauteed the onions and celery for a few minutes in a little bit of oil before adding the water and potatoes. I also used 3 bouillon cubes instead of the granules and I added the cubes with the water. I also omitted the salt as the bouillon cubes make it plenty salty.

Enjoy!

PHOTO BY: cookin'mama

WW - Atlantis

On Monday I spied with my little eye this man meditating on the beach.

I watched as he struck a variety of yoga like poses.

At times, his poses made him look like he was doing more than just exercising.

He literally looked like he was praying to the ocean.

No matter what, it looked very peaceful.

When I got home I downloaded my pictures.

I immediately noticed that in one of the two shots that I took of yoga man, there was a red glowing dot just to the right of his head!

For the life of me I can not figure out what could have caused the tiny red flash.

Could it be his aura?

Perhaps the red eye of a passing seal?

Or maybe yoga dude is a merman and was communicating with his family in Atlantis.

Wait......was Atlantis off the coast of San Diego?

What do you think it could have been?

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For more Wordful Wednesday entries please visit:

Seven Clown Circus

Macro Monday - Knobby knees

You would poop on people too if you had knees like this!

For more Macro Monday entries please click here.

Sky Watch

(Please click on the image to enlarge)

Rainbows are too rare not to share!

This shot was taken on 9/27/09 at 6:00 p.m. in Southern California.
If you look closely you can see the moon in the right hand corner.


To see Sky shots from around the world visit the Sky Watch site.

October Photo Hunt

For those of you that enjoyed seeing my pictures for the August Photo Hunt I'm here to tell you that the October Photo Hunt Challenge is up.

Please visit Kristi's blog to view the rules and get in on the fun.

It is a great way to challenge yourself as a photographer!

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Here is the list of items to photograph (all subject to photographer’s interpretation).

1. A Fall Activity

2. A Fall Treat

3. A Harvest

4. Leaves

5. Fall Colors

6. Something Orange

7. Something Spooky

8. A Cemetery

9. A Costume

10. A Black & White Photo

11. A Critter

12. Symmetry

13. Contrast

14. Texture

15. A Logo/ Mascot

16. Something Neon

17. Something Inspiring

18. Something Entertaining

19. Something Fast

20. Something Slow