...

Ah...the holiday season is almost upon us. Things always get busy this time of year. Everything is crammed into a month.

The girls and I talked about Christmas this year. I suggested that instead of them getting a lot of gifts this year, that we would go out and buy gifts for kids who don't have as much. They were really excited about that. I'm sure Santa will bring them something, but it won't be a gift fest this year. Keep it simple. Plus it will give them a sense of the world around them. Not everything revolves around them.

Sarah's preschool class went to the fire station this morning. The kids LOVED it! It was really informative.

They're forecasting snow tonight! EEK! Luckily it will melt Friday, but I'm not looking forward to it at all.

Friday!

Woo hoo!!! I am SO going to sleep late tomorrow! Andrew will be home eventually tomorrow. Cora has her bow league, but other than that we're just chillin'.

It's been a beautiful couple of days. Gorgeous weather. Unfortunately, that won't last long.

I'm getting the house straightened up. Getting rid of a bunch of stuff. We have so much crap cluttering the house. Time to purge.

Woah, it's Cold!

Cold and rainy. Not much else to do except stay inside and clean the house. Laundry is getting done, and kitchen is almost clean.

Andrew goes hunting next week. I hate hunting week. It seems to drag on forever. Not sure what we're gonna do to keep ourselves occupied while he's gone. I know I'm going to rent a bunch of chick flicks that I've been wanting to see. It's become a tradition. :)

...

Andrew flight is delayed. He'll be home about an hour and a half later than expected.

Loverly.

[Grrrrr]

I spent two hours at the doctor's office. I was getting SO mad just SITTING there. I don't have strep, but apparently I do have acute pharyngitis. So, I have antibiotics for that. Took two hours to tell me that. Sigh...time to find a new doctor. I haven't been impressed with that office at all.

Tomorrow is Cora's Apple Orchard Field Trip. Gonna be a chilly one, but I think we'll have fun. Sarah gets to hang out at Aunt Nikki's for the day. Sarah had a hard time letting me leave this morning at preschool. Not sure what was up with that, but she was fine when I got there. One of the moms who stayed said that she was "out of sorts". Hope she's not getting sick.

Andrew will be home tonight around 10 PM. We've all missed him.

Beautiful Day Today

Today is gorgeous. Sun is shining and it's very mild outside. I love Fall in Michigan. I know that Winter is not far behind though.

I had my annual eye exam this morning, and my eyes are 20/20. I got a new pair of sunglasses with my frame allowance. In the morning I go to the doctor since I've been feeling crappy for a few months now. Gonna finally get checked out.

Cora's got Karate tonight. She's a bit nervous, but once she gets there she has a blast.

Andrew's out of town until tomorrow night. I miss him. He's in Bloomington, MN, right by the Mall of America. We went there last year as well, but this year I wasn't able to go. He's there on "business"...heheeh...last year there didn't seem to be much work going on.

Finally

The end of a bad week.

Andrew hit a deer on hiw way to work Tuesday morning. It was dark and he didn't see it coming. The Saturn is most likely trashed. It's at a shop in Howell, but Andrew is going to get it tomorrow. It might not be worth fixing. He went back to see if the deer meat was salvagable, but it wasn't. Andrew took the antlers as a trophy. It was a pretty big 4 point. Andrew's ok, but is still pretty sore. Scared him half to death.

Also found out that our roof pitch isn't what we thought it was, so now if we want to move onto land, we have to rebuild the stinking roof. What a mess.

I'm glad this week is over.

Lara and Darcy

Homecoming 2005.

Go Cats!

Tonight is Grand Blanc's homecoming game. The girls and I went to the Homecoming parade this afternoon. It was C O L D! Then or course it starts drizzling as soon as the parade starts. We had fun despite all the shivers!

Almost There...

It's almost Friday...not that that is any special thing.

Our heat wave is over. Today will maybe hit 70. Guess October is meant for cooler weather. Sarah's preschool is going to the apple orchard in the morning. That should be fun. They always have a great time on the hay ride and stuff.

I have SO got to get this office organized. I can't find anything in here. Once it's done I'll feel so much better!

Monday

I'm so tired! We went to watch my SIL Lara's Powderpuff Football game tonight. She's a Junior and they lost 14-0. It was a good game though. After that we went for pizza.

I can't believe our weather. It was 85 today, and tomorrow and Wed will be in the 80s as well. Thursday is going to be cold though. Guess it IS time for the chilly weather to set in.

Saturday I had a senior session. She is a teammate of Lara's. We had so much fun! I got some really nice shots too. I was pleased.

Sarah

Testing my new 75-300mm USM lens today. Love this shot.

Autumn is here!

It was 48 degrees when we woke up this morning. I don't mind autumn, but winter is entirely another matter. I HATE SNOW! I HATE COLD!

Anyway...enough whining about the cold. The leaves are starting to change and are very pretty. Sarah and I might go take a hike in the woods today and see what we see.

I have a Senior Portrait Sesson on Saturday. I'm SOOOOOOO excited. I found a really old and beautiful Bed and Breakfast house in Fenton. The owners said that I call them and we'll set something up so we can use the house and grounds for some shots. I think it would make for very unique portraits. I told the clients that I don't do backdrops or lights, and they sounded pretty excited about that. I'm hoping I do a good job for them. Lara is doing a great job of recommending me to her friends and teammates. I might have to pay her! :)

TGIF!

Geesh..are the hurricanes EVER going to end??? I guess not for another two months. I'm so glad I don't live in MS anymore. Hurricanes SUCK. I was a junior in high school in Louisiana when Hurricane Andrew came through. It wasn't as bad as Florida got it, but it was bad enough.

Andrew's out getting popcorn and coca cola at the moment. I plan on having a few Rum and Cokes tonight. Nothing wrong with getting a litte tipsy, eh? Girls are in bed, and we might play a little Halo on the Xbox. We haven't played in almost a year, so it's about time we got our Melee on! We used to play every night after the girls went to bed. We'd get online with a friend of ours and we'd play against each other all night. So much fun. Or we'd get on the Super Nintendo and play a raucous game of Dr. Mario. That was dad's favorite game. He'd sit there and play for hours. Missing my daddy.

Wow, it's already 11 PM. Luckily I don't have anything to do tomorrow except sleep in. The girls were up late tonight so hopefully they sleep in as well. If not, it's cartoon day!!!

Cora got an A+ on her very first spelling test today. She was SOOOOOO excited to come home and tell me.

The new lens I ordered finally shipped today. Can't wait to get it and play! I want to take it to the sports games and get some good shots when my niece and nephew play soccer.

A Rarity

Sarah actually allowed me to take pictures of her. What fun this was!!!!

Cora Belle

Cora doing homework.

Woah, Nelly!

Ok, so how did my house get so destroyed??? I just got done cleaning my laundry room. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor. It looks and smells MUCH better now! Next project is to organize the tupperware drawer. Wow, what a disaster area THAT is.

I didn't sleep well last night. I was up at 1 AM watching "Soul Food" on AMC. Great movie. My allergies were bothering me. I'm ready for the cold weather JUST to get rid of all the stuff making me sneeze!!

[Ho Hum...]

Monday morning. Got the girls off to school, then proceeded to hit the library. I read the current copy of People, and then checked out a couple books for myself. The good thing about me not taking any classes this semester is that I can read 'til my heart's content. I got a book by Larry McMurtry called Some Can Whistle. I didn't know he did other books besides Westerns. Looks like a good read. I've been re-reading books that I know are good, but I wanted to try something new this time.

End of The Weekend...

This weekend has flown by. Yesterday we went to James' and Darcy's soccer games. Andrew helped his brother repair his roof. This morning was the first day of Sunday School at church. The girls were really excited for that. Cora is in my class this year, but my Co-Teacher taught today while I went to the service. We'll alternate between teaching and being off. Sarah was in the 4 year old class downstairs near my room. She liked that. She's really becoming more outgoing. Last year I could barely get her from around my leg, but not anymore. I'm so glad she's not so clingy.

Cora went to Toys R Us and got a scooter with a gift card she got for her birthday. All the kids bring their scooters to the bus stop in the mornings and ride around while they're waiting. Cora expressed interest in doing the same in the morning. Where has my baby gone?

A Quiet Moment

Cora enjoying a book in her room.

Yuck

I feel like poop on a cracker. My allergies have been going full force for 6 weeks now. Hopefully by the end of this month I'll feel better.

It's pretty chilly today...high of 66. Guess summer is really over. The weekend should be nice though. We're going to my nephew's soccer game, and then to my niece's soccer game. Andrew gets to help his brother install a new roof on his house. We shall see how big of a project THAT turns out to be! :)

My room is 98% clean. All it needs is a good vacuuming, and it's done. Did you know there was a floor in there??? It's funny how fast stuff just gets thrown on the floor. I'm such a slacker when it comes to hanging laundry. Folding is easy, but I have a brain block when it comes to HANGING. I HATE HANGING CLOTHES! However, all our clothes are hung now, and I get to start all over again on Monday. I need a maid.

Cora's Trophy

Cora shot in a bow league this fall. She got third place.

Thursday

The girls and I went to the dentist this morning. Cora did a wonderful job, but Sarah wasn't thrilled with the prospect of some lady digging around in her mouth. She ended up not doing it. Sometimes they're fine, sometimes they're not. Took Cora to school around 10:30 to finish out the day. She really loves school.

Sarah are I are on our way to go look at vacant lots of land. We really want to get this house moved and then sell it. I'm not sure if we can get stuff done before the snow, but we're going to try. We would have to pull Cora out of her school to transfer. She would be alright, but I remember having to change schools, and I never liked it.

I started an Ab class at the gym on Monday. I've been twice now, and my muscles are SCREAMING! It feels SO good to work out though. I really hope I can keep going. If I can lose a few pounds, I'd feel SO much better.

Silly girl

What a goofball...

[Am I crazy?]

I'm thinking of auditioning for a part in our local theater company's production of "The Nerd". It's the same company that Cora did Sound Of Music for. I think it would be a hoot. I've never done anything like that before, so would be a neat experience for me. No singing in this show, which is a GOOD thing! Auditions are next week. We'll see how things go. The rehearsals work around Andrew's school schedule, so that's no problem.

Lots of rain this morning. The electricity shut off for a few minutes. Almost didn't make it up to get Cora to school. Luckily my internal clock kicked in just in time.

Hmmm...what should I do today? My poor scrap room is in shambles. Since I haven't scrapped much in about 6 months, everything gets tossed in there. I think I'll get it cleaned up today. I'm half tempted to actually get a page done. That would be a feat!

Update on My Sister

I heard from my sister on Friday, Sept 2. She and her family are ok, but their home is destroyed. A few trees fell on it, splitting it into pieces. Not sure what's going to happen.

Ahhh...

Both girls are in school now. Sarah started preschool. Three days a week for 2 1/2 hours. I plan on going to the gym while Sarah's at school.

I went to Big Apple Bagels and had a large Caramel Latte. I felt like such a grown up! Funny how such a simple thing can make you feel so different.

Not much else going on today. My allergies are kicking my butt. I called my doc to get an appt, and won't get in until next Wed. I need to find a new doctor.


Aren't WE excited to be goin' to school???

Stupid Hurricane

My sister lives in South Mississippi. I haven't heard from her since Monday afternoon, when she text messaged me about Katrina being the worst she's ever seen.

Communications are knocked out down there, so I can't get in touch with her. I'm a bit freaked out.

Sunday!!!

Tallman Family Picnic today. I was in charge of pictures. I think we got some good ones.

Also got some shots for Lara.

Saturday!

Cora starts school on Monday. I can't believe I have a 1st grader. She'll be in the 1st/2nd grade combined class this year. From what I've heard, it's a good thing. I think it can only benefit her.

Tomorrow is the Tallman Family Picnic. I've been charged with photographing the day. Not that I wasn't going to anyway, but it was requested of me. Should be a fun day.

It's been a week and a half since dad died. It's still so hard to believe. His urn finally came yesterday, so Andrew will go to the funeral home next week to pick up his "cremains". What a funny word!

I've been having a lot of trouble falling asleep lately. Guess it's normal. I hope that when school starts and I'm forced to get up in the mornings I'll get my internal clock back on track. I'm SO not a morning person!

Anyway...summer is almost over. Flew by pretty fast, with everything going on. I'm very grateful of the time I had with my dad though.

I love you, dad.