Baby Bit's Impromtu Photo Shoot

Miss 'Liss wore her first spot of lipstick today, at just a few days shy of 7 months old. So, this is what happens, when mommy is a hairstylist, a clown, has been surrounded by 6 little boys for the past several years, and is playing with her early Christmas present... 

 

Then, once I turn around, she introduces herself, to well... herself. She has always loved getting dolled up and smiling at herself in the mirror! Ignoring my messy room would be so kind, I'm a mom, not a maid.

 Yes, she has her first black eye... from trying to stand up and bonking her face on her crib.

 Poor baby! Elisabeth kisses are the very best kisses.

May we all be just as happy when we look at ourselves in the mirror. I hope she never loses that.

Memories

My husband went out of town for a week for a business trip... and everything went wrong! The garage door broke, the boys were crazy, major fatigue set in... but even worse, my computer crashed for the whole entire week. (Though I DID get a lot of cleaning done!) When we got it back, all of our pictures were totally wiped out. I had been backing them up on an external hard drive, but apparently the last 2 years of photos hadn't been backing up like I though they were.

Through a lot of trial and error, we were able to get SOME back... for free! We were told by hp it would cost at least $100 for them to even try, and the geek squad and other places quoted us a lot more. But my husband did some google searching and found a program Recuva you can download that got them back. It only took about 2 entire days, but now we have them. Unfortunately, the recovered ones are most of what we had already saved, or ones I had already blogged. Some of my absolute favorite newer photos are still totally gone. About 8 thousand photos that we never took or have ever even seen before, like random logos, arrows, borders, color gradients, facebook pictures of people we don't even know and that sort of thing. So it is took a very long time to sort through them. We plan on getting an automatic online backup like Carbonite that should help in the future.

 

 

It made me really sad, because all this time I have been editing and saving pics for the blog and other sites, but I have failed to do the ones that matter to me the most... my family! I had just finished edited and organizing a few hundred family pictures, but didn't back them up. I keep seeing the images of my little guy in is homemade ghost costume for Christmas, or the boys playing soccer and their adorable little faces, a photo of me 'scolding' my oldest, and him rolling his eyes at me (hilarious), or the pictures of our family by the lake during Christmas time (which we totally lost).. then I thought about my family blog and how I haven't updated it in over a year!

I tend to be the type of person who, if I skip posting about Halloween, I think, I need to do it before Thanksgiving... then before you know it, Christmas has passed and I never updated because I could never update things that late or out of order. I do the same thing with my journal. Well, now I know better... I am really going to try and focus on not only making those memories, but keeping them alive, and not drowned in some hard drive to be lost somewhere. And, I am going to try and focus more on making memories with my kids, than on missing old photos with them. I've come to realize that is why those photos were so important to me, because I haven't been doing as well of a job in being there for them right now. So, apparently, I have got a looooot to work on.

Sweet Animal Friends

Glamour Dogs Book by Catherine Ledner

I just love the innocence and free spirits of little animals. I truly believe they have developed, little souls inside those bodies. Just look at the eyes and you can see the love, fear, confusion, desperation, forgiveness pouring out of them.

Bunny in a Basket via Real Beauty

Swimming Piglets via Real Beauty

Bichon Puppy kicksy by Emilie (I miss my childhood bichon, Keiki!)

Jimmy the Guinea Pig by Samantha Warren Photography (I think I squealed in delight when I saw this!)

"Saimai is a two year old tiger and as a baby was suckled by a pig until she was 4 months old. This democratic start in life allowed her to form a loving relationship with other pigs and even a dog."

Those Lovely Horses

bohemian girl

I have always loved horses. Their smell, their wild spirits and mild yet fiesty hearts, their strength and power. Their grace and beauty and stubborn love. Even as a girl, some of my favorite films have always been Tonka and Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. Pegasus, unicorns, My Little Ponies, Arabians, Pintos, Mustangs... doesn't matter, I love them all.

fairy tale meadow ~ create love laugh

Once, while horse back riding with friends on a narrow canyon trail, I thought of their powerful bodies trotting over those little rocks and how vulnerable we were to a tiny little slip of a twisted ankle...

alicia bock

michelle k. a.

lori andrews

Another time, a wild horse named "A Horse With No Name" (a stubborn old lady), she took me for a wild ride through brush, down a hill side and off to chase some old cows. I definatly held on for the ride and sheilded my face from low thorny branches. I came out of the forest, clothing in shreds, hair a mess, a bloody lip, black eyes, scratches covering my face and arms and sticks in my hair, but boy... did I love that horse!

arthur sakhkalyan

traci (mrs. french)

if i could pick just one ~ blissful images

bradfordcg

I believe that was the last time I went horse back riding, yet how I have yearned to go again. Every time I see THIS VIDEO of the 100 horses being rescued from the flooding island in the Netherlands, I cry. The score (Vangelis- Conquest of Paradise) has something to do with, I'm sure. I also have a hard time with the forced spectator horse fighting and treatment and conditions of city carraige horses as well.

the gentleman- tracey capone

the whispering horse- irene suchocki

I truly had a hard time picking which horse images to choose for this post. Knowing that this magnificant creature is still out there, working, grazing, running in the sun, nuzzling up to a mate or a wee one, I feel as if a part of their spirit is captured in the photo and I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings by not including it. Truly, I want to gently rub down their noses and softly sing them a song. But that is crazy talk, isn't it.

chris friel

josh murfitt

margo love

Then, I heard about Molly, an abandoned victim of Huricane Katrina. She was alone for weeks, and when finally rescued and taken to a shelter for the animals, she was viciously attacked by a pitt bull and lost a leg and her jaw. She was to be euthanized, but her protective and caring demeanor won the caretakers over. Through love and support, she was able to get a prosthetic and now serves as an inspiration and bringerof hope to those in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, shelters and hospitals with her sweet spirit and loving personality.

nika f

alfheiour eria

Thanks to mrs. french's post on sfgirlbybay for reawakening my horse love.