Happy Halloween!

We tallied up the votes from here and Facebook, and the winner by 3 votes is....


Pumpkin B!
Which happens to be the pumpkin my wonderful hubby carved! I have to admit, even though I loved mine, I thought he did a pretty awesome job, so I'm not upset that he won!

I'll be gone for a week now, but when I get back, I'm sure I'll have tons of photos to share! Happy Halloween everyone!

I warned you...

...that I'd be asking for your help, and so here I am, asking for your help!

I have these 2 photos I took of my husband holding our niece, on the day she was born. I love them both, but I don't know if they are great photos or if I'm just sentimentally attached to them. I also can't choose between them.

So this is where you come in. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think. Do you like Photo A or Photo B better? Do you think either of them are good enough to use for this display or should I use more artistic photos? Please be honest! You won't hurt my feelings, I just feel too sentimentally attached to these photos to be objective.

Photo A

Photo B

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!

So let's be honest...

Even though I'm trying to get back to blogging on a more regular basis, I'm not doing a very good job at it! I do well for a week, then slack off for a week. I really am trying though, I promise. But that is beside the point. My point really was to tell you that I won't be blogging at all next week, and it's not because I'm slacking!

We're going on vacation! A cruise to be exact! Both my parents turned 50 this year and they didn't want a party or anything, they just wanted to take a family vacation. So that is what we're doing!

And since we're being honest, I'm going to tell you that I really need this vacation. I need some family time, and an escape from my every day routines and the constant thoughts swirly in my mind. So I'm really excited. And I, of course, am bringing my camera, not only to document the trip, but to try to take some photos to use in my display at a coffee shop in my hometown in December.

So when I get back, you can expect lots of photo posts! I'm in the process of going through all my photos now and trying to decide which ones I'd like to use. I may even have a few posts this week asking you to help me choose! But let's not get our hopes up about that because you know how I've been! ;)

Pumpkin Carving Contest 2009

My husband and I had a pumpkin carving contest last night and now we need your help! Vote for either Pumpkin A or Pumpkin B as your favorite. Voting ends October 30th. We'll tally the votes from you and on my Facebook page, and announce who carved the winning pumpkin on Halloween!

We only had 2 rules to the contest:

1) It had to be a face.
2) You could draw on the pumpkin first, but you could not trace anything.

Pumpkin A

Pumpkin A in the dark

Pumpkin B

Pumpkin B in the dark

Together

Together in the dark ;)

OK, cast your vote in the comments below!

Exciting news!

Good news has been rare around these parts recently. But yesterday, I got an exciting request! I have been asked to display some of my photography at a coffee shop in my hometown in December!!

I was quite shocked at first. I don't really consider myself that good, but I think that mindset is good for me. If I don't think I'm as good as I should be, then it motivates me to learn and take better photos. But apparently there are people out there that think I am good enough for this and want me to have the courage to share my photos with others!

So I agreed! Not that this is a big art show or a museum or anything, but it might as well be to me! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I have to start going through all my photos and maybe taking a few new ones, and deciding which ones I want to display. And hopefully this will motivate me to finally finish designing my photography blog, so it's ready for around the same time.

In the next few weeks, I may even post some photos and ask for your help choosing! So stick around...knowing my indecisive self, I'm certainly going to need all the help I can get!

My heart is filled...

...with prayers of love and strength, hope and healing today for every woman and man that has suffered the loss and pain of a miscarriage.

October 15th marks Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day. Statistics show that 1 in every 4 women will suffer a miscarriage in their lifetime. Please take a moment today to say a prayer or send some loving thoughts to all the women and men that have suffered this loss, never being able to hold their child in their arms.

No matter where you live in the world, at 7pm your time can you light a candle and keep it burning for one hour in memory of all the lost babies and in support of their families.

If everyone in every time zone does this there should be a continuous wave of light for a full 24 hours.

Dear Santa...

...I know that Christmas is still months away, but I would like to request a set of these as a gift please.



I'm too cheap to buy them for myself, but I promise to use them. It seems that my local grocery store likes to waste plastic bags by putting one item in each bag, and it's really starting to get on my nerves.

Thank you!
Sara

Nostalgia

Whenever I make this 45 minute drive over the mountain, it makes me feel at home. Each little landmark brings me closer to or further away from my roots. Winter, spring, summer or fall, it is beautiful in it's own way. I've been saying for years that I'm going to take my time and photograph it in a way that does it justice, but when we're heading home we're always in a rush to see our loved ones, and when we're leaving we're in a rush to go so we aren't prolonging the sadness.

Some day I will take those photos, but for now, I just take them out the window will my hubby is driving.

Crisp cool air...

...the smell of chimney smoke, and the vibrant, stunning views...there's no place like the Berkshires in the fall!

OK, so I didn't post these on Saturday like I promised. But better late than never right?! I even decided that there were too many to post the rest today, so I split them up and there will be more tomorrow! (Yes, there definitely will! I scheduled it already!)

If you missed my last post, my hubby and I were at my parents' house last weekend. We took a nice hike, visited with family, and enjoyed the most beautiful, New England autumn views I've seen in years!

I took these photos just wandering around at my parents' house, which just might possibly be the most relaxing place on Earth for me.








The worst part of going home is always that we have to leave. But the drive back is stunningly beautiful as well, so come back tomorrow to see the photos I took from the car while my hubby was driving!

I ♥ Fall

Hey Everyone! I've had a couple emails wondering where I am and if I'm ok, so I thought it was time to check in. I am doing ok - trying to take life as it comes and do the best I can with what I'm given every day. There's a lot of things I'd love to write about, but nothing I'm comfortable sharing with the world yet, hence my little hiatus.

My hubby and I did spent our weekend in my hometown though, and the foliage was so beautiful I just had to share! I took lots of photos, so today's post will be of our hike on Monday and tomorrow I'll post the photos I took on our drive back here on Tuesday.

We went home because my gram and uncle were visiting from South Carolina. My uncle doesn't get a chance to come back to the town he grew up in very often, so he wanted to go for a hike and my hubby and I went with him. I hadn't been to this spot in years, and it was really nice to spend some time together and enjoy the great outdoors.