goodbye march :: photography

you've been colder than i'd like, dear march, but i trust you've prepared me for a beautiful april.

cp :: paintings online store

remember when i rambled on about my new year's goals?  well, i have checked one off the list - my second etsy shop, cp :: paintings is open for business!  i am feeling very accomplished and "pseudo hubby" is thrilled at the idea the paintings may soon be leaving our basement.  i'll admit, we have quite the pile-up down there. 

i hope you'll stop by for a visit now and then.  i promise to keep the shop filled with beautiful girls!



chalkboard art display :: kid project

i am a sucker for an art show.  i try to go to many and support as many artists as i can.  i usually don't have a place in my home for everything i love, so i end up buying a lot of small notecard sized prints.  sometimes i give them as gifts, or actually use them as a notecard, and sometimes i stack them in my "will-hang-someday" pile.

this weekend, i erased the winter art from "bumps" chalkboard wall and ended up dipping into my "will-hang-someday" pile.  so fun!

lombard animal hospital :: personal story :: web development

almost 5 years ago, my super adventurous sister-in-law and her husband moved out to portland, oregon and bought a veterinary clinic.  i have so much admiration for them because i think it's one thing to follow your heart and do what you love.  it's another thing to do the "business part".  i am terrified of the "business part".  the financials, the rules, the marketing, the...  work-more-than-play part.  i mean, a person has to be pretty brave to take on something like that.  and, my super adventurous sister-in-law and her husband are just that...brave.

not only have they completely taken over a clinic and made it successful, she is now offering holistic options for treating your little furry loved one.  how cool is that?

to visit their clinic website (developed by yours truly) and to learn more about things like acupuncture for your pet, click the image below.

isn't the bunny adorable?  i really want one.

wednesday is dessert night :: baking

making time for weekly traditions...  it's a hard thing to do.  especially when the week's schedule becomes invaded with soccer practice, swimming lessons and music class.  then there's grocery shopping, dinner cooking and house cleaning.  each night itself holds bath time, reading time, and the 20 times we tuck "the monster" into bed.  it's really just organized chaos with lots of singing and shouting.

but there are three weekly traditions that we try hard to stick too.  these are:

1. project play (i come up with something crafty for "the monster" and i to do together)
2. game night (we devote at least an hour to sitting together as a family and playing a game)
3. dessert night (wednesday, today)

 last wednesday, i made martha's s'more cookies.  these were a big crowd pleaser.  tonight i have to go grocery shopping, so i'll most likely make something out of a box when i get home.  how i bake something isn't the important part...  it's that i give my family something to look forward to.  and i look forward to trying a new recipe.  and right before reading time and the drawn out falling asleep time, we all sit together at our kitchen table with tall glasses of milk and the weekly sweet treat.

i spy something green :: photography

i was thrilled to notice a bit of moss greening up when i hiked thru the gardens last week.  it's certainly a sign of good things to come...

boys in a wagon :: photography

while we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.
~angela schwindt

letter craft :: project idea

i love reading.  i especially love reading in the car on long road trips.  "psuedo hubby" does not love this about me.  he wants me to carry on a conversation with him as he drives, which is only fair.  but i just can't sit there.  as we planned our trip up to chicago last week, i reached for a book to pack and the same old argument ran thru my head... so  i declined my hand and instead grabbed some craft supplies.

some friends are having a little girl this summer and they've already decided on a name.  my friends live in chicago.  a new baby is a perfect excuse for a craft project...  especially a letter craft!

please excuse the poor quality pictures - i took them in the car.  but otherwise, aren't these adorable?  and so simple to make.  i bought wood letters at the craft store for 80 cents each.  then i just wrapped in yarn and sewed on the fabric flowers with left-over beads.  voila! 

green sale :: etsy photographic print sale

in honor of st. patrick himself, i am offering 25% off the photographic prints below today thru the weekend!  when you click on the image below, you will be taken to my etsy shop where you can enter the sale code "march17sale" at checkout to receive your discount.  and... as always, if you would like a different size than is listed please convo me and i'll create a custom listing of you.

happy festivities...  will you be drinking a green beer today?

 

expand your horizons :: personal story :: event

each year, i have the pleasure of presenting along with a team of talented women at the expand your horizons conference at our local college.  this event is geared towards junior high girls and encourages them to look towards careers in math, science, technology & engineering.  as a young girl of that age, i can remember wondering when i would ever use the algebra my teachers were drilling into my head...  turns out i use it every day in my career.  so what this conference does is show girls how fun these subjects can be someday...  and exactly how they will use them if they choose a career in "________".

the event is broken up into multiple workshops and the girls can attend 3 workshops thru-out the day.  our workshop is based on teaching the girls entry-level html & css (web programming languages) by creating their own photo gallery.  by the end of our session, each girl will have a link to their personal gallery and will be able to upload images well after the conference.  they can also share their gallery on facebook (which is what every pre-teen wants anyway, right?).

for a little show-and-tell, the fun women on my panel, along with "bump", who happened to be with me at work one day, made the following galleries.  for a good laugh, please click on the images below so you can see each in it's entirety.  note: if you are using IE, you will need to right click on the active-x warning and allow content.

interested in participating in the eyh conference? (it's not just a local thing).  check out the eyh website here.

9 month "bump" :: photography

"bump" hit the 9 month mark over the weekend.  still no hair on his little head, but his eyes seem to have a deep compassion about them.

studio flowers :: photography

something about shooting flowers inside that so dramatic...

letter art :: project idea

we have a babysitter-in-training.  what does that mean?  well, she's only 12, so not quite old enough to be in complete control of our two little boys.  "m" is her name and she's eager to learn, a whole lot of fun, responsible with a sense of humor.  perfect for us.  any parent out there reading this knows how wonderful it is to find that special young person.  so...  we are training her.  we go on short dates while she watches the boys and her dear mother (my dear friend) sits quietly and supports her when needed.  like when "bump" peed on "m".  or when "the monster" spread brownie mix all over the kitchen.  those sorts of things.

now.  my dear friend won't let us pay "m" very much.  "she's still in training.", she says.  "let her work towards that hourly rate".  so our babysitter-in-training is quite the bargain as well!  i wanted to do something special for her to show our appreciation in a non-monetary way.  i made "m" the cute letter art below.  i used butterflies, but one could use cars, airplanes, etc for a boy.  i could also see using more mature designs and using the first letter of a last name as a housewarming gift.  possibly to hang in a mudroom?  the ideas are endless...

wonderettes :: web construction :: musical auditions

my friend scott is the leader of the roxy theatrical group who brings amazing productions to our little midwest city.  he is also an incredible designer.  designer of websites, designer of print, designer of home & office decor.  incredible i say.

his latest adventure is directing "the marvelous wonderettes" and auditions begin very soon!  the official press release will be out tomorrow, but i wanted to give you a sneak peek at the website.  btw, i built the site and i love building adorable designs...  how cute is the background sketch?!

reminder :: blog reference

this is my best friend.  i love this picture because of our huge smiles.  we were having SO much fun.

i really love this blog post.  it's a reminder we all need.  now go outside and play.

a new beginning :: lrs web solutions blog

me, age 6.  could my hat be any bigger?

a couple months ago, i went thru a bit of postpartum depression and my major sadness was each day as i walked into my office.  i missed my children and i wasn't finding inspiration and excitement in my work.  i went on a lot of walks thru-out the days and complained a lot to friends.  then one night, my cousin and i sat down for a glass of wine and talked it out.  she helped me get over the complaining and i starting thinking about a solution...  

i began by asking myself what i enjoy in my hobbies (photography & blogging) and how i can incorporate that into a web programming position.  after i came up with my plan, i set up a meeting with my boss and he was delighted to accommodate my new ideas.  i am very fortunate to be in a position where i have an encouraging team of people that actually hear my voice. 

one of my goals was reached last week when our web solutions blog went live.  we already had facebook, twitter, and everything else under the sun.  now we have a blog and i will be the project manager and main contributor.  i welcome you to follow me both here and there, as i know there will be lots of interesting information and possibly a few jokes.

side note: the picture above was featured in my latest post for the web solutions group.  i love the idea of sharing awkward photos to lighten things up a bit.  who says business has to be so stuffy?

weekend sale :: photography

this weekend only!  40% off all prints in my etsy shop.  coupon code: "march11sale".  sale ends monday morning.  happy weekend friends!

cake stand cuteness :: project idea

i know you've seen this before.  i still love the concept.  random plates, bowls, candle holders, pots, etc all put together with cake and cupcakes for an adorable presentation!

i decided to try this myself and started the hunt for cute randoms a couple months ago.  once i found the, i had the most fun mixing and matching my pieces.  but, the construction didn't turn out to be as easy as i thought.  first, i tried just super glue for the adhesive...  this did not work.  not nearly strong enough.  i also ran into a problem with the surfaces.  some of them weren't smooth, which made my tray unlevel.

of course "pseudo hubby" came to the rescue!  i presented my problem, he disapeared into the garage for a minute and then started crafting.  yes, that's right, i am telling you all... my "pseudo hubby" crafted these lovely trays.  proof below...

this small raise in the surface messed up everything

duct seal...  a wonder worker!

the duct seal hardens and joins the two surfaces together

i love them.  i can't wait to have a party with lots of desserts!