Best fudge ever!!!!

First I want to say, that I am computerless for the time being, but will hopefully get that fixed as soon as possible. So, I'm on my daughter's for a little while.

I've been wanting to share this, so everyone can have some great tasting, foolproof fudge to make for Christmas.

This comes from Polly, who ran the arts and crafts lessons, at our soon to be closed AC Moore store, in Utica.

RECIPE: 1-16oz pkg of white candy melts, 1-16oz pkg of chocolate, any chocolate you prefer, and an 18oz jar of peanut butter, (with or without chunks). Melt it all in a microwave safe bowl, till melted, then butter a 13x9" pan, spread some mini marshmallows in the bottom, (how ever many you'd like to have), then pour the chocolate mixture on top, and smooth out evenly. Refrigerate till solid, then cut in small pieces.

Let me know how you like it if make some.....you won't be disappointed!
Obviously this has peanuts in it, so make sure all of your family and friends know, before they eat any of it!

I have a confession to make......

I am an addicted scrapbooking paper collector! Not to mention a chocoholic, but that will be another post in the future! How many of you are scrapbookers? Do you do traditional scrapbooking or have you entered the realm of digiscrapping?

I made a post on a forum I frequent tonight, about collecting so much scrapbooking stuff for digital scrapbooking, that I'll never use it all. Sound familiar? Besides that, I have so much real stuff, that it's just sitting in my armoir, not getting used.

So anyway, I thought I would post my favorite stop every evening, before going to bed, and this has turned out to be the cause of so many late nights now, sitting in front of my computer!

Here's the site: Digital Scrapbooking. If you like seeing what is out there for free scrapbooking papers and elements, take a look at all of the freebies, but be forewarned, there is a lot to go through!

Leave me a note, and let me know what type of scrapbooking you do. Now that the Christmas rush is over, I hope to have some time to do some work on catching up the past 3 yrs I'm behind....Thanksgiving of 2005, to be exact!

My last family Christmas session....

was done last Sunday. Barb and her kids came to see me earlier this year, for a three generation portrait, with her mom. This time she brought her hubby along too. The girls have grown quite a bit over the summer, and they still love petting my kitties. I think they had more fun giving a couple of the cats some affection, then they did anything else. Poor mom is allergic, so they got their kitty fix with my cats.

Here are my two favorites from the bunch from this session.

A big Christmas family!

I was fortunate enough to have photographed most of the families in this picture seperately at Chester's Flowers a few weekends ago, and then they asked me back to photograph them at Mary and Pat's house, all together. What a nice bunch of people, and great kids too!

Phil and Elizabeth are newly engaged (Congratulations!) and needed a photo for their engagement picture so we took a few of them for that. They look so happy together, and I hope they have many years ahead of them.

Next was the big group of all 17 of them! this is where the kids just shined. They really paid attention, and all coopetated so well- thanks kids!


Last but not least is the group of all 9 kids together....is it ever perfect getting all of them looking in the same direction at the same time? It's still a great image, esp with all of the siblings/cousins together.

Two sisters

Meet Miss K, and Miss K. I photographed the older miss K last yr for Christmas, and she was so shy! She wouldn't even make eye contact with me last yr, and only focused on her grandma. This year though, she is all grown up, and didn't seem to mind having her picture taken.

Her sister on the other hand, wasn't so sure, and good thing for mom being able to distract her, and make her smile!
While the elder Miss K isn't looking at the camera or smiling, I love this shot, because I think she looks so pensive.....it's a very nice shot to me.

Dancing.....

I was finally able to photograph Alicia for some dance pictures, when she came with her family for Christmas pictures last weekend. There are so many good ones, but for now, here is one collage. Beautiful girl, beautiful images! I'll try to add some more later on.



Here are some others I thought I would share. These will look so good on her studio walls, when she gets here own space. You are very talented Alicia!

The cutest pigtails

The last time I saw little Miss "A", she was 4 months old, and she is still in my pictures on my website, if you want to go look for her....(hint, she has a red hat on.) She just turned 1 yr old on Thanksgiving, and although we were supposed to do a cake smash, her mom said that she did a trial run on her birthday, and she screamed when she touched the frosting.....so we didn't do that after all. I guess not all kids love diving into cakes like my other birthday boy did....oh wait....he is a boy!

Anyway, the pigtails just add some personality to the pictures, don't you think? It reminds me of my daughter's "Pebbles" fountain one I used to do for her, when she was little.




The last pic is just a great series of expressions of she and her mom. (click on the picture to view it larger)

I just have to share one of my dog!

Patches has been with us for 4 yrs I think, and she was rescued from SSHS in Utica. She is the second dalmation mix we have had, and she is a great pet and family member. Although not very old, (the vet thinks between 6-7) she is getting greyer, and everyone loves her half-black face and black ears. She has had many comments on it since the beginning, but she's losing that since getting greyer.

She's such a poser, and has no qualms about getting in front of the camera. Just wanted to share her cuteness with everyone, since she is always locked up when people come to get their pictures done.....(or she would be in the pictures with the kids or families!)

I promise to get my sessions up here from last weekend too, and our own family picture, that we just got done. See even we wait till the last minute!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's the eve before, but just wanted to wish everyone a wonderfull day with family and friends tomorrow! Around here, we may have to watch the weather, and we are supposed to drive two hours to my hubby's family.....we'll have to see. Tug Hill can be a real bear, as it was last yr, when I drove up there in an ice storm. No where else was it icing, but up on the plateau....

Anyway, be safe, have fun, and eat lots of turkey.....and to those who say, "Have a nice holiday....I say, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!" Give thanks to Who it belongs to, and be thankful for what we have, and are able to do....

Enjoy!

Last, but not least.....

there just aren't enough hours in the day, to do all there is to do. I didn't mean to leave the boys off of the radar here. But they are the last of the previous weekends shoots, and two of my favorites!

This is a great photo of Mr's T+T, and their pretty dog too. He had never seen cats before, and while he didn't bother them, unfortunately my older cat stayed under a chair, with her hair standing straight up. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to give a 5 mo old puppy directions....never the less, some nice pics to add to the collection.

Baby's first Christmas

Little "M" came to get her Christmas pictures done this year, and she has big, beautiful eyes and lashes! These are my favorites of the session, and even these few images, shows her unique expressions!

Andrew's Christmas

I've been photographing Andrew for almost a year and a half, and last Sunday, was the first time that he wasn't easily amused. It didn't help that he wasn't feeling the best, but I do think we got some really nice shots.

The naughty or nice just happened to be caught at the right time!

Come join me at Chester's Flowers this weekend, for their Christmas Open House.

Chester's Flowers is having their Christmas Open House this weekend, Sat from 9-5pm, and 11-4 pm on Sunday. They are located on 1117 York St. in Utica. I will be photographing families there, and you can have a 4x6 image to keep for free. You can also register to win a Chester's $300 shopping spree!

So bring your family, and come see the beautifully decorated gift shop, and all of the poinsettias in all of their glorious colors. It's a sight to see!

Hope to see you there! And be sure to mention to read this on my blog!

All she wants for Christmas is...

Her two front teeth, and she's working on getting them in! Her left one has already broken through, but what a perfect pic for the holidays.

I think I like this one for the winter now!

Sorry for all of the changes, but when you find a free blog layout site, thanks to good photographer friend Janie (she's in my blog roll), then you have to try some out for size...

I like this one best yet? Do you agree?

I have pics to post from yesterday, but haven't finished them yet, and three shoots today.

How do you like the new look?

leave me a yea or nay.....I think I like it, but may have to change some font colors around!

I hate dead ends!

And I can't stand medical care that stinks! Today was a total waste of of a day off from work, money, and energy! We saw the infectious disease Dr in Albany today, and basically he didn't understand why we were referred to him to begin with....he was very nice, and it was nice to have a new set of ears listening to us, but there was no reason for us to be there. Apparently, the yeast that was found growing in her urine was from one or two tests ago, not during the procedure which was done several weeks ago, which I thought this referral was based upon. She was clean as a whistle....so now, all kidney issues have been resolved, and nothing that she is experiencing, has anything to do with her kidneys, BUT, he did also agree with her needing a full rheumatology work up.

He even thought she probably did fit the Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue criteria, but he is not qualified to make that diagnosis.

It gets old hearing, "well, I can tell you what you don't have, but I am not sure what is going on." I hate that phrase, and although they (Dr's) think they are giving you good news, I repeatedly tell them, it's just another door being shut in front of us, and it's frustrating!

Off to make an appt with the Rheum Dr next.....my friend just got diagnosed with latent stage Lyme disease (8 yrs later), and we have said for years, they the two of them have run similar symptoms, so who knows, maybe she should be tested for that too....!

Thanks for following if you have!

Keeping fingers crossed!

Many people know that my oldest daughter has suffered with chronic kidney infections for the past 4 1/2 yrs, and she was in and out of the hospital 7 times in about the first three of those. She has continued to suffer from what has appeared to be some sort of auto immune disorder, and finally a couple of weeks ago, during a procedure, they finally came up with something in her labs. Without getting too personal, she is growing yeast, and we need to find out if it is systemic or not.

Tomorrow, we are seeing yet another specialist in Albany, in hopes of finding a diagnosis, and possible treatment/cure. It has been a long road for all of us, but an incapacitating one for her.....

So, hoping we get some good news tomorrow....

You know when you get on the internet, and start doing your own research....well, I found this excellent article about CFIDS...(Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction) on Dr. Cranton's website. It pertains to Yeast Syndrome.

This is the link, if anyone would like to take a look. Dr Cranton's.

New Christmas set in use today

This was a great shoot, and I think most kids like to have someone working behind me, making them laugh. I had a bear behind my head yesterday, a dog squeaker toy in action today....what else is in the attention getting arsenal?

I think these portraits came out beautifully today, and hope everyone involved loves them too! Thank goodness for crackers, for a little pick me up, in between groups today, or else it may have come to a screeching halt!

Miss A for Christmas......

We did Miss A's portraits for Christmas today, and I don't think I have ever seen such beautiful skin on a little girl before! It was like porcelain. I have to say, I love having kids bring their bears and dolls! Keep them coming, and I might make a Teddy Bear gallery on my website!

During her shoot, we switched gears, and she put on a tutu....wonderful smiles abounded!

Two new Christmas sets

I just bought a new pretty chair to use for a prop, and the color matches Christmas and the holiday season wonderfully. Here are two possible sets to use, one is the white High Key, and the other is the new Christmas backdrop. We can certainly change things around, and you are not required to stay with just that arrangement. I'll be posting some high key of a little one done today.

Please let me know which set you would like, if scheduling an appt...it's so much easier knowing ahead of time what props I need to get out!

PS: the kitten is not part of the props, and won't be in your pictures! And the wrinkles will be gone before you know it!

Christmas portrait special.....

I do have a few more openings this month on the weekends, but boy did it fill up quickly! Just wanting to let you know that the Christmas special this year, is an 11x14 canvas on matboard, and session for $75. That is quite the deal!

I do have a new Christmas backdrop that I bought for this year, and will be using it on Sat. It's a painted Christmas tree, with a window looking out into a winter scape.

So, if you still haven't made an appt yet, but want to, they can still be scheduled this month, into Dec, but, depending on how late the date, your pictures may not be guaranteed to be back in time for the holiday.

If you would like to make an appt for this month, please call as soon as possible! My number is 315-845-8880.

And lastly, I'd like to take this opportunity, to thank all of my repeat customers, and all of my brand new customers, for the wonderful business this year!

Creating Storyboards, and "What are they?"

Some people have never heard the term storyboard before, so I thought I would explain and show two examples. It's usually a larger size photo, with several images added, to tell a story.

I think these two are perfect to show as examples, since the kids gave me so many great images, they needed to be seen together. Look at the love and affection they share together, and what child doesn't have a special Teddy or doll, or blankie? A storyboard can be of anything....

If your child has a special Lovey, and you'd like to capture the special moments between them, have them come and be photographed, with a series of images to create a storyboard for yourself.

Another Christmas portrait session....

With a good looking family! I had recently photographed the kids along with their cousins and grandparents, and then they came back with Mom and Dad today for their family session....These are just a few of the ones that will be part of their gallery.

Mr A is a real ham and has some great photos with his bear...He loves to tell stories, and has great expressions when he tells them.


Miss E is a little more reserved compared to her brother, but she has a great smile, and poses so well. She also brought along her American doll and has a bunch of images with her too...

Why does portrait photography cost so much?

I just thought I would share this with you all, so that you may have a better understanding as to why a personal portrait photographer, charges more than your big box stores, for your images.

Personally, I think customer service is key. I like to take the images, edit them to my satisfaction, and then provide you with portraits that you are going to be happy with, and pleased that you purchased. There is much more, that goes into a shoot, than just clicking the shutter on the camera, and then uploading to the internet to view.

Take a read through, and if you have any questions, or would like to leave a comment, I'd be happy to answer for you. Happy reading!

http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?p=6

Oh and by the way, the author is an "online friend" from a photography forum I frequent, so check out his site at the very bottom of the article

Is Winter going to hang around for long?

As it is in the Northeast, we have too long of a winter anyway, but when it starts before Halloween, well, there is just something wrong with that scenario! While right here in the village, there isn't much, in the outlying areas, and even up North, 6 inches is just the beginning!

Ugh! I want it to all go away! Where are those warm days again, and the pretty leaves?

The start of the Christmas season

Today's shoot started the Christmas season for me. Britt brought her brother and sister for a family shoot, so they would have portraits for the holidays, for their parents. I thought that was a neat idea, that she was thinking ahead like that, and to consider something long lasting, and so meaningful.

Anyway, we had a really good time, shot a lot of frames, because they were all so good looking and hamming it up. And the little outfits for her dog, was incredible too! Her aunt made them up so she would be festive for her pictures, and the holidays.....too CUTE!

Our beautiful kitten

This is Marley, and she is a trip! She is quite mischevious, to say the least, and she is also not afraid of studio lights. This happened to be a spur of the moment catch, since she jumped up on a chair that was off to the side, as a prop.

She's our purty kitty!

Welcome to my blog!

I just want to say, that I am brand new to the blogging world, and I hope to be able to showcase my work right away using it. Please feel free to check back frequently and see what is going on around here!

Thanks for stopping by.