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Saturday, May 29, 2010

I'm a Photo Contest Junkie

The Paper Mama


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These are my girls. The younger two are mine, and the oldest is my cousin's little girl. My older daughter is similar to her cousin that it really is unbelievable. Both blonde haired and blue eyed beauties, but that is all just superficial. What reminds me most of Izzy is the actions and the facial expressions! They really are, not only cousins, but kindred spirits as well!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Photo Challenge

Fix it Friday at


Original:
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My Fixes (made with my sad excuse for photo editing, Windows Photo Gallery):
Fix #1
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I cropped, then turned the contrast way up and then unsaturated almost to a grayscale, but not quite.
Fix #2
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Not unlike Fix #1, I cropped and turned the contrast way up, but this time instead of unsaturating, I turned the color temp up so that it added the pinky tones that we all love about a baby's skin.

Now, to convince the Hub's that a decent photo editing program is worth the bucks...

Favorite Friday

Let Favorite Friday commence!

As I have said MULTIPLE times before, I have an addiction to books. Really any kind of books, but mainly children's books. When I was three or four, my Mom (bless her heart) set down EVERY night to read a stack of books. Yes, you heard me correctly. Not a couple, or even a few. A STACK. Needless to say, her hours of reading time and beaucoup bucks spent on library fines paid off. I hope to foster a love of reading in my own children as well. Ergo, my house looks like this:
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(From our weekly trip to the library)
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(The girls' books)
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(My books)
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(Hub's books. Now THAT is a manly stack of books. And all non-fiction. Blech.)

And at any time, Emma Claire can be found like this:
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So all of this is leading up to my favorite thing for Favorite Friday. Really, it's not a thing at all, but a place. Half Price Books. As if having dirt cheap books weren't enough, Half Price Books is having a 20% off Memorial Day sale this weekend. EVERYTHING is 20% off!

These are my steals (all hard-backs):
My Almost Epic Summer: $3.98
Brunettes Strike Back: $4.78
Ol' Lady Grizelda: $2.38
Naptime for Thaddeus: $3.18
Pheobe and Chub: $2.38
The Best Pet of All: $4.78
A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee: $3.18
Dumpy La Rue: $3.18
Ms. McCaw Learns to Draw: $3.18

Nine books for $32.12!!

Other reasons why Half Price Books made my PRESTIGIOUS Favorite Friday post:
• They support literacy with their A,E,I,O, & YOU program
• Their Half Pint Library Book Drive for local children in need
• They support the environment with their Go Bagless bag refusal program. The bags each cost only 98¢! And 10¢ of each bag sold goes to BecomeGreen.org Environmental Education Initiative, which goes toward the education of the public on various environmental topics. AND the store in itself is a way of recycling!
• If you are anything like me, you have TONS of books stashed away in boxes, totes, and chests. Half Priced Books gives you CASH for your books. Not check, not store credit. Cold, hard CASH!
• Last but not least, they offer the Feed Your Brain summer reading program for kids. Read (for ONLY 15 minutes a day!!!!! Gosh, how simple!!!), fill out the log, print it out, and return it weekly to receive a $3 Half Price Books gift card! It lasts nine weeks, so if you complete all nine, you could rack up an easy $27 per child! And we all know how many books that buys!

Go check out HPB this weekend for an awesome deal. And tell them you saw it on Peterson Place's Favorite Friday. Okay, don't do that. They won't know what the hell you are talking about. Oh gosh, I am amused at the thought of the extremely befuddled look on their faces. ♥

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Reading Girl, 1850 by Franz Ebyl

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Things That Are Sent to My Email Account Thursday

So, I thought that I would share some of my better emails from the week on Thursday. I am guessing that you have noticed my lack of ingenuity while choosing titles for my posts. Sorry about that. Also, I will be headed to the lakes this weekend, so I won't have a chance to post this weekend. Now I am telling you this not because I think that you all will miss my oh so exciting blog posts, but to remind you all to remember the reason for this holiday. It is not for a three day holiday, contrary to MOST people's beliefs, but for all of the service men and women, past and present. So have fun on your long weekend, and thank a veteran for the freedom that you have to enjoy it. Now...on to the silliness!!!

Random Thoughts of the Day [Not my thoughts, by the way, but someone else's]: (from my friend Camryn)

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f*ck was going on when I first saw it.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a d*ck from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

I agree with that dude on so many different random thoughts. Especially his rule for pant wearing.

P.S. I am told that I am supposed to tell everyone how much I love my husband. Why the hell would I want to waste my precious blog space on that crap? No, but seriously, I think that would max out my blog space (Is that even possible????), so I just will have to save that for another time.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

To the One They Said Wouldn't Ever Be Here

Evelyn Rose, you turn one year old today. Doctors told me that it would never be likely to have another pregnancy since my tube was still blocked from the ectopic. But here you are, our bouncing baby girl. Happy birthday, Evvie Rose. You are our pride and joy, and the answer to your sister's biggest request for Christmas. God truly blessed us with you. You are the happiest little girl. With just one look in your direction, you have a grin from ear to ear. Anytime I am feeling down, just snuggling with my two girls will have me back in action in no time. So, thank you. To you and the Lord. For making my heart and the Peterson family whole. I thought that I would post some of my favorite photos from your wonderful first year.
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First Breaths
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Mama and Evelyn Rose. Going stir crazy in the hospital, waiting to get the okay to go home.
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3 months
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Baptism. Evelyn with her Godparents (AKA Nana and PawPaw)
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Baby Evelyn is ALERT and never misses ANYTHING.
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Body Parts
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First hat! If we could just get you to KEEP THEM ON!!!
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First delicious meal. Hey, you liked it and that is all that matters. As time will pass though, we will learn that you will eat ANYTHING. Oh yeah, GOOOOO WILDCATS!!!
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Just to remind ourselves that it wasn't all peaches!
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Your First Easter
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1 year pictures.

Happy Birthday, Peanut.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

New Follower Tuesday


Thanks for stopping by!!!! Read a few of my latest posts to get to know me better! Sit a spell!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Alphabet Weekend

A is for Addiction. My addiction to another "A". Army Wives. Can't get enough of it.
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Briggid Brannagh as Pamela Moran is my favorite Army Wife!
B is for Bargain. I went to several yard sales and found the BEST bargain. See letter "G". Gotta love pinching pennies!
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C is for Campfire. We had our first campfire of the summer with some friends. The sound of laughter, tales of shared memories, and the smell of campfire does my heart good.
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(image from Alana Elliott at Flickr)
D is for Daughter. I have been minus one of them for a couple of days. Emma spends a lot of weekends in the summer at the lake with her Nana and Papa. She loves it. I miss her though. Nana called and said that she is taking to swimming like a fish!
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Last year at the lake
E is for Exercise. No, I haven't been shredding with Jillian this weekend, but I have been sweating BUCKETS while edging out the flower beds with a 50 pound spade. I think it was more work than shredding, if that is even possible!
F is for flower fun. Planted sunflowers, poppies, zinnas, and a butterfly mix for Emma to play amongst. Last year, she LOVED to pick my zinnias and they are plentiful enough that I don't mind. By the way, did you know that zinnias used to be referred to as "old maids"?
G is for GeoSafari. I found one at a yard sale for $1 and it STILL WORKS! Did anyone else play with these in school other than myself???? My husband thinks I am crazy for getting this excited over an educational toy.
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H is for HUMIDITY! I haven't even BOTHERED with my hair the past couple of days. Hello, SUMMER!!! Humid Hair is not hot. Even on Courtney Cox.
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I is for Ice Cream. I allowed myself to indulge in a yogurt ice cream sundae yesterday. If I had to name one sweet that I couldn't go without, it would be ice cream. Favorite Flavor? Caramel Caribou. To DIE for!
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J is for Jalapenos. Can't WAIT for try out some homemade salsa this year!
K is for kids. Emma's school year is over, so kids will be EVERYWHERE. Keep those kiddos safe and be aware while driving!!!
L is for Lowe's. We got a new wheelbarrow. Hubs says that it won't last as long as our marriage. :-p Needless to say, the quality just isn't there.
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Ooops. Different Lowe, although definitely more fun to look at.
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There. See, you liked the other pic better too, didn't you?!
M is for Mulch! We got new hardwood mulch for around the plantation (no, it definitely ISN'T really a plantation) and it is BEEEE-YOO-TIFUL!!!! Nothing spruces up landscaping like newly laid mulch!
N is for Nair. Don't ask.
O is for O...Well...We WERE without Child #1 for the weekend...
P is for Porch Swinging. I heart my new porch swing! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!
Q is for sQuare Foot Garden! I cheated, I know. But I am so excited that I had to put it in. It's finished! Stuff is IN THE GROUND! Here's praying for a bountiful harvest!
R is for Rabbit. She's still hangin' in there, waiting for her house to be built. Just for those of you who were wondering!
S is for Summer. IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!! It's also for Sumo. :o)
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(Evvie's standing on her own now!!!!)
T is for Topsy Turvy. Yes, I bought one. I will let you know how it works out! Mainly, I just couldn't think of a better way to plant my strawberries.
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U is for Ugly. Ugly is what our landscaping was pre-weekend.
V is for Vegetables, of course! I have about EVERYTHING in there from leeks to tomotoes to broccoli to ivory and chocolate peppers! I am excited to give those a whirl!
W is for Wish. I WISH I had an irrigation system instead of having to roll out a hose. Come to think of it, WATER is another "W". I WISH for WATER.
X is for Xylophone. Heck, it was the only thing I could think of.
Y is for Yearn. I am SERIOUSLY yearning for a new car. My folks got a new Lincoln MKZ.
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I think I'm in love.
Z is for Zoo. I tried to take the girls to the zoo again on Saturday, but there was not ONE parking space. It was raining off and on all day, so I figured that it would be a good day. I thought wrong.

Couple more photos from the weekend:
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Thanks for tuning in!