just lettin ya know

~ the springin forward
I like it but I don't. . . It was dark this morning when I rolled outta bed.
So.not.cool. 
But, on the other hand the sun didn't go down til after 7. 
Makes me :-) 

~ the run
I went in to work a smidge early today so's I could get my 5 mile run done when I got home before the sun went to bed. 
Check.

~ the meal 
Because I know you're dying to know... the spouse grilled some pork chops he marinated overnight. 
Oh how I <3 a grillin man. 
We had green beans and corn with the chops. I guess my body needed somethin on the healthier side cuz it totally hit the spot!

~ the rest o' the evenin
Since I'm a great wife, I went upstairs to "watch" the hub play video games. 
Ok, so I wagged the laptop upstairs and I've been on Pinterest like the whole time, but hey, at least I'm in the room with my beloved. 

the goings on

First things first... 
Dad is improving every day from the ole back surgery. He walked around the block yesterday and even showered and shaved and stuff. I cooked lasagna and we took it to their house to eat and visit last night. Dessert was sopapilla cheesecake. It was yummy. Anyway, today Dad was able to go to church and he seemed to manage pretty well. No lunch with friends though - he had an appointment with Mr. Recliner :~) 

Thursday this little box appeared on our doorstep. 
YAY! 
How I <3 amazon.com 

That's right - I am now the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 110 running watch. I know you don't care. But I do. It's super cool. It's a GPS enabled device that tells me how far I've run, my pace and my time. And when I wear the heart rate monitor (purchased separately), it links up with the watch and shows my heart rate. Haven't tried that yet. 
So now I can hop outta the car, walk out the door of my house, whatev, and just go. No more driving in the car to mark off routes. F R E E D O M

So Saturday I did my 6 mile run. 
(ahem) This was my first time to run this far. Before Saturday, the farthest or is it furthest... I had ever run in one trip was 5 miles. So this was a bit of a MILESTONE for me in my marathon training. 

Maybe you're sick of me posting about running. But this is a big deal for me. And posting about it keeps me accountable. Helps me stick with it. Cuz some days a case of the lazies creeps up and I have to squash em like a bug! 
See, sometimes when I'm runnin, the thing that keeps me goin is knowin I'm gonna get on this blog and tell y'all about it. So does that make ya feel important? 

And to end this post on a good note - today I did some headshots for a girl I used to work with (thanks to a dear friend who recommended me). It was an easy, fun shoot. We even talked about God, church and worship. She recommended a book that I may read soon. Gotta love good peeps like that, right? Anyway, maybe I'll post a couple of her shots later... 
Anthony was out with the fellas for a movie tonight, and it was so weird... as I left the photo shoot my car seemed to drive itself to Ross my favorite store. And by George they're open til 9:30 amazingly on Sundays. Score! I found a dress I couldn't live without and a couple shirts. Oh and a couple things for Kerby and Kerlandy. Every time I'm out shopping lately, stuff for them seems to be jumping into my cart. Weird, huh?

Til later - keep it easy & real ...

Sunday Sawyer shots - an infant portrait session

At the time of this shoot, Sawyer had been outside the womb a mere 19 days. And I've probably already taken his picture 150 times. He's just gonna have to deal.

Stuff I don't wanna forget about this shoot - 

• Joey (aka MacGyver, aka The Professional) gettin a 2x4 to hang the flower basket from
• Bryson puttin on a cap, messin his hair up in the process, then goin and slickin his hair down (think Alfafa from the Little Rascals minus the twig in back) which meant Jen had to blow dry it and fix it a second time
• McKenzie diggin a shirt out of the dirty laundry pile to try to wear (we vetoed her on that one)
• Bryson givin me ideas on poses/setups every 5 seconds (who knows, he may grow up and be a professional photographer one day)
• McKenzie eatin on Bryson's melted chocolate milkshake while wearing her white shirt (scarrrry)

For anyone interested in the technical stuff - 

EQUIPMENT - I shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel xTi camera (no, this isn't the most recent digital SLR by Canon). The lens I typically use (and used for this session) is a 28-90 mm so as you can see, I don't have the most cutting edge, up to date equipment. If you know your equipment and its limitations, you can utilize it to its full potential without breakin the bank.

LIGHTING - Window light...natural, beautiful light created by God... no flash needed if you get the right exposure and figure out what you want out of your setup. Picture it before you shoot it. People who click and hope for a good shot are l a z y. Sorry if you think that's too strong, but it's true.

SETUP - Use whatcha got! Try to think outside the box. You don't have to go buy a bunch of expensive props to create a nice scene at home. If you do buy things, keep your receipts in case they don't work out for ya. As long as they're not damaged, I don't see an ethical issue with this.

PHOTOSHOP - Yes, I use it. I try not to overdo it though. Adjusting or removing color, removing a scratch or blemish, adding a vignette, just the small finishing touches. And of course a 2 week old babe can't hold his little noggin up so I just Photoshop'd Dad's hand outta the shots in the coffee cup planter. Ain't I talented?!

Hope you enjoy these shots. I sure did enjoy doing them! 

random weekend things & Dad is H O M E

Thursday night was the talent show at our local high school. My friend Lisa (Riley's mom) is the choir teacher, so she asked me to take up $ at the door and Anthony was on for a judge's seat. Counting back change and adding multiple entry fees - not my bag. I hope I didn't short anybody. If I did, I'm sorry! 

When we finished with the gate, I was able to go inside and watch the show so I of course found the seat closest to this little dude. 

We played and I kissed him. Several times. And told him I loved him. And that he's a good boy. Many times. Cuz I pretty much <3 him all to pieces. Wish I could clone him.
I ended up havin to take over for one of the judges who had to leave. So then I had to pay attention. Riley didn't seem to mind. He ran off to his mom. I like to think she's the only other woman in his life 'sides me. 

At Anthony's judging table, these were gonna be left behind. 

Can't have that. Poor little Cokes might get an inferiority complex. Feelin unwanted like that. So we snatched em up. 

But guess what we don't have at our house - you guessed it, a bottle opener. So I googled how to open a bottle without a bottle opener. And it seems there's a ton of ways to accomplish this little task... Some were interesting to say the least - a piece of paper, a chainsaw, a lighter, your wedding ring or your iPhone apparently have dual purposes. I opted for the old timey can opener. So anyway Anthony has enjoyed a few bottled cokes thanks to my ingenuity. 
*Side bar - Lyndy doesn't drink cokes (and by "cokes" I mean any carbonated soft drink). Stopped drinkin em in 9th grade as a New Year's Resolution. Only NYR I ever kept. Just thought you should know that. 

Friday was a work day, but the weather got rough in a lot of places here in the south, so I ended up coming home early. Thankfully where I live, we were blessed that it only rained hard. 
*Side bar - We had a storm a while back that had some terrible lightning and thunder with it and we're pretty sure lightning struck in our back yard. It was so strong it knocked the mirror off our wall in the master bath. Anthony was home at the time, along with our cat of course. Anthony said it was so loud he just knew he'd walk into the master bath to find a gaping hole in the wall. Fortunately no hole. But there was glass everywhere. Took him 3 hours to clean it up. Ever since then when it storms very bad, the cat goes behind the couch in the living room. When it stormed on Friday, Anthony said Tinsley was in her "safe place." I thought that was clever. And cute.  

Anyway once we knew the storms Friday had passed, we headed off to Cracker Barrel with Joey, Jen & the boys. McKenzie missed out, she was spending the night with her bf. 

I've been lovingly referring to Sawyer as #5 - cuz now they're a family of five.

Bryson was excited about playing checkers after we ate. It was a bit too chilly on the front porch, so they played near the fireplace. Anthony said it had been so long since he had played, he kinda forgot how. Bryson wasn't complaining.

Saturday I did my 5 mile run.  

Dad didn't get to come home from the hospital Saturday so we went to see him. He sat up in a chair while we visited. I was amazed at how well he can walk already. The getting up from laying to standing - slow and steady. 

We swung by a few places on our way home and made a few purchases. Nothing really blogworthy though. 

Sunday was church of course and in the afternoon I shot some more super cute pics of Sawyer. CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW YOU. 

Dad also came home from the hospital today!! And he might have been sittin on the front row at church tonight. But I won't say cuz his doctor and nurse might read this here blog. Idk 4 sure...it is the WORLDWIDE WEBBY ya know. 

Update on my dad

The serious stuff
In a nutshell, he had a bulging disc in his lower back and he's gotta be in the hospital about 4 days.
I reckon they shoved it back over where it belongs and put a cage around it. Maybe some kind of spacer, too cuz there was a nerve getting smushed because of the bulging, off to the side disc situation. Stop misbehaving little disc!
 
The funny stuff
When you come out of surgery, the meds do a lotta talkin ya know... and my dad's a NUT CASE normally anyway. So when he gets the meds, it's always entertaining.
 
~I'm looped (said multiple times).
~They gave me some goofy stuff.
~I saw some weird stuff in the recovery room when I was wakin up.
~Someone asked him (in recovery) what he had done. His response - I think they tied my tubes.
~I haven't been this drunk since I was a sinner.
~Gimme a cigarette (mind you he hasn't smoked since the 70s)
~Boy, you talk about sore.... Shazam!
~I wanna know somethin (said over and over, but he'd go back to sleep before we could figure out what he wanted to know)
~Mom told him - your breath stinks! He said - I ate a skunk.
~A nurse came in and checked one of his machines...as she left the room he called out to her - come back when you can stay longer !
~When the night nurse came in to check some things Anthony and I ended up leaving the room when she started talking about looking at his incision, etc. When we came back in Dad asked Mom where did Lyndy and Anthony go? Did they leave? I spoke up and said we're here, we just went out in the hall cuz I didn't wanna see your crack. He said well, it looks just like everybody else's. I said well I didn't wanna see it. He said I saw yours when you were a little bitty thing. 
 
He's doing therapy and walking, sitting up in a chair, etc. a little each day. 
 
I'm really hopin he's done with the surgery scene. In the last several years, he's had both his knees replaced, heart bypass & both eyes operated on. I'm thinkin when he gets to Heaven they won't bother with giving him a "new body" cuz it seems to me he's gotten his here on Earth. Lol No double dippin Dad..uh uh no
 

fun.with.friends.

Saturday night we had a good time hangin' out with Clint & Kyla 
Remember... October beach wedding... this here's the newlyweds sans their adorable son who was being spoiled by his nana & papa

On Sunday  the old worship gang had a reunion tour of sorts, albeit a one day tour, but I digress...

 good times, good times

Doesn't my nephew look dashing in his suit & tie?! 
I told him he would probably have a girlfriend by the time church was over. He said noooo.

I hate to post a pic that's outta focus (shame on me) but these kids are so.darn.cute. 
They're in public school now. I think it's been three weeks already and they're both doing well. Kerby says his fave thing is geometry (um wow) and Kerlandy is sailing through all her spelling tests. Amazing seeing as how she knew very little English when she came here from Haiti merely 9 weeks ago. 


My dad is having back surgery tomorrow so say a prayer if ya will. 

Saturday Sawyer shots

Saturday I did a buncha stuff I'm sure you don't care about like baking, running, laundry & junk so I'll get right to it - here are some sweet pics of the new nephew I took. 
Ain't he cute and outright precious?! 

Sawyer is a sweet baby. 
We were expecting to get sleeping baby pics, but Sawyer had his own agenda apparently. Bright eyed and bushy tailed he was. Oh, and the little dude is NOT a fan of being naked. 
Advice for people shooting portraits of infants - be P A T I E N T ~

February Photo a Day Project Part 3

I know I'm a little behind...

On the front porch of your local Cracker Barrel . . . 

 Twas Valentine's Day... my friend Brandi has the cutest daughter. She saw this idea on Pinterest <3 it

My dumb phone 

No, really it's DUMB... gonna need an upgrade, upgrade

 I'd say a baby who's one day old qualifies as "somethin new" right?  

Recorded last Saturday's 4 mile run w/my friend's Garmin running watch

You can guess which is mine and which is Anthony's Lol My man loves his Coke

weekend wildness...not really

Yes, I realize it's hump day (aka Wednesday) but I didn't tell ya about my weekend. And I know you're just dyin to hear bout it.


Friday night Anthony went to the OAR concert with his buddy Jason (say the letters, not the thing you use in a boat oh-ay-arr..stands for Of A Revolution). Do you know the song Shattered? That's theirs. 
How many times can I break til I shatter? 
Over the line can't define what I'm after. 
I always turn the car around.  
Anyway, after the show they talked to the guys and even got a couple pics. 

 Marc Roberge, the lead singer

Jerry DePizzo, the saxophone player

If ya know me, I ain't a loner. I grabbed Bridgett up for the night and she was wantin a steak so to Texas Roadhouse we went. Yum.

Saturday was um, not exactly noteworthy. Ran 4 miles, shower, laundry, Pinterest, Dawson's basketball game, more laundry, more Pinterest, dinner with the hub @Chili's.

Sunday we visited a church with our friends that was pretty awesome. Will definitely go back. Had lunch at the Barrel after. Lovin the fellowship. Next Sunday we have a gig. Lookin forward to gettin the old gang together. 

Made Olive Garden zuppa last night. It was pretty good even if I did make it. Got the recipe from food.com and it didn't even need any tweaking. :-) 

This morning I took Bryson and McKenzie to school since Jen still can't drive yet (doctor's orders). That was kinda fun and weird. Never been in the "parents drop off car line" before. 

Oh and my work is still nuts! It's just so busy and I'm pooped when I get home. But at least I'm not watchin the clock for quittin time, right? And I have a great job, so for that I'm real thankful. 

Til next time - peace and some fish grease!

Introducing...Sawyer

Someone new to love... 
arrived on Valentine's Day <3

He was a big un, delivered by c-section

 His mom

as you see, already in love with him

His dad (Anthony's stepbrother)

probably tryin' to decide how soon he can take him hunting with him

 the big sis

ready to show him off to all her friends

 the big brother

can't keep his hands off him

soon to be favorite Uncle Anthony

Aunt Lyndy

dyin' to photograph the daylights out of him

 Don't you want to squeeze those cheeks?! 

Dear Sawyer,
I'm just a short walk away next door if they mistreat ya buddy. Come to our house for cookies, chips, pretty much all the junk food your parents proly won't letcha have, video games, legos, playdoh, board games, and all the hide & seek you can stand. We are in the business of spoiling! The only thing I ask of you is that you let me photograph you. A LOT. 
Love, 
Aunt Lyndy