I happened upon a neat blog that has some cool coloring books. Check out these creative books that you can purchase and download for your cild or the child in you. These books have some creative ways to have fun and teach your child the alphabet, nursery rhymes, and numbers. Check out "flipflops and applesauce" and see what you find.

I found this neat blog that makes these tea party sets. They are so cute I had to share it with all of you.Dolly's Cupcakes A really cool part about your purchase from this site is that they
support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Please visit this site, they have more to see.

Great find!

Today's post has nothing to do with photography. Many of you know I love to browse through several scrapbooking blogs and sites on a regular basis (or as often as time permits). Well, while I was on {A} Ali Edwards' blog, I found a link to The Purl Bee. This is a wonderful site full of tutorials and project ideas for anyone who enjoys or wants to start sewing, knitting or enjoys crochet. Her quilting ideas a beautiful. Please go visit this site, you may get hooked like I did.

Cool site

As you may have noticed I've been having fun learning how to use my DSLR camera. I have a very good video made for the Canon D40 but I wanted to share a website that explains how to take particular types of photos. Actually, it pretty much will teach you how to get the most out of your DSLR. I highly recommend this site to any beginner. The tutorials are well done and the written explanations are clear. Here is the link http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/DSLR_workshops_tutorials_tips.shtml

After her bath, my sweetie decided to shut her door so she could play with just me in the room. She went from her new "kitchenette" to her activity center. She had lost interest in the activity center until recently when her mother put a playmate in there to play. Funny how when another child shows interest in something all of a sudden it's THE toy to play with....go figure.

Sunday night

Well, I spent most of today just picking up the yard (it was a great day out) and doing odd jobs around here. While it was a tiny bit cool in the shade, it was nice and warm in the sun. I took all my outdoor Christmas ornaments down and this evening when I was driving home after dark I felt a bit sad to see the lights and holiday decor was absent from my neighborhood.
I did manage to take a few more shots today and actually played with "bouncing" light off the walls. That's how the photo of me with the camera was taken without glare in the mirror. I am actually proud of that shot. Yes, baby steps.
I must admit, I still have some of the decor in the house up. I'm going to have company this coming weekend and I decided to keep it up for them. I'm going to have an after Christmas, Christmas party....I have some surprises planned.
Well, it's getting late and I need to finish a few last chores.

My new Canon 40D

One last post for today....

Okay, as many of you know I love to browse some of my favorite blogs and scrapbooking websites. Today I mostly spend time on the Scrapbook Nook forums. I'm telling you, if you are a photographer and a scrapper, you have to join that forum. There are so many talented people there and their work is very good.
Now, one of the good things for me is that they are running a challenge to post pictures each day. These are photos that you take each day and then post. It's making me get to know my camera better and stay busy taking photos. It is also helping look at things around me differently. It's like stopping to smell the roses I guess.
So, here is one last picture to post for today. I hope you enjoy these pictures I've posted.

Just another shot

The previous photo is of my grandson Riley, in awe of all that Santa has left. He was so sweet, and a bit overwhelmed. My daughter and son-in-law did a great job at making Christmas magical for both boys. It's such a treat to be invited to spend Christmas Eve with them and stay for the morning delights. There isn't anything like a child's joy on Christmas morning that makes me feel the blessings of the day.
This is a pic of one of my favorite ornaments. I'm not sure what it is about it but it reminds me of the pure pleasure i get sitting in front of my fireplace with a fire glowing and the lights of my Christmas tree.

Testing my new camera

I spent part of the evening testing the different settings (all auto mode) and taking a few photos. Today I plan on spending the day watching a 90 minute video that is supposed to teach me how to use all the functions, or at least get me moving in the right direction for better photos. I can honestly say I will most likely need all day to go through the 90 minute training.
Here are a few more pics I took of some of my favorite ornaments. It is so fun working with natural light, flash and settings. I've yet to figure out what actually works.
I'm sure I should be doing something else with my day but this is far more fun.