November??? Halloween Pics too.

 Spider Boy

 Ninja Boy

Pirate Boy

 Daddy's Boy

Spoiled Boy...who wouldn't leave Mom and Dad.

 School Boys

 Blue Eyed Boy

 The Three Blind Mice with the Farmer and His Wife.

All the boys!

The Whole Wild Bunch.

Hello November..October, you went too fast!  I can barely catch my breath.  This is a wonderful life :)

Ugh...Starting Over

Photo has nothing to do with this post...I just needed one, and I like this one.  So you get to see it.

So, I cleaned my office...I'll post some pics of the fiasco at a later date.  Don't you worry, I took them.  One of the main reasons I cleaned my office was because I couldn't make anything in it anymore.  I've gotten to where I really feel like scrapbooking.  The thing is, I feel like I'm starting over.  I'm a good solid two years behind now, I think.  I was a different person two years ago.  What was important then, is it still important now?  And I have to say that I am not liking the way some of the photos I printed look.  Just call it, being super picky...and having to train my eyes to see good photos all the time.  It's just when your eyes have poured over thousands of photos looking for the very best ones, it gets hard not to be.  I know this is bad, but I haven't really been taking many photos of my family.  When I do, I use Mariphone.  I actually love that girl.  And I love some apps that I downloaded...a lot.  I will share with you if I get a chance this weekend.  I guess the key idea to me at this point, is how different I am now then I was two years ago.  I have grown in so many ways, mentally and in my photographic abilities.  Anyhow, I am planning on trying to get some prints printed in the very near future.  I just haven't decided where to print...via web or one hour photo.  Bare with me.  I promise layouts are coming.  That is something that I am really excited about.  I can't wait to use my new perspective in my scrapbooking...I just have to figure out now, what I want to scrapbook and scratch out my anally planned pages.  Have a good Friday!

All I Asked For...

As you guys know, Erik took Wolfie hunting.  Before he left in a frenzy, I tried to get my old camera ready for him to take.  I erased a Compact Flash for him and was going to put it in the camera...oops it takes SD Cards.  Erik didn't want to wait for me to upload pics...yadayadayada.  Anyhow, I told him to please take some pictures with his phone.  He said he would.  Well, my friends this is the photo I got.  The only one I can present here.

This is why I can never trust my husband when it comes to photos.  This is essentially the only photo they took.  Forget Wolfie shooting his bow, forget the scenery.  Just put on some fake mustaches and take a pic.  Wow, if only I could have gotten this picture in full resolution.

On another note, I'm going to attempt to clean my office today.  So I can make some projects.  I'm feeling crafty again.

How to be a Reading Junkie...I mean Avid Reader

I am quite aware that I have an addiction to reading.  I am a reading junkie  avid reader.  I just wanted to share a few tips with you so that I can enable you to be one too.

Reading can be an expensive hobby...if you read eBooks that is.  I mean the local library is always a place to go, but I prefer to read electronic books now.  So, I have become quite obsessive.  I have downloaded three reading apps to Mariphone...

Right now, I read a lot of books that are free.  That's right, free books out for the taking.  Most of those books are available at Amazon and some at Barnes and Noble too.  I read Maryse's Blog.  Her Genre is Romance.  I'm sure there are probably people who recommend non-romance novels.  She provides all sorts of reviews and tons of book recommendations.  Every Friday, she releases the Freebie Friday List.  So I head over to Amazon and download the books that seem interesting.

I also read a lot of books from people who choose to write and publish their own books without getting major publishers involved.  This means, I can read a lot of really good books for $1.99, $2.99, or free...again.  Some of the best stories I've read, or the characters I have loved most come from people that have chosen to self publish.  Some of them, I'm sure have been rejected by the Big Publishers because their work wasn't deemed good enough.

Now onto the E-Reader Apps.  I have found that Nook is usually cheaper than iBooks, and has a much larger selection of books.  I have not compared the prices to Amazon...as I usually do Freebies.  Though, I have bought a few books since I started with their Kindle App.  Buying Books...or getting Freebies is a BREEZE with Amazon.  I find it easier as they don't constantly ask my password and the books automatically download to their app.  With Nook, I always have to refresh my app before they download.  I really like the layout of iBooks better than any other reader.  The appearance is much neater, and it will tell you how many pages you have left in a chapter.  I find this helpful at 2:00 a.m. when I tell myself I'll just finish this one last chapter.

Don't forget to check my What I Read Page.  I've posted lots of books on there that I have found worthwhile.  I don't post all of the books I read on there as some of them want to make my gag myself with a spoon...such as Gabriel's Inferno.  It started out so good, but by the last third I wanted to jab my eyes out.  I had to finish the stupid book, though because I had already read so many of the 549 pages.  Which I will say, I skimmed through the last pages.  There is a sequel, but I would rather throw myself into an inferno before reading it.  Anyhow, I try to keep that page up to date....

So, that's all I have.  I hope it was somewhat informative.  Reading has always been such a huge part of my life.  I want to share it with others, too.  Have a great Saturday, everyone!

The El Paso Caveman

Apparently, this story has made national headlines.  I have to say that this story entertains me like no other in a long, long time.  It has apparently made it to Regis and Kelly...or whoever the host is now with Kelly.  I am posting the news story.  And then I will share the link for the entire interview.  It is hilarious.  I would also like to add that he chased off people by running after them naked.  That is how he was discovered by a local news station.

Caveman News Story
Entire Interview

A Hunting We Will Not Go

So, Wolfie and Erik are going to go Elk hunting without us.  :(  I told Erik that hunting is a family activity.  However, I couldn't take off work to go.  Wolfie is actually very excited to go.  We bought him a bow and some arrows.  Since only the men are going, Wolfie will have to get up and hunt.  I am really excited about that.

Erik explaining to the boys about No Scent, Elk Calls, and bows and arrows the other day.

Erik and Wolfie before they left this evening.

 The face of one of the boys that got left behind.  He was so sad :(

 The roses that Maddie and JoJo decided to pick after Dad and Wolfie left.  I put had to put some boyish toys in the background to make it better.  I mean really?  I have two men going off to kill animals and the other two arranging rose bouquets.

All I know is that no matter what, I won't have another Elk head in my living room...since it's Grandpa Rolf's tag...and that makes me somewhat happy.  We don't have room in the living room for that sort of thing.

Almost Never Clever Cell Phone Blog Hop

Hi there everyone.  Welcome to the Almost Never Clever Cell Phone Blog Hop.  You arrived from Nat's blog.  She has the best wedding album going on, and she has tons of clever tips on her blog.  I will forgive her for being a Nikon user :)  Last time, I talked about why I like using my cell phone to take pics and how I use them in layouts.  Today, let's talk about using our cell phones for artsy and storytelling photos for everyday life.  Who doesn't like an artsy or storytelling photo?  I think that we can all create artsy/storytelling photos if we start thinking of our phones as a really good DSLR camera.  We can use it to create perspective.  Because our phones are with us all the time, we have it at our disposal whenever we need it.  Here are some pics that I've taken when I've been out and about.  AND...GASP...I even had my huge DSLR with me on some of these days and chose to use my Mariphone (that's my phone's nickname) instead.

 This truck was so loaded down with pallets the bed was only a foot off of the ground.  You can only see this in New Mexico, people.  True these pics are not artsy per say, but they tell a story that speaks about my home.  It is so NM.

Road construction has become part of everyone's lives in the United States.  I have never seen so much road construction in my life.  I love this crane.  It was huge...they dismantled it the other day so I was glad to get the pic.

An okra flower in my garden. (DSLR available)

DSLR available

DSLR on hand for this, but I wanted to Instagram it!

I finally figured out how to use the blur filter on Instagram.  I was wondering for months how people achieved this look.

Another instance where I wanted to Instagram a photo instead of using my DSLR...which I had on hand this day.  My mother was like why don't use your camera.

The story of my boy, the writer.  He loves school so much.  A pencil is almost never out of his hand, and he always wants to know how to spell words.

Another way Instagram can make the everyday look artsy.

I know that my followers have seen this pic before.  I just had to share it because it is artsy, and it is a story.  We had to suffer through a huge hailstorm out on the lake.  It wasn't pleasant and it's fortunate we were in a cove, or it could have been much worse.  I plan on putting this picture in a layout called, "A Hail of a Storm."
   I hope you enjoyed this post.  If you liked it, please subscribe via email or follow my blog.  Now you are on to your next stop, Tammy.

And just incase you are lost, here are the links for the entire blog hop.

Nat: Almost Never Clever http://www.almostneverclever.com (You came from here)
Mariah: Its Fun2Scrap http://www.fun2scrap.blogspot.com/ (You are here)
Tammy: Your Memory Connection http://www.yourmemoryconnection.com/ (Next Stop)
Ginger: Ginger’s Life of Spice http://gingerslifeofspice.blogspot.com/
Danielle: EcoScrapbook http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/
Jen: Down Home South Jersey http://downhomesouthjersey.com/
Beth: Scrapping Wonders http://scrappingwonders.com/
Katie: Katie Stories http://katie-stories.blogspot.com/
Zaira: Hacer Scrapbooks http://hacerscrapbooks.blogspot.com/