first stop: raleigh

i've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus
enjoying the holidays
with lots of friends
with lots of family
and lots of traveling

duke sporting his new digs

i have lots to catch you guys up on
so let me get started

the first destination of our non-stop-holiday-travel-a-thon was to see sean's brother's family
i mean seriously, how could you not want to hang with this cutie?!?!

and with moves like these

and he even has some mad decorating skillz

don't you just love the tiny, little hands??

complete with a force field around the snowball pile and all
can we say star wars junkie?!?!

duke learned how to open his own presents this year
never touched any other presents
just his
for some reason he knew which ones were his

hmmmm....

we also learned that duke does not care too much for the train at atl
"daddy, can we get off this thing yet???"

stay tuned to see where else our holiday-travel-a-thon took us...

merry christmas

from my family to yours....

merry

christmas!

wishing you health, wealth and happiness to you and your family in the coming year!

christmas eve

on this eve of the birth of jesus
it brings me back to the first christmas
and why we celebrate christmas in the first place

some recent conversations have really made me contemplate why so many people celebrate christmas when they don't even believe in God
but then i see what christmas has become and realize most people probably don't know what the season is even about

it irritates me how the whole season has become so much about consumerism
and how much money the stores can make
and how much money people can spend and go in debt
and how much we shouldn't use "christ" as we might offend someone

i'm fairly sure that's not what He had in mind that first christmas
but instead, it should be a time to remember the ultimate gift we were given - a baby
and what he did for us
and to think about the people we love
and somehow give them a small token
to let them know how much we care about them, too

it doesn't matter how much you spend
or if you get the hottest item
but that you spend quality time with the ones you love
and love the one that is the reason for the season

my new obsession

have you ever wanted to try to paint
but convinced you have no artistic ability?
you need painting with a twist
i don't know how they do it but they make everyone an artist!

i've already been twice
once for a private party in texas

oops - crooked picture

once while i was in tampa for work

which was fun getting back home on the plane
apparently it counts as a carry-on if it's not in another bag
whatever...

they're currently in 15 states
so go look it up and get to one in an area near you
STAT!
believe me you'll be amazed at how great your painting will look
no matter what your skill set is

there are so many more i want to do
i'll share them with you as i do more

i'd love to see yours too if you go - email it to me...

**********************************
two more things...

1. this is NOT a paid advertisement - just wanted to share a new awesome thing i found
2. to answer a reader question - duke is a yorkie-poo (yorkshire terrier and poodle mix)

post-processing - week 2

i had noticed after i reduced the resolution on the week 1 photos that it made it hard to see the difference in the before and after
and thanks for the comments confirming it's not just my eyes either
so i took a different approach for week 2

for week two we learned how to turn a picture black and white
and how to do layers
and how to add back color to your black and white photo

here are the before and afters i made...

i really enjoyed this technique
which do you prefer?
what would you change in them?

happy birthday to...

today is duke's birthday!!!
or so i made up
because i don't actually know his birthday
but either way - he's 8 years old now

duke didn't have the best start
but as sean tells him all the time, he doesn't know just how good he has it now

back in 2003 i knew i was ready to take the responsibility leap
so i asked my friend that worked at a vet to be on the lookout
the phone call came
some cuties had been confiscated by an animal control officer from a puppy mill
a boy and a girl - the girl was already spoken for - but not the boy
he had tape worms and fleas and was weaned too early
but he was so teeny-tiny and timid
and as another friend put it "you know he's coming home with you..."
and that he did!

and my life hasn't been the same since - in a good way
he's quite the traveler - we often say he's been to more states than most people
we've lost count now
he's even been outside the country now

his favorite things are:
car rides

playing ball

and napping

his greatest memory to date is the day he helped Sean ask his mommy to marry him

he's officially his daddy now - he got adopted when we got married
he was even a part of our big day - yes, we're those kind of people

and now we're off for a birthday treat - can you guess what it is...

happy birthday dukie!  here's to many, many, many more years!

are you the happiest person in america

during one of my work trips i came across an article in usa today
(cuz it comes free every morning outside my hotel door)
it claimed this lady was the happiest person in america
being how i had been feeling not so happy
i just had to read what "made people happy"

i was a little appalled when i read the criteria
which is said to have come from healthways science and well-being research

work

• college degree, some graduate school; professional or executive class
• family income of $120,000+
• commute under 10 minutes
• professional full-time job

health

• good physical and emotional health
• bmi (body mass index) under 30 (obesity = 30 or more)
• exercises 30-45 minutes, 6 days a week

relationships

• married and never divorced
• 2 children, gives birth between ages 27-36
• no caregiving for young children or sickly parents, in-laws, spouse
• has 4-12 intimate friends

some of these items i find interesting
like making over 120,000 makes you happy
or exercising 6 days as week makes you happy
and apparently you have to have had kids but no longer care for them to be happy

it says you can find an expanded checklist at yourlife.usatoday.com but i couldn't find it

what are your thoughts?  do you find happiness in these things?  if not, what do you find happiness in?