Playing around with photoshop actions

I am a total novice with photoshop. I am hoping to get some digital tips when I take the free jessica sprague digital class coming next month. I am signed up so here's hoping I can learn some tips to do some cool things with my photos.

In the meantime, my friend Dusti turned me onto some photoshop actions she downloaded from a blog I am now completely obsessed with http://thepioneerwoman.com/. I LOVE her site. She is hilarious and has that certain sense of humor I find hilarious. Her photos are wonderful and I secretly wish I could live her life for a few days. She homeschools her kids out in the country and makes some mean mean eats. I love her recipes, they are delish and you should try them.

But I digress, here is a picture of Laura I took today and some different ways to look at them.

Here is the picture SOTC (straight out of the camera)...


Here it is with a color boost...

Here is another version I think this is called lovely and ethereal (also known as sepia to me)...

and here it is as black and white...

So, why I am putting this up? Well, I will tell you my dear lovely blog readers - if there is actually anyone who reads my insanity. Please tell me which one you think should be the picture of the day. This means you dad. Put a comment on the blog with which one you think should be my picture of the day and I will update the blog. A girl has to have some fun with as much nagging as you have given me this week. Again, I love ya!

I have some 'splaining to do...

So I have seriously neglected this blog. My darling father reminds me daily that I need to work on it. I have been completely caught up in cleaning the house and organizing the four room switch around. It's not like I have not kept up what I want to put on here it is just I haven't had the time or energy to actually get it up. So here is another twenty some odd post on a weekend. Please feel free to catch up on what has been going on here living lacerda.

And dad - if you can figure out how to play online poker you can figure out how to leave a comment so at least I know you have been reading what I have been putting up. Right back at ya! Love ya!

Project 365 - Day 176

Legos, legos and more legos. These kids love the legos. I always marvel at their creations and imaginations. The conversations they have with the little figures. The adventures they go on, the battles they fight, the skyscrapers, the flying ships, the cars. They are always ready to tell me what they have built and how it works and what their guys are going to do and I am always willing to capture it. I love my life.

Project 365 - Day 175

I just couldn't resist my little girly girl in her princess shoes playing with brother. She loves her plasma car and her girly pleasures too.

Project 365 - Day 174

Another sleeping picture. Now that Noah is more mobile I never know what position he will be in when I check on him in the dark of night. I do know I will still find him snuggling his special blanket with his fingers or toes wrapped up in the holes. Auntie Joni would smile knowing he is getting good use out of this special blanket. I know it was hard for her to make but it is so well loved by my little one.

Project 365 - Day 173

Small, medium and large. Happy summer days around here. I just laughed at this sight of them each in their own pools according to size. They are certainly enjoying themselves!

Happy Father's Day

The kids were so excited to give their Daddy their presents. They each wrapped their gifts in their paper, Nathan Star Wars, Laura Disney Princess and Laura picked Winnie the Pooh for Noah and made their own cards. I found Laura's the funniest. She made me write it word for word and it is a keeper!

Project 365 - Day 172

Happy Father's Day! The kids were overjoyed to celebrate their Daddy. Mike works so hard to provide for us and make sure we are together each and every day. He really does sacrifice so much for me to be with the kids full time I am not sure the kids will ever know how lucky they are to have that in a daddy.

Project 365 - Day 171

Today we made the trek to my brother Joey's house to have a Father's Day Saturday with his new wife and son and her family. It was a pretty fun day at the pool for my kiddos. They don't know how to swim yet but they were quite comfortable and playful with their vests on. Nathan kept making his way around the perimeter of the pool holding on to the edge and was going to go around 100 times - I think he made three. I enjoyed the day but was just drained by the drive. I figured out we spent more time in the car in traffic than at his house but it was fun so I can't complain too much.

Project 365 - Day 170

Today was water sprinkler park day with old playgroup friends. My wonderful friend Dusti set up a playdate at the water park for 12:30, so we brought lunch and thought we would spend the afternoon chatting and watching the kids cool off. The nerve of the City of Roseville for making the water park hours end at one o'clock in the afternoon! I mean really, when the heat is on in the summer - c'mon people - give us a break. We did think it was a little strange that we got a table under an umbrella. So we did what any mother in the right mind would and let them play with cups in the water fountain. That wouldn't have wasted much water right??

Project 365 - Day 169

It's been a while since I included a sleeping shot as a picture of the day. I have this obsessive mommy gene that likes to look at my children sleeping. It is just such a peaceful time for me. I am often questioned about getting more sleep. I just have to force myself to stay awake for a few hours without being on mommy duty having some awake hours that aren't consumed by children wanting something from me, but then I find myself drifting into their rooms at night to take pictures of the sweet, sometimes funny poses of them sleeping - tonight it was Nathan's turn.

Project 365 - Day 168

We are the pit stopping/refueling grounds for our loved ones. The Gillette family had spent the day at the local water slide park and came over for dinner. We always love seeing Tim, Shelley and the kids. I always start to feel really old and cliche when I see Madison. I can remember when she was born and look at her now - she is quite the young lady now. I always hated when people said that to me when I was a teenager. It all comes around doesn't it? I have to laugh at the posed characters though.

Project 365 - Day 167

Happy Birthday Auntie Joni! This was a sudden get together with the Dobies as they were on their way home from Reno. Since Uncle Chris had his birthday on the 6th the kids wanted to celebrate both of their birthdays. We had a yummy dinner and an eggless cake. (Sidebar: Mike is beyond thrilled I found a super simple, super yummy way to make cake sans eggs now. Take a box of cake mix and add a diet soda - diet coke or diet sprite - and bake. That's it!) Nathan and Laura had been practicing the Happy Birthday song all day (it is a special more detailed longer version of the traditional birthday jingle). I was so busy all day I almost forgot to take a picture for the day and this was the best of the worst. So glad to have such wonderful friends.

Project 365 - Day 166

He finally made it. My dad made his Weight Watcher goal! He had been working so hard on those last 5 pounds for the last two months. I am so proud of him. He (and my mom) have worked so hard to change their life for the better. His is truly an inspirational story of change. From last year (March of 2008) he has completely transformed his life and health for the better. I hope WW will do a spotlight on the both of them someday. The kids are so proud too, they walk around saying they want to be weight watchers too. Love you Dad!

Project 365 - Day 165

Scooby Doobie Doo, where are you? We've got some work to do now. We made a trip down to Grandma Alma and Aunt Pam's. Grandma Alma is helping me make a quilt for Laura's new room but the kids pleaded for new jammies so we took a detour to the fabric store and found some bright a cheery new material. They were so excited to match. I have created monsters with the matchy matchy thing. I am riding it as long as I can and I don't care how corny it is. I just love it.

Project 365 - Day 164

He does this new thing. I was lucky enough after about 75 shots to capture his little tongue sticking out thing. Oh, and by the way, thanks Aunt Pam for working with him non-stop until he crawled. Yes, HE CAN CRAWL. This is a bummer, legos lookout at home, Noah is coming for you. I am not looking forward to this, just another sign of my baby growing up way too fast.

Project 365 - Day 163

I wish this picture was better. I will have to do some serious playing around in photoshop to save this one but my feelings for this picture are immeasurable. I love my grandma alma's hands. They are things of beauty and comfort. I always remember snuggling up with her when I was a little girl and just touching and caressing her hands. I know that they are one of the body parts she is least thrilled with but I just love them. I was shot back 25 years to my past when I saw her and Laura snuggling holding hands. This is a treasure.

Project 365 - Day 162

Nathan's last day of school caught me totally off guard. His school has 'Kindergarten Play Day' for the last day of school - complete with a carnival type atmosphere, BBQ for the families and songs of goodbye. Nathan was very excited to "invite" his loved ones. He was so cute explaining how we could come to school with him because he "invited" us. Mike, Laura, Noah and I joined him in the morning then Mike had to go to an appointment so my mom met up with us later to help me with Laura and Noah. I was surprised that Nathan actually got a face painting and hair spraying - he normally doesn't want to have anything to do with that kind of stuff - he is much more of a watcher than and joiner inner. I really hated the hair spray stuff - I think it took two weeks for his scalp to not be green anymore - yuck!

I was very sentimental about him completing Kindergarten. Once we got to 100 days of school it seemed the last 80 just went by in a flash. I noticed a significant and definite loss of innocence on the last day of school. My little boy was no longer timid and unsure. He was still cautious, as I am sure he will always be since it is such a huge part of his personality but he was very aloof and walking tall with his completion of kindergarten. He was fairly, okay extremely, grumpy when the day was done. Nathan has a tendency to get mean and cranky when he is overcome with emotion at times and I just tried to hug him and let him know it was okay to be sad. I am so thankful he had such a wonderful teacher. I am so proud to say he has grown so much this school year. He can READ. He can write sentences. He is full of questions and wonder about so many things. He is always picking up words when we are out and exclaiming "Mom, that says duh de duh..." He always wants to write his own stuff now and I am so blessed to have been a part of this chapter of his life and I look forward to what he will be learning in the first grade.

Project 365 - Day 161

The look on his face explains how I feel about the "new" playroom. I am seriously loving having them playing in the front of the house. It is so bright and sunny and holds all there toys in one room instead of all over the house. Noah has a fairly safe place to play and is sure enjoying exploring all the toys he now has access to. Oh my cute, sweet boy - please stop growing!

Project 365 - Day 160

Just another normal day at our house. Nathan and Laura cuddled up with Daddy probably watching cartoons. I am just trying to keep it real showing what Laura normally does. I was inspired by a blog friend named Maggie and her daughter Mckenna to actually show the horror of my own daughter digging for gold. I am sure Laura will thank me when she's 30 that I captured this very special delicate moment for her.

Project 365 - Day 159

This was my end of the year gift to Nathan's kindergarten teacher. I thought the picture from umbrella day was so cute. You can't see every child's face but you get the sense that they had a really fun day. I wasn't totally please with the way it turned out but yet again it was a last minute thing to throw together. I hope to make some more of these for my house.

Project 365 - Day 158

Well, here is the office. It is by no means complete but at least Mike is up and running with the computer, phone and new printer.

Project 365 - Day 157

I don't know why I thought I could move 4 rooms around in a weekend. I think this project took almost three weeks to finish and as I am writing this I am still not done with the little details. We moved Noah out of our master bedroom retreat and into Nathan's room so now the boys are together. We moved Mike out of the office and into the retreat (which is now affectionately called the dungeon). The middle bedroom changed from the playroom to Laura's room which means Mike's old office is now the playroom. Whew, did everyone follow that?!? Mike spent many hours up in the rafters of the house in 90 degree plus heat moving wires around to make everything work. I am so sorry my projects end up being so much work for him and sometimes fairly complicated. I am loving the results of this little move though. I just like my house so much better with this set up. Okay, now on to my little crafty projects to make things super cute - more on that later...

Project 365 - Day 156

We were very excited to go to little Miss Emily's Dora birthday party. My dear crafty friend Annie really outdid herself yet again. There were huge Dora coloring pages for the kids to color, the food was so incredibly delicious (all homemade Mexican food), the decorations were very cute and the cake and cupcakes, well I can't say enough. Who makes such wonderfully beautiful cupcakes and cakes - only my friend Annie and Dusti. The cake was soooo good and festive - it was my favorite part of the party - along with the adorable homemade Dora skirt Annie made for Emily.

Project 365 - Day 155

I am thrilled to have this up. Chris and Joni brought these lovely letters for my mother's day gift last month and my good ol' dad painted them for me and helped me put them up. I just love looking out at them from my kitchen sink. They make me smile. Mike says now all we have to do is paint the fence because now you can really notice how badly it needs painting. Whoa - one thing at a time! I told him is just looks rustic now.

Project 365 - Day 154

I know, I know, another food picture. I made a decision this week that I was not going to change the menu I had already planned this week just because I started Weight Watchers. I had planned on making this marinated pork tenerloin with white corn tortillas and black beans and grilled salsa. It turned out great. I actually left the tortillas on the grill a little too long and they got crunchy so I turned mine into a tostada salad of sorts and it was really yummy.

Project 365 - Day 153

Just saw her standing in the kitchen today wearing princess Cinderella shoes playing with her princess Cinderella 'action figure' talking to her about prince charming and what she had planned to do today and I just thought it was one of those everyday moments that I want to remember when she is a teenager.

Project 365 - day 152

Well, I joined Weight Watchers today. I have been really struggling with my eating lately and thought June 1st was as good a day as any to get started. With my superstar parents as examples I am hoping this will be successful and not embarassing. I am hopeful as it is Friday as I am documenting this and I am not starving and feeling like maybe I can get a hold of this.

Project 365 - Day 151

I still can't believe this is my baby. He just looks so big to me now. Had to go with another picture of him standing playing with this little table that has been through Nathan and Laura. They have all loved it!