Look what I just figured out how to gift myself with...We've had AT&T high speed DSL for over a year...and I didn't know that entitled me to a free Flickr PRO account. I never use the email address that I created for our internet account access...so I never got the notification. I only found out because my grandmother, who also has the dsl service, asked me about an e-mail she got and didn't understand. She says, "what is this flicker thing?" So I looked at the message, which told her that just for being an internet subscriber, she was entitled to a free pro account. (At this point I started whining about how I'm a subscriber too...and why don't I get a free pro account, since I would actually use it?!?) So I did a little research...figured out what the email I registered for service with was, and changed my Flickr access e-mail to that one instead of the yahoo address I was using. Presto! the "pro" just appeared behind my name. I read that as long as I stay an AT&T customer, I get pro! YAY! Now I have to start using Flickr more. So anyone else out there who has AT&T or SBC Yahoo DSL, you can do this too. Leave me a comment if you need help figuring out how.

I also ordered myself this little baby last night...The Nikon 50mm/f1.8D AF lens. I read Mainline Mom's mention of it in her comments on a post, and got curious. I did some research, and could hardly find a negative comment. I decided rather quickly that it is something I NEED. Found a good price on Amaz0n...and clicked "BUY". Merry Christmas to me...well more like Happy week into the New Year...since it won't arrive until sometime in January. When I bought it though, I clicked into Amaz0n from Ken Rockwell's site. If you are a Nikon user(or a fan of any other brand), I highly recommend you check him out. I found his information helpful, so I thought, why not support him a little by buying through his link.

I like Christmastime. I like the decorations everywhere (not so much right after Halloween). I love the extra time spent with friends and family. I love the snow on pine boughs outside my window. I love having an excuse to listen to Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CDs. Last year I was very fortunate to get to go see (and hear) Chip Davis and the band in concert. It blew me away!

This year, I have asked hubby to take me to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra the day after Christmas, we both happen to be off work that day. I don't know if he will though. I wonder if it will be as good as Mannheim Steamroller.

Tonight we are going to an informal Christmas party for the guys involved in a certain project at my husband's work. Last year, we met for dinner and then most of the couples went to another bar to hang out. It was one of the best nights out I've ever had.

Last night, some really close friends called us at 12:30 AM. They are expecting their second baby in ten days, and she had been having contractions for over three hours. The were coming 5 minutes apart, so they thought they should head to the hospital. Chad was already sleeping because he had to be up early for work. So I tossed some things in a bag and drove over to their house to stay while their two year old daughter slept. Unfortunately, the baby wasn't quite ready, and they came home around 4:30 AM. It should be soon though. I am so excited for them!

Now I gotta go brave the crowds doing the one thing I don't love about Christmastime, shopping and exchanging.

Christmas portraits. After almost a year of having my "studio" (our basement) unusable, I tried to get back into it by shooting on location at the client's house. It went pretty well. Their children are so photogenic! However, halfway through they lost power to their house. That knocked out my lighting system, and their Christmas tree lights. Kinda a bummer. I finished up with the flash and light from the windows. Sometimes you just have to improvise. They still got a lot of great shots and some nice family portraits, which is what they mainly wanted since one of the parents is always behind the camera. This was also my first time doing a whole family session. I found myself taking the adults a little for granted, and focused on getting the perfect shot of the kids' smiles. Afterwards, I found many shots where one of the parents looked stiff, or had their attention somewhere else. I guess I need to work on paying close attention to everybody next time. I'll tell you, the more people in a shot, the harder it is to get a good one!

And truthfully, this post has nothing to do with anything. Like many of my blog friends, I am finding it difficult to update here. It's not really a lack of time, but a lack of really interesting material to take the time to write about. We have been busy, but we're always busy. Holidays make for craziness, but everyone knows that. I have so much I WANT to do, but two days off work each week isn't enough time. I like Christmas (probably due to the fact that I don't have any kids yet) and sadly, it doesn't feel like Christmas. We didn't put up lights on our house like last year, because most of them got broken and don't work. We may not get a tree because Chad doesn't want to decorate it. And we may not be able to coordinate a day for our annual tree chopping/Frankenmuth tradition. There was a winter storm here Saturday night...it took me forever to get home from work. Then it warmed up, turned drizzly, and got real windy. No winter wonderland here. Well, lots to do, and I'm not doing any of it sitting here. Maybe I'll have some productivity to share later on.