{ heart.smash }

Upcoming Changes to Heart Smash

2011-02-15T16:12:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone, please excuse me for my lack of updates here at Heart Smash. I have been very tied up with my personal life. There are many changes to come to this website, so hopefully I will be able to make it easier for me to keep up with. I am going to be beginning my photography professionally, and also I have 2 new additions to my family in the form of 2 chocolate Labradors and not to mention my hyper energetic almost 4 year old son. I have a lot on my plate right now. So below are the new changes to Heart Smash:

I will no longer be taking custom orders unless they are SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY.
-Explanation: I have received too many emails from possible clients who never email me back, or tell me they want a design and then once I'm finished they change their mind and don't want to pay after they see the preview. I will always fix the corrections you want until we have a final design.

I am enforcing my payment rule: Payment must be made PRIOR to project start.
-Explanation: I work too hard on templates & themes for someone to change their mind and decide they don't want it. You will however be refunded half of your payment if you change your mind and don't want the design.

Change of pricing: Blogger Template prices are now starting at $50. Wordpress Theme prices are now starting at $100. I may offer discounts, and promotional offers from time to time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Blog Launch: My Creative Wonderland

2011-02-05T01:40:00.002-05:00

Hey guys, remember that project that I told you I was working on? Well here it is. I have decided to make a blog especially for my personal life & photos. That way not everything is bunched up here. This blog (heartsmash) will be for DESIGNING only. Hope you guys will visit my other blog from time to time && leave me comments. Remember that Heart Smash is still open to take orders, so request your free quote today!

My Creative Wonderland

Well that took a while....

2011-02-02T11:57:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I said I would have the shop open again by the middle of January. I am so sorry that I am so late doing so. We are finally moved into the new house, and it's been hectic. We also got 2 Labrador puppies that I've also had to chase around, so I haven't had much time for designing. But I am working slowly to get everything done. I am officially open to taking orders right now, so feel free to request a quote. I also have a new item that you can now request a quote for.....

Now offering Wordpress Themes!

I understand that not everyone uses blogger, so I have decided to start offering custom Wordpress themes. I am also working on a new project for myself, which will be totally under wraps until it is completed. I have a couple of back orders to get details on && finish. I'm hoping that I can get them done in a good time frame, because I would hate to have to lengthen my turn around times. So anyway, be on the look out for new things to come, I will be revealing my new project in a few days, and show off my completed orders.

My most sincere apology

2010-12-10T09:29:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I want to apologize for not having my shop open already. I have been over my cold for almost a week, but I've been trying to get things around the house cleaned up. You see, I just got the news that we are in fact moving, very soon. Therefore, the shop will be closed until I finish moving, I am so sorry for this, but I've been waiting to move for almost 3 years now, and it's finally happening. I am taking some well deserved me time, as it is going to take me forever to pack all of my sons toys alone, plus all of mine & Jason's' things. I hope you all understand, and can bare with me. By early or mid January, I will have the shop open and fully ready to begin taking new custom orders. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, just in case I don't post again before then.

Closed for a few days

2010-12-01T03:53:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, I'm sorry to say that I am closing up shop for about 3 days. I have a really bad cold, and I honestly do not feel up to making any templates right now. I feel like I've been hit by a truck! On the other hand, the waiting list is currently full and are as followed:

Turtle Expressions
Lisa Hensley Photography
Exquisitektc Photography
BellaJo Photography

I will be finishing up these orders as soon as I begin to feel better && then I will begin taking new orders. Thank you for your patience!

Client: BellaJo Photography

2010-11-29T16:30:00.002-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of working with an amazing lady and wonderful photographer based in Central Alaska. She emailed me & we worked through the details to get her desired look. I really had a great time working with her, and I hope to do it again in the future. If you live in Central Alaska, book a session with her! I only wish I live closer so she could do some family portraits for me hehe. Head on over to her site & check out the live view!

BellaJo Photography

(click for larger preview)

Client: Turtle Expressions Photography

2010-11-28T16:42:00.005-05:00

Today I finished a design for a photographer who contacted me a few days ago. It took us a couple of days to get all the details straight, but we finally got a final product. She was looking for something simple, yet professional looking. I really enjoyed working with her, and I hope to do it again soon sometime. Anyway, go check out her blog, and if you live in her area, book a session with her. Her photos are amazing!!!

Turtle Expressions Photography

(click for larger preview)

Premade Shop Now Open!

2010-11-27T09:35:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was planning on having a Thanksgiving/Black Friday special posted, but things got too busy around here. I did however manage to get the premade shop open, and I will be working on more premades during the time I have no custom orders. I will be posting a special deal sometime next week. Things are going so fast in my life right now, so I am asking you guys to bare with me. We are moving in a few months (hopefully) and I need to begin getting this house super clean and start packing. I can't begin to explain how happy I am to be moving. Anyway, I will leave you guys with the 2 premades I did, and remember to lookout for more in the PREMADE SHOP.

(click for larger preview)

Client: Simply Sweet Bowtique

2010-11-23T21:04:00.004-05:00

Hey guys, it's been a couple of days since I've updated anything. Although I did manage to get the custom blog design page up as well as the custom store design page. You can find them under "Shop" in the navigation menu. Anyway. I have been working on an E-Commerce site for an awesome lady. She is still in the building process, and hasn't gotten her products up yet. But if you love tutu's and bow's then I bet you'll definitely find something you like. Click the link below to check out her site.

Simply Sweet Bowtique

(click for larger preview)

A hard days work!

2010-11-19T20:40:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been 2 days of hard work. Jason and I have been helping my grandparents replace their bathroom floor, plus adding tile. It was rough. We finally got it finished up today though, thankfully. They really needed it replaced. Plus, Nicky got to spend more time with them, which is always a plus. It was cute that he wanted to spend the night with them, but I told him no because they are not able to run and keep up with him.

Anyway, on to the site news... I've once again upgraded the layout. It's looks a little more "professional" I think. In the next day or so, I will be adding a section to order custom blog templates, and printables. I might be adding more stuff than that, but I'm not sure yet. ~~I've teamed up with my friend Katie to be a co-blogger on her site, so hopefully that will get my name out more....she and I make a really awesome design team.~~ I'm thinking of also running a special package deal on custom blog design sometime next week, to celebrate Thanksgiving. For now, I think that's all the site updates that I have at this point. So now, I would like to share a snapshot I took today of Nicky playing outside at my grandparents.

Guest Spot: Catchy Designs

2010-11-16T09:50:00.003-05:00

I'm kinda late on blogging about this, I should have done it yesterday. I have been invited to be a guest designer over at Catchy Designs to help celebrate their one year birthday! This place has some very talented ladies, who design very beautiful works of art using other peoples photos. It is an honor that these ladies considered me for a guest spot! Thank you so much! Anyway, we will be having contests, giveaways & much more throughout this week for the birthday celebration, so join us and even put in a request if you like! Also, I have a contest currently open over at Catchy as well, you may want to check that out for a chance to win a free blogger template.

Happy 1 Year Birthday Catchy Designs!

Here are a couple things I've made there so far...

Early Spring Cleaning

2010-11-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

This is more of a personal blog post. It's been a few days since I posted here. I've been really busy trying to get this house cleaned up. I went through all of our clothes & got rid of 5 big trash bags full of clothes, those that were too small, too stained, or too holey. I've sliced my cleaning time in half! I'm trying to get everything organized because we might be moving soon. I really hope "soon" gets here. I'm thinking about making actions and textures for my fellow photographers and opening up a shop. Not sure WHEN I will be doing this, as of right now it's just a thought. I did manage to clean up some of the crap on my computer, deleting unnecessary files. I freed up 56 GIGS in the process! I am a pack rat on my computer. I always want to keep everything I save, which is a no-no for me. Thank goodness for my external hard-drive. I back up everything important on that. It really comes in handy (if you computer ever decides to up and crash on you). Anyway, I'm going to try and work on some new things for you guys over the weekend and have them posted up by next week (if nothing comes up that won't allow me to do this). I hope you guys have a great weekend!

EYM: Fall Fun

2010-11-05T12:27:00.011-04:00

Hey guys, it's time for another EYM contest. I was thinking it was about time to do another one. This one will feature the BEST Fall photo you've taken this year.

It must include leaves, pumpkins, and even your children, as long as it has leaves or pumpkins in it.

Example

How to Enter

1. Follow my blog, click the "Follow" button in the sidebar.

2. "Like" Heart Smash on Facebook

3. Leave a comment containing the URL of your photo that you've uploaded to Photobucket.

4. I need to know how to get in contact with you if you are the chosen winner, so leave your facebook url or email address in a comment

The Prize

1 Custom Blogger Template

1 Matching Logo/Watermark

Matching Favicon

Permanent Link on My Sidebar/Site

the winner will be chosen via random.org

Contest Closed

Having an early Winter, I guess

2010-11-04T08:51:00.004-04:00

Sorry guys, no design updates this go around. I haven't had much time to do anything with Halloween and what not. I did work on some logos for a lady this past weekend though. >I am going to be putting up a new Enhance Your Memories photo challenge tomorrow, so be on the look out for that. Anyway, I can't believe November is here already. They're already calling for snow too! Not sure I'm ready for snow just yet. We took Nicky to Wal-Mart last night, and he ended up getting 2 pretty Beta fish + a small tank. He is so in love with them, though he still needs to give them both names. Oooh, and he loved trick or treating too, he was so tired when we got home that he just passed out. It was so cute hearing him say "trick or treat" and telling them thank you for the candy. That is one good thing if any that Jason and I have taught him, is to be polite, and at 3 years old to boot! He's such a little gentleman :) I can't really think of anything else to blog about at the moment. I need to start cleaning this house up...it's a wreck! Anyway, be on the lookout for the EYM Photo Challenge tomorrow! I will now leave you with my Halloween photos.

Nicky && his cousin Drake

Drake, isn't he a doll?

Eat, drink & be scary.

2010-10-29T12:03:00.009-04:00

For me, it seems like October has completely flew by. Halloween is in 2 days, but since it's on Sunday the County or whatever has decided to let the kids go trick or treating tomorrow night. Which I hope it's warm enough for us to go this year, and doesn't rain like last year. Anyway, I traded my Frog Blog layout to Mindy Rolle over at PhotograMom, for a cute hand made hat, I'm so excited to get it! I haven't really done anything much as far as designing. I've been really busy the past week trying to clean the house, and getting everything finalized for Halloween. I have however, teamed up with Katy Gitto to design some Christmas cards for this season. Remember folks, I do design more than blogger templates, and I'm real cheap too! I do Christmas Cards, Birth Announcements, Invitations, Logo Design, and Business Cards too.

Well, on to a personal note...
Ha, let me tell you about my experience yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and as soon as I opened my mouth I noticed my tongue looked funny. I looked a little closer and realized my whole tongue was brown!! I started freaking out, so I ran to Google and typed "what can make your tongue turn a brownish color" and there before my eyes, Google showed me the way. Apparently Pepto Bismol can make your tongue turn brown! I remembered I took some the night before for heart burn. Boy let me tell you, I was so relieved! Google is my knowledge guru! ahahaha. Well, that's about it for this blog. I will leave you with a couple of pictures that I've snapped this week.

Everyone have a safe & fun Halloween!

Big Huge Amazing Photographers Giveaway!

2010-10-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

It's Monday, bleh. Anyway, I came across a HUGE giveaway on a facebook page. It is an AMAZING opportunity! Go check out Julie Mayree's blog. Ton's and ton's of goodies for photographers. It would be an honor to win all those amazing prizes!

Q&A Session with Katy Gitto

2010-10-21T09:19:00.000-04:00

This Spotlight:Q&A Session features a wonderful lady by the name of Katy Gitto. She is an amazing photographer, and very sweet to talk to. I've worked with her numerous times designing. Stop by her site and say hello, and maybe even book a session with her! Here is my interview with her:

Q: What's your name?
A: Katy Gitto

Q: How old are you?
A: Just turned 33.

Q: Where are you based?
A: Kansas City metro area (Missouri & Kansas)

Q: What is your inspiration?
A: My kiddos and the world around me.

Q: How long have you been a photographer?
A: I've been a paid photographer for about 3 1/2 years now. But I've been taking pictures since I was about 10 and I got my little sister to be my "model".

Q: How did you get interested in photography?
A: I have always looked at the world a bit differently. Some people may look at a field and say, "Oh, what a nice field." I look at it from the perspective of how it would look in a picture...how the light would fall on a family at a certain type of day. I love experimenting with the light.

Q: What camera & lenses do you own?
A: I use a Canon EOS 7D and Canon lenses. I'm saving up for a new telephoto lens.

Q: How do you edit your photos? Any special actions, if so what are your favorites?
A: I use Adobe Lightroom for the most part, and Kubota Image Tools actions. I love the Warm 1 b/w filter in Kubota Image Tools.

Q: What has been your favorite photoshoot to date?
A: Any photoshoot where people have fun. I can't think of one in particular because there's a little piece of every shoot I enjoy. I think my very favorites are when the person I'm taking pictures of is natural in front of the camera.

Q: Any advice for the aspiring photographers out there?
A: I don't know that I'm the person to give advice, because I still feel like I could learn so much more. Just keep trying and trying and practicing and practicing. I have made huge leaps since I started 3 1/2 years ago, and I hope to go nowhere but up from here on out.

New Look | Typography

2010-10-17T11:17:00.007-04:00

I changed the layout...again. I felt I needed a simple and clean style. I hope you guys like it. I'm going to try my best not to change it again for awhile. Anyway, I'm going to try something a little different in this blog. I have realized that I have a passion/obsession with fonts. I have over 4,000 fonts on my hard drive. I am always on the look out for new styles. I would have to say that my favorite category of fonts would have to be script & handwriting. Though I have recently been falling in love with condensed, modern sans fonts. I will be sharing my TOP 10 favorite typography picks. Please note that most of the following fonts are not free. So here we go:

InLove by Sudtipos
Theorm by Sudtipos
Century Gothic by Monotype Fonts
Spice by BA Fonts
Secret Recipe by Font Diner
CK Little Women by Creating Keepsakes
Pea C-Squared by Kevin & Amanda
Good Vibrations by TypeSETit
Chicken Basket by Font Diner
LT Oksana by Lauren Thompson

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alright, so there you have it for my top 10 favorite fonts. Last night, while I was waiting for Nicky to get ready for bed, I was playing around with a photo storyboard. I put together some of my favorite photos of him that I've taken this past year, and I must say that my new layout style, looks awesome for a watermark/logo. I will show you at the end of this post. On a lighter note, I am still looking for applicants for a Q&A session, so get on over to the contact form and email me! I am needing a Q&A session by this Wednesday night at the latest. Well, I'm going to get to cleaning, I hope you enjoy my font picks, new layout && storyboard. Leave some love <3

Oh the rain

2010-10-12T20:33:00.004-04:00

I thought today was going to be a beautiful day, I woke up to sunshine and birds chirping. I had to take my mom to the doctor today, but once we got half way to the office, they called her cell and canceled it. Instead, we went to pay her cable bill & switch out her cable box because the old one stopped working. Then, we went to eat at a local restaurant, then it started to look dreary out. After dropping my mom off at her house it began to pour on the way home. I guess it's suppose to rain the next couple of days....BOOOOOOO! Sorry for the rambling.

I want to let everyone know that I am looking for applicants for a new Q&A Session. If you are a photographer, crafter, web designer, etc. Fill out the contact form and I will email you the Q&A sheet. I usually try to post these sessions every Thursday, but I haven't had time to do them until now. So if you are interested, PLEASE fill out my contact form.

Anyway, a friend of mine of Facebook let me steal some of her photos to play with in Photoshop. She took an awesome photo of her daughter and I decided to choose it. Here are the results:

I also want to mention that My Four Hens Photography is having a giveaway over at Love That Shot, head on over there and check it out. I absolutely LOVE M4H actions. She is such a talented lady, I'm always in "awe" at the photos she takes. Simply amazing!

Oh, and for those of you who actually read my blog, don't forget the hit the "FOLLOW" button over there to your right =)

I'm a superhero, Mommy!

2010-10-08T12:06:00.003-04:00

So, Halloween will soon be here, and my son is already yelling that he's a superhero. I take that as a hint that he wants that as his costume this year. Funny this is, I got him a "Captain America" costume last year after all the Halloween stuff went on sale. Then, I lost it, I have completely trashed this house looking for that costume, and it is NOWHERE to be found. Guess I'll have to get him another one. Dude those little devils are expensive. At Wal-Mart for example, I saw one costume for $35. Why would ANYONE pay that much for a costume that a child will only where once!? Sorry, it might just be me, I'm a cheapo, but I will get my money's worth out of what I buy. So, yeah. I'm beginning to miss Summer now. The weather changes and a lot of people are getting sick, which is such a downer. Though, we've been blessed with semi warm weather this week and it's suppose to get back into the 80's this weekend. I took some great photos of Nicky yesterday while he was playing outside & "helping" his daddy fix my car lol.

The Spooky Season

2010-10-02T18:37:00.001-04:00

"From ghoulies and ghosties And long-leggedy beasties And things that go bump in the night.."

October is my favorite month. I guess it's because Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the warm colors, the leaves changing and most of all, the "spooky-ness" of it all. All the scary movie marathons that come on, piling up on the couch with a warm blanket and some popcorn, is definitely an awesome past time for me. Anyway, I would like to apologize for not updating in a couple of days, but I did choose a winner for the Template Giveaway contest, and I announced it on the facebook page. I'm still waiting on the details from Princess to get working on her template. I'm not sure when I'll be putting up another giveaway, maybe next week?

Ooooh! haha I almost forgot. Yesterday, I took Nicky up the road to play with his friend Chloe who is also 3 years old. Anywho, I went to go check on them, as they were in the bedroom watching cartoons and the door was locked. When we finally popped the lock, we found them sitting on the bed eating a crap load of Reese cups! How awesome is that?! Two 3 year olds hauled up in the bedroom eating chocolate! They had fun, though Chloe cried when we had to leave, but I did take Nicky back to play with her today && we might go visit tomorrow too if I feel like it. I've been feeling a little nauseous today, I think the spaghetti I ate yesterday made me a little sick. Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. Anyway, that's about it for this blog. I have to put clothes in the dryer and then find something to fix for dinner. Oh, and I may be putting up a special layout just for Halloween, not sure yet but I think I might. So until next time....

Eat, drink & be scary.

Giveaway!

2010-09-27T12:59:00.006-04:00

What you get:

--Blogger or Shop Template & extras at HALF PRICE!

How to enter:
--Leave a comment with your name
--Include your website/blog URL or facebook page
--Also leave me an option to contact you, whether it be through email, facebook, etc.
One lucky winner will be chosen at random.

Contest CLOSED!
Good luck my loves!

Changing it up

2010-09-26T22:03:00.002-04:00

I decided to change the layout again. I guess I wasn't ready for the fall look after all, I think I have a problem. It seems once I get my layout as perfect as I want, I look at it so much that I begin to hate it. Yeah, I'm weird I guess. Ugh I have to find Nicky's Halloween costume, I don't even remember what I was gonna dress him up as this year. I hope it doesn't rain like it did last year, and it was sooooo cold. Anyway, I will NOT be doing any more promotional offers for awhile due to no one being interested in them. I may end up shutting down my design business if things don't start picking up soon. Glad all my shows are back on to keep me busy, I've almost got the whole week lined up with my favorite TV shows. Speaking of which, did you catch the season premiere of Supernatural this past Thursday!? AMAZINNNNNGGG! I needed my Winchester fix lol, I was getting tired of watching re-runs. Ooooh and Grey's is gonna be rockable this season as well. Ughhh. I need to get off here and give Nicky a bath, he's been bugging me for the past hour. Anyway, leave me some feedback and your likes and dislikes about the new layout. And I'll leave off with a picture I took of Nicky at the beginning of summer this year.

Horrible Monday + Promotional Offer

2010-09-20T16:14:00.002-04:00

I have decided to take $10 off all packages, this will last until Friday ( Sept 24th). This includes the Blogger Plan and Ecommerce Plan found HERE.

Just fill out the order form and we can work out the details.

Monday, how I've hated you today.

It was a very boring weekend overall for us. Then Monday rolled around and all I've felt like doing is sleep. I have however gotten a few loads of laundry done. Now I just need to tackle those nasty dishes and clean up the living room. Only if a certain little boy by the name of Nicky would help pick up the mess he caused, that would be a MAJOR help! Annnywho, Supernatural comes back on this week, and I am SUUUUPER excited. I've been needing my Winchester fix for quite sometime now. Alright, I need to get cleaning. Hope you guys enjoy the promotional offer, can't wait to work with you guys!

Back from hiatus

2010-09-16T23:54:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am finally back! I've been gone forever or so it seems. I'm really missing designing, so I found a way to come back! Ohhhh and how are you liking my AUTUMN LOOK?!?! I'm in love with it myself. We took Nicky to his first demolition derby, and he loved it! He ate his first cheeseburger (we have trouble getting him to eat any other type of meat besides chicken) and he loved it! We were so proud of him. Jason had a job interview this past Monday, but he won't know anything about being hired until October. I really hope he gets this job, because we really need the money at this point. Anyway, nothing new with me. I'm still working on my diet process, which hasn't been going so well due to me having some depression spells. Though, I'm trying really hard to get back on track. I will soon be putting up a new promotional offer, and a new EYM contest, so be on the look out for those. It's getting late and I have an early day tomorrow so I will leave you with a couple of snapshots.

I'm still alive

2010-08-25T14:04:00.000-04:00

Wow, it seems like it has been a lifetime since I've posted anything on my blog. Anyway, I don't have the internet right now because we're trying to save our extra money. So technically I lied when I said I was going on a vacation, I am however still on a hiatus from designing. I'm using my brother-in laws laptop to leach off my neighbors internet connection >:) I am sooo bad lol. I'm hoping to have my internet hooked back up hopefully sometime next month so I can get my web design services back on track. I miss designing, I really do.

As far as my life goes, it still sucks. Jason is still having trouble finding a job, although he's put in tons of applications. I'm hoping things take a change for the better soon. I'm so sick of the same crappy things happening day in and day out. I'm MORE than ready for a change. Anyway, I just wanted to update you guys and let you know where I've been and say hello. I miss talking to everyone, and like I said before, I REALLY MISS DESIGNING! Keep in mind that I will update again soon and let you guys know when I will OFFICIALLY be back to designing. Until next time, I loooooove you guys!

Hiatus/Vacation

2010-07-27T13:58:00.000-04:00

I've decided that I need to take a small break from web design. I'm too overwhelmed with things going on in my personal life right now, and we are beginning a remodel on the kitchen. My housework is way behind, and I'm also going to be looking for a job. So, until I can get things settled down for myself, today officially begins my vacation from web design. I will NOT be taking orders after today until further notice. I hope you all understand. I will be back to designing as soon as I can. I promise.

Nothing new on the homefront

2010-07-25T23:10:00.001-04:00

I've decided to extend the promotional offer until July 27th, so I urge all of you to get your orders in before then! Anywho, nothing really new to update that is design related. I've been having a bad week. A good friend of mine committed suicide this past Friday && it has been a sad weekend for the neighborhood. I promise as soon as I get to feeling myself I will post some more updates that are design related. In the meantime, I want to share a photo I took in June, on my sons 3rd birthday. Just a small trip down memory lane :). I also updated my logo/watermark a bit whatcha think?

Q&A Session with Raquel Perryman

2010-07-22T11:43:00.005-04:00

I recently had the chance to work with Raquel on her blog, she won the EYM contest and I redesign her blog for her. She then requested a Q&A session, so here is my interview with her.

Q: What's your name?
A: Raquel Perryman

Q: How old are you?
A: Im 28

Q: Where are you based?
A: Lebanon MO

Q: What is your inspiration?
A: My inspiration comes from my daughter, who loves having her picture taken. She is the one who got me to want to start doing it for other people. BUT all my love goes to Christine Elise from Arte Bella Portraits. She has stood behind me in everything i have done and encouraged me to be the best photographer i can be. She is AMAZING!!!

Q: How long have you been a photographer?
A: I have been doing photography for about 10 years now but only in the past 3 have i made a profession out of it :)

Q: How did you get interested in photography?
A: I have been interested in photography since my high school years working in the darkroom. Back then we didnt have digital and it was always fun to sit there and wait to see what pictures you got

Q: What camera & lenses do you own?
A: I have recently updated my camera and im using a Olympus E-600 with a 14-42mm lens.

Q: How do you edit your photos? Any special actions?
A: I use Photoshop CS4 for all my edits and the big majority of the actions i use are from Paint the Moon

Q: What has been your favorite photoshoot to date?
A: My favorite shoot has to be the tutu shoots. I think they are so adorable!! and just having fun being all girly with these girls is so much fun ;)

Q: Any advice for the aspiring photographers out there?
A: My advice to other photographers is never to give up on what you want. If you can get your name out there and show them your talents you will go far. its not about what camera you have or what program you use...... it all about having the eye for beauty. This makes me think about my favorite quote
"As i have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity. I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it's theirs."

Promotional Offer!

2010-07-20T00:07:00.003-04:00

I did the layout for the winner of the photo contest, head on over to RAQUEL'S PHOTOGRAPHY and check it out. She was an amazing client, and I loved working with her. Not to mention her photos are unbelievably splendid to look at, all in all...this girl has talent. Thank you Raquel, for the pleasure of working with you. I really hope you love your layout.

On to promotional offers...I've decided to do one. Here's what you get:
1 custom blogger layout & design
Favicon
Post Signature
Customized Links (contact, pages, facebook, twitter, etc)
Link Banner
Customized comments (if you are not sure what these are, take a look at my comments)
SUBTOTAL=$15

This promotional offer will only last 3 days. Get your order in before July ~~23rd~~. This offer has been extended until JULY 27th! Fill out the contact form to get this special deal :)

The winner is....

2010-07-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

Voting is now closed for the EYM: Black & White photo contest. The winner is Raquel! Congratulations! I will be contacting you shortly to get the details of your new layout! Thank you to all who voted and participated in choosing a winner. It was a close call!

Tally's

Raquel-35 Votes

Tricia-32 Votes

Brandie-6 Votes

Mindy-2 Votes

Be on the look out for a new contest soon!

Updates

2010-07-18T16:38:00.001-04:00

Alright, so I felt it was time for me to do a post on all the updates that have happened or is gonna happen here at Heart Smash.

#1-I've added 2 PREMADE templates to the portfolio.

#2-I will be doing a promotional offer on custom web design soon, so be on the look out for that post.

#3-I will be doing a Q&A Session every Thursday, so I will be accepting applications from photographers, web/graphic designers, and bow/tutu makers. If you are interested in having a Q&A session with me, please fill out the contact form and make the subject "Q&A Session."

#4-Also, just a quick note that I also do reviews of sites and products. If you would like me to review your site or product, please fill out the contact form and make the subject "Need a Review."

#5-Please note that I am always up for feedback. Tell me your thoughts & opinions on how I can make Heart Smash a better site. Leave a comment, or use the contact form.

Last but not least, tomorrow is the last day of voting for the EYM:Black & White contest. Remember to get your votes in. Also remember to follow my blog. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Voting for EYM:Black & White

2010-07-17T18:30:00.002-04:00

So I decided to close the contest early, due to lack of entries. I would like to thank the people who DID enter. I was hoping these contests would start picking up more followers, but I guess not lol. Anywho, I will leave the voting up for 3 days. You may have your friends vote, post the link to this entry on your FB page to get votes. I find this way easier than me choosing a winner...seems a little more fair to me. Anyway, here are the entries & the poll.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.
Thank you to those who entered. All your photos were spectacular!

Q&A Session with Mindy Rolle

2010-07-15T20:05:00.005-04:00

I met Mindy online through a mutual friend on Facebook, when she contacted me about designing her photography blog. I think this girl is amazing with a camera, and she is such a nice person. She has been such a big supporter of my site, and I could not thank her enough for it. I contacted Mindy on Facebook and asked her if she would be interested in doing a Q&A session, and she was more than happy. Here are some questions I sent to her:

Q: What's your name?
A: Mindy Rolle

Q: How old are you?
A: 30.

Q: Where are you based?
A: Lebanon, Missouri

Q: What is your inspiration?
A: People & personalities.... I love the diversity of different personalities at different ages.

Q: How long have you been a photographer?
A: I 'officially' became Mindy Rolle Photography in 2007 but I have been photographing people and things obsessively since I was about 7 or 8 years old.

Q: How did you get interested in photography?
A: I don't even really remember... it just happened. There are things that you see that you want to remember forever and how better to do that than through photography. I have so many photos of my kids that sometimes people joke that if you put them all together in a flip book you could literally watch my children grow throughout the years.

Q: What camera & lenses do you own?
A: Right now I am shooting with my Nikon D40 - The lens that is on my camera the most is my 50mm. I just love it! The other lenses I use are 18-55mm and 55-200mm.

Q: How do you edit your photos? Any special actions?
A: I use Adobe Lightroom and Paint Shop Pro Photo X2. So far I haven't really got into using actions/scripts.. I tend to just play with an image until I get the look I want.

Q: Any advice for the aspiring photographers out there?
A: Be yourself. I know there are a lot of amazing photographers out there to look up to and aspire to be like/compare to but don't try to be them... try to be the best you. Figure out your own style and use it. Too many people think buying a $5000 camera is going to make you a great photographer... it's not what the camera can do it's what you can do with the camera. Take the time to learn your camera. Success doesn't happen overnight.

Thank you so much Mindy for participating in this Q&A session, as always you are wonderful!
Also readers, don't forget to get your entries in for the ENHANCE YOUR MEMORIES contest. Entries are due in by July 20th!

Going for the goal

2010-07-13T14:51:00.001-04:00

I've made up my mind. I have absolutely GOT to loose this 3 year old baby weight. I am so sick of feeling like a cow. Before I got pregnant with my son, I weighed in at exactly 100lbs, and after my pregnancy I weigh in at 140lbs. 40 EXTRA FREAKING POUNDS!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? It has got to go. I've decided I'm going to push myself by cutting back in meal portions, no bread, walking at least 2 miles a day && doing some exercises at the house. I'm hoping to shed it all before ya know it. I blame myself mostly for letting it get this far, but not all of it is MY fault. I've been battling with a bit of depression, due to Jason being in and out of jobs && worrying about how we are going to make ends meet. News flash, it's OVER I am not going to let my issues ruin my body. I will be posting a before and after pregnancy photo for the beginning and I will update on my weight loss every week. I hope you all will help support me, give me advice on food plans && what not.

I felt that it was time for another Enhance Your Memories contest. So this contest will last for ONE WEEK ONLY. This contest will feature your best BLACK & WHITE PHOTO.

Here are the rules:
-Your image must be NO bigger than 640px in width.
-Photo MUST be black & white ONLY, no special color effects
-Leave your name, email address and photo in a comment on this blog post.

The winner will receive a site makeover (for blogger or shop) for only $10 and perma link on my site.

Oh yeah, how ya like the new layout? It's simple, and I like it. Well, until the next blog, keep up with my weight loss goals!

So much to do.

2010-07-10T22:43:00.001-04:00

I've been slacking in the blogging circle for the past few days. I've been in "that mood", the mood where you don't want to do anything at all, and you feel so helpless..yeah that one. I haven't had any clients come through since Tricia Nugen :( which I'm sad about. I was so hoping to be able to get the business going. Oh, I'm so excited that a new episode of True Blood will be coming on tomorrow night, FINALLY! I can't wait. Also I'm sad to see The Hills go, I've been watching since the premiere of Laguna Beach. I swear why is it that all of the shows I end up getting into, get cancelled?! It's just wrong. Anyway, nothing really new from the home front lately, other than the fact it's been to hot to go out. I need to start walking again, and my diet. I need to get a lot of house cleaning done too. Well, that's about it for this blog, and another great photo to share of my nephew Drake, he's such a little cutie. I took this photo on the 4th of July.

Cookouts, fireworks && what not

2010-07-05T19:43:00.001-04:00

The past couple days have been busy for us. We went to Jason's brothers for a cookout and then we drove down the road a bit && watched the fireworks that night. It was fun, they had a music festival && loads of food...and of course, your random drunk people. Today Jeremy && Adrienne brought Drake down to swim with Nicky in his little kiddie pool, they had a blast. I'm hoping things will settle down so I can begin taking/getting orders. I've decided that when I get enough saved up to buy a new camera, I have it narrowed down between the Canon Rebel T2i or the Nikon D90. I'm hoping to have it by this coming March at the latest, I'm going to save a bit before then, and use a bit of our income taxes to get it. Anyway, just a few pictures to share.

I think I'm addicted

2010-07-01T01:02:00.000-04:00

So, first and foremost, I would like to start off this blog by giving a shout out to Tricia Nugen. I recently redid her layout for her photography site. She was a very awesome client. Head on over and check out her site, and if you live in the area, try and book a shoot with her.

Anyway, Katie got me addicted to True Blood. I have watched every episode within the last 4 days! Verrrry good. I am planning on adding a few more premade templates within the next few days. I'm gonna be pretty busy this coming week, I have a family reunion && then 4th of July. I'm also going to watch Eclipse tomorrow. We were going to go tonight, but I know how dang crowded those theaters are gonna be, and I so wanna miss that crowd. I hate going to a pack movie theater because it's loud, people are always talking throughout the movie, or playing with their cell phones. It's annoying. Anyway, that's just a quick update for now. I'm gonna get off here and get to into some cleaning or something. So until the next time, I leave you with this video.

Fun in the sun

2010-06-27T18:05:00.001-04:00

Today has been VERY hot. Jason and his brother set up Nicky's little pool so he could play in it today, though he didn't get to play long because we got rained out. Fun times, almost all of us got wet, not from the rain though...from us spraying each other with the water toys. Needless to say, I didn't get much cleaning done today. I must say I am completely wore out. Maybe I will get some cleaning in before bed tonight. I though my camera was messing up on me today because when I loaded the pictures I took of Nicky in the pool, they were REALLY grainy. I googled for some help, and realized that someone had changed my ISO setting and it was way too high. Anyway, that's how my day went. I currently have a pending project for a new client, I will post the preview and give a shout out once the project is finished. In the meantime, for all my fellow photographer friends, I would like some input please. I'm looking in to buying an D-SLR camera, as I am looking into pursuing photography. I currently have a Canon Rebel A590-IS, which is just a point and shoot camera, and if I say so myself, I do pretty good at taking pictures with it. But, I am looking into doing photography as a career, so could you please tell me what you think is the best D-SLR camera and lenses to buy? Can't wait to hear your input. Here are some pictures from today playing in the water. Thanks for reading!

Mindy Rolle Photography--and more!

2010-06-25T22:26:00.000-04:00

I had a chance to work with Mindy Rolle of Mindy Rolle Photography. She was such an amazing client, easy to work with and so nice. She gave me full creative control over her website, and I love how the finished design turned out. If you live in Missouri, I'd suggest you try and book a photoshoot with her. She takes some amazing photos!

Mindy Rolle Photography | Launch Site

I have also been working on my photo enhancing skills, just playing around a bit. Keisha sent me more pictures of her daughter Kiara to play around with. Here's the result:
(click for larger preview)

That's it for this entry, thanks for reading!

A little newness

2010-06-24T18:34:00.000-04:00

I haven't really been feeling all that great the past couple of days. I've been dealing with a super cranky kid too, he soooo got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning && when he took his nap too. Nothing is really new, besides me feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I have however been working on a new premade, not sure if I will allow it to be a OOAK or UNLIMITED item yet. I'm trying out new style than what I am normally used to, and I'm having fun doing it. I have a project lined up, waiting on the lady to contact me again with the details. Anyway, here's the preview of the premade I'm working on. It's still sorta a mystery, as it's not fully finished yet.

I think it's gonna be really cute when I finish it. If I ever get motivated that is. I also added a contact form here in order for you guys to get a free quote or contact me. I will post the full preview of this premade once I finish it. So be on the look out! I also have 2 new action sets for Photoshop, that are now available to purchase. If you would like to own these, please fill out the contact form, and I will give you a reply with payment options. These action sets are $6.00 USD each

-Thanks for reading

I think it's time...

2010-06-22T12:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the lake, as always Nicky had a blast just throwing rocks in the water. I was hoping to get a little fishing in, but that was impossible. Anyway, I am getting ready to rant a little and I apologize in advance. Yesterday my Jeep broke down, the starter went out on it. Funny thing is, I was already scraping up the money to get my tv/net bill paid, and wouldn't it figure I'd have to use that money to get my Jeep fixed. I am so sick and tired of every time I take a step forward, and things begin to look up, something pushes me back another 1,000 steps. I mean I don't get it, is it karma? What did I do to deserve being put in this situation? I believe God does things for a reason, but this is ridiculous! I don't do drugs, I don't drink, and I consider myself a great law abiding citizen. Why me? Don't get me wrong, I know there are sooo many people who are worse off than me, and I am grateful to even have a roof over my head. But I barely have the money to buy my kid diapers these days, let alone spending any money on something I want. I don't know what to do anymore. Most days I feel like crawling into bed, and curling into a ball && staying like that for the rest of my life. I think it's getting to the point where I can really say I'm depressed. Ugh! I'm sick of discussing it, I don't want to start crying again.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

I find this quote controversial. For some people, no matter how hard you try to change, something stands in the way. And for those who do not deserve what they have, always gets what they want. Basically, life is unfair, nothing new there.

Starting to get behind

2010-06-20T20:12:00.000-04:00

I'm really starting to get behind on my blogging. I was blogging everyday, now I'm blogging every 3-4 days. I've been tired, really tired. I've been working on getting this house cleaning under control. I still have so much to do. Today was Father's Day. We had a small dinner at my dads and visited. It was VERY hot today, they predict it's supposed to be getting && staying into the 90's this week, whew this is why I love air conditioning. I mean, don't get me wrong we're used to getting high temperatures like that, but with all this rain we've had...it's been REALLY humid too...which sucks and makes it almost impossible to venture out the door. I have a family reunion next month, which I had to help prepare for...geez am I ever going to get to slow down? Other than that, nothing is really new around here. Tonight I'm going to pile up on the couch with my loves && watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen...I LOVE LOVE LOVE Transformers, I was so glad when they made it into a movie, I loooooved the cartoon that used to come on when I was a kid (not sure if it still does or not). I don't even bother to watch Cartoon Network anymore. I'm not such a fan of Anime, and Pokemon can shove it. Though I do like that little show on Cartoon Network called Chowder, I think it's kinda cute haha. Though 99% of the time my TV stays on Nick Jr. freaking 24/7 of cartoons, thank God I DVR all my favorite shows and I watch them after Nicky goes to bed most of the time. Ahhh, well I think that about does it this go around, I'm gonna go watch Transformers now :)

Maybe I will be ok

2010-06-16T17:08:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I stole the title from Ingrid Michaelson's song....which I love by the way. I have been really busy the past few days. I've been building a wix website to showcase my photography and editing, you can check it out HERE I think it turned out pretty decent. What do you guys think? Anyway, I've been working around the house trying to get things cleaned up. I still have dishes to do and clothes to wash. Nicky is at my moms spending some time with her for a couple of days. I have so many clothes to wash, my old washer was wearing out and I couldn't wash as many loads a day without it overheating or not rinsing. I finally got a new washer, but the clothes got REALLY backed up. I decided instead of washing them all, I'm going to go through them and bags some up to store because a lot of them don't fit me anymore anyway. I'm taking the easy way out haha.

I wanted to share some pictures I took awhile back, they are on my photography website, but I'll post them here anyway.

(click for larger preview)

And there ya have it. I need to get off here and clean, so until next time :)

Doppelgängers

2010-06-13T14:38:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be away for awhile. Some of you know that my fiance lost his job, some of you don't either way, I'm not opening that can of worms again. Anyway, I don't have the extra money to pay my internet bill so I've decided to let it go for awhile. Jason has a new job lined up, but he's waiting on the main boss to get some mining permits first. Not sure how long I will be away, though I can go to my moms and update and what not, but I will officially be on hiatus from designing until I get my internet back, because honestly, I don't feel like lugging my computer tower back and forth to my moms just to design. Plus she lives about 10 miles away, and thats A LOT of gas to cross that mountain every day.

I recently found some old pictures of my doppelgänger. For those of you who have no clue of what a doppelgänger is, here ya go:

"a ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation. It is also a term used to describe instances in which a person is said to be, or appears to be."

I had a completely different, yet similar personality back then, than I do now. I didn't have a care in the world, always looking for a good time, and almost every day was laugh. Here are a couple of photos I'd like to share. The first picture is of me and my best friend Tracy, I think I was 14 or 15 years old in this picture. Tracy was killed in a car accident with her boyfriend in 2004. His dad was driving the car, and we will never know the exact details of what happened that night. All I know is it wasn't fair. The second picture was in like 2005 on the 4th of July I think? I can't believe how I dressed back then LOL.

Who was your doppelgänger? Tell me what you were like back then. I'd love to see photos!

Leave something in the comments<3

I hope to be back before ya know it.

Birthday, rain && movies

2010-06-12T22:38:00.000-04:00

I want to start this blog off by saying Thank You to our troops, for risking your lives, and all you do for our country.

You deserve all the recognition and praise for keeping this country safe && free.

God bless you all!

I didn't have a really good birthday. No big surprise, Jason forgot too. I didn't have the extra money to do anything special for myself, so I stayed home and watched movies the whole day. I watched Leap Year && When in Rome, very good movies I might add. It's been raining for the past 3 days, some places here are already flooded. I guess Ohio got hit by a tornado or something, so I figure we're getting the cast off from it...not too sure there, all I know is I'm sick of the humidity and the rain. I really don't have much to blog about tonight, because nothing interesting has happened. Maybe tomorrow?

Naptime is Overrated...obviously!

2010-06-08T17:58:00.000-04:00

I am so unbelievably sleepy. I wanted to take a nap when Nicky did, but the idiot guys had to go outside and set off firecrackers. Nicky slept through it, but I couldn't. I finally went outside and told them to cut it out because Nicky was sleeping, and the listened....for awhile. Nicky never naps long enough for me anyway. It seems like no sooner than I get to sleep, he's coming in my room telling me "it's time to get up Mommy"..."GET UP!." We had to take him to the local E.R. this past Saturday night. He woke up that morning running a fever, so I tried giving him Tylenol every 4 hours like it says on the bottle, and it still wouldn't bring his temp down at all. Anyway, we found out he has an ear infection, though he is feeling totally fine today..we still have to give him the antibiotics. I'd say that 97% of the time he gets sick is due to ear infections, Jason and I are thinking he may need tubes put in his ears. Once he finishes his antibiotics, and gets 100% better, he has to go for his 3 year check-up and we're going to ask his pediatrician about it, and if he thinks it's a good idea we're going to have him refer us to someone.

I got a chance to work with some more of Kiara's pictures. Dude she models so well! I wish I could get Nicky to sit still and model for pics. That's why you rarely see enhancement examples of him, cause I always get the side of his face, or the back of his head in pictures. It gets annoying LOL. Anyway, here are a couple edit's I did with some of the pictures Kiara's mom sent me to enhance for her.

(click for larger preview)

I picked a winner for the EYM: Vintage Contest (Brandie) and she chose to have a layout done for her photography site she is creating. I love seeing everyone's entries! Note that once the contest is closed, I close the comments on that post so no one can enter after the deadline. Anyway, here is the preview of Brandie's Busy Bee Template

(click for larger preview)

EYM: Simply Vintage

2010-06-04T20:37:00.000-04:00

So I've been getting requests to do another contest, so here you go. The concept of this one is achieving a vintage style look. You may use a tutorial such as THIS ONE. Or you may GOOGLE for vintage photo tutorials. Here's mine.

Click for larger preview

The Requirements

Your photo must not exceed 800px in width
You must have your before & after photos labeled
Your photos must be side by side like mine above
You may edit your photo in any way you choose, as long as it stays within the vintage style
You must upload your finished enhancement to photobucket or tinypic, once you have uploaded your picture, post the URL in the comment area of this blog entry along with your name and email address, so I can contact you if you win.
Leave your name & email address, so I can contact you if you win
This contest will run for 4 days-so your entries need to be in by June 8th!

The winner will get a layout or graphic of their choice made by me

Good Luck, can't wait to see what you come up with!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

Birthday Wishes

2010-06-02T12:36:00.000-04:00

First and foremost, I want to apologize to the ladies who entered my contest. I know I was suppose to have the winner posted Sunday, but everything got hectic with Nicky's birthday party. So I will be contacting the winner after I finish this blog, and you will have 3 days to decide the details of what kinda of layout or graphic you want. Anywho, yesterday was Nicky's 3rd birthday. I can't believe my little monster is 3 already! He's learning so much, and growing so fast. It's hard to believe that he will be heading to preschool next year :( We celebrated, at loads of food and the kids exhausted themselves out playing outside. They had a blast! I am still exhausted from yesterday, so I think I'll spend the day relaxing && recovering, slurping coffee, and watching tv. Though I need to get some orders, and I have a couple of enhancements to finish today. Anyway, I have to cut this blog short, cause I really need to start on some laundry as much as I don't wanna, but we need clean clothes. I will have a new contest posted in a couple of days, so be on the lookout, and remember to hit that "FOLLOW" button over there -------->

AND THE WINNER IS........

Nikki!!!!!

Congratulations Loverface :) I have already worked everything out with you on yahoo!

Enhance You Memories

2010-05-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

So I've decided to start doing a weekly contest. It's called "Enhance Your Memories" and the idea behind it is to have you guys get involved with your graphics programs. As, you know I use Photoshop CS2, but you may use any program of your choice. What you have to do is enhance your picture of choice.

The Requirements

-Your picture must be side by side one another like above.
-It must not exceed 424 pixels in width.
-You may edit/enhance the picture of your choice in any way you choose.
-Your before & after picture must be labeled.
You must upload your finished enhancement to photobucket or tinypic, once you have uploaded your picture, post the URL in the comment area of this blog entry along with your name and email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Depending on how many entries I get this first time around at the end of the week I will choose a winner, and whoever wins gets a free layout/graphic of their choice made by me.

That's it for this blog entry.

Good luck, and I can't wait to see what you do!

<3 Sav

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED

A Huge Controversy

2010-05-22T02:13:00.001-04:00

It's been a few days since my last blog. Not much has happened in that time, besides the weather being crappy. It has rained almost everyday this week except for one day. The one day is was pretty outside, we went down to visit my dad. Nicky had a blast throwing rocks into the creek behind their house. We took a walk to the store and bought him some juice and candy. I'm still trying to finalize plans for his birthday party. I'm hoping it is beautiful on the day of his party. I can't believe my baby boy will be 3 years old! He's growing so fast, and learning new things everyday. I mean seriously he's getting ready to turn 3, and he already can tell you the difference between a Chevrolet and a Ford. He'll see a Ford and say "peice junk FORD!" and then he goes "I wub Chevy" haha, it's so adorable. I'm testing out new layouts for my blog. I can't quite get the look I'm going for, so if you see a new layout every few hours or so, it's because I'm changing my mind. Though I don't think I'm gonna try another one tonight. I'm exhausted, and I want to go to bed soon. I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but from the looks of things I will be piled up either on the couch or in the bed....cause I'm not feeling to great at the moment. Ahhh, I was reading up on the story behind Pearl Jam's-Jeremy, it's a beautiful song, yet so tragic. Though what I am about to ramble on about, does not only touch the subject of suicide, but school shootings and what not, such as Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold(Columbine Massacre). For Columbine, please know that I do NOT condole what those two boys did, but I CAN understand why they did it. I'm sorry, but those who say they did it due to being on drugs and what not, yes that may be somewhat true, but people need to take to heart how ROUGH bullying can be in highschool, and life in general. I'm sorry but if you are gonna bully someone bad enough, eventually they will retaliate. They also want to blame half, if not most of suicides and school shootings on the music. I'm sorry but I think that statement is complete bull. I've listened to dark, alternative && grunge rock since I was a teenager, and I turned out fine. I was bullied a bit in school, I was far from popular, I was one you would call an outsider, I hung out with the kind of people that I believe Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold were, outsiders. I remember watching this documentary about Columbine about a year or so ago, and they kept rambling on about those boys being mentally unstable. Again, this may be true but their are so many more factors that make high schoolers lash out. In my opinion, bullying is the MAIN factor in most cases. The story behind Jeremy is a real downer. The song was based on two different true stories. Jeremy Wade Delle, is who the song is mostly about. He was a 16 year old boy, who most called a problem child. From what I have read online, he was a patient at a mental hospital. It's sad that no one cared enough to listen to the boy, or notice he was unstable. He shot himself in front of his classmates just like in the video. I agree 100% with Eddie Vedder(Pearl Jam Lead Singer) when he discussed the meaning behind Jeremy "It came from a small paragraph in a paper which means you kill yourself and you make a big old sacrifice and try to get your revenge. That all you're gonna end up with is a paragraph in a newspaper. Sixty-three degrees and cloudy in a suburban neighborhood. That's the beginning of the video and that's the same thing is that in the end, it does nothing … nothing changes. The world goes on and you're gone. The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger than those people. And then you can come back." I could ramble on and on about this subject. It's a sad sad world. But like I said before, most "professionals" want to blame the music industry, but I think there are a WHOLE lot more factors to these kinds of tragedies than just the music. But, that's just my opinion, love it or hate it. I really could care less. Leave some love <3

The Gloom

2010-05-14T12:23:00.000-04:00

It's looking like rain today, and it's sorta humid but not to bad. I am slowly working on getting my laundry caught up. Well, it's difficult to clean when Nicky is right under my heels all the time. He has completely destroyed the living room with his toys again. I mean they're not huge toys, just hotwheels cars EVERYWHERE! So...news, I'm saving up all my money to buy a Canon Rebel T2i. It's a phenomenal camera! I think I deserve to splurge on myself for a change. I rarely get to buy anything for myself that costs more than $20 lol. Anyway, last night was the season finale of Supernatural :( I love that show. I hope they decide to come back for a 6th season because the way the finale ended last night, kinda didn't make sense. Oh, I finally got to sit down and watch Avatar, it was pretty good, but not as good as they hyped it up to be. Jason's birthday is tomorrow, I have no idea what I am gonna plan for us to do, he already got his present early. We went to the auction last Saturday and he wanted this Baitcaster fishing pole or something, so I told him he could bid on it, and he won! From what we read on the internet, the reel alone is worth anywhere between $100-$500, and he won it for $27.50. Nicky's birthday is coming up soon, June 1st, and then my birthday is June 9th. I'm planning on having Nicky's party the same place as we do every year, at the lake. The kids enjoy the playground, and you can fly kites and what not. I did a few photo enhancements for my Facebook friends daughter yesterday. I played around with her pictures after I sent the final copies back to her. I will leave you with the previews, so until the next blog....have a good one :)

(click for larger preview)

That time of year again....

2010-05-11T18:46:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I get absolutely aggravated about this time of the year. That time where the weather keeps changing, and eventually you end up getting sick. Nicky and I both have a head cold, though his is a bit worse than mine, he has a bad cough, and is beginning to loose his voice because of it. Poor kid. It hasn't got him down though, he's still at it like the energizer bunny! Jason && Nicky got me a Bamboo Pen & Pad for Mothers Day, though it was late because I was out of town on Mothers Day. I had to go with my dad && step-mom to Roanoke, VA because my dad had to have a heart catheterization done. We left on Mothers Day && got back late Monday night, and I woke up with a cold on Monday morning so needless to say that I felt like crap the whole ride home. Had to make a pit stop to get some Dayquil. I feel a little better today, I went && picked Nicky up from my moms, and I cannot explain how much I missed him. I felt so bad because I had to leave him while he was sick. I'm hoping to get some orders soon, I am wanting to save up my paypal money...for what? I don't know yet. I want to get to work on some more premade templates, but I'll probably wait until I get to feeling a little better. I think I'm going to go pile up on the couch with my hot cup of coffee, a blanket and watch Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Thanks for reading <3

Gone Fishin'

2010-05-01T21:27:00.000-04:00

We've been spending the past couple of days by the lake. We fished all day yesterday, and I could 2 very decent sized trout. Everyone else caught blue gill. I swear if they'd let me I'd fish all day and night, but you can't begin night fishing until June 16th, which I think is stupid. I wanna do some catfishing, it's the only kind of fish that I'll eat, cause it really don't taste fishy if you cook it right. But, you gotta have A LOT of patience when catfishing. Anyway, I'm going to rant a little, because I have no-one to listen. Let's just say I am sick && tired of spending time by myself, don't get me wrong I spend all my time with Nicky, but it'd be nice to spend time with Jason too. When Jason has a day off he could spend it with Nicky....not running out and about doing God knows what. All I ever hear from Nicky is "Daddy's workin, or Daddy's not here" and it's tending to make me livid. I know Jason loves Nicky, but I just don't get why he can't spend just one WHOLE day with us. Ugh men! I swear I'd take a ball bat to him at times. Yeah, sorry for the rant but whatever. On to something else, Katie && I decided to close Sweetly Irresistible. Everyone just pretty much left and stopped designing without a word, so our requests were getting backed up. Though I hate to let it go, but maybe I will have a little more time to design other things besides siggies. Doing siggy after siggy was getting boring. Nicky just fell asleep a few minutes ago, so I'll be heading there soon myself after Katie && I get this template done. Need to design something in order to take my mind off being mad. Sorry this has been yet another short post, I promise I'll have something more interesting to blog about sooner or later.
Thanks for reading<3

Mood Change

2010-04-27T18:33:00.000-04:00

Yeah yeah, I've been changing my layout a lot, but my mood has been changing like something fierce. Don't get me wrong, I really loved my old layout, but this one is more me, more my style. Katie and I have been getting some decent business. Guess I've got to start saving my money now. I'm not going into that story right now because it's way to personal to share with strangers. Let's just say that I am absolutely sick and tired of every time things begin to look up for us, we end up getting screwed over in the end. Nicky finally decided he was ready to come home after being at my moms for almost a week. I took him over there for mom to watch when my dad had a heart attack, and every time I'd call to see if he was ready to come home, he'd say "NOOOO MOMMY! GO GRANNY'S!" quite funny actually. He helped his daddy && pappaw fix my kitchen door today (it needed framed out). He's been such a sweetheart since he's been home. My dad had to go for his stress test today, I hope he gets a good report, he's just itching to go back to work. Hmmm, what else is new? I got a new CD player for my Jeep. I was using Jeremy's, but I got my own so I could give his back. I like mine better anyway lol. I guess I'm suppose to start babysitting Drake next month, 2 days every week. It might be kinda tough, with him && Nicky considering Drake is a newborn, but I'm sure I can manage. Nicky is usually pretty well mannered when other kids are around, considering he's not around many kids his own age. Well, I need to finish up an order && then I'm going to be lazy with my boys :)
Thanks for reading.

Running on Empty

2010-04-20T01:13:00.000-04:00

I swear, as soon as I wake up in the mornings all I want to do is turn around and go back to bed. It's like I don't rest enough to feel energized even if I sleep a full 8 hours. I think that's the main reason I haven't been able to keep to my weight loss plan. The diet I am keeping to, but I need to exercise too, which is something I just don't have the energy to do. Nicky is up my butt 24/7, and I mean right on my heels. He's had himself a major attitude problem for the past 2 days. When he gets mad he'll scream to the top of his lungs, and then say "I'm tired!" and throws whatever is in his hand across the room (it's usually a hotwheels car). He's been getting himself a lot of timeouts. He sat in the livingroom floor this morning and whined for almost an hour, over nothing! Just sitting there looking at me whining, and when I asked him what was wrong or what he wanted, he would pitch a scream that would bust your ear drums. He's usually a pretty well mannered kid, as far as being happy all the time, so this new thing has me stunned, I guess it's a stage though right? I hope it passes soon. Jason got a pay raise today, which is sooooo awesome! He'll be making almost double of what he makes now. I'm saving up to get me another camera, an actual professional one! Canon has a new Digital SLR camera out now, and it takes AMAZING photos, Check it out. Dude, I would never splurge money on myself again once I got this camera, I've been waiting for 2 years to get me a decent camera, and this pay raise couldn't have come at a better time. I'm still gonna have to save for about 4 months or so, but I WILL OWN IT!

Anyway, Katie and I redid Sweetly's new Spring look, I suggest you all go check it out. My myspace page is looking up, I've had one order so far, I hope to get more. I did 19 photo edits for one of my Facebook friends last night, so I made a little pocket change there too. I think I'm beginning to get my feel back for designing, I guess I just needed a boost of self esteem, and when you get orders, it DOES give you self esteem. There for awhile I guess I just felt like everything I made was crap, no one wanted to buy anything, blah blah. I'm so thankful for the orders I have gotten, and like I said, I hope there's plenty more to come. Hmm, I guess that's all I have to blog about this go around.

Thanks for reading <3

Newness.

2010-04-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so I redid my layout YET again. I very much like this one, it's bright && fun. I worked for 3 hours designing && coding it....and in my opinion, it turned out NIIIICE! I've been a little more productive with designing the past couple days. I posted some new premade shop templates on My Little Monsters, and working on getting my myspace page active again. I've gotten quite a bit done, considering the lack of time I've had to actually sit down to design. Since it's been warm, I've been out fishing at the lake every day. Like in my last blog, fishing is relaxing && where you have to hike to all the good fishing spot has given me the extra exercise. We got a new couch, well it's not NEW....my dad & step-mom gave it to us. I like it A LOT more than that other uncomfortable couch we had before. It sat so high that when I sat on it, my feet wouldn't even touch the floor. Anyway, Nicky has been a little pig the past couple days. He has ate the heck out of some apples. I'm glad he IS eating better foods though. He still has to take his iron drops every other day. Dude, he's gonna be 3 years old in 2 months! This year has flown by so fast. I guess I'm going to do his party in Disney's Cars this year, since he's so very obsessed with cars, trucks, motorcycles....basically anything with wheels, he's gotta have it! He picked out a Hotwheels race track at Wal-Mart the other day, and he's been driving us up a wall with it. We put it together and he'll grab his little plastic hammer and pretend to build it, then he'll play with the track for about 20 minutes before he takes it apart. He's a goof! He's had a bit of an attitude problem today, and now every time he gets mad, he says "I'M TIRED!" nice excuse huh? Today he asked for chips, and pointed to a box of corn flakes....so I gave him some, and he was pretty satisfied....considering it was chips he wanted LOL. Well, I guess I need to cut this short, I need to get this livingroom cleaned since Nicky decided to wreck it by getting all of his Hotwheels cars out....they're everywhere. Byeeee <3

It's so wrong

2010-04-10T09:35:00.000-04:00

The diet is not working well. Well, technically I haven't even started the diet, because I haven't even been home enough to do anything, my laundry needs washed/folded && my dishes need to be done again. My plan for today is to clean, and start my diet. I'm starting out by taking a fluid pill because I think most of my extra weight is fluid. Then, for breakfast it will be a BLT, 2 slices of bacon, lettuce, tomato and a tad bit of mayo. Lunch will be a half a can of Campbell's soup with a side of celery and ranch dressing. And for dinner, I will finish off the can of soup from lunch with a small salad. Sounds like a good plan to me. I plan to stay home ALL day, so I should be able to do this. I'm hoping it starts STAYING warm, so I can go fishing more often, I can go out and walk to all the good fishing spots at the lake, and I think that will help with the loosing weight too. Fishing is relaxing, it gross handling the worms and fish....but eh, I've learned to take a huge bottle of hand sanitizer and lots of paper towels :D. I can't wait until Nicky gets old enough to fish with us, and actually WANTS to fish instead of playing in the water lol. I remember before I got pregnant with Nicky, Jason and I used to fish EVERYDAY. Although he liked to get up at the crack of dawn and go trout fishing, and I'd rather sleep in, but we had loads of fun. Jason works to much now for us to do anything together anymore. They have him working from the time it gets daylight until it gets dark (here it's about 8:30-8:45pm) so he gets in, eats a quick bite, plays with Nicky for a little bit and then he has to go to bed. And they rarely give him a day off. We miss him, we miss spending time with him. And Nicky is always saying "Daddy's working." The days, that Jason does have off, Nicky is so far under his feet it's pathetic, but it's soooo cute! He'll follow his daddy around everywhere, even to the bathroom!
I redid Katie's blog for her last night. I love how it turned out. She said she likes it too (just hope she isn't lying) lol. I really need to not slack so much with designing. I just haven't had the time to sit here and do anything the past week or so. I've been out almost everyday since Easter. Thus, I need to clean my house before I can really relax enough to design. Speaking of which, I need to get off here and eat && then get started with this stupid housework!

Later Lovers ♥

Busy Body

2010-04-08T23:29:00.000-04:00

I swear I haven't been home much since the day before Easter. We colored eggs, we hunted eggs, and we've went shopping. I took Nicky and my little cousin Ryan to the lake Tuesday and they had a blast, they played at the park && threw rocks in the lake. They got sunburned and Nicky's left ear blistered a little bit (even after using sunblock). I took Nicky to moms to spend the night with Ryan, then I'm going tomorrow to pick Ryan up and take him fishing and then picking Nicky up afterwards. Although, I think it will be too chilly to fish tomorrow, but I promised Ryan I'd take him && he's really looking forward to it. I'm hoping to get to stay home after this, I have been out every single day since Easter man, going and going like the Energizer Bunny! I'm so exhausted and my body feels just worn out. I haven't really been sleeping good the past week, I've been waking up a lot during the night, and I have no clue why. I've been trying to make new templates for the Little Monsters website everyday. I've got 3 templates done in the past 3 days. I'm doing pretty good considering how busy I've been. I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna cut this blog short. I hope everyone had a great Easter!

It's a hot mess.

2010-04-02T19:30:00.000-04:00

So I know that I said I wanted it to get warm.....but dude this is ridiculous. I've had my air conditioner on ALL day, and it's still stayed about 78-83 degrees in here today. When Nicky and I took our nap, I woke up soaking wet from sweating (gross huh?) so I had to get straight up and hit the shower. I'm debating on whether or not to plug up our secondary air conditioner, because it kicks the breaker box sometimes. Busy, busy, busy will be the next couple of days for me. Tomorrow I'm going to my grandparents house to color eggs for Easter egg hunting. Then, after I get that done, I'll probably hang out with my family for a bit before heading home. Then Sunday is Easter. Plans are going to church, sit through the service, egg hunt, go eat dinner afterward at my grandparents and then head home. I'm really hoping they give Jason Sunday off, but it doesn't look likely. So did anyone prank you for April Fools?

I finally got around to watching Legion the other day, it was a fairly good movie. Then I watched Death Sentence, and ooooh baby it had my man Garrett Hedlund in it....the movie was ok, I guess...I just watched it to see him in it. I've been a movie fanatic the past week or so. Watched some old 90's movies and some newbies too. I'm thinking about watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button again, that movie was sooooo good. Well, I gotta make this a short blog, cause I've still gotta finish dishes and fold my laundry that I washed today. So I will leave you with a fan video of Billy Darley (Garrett Hedlund) from Death Sentence.....can you say HOT!?!

The Good Ole Days

2010-03-28T20:22:00.000-04:00

So I've been going through some of my old, VERY old CD's. Is it still sad that I still dig a lot of them. I've reconnected with some of my favorite bands from the 90's and early 2000's, like Fuel (with Brett Scallions as the original vocalist), Matchbox Twenty and believe it or not, I even liked Default. I added a few of my favorite songs to my playlist over there. It feels good to have a "blast from the past" every now and again, I remember when I used to have the biggest crush on Sully Erna from Godsmack hahahaha, back when music videos actually showed the bands instead of a bunch of skanks shaking their tooshies like in most videos these days. I'd honestly say that I really listen to more "old" songs than I do newer songs. I mean don't get me wrong, I like a lot of newer songs, but songs from the old days just have that sentimental thing ya know?

Anywho, I haven't gotten to blog in the past couple days. I've been kinda under the weather. I went out Friday to pick up a few groceries and some cleaning supplies, but that morning I get a call from my mom saying that my step-dad had broken her finger, still not sure of the details and actions that led up to that incident, so I stopped by to check up on my mom on my way to the store, she's ok, her finger is in fact broke, she went to the ER and the put a splint in it, and told her she needed to follow up with her regular doctor, or see a bone specialist. Ugh, I wish she would have listened to me and our whole family when we told her to kick him out before. She never listens, but maybe since this happened she will? This is the first time he's physically harmed her (that I know of) and I told her that if she took him back this time that me and her would be through for good, she would then have no contact with me OR Nicky. Sorry if that sounds mean, but I WILL NOT put my child in that situation, ever. Plain and simple. I love my mom, she bugs me sometimes, but I love her, I tell her what she needs to do, and she doesn't listen, she needs to realize that when I & our family give her advice, she needs to take it. I hope she'll be smart this time.

Nicky has had a major attitude problem these past few days, he's really been testing his limits. He got mad at me yesterday and threw a bowl of Fruit Loops at me. He got a 20 minute time-out with NO TV for pulling that little stunt. Then if I tell him no, he's all like "but mommmmmmyyyyy"....it's cute lol. I've was hoping to get over to my grandma's today, but the rain prevented that from happening. I need to get her to hem a pair of dress pants for me for Easter. I hate being short, jeans/pants are ALWAYS too long, I look pure goofy cause I have to roll them up all the time lol. Ah, yes I'm beginning my diet. Dunno what diet yet, but I'm starting one. I'm thinking the soup diet, I've heard it has worked for several people. Soup and veggie diet, I could go for that. If I can stick to it will be the real challenge, cause God knows I love my junk foods, like popcorn & chips LOL. Wish me luck, I'm hoping to loose about 10 lbs, and hopefully a few inches off my waist. Alright, I'm out gonna go relax for the night.

Savvy got her groove back, well sorta.

2010-03-24T13:34:00.000-04:00

I didn't get to blog yesterday :( Anyway, Nicky has been on a new word binge....his new word has been DUTCH, dunno why but everything is dutch to him, "car dutch, train dutch, apple dutch, etc" he's a weirdo lol. It's been nasty weather the past couple days, so we've hibernated inside as usual. Though I think it's suppose to start staying warm, but who can REALLY predict the weather in spring? hahahaha. Jason heads back to work tomorrow, it's been so nice having him home for a change. My dad is trying to get Jason a job as a "high wall miner" I'm pretty sure he'd be making the big bucks if he got this other job. Something we, and everyone for that matter need is MONEY, they used to say "The love of money is the root of all evil"...I agree and disagree with this statement, I believe that the LACK of money is the root of all evil as well. I really don't want to open that can of worms, cause I could go on and on and on. Anywho, plans are still on for Friday, I need to go deposit Jason's paycheck, pickup Nicky's easter stuff, and get a few more groceries. I tell ya the price of groceries these days are ridiculous! I think I'm addicted to facebook, everyday when I get online it's the first page I open, then farmville, then cafeworld. Do I need a support group? LOL

I know I'm late blogging about this, but who watched Monday's episode of Greek? Next week is the Spring break finale and we might even see a proposal from Cappie? As for the plans of Phase 2 from the Kappa Tau's, I'm curious to see how it plays itself out. The KT's need to dominate the Omega Kai's once and for all. I really hope they decide to bring Greek back for a 4th season, it's the ONE show besides NCIS & House that I've really made a commitment to watching, and it's definitely better than that "Make it or Break it" show they've been running, they just need to cancel that show and keep Greek on in my opinion.

Oooooh, as for the blog title, I've been designing like crazy. I finished Alex's blog layout and she told me she looooooved it. In the process of that, I learned that I've been called "Savvy McLover"....hmmm yea I dunno. I made 3 premade blogger templates yesterday, and if I do say so myself, not bad for a days work. I've had such a block with designing, I also did a layout for Katie for one of her customers, I was supposed to have finished it last night, but Jason, Nicky and I watched G-Force (loooved it!). I finished the layout this morning, and I'm hoping Katie && the customer approve of it :) Well I will leave you of the previews of Alex's layout & the 3 premade templates. Let me know whatcha think!

The Carrot Lady

2010-03-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

I have been eating carrots, baby carrots to be exact, and lots of them for almost 3 days. Don't get me wrong, I've ate real food. But usually for snacking I grab some popcorn or something, but for these past 3 days I've be snacking on carrots. I am eating healthier? I need to keep at it, I'll admit I gained about 5 pounds or so over the winter season (mostly due to all the good holiday foods). It's beginning to warm up now, so I'll be able to get out and start walking again. Today has been pretty awesome. We all got up around 9am and Jason helped me fix breakfast which was totally delicious! Then Jason had to run to his moms to return some DVD's we borrowed and I made him take Nicky along to give me a break. They're still not home yet lol. I decided to soak in a hot bath and relax with peace and quiet. Sometimes it's so great not to hear "Mommy, mommy...I can't find mommy, MOOOOOMMMMY!!" that and constant knocking at the door. Though I admit, when no-one is here, I get lonely, and bored. I love them so much, but it's nice to get a couple hours of "me" time too. Our peanut butter/chocolate eggs finally came in. I didn't know those suckers were THAT big! Treats and more treats for Easter. Speaking of which, I need to go out this Friday and get Nicky's Easter basket, egg coloring, and goodies for his basket. I also need to try on his Easter outfit and see if it's even gonna fit him, I'm thinking it might be too big just yet....and in that case, I'll have to buy a new one Friday. Then I'll be having to start planning Nicky's 3rd birthday party. THIRD BIRTHDAY! I can't believe it's been 3 years since he was born. He's growing up on me :( :(.

Anyways, I decided to try and get my myspace design site back up. It's gonna take a lot of work. Who knows, it might just crash and burn. I'm currently doing a special on myspace layouts and blogger layouts. I think I'm ready to get back to my roots per say. I am currently working on a blogger order for Alex...though she hasn't sent me the details of her layout yet, I have ONE order :) I'm giddy about it. Well, Nicky and Jason just got back, so I'm going to hop off here and see what goodies they brought. Byeee

Apple Juice Day

2010-03-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

So notice anything? I changed the layout && I LOVE IT! I was browsing photos on deviant art, and came across the photo of this guy, his look just inspired me. What do you guys think? Layout a keeper?
Nicky is feeling a lot better, so much better that he is back to his old mean self. Today he squeezed out a juice box all over the kitchen floor, then after his first punishment I gave him another one after he'd finished eating....then he snuck out of the room and pour THAT WHOLE juice box into my bedroom floor. He got no TV and time out in the chair for 15 minutes. He wasn't too happy about it. He doesn't mind the sitting, it's the no TV he can't stand. My boy loves his cartoons...especially Wow Wow Wubzy. Jason had to put spark plugs on the Cadillac today and check out the exhaust, it was still a little too chilly to take Nicky outside to play today. I made us some burritos for dinner, and now everybody is being lazy. Isn't that how it should be on a Sunday?! I think it's suppose to rain tomorrow, so I haven't made plans to do anything, well see when it gets here I guess. Oh oh oh, I almost forgot. Last night I was coming out of the kitchen when I slipped on one of Nicky's stupid hotwheels cars....I cracked my knee pretty good on the floor as well as hurt my wrist, my knee is all bruised up today, but it's not sore when I walk now. I have HOTWHEELS CARS ALL OVER MY HOUSE PEOPLE! It's a death trap! hahahaha

So I've been trying to get back into designing. I recently made be a BG profile layout, and I made my friend Nikki one too. I really liked how they both turned out. I'm slowly getting it back, I just need time. I want to get back to doing websites again, but who knows, not quite sure if I'm THAT ready yet. I broke down and made a siggy today on Sweetly Irresistible, I also like how it turned out, it's quite simple and the pictures were really small and already edited. So I will leave ya with what I made today. More to come soon I hope :)

Springish cleaning

2010-03-15T18:07:00.000-04:00

Today they finally put my new washing machine in, which was MUCH MUCH needed because my old washer was beginning to give out on me, and in turn my laundry was piling up BAD. Let me tell you, I've been breaking that new washer in like something fierce! I hope to have ALL of the clothes done within the next two or three days....I hate to admit I have that much dirty laundry, but it's not completely my fault. My old washing machine took 2 to 2 and a half hours just to wash ONE load of clothes. Jason's mom come over and helped me clean today...I really haven't got much done since Nicky's been sick, as far as picking up toys & washing dishes. My house just gets too overwhelming at times. This little apartment makes things seem to pile up fast, I have no storage space, closet space or cabinet space. It's sad. I wish I could snap my fingers and the remodeling on my other house was done, and materials all ready bought. I can't wait until we get to move in it. It seems like it's going to take forever, due to the lack of money we have, the HIGHER prices of materials, and the bad weather.

Last Friday, Nicky began coughing so hard he vomitted, he wasn't running a fever or anything at this time, we immediately took him to the doctor, and by the time we got into the exam room, his temperature was 103.6. They did xrays and took blood, only to find out he was setting up with DOUBLE pneumonia. This child was a limp noodle by the time we got home, not moving, not a bit of strength left in him. The next day his fever still wasn't staying down, but he still had an appetite...we couldn't get him to drink any fluids at all because all he wanted was milk (which he couldn't have because it's not good for a fever)...then we finally mixed some Mountain Dew (which he doesn't get any soda very often) and Pedialyte in his sippie and he drank a pretty good amount of it. I was so scared he was gonna dehydrate himself. Then yesterday he told me and his daddy he wanted "chick huggets"(chicken nuggets) from McDonalds, so we made the trip out town and got him some, he hate decent, but not enough to suit me. He did however drink his whole box of apple juice, which that made me so happy because he hadn't been drinking much fluids. We took him back to the doctor yesterday at 1pm and they gave him a breathing treatment and an antibiotic. He is coughing pretty bad now, but it sounds like the infection in his chest is beginning to break up. Which I'm soooo happy about! Earlier today when he took a nap, he wanted to lay in mommy and daddy's bed, so we took his pillows and his blanket into our room & turn on the TV for him...at one point he came into the kitchen and grabbed a box of Velveeta Rotini & Broccoli. He finally drifted off to sleep after watching a few episodes of Spongebob, and I went to check on him and this is how I found him:

Even though he feels like crap, and is soooo sick, he still does the cutest little things. After he woke up, he yelled for his apple juice, just so happened I had Jason pick him up another happy meal when he went to get trash bags and car parts earlier. He's taking his time eating it, but at least he IS eating something other than cakes and chips. Well, I think this is the longest blog I've written in a VERY long time, but I need to stop myself now so I can go finish a few more loads of laundry, then I'm DONE for the night....so until tomorrow my loves......

Lesson Learned

2010-03-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

I've learned that you can not make plans when you have kids. This has always in been in my mind, but yesterday is when it REALLY sank into my head. My plan was, to drop Nicky off at Jason's moms and run to the store, then come home and do dishes and fold my laundry. When I got back to Linda's to drop off a gallon of milk for Nicky, he decided he wanted to come home because his Uncle Jeremy was coming over. He rode back over to our house with Jeremy, and played outside for the rest of the evening. Then he came inside and took a quick nap, Jeremy came up to see if he wanted to ride back over to Linda's and Nicky was ready to go, he said "Bye Mommy" and got in the car and left. By this time it was nearly 6pm. Around 8:30pm Linda shows up here with Nicky in tow, she said he thought he was going home with his Uncle Jeremy, and when he figured out that he wasn't, he refused to get out of Jeremy's car. Then he started screaming for me, so she brought him home. In turn, I got absolutely NOTHING done yesterday. So today, I'm heading for the shower, gotta go to my dads and take his car to wash it like I promised I'd do yesterday, then I'm going to let Nicky play outside for awhile, and come home and try to get some cleaning done. That IS my plan for today, who knows if it will actually work out that way. I can only hope. I'm gonna try and get some good pictures of him today, I have lacked with pictures this winter. So for now, I am gonna go....need to get an early start. Laters!

So fresh, so clean

2010-03-06T18:59:00.000-05:00

Today has been a long and sunny day. Jason's cousin and I took the Jeep to the car wash today and then vacuumed it out, it looks so much better. I even put in some good smelling carpet freshener in it. It actually looks good when it's not caked up in mud and snow salt LOL. I let Nicky stay at my dads while I was gone, he had fun chasing the cat around and playing with his cars. My dad checked out the steering issue that I'm having with the Jeep and came to the conclusion that I need a ball joint for the pitman arm....whatever that is. He showed me what it was, but to explain it is beyond me. He said he'd go get the part and put it on for me tomorrow. My grandparents are also going to come down and visit with us, we haven't seen them in awhile.

Anywho, I can FINALLY say that I have Nicky's sleeping schedule back on track. He's been going to bed between 9pm-10pm and getting up at 6am. It's making getting things done through out the day so much easier without being sooooooo drug out. We've been getting his iron drops in him, it's tough holding him down to take them, but it needs to be done. He's still doing fairly well with them. Now if he can ever shake this cough, we'll been peachy keen. Great, I just looked over and realized Nicky has poured Cheetos all over the floor. Ugh, well I guess it's time to play with my new vacuum cleaner LOL. Tomorrow it's suppose to be really nice outside, so hopefully I can get some good pictures of Nicky....my camera has a mind of it's own and only likes taking pretty pictures outdoors, inside pictures look crappy. Well, I'm out, I need to shower and get ready for a movie.

Spring Cleaning

2010-03-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

So. I got tired of my blog on Truly-Yours. This one is simpler, and honestly SIMPLE is what I need right now. I haven't used this blog in quite sometime and I have to say there has been quite a bit going on for me and my family. Jason finally has a decent paying job and we were able to buy a Jeep Lorado off of his brother. We needed a 2nd vehicle so bad. Having to borrow my step-moms car all the time is just too complicated, I have to pack Nicky and all of his stuff down the street to get the car. Anyway, Nicky's doctor put him on iron drops, and he's been doing fairly well with them, they don't upset his stomach like I thought they would, but they are making him constipated, so I'm cutting the dosage to every other day instead of everyday. I gave him a haircut yesterday, but the little turd wouldn't let me get around his ears or on his neck, so I still have to touch those parts up. I really haven't been doing much for myself lately. I haven't been designing at all. I just can't seem to get my mojo going. Hard to concentrate and get things to look right. I dunno what my deal is. So from what the weather is saying, it's suppose to start warming up next week, getting up into the 50's-60's. Let me tell you, I am so sick of the snow and the coldness. Nicky gets sick easy, so we don't go out much in the winter....in better words, we hibernate. I'm looking forward to being able to get out walking again, I've gained a few pounds and I need to shed it. Plus, walking helps my mood, for some unknown reason. So yay, SPRING is on the way!!! Well, I think that's about it for this entry. It's time for Nicky's nap so I need to go fight with him and make him settle down lol.