Day 151

Cool Duck, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My very first test shot with one of my Christmas presents: a Nikon SB-900 Speedlight. Love it! It's a beast though. I also got a very hefty Manfrotto tripod with ballhead!

Day 150

The book worm, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My sister in law wanted to go see Twilight last week while they were here. I hadn't read the books by Stephanie Meyer, but went anyway. I liked it so much that I had to go out and buy all 4 in the saga. I am already on to the third one today and I started 3 days ago. I can be a total book nerd when I get going.

Day 149.

If only she would have traveled this well as a baby, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Best invention ever: Portable DVD Players! This headphones that look like monkeys are really cute too!

Day 148

Snowy Tree, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I ventured a whole 20 feet outside while at my moms. Just enough to take some quick pictures. I would have loved to go out to shoot more but it was just snowing too hard to do anything.

Day 147

The Drive, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

It is a 3 hour drive from my house to my mom's in Oregon...in good weather. Luckily we hit a break in the snow and made it before the next storm. I took this through the window while on the interstate so not the greatest shot.

Day 146 - Merry Christmas!

Christmas Bike, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Merry Christmas all! Way too tired to go through all my photos from our 3 Christmas's today. Have yet another tomorrow. So I just picked a good one and went with it.

Day 145

Santa baby....I want a yacht and really that's not a lot, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Two days in a row doing shots for FGR. Yay me! Taken for the "At arms length." As a side note my husband caught me and wondered why the Hell I was wearing ear muffs in the house.

Day 144

Someone once told me..., originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

In running low on 365 ideas I have started to look for Flickr groups to inspire me. The group theme of the day was: "Someone once told me." Sometimes the hardest person to listen to is myself.

Day 142

Let it snow!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Lots of snow in the forecast for our area and a lot of the West. This is my patio table covered in the early morning snow. Much more accumulated over the day.

Day 141

The Dinner Guest, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

We are going to an Indian dinner party this evening. The family that is hosting does not believe in drinking or else I would bring a bottle of wine. I went with Sparkling Cider instead. I didn't have a clue what else to bring, it isn't really something that is in their culture either but is very much an American Christmas staple so I thought I would give it a shot.

Day 140

Merry Christmas to Me, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Nothing makes me feel more beautiful than a day at the spa. Which is exactly where I spent the afternoon.

Day 139.

Snowflakes are falling, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

This is an ornament my daughter made last year for each of the Grandparents at Christmas. While visiting today I pulled it off the tree for a quick shot.

Day 138

Icicle Lights, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Dang it is cold out today! This is the other chain drain on my house. The Christmas lights are now really set in place. Hand held and taken as quickly as possible this evening.

Day 137

Ice Chain, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Instead of the traditional gutter downspouts we have these chain drains on our house. They make for a lovely photo when frozen over.

Day 136

One last shot of the tree, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Last shot of the tree for awhile...I promise!

Day 135

Snowy Gift, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

We had a very wintery day today. Our first true snow of the season really helped the house look festive.

Day 134

Our Tree, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Busy day today so not much time for the camera.

Day 133

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful..., originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Started to snow a little today. This is not a good shot, I admit, the light is uneven coming from my kitchen. I may have to try it again another day. Between my child and the cat I had a hard time keeping them out of my shot. Everyone wants to be next to the warm and cozy fire.

Day 132

House light, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Eventually I will run out of Christmas things to photograph, around January 1 I imagine.

Day 131

Dash, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

A hasty photo snapped with my point and shoot while stuck in traffic on the way to meet my husband for dinner.

Day 130

Portrait 1, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Cooperation is never a word that comes to mind when photographing my child. I managed to get some decent shots today. This one I think is going to be the winner for the Christmas cards. I had to rescue it a little in Photoshop as the lighting wasn't ideal in my living room but I really wanted the tree as the background.

Day 129

Counting down, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Amazing what a $1.99 thing of chocolates can do to excite a child. Every day my daughter never lets me forget to count down with her. We won't mention who accidentally opened the #5 one out of order. This is also helping her to realize that Christmas is still a little ways away.

Day 128

Naughty...or nice?, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

We finally got the tree up tonight! This is one of my favorite ornaments. Normally by this time of year I am 95% done shopping, have the Christmas cards sent and the house completely decorated. This year, however, the house is halfway done, the photo for the card hasn't even been taken and I am not done shopping.

Day 127

Another Sunset, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Yet another sunset...

Day 126

These jeans were made for shootin', originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

How does one go about photographing one's behind without making it look huge? Yeah, I don't know either. So for some fun today I am showing my derriere and lens cap. I often will walk around with the forgotten cap in my back pocket. It looks more like a can of chewing tobacco than what it really is.

Day 125

No Peeking!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I had no choice but to start wrapping gifts for my husband tonight as I was running out of hiding space. Not that he would snoop but I bet he goes in there now and counts how many wrapped presents there are!

One thing always missing from our presents are any kinds of curling ribbon or bows. We once had a cat that ate part of a bow and when she got sick months later ended up having to have major surgery to remove the piece stuck in her stomach. Now, we have an even dumber cat that pretty much eats anything so I have to get creative in wrapping. Pretty tags and fabric ribbon are the only things that can adorn our gifts.

Day 124

Yum Yum!, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My daughter decorated this cute house a few days ago at school. Not sure how much longer it will last so I wanted to shoot it.

Day 123

Blue Drops, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Today we had a rainy morning followed by sunshine. By the time I made it outside to shoot just a few drops remained on the bushes. I should have used the telephoto for this but instead handheld and used the 50mm wide open.

Day 122

Blue LED, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

The Christmas lights are up! Tonight a fog set in just after sunset which made them glow even more. I am sure I will resort to even more light pictures as the month goes on.