Oisin Baptism & Willy's Wagon Pictures

Sunday was Oisin's Baptism. It was a lovely service with a party to follow at the Fortin's afterwards. Somehow no one really took any pictures of him in his beautiful Rowan family Baptismal gown, but I did manage to capture this one of the sweet boy sound asleep on Uncle Ciaran's shoulder after the church service.














It was a rainy, yucky day, but later in the afternoon it was just barely spitting, so Krissy asked if we could take some pictures to use for their Christmas card. As her "personal photographer" how could I decline?

Needless to say the little ham obliged as well! Too freakin' funny! Here are some of my favorites!

Tree decorating

Saturday evening Mom had a turkey dinner (so as to have "thanksgiving leftovers" in the house). Grammy, Aunt Milly, Melissa and Megan all joined in the fun, and we decorated the Santa Tree (my tree) after dinner.

Dad was on ladder-duty, making sure the top of the tree had ornaments, bows, flowers and fluffies evenly distributed...

a few last minute touches

melissa and megan

(newbies)

were shocked at how much you can actually get on the tree

"i think its going to fall over" megan kept saying!

but no

this is a hearty tree

it has had to bear this weight for years

and it does it honorably

and all too soon, its all done

"yaay"

good job team!

let the christmas season begin!

although i haven't actually started any decorating at my house this definitely has me majorly inspired... if only i could find some time!

a bunch of turkeys

a Natale family Thanksgiving tradition

{abundance}

of people

of food

of laughter

of warmth

of chatter

of love

this is us.

i think the total count was 42

we barely fit in one room

but we make it work

the view from the other end of the room

i think we decided next year we'll remove one of the windows and i'll stand on a ladder outside to

try to get everyone in one shot ;)

let's hope its not snowing!

my table

i think this might have actually been the first year that mom and i sat at the same table. that was kinda nice :)

and of course i had to steal away to the kitchen

to sneak a shot at all the food!

i think we managed to do the dishes in RECORD TIME this year! we've got a system :) led by Bridget, us girls made short work of it and then we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

clearly joe is relaxing with the best of them (them being kaitlyn, jen and michelle)

the boys watching football

michael natale, vinny, michale natale * yes, again* and kevin

our hosts- Debbie & Jack

Kara and Joannie

Kara and Me

Uncle Jack & Aunt Florence

Jenny & May

as fuzzy as this is, it might be my favorite photo of the day! it totally captures May's fun and, dare I say, wild personality!

hair style care of Jenny Tighe






and of course some game-playing

this is mom teaching michael natale (yes, again!) to play dominos

it was another nice Thanksgiving day with the Natale clan

i was a little worried about my first thanksgiving not eating meat... worried that it would spoil the whole experience of "turkey day" but it didn't. not at all. as much as the smell of thanksgiving in the air was a welcome scent... i really had no desire to eat the turkey. though i did splurge on a little gravy, which for some reason is distant enough from the meat itself that it doesn't completely gross me out. i figure that's ok... i can live with it.

and so another thanksgiving is behind us.

welcome christmas season 2008!

2008 Favorite Photos

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and of course I have many things to be thankful for... many of which are shown in the images above... these are some of my favorite photographs from 2008... I'm still very much an amateur photographer but I really do love it and I'm brave enough to take some more risks now, and I think it shows. But then again, let's face it, some of the mistake shots come out even cooler than the ones I plan!

Either way, hope you enjoy these.

Happy Thanksgiving!

100 things

A list of 100 things... the ones I've done are bolded...Play along...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars {not all night--- does during-fireworks count??}
3. Played in a band and in orchestras and string quartets
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (not a big one!)
9. Held a praying mantis {nope but Dan did- at my cousin's wedding! it was sooo cool}
10. Sang a solo {well there were two of us, but i think at times i was singing alone. in second grade. still scary}
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France {didn't get down there. the line was too long. and i heard it unimpressive in person... can you tell i do sort of regret not actually going to the Louvre? i was a dumb 17 year old kid what can i say?}
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight {not in my underwear w/ my girlfriends but i think it still counts}
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill {in college}
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke {not a great idea!}
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling {eh i put the mask on but prayed not to see anything then swam closer to the boat.. does that count?}
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business {Stamper Stompers. I was 16. I had my own business checking account and everything)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar {{{are you KIDDING ME?!}}}}
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone {a toe and my elbow-- which I think technically was a fracture}
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle {not sure, but I was with Dan so I'd assume we were speeding}
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

43 out of 100! Maybe I should be living it up a little more ;)

eco tip of the day

reuse


buying coffee that's sold in disposable cups pains me. every morning. but the kind of coffee i really enjoy isn't easily made at home... and so at least i'm comforted by the fact that the plastic cups are recyclable. and i ALWAYS recycle them (even if it means taking it home with me)

so now that winter's almost upon us, and i've been getting a hot latte in the morning. the paper cup doesn't sport the recycling arrow (though I'm wondering if it could be burnt).... nonetheless it occured to me last week that i could

reuse the cardboard hand warmer

• There's no reason you can't use this more than once
• I used mine 3 times last week
• Just slip it into the pocket of your winter coat (you can make room, they are not that big)
• The Dunkin Donuts employees will likely smile at you and thank you for using it! Mine said "I wish everyone would do this" so let's start. What do you think? So easy to do. Use a little less, throw away a little less.
• Every bit counts, and you know it :)

feeling like fall

a few pieces of eye candy from 'fall' in our house
i still need to get some photos of the driveway and what's left of the leaves...
and i have a few new decorations to share as well...


but these are the pumpkins i picked with krissy and willy.

simple
organic
natural

i decided not to really decorate for fall

but small touches like this work well for me

and of course, what would the colder months be without a roaring fire!

this is our primary source of heat (coupled with the pellet stove in the basement-- which will probably be used far more in the colder winter months than it is now)

i can't believe thank thanksgiving is a week and a half away.

i'm really just not sure where the time goes.

but i'm looking forward to december

christmas shopping. browsing online. thinking of ideas. making some new decorations. handmade christmas gifts. singing along to the christmas tunes on the radio. snow. snow. and more snow please. {yes its a pain, but its beautiful}. parties. hot chocolate. reading by the fire. christmas lights.

by popular demand

new photos of the house
all of the framing is done
the roof is on
the house looks completely different
and totally great!!!

dan is still working hard to lay the trex
but he's making progress every week! {thanks to mike, steve and shawn who've helped out too!}

(the new permanent stairs are on the left, in line with the door. the old stairs are to the right)

GOOD Morning

today was one of those
smiling all the way to work days...
i got 9-10 hours of sleep last night {much needed}
i was listening to Ani DiFranco
and flipping through a CK magazine (my favorite)
given to me by Christine who conveniently was looking
to get rid of the issues I was looking for
the sun was shining, but wasn't blinding
my hair's all curly today
which just makes me feel good
i broke out the UGG boots this morning,
so my toes were toasty warm
my latte tasted even better than usual...

just an all around great start to the day.
hope you're having a good one too!

LM Crop 2008

yet again, i had an amazing time in michian with my favorite scrapbooking friends! here are some of the silly highlights!

enjoy

croppy ending

the crop is just about over

i'm all packed and ready to go

around me all is chaos

packing

lifting suitcases

{do you think this bag wil be too heavy?!!}

"what time do we have to be at the airport"

saturday was another excellent day.

i did a bunch more layouts

{think i did a total of 23 for the weekend!!!}

there was a ridiculous amount of silliness

including this ----->

(scarves were $1 at Old Navy- the girls stocked up, and then showed them off)

and some nice shots too

me and tini

aka 'phily'

aka the bus driver

aka tomato

aka hoover

aka the official boob grabber

i'll more post details and photos from home.

home sweet home

with my own comfy bed

and the warm body that will be there beside me ;)

good morning from michigan

day 2 of the LM crop
checking in from the hotel
while christine is in the shower

needless to say i'm having an absolute blast here
travel on thursday went well.
christine and laurie picked me up at the airport

we dropped our bags in our hotel room

and headed to the mall to meet up with our fellow bus riders

there was a crowd at Max & Ermas eating dinner

but we had been sitting all day

so Jenni B, Just Jen, Christine and I shopped for a bit

then grabbed a quick bite to eat

from there we headed to the LM Warehouse

it was far less overwhelming there than last year

just being aquainted with the vast space that is the store

there were LMers everywhere

chatting

eating sweets

making name tags

shopping

shopping

shopping

the night went quickly

we came back to the hotel

unpacked a little

contemplated going to bed

then jen started knocking on the wall

which apparently was the signal

that the crop room was OPEN

unable to resist the temptation, tini and i climbed out of bed and got our stuff out of the car,

set up our stuff, played around for a bit

looking at all the goodies jackie left on the table for us

then finally got to bed around 1am.

friday i woke up at 6:45a

to go to the gym!

yes. i did it.

kinda surprised myself

but it felt great.

then it was on to panera for breakfast

ran some errands

then got back to CROP!!!

i think i got 9 or 10 layouts done yesterday!

there was massive amounts of silliness

Jenni B gave us Jen Rocks M&Ms

I got a GORGEOUS altered house from my Secret Sister (who, it turns out, is Michele!)

we ate sweets, though I ate far less than usual, and am finding that I just can't handle them as much as before {which is probably a good thing}

we broke out our "Its All About Jen" t-shirts and gave Tini her Jen-a-holic tee which she absolutely loved!

all in all it was a GREAT day!

tini and i went to bed at midnight

i got up at 7a to go to the gym again (alone this time)

and now its off to breakfast!!

more hijinx and photos later.

Halloween Slideshow- trying something new

Trick or Treat

I only had about an hour to hang out with the kiddos before heading out the Halloween Festivities of the adult variety (drinking a little and dancing a lot at a bar with our crazy friends).
But fortunately I got in all the good stuff!!

Willy making his debut as a cow!
So freakin funny (as usual). He had a hard time holding up the cow head when he first put it on and was stumbling around like he was drunk! Priceless!!

Emelyn being the oldest was most excited because she was the only one who actually "got it." A beautiful Cinderella, don't you think??

And little Oisin was a very flirty giraffe! All smiles for Auntie Jen!

Little Riley was the sweetest, chubbiest, cutest penguin *with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on a baby penguin!!

After getting everything together and costumes on, it was time to head out for Trick or Treating. Willy had some new sneakers to sport that night... and his new wagon was FINALLY ready for a ride. All you had to say was "Wanna go for a ride on your wagon" and Willy's new (and yet already classic) 'oooooooooooooooooooooh' sound and accompanying face cracked us all up:

Are we ready to go YET?!?! :)

A tricky shot in the dark, but here are the kids in the wagon!

A fun time was had by all. Emelyn was a gracious Trick-or-Treater, saying Thank You to everyone who opened their door. She even bust out with a "Thank you for Halloween" as we left one house! I literally laughed out loud!!! She's soo funny!

Willy of course thought he was a celebrity, waving at everyone and no one. Trying to find the moon even though it could not be found. Wanting to pull the wagon at every opportunity you let him out of riding it.

And little Riley and Oisin weren't quite sure what was going on, but they were smiley and having fun at seeing the rest of us so amused!

A great night was had by all!