Day 3 as refugees...

Day 3 of being a refugee in my parents' house, and David is praying that the electricity doesn't come back on any time soon! We are eating and being entertained more than ever happens at home! Probably the only downside is that we're sharing what seems to be a very small bed - I don't even know if it's a Queen. Definitely makes me miss the king back home! We did make a trip home for a few supplies, and it is f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g!!!! We also ventured out today since cabin fever was beginning to set in - met up with a group for lunch at Old Chicago, and did some grocery and video shopping. Now we're definitely set for another week or so. Power is still out at Assumption, so it could be another week...who knows? Last night and again tonight we've been joined by Neil and Tasha and Krissy, Jeff, and Kaia for dinner at mom and dad's...and tonight we have MarioKart to boot! Here are some photos from yesterday - clearly we are all making the most of these snow days!

Brrrrrr....it's cold in here!

Well, I'm writing tonight from my parents' house...we got frozen out of home because of downed power lines from the ice. And BOY is there ice! In case you doubt...here's some proof from Mom & Dad's front porch. David and I will be staying here until it subsides a little bit. Luckily, we don't have to worry about work the rest of the week - woo hoo! Anyway, the snow sure does look pretty - from a distance, beside a nice warm fire. I love being home!

Winter wonderland!

I love a good snow day! And today was certainly no disappointment...ice, sleet, snow - all mixed together for a fantabulous winter wonderland in my front yard! No work today meant a whole day with nothing that I HAD to do - I'm loving it! But it also meant that I couldn't get out of my driveway, so I'm limited to photos of myself, David, or the dogs...ugh, how boring! So, after chatting with my good friend Heather (who somehow also got a snow day today...in TEXAS!), I was inspired to pull out some photos from the holidays and do a little post-processing on them. As I told her, it is still good practice for me and necessary skills for any good photographer. So, with that said, my photos for today are of Miss Lily and little Caroline...two adorable models that were ever so fun to shoot and to edit. Enjoy!

Here, there, and everywhere!

Well, I didn't post again yesterday (and no one has called me on it yet - who's out there to keep me from throwing in the towel?!)...but I did take some more self-portraits before David and I headed out to the theater. It was a lovely night with an amazing dinner at Ramsi's and then another evening of Wicked - just as good as the first time, and David liked it too! We got kinda dolled up, so I tokk my own pic - one in the mirror with my camera there beside me (everybody's gotta take one of those, right?) and another up-close...I'm not crazy about myself in pictures, but there it is. And for today, I'm all over the place before heading off to choir, and I've always wanted to do this, so here's a go at a composite of several photos of me just hanging out in the kitchen in my jammies (it was pajama day at school today!)...how fun is that?! Leave me some comments and let me know what you think...

My hubby

Today, unlike most Saturdays that end up wasted away after sleeping in, doing some household chores, and chilling in front of the TV, David and I actually got up and did some fun things today. Since I didn't post any photos yesterday (admittedly, I did not have a great Friday, and I didn't take a single picture yesterday - can you believe it?!)...but I made up for it today! First, we made a trip to Marshall's because you can get some sweet deals (a Yankee Candle and some reed diffusers were on our list today)...then a stop at McAllister's for lunch...and finally on to Papa John's Headquarters, where if you've never visited, you really should. It seemed fairly warm, but it turned out to still be a might bit chilly with the breeze, so we didn't stay too long...but we did admire the geese and ducks on the frozen lake, and meandered down a path beside the frozen water fall - very cool looking! Anyway, my lovely hubby was kind enough to be my model for today, which is unusual for him. I always think he's handsome, so he is a favorite subject of mine. But I'll let you be the judge...what do ya think?!

Grandma's Birthday, Round 2

I always say you oughta celebrate your birthday for at least an entire week...so, in good Kremer form, we celebrated Grandma's birthday again tonight with the whole family...and homemade pizza...and cookies & cake from the Pie & Ice Cream Kitchen - yummmmmmmmm! I am still feeling snuffly, so I will just leave you with today's photos - the birthday girl and her hubby, Jeff, and Kaia (because I know Krissy will be dying for these photos!). Also a pic of the yummy food to tempt you. Enjoy!

Fetch!

David and I have a daily routine...most nights, we come home and get changed into comfy clothes, make and eat dinner, and settle down onto the couch to watch the boob tube. And thus it begins...the nightly routine of Rex bringing us his ball (substitute any toy, but "ball ball" is probably his favorite!), upon which we throw it down the hallway, he scrambles off after is with his little legs going all Fred-Flinstone on the Pergo floors, then brings it proudly back to the couch so that we can start all over again. Usually at some point, the thrower will begin encouraging him to take his ball ball to the other person to throw. The dog is relentless. Apparently, fetch NEVER gets old for little high-strung dogs! He is cute, though, so we forgive him. At any rate, the photos for today are of our little guy and his sweet play-ball-with-me face. Who can resist? (Oh, and I threw in a close-up of Rex's eye from one pic - you can totally see my reflection in it...isn't that kinda creepy?)

Hail to the Chief

Today, we got to watch history being made...our first African-American president, and hopefully not our last! To me, the election of a black president means - most importantly - hope. I see hope for women and minorities that their status in this country truly is changing. I see hope for youth when I watch and listen to the young women in our high school speak intelligently on matters of politics, the economy, and our environment. It's days like today that make me proud to be an American! We were lucky to have a woman come to lead discussion with students after we all watched the inauguration and President Obama's speech...he is an amazing speaker, too! So, here is a photo of the woman who came to facilitate that discussion - processed in two ways, you can decide which you like best - and a photo of some of the girls who took part in the conversation. I like GOOD things in the news for change!

Girls' Day Out

Since a bunch of us had the day off work today, we thought it would be fun to do a girls' day out...and it was! Mandy, Jenny, Liz, Kiera, and I met up at Olive Garden and enjoyed some tasty salad, breadsticks, and pasta - yummy! I also got to give Kiera her 1st Communion book I made her for her 8th b-day, but I think she was bit shy about the whole thing. She also did NOT want me taking her photo at the restaurant, but I think they turned out adorable! It definitely helps when your subject is so darn cute! Anyway, here are the girls at lunch...we should definitely do these more often!

In my element...

Here is my first self-portrait...not too great, but it's a start. Today, I hung out at my parents' house for awhile before bringing the dogs back to our house. David is already THRILLED with the stinkiness, but I am actually happy to have my babies back home - I miss them when they're gone even if it is sometimes an inconvenience to take care of them all the time, and Elvis really does smell and shed a lot. But they are my babies! Anyway, we did dinner with my parents and now we're back in for the night - with a nice dusting of snow on the ground to look pretty! I took my own picture in my natural habitat - mostly at my new computer, with Flickr or some other photo page up as I browse around forever...so here ya go!

My Weekend in Song

Well, I'm back from a fabulous choir retreat, only to be asked to sing at 12:30 mass with all new mass songs that I am not at all familiar with, and they are w-e-i-r-d! Anyway, I managed to get through it without too much ado, and now here I am back at home to relax...without my hubby, who had to work today! :( We have seen little to none of each other lately it seems, but I'm hoping we can hang out tomorrow and more this coming week. Yay! So, retreat was fun and the grounds were beautiful! The lodge we stayed in was...country I guess you might say, but they had great amenities, like never-ending snacks and soft drinks, a pool table, old school arcade games, and a nice big-screen TV, which came in handy for karaoke on Friday night! The first photo is my Friday night photo of Mandy cracking up at something or someone...I could not say exactly what because there was so much hilarity that night, there truly is no telling! My photos for Saturday are of our fearless leaders - Frank and Harry. They are amazing, and so gifted. I enjoy the privelege of singing for them...except when it's Leann Rimes' How Do I Live Without You...then that's just embarrassing! It was great fun, though, and we have some good plans for future seasons with VN. Enjoy!

Found Alphabet...

So here is a sneak peek at my new side project that I started working on during retreat at the Mount earlier this week...I am calling it found alphabet because I found the letters in random places like architecture and nature. I think it is such a cool concept and this is just a quick play with processing them in a sorta dirty, grungy, 70's looking way. I dunno, it just sorta fit in my mind...anyway, I will keep hunting for more letters (I've got an awesome J and G!!) and start spelling out more fun things as I collect them...enjoy and don't forget to SMILE!!!

There's no place like home...

Unfortunately, I have not seen a lot of my home in the past few days! Freshman retreat was awesome earlier this week, and then the girls in the Spall/Kremer/Kline family had a great (late) night out last night to see Wicked...and now I'm leaving for another overnight retreat ith choir. *SIGH!* I do enjoy all of the aforementioned activities, but how is it that they all have to fall on the same week?! I haven't seen my husband for any real amount of time in days, and I kinda miss the guy! But I digress...since I'm gone tonight and most of tomorrow, I may or may not end up posting anything in the next 24 hours, but I was lucky enough to be called on for my photography skills at work - the Courier needs a photo of one of our girls who wrote a letter to Obama in preparation for the big Inauguration coming up next week. So, here she is in all of her school uniform, lanyard, and locker glory - Mackenzie! She was also mortally embarrassed that I was taking her photo in the hallway at the end of a class change while other girls were all over staring and surely wondering what all the fuss was about. I think that is cool. I am also not the least bit camera shy - although I have been able to alude the camera so far in all of my project photos...I will have to work on my self-portrait skills! Anyway, I have not forgotten about the fun little mystery side-project, and if you are still hanging on in suspense, I promise to give you a sneak peek sometime this weekend! I promise it will be cool - at least in my mind it is pretty cool! Until then...

WOW!

I am blown away! Wicked was absolutely awesome, and you would not believe how powerful the wicked witch's voice was - absolutely stunning! It was such a fun girls' night out with Mom, Grandma, Krissy, and Tasha...we had dinner at Tumbleweed before heading down to the Center for the Arts (and after a quick detour home because I forgot my ticket - doh!). The birthday girl looked gorgeous, as you can see below, though I can't say the same for my weirdo sister! And as for little miss preggo...she seems to have some kind of extra aura about her at the moment - I swear to you that those green blobs (3 in most of the photos) were present in every single picture I took of her tonight. We moved her to different spots in the restaurant - still there. Krissy sat in her seat - no orbs. Bizarre? I should say so! We hope it is a good spirit watching over the baby, but they do look a little green and we just saw Wicked...perhaps this is a sign that the baby will be coming out a little green around the gills? We'll just have to wait and see!!!