Another sign he is not a baby anymore...

My baby spoke a sentence. He did, and it made sense and it was in context! Seems like just yesterday he was barely saying a word and now he spoke a sentence...

We were sitting in church on Sunday (I know, NOT a likely place for me to be, but I have not come completely clean with my family about how my religious beliefs etc have changed, and it was mass for W's grandpa, and it won't kill us, and it was actually a little funny cuz the priest did the sermon on how we should be voting come November, and he did a real good job of letting everyone know who they should be voting for w/o mentioning any names...He didn't have any affect on my decision of who to vote for, however. I now use every rare trip to church to remind me of why we do not attend regularly, but also as a reminder that there ARE SOME good things that can come of it and not to discount it completely) and L was super quiet, just sitting in my lap looking around at all the people and taking it all in while holding on to my neck with a death grip. After we got through the initial part of mass where we are standing and sitting and standing and got to the part where we get to sit for a bit I asked L if he would like to color, to which he enthusiatically said YES! So I got out the crayons and the notepad and he proceeded to draw pretty yellow and blue ("Boo!") and green ("Reen!") circles and jagged lines, and then proclaimed in a bit too loud voice that echoed through the quiet church "Ooooh, I did that!!" as he pointed to the squiggles on the page. Yes you did baby boy, and you just spoke a sentence, too!?!?!

He continued to tell me through mass how "I did that!", as well as on Monday when I picked him up from daycare and he showed me the page of stamping that he had done that day. "Mama, I did that!" as he held the page out for me to see...

**SIGH**

It is SOOO sweet and amazing to hear him speak like this, and at the same time makes me so sad that he is growing so fast. But then today, I was reading Kori's guided journal post in which she has to describe the unique strengths of all her kids and I thought WOW, I can't wait until my child(ren) are old enough that I can see in them unique strengths and weaknesses, and see who they really are and become as people...How cool (hopefully more cool than scary) is that going to be?

So, as much as L speaking a sentence really FREAKS ME OUT, there is SO much to look forward to, and the sentence speaking is just another reminder to me to REALLY enjoy the time I have with L each and every day and never take one day or phase for granted because tomorrow we could be past that and on to the next one.

This damn 'Economic Financial Bailout' thing...

The more I read and hear and learn about this Economic Bailout plan and the factors that caused the need for it in the first place, the angrier and more anxious I get. Mostly angrier, although quite a bit more anxious too.

Let me preface this by saying that politically, I am all over the place, which I think may be true for a lot of people. Socially, I feel I am fairly liberal, and tend to side with the Democratic view of things. Economically, some would probably say I lean to the right. I am always growing and learning and re-analyzing my stance on everything. Sometimes, I hate my inability to just choose a side and take a firm stance on issues...I can see valid points on both sides and have a hard time choosing which is the better approach. I am working on that though :)

I am so angry and sickened by the level of G R E E D on EVERY level which has gotten us into this situation. From the greedy bastard mortgage brokers who contrived all kinds of crazy loans so that they could get every Tom, Dick and Harry into a home and put another dollar in THEIR pocket regardless of whether or not these people could afford the mortgages in the long run when the crazy ARM they got them into started changing rates. Even if those people OBVIOUSLY did not fully understand what they were getting into (NOT that they are blameless, we will get to that later). I know these brokers were out there because we had it happen to us...Despite the MILLION times during our phone conversations (first red flag; I will NEVER do mortgage business with someone over the phone again!) I stated that we did not want ANYTHING besides a 30 year fixed mortgage, and although every piece of paperwork we received stated that's what we would be getting, we still ended up at the closing table looking at a contract for a 2/28 ARM loan, with 2 years of fixed rate and an adjustable rate thereafter! We ended up signing it, after a long, heated phone call to the broker's boss who "unfortunately couldn't help us" (our broker conveniently happened to be on vacation the week we closed?!?!!?!), because we really wanted the house, and were young and not experienced and were afraid we would loose it to the couple who just missed getting their offer in before us. I tried to straighten things out with the broker afterward, but yeah right, no help coming there. I am a freak about finances, I don't like taking risk when it comes to my finances, and so I ended up refinancing our mortgage a year later because I was afraid the rates were going to go up. Turns out we could STILL be riding that out at an equal or slightly lower rate than what we have now, but that's okay, my piece of mind is worth that 1/4 point or 1/2 point, as well as knowing that my rate will never go up to the 12% that the ARM capped at, which we would NEVER have been able to afford.

I am angry at the greedy people who signed risky, huge mortgages for huge houses that they ultimately cannot afford. I mean, who needs 4,000 square feet of house?!?? Seriously, unless you have 10 kids, you REALLY do not need that much house. If you can afford it, GREAT, more power to you, then I guess you deserve it, but GREED led too many people to disregard common sense and put themselves out over the edge of the cliff financially so that ONE little set back and they were falling and loosing it all. Maybe they didn't really understand what they were signing, but I have no sympathy for that...when you are signing something of that magnitude, you dang well MAKE SURE you understand it before you sign it.

I DO acknowledge that there truly were SOME people who just did not have the capacity to understand what they were getting into, who were preyed upon by the mortgage lenders and told "Yeah, we can get you into a home, sure", and for those people, I just feel sorry.

I also realize that I am not immune; although we are not dangling precariously over the edge, we aren't in the back of the pack, either. Were the economy to get really bad, and if W were to loose his job and not be able to find work, we could find ourselves in dire straights. HOWEVER, we did not get ourselves in way over our head when it came to buying a house; we stuck to what we could afford REALISTICALLY, and we have a 130 year old average size home that is nothing awesome, not huge by any means, but it is ours, and our mortgage is manageable enough that we could weather through some storms and make sacrifices on other things so that it would have to be pretty bad before we would default on our mortgage.

I am angry at the meat heads on Wallstreet and the big banking institutions that see nothing but dollar signs and continue to deal in 'bad paper' (as I have heard it called) even after they KNOW the deals are riskier and riskier, because they are making BIG BUCKS and don't have enough ethics to stop.

I am angry at the government for not doing SOMETHING to regulate these business practices that have now put the ENTIRE COUNTRY'S, and possibly the world's livelihood on the line. I hear all this talk about how so many people at different levels of gvmnt knew that the house of cards was bound to fall if something wasn't done, and yet NOTHING WAS DONE, and now we are looking at putting $700 B I L L I O N of taxpayers money on the line to bail out the very people who profited from and CAUSED this problem because if we don't, if we let them go under and pay the consequences of their greedy, unethical behavior, it will hurt the rest of us worse in the long run...so they tell us. And I guess, then, that I think we HAVE to do it, but you better believe that they had better have some TIGHT ASS OVERSIGHT on the companies that get bailed out, and be DAMN SURE that the bastards who made millions and millions and millions of dollars and helped put us all in this situation do not get millions more after their companies are back on track before WE get our investment back.



I am anxious and scared about the future. We have worked hard to get where we are, and we are comfortable...we do pretty good. But like I said, we could find ourselves slipping toward the edge fast if the economy got as bad as some say it could. And then I think about others whom have it harder than us, and where will that leave THEM?

I started this post feeling very angry, but now I am down to just feeling anxious and scared and uncertain of what tomorrow brings...

Intimidating? Me? Really??!?

I have a career in a male dominated field, both on the labor end of the industry as well as the professional end. So I spose that it takes a strong and confident woman to hold her own amongst all of the 'good old boys', alot of whom, unfortunately, believe it should stay the domain of men. I have had to prove myself, again and again, which I obviously have done as evidenced by the fact that

A) I am still here.

B) I have experienced more than a few male collegues change their attitudes towards me as they have realized that I know what I am doing and I am here to stay.

C) I have been told personally by other companies that I deal with on a regular basis that they appreciate what I do and that they enjoy working with me.

So I know and acknowledge that I am CAPABLE of surviving in this position, but I guess I have never realized or thought that I could actually be INTIMIDATING (I am fully aware of the fact that I can be a BITCH sometimes, but that is not the same IMO, as being intimidating). So the other day when a co-worker in my office told me just that, that "you ARE a bit intimidating, you know" I thought to myself "No, I guess I DON'T know that".

I mean, I realized I was intimidating to the old VP (who is now retired, thank goddess) because I was a YOUNG woman in a 'man's' world who very much had an opinion and was not afraid to express it, which he didn't like at all...He truely was one of the 'good old boys' who thought women should be seen and not heard, and I REALLY believe the only reason he hired me was because they had been looking to fill the position for QUITE some time and I was the only one who had applied. I believe to the bottom of my heart that had there been a man applying for the job as well, even a COMPLETELY unqualified man, that I would not be here today.

And I guess there are a few other good old boys that don't like me, and it MUST be that they are intimidated by a woman who can function comfortably among them as I cannot think of any other reason that they would not like me. (As I re-read this, I found this to come off as arrogant...They could possibly just not like me because they don't like me as a person, I know there are un-likable things about me, but I meant to convey that I cannot think of anything I have done in a professional sense working with them that would give them cause to not like me. I have never been disrespectful to them, or screwed up a project we worked on together, etc etc. I have probably been a bit defensive off the bat with a couple of them, as I immediately get the vibes from them that I cannot know what I am doing since I am a woman, which rightfully irritates me...)

But other than that, I don't FEEL intimidating!! Often times, I feel like the one being intimidatED! It may not show, but it is true! I often have to remind myself that I am strong and smart and FULLY CAPABLE and worthy and VALUABLE. There are a few people I work with on a regular basis that would come to mind with the word intimidating, and I don't feel comparable to those people in that aspect at all!

The more I think about it, the more I can think of times that people have expressed this to me, but it is one of those things that are really hard to believe about ourselves...

The fact of the matter is that it comes back to being able to not only recognize but ACKNOWLEDGE and utilize my strengths to their fullest potential; have faith in myself and what I can accomplish.

I am woman, hear me roar ;0)

Oooooh, Dreamy....

Isn't this dreamy???




You should see it with a big ol' lense on it...It is even dreamier.

Check out these specs:
Price • US: $ 1,699 [check/order]
Body material Magnesium alloy
Sensor • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD sensor
• DX format
• RGB Color Filter Array
• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 10.92 million total pixels
• 10.2 million effective pixels
• 3:2 aspect ratio
Image sizes • 3872 x 2592 [L]
• 2896 x 1944 [M]
• 1936 x 1296 [S]
File formats • NEF (12-bit RAW)
• NEF + JPEG
• JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
File sizes (approx.) • RAW + JPEG Large/Fine: 20.7 MB
• RAW: 15.8 MB
• JPEG Large/Fine: 4.8 MB
• JPEG Large/Normal: 2.4 MB
• JPEG Large/Basic: 1.2 MB
• JPEG Medium/Fine: 2.7 MB
• JPEG Small/Fine: 1.2 MB
Color space • sRGB (2 modes)
• Adobe RGB
Lens mount • Nikon F mount
• 1.5x field of view crop
Usable lenses • AF Nikkor (including AF-S, DX, VR and D-/G-type) : All functions possible
• D-type Manual-Focus Nikkor: All functions except autofocus and some
exposure modes available
• AF Nikkor other than D-/G-type: All functions except 3D Color Matrix
Metering and 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash possible
• AI-P Nikkor: All functions except 3D Color Matrix Metering,
3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash and AF possible
• Non-CPU AI Nikkor : Usable in [A] or [M] mode with Matrix-Metering,
Center-Weighted and Spot metering available. Indication of aperture No.,
after user inputs the aperture f/No. and focal length f=mm by multi-selector
operation.
Electronic Rangefinder usable with maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster
Auto Focus • 11/7 area TTL (7 in wide focus area mode)
• Multi-CAM 1000
• AF working range: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100, normal temperature)
Lens Servo • Single Servo AF [S]
• Continuous Servo AF [C]
• Manual focus [M]
Focus Tracking automatically activated by subject's status in [S] or [C] AF
AF Area Mode • Single Area AF
• Dynamic AF with Focus Tracking and Lock-on
• Group Dynamic AF
• Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF
AF assist Yes, white lamp
AF Lock • Locked using the AE-L/AF-L button
• Half-press shutter release button in AF mode [S]
Exposure modes • Program Auto [P] - flexible program possible
• Shutter-Priority Auto [S]
• Aperture-Priority Auto [A]
• Manual [M]
Metering TTL full-aperture exposure metering system;
• D-/G-type Nikkor lenses support 3D Color Matrix Metering II using the 1,005-pixel CCD while other AF Nikkor lenses with built-in CPUs support Matrix Metering (Non-CPU lenses require manual input of lens data)
• Center-Weighted Metering (75% of the meter's sensitivity concentrated on the 8mm dia. circle)
• Spot Metering (3mm dia. circle, approx. 2% of entire frame); metering position can be linked to the focus area when using Nikkor lenses with built-in CPU
Metering modes • 3D Color Matrix Metering II
• Center-Weighted
• Spot (3 mm circle, 2% of frame)
Metering range • 3D Color Matrix Metering: 0 to 20 EV
• Center-Weighted Metering: 0 to 20 EV
• Spot Metering: 2 to 20 EV
At normal temperature (20°C/68°F), ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens
Meter Coupling CPU and AI
AE Lock Locked using AE-L/AF-L button
AE Bracketing • 2 to 9 frames
• 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV steps
Exposure compen. • +/-5.0 EV
• 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps
Sensitivity • ISO 100 - 1600 in 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps
• ISO 2000, 2500 or 3200 with boost
Shutter • Electromagnetically controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter
• 30 to 1/8000 sec (1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps)
• Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
• Bulb
White balance • Auto (1005-pixel CCD, image sensor)
• Presets (six) with fine tuning
• Manual presets (four)
• Color temperature in Kelvin (2500 - 10000 K, 31 steps)
• White balance bracketing (2 to 9 frames, 10,20,30 MIRED steps)
Image parameters • Preset modes: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait, B&W
• Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels
• Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom tone curve
• Color mode: I, II, III
• Saturation: Auto, 3 levels
• Hue: -9° to +9°
Viewfinder • Optical-type fixed eye-level pentaprism
• Built-in diopter adjustment (-2 to +1m-1)
• Eyepoint: 19.5 mm (at -1.0m-1)
• Frame coverage 95%
• Viewfinder magnification approx 0.94x with 50 mm f/1.4 lens
Focusing screen B-type BrightView Clear Matte Screen II
Viewfinder info • Focus indicators
• Metering system
• AE/FV lock indicator
• Flash sync indicator
• Shutter speed
• Aperture value
• Exposure/Exposure compensation indicator
• ISO sensitivity
• Exposure mode
• Flash output level compensation
• Exposure compensation
• Number of remaining exposures
LCD monitor • 2.5 " TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• Backlight / brightness adjustment
Flash control • TTL: TTL flash control by 1,005-pixel RGB sensor.
• Built-in Speedlight: i-TTL balanced fill-flash or standard i-TTL flash (spot metering or mode dial set to [M])
• SB-800 or 600: i-TTL balanced fill-flash for digital SLR and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR.
• Auto aperture: Available with SB-800 with CPU lens
• Non-TTL Auto: Available with Speedlights such as SB-800, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 27, and 22s
• Range-priority manual; available with SB-800
Flash Sync Mode • Front-Curtain Sync (normal sync)
• Red-Eye Reduction
• Red-Eye Reduction with Slow Sync
• Slow Sync
• Rear-Curtain Sync
Built-in Speedlight • Manual pop-up with button release
• Guide number (ISO 100, m) approx 12 (manual 13)
Flash Ready-Light Lights up when flash fully charged with Speedlight SB-800/ 80DX/ 50DX/ 30/ 28/ 27/22s; blinks for full output warning
Flash Accessory Shoe ISO 518 standard-type hot shoe contact; Safety lock mechanism provided
Flash Sync Terminal ISO 519 standard terminal, lock screw provided
Flash compensation • -3 to +1 EV
• 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
DOF Preview • Stop-down lens aperture by pressing button
• Activates modelling flash
Shooting modes • Single frame
• Continuous High [CH] - 5 fps
• Continuous Low [CL] - 1 to 4 fps (custom)
• Self-Timer (programmable)
• Mirror-up mode
• Interval timer (Timelapse)
Continuous buffer • JPEG Large/Fine: approx. 37 frames
• RAW (NEF): approx. 22 frames
Self-timer • 2, 5, 10 or 20 sec programmable
Orientation sensor Tags images with camera orientation
Playback mode • Full frame
• Thumbnail (4 or 9 images)
• One-touch zoom
• Slideshow
• RGB histogram
• Shooting data
• Highlight point
• Auto image rotation
Connectivity • USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) Mini-B connector
• Video out
• Remote control 10-pin
• PC Sync flash terminal
GPS NMEA 0183 Interface standard supported with GPS Cable MC-35 (optional)
Communications FTP and PTP/IP file transfer with optional Wireless Transmitter WT-3 (IEEE 802.11 b/g)
Video out • NTSC
• PAL
Storage • Compact Flash Type I or II
• Microdrive supported
• FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support
• 36 characters of text can be input and stored in EXIF header
• No CF card supplied
Vertical grip • Optional MB-D200 battery pack / vertical grip
• 2 x EN-EL3e Lithium-Ion batteries
or • 6 x AA batteries
Power • Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh)
• Included battery charger MH-18a
• Optional AC adapter EH-6
• Optional MB-D200 battery pack / vertical grip
Battery monitoring The LCD monitor on the camera back displays the following information
about the EN-EL3e battery:
• Remaining charge (%)
• No. of shots taken since last charge
• Battery life (5 stages)
Dimensions 147 x 113 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in)
Weight (no batt) 830 g (1.8 lb)
Weight (inc. batt) 920 g (2.0 lb)
Box contents Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, Video Cable, USB Cable UC-E4, Strap, Body cap, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-21M, LCD monitor cover BM-6, PictureProject CD-ROM
Optional accessories Wireless Transmitter WT-3, AC Adapter EH-6, Speedlight SB-800/SB-600/SB-R200, Nikon Capture 4 (Ver. 4.4), CompactFlash card, Nikkor lenses, Multifunction Battery Pack MB-D200, GPS Cable MC-35, Remote Cord MC-36 (replacement of MC-20), Semi-soft Case CF-D200



ISO 3200?!?? OMGosh...

Shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, WHEW!!!

I am sure I would have no trouble catching L in action in our low light livingroom with that range of settings and some good lense options...

(((((SIGH))))) I want, I want.



Or how about this one?




List price
(body only) • US: $ 1,399
• EU: € 1,399 List price
(with EF-S 18-55 DC) • US: $ 1,499
• EU: € 1,499 Body material Magnesium alloy Sensor • 22.5 x 15.0 mm CMOS sensor
• RGB Color Filter Array
• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 8.5 million total pixels
• 8.2 million effective pixels
• 3:2 aspect ratio Image processor DIGIC II Image sizes • 3504 x 2336 (8.2 MP)
• 2544 x 1696 (4.3 MP)
• 1728 x 1152 (2.0 MP) File formats
• RAW (.CR2)
• JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine / Normal
• RAW + JPEG (separate files)
Lenses • Canon EF / EF-S lens mount
• 1.6x field of view crop Focusing • 9-point TTL
• CMOS sensor
• AF working range: -0.5 - 18 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) Focus modes • AI Focus AF
• One shot AF
• AI Servo AF
• Manual focus AF point selection • Auto
• Manual
• Home position AF assist • Stroboscopic flash
• 4.0 m range (at center) Metering • TTL 35 zone SPC
• Metering range: EV 1.0 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4) Metering modes
• Evaluative 35 zone
• Partial (9% at center)
• Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center) *
• Center-weighted average
• Metering range: 1 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100)
AE lock • Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering
• Manual: AE lock button AE bracketing • +/- 2.0 EV
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments Exposure compen. • +/-2.0 EV
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments Sensitivity
(1/3 EV steps) *
• Auto (100 to 400)
• ISO 100
• ISO 125
• ISO 160
• ISO 200
• ISO 250
• ISO 320
• ISO 400
• ISO 500
• ISO 640
• ISO 800
• ISO 1000
• ISO 1250
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200 (Enhanced H)
Shutter • Focal-plane shutter
• 30 - 1/8000 sec
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
• Bulb Aperture values • F1.0 - F91
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Actual aperture range depends on lens used White balance • Auto (3000 - 7000 K)
• Daylight (5200 K)
• Shade (7000 K)
• Cloudy (6000 K)
• Tungsten (3200 K)
• Fluorescent (4000 K)
• Flash (6000 K)
• Custom (2000 - 10000 K)
• Kelvin (2800 - 10000 K in 100 K steps) WB bracketing • +/-3 levels
• 3 images
• blue/amber or magenta/green bias WB shift • Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)
• Magenta (-9) to Green (+9) Color space • sRGB
• Adobe RGB Picture style * • Standard
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Neutral
• Faithful
• Monochrome
• User 1
• User 2
• User 3 Custom image parameters * • Sharpness: 0 to 7
• Contrast: -4 to +4
• Saturation: -4 to +4
• Color tone: -4 to +4
• B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G
• B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G Viewfinder • Eye-level pentaprism
• 95% frame coverage
• Magnification: 0.9x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)
• Eyepoint: 20 mm
• Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
• Precision matte screen Viewfinder info • AF points
• Focus confirmation light
• Shutter speed
• Aperture
• Manual exposure
• AE Lock
• Exposure compensation amount
• AEB level
• Spot metering area *
• Flash ready
• Red-eye reduction lamp on
• High-speed sync
• FE Lock
• Flash compensation amount
• ISO speed (while changing)
• WB correction (while changing)
• Warnings
• Maximum burst for continuous shooting
• Buffer space LCD monitor * • 2.5 " TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• 5 brightness levels
• 10x zoom playback Record review • Off
• On (histogram via INFO button)
• 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold Flash • Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash
• FOV coverage up to 17 mm (27 mm equiv.)
• Guide number approx 13
• Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• X-Sync: 1/250 sec External flash • E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites
• Wireless multi-flash support
• PC Sync Shooting modes
• Auto
• Program AE (P)
• Shutter priority AE (Tv)
• Aperture priority AE (Av)
• Manual (M)
• Auto depth-of-field
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Close-up
• Sports
• Night portrait
• Flash off
Drive modes • Single
• Continuous: 5 fps (CH) up to 30 frames or 3 fps (CL) *
• Self-timer: 10 secs (or 2 sec with mirror lock-up) Direct printing • Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge
• PictBridge Other features • Orientation sensor
• Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity
• LCD panel illumination Auto rotation • On (playback uses orientation data in file header)
• Off Playback mode • Single image
• Single image with info (inc. histogram)
• Magnified view (1.5 - 10x in 15 steps, browsable)
• 9 image index
• Auto play
• Image rotation
• Jump Custom functions 19 custom functions with 53 settings Menu languages
• English
• German
• French
• Dutch
• Danish
• Finnish
• Italian
• Norwegian
• Swedish
• Spanish
• Simplified Chinese
• Japanese
• Traditional Chinese
• Korean
• Russian
Firmware User upgradable Portrait grip Via BP-E2 battery grip (option) Connectivity
• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• Video out
• N3 type wired remote control
• PC Sync flash terminal
Storage • Compact Flash Type I or II
• Microdrive supported
• FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support
• No CF card supplied Power • Lithium-Ion BP-511A rechargeable battery (supplied & charger)
• Supports BP-511 / BP-511A / BP-512 / BP-514
• CR2016 Lithium battery (date/time backup)
• Optional AC adapter Dimensions * 144 x 106 x 74 mm (5.6 x 4.2 x 2.9 in) Weight * • No battery: 706 g (1.6 lb)
• With battery: 785 g (1.7 lb)


My heart starts beating faster just looking at them...My breath catches at the possiblities the capabilities of these cameras present.

(((((SIGH AGAIN)))) Some day.

Re-writing my life...

I am not having very much luck eloquently expressing the stuff that is swimming around my head the last couple of days; the few moments I have sat down to try and post all that came us was a bunch of really badly written junk. Then I read pisceshanna's post, Erase your life and thought I would try it on for myself. So here goes my shot at erasing and rewriting my life...

In my new life, I have made my hobby my career, and I get to take photos of people and places and things and get PAID for it. I no longer have to work for silver spoon babies who have no idea what real life struggles are. I am home with L most days, but still send him to daycare or to nana and papa's occasionally so he can hang with his cousins and his friends and so we both get a break from each other. I make my own schedule, and have completely erased the daily grind of a 9-5 job from my mind.

In my new life, J has a job that he loves, and that pays him what he is worth. He gets home at a decent time every night, and we get lots of quality time together. He doesn't come home with callouses on his hands and feet, and he doesn't get out of bed and fall over as his hip seizes up.

In my new life, my dad is a recovering alcoholic, and instead of wallowing in failed dreams and biding his time drinking himself to death he is healthy and happy and spends lots of quality time with L. He and mom have been able to retire, and they do lots of camping and traveling in the RV. Mom and I have an AWESOME relationship, and I don't feel ashamed of or disappointed in them.

In my new life, my best friend R and her children are happy and healthy and have a calm and peaceful life that they so deserve. They smile and laugh and play.

In my new life I have enough time to keep in touch with all of my friends on a regular basis. We have time to do lunch or coffee or just hang out.

In my new life I am back to the body I had when I got married complete with breasts that came through pregnancy and breast feeding like champs and are still perky and plump and stay up where they are sposed to be!! I no longer suffer from this damn adult acne (WTH is this shit anyway?? I never had acne as a teen, why now?) and the belly ring that I lost to emergency surgery has been restored. Most importantly, I am able to recognize that I am SMOKIN' hot and appreciate my womanly curves, but I am humble enough to still come off as the hot chic who doesn't realize she is.

In my new life, J and I have the steamy sex life of 20 year olds just discovering each others bodies...

Alright, back to reality...I have things to get done, and a bed to crawl into so I can get up and live my REAL life tomorrow...BUT, this post has made me realize that some of the things in my 're-written life' are attainable in this life, and I just need to work on making them happen...

An award?!

Way back on Aug 22 my friend R passed an award on to me



and I have yet to thank her...So thanks R :0) I am glad that you feel I bring some magic to your life and to others around me.

Isn't it funny how it is so hard for us to accept and acknowledge the magic that lies inside us? It is so much easier to find the faults in ourselves. Faults we can accept. Realizing imperfections is for some reason so much easier for us to do than realizing strengths. When someone pays us a compliment, or tells us how wonderful and amazing we are, we play it down and brush it off.

Today I am going to revel in the magic that is me. Thanks R for seeing it in me and making me see it in myself.

We're baaaack...

Well, we've BEEN back, but I just haven't had a chance to sit down and blog! Work is busy, and we are in the process of moving our office(which sucks...both the fact that we are moving AND the actual moving part) and I just haven't had time in the evenings to sit down.

Vacation was everything I wanted it to be. L had SO MUCH FUN. He really was in 7th heaven, just as I knew he would be. The weather was GREAT, sunny and 70's. A bit windy on 2 days, but that was okay; L got to fly a kite for the first time, which he loved! It stormed during the night one night, which was cool, but never rained during the day. L also loved going on our friend's boat; he loved being on the 'river', lol...Of course, it was a lake, but as we see the river at home everyday, that was what he was calling it. He also went for a ride on the Ranger (4 wheeler type thing with a bench type seat) and loved it, which was surprising since he won't even sit on the lawn mower with Daddy or get on the 4 wheeler with Papa. He didn't master riding his trike, but did make some progress :0) He had tons of fun running around with the bigger boys, he actually tackled a 5 year old!!! He is a brute. He really enjoyed the merry go round, which makes me dizzy just watching him go round and round! He also was climbing up the playground equipment all by himself, which just made him seem TOO big and independent...It was very fun for W and I to see him interact with other kids.

L also seemed to turn a corner in his speech...as soon as we got there he just seemed to blossom! He started saying MANY words that we had never heard him say before, and also started copying (or trying to copy) most everything we would say. The new words he learned on vacation and now uses are: heavy, in, out, off, on, boat, kite, moon, fire (he REALLY got the hang of the idea of HOT, and that it means an owie, and that you need to steer clear of hot things such as the grill and the fire ring), many names, volleyball, house, horseshoes, morning (as in 'good morning')...and my favorite thing he started saying on vacation is "I want that"!! And, of course, he wants EVERYTHING! LOL...We went to the grocery store and it was 'I want that' every 3 seconds! It's funny too, cuz he will experiment with putting the emphasis on each of the three words...It makes me want to eat him up even more.

I am sure that I gained the required 5 lbs, if not more...usually my friend and I are great about keeping up our walking every day, but we were lazy this year and only walked twice...in 9 days! UGH!! Oh well.

I got some very sweet photos that I can't wait to download and edit a bit and post and print off for my new office wall.

Oh, and we found out that they are tearing down the cabin that we rent and building a new one for next year!! YAY!! The new one will be much more spacious with a much better layout. Of course, the price will go up a little, but not much and I will still be able to make it work so we can go.

I will upload some photos soon for your viewing pleasure :0)