Super quick catch up posting with photos to match.

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We have finally gotton the end of the school year stuff rounded up around here.

My niece Makenzie graduated kindergarten. I attended and became the official picture taker.

Here she is with her Mommy, Crystal. She had a really good time at her little party afterwards.

And my sweet little darling Shaina passed on to the 8th grade...How in the world did that happen when it

feels like she should still be home in diapers. Here she is cleaning the last tidbits out of her locker.
I have not scrapped any lately as the mission of getting some old photos scanned and returned to
my Mom has consumed me. But I do believe I am going to have to take a break from it before I get burned out on it.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. Mine went pretty good. Saw my Mom and had my kids with with me...what else could you ask for? I did volunteer my husbands services Saturday to help cut a few limbs from a tree in my parent's yard that was blocking their internet satellite dish. What was to be a simple climb and cut procedure ended up with the whole tree being cut down. I am not sure if my hubby appreciated being volunteered so readily but my Mama really appreciated it. =)

Here is my hubby, Ricky, in his hooks and belt he uses for his regular job for when he climbs to where a bucket truck will not reach. Day 128

My 2 great kids and my Mama.

Day 129

My Giant Mother's Day card from my kids.

Thanx for peeking in today!
Balinda

It seems like I have accidentally taken a break from digiscrapping. I got busy scanning the photos my Mama brought over....I just totally immersed myself into that project so I could return her vintagey photos ASAP. Then I with Project 365 and getting my photos taken, I find that I am paying ore attention to the details of everything. I suppose that's part of what the process of the project does. Many times I find myself on my knees in my yard to see if I can capture in the lens what I see with my eyes. I also feel it's helping me with my photographing skills and with manual mode on the camera. The saying is that if you wanna do something well to Practice! Practice! Practice! I have also venture a little bit into using actions on my photos. I love textures but I have yet to learn to use them to their full potential.

Pioneer Woman has some really nice FREE photo actions (available for PSE and PS) as does Coffee Shop, MCP, My 4 Hens and Paint the Moon. My 4 Hens is also having a sale this weekend of 40% off her actions until Monday if you use coupon code m4h40.

Below is a photo I took yesterday. The top of course is SOOC. And the second one is 1)Creatively Cropped 2) the color popped up a little using ACR (adobe camera raw) and 3) a lens flair action by My 4 Hens from Photography Toolbox #2.

and now on to the Project 365 photos.

Today's~Day 127

This little squirrel was playing in the yard when I came home this morning from dropping off Shaina to school. And not shy at all when I started taking a few photos.

Yesterday's~Day 126

For some reason my husband does not throw this away. It was in our yard when we moved in. I could throw it out but I am just fascinated that he doesn't when he mows. Maybe he's recycling.

Thanx for peeking in today!
Balinda

Today has seemed like it's been the longest day. I was so tired this afternoon that I just laid on the sofa about 5ish and didn't move until after 6. That was only cuz I needed to feed my beautiful rugrat. =) Me and Mama started really early today to head to Coushatta to see my Grandfather and to finish sorting out his dr. appointments. We still have to get his Medicaid papers filled out and had the Social worker look the forms up online for us to have a copy of them since we havn't recieved anything from them yet. We know he quailifies for Nursing Home Medicare because he was recieving it the couple of months he was in the bad nursing home.

My visits with my Grandfather are so bittersweet. I know he doesn't remember me coming to see him. He does know me though when I am there but that's about it. Forget a real conversation...I say something and he comments back with something entirely not related to anything I just said. I persevere though and try not to leave in tears. It's just so heart wrenching to see a loved one slip away from reality and to see his health decline as rapidly as it has since last summer. I just wanna hang on tight and not let him go. I think I am having such a hard time because he is my LAST grandparent alive. When he passes...I don't get to be the Grandbaby anymore. I was my Grandmother's favorite and she passed away 14 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I was not as close to my other grandparents as these. Not because I didn't love them but because I was the first Grandchild for my father's parents. We lived next door to them for the majority of my childhood. So much of who I am is from them. I am so sorry to be so emotional in my postings sometimes but things in RL just spill over and I free write in my postings. If I don't, I don't think I could handle what life throws my way sometimes.

So here we end up at todays photo for Project 365

♥Me huggin-N-luvin' on my Papaw♥

Day 125

Me and Shaina did not get her nails done last night like we wanted so we made up for that tonite. She has never had any artificial nails...and these just tickled her to death to try them out. It's a good thing Walmart has something a little more on the funky side for a non-girly girl.

And here she is giving one of her pretty smiles.

We all had a really good weekend. Shaina got off to her cousins wedding fine and me and Ricky just chilled out around here some. After over a month of my daughter staying at her father's, she came home last night. I knew it was getting about time for her to come back home to her Mama but I wanted it to be on her time table since we don't push her to stay for definite periods of time. She's my floater kid. But my house is home base and when I think she has been gone too long I do reel in the reins some so I can keep her grounded.

I am upset though that her father let her go spend the night with a girl she has had a troubled time with. I told him that I did not ever want her to go to this girls house again. But was I listened to...NOPE. Not even a little. Now this girl has broken my daughter's heart, doesn't want to be her friend and is causing her crap at school. The last time my daughter had trouble with her was this time last year and my daughter did aggravate the situation..but this time....it's more this girl. The text messages she sent my daughter...I just wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her.

So this morning I went to walmart and picked up some stuff to do her nails and we will spend some quaility girly time together tonight. Nails being done will be a big deal cuz my Shaina is such a tom boy...so I made sure to pick up some black ones with cute skulls on them. It will be an experience I am sure as I have never let her have artificial nails but she is 14 and quite old enough, I think.

Here's my Project 365 Photos.

Day 122

My nephews always play with the cat toys when they come over. So when I spied the little mice all lined up Sunday....It made me giggle just a little bit at them cuz I knew that they did it.

Day 123

I have been scanning old photos of my Grandmothers. This is one of her tattered albums...tattered it may be..but it held some pretty precious photos.
Day 124
These are my miniature roses. I just thought the morning sun shone on them
quite beautifully this morning.


Thanx for peeking in today with me.
Balinda

So far we are lucky this weekend...all the bad weather forcasted has been just north of us. I am ever so glad.

My Mom, SIL, neices and nephews stopped by this morning after making a visit to see my Grandfather. Mom told me that he didn't know who they were. I guess I am lucky in that he knows me when I go.

Shaina was attending her cousin's wedding today so I helped her get all dolled up for that. She was supposed to be at her father's at noon. We got there a tad bit early and I snapped a few more photos of her while we waited. This became my Day 121 for Project 365.

Day 120 photo is a bit more boring. I am backing up some more of my photos and needed

some DVD's.
And folks..that's about it for me today. I am perusing the net looking for good iNSD sales I might have missed and just relaxing. I have a bit of a headache today so I will probably call it an early night.