150th Blog Post Giveaway

150 posts? already? I feel like I just hit 100. Like I said, it's because I talk waaaay too much and take waaaay too many photos. I'm not complaining....talking too much means i've been blogging about photos i've taken which means God is blessing me with business. anyway, hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous.

now onto the free things.

Ever gone completely out of your way just to drive by a house that purchased every christmas item on sale at K-Mart? Yeah, you know who I mean. That house in your neighborhood that is embarrassing. They have the nativity scene and santa right beside each other. goodness, people. martha stewart would hang her head in shame.


Well my friends, this time, that house will benefit you. To be entered into the drawing for a special Christmas prize, simply email me a photo of the tackiest Christmas decorations you've seen around. Don't be fooled by the vague 'special Christmas prize', those of you who have won in the past know I don't play around with free!

Details:
-photo must be taken by you. google is a no-no.
-limit one photo, one entry, per person.
-email you photo to kristin@kristinpartinphotography.com subject: tacky christmas lights
(don't forgot to include your name & address in your email)
-all entries must be made by 12/9. winner will be announced 12/11.

So there you have it. Do a drive-by christmas light scouting party with your friends and don't forget to bring the hot cocoa!

p.s. I might have googled that image above. just maybe....sorry photographer. I now give you internet credit!

Our God Reigns

All too often we get so caught up in what we dont have, that we forget what we do have. I will be the first to admit. If it takes a day dedicated to being thankful to get my attention, so be it. While going through these pictures, I realized there aren't enough words, blog posts or enough time to show my gratitude to my Christ for all He has done. But that's okay, because to Him, this is enough. That's just the beauty of it:)

Thank you God for the time to tell you thank you.

I am thankful for...

original ideas and creativity.



a best friend who is more than a best friend.



a man who knows whats important.



food. i really really really enjoy food.





the fact that our God reigns




sisters who are funny and reliable.



a selfless mom who did what she needed to do for her family.



and thankfully, that i've grown a bit since taking this photo last thanksgiving.



and last but not least, i'm thankful for love, in every stage.

Sara l Senior

Top of the mornin' to ya! I am very excited that there is only one more workday in front of me before a four day weekend. Everyday God gives me even more things to be thankful for. Tomorrows post is reserved just for that, things that I'm thankful for. Of course there will be photos, too. :)

This pretty lady is graduating 2010. She's yet again, one of those naturals in front of the camera. Our morning was dreary and rainy but she ignored the rain and we let the good times roll.

cue sara.

This was one of my practice shots...as you can see, i decided to keep it due to her jaw-dropping beauty.







This was the teaser photo I posted--it's my favorite. I love the natural pose and the wind blown hair. ohhhh it makes me happy.



Then we pulled out her super cool umbrella that made several appearances throughout her session. I just love a good umbrella.







all she did was take off the scarf and hat and gave the outfit a completely different look.



now for a real outfit change and we threw in some flowers from her boyfriend.

cheers, sara!

Zackary & Carter l Family

wow-what a weekend. I was so tired Saturday night that I practically fell asleep at dinner. That would been quite a sight....BAM! (head falls into baked ziti)
Although tiring, definitely a fabulous weekend of photos. I will never get tired of these smiles.

Let's start off this three day work week with a couple of cuties....who happen to be brothers and my cousins :)

Carter. 4 year old handful of trouble. big fan of green.



Zackary. 5 year old big brother. even bigger fan of red.









They were so fascinated by these railroad ties.



If you ever have a hard time getting your kids comfy with the camera, try the 'make a scared face' game. worked for me!



and the...'show me how strong you are' game





or...the '1, 2, 3 turn around and tickle' game



I call this the orphan pose. carter looks so discontent.









very dangerous....and quite the thrill. enjoy your monday faithful blog readers :)

Ireland

We're going to Ireland in 261 days. Get ready dear Canon's, you will be working hard getting some amazing photos.

Teases

I've been very busy and i LOVE it. here's a 'tide me over' post until monday, these photos are coming next week!

sara-senior



zackary & carter-brothers



and probably for my favorite of all, tabby & lee-engaged.



oh, and i will be one of the crazy's seeing new moon tomorrow. hey, they're good books.

Extra cash

((I am not selling anything contrary to my info-mercial tone))
ever wondered how it is possible to give attention to every outstanding bill, have money to have a nice dinner with friends AND save money? yeah, me too. If you're anything like me, you have a bit of extra money in your account every month, and have no idea what to do with it. Do you put it towards debt? save it? spend it? (guilty). Most people see that they have $70ish extra laying in their account and feel the need to put it back to its normal territory, 0, nada, zip, gone.

I wanted to pass along my method of saving-since my dear friend assured me that it was a good idea. The method is simple....almost too simple....and i may even be stating the obvious. Just hear me out.

Its proven-if the money is sitting in your account without direction, it will be spent. It could be spent on things that are responsible such as saving or debt payoff, but the point is, it will be spent. My emphasis is on the saving part. I'm a budget nerd.

I'm sure you have some of these lying around. If not, pick up a pack at the good ole' Dollar Tree.



Write down your saving goals.
paying off a credit card?
cool vacation?
Christmas?
WEDDING?!

Choose a realistic amount of envelopes-three at the max. Don't want to get all craaaaazy. (unless you're super saver)
designate the envelopes with the name of your goal of choice.



Whenever you have some extra cash, just stash it. Disperse your 34 extra dollars into all three envelopes or give 'credit card' all $34. that lucky envelope. Try not to take from it (or count it-kelly) and slowly watch the money pile up.



This is the most important step of the process. hide the envelopes from plain view.



(If you save $5 a week until Christmas next year you could have about $275!)

polaroids

i need your help! I need lots and lots of polaroid 600 film. Considering they come in boxes of 10 exposures, the price ebay lists of $30 is nearly ridiculous!

anyone know of somewhere I can get this for a reasonable price?