30 years...

Weird to think I have been alive for 30 years!!??

WOW! Where has the time gone?

I came home to a clean house, birthday banners, and a decorated dining table. DVR remembered from last year that I mentioned (just once) that I love cookie cakes! He remembered!
Cookie cake, present, and a cute centerpiece!



I finally opened the present.
First, I read the sweet "homemade card" my husband included!
Then...


A Nintendo DSi! It is charging now!

Self Portraits

Thanks to those who made me smile the past couple of weeks by playing Self Portrait Time! Photography is one of my passions, so I just LOVE to see photos of family and friends! *especially photos that tell us about their personality!* I am going to post these in the order they were received.

The first self portrait I received was from Cameron. He says he was "creating mysteries to solve later...Sherlock Holmes style." Thanks Cameron. Maybe you can let us in on one of those mysteries! Is that what you try to keep up as an image? a mystery? might work out with the ladies! Who knows! :0)


Next, I received a couple's self portrait! They titled it "Happiness!" What a cute couple! Art proposed to Kim just two nights before this was taken! So sweet! I wish them never-ending happiness!


Then came a picture of a good friend, Michael. What a wonderful portrayal of his sweet heart and his loving father demeanor. I accepted this as a self portrait, even though he did not take it! I think others can catch the "best" real you when you aren't expecting it sometimes!

Stay tuned for a REAL self portrait from Michael! Love him! He makes me laugh!

A+ for the day goes to Elaina as she sent a real, raw self portrait. Thanks, Elaina! She says,

"It’s me being silly with the fruit roll-ups that tattoo your tongue. It was right before a big museum event, I was super stressed (as you can see by the dark circles under my eyes and no makeup), and just having a little fun."

Then there is my loving husband. His is so true. He has a picture here that is in between two decisions...sort of funny thinking about going back to what he had... to beard or not to beard??

I love my husband, the dreamer. He racks his brain every minute of each day about how he will make our future together better. He often gets caught up in decisions or ideas and can't ever decide! Too late to go back to the beard, honey! Love you! Thanks for sharing!

Matt...if you do not know him...the picture says it all. Knowledge of movies and time spent on movies is AT LEAST half of his life! Very creative! Thanks Matt! True self portrait!

Last but not least...we leave you with a conversation I had with Michael (aka @Stlfanmls) over Twitter.

"And what does this portray about you?" I asked.

Michael replied, "That I am a shy guy and that I like hats maybe!!!" LOL Yes, yes...so shy. (NOT A BIT!) Micheal, maybe you can clue us in on the laughs that you had in that bathroom mirror before having the crazy idea of sharing this with the whole world of Twitter??? So funny! Where in the world do you get a hat that small??? hehehehehe :0) Thanks Michael!

Love that personality you all shared with me! Remember...Giggles on picture day are unforgettable, but the smiles and laughs that the photos create years later are priceless! Start capturing those moments!!! Create them first! Love your family and friends. They are all we have!

Winston!!

We took a road trip up through the TX panhandle to meet our new puppy today. We were so excited the whole way there. We had Winston picked out for a boy's name and Juliet picked out for a girl's name. Conversation on road trips in the Deaver car is always great! We rarely turn the radio up past the lowest level, because our chatting is better than any music on! (we have XM radio too, so I am sure there is good stuff on there!) Josh would periodically "scratch" the ears of his (for now) imaginary dog and say, "You's a good boy!" LOL This puppy is going to be spoiled!

Conversation is never interrupted due to scenery. If you have never been around Amarillo and its surroundings, you aren't missing much! My mom did remind me today that we have beautiful sunrises and sunsets! TRUE! Thanks, Mom, for finding the beauty in our home!

Taking the road down to the owner's home...we ran into what we call Winston's step-brothers. On the country road, they were just a few feet from the car! Josh tried to get me to get out to take the picture, but I refused and shot the pic out the window! YIKES! I am such a city girl!


After spending a little while with the 5 pups in the litter, we had it narrowed down to three. "How will we ever decide?" I asked. Scarlett, the owner, had great information for us! She is very knowledgeable about the breed! What a sweet lady. We could have stayed all day and played with the pups! There was the runt with only one black spot over one eye. There was the playful girl that carried the toys around and the dough belly girl that was "the hunter!" She was curious! AND...Winston, of course, the only brother in the group. He liked Josh's lap as we sat in the middle of the living room with puppies everywhere! Juliet (yes, we named another one while we were there) was SO VERY CUTE! I could not decide.


An hour later, we were taking pictures of Winston before we left. I mentioned to Josh at one point that he had to hand him back over...then I held him and he had to remind ME that we had to give him back for now! Winston will soon come home and be part of the Deavi! We cannot wait! Love him already!

Puppy Update!

The owner of our puppy emailed pictures again today! They are three weeks old today! The male is the one trying to get out of the basket! He already has that attitude we are looking for, sounds like. lol We also fell in love with the baby girl that is looking toward the camera in the picture on the left. What a cutie she is, huh!? We are going to try to go meet them next weekend. DVR says he is going to try to get his parents to get one of the siblings of our baby. It would be fun to have play dates!

What a surprise to us that they are tricolor. That is a great bonus! If you saw the newborn pictures, they seem to only be black and white! Not now! We will keep you posted on what we decide. I believe he or she will be able to come home with us in about 3 or 4 weeks! YaY! Our baby is on its way!

Self Portrait

Laugh with me, please! I had to take a self portrait that portrayed something about me for my VERY first photography class back in the day! Here it is:

What does this portray, you ask? Well, I guess I felt a little overwhelmed by the piles of work, or junk, or whatever it might have been at the time. This was not staged! I just set my camera up on the end of the table and laid my head near the mess! This is what was captured. I used a larger aperture to fade myself a little bit, while the image is focused on the "stuff" there in the picture. That shows my lack of enjoyment of being in pictures - reason for being behind the camera most of the time!

I would love to see what you would set up as your self portrait. Email me your images at barefoothillary@gmail.com and I will post some of my favorites soon! Come on...a short click of the iPhone in your favorite spot!? Please!?

Teaching

I have decided that in both of my professions, teaching and photography, I must learn at least one new thing each day. Obviously, as a teacher, I like to pass on things I learn to others. I have decided that this information I learn must be useful to someone out there.

I am embarking on a new classroom set up this Spring due to a "model teacher grant" I have won. In the Fall, I wrote a board of IT persons reasons why I thought my classroom and students would benefit from a bundle of new technology materials. In that, I had to explain my plans and future assessing of the success of the equipment. I WON! In the next few months, my classroom will be equipped with a CPS set, from eInstruction, a SmartBoard, and a classroom set of Dell mini laptops. Of course, I will be equipped with a computer, document camera, and projector to assist in using all this jazzy, new stuff.

With all that said, stay tuned for new information as I receive all the equipment and training in the next year or so. I am excited to begin this new adventure.

AND...just TODAY...I have been reading one of my favorite blogs that I try to follow. MckMama (aka Jennifer McKinney) is a beautiful photographer, but first a mom of four. If you have children of your own, you should follow her! I read her blog on "making the eyes pop in a photograph" this morning. Here is what I did to the cutest baby face of all time. More to come, as I can spend hours and hours in Photoshop!

Turkey Paninis {Amarillo Family Lifestyle Photographer}

My brother-in-law has given us the tastiest turkey recipe in the world. I have passed it on to many friends, and I am more than willing to give it to those that have not tried it. Warning: if you try it, you will never cook a bird in any other way. It is an invigorating time, starting with a brine in a black trash bag, then cooking the bird while basting every half hour! It becomes a beautiful creation...AND tasty!

What is better than indulging in the turkey?? Oh! Stacking it with bacon and Swiss cheese, with tomato and spinach leaves and grilling it on the new panini grill!
My handsome husband went after the turkey breast like he was on a mission. He did a wonderful job! It was the messy job out of all the work given in the kitchen. We stacked the ingredients in this order in between two pieces of sourdough bread: cheese, turkey breast, bacon, cheese, tomato slices, and fresh spinach leaves.I am sad to say we do not have pictures of the panini. We had friends come over with dips and chips, and bacon to cook...and the photographer was "manning the grill" as well.


What is better than indulging in turkey paninis?? Oh! Spending that time with good friends. A wise man once told us that brunch can be served late in the afternoon. "It is called a bartenders' brunch!" So with his words soothing us as it neared 2pm, we savored in Mimosas, pampered ourselves with Turkey and Bacon Paninis, and entertained with a board game.

Board games with friends could be a whole other blog, but today it was Loaded Questions. Google it if you haven't played it. Can be fun for a group of adult friends with sarcastic and witty senses of humor!

I go forth looking for something to add to the panini...a tomato basil pesto? Suggestions?

Barefoot Kiddos Photo Books

See my webpage (www.barefootprintsgallery.com) for more information on a photo book for your kiddo to share with their loved ones! The first steps of reading and sharing reading is knowing what the words say and being excited to tell someone about it.

Enjoyed our nieces and nephews!

Sweetness at its finest! What a great personality Emery has! We totally enjoyed her mood swings and cute laughter! She just makes the family photo below! She agrees with her Aunt RiRi (aka Hillary) in believing that photos should be entertaining...catching the personality of the kiddos! She was my new best friend this week, allowing me to take any pictures of her I wanted to and then she would run...."let me see, let me see!" Love her!

Faith and Ella (Josh's nieces) spent a few days at Grandmommy's with us! What beautiful girls they are growing up to be! Miss them!

The holiday season always brings tons of smiles! What a great time to spend time with our nieces and nephews. We hate to see them go, but definitely look forward to seeing them in the future. My sister and her husband our beginning a new road in life with new job offers, so we cannot wait to see what new vacation spot they choose for us! Come on summer, so we can get out of town again!