ShaNic's Blog

Why Me?…by Makenzie Grace

shanicstudios — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:12:43 +0000

I don’t like to smile and be still, but my mom has this camera and thinks I should just stop my life at the drop of a hat so she can get just one more picture. She always says ‘Just one more’, but we both know she doesn’t mean it.

Sometimes my only solution is to just resort to the ‘stink’ face.

When will she learn that ‘No’ means no and that interrupting my cartoons is NEVER going to be a good idea.

(**Makenzie just saw the top picture of her and said ‘That’s me, mad.’)

When the unplanned is the PERFECT plan.

shanicstudios — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:53:12 +0000

We had plans, but they wound up falling apart. We were going to have a babysitter come, while we went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day, but the sitter had to cancel. We thought we would just take Makenzie with us, but by the time Paul got home from work, we both just wanted to stay where we were with our ‘comfy’ clothes on, get food from our favorite pizza place, and watch our favorite show. Paul surprised Makenzie and me with flowers. We both got a box of chocolates. I got a can of ‘Big Sexy Hair’, my favorite hairspray. He knows me well. AND he gave me a really sweet card, but I made the mistake of successfully trying not to cry as I read it and now he says he’s just going to get me funny cards from now on. Who knew.

Happy Valentine’s Day

shanicstudios — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:10 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Makenzie has her first ‘Valentine exchange’ at her school today. When I found out the news I was excited to make homemade cards for her to give to her classmates. I looked up ideas and narrowed them down to my favorite. This was my first chance to be “THAT” mom. The mom that I secretly hope I will transform into once I’m not working.

Well, I got the supplies and set to work Sunday afternoon on my project. IT TOOK 3 HOURS, LET ME REPEAT…3 HOURS…TO COMPLETE 16 VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS.

I’m rethinking my future reign as SuperMom. It could be exhausting!

Conversations in the Car

shanicstudios — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:31:57 +0000

Setting: Driving down Main Street in ‘Small Town America’. Two older ladies are walking on the sidewalk getting their daily exercise.

Makenzie: “Those guys are walkin.”

Me: “Those are ladies.”

Makenzie: “Those ladies are walkin.”

Me: “Yep”

Makenzie: “They don’t have a car.”

Me: “Maybe not. I don’t know.”

Makenzie: ”They need a new car.”

Me: “Maybe.”

It’s the ONLY food group.

shanicstudios — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:00:58 +0000

Someday she will hopefully broaden her horizons, BUT for now, she’ll take yogurt for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This is NOT a job.

shanicstudios — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:36:45 +0000

I started to fill like this blog was something I HAD to keep up with…it felt like a JOB…and I didn’t like it. So I quit, now I’m really behind on everything that’s happened since June. So rather than try to write it all down…I’ll just note a few certain things and then the rest I’ll cover with pictures!

1. June-We moved to small town America!

2. July-Makenzie was a flower girl for her Aunt Jessica's wedding.

3. August-I started back to school.

4. September-I photographed a beautiful wedding in Vermont.

5. September-We finally moved into our house.

6. October-I took engagement pictures for this gorgeous couple.

7. November-Paul went on a 10-day hunting trip to Montana.

8. November-We found out that in July of 2011, we will become a family of 4!

9. December-We celebrated Christmas in NY with the Smith-side.

10. January-My parents celebrated 40 years together!

AND that’s pretty much the highlights in a nutshell:)

All caught up…now I can proceed with my regular sporadic blogging!

Tears are Weird!

shanicstudios — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:00:47 +0000

I may be overlooking some other bodily function, but I’m pretty sure that tears are the one thing that your body does that serves NO purpose, except of course for ruining your makeup. And I’m not talking about the tears that keep your eyes clear of debris….oh no! I’m talking about the ones caused by emotion.

Hello. My name is Shannon and I’m a crier.

I got it from my mother and I’ll probably pass it on to Mak. I can cry at the drop of a hat. I can cry because I think someone else is about to cry. I can cry over a TV show. I can cry over a song. I do cry every time Paul buys me a card (he’s really good at picking them out).

The only tearful picture I have, but that one single tear falling from her eye says it all.

Basically, I have asked God to block my tear ducts, just a little. Not to give me a hardened heart but just not to be such a baby. I just want to be able to tell my husband how proud I am of him, without crying. I want to say a prayer with Paul about our future, without crying. I want to pick up Mak from her sitter’s house for the last time on June 10th and be able to say thank you for helping to raise my daughter and good-bye, without crying. I want to tell my co-workers how much I’ve enjoyed working with them over the last 4 years, without crying. I want to wish our friends good luck as they also go out on their new adventures, without crying.

Well, MAYBE, I just did exactly what I want to do…oh, the power of the WRITTEN word.

Wanted: Hay Bale Artists

shanicstudios — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:00:14 +0000

While in VT, Paul and I noticed a very interesting new art form that seems to be doing well in the Southwest part of the state. Hay bale art. They were so ginormous, it was kind of hard to miss them. Clearly, there was continuity in the quality of craftsmanship, which tells me that someone is making money at this. It’s a big state folks, if you’ve ever aspired to be a hay bale artist; VT has a market for it.

Could I get a fry with my ketchup?

shanicstudios — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:00:13 +0000

Vermont

shanicstudios — Mon, 24 May 2010 23:49:02 +0000

During Paul’s job hunt, we didn’t know where we might end up, but Vermont was a strong possibility for a while. We went to VT over my spring break in early April and toured all over the state.

It really is a gorgeous place and I LOVE all the little villages scattered around. It’s definitely a Norman Rockwell kind of a state.

We stayed at a resort in Killington, which had an outdoor heated pool. Let’s just say if you want to go swimming…outdoors…in Vermont…in April…it better be heated.

While it is a beautiful place, VT was marked off the list of possible places to move. Did I mention that it was snowing the morning we left?!?!