Happy Birthday to me!

This year I turned the big 24 (whoot whoot).  

This year all I wanted was a new DSLR camera.  I had planned to buy one from a friend here in town, but also planned on using all of my baby sitting money and part of our Christmas bonus to buy it... in November or December.  Being so fed up with being so pregnant, and with not much else going on, I was really reeeealy itching to get playing with camera that was to be mine.  

After Stewart left me for a week of work in Wisconsin, and my parents were gone for a week helping my brother move, I was pretty cranky right before my birthday and pretty much threatened Stewart that if he didn't get this camera for my birthday, I was just going to Credit Card it anyway.  I bugged him about it a lot.  So much in fact, that the last time I brought it up he got kind of mad at me (It takes A LOT for him to get mad at me.... Sooo pretty much it sounded like I was going to have to be patient.  

The other side of this story includes me telling this friend that I would get her the first $100 by the first of the month (which came and went while Stew was out of town).  I didn't make it to Twin at all to cash my checks, and the days of October kept dragging by, making me feel like more and more of a liar.  Even though I talked to her and she didn't seem too bothered by it, I was feeling bad.  After Stewart was home for a week I freaked out on him again.  "PLEASE cash these checks TODAY!  It's the only thing I've really asked you to help me with since you've been home!!"  That night he informed me that he had deposited the checks, all was well.  I was SO MAD!  I wanted to give her CASH!  I'd already hassled her by making her wait, and now I was going to make her cash a check.  What a moron!! COME ON MAN!  I SAID CASH THEM!  (I was pretty mad).  

Welll... I reeeally need to learn to take it easy (especially around my birthday).  Stewart did indeed deposit the check, but he also paid for the camera, IN FULL, and had it for me on my birthday.  How did I ever get so lucky? 

Not only did he get my camera for me, he put together a nice birthday dinner party for me with all our family.  When I groaned because I didn't want to have people at our house- (I would have to clean) He insisted he would clean the entire house to my standards, which he did (He even mopped... which are above my standards) :) He also changed every diaper for the day (Brogan had three poop bombs), and he made dinner.  I really love that guy!

These past few weeks after my birthday I've spent playing with my camera, taking notes, reading online tutorials, and taking TONS of pictures! 

This was the first day after I'd gotten it.  I read pretty much the entire owners manual, played around with ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.  I'm still in the process of getting it all right, and I'm super annoying if I'm taking your picture, but I'm starting to get the hang of it! 

Here are just a few of my favorites from the last little while... the weather has been beautiful! It's starting to get colder now, so I hope I have a few more opportunities to get out and capture some of the gorgeous fall light and leaves! 

(p.s.- all of these have a teeny bit of editing, but only in Picasa- mostly the fill light or shadow fill... no photoshop (yet).  (Hopefully I'll be able to get photoshop for Christmas {Wink Wink Stewart}.

But I am pretty proud of the quality of pictures I got- hot off the camera!