1. It’s March first. It’s been a mild winter and I don’t know if the whole “in like a lion, out like a lamb” thing applies – unless the lion part refers to the fact that winter – no matter what the temperature – is stupid, and yucky, and by the time we roll into April, we’ll be through the worst of it. I’m hoping. I could use a little more color outside. Like this flower.

2. I haven’t bought any new music in the past week. Partly because my brain is a big pool of mush. What are you listening to? Any recommendations?

3. It’s official – though it may have been official last year or the year before (I’ll have to check my archives): American Idol, once they get past the whole audition process, has completely lost its appeal to me. I tried to watch last night but got so distracted by a performer’s bad dancing that I was baffled when the judges later gave her a standing ovation. Sure, fine, whatever – maybe she could sing, but WERE THEY NOT WATCHING HER?

4. One of my favorite things about a new month is turning a page in the calendar – literally. This month while I’m at work, my NYC calendar is now flipped to March’s page – a gorgeous view of the city from the Empire State Building. Love it.

5. There’s a lot of debate now with copyright issues and Pinterest – is it stopping you from pinning? Do you think they’ll change their terms of service? I know photographers have had a lot of back and forth debate about how they feel about it – seeing your work pinned and repinned without attribution is pretty much no fun – but to see that Pinterest’s TOS puts the burden of legal fees from any court shtuff on the user (even Pinterest’s fees!), well… Hmmm.

6. Craving a hot sandwich yesterday, I walked to a nearby restaurant that didn’t have what I wanted. When I said I wasn’t finding what I wanted, they immediately offered to make something customized just for me. I was pretty blown away. My sandwich was wonderful and now knowing how great they are there, I’ll go back. Can’t beat awesome service and staff.

7. (Clearly I’m hungry right now) One of the hardest things about no longer working from home is that meals are more often than not hastily thrown together and…boring. I need to start using my slow cooker more. I’m so sick of boring food.

8. Always with the camera. I love this shot that Lotus took in Nashville. I’m the one in turquoise.

9. I just saw today that someone has been hired (hired? commissioned? contracted?) to write the sequel to Top Gun 2. Really. On the plus side, I guess the writer also wrote “The Town” (good movie) – on the downside: Top Gun 2? Why? I didn’t realize there was a need for that. Or a want for that. Unless they can find a way to bring Goose back, I’m not interested.

10. Nope, still no baby. Seriously wondering if she’s going to be all about making grand entrances her whole life. She’s got an impatient aunt waiting for her!

1. This week was my THIRD ANNUAL bake sale to raise funds for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I raised a nice chunk of change (yay!) and was really thrilled to have been welcomed back once more to raise money fora great cause. But lesson learned: people apparently don’t like Snickerdoodles. I just don’t get it. Oh well. More for me.

2. Whitney Houston died. Whoa, right? She had a brilliant catalog of music and it’s sad to see her light dimmed too soon. Because of her death, I’ve gone back and listened to more of her stuff lately – which is why I spent a good chunk of yesterday with “I Have Nothing” stuck in my head.

3. Less than a week until Blissdom and Nashville. Can’t believe it – and am ready to get in the lovely Chevy Traverse (Thanks GM!) and road trip down with one of my favorite people (Hi Kat!) and spend several days with some of my favorite people, learning new things and being thoroughly entertained. (Are you going to Blissdom? Lemme know in the comments!)

4. Entertained because… they announced Blissdom’s entertainment yesterday – Rascall Flats (I always get it wrong – two Ls in Rascal? Or two Ts in Flats? Y’all know who I mean, though, right?). Joe Jonas. And the lovely Chris Mann. I’m looking forward to it.

5. I sent my sister the link to Etsy the other day so she could look at props for newborn baby photos. Can I just say how EXCITED I AM to photograph a little bitty baby? Still a few more things I would like to get (a super fluffy blanky to photograph the baby with), but it’ll happen.

6. Speaking of my sister – after her doc’s appointment yesterday, they are no longer really concerned about pre-eclampsia – but they want to keep an eye out on her blood pressure. They anticipate inducing labor the first week of March. I cannot believe it’s almost here!!

7. The Princess’s doctor said the kiddo needed shoes with better support to combat the heel pain she’s been having. How is my nine year old in a SIX AND A HALF SHOE already? Granted, I have big feet, so… odds are not in her favor of having tiny dainty feet. But whoa. When did that happen? (And I’m embarassed to admit that the shoes she HAD been wearing were 4s. My god, those must have hurt like hell).

8. I have been reading the Steve Jobs biography for a few weeks now. It’s a big book. It’s a really big book – so well written, but it’s slow going. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel though, and I can’t WAIT to start reading something else.

9. The other day, Pumpkin and The Princess were on a chess kick. I don’t even know how to play chess and yet they played off and on all day. It amazes me. The Princess won most of the time, but I think as Pumpkin gets older and figures strategy and thinking a few steps ahead of herself, she may give her sis a serious run for her money.

10. This weekend is the second of baby showers I’ve had this winter (can you believe my sister and best friend are pregnant at the same time? BABIES BABIES EVERYWHERE!). Both are having girls. I may try re-doing my Oreos on a stick. I’ve re-thought my Oreo dipping strategy and I think I’ve got the solution to a gorgeous cookie. We’ll see, huh?

1. February. Wow. How’d that happen already? Today is Groundhog’s Day and while I don’t know if Phil saw his shadow or not, I heard they’re saying six more weeks of winter. Fabulous. Don’t they say that every year? You know why? BECAUSE IT’S FEBRUARY. OF COURSE THERE ARE SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER. Sigh.

2. So, Chris Mann – the guy with a voice like buttah (I’m not entirely cool enough to pull off describing his voice that way – but HIS VOICE. Sigh. Amazing) is going to be on The Voice this Sunday after the SuperBowl. I don’t really care about the SuperBowl, but am so looking forward to seeing Chris because I know he is going to kick ass. How could he not? Go check out his EPs on iTunes if you haven’t already, and when he wins The Voice you can say you knew about him WAY before The Voice. Oh, and here he is. I love this picture that Rachel (A Southern Fairytale) took at Blissdom last year. Check him out on Sunday on The Voice after the SuperBowl.

3. Holy jalapeno… that’s an exclaimation from Pumpkin’s favorite book series these days – Skippyjon Jones. They’ve been reading them in school and she ADORES them. I don’t know, I can take ‘em or leave them (they’re kind of long for bedtime story reading), but some of the sayings make me laugh. Since I hate cats, I don’t blame Skippito for pretending he’s a chihuahua. Dude, I would too. If I were a cat.

4. I’m going to attempt the candy-coated Oreos on a stick once more. This time, instead of putting the freshly dipped Oreos on a cooling rack (oy, the grid marks), I have purchased a styrofoam block at a craftstore which will be covered with foil or parchment paper, and I will put the stick in the styrofoam, nearly right up to the pop (so frosting doesn’t drip down the stick), so it will look pretty from all sides. I’ll update y’all. I think it’s still gonna be a messy project. But yummy. And yummy trumps messy…almost every time.

5. My sister’s doctor is saying that she has pre-eclampsia and that the baby is measuring kinda big – which means my niece may be here a few weeks early. I’m kinda looking forward to meeting this new little person in just about a month. I can’t wait to see what she looks like, what her temperament is like, and frankly, I just want to spoil her.

6. When I stopped in for my cappuccino, the new kid working at Starbucks said I should get a venti because I “looked tired”. Was he trying to upsell me or was he clueless? Who knows. And yeah, I got the venti.

7. The Princess had a gymnastics meet on Sunday where despite very tough judging managed to bring home three red ribbons and a white. She found out a few days later at practice just how CLOSE she was to getting a blue ribbon for her floor routine – a frustrating discovery for her. BUT, she knows what to work on and hopefully she’ll improve that aspect for the next meet. And really? Every time she competes she is just so much better than the time before. Her progress is noticeable, visible and really just amazing to see. I’m very proud of her.

8. Got an email from The Princess’s fourth grade teacher that the unit on recorders in music class is over and that the kids should keep their recorders at school just in case they need them again. Hallelujah. I love music and I love my children being involved with loving and learning music – but that recorder? ANNOYING AS ALL GET OUT. No one sounds good playing one.

9. In just a few short weeks I’ll be road tripping down to Nashville with Kat for Blissdom – will I see you there? Looking forward to learning new things and seeing some of the friends I only get to see once a year. I sure hope Kat’s ready to karaoke with me again.

10. Book club meeting is next week to discuss “The Night Circus” and I need ideas to suggest for March’s book selection. What are you reading? Are you enjoying it?

1. First things first – this has been an amazing few weeks for music – several awesome downloads last week and this week’s release of Ingrid Michaelson’s new album, “Human Again”. If you’re an Ingrid fan (and I am), this seems a bit of a departure from her usual quirky Ingrid sound – seems a little sadder, a little less…fun. Still beautiful. Still lyrically Ingrid. It just has a slightly different flavor.

2. Since I’m already talking about music… I’m less than a month away from a road trip to Blissdom! Kat and I will be driving from hereish to there – which translates into SEVERAL HOURS IN THE CAR. Of course, I love a good road trip, I love me some Kat – and I am SO excited about the trip. But, Kat and I need some good tunes in the car – if you have suggestions for our Road to Bliss playlist, let me know.

3. Saw the movie “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” this past weekend. I’d been slightly (not very) hesitant because movie adaptations are never as good as the book. Frankly, I loved the book so much the movie didn’t stand a chance of measuring up. But. It was beautifully done and lovely and I didn’t cry nearly as much as I thought I would. And it’s got an Oscar nomination – making it the only contender for “Best Picture” that I’ve seen this year.

4. I just wrapped up reading a fun book this week, and I’m reading a book with The Princess for our Mom/Daughter book club, but I’m finally gearing up to dive into Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Have you read it? What did you think? I am not normally a reader of biographies, but thought I’d give it a whirl. I took the below photo outside the 5th Avenue Apple store in New York City.

5. I’ve reached the point of winter where I am bored with my hair and debating getting a major hair cut. I need to talk myself out of it. I have been growing out my hair since my last drastic above-the-shoulders cut two years ago and it’s down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. I don’t want to grow my hair to my feet – but I’m not sure I’m ready for a short ‘do again (or ever!). But… winter almost compels me to make a change. So… maybe I need a new color.

6. Pumpkin is on a SkippyJon Jones kick. I have to admit, I find it somewhat adorable that she’s added the phrase “holy frijoles” to her vocabulary.

7. A boy told The Princess yesterday that she was not “built for soccer” but that she was “built for math”. I don’t even know what the hell that means, but I’m sure it wasn’t intended to be nice. I’m fighting the mama bear urge to tell The Princess to give him the middle finger and say, “You’re right – I’m so good at math I can tell you exactly how many fingers I’m holding up.” But, that’s not the right answer. My gymnast could probably beat any of the boys in her class in a pushup contest, and being good at math is an awesome thing. I can only assume this boy just didn’t want any girls in a “boys only” game of soccer. To which I say THIS: pbbbbbbbbbbbbth. Whether you are a parent of daughters or a parent of sons (or of both!), you have a responsibility to challenge the gender “norms” that have been held for so long: girls can’t play sports, boys can’t play dress up or have dolls, everything made for girls needs to be pink. It’s 2012 not 1950. I have daughters – and it’s my job to let them know they are capable of doing damn near anything a boy can (except pee standing up – I’m not encouraging that mess).

8. I’ve made it a mission to work on strengthening my skills in the arena of food photography. It’s not easy – for sure – but, I’m intrigued by it.

9. My sister’s baby shower? It went WELL! Now to plan the shower for my sweet sweet friend who is due just four weeks after. Two baby showers back to back has taught me one thing: I was right in not pursuing a career in event planning.

10. Project Runway without Tim Gunn? No bueno. I even almost miss Heidi. Project Runway AllStars is kind of a miss for me. And that’s my hard-hitting reality TV opinion of the day.

1. My music library has had somewhat of a drought lately – hadn’t really added much of anything new. I changed that this week. I downloaded the new album by Florence + The Machine, the latest Ani DiFranco and the Taylor Swift/Civil Wars single from the Hunger Games movie, “Safe and Sound.” All good stuff. Happy ears.

2. The other song I’m loving now is Ingrid Michaelson’s cover of “Somebody That I Used To Know”. The song is all over the internet right now, with basically everyone on the planet covering it. I like her version. And I love watching what she’s doing with percussion.

3. The Princess had a spelling bee the other day and sadly was out in the second round. And she was devastated. She knew how to spell the word and her mouth just went a little faster than her brain. Poor kid.

4. I am on the second round of antibiotics for this 2012 Massive Cootie Germfest. Seriously. I think they’re working. My sinuses feel less like popping out of my face. It’s been…not so fun. But, I’m hoping I’ve turned the corner. I hope.

5. In the zone with baby shower planning – my sister’s shower is THIS WEEKEND. Pulling those last minute details together and really just excited about spoiling my sister and my unborn niece rotten. I think I’m finally done shopping for the shower. I keep picking up “one more thing”. So fun. Can you tell I’m a first time aunt?

6. American Idol is back. As someone who will never make more than a few sympathy dollars with her singing voice (I think it’s really good but I realize that every one else just lacks taste), I sure do love the first few eps of American Idol where everyone sings so horribly. It makes me happy. Which is awful, but I’m sure it’s the point.

7. Sometimes I take a picture that I fall in love with. I wish I had had something better than just an iPhone with me but I still… I look at this and see exactly what had drawn me to his moment. Sometimes I see something – but it doesn’t translate. This, the emotion I saw in the empty chairs, carried to the end result.

8. Around the holiday season, everyone was talking about Love Actually so I rented it from iTunes and I thought it didn’t download. Well, I thought that because iTunes told me it didn’t. Then this week, I got notice that the rental period was nearly up. I’ve had that movie ALL THAT TIME? Well, guess what? Another year has passed and I still haven’t seen it.

9. In four months (WOW! Just four?!), I’ll be in Boston walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. You know it’s a good cause, so if you’d like to support me, please click to donate.

10. I’m really looking forward to the movie “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” that comes out this weekend. Would I have cast Tom Hanks? I’m thinking… no. Soooo, it’ll be interesting to see.

1. Well, the antibiotics are gone but this cough still lingers, as does this runny nose. It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all. I need all the Kleenex in the world right now. It’s not good.

2. As I type, the snow is falling and we’re expected to get a few inches of snow in West Michigan. We’ve been pretty lucky with a mild winter so far, so I shouldn’t complain about getting a few inches of snow in January except… I really don’t like snow.

3. And with bad weather comes… the lengthening of my commute. This morning’s drive in was super slow. And there wasn’t any snow. It’s ONLY GONNA GET BETTER!

4. So, the thing about Project Runway All Stars is… Tim Gunn isn’t on it. Pfft. What’s Project Runway without Tim? I’m rooting for Mondo, though, and yeah, I’ll probably keep watching.

5. With this cold that won’t go away, I have decided to heed the typical “drink lots of fluid” advice and have upped my water intake by about 100,000 percent. (I may be exaggerating). Those insulated cold cups with the straws? THE BEST for encouraging water consumption because somehow drinking with a straw seems to make it less of a chore. Probably the same reason I can drink ten diet cokes when I go out to eat (not really ten. Probably).

6. Baby shower planning mode in full effect. Do you know that baby shower planning is really tough work? It IS. But, I’m excited and can’t wait to surprise my sister with some really fun stuff that she has no idea about. Turned in the final head count today and we’re going to have a full house.

7. I am making it a mission to get better at food photography – I’m a rotten cook, but I want to sharpen my skills at making food look appetizing. I gave it a whirl photographing the brownies I baked tonight. Let’s just say I have a LONG WAY TO GO.

8. Do you use Pinterest? I was resistant to trying it, but love the photography ideas. And the cookie recipes. I really love the cookie recipes.

9. Did you pick a word for the year? I did.

10. Just finished reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close over the weekend and LOVED it. I am not a fan of writing and highlighting books – but this book made me want to. There were so many lines that resonated with me that I wanted to make note of them all. I didn’t. I may go back and track them down. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie (though now that I’ve read the book, I question the casting).

1. I had to call in sick to work today and I hate that. I realized after feeling progressively worse yesterday and then just being wracked with awful coughing jags last night and the overall feeling like I’m drowning in snot…then waking up feeling not at all better… that maybe I should stay home and maybe get in to see the doc. Doc gave me antibiotics, cough meds and orders to rest and drink lots of fluids. There may be a nap in my future.

2. When I don’t feel well, I crave carbs. Exhibit A.

3. Michigan beat Virginia Tech in the SugarBowl! Whoohoo! Would have preferred less of a tense, edge of the seat, game ending at midnight ordeal, but YAY! A victory. Hail!

4. Cough medicine is making me sleeeeeeeeeeepy. It wasn’t supposed to. Nondrowsy? Hmmph. I may actually take a nap today.

5. Book club last night – the book for January is The Night Circus, which I’d been wanting to read, and now I have an excuse. Whatcha reading?

6. After a holiday season of pretty much eating what I wanted WHEN I wanted (monkey bread, salted caramel cheesecake, ice cream sandwiches on New Years Eve), I have decided to start paying more attention to what I’m eating. Being sick has made this a little easier than it could be, since I can’t taste anything right now. I should be eating broccoli.

7. Before we got our puppy, there was this lovely spot by the sliding glass door where the sun spilled across the floor in delicious warmth and I would lay in the spot and read, soaking in the golden rays of the sun. Yeah. Not anymore. Pup’s claimed that spot as his own. Booooo.

8. I watched the first two hours of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (the latest version with Daniel Craig) and thought it was well done – though I ended up leaving early because of a migraine (do you wonder why I hate winter so much?). I felt it stuck to the book a lot better than most movies do and I thought it lent a different layer to Lisbeth that I hadn’t gotten from the books – sometimes it’s hard to visualize, but I think it made her vulnerability more apparent and made her make sense.

9. Now that winter break is over and kiddos are back to school, do you find your kids are thrilled to be back? I think mine are – but it’s definitely an adjustment period after two weeks of a willy-nilly schedule.

10. Project Runway AllStars starts tonight. I don’t watch as much television as I used to but ALWAYS ALWAYS make an exception for PR.

1. This is the last Thursday Ten post of 2011 – and either you’re really excited (WHOO! I DON’T HAVE TO READ ANOTHER ONE OF THESE UNTIL NEXT YEAR!) or you’re sad and mourning the passage of time and are grateful that with my weekly Ten lists, I made the time seem like it was flying and how, HOW WILL YOU EVER REPAY YOUR DEBT TO ME (I’d like a new car, please).

2. To celebrate the end of 2011, I’ve done what millions of other people have done before me: I got a cold. Today, I’ve got cold medicine on board – but there’s definite tradeoffs. While I definitely feel less like my head is a stuffed up mess, my brain on cold medicine is not what you would call…functional. Oh well.

3. As a treat for myself, I bought myself some nice shampoo and conditioner. I had been using some great stuff from Avon that I received to review (and I love it), but I wanted a break because I have missed the smell of Aveda Shampure. I stopped at a salon on my way home yesterday and picked some up. Right now, I am sniffing my hair while typing this post (something I could not do successfully without cold medicine, I might add).

4. In fun news, I’m working on a playlist to try to define, musically, what my year looked like. Not as easy as you’d think – also, trying to not include anything by Ke$ha (what was 2011 without Ke$ha – uh. Kidding. Kind of). Not all the songs will be from this year – some just define the moments, and some are songs I was drawn to over the course of the past twelve months. What songs would be on YOUR 2011 playlist?

5. Day after Christmas, half off candy canes. I won’t tell you how many boxes of candy canes I bought (a lot), but I’m so glad I bought them. Yummy minty goodness.

6. In an effort to be “more healthy”, I have decided to drink more water (hydration!) and more green tea (metabolism boosting!) and less Coke Zero (all the evil things that taste so yummy!). I’m wondering how long does it take for my metabolism to speed up and JUST HOW MUCH TEA I HAVE TO DRINK TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

7. The days are getting longer. I look forward to when it’s light when I drive to work and light when I drive home. That will be nice. There are so many ways that winter is awful, but the darkness – the stupid darkness – is one of the biggest.

8. I wore leggings today. This was only my second time venturing out in public in them. I am tremendously comfortable and not nearly as aware of my thighs as I thought I’d be.

9. Do you go into a new year with a word or a theme? I decided my word for 2011 was “HOPE” and I have yet to decide what my word will be for 2012. I don’t make resolutions – but I’ll pick a word. Seems a little less daunting.

10. Seems like this post needs a photo. Here’s Chicago. I LOVE Chicago. One of my favorite cities on the planet. Definitely in my top 3.

1.  So, yeah, I haven’t been here in awhile and there’s been no new content for awhile and while I don’t think anyone noticed, if you did notice, I’m so sorry. Also, I realize that “notice” and “care” do not mean the same thing. So, I’ll pretend that yes, if you noticed, you also cared and mourned the lack of new content in this space. Whatever, it’s my blog. I can do that.

2. Well, where were you Sarah? I’m glad you asked. I was in Dallas for the second time this year – this time to photograph the wedding of my dear sweet friend. What an amazing honor to be asked to capture her special day. I am elbow deep in editing pictures – that’s definitely a time consuming part of the process – but it’s fun to re-live the day every time I open up Lightroom on my laptop!

3. Another trip means another series of plane adventures. Smooth flying and not at all worth the worrying I did before hand (Don’t you dare remind me that next time I am freaking out about travel). I still don’t love air travel – but you can’t beat the convenience, and how else am I going to get this view of Chicago?

4. Looks like we’re going to be having a green Christmas in Michigan this year. Ask me if I’m heartbroken (NO!).

5. Really looking forward to seeing the US adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. I read the trilogy, but the Swedish version of the movie was too intense for me. I’m already loving the Trent Reznor soundtrack – so I hope the movie is good as well. I don’t have a thing for Daniel Craig, so that aspect doesn’t really appeal to me. Should be interesting, anyway.

6. I wonder if there’s been studies done on how songs get stuck in one’s head. Today, I’ve been hearing that weird song from the grinch movie (If substituted all the made up words to “Dara Torres, Dara Torres, Welcome Christmas, come this way…”).

7. Are you done holiday shopping or are you the last minute sort? I think I’m done. We’ll see – midday tomorrow, I’ll probably come up with something I have to buy. Hope not. I’m so over shopping.

8. The shopping may be done but I have yet to start baking. On my agenda this year – a salted caramel cheesecake and as per my tradition, monkey bread for Christmas morning breakfast. What will you be baking this year?

9. And once the holidays end, I will kick into high gear of planning my sister’s baby shower. Cannot believe my niece is going to make her debut in our world in just a few months. Having so much fun celebrating her already and she’s not even born (and you know, her middle name will be Sarah. How much do I LOVE that?).

10. In case I don’t manage to blog again until next week (I’d like to say that won’t happen, but, I can’t!), I hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas, or Channukah or whatever you celebrate. Wishing you the best this holiday season. Lots of love, light and candy canes.