Mom to Bed by 8

There are some amazing giveaways going on over at Mom to Bed by 8's blog. Check them out here:

SOOC Saturday (The View From My Back Door)

The other night, I looked out the window and saw the most beautiful sunset. I grabbed my camera and rushed out the door and took picture after picture until it was too dark to take any more. The pinks, reds, oranges, yellows, and blues made for a magnificent view. It was as if God was painting the skyline, and he certainly didn't need any help from photoshop. ;-)

I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place, where I can enjoy amazing sunsets (smog free), see all the stars at night, and hear nothing but the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking.

Mmmm, blissful.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

You can also check out other entries for SOOC (straight out of the Camera) Saturday by clicking on the link below.

~Amber

Writing to My Sisters

Christy & Kelly:

I'm going to write you a both a letter this week, and get out some feelings that I have never been able to say. Even today, when we had our little confrontation in the store parking lot, I just couldn't seem to get the right words out of my mouth.... they were blocked by the lump in my throat and the knot in my stomach. I couldn't get out the right words because I could feel the tears in my eyes coming closer with every word I spoke. So, I'm going to write to you instead.

Then, I am going to respect your wishes and never contact either of you again. It is pointless for me to continue to try and have a relationship with two people who apparently hate the sister that they have never actually known. Of course, you only hate the version of me that has been described to you, which is not who I actually I am at all. So, I will let go, and not try any more. However, I want you to know that I will never stop being your sister, and I will never stop loving you or praying for you.

If one day you realize you made a mistake and you want to know me after all, I will be here. I will always be available to you in that way, because that's what family does. I have never wanted anything more than to be your big sister and your friend. I have desired that relationship for as long as I can remember, and I have been denied that over and over again. So for now, until you change your mind, I am just going to stop putting myself in the place where it is so easy for me to be hurt be your selfish actions.

I don't know if you will ever see this blog post... part of me secretly hopes you are curious like me and you google my name just to see what comes up... If you do, maybe you will read this. Of course, I don't know if you will read the letter I send you either. For all I know you may drop it in the trash as soon as you realize it is from me. If you do, well... oh well I guess, Not much I can do about that. I tried, and now I am done trying.

This is the only picture I have of all three of us together. To my knowledge, it is the only one that even exists. I hope that changes some day, but I'm not holding my breath any more.

I love you still, Amber

Waterfront & Macro Challenges

Here are a couple more photo challenges for this week. I am really enjoying entering these, as I feel it is helping me grow in both my photography skills, and my post processing knowledge. Looking at everyone else's photo's always gives me some great ideas. I hope you will also check out the links below and gains some inspiration from everyone's amazing photography.

Waterfront:

This picture was taken in Bandon, Oregon, the day after my Mom and Step Dad's wedding. It was taken using my old Pentax Film camera. I love how the focus is on the grass, but you can still see the ocean in the background. It is one of my favorite pictures from that day.

Macro:

This picture was taken outside of our local junior college after the first big snow of the year. I love how the light is shining through the leaves and reflecting off the melting snow.

That's all for now.

~Amber

Some Great Giveaways Today...

Wow, there are some amazing giveaways out there in internet land today! Check these out:

First up, Waterwaif is hosting a number of fabulous giveaways on her blog. You can check all of them out by going to her home page, and looking under the "Current Giveaways" tab on the left side. I am entering her giveaways for a SavvySilver gift certificate, a yummy cupcake soy votive candle set from Hollyberry Hill, a brass birdy necklace from MDsparks, and a bird's nest pendant from Rebecca Novotny. These people have some beautiful stuff!!

Audrey's Giveaways always has a bunch of giveaways going on. Right now, you can fins giveaways for everything from jewelry and shopping bags, to soaps and coolers. Amazing stuff! Click on the link below to check them out and enter as many as you want!

Songberries is hosting a giveaway for a lot of Softlips products and for an amazing Soda Stream machine! Yum!

Canadian Natural Mama is hosting a giveaway for the most adorable hand stamped doggy name tags!! They are made by Make Your Dog Smile, and I think they are awesome! She is also hosting a giveaway for some very sweet little girl hair clippies by 2Cuties.

Susie B. Homemaker is giving away a travel mug by Brugo Mugs. This is one high tech mug and it comes in a bunch of colors. Check it out!

I don't know about you, but I really enjoy looking for giveaways, and the thrill of occasionally winning something. I post these here on my blog for two reasons... One, because I usually get extra entries that way, and who doesn't want a better chance to win?! And two, because I truly hope that some of my bloggy friends win some of these awesome giveaways also. So, enter to your hearts content, and let me know if you win something! I actually recently won a giveaway by ComeShopPinkLemonade on Etsy. I just placed my order with my gift certificate, and I can't wait to see my prize! :-)

~Amber

Bloggy Friends Giveaways!

Hey there,

Two of the blogs that I follow are currently hosting giveaways, and who doesn't love a giveaway?!

The first is The Paper Mama. Her giveaway is for some really cute address labels from Pear Tree Greetings.

The second giveaway is over at Clever's Corner. She is hosting a giveaway from the Etsy shop, Waterwaif. Waterwaif carries some beautiful jewelry and original artwork.

And the third and final giveaway for today is over at Denise Yezbak Moore. She is hosting an amazing bead giveaway. I am almost hesitant to post it here because I don't want anyone but me to win it! :-)

You should go and check them out, and hopefully you will win something awesome!!

And speaking of giveaways... I am planning on hosting my second giveaway sometime in July, so be on the lookout!

~Amber

Wedding Post, Part 1: The Cake & Candy Bar

This past weekend, I had the pleasure and the honor of helping my friend Kelly with her wedding.

I have known Kelly and her family since I was about 10... maybe younger. Kelly, her sister Megan and I always looked similar as kids, and spent a ton of time with each other, so I became their adopted sister. They were both bridesmaids in my wedding 6 years ago. We have always had the kind of relationship that you can come back to, even after not seeing each other or talking in a long time. Just like sisters. Oh, and we bicker like sisters too. :-P

From the very beginning of the wedding planning we knew I would make her cake (of course!), but eventually I also became her official Wedding Coordinator. I love weddings, and I usually end up filling this role at friends weddings anyways, so it only seemed natural that I would be that person for Kelly. At the end of the day, I had worn many hats, including that of cake decorator/cutter/server, DJ, bar attendant, driver, forgotten marriage licence retriever (LOL), stress reducer, and probably a few others. Basically, I was there to make sure that Kelly and Will's wedding went as smoothly as possible, and I do think that I succeeded. The wedding was beautiful, and so many people pitched in all over the place to pull it all together.

Despite being incredibly busy, I did manage to sneak off and take a few pictures throughout the night, or at least until Kelly's camera died! I don't have all of them yet, so I am just going to post them as I get them uploaded. First up: the cake!

I spent most of the week working on her cake, and I was thrilled with how it turned out! The inspiration for Kelly's cake came from Marth Stewart Weddings. There was a cake on the cover of the magazine that was plain white, with a swarm of multi-colored butterflies cascading up the cake. That is what Kelly wanted, just in pink. I love the butterflies!

Kelly also asked me to put together her candy bar, so I decided to have the cake and candy on the same table. My mom and I decorated all the containers for the candy, and then I just set up the table.

For the candy bar, we had Rock Candy, small and large Whirly Pops, Watermelon Licorice, M&M's, Strawberry Gummy Puffs, and Raspberry Chocolates, all in pink of course!

This was the first candy bar I have done, and also the biggest wedding cake I have made. All in all, I was thrilled with the result, and so was the Bride.

I can't wait for the chance to do it again!

~Amber

P.S. I am linking this blog post up to Sweet Shot Tuesday for their photo challenge. The first photo in this post is my "sweet shot" for the week!