Everytime I pass a McDonald’s, I need to resist the temptation to buy one:

It’s about two dollars less than its counterpart at Starbucks, and tastes about the same. I can ask for an extra shot of vanilla and I don’t get charged. I always buy one on the way to Milwaukee, and by the time I get there, I feel like I’ve got 10 gallons of pee in me. But it tastes soooooo good!

The ads for it said, “For a limited time only” and it saddened me to know that, like the McRib, this might be a once a year thing. But it’s already December and it’s still around. Yay!

Tags: Photography by Yano
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Since I’m too cheap to get a professional picture done, I decided to take my own Christmas card picture with Ben. Even if I wasn’t cheap…I have yet to step foot in a mall during this holiday season - a) because I hate malls during this time and b) I’ve been so busy with work, most of my Christmas shopping has been done online.

When Ben was a little non-walking baby last year, it was EASY to take a picture of him. All I had to do was cover the rocking chair in a blanket, plop him down, wave a toy in the air, and I had tons of great pictures to choose from.

This year, it’s a little tougher. He’s constantly in motion, and he HATES wearing hats. When we first put up our Christmas tree, he was fascinated by it, constantly going up to the tree to touch the ornaments (gently, as he’s learned to do). I knew that it would be the perfect backdrop for his Christmas pictures.

But once the cute jammies were put on, and the hat was attached, the coolness factor of the tree was gone. He had moved on to throwing his football around or rolling around on his truck. I was able to get him still a couple times with some gummy bear bribes (yes, I know they’re HORRIBLE for his teeth - I made sure he brushed afterwards). Unfortunately, getting him to laugh or even smile on cue is still something I have yet to master.

But finally, after three sessions, I got some great shots that I’ll be sending out with our cards - at this rate, they’ll be out mid-2008.

For now, enjoy the out takes…

Tags: Photography, Ben, Stories by Yano
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 I bought Ben his first potty the other day.  I did a bit of research on them, and although I was tempted to get one that played music, talked, had it’s own toilet paper holder and did a whole bunch of other amazing things, it seemed like this simple style got the best ratings.  Ben immediately liked it as soon as he saw it, sitting down on it (with his pants on) and slouching back with his arm over the back.  We’ve already had a session bare bottomed sitting on top of the potty, but no results.  There was another time when I saw him put on his poop face (that stern look of concentration, the reddening of the face and the squat), and I grabbed him, tore off his diapers and put him on the potty.  Not a good idea!  First of all, Ben does NOT like it when people touch him when he’s doing a dos…doesn’t even like people looking at him.  So grabbing him was a no-no.  The other thing is that he was surprised - he had no idea what was going on (even though we’ve mentioned repeatedly that the potty was for poo).  So he sat on the potty, crying, trying to get off and wanting me to hug and comfort him.  Poor kid!  The only thing that ended up in the bowl was the little turd that was already on his way out with his first push.

So right now, we’ll just get him familiar with his potty…let him know that it’s there in case he feels like using it…

Tags: Photography, Ben by Yano
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Baby Shower Cupcakes, originally uploaded by Yano.

Dave liked the strawberry cupcakes better than the banana ones I made before. Melanie and Fatima say that the banana cupcakes win hands down!

Tags: Photography by Yano
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I’ve got my San Francisco pictures finally up - which was the first stop of our Super Mega Vacation. We were there for about three days. The first day we met up with Walter and did a boat tour around the bay. We got to see downtown San Francisco from the water, went underneath the Golden Gate Bridge and passed by Alcatraz.

Alcatraz

The next day Dave had a conference to go to, so me, Ben and Dave’s mom did a little touring of our own. We stopped by Grace Cathedral, went to the park, drove around the city, and spent some time at the Golden Gate Park, which is HUGE.

A Bridge in the Japanese Garden

The third day there, we took a cable car ride around the city. Ben really enjoyed it - at times it was like riding a roller coaster.

Turning the Cable Car

San Francisco is my favorite non-Chicago city. It’s beautiful, a place where so many different cultures and walks of life come together so well, and the city itself has such a warm and wonderful personality.

Click here to see all my San Francisco Pics.

Tags: Photography, Travel, Pictures by Yano
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Honolulu, originally uploaded by Yano.

Work work work. Vacation seems to be only a distant memory…

Tags: Photography, Quickies by Yano
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Since I got a promotion and raise for work (more on that later), I decided to treat myself. I went out and bought an SB-600 flash for my camera. I’d been thinking of getting one so I could direct my flash to make it less harsh on my subjects (Ben, most of the time). I had done some research on the web and it looks like the SB-600 is a good buy.

My New Toy

Now I need to experiment with settings. I did several test shots, though not many since I’ve been working alot (vacation seems so far away!) Based on those test shots, I had a yearning to add one more thing to my photo-arsenal: a Stofen Omnibounce. Pictures with that will be posted sometime this week.

Direct flash

Flash at 45 degrees, bounced off ceiling

Even with a direct flash, it’s not as harsh as the on-camera flash. I do like the flash bounced off the ceiling, because it gives the whole picture more light. Having the Omnibounce should take care of those shadows by Ben’s eyes.

It’s nice to have a hobby!

Tags: Photography, Reviews by Yano
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I said I was going to post yesterday’s pictures today, but I’m not cuz I’m pooped! I was driving around all day - sightseeing and dropping Dave off at this conference. Most of the day we were at the Golden Gate Park, which is HUGE! I’ll post a several of my favorite pictures for you to check out until I feel like uploading the rest of them - I’ve got about 500 pictures taken already!

“Give me nuts, Woman!”

Sharp Edges

Japanese Garden

Flower Close-Up

Time Out!

Tags: Photography, Travel by Yano
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Golden Gate Bridge, originally uploaded by Yano.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts. I’d been trying to take care of a lot of things before going off on vacation. I’m off for two weeks (yes, TWO WEEKS! YAY!) We’re starting out in San Franciscio (that’s the Golden Gate Bridge up there) then heading out to Los Angeles, then ending it in Hawaii. It’s a long vacation, but hey, I’ve got the vacation days to spare and I REALLY need it.

So we’re heading out for another day of sightseeing, I’ll post all my supertourist pics tonight!

Tags: Photography, Travel by Yano
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