New Camera

So, I got the fabulous new camera for Christmas. It's a Canon Rebel and I'm so excited about it!
But I am poor at using it.
And, well, let's be honest. There's a lot of pressure to post beautiful photos. I feel like if I'm going to post a picture, it better be lovely. It had better be the most wonderfully staged, well composed picture that I have ever taken. And, that's a tall order. I have yet to even download the software onto my computer to take the pictures off of the camera and put them out there for use. I am behind, friends. I am not good at this. But! I am practicing. I have been taking ridiculous pictures of Steph, my deskmate(?), and I am hoping to just copy down a bunch of other fabulous photographer's setups for beautiful pictures and magically transform into a fabulous photographer myself.
Why is this so hard? Why do I have such high expectations for something that, in truth, is trivial? Frustrating.

Aside from my glorious new life partner camera, I got a lot of delightful things for Christmas! A bluetooth thing so I can drive and talk and not scare my mother to death. A beautiful scarf from my mother in law. A stellar new crockpot. (Incidentally, I felt incredibly old when I opened my crockpot and it was as if my wildest dreams had been fulfilled.) Eric bought me a beautiful sweater throw blanket from Target that I repeatedly showed him. He also got me a FitBit and I'm so looking forward to trying that baby out! It was a wonderful Christmas and I could go on and on about that, but not today. Today I'm going back to obsessing about figuring out how to determine ISO, Apeture, and Shutter Speed to take the most beautiful, blog worthy pictures that have ever been taken.

How was your Christmas? Did Santa treat you nicely?

Operation Red Bikini

I am not a self-motivated person for the most part. I don't get excited about working out and I don't have a 'game plan' in my head. I do best if I have someone screaming in my face, making me do the work. That is the only way I have ever lost real weight. I was a member of a gym where the instructors knew me and guilted me if I didn't show up and give it my all. I lost about fifty pounds and felt fabulous.
I have gained that and more back in the last seven years.
It's shameful, really.
So. I am taking the challenge from Southern Girl Gets Fit! A red bikini is so far out of my comfort zone that it kind of makes me dizzy, so my 'red bikini' will be a size ten. Nothing amazingly small, nothing out of this world. I'd even take a twelve, but the ten... that's my red bikini. The twelve would be like a black tankini, but actually wearing it in public. The red bikini is the holy grail.
Saying this makes me feel like a broken record. I'm forever promising myself that I'll get back into some semblance of a healthy shape, but then giving up at the first turn. Maybe this challenge will help me stick to the plan. I'm currently searching for a gym like the one I had before. One I can AFFORD to attend. I don't like working out alone. Like I said, give me someone yelling in my face to push harder and I'm gonna put it all out there. Give me a treadmill and some free weights and you might as well hand me a hot dog and a 32oz Ski.
After Christmas Eve I'll FINALLY have a camera and I will post a "before" picture and then I will weep. It won't be one of those like some brave women do where they're just in a sports bra and tight fitting pants. I'll be in yoga pants and a tank top, but trust. You will be able to see the horrors.
Hold me to this, yo. I need to get my ass in gear.

House Guests

Happy holidays!
I have pretty much been sucked dry lately. There is not an ounce of motivation in me to write, move, think, etc. All I want to do is eat delicious food and maybe nap? I'm not sure what the story is here.  I just really want to lie down most of the time, maybe in the bath, with wine. Whatever. Moving on!
My in-laws will be here a week from yesterday. They live in Mexico and we haven't ever had the chance to spend Christmas with them, so I'm super excited that they're driving up. Previously, when they've visited, we had a spare bedroom upstairs. Then we had Audrey and that became her room. They came when she was tiny, and we just left the bed up in there for them and let her sleep with us, but this time we decided to go a different route.
We built them a bedroom in the basement.
From scratch.
And by we, I mean my husband and his friend, my father, and my brother-in-law with some help from my uncle on one occasion. I mostly painted. And hung stuff up. But, whatever.
I wish I had a camera because the before and after pictures could be really stellar, but I'm not getting one until Christmas Eve. So, you'll just have to trust me. We've got a blue-grey thing going on the walls, which was a disappointment because it is NOT true to the color chip. We put up white curtains and used furniture we had around the house. I finally got to put up a pretty chandelier in a bedroom, so I'm pretty freaking pleased with that. (Eric insists on ceiling fans mostly.)
We also redid the stairs going to the basement. The area had previously been completely unfinished, with raw wood stairs and naked drywall on the walls. We had my brother-in-law texturize the walls in there and the bedroom and slapped some fantastic Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore) paint up.  We bought treads at Lowe's and some 1xsomethings at our local hardware store and painted the treads black and the 1X's white to use as risers. It turned out pretty fabulous, if you ask me!
Anyway, that's what's been going on in Casa Bennett. Have you had any projects going on lately?