Merry Christmas to me.

A couple of weeks ago, I was busy taking my friend's Christmas card pictures for them and after about 50 shots, I turned around to take one picture of Truman standing behind me. And guess what? My camera made a weird noise and said, 'Err 99" on the screen. Ruh-roh.

At first I didn't think I would even be able to get the images off my memory card, but after a little Googling I tried to change out lenses, and sure enough--I could pull all the images onto my computer, thank goodness. But then when I went to take another picture I saw that something was seriously jacked with a shutter inside my camera. It would produce a big black line/blob across my images and if I took off the lens, looked inside, and pulled back the little mirror in there I could see the bonk shutter. It was laying in an odd position, all crumpled up and looking totally defeated and I knew it wasn't a good thing to see.

I emailed and called Canon and they said I could send in my beloved 3 year old Rebel XSi for $190 to be fixed. Or I could get a refurbished 'new' camera at a discount instead. I took a few days to really mull it over and after talking to Nate I decided this must be a divine sign that it is time to upgrade my camera body:) I mean, might as well consider it if I would be paying $190 (and waiting about 8-9 weeks) to get my current camera fixed anyway. So after a LOT of debate, spreadsheets, and talking Nate's ear off about the darn decision I decided to go all out and upgraded to the Canon 60D body. No more Rebel for me (tear, tear) although I was really close to getting the newer styles of Rebels T2i or T3i. I decided that the 60D would probably hold up better for my 'use and abuse' with two children, it's heavier and seemingly sturdy, and it is SUCH an improvement from my little Rebel that I can't even explain how it is blowing my mind.

For instance, my old Rebel could only go up to 1600 ISO which basically means indoor or low-light shots were a total crap shoot. And now? Um, 6400 ISO. Which translates to 'oh my goodness, I can actually take indoor pictures during the winter now!!' And it's not grainy. And my monitor for viewing the pictures is so crystal clear I can immediately see if the image is in focus or not. And all of that plus more, but mostly, OMG I love it. I had a few hours of buyers remorse before my new baby arrived, worried about money (of course) but I already know it's going to be worth every cent.

Not that these photos will blow your mind as much as my camera is doing to mine at the moment, but a few to show you how much fun I'm having playing with my new toy:)







And a Truman series--begins with a TOUCHDOWN pose, then a wave, and the last two are the signature Aaron Rodgers 'championship belt' poses. Packer fans will understand, I'm sure...


our new fun game to play in Truman's room--stacking animals on blocks on books. Good times.




The first pose is what Truman does when I ask him to 'smile for the camera'. The second is just my fave because of the tongue.


Vrrooooming trucks in low light conditions? No prob.




And baking Christmas cookies with dad. Love.


So yeah, that is my big news over here. An unexpected Christmas gift, but a welcomed one none the less. Even Nate is into my new purchased and was a big part in me just biting the frugal bullet and taking on this big dog. Love that man:)