Happy New Year!

OK, so this post is a few days late...but I've been hard at work deliberating over my New Year's resolutions! I don't usually keep these, and I'm definitely the person you see buying a gym membership on 1/1, only to have abandoned the gym completely by 1/31! I am hoping though, as I get older, my drive and determination will mature as well ;-) This year I pledge to:

1. Get a crappy point and shoot camera and do a better job of documenting my own life
2. Lead a more active lifestyle
3. Make a daily effort to eat healthy (note-this is not a pledge to diet-I am looking to make a lifestyle change here)
4. Debut a new look and brand image to Ann Marie Somma Photography
5. Go on vacation with my hubby
7. Introduce a line of Adirondack fine art prints on my website
8. Take better care of the planet

OK, well there are more things on my list, that's all I dare put in writing! I'm thinking that since I've never ever kept one resolution, it's better to set the bar low than to overwhelm myself! And, to ensure that I'm on track, I'm going to follow up on these periodically throughout the year!

So, what are your resolutions??

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

We had Christmas with my family this past weekend...and I'll get right to the point...CONNOR WAS THE CUTEST THING EVER...Here's a few pictures of him in his Christmas outfit...I couldn't pick just one (can you blame me)...




























And here he is with his proud parents...
















And of course, like every year, my mom is the best Santa ever...She truly makes Christmas magical...























This year she put together a little pre-gift-opening game of Chinese Auction for all of us....here's hubby planning his strategy of what to steal from who...























and my brother opening one of his gifts...























my dad...supervising...

and John Michael's girlfriend, Julie...(note-we REALLY like her, and he better not screw this up)

And, Connor's big gift...this awesome giraffe-rocking-horse....my sister LOVED this!

I hope all of you had a holiday as wonderful as ours!

All I want for Christmas.....

Is EVERYTHING, I guess....It's funy because I keep telling people nothing, then I sat down and thought about it and I had this huge list! Of course, I would like the cliche of 'world peace' but since that isn't going to happen here's the material items I'm longing for....

The Peaceful Progression Wake-Up Clock from Hammacher Schlemmer

African Glass Bead Bracelets from VivaTerra

mbt sneakers (to get rid of my flab) from blissworld.com

steep clean from blissworld.com

Metal twig jewelry tree from VivaTerra

This lovely Merinomink scarf and the matching gloves in the color Cappuccino (available here http://www.shopnewzealand.co.nz/en/cp/Takahe_Scarf_Merinomink ) - I already have the hat!

a snowblower...

"Wicked Good" slippers from LL Bean in a 12 for hubby and a 6 1/2 for yours truly!

these lip glosses from benefit cosmetics...

The official "Aero-Garden" for growing herbs inside year round

ice cream maker from cuisinart (available at willimas-sonoma)

W's Valley sweatshirt from Patagonia in Mushroom Brown

Canon 5D

A Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas CD

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Ed Levine necklace. Hint hint to hubby-they have this at Louis Jewelers, next to the guitar shop-I left a card with the product number for you in my car-hint, hint ;-)

Some sort of I-Pod docking station with FM radio for my desk...

And, hubby wanted this Panasonic cordless drill with a light that charges in 50 minutes, or something guyish like that....I told him to keep dreaming when I saw the $420 pricetag! (For the record, he didn't know it cost that much)....

To help me make more green choices...

A composter for...well, that's obvious.

An automatic car starter (sorry, no picture)

Oh, and hubby would like some sort of tractor-lawn-mower thing with bulldozer-snowblower-tiller attachements that costs more than our second car

So, that's all I want for Christmas this year....for now....what's on your wish list??

Going Green

OK...so I really haven't had much time for blogging lately...so I appologize to all you loyal blog readers that check on a regular basis, waiting for me to post something new! I really had no time for picture taking this weekend (but check back next weekend for Jen and George's wedding) but I did have something I wanted to post about. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, and this technically isn't a 2008 resolution, since we started a few months ago...but hubby and I have decided to try to do our part to 'let the healing begin'! Now, I'm not claiming to be an eco-expert by any means (and for all I know, some of the eco-friendly decisions I think I am making may not be eco-friendly at all) but when it comes to making choices, I'm trying to make more green one's...in the process, I found that I LOVE most of these products one hundred times more than my tride and true non-green products...here's a few of my favorites...at my kitchen sink, Seventh Generation dish detergent...

This soap is tough on grease, gentle on hands, AND smells like lavender mint! It's really kind of like being at the spa! More importantly, the back of this bottle reads, "YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE...If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 25 oz petroleum based dishwashing liquid withour 25 oz vegetable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat 4,600 U.S. homes for a year!" That blew my mind! Guess what this bottle doesn't have....any 'call the toxic hotline if ingested' warnings...what it does have-a list of all-natural ingredients!

Here's what's UNDER my sink...

Again...I fell like I'm at the spa when I'm cleaning....Instead of a chore, it's become a treat! What's in those boxes??? Micro-fiber cloths specially designed for glass, wood and stainless steel...what's so great about them?? THEY AREN'T PAPER TOWELS! Once they are dirty, I just throw them in a load of laundry I'd already be doing...What's better?? The window wash smells like mint, the wood cleaner/polisher/protector smells like almonds and I can't quite get the stainless steel cleaner smell...but it's wonderful! What's even better?? It's all non-toxic, biodegradable, naturally derived and isn't tested on animals! What's even better than that??? Until 12/31, spend $20 on Method cleaning products and go to http://www.givegreener.com/ to get your own free, chic, reusable, market tote! The big plus there (besides the free tote)...americans throw away an average of 16 plastic bags per week..this tote folds up into itself small enough to throw in your purse so the next time you drop by a store for a few items, you've already got your own bag! Here's some facts from the website:

plastic bag facts:
# of plastic bags used per person each week....16
# of plastic bags Americans throw away every year....100 billion
# of plastic bags used worldwide annually.... 500 billion - 1 trillion
# of years these mountains of plastic can last.... 1,000!

Now...I'm not out there to 'save the planet'...but I'd like to think I'm taking baby steps toward making more earth-responsible decisions...Next time I'll tell you about my make-it-yourself all purpose cleaner and shower scrub and these new eco-friendly dryer sheets I'm trying...

Thanksgiving Weekend

Over the river and through the woods to GRANDMOTHER's house we went! And, here's the reason why.....

For the first time ever, my mother hosted thanksgiving as a GRANDMOTHER, and off we went...Here's a few shots from my Thanksgiving weekend...no particular theme...just a quick posting of a few of the people/things I got to see!

Of course, everyone's favorite...CONNOR!

and some family friends...

My cousin, bob (he would only stand still for one shot)...

And the crazy ice we saw the whole ride home....