a picture’s worth 1000 words: 5 grand coming your way

a picture’s worth 1000 words: 5 grand coming your way

While the phrase, “a picture’s worth 1000 words” is often attributed to Confucius, Wikipedia says it was Fred R. Barnard who deserves the credit. He wrote it in an advertising trade journal in 1921 promoting the use of images in ads. Of course, I’m not advertising anything – but I am sharing a whole bunch of words through images today.

Candid shots are my favorite.

Photos that are unposed capture people as their authentic selves. They aren’t planned or crafted to look perfect.

My heart - Ben and Coco

With my family, candid shots are the only way to capture them without crazy smiles and silly faces.

I do it too… obviously.

Dogs don’t fake smile or pose dewclaws up. 🐶

Even when I TRY to create a posed shot of either of my hound dogs, they never turn out that way.

Humans notice cameras and the second they know they’re being photographed, it takes them out of the moment. Not dogs! Dogs don’t ham it up or pose in a way they think will make them look their best. I’m sure Dharma and Merida have no idea what a camera is… but they do know it pauses whatever they’re doing or what they’re trying to let me know they want.

Dogs remain authentic even when a camera is pointed at them. That’s why they’re almost always candid shots — and one of the reasons I like them so much.

Now you know: All polar bears in Iceland are shot on sight. They are not native to the island, and dangerous because they are hungry after floating over on ice from Greenland. It is too difficult and expensive to return them home.


a new tradition we didn’t start this year

a new tradition we didn’t start this year

I have an acquaintance (she was a friend of my deceased sister-in-law, Sheri) who is a author among other impressive things. Not gonna’ lie… she’s way out there different and would likely be happy to know I said that about her. She recently had a birthday, and at her celebration they started a new tradition.

A symphony of life.

Everyone at the celebration was to choose a word to describe her and SING their word of choice at the same time as the others sang their word choice. All together it “created of symphony” of her life. Perry barely got an off-key version of “Happy Birthday” and was darned lucky to get that. His cake had 5 purple candles to symbolize 50… and 2 pink to make 52.

Perry and his birthday cake

We embraced the same old traditions…

Like… not getting ONE group photo without someone being stupid.

family group photo

The pesky neighbors didn’t get the memo. They look the same in every photo. 🙂

photo of my crazy family

It only went downhill from that point…

Ben, Coco, me and Mom
my crazy family

I went to bed without even cleaning up the mess.

When I crawled in bed last night, the trash can needed emptying and there were 400 forks and spoons in the sink. It was all worth it though — Perry said he had a great birthday. ❤️

Now you know: New York City is owed over $1 billion in unpaid parking tickets and speeding fines.


merry early Christmas!

merry early Christmas!

Yesterday began with a trip to Rising Sun to see Perry’s Mom for Christmas.

I think I’m a deer magnet.

I could barely stay awake on the drive there and back, but did manage to open my eyes just enough to see two deer at the side of the road. This time, they crossed directly AFTER we passed them. The drive beside the river is beautiful, and you know you’re in Madison by the iconic view — it’s almost the 1/2 way point.

Even though Perry’s Momma doesn’t look thrilled in the photos below, the surprise visit from Perry’s nephew, Coty, was the highlight of everyone’s day.

Our family Christmas is in the books – sort of.

Last night was our Christmas with Coco here. The presents are all unwrapped even though we’ll still get together Christmas Eve minus the granddaughter. My photos last year were awful because we didn’t have walls — this year, they’re lacking for other reasons…

I have lots of photos of Katie’s butt since she played Santa — and this one. 🙄

Here’s when things went downhill.

Carl’s TV needed Perry’s expert repair capabilities so we forgot to do our standard “all together” photo. Ben had to be at work early this morning, so they couldn’t stick around too late… he had to get some sleep.

Next, Perry’s scheduled worker had a family emergency so he had to cover the store overnight. After a busy day already, he left pretty darned ticked off… and sleepy. Carl was the only person that remembered the stove probably needed wood, so he came back and did that so I didn’t have to go out there myself. Perry got back by 7:00 AM, knowing he has to be back to work at 1:00 PM for another shift.

It was a crazy day, but we’re still grateful.

We had a good time for the time we had, and although not perfect, we all were grateful for one another and what time we did get to spend together.

Here’s hoping your holiday is smoother than ours, and you, too, get to spend it with loved ones.

Not that you care about more photos, but there are a few more here at shelleyerwin.com.


it’s a thanksgiving photoshoot!

it’s a thanksgiving photoshoot!

Our little family gathered for LOTS of good food — but more importantly, we had a photoshoot with two photographers in charge…

We started outside. I thought I took a BUNCH of photos but ended up with 2…

Ben complained about being cold and so did Mom. He also let me know that I didn’t know what I was doing and he could do a MUCH better job and have the photos done in 3 minutes flat.

We moved inside and Ben took charge.

After getting a box just the perfect size, he directed us where to stand. I had my camera on the side to capture this photo… so I could learn from the expert. 🙄

After accidentally flipping the camera to the back view, he had 82 photos of a Sam’s Club box (not even joking — it was on burst). We got back in our places for round 2. Of course, Ben made a face in one — and Coco in the other. 🙂

And I got just one of me and my Momma…

Hope your Thanksgiving was amazing and you had a photographer on hand to capture the moments.

Now you know: The Guinness World Records discontinued the “Heaviest Pets” category in 1998 to deter people from over-feeding their pets just to appear in the book.


someone is building a room upstairs

someone is building a room upstairs

When I was a kid, I remember my Momma telling me it sounded like I was “building a room” when I made a whole lot of noise behind a closed door. As a homeowner that’s lived in homes while construction was going on inside, I now know exactly what she meant when she said that so many years ago. This morning, someone is ‘building a room’ upstairs. 😒

Mr. Pesky calls Coco “paddle foot.” Oh… if he could only hear her this morning. For a small female, those bare feet slapping on the floor above my head are loud, you guys.

I missed the frost memo.

I didn’t see until this morning that we had frost warnings for last night. While I’ve brought many of my plants inside, there are a few still outside. It’s barely 40° at 8:30 AM.

Here’s hoping at least 6 bajillion stink bugs also missed the frost memo and met their demise. Here’s also hoping there’s no wind today so the pool cover can be put back on.

Now you know: The earth’s atmosphere is leaking. Every day, around 90 tons of material escapes from our planet’s upper atmosphere and streams out into space.