February 6, 2010 by Leigh
All good things must come to an end… we’re back in St. Louis after an eventful 2 week vacation to Florida & Mexico. We had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and basking in the warm temperatures (well, at least the temps in Orlando and Mexico were favorable. Not so much in Largo!). And we ended our vacation with a short cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya via the Grandeur of the Seas! We already miss the warm sun (there’s snow on the ground here in St. Louis–boo!) so I thought I’d post a couple photos of this divine sun! Ahh, I’m ready for spring and summer! More pics to come soon. I’m off to do some laundry. Back to reality!
warm sun above our cruiseship
Sunrise in Cozumel, Mexico
Early morning sky onboard the Granduer of the Seas
The sun peeking through in Costa Maya
Posted in Travel | Tagged cruise, florida, photography, vacation | Leave a Comment »
January 18, 2010 by Leigh
Today Xander bowled 3 games with Daddy. It was a good day! What’s even better is that we’re packing our bags and heading South in search of warmer weather later this week! Looking forward to catching up with family and friends! 
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January 12, 2010 by Leigh
Vivien Leigh get together I organized
My final installment of the ‘Follow Me to Tara Report’ is availabe to read on my Vivien Leigh blog (which has a new look). Overall it was a wonderful experience and I had the opporunity to meet such wonderful people! I was humbled to be mentioned at the Author and Celebrity Q&A session on that Friday and honored to meet so many fans of Vivien Leigh on that Saturday at the Vivien Leigh.com get together I organized at the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum. It was a pleasure to speak with fans, celebrities, collectors of this great film. I will forever cherish the memories from this event-filled weekend! I hope to carry the torch for Vivien Leigh for many many more years to come!
To read the final installment of the Follow Me to Tara Report, click HERE!
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Alright, so I did manage to bundle Xander up yesterday so he could experience snow for the first time this year. Let’s just say his snowpants were 12M, his boots a bit too big and his gloves weren’t waterproof. He cried and didn’t want to go outside. Neither did I. But I forced him and he loved it until his boots filled with snow and his face was beet red (about 4 minutes after we ventured into the nearly 0 F temperatures –factoring in wind chill). However, he did enjoy those 4 minutes. He thought it was a blast throwing snowballs up into the air And I had fun snapping his photo with my new ‘nifty-fifty’ lens.
On another note, my little bro is in Thailand! He flew out the other day and will spend the next 6 months (or more) becoming a scuba god. He’s writing about his experience, so I recommend you head over to his neck of the Internet woods. His blog is located at www.thescubaintern.com.
Posted in Life with the Mills | Tagged 50mm, blog, photography, scuba, snow, winter | 1 Comment »
We got a couple inches of snow last night! Unfortunately, it’s 9 degrees outside! So it looks like Kali will be the only one enjoying the white stuff today! Tonight the wind chill here is expected to dip in the -20s!! Gosh, I thought this was Missouri, not New Hampshire! PS: I took this photo from inside while Kali was outside… hehe, I won’t bare the elements for the sake of a photo!
Kali is a snow bunny!
Posted in photo of the day | Tagged photography, snow, winter | Leave a Comment »
December 31, 2009 by Leigh
I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years Eve! I’m ready to bring in the new year in style! I thought it would be fun to look back on years past. It took me awhile to dig out all these old photos. But, it was worth it. Good times!!
Happy 2009! At the Morris's house.
Happy 2008! At our House.
Happy 2007! In Florida at Jovans.
Jen was my 'drinking' buddy that year.
Happy 2006! Our 1st New Years in St. Louis was spent with the Bonventres at Niche. We had more sorbet than alcohol but still got silly!
Happy 2005! In Indian Rocks Beach, FL at the Holiday Inn
The boys... one of them attacked a blow up Santa moments later.
Happy 2004! We were snowed in at home in New Hampshire!
Happy 2003. Nick was working the midnight shift at Budweiser and I was home alone. Kali & I fell asleep before 12. I was working as a Preschool teacher in JAX & couldn't go to Orlando.
Happy 2002! In Orlando with the crew.
I remember this New Years as the year Nick had 'Billy Idol' Hair
Happy 2001! I remember this New Years as the year Jonesy had a broken arm.
The girls in Orlando. Love the hair, Jen!
Posted in Photo Montage | 1 Comment »
December 29, 2009 by Leigh
After I stamped all my Christmas cards with the letter “M” on the back, I carelessly placed the stamper within reach of a little 2 year old. Behind my back, he stamped his mouth. The little stinker!! Hehe!
Xander had the look of fear in his eyes when I discovered him!
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December 28, 2009 by Leigh
Xander has a love for all modes of transportation… airplanes, cars, and especially trains! So I thought it was high time we checked out the local Museum of Transportation. If you google Museum of Transportation, the St. Louis Museum will come up first. That’s because St. Louis has the BEST museums! Xander nearly burst with excitement when he saw all the huge trains. Despite the nearly freezing temperatures and gray sky, he skipped and hopped along pointing out all the trains on display outside. They have a TON! A couple trains can be entered, too, which Xander loved. One train he called ‘the cave’ so he kept telling us: ‘I want the cave!’ Admission to the museum is $4 per person and includes admission to an indoor (less hands-on) car exhibit. It was a great way to spend an hour. Highlights below. All the photos can be viewed on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leighuf/sets/72157623089501238/
Train Engine
Xander, the conductor!
the "silver charger"
inside the 'cave'
many of these historic trains were terribly rusted.
Posted in St. Louis stuff | Tagged missouri, museum of transportation, photography, saint louis, trains, Travel | Leave a Comment »
December 16, 2009 by Leigh
I wanna go back to Mexico!! And so does Xander. The high today in St. Louis didn’t reach 32 F. I hate winter!!!
Xander befriended this sales clerk in Mexico circa 2008.
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December 14, 2009 by Leigh
<sigh of relief> The Christmas cards have been mailed. I’m DONE signing my name, licking envelopes, and attaching address labels. I don’t know how many cards in total we did this year but it’s over 100. Over half of the cards are for family and friends and the others are for Budweiser people. If you don’t get a card, no hard feelings! I can’t even imagine sending a card out to everyone we know. I’d be licking envelopes for MONTHS! This year I handmade cards for family and friends and sent out store-bought cards (with a picture of Xander) for work friends/associates. I had some ‘glue issues’ with the hand made ones, so I apologize if you were a recipient of the bad glue cards. Note: DON’T use clear glue pens with photos. At least not the Elmer glue variety. The handmade cards were built from Hobby Lobby products (creme cardstock cards, La Creme mats for the photos, and black & teal envelopes). The photo of Xander was taken with my lovely Canon Rebel (which I LOVE) and enhanced in Photoshop CS4. I added the lens correction filter to the photo to create the vignette. I created the wording for the inside of the card in Photoshop, too, using the following fonts: Outlaw, Mailrat Rubberstamp, Scriptina, Century Gothic, and Enchanted Prairie Dog. All available on dafont.com for free. Hope everyone has their cards done and in the mail too. I must admit I love receiving cards but hate the work that goes into sending my own. I might be sending E-cards next year!
Let there be peace on earth!
Nearly done glueing, stamping, and licking!
Posted in christmas | Tagged CARDS, christmas, FONT, PHOTOSHOP | Leave a Comment »
