In precisely 56 hours, we will open doors at The Current Connection with a fresh look, great deals, cookies, coffee and cider. In the last 56 hours, we have unloaded, cleaned, assembled and filled new shelving at the office, and received and unpacked truckloads of freight among many other important preparations. At any rate, we are working hard to ensure a seamless, exciting Black Friday experience for our customers. I'm happy to highlight a few specials now, and as long as we stay on track, I can get you even more information tomorrow.
Toshiba 40" LCD TV - $529.99
TVs in stock 10"-55" including SONY 3D packages!!
Dell Vostro 230 Desktops (with monitor, keyboard and mouse) - $449.99
Dell Vostro 3500 Laptop - $599.99 (that's a $100 savings off the normal price!)
Great pricing on Digital Cameras and camcorders
10% Savings on all Toys in stock before 10am
Close-out pricing on all TV stands
Don't forget - we do accept the 0% Christmas loans offered through local banks in conjunction with Lemmon and Hettinger Chambers of Commerce.
It's not too late to change your weekend plans to include a trip down Main Street in Lemmon on Friday.
11.23.2010
11.18.2010
God Bless the Grumpy Old Troll
My heart nearly exploded tonight over a gourmet dinner of cheese-filled hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese.
The kiddos and I stopped at the library after work and then came home for some "bonding" while Pops had a meeting. Max has been joining in our evening meal prayer and tonight was no different. Five minutes later, he chattered like a monkey to get my attention, "Aye yi yi yi yi." (Pretty common noise for him). When I looked at him, he folded his hands, closed his eyes and in his sweet little baby voice gave his rendition of our prayer. If that doesn't sweeten you up, you need to eat chocolate and chug a Dew. Stat.
Our mealtime prayer is fairly common, but I'll include it for my family, who uses a Catholic version: :)
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.
Let these gifts to us be blessed.
While Max continued to make monkey noises and smash macaroni in his hair, Gage was trying like nothing else to get the words right. He does the first line great and put random syllables together for the 2nd line with no idea what he's saying. So I tried to help. And after a few tries he got it.
Five minutes later he holds up a hunk of hot dog and asks, "But why do we bless our food?"
Seriously, could he wait a few years for me to research answers to these questions? Strangers? Blessing food? I'm in WAAAAY over my head so I did what I do best. Make something up.
We talked about how its like thanking Jesus for letting us have warm food to eat and how some people might not get supper and have to go to bed hungry.
Without skipping a beat he came back with, "Like the Grumpy Old Troll. He's always hungry too." [from The Three Billy Goats Gruff]
I think tomorrow night we'll change up the prayer:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.
Don't forget the Grumpy Old Troll
He like to eat goat the best.
Its probably easier to understand anyhow.
(Full Disclosure: Moments after this story took place Max fell out of the bathtub while I wasn't paying attention and Gage fed his leftover hot dog bun to the dog.)
The kiddos and I stopped at the library after work and then came home for some "bonding" while Pops had a meeting. Max has been joining in our evening meal prayer and tonight was no different. Five minutes later, he chattered like a monkey to get my attention, "Aye yi yi yi yi." (Pretty common noise for him). When I looked at him, he folded his hands, closed his eyes and in his sweet little baby voice gave his rendition of our prayer. If that doesn't sweeten you up, you need to eat chocolate and chug a Dew. Stat.
Our mealtime prayer is fairly common, but I'll include it for my family, who uses a Catholic version: :)
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.
Let these gifts to us be blessed.
While Max continued to make monkey noises and smash macaroni in his hair, Gage was trying like nothing else to get the words right. He does the first line great and put random syllables together for the 2nd line with no idea what he's saying. So I tried to help. And after a few tries he got it.
Five minutes later he holds up a hunk of hot dog and asks, "But why do we bless our food?"
Seriously, could he wait a few years for me to research answers to these questions? Strangers? Blessing food? I'm in WAAAAY over my head so I did what I do best. Make something up.
We talked about how its like thanking Jesus for letting us have warm food to eat and how some people might not get supper and have to go to bed hungry.
Without skipping a beat he came back with, "Like the Grumpy Old Troll. He's always hungry too." [from The Three Billy Goats Gruff]
I think tomorrow night we'll change up the prayer:
Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.
Don't forget the Grumpy Old Troll
He like to eat goat the best.
Its probably easier to understand anyhow.
(Full Disclosure: Moments after this story took place Max fell out of the bathtub while I wasn't paying attention and Gage fed his leftover hot dog bun to the dog.)
11.17.2010
Black Friday Sale Ad!
I let the cat out of the bag and started distributing a few of these yesterday. The official ads will hit news stands and air waves in the next few days but here's a sneak peak at a few of the deals and offerings next Friday. We will have cookies, coffee and cider all day, and will be showing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on a SONY 3D TV. Stop down and join the fun!
11.16.2010
Lesson Learned. Mostly.
On a typical week day, I load and unload the boys into their carseats four times and embark on four very short adventures. Five to ten minutes each trip where I either talk on the phone ("Hi Mom! Just on my way home from work."), sing tunes ("I Caught a Little Baby Bumblebee") or attempt to engage my children in conversation. When it works, I almost always pull up to our destination laughing at the wit of my kiddos. Here's a look at tonight's drive home.
Let me first backup a couple of weeks when I got to have "the talk" with the boys. "The Talk" about...strangers. They've come to be a little too comfortable with people they don't know. For instance, at a rodeo in Rapid City a month back Max climbed right into the lap of a tattooed bearded vendor at their "Cowboy Christmas" booth. He was a super nice man and my toddling baby's simple act made his day but really? Later that week I explained to Gage that he shouldn't talk to strangers without Mom or Dad with him because even though they might seem nice, sometimes people hurt other people. We've had similar talks about strange dogs so I answered a few simple questions regarding the who's and where's, Gage shared stories of daycare buddies punching and fighting (all the cool kids are doing it) and the conversation was over.
But with Gage, its never really over.
Tonight we're pulling to the stop sign at the south end of Main Street.
Gage: Mom, that's the hotel with the pool. Why are there so many cars there?
Mom: Those people needed a place to sleep tonight. Maybe they're on vacation. They might be working away from home.
Gage: Maybe they just wanted to go swimming.
Mom: There's that too.
Gage: But we shouldn't talk to them. Because we don't know them.
Mom: Very good. You remembered!
Gage: And stangers will kill us.
Mom: (stifle laughs) Sure.
Gage: Like that guy on Aladdin. The scary one by the lion head.
Max (upon hearing 'lion'): grrrrrrrr
Just another day in paradise.
Better go. Time to watch Aladdin before bed. Ha!
I'm hoping to post info about Black Friday special at the store tomorrow so check back soon!
Let me first backup a couple of weeks when I got to have "the talk" with the boys. "The Talk" about...strangers. They've come to be a little too comfortable with people they don't know. For instance, at a rodeo in Rapid City a month back Max climbed right into the lap of a tattooed bearded vendor at their "Cowboy Christmas" booth. He was a super nice man and my toddling baby's simple act made his day but really? Later that week I explained to Gage that he shouldn't talk to strangers without Mom or Dad with him because even though they might seem nice, sometimes people hurt other people. We've had similar talks about strange dogs so I answered a few simple questions regarding the who's and where's, Gage shared stories of daycare buddies punching and fighting (all the cool kids are doing it) and the conversation was over.
But with Gage, its never really over.
Tonight we're pulling to the stop sign at the south end of Main Street.
Gage: Mom, that's the hotel with the pool. Why are there so many cars there?
Mom: Those people needed a place to sleep tonight. Maybe they're on vacation. They might be working away from home.
Gage: Maybe they just wanted to go swimming.
Mom: There's that too.
Gage: But we shouldn't talk to them. Because we don't know them.
Mom: Very good. You remembered!
Gage: And stangers will kill us.
Mom: (stifle laughs) Sure.
Gage: Like that guy on Aladdin. The scary one by the lion head.
Max (upon hearing 'lion'): grrrrrrrr
Just another day in paradise.
Better go. Time to watch Aladdin before bed. Ha!
I'm hoping to post info about Black Friday special at the store tomorrow so check back soon!
10.28.2010
J+T Seim
I had the pleasure of meeting this family in Lemmon for a fall photo shoot. I knew it was going to be good before we even got started, and was happy with how things went upon completion. These feelings surfaced when I started editing and there was hardly anything to delete. Normally at a family shoot with two energetic kids I get to "keep" about 1/2 the pictures. Not the case here. Take a look for yourself. These kiddos are absolutely stunning.
Paisley turned one not long ago and she is full of the energy and curiosity that comes with being a healthy one year old.
Big sister Jayda is loads of help for Mom and Dad. But something tells me they'll have plenty of adventures in store as these two grow up. :)
Like a normal toddler, Paisley was "over" the photo shoot long before we were ready to be done. She finally found her footing in the leaf piles and would have rolled and played all evening.
Cuteness overload! There should be plenty of great pictures for Jayda to pick her favorite.
Thanks for a fun photo shoot!
Blaze in the Fall
This little boy loves to smile. He's one of the "biggest" little fans for LHS where he cheers for cute girls and manly men.
Mom wanted a few shots before he got his first real haircut the next day. He is such a sweetie.
With the beautiful fall that we had, outside pictures were a must for the little man. He was very curious about the happenings at the park. I spent some time with Blaze last winter in the studio.
Favorite! Thanks for sharing him for a bit Danni!
10.27.2010
Senior 2011 - Kaci
We started Kaci's senior session early in the summer near her parents ranch. Mom, Dad and brothers all got in on some of the fun, which brought out the best smiles in Kaci.
I don't exactly remember the story behind the car, but I'm certain I remember it being a family treasure. I think its awesome!
Kaci had some great locations picked out for her session and we took a lot of her pictures in places that were important and memorable to her. This may be one of my favorite shots of all time. The moon. The reflection. The lighting. It looks like it came right out of a storybook.
We shot the rest of Kaci's pictures this fall with some great fall scenery outside and a few studio shots as well.
You made this too easy Kaci - nice work!
To see more of our work, please visit http://www.thecurrentconnection.blogspot.com/
10.22.2010
He Loves Me...Not!
Meet Mr. E. He loves playing at his Grandma's so much that even the thought of hanging out with me isn't fun. :) We did get some fun shots but he was not happy to see me, by any stretch of the imagination. The progression of these emotions makes me giggle.
Starting to catch on that he's going to have to give us something to work with. Two adults and one child. We will win. We must stick together, but we will win.
We really just wanted one good shot to hand out to friends and relatives with his older brother and sister's school pictures. I think we finally scored. Thanks for your persistance Mom!
To see more of our work, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com
Familiar Faces
You may recognize these handsome boys from a session last year. They are pretty awesome little dudes who love playing outside, and much like my previous session, have beautiful blue eyes.
We had a great time playing in Grandma's backyard and then headed to their house to run around a playground bigger than a lot of parks. I think I'll go back just for fun!
I love fall colors and we've had a beautiful autumn, but when I started turning these to black and white, something struck me. I love everything about the story in this picture and watching the relationship between these sweet boys.
Awesome little brother.
Awesome big brother.
To see more of our work, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com
10.21.2010
Mistelski, Family of Four
You've seen these blue-eyed babes on the website before, but they brought their parental units along for pictures this time! I love the way these kiddos are looking at each other in this shot. I have a feeling Miss K thought the idea of a brother was a lot more fun than the actual experience. But he loves her anyway. :)
Mom. Dad. The sparkly blue eyes on your kids is astounding. Beautiful!
This was just before Miss K's 3rd birthday. She ran us pretty hard, but we got some great shots eventually!
I love the way dads look at their little boys. Just do.
Thanks for a fun afternoon!
10.07.2010
Matt's Senior Session
I've been waiting for the right football player to try out a shot like this and I'm pretty excited with how it turned out. Matt has some pretty mad skills on the field and he spends the winter months in the wrestling room. I was happy to work with him on his senior photo shoot.
Matt and his mom had some great ideas for the session and he was up for just about anything - as long as we were quick enough to save time for homework :)
Wow to the eyes - nice work! I think its great when seniors infuse their personality and town into their pictures. We went to the Petrified Wood Part for some of Matt's shots.
Ever have a shirt that you just can't get enough of? Maybe it has a few holes in it and smells like a gym locker? I think Matt wins the award for shirt with the most character. It also brought out his best smiles of the day. Thanks for a fun session and good luck at the Homecoming Game tomorrow night! Go Cowboys!!
To see more of our work, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com
9.25.2010
The Many (at least a few) Faces of Gage
You probably already know this, but I am madly in love with three people. Today, however, is all about Gage. I'll save the lovey dovey Jack + Kim love story for another day because really, who needs that on a Saturday morning? And Max's birthday is coming up and he'll have his own special post before long.
But Gage. G-Mac. A kid who I referred to as "Little Man" for a really long time until recently when I was reprimanded and corrected because he is a "Big Man". The kid who hates sleep so much, last night he had nightmares about sleeping. (No lie - you can't make this stuff up.) He is a rockstar. Gage launched us into parenting and basically swept the unvacuumed rug right out from under our feet. No book, no video, no class, nothing could have prepared us for Gage. Think you've figured him out? He's ready to throw a wrench at you. (He's only ever thrown a real wrench at me once. Twice at the dog. But never at the babysitter.)
Though challenging at best, he shows us everyday what its like to go full speed ahead from dawn until dusk. And then some. His zest for life is unbelievable.
Let me show you a few faces of Gage.
He likes to control the "clicker" - the remote for the camera. Hey, whatever works to get me a face like this one. Need a recipe to melt a mother's heart? See below.
Here Gage, hold this up in front of you. :) He followed the directions exactly. The trouble with his listening skills is that I tend to (from time to time) be a little teeny tiny bit sarcastic. It will definitely come back to bite me in the ass someday. And possibly quite literally and probably sooner rather than later.
That's better! I've been a tad stressed lately because the child who once loved reading books all day, eating fruit snacks and cooking (ok, he still LOVES cooking) is now almost exclusively into playtime killing, shooting and violence. I blame it on The Power Rangers. It probably has more to do with testosterone. I was more into dolls and fairies growing up, so I'm still devising a plan to foster these new tendencies carefully. I think it will have to do with taking more pictures like this. And praying.
"Hey Gage, can you make a sad face?" Obviously...not possible. We do get grumpy once in a while. Like when he has to share something sacred with his brother. Golf clubs anyone? If he's upset with you, you will get a "well you aren't my friend anymore." Seriously? Where do they come up with this stuff? And really, isn't he like 18 months old? What? 3-1/2? You're kidding me...
Ok, make an "angry Gage" face. That eyebrow trick? It's prevalent on both sides of his family. I've been known to make it a time or two but I think we'll send attributes to Great Grandma Nora.
This little ditty? This face? Stone cold. Ok, kidding. I shared this on Facebook recently but its worth repeating. We like to watch The History Channel and Discovery Channel with Gage. Among his favorites are Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs. He has taste! We found a great show called Pawn Stars recently and while watching it they threw out a very obvious, "Damn it!" which he promptly repeated, and we ignored. Flash forward a week to story time (at home, thankfully). Me: "Rotten luck. Can't go. My truck is stuck!" Gage: "Damn it!" Props for using it rightLittle Big Man! Let's not do it again though, k?
Back to cooking. He can make Jello and Pudding without reading the directions. He's great at stirring batter, pouring ingredients and licking spoons. He also recently put all of the toppings on a homemade pizza. And loved every minute of it. He's actually very good help in the kitchen. I think I'll teach him to chop onions. I hate chopping onions.
Gage you are a rockstar. We think you're pretty neat. Stay cool k? Oh, and let's not swear at daycare. Love, Mom
But Gage. G-Mac. A kid who I referred to as "Little Man" for a really long time until recently when I was reprimanded and corrected because he is a "Big Man". The kid who hates sleep so much, last night he had nightmares about sleeping. (No lie - you can't make this stuff up.) He is a rockstar. Gage launched us into parenting and basically swept the unvacuumed rug right out from under our feet. No book, no video, no class, nothing could have prepared us for Gage. Think you've figured him out? He's ready to throw a wrench at you. (He's only ever thrown a real wrench at me once. Twice at the dog. But never at the babysitter.)
Though challenging at best, he shows us everyday what its like to go full speed ahead from dawn until dusk. And then some. His zest for life is unbelievable.
Let me show you a few faces of Gage.
He likes to control the "clicker" - the remote for the camera. Hey, whatever works to get me a face like this one. Need a recipe to melt a mother's heart? See below.
Here Gage, hold this up in front of you. :) He followed the directions exactly. The trouble with his listening skills is that I tend to (from time to time) be a little teeny tiny bit sarcastic. It will definitely come back to bite me in the ass someday. And possibly quite literally and probably sooner rather than later.
That's better! I've been a tad stressed lately because the child who once loved reading books all day, eating fruit snacks and cooking (ok, he still LOVES cooking) is now almost exclusively into playtime killing, shooting and violence. I blame it on The Power Rangers. It probably has more to do with testosterone. I was more into dolls and fairies growing up, so I'm still devising a plan to foster these new tendencies carefully. I think it will have to do with taking more pictures like this. And praying.
"Hey Gage, can you make a sad face?" Obviously...not possible. We do get grumpy once in a while. Like when he has to share something sacred with his brother. Golf clubs anyone? If he's upset with you, you will get a "well you aren't my friend anymore." Seriously? Where do they come up with this stuff? And really, isn't he like 18 months old? What? 3-1/2? You're kidding me...
Ok, make an "angry Gage" face. That eyebrow trick? It's prevalent on both sides of his family. I've been known to make it a time or two but I think we'll send attributes to Great Grandma Nora.
This little ditty? This face? Stone cold. Ok, kidding. I shared this on Facebook recently but its worth repeating. We like to watch The History Channel and Discovery Channel with Gage. Among his favorites are Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs. He has taste! We found a great show called Pawn Stars recently and while watching it they threw out a very obvious, "Damn it!" which he promptly repeated, and we ignored. Flash forward a week to story time (at home, thankfully). Me: "Rotten luck. Can't go. My truck is stuck!" Gage: "Damn it!" Props for using it right
Back to cooking. He can make Jello and Pudding without reading the directions. He's great at stirring batter, pouring ingredients and licking spoons. He also recently put all of the toppings on a homemade pizza. And loved every minute of it. He's actually very good help in the kitchen. I think I'll teach him to chop onions. I hate chopping onions.
Gage you are a rockstar. We think you're pretty neat. Stay cool k? Oh, and let's not swear at daycare. Love, Mom
9.16.2010
Cousins!
These one year old cousins were full of energy for their combined photoshoot. Talk about busy!! Elijah was really into the camera when we first got started. He'd run out in front of me, sit down nice, fold his hands and smile. Perfection. Then he decided he needed a peek inside the lens. Love it!
We had to explore some interesting antics to keep the kids entertained. I think we were chasing a butterfly when I snapped this little gem. Doesn't he look ready for preschool?
Aleyna is equally as cute and busy, just a bit smaller. :) She really liked this rocking chair.
Unfortunately, so did Elijah. And I only brought one.
So we distracted him with bubbles. Who needs suds and a wand when you're a pro at blowing them yourself? I was impressed!
While we captured some great shots of each kid, our biggest challenge was getting one of them together. By this point, he was done with us and ready to chase Grandpa around the yard.
Can you say cute? Love this!
But I like this too.
I had a great time kiddos and hopefully the rest of your pics will be ready soon!
8.25.2010
Logan's Preview!
The baby girl with one million smiles was really confused when I showed up at her house to take pictures. We (meaning her Mommy, Super Dad and our BFF) worked extremely hard to get a few precious smiles. Grandma showed up right at the end to bring out a few more. Smiles or not, we had a great session with this little dumpling and have loads of great pictures for her. Enjoy!
I loved that denim "Princess" jacket in the first shot, but coming from a house full of denim (and dirt) I ate up her pink wardrobe. And seriously with these headbands - love them! Her mom said little girls have to wear these otherwise they just look like little boys dressed in pink. I think Logan looks all girl, but would keep her in headbands anyway. :)
They had so many great ideas for pictures and it was fun to use what was available in their house and yard. The apples? From a tree in their backyard. I'm not sure which parent deserves the credit for this idea, but you definitely earned a gold star.
Logan, your Mom and Dad are CRAZY out you and its pretty easy to see why.
For more work by CSquared Photography, please visit www.csquaredphoto.zenfolio.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)