Food Poisoning Stinks!

I was poisoned!!! At least I think so.

On Saturday morning I woke up around 6:30am, ran my usual 3 miles, and then ate a bowl of cereal. After Kev and Anslie woke up and ate their breakfast (sausage and eggs) we did a few chores around the house and then ran a few errands. We were all feeling great!

We stopped at a local cafe for lunch around 11am. We all had variations of the same meal - sandwiches and wraps, turkey, chicken, avocado, mayo, cheese, etc, etc, etc. But by 1pm, I was the only one with a stomach ache. I didn't think anything of it at first. It happens sometimes, things just don't sit right, it runs through your system and you move on with your life. Our ward pool party and BBQ was that night and we were all looking forward to it, but as 6pm rolled around it became increasingly clear that I was not okay. After a few trips to the bathroom I was starting to feel worse and worse.

I tried to suck it up, I really did! I wanted Kevin and Anslie to have the chance to socialize (especially Kevin) so we started out the door...but then I got really sick. I wasn't sure which end it was going to come out of so I ran back inside. And threw up. Okay, something was definitely wrong here. I felt much better after this release so we hopped in the car and went to the party.

Unfortunately for me, the food being served (there was nothing wrong with it) smelled so gross to me and I knew I was going to be sick again. So I left Kev and Anslie at the party and went home to suffer in silence. Well, not complete silence because there were sounds of wretching and groaning echoing throughout the house. I had a slight fever, only 100.4, for a couple hours, my face was pale as a ghost, and I had the chills soooo bad you would have thought it was negative 40 in our house! I stayed in bed when I wasn't using the bathroom and by 10 pm I was settled enough to fall asleep.

I stayed home from church on Sunday just to make sure I was okay and so that if I had a virus I didn't spread it around, even though I felt much better. Weak, tired, in pain, but not sick to my stomach. It had to be food poisoning!

I feel fine this morning. I have never heard of the flu running it's course in 12 hours before. I thought and thought about what could have made me sick and the only thing that came to mind was the alfalfa sprouts on my sandwich because I was the only one who had that. I vaguely remember reading something while I was pregnant about avoiding sprouts because they can harbor salmonella and listeria. So, that's what I am blaming it on. Stinkin' sprouts! And for all you preggos out there - make sure you avoid alfalfa and bean sprouts! Salmonella and Listeria are bad enough for those of us who are not pregnant but for you it can cause death for you and your unborn baby! Just be careful! I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

BIG weekend!

Anslie had a check up with her specialist on Friday in Albuquerque. Kevin's boss gave him the day off so that he could come and we decided to make a weekend trip out of it.

Her appointment went really well! The doc said she looks great, she has gained more weight and grown taller than he would have expected her to have, and he has no further concerns for her health. We have another check up with him in two months, and other than having to take meds twice a day, Anslie gets to be a regular kid! She is doing really well and we are all a lot happier!

On Friday after her appointment, we met up with Britni and Mia at the ABQ zoo. It was raining a little bit but it was nice and cool and not very busy so it ended up being a really great day to visit! Saturday was spent by the pool and then Kev and I watched Mia while Britni and Owen went out to dinner for their 7th anniversary. We had a great time! We took the girls out to dinner and they both scarfed everything we put in front of them. Then we walked around the mall, got Dairy Queen for dessert, and then played on the playground equipment.

We came home on Sunday, but before we left we had lunch at Britni's parents' home. It was a really fun weekend and we were so glad we went!

These are a few pics from our trip, mostly the zoo and pool. You can click on the "your Trip to Albuquerque set"and then "slideshow" in the upper right hand corner to see larger images. If you click on "show info" you can also read the captions. These are all low-res files, so if you would like a hi-res copy, let me know!

Keeping my Promise

I'm keeping my promise not to inundate my family blog with my photography...but if you're interested in looking at a shoot I did for my sister, click HERE.

New and Improved

I find that, like so many things in my life, my photography stuff spills over into other areas. Most of the time it's not a problem...after all, I am extremely passionate about my art medium and that is part of who I am. It's just that the title of this blog is "The Ruffner Family" not "Shillawna's Photography Art Show". I really enjoy displaying my work for friends and family to see (and will continue to do so) but I would really like the focus of my family blog to be on my family, and my photography website/blog to be on my photographs. Sooooo.....my website got a little makeover today! I will be posting snippets of the shoots I have been working on there as well as other pertinent information like how to contact me, hire me, and view my galleries. Lucky you! It looks like you get two blogs for the price of one! Add my website to your list of blogs to follow to see what I have been up to - but don't forget to check out what our family has been doing too! And if you would like to see how my website has changed go to www.shillawnaruffnerphotography.com See ya 'round!

JP + Tera = Love

I think my sister, Tera, and her husband, JP are such a beautiful couple. Talk about a match made in Heaven! They also have a great sense of humor and were up for trying anything on this shoot. Thanks for acting like dorks, guys. And for looking so loverly! (Didja catch that double entendre???)

Iheartfaces: Silly Faces

This is the first photo that came to mind when I was searching for an image to enter in iheartfaces.com's weekly contest. This is my adorable nephew. I guess he was having a great time during our photo shoot! I think this face is priceless! Be sure to bounce on over to iheartfaces to sneak a peek at all of the other silly faces on display!

Why the heck not?! It's Fix-it-Friday!

I have been following this blog called I heart Faces for some time now and occasionally participate in some of their weekly contests. It's such a great resource for information and to get your work out there for other talented photographers to see, as well as to view some amazing photos from other shutterbugs. Every Friday the admins over at iheartfaces post an image for anyone and everyone to download and then put their own post processing spin on it. This is the first time I have done that and it was pretty fun. Here is the original unedited version of the photo (not taken by me):


And here is the photo after I have edited it:

I didn't have time to write down the steps on what I did, but if anyone is really interested, let me know and I will try to retrace for you!

Sneak Peak: The Schneiders - Country Style!

These portraits are very special to me because...they are of my family! This is my sister, Tera, and her beautiful, sweet, wonderful little (I guess I shouldn't say little because there are six of them) family. I am no where near finished processing all of the images I captured during this first of three shoots I did for her while spending a week at her lovely home, but I wanted to share with you how beautiful they all are. I love my sister very much and I am grateful that I have something to offer her for all of the love, kindness, and support she has given me. I hope you love these, Tera! And don't worry: these are only 10 of the, oh, five hundred or so images I am sorting through of your family :)

Click HERE to view the Schneider Family's entire collection!

Whole Again

My little girl is whole again! Yup, she got her cast off today! What a great week this is turning out to be. Now all we need is for the skin on her face to heal up and you won't even know she ever had a problem! Thank you, everyone, for your prayers. They have been answered!

Her Face

The little strip of tape that so purposefully holds the feeding tube in place, the feeding tube that has allowed my child to gain weight, weight that is so desperately needed...also hides her beautiful face. Words can't express what it feels like not knowing what your child's face looks like. For the last three months, I haven't gotten to see the changes in my sweet Anslie's face because of that little mask.

Anslie got her tube out today! The final formula feed was eliminated because she gained her minimum. How thrilled am I? It brings tears to my eyes to see my sweet daughter's face again, a little scuffed and scarred, but more beautiful that I could have ever thought possible. This is Anslie.






Okay...so maybe her face isn't always smashed up against a window. But I am grateful for these squishy-faced pictures because she wouldn't have wanted to do this with a tube running through her nose. Thank God for medicine and doctors! I thank him even more that we don't need them so desperately any more!

Holy crap! I'm amazing!!!

Kevin and I decided to fast and pray for Anslie's health today - that she would gain enough weight to get the NG tube out of her nose tomorrow and that her arm would be healed enough to get the cast off on Tuesday. For anyone who has ever fasted before, you know how hard it is to deny yourself food for almost and entire day. And to make things worse, I had the bright idea of watching a marathon of one of my favorite new TV shows, "Cake Boss." Yup. A couple of hours of watching an expert pastry chef carve, mold, bake, pipe, frost, and create delectable pastries and cakes...all on an empty stomach. Bright. Needless to say, when the marathon was over, Kevin and I had a MAJOR craving for cake! I rummaged through my cabinets and through my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found recipes and enough ingredients to put together an impromptu "Sunday" cake. This is the first cake I have ever made before from scratch with a meringue-style home made frosting to top it off. Holy crap! I'm amazing! Look out, Cake Boss! There's a new pastry queen in town!

Sneak Peak: The Haakmeesters

I just finished another shoot for a wonderful family that I fell in love with! Remember Chloe? Well, this is the rest of her adorable family. I had such a wonderful time shooting the Haakmeesters and I am so grateful for the bond that we developed over the two photo sessions that I did for them. These pictures don't do them justice, but I hope you guys love them anyway! These are just a few of my favorites from their family session, but you can click HERE to see the entire collection.