on you marks, get set,

goals.
i wrote on facebook last night that i wanted to put my goals for this year on paper. i was a bit of a slacker though, because my totally rad cousin texted me to hang out. so, i skipped out of my own assignment and went to panera, but it was completely worth it.

back to my goals.
i wouldn't necessarily Note to self: never walk away from the computer in the middle of a sentence. but if you are going to walk away, make it for a while so that when you come back, you can look at it with new eyes.

digression over.

i have been working very hard on my photography recently as i was encouraged by my friend becca to step it up a notch. i learned how to use all the manual settings on the nikon and i have been teaching myself photoshop. i am determined to be the best photographer that i am capable of being. i have been reading books about exposure and aperture and iso.

i have been working on these things to work towards my big goal for 2010. over the next few weeks, i will be coming up with a business name (any suggestions would be kindly appreciated), creating a photography blog (separate from this one with the intention of posting to both), and hopefully building a website.

i am really excited to have something that i am passionate about and, according to those around me, more than half-way decent to be working on. i know that it won't be easy. i know that there will be bumps in the road. but i am ready to take a step. to work towards something.

and i hope that you will join me for the ride.

Quick Post

I just wanted to post a few shots from my fantastically fun weekend.I dogsat one of my favorite pups, Archer the pug...

And this one I got while laying on the concrete, in my Easter outfit, outside of church. And I really kind of love it!

Have a great Monday!

Theme Song

Baby C- A preview

This past Sunday, I had the honor of shooting the Christening of baby C. Baby C is my good friend's brand-new niece and my, oh my is she adorable! I'm sure her mama is anxious to see some photo's, so here they are!

 

Can't wait to finish these edits and get the preview to the family!

i heart faces- dramatic b&w

i know, i know... my recent blog posts are all i heart faces challenges. i am addicted to them, i can't help myself. i love the challenge of getting a pic worthy of the top 10 (maybe one day, it will happen!)
this week's theme is dramatic black and white. anything that is dramatic, sensational, and/or moody. here is a moment i captured of my cousin's pop-pop. very serious and stoic.

head on over to iheartfaces to see more dramatic black & white's.

Focusing on Angles- I Heart Faces Week 12

It's that time of the week again... that's right, it's i heart faces challenge time! I'm so excited about this challenge because I LOVE shooting on angles. I had the joy to spend this past weekend with my lovely friend, Kara and her fab baby, J! We went to the playground and I just got to snap away to my hearts content. Usually J makes what her family calls her "outside face," where she scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes. After I had been shooting for awhile, she started to ignore me and I got some great angle shots!

Head on over to iheartfaces to check out more great angle shots!

i heart faces- bundled up

this weeks i{heart}faces challenge was a bit of a, well, challenge. i'm not much of a cold weather person and rarely go outside when the mercury dips below 75 (i kid... sort of). i have a handful of cold bundled up photos from when i taught at preschool, but i'm not super comfortable posting those full face kid pics without parent permission. so, after much internal debate, here is a photo i snapped of myself one night when it was snowing. so, while i don't have a bundled up winner, i have inspiration for next winter... (if i decide to go outside, that is!)

head on over to i heart faces to check out some amazing bundled up pics!

purpose and meaning.

i recently heard a presentation from a businessman who had gone to the Philippines on a mission trip. of all the things i came away with, what stuck with me the most was this. "if we do not live our lives with purpose and meaning, are we really even living?" i haven't been able to get that out of my head.especially with how i have been feeling lately. my life is lacking in purpose. i have everything that more than i need. i started questioning my motive behind big purchases. how could i justify spending $200, $300, $400 on camera equipment but i am not heeding James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."?
another inconsistency with my beliefs came the other night. i was feeling frustrated in my singleness and was considering re-joining eHarmony. before i got to the payment part, i thought of how ridiculous it seemed for me to pay to find someone when there are children out there without enough to food eat, shoes to wear, or a safe place to go during the day. that's when i made the decision to sponsor a child from compassion international.
enough with the whining. take action. i frequently get on a soap box about social justice but i never put it into action because i "didn't have enough money to give." well, looking around at all of my belongings stuff, i realized that i do have enough. and if i have to forgo starbucks a few times, skip a dinner out, or "make do without" than this

makes it all worth it. this is adeline. she is 11 years old and lives in berkina faso,one of the poorest countries in west africa. adeline takes care of the younger children in the home and her mother is only sometimes employed.
it's time to put my money, literally, where my mouth is.
the video shown in the presentation?  the children were walking and picking their way through the garbage dump. they were singing and smiling. they have purpose. and i hope i do now, too.

hope.

i've been having a tough time lately. i've been sullen and mopey. i have not been fun to be around (at least in my own company...) let's chalk some of that up to the gray, depressing days of winter. yeah, that sounds good. but i know that i can't blame it all on the weather. i could say that it's because i'm turning 29 again 30 and i'm a little, ok a lot freaked out about it. turning 30 has always seemed so far away. something that happens after you get married and start a family. when you have been working at a job you love instead of one that just pays the bills. but here i am, mere months from that elusive number and all i can think about is what i don't have but wish i did.

i want this.

 to experience this.

 to snuggle my own babes
and to whisper prayers over them.

to have someone take my family's portrait

at the beach.

to take my family here.

to get to here.

but for now, i am trying to be content with what i have. an amazing support system of family and of friends who are there for me when i need them. i want to live in the now and experience joy in that living. i don't know what my future holds and that scares me. but i have the hope of tomorrow and of the future.

"may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace

as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

transparent.

i have a blog post that i want to share. but it is very personal. it is a part of me. sometimes i may sound a bit whiny. or i may come across as strong in parts. weak in others.

i have some major anxiety about being transparent. but i feel there is catharsis in sharing. 

so i will push the publish button at some point. but for now it is just a draft.

Jump forJoy I Heart Faces Week 10

Even though I think I missed the deadline for this week's entry, I still want to post this because I absolutely love this picture.

Head on over to iheartfaces for more awesome jump shots!

In the middle of nowhere

I feel like I am lost in the middle of nowhere... Well, not really lost, so much as house-sitting in the middle of nowhere. From this past Saturday til Sunday. That long without my personal computer, the new computer that holds over 19,000 pictures, with which I use to regularly blog. I guess I am lost, then. But just so you know, I haven't forgotten about you. (And am I referring to my blog like it's a living, breathing person or the handful of people who actually read the thing? I'm not entirely sure...)
I shall return within a weeks time, not that I'm making any promises, with new pictures and posts and updates and questions that I would like answered.
Don't miss me too much! (Referring to my blog, for sure this time!)

Hands On Fun- I Heart Faces Week 8

Here is this week's entry into the iheartfaces photo challenge for "Hands On Fun."

This sweet little boy lights up a room and loves to give cuddles. I chose this picture because he seemed so unaware of his surroundings and it looks like he is whispering a little prayer.

Check out the other great hands pictures at heartfaces and maybe enter your own!

I Wanna Dance- I Heart Faces Week 7 Challenge

As soon as I learned the theme for this weeks iheartface's photo challenge, I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use. This photo comes from Chad and Kelli's wedding (which was oodles of fun!). I was snapping a photo of the bride and groom, when Amy danced her way in... not the best technically, but a great capture!

Head on over to iheartfaces to check out more fantastic, fun dance pictures!

A Snowy Wordless Wednesday

"We heart kisses" week 6 challenge

Here's my first entry into the I Heart Faces blog contest. This weeks theme is "Kisses" and I'm super excited about the photo I am choosing.

i wonder what they're thinking about...

For more great pictures and to enter your own kissy  pic, head over to iheartfaces.

Oh those eyes

Squeeeeee!!!!!

A Baking Bonanza!

~Update~
   I brought a batch of the brownies raved about mentioned later in this post to work today. The verdict? A-maz-ing! I actually had one co-worker say, "You are going to make some man happy and fat!" High praise, right? Now, if only that praise could turn into the truth, like now? That would be even better!

~Original Post~
Pardon me, I love alliteration!
I am completely obsessed with social networking (duh!) and I love to read people's blogs, tweets, status updates, etc. Part of the fun, for me, is finding new inspirational stories, new places to shop, and new recipes to try out! This was the case the other day when I stumbled upon the blog i am mommy and the link to her baking page, i am baker. That is where I discovered these amazing cookies!

 

 These are Coffee Sugar Cookies! 

Oh. my. goodness. You put coffee in a cookie? That's a definite winner in my book! The recipe was super easy to follow except I totally did not read all the instructions. I missed the part that said you had to let the dough chill overnight. Oops. (Side note: if you are making the dough at night, as tempting as it may be; do not eat the dough if caffeine wakes you up. Let's just say that I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for a few hours that night.)

Some of you might remember a few months ago, (let's say it was October) I featured the amazing S'more cupcake that brookiellen introduced me to. I love s'more's, so ever since then, I have been obsessed with figuring out how to make a s'more brownie. I think know that this is it! I have always been about the brownie. It was one of the first things I learned how to bake. And I have been perfecting them ever since. I would NEVER use a boxed brownie. Okay, confession: I did once. Horibble, awful, never again.

The brownie recipe I use is Hershey's Best Brownie recipe. It has never, ever failed me.

I can't give you exact measurements, but I will do my best to guess.

Make the brownie batter first and then add about a 1/4 cup of finely ground graham crackers.

Take 4 sheets of graham crackers and crumble them into the batter. My goal was to have graham cracker pieces throughout the entire brownie.

 

Spray the pan with non stick cooking spray and spread the batter on the bottom.

Bake the brownies for roughly 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven for the next step.

This is the tricky part. Spoon bits of marshmallow fluff randomly across the top. 

Take another 2 sheets of graham crackers and roughly crumble them on top and pop the back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the brownies pull away from the side of the pan.

Let them cool before slicing... if you can wait that long!

 

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

So nerve-wracking

This past Saturday I did my first maternity shoot. It was my friend, Tara's, sister. I drove up for the shower and stayed for the shoot. They were such troopers... it was about 15 degrees that day and they indulged me with a few shots at the playground.
I have to admit that I am super nervous about how these photos are going to be received. Here is a sneak peek of some. Please be honest but gentle; it's my first time.