Help me choose!

I've decided to enter another photo contest today and I need help picking which picture I want to use. It's a contest through I Heart Faces and it is in honor of girlfriends for Blissdom '10. The theme is "Girlfriends" and my first thought was to use one of the pics I snapped of the three lovely best friends from last May. But the problem is, I can't decide which one I like better. This is where my loyal readership (all 3 of you) comes in. Help me pick which photo to use and I will be forever grateful.

I kind of know which one I am leaning more towards, but could really use some extra eyes! Please leave a comment and let me know which one you like better!

Trying my hand at editing

I haven't been obsessively taking pics for about the last month or so. When I was sick, my joints hurt so bad that I couldn't even pic up my camera. That's when you know it must have been bad.

The problem now, is that I am feeling the need to create but I have no recent pics to work on. But I happen to have thousand upon thousands of pics from the last few years that I can work on.

I can't seem to get photoshop elements to work with my computer, so I have been using paintdotnet for all of my editing.

Here are some that I have been working on the last few days. (And I would appreciate any constructive criticism you can offer!)

This is Brooke's Cash. Isn't he dreamy?

I am in love with this castle picture!

A Heart for the Hurting

I had trouble waking up this morning. I was cranky, tired, and had a massive headache. I stumbled downstairs to start the coffee pot and to drink as much coffee as possible this morning. Then, I headed back upstairs to get on facebook and check twitter. I signed on to my email and saw this. Sometime this morning, the people of Haiti encountered another earthquake. Of 6.1 magnitude. That's almost as powerful as the one last Sunday that killed so many and left millions homeless and too many children to count as orphans. It just breaks my heart.
I know that many of have probably given through your local church or some other organization. But it's not enough. It may never be enough.
This is not a plug for any one organization. This is just a list of links to point you towards helping at a time when it feels like you can't do anything.

Food for the Hungry


Compassion International

Haiti Earthquake

The American Red Cross

Doctor's without Borders


These are just a few of the many organizations that are collecting money to aid those affected by the earthquake (now quakes) that have devastated a nation.

Happy New Year... a little late!

2010 started out in a way that I hope never to repeat. I woke up on the morning of the 2nd with a fever and aches. This fever lasted for FIVE DAYS! That's right, 5! Turns out I had Fifths Disease or, Roseola. Fever, sunburn-like rash,and joint pain for quite some time after you are no longer ill. I'm hoping with this illness out of the way, 2010 can only get better!
For some reason, I have a really good feeling about this year. Things feel like they are going to change and I'm really looking forward to seeing what can happen.
Some big things that are happening this year:

-- The big 3-0. Phew, I just had a mini-panic attack typing those numbers. It's not something I am necessarily looking forward to, but I am hopeful that this will be a good time in my life.

-- Disney, just me and my mom. I'm really excited to spend some quality time with my mom at a place that we both love!

-- Photography shoots. I'm already starting to line up some shoots for the upcoming months. I have one at the end this month that I am filling some anxiety over. It is a maternity shoot for my friend's sister, who is expecting her first baby. I've shot babies and people but never expectant mothers... and I am a little unsure with how to proceed with this job. I also have family shoots and baby shoots and a possible wedding.

-- Starting a new home based business. My friend just launched her own Arbonne business and I have been seriously thinking for at least the last 6 months about launching my own. I would really like some more flexibility and extra income, plus I love their products... it just seems like a good fit. My only concern is being able to find people who would be willing to host a party for me (wink, wink!)

-- Getting back on track with healthy eating and exercising. I started watching my portions again, and once I am feeling up to it after being sick, I will start working out with the goal to run a 5k. And I mean, run it! I think I'm going to try the Couch to 5k, which a few of my friends have started and really like.

-- But most importantly, this year I am really looking towards figuring out who I am and what I am here for. Why did God ordain for me to be where I am and what am I supposed to be doing with that?

All in all, I'm ready to see where this year is going to go. I'm committed to not letting time pass me by as I have for so many other years. Here's to a New Year!

Disney: A teaser

I keep meaning to blog about Disney but keep putting it off. Here is a pic I took crossing over one of the bridges!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I took the above photo and did a little editing. I love how it turned out!

I've had a lot of fun with the photoshop mobile app that I have on my iPod. Here's a few more from my trip!

 

 I love how these turned out!

 

I have a blog?

Oh, right. I knew that. Really, I swear I did! I promise to update soon. A special "year in review" or something like that. Yeah.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On that mindnight train to Georgia

I love Savannah. No, I mean I am crazy in love with this town. The charm, the architecture, the people... the beach right down the road. I may have to make this my go-to city for vacations. That's how much I love it. I got a few pictures when we went downtown yesterday, which I will post when I get home, before my dad started not feeling well and needed to get back to the hotel.
But all is good, we leave for WDW in about an hour!

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to talk a little bit about what I am thankful. Let's see. My family, my amazing friends, having somewhere to celebrate the holiday, my car, Milicent and so much more.
I'm stoked and thankful that my vacation starts officially TOMORROW! We pack up the car and hit the road around 7:30! wOOt!
Enjoy your day and remember what makes you thankful!

Holy Vacation,

Mickey Mouse! This time next week, my mom, pop, and I should be arriving at Walt Disney World. Yeah, I'm pretty much super excited for this vacation. For quite a few reasons, too. Let's see. I haven't been on an actual vacation since 2002, and technically that was a Mission Trip, but it was so much fun that it was like a vacation (where the "final destination" was WDW.) Before that, it was the family trip to WDW in 1995. That's right, my last 2 vacations were to the "Happiest Place on Earth."
I have had so much fun planning this trip with my mom. Planning events is something that we both like to do, so it was great to be able to do this together.
Another reason to be stoked, it's just my parents and me, so think of how spoiled I will be by the end of this trip. (Watch it, those of you who might have a comment re: me being spoiled!)
We leave Friday night at around 7:30 to make our way to Savannah, GA. I can't wait to take pictures of the architecture and everything else. We should hit Savannah sometime Saturday morning, with the plans to do some sightseeing. Then, we'll spend the night there and hit the road early Sunday morning... We have rest stops built in, time to stretch our legs, maybe grab a meal, but for the most part we will just ramble along.
We will be taking my car, Milicent. She's got some miles on her but I'm confident in her abilities to get us there and back. (Just pray for safe travels, please!)
I can't wait to write all about our Disney vacation!
On the way home, we are planning to swing over to Ft. Mill, SC to visit some family friends and spend the night. We have known this family for my whole life and longer! I'm super excited about this part because it it the family of one of my childhood best friends, LA! I even offered to do a family shoot of LA's family for her, since I don't think they have any...
Ok, I will not bore you any longer with the details of our trip, today anyway. I might be back on later this week as the excitement builds to a fervor.
Have a great Sunday!

Could it be?

Could I really be getting a car? Ok, so it's nothing fancy and it certainly won't be the most attractive thing on the road but it will be mine. Here's the stock photo of what it looks like. It's a 1996 Buick Century Wagon. And yes, it was previously driven around by a grandma. It seems I have a penchant for old lady cars!
I had been trying to stay patient and trust that God had something out there. On Sunday, I had heard from a friend that someone was selling a car... that belonged to his mother. I went up to him, asked him about it, and the rest... is history.
I should have it by the end of the week!

Do Good Intentions Write a Blog?

I didn't think so. I have no other excuse for myself other than being slightly busy with baby-sitting, seeing friends with their 4 day old babies, booking photo shoots, working, and just lazing around. (Wow! I just made myself look really busy!)
But really, there hasn't been much going on here but next week I have two shoots and the following week I have an e-session and a birthday party! I can't wait to post pics from all these upcoming events!

So, I'm having a bit of trouble with the fact that next year, I will be turning 30. I don't even like saying it. I mean, crisis mode, do-something-wild-and-crazy kind of trouble. I've thought about a tattoo, a nose ring, packing up and moving somewhere warmer...


Can you see that!? Isn't it fabulous?! After I do the "big reveal" at church tomorrow, I will post more obvious pictures.

Until then, have any of you had a hard time with getting older? What age has been the most difficult so far?

A Wonderful Day

This past Sunday, I finally got to meet up with my lovely friend Kara (and her fab husband, Jesse) and I finally got to meet her beautiful baby, Juliana! I believe that Juliana and I are now best friends, and I am totally smitten with her. And here is why...

How can you not love this face?

A great time was had by all and it was just so nice to sit and chat with an old friend. Just hanging out with a cup of coffee and a good friend. I really need to take more time and do that more often.

Turnpike Tales

There is a story behind my picture of the week this week. (Although, there usually is a story where I am concerned. I have had this uber-crappy week. I would love to enthrall you with all the fabulous details but I will just leave it at this. I am a car jinx.
This picture comes from my time on the turnpike on Wednesday after work. The tire shredded while I was driving. And apparently there is a kill switch for when that happens. So, the tire shredded and the car wouldn't start. And I sat on the turnpike waiting for my pop. (Who awesomely helps me when stupid junk like this happens.)

P.O.T.W.

Ok, so I'm inconsistent at best with posting a picture of the week. Hey, could be worse... I could have skipped posting my picture of the day for a month.
This week's picture...

I went to Chinatown last week. And took tons of pictures. Perhaps I will post some others at a later date. Perhaps.

Ava.

I am more than a little narcissistic. I want everyone to know what I am doing, why I am doing that, what led me to decide that this was the right thing to do, and my feelings attributed to said event. But I am equal opportunity. I fully expect you to read my facebook status/tweet/blog update but you better believe that I will be manically checking yours for an update. It's one of the reasons why I read so many blogs. And the list just keeps on growing.
Because of my narcissism, I wanted everyone to know that I was grumpy today. I wanted to tell everyone how sad I was because I have all this time to myself and how I want someone to share it with. How I want a mate to share everything with and children that laugh at how silly their parents are while they dance around the kitchen to the oldies station. How I went running to try to get all that out but instead I wanted to share a blog with you that I found today.
If you are an obsessive blog reader like I am, then you are well aware of what happens when you read a blog. Especially if you like their style of writing. This happened today. I stumbled upon site after site after site of people's musings. Of them sharing intimate moments. it was one of these moments that I feel privileged enough to know about. This is Sheye. Sheye is a photographer who lives in Australia. I was reading all about Sheye and her family and her photography, which you should check out, and this one name kept popping up. Ava. Stories about Ava's life. Pictures that froze Ava at 3 and a half. I investigated. And then I dug out the tissues. What I found was this, Ava's Legacy. If you like to peer into other people's worlds(which, if you are reading this, is obvious) then please check it out. But make sure you have plenty of tissues.

Consider my "Woe-is-me" attitude in check.

The Most Amazing Cupcakes Ever.

A few weeks back, my friend Brooke blogged about these fabulous graham cracker cupcakes that she had found. While she kept the basic cupcake recipe the same as she found it from Vanilla Garlic, she made a slight adjustment to the filling and topping. What Brooke did, and for this recipe I did too, is after you spoon the batter into the cups, put two chocolate squares on top. You could use one or two, depending on how much chocolate you like. The topping is marshmallow fluff and then you put extra graham cracker crumbs on top and another Hershey square.
Brooke is now my new hero for these Smores Cupcakes. I give you "The Most Amazing Cupcake Ever."





I dare you to dispute my claim.


*Edit- Just a heads up. If you make the smores version,which you would be silly not to, and you are making them ahead of time, wait to put the marshmallow fluff on top until the day of. Fluff has a tendency to run off the cupcake.

Picture of the Week

I'm totally stealing this idea from Becca... I hope you're okay with that! I know that I don't always have my camera on me, which is a cause for consternation, by the way. So I know I won't get a picture a day. But I at least get a couple in during the week. I am definitely going to try to remember to update at least once a week with this new Picture of the Week feature.
Here's my first picture that I took on Thursday.

Taken at work, against the black cabinet in my office.

Beach Baby, Beach Baby

As I have been promising for about a week... beach photo shoot pictures!!! How about a little less talk and a lot more pictures!












Oh, and one more!

I've seen how far I've come...

Tonight is the first episode of this season of The Biggest Loser. Sometimes it's really hard to see people who are where I was at one point in my life. I'm not saying that I was 400lbs but I was at a point where as much as I acted like I was fabulous, I felt wretched. I looked at myself and tried to make myself believe that I was pretty, talented, funny. Mostly funny. The fat friend is always funny. I finally saw myself and thought, "I have got to change. I have got to do something."
So I did. I cut out all unhealthy foods. I took a look at how much I was actually eating and I trimmed down my portion sizes. And I started exercising. And it turns out, I love it! I love to run and sweat and jump and sweat some more. I saw HUGE results. I lost 60 lbs. my stamina has gone through the roof. I started to see myself as the fabulous, amazing person that God created me to be.
Even through all of that, I still have my days. You know those days. The ones where you hear that voice that says you aren't fabulous. But you know what? That voice is wrong. I am fabulous. I am amazing. And you know what else? You are too. God made you to be a fabulous, fierce individual. And we shouldn't let anyone, anyone tell us otherwise.

This turned out to be way more personal than I intended but I guess I really needed to get that off my chest.

Susie the Little Blue Coupe

My mom and I have been planning our trip to Disney in November for the last 6 months. (*Edit- btw, my pop is going with us but it's my mom and I that are mostly planning the trip. He just wants to be told where to be and at what time! Typical guy!) We are now under 100 days and we are so super stoked! I have become obsessed with everything Disney. While perusing all the websites for anything and everything Disney, I came across this, my absolute favorite Disney cartoon from when I was little. Now, I always have a soft spot for anything that has my name, and this is no exception. So, please click on the link and check out my absolute favorite... Susie the Little Blue Coupe from 1952.