Here I Go...

I'm officially announcing the launch of my photography website (and hyperventilating a little while doing it...) Please tell me if I made any glaring mistakes! It's still a work in progress, so I'm open to suggestions from my friends. :)

Food for Thought

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity,

those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times,

becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

I Stand Corrected

Funny faces happen at EVERY age. ;) (Click on the picture to magnify the fun.)

Turning 60

It seems that there are good things and bad things about turning 60... The good thing is that your whole family will come and dress in shirts with an upside down 60 on them, and have a whole lot of fun celebrating.

The bad thing is... your face goes funny! ;) Happy birthday, Dad! Love you!!

Update...

1. Aubrey won her championship game!! We went, and I am SO glad... it was everything you could ask for in a championship game... overtime, broken thumb (not Aubrey's), drama, tension, feeling like you're going to puke because you're so nervous... and WINNING in the end! Aubrey did great, and it was something I definitely wouldn't want her to miss!



We still got to see family, and it wasn't enough, but it was still something, and the weekend was GREAT!!



2. I'll figure it out, and it's really okay. I just stress over dumb stuff.



3. Well, still no offers, still don't know what to do, still no job...



4. Thank you, thank you, thank you!



5. It'll be fine... I need to help people learn and grow and do the things they need to, and if that means more work for me, so be it. :) The blessings will outweigh the pain.



6. Heaven knows. Hopefully I will someday too. :)

Life's Little Dilemmas

(the picture has no significance... just my picture of the day)

Do you choose to let your daughter go to her championship softball game and get to see rarely seen family for only a couple of hours (missing out on a lot of sleep and driving until the wee hours of the morning), or do you miss the championship softball game to buy a few more hours with that family?

Do you continue to do something that isn't really benefiting you, just to spare feelings of a friend?

Do you spend money to list your house on the mls system and risk paying the buyer's realtor 3%, when you're worried that you might not even be able to sell your house for what you owe, and maybe not even sell it at all?

How do you decide what to charge for your photography services? And how do you make pictures bigger on blogger without using an outside hosting source?

What do you do when you spend more time helping someone who is supposed to be helping you than it would take to just do things yourself?

How? Why??? When????? Answer me, please!

Full of Fun Family

Kim, I couldn't wait to play with these pictures (which is why I'm up after 12:00)!! This family is full of fun and personality, and boy, did we ever have fun with our shoot tonight! I was a little nervous that we'd have to reschedule, because 20 minutes before we left it was pouring rain! Luckily I couldn't find Kim's number, and she was getting ready and didn't know it was raining. We got so many fun pictures, and I am SO grateful for Leslie's awesome farm... thank you for letting us use your beautiful place, Leslie!!

You would not believe how much fun these kids are. They have such different personalities from each other, and it was so much fun to get to know them a little better.

Sam's the man, I tell you. Solid, quiet, and handsome.

McKelle was a beautiful model with her pixie cut and gorgeous eyes!

Ben is full of life, energy, spunk... and poses! You don't need to tell this guy what to do!

Zoie has the biggest sparkly eyes and cuteness and sass to go with them! Kim, thanks for letting me take pictures of your wonderful family! I can't wait to get the rest of them to you! :)

Beautiful Whitney

All I have to say, is you'd have to be a pretty awful photographer to mess up pictures of a girl this beautiful! ;) I had so much fun with Whitney's bridal shoot this morning! She's getting married next week (where I'm the lucky photographer... again! :)

Whitney has a smile to light up a room! She was a perfect model...

Color??

Or black & white?? I'm torn...

See those cute toes peeking out? Yes, she's wearing hot pink heels. How cute is that?

After buttoning up this dress, we thought she might have to just wear it until next week... it's quite the ordeal, but well worth it in the end. :)

Her colors will be this pink and green... I can't wait to see the whole effect at her reception. I'm sure it will be gorgeous!

I really like it when clouds work in my favor. :)

Giveaway at V's Place

I LOVE this jewelry that my friend, Vanessa, is giving away at her blog... so I had to give myself two chances. I know, it doesn't help me, though, because then all of you will go enter and my chances will be even less... oh well, I love all my readers enough to let them in on this. :)

Family Hike

Yesterday we all went for a 3 mile hike to the Dinosaur Tracks. We all love hiking, and it was a perfect day for a hike. Everything was beautiful, the weather was not too hot, and not rainy, and we were lost for only a bit...

And we made it back to the truck with only a little rock climbing involved!

There were so many interesting formations, and we got to see one dinosaur track. (The rest were underwater.)

Why don't we go more often?? (We did take a family picture, but I'm banning it from being shown to the public. I'm getting rid of the capris I wore... let's just say I've worn more flattering things in my life.)

Okay... family picture added, thanks to the magic of cropping. :) See my foot in there? That proves I was there, so it works!

Last Weekend

I made Aubrey pose... she doesn't like to pose, as you all know, but she's gorgeous, and she's my daughter, so it's in the contract somewhere that she HAS to... at least every once in awhile.

She loves me...

She loves me not...

Monday I went to Marci's for an apron girls get together. I love Marci's house. Just love it. She has the neatest little touches everywhere, like this chandelier in the girls' room.

And lunch was served so beautifully, in the most beautiful dishes, with the loveliest vintage tablecloth (and Holly, if you REALLY have a TON of them and you won't give me just one, I will hate you forever...) When I grow up, I want to have pretty things like this and be able to put on a real luncheon that doesn't involve tupperware and cool whip containers.

The girls in Marci's garden... I had to put the black and white one up, because I'm having a little crisis right now over my orange hair. The box said brown.

The next day was the mission 24 get together, and since there were only 3 of us there, we had fun posing for each other. (and Brittney, if you post that picture of me and the pole, I will hate you forever ;) Rachel has a gorgeous smile... and she is a beautiful person inside and out. She stayed overnight with me at my mom and dad's, and it was short, but wonderful! Her kids are very sweet and adorable, and her little girl let me fix her hair (ahh, heaven! ;) Rachel taught me a beautiful lesson, and I am so grateful for her. Maybe I'll share sometime, but I don't want to embarrass her, or myself. Just know that she is amazing.

Brittney is one beautiful and fun girl! I loved meeting her, and getting to know her a little better. Her little girls were cuter than cute! Besides being an amazing photographer, she's a biker... the kind that bikes "centuries" for fun. :)

Aubrey took this picture of the three of us... she did good, huh? I guess you get to see my orange hair after all. Dang it.

I hate to whine on my blog, but I also hate to act like everything is perfect in my life... so, even though this weekend was wonderful... spending time with Brandon, seeing friends, meeting friends... I still feel like my life is spiraling out of control. Brandon is on his way back home now, which is wonderful in one way, but it means that he doesn't have a job right now. Ain't life grand? :)

Addicted to Bach & Bokeh