Week 2... Your Way

I had to show you a couple of the photowalks from my fellow photographers for week 2...Alison's adorable snow family....
And Jessica's adorable baby kiss. Great work, all of you!!!

52 Photowalks: Week 2

I got my photowalk done a little bit early this week... I was too excited to try it to wait any longer. :) My goal was to take photos of my shoes with very careful thought... in the set up, the framing, the lighting. I didn't allow myself to snap 50 photos of each pair and then choose. It was a good exercise, and a heck of a lot of fun to edit. :) Which photo do you like best?



And yeah... I might be a little bit obsessed with high heels. A girl can never have too many pairs. ;)

Approaching Halfway to Old

I'll be turning 35 soon, and I've been having a lot of thoughts about being "old". I don't feel old, most people tell me I don't look as old as I am... I really am just the same me I was 20 years ago, except with a few more zits, a lot more ornery, and maybe a little less immature. ;)

I've been the yw president (youth leader for the girls in my church) for over a year and a half now, and I feel SO uncool... in other places where I've been a leader I've felt like they liked me, they wanted to be with me, and I had great connections. In this ward? Not so much... seriously, they'll do anything to avoid riding in a car with me. If I sit by them, they move. If I ask about their lives, I get one word grunts. They're good girls, they're nice, they're sweet, I love them... but I feel like I have leprosy or something.

Here's the scary thing... my Silver Sneakers class (the oldy-goldy fitness class I teach) LOVES me. They laugh at my jokes, they give me hugs, they tell me all about their lives, they CLAP for me at the end of class for pete's sake.

So, am I just plain old getting OLD? Am I just too old to be "cool" anymore? I'm so old that I relate better to people twice my age than people half my age? I'm serious here... I need help! I want to reach these girls who I work with, and I want them to know I care, but I also don't want to bother them with my uncoolness. So, any ideas? Please?

Your First Photowalks

Not many of you have photos up yet for your first week of our 52 photowalks challenge, but I have faith that you all will! :)

I've had a couple of questions, so I'll see if I can clear things up a bit here.

1. You do NOT need to be a professional photographer to do this. This is about improving your photography throughout the year, not about showing off. ;) There are all different levels of photographers represented over there on the side.

2. You don't have to "walk" anywhere, or go someplace really special or out of the ordinary. The challenge is to find photo opportunities wherever you go... to train your eye to see a great photo where others might not. You can go on fun snowshoe walks, but you don't have to. ;) Ultimately you'll find at least one day a week where you can take photos just for the sake of taking photos... whether it's inside your house, around town, or across the world.

3. I won't be posting all of your photos on my blog. I just have your name linked over there on the side, so if any of you want to see what the rest of the photographers are doing, just click on the name. :)

However... I'd like to spotlight a photo or two each week here on my blog!

4. If you let me know that you ARE going to be "playing", I won't remove your link if you haven't posted for a couple of weeks. If you don't say anything to me, I'll assume it's something you've decided not to do.

5. You can have your weeks be whatever you want them to. I'm going from Friday to Thursday for each of my weeks, since January 1st was on a Friday. If you want to post more than once a week, knock yourself out. :)

6. Anyone who would like to can still join... there's no deadline for "signing up"... we're glad to have anyone anytime!

Okay... now to share photos from a couple of on-time contributers! These are NOT my photos, although I'd be happy if I had taken them. ;)
This was my very favorite from Leslie Mae (you can see more if you click on her name on the side). Isn't it gorgeous??
She also went snowshoeing... and I LOVE the colors of her snowshoes!

This sweet little guy was snapped by Amy... I love the eyelashes!!

Sooo.... get busy! Start taking photos, would ya? I want to see! :)

52 Photowalks: Week 1

My first photowalk of the year! Brandon and I went up to Flaming Gorge and rented snowshoes... what a perfect day! 40 degrees, beautiful, wonderful company... we would've liked a little more snow, but all in all it was perfect! I'd love to hear which photos are your favorites. :)This was my view most of the walk... I'm not complaining one bit. ;)
To prove I was there... Brandon took this one. Notice the snow clear up to my bum? I was WET!! For some reason I flipped snow clear up every time I walked but Brandon didn't... I'm not sure if it was my smaller snowshoes, my boots, or maybe that I walk funny.
There is no way to capture the vastness and majesty of this view. What an amazing place... and to think, we live just 45 minutes from it.


We saw quite a few deer.... Brandon was hoping for more wildlife, but other than the deer we just saw scat and tracks. (And a mouse at the place we rented our snowshoes from...)




Brandon likes to live on the edge...
Seriously, this doesn't even begin to show what it looks like... if anyone wants to come visit, we'll take you here!
Does this make you a little dizzy?
I couldn't have asked for a better way to start off my year long project. Next time we have the opportunity, we're going to go cross-country skiing. :)

Here's to 2010

This year I decided to look at the areas of my life that I want to improve myself, then I chose one specific thing that I can do in that area to make it happen... at least on some level. :) We'll see how it goes... but since I'm sharing with all of you, I better do it, or you'll ALL know of my failure. ;)

Photography: 52 Photowalks in 2010 project

Fitness: Flexibility!! I have NO flexibility... seriously, I'm like a muscle-bound man. So, I'm going to stretch every day.

Spirituality: Read my scriptures every day. It may be a verse, but I want to have the experience of reading the word of God every single day in 2010. I've never had a year where I didn't miss a day, and I'm really going to try to make this the year.

Homemaking: Conquer the laundry beast. Yes, I am going to be the first woman to conquer the laundry beast ever, and I'm doing it in 2010. ;) I'm planning on doing a load or so every day and actually folding it and putting it away. Wish me luck.

Organization: I'm going to organize and declutter my home... no rush, no timetable... just one spot at a time.

Being a better wife & mother: Don't Complain. Don't Yell. Sigh... we'll see. I'm going to try really really hard.

So, that's it... the list for 2010. What are your new year's resolutions?

Wanna Play?

Update Update: One more thing... make sure you label your posts somehow with 52 Photowalks in 2010 or whatever so we know which posts are for this! :)

Update: I'm so excited about the response! It'll be fun to have so many friends doing it too, so we can keep each other going. :) I've been adding you to my sidebar, so please let me know if you want a different link to your name, like if you're starting a separate blog just for this project, or if you want to put them in a facebook photo album instead. Also, if you miss more than a couple of weeks, I'll take your name off the side... not to be rude, but to keep you accountable, AND to keep the list current, so if anyone looks they won't wonder why the heck your name is there.

I'll still add more names if anyone else is interested!! The more the merrier. :) You can also modify for yourself if you need to... for example, Jason is doing 12 photowalks in 2010. Just tell me if you're doing something like that so I don't remove you unnecessarily. :) I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

One of my resolutions for 2010 (how do you guys say 2010 anyway... two thousand ten, or twenty ten? I must know SOON!) is to improve my photography and to continue learning and growing... I've kind of lost that drive to take photos of anything and everything (busy fall portrait season will do that to you) and I wanted to think of something that would keep me working throughout the year. I briefly considered 365 photos (a picture a day) but I KNOW it wouldn't happen, and it would end up being more stress than it's worth. Soooo.... I saw this somewhere, and I can't even remember where, so I can't credit it, but I would LOVE all of you photographers (or anyone with a camera) to join me!

My goal for the year: 52 Photowalks

And for the rules:

1. Go for a "walk" or drive, or whatever, once a week with the main purpose of taking photos. (Or bring your camera along on something you're already doing, or walk to your back yard... and it doesn't have to be exactly once a week, but roughly once a week.)

2. Take a photo, or two, or 200. Post your favorite, or two, or 200. Edit them if you wish. (I'll be editing mine... I like to practice that end of it too.)

3. That's it.

I know that the rules are really strict... but I think it will be a lot of fun anyway. ;) If you'd like to join me, let me know, and I'll link you on my sidebar. Then we can all look at each other's journeys throughout the year. Sound fun? Say yes!

It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

2009... a year that I won't be sad to say goodbye to. I think this has been a hard year for almost everyone I know... and that has made it all that much harder for me. I don't think I've been very nice or compassionate or helpful to anyone else this whole year, and I really feel bad about that. I'm sorry if I've not been there for any of you when you needed me... I was struggling to keep my own head above water, and although I know that's not a good excuse, it is what it is.

I was talking to Brandon the other day about how this year, more than any other, I've felt like I haven't been able to stay on top of anything... I've felt like every part of my life has been a struggle, except for one. I've done a pretty good job this year of exercising. Yeah, that's a good thing, but when that's the ONLY thing I've felt that I've done well? Sounds pretty pathetic and selfish, I think.

I've let my kids down, I've let Brandon down, I've let my house go, I've let my friends and family down, I've been ornery, tired, unproductive, and I've really felt that I let my Heavenly Father down this year. We all know that if we're not feeling very close to Him, there's no question about who has moved. I've begged for answers through all of our tough times this year and have felt like there were no answers. I've only felt that we've made mistake after mistake with life decisions, and we can't undo most of them.

The good thing (yes, this post isn't going to be a complete downer) is I've started to see the light... I have felt that 2010 CAN be a good year, and there is hope. I'm actually feeling like I might be able to be a better wife and not complain. I might be able to be a better mom and show my kids more love. I might be able to be a better sister, daughter, friend, and look outside of my own self every once in awhile. I might be able to stay on top of the housework and laundry... sometimes. (We're not going to get any miracles here! ;) I am so excited for a new year... a fresh start. I love chances to start over and just put the past behind me.

So, although 2009 was full of blessings... I do recognize that... I would like to say, goodbye and good riddance. And I hope I never see another year like it.

Big Fat Sigh

I've been back in the running groove again... to the point where I'm up to almost 8 miles on my long runs, and smiling all the way through it. My body craves running, and I don't want to stop.

Then.... winter comes. I've been determined to run right through the winter, and so far I've done it. I've run when the temperature is in the low teens. I've run through snow. I loved every minute of those runs... I even throw my jacket off. It's no big deal.

BUT, when it's negative degrees? Is it even healthy? I'm most worried about my toes... they usually take about 4 miles to warm up anyway. I don't want to lose the running love I've built up, and if I don't run consistently, it's gone.

Okay, I know there is such thing as a treadmill, but here's the problem. Our treadmill is in Draper right now, stored at Grandpa's house. If I bring it here, it has to be in the boys' already crowded bedroom. There's really not room. And yes, there are treadmills at the gym, but guess what? I don't have access to them unless I pay for a membership. (Unfortunately that's not a perk for working there.) I don't want to pay for a membership just for the times this winter where the temperature will be in the negatives. (Not to mention that I HATE running on a treadmill!)

Soooo... the big fat sigh. What's a girl to do? I know, most of you think I'm crazy, but really I'm LESS crazy when I get to run. ;)

I Heart Faces...Sweet Dreams Challenge

Nothing sweeter than a little cowboy all tuckered out. ;)

Click on the button to see some more sweet dreams!

Christmas Idea

My mom has been making dolls like crazy, and has 21 beautiful porcelain dolls at her Etsy shop, Yesterday's Dolls. I just thought some of my friends might need an idea for Christmas... go check them out! Good luck, Mom!

For Holly & Melissa

Holly, I've been working on your photos... you guys look GREAT! I hope you love them! I should be done in the next couple of days... here's a teaser. :)

Melissa, you can save these photos to your computer. If you want higher resolution of any of them, let me know and I'll put them on a disc for you.

My Son, Napoleon

When I was done teaching at the gym I noticed I had a message on my phone... this is what it said:

Mom... my eczema hurts real bad. Could you bring my lotion to school?

Cracked. Me. Up. I love my Cooper.

I Heart Faces... Tooshie Challenge

Yup, a whole family of cute tooshies. :) Click on the I heart faces button to see more great photos!!

I'm Grateful For...

... so many things. Grateful for Brandon... he truly is the best husband a girl could ever ask for. I love him so much. Grateful for my kids... I've learned it's not an easy thing to get kids here when you want them, and it has made me increasingly grateful that I was able to have the kids I do. They're good, healthy, smart, loving, cute kids, and I am so grateful to be their mom. I'm grateful for our families... I love them so much. I'm grateful for my friends, the true friends... the ones who will be my friends forever, no matter what.
I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the Gospel. I'm grateful for the good things that come into my life daily because of it.
I'm grateful for my health, my abilities, my talents... I'm truly a blessed girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I Heart Faces... Sunflare

I'm finally getting up the nerve to enter in the I Heart Faces Blog contest... don't ask me why it's taken this long. :)

This & That, Otherwise Known as Random Thoughts

I'm starting to think that I shouldn't title any of my posts random thoughts... I'm pretty sure all of my posts are random thoughts...

I finally posted a bunch of photos over at the photog blog... I'm still not caught up, with editing or posting, but it'll happen, I'm sure. Once the snow flies, I won't have so many sessions.

I went shopping with Hannah and the girls the other day... it was a lot of fun, and I felt like a rock star. Seriously, if two people are crying if they can't hold your hand, or crying because you're not pushing the cart... you just have to know that you're really really cool. :)

We found a Chevy Tahoe that I want. We test drove it, fell in love, and now I cry every day because it's too expensive. That's what you get when you let yourself look at the nicest, fully loaded, prettiest Tahoe on the lot. One more payment left on our truck and we will be payment free... I just have to enjoy that for awhile, and not think about pretty shiny leather luxury...

How come my boys never listen to me? It's annoying. I just told them for the 500th time to read and be quiet in bed. Guess who's still bumping and giggling?

Aubrey & I went to Best of EFY yesterday. It was excellent. I cried because all of my yw couldn't/wouldn't come... if I could force them, I would. There's always that dang agency getting in the way though...

I can be the worst procrastinator in the entire world. I committed to sewing 10 colored pencil holders for children in Uganda, which need to be sent before Thanksgiving... guess who hasn't even started yet? Guess who also needs to edit a photo session and clean the entire house and teach 2 classes at the gym and pack before Wednesday morning? Yes, I'm a bit nutty. Okay, maybe more than a bit.

I'm getting annoyingly excited about the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay that I'm running with 11 people I love... I say annoyingly because my dad is the only one who enjoys endlessly discussing it with me, it's 7 months away, and I'm already giddy about it. What could be more fun than running 188 miles up and down hills with 11 other really cool people? Plus, I get to run it with my very best friend, Brandon, I get to see my first running partner and friend Annette, who I haven't seen for 2 years, and I get to introduce her to my current "running buddy", Martha, and so many other people I'm excited about. Okay, really... I'll be quiet about it. It's going to be hard, but I'll not to talk about it all the time until at least April.

There are so many other things I could write about, but I'm pretty sure everyone has stopped reading by now... I'll let my random thoughts rest. :)

Another Giveaway at V's

If I won one of these I might actually USE my camera strap. ;)

Bite Me

I'm a little bit confused... I'm trying to understand the obsession with "those vampire books", and the more I see women swooning, the less I understand. I've read most of the books, yes, they were entertaining, but how does "annoying high school girl who changes into a different person when she's around the vampire and loses all sense of self and has no spine and keeps pushing the "cold, hard, marble" vampire to have sex"= the greatest love of all time?

I am baffled that grown women and teenagers alike are swooning over this "love story" like there has never been another to compare. Give me Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Give me Mr. Rochester and Jane. Give me Gilbert and Anne. Now those are some love stories I can sink my teeth into.

If you love those vampire books, explain this to me. If you don't... add to my list of TRUE love stories. :)

Everyone Else is Doing It

Okay, maybe everyone else isn't asking for these necklaces, but Pioneer Woman is, and V is, and they're the ones to follow, right? :) I love this necklace from Vintage Pearl...
I want this one with my kids' names on it...
...but I kind of like this font better, but I think the font would be too small, since I only have 3 names. Wouldn't this one be great for a grandma??

So, yeah... there's a gift idea for me. I love these simple necklaces. :) Oh, and just in case you love me enough to buy me a necklace, but don't know my kids' names, that would be aubrey. tyler. cooper. ;)

In Case You Missed Me... Random Thoughts

It's good to be home.... not good to be surrounded by a mess and unpacking and a gritty floor, but good to be home.

I sat around in my sweats all day. I did some cleaning, but you wouldn't know it by looking. I caught up on my blogs and emails... hello, 5 days worth of stuff! I updated my photography blog and changed the layout... go look and tell me what you think, okay? I read a little, and I took a nap. Yes, I took a nap. I figured I deserved one after getting home at 1:00 a.m. after driving through a freaking scary blizzard last night.

I really enjoyed the photography convention... I met so many great, friendly, accepting, helpful people, and learned a lot of stuff. The biggest thing I learned is how grateful I am that photography can be something I do because I love it, and not something I do because I need the money, or need to support a family. Don't get me wrong, I love making money from doing something I love, but there were a few times at the convention I wondered if this business was more than a "get them in and out as fast as you can, and get as much money as possible out of them" type of business for some of these photographers.

The New Era liked my photo, but couldn't use it because of the shorts. Aubrey and I are going to reshoot it soon with pants and send it in again.

I HAVE to start eating better. Unless it's okay to eat cake for breakfast, cookies for lunch, and caramel rolls for a snack??

I think laundry is my nemesis... there just to make my life miserable... sometimes letting me think that I'm caught up, but then throwing up all over just to remind me that it's never that easy...

Brandon is going to go to a 4 day on, 4 day off schedule at work, at least for awhile. I am so excited! This has been a long road, but I can see the prospect of having a husband and my kids having a dad again. Yay! We won't see him much on those 4 days on, but the 4 days off will make up for it. That way he can spend a whole day sleeping and we still get to see him for 3 days. (When you get 3-4 hours of sleep a night, you've got to catch up somewhere!) Plus, insurance is going to kick in the first of November. We've been without health insurance for YEARS. We have been blessed to be very healthy though... a couple of broken bones happened, and we're still paying for them, but it could've been a lot worse. (Broken bones are expensive with insurance too... we experienced that with Aubrey.)

Speaking of healthy... we've miraculously escaped the dreaded swine flu so far (knock on wood!!!) I don't know how, since the kids have been exposed at school, and Brandon has been exposed at work... it must be those super healthy meals we eat. Snort. ;)

That blizzard was awful last night... you know, the kind where you can't see the road and you just hope and pray you don't drive off of it? Awful. Thank goodness my mom was praying for me, Brandon was praying for me, and I was praying for me. I seriously considered pulling over to wait it out, but I couldn't see the road enough to know where a turnoff would be. Ah, winter... are we ready for it?

Well, enough of the chit chat. I'm going to go attempt to clean my house.

Payback

Today I was checking blogs, and started reading a post from one of my favorite friends and bloggers, Charlotte. I was reading along, thinking, wow! Neat! She got put in as 1st Counselor in the Young Women's presidency... she'll do great! She'll have fun! Then... I caught my name. This sweet, beautiful, elegant, wonderful, kind, girl wrote a post to me. Me!

She actually remembered little things from when I was her leader (in a roundabout way) and I actually made a difference in her life. Who knew?? It made me cry rivers of tears today, because there are times now as the young women president in this ward that I have serious doubts that I'm making a difference... and now I have hope that maybe, just maybe, I am. Or I will. And even if I don't, I did make a difference once.

Maybe I can take a little teeny bit of the credit for the amazing woman Charlotte has turned out to be, and that is something I can really be proud of. Charlotte, thank you... thank you for noticing, thank you for remembering, and thank you for letting me know. I know that you will make a difference in the lives of the girls you serve now, and they will make a difference in your life too... I can't even tell you how much joy it brings me to see you in the same position I was, with kids the same age, at a similar time of life, giving back. Love you!

Ah... the Beautiful Music

I heard there was a real live pianist performing in Vernal tonight, so I grabbed a date (Tyler :) and enjoyed a night of beautiful piano music. The performer was Kirill Gliadkovsky, and he was wonderful. I loved his humorous little music history lessons that he shared between pieces in his delightful Russian accent, and his playing was flawless. It was fun to watch his hands "pop" off of the piano, and his fingers float through those trills and runs like it was nothing. He played pieces by Brahms, Gershwin, Grieg, Gottschalk, and Bach. The whole thing was inspiring... it made me want to get my violin out and just play. I don't play very often for myself anymore, and I don't listen to music just to listen much anymore either. Isn't it sad? I wish there would've been more people there. It made me sad to see so many empty seats. I kept thinking what a great Friday night activity it was... great for families, great for a date, great for somewhere to go all by yourself... I'm so glad we went.

I promise I won't say the P* word

* photography

I know, I know... that P word is all I ever talk about. So, here's a whole post about other things.

Ummm... I'm thinking. There's got to be something to write about.

Huh.

Whew. Well.

Uhhhh.

I've got nothin'.

October 24th... Lindon, Utah

I will be in Lindon (near Orem) at an AWESOME location on Saturday the 24th of October for a few hours doing photo shoots... I have 3 booked already, but I could fit a couple more in if you're interested! Email me as soon as possible to reserve your spot! (bmatcsmith@gmail.com)

Update: ONE spot left... let me know if you want it! :)

No More Splinters!

We finally got the picnic table that Brandon built painted! So, all of you who have come to picnic on it and got a splinter in your bum... please come back! ;) It rained last night... right after we got it done. It doesn't look like the rain hurt the new paint job, thank goodness. When I went to inspect it this morning, I couldn't resist taking a picture of the leaves that fell on it... don't the colors go together perfectly?

I also noticed how beautiful these leaves looked with the sun coming through them. I'm so busy with photoshoots of people that I forget to get my camera out for the beauty all around me. I love fall!!

Here & There & Everywhere

Rachael... this is my friend Rachael. She's the kind of friend that you're really lucky to have, and really unlucky at the same time. See that shirt she's wearing? Used to be mine. She also has some pants that used to be mine. She looks about a bazillion times better in them than I did. I know it's hard to believe, when she's tall, thin, gorgeous, and has a model body, and I'm not tall... well, let's just stop before I cry. ;) I'll stick with my first statement. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. I'll just try not to stand too close to her very often. ;)

I've been shootin' photo sessions like a madwoman. It's still fun, I haven't started to hate it yet, so I'm going to keep on doing it until my clicking finger falls off, or nobody will let me take their picture anymore.

I'm going to a photography convention in a couple of weeks. I'm ridiculously excited. When I get passionate about something, I just can't learn enough.

Brandon's home! Gotta run! Don't forget to look at my photography blog... I just updated like crazy.

I'm Famous! Kind of...

I'm so excited!! Pioneer Woman put my photo on her website! :D

Oh What a Wonderful Day

It was! It really was! Wonderful, that is...

Brandon had the day off of work, we drove up into the mountains with Melissa, Josie, Payton, and Haylee, and I got to do a photoshoot with those three cuter than cutest kids... oh, I love them. Even Haylee, the little stinker who wouldn't look at me or take that scowl off her face. ;) (I could never be mad at that girl... she was my best birthday present ever... how many times do you get a niece for your birthday? :) We got some great shots, the scenery was gorgeous, and it was such a relaxing day. We ate hot dogs with fresh homemade salsa on them (yum... I'd never tried it before... thanks, Melissa!) and I made an apple pie. Sigh.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my Annie Pie! :)