52 Photowalks: Week 3

This week I went on a grand adventure for my photowalk... into the wild and dangerous land of boys. I've wanted to get better with different lighting situations, so these indoor "walks" have been good for me. Thanks, Keaton and Christian for letting me into your world for a bit... you're both incredibly great models! :)

Cooler than Cool

Yesterday was a good day...
I got to do an awesome photoshoot with two of the coolest guys I know and their guitars...
and then I went shopping with their mom. Toni is one of those inspiring people... her home is gorgeous, and I came home ready to tackle my projects and make my home more lovely. (Although it will never compare to hers. :) I definitely need to hang out with her more often... my house will surely thank me for it.

Laundry? Yeah... it's piling up a bit. I'm going to beat it with a stick tomorrow. Scripture reading? Haven't missed a day yet, and I've had some sweet moments. Yelling at the kids? Well... let's just say I kind of lost my voice a little bit today. I love those naughty kids, though... I do.

Aubrey turned 14 today... I am so glad that she's my daughter... so glad that I have a daughter. She's such a good girl, and she grows more beautiful every day. I find myself asking her opinion on my clothes, or hair, or makeup... and really caring what she thinks. I enjoy talking with her... it's a wonderful side effect of having your kids get older. We're going to the orthodontist tomorrow. Pretty soon you can all call her brace face. She'll love that. ;)

The Oylers came over for a little party... cake/ice cream and all that fun stuff. It was fun to have them over, and it made Aubrey's day a little more special. She also got cupcakes from her friend, Jessica... she's got some sweet friends.

Well, I think I better say goodnight...

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Grandma Howell's One Hour Rolls

Combine:

¾ cup HOT water

1 tsp. salt

6 Tbs. melted butter

¼ c sugar

Cool to lukewarm.

Add:

2 Tbs. yeast dissolved in

¼ cup + 2 Tbs. lukewarm water

Add 1 egg

Beat well and add flour (3 1/2-4 cups, approximately) until easy to work. Knead.

Roll out and cut. Brush with melted butter.

Cover and let rise until double (about 30-45 minutes).

Bake 425° for 12 minutes.

Thoughts on a Saturday... Early

Well, here we are, halfway through January. The laundry beast has its little wins, but overall I'm doing better. Aubrey's the only one who has yelled at me that she doesn't have any clothes, and I really think that's not a laundry issue. It's an almost 14 year old girl issue. Brandon also informed me that I hang his shirts up wrong... I happily turned that task over to him. I'm not crying over it, I can promise you that.

Winter is getting to me a little bit. Okay, a lot bit. Living in a place that is 20 degrees colder than everywhere else makes it even harder. I am getting used to running in single digit temperatures, but I think my toes aren't enjoying it so much. If I run in 20 degrees I feel like stripping all of my clothes off.

One of my young women or their moms must've read my post about feeling uncool. The last activity was awesome and they ALL wanted a ride home. Hey, whatever works. I think they had fun. We made my grandma's one hour rolls. One thing I know about my grandma is that she does everything quickly. She's efficient. She doesn't waste time. She gets a lot done. She can whip up a 5 course meal in minutes. I need to learn from her. She's an amazing woman.
I love this color... this robin's egg blue. I can't believe I still don't own anything in this color. I think it's because I'm lazy and I hate painting. I also love turquoise and red together. There are so many things I need to repaint, and so many colors I love. Why am I so lazy?

Aubrey is turning 14 on Tuesday... when did that happen? When did she go from being a 4 1/2 lb. baby to a woman... taller than I am? When did I get old enough to have a teenager? Oh, and she's the reason I was up at 6:45 a.m. on a Saturday. I had to take her to the rec center to meet with her coach to drive out to the swim meet today. That's another thing... I can't swim, and I have a daughter who is a fish. It's beautiful to watch her. I'm amazed.

Brandon and I are going to go to St. George next month for a late 15th anniversary trip. I am so excited... we're going to go to the Parade of Homes down there, we're going to run, we're going to hike, we're going to eat, we're going to be WARM... we've just got to find a place to stay. Brandon just heard that all of the motels were already booked for the parade of homes. That's my task today... to find one that isn't. I'm confident that I can. I'm wonderwoman, and I have the internet.
I think I need to step up the intensity of my power toning class a little bit. My goal is to have the "hard class" and make people cry. I have too many regulars now, and they're crying less than they used to... we can't have that now, can we? ;) I'd like to be one of those personal trainers that makes people cry and sweat and hate my guts... but end up in awesome shape.

Things are going well with my flexibility goal too... I can touch my toes every time now with my legs out in front of me. This is amazing to me, since I've never been able to do that.

I guess that's it. No more thoughts. Maybe I should go back to bed.

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.