Mirrors and Smart People

My Dad is a genius.

If you know my Dad, you probably already know this little tidbit to be true - but just in case you don't know my Dad, let me prove it to you :)

So, here's the story:

We moved into our new house - 3 weeks ago? Wow, I can't believe it's been that long already! Anyway, we moved in 3 weeks ago, and thru all the bussle with setting up a house, things like hanging pictures and mirrors got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

So, the mirror that should be attached to the long dresser in our room, was left un-attached.

Well, I've been asking Derrick for a while now if he would please put the mirror on the dresser. And, nothing against D - he's great and all, but he's been really busy and crazy these last few weeks and he just hasn't had a moment to do so.

So, this morning when he left for work, I decided that I was going to hang that mirror. Now, folks, hanging a mirror truly isn't difficult. All you need is the right screws, which unfortunately, I did not, just adding to the challenge.

I found 2 sets of screws that I hoped would work, went upstairs with a screwdriver, flipped the mirror upside down on our bed to see if the screws would fit .. and lo and behold, this is what I found:

Like I said, my Father is a genius! When he brought the dresser up for us ages ago (this was while we were still adventurously living in the camper) we parked the dresser & mirror (along with the other stuff he brought) in Derrick's parent's spare bedroom, aka our storage room. And so we never had need to put the mirror on until today -

Now, you might think it funny and silly, but its one more task done and one more item off my to-do list! And we're one step closer to our home being completely put together!

WELCOME !

HELLOO !!

And welcome to my newly re-designed blog-site :D

As you'll notice, I've got a new name (still the old one but just slightly different!) and a new look! I've also attempted to turn my blog into more than just a record of my doings - I wanted it to double as my website. So, you'll see at the top several different tabs that have more of the website info in them.

Well, since I've been gone for a few days, I have several posts stacked up and ready to go so, they'll be coming soon!

All comments and criticisms welcomed! It's still a little bit of a work in progress, as I know I'll end up tweaking things as time goes on to better fit my needs.

And as always, thank you so much for stopping by!!

Amy Kate [portraits]

Meet Amy Kate.

My beautiful 14 year old sister.

Who thinks that she is 23 years old.

Just kidding.

She really is an amazing mature kid [and I say "kid" to keep her in line, because she is my LITTLE sister!]

She's not boy-crazy [altho' she does have a few boys she calls her "brothers" - gonna have to watch out for them in the next few years].

She loves Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

She loves listening to music.

And in a lot of ways, she's just like her big sister - me. Which is kind of scary.

And, her first name is Amy and her middle name is Kate - but I call her both [depending on how much trouble she's in LOL]. So when I refer to her as "Kate", that's because I always have and always will. It used to be her nickname for a while, but anymore I think I'm the only one who calls her that. So, it's our sister-thing.

But, she's a gorgeous girl and when I was visiting over the weekend: Mom asked if we could take some shots of Kate to update her photo on the wall.

Yes - we all have separate 8x10 photos of us hanging on the wall above the piano. Mine was updated at the wedding because one of my bridal portraits is in there. Everyone else's has been updated to pretty recently, except Amy.

She still has the same photo I took of her 2 or 3 years ago at the beach.

Ouch.

So, we [and we being myself and my sister Ellen] took some pictures to update Amy's head above the piano.

She loves to laugh too - did I mention that? Hehe, she thinks I'm funny :D

This one was Ellen's idea - and a great idea at that !! Woot for having photography-minded siblings !!

Oh and speaking of Ellen, here she is - sporting her brand new 50D which she just bought. It's lovely and she loves it ! But now, I have competition - so watch out because I'm gonna be putting my game face on: grrr.

haha just kidding :)

At My Other Home

I'm not allowed to call it "home" anymore.

Derrick won't let me.

"This is your home now," he keeps trying to pound into my head.

It sounds a little bit evil doesn't it ? Like the Beast tells Belle, "The castle is your home now, so you can go anywhere you like, except the West Wing." aka Derrick's studio/office *cough* haha

Just kidding. He's really not that mean - he's just trying to get me used to the idea of living somewhere other than at my parent's house. And now that we have a home that is our own - this really is starting to feel like home.

But I went to my other home last weekend to shoot with Tiffany and to visit my family. Fall is still in full swing down there - where it's just about over here = boo.

I like this little guy - my parent's garden has been done for a while but he's still holding on to that last little bit of summer. Yes! I like him! Keep holding on Mr. Pepper! Because as long as you are there - a piece of summer is still around!

Anyway, I had a wonderful weekend with my family and got to catch up with some of my friends too - so it was good times.

But, it was soo nice to come home - to my real home - which regardless of where we live is with Derrick :)

PS - Lately I've been working on a new logo, new name for my photography business, new brand - all that fun stuff. (Oh, and sloppy joes & ham and potato soup for dinner at the same time too!) I've been taking my time and completely revamping everything I created when I was 16 years old and decided I wanted to be a photographer. I'm still working on it but it's almost finished!

So, soon my blog is going to completely change!! I want to turn it into more of a website with more information on it and fun stuff like that - so stay tuned!

happily ever after

Wow.

My, how time flies.

6 months ago today Derrick & I got married. How has it been that long ago already? It feels like it was just yesterday! Sheesh.

6 months of married life has been FABULOUS tho'! I wouldn't trade the last 6 months for anything! We started out married life, adventurously living in a camper parked next to Derrick's parent's house - and now we've upgraded & moved into our beautiful new house 2 weeks ago - that we love to death. We started out married life, without permanent jobs - and we're both about to start amazing new jobs (i was offered mine last week, and derrick's going to get his this week *believing*) working normal business hours, with weekends to ourselves!

We've learned a lot. Said a lot of "I'm sorry's" and "Will you forgive me's" and many many many more "I love you's" than can ever be counted.

They say, that the longer you are married, the more in love you fall. You always hear couples at their 50th wedding anniversary confessing how they love eachother more today than they did 50 years ago. I always used to wonder how this worked and wonder if it truly did, or was it something that everyone just said?

Well, I'm here to say that I love Derrick wayy more today than I did 6 months ago! He's amazing and has proven all the wonderful things I thought about him when we got married to be true.

Married life is fantastic and I love it!

Happy 6 months, Derrick. I love you!

Second-Shooting Life Lessons

Yesterday I had the extreme privilege of second-shooting a beautiful wedding with one of my good friends Tiffany of TJZ Creations. I met her at college - we managed to sit through the same crazy photography courses and come out at the other end still loving photography! She started doing photography full-time last year and her business has exploded! And of course it has, she's amazing. She is my Christmas-cookie-making-bud and she was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding - so to come home and second-shoot for her was awesome!!

From the moment we walked in the door, we knew it was going to be a fabulous wedding. We were instantly welcomed into the festivities and that always makes shooting so easy and relaxed.

Rachel's Mom was so adorable. You could tell, they have a fantastic relationship and are very close to each other. Her Mom wanted to put on her veil and as she did, they both got all teary and started crying "We weren't going to do this! No crying!" It was so sweet!

Being a fall wedding, Rachel chose a fall color palette and it was absolutely gorgeous!

Rachel was the sweetest thing ever. She was so happy to be getting married. Everyone tells the bride to make sure she takes time during the crazy busy and fast day a wedding day is to slow down and take it all in: and you could tell, Rachel definitely did that. She would be laughing with all her girls and then would softly look down at her flowers and be quiet for a moment, she'd tear up, wipe her eyes, and then quickly go back to laughing. She was perfect.

And then, this would be the point in the day where I learned a super important lesson about second-shooting:

When you are assisting a photographer, you should have one goal - one priority - one mindset the entire day: HELP the photographer. It is simple and seems almost silly to say, but that is the whole reason you are there. The couple didn't hire you as their photographer, the photographer asked you to help them. So, that should be your number one priority.

Of course, there are other awesome perks of second-shooting. Getting to watch a professional work and learn from them is a huge benefit, and of course getting a set of images that you can use in your own portfolio is awesome too. And who doesn't love hanging out at a wedding all day ?

But, I have to say, I hadn't quite learned that lesson yet? Until yesterday, when Tiffany asked me to leave the wedding and go back to her studio to pick up some cards that had been left behind. Of course I did it without hesitation and as quickly as I possibly could, but in doing so I missed the entire wedding ceremony, all the formal portraits, as well as all the fun shots of the bridal party & the bride and groom.

Boo.

I'll be honest, it really sucked. There was a huge hole in the middle of my wedding experience. I missed all the fun stuff. But - I was there for a reason, help my photographer. And help her I did. And I learned a valuable lesson as a second-shooter = it's all about the photographer.

But, back to the main event :D

When Tiffany was telling me about the wedding, all she knew about the reception was that it was in a barn. A barn? Like - those fancy barns that people pay big bucks for? Oh-La-La!! It was gorgeous!! And, it was absolutely the perfect combination of Jarod's country-ness and Rachel's dainty-ness. It was perfectly pulled off.

During the toasts, everyone kept emphasizing how wonderful these two people are. How generous and beautiful Rachel is, and how gentlemanly and fun Jarod is, and how they are perfect for each other. Tiffany & I only spent a few hours with them, but I believe we would absolutely have to agree.

Remember how I said Rachel & her Mom seemed to have such a beautiful relationship? Yeah, if you didn't believe me then, you can believe me now :)

The day was beautiful and I think Tiff & I totally rocked this wedding :D I think she should invite me to second-shoot for her more often *hint hint* haha

The Beginning

August 19, 2010.

That was the last time I posted a blog.

I know, I know, shame on me.

Anyway --

So much has happened since August 19 - but instead of doing a full recap, we're going to start at today and move forward :)

Last weekend my nephew PJ was up for a visit with his Mommy & Daddy, and we spent some quality time together - taking pictures of course ! Oh, and don't forget playing with trucks, and legos, and his little barnyard animals :) We had a great time together.

PJ loves Sparky - almost as much as Derrick loves Sparky :)

.. and since we were at PJ's Grandma & Grandpa's house - PJ was always finding things :)

.. and then Grandma appeared ! PJ loves his Grandparents and they love him !

So, while PJ & I were playing, he wandered over to his Grandma's purse.

He plops down and mischievously looks back over his shoulder at me --

He's only 1 year old, but he's definitely a smart little kiddo, he knows if he's not supposed to be doing something !

Oh, and one more -

This is what Derrick gave me for my birthday :)

So, anyway, I'm back !

Not blogging is kind of like not reading my Bible - I feel guilty about not doing it at the end of the day, so I'm back and now that my life is back in order, I have lots of things to catch up on!