Tomorrow verrrrrry early in the morning we leave for Florida! And just in time to miss more snow.
SO EXCITED.
Need to rest, even if it's just for a few days.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Jewelry by LuShae
I was contacted by a jewelry company a few weeks ago and asked to review some of their offerings. The company, LuShae (http://www.jewelryartdesigns.com/) is not really my style at all, but I did see something I was interested in so that's what I ordered. :)
It came in the mail super fast, in a cute box (I took the photo above in my macro class on Saturday) and I was actually surprised how nice the ring was. It was correctly sized (6) and well made. I really like it! (in fact, I'm still wearing it!)
So there's my review. Thanks so much to LuShae for the opportunity to review your product and for letting me keep it!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Invite Sneak Peek
I got the proof for our invites today- I did a little happy dance. They are gorgeous. :)
Can't show the invites since I want everyone to see them in the mail, but here's a sneak... the return address label :)
Monday, February 22, 2010
By Popular Demand
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to... my bangs.
Nearly a month later, I'm *still* getting used to them. It's an adjustment. But I like them. I think ;)
Nearly a month later, I'm *still* getting used to them. It's an adjustment. But I like them. I think ;)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Random Tuesday
1. Four feet of snow is soooo ugly when it's dirty.
2. Wedding invites are ordered.
3. Florida next week.
4. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are insanely busy.
5. Schools here haven't been in session since Feb. 1st and aren't going back until Thursday.
6. I decorated a small nook of our house on a whim today and it looks good.
7. The music from the movie Out of Africa is amazing.
8. Eating only 1200 calories a day and not feeling hungry is nearly impossible.
9. Having a clean house makes me waaaay more productive.
10. My friends are smart and awesome.
2. Wedding invites are ordered.
3. Florida next week.
4. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are insanely busy.
5. Schools here haven't been in session since Feb. 1st and aren't going back until Thursday.
6. I decorated a small nook of our house on a whim today and it looks good.
7. The music from the movie Out of Africa is amazing.
8. Eating only 1200 calories a day and not feeling hungry is nearly impossible.
9. Having a clean house makes me waaaay more productive.
10. My friends are smart and awesome.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
V-Day
We're not into v-day stuff, but we do have one little tradition that I think is pretty fun...
We started looking at tickets for Hawaii today and also finished our registry at Macy's. Yay. :)
So Happy Valentine's Day :)
Saturday, February 13, 2010
10 Things That Make Me Happy
1. When Joe comes home from work at 6am and we snuggle up for an hour before I get up and go to the gym... it's just what I need to start my day.
2. Finishing a huge project. I've finished a few in the past week (thanks, snow!) and I love wrapping them up. Always a sense of accomplishment, and I'm always happy to check something off my to-do list.
3. Quiet moments with my dogs. I love when I'm on the couch and I have a sleeping puppy on each side of me. They are so trusting and loyal.
4. Making lunch + dinner with Joe. It's really a small thing, but it's a big thing to me.
5. E-mailing with friends all over the world. Just this week I've e-mailed with friends in Ireland, Egypt, Australia, Samoa, Kenya and even someone visiting Antarctica!
6. Spending some time with just myself. I love curling up on my "editing chair" in my office and making to-do lists, reading magazines, and finishing my business plan. It's always energizing for me to turn everything else off and focusing on one thing at a time.
7. Getting on the scale every morning and watching the number go down :)
8. Reading a book... just for fun.
9. A date day- like today- starting our registry at Macy's, lunch, a movie, running errands, and just spending time together
10. writing thank you notes and giving good gifts
2. Finishing a huge project. I've finished a few in the past week (thanks, snow!) and I love wrapping them up. Always a sense of accomplishment, and I'm always happy to check something off my to-do list.
3. Quiet moments with my dogs. I love when I'm on the couch and I have a sleeping puppy on each side of me. They are so trusting and loyal.
4. Making lunch + dinner with Joe. It's really a small thing, but it's a big thing to me.
5. E-mailing with friends all over the world. Just this week I've e-mailed with friends in Ireland, Egypt, Australia, Samoa, Kenya and even someone visiting Antarctica!
6. Spending some time with just myself. I love curling up on my "editing chair" in my office and making to-do lists, reading magazines, and finishing my business plan. It's always energizing for me to turn everything else off and focusing on one thing at a time.
7. Getting on the scale every morning and watching the number go down :)
8. Reading a book... just for fun.
9. A date day- like today- starting our registry at Macy's, lunch, a movie, running errands, and just spending time together
10. writing thank you notes and giving good gifts
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Traveling
I have passion for a lot of things- my family, my animals, design, decorating... many, many things. But none of them add up to my passion of using photography to instill international social change. It's been a long time since I've really "traveled." Yes, I love traveling the US and Mexico, etc etc., but it's just not the same. Not even close. Going to vacation spots is different than traveling to non-tourist spots.
Don't get me wrong- I love the touristy spots. And hopefully someday I'll make it to all the places I'd like to see- Paris, Prague, Tuscany.... but I think it's more important, for me, anyway, to go to different spots
Don't get me wrong- I love the touristy spots. And hopefully someday I'll make it to all the places I'd like to see- Paris, Prague, Tuscany.... but I think it's more important, for me, anyway, to go to different spots
One of my dearest friends has taken a job with the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania. She e-mailed me recently and told me to plan my trip. Well, I'm that girl- the one where a friend says, "hey, you should come visit sometime!" And I do. I so do. Kate knows this well- I totally bunked at her place and went to Egypt! :)
So I'm going. And Jaime is coming, too! I miss Africa. It's different there. Hard to explain, but once you go, you know. I haven't been there since Zambia in 2003! I'm so excited.
We're headed there sometime in September, probably for three weeks. Joe will hate it, I know. And it will be tough on him. But he also knows how important things like this are to me, and what an amazing opportunity I have. I'm a lucky girl.
So many things to do in Tanzania, but the big one- KILAMANJARO!!! OMG. How incredible. And Zanzibar! The Serengeti!
My head is spinning.
Me in Zambia in 2003... and about ohhhhhh 20 pounds lighter- tee hee:)
One of the craziest things I've ever done! And it was a blast!
Flying in a single engine plane over Victoria Falls, one of the 7 Wonders of the World
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
...MORE snow.
I don't even want to discuss the snow anymore. In fact, I don't remember what I even used to talk about pre-snOMG. It's ridiculous. Now we're at blizzard status- 25+ mph winds and snow coming down harder than ever. Four feet of snow in our yard right now. Not supposed to stop until tomorrow morning at 7am.
...when will spring be here?!
Anyway, one thing the storm has done is make Joe and I cook lunch + dinner every day. While I'm no cook, I really enjoy being in the kitchen with Joe. We made turkey burgers and baked potatoes the other day for dinner. I loved getting everything ready, mixing up the millions of spices for the burgers (ok, maybe 12, but it was a lot) and just listening to music. It was fun and the meal was great. I love those little moments. :)
The dogs, bless their little hearts, are still doing all their business outside. They are troopers! I can't imagine what Gordon thinks of this blizzard!
Florida in 15 days!
...when will spring be here?!
Anyway, one thing the storm has done is make Joe and I cook lunch + dinner every day. While I'm no cook, I really enjoy being in the kitchen with Joe. We made turkey burgers and baked potatoes the other day for dinner. I loved getting everything ready, mixing up the millions of spices for the burgers (ok, maybe 12, but it was a lot) and just listening to music. It was fun and the meal was great. I love those little moments. :)
The dogs, bless their little hearts, are still doing all their business outside. They are troopers! I can't imagine what Gordon thinks of this blizzard!
Florida in 15 days!
Monday, February 8, 2010
SNOpocalypse, SNOmg, Snowmaggedon... 2010
After 30+ inches... we're getting more! Tomorrow afternoon/evening we're supposed to get another 10-20 inches. OMG. This is just nuts. I've never seen anything like this.
Some photos of all the snow... I can hardly look at them anymore, though, because thinking about the possibility of *more* snow freaks me out.
At least Joe is home and off duty for the next few days. I love making lunch and dinner with him. :)
Some photos of all the snow... I can hardly look at them anymore, though, because thinking about the possibility of *more* snow freaks me out.
At least Joe is home and off duty for the next few days. I love making lunch and dinner with him. :)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
INSANE SNOW!
UHM- at 9:30am we had 30 inches... it's STILL coming down. Not supposed to stop until this evening! Joe is stuck at work until 6pm and might have to stay ANOTHER night at work since no one can get in. Snowstorms can be fun, but not without your family.... I know he's safe but I'd like him home!
On a happier note, here's the pups in the backyard!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Cake Topper
So... we were NOT going to have one, but this woman who sells these is awesome and I really like her stuff.
Every single time I get her e-mails about having them for sale and in stock in her store, about 10 minutes later they ALL sell out. She has 30 different variations of her bird cake toppers.
Well, I happened to get the e-mail, get to her site in time, find my favorite one, and I got one! It's a silly splurge, maybe, but I adore it and I think it's perfect! The girlie bird even has a peach flower!
This one of those things that I know I will keep forever. I love handmade things and this will always remind me of our special day. :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Catching Up
So much going on here! All good, but we're so busy!
On the wedding front... we've booked our rehearsal dinner, decided on a menu for the wedding, my dress is done, I have shoes, blocked off rooms at a local hotel, and I'm making some signs in my woodworking class. We've got about four months to go!
Also, I've been making things for Kate's wedding- so much fun! I made her bridal shower invites and finished addressing them this afternoon. They will go out tomorrow. I'm also making a few other things, but those are secrets for now :) Since Kate's a big runner (she qualified for the Boston, people!) we're running a 5K on the morning of their wedding- fun! Joe and I are actually looking forward to it! It's been awhile since I ran a "race."
On the business front, work is jammed. I am booking lots and lots of weddings. I've decided to only do 15 this year and I already have 12. Kind of crazy. I have THREE next month. Wow. I really thought February would be a quiet month, but it's totally not. I have sessions and meetings and will be designing a ton of albums. In the past week I've designed three guest books and two coffee table books. I also started accepting credit cards and while I was told that it would increase my business, I had no idea how much. Awesome. I also got a few more sample albums in- I'm in love! I'm still very behind on blogging, but otherwise I seem to have everything under control. I got this new booking software that really does a lot of work for me- the inquiries, e-mails, contracts, payments... all done quickly and effectively now... no one has to wait on me for a PDF, etc., so my business is more streamlined. Loving it so far.
It was nice being home for a few days last week. Got to see lots of my friends, lots of babies, and it was nice to spend some time with my family. The Indie Wed bridal show went REALLY well and I was so happy that so many of my friends came! One of my couples came all the way from Indianapolis just to see me- how sweet is that?! I have good friends. I met some of the nicest vendors there. It was a really good wedding show and I'm glad I did it, even though the prep-work was mega stressful.
Aaaand while I was home I got my hair cut and colored. I even got BANGS. While it's a huge change, I think I like it. I always enjoy changing it up a bit.
On the homefront, we're gearing up for ANOTHER huge snowstorm tomorrow afternoon. Like, 16-24 inches. We've been slammed so much this year- winters in Maryland just aren't this harsh typically. Everything in Frederick has been cancelled for the weekend, including the awesome conference I was supposed to photograph tomorrow and my small business class at the local college. Oh well. I'm hoping to just relax, read a huge stack of magazines, watch some movies we have piling up, and organize our closets, which are totally out of control (all my fault!)
With all this snow, I'm glad we're headed to Florida at the end of the month. Should be a nice trip. Will be happy to be in a warmer climate for five days and take a little vacation before all my weddings in March.
And, maybe the most exciting news for Joe and I... he lost 11 pounds last month and I lost 9. We're really proud of that because we're working super hard! The big thing has been planning out meals, getting all the ingredients at the beginning of the week, and sticking to that plan. Of course, we both work out 5 times a week, which helps a lot too. We're determined to live healthier lives, and I think we're making a lot of progress.
Joe started a new schedule- 6pm to 6am. He leaves at 4:30, though, to go work out before his shift. It's a crazy schedule, and I hate it, but what can you do? The Army is the Army. He's on this for two months. Oof. I'm just now getting the hang of *my* schedule- it's hard when he's sleeping and I'm working at home, but for now it's OK. And the local arts center gave me an office three days a week (I'm doing all their website photography in exchange) so I always have a place to get work done if it really needs to be quiet here.
Wow, wrote a lot more than I thought I would, but there's a lot going on here!
On the wedding front... we've booked our rehearsal dinner, decided on a menu for the wedding, my dress is done, I have shoes, blocked off rooms at a local hotel, and I'm making some signs in my woodworking class. We've got about four months to go!
Also, I've been making things for Kate's wedding- so much fun! I made her bridal shower invites and finished addressing them this afternoon. They will go out tomorrow. I'm also making a few other things, but those are secrets for now :) Since Kate's a big runner (she qualified for the Boston, people!) we're running a 5K on the morning of their wedding- fun! Joe and I are actually looking forward to it! It's been awhile since I ran a "race."
On the business front, work is jammed. I am booking lots and lots of weddings. I've decided to only do 15 this year and I already have 12. Kind of crazy. I have THREE next month. Wow. I really thought February would be a quiet month, but it's totally not. I have sessions and meetings and will be designing a ton of albums. In the past week I've designed three guest books and two coffee table books. I also started accepting credit cards and while I was told that it would increase my business, I had no idea how much. Awesome. I also got a few more sample albums in- I'm in love! I'm still very behind on blogging, but otherwise I seem to have everything under control. I got this new booking software that really does a lot of work for me- the inquiries, e-mails, contracts, payments... all done quickly and effectively now... no one has to wait on me for a PDF, etc., so my business is more streamlined. Loving it so far.
It was nice being home for a few days last week. Got to see lots of my friends, lots of babies, and it was nice to spend some time with my family. The Indie Wed bridal show went REALLY well and I was so happy that so many of my friends came! One of my couples came all the way from Indianapolis just to see me- how sweet is that?! I have good friends. I met some of the nicest vendors there. It was a really good wedding show and I'm glad I did it, even though the prep-work was mega stressful.
Aaaand while I was home I got my hair cut and colored. I even got BANGS. While it's a huge change, I think I like it. I always enjoy changing it up a bit.
On the homefront, we're gearing up for ANOTHER huge snowstorm tomorrow afternoon. Like, 16-24 inches. We've been slammed so much this year- winters in Maryland just aren't this harsh typically. Everything in Frederick has been cancelled for the weekend, including the awesome conference I was supposed to photograph tomorrow and my small business class at the local college. Oh well. I'm hoping to just relax, read a huge stack of magazines, watch some movies we have piling up, and organize our closets, which are totally out of control (all my fault!)
With all this snow, I'm glad we're headed to Florida at the end of the month. Should be a nice trip. Will be happy to be in a warmer climate for five days and take a little vacation before all my weddings in March.
And, maybe the most exciting news for Joe and I... he lost 11 pounds last month and I lost 9. We're really proud of that because we're working super hard! The big thing has been planning out meals, getting all the ingredients at the beginning of the week, and sticking to that plan. Of course, we both work out 5 times a week, which helps a lot too. We're determined to live healthier lives, and I think we're making a lot of progress.
Joe started a new schedule- 6pm to 6am. He leaves at 4:30, though, to go work out before his shift. It's a crazy schedule, and I hate it, but what can you do? The Army is the Army. He's on this for two months. Oof. I'm just now getting the hang of *my* schedule- it's hard when he's sleeping and I'm working at home, but for now it's OK. And the local arts center gave me an office three days a week (I'm doing all their website photography in exchange) so I always have a place to get work done if it really needs to be quiet here.
Wow, wrote a lot more than I thought I would, but there's a lot going on here!
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