Tears

I zipped up my pants, jumping up and down to secure a better fit. I had noticed lately that my once loosely fitting pants barely skim over my hip and rear area. I chuckled to myself, thinking perhaps I was carrying triplets...one in each rear cheek and one in the front...and then groaned at the thought of gaining even more weight in the months to come. My eyes darted to the clock. It was already 9:15, crap I was going to be late again. I shuffled around the house, grabbing the diaper bag and an extra sippee cup as I inserted a rubber band through the button hole of my pants in order to keep my, stretched at the seam, pants to stay up.

5 minutes later Teddy, my energetic toddler, and I were coasting down the back roads to the doctor's office. I despise the doctor's office. All doctor's offices are the same. A black hole for my lack of personal time, and a gathering center for snotty, sick, hacking people. I hate the thought of having to visit the doctor even once a month for maternity visits, let alone other visits for my kids. Yet, here I was again, just less than a month since my last visit.

I hadn't been feeling the baby move much lately and was very concerned. Years ago when I had only been married for a year, Mark and I had a 'surprise' pregnancy, which I dreaded at first, and then as time carried on, I grew to love and be excited for the little spirit inside me. Sadly, I was devastated and consumed with guilt when I experienced a miscarriage at 16 weeks of pregnancy. The thought of another miscarriage of that magnitude lingered in the back of my mind and ebbed its way into my fears.

The doctor took me into the ultrasound room as quickly as I had walked into the office, and within minutes I was seated on the medical table answering the basic questions. The office was quiet and I was surprised to find my destructive, I mean creative, toddler sitting patiently on a chair as I discussed with the doctor my pregnancy. He assured me that many women feel very little until the beginning of their third trimester. I felt reassured, since I had felt small movements and little flutters. I am sure he sensed my relief, but he said he would check out the baby anyway.

I laid back and he started the ultrasound. He checked the baby's heart and saw that he could see each chamber and he mentioned the heart beat was strong. My belly oozed with the odd blue gel as he checked the baby from every angle....every angle...and then he stopped, paused, and said, "Look there." Having seen 3 of my boy's ultrasounds before, I knew exactly what I was seeing. Tears streamed down my face, and embarrassed, I quietly tried to wipe them away. I tried so hard to keep the tearful tremble out of my voice; in just over a whisper I asked, "Are you sure?"
"Very sure." He confirmed as he pointed to the screen and distinguished between the black and white smudges, marks and lines on the ultrasound machine. More tears leaked out of the edges of my eyes as I sat up and readjusted my shirt...Like a tolling bell in my head I couldn't stop the shock of thinking, I can't believe I am having a girl.


Happy Father's Day to all out there...and especially to my hubby Mark!

WEEKLY UPDATE!

Great Posts by the way! Since our Internet connection has not been working at our home recently, you may have noticed that I am only able to update my blog about once a week. Ugh, I know what a drag! Here is the weekly update in one Giant Blog Post. Happy reading and have another great week until I meet with you again.

FIGHT ON THE PHOTO FRONT
I loaded my car, double checking to make sure that I had all the days necessities. Camera, check. Lenses, check. Tri-pod, check. Reflector, check. Backup memory cards, check. I zipped up my camera bag, grabbed a water bottle and Mark's left over sunflower seeds, and jumped in my Mormon mommy lovin' mini van. Nearly two hours later I pulled into a small speck of a town, hardly a dot on the Utah map, named Manti.
I was scheduled to take wedding pictures for a young couple who dreamily choose Manti as their marriage destination because of the stunning beauty of the Mormon temple that sits atop the only hill in Manti. I hadn't been down to Manti in years, just under 10 to be precise, and I had forgotten how this architectural giant, crowned with rugged castle like spires and adorned with giant sized doors and cascading staircases could make me feel so small. Breathtaking does not describe this building's beauty.
I took a stroll around the temple grounds and planned my shoot. After the wedding ceremony, I would bring the large wedding party to the grand outdoor staircase on the west side of the temple. Their pictures would look so regal, so royal like.
Apparently 3 other photographers had the same idea. After the ceremony, I gathered the entire group of nearly 35 people and headed to the spot. Another photographer had his bride, groom, and wedding party gathered around for the same purpose. I politely waited and used the 20 minute wait to take other candid photos. The photographer I waited for thanked me for waiting and moved his group to another location.

I quickly ushered my group into place and began shooting. 10 minutes into my shoot I heard a harsh prickly woman's voice, "You are taking too long." I looked around to see who was speaking and saw another group waiting where I had just waited with my group.
"We will be done soon." I called over and turned back to my group.
She started in again, much louder then before, "There are other people waiting, you need to move your group. You are taking too long."
I was shocked, a little speechless, and I couldn't quite figure out what to say, so I ended up mumbling out, "I waited politely for the photographer before me and I have not been here as long as he was. We will be done soon." I turned my back and continued shooting. Yet, the vile woman of perdition continued!
"YOU are taking too long, and it is rude that there are other people her waiting!" Her voice rose like a boiling pot, "and, I HAVE A 90 YEAR OLD MAN WITH ME!"

At this point I wanted to yell back at her, "Cool it lady, I got one of them too (a 90 year old, that is)," but I held my cool, considered that perhaps my 90 year old was only 85, backed down and simply replied in a tight voice, "You will just have to wait." I ended up taking only 2 more shots and moving my group.

To which I conclude this story by ending with the 2 main purposes:

1. If you are a rude photographer and I come across you, I will try to be polite, but since this woman stole all of my politeness for the next year, I might just tell you to SCRAM.

2. If you are 90 years old and are free on the weekend throughout the rest of the summer, give me a call and I will show you are good time!




Winner of the FITNESS CONTEST
Small update: I believe most of you received your prizes from last month's contest, if you were a lucky winner who won a vacation package, there has been a slight delay. (The woman who is in possession of the packages bought a new home, and accidentally packed them up) The update is, you will receive it in the near future as she is now close to unpacking all of her belongings. I do apologize for this slight inconvenience.

You all did well, and like any fitness quest, there were obvious ups and downs. I think you were fabulous.

The winner is: Marissa S!

Please stay tuned for the outrageous contest that will take place in NOVEMBER! (If you have requests or suggestions for the November contest, leave them in the comments below).



FIT TIP MANIA MONDAY TAKES OFF AGAIN!
As of Monday, a week from tomorrow, Monday's fit tips will begin again to tide you through the summer. There will be challenges and quests for you to take and be inspired by to get your hot body through the heat of the summer. Come light up your fit quest by checking out my helpful and sometimes random fit tips every Monday!

Get Fit AGAIN?!?

It has been a month since we renewed our fitness vows and endeavored to take on a greater fitness challenge. Did you make it? How well did you do? Ups, Downs?

I obviously have been a little less talkative than normal. While you have most likely been working yourself into a skinny frenzy, I have actually been putting on the pounds. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have INCREASED in size. Particularly in my mid region, but I have noticed a dramatic change in my rear cushion. If you didn't pick up on my vague and utterly random posts about 2 months ago, I am Baby Hauling, Prego, Knocked Up, Bun in the Oven, a backwards camel, swallowed too many watermelon seeds, in other words, I am Pregnant.

Not that this one fact should overshadow the great quest of my blog: Complete physical, mental and spiritual Fitness, balanced with a healthy grasp of the oddities of life; but, (and yes it is becoming a BIG 'but') I do feel sad to say I that this is the last fitness challenge of the summer. The next great fitness challenge will commence November of this year and it will be a challenge to beat all challenge, because lets face it, when I am back in the game, I love a good competition.

Lets get down to business. Did you sink or swim, pass or (not pass), GET FIT OR FORGET ABOUT IT? I want to hear how you did, how well you preformed, what worked for you and what didn't. Spill your guts on whatever is on your mind and if you are chosen to be my ULTIMATE GET FIT WINNER, you could be the grand winner of a full family photography photo shoot!

Post your guts and glory in the thoughts below. Happy writing and winning!

Does this describe your Marriage?

I laughed and laughed some more when I watched this. Watch the whole thing...it is great!

Worst Parenting EVER!

WARNING: THIS STORY IS TRUE TO LIFE AND MAY LEAVE YOU FEELING LIKE I LACK PARENTING SKILLS...YOU MAY BE RIGHT ABOUT THAT.

"Mark, I don't want to leave my purse in the stroller parking, so can you grab Teddy while I dig my purse out from all the stuff shoved into the bottom of the stroller?" I persisted.
"Why do you keep asking me that?!? Don't worry, we won't leave one of the boys behind."
I could tell my constant worry and nagging was starting to bother Mark, but in a place as vast and open for child napping as Disneyland, I couldn't help but worry. There are, what seems to be, millions of kids running this way and that, pointing excitedly at the next ride or rushing toward the already crowded Mickey standing on the corner with a hundred kids pushing and shoving in line for that infamous photo. Any awestruck child could easily be separated from his family and within seconds be out of earshot and eyesight! This thought of horror rang though me like an off tune chord. Like any mother, I dreaded the thought of losing one of my children.

I took special precautions to ward off one of my children getting lost in the crowd. Days before we left for Disneyland, I purchased flaming bright red shirts in coordinating sizes to each of my 3 boys and green sweat shorts...sure, they looked like miniature walking Christmas trees, but I would be sure to see those trees being taken or slipping away into the crowd. Each of my boys was also attired with matching sunglasses and a green ball cap. From their comfortable walking sandals to their Holiday screaming attire, these boys had the Summerill stamp. NO WAY would I lose one of them at Disneyland.

As the day wore on, and our feet tired, our run from ride to ride changed to a slow walk. The sun was slowly setting in the California haze and the magical paved roads of Disneyland glistened with a magical gold glow. I felt so happy to be sharing such a joyous time with my family and parents...did I forget to mention that my dear mom was our 'fast' ticket to all the rides. Unfortunately for her, she is handicapped by her aching, hurting, muscle confused feet; so as she putted along in her electric wheelchair, we toted behind to jump the long lines. We saved Autopia (the lawn mower engine, car ride) for last because there wasn't a short line for handicap access. For this ride, she would have to wait in line like everyone else. When the sun started to lower in the sky, and we had exhausted ourselves on nearly every other ride in the park, we made our way to Autopia.

I could see that even though the day had worn on, the line had not shrunk at all. I noticed many others also making their way towards the entrance of the ride. We were not going to be spared a long line at all, so I quickly maneuvered the stroller into the family friendly stroller parking.
"Mark, grab Teddy while I grab my purse, ok?!?" Mark rolled his eyes at me, obviously he was as tired of my reminder as my feet were of walking through Disneyland. I dug through the contents of the stroller, double checking that I had my purse and any other valuables in hand. My dad, mom and boys headed toward the ride, and I rushed over with my purse firmly secured. Next to having one of my boys taken, my next biggest fear was losing my purse. I clutched it close to my body and ran up the ramp.
It had been years since I had been on this ride, and I couldn't help but notice the changes they had made. Now to line up for the cars, you had to walk up a long ramp, cross a bridge over the race course and weave through a maze of bars and chains designed to keep long lines in order. As we neared the top of the long ramp, my Dad leaned over and asked, "Where's Teddy?"
"With Mark." I uttered without a second thought.
"Mark's right here." Dad said.
I looked over at Mark, then back to my dad then back to Mark. At first I felt confused as I scanned the ramp around us, and then horror filled my eyes as I looked over Mark's shoulder, down to the end of the ramp to the stroller parking. As I squinted my eyes to scan the area at least 25 yards away, I could see two tiny kicking legs in bright green shorts passing their time IN THE STROLLER!
"YOU LEFT TEDDY IN THE STROLLER?!?" I shrieked.
I bolted down the ramp. Mark bolted down the ramp, passing me. Dad stayed and slowly shook his head in fatherly disappointed shock.

Luckily no harm had come to our 18 month old toddler as he playfully kicked his legs back and forth in the stroller waiting for his parents to remember him. Mark apparently mistook my extra long acquisition of my purse, for me grabbing my purse and Teddy. He thought I must have been grabbing him, and took the other boys up the ramp to secure our place in line. I fought the urge to yell, I told you so, and continued to enjoy myself and the ride. Needless to say, I kept my eye on Teddy for the rest of the evening, and Mark didn't complain once more about my friendly 'reminders'.

UPDATE: Picture Taking Bonanza and What is To Come

I have to admit that shooting bridals is my favorite thing about being a photographer. She was so beautiful and radiant, so happy and in love! I shot these last weekend and have been pretty busy editing pictures, and working on my yard...(that is my poor excuse for the lack of good posts)...but other than checking out these pictures, look for these posts that will be coming up in the next few days:

Worst Parenting EVER! (A parent's guide on how to loose your kid at Disneyland)

Remodeling your Yard...tips for and from the learning landscaper

Cut Your Kids Hair in 1 Easy Step (BUZZ CUT)

How was Mother's Day for you?

For the most part, I often hear women talk of how they dislike Mother's Day and feel inadequate because of the talk of perfect mothers...COME ON?!? Who really is the perfect mother? I have heard women speak of the perfect mother as a woman who gives their children their heart's desires, a woman who cleans up after her children's messes with a smile on her face and works endlessly to make her children happy. To be honest, this sounded pretty dang good to me when I was a teenager. Why did I have to do chores and earn my own money to go out with friends? Why did I have to clean my room, wash my laundry, and save my own money for college?

It is only now that I have had my own kids that I realize that a great mother would have to be 'the worst mother' in the world at some point....Let me explain. When I was in high school, I loathed my mom because she wouldn't buy me the expensive, popular, name-brand jeans, she grounded me for breaking curfew, she actually imposed a curfew that was earlier than midnight, she made me clean my room and complete weekly chores, and she made me pay when I went shopping or out with my friends! She made me iron my own clothes and take care of all my own laundry. If something was dirty and I couldn't wear it, then it was my own fault. And to top it all off, she would take me to thrift stores and yard sales. Can you believe all of that?!?

In retrospect, I have to admit that even though I thought she was the 'worst' mom (sorry mom) I think now that I am BLESSED to have had one of the BEST moms. From her I have learned to clean and organize a home, quilt beautiful fabrics together, cook a mouth-watering meal, shop the sales and save loads of money, find the best bargain around and be self-sufficient, save my money and put it away for greater expenses. During those high school years, my mom's lessons taught me to be self-sufficient and resourceful. My mom never told me there was anything I couldn't do. She told me I could do anything I set my heart and mind on. This great lesson is one that I will always treasure and be grateful to my Mom for. It is because of her that I have had so many opportunities in life and I have accomplished all that I have...

I am grateful for all that she has taught me and the person she has taught me to be. I love her very much and I hope that I can be all that she was to me.

....so to be the BEST mom...at some point you have to be the WORST mom...

Happy Mother's Day to you.

FRIDAY'S FABULOUS 5 FIT TIPS!

*on a side note, if you have been wondering where I have been, see the posts below*

Need a great way to jump start your weekend? Follow these Five Fabulous tips for Friday to kick your Fitness plan into weekend shape!

1. Feel the Weekend Breeze. Get out there and take a sunset walk tonight. Not only will you love the fresh smell of spring's outdoors, but you will rev up your calorie burning system to help beat the weekend bulge.

2. Eat PANCAKES! Hooray for wholewheat healthy pancakes. Here is a recipe I have developed to help me through those weekends where the kids want piles of pancakes loaded with syrup. I make these healthy pancakes, and the kids are always asking for more! Click the link below to find out about this rockin' recipe!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

3. Go Yardsaling. The best way to not munch, graze or snack all day is to get busy. When I have my sights on yardsaling, nothing else can detract from that laser beam of thought. Save some money, and save a few calories too!

4. Buy Shoes...ok, maybe this tip wont appeal to you, but it certainly works for me. How does a new outfit make you feel? Great! I love the way a new pair of shoes hug my worn out feet and transform me from tired haggard housewife to 'EAT YOUR HEART OUT EVERYONE ELSE...BUT ERIN'. When you feel good about yourself you tend to make better choices for yourself too, but more importantly, you will be busy shopping all day that you wont have time to raid the fridge 20 times a day...and you will get the mall walking workout!

5. Beautify your Yard...No one likes to call this yard work, but come on, Spring has sprung and your yard is begging for a good weeding, planting and fertilizing. Not only will you be in the running for the city yard beautification award, but you will be burning calories!

We went to CALIFORNIA!

I took a last minute trip to California to see family. My mom was going and I decided to go along...and I took my boys...and then Mark decided to come along too. We left last week and returned this week. While we were there we had a great time visiting family. Here is my mom with her sister...don't they look alike? (I am not just talking about the white hair) I haven't seen my cousin Amy since her wedding 8 years ago (?). I was so excited to see her beautiful family. These girls are just gorgeous and Amy is expecting a third baby in one month!

At my aunt's house we had a great time taking turns on her riding lawn mower and checking out the local yardsales! I stocked up a bag of clothes for my youngest son for under 3 dollars! I love a good yardsale...even if I have to go out of state for it.

Merryweather Family

It is painfully obvious that I have not updated my blog in quite some time! Here is the last shoot I finished before I took a jaunt out of town with my parents. I have known this family for quite some time. I always enjoy taking their pictures, and thankfully to them, and their friends, I have been able to hone my photography skills. I took this set of pictures at Thanksgiving Point (a beautiful setting in Utah County) and I was so pleased with the outcome. We started shooting about 5:45 pm as the sun was lowering in the horizon. I mainly used my 55-200 range lens and kept the aperature at 8 for groups and 4 for individuals. What do you think?

And as always, the last is my favorite!!!

This last picture is the best!

May 1: GET FIT CHALLENGE

Are you still reeling from the last challenge? Were you successful or were you left feeling unsatisfied? This is the month to kick butt...your own, that is. The weather is warming up and the summer styles are hitting the stores. It is time to GET FIT!

Rules:
1. You earn points each day for the tasks you accomplish. If you don't complete a task in one day, you cannot finish it the next day and count points for the first day and the next day. So choose wisely and EARN, EARN, EARN!

2. You can earn multiple points on weight loss and exercise! For each pound you lose, you earn 2 points, for each 1/2 hour of cardio you complete you earn 1 point...thus, for each hour of cardio you complete, you earn 2 points.

3. You get a free day! SUNDAY...free to relax and enjoy without managing points.

4. If you have any other questions on the rules...simply email me! See contact info above.

Everyday you earn one point for the following:

Finish eating at 7:30 pm
5 fruit/ veggie
Breakfast
No soda
7 hrs sleep
Multi-vitamin
Water 64 oz
Scriptures/Pray
No sugar
Clean your home for 1 hour
Read a story to your children/read alone for 30 min

You can earn multiple points for the following (for every 30 min. of cardio give youself one point, 1 hour = 2 points):
30 min cardio
20 min toning

Count points for weight loss only once a week. Total your weekly points and add in your weight loss points. Remember to give yourself 2 points for every pound you drop. HOWEVER if you gain, then you must add 2 points back for every pound you gain.
Weight loss (2pt)

SO, are you in? Reply in the thoughts to let me know if your in for this month's challenge. If you are new to blogger, you simply need to click on the thoughts link below to leave a comment...then follow the directions on the box that pops up.

Sorry for the lack of posts...

I have been shooting brides! Here are a few of my favs from a bridal shoot I did on Friday.

I have been shooting brides! Here are a few of my favs from a bridal shoot I did on Friday. The last one is my favorite.

Does this resemble you most or your Spouse?

After watching this very quick flick, I am convinced that the British have it right!

The Skill of the HUNT-- a true hunter's story

Yesterday I picked Mark up from work and took him to a handful of shoe stores. After perusing Famous Footwear for at least an hour, Mark settled on two pair of shoes that would sufficiently replace the two pair (running shoes and brown dress shoes) that Bubba recently found, chewed on and managed to rip the tongues out of. Mark found me in the women's section and produced the two pair, announcing in a 'you'll be happy with me' tone that the two pair were on sale. "Really?" My own tone showed genuine excitement and I moved in to check out his find.

"Are you kidding me?" is what came next. Although the two were on a buy one get one 1/2 off sale, Each pair was over $50.00 and together would be nearly $80.00! In my years of buying shoes, I have never spent that much on a pair of shoes. Call me cheap, but I know I could find a better deal for the same pairs or better. I convinced Mark to leave the offensive priced pair at the register and check out just one more store with me. I have often found great deals on quality shoes at Kohl's, so we drove the 1 1/2 blocks to Kohl's and ventured in to see what our bargain hunting skills would find us.

Within 20 minutes we were walking out to the van grinning ear to ear. We not only found the exact same pair that Mark was ready to purchase at Famous Footwear, but we found the two pair at $15-$20 cheaper! And to top that off, after looking at the selection Kohl's had, Mark actually found a pair of dress shoes he liked better for less than 1/2 the price of the pair he had found at Famous Footwear. We spent a total of $46.00 at Kohl's for running shoes and dress shoes! After adding up how much we would have spent at Famous Footwear and adding in Tax, we saved nearly $40.00! (Now that is what I call Bargain Shopping!)

Point of the Story: If you are going to go shoe shopping, try shopping around first...or just give me a call!

(And in case you were wondering, I did not buy a pair of shoes yesterday...)

The Hazelbakers....

I shot this adorable extended family last week, and FINALLY I finished the editing. Here are a few random picks from the shoot that I liked.

I love these last two! This couple is so sweet, I love seeing them around each other. I think the last picture truly captures their romance...hahahaha...

I must be thinking about this the wrong way...

Since we purchased our fixer upper (code for severely ravaged crack house) we have fixed nearly everything under the roof. After we finished the basement portion of the remodel, the skies turned gray (literally) and we had our first rain storm of the season. We were surprised to find out that the foundation leak, thought to have been repaired by the previous owner, had not been repaired at all, and our newly carpeted baby's room was now damp with the season's storm.

We planned our solution to the problem and deducted that we would need a back hoe, shovels, a warm day and a good sealer. One trip to home depot supplied us with the necessary tools to seal the leak and yesterday, when the weather looked sunny and warm, we contacted a friend who had access to a small back hoe. While I was away at my photo shoot, the men labored to dig a large, deep hole.

After my shoot I rushed home to check the progress of the working men, only to find the project at a stand still. Moments after I had arrived home, Mark, wearied eyed with the days work and what he assumed my reaction to his news to be, announced half heartedly that they were just about finished digging the hole, unfortunately on their last dig, they had also cracked the Main Sewer Line. "What?!? You did what?" I gaped at him. Calmly he replied, "Don't worry." As simply as that, he turned, walked into the house and called the plumber. It was my turn to watch as his expression changed from calm to, "Are you kidding me? It is going to cost how much?!?" He in turn must have seen my reaction to his reaction and calmly said again, "Don't worry" as he turned to the phone again and dialed more numbers.

5 minutes later, 2 wonderful apprentice plumber friends showed up to take a look at the damage done. In that minimal, squinted eye, plumber way of communicating, the older shorter plumber friend looked at me and nodded, "No problem." The men crawled down into the hole and worked tirelessly on cutting the pipe and securely replacing it.

2 hours later, those wonderful friends of ours had the sewer line fixed, generously announcing that the total cost came to a mere $20.00 (the price of the parts) Of course, I agreed to give them free photography for years to come.

At the end of the day, I shrugged off the sewer line fiasco feeling grateful that the cost was a mere pittance compared to what it could have been. I walked into my home to find a letter from the state. Apparently they just now calculated that we owe $500 more dollars on our 2004 taxes than originally estimated!

A confusion of feelings washed over me. I felt like we narrowly escaped a major financial burden just to walk smack into another one. Considering our recent Jobless struggle (see previous posts) I am grateful that Mark has found a new job and will be starting tomorrow and we will have the money to pay for these unexpected taxings, but COME ON?!? Do the bills already have to start racking up?

So, the point of this long and drawn out drama is: Years ago I had a poignant conversation with a very spiritual and uplifting man. I expressed to him that I felt like as soon as we saved up enough money to cushion our savings, or to do anything out of our normal budgeting expenses, some major catastrophe would happen and we would have to use all that we saved to fix the problem. A particular instance happened just prior to that conversation. Mark had a bonus of $1000.00, and the next day both front axles on our van went out and the cost to fix them was about $1000.00 dollars! I aired my frustrations to this man, and he replied that I must be thinking about our situation the wrong way...and in fact, God was simply holding our van together until we had the funds to pay for it.

So although we escaped the major cost of the sewer pipe repair, we must have enough extra money coming our way to pay for the added tax expense imposed by the state...and God must have been holding back the state until Mark had found a job...and the good fortune bestowed to us by plumber friends is God's little sock in the arm saying, See, I'm watching out for you Kid!

I am going to the chapel...to shoot a wedding...

The oddest memory came to mind earlier today as I readied my camera bag for a shoot later this afternoon. The song "I'm going to the chapel and I'm going to get married..." played through my mind as memories of visiting my 'Californian' cousin flooded my mind. I think I was 13, visiting California, making preperations for my older cousin's taffeta adorned wedding, when I was shoved into the back of a pickup with my 'Californian' cousin. To bide the time we sang a loud obnoxious version of that song over and over again.

Now I am off to shoot another bride, on her special day at a local chapel. She seems so young, but she isn't much younger than I was when I took the marital leap of faith. Obviously we have had our ups and downs (reference to my previous post), but it has been a great ride. I hope this beautiful bride has as much joy, laughter, and fun as I have had.

Katy...and her Mom

Last weekend I took some senior shots of cute Katy. She brought her mom along for the shoot so I added her into a few shots. I really love the last shot of Katy and her mom talking. I am not sure what they were talking about, and I fooled them into forgetting I was there by pretending to be 'setting' up my camera. I sure do like candid shots the best.



1. To get this jumping shot I brought a chair along with me to the shoot. I had Katy jump off the chair and I laid on the ground. I used my 70-135 mm lens and upped my shutter speed to 1/500th. I think my f-stop was at 5.6. I wanted to expose mostly for the blue background and pick up mainly her sillouette and just a hint of color on her clothes. I love the sun glare in this shot.

2. This second shot is my favorite of her alone because of the airy lightness to the shot. I had her lay down on the grass, and I laid down on the grass too. The sun was shining behind her and I wanted it to light up her hair. It also light up the grass perfectly, and made a beautiful haze!
I laid as low as I could in the grass about 10 feet away and I used a 85mm fixed lens. My Shutter speed was probably 250, and my f-stop was 4 or 8 (sorry I can't remember the exact). I desaturated the picture a little in photo shop and added in only yellow saturation.


3. This picture is one of my favorite candid. I had Mom and daughter sit and talk while I worked on setting my camera...hahahaha...really I was just snapping shots. I like the angle of this shot. I used the paint brush tool on a low opacity to white out the edges of the picture, I added a boarder by using the canvas/percent size . I think my shutter was 250 and my f-stop was 8.

I liked these pictures, so I thought I would share my info...if you have any tips or advice for me, please share too. I love getting new advice or info. Also, I am just learning this photo shop thing and I would love new ideas...Please Share!

YESTERDAY

Yesterday...I completely abandoned my dedication to Monday's Get Fit Tip.

Yesterday...I woke up feeling like a giant stinkin' slug.

Yesterday...Mark walked out of the room when I was talking to him (apparently he thought I was finished talking), and I felt upset. No, I felt irritated, like the kind of irritation you feel when your efforts spent on solving the mysteries of the rubix cube prove to be futile. I don't know why his sudden departure spurred a nagging irritation from deep within my giant slug embodied self, who at the time was still parking it on the bed, with no intention of getting up and ready for the day. But, I felt the need to complain. Today of all days was his birthday and in our current No Job situation, I felt as if I could do nothing...so I did nothing, and I felt horrible. There you have it. I laid in, late into the morning, stinkin' like a giant slug of an anxious naggy girl, shooting turdy comments out for the sake of feeling better...and of course I didn't, I felt WORSE!

Eventually I pulled myself out of bed, shuffled over to the fridge and pulled it open only to be disappointed with the lack of contents therein. My fridge looked to have been carelessly raided by a thief who only left the tattered remains of half filled condiment bottles. I haven't been to the grocery store in a few weeks. Mark is still out of work and I have been doing my best to keep my always hungry mob of boys fed on the contents of our cupboards. Thanks to a few mysterious angels, the last couple months have given us the necessities we need to live on and sometimes an occasional more. At first I found others generosity to feel embarrassing or even shameful, but I quickly shed those prideful walls and fully accepted the love and kindness so many have shown. Unfortunately today gratitude seemed to have escaped me and pity, pride, and 'Pissed-off' seemed to be the only qualities I possessed.

Mark knew well to steer clear of my down and out grumpiness and he fled to the office to work on 'straightening up'. He never even mentioned that it was his birthday, not that he would have to, because I knew. But just knowing I didn't have enough extra money to go out and buy a cake mix spread bad thoughts in me like a bad seed taking root. But seeing Mark, doing his best to lighten my mood on his day started a little feeling of good in me. It was at about this point I had that inner dialog with myself. You know the one, with the good angel on one shoulder and the lazy, crazy, slug angel on the other. The slug angel gave quite a fight, but eventually the good won the battle and I decided to make an effort to snap out of my furious fog. I texted a friend to go running, changed my clothes, and brushed my teeth. 30 minutes later she was ready to meet, and called to let me know.

I walked into the office to let Mark know I was leaving and he waved me off! He was on the phone and made it clear he couldn't speak to me! Of all the annoying things to do. I finally get in the mood to be in a better mood and he wont get off the phone to watch the wild baby so I can jog off my frustration. You can believe this spun me into another downward annoyance.

10 minutes later (can you believe he made me wait 10 minutes) he walked out, looked up at my fuming self and smiled. And, quick before I could launch into a full blown 'I've had it', he announced that was the company he had spent the last month interviewing, and second interviewing, and 3rd interviewing at. In his quiet manner and tender voice, he broke down my frustration, annoyance and anger. He announced, "Erin, I got the job."

I stood speechless (for the first time that morning...well probably for the first time in a long time) and then broke down in tears. Tears streamed down my cheeks and flooded my eyes as he embraced me and echoed again, "Erin, I got the job." I very quietly whispered, "I am so sorry for being so upset. I love you. Can I tell you Happy Birthday now?" He smiled...and as simple as that, I knew that he had forgiven me.

I am so grateful for all who have offered a kind word and a helping hand through this difficult time. Thanks to friends, family and neighbors we have been able to keep our home, feed our kids and stay (mostly) sane. I cannot express the joy I feel to know that our prayers have been heard, answered and a way provided. Love, erin

Yesterday...was a great day!

Exercising + Love of Yardsales = Disaster

The bright beautiful Spring Sun woke me from my deep slumber and called me out to exercise. I felt the pull to the great outdoors as I laid in bed, reached for my cell phone and texted my exercise buddy. She agreed to engage in our hour long torturous hike up the mountain and we set the time to meet. An hour later Joann, Amanda (Joann's younger sister), and I strode step after step up the steep incline of our neighborhood. Joann and I fared a little better than Amanda, considering we had traveled this route 2-3 times a week for the last month or so. And poor Amanda, moved as fast as she could muster considering she had never hiked with us before and even though the phrase, "please stop!" lingered on the tip of her tongue, she kept quiet and did her best to keep up. As we reached the last 1/3 of our hike, we noticed a Garage Sale sign, a beaming glorious beacon in the the dark!
Lured to it, I encouraged Amanda to make it just to the yard sale, where she could have her first rest of the day. The signs of relief flooded her expression. I looked ahead at the sign, scrutinizing it for what I could expect at the sale, and realized that the sign was pointing in the opposite direction of the yard sale I could clearly see on the street up ahead. Being rational, I decided that it wouldn't be prudent to our workout to venture off the exercise course to a yard sale in the wrong direction. We continued on ahead to the yard sale that covered the lawn of a home a few more homes away.

As we approached the yard sale I perused the items strewn across the front yard. Mostly clothing, yard accessories, and baby supplies made up this yard sale. I spied an item that looked like a prize to me and asked the man sitting in the front yard, "How much is that?"

A look of confusion clouded his expression and he replied, "This isn't a yard sale, we are just cleaning out our garage!"

hahahaha...I busted out in laughter. Well so much for exercising and stopping at yard sales!