Oh Snap!

Its no secret I love photography.  I've always had an interest in it, but my desire to document every day memories was thrown into overdrive the moment I had my daughter.  In fact, three days after she was born we decided we needed a new camera to document her life.  Her first outing was to the camera department at Best Buy!  :)

Had I known then, what I know now...I would have sucked it up and bought an entry level DSLR.  We didn't know what we were doing, had no idea the difference between cameras at all.  So we plunked down a pretty penny for the top of the line Canon point & shoot.  Never mind we could have bought an entry level DSLR for the same price.  Oh well...live and learn! 

Two years later I bought my first DSLR...a shiny new Canon Rebel XSi.  From the day I started researching that camera, I knew it wasn't really the camera I wanted.  I thought I would at least get it, learn it and then upgrade eventually. 

Two years after that I sold it and bought a used Canon 40D.  Though I still was not in love with that camera, I knew it offered more and it was an upgrade.  Just not really the upgrade I wanted.

A year later...I bought a used Canon 5d mark I (some people call it the 5d Classic).  Finally, I am 100% content and happy with my camera.  I love it!  I really do!  I should have just found one three years previous!  Again, live and learn!  :)  Its a full frame, and although its considered "old technology" its plenty for me.  I can't justify anything fancier until (and if) I make money off my photography.  So for now, I am tickled pink with it!

Lens on the other hand...well lets just say I have a wish list!

Anyway, I have had a lot of opportunities to grow in my photography lately and I am loving it.  Over the weekend I decided to set up a small studio in my basement so that I can continue to experiment and learn.  In the winter, my camera tends to sit on the shelf far more than it should...but not this year!  Now I have a place to shoot in my house!  Luckily I have an easy subject to shoot too!

Anyway, for the backdrop I was inspired by this post by Dandelions on the Wall. 

I added a curtain from Target, some remnant vinyl flooring and some rubber millwork base.  I still need to add some lighting.

Even with a cheap set up and next to no lighting, I got a pretty decent photo!

 

We were inspired by some photographs on Pinterest to get this shot - and I love how it turned out!

 

 

count your blessings

When a special person walks out of your life and you have nobody to blame but yourself...well its a hard pill to swallow.  Take time to acknowledge those special people in your life.  Remember how important they are to you.  Don't take them for granted.  If you can't imagine your life without that special friend, then don't take it for granted that they will always be there.  Be careful and thoughtfull of all your words and actions with everybody you care about.  Don't assume unconditional love and friendship will always be there no matter how you treat a person.

Its a sad, lonely feeling to know you single handedly destroyed a special relationship.

Week 7: If I could turn back time...

I try to live with my life with no regret, and I would say I have been pretty successful at it.  For the most part I am happy where I am.  Would I like to make things better, sure...who wouldn't?!  But really, life is pretty darn good!

However, if I had the opportunity to turn back time, there are two things I would probably change. 

First off I would not have gotten out of the military when I did.  I often wonder how life would have turned out if I would have reenlisted and made it a career.  Now that I am older and wiser, I know career wise and retirement wise it would have been a good thing.  Although I really do love living in beautiful Colorado, I have built up a great network of friends and colleagues and genuinely love the climate 90% of the time!  I think staying here and not moving multiple times actually suits us better, but still its fun to wonder what might have been had we both stayed in!

Second, I would have had a second child somewhat close in age to Morgan.  That's easy to say, but for us we might have tried and tried and never ben successful.  We struggled for a long time to get pregnant with Morgan.  I suffered two miscarriages, one before her, one after her.  We were told we could not get pregnant at all.  Once we had her, we decided that science isn't always right, so we opted for protection for the first year.  Maybe we shouldn't have.  We started trying again when she turned 1.  For a year we tried.  Right after she turned 2yrs old we had another miscarriage and decided that was the end of the road of trying to conceive for us.  Just too much heartache and worry to deal with.  We had our beautiful blessing we prayed so hard for, it was time to turn the page on that chapter.  But I often wonder what it would be like to have two children.  I wonder what Morgan would be like as a big sister.  I wonder what another child of ours would look like.  Should we have kept trying?  Should we have tried right away after we had Morgan.  Who knows.  And really, I love our little family.  I love the dynamics, I love the one on one time, I love the quietness of one child.  Sure she can be loud and crazy at times...but man the neighbors across the street with 4 small children never get the quiet that we get!  :)

So there you have it...what I would change if I could turn back time!      

ten on tuesday

1.  Okay, its not really Tuesday.  But I meant to post this yesterday, that has to count for something! 

2.  Life has been crazy busy all the sudden.  We are getting ready for school to start, trying to get back into a routine.

3.  Morgan is attending a Girl Scout day camp this week and the theme is dancing.  She is loving it!  I can't wait to see the performance at the end of the week!

4.  I love watching Extreme Weightloss.  Such amazing stories each week!

5.  I did it.  I joined the Lean Eating program that I mentioned that week.  I am committed to making this an EPIC year.  I hope to see some serious changes to my body and health in the next year!  Stay tuned!

6.  I had a powerful lesson lately.  I'm not gonna go into the specifics right now, but lets just say...that old saying "don't judge a book by its cover" is so very true.  Once you get to know somebody you might be totally surprised!

7.  The government furlough stinks!  I should be running a 5k race this weekend, the same one I have every August for 3 years.  But I had to skip it this year.  We just can't justify the extra expenses.  Losing $1200 a month for three months stinks!

8.  I've spent the morning planning for this coming girl scout year for our troop.  Can't believe its already time to start thinking about that!

9.  I want to re-do our bedroom...as soon as the furlough is done!  So in October I plan to buy a new bedroom set and no bedding, curtains...the whole 9 yards.  I need some good ideas though.  Help me out!

10.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you might see a lot of Elf On The Shelf pins lately!  Yes, getting ready for that as well.  Next thing you know its doing to be December!

Week 6: If I could be anything in the world..

Darn it!  Late again!



If I could be anything in the world...

I have thought about this question a bit.  Its actually kind of a hard one!  I often say I am unhappy with my job, or that life didn't quite turn out the way I dreamed.  But the more I think about it, I don't think I would have it any other way.  Life is pretty good right now, and I am pretty happy with where I am.

Although, if I could be a SAHM I would be.  I know what you are thinking.  I could be a SAHM if I really wanted to be.  But our lifestyle would change so drastically.  And that's not what I want.  I would want to have the means to be a SAHM with the lifestyle we have now.  I don't want to sit at home all day long because we have to, because we have no money.  I want to be able to get up and go to the gym early before Morgan gets up, to take care of myself and my spirit.  I want to be able to have a membership to a pool, to travel to Denver to see friends at the drop of the hat, to make big lavish meals and bake whenever we want. 

So I guess my ultimate dream for right now would be to be a SAHM, with enough money in the bank to not have t worry about anything, to be able to do whatever we want.

Just because that's my dream right now, doesn't mean it will always be.  And to be honest its more of a pipe dream than any dream I would actually try to work towards.  Its just nice to day dream sometimes!

ten on tuesday

1.  I did it!  I committed to the Precision Nutrition Lean Eating Program!  I have wanted to do it for a couple years now, and finally decided to do it.  I hope to have EPIC results at the end of the year end program! 

 

2.  My friend Sean, otherwise known as the averagesupermom wrote a post about all her cardigans.  I happen to have a ton too, so every time I wear one or buy one I think of her!  This weekend, I bought another one!

 

3.  Speaking of my new cardigan...it was also my first ever Ann Taylor purchase!  I'm cheap, and up until a few years ago I was always over weight.  I never wanted to invest in expensive clothes because I didn't want to be that size for long, and I didn't really feel like wearing beautiful clothes when I felt like I wasn't all that beautiful.  So, this weekend while at an outlet mall, I stumbled on some amazing deals at the Ann Taylor store.  I love their clothes!  And they seem to run kinda big, which means I fit a size small comfortably!  Once I realized that, I had to buy something!!  So I added yet another cardigan to my stash!  A cute beige short sleeve one, with a racy little animal print tank to go under it!

 

4.  I have struggled with migraines for years.  In fact I was almost kicked out of the Air Force because of them.  The past couple years I found a prescription that works for them, and have been able to manage them.  For some reason the past 4 weeks I have been getting them bad and they are nasty.  I had one this morning and one yesterday morning.  I'm really hoping its just a phase.  I'm tired of them!

 

5.  We had an awesome water fight in front of our house this evening.  All the kids on the street were out, the girls were on our driveway, the boys were across the street.  A few moms even joined in the fun!  Summer time is so much fun!

 

6.  Pink lemonade "tea" parties are a regular occurrence in our backyard now.  All the girls love the new playhouse!

 

7.  Am I the only one that doesn't love small kids birthday parties?  We have four of them to go to this weekend.  I don't mind them when I know some of the parents, but they are down right painful when I don't know anybody!  3 of the 4 might be a little painful...I know the parents throwing the parties but nobody else.  Ugh! 

 

8.  A friend of mine shared this video of his friend's first dance at their wedding.  So fun!

 

9.  I finally got caught up on all the Nashville episodes from last season.  I am really loving that show.  Can't wait for the new season to start!

 

10.  School starts in 2 and a half weeks!  I can't believe it!  I don't want summer to come to an end just yet!     

Week 5: If I won the lottery

 

 

Week 5: If I won the lottery:

 

I like this dream!

 

I'd quit my job. If I won the lottery, I would quit my job right away.  Without a doubt.  Most likely the hubby would stay working, or maybe transition to something he likes better.  But I would quit my job without giving it a second thought.  I would volunteer more than I already do.  I would take Morgan to school and pick her up.  I would make a nice home cooked meal every night.  And I would do things that make me happy!

 

I'd go on vacation.  It would become a priority to travel a lot.  We want to go to Ireland, San Diego, Portland, Canada...and I am sure we would add many more locations in the years to come!

 

Buy a second house in Florida. Maybe not on the beach, because lets face it...hurricanes suck!  But I would buy a house in my hometown.  I would make it our second home, to visit whenever we wanted, but mostly to spend time down there in the winter.  Even with the hubby working, we would be able to take lots of long weekends and holidays there because he has gobs of time off with his current job!

 

I'd sell our house and buy something bigger and nicer.  I don't mind our house.  But if we could buy something else a little bigger, a little nicer, a little bit more "us"...then I would do it!  A bigger, awesome kitchen...a beautifully landscaped yard...an exercise room...a large laundry room and mud room...a bonus rooms for crafts...a man cave...oh and a cleaning lady every other week to keep it all clean!  :)

 

Donate to charity.  Everybody says this...but I really would.  A Lot!

 

Adopt a child.  I would love to adopt.  Morgan would love to have a sibling.