LaShay and Jakob

Well, my posts are not near as frequent as I was hoping that they would be. But I just completed a creative project that has inspired me to blog. I had the privilege to do one of my best friend's engagement photos and I just love them both so much. LaShay and I have been friends since our freshman year at Hardin-Simmons University in 2003 and I am so very happy for her and Jakob! They are seriously two of the sweetest people on the planet.

Getting to create is one of my favorite outlets for myself. Sure, I should be reading, writing papers, or some other task that is looming over my head, but taking time to do something truly fulfilling and rejuvenating will hopefully only make me more productive for the other tasks that I have to do. If I am in touch with my life source, perhaps that life will spill over into the daily activities that must be done. How often do we do things in reverse order, feeling the demands of life requiring our energy when we're not plugged into the source of that energy! Like driving a car without gas, we feel we have to run all the errands before we can go to the gas station. That doesn't make sense, and yet we think that somehow we can function differently.

I'm realizing how important it is to be connected to my Source, ultimately God, and that doing that is right and good, regardless of what the world is telling me. This feels like such a trivial point to be making, but in my chaotic life right now, it is profound.

LaShay and Jakob, thank you for letting me do this for you, and for sharing life with me, dear friends. Blessings on your engagement.

A Dog's Life

Some dogs don't know how good they have it...

...But I think this one does!

I finally found the usb cable for my camera!

Last night a friend called and invited me to go ride horses with her this morning. I was completely thrilled! I haven't gotten to ride in two years and I have definitely missed it dearly. I took my camera along and had an absolutely wonderful time. Emily and her husband Vadim are in MRNA with us and we are enjoying so much getting to know the others. We had a great time talking as we rode. What a great morning. Call it the dream of every little girl, but I love horses. It's something that is very dear to me and I am sooooo glad I had the opportunity to be around them today!

This is Sugar Bear...why do white horses always get silly names? We walked up and noticed that his lips were bright purple, like he was wearing fuchsia lipstick...the mystery was solved when we were riding and saw that he had been snacking on yummy purple prickly pears.

Also, a week or so ago Austin and I went to the balloon festival with Xander and Nicole and had a fabulous time...

Also, I wanted to show you some pics of our house. I'm really happy with how it turned out since we can't paint our walls...

This is our nifty little desk area, furniture placement courtesy of Domino magazineMy vanity, finished.

All in all, we're very happy with the little nest we've created. I've had a ton of fun taking pictures lately. I didn't know what I was going to do if I didn't get to do something creative soon!

Angry Car

My car is mad at me. She knows I've been looking at other cars while we've been driving around, and friday she let me know it. I was driving to work and all of a sudden she just stopped, and I coasted to the curb. I have never broken down before, and I was baffled by two things one good, one bad:

1. nobody stopped to help me. Not one person! Instead, they honked as they went around me.

2. My cell phone has road side assistance and within forty five minutes I was towed to a garage. for free! Awesome! Thank you AT&T.

So Sadie is in the shop needing a new alternator, and this weekend we're going to San Antonio to pick up our new car. The timing for me to break down was very ironic because Austin's dad is giving us his '97 jeep grand cherokee. We're so excited because that will have us in two very solid cars that are better than our old ones.

Parents are truly amazing. Austin's old mazda and my mazda were given to us by our parents and now we're being given another car. I don't know what we would do without our parents! and not just for cars. haha. but they all do so much to support us in so many ways. We are very blessed by our moms and dads and step parents.

So, Sadie is going up for sale, and I'm going to be driving the jeep whom I have decided to call "Jude".

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On another note, I got to shoot my first photo shoot this weekend! It was so totally fun, and I wouldn't mind doing that more often! I love my camera. I have been very satisfied with my choice of the canon rebel xti.

Some Pics

So I'm still figuring out my camera, but here are a few raw images from my walk today. I don't have a great editing program yet so this is it. But I would love to be able to shoot good pictures without having to edit them!

Facing Facts

I've decided to deal with something that I've simply never wanted to. Since I was sixteen, my face has been pink or red, my skin never perfect. I was told it was rosacea and simply gave up after a few years of trying to figure it out. I always felt selfish caring when there were people with so much worse going on in their lives. Anyway, I met and married Austin and the last fear involved with it was squelched because he made me feel and see myself as beautiful. I havent thought about my skin since. Let me interject here ladies that if you ever consider settling than less than feeling like a goddess around your guy, think about it long and hard. No matter how humble we christians think we're supposed to be, we are made to feel beautiful!

Well I truly haven't given my skin condition a thought until recently when with the encouragement of my mom, I decided to give it one more try. I went to a dermatologist and it was much more emotional that I ever would have thought it would be.

The big thing he told me was that I don't have rosacea. We aren't sure what it is exactly, but he thinks its a skin sensitivity. Way better than rosacea! But it's difficult to process what exactly that means when for seven years I've thought I had an incurable disease with no known cause that was going to get progressively worse with time. Now, I might just have to use fragrance free products. I'm still trying to process that. Seven years ago, what happened? Why didn't the other two dermatologists even suggest this possibility and say within seconds of seeing me "it's rosacea".

So, now here I am. Ready to really try to get to the bottom of this. The first step is that I have replaced all my products even shampoo with fragrance free products and...no makeup. Atleast not for a while.

So here I am folks! No makeup! It's kind of terrifying, but very liberating. I can get ready to go as quick as Austin now! Haha.

Austin brought me roses after my dermatologist appointment. He is so supportive of me. What whould I do without him?

Puppy love.

My mom brought me these that day too. I'm really lucky to have my mom! Purple tulips!

So I know this is a wierd post, but hey! It's what's going on in my life. That's what this blog is all about.

Kodak moment!...or at least a Canon moment..

After four years of wishing and dreaming...

I am the proud new joint-custodian of a digital Rebel xti!!!

My mom and I went in together to get it and then one of us will slowly buy out the other and get another one. Not a bad way to get one quickly! I am so excited and so thankful for this opportunity. It truly is a magnificent instrument. Now, if only I can learn how to really use it to its full potential. I am way looking forward to it!