Merry Christmas:)

Pam and John's wedding was beautiful on Saturday! I'll post some photos sometime in the next week or so.

Today, I spent the day with the Murray (and Rose) family. Aaron's uncle Bob and aunt Carolyn came in from Maryland, and his uncle Don flew in from Burbank, CA. Don was able to come because he's not working right now due to the writer's strike! He does sound for TV and film. We visited him while we were honeymooning in CA in July 2007. We were very excited that he could make it to Minnesota this year!
Don supplied us with some tough news (even though everyone else has probably already heard)--- That "24" has been postponed until 2009!!! My heart is broken because of this. Do they even know how hard it is to wait 6 months for the next season?? But now we have to wait a whole YEAR??? ARRGH!!!! I'm just... ARGGH!!! The agony!!!!!!!!!


Yay! Here are some photos!
(some won't flip to the vertical orientation... I've tried everything.
Not sure what's up there... so you'll just have to tilt your head in the meantime:))
Highlights of the evening...
Goofin off with cousin-in-law Katie, and sister-in-law Jessica:

A favorite angle... haha! :








Don called cousin Katie's new boyfriend (REALLY new... like 2 weeks new) to introduce himself. Katie about died. It was hilarious.





Guitar hero!
(I'll give you a hint who the hero was.... it wasn't me. But I tried to act the part...)

Aaron and Katie are really good....


Jessica rocks out to guitar hero songs:


(she's going to kill me if she sees I posted this photo....haha!)


And I got to be with my husband.



It's been wonderful to spend the past 3 days with him. My parents and I joined up at the Olive Garden (one of my fave places!!!) with my side of the family on Sunday. Monday, we hung out with Aaron's mom's side of the family. Aaron's cousin Kristi makes all this gourmet food... she is absolutely fantastic!! A bunch of us were able to make it to their church service where we heard cousin Heather sing and play her guitar. She has such a beautiful, sweet voice. We all had a hard time staying awake because we had this amazing food in our tummies, and then the church service had very dimmed lights and candles. But the end was very cool-- We all stood around in a circle around the sanctuary, held colored candles, and sang "Silent Night." It was a nice thing... I didn't think I was even going to be able to make it to church this week... I'm so glad we could go!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you are all healthy and well...
May God grant you peace and hope this season, and this year.
I know he has for me.... I am so thankful and blessed.

Christmas time has come....

"Christmas time has come....toys for everyone..."
(Smashing Pumpkins song, anyone? Ha:) I don't listed to them much anymore, but I did when that song came out in... 98..99? Somewhere around there.)

What toys are you getting this Christmas??
For yourself, or for your business?

I'll answer for myself after some photos!

I still have 2 more weddings this year... one on the 28th, and one this weekend!
Here are a few more photos from that engagement session! (Pam and John!)
I can't wait to see how fabulous she's going to look this weekend! :


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It was starting to get chilly that weekend...

Cute puffy vests are certainly necessary!!






I kept wondering... "What is he telling her that makes her so happy!"





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Aren't they just gorgeous?? They were SO wonderful to work with! Loved every minute of it.

Back to my question about Christmas gifts!

For the business, I got a 50mm 1.4, and a backup flash(Yeah.. that one is a pretty exciting gift... ppbbt!). WPPI membership and plane ticket to Las Vegas.
In the next few months I'm getting a new website and a 5d... and maybe some
lighting equipment... If I have enough guts to get going on learning studio lighting
to start up a new area of business... We shall see. Aaron and I got a new computer (because of the issues in the last email. It's finally put together and ready to go!

Aaron and I are getting each other cell phones.
Semi-exciting phone so badly... We're looking into plan, but not extremely.
I need a news. Not sure who to go with.

For Christmas I asked for:
*Sweaters that I can work and play in.
*A footbath (to use after shooting weddings! It would be a great addition to go with my amazing roller back massage cushion I got for my Bday. Did I mention it has heat?? Did I mention that i LOVE heat?? And anything that makes me feel good!)
*Gift cards to any of these following stores: Anthropologie, The Gap, JCrew, JCPenney, Charlotte Russe, JoAnn fabrics (I need to recover the kitchen chairs).. or other stores... They said on MSN that gift cards are lame gifts. Not so sure what's lame about allowing someone pick out their own gift-- and gift cards can help fund or fully fund a desire... What's not to like about them??
*Chocolate with hazelnuts
*Any beneficial type of tea...(herbal, black, red, white, green..) I love trying new kinds.
*New slippers.
*Gift card to any restaurant to go out on a date with Aaron.
*I didn't ask for this yet, but I decided yesterday... I need a new long, winter dress coat. Mine is pretty hoovered. Perhaps I will receive a gift card that can go towards this.
*New black mittens/gloves that look nice. I got some at Old Navy that looked nice, and in a week they had already fallen apart! So not cool.

And that's all I can come up with. I'm set on music this year. Got the new BarlowGirl CD a month ago and I LOVE LOVE it....

What I'm giving to people:
Gifts I can afford, but something I think they'll love:)
Aaron and I also gave my time to God this season by playing my cello at Cedar Valley Church in Bloomington. It was a musical/play/worship/performance. The compensation for playing in it was so generous-- And the opportunity came just in time-- when we needed a new computer. So we gave, and God gave back to us... pretty great how that works.


In other news, I got 2.5 hours of sleep last night (due to a number of things).

Hope you're getting more rest than I have been getting! (Chances are good...)
1 Something sad..... Aaron and I don't have a tree up yet.
3 Somethings that are happy... I'm looking forward to my New Year's Eve party. It's one of my best friends' birthdays tomorrow. I did laundry yesterday and my favorite Old Navy sweatpants are clean!!Ok... four things...Next year is getting booked up pretty quickly for weddings. 10 weddings booked, and I'm shooting 3 with Steph. Good times ahead.

A Photo, and an update.

As I mentioned, I'm workin hard to get a bunch of portrait and weddings edited.
Here's one while you wait:



Pam and John's e-session was AWESOME. I can't wait to post more when
I get some time!
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Just last week I was saying, "I think this year is more stressful than my junior year of college!!" That was one tough year! I was taking more credits than I ever had and I was in orchestra and cello lessons.

It was a year where I worked VERY hard and I learned a ton. I think that most of my classes were focused on my major(Communication) and my minor (Psychology)--I was completely emerged in education. So it was a worthwhile year..it was just a LOT to handle, and I had little time for hanging out with friends... I was lucky to be living with 3 of my best friends.

Finals week was completely chaotic. I remember studying so hard, and working on big projects. I also remember finishing my last final-- a huge paper. I ran to my prof's door and slipped it under, and ran up 2 flights of stairs to go get my cello to bring home, and ran down 3 flights of stairs to get to the shuttle to go back to my apartment. When I got to my apartment, I went into my room, shut the door, and just BAWLED. It didn't feel good, either. It was a very emotionally painful cry. I don't think I had cried for months, because I was so busy and focused. There wasn't room for me to connect with myself emotionally. And on top of that, I was having this tight pain in my chest--where my heart was-- that I couldn't explain. It had been affecting me for a week, and was gradually getting worse.. it hurt to take in deep breaths because once I'd let it out, it would get tighter around my heart. The pain even went up into my left shoulder and arm. I figured it was maybe a combination of amount of stress, ritilan(I have a perscription, don't worry), lots of caffiene & espresso, and no sleep... I was afraid that I damaged my heart. I went and got an EKG/stress test done (I ran on a treadmil, and then they monitored my heart). They said I had some abnormal heart beats, but that wasn't necessarily "abnormal." They prescribed Prilosec OTC for me. I tried to explain that the tight, pinching pain I was feeling was NOT heartburn(which I have had before), and I was mad that I had to take the medicine. Strangely enough, the medicine worked. I was thankful for that.

I compare this year to that year in that it's my first full year in business... I am emerged in it completely, and I know it's important to work hard in the photography business, especially the first year. I have not had a ton of time to hang out with friends, or even my husband very much for that matter. But he has been supportive and understanding--it is more difficult to explain to some of my friends and my sib-in-laws why I don't have a ton of time. But I know this year I have worked hard, and that's what I've had to do. It's been an amazing year, at the same time.

**I am not saying that I am stressed so you should feel bad for me, haha:)
Stress is a part of life. We all expereience different levels of stress, and our bodies each handle stress differently! I know some people get really sick physically. I usually don't-- even with the lack of sleep.

But apparently, just like junior year, my body is like, "Nuh uh."
Just last week, I started feeling a little bit of tightness over my heart. It's gradually gotten worse this week, and last night it was so serious that I was starting to wonder(panic) if I should go to the doctor. I went to bed, and got some Prilosec OTC today... just waiting for it to kick in.
Inside the box were "Tips for Managing Heartburn."
*Do not eat late at night or just before bedtime. ((Well when you're up until 4am, you have to eat again!))
*Certain foods or drinks are more likely to cause heartburn, such as rich, spicy, fatty, and fried foods, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, and even some fruits and vegetables. ((Well dang... there goes my diet!))
*Eat slowly and do not eat big meals. ((I'm not one to eat slowly when I have no time to eat...)

So while it's said that stress does not CAUSE heartburn, but can be worsened by, it makes me think it's probably the way I eat and sleep when I get stressed that cause this problem. Oy. Because I see similar patterns, I think it IS the same issue as I had 2 1/2 years ago. I can only pray that it is.. because it's pretty painful.

It won't be long until I'm caught up and am able to get back on a regular eating and sleeping schedule. I can't wait!! :)

Stress and goodness.

You guys, you guys!!

I'm ordering a 5d tomorrow.
And a 50mm 1.4
(Thank you for your advice, EVERYONE!! I couldn't have made informed
decisions without any of you... OSP friends, blog friends, and Brad!)


My clients have been amazing.
I've been having some serious computer issues lately.
And they have been SO patient while I've worked it all out.
My husband is ordering parts for a new desktop computer in the morning.
I'm currently doing all my editing on the laptop while we wait for the new comp.
Thank God for having my external harddrive that i had my photos on.
Hard drive on desktop computer = kuput. (Told you it was serious.)

My husband has been amazing in this time of stress for me too...
I thank God SO much for him... he is the biggest blessing ever.

No time to post pics. I have to get back to doing some more editing for my wonderful clients.

And FYI, as soon as I'm done with all of their pics, I'm getting my bangs trimmed.
They are drivin me NUTS.