Pop! Surprise!

6:49 PM
I just wouldn't be me if I didn't take six months to blog, right? Hmm, so what's been going on, you might ask?

Lots of things. Work, taking a few pictures, hanging out, going on crazy adventures, spending way too much money and not saving enough.

If we're close, then you may know how terrible last week was for me. Starting Memorial day and on, it was just... hell. But on Wednesday something amazing happened. A friend asked me to do her a favor and take the tickets and hotel room she'd already paid for and go in her place to the Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival. She asked me this as a FAVOR. She couldn't go anymore due to a new job and didn't want the tickets to go to waste. And when she asked me to go, she basically said to me that I was the only person she knew who'd really appreciate it. And Emily, I really did. Thank you so much. It was honestly the best kind of distraction I needed from the hellish week I'd had.

*Insert my Billy Mays voice* But wait! There's more!

Friday night, Chris Young was singing and through some elbow throwing and running like crazy on soft sand (which is never easy, by the way), we managed to make it right up front in the middle of the stage. I'm talking, pressed up against the gate, bouncers holding us back kind of close. Gentry had meet and greet passes for him and so we knew we were going to have to save her spot when she left. After thirty minutes or so, we got to chatting with a few people next to us, who also happened to be from Richmond (hey!), and turns out she had meet and greets too! So we agreed to form a wall to save their two spots while they went to meet Chris.

Long story short, they were just getting ready to leave to meet Chris, when the girl we'd just met turned to me and said, "I don't think I'm going to go" (she'd already met him once before, and didn't want to miss the performers before him, who were about to go on). And I was thinking, "Oh good, we have more people to save the spot for Gen." But instead, the took her meet and greet wristband out of the envelope and offered it to me, asking me if I wanted to go.

I started tearing up.

Because this whole thing was just too much.

Of course I said yes, gathered myself up, hugged the girl I barely knew, and Gen and I took off to meet Chris.

He's. So. Freaking. Tall.


You can really ignore my very large cheesy smile. I was excited, alright? 

But anyway, the point is, the whole weekend was totally a Godsend. Because everything just fell right into place. Like Emily told me, it all worked out a little too perfectly for it to not have already been planned. 

So thank you God, for giving me a beautiful ending to an otherwise crappy week. And thank you Emily for thinking of me! 

Here's to the New Year!

4:19 PM

Yes, I do this all the time. The "I'm sorry, but I'm back for good" spiel, but this time I'm really going to try to keep it up! Blogging is so therapeutic for me. I mean, come on, talking about myself? What else could be better? I sound so conceited sometimes, but I promise you, I'm not. The holidays were fun. Got to spend time with family, had a great night New Year's Eve with friends.

2015 was... to sum it up, it was a year of new. I got out of my comfort zone a little bit. Met amazing new people and tried new things, even if I wasn't exactly 100% sure about them. But I did it! I'm really hoping that 2016 will be just like this but even better!

As every New Year begins, I find myself making a list of resolutions. But this year I'm not doing that. No one actually ever keeps their resolution anyway. It's a novelty idea for the month of January (heck, maybe even for the first week in January). It's enough to take a few Instagram shots of you in the gym mirror, white girl status of grabbing a fat-free Starbucks latte afterward for a little bit before life catches up with us.

So no. I'm not making any resolutions. But I am preparing myself to make a few lifestyle changes. It's like going on a diet. It works until you're not on a diet anymore. It's not a diet, people. It's a lifestyle change.

And so, here I go.

  • Worry less & pray more.
  • Stress less & do more.
  • Talk less & listen more.
  • Judge less & love more.
Sometimes I get so caught up in me, and what the rest of the world says or wants or believes and I forget about what God wants for me. I can honestly say this past year, I prayed for a few signs. And when I got them... I ignored them because they weren't the signs I wanted. 

This year will be different.

Thank you so much for listening to my rants! 









personal

This is a need to know

3:15 PM

Went to church this morning and spent some much needed bestfriend time with Gen getting lunch and shopping afterwards. But it was when we were praying in service this morning that John started out by praying, "There is nothing more fulfilling than You" and immediately my mind went to how I have been too busy lately to go to church. The past few weeks, I've had much to do on the weekends, that I've skipped out on going to church. It was exactly the message I needed to hear, and it was only seven little words. Imagine that! So when I got home today, I had to open up photoshop and make this little banner. 

Save it. Keep it. Set it as your background on your phone or computer. Remember that there's nothing more fulfilling than God.










humor

Annette who?

8:43 PM
I don't know how we got on the subject today, but somehow my mom and I got to talking about Grease. And well, do you remember the scene where the girls are singing "Sandra Dee". Of course you remember the scene, it's an iconic scene in a memorable movie. Anyway... the line where Rizzo goes, "Get your filthy paws off my silky draws. Would you pull that crap with Annette?" 

Let's talk about this. 

My entire life, since I've seen the movie, of course, I've always wondered who Annette was. 

This story is not going to be nearly as funny as it was when my mom and I were talking about it. But basically, it goes like this...


Me: You know what I never understood--they never told us who Annette was in the entire movie. 
Mom: Annette Funicello. 

Me: How did you know? 
Mom: Because she was the 50's sweetheart. 
Me: But how did they know her? I always thought she went to the school and was a senior who graduated or something? 
Mom: Huh?
Me: Because they mention her in the song and then later on when Rizzo is shimmying down the drain pipe, Sonny goes "Hey Riz, you doing that without Annette?"
Mom: *starts laughing* He was talking about a net. 

By now, the both of us are cracking up. 

Me: Well they didn't make that clear in the movie! Not five minutes ago they were talking about Annette, and so naturally I thought he was talking about Annette. And this whole time I've been wondering who the hell Annette was!


And that's what you missed from me. My blonde roots were showing I guess, but honestly, I always thought Annette was some long lost Pink Lady who maybe was the original Rizzo and taught her everything she knew... sigh. 

Twenty four years later, and I learn the truth. 

Thanks for reading!


How does one photograph a house?

10:38 AM

This morning I've been searching through the internet to find ideas for photographing houses. Houses you may ask. Yes, houses. I got a call from my aunt yesterday asking if I could photograph a house she's putting on the market sometime this coming week and sure, why not? It's really cool, but it's not something that I've ever done. 

Shooting stationary objects has always been a little difficult for me. People, I can do. Things... not so much. Because it's not like I can just tell the house to pose like this, or spin around, or smile or act dramatic. Therefore, I've been scouring for tips and tricks -- lighting suggestions, ways to use the space. Symmetry is key. 

I probably won't post the pics here for all to see, but maybe I can post a link to the posting when my aunt lists the house? I check and see what protocol is here, haha! 

Thanks for reading! 

personal

Beach Weekend!

4:53 PM
It was my mom's birthday this past weekend so my mom, my aunt, and I took a little trip to the beach. We just went to VA Beach--which turned out to be full of festivities like the Susan G. Komen something or other (didn't look like a race, but could have been), a volleyball tournament on the beach (maybe that was the Susan G. Komen thing, who knew?), and little kids' soccer championship tournament that had literally every hotel full of kids. Now, I love kids as much as the next person... but this was a little much. Despite the four foot munchkins running around and the cloudy and somewhat chilly weather, it was a fun weekend!


Friday night was... interesting. Since pretty much every restaurant within walking distance to the hotel (because once you drove away, you weren't guaranteed a parking spot when you came back) were crowded and full, we had to wait about an hour for a table at Tautog's. And then well... the food was alright. It was slightly fancier than I was expecting, and before going I didn't know that a Tautog was a fish (whoops), so it was seafood. Not a big seafood eater, so I had a chicken sandwich. I won't bore you with the details, but it could have been better. 

The highlight of Friday night was stopping at Walgreens on the way back to the hotel and getting a 2 for $5 special on back scratchers. Yes, I'm serious. Oh! And seeing this little gem and snapping a quick pick. Because who doesn't want a 40 oz flask? That's what I'm talking about! Slap an etched monogram on there and I'd be a happy camper!


Saturday was pretty easy--just hung out most of the day until dinner. The beach was beautiful and we watched a volleyball game from our balcony in the hotel. It was a little bit too chilly and windy to sit on the beach. Watching people try to navigate a four person bicycle was kind of entertaining as well. It was just a relaxing kind of day. 

Now, Friday night might have been a little less than thrilling, but Saturday night was a blast! We walked down the boardwalk to Lager Heads which had probably the best burgers on the east coast. Of course we had to wait 45 minutes again, but we just sat on the rocking chairs and listened to the waves and semi-froze, but it was fine. Fried pickles, two Georgia Peach Margaritas, half a burger, and mac and cheese later, I was feeling good (but full!). If you go to VA Beach, try Lager Heads because the food (and drinks) were amazing. I'm telling ya. I don't drink tequila and I had two margaritas. That's saying something. 


This morning we headed home, stopped by Panera, then hopped back on the road. Now my afternoon/evening's been filled with rewatching Once Upon a Time and just vegging out in bed. Oh! That's another thing. It was nice to get away for a few days, but it's so nice to be back in my own bed. 

Thanks for reading about this girl's beach endeavors! 

Until next time,



All Signed Up

7:00 AM

I honestly don't know why I never did this sooner, but I'm really excited for this now! Is it 4-8 weeks yet? 


photography

Kara's Williamsburg Shoot - Sept 2015

9:38 AM
It was sometime last week when I randomly asked my friend Kara from work if she'd be my model for a shoot. I hadn't picked up my camera in some time and I was itching to do something. She happily agreed and we decided on a fall themed photo shoot, with fun clothes and a new venue. I've mostly stuck with the whole Maymont Park or Farmville area because I know them so well, but since she recently moved to Williamsburg, I thought it'd be a fun little adventure, and it was! 

The weather was gorgeous, and thank goodness for that, because at some point in the week I remember reading or seeing where it might rain and then our plans would have been washed away (get it? haha!). But luckily, the sun was shining and even though it was a little on the warmer side for a fall themed shoot, we still got some great pics! 

Thank you to Kara for working with me and going along with my crazy ideas to get you to laugh and smile. I know you've been waiting for these and I hope you enjoy them! 


Kara's boyfriend Ethan came along with us, and brought their dog Ducky too! Look at the handsome scruffy face. <3 


The colors in this one make me so happy. I recently switched over from Photoshop CS 5 to Lightroom and I have to say I'm loving it so much more. I always knew Lightroom was better for photographers, but I was so used to CS 5 I didn't want to give it up! Have to say that it's not a bad change. 



I'm so in love with this photo. It's definitely one of my top five favorites from the day!


I can't for the life of me remember what was said, but somewhere in there she started laughing so hard. Luckily, I didn't miss it ;) 




There were moments when I wanted her to wear model face, and others when I just wanted her to smile.




Another one in my top five! I don't know, it just looks like it should be on an album cover or something! 


Definitely one of my favorites! The lighting, the face, the colors. L O V E. 



I was playing with different lighting here, just having some fun. Not disappointed with the end result.



Look how fun and carefree! 


All I could think in my head was "MODEL SHOT! MODEL SHOT! MODEL SHOT!"



 





And there you are! Huge thanks to Kara again for going along with me and letting me boss you around for a few hours. And thanks to all who read this and actually keeps up with the blog. Hopefully I'll be getting more photos up here soon! 

Until then, 

photography

Feeling a little generous

10:03 PM
Just because someone, and I'm not going to say who (*cough* Kara), keeps being impatient, I will post just a few pics that I've edited so far. I only have a few more to go, but I'm saving the big post for tomorrow. Until then, have these two!


Told her to work the camera... 


And then she laughed.



After all this time...

6:30 PM
Hey y'all! So I'm back... again. I know I've made promises in the past about keeping up with blogging and they fell by the wayside, but this time I make no promises to blog every day, but I will try to keep it going steadily. Returning along with me will be my infectious laughter, corny jokes, hilarious stories, and stunning photographs. I'm a humble person, can't you tell?

In all seriousness, I'm really excited to be back. After struggling with coding my widgets for the blog for the past two days, it's looking pretty good for someone who knows absolutely nothing about html.

First post (after this one, of course) will be the pictures of my beautiful friend, Kara. Last weekend, I took a short trip to see her in Williamsburg and we walked around taking pictures for a few hours of out the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous (though a little hotter than we anticipated), but it made for great pictures and it was so nice to get back in the saddle after not doing shoots for a while. I'm still in the process of editing and I know Kara's dying to see them, but I'm being just a little bit evil and making her wait. Cue the maniacal laughter.

Until then!