You know what I love?

...Seeing the world through my camera lens and bringing others joy through my photos.

I love capturing a sweet newborn baby forever in time as a wrinkly, squishy little thing.... because we all know that doesn't last very long. I love capturing the love of a sweet family and telling a story through photos.

It's been a little bit since I've been really busy with photos (dang school!) and sometimes when it's been a bit I forget how much I love it... but man, I really do love it.

We've been busy this week taking pictures...

First off, Josh and I are honored to be involved in a really cool project here. We are doing the photography for a local calendar that is being put together to raise money for our area that was affected by the recent tornado. The calendar is going to feature local heroes from that day. On Tuesday, we did the first 2 shots and I can NOT wait to meet all the other people that are going to be featured and hear their amazing stories from that day. Such an awesome project to be involved with!!!

On Wednesday I was honored (again!) to take family photos for Kosmo's favorite doctor. She had never had family photos done and after saving our little guy's life, it was the least I could do. And her little girl?! Seriously... CUTEST THING EVER.

gaaahhh SO sweet!!

AND THEN on Thursday, I did some newborn photos for Shelly's newborn toddler.

Just kidding, but her newest little guy was born almost 2ft tall and is already over 9 pounds. He was wide awake for our whole shoot and really squirmy but oh so adorable. I've only edited one photo so far but I think it's pretty cute :)

So anyway, that's my excuse for the lack of posts this week! Pretty good excuse I think :D

Going to see THE HUNGER GAMES tonight!! Who's seen it?!?!

Happy Friday!

I didn't win.

So... that 10k.

It was sorta brutal.

I don't have a whole lot to say about it.

It hurt, and that's about it.

I probably won't be doing the 10 miler or the 1/2 marathon :(

Actually let me re-phrase that - I definitely won't be doing the 10 miler or the 1/2.

Sad day.

It sucks that I can't totally shake this injury, but it's taught me a lot.

I will never ever ever ever take healthy running for granted again.

If you're a runner and you're like "RUNNING SUCKS!!!" while you run, like I used to do, think of me next time... it sucks a LOT worse when you CAN'T do it!

During the race I was thinking about the first time I ran it, 2 years ago.

During that race I had to stop and walk for about 30 seconds or so because of a chest pain.

I was SO mad at myself for having to stop because I knew I could run the whole distance.

But I still finished it that time in 1 hour and 5 minutes.

But Saturday, I had to walk about half of the whole race (due to shooting pain down my leg, thanks IT band, thanks)

.... what I would have given to only have to walk for 30 seconds.

ha!

Ohhhhh well.

One day I'll get back there.

All that said, I'm still glad I did it.

I really like that 10k course and since it was St. Patrick's Day there were lots of interesting costumes.

Plus yay for new green running shorts!

Have a great Tuesday!!!

good friends

i've heard if you leave this earth with 5 good friends, you were truly a blessed man (or woman). and i really think this is true!

in high school i cared more about the quantity of my friends versus the quality of them. not that i didn't have amazing friends (i did!) but it seemed like the only thing everyone cared about was trying to be in the popular group. luckily i felt like i was pretty well-rounded with my friends... i seemed to fit into almost any circle and tried to befriend everyone. i had my class friends, my anchor club friends, my church friends, my older classmen friends and so on .... the same thing can kind of be said for college, although on a smaller scale. hello, a million kappa delta sisters!

but how many of those people would i still consider my friends? umm.. about 5. sure, i have a ton of people i know i could call if i really needed something or that i like to catch up with at events, but honest-to-goodness friends... the ones that really know what goes on in my day-to-day life, there are just a handful.

and i got to see one of them this weekend! on saturday after the 10k (more on that later), i headed to nashville to meet up with my friend rindi!

i love rindi because she shows me how to be a better friend! seriously, if you want a FRIEND, call rindi! i'm convinced the only reason we are still good friends after living 5 hours apart for 3.5 years now is because we both put in effort to remain friends! dude, friendships take work just like relationships!

you know how if you call someone a few times and they never call you back or just don't seem to care anymore and then you give up? that's me, 100%. if i feel like you aren't putting effort into our friendship too, i will probably stop trying after so long.

anywho, so we met in nashville because it's about 1/2 way for both of us. plus nashville is just cool. we had lunch at a place called the chocolate covered strawberry... so you know i loved it! i was famished after the race + a 3 hour drive so of course it tasted delicious because probably cardboard would have tasted delicious, but i think it would have anyway plus every meal came with a chocolate covered strawberry! brilliant! i wish i had taken pictures because the place was SO cute! but like i said i was starved and when i'm starved i can't think about anything else but food.

then we went shopping at an outdoor mall. which was going to be perfect because it was gorgeous and sunny outside... but as soon as we got there it started POURING! luckily we still had a good time and hey, a little rain never hurt anybody!

anyway, over all i had a great weekend and a great time in nashville! just wish we had longer to visit :( tennessee really needs to figure out how to be closer to indiana. that would make my life a WHOLE lot easier!!!

happy happy monday!!

Style Files

jacket: Isaac Mizrahi; shirt: Target; scarf: Loft; jeans: 7 for all Mankind "Lucy"; boots: Steve Madden; earrings: Target; watch: Fossil; bracelets: collected from all over :)

Pictured above is my new favorite scarf. I've worn it just about every day since I got it (almost not exaggerating) and I get compliments on it every.single.time. I LOVE scarves but this is my first "spring weather" scarf. I think it's safe to say I'm gonna be adding a lot more of these to my closet this year!

Anyway -- a lot of times I post pictures and people ask where a certain item is from (or I get asked in person) so I thought every once in awhile I'll do an "outfit post" about my most frequently asked about or favorite items. I am by NO means a "fashionista" (go visit Kristen for that... srsly, she always looks cute!!) but I am trying to put more effort into my outfits because if nothing else, it makes me feel better!!! I'm tired of being a slave to my yoga pants! ;)

So I figure this will be a fun little project for me, and maybe give some of you some inspiration as well! Or at least give Josh another excuse to play with his camera. Or something.

Funny story about those boots:

I saw these boots from Free People that I just loved!


But what I didn't love? The $328 price tag! I definitely couldn't bring myself to spend that much money but I just kept thinking about them.... and thinking about them.....and thinking about them...

when lo and behold! One day I saw a nearly identical pair by Steve Madden!

Pretty darn similar dontcha think?!

And at less than 1/2 the price I knew it was meant to be! :D

(they are super on sale now, so go snag some up!!!)

Happy Sunday!!

life, lately.

do you ever just get so behind on blogging that it seems impossible to catch up because life just keeps on happening?

that's how i feel right now.

and i'm even on spring break so you'd think i'd have more time!

((yeah, spring break already.. not sure how that happened! but it is going to be in the 80's here today!!))

anyway, i have high hopes of getting all caught up here soon! here's a little rundown in bullet-point form though, for now--

• i signed up for the 10k on saturday! i can't remember if i already said that here or not. i ordered some green running shorts too, since it'll be st. patrick's day!!

• B and i are in the process of starting a new business endeavor. pretty exciting!! except for the whole part about having to learn about business & tax laws and all that jazz... that's the less exciting part, but still kinda interesting actually (i'm a nerd)

• shelly had her 5th baby last friday and i got to meet him on saturday!!! even though he was over 8lbs and almost 2ft long, i still thought he looked tiny. i just love newborns! plus he was named after my brother adam, so that's pretty cool. (okay not really, but his name is adam so he basically was)

• does anyone watch survivor? that new tribe, i forgot the name but the one with colton on it...seriously they are morons.

• and WTH happened on the walking dead?! craziness.

• my friends heather (you'll remember her from alaska) and dana are running their first marathon in washington d.c. on saturday!! so excited and proud of them! cheer them on for me since i can't be there, MB! ;)

• i guess that's it for now, can't think of much else!

• oh, if you're on the tweeter, tweet #givereesehope to @justinbieber! we're trying to get justin bieber to come visit a 5 year old girl here whose mother lost her legs in the tornado a couple weeks ago while saving her children from harm. they lost literally everything but luckily are still alive and the children walked away without a scratch! i didn't know her well, but the mother went to my gym and took several of the same classes as me. anyway, here's a link to the twitter story and here's where you can read more about the family.

thanks, friends! happy thursday!

Lola's new trick.

the other day i heard lola crying in the other room.
this isn't uncommon, as she frequently wants a treat for no reason or a toy that's gotten stuck under the couch.
so i followed the whimpers and they lead me to....... the bathroom.

yes, of all the rooms in the house, she was in the bathroom.

so i thought, well maybe a ball got stuck behind the toilet.

this has happened before as well.

but then... this happened..

so i thought maybe a ball somehow ended up in the toilet and she was trying to get it.

but nope, toilet was empty.

she was just sitting there crying into the toilet for no reason.

what a little weirdo!

or... maybe she was trying to tell me she had to go potty!!

yes! that's it!

what a little genius!!! ;)

(this hasn't happened since, so i have no idea what it was all about. she probably learned it from her papa..)

11!

So I've seen this little tag game floating around the blogosphere and as fate would have it, I've been tagged by Cindy!!

The Rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them.
6. No saying, "If you are reading this, you're tagged."

11 Random Things About Me



Cindy's 11 Questions For Me
1. Where is your favorite place to shop? Oh goodness, that's a tough one! Anywhere and everywhere, really! Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Target, Old Navy, Free People... online shopping. I almost never pay full price for clothes though, I always hit up the clearance racks or online sales!!

2. Are you a morning, night or afternoon person? I guess I'd have to say morning or afternoon. I hate getting up early, but I usually do (even on weekends I'm usually up by 8 or 9) and I usually get a lot accomplished in the mornings... and afternoon. I'm much more of a morning person now than I was a few years ago. And on that same note, I turn into a pumpkin now around 8pm.. I don't know HOW I used to stay up til the wee hours of the morning and study when I was away at college!!

3. As a kid, what was your favorite TV show? Umm... I'm trying to think!! I don't even know! I don't think I watched a lot of TV honestly, I loved being outside! I remember watching Scooby Doo and Clifford the Big Red Dog and if the Bearenstein Bears had a show back then, that probably would have been my favorite -- I LOVED those books!

4. If there were a zombie apocalypse, what would you do? Do you think you'd survive? I don't know anything about zombies except for what's on The Walking Dead....sooo... if it was like that I guess we'd survive. Josh would just shoot them all. :)

5. What is your dream vacation destination? Australia, for sure!!! I'd love to take 3 weeks or so and go to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji (since it's so far away, I figure I'll only make it over there once and might as well see everything that's over there while I'm there!!) I think it's the perfect honeymoon destination, don't you B?! 2nd would be Hawaii!!! Those are my top 2... or I guess 5..ha!

6. List your top five favorite movies. HAHA Josh is laughing right now because I NEVER remember movies I've seen!!! He'll ask me if I've seen a movie and 9 times outta 10 I can't remember.. and even if I know I've seen it, it doesn't matter because I usually don't remember what happened. But I guess I'd have to say that I liked The Proposal, and I actually remember it. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm just not a big movie buff!

7. Is your hair color natural or do you highlight/dye it? Totally natural! I used to highlight it in high school but that's too much maintenance for me... maybe when it starts turning gray I'll start again! ;)

8. If you could meet one person, past or present, who would it be? Hmmm.... probably whoever invented coffee. I would love to thank them!!

9. Do you have any pets? If so, what kind? Only the two BEST Boston Terriers in the world!! ;)

10. Would you rather fly, drive or take a train? Depends... probably fly. I hate driving! But I think it'd be awesome to drive across the U.S. But in general, flying is just so much faster but at the same time you have no control over the schedule or anything. I've taken a train once, but it was an overnight trip so we just slept the whole time, but that could be fun to do in the daytime!

11. What website do you visit most often? hmm... probably Google. E-mail, Google Reader, and Blogger..they're all tied into my Google account.

My 11 Questions for the Friends I Tag

1. What's your favorite fruit?

2. Have you ever broken a bone or had surgery?

3. Where is your favorite place you've ever been?

4. What are you most afraid of?

5. What's your favorite TV show?

6. Would you rather bungee jump or skydive?

7. What are 3 things you can't live without?

8. Are you a creature of habit or do you like to try new things?

9. Do you own any Pajama Jeans?

10. If someone gave you a million dollars, what would you do with it?

11. What do you think of Snooki being pregnant?

I tag MJ, Erica, Mary Beth, Shelly, and Josh (now you have a reason to update your blog.. haha!) !!! :D

The... dun dun dun.... 5k!

I look like a puffy marshmallow man... dang layers!

Let's re-cap my running history, shall we?

September 2009: start running and make goal to run a half marathon.

April 2010: 6 months later, run my first half marathon & several other races along the way.

September 2009-December 2010: Run at least 1 race every single month (this was a big deal for me!)

December 2010: run my 2nd half marathon and injure IT band.

January 2011: start marathon training, further aggravate IT band.

... and since then, I've pretty much not run consistently at all due to said IT band and other compensation injuries.

SO. I signed up for the 5k this past Saturday because I missed the whole spring racing series last year and I FREAKIN' MISS RACING!!! And by racing, I just mean running with obnoxiously large groups of people, because we all know I'm not fast enough to actually "race" anyone. I did not sign up for it because I've been training or because I'm totally healed... but I figured with a few recent 2.5 mile runs under my belt I could manage a 5k without too much problem.

Come race morning I was pumped! Even though it was cold (37* after a string of days in the 70's = BOO!) and I didn't get much sleep the night before (tornadoes, remember?) I was ready to run! There was even a teeny tiny part of me that was secretly hoping I could PR. Spoiler alert: That didn't happen. But I did run my hardest, tried my best, and felt like vomiting at the end. Wins.

My first mile was FAST (for me.) So fast that I was kinda shocked. I hate doing that in 5k's but it's just so hard not to. Especially in one with 10,000+ runners... everyone around you is going so fast that it's hard to keep a nice steady, slower pace.

So anyway, mile 1=fast, mile 2=not as fast but still decent, by mile 3 my hips were feeling a little tight & uncomfortable, but I didn't stop. The finish line was just around the corner, of course I could make it!!

AND I DID! I finished strong. Not strong enough to PR, but if my calculations are correct, it was my 3rd fastest 5k. Not too shabby, especially for not training and janky tight hips! YAY!!

(and for those wondering, I did order the racing shoes, but they were a tiny bit too tight, so I didn't wear them and sent them back)

Over all, I'm pretty proud of that little 5k. No, it wasn't my best. But I tried my best and that's what matters. The time on the clock isn't always the most important thing. Plus I think it ignited the racing bug in me again and now I'm debating on signing up for the 10k.... it's on St. Patrick's Day! (I think Erica should come back from Boston and run it with me like last time!!!) ;)

happy birthday, oreo!

what better way to celebrate Oreo's 100th birthday than with peanut butter oreos!?!

okay, maybe with an Oreo blizzard or something, but these are pretty dang good.

(and YES thanks for asking, josh is eating some of those.. i am not THAT big of a fatty ;))

Best Cookies Ever

I have a treat for you today!! Well, only if you like peanut butter but let's be honest, who doesn't like peanut butter?!?

Well, if you do -- YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE COOKIES! Immediately. Well, maybe not if you are me and Josh who have no self-control. My friend Heather brought these over to our New Year's Eve party, and I've been trying to not ask her for the recipe because I didn't want these suckers sitting around the house. Because we all know that if there are cookies sitting around the house, it won't be long before they are sitting around my @$$ and we just don't need that!

But I couldn't get them out of my head and I couldn't hold out any longer. I needed them, and I think they needed me too. Especially when Heather told me they were the most easy cookies to make ever.

((no they are NOT paleo-friendly ;))

Here's what you need:

• 1 cup of peanut butter (I used crunchy un-salted from Trader Joe's)

• 1/2 cup of sugar

• 1/2 cup of brown sugar

• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

• an egg

All you do is combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.

Take about a tablespoon's worth of a scoop and roll in your hands to create a little ball and place onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with milk & ENJOY!

We ate all of these in less than 24 hours. I told you they were dangerous!!!!

tornadoes, snow, & spring

So, Friday we had tornadoes.

This morning we woke up to snow.

Now that it's March, winter decides to show up.

At least for a day.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 60's.

No wonder I can't breathe!!

at least it's pretty :)

Deja Vu

As you may have guessed - things have been busy around here!!! Mostly good.... except for the tornado.

On Friday, an F4 tornado ripped through a neighboring town here. Henryville -- a teeny tiny town just a few miles up the road (that I probably wouldn't even know was there had my Dad not lived there when he died) that doesn't make the news much, is now making national news for being totally gone. The pictures and video are scary and heart-wrenching... I haven't been there to see the devastation first-hand because they are asking that people stay away while the officials clean up.

It was like deja vu and took me right back to 2008.

All I can say is that we are incredibly lucky. At least 28 people lost their lives around here on Friday, and many more are seriously injured. I read stories about babies being ripped from their mother's arms.. a toddler was found alone in a field (she survived and was reunited with her family.) I have friends who have lost everything. I can't even imagine. Even as a storm-lover, I take these warnings seriously now. I've lived through two really devastating tornadoes. It really just makes you realize how quickly everything can be taken from you.

I am happy to live in a community though, that has had to send people away because so many are out there helping.

Please pray for our neighbors who have lost loved ones and everything they have. And count your blessings!