Day 57: Can't Get Enough

Growing up, I clearly remember watching a few family sitcoms.  Family Matters, The Cosby Show and probably my favorite, Full House.  I feel bad for kids these days because TGIF was the STUFF (and no, I'm not talking about the restaurant).  Everything from the characters to the cheesy  music and life lessons of each episode make me smile.  Man, I need to set my DVR so I can catch up :)

Day 56: Fun Size

Mr. Silas John was born 36 hours before I took these pictures.  He was simply adorable and had a cute mohawk to top off his cuteness.  So excited for this new family of four :)

Day 55: Silly Faces

Man, I love kids with personality and Blake definitely was a character.  And you know what was 10 times better?  He was so well behaved.  Yup, loved the faces he made :)

Day 54: Little Changes

So, I didn't take a picture today.  I promise I'll take one tomorrow.  Instead of taking a picture, I wanted to fix something that's been on my mind for several days now... I recently took pictures of the precious Crosby.  One of the pictures in particular turned out great, but there was something bothering me about it.  Let's see if you can point it out before me telling you.

Before

After

Need more help?  Here's a cropped view of his precious little face

Before

 After

It was a minor fix, but it was bothering me that the blanket under his face looked like harsh (I don't know how else to describe it).  I had to experiment a little on what would work best, but I think it definitely looks better now.  Night.

Day 53: Peek a Boo!

I see you, silly puppy!  Good thing I didn't have a session to edit because she was pretty content sitting in that exact spot.  Gosh, I love this dog.

Day 52: Friday Night

Yes, I am a 20 something year old with no children... and decided staying home in sweat pants and doing laundry sounded like a great idea.  I know... you're jealous.  Have a busy morning planned- need to get up at 6:30 but I'm honestly looking forward to it.  I have a good feeling about this :)  P.S. I'm pretty excited about my new Photoshop skills.  We've had the washer and dryer for 3 years now but still had the big yellow Energy Guide sticker on the front.  Do you see it?  Yes, I'm getting better.

Day 51: PGA Champ

What?  Week old babies are supposed to sleep a lot.  I don't see why.  I mean, for so long, they couldn't see any of the outside world, so it only makes sense to stay awake as long as possible.  Crosby wanted to check everything out during our session today.  He probably remembered the sound of shutter clicks from our maternity session.  Smart boy.  Do you remember the shot of Shannon with a golf ball near her baby bump?  Well, here's a shot of a golf ball with just the baby :)

Day 50: Ready!

I had a few more things to buy in order to get ready for a newborn session tomorrow.  Besides Kleenex and a shower curtain that I'll buy in the morning, I think I'm set.  Can't wait to see little Crosby in the morning!

Day 49: So close...

Yet so far away.  I feel like I've been editing for what seems like weeks, but it's just been a few days.  I'm getting close to the end- whew!  Here's where I was working... on the bed with a reality show in the background.  I took a little break but I'll be back at it in just a few minutes.

Day 48: A True Before and After

I'm a little nervous to put this one up here.  A couple of disclaimers... 1. Getting a properly exposed, backlit picture is an art.  Definitely harder than photographers get credit for.  2. Most of my images do NOT look like this SOOC (straight out of camera) and I hardly ever need to do this much in editing.  I hated to give up on this one because I had a couple variations of it and really had hope in it.

So here it is.  Don't judge me.  P.S. I didn't technically take a picture of the day.  I was an editing fool all day and felt the several sessions I had this weekend made up for it.

Before.  Eek.

After.  Used layer masks to brighten shadows, highlight protection, cloned out the pillar/light pole and put in more grass, adjusted colors a tad and of course cropped.

Day 47: Pretty People

Two engagement session this weekend- I love seeing people in love.  Alyssa and Steve were so much fun to hang out with and despite the sun not cooperating with our plans, we still got lots of keepers.  One of the conversations Alyssa and I had was about "pretty people".  At the end of the day, there's only so much a photographer can do and a picture depicts the truth- at least it does for me.  Of course I'll adjust a few things on each image, but I like to keep them true to life.  I've been fortunate to work with lots of beauties.  Here's an example of tonight's pretty people.

Day 46: Something About a B&W

I don't know... there's something about a black and white that I absolutely love... of course, B&W doesn't work for all pictures... probably not even with most.  I think they are used best when showing strong emotion.  In today's case, love.  Just makes it that much stronger of an image.  Sigh- love it.

Day 45: Went Thrifty and It Paid Off

Remember when my "Picture of the Day" was the thermostat?  And it was a little cooler than comfortable?  We bundled up, plus the weather was pretty nice for several days, but I was pleasantly surprised at the electricity bill for this month :)  I'm not a cheapskate... just don't want to waste money when all that was needed was a long sleeve shirt (maybe a Snuggi LOL) around the house.

P.S. Last month, the bill was over double this amount.  Let's not talk about the upcoming December/January bills... we're just going to smile about this one.

Day 44: Multi-Tasking

Dilemma- I had to finish editing and there was a live feed of PSU's Yell Like Hell on.  Solution... use the boyfriend's computer to watch YLH and continue editing on my laptop.  I love technology on days like today :)

Day 43: Bows Over Here, Bows Over There

My awesome friend, Megan, and a few of her talented friends opened an Etsy shop a while back.  So many adorable bows/bracelets.  I stopped by to take pictures for the shop.  Seriously, great stuff.  I love girly things so of course I was in Heaven.  You should seriously check out her store.  Great prices and all very well made.  Here's just one of many shots :)

And the link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ABlossomingHomestead

Day 42: Let's Play Nice

Miley and Riker don't usually play well together.  Miley is a little more mature and loves to be a lap dog while Riker wants to play rough and chew on poor Miley's stubby legs.  This was a once in a lifetime moment while the two of them were playing nice.

Day 41: Oh, Baby!

How I absolutely adore babies... of course, they are much more adorable when you see them for a while and give them back to their parents when you've had enough fun :)  I can't tell how much I love this image.  Carrie and I were on a walk with her boys and this was my view as I was pushing Micah.  Seriously melted my heart when I looked down and then AGAIN when I opened up the image on my computer.  I could make a whole album of just baby/stroller shots.  Really.  Umm, Carrie?  LOL, love, love, love!!!

Day 40: Craft Time!

I've always heard that when one person in a family goes on a diet, everyone ends up on the diet.  The same can be said about being in business... the other family members inevitably get suckered in.  Lindsey has been my model several times before.  He is so pretty :)  Anyways, I went home this weekend and was excited to experiment with bow ties.  I have a couple of newborn session coming up this week (both boys).  With the help of my dad on the sewing machine (yes, he has mad skills), and mom watching Miley so she wasn't insanely barking downstairs, we made THREE adorable bow ties!  I plan on making a few in the future but I'm so excited at how these turned out.  Best part?  THEY WERE VERY COST EFFICIENT!  Sure, there are things I would change for next time, but still, I can't wait to use them :)

Day 39: Mustaches, Anyone?

Busy, busy day.  Woke up at 5 am so I could get to KC in time to run the first annual Mustache Dash and it's a little after 12:30 am... technically the next day.  Great course and the weather held out for us to finish.  I had a little bit of down time before getting ready to go to a beautiful wedding.  Why did I take a picture of my finisher's medal and not the wedding?  Because I didn't want to lug my camera around all night.  And because I knew the shots I'd be able to get were limited because I don't have a speedlight yet.  With that being said, here is my awesome medal.  P.S. I think I may be addicted to running 5Ks...

Day 38: HBD Riker!

Oh, what a difference a year makes in the lives of little ones!  We adopted Riker from the humane society on 10/09/11 and his first day home with us was 10/11/11 (he had to stay a couple more days because he was scheduled for surgery).  Fast forward to today... 10/12/12... Our guy has been with us for a year and it approximately a year and 4 months.  I may not like you most days, but I'll be nice to you today :)  Happy Birthday, Riker Tee Puppy!!!

He was SUCH a cutie!!!  And of course Miley is adorable as well!

Now he looks old.  And Miley is STILL adorable!!

Day 37: Zumba Etiquette 101

Be sure to read ALL of this one... there's much more under the picture...

How could I possible link a picture of Miley in one of her sweaters to Zumba?  Well, the weather is getting cooler... which means Christmas is upon is... and with Christmas coming up, New Years resolutions are next.  And people ALWAYS vow to work out more.  Meaning there is a mob of non experienced Zumba-ers until mid Februray.  Grrrr.

And now, onto Zumba Etiquette...

1.  Do NOT come, with your 3 or 4 friends, and stand directly in front of someone who was there much earlier than you.  It's always the same group.  One of your group members actually suggested you girls move over a little but you didn't listen.  You always try and find a window and you are NOT helping with that.

2.  To said group member who didn't listen, when doing a move that involves us to take 8 steps forward followed by 8 steps backwards, please try and make those steps equal.  If you're taking 8 small steps forward, why would you take 8 big steps backwards... putting you IN MY SPACE?!

3.  If you come several minutes after the start of class (i.e. during the second or third song), please do not think it is my job to accommodate making space for you... especially when the person to the left of me is already pretty close.  Your fault.

4.  To said person who came late, you insisted on standing behind us, in the window.  Fine.  How in the world do you, in the middle of class, find yourself in the same row as me and the person that was originally to my left?!  Scoot your butt back!

5.  Again, to the person who was behind me who is now next to me, is it really necessary to scream and make random noises every couple of steps?!  LOL, I know you're excited, and love Zumba too, but you're yelling in my ear.

6.  And to those several ladies who go out of their way to emphasize every move, including the ending pose, or curl their hair/wear big hoop earrings to class... knock it off.  Just because you were a dance teacher in your previous class doesn't mean you need to "stand out" in Zumba.  There are a few of you, and you know who you are.  I know clothes can influence your self esteem, and I want you to feel great about yourselves, but don't overdo it.  It's not a good look on you.

To those ladies who know the moves, do them well but still are "normal," I thank you.  You're the kind of girls I would totally see myself hanging out with outside of class.  Maybe I'll say hi to you next time. I appreciate you NOT trying so hard :)

Day 36: Concentrate

Lindsey is taking a couple classes this semester.  He didn't wait until the last minute or anything to get his homework done... I mean, he still has 3 hours and 18 minutes left... make that 3 hours and 17 minutes :)  Experimenting with low light.

Day 35: OMG

I was just saying to my mom earlier today how I felt bad that we didn't celebrate Riker's 1 year with us (we adopted him a year ago yesterday and brought him home a year ago tomorrow).  I left the house at around 11:30 this morning and by the time I got home at 1, he had torn up his bed.  All I could say was, "Oh my gosh," over and over.  But I can't say I was surprised.  He's done this way too many times.  With the weather getting colder, we felt bad that he was laying on the tiles... not the bottom of the crate because he recently tore THAT up and it's been on backorder from Petland for a few weeks now.  LOL, he just laid down on his stuffing once I brought out my camera like he was proud of his artwork.  Sigh.

Day 34: Almost There

Laundry is probably my least favorite household chore to do... well, behind cleaning the bathroom.  It's not the sorting or the actual moving loads from the washer to the dryer... it's the folding.  I was VERY good this week and folded everything... but they're still sitting neatly, in convenient piles of tanks, spaghetti tanks, shorts, sweat pants, hang up shirts, jeans, etc... AGHH!  They've been in there for a couple of days.  At least they're not getting wrinkled?

Day 33: I Will Survive

I'm sure in a few weeks, I'll look back at this post and think, "That was nothing!"  But for now, it is a huge deal.  It is currently 63 chilly degrees in the house.  I wouldn't be surprised if it was cooler in the wee hours a little bit ago, but staying warm in bed outweighed any photo op.  I used to love those few weeks between summer and fall where I wouldn't have to use a/c or heat. but it was short lived this year.  I still refuse to turn on the heat for at least another week.  The temps are supposed to go back into the 70's this week.  Guess I better bundle up!!  P.S. Notice that the thermostat is still set to cool.  And please DON'T notice the paint job.  We'll touch it up... one day :)

Day 32: Puppet Master

I love getting little kids to pose how you were wanting, even if it takes a little work :)  Braxton wasn't a fan of sitting in the tire, but we had him look at it and he made a comment about lug nuts.  "Braxton, check to see if the lug nuts are tight!"  He did.  "Did you get it?  Try one more time!"  Again.  "Oh, Braxton, you should sit right here!  It looks so cool!"  HAHA!!  Cha ching :)  We tried earlier, but he wasn't having it.  With a little patience and the right words, we got it!

Day 31: Winter Already?

Yesterday, I wore shorts to Zumba because the temperatures were in the 70's.  Today the high was 55 and tomorrow it's supposed to be a warm 50.  Gotta love the midwest.  I will say, I've eagerly been anticipating hoodie weather and I think it's finally here.

Day 30: And Your Gift?

On October 4, 2008, Lindsey and I officially became boyfriend/girlfriend.  Because the date fell on a Thursday this year, we decided to "celebrate" tomorrow instead.  I still wanted to surprise him so I brought him a Double Chocolate Chip Frap from Starbucks (what he actually ordered on our first official date) when I knew he'd be leaving work.  And you know what else he got to do to celebrate the momentous occasion?  Take a College Algebra midterm.  Hopefully, his treat helped him do a little better :)

 

Day 29: Sleeping Beauty

Remember I said I don't have cute little babies of my own to take pictures of?  Here's another example of it.  Miley loves to take a nap next to me.  She keeps her dad's spot warm until he's ready for bed.  I took this shot after midnight on Day 28... technically making it a Day 29 picture.  Love her little face :)

Day 28: Sunshine, You Are My Sunshine...

I had to pull over because if I waited until I got home, it would have for sure been dark.  I would love to experiment with very little light, but today was not that day.  Can't wait to see you again :)

Day 27: Tis the Season

October 1st.  Autumn.  Leaves.  And most notably, HALLOWEEN!  There is a house down my street that is decorated to the extreme and has been for over a week now.  They also go all out for the 4th of July.  We usually don't put out Halloween decorations... just hasn't been important to us.  Maybe once we have kids, we'll get more in the spirit.  Until then, I'm sure the neighbors have enough for the both of us.  Here is PART of their lawn.  Gotta love them :)