Blogger Giveaways

I am always seeing amazing giveaways and contests on blogs! People come up with the best ideas, and the coolest things to give away...not to mention, what a GREAT way to advertise! 

For instance, check out THIS giveaway I found today from a blog I follow, entitled Little Miss Momma.

What, if anything, have you considered giving away on your blog?

LOVE IT!

Daybook.

I have seen a few people doing this, and I thought it might be fun! 

So here is my Daybook:

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW...

The beautiful sun breaking through the trees! I will never tire of looking at this!

I AM THINKING...

So many things! At this moment however, I am thinking that I should feed us some breakfast.

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

My life. My family. My friends. Our health. Being able to hear any enjoy music. Being able to see, witness and enjoy art. 

I AM LEARNING...

To stay positive, and to see the good things even in the worse of circumstances. This is a  constant battle and learning curve for me.

I AM WEARING...

My PJ's still! I know, I know! Time to get dressed for the day!

I AM CREATING:

Art. Myself. My daughters future.

I AM GOING...

With a friend, her girls, Em and I, out for ice cream today! When the sun comes out, it's a great excuse!

I AM READING...

Steven Tyler's "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?" GREAT book by the way...if you love him as much as I do, anyways!

I AM HOPING...

That my business takes off. It is a fear of mine that it will not, and that people look at me as a joke, who is wasting her time. But again, trying to stay positive!

I AM HEARING...

MUSIC! I have to listen to music at all times! But I am also hearing Em playing with the kittens...

AROUND THE HOUSE...

It is time to vacuum and dust...BLAH!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Is waking up to the sun shining through my window! Waking up to the sun, and hearing the birds chirping will never get old!

 

A FEW PLANS FOR THE WEEK...

I need to pack {again} Em and I for another visit over the mountains, to East Wenatchee! We LOVE visiting our family...Drama and all!

A PICTURE...

 One of my personal favorites! If you know me and my family well, then you know our history and love for crows and ravens!

{great concept and idea for this post, by Supermom!}

A Side Note on Editing

My goal, along with all other photographers, is to not have to post-pr0ocess at all. But there are the times when it is necessary. And there are the cases where it is just plain Fun! But for the most part, I don't particularly enjoy it!

I know that I cannot be the only one to think this: I really don't like editing my photos! Not only does it take forever to process a single photograph, but it {at times} takes the joy out of finding that perfect picture. 

Playing with textures and exposure can be fun, don't get me wrong! But overall, my "style" is that all natural feel. Plus, PS is downright confusing! You can NOT convince my otherwise!

Anyways...I just had to throw that out there! 

LATER!

Lazy Sunday

Such a busy week! I have not had the time to get on my computer, let alone write a post! Em was in VBS {Vacation Bible School} all week, so we were constantly on the move. Play dates, errands, school, Renton River Days, and visiting with one of my oldest and dearest friends!

Her name is Tawni. We met in the 3rd or 4th grade {it's hard for me to remember!}, and are still as close as ever. Well, as close as we can be with her living in California! And soon she will be moving to Colorado! I can't wait to visit her there! 

So with as busy as this past week has been, today I am thoroughly enjoying a lazy, HOT & SUNNY Sunday! I hope you are too! 

Edit Me - Week 10

Back again for another week of this fun photo challenge!

So let's get to it: for this photo, I honestly wasn't quit sure what I wanted, until I achieved it! I played around with some effects, and added a frame-like border. I like what I came up with!

Original photo, not taken by me.

 My edited version.

An Ode to Etsy

Etsy, oh how I love you so! I have found so many amazing items and creations on this site, that is has become purely addictive! 

I know many of you are Etsy addicts, such as myself. Admit it! So in good fun, and good business, I have recently opened my own shop! I think that you should take a look...Over time I will build it up. Make it bigger and better. 

In the meantime, see what I have used as my foundation!

See my shop HERE...

Edit Me - Week 9

This week's guest judge for the Edit Me challenge, is non-other than my friend Mandy! This photo is of her son Bennett, and we are to edit it however we choose. 

And for this photo, I choose to make a simple edit. A slight crop to change to composition, a simple soft focus, and I lowered the saturation.
That's it! And here it is:

 Original, not taken by me

My edited version

Zoo Safari!

Yesterday I went on a zoo safari! It was an extension of a photo workshop that I took back in May. The same two instructors/photographers were there to guide us, and help us learn. A LOT. The best part, was that there were only 15 of us, total! 

It was basically a one-on-one with these two incredibly gifted, talented, and amazingly nice, professional photographers! Check them out. I promise their work won't disappoint you! There is Stephanie Adriana - she does fine art photography {which is what I am leaning towards. I haven't told that to anybody!}. And there is Val Westover - he does mainly portraiture and events. 

Their work is so inspiring to me...

So about the Safari...we met up at Woodland Park Zoo, and took off! We did extensive hands-on training with exposure, composition, and metering. I, like everyone else there, know all about these. But everything we were taught took our photos to the next level! I am so, SO pleased with the classes I have taken from these two! The photos you are about to see from the safari are all SOOC. Not one photo was touched by editing software {except the watermark}! And for that, I can honestly say that I impressed myself yesterday! If you know me well, you know that that never happens! Never. I was able to capture some serious good shots yesterday, and I couldn't possibly post them all! So take a look at these few, and let me know what you think {because I am a curious cat}!

So there you have it! My SOOC Zoo Safari!

Edit Me

Here we are again, another week! They sure do fly by, and I kind of wish they would slow down! In "honor" of slowing down, this edit me challenge is a great photo of a stagecoach. Now I don't know about you, but when I see this it takes me back to the Good Ol' Days! When time went by a little slower, and life was not taken for granted...

So here it is. My rendition of the "Good Ol' Days", courtesy of the Edit Me Challenge! I knew automatically that I wanted to give this photo that old-time feel. So black and white was a given. Then I added a little texture, and a very slight vingnette, and there you have it! Super simple!

The original not taken by me

 My version

To Whom It May Concern

"You only know what I want you to..."

This past weekend while others were out celebrating Zombies and Freedom, I was busy concentrating on trying to make my mind stop running in circles. Although last night was the perfect reminder for me: Life is short. Love is not easy to come by. Family is FOREVER - no matter what. Friends come and go, but only a precious few will stick around. And Freedom is most definitely not free.

Lately I find myself withdrawing from people. This is what some call my M.O. As do I. And usually I have a good reason for doing it. But this time I have managed to baffle myself. I cannot seem to figure out why I am doing this....again. It is not a fun place to be. And the worse part? There is no one else to blame.

I find myself not relating to anybody, or anything lately. I almost feel like I have lost myself, and I trying desperately to find myself again. And it makes me angry. Because honestly, how many times can a 28 year old "find" themselves? Maybe this is my version of some lame cop-out.

I have always had this strange feeling like I should "act my age". But I have no desire to do so. I do not want to get drunk, or whatever it is that society thinks my generation should be doing. To be completely honest, I think I may have failed. But in WHAT is the question. In life? Parenting? Having a real career? Providing for my family? Having friends? Because I can't figure any of it out. And let me tell you, it is exhausting. 

I know, I know. I'm still young and have a lot ahead of me. The thing that really makes me angry, is that when I feel like this all I can think about is all of the people who have REAL problems. REAL issues. I have been told by many to not diminish my feelings or my problems. That they are real. But are they really? Because I personally know of others that really DO have problems or issues. Such as illness. Death. Divorce. Sickness. Etc...And I cannot stand this feeling of being selfish. Because I do not consider myself to be a selfish person. And I do not want to take anything for granted. But instead, I think know that that is exactly what I am doing.

How do I fix this? How can I make everything go back to the way it was years ago? When I actually had people to talk to? Friends who would honestly listen? I have quite the history of pushing people away, now that I think about it. So in retrospect, I suppose this all has to do with me. My issues. 

So with this said, and out in the open, I am going to push play on a cheery, optimistic song. I am going to turn the volume up, and go outside in this gorgeous Washington weather, and play with my beautiful daughter.

At the end of the day, isn't that why we are here? To enjoy the moments we have? That is what I need to go do!