this too shall pass.

i took time out yesterday to stop & smell the roses. literally. and then i let the sun kiss my face. & i purposely walked on grass barefoot, for the first time in forever. i felt like a kid again and it was amazing. i think one of the worst parts about growing up is losing that playful carefree freedom you have as a child. we become so overworked and overstressed as adults that we stop enjoying life for what it is. it becomes a constant list of worries, regardless of how much money we make we still, in some way, live paycheck to paycheck. whether it's whether or not we'll make rent, or really wanting an expensive luxury, we're constantly going over or checkbooks trying to scrimp & save, or charging things on a whim & worrying about it later. we live in a time now where unemployment's rampant, where every other person on the street has anxiety, or depression, bipolarity, or some kind of "condition" that is ultimately caused by imperfections that we ourselves cannot face. (i am in NO way passing judgment, i am very much included in the previously mentioned list). in the last week i've felt so blessed & so relaxed. i've honestly tried to take things as they come and not stress over things that I honestly have no control over. and in this passed week i've gotten SEVERAL (and i mean several) phone calls/txts/etc. from people with overwhelming issues. it feels like everyone is going thru such a shitty time right now and i wish that for just one day i could take all the weight off of everyone of my loved one's shoulders and tell them to JUST BREATHE. if you're reading this, i know you're in debt, i know you're fighting with someone you love, i know you have bills and worries and stresses, but you are alive and i am SO thankful for that. and all i want for you is happiness. instead of complaining about the heat, soak up the sun. we have no control over the weather (we all know it could be way worse) so embrace it. instead of getting enraged that you got cut off, be thankful that you didn't get hit (this one, for me at least, is so much easier said than done). and when you feel like you have no hopes and you're about to give up, be thankful that you have a heart to feel these emotions and realize that you are your own worst enemy and your #1 fan and only you have the power to make things better. i read a quote somewhere that says "the darkest hour is just before dawn." be waiting for your sunrise, it'll get better. i promise. "If i could tell the world just one thing, it would be that we're all OK."

artsy fartsy!!

so this week i went from not being able to take a picture if my life depended on it to getting to have 3 amazing photoshoots. my heart is seriously so full it's about to burst. i really need to look into making this a full-time job. i LOVE it sooo much. so, originally the plan was to take whitney's pregnant belly pictures. Apparently mr. matthew had a different plan in mind and graced us with his face 4 weeks early. So i had the great honor of taking his new born pictures!! Here's a few of my favorites:

Next, Haley asked me to take Grace's 1 yr pictures to go out in her birthday invitations! I was SO excited about this one bcuz Grace is such a smiley baby in all her pictures and i knew i was going to have fun being able to move her around & catch different poses & faces! (with newborns it's a little harder, bcuz i definitely work for them, they don't work for me!) Grace was SO easy to shoot! She cooperated the entire time! She didn't move around one bit & Haley & Whit made her giggle & laugh the entire time! It was so fun being able to shoot with them because as they'll be able to tell you, I go all out when I take my pictures. I get SO into it, so i'd drop on the ground or stand in weird positions and I didn't even realize it because I was totally comfortable with it. At one point, whitney was totally sitting on my butt trying to get Grace to look @ the camera and Haley was right on the right of my face when Whit realized (before I even did!) and said "i'm sorry! I'm totally sitting on ur butt!!" It was so fun & comfortable and did I mention fun?? Whit, you'll definitely be my assistant if I ever make it big because i know i don't need to use manners with you! (unless somethings wrong!! hahaha). Here are a few of my favorite Gracie shots:

Lastly, but definitely not least, I got to take my beautiful niece's 4 month (first pool shots) pictures. Paige definitely has a mind & temper of her own, so last month (or maybe it was @ 2 months) Jaimie ended up @ the studio for 3 hours trying to get Paige's pictures taken and walked away without a single one, so she asked me if I would start taking them. I was SO stoked. It was SUCH a huge compliment. So this month (being August and all) I asked if maybe Jaimie wanted to take her 4 month pictures in the pool (the perks of not being stuck in a studio!). She thought it was a great idea and here are the results:

I'm seriously so excited things are looking up in the photography aspects, I hope there are MANY more blogs to come involving my pictures! Again, thank you SO much Haley, Whit, & Jaimie for trusting me to capture these amazingly important pictures for you. It is SUCH a honor.

22deuce deuce22

so this past july i unwillingly turned 22. (july 31st to be exact!) to me, 22 sounds SO much older than 21. but oh well. so as most of you know, my birthday lasts the whooole month. so we started it off with a bang: me, lo, kt, & rox went to vegas to celebrate my bday, girls style. which i've already blogged about :) then i did a family dinner @ bjs (which im STILL waiting for the pictures from, ahem *sarah!!*). it was so amazing. the original plan was to go to fred's on main street for taco tuesday, but it was a joke down there cuz not only was it taco tuesday, but main street has the street fair on tuesdays! the wait was at LEAST an hour and a half, so after a slight change of plans, we ended up @ bjs in HB. :] sarah already had a shot of patron waiting for me (like the great sister she is). so it was me, j, amy, ma, sarah, jake, sheila, jack, jess & rick. the whole fam. it was really meaningful to me knowing how crazy and ridiculous everyone's schedules are we can never find a free minute (let alone a WHOLE night) together. did i even mention my free pazookie!? next on the celebration list, was my work birthday party. heather, sara, & rox (&holly) bent over backwards to make sure i'd have a great birthday. the original plan was to party it up @ holly's, but she unfortunately got really sick, so we ended up pre-partying @ anthony's house with some AMAZING jello shots, then movin on over to sara's, then to dave & busters. SO MUCH FUN! :] the next morning (@ 4am and still very much drunk) me, jason, jaimie & james headed out to laughlin! after some extreme hangover and a few un-classy shots (my first time vomiting in a plastic bag.. IN a car) we made it to the river, where i got to test the best cure for a hangover.. drinking some more! :] laughlin was amazing. super hot (120 degrees) but water, gambling, & alcohol? it doesn't get much better. the weekend was pretty much filled with beer (looots of beer), water, suuuun (lots of sun), jetskis, gambling, vodka (LOOOOTS of vodka) & some good fkn food. jaimie went all out to make sure my birthday was celebrated. it was so cute. she got me spongebob pancakes & took me out for sushi that night! i've realized that my favorite thing to do in a casino is to sit @ the cheap blackjack table ALL night, suck down the free drinks & find a good dealer. i had SO much fun!! i can't wait till our next trip to laughlin or vegas!! LET'S GO!

poseidon.

so most of you know my sister is my best friend. i look up to her SO much & yet know she makes mistakes, too, so it's not like it makes me feel bad about myself. she's one of my favorite people to go to for advice because i can admit all the horrible things people don't like to admit, but she still has to love me because i'm family!! haha. well, i found out the day after her birthday this year that she's giving me the best gift she could possibly ever give me! and now that she's out in the open about it, i can finally blog about it! i'm gonna be an AUNTIE!! i'm sooooo excited & i already love this baby SO much. her first due date was february 7th, but it keeps changing. all i know is that i can't wait for HER to get here. (haha, she thinks its a boy, i'm convinced its a girl). its amazing how much i can love someone i've never even met! i'm going to strive to be the best auntie in the world. more updates to come!

on another note, i've gone on 2 'vacations' in the last month & sarah's put me completely @ ease by taking care of penny & luna and i just wanted to mention how extraordinarily grateful i am for all your help, sister. you went about and beyond just feeding them and i really really appreciate it. i love you!

"these are a few of my favorite things..."