Vernon Family

Over the weekend, I was asked to take portraits of the Vernon family. Their son, Aiden, just turned one so we got some shots of him with a balloon & cupcake. He was a cutie! Thanks to Jenni for asking me to photograph your beautiful son and family. Below are a few of my faves from the shoot.

Mother daughter bond

It is completely insane that Casey Anthony was not convicted in some degree of her daughter's death. Whether it was a murder or an accident, Casey was her mother, therefore should be held accountable for her two year old's death. I am appalled that she is not being held responsible. The judge should have made her testify. Someone should have asked her why there was duck-tape on her daughters mouth. Someone should have asked her why she placed/or let someone place her own daughters body in the woods and not demand a proper burial. Someone should have asked why she didn't miss her daughter for an entire month to not look for her. I am speculating. I don't have all of the facts. The one thing I do know for sure (because I am a mother to a small child) is that (like her defense claimed) if she was a good mother and loved her daughter, none of the things that I mentioned above, should have happened. Period. A mother to a child is like a lion to her cub. You don't ever let your child become prey. You defend your child. You protect your child. And you sure as hell fight for them - fight for the justice of your child.

This story breaks my heart. My opinion doesn't matter, but a part of me has lost faith in our judicial system. I am forever scarred by this trial.

Expanding

A lot has happened since my last blog, so here it goes....

First off, and most importantly, Curtis and I had the most wonderful blessing in our life. We had an 8lb baby girl in August who we named Lillian Kae. I fall in love with her more and more as each day passes. It's funny how people say, "you won't know love until you have a child." I think that may be true for some people, but I knew that love with Curtis before we had Lillian. We've become so much closer through the duration of the pregnancy, delivery and last 6 months of Lily's life. Life is pretty great and I try each and every day to not take anything for granted. Life is SO precious. With that said comes the next chapter in my life.

Since I was little, I always wanted to be a graphic designer. I went to college for it and currently hold a job as a graphic designer/photographer. I'm constantly learning how to make and do things better. I think I've always been afraid to do work beyond family and friends for fear it wouldn't be good enough. Now, I feel like taking that plunge into the slightly unknown. I want to start doing work for more people. I just bought a DSLR camera, so I am hoping to expand my photography skills as well. This is such an exciting time for me. The main reason I am doing this is because of my daughter. What kind of mother would I be if I told her to reach for the stars, but then in turn did not do it myself. She is my inspiration, too. Though I am not starting a full fledged business, I do want to expand my portfolio and practice more. So, I am officially putting myself out there.

Time sure does FLY!

Wow, so Curtis and I are 34 weeks pregnant this week. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. Only 40 more days until we get to meet the newest member of our family. We just had our baby shower over the weekend, and for some reason, it's made me feel anxious about the due date. I think it's because your shower normally signifies the end of your pregnancy because you get those last minute items you've been needing to finish up the months worth of planning. While I am very excited to meet her, I am also holding onto the "alone" moments Curtis and I have left. It's going to be 20+ years before we have this time again together, so I'm savoring it for as long as I can. Our relationship is the most important to me and I know that Lily will appreciate having two parents who have a strong, nurtured love for one another. I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait to see the look on Curtis' face when he sees her for the first time. I can't wait to introduce her to her LARGE family. I can't wait to show her her room that Curtis and I spent hours putting together for someone we've never met, but already loved. I can't wait to see if she looks more like Curtis or me. I can't wait to take her home and see Tucker's reaction. I'm so excited for the future, but I'm loving every moment of the present too.

Lily Moment

Yesterday, Curtis and I got to see our precious little daughter again. It will probably be the last time we see her until we're holding her in our arms in August. A month ago, we decided to have a gender determination 3D/4D Ultrasound done. We found out she was Lily and got some really neat photos of her. In a months time, she has grown SO MUCH. She was a little skinny baby, but now she's got some fat on her. She actually looks like a little baby now too. It's just amazing how much a baby can grow in a month. Her head was facing down towards the opening of my cervix and her little feet were up by my belly button. I can't believe she is that big already - the size of my hand! She was hiccuping during most of the ultrasound and she covered her face up at one point. The best part of the entire ultrasound was watching Curtis. I've known him for over 10 years and feel like I've witnessed every type of emotion from him - but this is completely different. It's like multiple emotions combined into this new SUPER emotion! I know what he's feeling, because I feel it too. It's an amazing feeling when you have that moment of connection between each other.

Can't wait to meet you Miss Lily! I think you have my feet and hope you have your Daddy's little cranium =)

I’m Quitting Social Networking

After several months of mulling over the idea, I’ve finally decided that I’m quitting my two social networks – MySpace & Facebook.

I don’t feel that an explanation is necessary, but sort of feel like giving one anyway. There are a lot of reasons that lead me in the direction of leaving and only a few that convince me to stay. The reasons I would stay are really simple – I like talking with and sharing photos with my close friends and family – the ones that are “physically present” in my life now. I like to know what’s going on in their lives in case we have a long stint of not seeing each other. Those are the only reasons I am currently on there.

The reasons that lead me to delete my account are numerous. First of all, surfing Facebook is literally a waste of valuable time – time that I could be spending with the people that are actually IN my life – people I care about and love. It was fun at first to see what all of these people were doing with their lives, but honestly, why do I care? I haven’t seen 200 of the people on my friend list for over 5 years. Really, why do I care what their infatuation is with American Idol? If we were in each other’s lives, we would already know about this sort of stuff.

Privacy is also becoming more of an annoying issue for me and more over, the people that criticize me for not posting pictures or opening up more about my life really annoy me. It feels like, because you’re a “Facebooker,” you’re obligated to share every piece of information (because there is a spot) about your life including your birth date, anniversary, siblings, your entire resume, religious and political views, likes & dislikes – I mean if you’re a “Facebooker” then you know what I’m talking about and it can actually be a little scary if you think about it in the long run. I know most people might be thinking right now that you can control the privacy settings or just not fill in the blanks if you don’t want people to see your info, but I’d just rather not even deal with it anymore. As soon as you start deleting information, the more controversy it will bring with your “so-called” friends. Status updates are also becoming an annoyance for me. Just because I don’t post what I’m doing every hour doesn’t mean I lead a boring life. I don’t feel the need to inform people – especially those who I never see in my life.

Does it feel like the reasoning behind every photo you snap in your normal everyday life is for Facebook? It’s taken so that you can post it and prove how happy you are in your life, or what materialistic things you have in your life, or what friends you have or what trips you’ve taken or to prove you’re not a homebody or to prove you ARE a homebody…. I don’t know about the next guy, but I’m tired of this. The pictures I take are for me, not Facebook. If you are in the picture and you want a copy, YOU can post it to Facebook.

Drama. I’m really done with the drama that occurs over Facebook – drama that wouldn’t occur if you were talking face-to-face with someone. Words can have so much more meaning when typed and people can interpret things many different ways. Basically I feel like arguments arise over thin air and I wonder why people do this to themselves. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore, so I’m done with it.

I don’t know why I hold onto relationships for so long when there is nothing there but a history – nothing current and nothing in common but that history. And I’m tired of the recipient anger that occurs because we don’t keep in touch, when we never did anyway. There is nothing there – nothing compared to the love, respect and happiness I share with the “physically present” people who I share my life with now. They are the ones who mean the most to me, not the 200+ people on my friend list. I’m done wasting my time meandering through their lives through a lifeless machine when I have my own life to live.

So, the last thing for me to do is “Delete” my accounts. I may not do it today, or tomorrow, but I’ll be doing it soon. I’m going to keep my blog because it’s linked to my online portfolio and also because of the Nutts =) I see, hopefully, a long, happy friendship forming between our kids and between us as well.

Favorite Song Today

Fave song of the day.

Add to a playlist More from this artist

This song is also in the movie "Into the Wild" which is an amazing film, too. Check it out.

New Years Resolutions UPDATES

Alright, so it's March and I've already gotten some of these babies taken care of.

1) Find at least 10 NEW meals to cook for dinners and/or lunches
My Mom bought me a new cookbook and I'm hoping to get at least a couple of
my meals from this

2) Get out of bed when my alarm goes off and not hit the SNOOZE
I'm counting on Lily to take care of this when she arrives =)

3) Learn how to garden (since we have a new house and lots of room now) in the Spring
We bought seeds for cucumbers, peppers and corn. Now we just have to scout
out a good sunny spot in our yard and plant em'. I also want to plant flowers but haven't bought seeds yet.

4) Start a scrapbook for our baby
I started a diary for Lily when we found out we were pregnant, recording
dates and so forth. When we found out "she" was coming, I bought a flowered
covered baby memory book thinking it would be appropriate to her name.


5) Master the art of cooking BREAKFAST!
Nada. Haven't even started this yet.

6) Get up before Curtis (on the weekends)
I'm counting on Lily to take care of this when she arrives as well =)

7) Garage sales! Look for BARGAINS!
Not quite into garage sale season

NEW Eclipse Trailer!!!

Who Do You Think You Are?

This looks AWESOME!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Winter Blues

Normally I'm okay with the snow and the cold, but today, I had a rush of emotions towards the arrival of Spring & Summer. I can't wait for flip flops, lush green grass, clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Most of all, I can't wait to meet our baby and show him/her everything in life that Curtis and I enjoy the most.

2010 New Years Resolutions

Every year, I make resolutions but I don't think I ever write them down. So my first 2010 resolution is to start writing down my resolutions. CHECK! One down. :)

I don't have many, so here is my list (in no particular order):

1) Find at least 10 NEW meals to cook for dinners and/or lunches
2) Get out of bed when my alarm goes off and not hit the SNOOZE
3) Learn how to garden (since we have a new house and lots of room now) in the Spring
4) Start a scrapbook for our baby
5) Master the art of cooking BREAKFAST!
6) Get up before Curtis (on the weekends)
7) Garage sales! Look for BARGAINS!

I may add more as I think of some, but this is pretty much it. I guess it's good to not have so many =)

We're Expecting =)

We had our first ultrasound a few days ago. I can't begin to explain how I felt. It was the most profound, precious and memorable moment of my life. I'll never forget how I felt when I laid eyes on our baby for the first time.

Lovely Remake of Run by Leona Lewis (Original Snow Patrol)

I just love hearing these lyrics. It's nice to hear a woman singing it. Very powerful!

New Moon TV Spot!!

Beyonce sings to Chelsea..Amazing

Singing My Favorite Song Acapella

Smile | Online recorder

What do you think?

All About the Movies this Year

It has never happened before. Never has there been a year in movie making that I've been so thrilled to go to the movie theaters. There are some that are new to me, and others I've been waiting on. Here is my list:

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Saw this with my Mom two days after the premiere date. The last movie I saw before this in the movie theater was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That tells you a lot about my opinion of movies over the last few years. Harry Potter flix are always worth the wait in my opinion. And I haven't read the books, so the movies are all I have until they're done making them.

Twilight & New Moon
Rarely do I jump on the bandwagon, but I did this time. I am a true "twi-hard" owning and having read all the books several times. It should be called "addiction." I didn't watch Twilight in the theaters because I read the book long after it was on the big screen. When I watched the movie, I was in love with the actors portraying the characters. Some I loved right away, others grew on me as time passed. Release date: November 20, 2009

My Sister's Keeper
I watched this trailer over and over. Every time I would get goose bumps. I planned to go watch it with my Mom, but we never got to it before it left our local theater. I suppose we could go to more metropolitan area and it would still be there, but I think I'll wait til it comes out on DVD.

Brothers
I've been following this movie for a while and a trailer just recently appeared on Hulu.com. It's a remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire; three actors I love. It's about two brothers - one is serving his 4th tour in modern day military, while the other has just recently been released from prison. When the military brother, Maguire, is confirmed to be dead while at war, his brother, Gyllenhaal, decides to take care of his wife and family, played by Portman. But what Gyllenhall and Portman don't expect is to fall in love with eachother. It's sort of a Pearl Harbor theme where Maguire shows up half way through the movie, alive but not well after finding out about his wife and brother. The trailer is VERY TENSE, but very real. I believe it and find the situation unbelievalbly sad and heart wrenching. Release date: December 5, 2009

Alice in Wonderland
Two words: Tim Burton. Need I say more? The remake intales the familiar case of Johnney Depp & Burton's GF Helena Bonham Carter. Also casted is Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway and newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Burton's mind is always worth the wait. Release date: March 5, 2010

Amelia
My husband is a pilot, so anything pretaining to an airplane we get involved in. This doesn't exclude movies. This is going to be a GREAT movie. Not only does it have a great 2 time Academy Award winning female actress to play the part - Hilary Swank - but it's also a great story about a great American icon. This story needed to be told. I guarantee the next movie that comes out will be entitled "The Wright Brothers" Release date: October 23, 2009

The Reader
When a movie pulls you from the couch in through the TV, and you feel the emotion as if you were the actual character playing the part, you know it's a good movie. Compelling story about love and pride shortly after World War 2, Kate Winslet revealed no angst as she stepped into the role of Hanna Schmitz. Definitely a must see if you're looking to forget normalcy for a couple of hours. It's out on DVD.

Whip It
Almost anything Drew Barrymore is involved with I will watch because she creates roles for and about women. This movie is about women in Roller Derby starring Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore and Juliette Lewis. Release date: October 9, 2009

The Time Travelers Wife
30 years from now, I'll be sitting with a friend or family member watching this rambling on about how it's one of the best chick flix / romances of all time ranking with Steel Magnolias or Titanic. It's possible. I'm DYING to see it! The trailer does it's job and teases. Release date: August 14, 2009

Taking Woodstock
A movie about the greatest concert of all time. It needed to be made. Release date: August 28, 2009
This is it. If I see anymore coming out, I'll post!!!

Amazing

Brothers

I've been waiting for this trailer to come out!