life!

Oh my goodness! Life! That's really all I have to say. So much has been going on lately! And I am so behind on posting. Let me begin by just saying that I absolutely love summer. Because really, as chaotic and stressful as life has been lately, I can never truly be sad or depressed when it's blue skies and 80 degrees. That's just not human. So thank you, weather man! For giving me gorgeous weather at such a crazy time in my life!

So I suppose I'll start by posting about the events that

are the most impressive on my life, and work m

y way back. Starting with my car. (does it feel like that's always the first thing to come up?... maybe because it is..) Well, anyway. I got in a car accident about a week ago, on my return voyage from pre-ordering my iphone 4. (don't worry, iphone 4! you'll be worth it!) The nitty gritty details aren't super necessary, so I'll spare you those. However, it was my fault unfortunately and my poor lexus was totaled. I thought baby had seen her last days, but my father decided to fix her to where she's drivable and then sell her as soon as she's all clean, detailed and about as good as she can be. (which isn't saying much.) Anyways, now I'll be returning my rental car, to replace it with another rental car, until my baby is done. sad times.

In other news, my grandma is moving to Utah! WOOH

OO! I love my grandma oh so dearly. and she has done so much for me in my life, that I don't think I could ever come close to repaying her for her immense kindness and selflessness. it will be nice to be able to visit her whenever I want. I will, however, miss Santa Cruz. My favorite vacation spot above all. But I think all will be right in the world once my grandma moves here, so It's a sacrifice I can accept. I love you, grandma :)

This brings me to my next topic.... Jeremy and Sarah are ENGAGED! about darn time! I am so so excited for these two. I love my brother already, but I literally could not ask for a better sister-in-law, because I'm pretty sure she doesn't exist. Sarah and I have become really good friends in the last couple years, and it will be so wonderful having her as part of the family. I'm also glad Jer found someone to put up with his ridiculous sense of humor! Jeremy and Sarah will be married August 21st. (which kinda stinks, cause b will be in california during that time), but I couldn't be more excited. I love you, brother. I'm so excited for you guys!

Well, everything else in my life isn't all too exciting. Working hard at Pinnacle, and constantly bracing myself for the next wave up layoffs. It's pretty scary, but I have hope that if it does, in fact, happen to me, I'll be ready for it and find another job. I'll be okay. I have my photography, too. Which is always pretty reassuring.

As far as photography goes, I've actually been fairly busy. I did a wedding a couple weeks ago, and am almost done editing the pictures! Then a couple days ago I took Jaycee LeClaire's engagement pictures. Jaycee's one of my dearest friends from home (washington) and, funny story, I actually know her fiancee, too. Back in the Raintree days, when Afton was dating Chris Roper, a kid from Kamas, UT. Chris lived with a few of his really close friends from Kamas, and Bill was one of them. Who, incidentally, happens to be Jaycee's fiancee. It's a very cute love story that I don't have time to post on here, but maybe I will on my photography blog when I post the engagements pictures. :) The exciting thing is that I get to go home to Washington in August (14th, to be exact) to shoot her wedding. I'm very excited.

Also, Jon Bell, (who I'm sure you've heard of in previous posts) and as a brief overview, we've been close friends since about 5 or so years ago when my grandma set me up on a blind date when I visited Santa Cruz, and we hit it off. We've been good friends ever since. Anyway, JB is engaged now, too! So I'll be taking their engagements as well pretty soon here. :) Unfortunately his wedding takes place the same day as Jaycee's, but Im still excited to help out as much as I can.

Well, I think that's about it for photography. I'm super excited for the continuous developments that come with such a fun job. I truly love it and am so grateful for the opportunities I've been given.

As for summer vacations, (because I promised myself I would go on some this year), I'll be going to Colorado next week to shoot Jer's engagements and play with my 6 adorable nephews. And also, will be going to Washington in August for Jaycee's wedding. We'll see if I go on any more, because it seems pretty lame that B won't be able to come to either. :(

WELL! That's life. In a massive, massive nutshell. Sorry for the strenuously long post. Promise it won't be this long again. And thankyouthankyouthankyou for reading.

k.

Blogger world.

I'm so sorry I disappeared again! So so sorry.

Life has been so crazy lately, and Im just barely starting to catch up.

First, I'd like to start by saying that I absolutely love my job at Pinnacle. It's so much fun. The people are great and I really enjoy talking on the phones. I'm super happy with it, and I really hope they decide to keep me on for the fall. But we shall see with that one.

Also, I went to Colorado last weekend, and it was so much fun. It wasn't too action packed or crazy or anything, it was just fun. I took family pictures of my brother's family, of whom I was visiting, and they turned out awesome. You can check them out on my facebook page or shortly on my blog as well. I also took my 9 year old nephew on a school field trip, so that was fun. It was basically just a nice little getaway from Utah and the stresses of it all. It was nice.

I'm also planning on visiting my Grandma in Santa Cruz really soon. I wanted to visit Reno with my best friend, Rachel, but it all just depends on when is most convenient for visiting my Grandma. But I'm crossing my fingers that I can fit both of them in there.

Anyway, I just moved into a new apartment. It's called Winterhaven and its in Orem. Literally 7 minutes from my work, so that's convenient. I only pay 230 for a massive private room, so that's really nice. I like it a lot. Currently it's just me and my other roommate, Rachel. She's an interesting character, to say the least... She has some disorders and definitely some interesting characteristics, but I'm learning to adjust. I guess it'll be good for me, but she can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. But she's really nice, so that's a plus, and definitely something I can't say for some of my past roommates. She also happens to be my second cousin! Small world?

As far as photography goes, I don't have too much to say. I've been so focused on work, that it's difficult to add any additional focus to photography, but I'm managing. If you know of anyone getting married, having a baby, needs family pictures, or just wants portraits done, please please pleeease let me know. :)

Well, that's all the news I have for today! I'll continue to keep you posted on life.

k.

Music.

I know I'm on posting overload, but I'm having music nostalgia like there's no tomorrow.

I'm listening to old Thrice, and it brings back such a rush of memories, I can't even contain it. So I'm sharing it with you.

Here are some songs that remind me of a certain time period, with a certain individual. That time period being the year that I was in a noncommittal relationship. And that individual being the love of my life.

It does bring back some pretty intense feelings, though. Anyways. I uploaded them all onto my playlist, so have a listen if you wish.

New pet peeve.

It's not really new. Just newfound. And it's also a really really stupid thing to be annoyed by.

but. I hate when people go off about how much they hate twilight/edward/bella/jacob, what have you, when they have not even read the books!

let's get real, here. We all know you just don't like it solely because of how mainstream and popular it is. I, myself, often am afraid of admitting it simply because I don't want to become stereotyped as one of those people. But if I like something, I'm going to like it. Very few people are aware of my love for twilight and my obsession with Edward. Well, I guess it's not so much a secret anymore. It's not something I prefer to shout across the rooftops like some illiterate 10 year old girl who has memorized the movie script. However, I don't mind having a love for something that is clearly and incredibly romantic novel.

Now, I understand if you have read the actual book and decided that it was just not your cup of tea writing style or story, but at least give it a chance before you shoot it down and protest it.

Just for the record, just because I love the book, does not mean I love the movie. The movie is definitely entertaining, but it no where near captures the passion or intensity that the book expresses. I also happen to be a very easily entertained individual and a movie like "Snow Buddies" can hold my interest for an extended period of time.

Anyways, that's my rant for today. Hope everyone's having a good one. :)

k.

Engagement Season

Apparently it's arrived?? Good news for me! I've been getting some bites here and there for engagements and weddings. I'm pretty excited about it.

Also, I finally hit the 100 mark on my fan page! exciting, right? If you haven't done so already, pleasepleaseplease become a fan here!

Oh, AND I finally created a website. Well - blog, more like. But it's getting there. :) If you're a follower of my blog, please also follow me on that one! I'd really love the support. You can find that website here.

I'm pretty excited about it. And my new logo. :D Which was designed by myself! It's nothing too fancy, but I think I like it much better than its predecessor. Anyway, I'm on the verge of working out something regarding a legitimate flash website with the help of my wonderful friends Michelle & William Atkinson. Hopefully it works out. If not, I'll stick with my makeshift blog site. Which I don't think is TOO bad.

On a more personal note, tonight I saw "How to Train Your Dragon." Excellent movie. I would highly recommend it. Also, I start my job at Pinnacle on Tuesday. I'm pretty excited about it. And I'm also really excited to be done working at the portrait studio. At Pinnacle, I'll be working virtually all day Tuesday-Saturday. I'm thinking I might try to get a permanent Wednesday or Thursday off as well so that I have more leeway as far as photo sessions go.

Well, that's life up to date! Hope all is right with the rest of you.

k.

Slow it down, now.

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I almost have 100 fans on my fan page! It means so much to me to have so much support. :) It really is awesome. I'm really excited about what the future has in store for me. It's scary, but just so thrilling.

I have another wedding now scheduled for June 11th. I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping that in the time between, I'll be able to get a sigma lens, and get through my photography course. And also, possibly shadow a wedding photographer just to get a good idea about what to do. It'll be a great experience for me, as every single day is.

Also! I got a full time job, finally! I'm working with my best friend (also known as my twin sister) at Pinnacle Security. I'm not a huge fan of security companies to start with, as they have some pretty sketchy and bad reputations, but I will be working in Account Creations. My job is to basically set up accounts, but also, helping the company from being a fraudulent company, and catching any sleazy sales representatives. So, I really don't mind all that much. I started training on monday (the wrong one, I might add. But they let me in anyway) and I really love the people I work with. It's a really great, fun company. Very laid back, but with distinct guidelines as well. I like it a lot, and hopefully I continue liking it a lot. It will be nice to have a consistent income for once.

Well, that's all the news I have for now. :) thanks again, for all the love!

k.

A work in progress.

So, it's getting there.

I currently have 28 fans on my fan page. So that's pretty neat, I guess. Super excited to see what I can do once I:

- get a webpage up and running &

- set up my rates

- figure out printing, etc.

- get an AMAZING new camera lens, and preferably camera + any extra little doodads.

- straighten out any other kinks.

It's definitely a work in progress, and I'll hopefully be getting to where I want to be moderately soon. Super excited to shoot Dallas and Andrew's wedding this Friday. Pictures will be posted hopefully soon after. Anyway, if anyone happens to have advice regarding aaaanyyyything, please, do tell. Especially regarding prices. Thanks a ton for your support!

.k

You make my dreams come true.

So right now, I am completely obsessed with this song. and also, this dance excerpt from 500 Days of Summer. If you have not seen it yet, stop reading right this instant and go watch it. Because it's one of my new favorites. Anyway. This scene just brings joy to my heart! So I thought I should share.

Also! I launched a fan page on facebook for my photography! I'm pretty excited about it. So check it out, and if you haven't become a fan already, please do now. Here's the link: Clickety click click I truly appreciate any support given :) Thanks!

Lovely Lily.

So lately I've been getting into my photography a ton. I just took some newborn shots of my adorable niece, Lily. I also have some pitchas from my trip to vegas last weekend, and then some playtime shots with mi hermana. I'll hopefully post those over time, if not, I suck. And I'm sorry. Anyway, here's the best I can do for right now. Here are some of my favorite shots from Lily's shoot. I'm excited to get this whole photography thang up and running!

Pictures of you.

So as of late, I have been extremely photographically inactive. I blame it on the fact that I'm busy with a job that gives me 8 hours a week, or a boyfriend I see maybe once a week, but in all reality, it's come down to not having any confidence. I get so discouraged when I see photographers who might not even be so much better a photography, more just happen to have the money for better equipment, producing very high quality images.

Let's just be honest here. My camera's a whimp, if I've ever seen one. It is moderately low resolution and it just doesn't compete with today's technology. It's discouraging. I love photography so so much, but when I go to sites like Rebekah Westover's, it gets a little bewildering. I just want a better camera. Or even, a better lens. I'd like to think I have talent tucked away somewhere in there. And making up what my camera lacks in photoshop, is always fun, but I'd like to accentuate the capabilities my camera has. Not make up for them. Silly camera.

When I get discouraged, I look back at some of my work that I've posted on my flickr and I get hopeful again. Here are some of my personal favorites. I feel a little bit better now.

So who wants to buy me a new lens and/or camera? :)

Picture of the day.

She rocks my world pretty hard sometimes.

I just love her.

So my twin sister and I have a somewhat bipolar relationship. We're either hugging and laughing, or yelling and rolling our eyes. But I have legitimate evidence of a time caught on video of Marci and I actually having a good day. Trust me, it's pretty rare. But now, when we are fighting, I can look back and maybe, just maybe, this will change my mood. Because I'm pretty sure I laugh hysterically every time I watch it. You might not think it's funny, but I do. So I'm posting it. The end.

So this is what happens when you have karaoke on youtube + a sugar rush + twins + attempted harmony with a sister (who will remain unnamed) that can't seem to stay on the proper note.

Annoyingly enough, you'll have to click a link to get to it, since it's too big to fit on my page. boo.

Just out of curiosity...

Who actually reads my blog anymore?

Besides you, Marci. :)

Turn it up.

Such. A. Bummer.

So, a couple of months ago my FM transmitter broke. Definitely one of the sadder days of my life. I didn't realize, until that day, how attached I was to that little devise. I've come to realize also, that there really isn't much point to having an 80g iPod either, when you have no place to listen to it. Back in Alaska, when I would walk to work, I used to tow that thing along with me for the 30 minute - hour walk I took each day. Especially on the sunny days. I felt like Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain, when he's just dancing along the street. I'm sure the tourists that were packed into the sidewalks thought I was crazy, but the best part of working in Alaska was that I had the comfort of knowing I would never see those people ever again. So like it even mattered if I did a little happy dance on the way to work each day.

When I got back to Utah, the idea that I would finally be able to blast my music in my car again was just plain thrilling. So I was able to for awhile. Got caught up with all new music (new Brand New, new Muse, New Moon Soundtrack, you know, all the must-haves), and blasted it on my daily commute.

Then, tragedy occurred. And with the death of my transmitter, comes practical death of new music. Aside from the fact that I am now an x96 guru, so I can occasionally catch some new tunes on there, and also, having a best friend who is still very much "in the know" of music (thank you, Kali), I'm practically dead to the music world. I really hope I can afford a new FM transmitter soon. Because I am oh so lost without you.

That being said, I also want to give a shout out to my Baby. Oh, Lexus ES250, you have made it so far without a breakdown. I am just so proud of you. And also, I hope that in saying this, I'm not jinxing anything so that when I go out to my car in 10 minutes, the engine doesn't suddenly shut down. Thanks for being such a dysfunctionally good college student car, and please, oh, please, at least last me a couple more years. Thanks!

Sun, sun, sun.

I. miss. Summer.

Like, really.

I am soooo ready for this winter to be over. I have not seen the sun in far too long, and I'm just ready for it. I blame Alaska for this. There was one week in Alaska that it got

up to 90 degrees, so I really don't have that much right to whine, but really? 1 week? come on.

Judging by the picture below, can you even tell it's 80 degrees outside? no. You can't. Why? Because it's ALASKA. So, onto my next point.

I miss UTAH summers.

Going swimming? You bet we were.

I miss having a killer tan! And the way my eyes are a billion times greener in the sun! Or Jeremy making really cool faces....Okay, so this is in California, but you get my point.

Rolling in the grass, laughing, and having absolutely no cares in the world.

So looking through my facebook pictures has made me realize I need to be a little bit better at taking pictures of the summer time. All the more reason for summer to get here FASTER!

It's been almost two years since I've been swimming. sun bathing. slip n' sliding. driving in my car blasting my summer soundtracks (old-old All American Rejects, Alphabeat, Mates of State, Noah & The Whale...and on and on and on..) with the windows down, had a picnic, worn a tank top or sun dress (for longer than a week, anyway).

I want summer. Is that so much to ask for??

All we are, we are.

This past month has been one of the hardest months of my life. I'm trying so hard to get myself out of the rut I'm in, and nothing good is seeming to come of it. I'm extremely scared of the future and what's in store for me if I don't fix things.

I'm working an extremely part time job that gives me a maximum of 10 hours a week. Leaving me with a $50-100 paycheck. My rent is $345.00 and my cell phone bill averages about $100.00. It doesn't take a mathematician to see that I'm not exactly making end's meet. I'm scared to death, and honestly without the help of Brandon, I would be completely lost and more than likely, homeless. I've been trying non-stop to find a job. Applying to at least 10-20 jobs a day anywhere between Provo and Salt Lake. Nothing is happening, and I really have no idea what to do anymore. I plan on selling my brand new MacBook Pro, in hopes that it will hold me over until April. I'm not really sure what I'll do after that, but it seems to be the most viable option.

Anyway. As a nice little add-on, a series of unfortunate events led up to a very unfortunate loss. A few weeks ago, I sliced my big toenail almost in half, half way down the nail. I researched online for any quick fixes, and I found some suggestions to use super glue. I didn't really think about the necessity to sanitize, therefore sealing in all that yucky bacteria, and well, two weeks later I'm on the operating table in urgent care having my toenail removed. Needless to say, it was definitely one of the most unpleasant experiences I've ever been through. I've found that I don't really enjoy having two needles poked all the way through my toe through 4 different nerves, or the shot through the bottom of my toe...orrr the tiny little shots that went all over my toe thereafter.

In all honesty, having my toenail removed generally wouldn't discourage me very much, aside from having to wait 6 months - 1 year for my nail to completely heal. But I guess what's most discouraging is that it's holding me back from just getting myself out there and handing my resume out to any businesses that will accept it. I'm just SO discouraged. About life, about my future, about my finances. I want to just get married so badly and to just go back to school, and to sell my car for a more functional one. But all of that is at a complete standstill until I have a steady income, and it's all around just plain frustrating.

I don't mean to vent about how terrible life is, because in all reality, it's not terrible at all. Right now, my car is driving okay. Which is more than I could ask for. I have a family that supports me, and gives me hope. I have a best friend who is there for me whenever I need her, to change my yucky bandages and hold my hand through the toughest of situations, and last of all, I have a boyfriend who supports me and makes me feel like even at the darkest of times, there is hope for me, and there is hope in our future. I'm grateful for life, and I'm grateful for the trials I have, because I know that once I'm out of it, I will do everything in my power to not find myself in this position again.

Reminiscent.

Lately I've been feeling extremely nostalgic. I'm generally a huge supporter of nostalgia, but usually it's only a fleeting feeling that doesn't last very long. I've been thinking so much about the past lately that it's making me sad. and it just makes me miss things so much more than is normal.

I miss Kali.

I miss making music videos, taking pictures, and sleeping (the little sleeping that we did do...) in her dorm

I miss having stupid myspace photo shoots in her dorm, too.

I miss "K5L2MDA" and our mixed energy drinks/hot tubbing

I miss doing stupid things. everywhere we went.

I miss Halloween.

I just miss Kali.

You know, it really sucks that the saying "you never know what you got til' it's gone" is actually very true. Through unfortunate events and a little bit of negligence, things just kind of ended. I guess that's how it is with a lot of things in life. As much as I know things will never be the same, it's good to know that we will always remain good friends. Because Kali Harris is a pretty amazing person, that I don't think I could live without.

I guess going further back, to the cause of all of this nostalgia, it leads me to a dream I had the other night. That I had moved back into my home in Washington. It was such a realistic dream and it made me incredibly homesick. My parents moved from Camas about 2 years ago, and lately I've been realizing how difficult it is for me to know that I no longer have a permanent place. I don't have the stability of knowing that no matter what, I have somewhere to stay. When my parents moved away, I never really got the closure I needed, and because of that, it's still hard letting Washington go. I've also lost almost all of my close bonds there. Camille's family moved to Utah, and now I've lost close contact with my two best friend, Afton and Stevie. Hence, nostalgia. I ran across a bunch of pictures I had in my photobucket. So I thought I'd post some of them.

I miss being apart of "Kaution Krew." haha.

Taylor and Camille. Weird.

I miss Afton. and I miss us being inseparable.

I miss the way I used to look. Look how long my hair was! Ugh.

Sometimes it's nice to look back at changes a person has made. It kind of puts life into perspective. For instance, I now know what to do to prevent loss from happening again. And I guess without these changes, I also may not have found love, which is something I wouldn't take back for the whole world. But now it's time to move on. For the times, they are a-changin'.

An even newer chapter.

Yes! I'm alive. It's true, it's true. It's been quite awhile since my last post, so I won't be too surprised if I have no more followers. I think I'll survive though. The only real reason I am starting this whole thang up again is solely because I made a New Years resolution to do so, and since I'm not doing too well on my other resolutions, well, here I am! So since I was basically dead in the year of two thousand and nine, I'll share some brief highlights.

Juneau, Alaska. That pretty much sums up my summer. Which pretty much sums up my year! Since the rest of it was spent either with mi amore, or job hunting. But I'll still post some other highlights, because as much as I want to say I had an uneventful year, It was actually pretty darn eventful.

B! My number one highlight. :)

And then of course, within Alaska, there were multiple highlights...and uhm...lowlights.

Highlights:

Whale Watching

Bears hangin' out in my front yard

The Salmon Bake

And extremely rare sunny days, which were then counteracted by extremely frequent....

Rainy days... :(

Aside from the rain, the lack of transportation and consistent grocery shopping were the main reasons I was more than ready to come back to good ol' Utah. That and another pretty significant thing...

Mi Familia :)

All in all, Alaska was a good experience. And 2009 was a fairly good year. But I have a pretty good feeling that 2010 is gonna sweep the floor. And I'm gonna do everything in my power to make it so.