My Cheeks Are Killing Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAYoiCrYvAU

You know how sometimes when you have to take a ton of pictures in a row your face starts hurting because you have to keep smiling so much. Well, life has been that way for me lately but not because of pictures. Life is just good. The Millers are in town, everyone has been here for Christmas, Tyler is home, and I was able to manage not working a ton this week at the studio. :) So, I have really been able to enjoy the last few days!

With how crazy life has been this last little while I am ready for a nice break, and to have my life back to normal. Okay not my normal- my normal is nuts. So, I guess just less all over the place. I like that idea. hmm....

:)

MY FINAL MOVIE!!!

Semester Update

I am half way done with my fourth year of college!! That is just crazy to me. I always thought I would feel so much older when I hit this point but I don't feel that old. I can see I have definitely grown from my freshman year and I am growing up, but in so many ways I still feel like a kid.

This school year has been one of my very favorites. My ward is amazing, and I have made some really really good friends here. I really have been blessed with where I am at in life. I actually feel like I fit in here- (I am actually one of the younger girls in the ward. most the girls are RM's, and we don't have any PreMi's)

I think back on this past semester and it's been the biggest emotional roller coaster I have ever been on. I am grateful for where I am though. When it comes to relationships I don't think I have ever been so stressed out in my entire life! I am happy with my life the way it is right now though.

Anyways, here are some pictures from our ward Christmas party!-

Oh, I also just finished my bowling league for the semester. I was horrible when we started but I am actually not to shabby now. I bowled a 146 tonight.

New Favorite Picture!

This one is close to being my favorite- On a normal scale I would say this one wins but the other one is just well... it fits!

Add Byron and Mike to this picture and you will have our main group- We have Me, Tyler, Trent, David Dekker, Ben, Jenny, and Curtis. These are my boys!

Cheesy Christmas Card- Yes, please!

Me and the Roommies!

Blast From The Past.

So, I haven't updated in a while! BUT it's because I started a new blog. I have been thinking about memories that I have of growing up and I am afraid that if I don't write them down I am going to forget about them. I already have forgotten a lot, and I'm not even old yet.

The posts aren't super entertaining, but I am mostly just trying to get the memories in some tangible form. If you have more information about one of my memories that is wrong or I'm fuzzy on the details feel free to comment.

You don't even have to read it- it's probably only fun for me (unless you are part of it) to read. Anyways, check it out!

THE COOL NEW BLOG-Blast From The Past!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten was great!

There were a lot of great things about kindergarten.

-Singing was always a plus- If you did a really good job at singing one of the teachers would give you a laminated shape to sit on until the end of class when you got to exchange it for a treat.

-You got to trace the alphabet and numbers with all 8 colors from the crayon box- I remember having the hardest time with the #8 for some reason.

-You wore big t-shirts for painting..I still love the smell of paint (not in the bad way), and school supplies.

-You only had half day and then you got to ride the smaller bus to get home.

- Coloring was the coolest...along with other arts and crafts

It was my kindergarten year when I first experienced the guilt trip you can be subject to from teachers. When it was time to clean up our teacher would warn us and then count to ten. By the time she got to ten we needed to have all of our stuff put away in our cubbies, and be sitting on the rug. If you didn't make it to the rug your name would be put on the board as a warning.

I was finishing coloring my picture one day when my teacher told us to clean up. I wanted to hurry and finish before I sat down. I tried to hurry as fast as I could and get to the rug on time but I failed. When I finally made it to the rug my teacher looked at me all disappointed like and put my name on the board. I was absolutely devastated. It was the first time that had ever happened and I just remember the sick pit in my stomach... It's funny how much that affected me.

My first field trip ever was to the Hogle Zoo that year. It was also the first time I had been away from mom for an extended period of time (that I remember anyways). I don't remember much about the trip except for lunch. Mom packed me a little baggy of Whoppers, and my favorite sandwich at the time; a mayo, ketchup, and mustard sandwich. It had been in my bag all day and so it was warm. Sadly enough, I loved it! -- that was also the first and last time I have ever been to that zoo.

I think there was some sort of animal thing going on that year. For our kindergarten graduation it was animal themed. We had a ton of animal songs memorized, and we had animal cutouts for our faces. I wish I could remember the songs because they were awesome.

The only other memory I have of kindergarten was the day I got stuck at school. Mom told me not to ride the bus home that day because she would be picking DeAnna, Kenny, and me up from the school. So, I didn't get on the bus that day. (our bus driver was this cute old man who was super smiley. Mr. Willy I think) Anyways, I didn't get on the bus, but I didn't see my mom anywhere.

The teacher had me come back inside, and wait in the classroom. The afternoon class had already started, and I didn't know anyone in there. I remember the looked like they were having so much fun. It was hat day for them, and I was just sitting on the rug looking at them.

I was so scared. I kept trying to think if I knew my way home if I started walking. Mom hadn't come yet, and I was scared I was going to be left at the school all night.

I don't know how long it was before mom showed up. I don't even know how this story ends but I remember the most random details. I can still picture some of the girls hats, and the design on the rug. It wasn't that big of a deal but for a five year old it must have been because it's stuck in my memory.

So, That's what I remember about kindergarten.

Musical Memories

Growing up in woodland Hills made it a bit difficult to roller blade because of the lack of side walks and the hills (hence the woodland HILLS). This wasn't necessarily a negative thing. My siblings and I just needed to be more creative when it came to the activities we wanted to do. To make roller blading possible we would first clear the three car garage, and sweep all the screws and other potentially hazardous particles to the sides.

Once the garage was cleared we would get the big tape player, and skate till we were too exhausted to skate anymore. We listened to the same two songs over and over again. The theme song from top gun, and Danger Zone. Anytime I hear one of those songs I can't help but smile and think of the cold garage and skating in the never ending circles.

(this paragraph is from a paper I wrote for my english class)

Ever since before I can remember the song "The dance," by Garth Brooks has been a large part of my life. I would sit cradled in a ball on the floor and just watch my dads fingers flow from sting to string. This didn't happen very often because my dad would always declare that he couldn't sing and one of the boys should play instead. Even with that declaration I always loved the sound of my dads voice and the guitar.

Ray Lynch (celestial soda pop) , and Enya will forever remind me of mom sewing and family vacations. We listened to that music over and over again in the car on our way to Missouri. I was too little to remember much about the trip but I still love the music.- Mom would also listen to it as she would sew.

I don't really know how this song really goes but as I was thinking of songs from my childhood this song kept coming to mind. "Too high you can't go over it. Too low you can't go under it. To wide you can't go around. Oh bless my soul. Bless my soul in...somthin somthin abraham."

"Love is spoken here" Is still one of my favorite primary songs because I would always sing it with Kenny growing up. Usually when we were home alone.

If Kenny was in a nice mood we would sing that song. If he was in a "funny, scare Alishia half to death mood" he would first stare out the window all creepy like, and then start pounding on the low keys of the piano. For some reason that would scare me half to death.

Other things I remember: Meet Joe Black soundtrack, Billy Joel, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Andrea Bocelli, Ace of Base, Beastie Boys, Smashmouth, Dido, and well a lot more but these are the big ones.

More songs became a big part of my life as I hit middle school and on, but from when I was a kid these are the main things.

Cousins

I love my cousins! I didn't get too see them too often growing up so, when I did get to see them it was always a party. The three cousins my age were Nikki, Brooke, and Emily. There are so many memories that it is hard to pick which memories to write down.

Ha ha Proper Ladies- Brooke, Nikki, and I started the club proper ladies when we were probably around 9ish. No matter what we were doing (eating, playing, whatever) if one of us would say proper ladies we had to act very proper and good. Sit up strait, take very small bites of our food, try and speak in a british accent (because that was more lady like). In reverse to this, I don't remember the word we used, but we would say something like gross kids and we would go to the other extreme end of the scale. We would eat all gross, snarl, and just be random like that. It was fun though.

Nikki- Nikki and I would spend hours and hours on the phone just talking. Brooke wasn't in our area code and so it was long distance to call. So, Nikki and I would talk on the phone and write book identical letters. We always had so much fun playing together growing up.

Random thoughts/memories:

For some reason I always seemed to get a bloody nose when we were at her house.

We would always walk up the stairs super bow legged with our rear ends sticking out all funny.

I was wanting to get into yoga one summer and tried getting Nikki to watch a video with me. The video was a joke. The lady was more into the bad spirits getting out of you than anything else.

We came up with the most random random games to keep us entertained.

Veggie Tales!

Brooke- Brooke's house was always super fun to have sleepovers at. Auntie Ellen had awesome food and tons of games for us to play. She really knew how to throw a party, and make it the cool place to be. Brooke and I would write letters back and forth growing up. They would get so long- and there really wasn't much too them.

Along with all sorts of games we (brooke, aubrey, kenny, and me) always played house. Kenny and Brooke were the parents, and Aubrey and I were the kids. For some reason every time we played Kenny ended up dying in some way.

Other things that come to mind: Muppets Treasure Island, Scamper, Super Nintendo, New Years Eve Parties, Throwing up on the way to their house, and so so many more.

Emily- Emily wasn't allowed to have sleepovers growing up but we were still able to play at park days occasionally, and at family reunions. She was always a sweetheart, and would put up with the rest of fighting. We (the four girls) had a sleepover at the Duncan's one weekend. We were all about thirteen or so. We were so set on sleeping outside, but it was raining. After maybe a half hour of trying sleep under a tarp/fort on the deck we ended up all inside brushing each others hair, and talking till Uncle Brent had to come out for probably the 4th time to tell us to go to bed.

I have so many memories of these guys growing up. There is no way I can write them all down. I am sure I will remember more but these are the one that come to mind right now. Sleepovers with sugar water, eating way too much food, whipped cream fights (i'll probably do a post on new years parties), being scared to death of getting in trouble, fake sleeping, and well lots more.

Aubrey, Kelly, and Connie were a couple years younger than us but we still played with them quite a bit. Me and Aubrey were "Two bugs" forever, and I sadly made her play barbies with me for much longer than normal.

Danny was two years older than me but he was still awesome. When we got to hang out with there family it was always fun :)

We are all still close now too. I lived with Brooke and Nikki this past summer, and stay in touch with Emily here and there. I love my family.

Nikki, Emily, Danny, Brooke, Me

Bubble Gum

I absolutely loved gum growing up. I liked other candy sure but if I had a choice I would always choose gum. It wasn't a secret that I had an obsession with this candy. I still get bubble gum every Christmas/Easter/Birthday from my cute mom who always remembers the small things.

Growing up there were so many options to choose from. They had the Zebra Gum, Bubblicious ( my personal favorite, especially watermelon), Bubble Jugs, Gum balls, Bubble Tape (I had a weird habit of always swallowing this kind of gum, and going through the roll in a matter of hours), The gum in the band aids box, double bubble, and so many others.

I was always excited when I was able to have some of the specialty kinds. They had gum that was in the shape of checks, or bills. The gum was thick strips of original flavored bubble gum in a small package.

I remember that I didn't get this kind of gum very often but when I did it was very exciting. I don't think I was ever able to chew a pack by myself though. I have a very distinct memory of being in the kitchen in Woodland Hills, and having Kenny try and convince me to give him a check of gum (there were only like 3 checks in a package). I did not want to share! When I got this gum I wanted to save it for as long as a could, and I did not want to have to give him a whole piece. I was willing to give him a piece but not a whole check.

I lost the battle of having the gum all to myself. Kenny threatened to never be my friend again, and as it was I was so scared of that actually happening that he ended up with a whole check of my gum....Kenny won a lot of arguments that way.

When I was younger the Wrigley gum was the grown up kind of gum. Mom always had the dark blue kind. She always had that gum in her scripture case at church, and without fail I would ask for a piece every Sunday. My siblings would be annoyed, and I am sure Mom was too, but she gave me a piece anyways.

My favorite grown up gum was any kind of cinnamon gum. I think it was cinnamon because it was my dad's favorite. My dad loves cinnamon, and I wanted to have something the same. So, I think subconsciously cinnamon became my favorite.

Aunt Ellen (lee) always gave me gum when I saw her. I remember we were gum buddies. I wonder if she even remembers that. Probably not- I knew she would give me gum if I asked for it. So, I probably just tagged her has my gum buddy.

........

I still like gum but I actually rarely chew it anymore..hmm?

My Dad!!

So, I love my Dad! This past week I went and took some pictures for Dad at work. It wasn't anything big but I had a good time doing it. I had lunch with Dad and his guys afterwards and overall it was a fun morning.

As I was going back through all my pictures of the day I found this gem. I told Dad to look happy in his picture because the previous 6 or so were very serious faces. This was the result. I love this picture. Every time I see it, it makes me smile and think of how much I love my Dad.

There is plenty I could talk about of why I love him and all that great stuff, but I wanted to keep it simple this time.

PS. My favorite part of the entire session was the picture taken just after this one. I was laughing at the picture from above, and so I tried to explain to him that I was looking for just a pleasant smile but not a big grin. I told him to just think of mom, and the face that followed was the perfect sweet smile. It was the smile I was looking for, and the one that I ended up using.

THE END

Halloween Weekend!

My Halloween weekend actually had very little Halloweeness to it. It was still a lot of fun though!

There was a big stake Dance on Friday, but it didn't sound appealing to me at all. Luckily Tyler doesn't like dances either. So, we spent the evening having Cafe Rio and watching Finding Nemo.

Saturday was so much fun. We (Me and Jenny) planned a group date. Because we were setting our friend, Trent up on a date it ended up with the girls being in charge. I came up with the idea of having it a kids themed night. :) We made homemade pizza, played with play-dough (homemade mind you), made a giant fort in our family room, and watched sword in the stone.

Me and Tyler- I don't really like this picture of me but I still like the picture.

This is mine and Tyler's Play-dough creation. It's a duck pond...use your imagination to fill in the gaps.

The whole gang in our fort!

I only wore the costume for a few hours cause I didn't end up going to the party on Friday.

Me and my beautiful roommate Jenny! ps. you can totally see my purple hair!

How cute is He!?

After being at school all day I came home to find these beautiful flowers and a note on my kitchen counter. Totally made my day! I have the cutest boyfriend ever!



Not to mention, today was just one of those days where I wanted to throw my computer out the window and stop working on my homework altogether.

I have a new Camera!!

I have a new Camera and am ready to take pictures! Please help me spread the word that I can do family pictures! My website will be up in the next day or two! :) I'll direct you there soon!

I absolutely love my camera. I have a Canon 7D! It's pretty much awesome. woohoo!

Yep I love the quality, the camera, and of course this little girl!

Interview Assignment

I'm a fish!

Okay okay! I appreciate the love and concern towards me, but I promise I really am fine. The last post had nothing to do with any specific people. I actually have absolutely zero hard feelings about said person. The post was a vent of frustration. So, as much I love the concern there is no need to go breaking down anyone's door.
If I take the dating aspect out of my life, I can honestly say that my life is pretty dern good :) School has been fun and a bit of a challenge but not bad. I have really enjoyed my classes, and want to have more time to excel in them and learn more.
I LOVE MY WARD!! I have met some great people in my ward this year, and am really enjoying the friendships I have been making. I also have an amazing bishop. I can tell this is going to be an amazing year.
I am really enjoying my time back at the portrait studio. There are just a few of us on staff but it's actually really nice that way!
OH, I am also saving up to buy my camera. I am going to take my time in the process of getting it so I can get the best deal possible but I am going to be passing out flyers soon to advertise family pictures...SO, if you know anyone send them my way. I will have my website up soon so I can show my work.
Thanks for the love and concern from you all. Don't worry about whether I am happy or not. I truly am.

Victoria Place #56

So, i was going to continue my whole blog a day thing but I didn't really care, and some of the questions were lame. SO.. UPDATE!!!
Life for me has been kinda crazy but good. I love my apartment and have really had an amazing time with my roommates, and my new ward. I live with Jenny Jones, Becca Jones, and Cosette Stone. I have been best friends with Jenny since children's choir and LOVE living with her. Becca and Cosette are so cute, and funny. They are both freshman- it is very fun and entertaining to watch them experience life as a college student.
Anyways, tonight we created an apartment plan (suggested by my bishop). Pretty much a set of rules we have together. As we had our meeting we of course had to take some roommie pictures!

My room roommate who I love dearly, Jenny Jones.

Cosette, Becca, Me, and Jenny



Some one is ALWAYs laughing in my apt.

We were pretending that we could be sweet.

Days Ten-Thirteen

September 10- Picture taken over ten years ago:


September 11- A photo of you recently: This picture was taken two days ago for my dear friend Marz in memory of our quesadilla nights.



September 12- Your favorite outfit:
I love a good pair of jeans with a shirt that is cute and flattering that doesn't make you look like you tried too hard. I have a specific outfit but I don't care to blog about it. so...NEXT!

September 13- Something I am OCD about:
CHEWING WITH YOU MOUTH OPEN!! I don't think there is anything that I am more annul about than people chewing with there mouth open. I don't want to hear the spit in your mouth or anything for that matter. Most often I can let stuff slide but this one irritates me so bad. There are other things that I am OCD about but that is pretty much it.

Days One - Nine

September 1, 2010 Favorite song:
By far my favorite song of all time "Out of My League", Stephen Speaks

September 2, 2010: Favorite Movie:
"While You Were Sleeping" I have a lot but this is one is probably number one!

September 3, 2010 Favorite TV show:
I don't watch TV very much but "The community" is pretty funny.

September 4, 2010 Favorite Book:
Other than church stuff I really like the book "Beauty", and "Secret Journal"...and well I am a nerd and really like Anita Stansfield books.

September 5, 2010 Favorite quote:

"Trust in the lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path." - I know it's a scripture but I LOVE IT!

and on a lighthearted note- "You don't have to be crazy to be my friend..but it sure does help"

Septemeber 6- 20 of my favorite things.
Mom and Dad
Siblings
My girl friends
My roommates
The gospel
PRAYER
Photography
School
My best friend
Cool cousins
Nieces and nephews
Memories-my brain
The Book of Mormon
Meeting new people
My camera
Nature-light-clouds
Technology
Food
My ward
Music



September 7- a picture that makes you happy:
I can't help but smile when I see this picture- Not only was this night crazy fun but it made me grateful for the time that I have been able to have as a single college student. I know I wouldn't have had these awesome times if I had gotten married.



September 8, 2010- a picture that makes you angry or sad:
Yeah I am sad that my Amy is gone! ..and well I felt a lot more stupid than angry when I dyed my hair blond.



September 9, 2010 A picture you took:

Month of September

OH hey guys! So, it's been a little while but I decided to catch up. My friend Amanda had this cool idea on her blog and I wanted to do the same thing. So, I'll catch up on the days that I missed but for the next month I will be having these updates.

Day 1 - your favorite song

Day 2 - your favorite movie

Day 3 - your favorite television program

Day 4 - your favorite book

Day 5 - your favorite quote

Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things

Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy

Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 9 - a photo you took

Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you

Day 11 - a photo of you recently

Day 12 - something you are OCD about

Day 13 - your favorite outfit.

Day 14 - your favorite shoes

Day 15 - your dream house

Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Day 19 - a talent of yours

Day 20 - a hobby of yours

Day 21 - a recipe

Day 22 - a website

Day 23 - a youtube video

Day 24 - where I live

Day 25 - your day, in great detail

Day 26 - your week, in great detail

Day 27 - my worst habit

Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse

Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 - a dream for the future

My Best Friends Wedding

Another one of my best friends got married this past weekend. Cheryl Carter is now Cheryl Holdaway. I am so excited for her!
This past weekend was dedicated to her. I was her maid of honor and her photographer (doing both was a STUPID idea). I wanted to spend time as her maid of honor, and party but I was taking pictures. Brides maid pictures, and the bouquet toss for example are both very difficult to do when you have two jobs to be preforming. All the same it was a wonderful weekend.
At her wedding luncheon I was asked to give a speech. I have never done one before; so, that was interesting. I was glad I was able to do that though; I think it went well. Although, I started getting choked up and crying as I was talking about our friendship, and how Clarke is a lucky guy to find someone like her.
So, I am very happy for Cheryl, and am so grateful that she has been one of my best friends through pretty much my whole life!

Down in Africa

Hi Everyone,

I am still alive and still loving this place.

If you have checked my facebook I have added some more pictures of our fun adventures. I posted last Saturday but Sunday could have been a post in and of it's self. After church we headed to Okapuka Ranch and had lunch with the rector and vice rector. The presidents of the school. It was good food, and company. After lunch we went on our mini safari! We saw warthogs, springbok, kudu, oryx, giraffes, rhinos, birds, crocs, and other animals. I was in heaven! The temperature was perfect and I was having a blast taking pictures. Check out my facebook for a SMALL few of the pictures.

After our safari we went to a sports bar called Primi's to watch the world cup finale. It was a ton of fun! The energy in the room was awesome.

This last week was a bit slow. We had a lot of work planned out but a lot of things fell through, and so sometimes I was really bored. When I was working I was having a lot of fun. I got some good direction on the book that I am in charge of. My professor and I (and Richard) hammered out an outline, and I am really excited for my project. When I was asking my professor some questions about what I should do he pretty much gave me a pep talk that this is my project and I am completely in charge of it. He told me to have the confidence that I can do it, and take control; I don't to need to worry about the other group members. It was a really good motivation to make the book!

We have also been working on our documentary. It's been a bit stressful, but I think it will turn out really good. The tension around here has been pretty high. We are around each other all the time, and so we are all starting to go a little nuts.

This next week will be really busy. We have three workshops starting tomorrow, and then we head up north early Friday morning. I will be taking pictures NONSTOP!! WOOHOO!!

Oh and by the way, the food here is amazing and bad all in one yummy bundle. I am LOVE the food but I am pretty sure I have gained maybe 10lbs in a month! GAH!

Anyways, life is good. I'll talk to you all soon. (maybe)

African update!

My African Update

For those of you who want just a quick update- Life here is great, and I am having the time of my life. The picture is of our excursion to learn more about the bushman/san people. The people who just live off the desert- (The Gods Must Be Crazy). yep the guy on the right had full butt exposure, and the other two were pretty close.

Disclaimer-This is REALLY LONG. I won't be offended if you don't want to read it all, or you only read it a bit at a time, but I thought I should write and update you all. ALSO!!! check my facebook to see a small selection of pictures.

Now, a little bit more details- It has almost been two weeks since I left and it is still crazy to believe that I am actually here. It will randomly just hit me that I am in Africa, and not in the US. It's been great.

-1st week-

We spent about 36 hours in London on our way to Namibia to help break up the trip. I had a blast. I had to get used to traveling with guys though. They want to make it from point A to point B; which makes it very difficult to try and take pictures of everything. I am getting better at going fast though. The architecture is beautiful. I want to go back and take my time taking pictures and enjoy all of England.

When we got into Namibia we weren't able to get to work right away so we just relaxed and spent time in the city and with friends here. On our tour of the city we went to Katoutura (translated-the place we don't want). We went to the market there and I was able to get some great pictures there of the people and some kids. I don't think Richard enjoyed it as much as he could have though. He was paranoid about me most the time.

That same day we went to the informal settlements. It's where the people live in very small tin shacks. They have basically nothing. It was incredible to see the kids still smiling even though they live in horrible situations. It was a really cool experience to be there. We are going to go there again; which I am very excited for- I want some better pictures. The guesstimate is that 250,000 people live here.

Church here was really cool. It was fun to see that the gospel is still the same no matter where you are even when the people/culture are very different. It was testimony meeting too. So, we were able to here there testimonies.

-2nd week-

This week we have had more chances to get to work. The Audio boys were able to get into the archives and do what they do. I have been documenting that as well as other parts of the archives. I have been taking pictures of the glass plates, the negatives, the containers they are in, as well as the different conditions that they (the neg, and glass plates) are in. I have also been working on sorting the pictures I have taken so far and what pictures should be included in the book for the school.

We have met some AMAZING people while we have been here. The vice principal to the school and her two daughters are amazing and we have had dinner with them several times and have had a great time with them. There is also this crazy awesome guy named Jochan. He kinda reminds me of Dennis. He has so much stuff. His stuff is more organized though. He has over 300 cameras (one of them is worth $40,000), and over 11 VW bugs or vans. We had dinner with him and his family this week. SO much fun; his house is a museum! I don't even know how to describe him. I will show videos of him when I get home so you will understand!

-My experience-

I have been having so much fun taking pictures here. I am the main photographer here, and director of photography. It's been fun having people ask me questions and actually knowing the answers. But the photography here is HARD. It is really bright here, and the people are dark. It makes it really difficult to take a correctly exposed picture. There were a good load of pictures from the first days that were blown out and not good. My professor has been encouraging and told me not to worry about it. Apparently all the student have a couple days of adjustment when they get here.

He also advised me to not look at the pictures until the very end. I can make sure the exposure is right every once in a while, but he said don't look at any of the pictures till the end of the shoot. It is a good exercise to trust your instincts and just do what you think is right. It will help in relaxing and taking better pictures. So, I did that today- I turned the back screen off and just took the pictures. They turned out pretty good. It still is hard with the harsh lighting and dark people but overall I am getting better :)

OH and of course we have been watching the world cup while we are here which has been really fun. The last few games we have gone to this sports bar called Primi's and have had a blast spending time with the jam packed restaurant.

Anyways, this is already REALLY long, but so much is going on and I have already cut out a ton. So, I'll hopefully post more frequently so they are shorter post.

OH and ps...the little kids here are adorable. I can't even handle it. There are a lot of really beautiful people here-and attractive men ;) ha ha

jumpaditty jumpaditty jump jump jump jump jump

Sunday afternoons are one of my favorite days of the week. Two Sundays ago I headed up the canyon with my roommate Aubrie and cousin Brooke. We kinda got distracted with how fun jumping/actions shots were.

The facial expressions are the best part. So you have to make it big.

Summer Cookin

So this summer has been so much fun so far. The combination of girls is one of the best I have had. We all mesh well. There are weird quarks but that is bound to happen with six girls in the apartment. Oh and the apartment is pretty big which is awesome! I love it!!

Anyways, in our apartment we all love to cook! The other night Brooke and I decided we should make dinner. It went from trying to think of something easy to a huge yummy feast of fried food. We went to the grocery store to get a few items, and it turned into four of us getting random stuff and making great food.

I love living with these two!! We do stuff all the time- we even sang in church today.

The dinner included: Wantons, garlic sesame seed chicken nuggets and ginger sauce, potato wedges, Brazilian Limeade, Fruit Gratan, orange slices, and green beans....oh and nutella filled wantons, and a few with berries.

The cooks!

Ha ha Love us! Nikki, me, Brooke, and Leah!-- Our friend David Dzado took this picture for us. He came over to visit at just the right time and ate with us. Two other boys came over too. One guy came over to say hi, and shortly after he left his roommate who we hadn't met yet came over and told us that he was instructed to come over.

AFRICA!!!

I AM GOING TO AFRICA!!!!!!...Thanks Richie!

Summer Lovin'

I can already tell this is going to be an amazing summer! I am living with Brooke and Nikki, along with 3 other fun girls. I have met and made more friends in two days of church stuff than I did all last semester. I have already made some friends that I think are going to be amazing friends this summer.

I also realized that this is the first summer in 3 years that I haven't had to deal with a break up. I am going to be able to enjoy the entire summer without the desire for school to start to distract me. Happy Days :D

I have been searching for a job, and got hired at Los Hermanos but for some reason it didn't feel right. I was really torn- If I took the job I would be getting the hours needed, but if I would have to quit Goodwood; which would be really sad because I love it! Well, I went into Goodwood today to do a delivery, and my boss told me to start studying the menu test because I would start training for serving! YAY!! I am really happy about this! I can stay at the place I really enjoy!

Photography is good too!....LIFE IS GOOD!!!

Oh My Life

There is so much going on that I want to update about but I don't want this post to be a novel! Here are some highlights!

School
In two days I will finish my first semester at UVU and my THIRD year of college. I don't feel old enough to be in this stage of life. Looking back at this last semester I am still very happy with my decision to switch. I am also glad that I switched schools when I did. I have made some key connections that I feel will really help me in my photography and what I want to be doing with my life.

Grades-
I was so close to getting my 4.0 this semester. My web design class was the determining factor. I had a high B in the class, and if I was able to pull of an A on my final exam and project it would tip the scale and I would be set. Well, I got an 82% on my final exam. I don't think I have ever been so bothered with getting a “B” on a test. I was close to the 4.0 though. I guess that is good enough though It's the best semester in college yet.

-I posted some of my final project down below!

UVU vs. USU-
I am still an Aggie at heart, and will always love Logan and that school. UVU is a good school, and I really enjoy what I am learning, but it doesn't have the same atmosphere/mood that USU has. I miss Logan and my life there, but I am happy where I am.

Photography-
I am learning so so much. I have been shadowing my teacher who is VERY smart and talented. I have absolutely loved it. I shadowed him last week for a wedding and a senior pictures shoot, and he paid me fifty bucks! He is also going to have me help him this summer on senior pictures. SO excited. Life is real good in this area. I still have a long ways to go but I am ready for it.

Living-
I am moving into my summer apt tomorrow! I will be living with Brooke and Nikki. Happy days!

Work-
I am looking for a job again. Goodwood kinda worked but it isn't going to be enough. So, I am looking for another job! Any ideas?

So, it is still kind of a novel, but this is the shortened version. I still have more I could write about, but I am guessing more than half of you are really only going to skim over the post anyway. So, life is good, and I am just trucking along :)

PS- I love our family, and I appreciate the advice I am given. I am not saying that having opinions is bad. Most often I really do want to know what people opinions are. It's when I have made a decision that I feel is right, and people try to convince me to do other wise. I know everyone is really just trying to help me out. So, I am not saying I don't want it. It is when I get different advice from everyone it starts to add up and it's a lot. LOVE you all :)

Final Photography Project

For my final in my photography class I was supposed to create a story in 3-5 images! Keira was a sweetie and helped me out. She's a cute little model!