Christmas pictures are imminent!

I have just posted my first official holiday special!

Go check it out and let me know if you're interested!

handle with care

after checking the status of my package and realizing that it was indeed AT MY HOUSE, and I WAS NOT, I quickly devised a strategy to book it home and retrieve it.

that strategy included waking up andy.

he got to sleep for 45 minutes... plenty right?

well, here it is. Fragile: handle with care. like the 3 tears in the box there? That's nice I think.


There are about 25 or so pictures of me actually opening the box, and what i did with the camera in those precious first few moments... but they're so intimate i feel uncomfortable sharing them on here.


Good lord people! It's a camera for crying out loud! Not a stinking CHILD!!!

But my goodness, it was very, very exciting to open this thing up.

Nothing could have prepared me for the extreme happiness I feel holding this camera.

Just tonight I set up the lights in the dining room and hung up a sheet to do some test shots... there's no way i could ever go back now...

from the moment I decided to get this camera I had this feeling that I should never use the camera before actually owning it. Because once I did, it would be over. I would never be able to use my camera without feeling annoyed that i couldn't do "this" or "that." I couldn't know what I was missing out on... but now I know... and it is soooo good :)

I'll spare you all the crazy photographer mumbo jumbo, just trust me when I say it's good

So here is my fave from the night.

This particular shot is completely unedited. i am simply LOVING the fact that I can shoot in b&w. I never thought I would want to... that i would want the option always of having color... but now... I don't know... I liked the bw shots tonight so much more than the color.

We shot just under a hundred and what's so cool about using the lights is that once they are set, you just shoot. You don't have to worry about exposure at all... you already did that. So I sat down and had my mom shoot me too, and that's where the pic at the top of this post came from. It's also for the benefit of those who wanted to see my face when I wouldn't show it the other night.

That's it for now... I must force myself to go to bed, because as I explained yesterday I have been getting up at unearthly times... and will continue to do so...

status: DELIVERED

I just got done checking the tracking code for the long awaited 5D...

and the status says DELIVERED!!!

well, minus the exclamation points.

and I am here. at work. not with my camera.

I could probably start crying right now. like a baby that's been born but can't be held... ok maybe not that extreme. but hey, what can i say?!

If andy wasn't taking a nap right now, we would SO be making a trip back to my house for it... hmmm... is it WRONG to wake him up for that :)

o'dark hundred

You're familiar with military time right?

I learned it well when I worked at adt and still remember now. I actually got so I didn't need to do the conversion anymore, I just knew what each hour was.

It makes a lot of sense really. Then you don't have to worry about the silly am and pm business.

But regardless. That's not the point i'm making here.

the point is the hour of day (or night) that I have been getting up lately.

O'DARK HUNDRED

it's the very official name for what most people refer to as 5:30am.

Some people may think that this is normal and good. I, however, do not.

Why have i been getting up this early you ask?

Because my friends, I have this thing called "weight" that needs to go!

Since the end of spring i've been doing fairly well with eating much healthier (with the exception of the many girl scout cookies I ate today) and have been doing so with the intent of actually BEING healthier. I have found though, that one of the side effects of eating more healthy is WEIGHT LOSS!

OMGosh, who would have thought?

So I get up with my friend Traci 3 or 4 days a week and we sweat our butts off together trying to do things that noone should be allowed to do. ever. especially at that hour.

But it's good. Getting up early, starting the day off that way, makes me feel better. However, I have become serverly lax in my eating habits as a result of this...

the reasoning: "I'm doing this very good thing for my body, I can relax in this area."

the reality: "I'm getting up early and going to bed late... and because i'm eating crap i'm more tired than EVER! AND i'm sore!"

Moral of the story: eat well, exercise early and all is well with amanda

platinum 12

It's been almost exactly 3 months since I made the jump to blonde.

I had been highlighting blonde since about May, but August 13th I made the plunge and entered the world as a level 11 blonde.

It was strange to me that people didn't seem to notice as much as I thought they would. Of course, that's not the reason I did it. But still, I was suprised when very few people noticed that I had gone all blonde.

Since that point I have had my roots done twice. Once about 6 weeks ago, and then again today. I realized that in order to maintain this color, I really need to do the roots about every 4 weeks. Not much more than that... more than 4 weeks and i really start to feel disgusting... which is unlike me. I usually don't care about stuff like that. But this isn't like high-lights, it's all out inch long brown hair emerging from the top of my head!

The problem with doing my roots every 4 weeks however, lies in the cost. I do not have the fundage to be able to continue going to get my lovely blonde hair maintained. So i decided to do it myself.

I was originally a level 11. However, for reasons I am unaware of, they do not sell level 11 dye at sally's. And since I did not want to go darker, I decided to opt for a level 12.

Let's stop right here for a moment. You are thinking that I royally screwed up my hair and i am about to show you a picture of the hideous outcome aren't you?

I knew it.

You have so little faith in me!

I will have you know, that the color actually turned out quite nicely. It's slightly lighter than before, but it's lovely I think.

(notice: the reason that my face is not included is NOT an accident)

However, the point I am making is not about the new color. It's about people observances of the color.

Just today, before I did the dying deed, I had 3 people comment on my hair color. Saying things such as, "oh wow, your hair is really blonde." or "did you just dye your hair?"

Hmmm... response in my mind to the first: "um, yah, it is. and it has been for about, ohhh, say THREE MONTHS!"

response in my mind to the second: "yes actually. And when I did it, I only dyed the bottom part making sure not to get the inch closest to my head."

Of course I was nice and only said nice things... i would never be sarcastic... that's so not like me.

Here's the most amazing part. Because I know you're probably thinking that the people that have said these things to me are people I don't see very often.

One was my dad.

One was a friend I see multiple times a week.

One was my brother.

There were 2 others who I don't know as well... and that's completely acceptable... but seriously, my mind is kerfuffled. I don't know how I could drastically change my hair color and people not notice for seriously 3 months...

Oh well, like i said before, I didn't do it to get attention. I did it because I like it. And i have NEVER dyed my hair the same color more than twice. Today marks the 3rd time i have done it this color... and I love it! it's the best color i've ever had.

i am trying

to contain my excitement.

But let me tell you, it is REALLY hard!!!

I bought my 5D like a week and a half ago, and it's STILL NOT HERE!

But tonight, I received the shipping notification and it will be here in the next few days! WOOHOO!!!

Pictures will be forthcoming...

But if you can't wait until then, check out the photography blog and see what i've been up to :)

autumn favorites

I read a post the other day about autumn. This girl is such a sweetheart and was explaining how she prefers the word autumn over fall.

I think that is so romantical :)

Anyways, it got me thinking about why I love autumn...

As much as I love summer and the warm weather, there is something intoxicating about the smells that you start noticing when the windows close as the colder months approach.

All year round, I enjoy a good frappacino every once in awihle... but only when it starts cooling down do I really enjoy the lattes... I especially love the chatting that occurs while said drink is consumed :)



Now's also about the time the fire's start burnin in the wood stove. One of the best feelings in the world is curling up on the couch with my WIRELESS internet that now WORKS! and doing my lovely internet activities such as blogging, or chatting or emailing or photo editing... all whilst enjoying the burning flames of the fireplace and possibly multi-tasking even further and watching a movie.

I gotta take my breaks where i get 'em ya know!

Each season brings its own unique colors... but autumn... mmmmm... autumn brings the most vibrant array of colors. I think I appreciate it more because we only see these colors for a very short time.



In the early autumn i love watching the colors change daily. Then as the season shifts the leaves begin to fall and cover the ground with their amazing color. Then... they start drying up... and make that super amazing crunchy sound under your feet.

Yah, and then there's the fact that i'm allergic to leaf mold and dust etc... so playing too long in the leaves results in sinus pressure... that's always fun haha

What else do i love about autumn... oh! I almost forgot the BEST PART! the day that daylight savings ENDS! A whole extra hour to sleep... does that ever happen... mmm, not really :) but it's the psychological part that helps :)



When I was little, my mom would take us to mendon ponds at different times through the year. but my favorite and most memorable time was in the autumn when the cattails turned and the milkweeds were popped. I tried doing that again about 3 years ago and ended up with enormously puffy eyes and a runny nose that wouldn't quit. It was pretty sick. I'll just let that one stay a nice memory :)

So what do you love about this time of year? Is it the on-set of the new holiday season or maybe the diligence that is inherent as school sets in? Do you have memories of what makes this time special? it's important to remember these things... and write them down so when you feel like you don't have good memories, you can look back and remind yourself that "oh yah!" you really do! :)


post from one year ago today: fall appreciation

VOTE: 2008

focus

I am aware that this blog has been turning into a personal promo for my photography business. I guess that's ok... sometimes. But i think it's been too long since I've been writing meaninful (or even funny) stuff.

I made a list of potential things to blog about the other day, and I want to get back to it. I love writing, and the reason I started this blog was to allow myself an outlet for that side of my creativity.

So here i go, attempting to get back into the spirit of true blogging and writing the things i want to remember the rest of my life... or at least the things i think about and make me wonder :)

Hold on tight, it can only get better from here!

a request to my super duper readers :)

I'm currently working on thinking of things to blog about that DON'T involve my photography business, but in the meantime, I wanted to ask you all a favor.

I don't really understand how or when or why I somehow happen to have so many readers. But I do, the stats don't lie... but the comments do! how does that work anyways?

Ok so, I posted over at my photo blog today in an attempt to spread it around. I just want the blog to get traffic mostly right now, and since I'm not really sure how to do that without being blunt, that's what I'm doing!

So here's what i'm asking. If you have me added or linked, or whatever you call it, would you please hop on over to my photo blog and link me there too? :)

I will love you oh so much!

Ok, back to real world blogging. I have a list I made in church the other day... bad me! why was i thinking about blogging during church...


another hilarious post from one year ago yesterday: but my lips hurt real bad

read it, you know you want to ;) you might understand the hidden side of chapstic addiction better after you do LOL!