Silly Videos of My Family

I wasn't able to get a photo post up this morning, so instead I offer you these ridiculous videos of my dog, my husband, and... reluctantly... me. Enjoy our humiliation for your entertainment. If we can't laugh at ourselves, than we have no place to laugh at others... so please, enjoy a laugh on me. ;-)

Misty, our 13 year old teacup poodle, spins when she's excited that she might get food or go outside. Note: she can only spin clockwise!


In an Indiana State University Music Department tradition, students vote to Pie-A-Professor at the end of the semester, and this year my husband was voted to get a nice big whip cream pie to the face.... (yes, that's me in there taking close ups- you can check out my husband's facebook profile for those pics)


One night during a workshop in Indianapolis, my booty had a mind of its own... yeah... you know I'm hot! HA!!!! See if you can recognize the other photographers in this video (names and links will not be mentioned to protect the innocent bystanders of my booty shakin')!!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

Wow. If that wasn't embarASSing, I don't know what is.

Brittany & Aaron Engagement

What an adorable couple!! This was my first (and probably my last) engagement session in downtown Terre Haute, IN!! Someday I'm going to do a study on the facades of Terre Haute, because you'd be amazed how many buildings have multiple materials, colors, and complete randomess on their facades. Anyway... back to Brittany & Aaron....


I love light, contrast, and lines. Yummmayyy.




The picture above was probably one of the first ones from the session. Don't they look nervous? Don't worry people, this is natural and it happens to EVERYONE! It's weird staring at a camera! However, it usually doesn't take too long for couples to loosen up in front of me after they realize what a goof I am. ;-)



Sexy specs...


.... and some rockin' bling....




yummmmayyy..... kisses and flare... I'm happy!!!




I have no idea what I said... but it must've been funny!!


I loved the light reflecting off of the lake...


The End!! Stay tuned for their wedding photos!!

Guess What? It's Official!

Each video is a clue, click play....







Did you figure out my secret message??


Update: My blog stalkers are so smart. ;-) Yes!!! I'm moving to the Boston area in July!!! My hubby accepted a position at U Mass Lowell and we'll be visiting the area this coming weekend to look for a place to live! I've always had a longing to do a summer tour around New England, and now I'm going to be living there?! Are you kidding me?!?! I'm soooo excited about the possibilities ahead!!! I love the spirit of the east coast and I can't wait to be a part of it!! I also can't wait to share my explorations with you here on my blog!!!

Kristin & Tyson Engagement

Kristin & Tyson, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G....








First comes LOVE...










Then comes MARRIAGE (proposal)...










Then comes the AWESOME invitation in the mail!!! Designed by Kathleen!!


I absolutely loved the concept that Kristin had for their engagement shoot. She knew she wanted to do a movie poster invitation, incorporating the idea of kissing in a tree. Of course, because I looooooove trees, I was thrilled and had so much fun incorporating the various ideas and phrases of the childhood chant. ;-) When it comes to engagement sessions, I'm up for anything!! Give me a theme or some sort of inspiration and I'm off and running with it!!! I can NOT wait for Kristin & Tyson's wedding!! It's going to be F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!

Super Easy Ways to Be More Environmentally Friendly

Here are some more ridiculously easy ways to help give this planet of ours a little more lovin' EVERY day!
(all photos are linked to original source)

REFUSE TO IDLE

It drives me bonkers when people sit curbside and just let their cars burn fossil fuels and emit toxic gases because they are just too lazy to turn that little key off and back on again. Even the city of Vancouver, known for cold winters has a no idling LAW to help keep the environment a little bit cleaner!! I don't know if New York taxi cabs would be able to deal with this kind of law, but certainly we can all do our part to reduce the amount of fuel usage and smog. Just turn the car off and leave your parking lights or blinkers on... it's not going to hurt your car or take more than a few seconds to restart it again, I promise!

WALK-THRU

Since so many people are addicted to drive-thrus these days, the wait inside- especially in fast-food joints- is often much QUICKER than sitting in the drive-thru!! I actually did an experiment on several different occasions where I noted the last car waiting in the drive-thru, and then I parked and went in to get service and checked to see how much longer the car I would have been sitting behind would have taken to get the same service. On average, I saved an extra 2 minutes by NOT sitting in the drive through! Plus, I saved 4-5 minutes of letting my car idle!! And I actually burned more calories by getting out and using my muscles instead of sitting in the car for a longer period of time. As if those benefits weren't awesome enough, it's much easier to make use of your own reusable cup or mug when you go inside than it is to ask someone to take it in a drive-thru. So, I challenge you to STOP using the drive-thru in order to save yourself more time, get a little more exercise, and help reduce wasting fuel.

LESS HOT AIR

Your clothes will last longer if you let them dry on a drying rack. Your hair will be healthier if you let it air dry as well. However, I understand that it's not always practical to let everything air dry, which is why there are other ways to reduce the use of energy and speed up drying times. For your laundry, you can use dryer balls to help separate clothes in the dryer, reducing drying times by up to 25%. When it comes to your fabulous mane, you can use Ionic Hair Dryers to not only dry your hair much more quickly, but to also make those lovely locks super shiny!!

PRESSURE CHECK

Make sure your tires are always full of air by checking the tire pressure every few weeks. It only takes a few seconds while you're at the gas station filling up anyway, and it could save you not only money, but fuel efficiency as well. I tend to put a little extra air in my tires (generally no more than an extra 5lbs of pressure), and I can always tell a noticeable difference in my fuel usage. When my tires are low on pressure, I can't make it to Chicago without stopping for gas. When they have plenty of air pressure, I can make the entire trip without stopping. It's really that much of a difference! Try it for yourself!! Another green tip... lay off the gas... learn to enjoy coasting into a stop light or stop sign instead of keeping your foot on the gas. Your breaks and your gas tank will thank you for it. (This means YOU, hubby!!)

SPRING CLEANING

Now that spring is here, I bet you're in a better mood to start those cleaning projects you were putting off all winter long! You can start by simply choosing an environmentally friendly cleaning product the next time you need one from the grocery store! There are now paper towels made from recycled and unbleached materials, biodegradable garbage bags, natural and non-toxic cleaners, and the list goes on. Helping the planet is as easy as simply thinking about what you're buying and how it affects the planet before you make your next purchase.
• Plastic Bags
If you have a lot of plastic bags accumulating because you'd never throw them out knowing that they don't biodegrade, you can now recycle them at your local grocery store! Look for tall white plastic bag recycling containers in the entrance of your local grocery. If the box isn't easy to find, take a quick minute to ask a manager if they offer a plastic bag recycling program, most of them do- they may just need to make it more visible and easy to access!
• Batteries
Proper disposal of batteries is VERY important to the environment and protecting our ground water from harmful toxins. Finding a drop off location for your old batteries is as easy as entering your zip code at www.call2recycle.com.
• Junk Mail
The best way to eliminate junk mail, is to prevent it from coming to your home in the first place. Sign up at www.GreenDimes.com to eliminate the junk from ever hitting your mailbox, and they'll plant a tree or even give you a little green for taking the time to do so!!
• Everything Else
The idea that one man's trash is another man's treasure is the basis behind Freecycle.org. Anything that you think isn't worth selling on EBay, may be worth posting on Freecycle! You never know what someone is happy to take off your hands!

MAKE SOME NOISE

Send a friendly reminder to your congress and house of representatives. Tell them we need action, and we need it now. Here are several petitions that you can quickly and electronically sign in order to help deliver the message of change to our government...
• Sky Petition for cleaner air
• Presidential Pledge to encourage media to focus on environmental issues and to ask our next President elect to take immediate action
• Emissions Petition to enact the Climate Stewardship Act
• Search for a petition that speaks to you on The Petition Site and Petitions Online.

DON'T GIVE UP

No one is perfect. I wish I could live my life totally green friendly, but it's not always practical. The important part is that I make efforts where I can, and that little changes everyday can help add up to a lot of impact in the long run. Being green is more of a journey than a destination. You just take it one step at a time, making better decisions and choices as you go. ;-)

And now.... my theme song for progress... just look how far we've come since tapered jeans and man bangs...

Detroit Masonic Temple Wedding - Laurah & Jeff

I'm so crazy in love with Laurah & Jeff and their wedding. What's not to love?! They are so in love with each other, so appreciative of their friends and family, and they chose one of the most amazing locations ever. Laughter, tears, hugs, kisses, getting crazy on the dance floor... seriously, they had it all.


Even though it was rainy outside, it was still beaming sunshine and smiles inside...


The Beatles t-shirt and jeans loving "flowergirl" gets a lesson in lipgloss application.


Tequila shots.... can't you just feel the bitterness of the lemon in this? HA!

The Masonic Temple in Detroit, MI is THE largest Masonic Temple in the entire world. No expense was spared on the detail and thought that went into the architecture of this over 80,000 sq. ft. building built in the 1920s. The only way to photograph the massive facade was from across the street with a fisheye lens...


The guys got ready in the Red Cross room, which has an amazing gold fresco on the wall. I think the grand chairs made the guys look pretty important too... Jeff, of course, in the middle...


This is probably one of my favorite dress shots ever... reflected in the mirror...


I don't know why things in place of faces makes me chuckle, it just does...


Laurah cracks me up!! She was trying to figure out how she was going to get her crinoline into her dress if she was going to step into the dress... thankfully she realized that she could just put it on over her head! ;-)


Oh the things that bridesmaids do for the bride....


I think I have a thing for clocks...



Check out their burgundy and orange details- like a vibrant tiger lily...


Would you believe they call this room an Asylum?? Simply gorgeous...



Immediately after the ceremony, the bride & groom took the elevator down to see the Crystal Ballroom set up before any of the guests got in the room. They had an amazing first dance alone together and they had me in tears the entire time!!




After a few portraits around the building, they were ready to get their groove on!!


This is what I love about these families... one moment is completely ridiculous and the next is raw emotion...



Abandoned shoes on the dance floor.... I have a thing about abandoned shoes too...


These guys crack me up!!! You may recognize the gentleman with the umm... "money maker" from Kelly & Brian's Wedding, where he pulled an interesting stunt as the best man, and I'm happy to say that you'll get to see more of him in the near future when I blog his wedding. ;-)


Cigar time...



I love it when a groom can tear up the dance floor!! Go Jeff, go jeff, go, go, go Jeff...


(did you see Delia in the background?? She came along as a second shooter. ;-)

I love both of these images so much, and once again... they happened only seconds apart... pure romance, and pure joy... what an amazing way to end an amazing evening...


Laurah & Jeff, I already said it, but I love you to pieces and I'm so so so honored that you chose me as your wedding photographer!! Thank you so much for your graciousness- you really helped give me strength when I needed it!! I can only hope I did justice to the beautiful moments of your wedding day!!