Pages

.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Mico-body sculpting..

Coming much sooner than I had planned! I am so excited that Kris changed the rules and now I will be getting my surgery much sooner! Sometime in the next 3 1/2 months I will be ready to make my appointment and say goodbye to my spare tire forever! Oh, and hello to larger breasts with my natural breast augmentation! I will happily blog the day before I go in for my surgery and post before and after pictures.. and let you all know exactly how painful it is ..

I am expecting good results from this.. the procedure was even featured on the show Doctors .. and the doctor that I am going to was on the news discussing the way they do this procedure.. I have to say I am really looking forward to the day that I can schedule my appointment and even more so to how I am going to look a couple weeks after my surgery!
You can check out the website for the people doing my procedure here.. and take a look at the Doctors episode

Of course I will look different immediately afterward but you have to remember that it is an invasive procedure and there will be swelling.. so I will share pictures but I don't know how soon after that will be.. I will also share pictures of any incision marks so you can see just how big the "scars" are if there are any.. and don't get your hopes up guys.. I will not be sharing any naked breast pictures..lol.. bikini only!

So here is to my wonderful husband and my soon to be shapely figure! Woo!

Preparation ...

This summer my two older nieces are coming to stay with me for a couple months and I couldn't be happier! Kris and I had been discussing them coming and where they would sleep.. I have an extra room and a big air mattress.. but that is a long time to sleep on an air mattress.. even though that is what happened last time..lol.. So, we set out on a mission to find a bunk bed set that was nice enough to turn into Alora's bed later on... I was very happy that we found one for way cheap and with no tax on Presidents day! Gotta love sales! We also got two great mattresses both pillow top! These mattresses are better than what we sleep on now! lol.. So they will definitely be comfortable.. :)


This was right after I finished putting it together.. :)



I have also been cleaning out the dresser that is currently in that room so that they will have somewhere to put their clothes.. I think one 5 drawer dresser should be enough for what they bring..

They aren't coming until June and I am almost completely ready for them to be here! I would say I am completely done.. but I can't pick up the second mattress until after March 6th because it was a floor model..that I got at Macy's furniture store.. I can tell you that I never thought I would buy anything at a Macy's but it was a serta pillow top! Regular price was $709 and I got it for $139 .. what can I say the price was right! lol.. That is the one that Alora will be getting after I separate the bunk beds.. That should last her until she moves out around 18..lol..

So that is a little bit of what I have been doing lately.. :)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Bella Bella Cupcakes....

Life has been rather full of those lately..lol..
(The small one is an orange creamsicle and the big one is a Cherry limeade!)

A couple weeks ago or so.. one of the ladies I know posted about a local cupcake place... I of course was interested because, well, who doesn't like cupcakes? lol..

So Kris & I took the kids down and tried them out.. I have to say these were some of the best cupcakes I have ever had! I have been hooked and spent way to much money there lately..

(This is an I think, Lemon poppyseed and pineapple right side up..lol)

So although I will be slowing down my cupcake intake.. haha.. I wanted everyone to know about this great little Mom & Pop place that just opened a little over 30 days ago! Help out a new business and enjoy a cupcake! They have ice cream also which I am told is very good!

Last but not least, this is a Heavenly Coconut!

Click here to Check out Bella Bella Cupcakes on their website or just go on in and order!
They are in the Midas/Goodyear plaza hard to see, but even harder to forget!

11 years ago....

I can't believe it has been that long... 11 years ago on the 18th of Feb. I had Mcleod.. Time has flown by since then and he is almost taller than I am .. by this time next year... he may well be taller than me.. He has grown up so much .. We had a lot of problems throughout his young life.. but in the past couple years he has made a real turn around.. Now if only he would stop thinking he is being funny when he talks back..lol..

I don't have many baby pictures of Mcleod online since there wasn't really such a thing as digital cameras when he was little.. yep.. thats right.. there wasn't much in the way of cell phones either! lol..

Mcleod as a little tiny baby.. although he was never that tiny at 8 lbs 12 ozs and 21 inches long!
Photobucket

Mcleod was 2 years old in this picture.. he reminds me so much of Tristan here.. :)
Photobucket

Bare with me after this I will try to put them in order.. but I am not sure of ages..lol..

I believe he was 5 and 6 in these..
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket

Photobucket
Photobucket

Now on to age 7 and up!

Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket


And finally the picture I took yesterday for his 11 year old photo shoot..
Photobucket
Photobucket

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Nature Photography

Today it was beautiful outside.. for the third day in a row.. which is almost a record for Washington..lol.. So I decided to take advantage and go outside and take some pictures... :)
I even took a few pictures of myself.. This one is my favorite..

Photobucket

My sister has been harassing me on almost a daily basis about creating an Etsy account to sell my photos.. lol.. So after constant harassment for oh i don't know.. maybe a month.... I made an Etsy account..
You can see my Etsy here Click here to check out my pictures.

Here are some of the shots that I took today.. :)

Photobucket

Photobucket

Monday, February 7, 2011

A reason, A season, or a lifetime. ...


I have met many people throughout my life and some have stuck around and kept in contact while others just kind of disappeared. So how do you know when an aquaintance turns into a friend? How do you figure out if they are going to stick around for the long haul? How do you know if you have found a true friend, a kindred spirit?

I haven't quite figured that formula out myself. Like I said, I have met many people.. I have friends that stuck around that I didn't expect to and friends that have disappeared when I thought they would stick around.

I truly believe the old addage that friends are there for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.. I have been lucky enough to find a few lifetime friends..

I have enjoyed spending time with the friends that have been in my life for only a season...even if I would have liked them to stick around it just wasn't meant to be.

I have also had friends in my life for a reason.. friends that have helped me through deployments spending massive amounts of time at my house.. friends that I was with for a reason cause they needed things from me..

It is all a part of life.. We put ourselves out there in the hopes that we will meet that friend who will compliment our personalities as we compliment theirs.. who will be there for us as we are for them..

It can become frustrating when we constantly feel alone.. when we have yet to find that particular friend that will stick around forever, some are lucky to find those people early in life.. some become friends in elementary school, some high school, some college.. I can't say I had any of those friendships in my young life...

It became discouraging and changed me.. and I cannot say it was for the better.. I have a tenancy to believe that most people do not like me.. They do not have to show any outward signs of disdain for me.. it is just my instant first thought.
Sometimes I think that I try too hard to make friends.. but I will not stop trying.. If you stop trying then you will never find that person you are looking for.. that true friend.. and I am not talking about your spouse.. yes, Kris is my best friend.. but we all need a friend outside of our Main relationship.

So I will continue to search through those people that cross my path in the hopes of finding more friends that will be around for more than just a season.. because that is life and we are hardwired to look for companionship in all of its forms.. friendship being the one we start with from childhood.. and hope to end up with in old age..

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Metal Allergies

All my life I have had an allergy to anything jewelry related that I would wear that was not gold.. My husband can attest to it cause he has seen the rash that develops on my fingers when I don't clean my rings often enough or wear fake jewelry..
He has also seen the way my ears instantly start to swell and turn red when I wear fake earrings..

Well not to long ago I decided to buy some fake earrings to wear to the Nimitz ball.. because well.. dangling gold earrings would cost WAYYYYYY too much ...lol.. and I wanted something black.. So I bought them with hope that my ears wouldn't react too bad to them.

Low and behold my ears did not react AT ALL .. thats right, I had absolutely NO allergic reaction to my fake earrings! I couldn't believe it! I am so thrilled that I can now wear fake earrings! I wear fake necklaces any time I want as long as I don't leave them on for long...lol..

Here is a picture of me with my dangling earrings in.. they are hard to see with all my hair..lol..


An interesting turn of events! Now if the rest of my body follows suit I will be doing good! lol

Homecoming...


Homecoming is a beautiful word to so many military wives that have to feel that pain of separation.. No one but a Navy wife can quite understand what it is like to deal with a Navy deployment.. just as it is different for every other branch.. but we all have something in common.. We miss our loved ones..

So for the wonderful Navy Wives that are a HUGE part of my life, I have compiled photos from their Homecomings.. the happy day when our Sailors return to us... When love comes back to our arms...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

My experience with another Photographer

After much debate(with myself) and consideration about posting this I have decided that I am going to stay true to myself and be honest..

I went to another photographer in order to get outdoor pictures done of Kris & I .. To say the least I was a little disappointed.. She was an extremely nice woman, very friendly .. but all that doesn't matter when it comes to pleasing your customer.

I am sure that many people would be perfectly happy with the pictures we got.. but I am not.. I asked the photographer to pose us but she declined and stated that we were "doing fine on our own". This disappointed me, especially since I could not see what we looked like. I had no idea if my feet were wrong or our bodies were posed right.. we had fake smiles, or if my hair was messed up.

So in several pictures those problems were very evident to me once I was able to see the pictures. It was hard for me to choose which ones I wanted as prints because I was so disappointed with them.

Even my 17 year old niece noticed that our bodies were not close enough together for a married couple without my even saying anything.

So here is my problem, yes, I am critical, yes, it is because I am a photographer, but, it is also because am a client.

So here they are, the pictures,

This one I would have loved, both smiles are real, clarity and contrast is great.. but... My hair is all kinds of jacked up between our heads and against my forehead.. so I don't like it at all..

Next...Again, her composition, contrast, and lighting are not in question.. It is the pose .. remember we posed ourselves.. but can't see what we look like.
Our bodies are too far apart and I look like I am straining to kiss him.. his hand is also in a funny position when it should have been around me..


Another one that is actually my favorite of all the ones I have seen.. but again, his body is all wrong.. his pelvis is turned away from me and the space between us makes it seem like the pose is strained. His body is turned away from me instead of towards me..

There were several taken of us sitting on these rocks and I can't say that I like any of them, all of the poses just don't look right to me..

Then there were the ones on the bench.. My retarded looking feet just messed this all up.. plus we had some pretty fake smiles going on..

I have seen previous work from this photographer which is what made me choose her.. She has done some great work .. especially with children and babies.. but overall I was just disappointed with what I received.. I didn't even bother to mention any of this to her as her prices were already so low that I do not believe that she owes me anything .. not even a reshoot. However, I did feel the need to express my sincere feelings about what I think should have been different.. and that was her ability to pose her clients in a way that makes the pictures just that much better, I believe that once she learns this her photography will be perfect because she already has all of the other aspects of the craft down.

Photography and random feelings

Well, life has been busy and strange lately... I went to another photographer and had her take outdoor pictures of Kris & I .. I can't say that it felt good to do that.. I really hated not having creative control over my pictures... I hate not being able to see all the pictures that were taken.. there are not many things I am a control freak over, but photography is definitely one of them. I was still the one doing all the posing for Kris and I but couldn't see what it looked like through the lens, so that made it hard..lol I think that as soon as I have my surgery done or sometime this summer, whichever happens first... I will do some outdoors photos of Kris and I myself, just to make myself feel better..lol.. The pictures that I got done with the other photographer were good, I just have that control thing going on..lol..
Here is my favorite one that she took.


Today since it is sunny out I once again decided to try and do Tristan's 5 year old photo shoot.. This time he was more cooperative and I got some good shots. :)
He loves making silly faces so that is a hard thing to do..lol..



I had a long conversation with a close friend of mine the other day and apparently I was a little too blunt about my feelings and ended up hurting them... sigh.. I guess I have a knack for doing that.. people don't really handle my straight forwardness to well.. So to my friend.. I am sorry if I hurt you.. that was not my intention.
Photobucket