Challenge Day 18

Your Shoes

I was really excited for this day for some reason.

Like really, really.

I think it's because I love shoes.

And you can't be insecure about your feet.

At least I don't think so/ have yet to experience that sort of insecurity.

Although I will say it is no coincidence that flats were chosen over flip flops.

It may be time for a pedi.

 

I LOVE these flats.

They're blue.

They match with everything I wear. 

Just trust me.

Of course some of my other favorites made an appearance.

You can see the "worn out" love

Love my rain boots!

Glamorous.

Also, I found out it actually is called sunflare not sunglare.

I'm not original. 

And I'm kind of embarrassed.

 meh. oh well.

Such is life.

Off to zumba my booty off!

Challenge Day 16 and 17

Long Exposure

fail.

But I had fun trying. 

It turned into me just trying to take pictures at night.

And I figured out how to do the fun swirly things.

way over exposure

spooky Halloween moon.

swirlies!

Oh and I saw my first snake since living in AZ.

On our very own street. 

He was in the process of going to snake heaven so I snapped a photo.

I am pretty positive it was a rattler.

Any experts out there?

Now on to...

Technology

I was going to show you all the technology I'm thankful for.

Including how the white balance feature works on my yet-to-be named camera.

But, drinking hot tea sounds better. 

So you just get the short and sweet version.

wireless internet.

light switch. I would need multiple step stools if not for these babies.

hubs is most grateful for access to sports information online

this is a beautiful machine that makes wonderful desserts

yay healthy juice. I also spy a black thing that takes pretty photos

Off to enjoy a cozy, rainy night in phoenix.

If you look in the left column of this page, you will notice a full box of boxes.

Why, you ask?

12 followers!!

I have tripled my beginning number.

boo yah.

Challenge Day 15

Silhouette

We got to see our friends Ben and Steph tonight.

We don't see them often enough.

But it was the perfect opportunity to branch outside of Josh and Wrigley.

They are wonderfully attractive subjects but it's getting boring.

Ben and Steph are good friends from college and I love that they live close to us.

(and I was informed this past week that our other friends, Kim and Bryan, have booked tickets and are coming in in December. I'm stoked for our family reunion. Expect too many of photos) 

Wrigley came to visit before the beautiful sunset.

And Ben happens to be Wrigley's favorite person.

It's a beautiful friendship.

We are currently doing the thing couples do best.

Playing nerdy games like Risk. And Settlers of Catan.

I gotta go capture some countries.

I'm half way done with my photo challenge and I am still enjoying myself.

I think this is a start to a beautiful friendship.

I have yet to name my camera, but it is probably going to happen.

Challenge Day 14

Eyes

I'm a day late. 

But if all goes as planned, I will have a second post later today for Day 15.

I had fun with eyes. 

His beautiful blue eyes were the first thing I noticed when we met. 

And I told him that. And he thought I was creepy.

But endearing. 

Story of my life.

But anyways. I'm considering this my first professional photo shoot.

Even if I am paid in kisses.

It just so happens kisses are one of my favorite currencies.

Here are some of the oopsie daisies:

sensitive eyes

creepy dark

"Wifey, why do you make me lay on the ground?"

"Seriously, wife. Too bright"

Squinty eyes. Those are his favorite to make :)

He was right. It was a little bright which made it PERFECT for practicing some sun glare shots. 

That's right. I'm using fancy photo terms now.

silly werewolf hubby.

loyal Bears fan. Bear Down!

He may be missing too much of his head. But it's ok. I still like.

Then there is the infamous "laid back shot"

But here is my favorite photo from the day

He is genuinely good looking, don't ya think?

Even in a horribly orange shirt.

That's right. I said it.

I love the Bears, but I also appreciate the fact that blue is probably their main color for a good reason.

Putting all my photos up is super vulnerable, I've realized. 

Especially if I say I am proud of them. 

(BUT what if you're not proud of them??)

I feel like I need to justify why I am proud of them.

So I will do that today.

1. 95% of these were done on manual

2. I played with the white balance
3. None of these are cropped. Yay for rule of thirds naturally!

4. I laid on the ground to get sun glare (I would like to call it sun flare from now on...I feel it is more glamorous).  

Laying on the ground is pretty much the definition of commitment.

I am SO ready for senior portraits, right?

Challenge Day 13

You and 13 Things

Whenever I thought about this particular day, this photo popped into my head

That's right, this is what pops in to my mind.

Please.

Take a moment to swallow all the wonderful creepiness.

As long as my photo turns out better than this, I consider it a win.

(This is from a creepy Jewish dating website that my second mama found)

Once again, this whole self portrait thing is tricky.

And awkward. And there is no way I will deprive you of the awkwardness.

But it's ok. Because I had fun.

Taking note of a friends' modeling skill, haha.

Let me explain the one above. I have my favorite ring on and I wanted to show it off for the camera, then it realized it was on my middle finger and had to quickly change it.

I'm actually shocked that I caught myself before I did it.

So I chose the nice one for the day

 I went outside to take advantage of it NOT being hotter than 110 degrees.

I'll give a quick rundown of the 13 items, left to right

1: Jewelry-yay for big earrings and fun rings

2. Nutella- chocolate that some people somehow consider healthy? well, alright.

3. Dog Toy- I love my dog and I love buying him toys

4.Rain Boots- I love rain now that I live Phoenix. Go figure.

5. Zumba Top- A zumba instructor near you coming soon!

6. Big girl phone- does fancy things and keeps me connected to people I love

7-10. Things that make me feel girly. LOVE the dark nail polish, best face and body lotion ever and mmm, mmm, I do love smelling good

11. I love my husband and I loved our wedding. and the photos from it.

12. The Bible-good stuff.

13. Book- The Virgin's Lover. RELAX. It's about Queen Elizabeth.

Success?I hope so!

I'll leave you with this gem.

Challenge Day 12

Sunset

I'm not as nervous about these photos from today.

If you look closely at the silhouette on the right, you will see our friend Josh. One of my Jedis.

The other Jedi, Kelly, was standing right next me.

With their help with all the settings, it almost guarantees I will get somewhat of a decent photo. 

They are our "last minute friends" so we made plans around 2:00 to have dinner at 5:30. 

It's a wonderful friendship.

However, there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to pick their smart brains about my smart camera. 

There are people in this photo. I'm proud. 

What did I learn tonight?

It does not always need to be in the middle.

White balance = difference between orange and blue

I'm still not comfortable taking photos of people

Fortunately, I am comfortable taking photos of Frank.

 He sure is pretty, isn't he?

We have some of the most of beautiful sunsets.

One of the many perks of being a Phoenician, I suppose.

Also, I was informed that "Jedi In Training" is not the correct term.

No.No.

I, my friends, am a "Padawan"

That sounds way cooler.

Maybe one of these days I will actually pop in a Star Wars movie.

But maybe not.

And by maybe not, I mean probably not gonna happen.

It's something to strive for though.

Challenge Day 10

Childhood Memory

I'm a day late. 

Oops.

I warned you teacher life is busy.

Like really, really busy. 

It's not all hand prints and finger paint, people.

After hemming and hawwing, I decided that my childhood memory would be dressing up.

(or as us professionals call it, dramatic play)

Fortunately, you don't have to see me dressed up like a princess.

I'll save that for my preschoolers.

Who remembers the game Pretty Pretty Princess?

I can't tell you what that game was about.

But I can tell you I got to put on lots of pretty jewelry, including a crown.

How is that not a good time?

I also thought about taking a photo of a baby doll.

Somehow, I couldn't fathom how that wouldn't be creepy.

Technically, there is a blue blob in the background. 

Does that count as day 11: something blue?

It just might if I can't come up with something else

Yep. That's how I'm rolling this week.

  

Heres my shout out to my two mamas:

I am still lovingly referred to as "Princess" by my family members (shout out to birth momma)

It doesn't even phase me anymore.

My second mama (Laura)took me to get my first manicure, which started a wonderfully bad habit of always wanting one.

Apparently I am getting popular enough that people want shout outs. 

It's family. But still. Big deal.