Just kind of Blah

It's 'hump day' and although we are half way thru the week somehow I just feel kind of ehhh...Hey I'm not going to sugar coat this and pretend that every day is rainbows.and.butterflies. because quite frankly their not! So ha!!!

Surprisingly you did not see me on the 5'o clock news, but boy oh boy, I wish I could have been!!!! I'm just so frustrated and maybe that's why I'm a little down. I'm tired of the run around from the doctor's office. On a positive note, I did drag my BUTT to the gym yesterday and I did accomplish getting the rest of the house cleaned so Yay Me!

I have to say thank goodness I have my photography as an outlet. I seriously don't know what I did before I became soooo serious about it. I have always been obsessed with photos but I usually took them just at events, family stuff etc. Now it's kind of like therapy for me. I can go to my happy place and edit photos or grab my camera, go outside and just start shooting and it really takes my mind off things and right now I really need the distraction.

So today is going to be all about relaxation and working on photog related stuff!!! No STRESS!!! Unless I need to go 'handle' that darn doctor's office!!!!! Crossing fingers and toes that I hear something today!!!!! My tests were done on Thursday.......seriously.....NO.RESULTS.YET.!!!?????

We can't end this on a downer......soooooo

5 DAYS UNTIL MY CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy happy...that's what that makes me!!!!

I hope your hump day is full of happy!!!! xoxo

 If this little snowman doesn't make you smile.....NOTHING will!!!! LOL....;)

Random Ramblings

Hello Tuesday!!! I have so many things on my mind but don't worry, I will keep it to 10 random thoughts, you peeps don't need to be completely bored by me!!!

1. If the doctor does not call today I think you may see me on the 5'o clock news....seriously why does it take so long to get test results back???!!!!

2. I'm getting super delighted, nervous and excited about a family shoot I am doing on Saturday morning!! They are some of the cutest kids though, so I see it being a whole lotta fun!!!

3. Try NOT to be jealous.....we booked a rental car for our trip to Vegas next month with friends....yep, we will by styling and profiling in an 8 passenger mini van....(I have nothing against mini vans, I just personally can't see over the windshield to judge something that big, so I would definitely be taking out small children or buildings that I couldn't make it past) Plus...we have 4 kids with us from the ages of 7 to 15 and though the 7 yr old could care less, I have the sneaking suspicion the mini van is not making the 'cool list' with them.

4. My sister's wedding is in less than 3 months and how I ask, how, do I live out west and can NOT find BROWN.COWBOY.BOOTS. for little boys!!?? I would think that's a staple item, like milk at a grocery store, but seriously I have been looking EVERYWHERE and no luck!!! Also, I don't want to spend a ton of moula on them because let's face it, he's probably only going to wear them for the wedding and maybe to fool around in. What I have learned from this hunt is.......Being a cowboy is EXPENSIVE!!!!  I looked at real cowboy boot joints out here and let me tell you.....little kid ones START at $55 and up......then grow up and be a big girl/boy cowboy and you are looking at anywhere from $175 and up.......holy moly...who knew!!???

5. I'm hoping to have the same energy I had yesterday.....I was kicking butt and taking names with getting stuff done!!! Here's to hoping I have that same stamina today.....(unlikely but a girl can hope!)

6. Hubby got me Lightroom, so now I have to try and learn that baby......any one who has any recommendations on help links to start learning it.....you will be my new best friend (you may not want me, but I will still be completely, utterly grateful!)

7. My little lady who takes pity on me (ok, not really....I think she really likes me and thinks I do a good job) emailed me and has some more research work for me to do on her book.....I'm ready and willing to get started on that.....between Vegas and our vaca out east this summer I can use any extra money....Bring it!!!

8. My mini me came home with her report card yesterday and really blew us away....not sure where she got these smarts from...but STRAIGHT.A+s. and the highest grade in the class.....hellllooo...just when you think you don't do anything right you hear that and are immediately smacked into reality and realize....'wow, we are doing something right!'.....go us and GO my little Hayley!!!!

9. I am sitting here doing my back and forth convo in my head about whether or not to drag my little butt to the gym....why, why do I have to keep having this same fight with myself?? Why can't I be one of those super cute buff girls who wakes up 'Hello world, let's get to the gym!'.....I know I need to go....1 for the stress relief factor and 2 because of summer vacation....umm...a girl needs to hold her own if she's going to see everyone and their mother from high school....(it's a SMALL town).... 3 for the health benefits....it's not all vanity...

10. This is my last week with my hubby and to say it's been a wonderful 3 weeks would be an understatement. Sure we got on each others nerves but when all is said and done I LOVE having him in town with us!!! It will be sad....I so Love that guy!!!

Enough rambling....have an awesome Tuesday!!!! (and cross your fingers the doctor calls so you don't hear or see about me on the news)   xoxo

I had previously called this 10 on Tuesday but since all I do is RAMBLE...I changed the title....it just seems more appropriate....;)

No More Mopey Mondays!

Seriously, how does Monday come back around soooo QUICKLY!!!??
Here's my happy list for this Monday...:)


1- Enjoyed a beautiful family day at Mt. Lemmon yesterday and that always makes me happy!

2- The big sister taught the little brother how to TIE HIS SHOES finally!!!! (the parents were not successful at this job, so we called in the big guns)

3- It's a beautiful day out and I have a TON of pics to edit so I plan on enjoying my coffee and hit the editing in full force

4 - ONE WEEK until my photography course!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!! I can hardly stand it!!!!

Happy Monday everyone!!!!! xoxo

Coffee Date

So I had my long awaited coffee date with the wedding photographer the other day and to say it was everything I could have hoped for and more is an UNDERSTATEMENT!!!

Obviously I was a complete nervous wreck....I worried about everything from whether she would like me, like my work, to what to WEAR!! Which by the way...here is the outfit that won out......

I had really cute black and white plaid wedges, but I somehow managed to cut those out of the pic...awesome, huh!!?

Anywho....as soon as she walked in to the coffee shop, I knew immediately that she was a sweetheart and it was going to go great! She was so welcoming, so sweet. We talked for about 2 1/2 hrs and we covered everything from when I started loving photography, to having babies.  I seriously felt like I had been friends with her for years...and doesn't every woman hope for that when meeting a new girl??!! Let's face it, girls can be tough to get along with and catty at times, but I totally felt at ease. I was highly impressed with how organized and together she is with her business. She gave me so much info, answered so many questions, gave me constructional criticism and by the end I knew that the wedding I'm going to with her on May 5th would be great! I was completely overwhelmed but ecstatic that she told me to bring my camera along to the wedding and shoot away......heeelllloooo.....I SOOO did NOT expect that!!!! We talked about my upcoming photographer course and then she completely FLOORED me by asking me if I would be interested in ever second shooting for her after my course for some more experience!!! YES! YES! YES!!!!!!

Anyone would be CRAZY to pass up the opportunity to work along side an experienced and knowledgeable photographer....so YES, please sign me up for that!!!!

We left and decided that we would like to grab some lunch the first week after I start my photography course to discuss how that is going.

I felt so fortunate and appreciative that she took the time to meet with me and share her expertise and knowledge with me......it just affirms that people can succeed and still have time to help others and not forget where they started.

BTW....9 DAYS until my photography course!!!!! xoxo

Awkward and Awesome Thursdays!!

So another Thursday is here and I'm running thru my head thinking if I truly have 3 awkward and awesome things to share.....I think ALL of my awkwards happened today....seriously!!! I may come back as a guy in my next life...somehow it seems they have it a little easier...or maybe it's a pity party of 1 over here!

The Awkward

• Meeting a new doctor while you are sitting on the table in a child's paper vest  (um, yeah, no joke they must work out of the pediatrician's side when they are off on Thursday and Friday so there I was....all exposed.....in a child's vest.....all I can say is thank goodness I am tiny or I can see that being a WHOLE lot more awkward.

• Going for testing and everyone and their mother has now seen your chest.....I guess after labor and delivery there should be no shame, but still standing there while peeps are ogling and inspecting is STILL intimidating....I don't care who you are! ;)

•  Someone asking where your child goes to school, telling them, them asking how you like it and then them saying 'oh, I've heard such conflicting things about that school'. me saying 'I guess if you're one of the catty moms'. her response 'I guess that's who I'm friends with'......umm...OOPS!!!!!

The Awesome

• Having an absolutely AMAZING coffee date with the wedding photog.....more on that tomorrow!!! But let's say, it went 100 times better than I could have imagined! 

• Both of my kiddos getting straight As this quarter....yep, this momma is PROUD!!!! 

 So happy tomorrow is Friday.....11 DAYS until my photography course!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!! xoxo

Today is the DAY!!!

I got confirmation last night that the funky cute wedding photographer STILL is having coffee with me!!! I don't know what I was expecting her to say, but again, with the confidence thing....I couldn't imagine I would be cool enough to mingle with a 'big girl' photographer. I on the other hand am a 'baby photographer'...then the moment I was hoping wouldn't happen. 'Can you please bring samples of your work if possible?'. Um, yeah, I'm super classy....let me throw together a snapfish album of some of my best work, because I am a TOTAL slacker and haven't updated my flicker account. I am probably scoring LOTS of points already!!!! Being the lady that she is and so kind spirited, she told me 'That's perfect'. Hmmm.....

So I am going to haul myself to the gym to clear my mind and um, anxiety and then come home to do what everyone does before a date......Pull out EVERY article of clothing out of the closet, try on a million outfits trying to find The.Perfect.One.  At this point I'm already telling myself I have 'nothing' to wear and I 'hate' all of my clothes....(don't pretend you never say that....we are women after all...;)

So that's all. I'm a pile of nerves, butterflies in my stomach and I may just throw up.

I felt this photo was needed from the archives, especially for today.
xoxo

Ten on Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!!! Here are 10 random thoughts for this cold but much PRETTIER day than yesterday! (ok 9 but whatever) ;)

1. One day I'm going to wake up and be ECSTATIC to go to the gym....(this is wishful thinking because as hard as I try....every morning when I wake up, I can literally talk myself out of going in a nano second.) This is how the conversation with myself goes.

Alarm goes off
Me: ugh I have to go to the gym
Head: well I kind of have a headache, maybe I can skip today
Me: living off of chocolate and snack attacks is making you hate yourself, just go
Head: eh, I can just make sure I work extra hard tomorrow
Me: Shut up and go....once you get there you will be fine and hey, it's almost SWIMSUIT season....BLAH!!!

So, yes, I drag my butt there and I ALWAYS feel revived and refreshed but I look around that gym when I'm there and I see all the hard core peeps and I think, wow, I'm a LAZY no good, piece of poop....LOL....oh well, at least I'm there showing my face! ;)

2- I'm thinking it's time to update my Etsy shop with some new photos so today I'm going to hit my photography and start looking into that.....Please visit it if you feel like perusing some pretty awesome pics (if I say so myself, hey I'm trying to have positive self motivation and confidence, that wasn't me being arrogant...because I can put myself down quicker than anyone....seriously ANYONE!)
Uncorked Love

3- I think I have a SERIOUS addiction....yep, wait for it....I am completely utterly ADDICTED to blogs!!! I keep finding more and more blogs that I just sit and absorb for hours!! Hey if blogs were books I would be considered an AVID reader! I become obsessed with some of these peeps, like I could totally be their friend...yep, I know most of us would be BFFs....(just go with it) The problem is I find one I love, I go ALL the way back to the beginning and read and read and read, then some where in there they link a blog they love and it's a down ward spiral, then I'm wanting to follow that one!!! Yes, I probably need an intervention or a full time job.....I'm thinking there could be much worse things to be addicted to so for now I'm going to carry on with my new found love!!!

4- Tomorrow is my big coffee 'date' with a real photographer!!! Giddy, I tell you...giddy!! I'm fretting over what the heck I'm going to wear, and if she's going to like me. (This is where I need self confidence)

5- Thank goodness it is not, raining, snowing or any other ugly weather that I am tooo SPOILED to handle...I think having lived in sunny beautiful weather for the last 16 years has tainted me for any change below 70....sad, I know.

6- 13 days until my SNAPSHOTS of a GOOD LIFE course starts!!! ohhhhh, I can hardly stand it!! I may actually really know what I'm doing with this camera of mine!

7- I was GLUED to the tv last night watching the newest episode of Bethenny Ever After....I'm starting to think I watch that show so I feel just a tad bit more 'together' and normal.....

8- We spent 2 fun filled hours last night watching one of our vacation videos from 2009. It was so nice and it was like reliving it all over again....the not so nice parts....my baby was 4 and just totally scrumptious!! I could eat him up, his voice, his face, his little hands...ugh...how does time go by sooo fast. Even little Hayley looked tinier than usual. Sad sad, but oh, so nice that we have all these memories to enjoy.

9- I've now been sitting on this computer for an hour and it's time to actually get my day moving and do some photog related stuff. I feel like I haven't picked up my camera in ages....ok, reality....2 days, but hey, that's a while for me! ;)

Have a Terrific Tuesday! xoxo

and I can't blog w/out a pic :)

No More Mopey Mondays!

Monday is back again!!! Funny how quickly it comes back around! So without further adieu, here is my list for No More Mopey Mondays this week......

1- Our Vegas trip with our friends is BOOKED!!! So excited! Venetian here we come!!!! :)

2- My coffee date with the wedding photographer I get to shadow in May is this WEEK!!!!! I feel as nervous as I would be getting ready for a first date. (of course not sure if I really remember what that is like since it's been 18 years since I went on a 1st date, but a girl can assume she will have butterflies....LOL)

3- Keeping up with my memory blog for the kiddos. Who knew that one was going to be so hard?? Hey, it's extremely difficult to back log 11 years....but slowly....one blog post at a time I'm going strong!

4- Having a fabulous weekend with the most amazing friends. It makes it hard to find out what's going to happen with our life after next month, but for now I'm just going to soak them all up and enjoy each and every moment I have with them!

Those are my 5 things that are helping me turn around this Mopey Monday and see the bright side! I hope your Monday is bright, cheery and full of happy!!!! xoxo

My shirt TOTALLY fits the feelings I'm having....'Lucky'!!

Now, really...a friend who is going to endure fashion like this with

you for a good laugh is a TOTAL keeper!!!

After 18 years together this guy STILL makes me feel like the
only girl in the room and right there is just one more
reason I'm Lucky!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

So tonight we had a get together with a few of our closest friends and their kids to celebrate St. Patty's Day. We had so much fun, so many laughs and the high light of the night was probably the 'props' that ended up being used as 'photo booth' type fun!!! We are honestly so lucky to have these people in our life and I couldn't imagine spending St. Patty's with any one else! Here's a few photos from the night.....

My Green Lovelies!

I hope your St. Patty's Day was full of fun! xoxo

Tools of the Trade...

Tuesday is here and it still feels like a whirlwind!!! It started with an early morning stop at the gym....um yeah, this is necessary because of this new found seasonal addiction:

Seriously I CAN.NOT.STOP.EATING.THESE!!!!! I'm starting to think they are crack for bunnies!!! (disclaimer....I have NEVER touched a drug in my life, but the NEED for these eggs is what I'm imagining a crack addict would feel like when they 'need' more drugs)
Thank goodness, these are only out ONCE a year...for real.....no self control!!!

After that necessary chore, Hayley and I hit the stores for some fun St. Patty's decor/accessories for a get together we are having at our house on Saturday. Pretty excited with our finds and can't wait to get fun photos of all of us and our friends in our new get ups....hey it will be like a make believe photo booth! (yeah, the friends don't know this little secret tidbit yet, hellloooo......new photographer peeps, they should EXPECT to be photographed at any and ALL times!)

With St. Patty's taken care of it was time to relax with a close friend and a glass of wine...(lover of wine ~ SEE ABOUT ME) Always have a fun time catching up with her so that was definitely a 'high' of my day. :)

However the funniest part of this WHOLE day had to be that I posted my picture on face book for my Project 52 entry for week 11 ~ Tools was the the theme for this week......get ready.....(think girly girl, prissy, etc.)  And here is what you get........

Hey, it's what I think of when I hear the word 'tools'....LOL.....Happy Tuesday everyone!!!! xoxo

(get ready for fun pics....headed to Old Tucson Studios tomorrow for the FIRST time ever...my camera will be on over drive....poor thing.)

OMG...how did I forget!!!??? My photography course BINDER came in the mail today!!!! ahhhhh can NOT wait to start that course!

No More Mopey Mondays!

To kick off the week and because Monday is typically a not so fun day for most of us out there, I decided to come up with a list of 5 things each Monday that are good and that help do away with the Mopey Monday syndrome! (Now I realize this may be hard because let's face it sometimes we have 'stuff' going on and it's not always looking like butterflies and rainbows, BUT I'm going to give it a try!)

1- Kids are on spring break, so no waking up early, no packing lunches and no rushed mornings! (I really likey this one!)

2- Being in good health and able to get up and drag my butt to the gym...even if I'm not really feeling it, afterwards I ALWAYS feel better!

3- Starting to plan our Vegas getaway with our amazing friends and ahem, it's my 36th birthday when we are there (how the HE** did that happen anyway!??)

4- Getting to practice more and more with my camera...every day I feel like I learn something new


So that's my list for this Monday.....it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be....what are your 5 things today that totally help you do away with Mopey Mondays?
xoxo

My new found LOVE....Birthday Cake Oreos...Who Knew?? Pure heaven!!!

Beautiful weather, beautiful time to reflect

It is a GORGEOUS 76 degree day here in AZ. I'm on the courtyard listening to the birds chirping and the kids playing at the park. Yesterday I did the photos of my favorite 2 year old's birthday party. It was good practice running around following all the activities that go along with being a 2 year old! I was in a full sweat after that party, but had such a great time doing the pictures. Now comes the time to edit them down and see what shots are good, what shots are um...not so good. With being a photographer I have always heard you will take tons of shots to get ONE good one and boy am I learning how true that is.

I guess one of the things I need to learn is to be who I am, not compare my work to others because I'm not them, but my work is just as good in it's own way. It's hard though, because it's soooo easy to be critical of yourself, not have the confidence you need, and unfortunately see the negative in everything.  So instead of being 'Debbie Downer', I'm going to work on being 'Polly Positive'. Obviously I'm not as bad as I think since peeps are contacting me for work and prints, but again, this is going to take some time and work to change my thinking...LOL...hey I'm only human!  Anyway, here is a sneak peek at one of the birthday boy's pics.....

Have a fabulous Sunday......xoxo

Banana Bread kind of day....

Yesterday after cleaning my upstairs I needed a break and of course a reason to take some pictures. The wind here these last couple of days has been unbearable....unbearable to where I HATE to go outside! So I had found a new recipe for Banana Bread that I thought I would give a try.....

 So out came the ingredients....

I loaded up all the dry ingredients....flour......

 Sugar.....

Then started the wet ingredients.....ummm....helllooo ya think these bananas have seen BETTER days!? ;)  Hey it said the more ove-ripe the better......I'm thinking these should be PERFECT! LOL

 Softened up butter.....the oddest ingredient which I didn't capture a photo of was yogurt.....hmmmm...that was what caught my eye about this recipe...it added an element of unexpectedness, and I'm always up for that!

Well..I sorta got a picture of the yogurt. This is actually the mashed bananas with the yogurt getting mixed in....hmmm, I'm still intrigued!

Vanilla, which I am a huge fan of!

 2 eggs...

 Lightly beaten.....

Oh, and I'm a huge believer that chocolate added to anything is pure heaven....so yep, in went the chocolate chips!

 Now the coming together of the wet and dry ingredients....

 ohhhh, by this point I was super excited to try this!

 Into the lightly greased loaf pan and now for the fun part.....

 A cinnamon sugar topping.....which was yet another element that had my taste buds peaked!

 Sprinkle the topping all over the top of the uncooked bread....

 All ready to go into the oven....

This made me laugh because hubby says I am a messy cook and I guess by this picture I kind of am, even though I was technically a baker that day...I guess either way I'm a MESS!!!  He's so good because he cleans up as he goes, me...not so much!! ;)

 A peak in the oven to see the beauty.......

 YUM!!

 The finished delight.....

The first decadent slice which of course HAD to be taste tested since I was taking it to a friend's house. Well I couldn't very well take it over not knowing if it was a complete disaster being it was my first time making this recipe.

I am pleased to say it was scrumptious!!!! It was just the right amount of moist and the cinnamon sugar topping was to die for. It got rave reviews from the kiddos so I think it's a keeper!!!!!

I would say it was a successful break from cleaning.....gave me just enough photography practice for the day and filled my love of sweets!!!! xoxo

Sooo EXCITED!!!!

Seriously this photography thing has been such an overwhelming passion of mine and I have had it for SOOO long that it just feels amazing when I get such positive feed back and interest in my work!!! Today I finalized a shoot for the end of the month for the absolute sweetest family! They want to do it at San Xavier Mission which I think is an EXCELLENT choice since that is where I did my last shoot of Hayley.

The architecture there is incredible and so many fun nooks and cranny's of areas to shoot around!! I will be in HEAVEN!!

Seriously...it is breathtaking there!!!!

I also have a coffee date scheduled with the wedding photographer out here for this month!!! I am nervous beyond belief to meet her but absolutely can't wait!! I LOVE her work and I can't wait to sit and talk face to face with another photographer and finalize our plans for me to shadow her wedding in May!!!!

My dilemma I am going back and forth on is whether or not to do a MB Bella Photography Face Book Page.....hmmm...thoughts?  Right now I'm getting a lot of word of mouth, but I almost feel like face book would be a good idea because of all the traffic......decisions decisions.....

I just can't believe that I am where I am right now and it feels so good! xoxo

Look Who's 2!!!

Yesterday was my shoot with one of the CUTEST 2 year olds around!!! Seriously, it doesn't get cuter than this, does it?

When we first started the shoot, this little guy had JUST woke up from a nap, so his expressions from the beginning of the shoot to the end are literally night and day!!!! LOL

He was so easy to shoot and so funny!!!

The eyes in both of these are so beautiful!! The above photo obviously because his baby blues are breathtaking and the bottom because the twinkle in the eyes mixed with the mischievous grin are just a recipe for cuteness!!!

 Mickey Mouse both on his shirt and the stuffed version were so playful, I loved the simplicity of it!

Capturing sweet moments with Mom and 'baby' are priceless (let's face it, they are ALWAYS our babies no matter how old they are!! ;)

 Hugs and Kisses!!! xoxo

This little guy makes my job easy....sooo stinkin' precious!!

 Those toes, those eyes, that expression.....SQUEEZABLE!

  If this photo doesn't make you crack up, you may have a heart of stone...J/K :)...but seriously look at that face, so DETERMINED to blow a bubble!!! I HEART this photo!

Alright, let's just let Mom stick to the bubble blowing!

 Kisses!!

Ok, someone seriously SIGN this kid....he is READY for his football career!!

This was such a fun shoot!!! I hope they are all this easy..Thanks for the fun Wyatt!......xoxo

~Melanie