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I’ve had so much to blog about lately and not enough time to do it- so now you get 6 posts in 3 days! I know its a little ridiculous, but I don’t know what to do with so much time on my hands.

I am so excited to share my first set of film images with you. I recently purchased my first medium format- a Mamiya 645. Isn’t she beautiful!? The idea of using film is so intriguing to me. There is no instant gratification of seeing your image pop up on the screen 1 second after you take it. It is deliberate and meaningful. Shooting this way takes time and patience. Time to set up the shot; meter the light; and manually set the focus, aperture and shutter speed. Then there is the wait time and the anticipation of picking up the prints from the lab and tearing open the package. It’s all so fascinating and wonderful.

Back in October, I took her for a trial run (not knowing I would later buy her). These are the results:

A little corner of my (old) home…

The two pictures with the succulents are completely raw- no post-processing at all. It is AMAZING what film can do with light. If I had taken the same picture with my digital camera, the areas lit up by the sun coming in would have been blown out and/or harsh looking. Its just so REAL-it looks exactly the way I remember seeing it. THIS is out I want to capture memories.

I also have some film images from a Nikon FM2 using expired T-MAX 400 film. This camera belongs to Stephen, a photographer friend from Liverpool. These shots were taken on Inauguration Day last year- but I didn’t develop them until I submitted the Kodak Portra 400 film for developing.

The first image was a complete accident- but it is my favorite of the black and white images. The man in the picture is Stephen.

One of my favorite cafe’s along one of my favorite side streets in St. Augustine. Gaufre’s has the yummiest baklava.

My second favorite of the BW shots.

Castillo de San Marcos

It’s been a good day.

As I sit here with an empty cake plate beside me (feeling absolutely sick from all the frosting I consumed)- I’m incredibly thankful for the soft sunshine today, all the amazing people in my life, my health and strong (and getting stronger) body, and for chocolate.

I hope you and yours have a very thankFULL holiday. smooch

I know chocolate cake isn’t all that Thanksgiving-ish but I had all the ingredients in the apartment (I’m a little embarrassed to say that I had a pound of butter and powdered sugar just sitting around..).

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, and devour.

I bought myself two new beautiful items from the best store EVER.
I thought my run last night and being only 6 pounds from my goal weight called for a little retail celebration.

The black and gold silk dress is ultra-feminine and I can’t wait to wear it to a special dinner next month…
The woven top I actually bought in green and am waiting on it to arrive because my size wasn’t available in the store. It looked super cute with my skinny jeans and cowgirl boots

The last time I saw Caroline was back in March, while Natalie was still preggers with sweet Georgia. You may have recently seen Caroline when I posted her  costume here on Halloween (she was the cutest peacock ever). It seems like every time Natalie is in town visiting her parents I get the chance to photograph them- and I couldn’t be happier about it. I just love their whole family to pieces!

Caroline has grown so much since March.

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A couple of outtakes- happy happy

The glory of being 2. I love action shots like these and capturing the essence of childhood.

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CHUBBY WITTLE CHEEKS- I could just eat her up!

can we say “doll-face”?

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I have SO many great expressions from Georgia. By the time these were taken, it was actually DARK outside. I cranked up my ISO, opened up my aperture and slowed the shutter speed as much as I could (while not blurring her movements). She makes my heart palpate.

Thank you, as always, Nat for being so open to different ideas (pulling off the side of a road in rush hour traffic) every time we get together. I find myself waiting to hear you are back in Jacksonville just so that I can be in your lovely company and hear your sweet love stories and relationship advice.

I did it! I ran the distance of a 15k (plus a little). I plan on running the Gate River Run in March and have made more progress on that than I ever though possible. I couldn’t have gotten this far without the support of my running partners (and the running shoes my mommy bought me).

I felt such a sense of accomplishment-I had to document it. I AM strong. and yes my green pants are HOTT (with a DOUBLE T)

Yet another wedding with a fellow Northern Heights (high school in the middle of a cow pasture) alum. Chelsea was a grade ahead of me (her super hot cross-country, personal trainer bod is part of what has inspired my recent running spree) and was dating Tony even back then. Seeing them interact on the day of the wedding- I can see why. They compliment each other so well.

Chelsea’s dress had beautiful beading and lace detail.

I love ring shots

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Shield your eyes for the next series-because Chelsea is just too hot to handle! I was super excited when Chelsea asked me to take a few pictures for Tony before the wedding and was even more excited when she said I could share a select few. P90X body in da house.

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Tony is such a sweetheart. He left gifts for Chelsea, her mom and his own mother. I quickly captured a few shots of Chelsea opening her lovely necklace.

I couldn’t resist another ring shot before heading out the door

Chelsea and Tony opted for a “first look”- so we headed to the Emporia State University campus.

From the beginning, Chelsea talked of her beautiful veil and how she wanted a shot of it blowing in the wind. Here’s my take on it. I think this one is over-the-fireplace canvas worthy.

Gorgeous colors, yes?

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These pictures aren’t technically anything wonderful, but they just crack me up. The bitty chair, the naked baby on the floor-and goofy Tony. The “first look” definitely helps to ease nerves.

Perspective

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I love Chelsea’s face

and the bubbles too

Tony is a firefighter, so after the ceremony we headed to the station for some shots with the fire engines. I love when clients give me ideas for pictures that have meaning to them.

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I love these two!

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It was THIS big. Yes,  I am a 5th grader.

Aww how sweet, the first dance- and then BAM return of the P90X body. Just look at her back, shoulders and arms!

The image on the left is probably one of my favorite wedding dance images. It may not be all the way in focus-but the grain, the movement and the feeling to this one just moves me.

Chelsea’s brother gave the sweetest speech that brought tears to my eyes- and everyone else’s.

The most dancing I’ve witnessed of all the weddings I’ve shot to date.

Love it! Especially Sarah’s (gal on the far right) expression.

and finally, I leave you with this. The chick who caught the bouquet (just look at her fly) and Sarah’s disappointment.

Thank you Chelsea and Tony for flying me all the way to Kansas to photograph your day. Your relationship is beautiful.

Oh..how this can cause such heartache, but so much joy.
No matter the outcome, she’d do it all the same.

I have 3 sessions to post on here and 4 more to edit. I have much more important things to be doing than writing a personal blog post-but I had to. I’m sure everyone in my daily life is tired of hearing me talking about it, so I had to get it out somewhere else.

Tonight, I ran the FURTHEST DISTANCE I HAVE EVER RUN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m not quite sure how I did it, and its nothing amazing compared to a marathon runner. But, for me, it’s one of my greatest accomplishments. For someone who started out in May of 2008 not even able to run the distance of more than 2 light poles lining the sidewalk-I have worked up to 5.5 miles! I meant to train and actually run in Jacksonville’s Gate River Run (15k) last year, and got close to this point-but way later in the game and then I quit. Not this year. I’m nearly to a 10k and that makes me want to jump for joy.

I was inspired earlier this year by one of my favorite photographers: Bobbi of Bobbie and Mike. She started posting “healthy train” posts and I was hooked-going to her blog often to check in and see her progress. This post really made me want to get moving.

And so I have. Here’s my track record:

You can see I started out really well at the beginning of the year and tapered WAY off. I started again in the summer. In August I was running just over 2 miles at an 11:00 minute mile.

In October I went from nearly 3 miles to 5 miles in just a few days AND decreased my time. I think Friday’s time was a 10:15 min mile pace.

And tonight I ran 5.52 miles at a 9.34 minute mile pace. Big difference in a short amount of time. (btw that time stamp is lying. NO WAY did I run at 3 am)

To illustrate the point further:

I really can’t believe how far I’ve come. I’ve always ALWAYS struggled with my weight (what I felt to be ideal) and self-esteem. Lately, I’ve made it my goal to concentrate on being the healthiest I can be-and not just my appearance. I eat whole grains and try every day to get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (and it is HARD) and no more soda (not even diet).

For the first time, I’m learning to love myself and what my body can do. It has made ALL the difference in SO many aspects of my life. I’m truly happy, for the first time in a very long time.

I know my writing is not very eloquent-but I hope this post inspires you to take even one step toward being a healthier person.