1. Visitors – Two of our very good friends, Joel and Bethia came for a 10 day visit! There was a brief three day hiatus where they drove an hour or so south and adventured around Galveston in celebration of their one year anniversary. But the rest of the time they hung out with us. We watched a bit of The Walking Dead and our tradition of I Love You Man, root beer floats and pirouettes. We took them to all the places they don’t have back where they live (H&M, Ikea, Trader Joe’s, etc.) We ended the whole event with a night of grilling, pumpkin carving and fire pit at my mom’s house. It was SUCH a great time and so wonderful to have them visit.

2. Gender – On Bill’s birthday we had our 20 week ultrasound which means we got to find out the gender of this kiddo I’ve been carrying around for the last couple months. Turns out it’s a she which surprised both Bill and myself. I’m pretty sure all of the grandparents did a little happy dance as they all seemed to be rooting for a girl. I think it surprised Bill the most because after the ultrasound tech announced it was a girl he nearly passed out. There was lots of heavy, deep breathing and he had to steady himself on the table I was laying on as to not collapse on the floor. After a few “oh my Gods” he announced that we must purchase a gun. It took me a few days to process it as well. Quite honestly I had a pregnancy freak out. I couldn’t get over the fact that at some point in her life she won’t like me. Because every girl at some point goes to battle with her mother. Most of us come back around. But I just couldn’t get over the fact that this life I’m carrying around, caring for, giving up coffee for, is one day going to think I’m horrible. I finally realized I have a long time before that happens and I think the crazy hormones finally quit rearing their ugly head and I’m extremely excited to have another female in the house, 3 to 1. Take that Bill.

3. Halloween – We bought a lot of candy this year. The first year we ran out. Last year we spent the evening in the emergency room. This year I was a pregnant cowgirl (ie. I wore jeans, did my hair in a side braid and work a cowboy hat) and Bill did a last minute homeless man costume. We sat in the yard and handed out candy until we ran out and then went to a friends house for a costume party. It was low key cause my allergies were going nuts. My favorite part was seeing all the kids’ costumes and meeting neighbors and ending the evening with close friends. (Below is my pumpkin.)

4./5. Registry/A Fuzzy Elephant – After we found out that we are having a baby girl we went ahead and started our registry. The evening we found out Bill stated, quite matter-of-factly that we have to buy her first stuffed animal, it must be an elephant, it has to be fluffy and soft, and she will carry it around by it’s trunk. During our registry adventure we found this little guy. He’s perfect.

1. 3DCAMP- Last Saturday was 3DCAMP! I’ve shared a lot about how we’ve been helping them out with a logo design and marketing and how they were on the news. But seriously the event went splendidly. And it was incredibly fascinating to see all the vendors and have chats with folks making strides in 3D technology and using it daily in their work. Most people don’t know that you can print 3D objects in metal and glass and plastic and all sorts of substances. I feel like all that may be better shared in it’s own post but I just can not share enough about how great 3DCAMP 2012 went, with all the sponsors, vendors, volunteers, committee members and attendees working together it was a great conference. I can’t wait until next year.

3D Printed Keychains

2. Hummingbird- It’s hummingbird season here in Houston and I’ve been seeing them in droves. I hung a home made hummingbird feeder (wine bottle, plus feeder stopper, plus wire) right outside my office window so I could watch them and sneak photos. Here’s my favorite.

Shot with my Canon

3. Eclipse- Last Sunday we took a private tour of Minute Maid Stadium (where the Houston Astros play). Yes I am a huge fan. Yes I realize they may have just played their worst season ever. Still, I love them. They’re my team. And there are lots of changes coming- switching to the American League, new owner, new GM, lots of new blood. It’s going to be an interesting season. Anywho…whenever I visit a stadium I take a feet shot right off the grass. This shot however had a bit of a baby bump eclipse in it. It wasn’t intended but it makes me smile because it’s where we are in life right now. AND our kid was in the Astros stadium first so it has to be an Astros fan. Not a Phillies fan, much to Bill’s dismay.

4. Whole Foods- Months ago, probably over a year ago I wrote about Trader Joe’s coming to the Woodlands. I may have mentioned how dumb it was that Whole Foods had zero plans to expand out this direction (Woodlands, Spring, Tomball) but were instead going to build in the Katy area. I projected that Trader Joe’s was going to steal a lot of the market share out this way. Well guess who is NOW building a location out this way…Whole Foods. What’s excellent is that it’s 5 minutes from my house (literally just down the road) and will actually become my closest grocery store. I’d like to think that they read my post and chose a location close to me just to make me smile. So welcome to the area Whole Foods, it’s about time, we’ve been waiting.

Note: According to the Houston Chronicle the store will be 40,000 square feet and is slated to open sometime in 2014.

The Sign I Spotted Announcing Their Arrival

5. Quilt- The baby quilt is coming together, the top is 1/3 of the way done and I’m hoping to knock out the rest of it sometime this weekend. Here’s to sewing!

1. Fall – I’ve decided. I’m ready for fall. Really, really ready. I’m ready for the smells of fall: pumpkin pie, cinnamon, nutmeg and fire pits. I’m ready for the cool breezes. I’m even ready for the leaves to tumble off the trees, though sometimes that doesn’t happen so much, it’s just not cold enough for us to have TRUE changing of the seasons. Still, I’m ready.

Fall in Virginia, November 2005

2. Work – August is a slow month. In the next 12 months I’ll be coming up with a way for August not to be so slow. But I’m pretty sure it’s slow for everyone in our industry, people are so focused on last minute summer vacations and going off to college and back to school shopping. I suppose when I have kids I’ll be thankful for a slow August business wise because I assume all that back to school shopping and school supplies shopping (which I seriously love by the way) will take up much of my free time. In the mean time I’ve been focusing on our branding and experimenting with photography and honing my skills.

A Recent Photo Session for Mike Delaflor of MD Communications and Wacom

3. Seniors 2013 – While August has been slow it also marks the start of a new group of Seniors. This means that March, April, and May will be chock full of Senior Photo Sessions which makes me giddy like a kid in a candy store. I love the collaboration with my seniors where we design the theme of the shoot around them. I love working with them to design custom graduation announcements using the photos from their session. And I really love the interaction I have with the parents as they are watching their child grow up and on to a new stage of life. Senior Photo Sessions are probably some of my favorites to shoot and I can’t wait to get to know my 2013 Seniors!

A shot from our first 2013 Senior Photo Session

4. Workshop – I’m always for improving my art. I’ve learned a lot through classical black and white dark room training, oodles of classes, working for other photographers, industry training, and experience but I’m certainly not done. I have a lot left to learn and I’m pretty sure I will constantly be learning and improving. Which is why I attended a workshop on newborn photography with Brenda Horan of Brenda Horan Photography in Tulsa, OK.

First off Brenda is amazing, I worked for her back when I lived in Tulsa and she’s just incredible at what she does and has such a heart to share her knowledge. I don’t do a ton of Newborn Photography but I enjoy it and definitely wanted to learn more. So I spent a Saturday afternoon with Brenda, her assistant, a few other photographers as well as two newborn baby boys learning everything I could about this art form. By the end of the day my brain was chock full of ideas and techniques which I can’t wait to try out on my next newborn client.

One of my shots from the workshop

5. Doggie Diet – Sam, our black lab, went to the vet for her annual check up and an array of vaccines she was due for. She does really well at the vet, if anything she gets too excited about going there. Everything looks good but the poor girl has to be on a doggie diet. She’s not too over weight, but she loves to eat the cat food at her Dog Grandmother’s house, which can really add pounds to her doggie body. The vet said to feed her a cup and a half in the morning (normally she’d get a cup in the morning and afternoon) and in the evening give her baby carrots. When the vet said this I laughed out loud. But we have a dog that will eat just about anything, and I have to admit she’s really loving her baby carrots. And it’s working too, she’s already looking a little thinner around the mid-section. I wonder if the diet would work on humans.

An Instagram of Sam, you can follow me at DilibertoPhoto

1. Cleaning - Last night I got the fry bug, ie. the insatiable urge to fry everything I could find. I should note that I don’t fry things. Well not often. The last thing I fried was tostones, and I think the time before that was two Christmas’s ago when I made Struffoli. There are two reasons I don’t fry things. 1. Fried food isn’t good for you. and 2. It makes my house smell like fried food and I hate it.

That said in 90+ degree weather we turned off the AC, opened up all the windows and put a box fan in front of the open back door, and I fried for a good two hours. I asked Bill to turn up the living room ceiling fan which usually remains on in the low setting. As soon as he turned it on our living room, Bill, myself and our poor Sam dog were covered in a light, puffy layer of dust. This is my cue that we need to deep clean our house, soon.

Also if you’re curious about what I fried, I made these “Chick-Fil-A” style nuggets, which were less like Chick-Fil-A than I had hoped, still good though. I also fried up some okra (slightly failed at this one) and french fries.

2. Niagara Falls - I’ve been slowly going through our photos from our tour of the Northeast. We did a short evening trip to Niagara Falls since Bill had only ever seen it in the winter. I’ve gone countless times but it never ceases to amaze me. It also proves for some very quality people watching. I shot tons of photos, but this one makes me very happy.

It reminded me of this photo which was taken in the winter, the last time we were in Buffalo together, before we were married, a completely different season.

3. Quilts - I am finally starting a new quilt. I’ve been collecting fabrics for it, most of them are from Paper Thread Fabrics, who I just love buying fabric from. It’s another strip quilt, like the grey one I’ve been working on, but smaller strips, more fabrics, and more colors. I’ll post pictures soon.

4. Fall Garden - Our tomatoes are just about done producing for the year, so I’ll be pulling them out soon. The peppers will probably continue to produce through the fall so they’ll stay put. In the mean time I’ve been trying to figure out what to plant. I really like this website, you can put in your zip code, it’ll tell you your planting zone and then it will tell you what you can plant and when. Amazing.

5. Life is kinda boring right now so I don’t have a number five.

1. Sun Tans – A few months back my doctor told me my vitamin D levels were low and that I should take supplements. I thought it would be more efficient if I just relaxed out in the sun. And that is exactly what I did this weekend, at the lake, on the lake, and in the lake. It’s become a family tradition to kick off the summer at the lake on Memorial Day weekend. We spend tons of time on the water, eating, and hanging out. It’s quite possible that I ate half a watermelon over the course of the weekend. One of my favorite things about the lake is no cell phones. It’s not a rule or anything and we get service, but we just don’t use them. No one texts constantly, or checks e-mail, or answer random phone calls. The most we use them for is to check in and see when we’re going to go out on the water and when we’re going to come back in. It’s glorious. I wish there were more situations in life that were no cell phone zones.

2. Puppies – Speaking of the lake Sam was reunited with her chocolate friend at the lake this weekend. For close to two weeks we puppy sat a little chocolate lab named Dexter. He was a lot of work but a blast to have around and Sam and he (or is it him) played CONSTANTLY. Sam went through a little withdrawal I think, so it was good for her to see him again this weekend.

3. Weekend Trips – Last weekend we were at the lake, we’ll soon be spending a long weekend in Tulsa. Later this summer we’re headed to Philadelphia, Maryland, and Buffalo to do a few photo sessions and hang out with family. I’ve never had so many airline flights booked at one time. All this traveling has got me really appreciating weekends at home. I’ve got a garden that needs tending, a list of home projects, DIYs and crafty things about a mile long. There is a stack of sewing projects that are all cut and pinned and ready for me to run through the machine. Plus time at home is just good. Joni over at LayBabyLay, who I just love btw, created this great little graphic from a She & Him song quote, “I want to be where your heart is home.” It pretty much sums up my thoughts right there. And yes, I had it printed, it’s going in our bedroom.

(You can download the image above by clicking it which will take you to her website or going to the blog post at LayBabyLay and clicking the link to the right.)

4. First Fruits – In Proverbs chapter three it says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Yesterday we picked our first tomatoes of the season (we’re in Texas, our season starts rather early). Out loud in the back yard I proclaimed, “Our First Fruits!” Then Bill asked if I thought God wanted our first tomatoes. I told him I was pretty sure he didn’t. I posted a posted a picture of them on facebook and a friend told me if I wanted to sell any that she would be interested. I never once thought about selling what we’ve grown/are growing. We’ll eat what we can and give the rest away. I’m pretty sure God would like that, I mean, what would He do with a tomato anyway?

5. New Things – I’ve been blessed with a whole bunch of new things lately. Some things are brand spanking new, others are old to some and new to me and some are just new ideas that are making me insanely excited. My favorite old new thing we’ve gotten recently is the rocking chair we picked up at a garage sale in-the-middle-of-no-where, Texas. When I went to pay for it the woman sighed a little and told me how she rocked her babies and her grandbabies in that rocking chair. I could tell there were a lot of memories and emotion attached to it. I assured her that I planned on rocking my own children in it and it was the perfect rocking chair for us and that it would be equally loved in our family. She seemed very happy/satisfied that I would love it as much as she had. It feels so cool to know that I’m giving new life to such a cherished piece of furniture.

1. Raw Milk- I spent all of last Thursday on Gramen Farm in Tomball, Texas, starting the work on a brand new project. A cow licked my arm. Their tongues are HUGE. I learned tons and tons about raw milk and farming. I met some really amazing folks who I think will become fast friends. Best of all I came home with a trunk full of delicious raw milk, kefir grains, soap nuts, local honey, and farm made soap. It was a good day.

Making kefir with raw milk and kefir grains.

2. Ten- Ten is the number of photo sessions I did in April. (Also, how the heck is it already May? When did that happen?) For a lot of studios 10 is a measly number, it may be the number of sessions they do in a day. But considering I’m a 1.45984 man operation boutique photography studio (Bill helps out when he can, which is reason for the decimal) and I spend at least 2 hours prepping for a shoot, 2+ hours on the shoot, 4+ hours editing, 2+ hours putting together custom artwork, not to mention client meetings, answering e-mail, and actually placing orders to our vendors as well as all the other stuff that goes with running a business, it’s been a crazy busy month. The thing is I LOVE IT.

Part of my workspace, it's definitely not always this clean.

3. Yard Work- When I was not working I’ve been outside. We’ve spent a lot of time working on the yard. At dinner Bill and I planned out our dream back yard, I even sketched it out. Our vegetable garden is flourishing and we had an influx of plants after the Plant Swap on Saturday. Bill makes fun of me because I just go out there and stare at it. But it’s relaxing and it makes me smile.

Our current project, making a path around our raised beds.

4. Youth Group- Our youth group is growing. Oh yeah, Bill and I lead a small in home youth group (it’s hosted by another family). It was an opportunity based out of a desire of a few kids that sort of just fell into our laps. We’ve been doing it for almost a year and last night we had 23 students. In a living room. Twenty-three. What? Yes. 23. It’s blowing my mind that A. that many kids want to listen and have discussions with us. and B. See reason A. I’m amazed.

5. Puerto Rican Food- My best friend is Puerto Rican and we have some very good friends here in Houston who are also Puerto Rican. And they have been teaching me how to make Puerto Rican food, which is delicious and makes me happy in a way I can’t describe. So a few weeks ago I took on the task of feeding 12 people with what I’d learned from my friends. The verdict was I succeeded. Rice, beans, flat steak and Tostones (twice fried plantains). My next task, Mofongo!

Yummy Puerto Rican Food

Making tostones, Bill did the smashing.

1. Galveston- Just after Easter Bill and I went to Galveston, TX to shoot Riann’s one year photos and decided to use the time there (since we had to get a hotel anyway) as a mini anniversary getaway. Our 3rd anniversary was actually this past Tuesday but Bill is in Atlanta for work so we thought it was appropriate to celebrate a little early. We stayed at the San Luis Resort and I highly recommend it. All the rooms have a balcony view of the ocean, they’re huge, and the pool has a swim up bar. Awesome. We spent a lot of time exploring the island, looking for shoot locations and trying out the local fare. I always forget how great Galveston is, I spent a lot of summers there as a kid, and it’s a stones throw from our house (or like an hour’s drive). I need to take advantage of that more.

1. Our feet in the sand (I need a pedicure, don’t judge). 2. The view from our room at the San Luis Resort. 3. A DELISH shrimp Po-Boy from Shrimp N’ Stuff, go there, it’s AMAZING. 4. Breakfast at ShyKatz Deli, adorable little place, great food, great atmosphere. 5. Bill drinking a giant orange juice at Easter breakfast with mom before heading out to Galveston. 6. The new Pleasure Pier, opening soon!!

2.  Busyness – In high school I went to a church by myself, not that my parents didn’t go to church I just really liked this one church so they let me go there. It was them allowing me to define my own path and faith. Anywho, on father’s day they gave all the dads this book called The Man in the Mirror. Somehow I ended up taking one home and since I read just about everything back then I thought hey, why not. One of the main things it mentioned was that it was ok to be busy but you had to be busy and balanced. It’s something I’ve always strived for but I think the busy has been outweighing the balanced lately and I’m working on that.

3. I am a photographer. – When there is a desire deeply rooted in your heart it becomes the thing you question the most about yourself. It’s personal and it’s tied to you. I constantly have to remind myself that I am a photographer. When people ask me what I do and I say it out loud I always sound silly to myself, or like I’m faking them out. But I really am a photographer (along with a lot of other things: wife, counselor, graphic designer, christian, daughter, gardener…), and sometimes it surprises me. For example I did a photo session with Tiffany and her two adorable girls and I don’t know if it was their beauty, or the location, or that it was the magic hour or a combination of all of those things but when I finally got the photos on my computer a few of the images made me gasp. I questioned if I actually took them. I don’t mean to sound conceited or anything but they blew my mind a bit, I surprised myself. This both frightens me and excites me, because I think it may mean I actually am a photographer. (You can see more images from their session here.)

4. My Garden Is Growing – We planted our veggie garden a few weeks ago and it’s doing VERY well. I’ll actually be picking our first banana pepper sometime this week. My parsley, cilantro, cucumber, and basil that I planted from seed all came up. I worked in the rain on Sunday putting weed block (that black plastic stuff) all around the outside of the raised beds so I can eventually build little pathways around them. The whole thing makes me SO happy that I just sit out there and stare at my plants. (This picture is actually from two weeks ago.)

5. I Have a Fabric Addiction – I bought more fabric recently from Five Monkey Fabrics on etsy, from Paper Thread Fabrics and Joanne’s. I have about 5 or six sewing projects going all at once. The quilt for the living room, a second quilt (though it’s just in the planning stages), the fabric rose tree skirt, reusable swiffer dusters, a vintage half apron, and this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. I have SEVERAL others in the hopper too (top of the list is this burp cloth tutorial from Made for all my friends who are about to pop out kiddos). Basically my pinterest has been filled with sewing ideas and fabric swatches.

1. The Tulsa Trip - It was a great success. Lots and lots of photo sessions. Lots of good quality time with some friends, leaving me incredibly thankful for the people in my life. To those I missed this trip I’ll be back with Bill in tow in June. By day two Tulsa’s AWESOME tree pollen had me blowing my nose every five seconds and wishing the itchiness in my throat would subside. I’m now about three hours back in Houston and I’m already starting to feel better.

2. 27 Gigs of Photos and Video – I did a lot of photo shoots this weekend. I have a looming 27 gigs of photo and video to mull through but I’m saving it for tomorrow because…

3. To Do List – My to do list is about a mile long. I’ve got tons of client e-mails to return and meeting to set up and graphic design work to finish. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be playing catch up for a few days. If you’re waiting on a response from me on something please know I will get back to you shortly.

4. New RAM – I’m thrilled because when I do eventually get to those 27 Gigs life will be sweet because my good friend Joel installed some more RAM in my computer this weekend and it goes lightening fast. I’m in awe. I’ve also given another year or two to the life of my computer. Yay!

5. Babies – I got a good healthy baby fix this weekend. I got to spend some time with a few of my friends’ BEAUTIFUL children. They’re so squishy and wonderful and cute and just fun. Thanks for letting me play with your kiddos. It made my heart very happy.

My dear wonderful friend Jo does this grand thing on her blog called Five Things Tuesday. Go check out her blog and her etsy shop cause she’s amazing. She covers five things that are going on/have gone on/will go on in her week in five short little bursts. Last night during our skype date until 4am I expressed my love for this part of her blog and asked if I could totally copy her. She said yes. My heart was happy.

That said this is not an original idea. Jo came up with it and I want to give her lots of credit (did I mention you should go check out her blog and her etsy shop?). I love five things cause there are often times things I’d really like to talk about on the blog/think you might find interesting but I don’t feel like it warrants an entire post. I don’t think it will be on Tuesdays cause that’s her day, so for now, my five things will be floating and since The Photography Chronicles has tuckered off this year I think it’s only fitting I find a new themed post.

That said, here’s my first ever five things.

1. The Hunger Games

So I haven’t read hunger games. Bill has. 90% of our youth group has. I borrowed the first book but haven’t  made time for myself had time to read it. We’re going to see it tonight at midnight. And since I haven’t read it I’m going in a complete Hunger Games virgin. I refuse to listen to conversation, read reviews, watch the movie preview. I have no idea what it’s about or the story line and I think I’m equally excited as the largest of the Hunger Games fans. I did the same thing with Twilight, after the movie I read all four books in three weeks. I have a feeling Hunger Games is going to walk the same path.

2.  The Tangible Kingdom

I don’t talk about my faith here much on the blog. I’m sure some people would say that makes me a bad Christian. I think mostly I stray away from it because there’s all these stereotypes that go along with Christians that I prefer not to be associated with cause I don’t relate to them at all. To be honest, those stereotypes, when they’re true, make me a little bit nuts. But my faith is a huge part of who I am and blogs are all about sharing life (right?). So we’ve started going through this book/workbook called The Tangible Kingdom with a group of friends. It’s pretty great, talking about community and loving people and basically how I prefer to live my life. I’m sure I’ll be sharing more on this later.

3. I’m Going To Tulsa Soon

Not this weekend but next I’m going to Tulsa. I’ve been SO busy with work that I haven’t really had time to think about the trip/get excited about it. But I am INSANELY excited. I’ve got a lot planned:

-Hanging out with/learn from my good friend and amazing photographer/person Brenda Horan for a day
-Shooting an engagement session in down town Tulsa (such a fantastic location)
-Staying with the lovely Joel and Bethia
-Do quick lunches, coffee, margaritas with some of my best friends in the world
-Visiting Andrea over at The Organic Bloom, a friend and also my amazing frame company supplier
-It’s in the works, but I’ll hopefully be doing some product shots for The Bridal Couture Girls
-Going to some of my favorite places there
-Having a BBQ with and taking pictures and product shots for Peanut & Pistachio
-And finally (because I’ve been wanting to forever) visiting The Vintage Pearl

(source)

4. Busy Busy Bee

I’ve been insanely busy and I’m extremely thankful. When you do what you love it doesn’t feel like work. I’ve been doing my best at balancing life: business, family, friends, managing a household, etc. I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty decent job (if I’m totally delusional please let me know).

5. I Listen To Obscure Music / Matisyahu In Houston

I listen to an obscure broad range of music. My iPod on shuffle can go from She & Him to Dixie Chicks to The Doobie Brothers to The Postal Service to Ray Charles to Prince to The Shins all in one session. Bill won’t let me listen to my iPod when he’s in the car cause he says I listen to weird music. Boo on him. I like my music.

On Sunday Matisyahu is going to be in Houston for a free show at Miller Outdoor Theater. I keep checking the website cause I can’t believe it’s true (it’s not listed on his touring dates on his site). But I’m pretty sure that it is and I’m going. By Myself. And I’m like 1000% ok with that because I like his music. It’s not like I have no friends but all my obscure music loving friends live in other places like LA, France, Tulsa, and Nashville. They’ll be there with me in spirit as I thoroughly enjoy the Jewish reggae stylings of Matisyahu.

And that’s my first five things post. Thanks Jo.