Pro's and Con's

The pro's of being in recovery over the holidays are:

1)It's cold out so I'm not sweating up a storm under this cast and I don't mind being stuck under my down comforter.

2) There is no "get stressed out over the Christmas madness" option.

3) Being home to enjoy every moment of the anticipation a 4 year old has for Christmas. I'm cherishing it.

The con's of being in recovery overy the holidays are:

1) I CAN'T TAKE PHOTOS!!!

It's slightly torturous.

This one is from last year.





I had my first check in since surgery and I got to see my incisions...ew.

I have a shiny new (blue) cast and a better understanding of what my surgery consisted of. The surgeon said "that was hard, take care of your recovery because I don't want to do it again!"

Neither do I Dr. Lee, neither do I.

Rain boots

He took his camera out the other day with me (cramra is how he pronounces it.)

Shooting pictures side by side with my buddy is precious.










He's so big, putting his shoes on all by himself...on the wrong feet but still.

Black Friday

Did you stuff your face and count your blessings? :)


We enjoyed a yummy meal at my aunties and followed that up with a trip to the movies with Devin and his girls. I have been looking forward to the Muppet's movie since I first saw the preview for it but I didn't expect it to be so good!
I loved it.
I grew up watching these goofy puppets and was brought back to my childhood and treated to unexpected modern humor. Did I already say I loved it? :) After everyone said their good-bye's and good-night's I popped on the laptop and started searching out Black Friday deals online. I managed to get pretty much all of my Christmas shopping done by 2am this morning.
Getting good deals in my PJ's on the couch with out standing in any lines or getting a beat down was fun.

I won't lie and say being stuck in this cast isn't sort of putting a down side to my holiday's this year. I have my moments of self pity, even on Thanksgiving, for not being able to move around and join the bustle and photograph the memories being made. I know it's silly to feel sorry for myself. I have SO MUCH to be thankful for and I am, very thankful.

My new baby arrived. I'm dying to get out and play with it. I did hobble out to the backyard on my crutches for a few minutes just to get a feel for it. It's going to take practice. I haven't used manual focus in over a decade.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm in my PJ's, the parade is on, the fireplace is lit, the sound of kids playing and the smell of bacon and coffee surrounds me. Truly we are blessed.

Thank you God for every undeserved blessing.


Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

FREEDOM!

I finally got off the couch and out of the house today for the first time since the surgery last Monday. Where did I venture out to enjoy my first taste of freedom?

Why Target of course. :)

My 10 year old niece has the adorable Harajuku Mini clothes at Target on her wish list but they aren't available online. Since I love that she's into these stylish clothes I've got to get her some for Christmas so we hauled the wheelchair to Target and did a little Christmas shopping.

Ahhhhh. I needed that.

One week down....

One week down 5 to 7 more to go.


Yes, my booty is getting fatter and flatter from sitting on it all day every day.
Especially when I'm sent chocolate covered strawberries and dark chocolate truffles. Yes, I am spoiled and so are my taste buds.






We all enjoyed "Up." I made it through the whole film with out crying!
"Bolt" and the Classic "Peter Pan" should arrive tomorrow.
In the mean time E sits on my lap and streams Scooby-Doo while I snap pictures of his sweet face. I am so grateful I can still hold my boy with a cast.








OK...

Maybe you are one of those people that win raffles and prizes and contests but I am not. I NEVER win anything cool, to the point that I rarely enter drawings or contests cuz that sort of thing just doesn't happen for me. But a few weeks back Shutter Sisters (who rule) were having a drawing on their blog and giving away a lensbaby. I have been admiring these cool lenses for a while and have had one hanging out in my Amazon wish list. So I figured what the heck. And what do you know I won!!! The gift card arrived and I ordered the Composer Pro with Sweet 35 lens. Ooooo I can't wait till my new baby arrives!

THANK YOU SHUTTER SISTERS!!!

Kristin and J

Last week I was driving into work in awe of the beautiful fall colors surrounding me and I posted a status on FB wishing out loud that I had a photo shoot that weekend. I didn't really expect to have not one but two families reply wanting to book right away!

Be careful what you wish and pray for! :)





I tried my best to get both booked but was only able to get one scheduled then only after a few poses into the shoot I rolled my ankle and we had to postpone the rest. I felt awful. For one we were at her parents new property which is STUNNING. I was literally giddy with all the beautiful scenery and ideas were just starting to flow when my ankle betrayed me. Fortunately they are one of the sweetest couples you'll ever meet and graciously insisted we reschedule when I have recovered. I made them promise we would come back to there to finish the shoot. I did manage to get a few good ones that I hope will make the cut for a Christmas card for this adorable couple.













Thanks again Kristin and J for the opportunity and understanding (and the ice!) This shoot is too be continued and I can't wait to finish!

I love flowers

I love my church family.

This beautiful display arrived last night. They smell so good!





Today Elijah and I will watch "Up." We've never seen it. I've stocked my Netflix queue with Disney movies for us to watch together while I recover.
I love Netflix.

I've been spending these hours on the couch editing a lot of photos taken over the past couple weeks.
I love my laptop.


The pain has increased over the last couple days. I love pain meds.


My mom has been an awesome nurse. She helped me get a shower yesterday which resulted in standing water all over her bathroom floor. She said "well at least I'm getting my bathroom floor cleaned."
I love my mom.

In Recovery

I survived my first surgery.

I wasn't nervous till we got near the freeway exit heading towards the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'd been anxious, especially because I wasn't able to eat all day and by 2pm I just wanted to have the surgery so I could wolf down a cheeseburger or something, but the nerves didn't kick in till the hospital was in sight. Everything went well. The hardest part was the IV, I'm not a fan of needles and that stinks for a girl with "hard to find veins." I got pretty queasy after the 4th try. 2nd guy making the attempt asked me if I was going to my happy place since I was starring off into space, I graciously said "yes" and didn't confess that I was cursing him out in my head. Once the sleepy time meds hit my bloodstream I have no idea what the next 3 hours consisted of. The Dr. told my mom and Devin what he'd accomplished. I guess my tendon was hanging on by a thread and I had enough bone fragments and spurs to make a golf ball out of. Ew.





Now the fun part. Remote control, Laptop, Vicodin, and pillows.

Seriously, could my cast BE any bigger??






Elijah is being so loving and sweet. Wanting to be by my side. I had to snap a couple pictures of my little caretaker with the dried milk on his face.






Of course he wanted a turn behind the camera.

Patient in recovery, greasy hair and all.

A Fall in Fall

Oh fall.

You've arrived in full force and I am amazed and inspired by every rich color.





I kept my camera in hand this weekend so I'd have some photos to edit and work on while I am unable to get around, the colors around here are so beautiful and inspiring. I'm so grateful for the chance to spend a little time just hanging with my boy and my camera. It is my happy place.






So...
I was out today doing a fun couple photo shoot at an amazing location and rolled my ankle again. Skinned my knee up good. I swear I can't wait to have this ankle fixed! I just hope the swelling of today's event doesn't give them reason to postpone my procedure. It's such a dumb ankle, I can zumba but don't get me walking on gravel. This is the second time this ankle has caused me to drop my new camera. Stupid, blasted, confounded ankle. I'm just glad this sweet couple insisted we stop and agreed to reschedule when I recover.






Tomorrow is surgery day. I'll take prayers if you're the type to give them.

11-11-11

First off thank you from the bottom of my heart to every Veteran. Words seem a weak response to all you've done for this country.
It's what I've got so... Thank You.


I've been spending the morning enjoying my freedom before I'm captive of the couch for 2 months. I'm losing my surgery V-card and having an ankle procedure on Monday. I sincerely hope it does the trick and I'm able to run and jump and wear heels again.


I went to my first Zumba class last weekend. I'm hopping on the Zumba bandwagon a little late but what fun! I went again this morning and liked it even more. Once I'm healed up, I expect I'll be hitting a class every weekend at least.


After Zumba Elijah and I had a date to get some breakfast and go see Dolphin Tale. His obsession with Whales and Dolphins doesn't seem to be going away soon. But the flick was no longer playing at the theater so we saw Puss n Boots. It was alright. I can't wait for the Muppet movie to come out. Now that's a cast of characters I am looking forward to sharing with my boy!


I'm writing this by a warm fire, the ground outside still wet from the rain we had today. I think a cup of hot cocoa would just make this moment perfect. Hope you're all doing something to make this special day extraordinary.

What about the animals?

On our last day in Namibia we got to spend the day driving through the Etosha National Park. Etosha is a HUGE wildlife sanctuary where we were able to drive around and spot these majestic creatures in their natural environment. Of course, I took an insane number of pictures.

Here's a taste of what we saw. More to come

G Family Session 2011

I was blessed to be asked to do another portrait session for this family. Last time we had such a great time and an insane number of shots made the final cut because I just couldn't choose. In the past year I've learned to be a little more cut throat in my selections.

I'm still learning and growing.







The day of the shoot was a crazy one. I forgot where I'd parked my car at the arena that afternoon and spent an hour wandering around in the heat watching the light disappear and freaking out I wouldn't find it in time to make the shoot! Once I finally found it (thank you Amy for coming to drive me around) I was covered in sweat and all kinds of flustered but I made it up the hill to their home before the sun set and because this family is such a hoot we managed to get some great shots.

























These two sisters couldn't be more different when it comes to being in front of the camera. One loves to pose and the other would rather be anywhere but taking family photos. Just letting them be goofy and have fun got the best smiles, in fact little miss "Are we done yet?" turned out to also be little miss "I love to crack up" and I loved all of her genuine smile photos.







Thanks again Noelle and family!

Church in Africa

We went to tent services at night as well as Sunday morning service at the church where we stayed. During the worship hour(s) The young people would get into groups and take turns up front in a sort of African line dancing.

It was beyond cool.







On Sunday service every nearby village had a choir and we were treated to a performance by each. Wow. Of course I expected the music to be awesome but I was literally brought to tears by the sound of their voices. There is a quality to the voice of Africa that is wise, haunting, beautiful, and not like anything else I've ever heard. Unfortunately I never did figure out how to get my camera into video mode which I'm still kicking myself for because I never want to forget that sound. God may have created a dry and harsh land in Africa but He gave the people the gift of music and when you're standing in the middle of a hot and dusty tent listening to that sound I'm pretty sure it's a sample of what heaven will be like.